Holiday decorating :sigh:

So in order to protect my precious ornaments and tree, I set up in the dining area of our kitchen. It isnt what I would ideally like, but it will work. It does make for a pleasant eating environment. I just dont trust the duo. We will put up a small litle tree with the ornaments we made earlier out in the living room on a table. They can look at that. That one will go in the window.

Not looking so alike?????

I was so surprised. They look alike so much, but then this picture, they look so different. Connor is thicker and about a pound bigger. Logan is on the left.

Our dinner- I didn't do too bad for my first try

New Traditions....

New traditions are hard. This year, I was kind of given the short end by having to work both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. This prevents me from coming home timely for the holidays. At least we will head home Christmas day to see family and have a couple of days to feel the warmth of family.

This year, I am attempting my own try at making a Thanksgiving meal. We will miss Dad's fabulous juicy bird, Mom Karen's wonderful salad, and Mom Deb's corn dish and green bean caserole. It will be so hard to not have the aroma of the Thanksgiving holiday amongst family.

New traditions start. I promised Trevor a True Thanksgiving meal complete with pumpkin pie. So tonight I scour the web, trying to find the best way to cook this bird that sits frozen on my counter (God help us all). We will have the staples, corn, stuffing, mashed potoatos and gravy, green beans and pumpkin and caramel apple pie for dessert. it will likely be way more food than our little family of 5 can eat, but that is the beauty of Turkey sandwiches for the next few days:)

:sigh:

I am sad. Sad, because I often question whether it was the best decision to take my boys so far from their family. But am I not teaching them the importance of closeness amongst your immediate family?

I miss everyone. We all do. But this, like many more to come, is a new tradition.

Finally, I can say I met my first goal....52lbs gone!

Here is me, weighing in at 198 very unhealthy pounds, last year at Christmas. These pictures were the inspiration behind my quest to lose weight and better myself. I was in a size 18-20

Tonight we saw jason Mraz in concert. I bought this t-shirt and when it came, it was skin tight. I thought, Man! I am going to have to lose more weight to fit it for the concert. As you see here, I was able to even layer it. Here I am weighing in at 146lbs. I am now in a size 10 (some 8's). I am not done yet. I have another 15 to lose before i am comfortably in my ideal weight range, but for now, I am on cloud 9!
I actually have a butt and a defined waist. It has been since 1996 since i weigh what i do. I think I am going to cry.......

Me showing off my O Lover T. This was the best concerrt i have seen -tops-ever!!!

Can you believe it???

The Christmas season is almost here?????????

So Trevor and I are making ornaments that will be on our little tree this year. The big tree is going in the kitchen where it can be viewed safely by us (with supervision), LOL.

Out-takes for our Chrismas card pictures

Now that I am feeling better, I decided to post a few pictures of the boys that came from our shoot in Kirkwood, MO. I wasnt pleased because I had to use available light as it was nearing dusk and was cloudy. A lot of the pictures blurred, but i was able to catch a nice one of the 3 of them to use for our cards (you will have to wait for that!!!). Our cards this year are being made by Sugar and Spice designs. Her name is Laura. You can look at her site to the left. She makes wonderful cards and announcements and is a Work at Home mom of twin girls. She is very easy to communicate with and will custom make your cards to look just the way you want them to look.

I am healing well, but now the duo have colds. Hopefully they will get better before the holidays.

Down for the count.....

I ended up having oral surgery to remove my 2 furthest back top molars. I had a nice infection going on in my jaw thanks to my impacted wisdom teeth. They broke my molars below the gum line causing old fillings to fall out and then my teeth to crack. There is an infection in the sac surrounding the top upper left wisdom tooth and they are imbedded at at a 45 degree angle. I am on antibiotics for another week and then back to the dentist to check the progress of the infection. Today is the first day I have felt somewhat better.
In January, Mom is going to come out and stay with me while i have my 4 wisdom teeth removed. I will be put to sleep for this surgery. I wish I had for this past one as the shots were painful.
That is all for now. I am resisting the urge ot post pictures we did for our Christmas cards. some were really cute. some were blurry becasue the lighting was low and the duo is too fast for a slow shutter, LOL. I might post a few.....

An all-too-quick visit with Nanny and Grandad...

Nanny and Grandad arrived last night about 6 pm and we jetted over to the hotel for some fun in the pool. I, for one, am a huge fan of the hot tub. Sorry for the quality of the photos, but I used my phone to take these since I forgot my camera.

We had a nice day. Nanny treated all 3 boys to haircuts at the mall. Now all three look ready to get those fall pictures I have been meaning to get to. Next week, for sure!

Then, we went to Toys R Us so the boys could look at stuff that interested them for Christmas. Trevor picked out what he liked and the boys picked out a coupel things they liked and nanny was happy to have that quest out of the way. They did quite well and I know Nanny is very happy with their choices.

Next, we took a long drive. I drove mom down to De Soto and showed her the nursing home which I work at. Then I drove her down where I go to school and last drove her to the town we are hoping to move to in February called Farmington. It is a wonderful little town. Has all of the small-town charm with larger town amenities. I showed her the private school I am hoping to enroll Trevor and the duo in (for preschool).

It was a short visit. I will miss them, but will see them in a few short weeks for the holiday. Can't wait till then.

Check out my favorite spaces to the left....

These ladies are also moms of twins who are making a living with their own amazing talents and passions. They have wondeful products and are worth the time to view the sites for Christmas ideas. Laura will be doing my Christmas cards this year once we get our fall pictures taken (soon we hope).
These ladies I have knows for a couple of years are very dedicated to their businesses and successes. Pass them on and spread the word!

uh-oh.........bwoke......

That dreaded day has come. The day I knew would eventually come that I knew I was fully defeated by the duo. Last night, they managed to tip over my curio cabinet. They suffered no injuries. John ended up with a few minor cuts from cleaning. It was a good thing I was at work, because I think child abuse would have been a factor. I know, I know, it is all material and you cant take it with you when you're gone. The fact is, those were (and I say were) my priceless, irreplaceable memories. sure, I can buy and replace a few pieces, but not the china Grandnan had (2 pieces shattered). Thankfully the rest was salvaged and one piece I super-glued back, but will never be the same. One piece that meant the world to me was a little precious moments figurine that Jor and Alanna brought to me in 1995 of 3 little bunnies that were gathered around a birthday cake. Jor was just a little tiny thing, and Alanna a baby, and they said that was us celebrating my birthday. I cried when I saw it crumbled into 6 pieces. I was able to super-glue the whole thing back together. Proof that our family bonds are so strong. Many pieces were lost, and many were unscathed- go figure.

A word to you all with small ones, if it means something to you, lock it up until they are old enough not to touch and may the words "uh-oh....bwoke" not be spoken in your houses.