eight month update

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It’s amazing to think back to a year ago when my belly was just starting to show a little bit and I was still a month or so away from feeling the girls moving around.  And here we are, a year later, with nearly mobile little baby girls!

Ellie has not started crawling, but she is an avid roller.  If I turn my head for just a moment, she is already on the other side of the room!  She loves to sit up on the floor and investigate toes, blow bubbles with her mouth and kick things.  While she often comes across as the more docile, less aggressive baby, Frank and I have both seen her steal her fair of toys from her more outgoing twin sister.  Ellie seems to be about an inch or so longer than her sister, but they are both comfortably wearing 12-18 month clothing.  As always, Ellie seems to be just a little bit more reserved than her sister, but once she warms up to people, she flashes these warm, inviting smiles that make me melt.  Ah!  Love this girl!

Carrie is ::THIS CLOSE:: to crawling.  She gets up on her knees all the time and rocks back and forth.  While I’m excited to see her experience this new world of mobility, I am acutely aware that their time as babies is going to be over before I know it.  I am trying to savor each moment.  Carrie is our social butterfly – she loves to smile and flirt with people when we are out.  She is very chatty and she has this million mega-watt smile that she flashes at anyone who pays her any attention.  When she really turns on her smile, her little knows scrunches up and her eyes dance.  Love this girl, too!

Both girls have bright blue eyes, which leads me to believe that they inherited their mama’s blue eyes for good.  The girls are both eating champs, although Ellie is a little bit pickier about what she likes.  They have been able to feed themselves their bottles for a while, which is a HUGE time saver at meal times.  Now we need to master the sippy cups…!

gratuitous baby pictures

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Our life is busy and it is full and it is happy.

We love spending time with our girls.  We love learning more about them and playing with them and snuggling!

Miss Carrie is our little giggler.  She has a big personality and loves to play and gab.  Her favorite thing is to squeal loudly.

I love when she scrunches up her nose!

Miss Ellie is a sweet little love bug.  She seems to sit back and observe things – looking around rooms, taking in the sights.  She can get chatty and giggly, but not as easily as her sister.

Ellie saying, “I’m just hanging out here, taking in the weather and the sky and the trees.  And you’re all like, ‘smile Ellie!’ I mean, goodness, what’s a girl gotta do for some peace and quiet??”

Ah, I love these girls!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

eight

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On a beautiful Friday eight years ago today (9/19/03), Frank and I were married. It was the last Friday of summer – the kind of Friday that you wish lasted all year: sunny, warm and fragrant.

I remember feeling peaceful on my wedding day.  I remember being happy and content. Was it perfect? Not at all.  I believe that God uses the engagement and the wedding to prepare you for what is to come.  I think of the engagement as a boot camp of sorts – how to deal with the family, the friends, the job, etc – how to set precedents.  

Frank and I didn’t live together, which is how I prefer it.  As unpopular as it is to not live together these days, I wouldn’t do it any other way. I’ve had roommates before.  I know about globs of toothpaste in the sink, one tablespoon of milk left in the jug before it was put away (I mean, really? Just drink it!), missing food, too-long showers – etc, etc, etc. I was friends with Frank for four years before we started dating.  We dated for nine months before we were engaged. We were engaged for six months (almost exactly) before we were married.  If he was a jerk, living with him wasn’t going to expose anything I shouldn’t have already known.  And if leaving the toilet seat up (which he doesn’t really do anyway) was going to be a deal breaker, well, gee whiz, I need to examine my own heart first!

So really, our wedding was the beginning of a new era for us.  Our lives were about to radically change in very real, tangible ways. And there I was (as someone with major anxiety issues) feeling peaceful.

Peace, as I’ve learned over the past years, is precious.  Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, does not necessarily mean the absence of conflict.  Instead, it means fullness or completeness.

On our wedding day, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew it would always be worth it.

At last my love has come along, my lonely days are over and life is like a song

Oh, those were the words that were supposed to float over us while we danced our first dance as husband and wife.  But alas, our DJ, who swore he had five copies of the song, came up empty handed when we took to the dance floor.

Watching in slow motion, as you turn around and say, my love, take my breath away…

Instead, we danced to Take My Breath Away. You know, the hot, steamy, cheese-errific song from Top Gun (oh, the pilot cliches!). Also the title song for my junior prom, it was the only song we could come up with in the two minutes we had to come up with a new song.  Oh, the agony.  Through gritted teeth and pained smiles we hissed at each other on the dance floor through the entire first verse of the song.  But then we laughed, realizing that it was silly to get all worked up.  By the end of the song, our smiles were genuine and we knew we would laugh about the first dance mishap for years to come.

It was like God gave us our first lesson as husband and wife – gently telling us that life would not be perfect, but as long as we could laugh together through it, it would be so worth it in the end.

When we were first married, we would lie in bed, listening to the wind rustling through the vertical blinds in our apartment and the distant sound of train horns, and we would talk about our future.  Frank would hold my hand and say, “I just feel like we are on the launching pad – we’re getting ready for a great adventure – we just don’t know what it is yet.  I can’t wait to go on this adventure with you!”

And oh, what an adventure it has been!  It has not turned out the way we imagined it would – there have been curve balls and disappointments and challenges and victories – but it has been so worth it in the end.

So, to Frank, on the occasion of our eighth anniversary:

I love you. This much, always.

seven month update

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Both girls have discovered their feet and LOVE to grab them and put them in their mouths.  This is probably Frank’s least favorite part of parenting (as he hates feet!).

Ellie is our serious baby.  She is very pensive and sweet.  She rarely cries unless she is hungry or tired.  Even then, her cries are more like whines/complaints than full on squawks.  She tends to be up earlier than her sister in the morning.  She loves to get her snuggles and is an avid roller – I’ve seen her cross the entire room rolling!  She isn’t as chatty as her sister, but when she talks, she expects to be listened to.

Carrie smiles and talks to everyone.  I have no idea where she gets that from ::wink::.  When she realizes she’s hungry, you have exactly 2.3 seconds to get a bottle or spoon in her mouth before she loses her ever-loving mind.  (My apologies to our neighbors…) It’s crazy because she will be smiling and laughing right up until the point that she is hungry and then BAM! It’s so impressive that Ellie just sits and watches Carrie when this happens.  Like her sister, she is rolling and chatting. When either girl gets tired, they “sing” themselves to sleep.

Ellie: So, what is the deal with the flashing lights and picture taking?

Carrie: I don’t know.  Just look disinterested and she’ll go away.

Ellie:  I dunno, she seems to be pretty persistent.

Carrie: Excuse me.  Um, Ellie?  Excuse me.  EXCUSE ME.
Ellie: Is she still talking to me?
Carrie: Ellie, Ellie, Ellie!  You gotta try this rolling thing! SO. FREAKING. COOL!
Ellie: She’s still there, isn’t she?

 

 

 

 

 

baby stuff I’ve loved…

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Just a few of the items that I’ve loved and a few that I don’t think we could manage twins without!

In no particular order:

Boogie Wipes:  They are what they sound like.  They are saline wipes that are designed for grabbing the occasional “bear in the cave”.  I like them because I can also use them on drool, food, etc without irritating their skin.  Plus, the fresh scent smells good, so that’s always a plus.

Lap Pads: Heavens.  Thank goodness for my dear friend Erin who told me about these marvelous inventions.  From lining our changing table, placing them in the crib to protect the sheets and using them as changing pads on their own, these lap pads have been life savers.  At the very least, they have been instrumental in preventing me from having to change the sheets on the cribs multiple times. (yay, acid reflux!)

The Twin Snap n Go: For the early months, this was a MUST HAVE!  We received ours as “hand me downs” from our dear friends who had twins just over a year before we did.

The Chicco Quattro Together: The perfect stroller for tall parents!  The handle adjusts up and down about 5 inches, giving us just enough extra room to comfortably push the stroller.  Frank is 6’9″ and I’m 6’1″, so finding the perfect stroller was a must for us – and considering how much we push our stroller around, it is saving our already weary backs. Also, if you decide to go the route of the Chicco brand car seats (we did not), the Chicco car seats can snap into this double stroller, negating the need for the Snap n Go.

Sophie the Giraffe:  I know this sounds dumb, but this giraffe is excellent!  It is the perfect shape for the girls to put in their mouths, makes nose and is easy to grab.

Cozi: One of the best ways to keep life organized.  It has shopping lists, to-do lists, a calendar and so much more!  You can assign tasks and calendar entries to specific people in your family.  It keeps us sane and on top of things!

High Quality Swaddling Blankets: It sounds silly, but whenever we had a choice, we always chose to use our Pottery Barn Kids swaddling blankets.  It just seemed like we could get a tighter and more effective swaddle out of these because of their stretchy soft material, than we could out of traditional swaddling blankets.  While it may not seem like a “must have”, I will tell you that at 2 a.m. when I had about 20 minutes of sleep, I wanted the best swaddle I could get.

The Twin Pack ‘n Play:  Our twins slept in this bassinet whenever grandma came over to stay.  It was great because they could sleep in her room, next to the futon.  Now that they have outgrown the bassinets, they are now using the play yard.  I love when we can use something for more than one function!

The Graco Blossom:  We just purchased this (online, from Amazon for big savings – hurrah!) and we love it.  The chair serves four purposes, which, if all goes as planned, will last a long time.  It can be a booster seat, a strap-on high chair, a standard high chair and a youth chair. The chair comes with a play tray, a regular tray and a tray cover that can be easily removed and washed.

Twin Related Onesies: It was just so fun!  See below:

Starbucks: Not just for the coffee (which was also excellent!), but also for the delicious and healthy meal options.  My personal favorite?  The eggwhite spinach and feta wrap.  So, so, SO good.

the girls: sixth month update

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I’m a little late on this one, but bear with me:

Stats:

  • Ellie: 17 lbs 2 oz, 26 1/4 inches long
  • Carrie: 16 lbs 14 oz, 25 1/2 inches long

What they are doing:

  • Gabbing and chatting with us and with eachother
  • Rolling everywhere they can
  • Grabbing and holding toys, putting EVERYTHING in their mouths
  • Drooling. On. Every.Thing.
  • Eating solids – they love rice and oatmeal and have enjoyed prunes, pears, and apples.
Ellie is my little snuggle bunny these days.  She loves to get cozy and enjoy a pacifier and some snuggles in the middle of the afternoon.  She “sings” herself to sleep in her car seat.  She is rolling back to front, but not front to back  yet.  She can sit up with assistance.
Carrie loves to play.  She loves being bounced on Dad’s knee or tickled under her chin.  She is very, very chatty.  We even discovered that she’s cutting her first two teeth tonight!  She tries to sit, like her sister, but prefers to stand up straight and tall.
We are pretty pleased with our little girls.  For being two months early, the doctors are very pleased with their progress.  They are definitely ahead of their adjusted age and catching up quickly with their chronological age.

happy birthday, mom & dad!

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My parents always seemed magical to me when I was growing up. I always believed in true love and fate and soul mates, not because I read about them in a book, but because I lived with them in real life.

My parents are less than 24 hours apart in age.  My mother was born at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston and my father was born at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria.

My parents both have O- blood types (guess what blood type I have??).

Both of their families had the same birth order – boy, girl, girl, boy.

My mom’s parents were both born in January, my dad’s parents were both born in October.

The night they went on their first date (September 20th, 1975), my mom came home and told her roommate that she was going to marry my father.

I’m not saying their marriage hasn’t involved a lot of work.  While it is cute and cliche to say “Opposites Attract”, the statement mitigates the amount of work it takes to understand someone so different from yourself.  While my mom loves to chat it up after church and stay out late, my dad enjoys a quiet evening at home and going to bed at 8 p.m.  Not 8:05.  Not 8:10.  8:00 p.m. Mom loves to “fly by the seat of her pants” while Dad loves a schedule, a plan and organized fun.  But because they love each other so much, they have worked to understand one another and appreciate their differences.

So for as much as they taught me about true love and fate and being soul mates, they also taught me how to argue, negotiate, forgive and move on. They taught me how to laugh at myself.  And they taught me that true love takes time and work and effort.

And that it is so worth it.

So to my mom and dad on the occasion of your 57th birthdays: Happy Birthday!

I love you both.  Teewinot. Caca Poo Poo.  Mecca Sicca.

Mom & Dad posing with Frank & I on our wedding day.

who’s driving this car anyway?

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Let me begin this with a real life example as an analogy.

About six years ago, my dearest friend Ginger* (*name changed to protect the innocent) were in Utah on a business trip.  She was my companion for the trip because Frank was off flying all around the great Midwest.  Anyway, Ginger and I had a wonderful spa vacation in Park City, Utah and boarded a black SUV bound for Salt Lake City’s airport at the end of our long weekend.  Riding along with us was one of the sales reps hosting the event.  The sales rep, Courtney, was chatting excitedly about our weekend, what she did, what we did, how she missed her kids, her husband, her hair, her clothes – etc, etc – but we were not paying attention to what she was saying.  We were nodding at her, but staring wide-eyed ahead as we watched the driver of the black SUV we were in swerving, barely stopping at traffic lights and intersections, merging hap-hazardly onto the highway, weaving in and out of lanes on the mountainous highway, cutting off trucks on steep inclines and generally driving like a drunken maniac.

Courtney kept talking as Ginger and I exchanged concerned glances.  Finally Courtney noticed that we were not engaged in the conversation at all, she turned in her seat to look ahead and realized that our driver was not of sound mind to be driving the car.

I wasn’t sure what to do – I didn’t want to make a scene, but I was fairly certain that this gentleman was going to drive us off the side of a very large mountain.  After a few seconds of indecision, Courtney screamed, “I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM NOW!”  Startled, the driver asked if she wanted to get off at the next exit and she said, “No, now, right now I have to go.  Pull over.”

Cutting off a few more cars, swerving across lanes, the driver pulled over.

“Actually I don’t have to go to the bathroom.  I need to drive,” ordered Courtney.

“What?” asked the driver.

“Get out of the car, I am driving.  You are clearly not feeling well.”

And much to our surprise, the driver relented control of the car and let Courtney get behind the wheel.

We arrived at the airport a little shaken, but otherwise in one piece.

So what does this have to do with anything anyway?

When I look around at the State of Illinois, our world, our country and our circumstances, I am struck by the feeling that I am in the third row of an SUV that is on a collision course with the side of a mountain.

I have this feeling of helplessness that I cannot make a difference in the situation.  That no one else notices what is wrong, and if they do, they can’t stop it either.

As someone who now pays more attention to what goes on in our government, I am struck by how many people don’t vote in local elections.

Why do local elections matter anyway?  Local elections matter because they represent the heart and soul of our country and directly impact your day-to-day life. Water, sewer, electricity, trees, streets, parks, emergency responders, public safety, to name a few, are all handled either mostly or entirely by your local municipalities and taxing bodies.  How each of those services is provided directly impacts your wallet by way of your property taxes, sales taxes, special referendums and service fees.

But even worse than not voting in a municipal election is not understanding, especially in the State of Illinois, the many LAYERS of government that provide services.  If you live in Cook County, for example, you drive along roads that are maintained by the state, the tollway, the county and the municipality.  Depending on how well the particular taxing body is doing, the roadways may be in varying states of repair/disrepair.

Pop Quiz – you know what town you live in, but do you know what township you live in? You should know this because you pay a separate line item of property taxes to that organization.

Until I started paying attention, I wasn’t really aware of the many layers of government that affected my daily life.  And here’s the thing – the vague fog that I existed in is no excuse.  I am an adult. Along with my husband, we are financially responsible for ourselves and our children.

Are we all busy? Yes.  Do we all have a lot on our plate?  Yes.  Is it overwhelming to try to untangle the knot of taxing bodies providing services? Yes.

The problem with how many of us has been living our lives is this: we don’t care until it’s a crisis.  And then we make rash decisions about who is best able to fix the problems confronting us without fully understanding everything that is affected.

Many people came out and voted for “Change” in 2008.  Very few people asked, “What kind of change?” I’m not saying that I agree or disagree with President Obama’s platform or what he’s been doing while in office.  I’m just saying that there were many people who fell in love with the rhetoric and were disenchanted when they found out what it meant.

And the media, politicians, and lobbyists love that we blindly follow the rhetoric without pausing to really understand the issues.

But with all of this ignorance, there is a cost.

I received my property tax bill last year and looked it over.  It has doubled in the two years we’ve lived here, while the assessed value of our home has plummeted.

My righteous indignation boiled near the surface while I looked at all the line items listed on the bill.  How could this be?

And I knew, without skipping a beat, that the resolution to many of my problems and frustrations started with me.  The doubling of my property taxes is the price I paid for living in ignorant bliss.

It’s a heavy price tag, friends.

I hope that everyone takes the time to learn about the main issues affecting their community and to get involved.  Even if it is only sending an email to your elected officials (you’d be amazed how many people represent you!), attending a townhall meeting, reading your local news or viewing the State’s budget online.

So back to my Utah car ride – I’m glad Courtney spoke up and took over the reins.  I’m also glad that she was a smart, capable driver.  She was the right person for the job.

Is the right person for the job driving the car you’re in?

the big announcement

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Some of you wondered if we were moving.

We’re not.

Some of you wondered if we bought a new car.

We did not.

Some of you wondered if I got a new body piercing.

Nope.

And my brother wondered on my Facebook Status: Frank has joined the Airforce to fight for Freedom, and with Jeff Goldblum will pilot a space craft to a mother ship and share a cigar with his co-pilot before launching a nuke. This wouldnt be his first time.

Sadly, no.  It’s a shame, too.  I bet Jeff Goldblum would’ve been a lot of fun to fly with.

And of course people wondered if we bought a new appliance.

I mean, I know having kids slows down your life, but if my big announcement was concerning a brand new refrigerator, then I’d say my life had come to a screeching halt.

So no.  No new appliances.

And no babies.  C’mon, guys.  We wanted twins, but Irish Triplets?? We’re not completely insane.  Just a little insane.

This announcement was weeks in the making.  It took a lot of hard work, discipline and focus.

::Drum roll::

I lost my first 10 pounds.

Which would be completely unimpressive and insignificant if it wasn’t tied to something else.  Something that is so much more than calories, carbs, fat, fiber and protein.

Hundreds of thousands of people live in slavery.  Drug cartels are realizing that they can make far more money trading lives than trading drugs. Don’t think it happens only to people we don’t know.  I posted here about a girl I went to high school who knew first hand accounts of people kidnapped and forced into slavery.

Some people might still be wondering what weight loss has to do with ending human trafficking.  And I ask, what does running a marathon or a half marathon or a 5K have to do with anything?  It’s about moving with purpose.

Ten pounds means $100 to fight human trafficking.  Ten pounds represents 20% of my goal to lose 50 pounds. Ten pounds is 35,000 calories.

But the stats that I can’t get out of my head?

And I am plagued by the idea of people who sell their own children into the sex trade for a color TV, car or other consumer item. Who does that?  What kind of world do we live in?

So, before I go on and on about why Human Trafficking is such an important issue in my life, I wanted to introduce you all to someone who has made ending human trafficking her life.

As I’ve been sharing that Human Trafficking has been placed on my heart, God has been sending people to me via friends and family.  One such person was Katharine and she will be receiving support from me via my weight loss fund.  Here’s a little bit about Katharine in her own words:

My eyes and ears where first turned to trafficking or call it like it is: slavery, with the issues of Child Soldiers. I began campaigning and working towards ending the use of child soldiers in Africa and more specifically Uganda. The more I dug into the issues with child soldiers the more I began to see just how wide and deep slavery goes.

 

My heart started to break because I too have been abused on all three levels, verbally, physically, and sexually. It’s been painful for me to heal from wounds that go back to early childhood and the whole time I knew the love of our Father.

 

As it sank in the horror that the children, women, and men live in I realized what they need is not just physical freedom but spiritual freedom as well. The healing power and freedom that only comes from knowing Jesus. To add to it, I was an inner city art teacher. So many of my students would tell me when they grew up they wanted to be a prostitue, have 2 children by 8th grade, and would tell me about their older boyfriends (I taught K-6). I took these girls in and did what I could, sent messages home to their parents and had meetings with them.

 

Soon after I left my job and chose to follow Christ’s call on my life. A life devoted to missions and to go meet these men, women, and children where they are, go them in the brothels, in the streets, in parts of towns where the majority are refugees. Help bring them to safe places where they can heal and learn, and even learn the language and how to survive in their new home (if they are from another country).

 

The best way to help end trafficking is to help end it in the life of one person at a time. God values each life and so do I. Building relationships with these people will help uncover trafficking rings to bring to authorities, it will help prevent their children from being taken just by teaching them what to look for, remind them that trafficking is found in every social class, and teaching them new self worth in Christ.

 

Katharine is one of many human trafficking missionaries who have been brought to my attention and my hope is to use my blog as a place to introduce you to each of them and to raise awareness of their particular mission fields.

It is not lost on me that Katharine and my mutual friend, Eve, had her miracle baby today.  Eve’s son is going to be loved and adored and protected by Eve and her husband, Paul.  They will be wonderful parents.  But just as we are all ecstatic for Eve and Paul, there are people out there who don’t treat other humans like the miracles they are.  As a matter of fact, there are people who treat their fellow man worse than they would treat an animal.

As long as that goes on in this world, how can we rest?

So there you have it.  My big announcement.  Ten pounds down, 40 to go. How are you moving with a purpose?  I want to hear about it in the comments!