100 Things....

So MK over at Peaches and Posh had a list posted and I said what the heck, I will try to come up with a 100 things to peak your interest....hopefully stuff many of you didn't know....

1. I am in love with my husband, Shawn
2. Have been for 10 years now
3. I have 3 girls
4. Two of them are twins
5. They all drive me crazy sometimes
6. But I love them so very much
7. I work for Washington State University
8. Remotely from home
9. I also graduated from there with a degree in Business Marketing
10. I went there to major in Chemistry
11. I am not cut throat enough for the business world
12. I hate Sales, but love to shop
13. I lived in Boston for 2 years with Shawn
14. We got a Boxer Puppy there
15. She is now 7 years old
16. I was an athlete in High School
17. I lettered in 3 sports (Volleyball, Basketball, Fast Pitch Softball)
18. I didn't have a ton of girlfriends
19. Melissa is still my best friend
20. Miss her tons
21. She is the most alike me when it comes to mothering
22. I love to cook
23. I find weekly menu planning fun and challenging
24. I like to grocery shop
25. And go down every isle
26. I like to buy shoes
27. High Heels are my Favorite
28. Especially when worn with Jeans & Tank
29. I love expensive purses
30. But I only own two
31. I like to drink wine
32. Especially wine from Washington State & Oregon
33. I like to fly kites
34. Especially on the Coast of Washington
35. I sometimes miss the smell of the ocean
36. and the Puget Sound
37. I miss my family
38. But I love our new life in Texas
39. I love going to the gym in the morning
40. I sometimes have a hard time getting out of bed to get there
41. I love Dark Chocolate
42. I believe in Climate Change/Global Warming
43. I try to be an Eco-Friendly Mommy buying Green Products & Recycling
44. I care about the Planet
45. I live by lists
46. I have made 3 lists while typing this one
47. I need a hair cut
48. It's getting way to long
49. I love to read
50. Especially to my kids
51. Dr Seuss is my favorite
52. I sometimes wish I could write like that
53. I like to go to the movies
54. Pride & Prejudice (the BBC TV Mini Series) is my favorite Jane Austen
55. It's the show I watch when I am sick or under the weather or blue
56. I do like all movies based on Jane Austen stories
57. I like to read James Patterson's books
58. I usually finish them in 1-2 days
59. I love the Sun
60. Especially laying in it
61. I find it relaxing
62. I love to watch College Football
63. Fall is my favorite season
64. I was a Tomboy growing up
65. I hated dresses and skirts
66. Now I would rather wear a skirt then a pair of shorts
67. I didn't wear make up until college
68. Even now I still wear very little (little mascara, shadow and lip gloss)
69. I want to start a non-profit company
70. Something to benefit and help children in the USA
71. I am still brainstorming but have lots of ideas
72. I think the health care system in our country is a joke
73. Medical bills are horrible, even with insurance they can be expensive
74. I had two girls in the NICU & Pediatrics for 2 weeks
75. I am a skeptic, I think its good to question things in the world
76. I am open to new ways of living and ideas
77. I believe Gay & Lesbians are born that way and should be allowed to marry who they love
78. I find my self very liberal on a lot of issues in the world
79. I think our public education system is outdated and broken
80. I think kids should learn all year round w/2 week breaks every so often (equaling the time they are off for the summer and holiday's)
81. I am not a teacher but feel they should be paid more and based on performance (I want the best teaching my kids and I know that is not me)
82. I love my morning cup of Coffee
83. w/2% Milk and a Lil Sugar
84. I want to write more letters (Not E-Mails)
85. Just need to find/make the time to do it
86. I like to make crafty cards
87. But haven't since we moved
88. I talk to my mom everyday
89. She is good at calming me down
90. Especially when I get overwhelmed, yes it does happen
91. I think it would be fun to write a book
92. Not sure what about
93. I still love to color in coloring books
94. with Crayons
95. I feel immature at 31
96. I think I will always feel this way
97. I love to paint pictures
98. Although I am not very good at it
99. I use to make Stained Glass Windows, so fun!
100. I would love to own a vacation house or flat in a foreign country (probably somewhere in Europe)

Well, it's Monday.....

Yeah, still not a big fan of Monday's.....like I said on Friday I may work at home but Monday's are still no fun....One thing I can say about Monday's, I am really good about getting to the gym.....not sure why, must be cause it is the start of a new week.....So we had a great weekend of not doing much.....We decided not to paint our wall in our bedroom until yesterday.....I must say the Cargo Brown wall looks awesome....I think we are planning on spending the week in the guest bed so we can finish the other 3 wall with Antique Brown.....Man I can not wait to get a new bed (upgrade from our Queen to King or Cal King) and bedding!.....here is the Cargo Brown, its still drying...

So I don't know about you, but my kids want and think they need everything.....This weekend Kiara decided she wants a Pink Pedal Car and MJ wants a Pink Pedal Car, a Dora Bike with a Dora Helmet and a Barbie Pink Jeep.......Yes, MJ is my child that wants EVERYTHING she sees.....Which makes it hard to take her shopping.....Which I had to do this weekend....We try to split the girls up to get tasks done....but yesterday all 3 girls wanted to come grocery shopping with me....OH Brother.....Nothing like being half way done shopping when Kiara goes "I have to go potty mommy" and then Mikiah goes "Me too Mommy"......Man after about 10 min of potty-ing and trying to get MJ out of the Toy Isle. (that took what felt like forever)......we were back in the grove of shopping....I am happy to report both did actually had to go....and why do they have to put the bathroom by the Toy Isle?..(talk about smart placement)......So much for in and out shopping.....Oh well, I suppose I need to keep practicing my patience.....Hope Daddy had some good alone time with out the kiddos!!!.....So, while shopping I did find a new "Snack of the Moment".......I am addicted to Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks Ranch Flavor.....So freaking good.....I limit my self to the serving size of 10 cakes otherwise I think I would eat the whole bag......they are light and flavorful!.....And we even got done spending $15 less then I planned.....Which was nice considering how high food prices are getting......not to mention Gas......All which I find frustrating.....I swear gas was like $1.17 when I was first driving.....At least where we live isn't as high as California, Oregon or Washington.....we are anywhere between $3.39-$3.43 a gallon....Now multiply that by 30 gallons and you know what our gas bill every 3 weeks (at least it lasts that long one of the best things about me working home besides all the time with the kiddos).......I suppose I am just ranting.....Milk prices also make me mad (they are down a little bit)....but man remember when $1.99 a gallon was expensive.....now we pay any where from $2.99 a gallon to $4.89 a gallon......and we got through milk....probably 2-3 gallons of Fat Free a week and 1/2-3/4 gallon of 2% a week and Lila goes through 1/2-1 gallon of whole milk in a week.....You know I better stop before I get more pissy.......

Well not much else is new.....I will try to get some new pics of the kids taken to post for all those wanting more pics, Mom :~)...........

Update For Grandma Paula: Here is a pic of Kiara turing on the water outside.....

Happy Friday Everybody......

Ahhhhh, even though I work at home I still LOVE Fridays, mostly because Shawn will be home tonight for the weekend....and the girls too know that Friday's means Daddy will be home in the morning on Saturday.....I love that they are learning the days of the week........I do love weekends.......

So this Friday afternoon as been great and even better because I had recorded TV to watch.....Grey's Anatomy...(with us living in Central Time its on at 8.00pm and we are never ready to sit down and watch TV at 8.00pm).....I know it's probably only back for a few episodes but man so nice to have my TV world back in alignment.....Yes, I am a TV Junkie and like I said, I still blame the DVR....tooo convenient to record new shows and series.....Oh well.....at least there is always something to watch if/when I ever get bored....doesn't happen very often around here.....I actually have a hard time fitting in my TV shows.....

Today has been a quiet one....we have gone for our daily walk (gray and muggy out, but warm), I have done a little bit of work and now I am watching some TV while the girls nap....well while the twins nap....Lila only made it an hour in her crib for nap time today.....I figure and hour is better then nothing....Now she is sitting here next to me trying to figure out if she wants to sleep more or not.....but she has been doing great at night......she still wakes up once....usually around 3.00-3.30am....but falls fast back asleep.....until about 5.00am.....which works for us, she sleeps with daddy while I hit the gym.......

We have no big plans this weekend.....paint our accent wall in our master bedroom.....maybe hit Sea World....not too sure.....Just hope everyone has a great weekend....

I "WANNA" walk DB......NO! Me......

...Followed by screaming.....and pouting......Man this is becoming an every day, every walk argument.....and the outcome is always the same, one walks DB 1/2 way and the other walks DB the rest of the way home....Someday hopefully they will remember.....but when we start walking there is always whining.....and I explain it the same way each time.......Pretty soon I may just leave DB at home. Once we are on the walk they are all smiles and they both are pretty good at walking DB, it also helps that DB is 7 years old and knows when one of the twins is walking her.........So we just got home from a nice "Muggy" walk.....Yeah it has been a big muggy around here lately.....I suppose I will get use to it just like when Shawn and I lived in Boston for those two years......Not much else going on around here....Same, Same.....Just thought I would share a few pics of the girls walking today.....and a few from tomato watering (we forgot to water them last night and Kiara woke up after we put her to bed yelling "MOM, we forgot to water the Tomatoes!" She was pretty upset......So funny the things kids remember and when and how they react.)

This is Pissy Lila throwing a fit (she is a head thrower)

So Happy before the walk!

MJ Totally FUNNY FACE! (Love it!)

Kiara walking DB First.....

I think Lila likes walks cause she gets a snack! Yummy Grahams!

OK, both kids have given up walking DB (this is half way on our walk)

MJ has decided she wants to walk DB now.....Meanwhile, Kiara is throwing a fit behind me in the middle of the neighborhood!
Watering those tomatoes.....and Pepper Plant...(Kiara still inside thowing her fit)

Tuckered out Lila!

All about kiddos and down time....

This weekend was pretty much all about the kids and relaxing....We decided to put off the painting of our bedroom and focus on what the kids wanted to do this weekend.....So Saturday morning is was off to a park that is close by......on our way we picked up some Breakfast Burritos at some dive Mexican Joint with a drive through.....I must say they were super good.....and the Twins LOVED theirs.....After the park it was off to get some ingredients to make sugar cookies....and we were on the hunt for a dinosaur cookie cutter but to no avail.....the good news is the girls did settle for a butterfly one.....

After nap we made some butterfly and star cookies.....So freaking good....I have already added it at the Breezy Cook...Kiara and Mikiah were "Happy Helpers".....We all had a good time making them....they sure do love being in the kitchen.......We let the girls pick what they wanted for dinner....and their choice, YES you guessed it.....Blue Box Mac and Cheese with chopped up ham in it.....I will say there was none left.....All 3 of the girls chowed down...while Shawn and I had leftovers......The girls finished the night playing outside and watering the tomatoes.....they love to water.....and Kiara's new favorite is picking up dog poop (we have doggie rake and scoop)......She is actually really good at it.....Hmmmm, do I hear a new chore for her???? How much is should it be worth?? Hmmm...Shawn and I finished the night with a movie....Gone Baby Gone.....We both thought the movie was good....it definitely plays with your emotions about different outcomes to certain situations.....Casey Affleck really stepped up....

Today, well today was about relaxing, menu planning and a little bit of shopping, followed by some playing and dinner making........The best part was that I was able to go grocery shopping ALONE....No Kids, No Husband.....I must say it was pretty nice.....I usually bring Lila (cause she is such a Mommy's girl and was still nursing) but not today, I left during nap time.....and she was happy to be with Daddy and Uncle Joel when I got home....

Hmmmm what else did we do.......Lets see, Shawn and Joel played a new baseball game all day on the XBOX 360, they haven't had/played a baseball tourney in like 5 years....I do love cheap entertainment.....it also allowed me to catch up on posting some recipes while the girls watched a movie.....

Lila had a little bit of a rough day today......she got really constipated off and on today (all that whole milk, cheese and yogurt that she loves, "Come on Mom up the Fiber").....it was probably the worst constipation I have seen out of any of my kids....a whole lot of grunting with some minor crying and light screaming....Poor little girl......I actually started thinking "Did she eat something that I didn't see?, Could there be blockage?"......Minor Freak out on my part......but she did finally poop.....it took her a little bit to get it out and totally looked like it hurt.....and man did it wear her out...although she was totally chipper after the movement.....She still took no time to fall asleep tonight, tuckered little princess.....I did give her some pears, grams and a little bit of juice so hopefully tomorrow will be better.......MORE FIBER! This might be and excuse to make some more bran muffins......Hmmm....

Here are some pics from the weekend....

Park & Cookie Baking

Let there be air......

So the ceiling in the master bed is done......we still have the walls to do but we were able to put up are ceiling fan last night....AHHHH, is all I can say.....oh how I have been missing you "Mr Ceiling Fan"....We had one in our bedroom the whole time we lived in Issaquah.....and who knew that I would grow to love having a little bit of air flow......It looks great (just like the living room fan but smaller)......Hopefully the walls will be done this weekend.....

Last night was a much better night then the night before.....All the kids slept soundly....Lila got up at 5.00am for a 10 min snuggle before I put her in bed with Shawn and headed to the gym.....I pushed myself harder today and phew, I am tired tonight...."Feel the burn"......I still must tell you again.....I am in love with Starbucks Pike Place Roast.......So good! My new morning favorite cup of jo.....

So today was Lila's 1 year appointment.....I know, I know she is already 13 months old.....anyway she is doing great.....She is average on height and head circumference sitting right around the 45th-55th percentile.....but her weight totally different story......lets just say she is thin.....although I like to call it fit.....She weighs 19 lbs 2 oz, which according to the growth charts (I really don't pay attention to those) she falls in the 15 percentile.....mostly due to how active she is, burning all the calories she is eating.......So, Little Miss Lila needs to continue to eat more and drink more whole milk, which she has been doing so we are off to a good start.....I swear everyday she eats and drinks a little more......Our Doctor is not too concerned but said she would like to see her put on a little bit more weight before her 15th month appt......"Eat Lila Eat".......On a bittersweet note Lila is almost weaned, she has not wanted to nurse much, usually only 1 time a day and not showing any interest the rest of the day......I must say.....It has been wonderful nursing her this past year.....totally different experience then the Pumping I did for the twins for their 1st year.......equally as rewarding though.....I suppose it will be nice to have my body back....

It's the little things.....

Ahhhh, so my hubby brought me home a little gift yesterday.....a pound of whole bean Pike Place Roast and a new spring coffee cup......So sweet of him to surprise me and I must say I am drinking the roast right now out of my new cup and man is it goooood coffee. I feel this is one of the best roasts of Starbucks Coffee I have ever had. So good and smooth.......it will definitely be in the rotation for as long as they continue to roast this blend........

So it is a good thing that Shawn brought some coffee home because I needed it this morning..(mind you we always have plenty of coffee).....I believe we had a night from crazy land......We have not had a night like last night in ages....All 3 girls were up off and on all night.....It sucked, I would lay down (on the couch since our guest bedroom is dog-free, our bedroom is torn up and we are watching Mayday, who will pee in the house if you don't watch him, he has marked in the house once or twice thank gawd on the tile not the carpet, and as I am typing this I just caught him peeing on the girls table outside, gerrrh!).....like I said I would lay down and then Lila would start crying, and then she would fall back asleep and then Mikiah was screaming about an accident she just had in her bed, and then Lila would wake up again (probably from MJ's screaming) and then they both were back to sleep and then Kiara woke up yelling about something....and of course Lila was up again.....So I must say I feel like I was awake all night....Finally at 4.00am I went picked Lila up and grabbed Shawn and headed to the guest bedroom....Locking the dogs downstairs.....DB was fine, she has taken to sleeping in our closet on a blanket and didn't even get up and Mayday was sleeping on the floor in the living room....I must say I got my best sleep from 4.15am to 6.15am.....which means I did not get up to work out.....I guess I will have to work out harder tomorrow or walk a few laps around the hood today.....Any I am just happy to be drinking this New, well Old roast from Starbucks.....Love that they are going back to their roots.....Well I am off to do a whole bunch of work........

A fun weekend all the way around.....

Ahhhh, I am sitting here on the couching enjoy a cool morning in SA after a great workout. Its 49 degrees out right now, so nice to be able to have the windows open. Although it will be for a short time as we will reach the upper 70's by noontime....I am just loving the weather down here....of course ask me again in July.....When we will probably be in the 90's all the time....

So we did so much this weekend it makes me tired just thinking about it....Saturday morning we went out to breakfast at Le Peep......after we helped Uncle Joel with a flat tire on the White Squall (Old White Truck)....The tire actually took up a good part of the day, since it was not able to be repaired, we cruised around with Uncle Joel to find one that fit the truck.....Always fun to drive around and explore different parts of SA. After helping Joel get the new tire on the truck it was off to Costco for us......We actually had to come home and get the checkbook because their debit machine was down.....Who still carries their check book these days.....anyway after Costco Joel and Mayday came over and brought the White Squall over, (they are paving at Joel's apt complex and he is going to be out of town part of this week).....I was feeling lazy that Saturday night so we also went out to some Tex-Mex Burritos at Habanero's Grill.......so good and cheap for a family of 5......

Sunday we did some meal planning over coffee......Lila, Mikiah and I went shopping for the groceries.....while Kiara and Dad taped our Master Bedroom....We have decided to paint the ceiling now so we can get our ceiling fan up..since our room is the only bedroom with out a fan.....but I think now that we have the first coat on and the room torn up we might as well paint the whole room.....we are doing 3 walls a light Antique Brown and 1 wall a dark Cargo Brown......I can not wait to see what it will look like......Last night we became guests in our own house staying in the guest bedroom, and I must say totally weird to be sleeping upstairs.....but the room is great and comfortable.....So once our room is all painted I will get pics up....

In between painting and nap time for the girls, I worked out in the yard.....Raking up some leaves, cutting old rose buds and trimming them a little bit and weeding.....We mowed, watered the lawn and tomatoes and Shawn cut down one of the big Cactus plants in our backyard.....and trimmed back the other one.....Oh man it is so nice to have one of those out of here.....they get out of control so fast.....now we are just timing to see how long it will take for it to come back.....here is a sort of before pic....and after pics.....Thanks babe, it makes the yard feel bigger and now safer....

This pic is from December.....you can see both Cactus in the background...

And now...(of course we trimmed our Thorny Citrus Tree too, now we will have to wait to see if it is a Lemon Tree or Sour Orange Tree, but I must tell you the leaves smell so good, like yummy citrus)

Sour Orange or Lemon.....we shall see.....

We finished off the night with a super good fresh pork dish......I will load up on the Breezy sometime today....It was soooo good and simple that Shawn asked for it to be added into the rotation.....then it was bath time for the girls, quick walk around the neighborhood and then bedtime.....And I must say it is so nice that all 3 go down by 8.30ish....I just love it....Lila still wakes up at least once at night, but falls back asleep pretty fast....its all good......

Ok, so now that I typed all this is doesn't seem like we did as much as I was thinking.....oh well, a good weekend had by all!

Always trying to do our part......

Well today Shawn and I signed up to have 60% of our electricity come from Windtricity. I am sure we will up it to 100% after we head in to summer and learn what are electricity bill will be like with the A/C running more to cool us from all the heat San Antonio gets during the summer .....So it costs a little more a month, we are talking a trip to Starbucks or one lunch out, basically for us it was another no brain-er decision to help reduce our Carbon Footprint.....I try to do all I can, knowing that I will not be able to give up our Suburban or those disposable diapers anytime soon.....We have CFL and or LED lights/bulbs for all our lights, majority of the products we buy for cleaning are green, we buy many organic products and local produce, we have a washer & dryer, dishwasher, and refrigerator that are all energy efficient and/or use less water, we have 3 big bins of recycling overflowing every week, and now we have wind powered electricity.....Ahhh, we are so excited to be able to take advantage of this offer......Just wanted to share since Earth Day is coming up in April 22nd.....

And then there was a gate.....

Yes.....we have finally put a permanent gate at the top of the stairs.....We decided to go with one that was easy for guests to operate, it lets them know if the gate is locked correctly by an indicator and this one has the benefit of a motion light for the late night trips up the stairs for me (I have a nightlight on the stairs but another light will be nice).....Melissa, I believe it is the same gate you have at the top of your stairs.....Anyway, I must say it is so nice to not have to worry about Lila playing upstairs in the playroom now that she is so mobile...I am always up there watching them or working while they are playing in the playroom....but it will be nice to not have to worry about her going near the old/temp gate we had........and let me tell you....she just loves the new gate....For now anyway......

Oh, and here are a few pics from breakfast this morning.....I certainly have two great little helpers....for the most part they love helping with Lila....

And a Solution.....

First off thanks to Molly for her recommendation on Klean Kanteen. I seriously think she should start a Mommy Recommendation Column or something!!!.....So, I hopped on the Internet last night and did a little research on Stainless Steel Bottles, Aluminum bottles and plastic bottle alternatives.....I went with Molly's recommendation and purchased 2 27 oz bottles for Shawn and me and 2 12oz bottles for the twins....and if they like them then I will get one with a sippy cap for Lila (which are on back order right now)......I found they are no more expensive then the #7 plastic bottles.......So just to let all you Nalgene bottle users and Camelbak bottles users there are other options......Which is great because I really didn't want to buy bottled water for the gym!.....We should have them by mid next week and I will let you know what we think!

Water Bottles, Water Bottles, Water Bottles.....

Well, I don't know about you, but I have been watching all the reports on water bottles and safety....I caught both Today Show pieces (yesterday and today)....Man talk about crazy. So some scientists are saying that we should not use water bottles with the Recycling Numbers 3,6,7.....Can I tell you that pretty much every water bottle I use (to help save the environment), is a number 7......Both my Camelbak and my Nalgene bottles and not to mention the kids Nalgene bottles....SO we are purging them from the house....bye bye bottles......off to the recycling bin you go (So glad SA Recycling Program will take them, I don't feel as bad about getting rid of them).....I figure better to be safe then sorry, we are switching back to GLASS glasses for drinking water at the house and switching back to SINGLE use bottled water for the gym and outings......and we will just be diligent on recycling those after 1 use.........For the kids, who do not want to purge their water bottles, they are quite attached and actually take them to bed.....we will have to do some sort of project with them......maybe plant some seed in them or something........Some sort of science/growing experiment......I haven't figured it out yet.....but will soon......We may just be crazy and throwing away money, since there are no long term studies on the affects of some of these chemicals that could be leaching out.....the short term ones are enough for me and I am done taking chances with my family......There is nothing like a good old glass (made of glass)......Hey and it keeps the water colder longer!

Here is a Facts Sheet from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (http://www.iatp.org/)

http://www.iatp.org/iatp/publications.cfm?accountID=421&refID=102202

*if the link doesn't work due to lots of people trying to access, I have the doc and can email it

We love our new Library.....

The girls and I headed to storytime today at the library this morning, funny its the same day and same time as our old library. The John Igo Library opened in December and is super close, maybe 1.5- 2 miles. The girls and I got a library card and of course the picked out 20 or so books.....they had fun doing self check out......and then off to storytime we went. They were so excited all the way there and the whole time we were checking out books...."Mom can we go in the room now".....and then when we got in they both got "SHY".....So funny. They would even say their name or their ages.....but as soon as all the kids were in there and they started to sing their welcome song they were back in it.....They opened up and were attentive......They ended up having a really good time....and they loved doing the craft project at the end of Storytime....The theme today was rain (it sprinkled this morning) and so the girls made rain drops.....they were pretty cool.......here are a few pics outside the library after storytime.....I didn't realize how bright it was.....love the squinting...and don't you just love their outfits.....YES, they picked them out......MJ LOVES dresses and skirts.....as soon as she picked out this dress to wear today, Kiara had to wear hers too......they are so funny..........

They are in Bloom....

Ok, I am not a green thumb and I do not know much about flowers and plants.....I do know how to grow tomatoes and a few other veggies and that is about it.....When we moved into our house these rose bushes were overgrown and in horrible condition...We did some non-professional pruning and now look.....they are pretty cool.....who knew that I would love to look at my rose bushes.....and get excited when in bloom.....

THE RED ROSE BUSH

THE PINK ROSE BUSH (It needs some work)

And all was Silent.....

So last night was the first night in a super long time.....since Lila was sleeping in her cradle in our room in Issaquah that I did not have to get up in the middle of the night.....I did check on her around 5.00am to make sure she was ok because I am so use to her being up a few times a night, but she did not get up until the twins were up at 7.30am.....not even a peep.....Lila seems to love her new bedtime routine and especially bedtime story in her room with just Mommy and Daddy.....So happy that she has become such a happy good sleeper and that we were able to get her to adapt to her new routine so quickly and with virtually little/no crying......only that first night for brief amount of time......she now falls asleep pretty much right when we lay her down.......it just feels good for Shawn and I to have our nights and early mornings back again.....All the kids down by 8.45pm.....and up at 7.30am....I still can not imagine getting the girls up earlier to get on their school bus when the time comes.....If we stay living here they will have to catch the bus at 7.00am, good thing is the bus stop is right at our corner....Yes, we get to see all the school buses every morning.....the girls LOVE school buses....and can not wait to go to school.....

Final 4 Saturday.....

Ahhh, what a day we have had......and the weather today was gorgeous....a nice 85-87 degrees....with no humidity.....So we headed out the door around 10.30am......Off to downtown we went.....We had a great time down at River Center, The Riverwalk and at the Big Dance/Pontiac Garage Fan Fair.....Talk about electric......River Center Mall and the Riverwalk were full of fans and News Crew, we actually sat and watched part of ESPN's College Gameday......Just packed but awesome.....We saw tons of fans for Memphis and Kansas.....after getting some shirts and enjoying some people watching we headed over to the Convention Center for the Pontiac Garage at the Final Four , it was actually on a blocked off street next the the convention center (Hoop-City was in the Convention Center)....It was pretty cool.....they had a big stage, we caught most of Puddle of Mudd's performance.....which was good, they played a few new songs and few old favorites.....you know the kind you know the words to and then reality hits you and your like, Yeah I guess that was Puddle of Mudd that sang that song....any way.....Here is a video of when we rolled in.....Mikiah was dancing until we turned the camera on her....


And here we moved a little bit away from the stage, lets just say it was LOUD....the girls are enjoying some Kettle Corn and of course I am eating guess what.....a $3 Gordita.....I know addicted.....I now think mine are equally good if not better.....Love the end of this video....I really do not think the kids thought they were being recorded....



And lastly here are some pics from Joel/Shawn's night at the Final Four Salute and from today.....


We were not downtown for too long today.....We actually made it home in time to mow the lawn (yes we dropped serious coin at Home Depot last night).....I must say our lawn looks tons better.....we still have more work to do tomorrow but that will be fun.......The girls love being outside.....we finished the night with some Homemade BBQ Burgers and Ritas on the Rocks......Sooooo Good.....On one final sleeping note......I must say, Miss Lila is turning into a good sleeper.....She now falls right asleep in her crib with a little hand holding....I think I sit in there for about 5 min after I lay her down hold her hand for a little bit while she finally drifts off the sleepy land......She still wakes up 2-3 times a night and I run up and stay with her until she is back asleep...its usually only a few mins...and she still joins us around 5.00am every morning....I am just so happy to have her finally getting some good sleep.....Like I said yesterday I do miss sleeping with her but it is nice to cuddle with the hubby all night........

We are getting there.....

The Final Four is here.......So last night Shawn and Joel headed downtown for an event at the Final Four 2008 Men's Final Four Salute Presentation.

Description of event:
The Men's Salute Presentation is the first official event of the Final Four. This special evening is hosted by Jim Nantz, CBS Sports, and includes an introduction of the Final Four teams, conversations with the Final Four coaches and video highlights of the tournament to date as well as each team's journey to San Antonio. Immediately following the presentation is a VIP reception (heavy hors d'oeuvres and cocktails).

He got the tickets from his boss who got them from the VP of Sales at his work......Anyway I guess none of them could go....So convenient for Shawn who I told to take his brother Joel knowing that those two would get the most out of it plus in the move I donated most of my business attire clothing (which was the dress code for the event)....So much easier for a guy to put on a suit and tie then me have to figure out some outfit on such short notice.....Sounds like they had a good time....

While they were out having a good time I was home with the girls having a good time in.....we walked the neighborhood and met some more neighbors, we watered the tomatoes and other plants, can I just say one of my rose bushes looks amazing....and we continued with our bedtime routine.....and let me tell you Lila is hilarious......we did the usual read a story to the twins, put them in bed and then Lila and I headed to her room....Where she let out a brief cry while I was getting her ready for bed....then we sat down to read her new favorite book, Good Night Seattle. Once I turned the last page she gave me a death grip hug around my neck.....I am assuming she knew she as going to bed.....so I clicked on the sound machine, turned on her fish music and gave her a big squeeze and a kiss and laid her down in her crib.....she reached for my hand, so I sat down next to her crib and she put her head down fast, grabbed my hand and I swear she scared herself to sleep....I think she was afraid that she would still be awake when I got up to leave.....she was out in 2 min.......I moved my hand got up and left.....she did not make a peep until 11.30pm or so.....and again at 3.30am....for those I just went in and turned on her fish music and she was fast asleep.....She was finally up at 5.00am this morning....which is fine.....I figure I either need to nurse her before I work out or when I get home....so 5.00am works (I leave around 5.10 am to hit the gym) or 6.30am works.....I must say I do miss sleeping with the little sweet heart but its so nice to not have to worry about her in our bed.....Now if we could just get nap times to be a little better......she still doesn't like going down for her naps.....but we will continue to try.....

Hope all has a great weekend.....I think we are planning on hitting the Final Four activities tomorrow.....they have a big free festival downtown, with Music and Food.....I think Puddle of Mud and Kidd Rock play tomorrow....with All American Rejects and Taylor Swift playing on Sunday and I think Fall Out Boy plays tonight before the big fireworks show.....Shawn and I were talking this morning he really should have taken today off so we could go to the free practices, oh well.....We still may try to go down for the All-Star College game tonight....its free too......Dora is also coming to Sea World this weekend so we may try to fit that in on Sunday.....Since we already have our seasons passes and parking pass it would be another *Free* thing for us to do...I LOVE FREE FUN......and somewhere in there we will have to hit Home Depot to finally get a lawn mower and all the stuff we need to maintain the yard....our yard is in need of some serious mowing.....I hear dollar signs......"Cha-Ching Cha-Ching"......

There just comes a time.....

So as many of you know Lila is a different sleeper then the twins were......partly because she was/is nursing and partly because Shawn and I never brought the twins to bed with us because we didn't have room and we could never justify bringing only 1........Now that Lila is down to nursing first thing in the AM, around lunch time and right after dinner, I finally decided that it was high time she learn to fall asleep on her own.....We have always laid her down in her crib at night but she usually is up between 12am-2am......and me not being patient usually picked her up and brought her to bed.....Well lately she hasn't been sleeping well in our bed, tossing and turning....So yesterday I made the commitment to get her to take her naps in her crib (she usually naps on the couch in the bobby) as well as put her down awake at night with a set bedtime and routine.....I have taken off from my morning work outs for the rest of the week to make sure we get her to stay in her crib at night......

I must say I hate the whole crying it out thing.....I think about the twins....they had and have such good sleep habits and I want to make sure Lila has those same ones....and it would be nice to have all the girls down at once for nap......So I changed Lila's batteries in her fish on her crib, put a few of her favorite stuffed animals in her crib and created a new nap time routine and bed time routine.....So nap time went ok, after I read to the twins and put them down, Lila and I went in her room and read a book and then I laid her down.....I must say she was not happy about being in her crib, but once she saw her fish moving and listened to the song she relaxed a bit, I also had her sound machine set to Brooke (sound of a stream) and she finally fell asleep......I think she cried off and on for about 5-8 min......which was not to bad, I actually was expecting worse......when it finally was silent I went in and checked on her and she was sleeping on top of her teddy bear right under her fish......it was pretty cute......but didnt look very comfortable.....oh well......She napped for about and hour and 1/2.....which was ok for her first day......

Bedtime went pretty well too.....Similar routine.....Dad and Mom read to all 3 girls in the twins room and laid them down for bed......Then we head to Lila's room, changed her and read a story just for her.....and then we turned on her sound machine and her fish (set to Cannon in D, that song always makes me think of weddings) and laid her down....so her bedtime is about 8.30-8.45pm......Last night she did not like the fact that she was going to bed, but yet she was super tired.....I sat on her floor while she cried for the first 3-4 min and assured her all was ok and that I was there for her......then I gave her a kiss and rubber her head and said "I love you and good night" and left the room.....she of course began screaming.....but it didn't last long...probably 3-4 min.....and then she let out cries off and on for another 5 min and then 'Poof'......Silence......after about 20 min I went and checked on her......she had moved her teddy bear to the other side of her crib and was sleeping sitting up under her fish......So cute, he head was bobbing around....so I went in and laid her down and put her super soft Pottery Barn doggie next to her......she didn't wake up.....I checked on her again before I went to bed.....sound asleep......Shawn and I were/are so proud of her.....she woke up around 2.30am.......so I went in and turned her fish on to music and held her hand for about 2 min and then she rolled over cuddled up to her soft doggie and went back to sleep.....until 6.15am!!!!! So she was in her crib from 8.3oish until 6.15ish.....She of course wanted to nurse which was why she woke up.....which was fine with me....but I would usually still be working out at this time.....So I am hoping to get her to sleep until 6.30am....So that she can get up after I get home from the gym........So far so good.....Don't get me wrong I love sleeping with Lila but this is best for all of us........especially her.......Hopefully today will go just as well....

Yeah for walking....

So the girls and I have been going on walks with daddy every night.....Well we now started walking during the day....today being the 2nd mid day walk.....and what a good walk it was....the girls say "Hi" to everyone who is out in the neighborhood....its pretty cute.....Anyway, today on our walk we met some more Mommies.....Yeah! One mom stands out in particular.....Her name is Rachael....and her husband is actually the Head of our HOA.....anyway she invited me to come hang out with her, her kids and other moms anytime....She mentioned that they usually all get together around 3.30pm.....in someones driveway...... She also has 3 girls 4, 3, and 5 weeks.....I look forward to joining her and the other moms in the neighborhood....She also mentioned they do Halloween Parties every year....and Kid's night out at our neighborhood meeting area....She is very nice and seems to be about my age.....So Yeah! Between that and the library I think the girls and I have some friends to meet and hang out with!.....Now if I could just find a good preschool.....

My Chatty Cathy......