Best family...

We had a wonderful weekend. Yesterday we went to the beach and Bubba Gump's in John's Pass. It was a beautiful day. The girls had a lot of fun. Brianna kept calling Bubba Gumps "bubble gum", and was so excited about trying bubble gum for the first time. We kept reiterating, no, bubba gump...and she was so disappointed...but got a lollipop after dinner, so all was good ;).

Today, we, well Nelson, totally redid the front of our house. All of our plants had died, and we decided we wanted red mulch, and to make it look better. I'm so impressed with all he did out there. It's almost finished, and it looks SO much better. I did tons of laundry, and am trying to get the house in order for our guests this week :). Anna and Shawn get here Wednesday, and Alison will be here Thurs.! I'm so excited to see them, and excited to see Evan Baptised on Saturday.

The girls were playing in their playroom today, and Brianna asked me to leave. She said, "you can go now, we're fine by ourselves." They are 3 going on 15!!! Way too big. So so funny. They were pretending Mikayla was the mom, and Brianna was her daughter, and Mikayla said naptime, which Brianna didn't like, so she said I'm going to get my real mom...and came and got me. LOL.

The Cost of Children

The Cost of Children

This was posted on a message board I read...

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into: * $8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, * $171.08 a week. * A mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up.

You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, * never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies, and * wish on stars. You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for: * retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, * taking the training wheels off a bike, * removing a splinter, * filling a wading pool, * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the: * First step, * First word, * First bra, * First date, * First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!! Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

So much going on!

I haven't posted in a couple weeks because we've been super busy. Our cousins were in town which was so fun. The girls wanted to emulate everything their 8 and 10 year old cousins did, it was really cute. When I was young and my cousin, Sabrina, would come spend some time with my Grandparents I wanted to have my hair like hers, and dress like her....and now my children are doing that with her children...crazy. We just celebrated Nelson's b-day...he turned 27. It reminded me of his 19th b-day (the first day he flirted with me ;) ). Now here we are with our children and we're going to celebrate 6 years of marriage in June.

The girls are amazing. So fun, and full of joy. They are needing their own space more and more. I have to separate them lately a lot just because they get on each other's nerves over silly things. I think it's just the age. Usually they are sweet with each other though :).

So much going on...

Nelson and I had a wonderful romantic getaway a couple weeks ago...we went horseback riding on the beach, went on a ghost tour, shopped in a cute downtown area, and enjoyed some us time :)












We have been so busy, our cousins are in town and we got to spend time with them at Disney. Luckily they will be here next weekend for more fun! The girls start dance this week and I'm ecstatic!!!




I am praying we are blessed with a healthy babe soon, and since more people are reading this blog I'm going to not share that aspect of our lives on this bloggety-blog. I don't know how long it will take, or what will happen...just please keep us in your prayers. Speaking of babes, the girls met my friend's baby today. It was so sweet. I think when we do have another one the biggest issue will be that they help too much ;).



Did I mention I was offered a job?!?!? UGH! I was so flattered...(the director at the girls' school said a position is opening up for next school year, and she would love to have me)...perfect hours, 1/2 of tuition...BUT, if we are able to have a babe..........I am going to be honest and tell her we are trying to add to our family and it's not the right timing, but to think of me in the future (hopefully). I told her I'd think about when she brought it up....so now I'm going to have to talk to her tomorrow since I have to pay their Feb. tuition (HELLO...how is it already February?!?!?)
Hopefully the job's available in 3 or so years ;).

Wacky Day/Donuts with Dad Day :)

The girls had "Wacky hat and socks day" at school today. They also got to get to school early with their Daddy and enjoy some donuts. It was such a nice morning. I worked the book fair, and got to see the girls have some special time with their Daddy. They also all joined in prayer before starting school. It was so nice to see all the dad's and their kiddos out there. Here are some cute pictures...

25 things

25 random facts about me...

1. I have biked down a volcano in Maui.
2. I have gone swimming with dolphins.
3. I have gone horseback riding on the beach.
4. I have done the first 3 things with my husband who is my very best friend.
5. I love sweets, but am super picky about them...I will also not eat white chocolate.
6. I hate nuts, but I love snickers...weird, i know :)
7. I was alone when I found out I was having twins (Nelson was in a meeting) It was so overwhelming, exciting, scary, and shocking.
8. My girls were born at the same hospital where I was born...24 years later :)
9. I wish I took more time to catch up on my scrapbooking....I have thousands (literally) of pictures from the last year that need scrapbooked!
10. I freak out when I get my hair cut. I have cried before because I haven't liked it...I usually need a change so I chop it off, then regret it later...I needed a change in Nov., and now I'm growing it back out ;).
11. When we first bought a house I told Nelson we had to have pest control. I am terrified of roaches and rodents.
12. We have only been married 5 1/2 years and we've lived in an apt. and 3 houses. Yes, it's ridiculous, and I'm never moving again ;).
13. I was a teacher for 3 years, and I don't think I want to teach again, and the idea of having no clue about what I want to do freaks me out.
14. I love reading celebrity gossip ;)
15. I love Broadways...I've seen RENT, Les Mis, Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway in NY, and out of NY I've seen Wicked, RENT, I love you you're perfect, now change....ready to see more ;)
16. My girls are only three, and they've been to North Carolina, New York, Seattle, all over FL, (and St. John when they were in my belly :P)
17. I pray we can have another baby.
18. I had a miscarriage in October, and it turned out it was a partial molar pregnancy so I have had weekly blood draws from Nov.-end of Dec., and then now monthly to make sure there are no cancer cells due to the partial molar. Scary.
19. I have met Pres. Clinton and Hillary Clinton. They were so nice!
20. Some moms say they don't have time to shower...this has not and never will be me. I can't start my day without a shower.
21. My siblings mean the world to me, and I love watching them grow up and seeing the paths they choose for themselves.
22. I wish my best friends lived closer.
23. Shopping is my therapy :).
24. I am loyal, sensitive, and an over analyzer.
25. I am a reality tv junkie :)

Sweet words...

Friday I took the girls to a Mommy and Me that a local parent magazine puts on. The girls had a lot of fun as usual, and on the way home Brianna said...,"Mommy, I love being your friend". Is that not the sweetest thing ever?!?!? I just love them more than words can describe.

Friday night they spent the night at their best friend's. It's so funny when Nelson gets home from work I need a break, and complain about whining or whatever occured, and the moment they are away from me I miss them and feel like a piece of me (2 pieces) are missing. They had a great time...such big girls.

We had a nice day at Animal Kingdom yesterday. We left early and ate dinner by home...such a nice perk of having passes you don't have to rush through to see everything.

I have to mention...on Saturday I was driving home and Nelson called me and put Mikayla on the phone. My chatterbox and I were on the phone for almost 20 min. It was so awesome. Just another thing though to show me how big my babies are getting. Geez. I do love all the new things they do though :)