Go Away!

I was watching the news the other day and in their entertainment report they were talking about this new movie Precious. If you haven't heard about it here's the run down. It's about a girl who's father rapes her and she fathers 2 of his children, while her own mom beats and degrades her. There may be more to it, but that's basically what I got. I can't think of a more depressing movie. I graduated in social work and I've worked with people like this. So I really can't see paying money to be depressed. Anyway as I was watching the news they started talking about the producer of this movie. And guess who it is? Oprah! Of course! Now, don't worry, I won't blog about her since I went back and looked at last years posts and I blogged about my love/hate relationship with her, 8 times.!! That's too many, and it's annoying.
But it got me thinking about the celebrities I wish would just go away. Here's my list and I would love to know yours. So leave a comment and let me know.

• Mariah Carey: Note to Mariah- stop wearing as little clothes as possible. You're too old and it's not cute. Oh, and we don't believe you're a size 2.
• Jennifer Aniston: I'm still mad at you for posing basically naked and then saying "I don't know why people care about me?". Really, then don't do something that screams look at me.
• Jon Gosselin: Not sure if he counts as a celebrity. But I've had enough.
• Oprah: Depends on the day
• Any celebrity who has a baby and then poses in a bikini, after only 2 weeks, on the cover a magazine. (Tori Spelling, Heidi Klum, Jamie Presley). That's annoying and it doesn't send a good message to young girls. Plus, now that's I've had a c-section, I don't believe any of you who say you went to the gym and worked it off in 2 weeks, and had a c-section. What you mean to say is you doctor did some major work.
• Miley Cyrus: (Thanks for the reminder Beth). This girls gets under my skin soooo much!!! It's a good thing Bella's too young to know who she is.

I know if I think about it longer I'll have more to add. That's my list for now. Who do you want to go away?

Tis the season...

For hot tubing! I can't wait. I look forward to this time of year so much. Seth drains it every year in the spring and then fills it when it gets cold. I personally could have it running all year. But since I do nothing to help with the upkeep, I have to take what I can get.
I'm not a fan of snow. But watching it from the view of my hot tub makes it a little more enjoyable. So bring on the cold weather (if it means I get my hot tub). PS- For the record the only reason we have a hot tub is because the person that lived her before us left it. And it looks nothing like the one pictured. It's much smaller, but it works.

Back in saddle again...well, sort of

I feel like I'm kind of getting back to my normal self. I made it to church for the first time in months. Well, sort of. I only went to sacrament and that's just because it was the primary program and Bella had worked so hard on her part. I also made it to the gym for the first time in months.

And I did laundry. Yuck! I hate laundry, but at least I did it.

The babies are only 7 weeks old. But, if they could sleep through the night I would be in heaven!

Me & My Girls

My friend Adrian took some amazing pictures of me and the girls last week. It's great having a friend who's a photographer! It's so hard not to post them all since I think they're all wonderful. But here are a just a few.
Next up will be Seth and the girls......we'll see if he'll go for that.

Confessions #2

Last year I copied my cousin and did a confessions post. It was so liberating that I've decided to do it again. I've kept a few of the same things from my last post and I might add more as I think of them.

1. I saw Paula Abdul in concert with my dad and Fred when I was 12. I don't know if I should admit that. Although I did admit that I saw Elton John in my last confessions post. I'm not sure which is more embarrassing?


2. I'm pretty sure there's an 80 year old woman trapped in my body. My husband will tell you I'm basically blind, deaf and I consider 10:00pm late.
3. I'm as punctual as most men. There have been many times I've had the girls and myself ready for church in the car waiting for Seth. That's not normal, I know.
4. I Lie. A lot. Some times I don't even notice. Like when I bring you soup, and you ask if I made it myself and I say yes. What I mean is I bought it at Marie Calendars.
5. I have no fashion sense. Some days I can pull off a good outfit, but most days I'm one step away from wearing white socks and tevas, which I hear is a fashion faux pas.
6. I love doing cross word and sudko puzzles. The only other people I know who like doing them are Stanley from the Office and my dad. Oh and I bet if I went to a retirement home I might see some people doing them.
7. I have never breast fed my babies. For all the people that just assumed I did other wise and have asked how it was going; see #4 for what I probably told them.
8. I've been told by friends that I'm more like the man in my relationship. (see #1 & #2)
9. I watched Adventures in Babysitting so much as a kid I wore out the tape. To this day I can quote the WHOLE thing. I could pull a rain man right now and do the entire movie if you want to come over.
10. I usually have more than one treat a day, but I'll tell you I only had one. (see #4)
11. I have a guilty pleasure that I watch on E!. I won't tell you what it is, you might judge me. (No, it's not The girls next door)
12. In 2008 I saw 1 movie in the theater.
13. I can't dance. If you have any doubt I know there's a copy of the skit the SBO's did my senior year, floating around out there, to prove it.
14. Some times I can't tell the twins apart.
15. I'm a huge nerd. (see #1, 2, 5, 6, 12, 13)
    

Seriously, that felt good. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. The question is will I still have friends after this post?

Feeding Time

I'll do just about anything to keep Claire away from the twins when I'm feeding them. So the other day I got the older girls some food and Bella set up their room for a picnic. They listened to music, played, and eat. It was great. And I enjoyed quiet time while the babies ate.

Some times I feel bad for the babies, because they spend most of the time in their crib. But it's the one place Claire can't get to. In Claire's defense, she does think she's loving them. It's just loves quickly turn into pokes and shakes.

I think the most impressive part of this post, to me, is that I was able to feed both babies and take a picture.

Wii Help

A few months ago the lady from the biggest looser was on Ellen talking about this new game, the Wii Active. Since then I have thought of nothing else. It looked so awesome. I feel like a little kid at Christmas, because I want it so bad.

It has all these different activities you can do and it keeps track of the calories you're burning. It also has some month long or longer programs and it keeps track of your progress, like your weight when you start and finish.

I'm sure I'm not explaining how cool it is, but believe me, it looked awesome!!

We don't have a Wii and I can't decided it we should get one. The price has come down, so I feel like now might be a good time to get one. But, I'm wondering if we'll really use it.

If you have one, here's a few questions I have.

Do you really use it or is it just your husband that uses it? Is Bella (almost 5 year old) too young to use it? Are there games for young kids? I don't know a lot about the Wii fit, but are the fit and active the same or different? I still have my gym pass. So if you have something like this, do you just stop going to the gym and only do this? I'm confused.

I'm really clueless when it comes to stuff like this, so your opinion is really appreciated.

A peek inside the random thoughts in my head

• loVe thAt the tWIns stop crying the MinUte they touch eacH oTHer
• Will Arnett hAs a reoccurring role on Sesame Street. MakeS it tHat mUCh moRe fUn to waTCh witH ClaiRe
• oUr neigHBor coMing oVEr to tell us she bACked inTo oUr caR
• thE drYeR is BrokEn. niCe timIng
• tOOk beLLa to gEt nEW shoEs. paID for It bIg timE. StupiD C-Section.
• NAp tIme iS the bEst Time
• FYI Dave Lettermen: iT wasN't A shocK.
• nO moRe jOn & katE. UsEd to bE a fAn, nOt anYmoRe
• can'T maKe it tHRough a daY withOut a tREat
• cLaIre hoLDing mY haNd wHIle we waTCh barNEy

Pictures & Announcements

We had some pictures taken of the twins and it was so hard to decide which ones to use for the announcements. Almost everything turned out great.

My friend Adrian made the announcement for me. Again this was hard to choose because she made 4 or 5 for me to choose from and they all looked great.

We sent the announcements out this weekend and I decided to post it because we just weren't able to send out as many as we had planned. Just sending them to our families was making us broke. So if you didn't get one, please accept this post as our apology.

2:00pm & 10:00pm: My 2 favorite times

Seth & Bre My two favorite times are 2 and 10.

If you were to come here around 2:00pm it would seem like a ghost town. I basically shut down. I put everyone down for a nap and stick a sign on the door saying we're all sleeping. It's seriously a little slice of heaven for me. Most people who know me, know that I take naps pretty seriously. I've been known to leave early from places just to make it back in time for naps or to not even go places because it will conflict with nap time. Say what you want, but it works for me. Also Bella has taken up napping again. I don't know why, but I love it. She cuddles with me on my bed and it's great.

My other favorite time of the day is 10:00pm. That's usually when we do the last feeding for the twins before bed time. I love it! Seth and I both take a baby and sit on the bed. We either watch tv or just talk. It's great. We get alone time and it's relaxing.

As much as I love these 2 times of the day, I'm still looking forward to not needing a nap because

the twins can sleep through the night. Ahh...one day

"Don't worry mom, I'll feed the babies, while you deal with Claire"

and she did.....what a good helper I have!

Breakfast at the Browns

• sippy cups with milk, bowls with cereal, 2 bananas: check


• ugly blankets that if the kids spill on I won't care: check


• basket with toys: check


• DVR with lots of kids shows: check

This is my new way to get through the morning. I get the cereal and milk ready the night before. When Bella wakes up she brings it all in my room. Seth brings Claire in and that's how we start the morning. It's a far cry from how I usually start breakfast. I was in such a good habit of going to the gym, reading scriptures as a family, and having healthy breakfasts, not to long ago. That's all gone out the window since the twins were born. I've come to the realization that for the next little while I will be staying home. This has been hard for me. I hate staying home. But at the same time I am thankful that it's even an option.

It's been one week

I've now been home for one week! The twins were born a little over a week ago and so much has happened.
First off I have to say I just love and adore my wonderful husband. I made that extra mushy so he'll squirm while reading it. All kidding aside. He has been amazing. Taking care of the family for the last few months and now helping me to recover. He was up with the babies every single night for the first 4 days. That's right, he did all the night time feedings. Very impressive.
That stupid c-section about killed me. I've heard all the horror stories and now I know why. I really couldn't get out of bed for the first few days so it was great that Seth did everything and never complained!
I've also been taken care of during the day. I don't know what we would have done without all the help. I say that like we're done with needing help. Believe me, I know we're not. But I was so lucky to have grandma Jan here from 7:30am-5:50pm Monday-Thursday, this past week, and Seth's mom came on Friday and stayed the whole day. Wow! Seriously I can't even put into words how great that was. I know that's why I'm recovering so quickly. This next week I have friends helping me out with driving Bella to and from preschool and my friend Amber has offered to come over while her kids are in preschool and hold babies, watch Claire and let me sleep. What a good friend to give up her free kid time for us. Again I'm feeling pretty spoiled. Not to mention that a few ladies from the ward have already called and said they want to come over and do the same thing as Amber this week.
I think we're starting to get the hang of this twin thing. I just feel so blessed that they are growing and staying healthy.

Utah man am I

I think people know Seth pretty well. We got a package in the mail from someone he insurances and it was Utah binky's and Red and pink leggings. Very cute! He also got a Utah apron for BBQing and Utah bibs for the twins, from Steve & Karen Mordue. (the bibs were in the wash or they'd be in the picture). Then our friend Kim sent over a package to Seth's work filled with Utah shirts for ALL of our girls and little Utah socks for the twins. Seth was like a kid in a candy store with all these presents. Thank You Kim, Mordue's & Trina for knowing us, or should I say Seth, so well!

Make it stop

It's started again. About 2 years ago I blogged about this same thing. Jan.2008

I don't know why this happens every time I have a baby, but without fail I turn into "worse case scenario mom", as Seth calls it.

Every night I think I'm ready to go to bed, because I'm exhausted, I lay down and what happens? My mind goes crazy thinking up all the horrible things that could happen to my kids. Eventually I fall asleep but usually I wake up in a sweat because I've just had the most awful dream about something bad happening to one of my kids. I know enough not to watch the news after I have a baby. But a lot of the things I dream up aren't from stories I've heard on the news.
I think a little worry is good because it helps you keep your kids safe. But too much and I'll make myself and my kids crazy.
I hate it! How do I make this stop? I know I can't be the only parent who does this. But what am I supposed to do? Any advice?

Parents of 4

Bella couldn't wait to hold the babies
I can't believe I'm a mom of 4 girls
Breanna

We've waited so long for them and Tuesday night we finally got our sweet baby girls.
Here's a quick re-cap of what happened.
Laura took me to the doctor around 1:00pm and I was dilated to a 5 plus my contractions were 2 minutes apart. They did a quick ultra sound and noticed that one baby was breach so we knew it would be a c-section. I had never had one and Seth said it was cool to watch, but wasn't a big fan of the whole thing. Sydney
Sydney was the first to come out and she weighed 5 lbs 2 oz. and was 19 in long. Breanna was next and she weighed 5 lbs 15 oz. and was 20 in long. The best part was they got to come with us back to my room. No NICU! That was great news.
Every time I look at them I can't believe they were in my stomach. It's crazy! They are just beautiful and I can't wait to get them home.
I'm here for 4 days and then I can come home and face reality.
Thanks again to everyone who has helped. We love and appreciate you all.

A Few Firsts

This week has been pretty eventful around our house. Bella started soccer again. But for the FiRst time she is on a team of all girls. She loves it! She also had her FirSt day of school. She loves that to. This year she goes 3 times a week, which I love. To top off the week Seth had his appendix out and stayed over night in the hospital. That was a fiRsT, that I'm glad will never happen again. Of course it came on a day that I had been having a cramp in my side all day and could hardly walk. We made it though the day because of our amazing family and ward. Really we have been so taken care of. I even had a friend go to Costco and the grocery store for us. That was awesome to just write her a check as she brought everything in. We also had meals brought in. Even though I tried to say no, because of the freezer meals from the shower. But they all said to save them for after the babies are born. Seth thinks he will be recovered to go to the Utah game. We'll see. If he doesn't get to go this will be one of the fIrsT time in years he's missed the opening game.
I also went to the doctor today and had another huge shock. I still can't believe it but one of the babies is 5 lbs and the other is 6 lbs!!!! What the..? I have a friend who just had twins, and hers were that weight, and I remember thinking there's no way mine will be that big. I could never carry that much baby.
I'll have to take a picture for those of you who don't see me all the time, but seriously someone told me the other day that I look like I'm going to fall over in the front because that's where all the weight is. It's true. My stomach is all baby and getting so big! I've made an executive decision (without consulting anyone) that I'm officially taking myself off of bed rest, starting this weekend. Just don't tell my doctor. So if you see me lifting Claire or walking up and down my street, it's ok.

He knew this picture was going on the blog so he refused to smile

Bella is the tall one in purple

My man and his man

Seth is so excited because he is going to a Crimson Club lunch this week. When he first told me that Joe asked if he wanted to go, my response was, "So Joe can take one date and he chooses you? Not say.... I don't know...... his wife?".
Actually I think it's great. If anyone deserves a little fun and something to look forward to, it's Seth. These days, his days go something like this. Wake up, change Claire, feed kids, go to work for 8 hours, come home, make dinner, run errands (ie: grocery shopping, pick up prescription, get gas), if there are no errands then do dishes, laundry, mow the lawn, th fix the sprinklers, put the kids to bed and fall asleep by 9:30pm.
Don't feel too bad for him though, he still has his season tickets. He just couldn't go one season without his tickets. He would rather have them and not go to any games then not have them at all. The funny thing is he actually thinks he's going. I keep reminding him we're having 2 babies in September. But he tells me he's arranged for places for our kids to be for the first game. So we'll see how this goes.
I did ask him to take a picture at the lunch, to which he responded "why, so you can post it on your blog and mock me?". Ahh yes he knows me well!

Party Time!

Amber, Laura, & Marianne. The party planners that made it all happen.

Today was great. Laura and my friends Marianne and Amber threw me a baby shower. I was a little hesitant when they first brought it up because I already have 2 girls and the last thing I need is more clothes. But they suggested a freezer meal shower. Yes, they know me well. I was so excited! After a little talking though we decided not to call it a freezer meal shower, but rather just suggest some things we need.

The food was great, the friends and family were great and the gifts were great! I feel so spoiled! People kept saying sorry because they thought their gift was "boring". But, honestly freezer meals, diapers and wipes are exactly what we need. Thanks to everyone who came. It really meant a lot.

Oh and while I was gone Seth and our brother in law Nate put up our fence. I didn't take a picture, but I'll get one up soon. It looks awesome!

The nursery is almost finished as well and as soon as it is I'll post pictures.

Thanks again to everyone who came and helped. It means a lot to us!

Only a few more weeks to go. My doctor said if I went into labor in the next week and half he wouldn't stop it. He would rather I make it 3 more weeks. That puts me at 37 weeks. I think I can do that.

Are You Kidding Me #22

ksl.com - Former teacher pleads guilty to sex with student; community reacts

A few weeks ago we were at dinner with some friends and he just happens to produce the evening news for KSL. I'm fascinated with his job, by the way. Anyway we got talking about this story and he had read the police report and said it was very graphic and pretty gross. Well, now the guy has come out and said he is guilty. As I was reading the article I noticed that not only is he a seminary teacher, he is in his 60's (gross!, she is high school age for crying out loud) and he's a bishop! So my question to him and others like this is, are you kidding me? We give these adults positions of power, with our children and they totally abuse it. Now don't get me wrong I've worked with teenagers and I know kids, they can manipulate any situation. But seriously he was the adult. It seems like it's been happening a lot lately. There was a teacher at Bountiful Jr High, a few months ago that turned herself and another teacher in. I know people that know these women and they say they just made a mistake. I guess you could call it that. As I think more about it, this is a situation that has been going on for a awhile now. Mary Kay Letourneau ring any bells?
I'm not a big fan of home schooling. Please don't debate me on this. Do whatever you want. But I can see why people would want to home school and be in control of who is around their children. I guess what I really got thinking about after reading this article was that when we make choices they effect other people. I had to learned this the hard way during my divorce and I'm sure everyone has a story where someone else did something and they felt the consequence. Some times it's drugs or alcohol or even just selfishness that makes us and others make poor decisions. I just hate when the choices are bad and effect me.
Hopefully I can do a good job with my kids. I'll cross my fingers for their sake.