The Schwebach Family

Mellow Mushroom

2010-09-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Channon, and her husband Pat were in town last week and we had such a great time catching up. Jan (Nana) even came over on Friday night and watched the kids so that we could have a night out - yeah! We went downtown and ate at Chan & Pat's FAVORITE place, The Mellow Mushroom and then went to Liberty's for a couple of drinks. We enjoyed our time together and can't wait to see each other again at Thanksgiving!

Peanuts?

2010-09-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hannah and Grace say the funniest things and I am going to make a concerted effort to start posting what they say before I forget! Here are some of their most recent comments...

A few weeks ago we took the girls to eat and play at Gatti Town. As we were leaving, Hannah pointed to the building across the street, on top of a big hill, and asked "is that Heaven?" "No honey, it's a Rooms to Go store." The front of the store has all glass windows, so she saw the reflection of the sky and since she thinks Heaven is in the sky, that's what it was to her.

The girls hate going to bed at night and try everything to stay up just a little bit longer. Every night I lay with each of them, for a couple of minutes, to scratch their backs and sing a song (the SAME two songs since last Christmas - Frosty the Snowman and Jesus Loves Me). I was laying with Grace and told Hannah she needed to close her eyes and go to sleep. She told me that she couldn't go to bed and when I asked why, she said "because I need to read the bible." What was I supposed to say to that?! I let her lay in bed and "read" her bible story book quietly.

Grace always tells me that she loves me, spontaneously, throughout the day. A few days ago she said "I love you and you are a good mommy." It made me smile, but a few minutes later when I wouldn't let her eat ice cream for lunch, she said "I don't love you anymore." Sniff....sniff...

We were having a conversation about Heaven and out of the blue, Hannah said, "I can't wait to see what color God's hair is." Um, where did that come from?

I was giving Will a bath and Grace asked to help. While she was washing his little feet, she asked "why do boys have peanuts?" I simply replied, "that's how God made boys." Luckily, no more questions arose. I don't think I'm ready for "the talk" yet.

Happy Labor Day!

2010-09-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day with my Dad, Melanie, Ben and their kids at Sky Top Orchard in NC. We had a lot of fun picking apples, looking at animals and eating apple doughnuts!

It's so nice to live close to family and have all of our kids grow up together. That night Caroline spent the night at our house. The girls LOVE having their "big" cousin sleep over. Whenever Caroline spends the night, I take the girls to the store and let them pick out a craft (this time they painted bird houses and we decorate shirts with iron-on rhinestones). Then I make a big pallet on their bedroom floor and after a few minutes of giggling, they usually fall fast asleep. The next day we all went to the zoo together. We had a great time.

Photo Session with Carla Fell

2010-09-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

We had Carla take family pictures for us at Ralp & Jan (Nana) Clement's house for Will's birth announcement. She did an amazing job! Here are some of my favorites...

William Francis Schwebach

2010-09-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

My c-section was originally scheduled for May 6th, but due to a "kidney stone", that date was pushed up. My doctors never actually saw a stone, but because of the blockage on my right side and the incredible pain (seriously - it was HORRIBLE) I was having, they dubbed it as a stone. Looking back, I think it was a "God thing."

When Will was born, the operating room got really quite for a few seconds and I heard the Anesthesiologist tell Brad to look over the curtain. Dr. Metherell held up the umbilical cord and showed Brad the knot; he said it was a miracle that Will was born when he was and that if the knot would have pulled just a bit more, the outcome would have been much different. Of course I didn't realize the significance of this until much later (I was pretty doped up) but when I think about it, I get chills. I never did pass a kidney stone and all of the kidney pain went away after Will was born. God was definitely controlling this situation!

William "Will" Francis Schwebach was born on April 30, 2010 and weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and was 19 inches long. Whoever said that your heart grows with each child was SO right; it's amazing how much love I feel for each of my children.

We're Back!

2010-09-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

So I took a "break" from blogging and now that our home computer is up and running again, I'm going to get back at it! A lot has happened since last Summer, so here we go...

Will's Baptism

2010-06-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Will was baptized on Sunday June 27th. It was a beautiful service and we were so happy to have our family there with us. My sister and her husband (Melanie & Ben) are Will's Godparents. It was a wonderful day!

Character Breakfast

2010-04-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

I took the girls to a Character breakfast with some of my friends and they LOVED seeing all of the princesses. They keep asking to go back and see the "characters" so we'll have to do it again next year. Here are the girls with some of their favorite princesses...

Downtown Water Play

2009-07-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

We met our friends (Jackson, Lesley, McKinley & Lucy Griffith) downtown today to play in the "waterfalls"; the girls had a blast! They loved running from one spout to another waiting for water to spray up. After the girls played for a while, we at lunch at The Lazy Goat; during the Summer, they have $1 Hot Dogs and $1 Gelato on Saturday's from 12:30 until 3:30- we will definitely be going back!

Happy Birthday Brad!

2009-07-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Brad turned 31 on July 12th and to celebrate, we had some friends and family over for barbecue. My favorite thing about Brad's party was his cake. Strossner's did a GREAT job and everything on the cake was edible (even the rocks - they were jelly beans). Hannah & Grace LOVED that "daddy" and "Scouty" were on the cake; they even argued over who was going to eat who. Grace kept asking "Mama, can I eat Scout?" and when I replied "yes", Hannah said "then I get to eat daddy." Too funny! Anyways, we had a great night and appreciated everyone coming out to celebrate.

Wisconsin & South Dakota!

2009-07-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, we took a road trip to visit family in Wisconsin and South Dakota. Yes, we spent a total of over 36 hours in the van with 2 toddlers. I call it an adventure (Brad has a different name for it), but none the less we made it and had a lot of fun.

H & G did surprisingly well during the entire trip, having only a few melt downs here and there.

Before we left, I hit the dollar store and stocked up on books, toys, baby dolls, etc. for the trip. My plan was to distribute something new and exciting every few hours to keep the girls happy and busy. However, my "goody bag" was not big enough and we ran out of fun within the first 3 hours.

I think it confused the girls for us to be gone for so long (almost 2 weeks). Every time we went somewhere and came back to our condo in WI, Hannah would say, "we doin' this again?" Then they really got confused when we went to stay with Brad's grandma in SD and kept asking "is this our home?"

We really had a great time visiting so many family members and in Hannah's words, I think we'll be "doin' this again" in the future.

Queen B Dresses

2009-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

My friend started her own business and made these beautiful dresses for the girls. She has a TON of fabric choices and has several items on her website, available for purchase or you can custom order. I had SO many people stop me to ask where I bought the girls dresses - her store is definitely worth checking out...

http://queenbboutique.blogspot.com

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

We had a very relaxing Easter Sunday. We went to church and then came home to have brunch with Brad's parents. The girls were so excited because grandma and grandpa brought them Easter buckets full of goodies! After nap time, my family came over for an Easter egg hunt and dinner. Since it was me and Tanya's 29th birthday, dad brought over a great cake for dessert. It was a great day!

Welcome Baby Madelyn!

2009-04-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

Our good friends, Frank, Alisa & Alex Bentley, just recently welcomed a baby girl into their family. Madelyn Anne was born on April 1st and weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces. We were so excited to finally meet her - she is beautiful!

Peyton Elizabeth is "about to hatch"

2009-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun throwing Ryan a baby shower. Her second baby, Peyton Elizabeth, is scheduled to arrive on April 23rd! Ryan is a wonderful mom to Cade and she will be just as great with Peyton.

Family Time!

2009-03-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

My grandma and her sister came to visit for a few days; we had a lot of fun! We found these really cute bathing suits for the girls at Kohls - of course they wanted to try them on right away and Hannah even slept in hers!

Easter Egg Hunt at Church!

2009-03-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun at our church's Easter Egg Hunt! We were surprised at how competitive the girls were, especially Hannah. We had to stop them a few times to explain that we don't steal eggs from other kids baskets! Hannah was excited to get the Golden Egg and got a special prize for it (chocolate bunny). Can't wait to see how they react on Easter Sunday!

Easter Dresses (my attempt at photography)

2009-03-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

I was feeling ambitious today and decided to get the girls dressed up to take some Easter pictures. I picked them up from daycare, gave them a quick bath (trust me, they were filthy), got them dressed and put them back in the car to find the perfect picture spot(s). After ALL of this, as we are venturing out, I realize that our camera batteries were dead. G-R-E-A-T; thanks honey. So, Tanya gave me her house key so that I could go get her camera and off we went. What should have taken an hour ended up taking more than 2 hours! The girls were pretty good, especially because they knew if they smiled, they would get a lollipop. I had a lot of fun with them!

Heritage Park

2009-03-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

We had BEAUTIFUL weather last weekend and decided to meet Tanya, George, & Caroline at Heritage Park. This park is fantastic! They have several places to picnic, play areas, a baseball field, and even a train to ride ($2 each); we will definitely be going back a lot this summer. The girls were excited about the train, but were a little nervous once we were actually on it. Hannah was holding on to daddy's leg pretty tight the whole time! They did well though and most importantly, no tears were shed!

SNOW in March!

2009-03-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that we actually got snow on March 1st! By Monday morning, we had 5 inches of snow on the ground. We enjoyed our day together; of course we played outside and when Grace kept saying "it too cold", we went inside and made cupcakes. That afternoon, our neighbors and good friends, Lisa & Bridget came up to play. We had a lot of fun!

Fun at the Zoo!

2009-02-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

My mom and Nicholas were in town last weekend, so we decided to go to the zoo. We let the kids play on the very cool playground and then enjoyed a picnic lunch (thanks Mel) before heading in to see the animals. The girls had so much fun and loved all of the animals, but especially the baby monkey's and the elephants. They were scared of the lion and tiger though.

We will definitely be bringing the girls back to the playground, in front of the zoo, soon. They absolutely loved playing there and took a very long nap afterwards!

Circus

2009-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to the circus for the first time yesterday and they had a lot of fun! My dad (aka Papa), Tanya, George, Georgie, Melanie, Ben, Caroline & Noah were all there too. Before the circus began, we took the kids down to the main floor to see everything up close, but they did not like this. A clown tried to greet us and the girls began crying immediately. So we decided to find our seats and buy the kids (young & old) some circus treats.

Would you believe that ONE bag of cotton candy cost $12?! But it did come with a felt, yellow hat as seen in the pictures below. The girls favorite treat was their HUGE lollipop - Hannah liked hers so much that she fell asleep with it in her mouth (see lips and shirt below)...

Grace seemed to enjoy every bit of the circus; she was clapping, dancing and laughing the entire time. Hannah had a good time too, once she woke up. I think their favorite thing was seeing all of the elephants, horses, dogs, and tigers.

Funny Story (Potty Training Update)

2009-01-19T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hannah likes her privacy...

I forgot to tell Brad that Scout got out, right as I was leaving to meet my friend for dinner last Saturday night. While I was at dinner, Tanya and I both got text messages from Brad and they went like this:

"WTF...Someone forgot to tell me that Scout got out of the house...As I was trying to get Scout away from the scared neighbor, H & G appeared at the front door, no pj's and no diapers, yelling for Scout..."

Hannah and Grace definitely make us smile! While the girls love taking all of their clothes off (constantly) to go potty and sometimes actually go potty, I don't think we are ready for hard core potty training yet. We will continue to practice before and after bath and whenever they ask, but that's all for now.

Playing in the Tent

2009-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

Brad set up a tent, in our bedroom, for the girls to play in. I guess he is hoping that they will love camping as much as he does. I think it's working because they LOVE playing in the tent! Scout likes it too.

Gingerbread Cookies!

2008-12-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, we went over to our friends (Alisa, Frank & Alex) house to have dinner and decorate gingerbread cookies. Alisa made spaghetti (I love her spaghetti) and had bought a gingerbread man cookie kit for the kids - they enjoyed eating the mini M&M's while we decorated their cookies! Alex and the girl's are the same age and act silly/play well together. Thanks Alisa and Frank for a fun night!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

I was in the kitchen helping get dinner ready and when I turned around, Grace had climbed into Lilly's exersaucer - she is also wearing Lilly's Santa hat (both things are way too small for her). If you are wondering, Grace is definitely our little comedian!

This year was so much fun with the girls! They have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Christmas lights everywhere, snowmen, and even Santa (as long as he didn't come close to them).

We went to church on Christmas Eve and the girls got to see a REAL donkey and pony at the live nativity scene. After church, we went to my dad's house to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. We had a lot of fun!

We stayed home on Christmas morning to let the girls enjoy the goodies Santa brought. They were so excited! I think we played with EVERY new toy they got (within an hour). After lunch and naps, we went over the Brad's parent's house to celebrate Christmas with his family. After opening presents, we ate a delicious dinner (made by Brad's mom) and then headed home - we were exhausted!

Merry Christmas!!!

Cookie Swap!

2008-12-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

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My friend's Leslie and Katherine hosted their 2nd annual cookie swap and it was so much fun! Everyone brought 4 dozen homemade (at least I think they were all homemade - even mine were homemade) to eat and share. After tasting all of our goodies, we made a HUGE plate to take home and share. I can't wait until next year!

We LOVE Playing Dress Up!

2008-12-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

New Church

2008-12-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

We finally found a wonderful church to join! We became members of Advent United Methodist on December 14th and are so excited. This church has so much to offer people our age and young children, so it's a great church to raise our girls in. Our good friends, Ryan & Ryan and their son Cade, also joined Advent recently. We feel blessed to have finally found a church that fits our family.

Playground with Daddy!

2008-12-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Brad took the girls to our neighborhood playground this afternoon so that I could get a few things done around the house. It looks like they had a lot of fun...

Picture Time!

2008-12-13T16:57:00.001-08:00

Our friend Hope was going to take our pictures today, but she came down with a stomach virus. Since it is getting so close to Christmas, we decided to just bring the girls to Sears. We chose Sears because we thought it would be cost effective - WRONG!

First of all, our appointment was at 10:30 am but we didn't get seen until after 11. This should have been our first sign to ditch the session and leave since the girls were getting hungry and close to nap time. However, we decided to go for it and let me tell you, it was a BLAST (sense the sarcasm)?! The girls were crying and trying to run out the door throughout our session. Fun stuff. Of course it was all fun and games AFTER the photo shoot!

$129.99 and nearly 2 hours later, we were finished.Needless to say, we will not be going back to Sears ever again. For the same amount of $, we could have gone to Portrait Innovations or had a photographer come to the house. I definitely won't wait until the last minute next year!

Synnex Children's Christmas Party

2008-12-12T20:39:00.000-08:00

Brad's company had a Christmas party for employee's children last weekend. Hannah & Grace had so much fun! They loved seeing Santa, but didn't want to get near him. They also enjoyed playing games (the same game over and over again) to win lollipops and they also made a paper tree Christmas ornament. It was a really nice event and we appreciate Brad's company for hosting it!

Cookie Time!

2008-12-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

We all went to "Papa's" house last weekend for dinner and cookie decorating. Tanya made Quiche (one of my personal favorites) and dad made hash browns. After "breakfast", we did the first load of dishes and then started decorating cookies. The kids had a lot of fun, although they ate more than they decorated! Afterwards, we did a second load of dishes, had baths and then decorated the tree. We also attempted to get some pictures of the kids in their Christmas PJ's. Fun stuff!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Girls!

2008-11-30T19:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that our sweet little girls are already 2 years old. Time goes by so fast! Although it is fun to watch them reach new milestones, a part of me feels sad. It's amazing how, even at 2 years old, independent they are becoming. They are talking a lot (sometimes even calling us by our first names, rather than mommy & daddy), feeding themselves, and becoming more and more self sufficient each day. It's exciting to see them grow, but a part of me misses them being totally dependent upon me. I still constantly kiss them (I can't resist)!

Some of the things I LOVE most about my girls: I LOVE when they lay their little faces on mine, I LOVE that they play dress up with my make up and shoes, I LOVE that they say "my mommy and my daddy" and they are so cute when they say "daddy poo," I LOVE when they give kisses, I LOVE hearing them laugh, and I LOVE that they love each other. I could go on and on...

We had a party for the girls at Monkey Joe's and they had a lot of fun. The party was (literally) right after nap time, so it took Hannah a little while to warm up. Gracie started jumping right away. I made monkey cupcakes for the party; they looked more like bears, but the girls thought they were monkey's which is all that mattered! The girls received many fun gifts and everyone had a great time.

**Special thanks to our friend Chad for taking TONS of pictures; our camera decided to stink that day! As soon as I can get them to upload, I will post....

Outerbanks Family Vacation!

2008-11-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

We really enjoyed our vacation in Outerbanks, NC (late October). Dad rented a BIG house for all of us to stay in; it was awesome! We really enjoyed just relaxing and spending time with our family. We ATE a lot (H & G loved fried calamari - gross), went to the Aquarium,the Beach, the Lighthouse,the Wright Brothers Museum, played on the playground, etc. I think the kids enjoyed the huge bath tub in our room the best! We can't wait until next time!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a fun Halloween! Poor Hannah was sick (daycare called me around lunch time to tell me that she had thrown up), so I picked the girls up early and brought them home. I gave them an early bath and put their cozy costumes on. Believe it or not, they actually enjoyed wearing their "bees" and wanted their antenna's up the whole time too!

I took the girls to see Aunt Laura and Grammy Schwebach at work after showing them off at my office. Grammy got the girls their very own Halloween cups, Halloween bowls, and healthy treats (raisins and crackers). Then we came home and ate soup before heading out with Aunt Tanya, Uncle George, George's mom & Georgie. We carried Hannah most of the time, but Grace really got into it! We would tell her to say "trick or treat" and instead, she would go up to doors saying "I need treats." It was really cute. After going up and down our street, we called it a night. Aunt Laura stopped over and helped put the girls to bed.

Hannah was feeling much better the next day and thankfully, none of us have gotten the bug.

Cracker Barrel

2008-11-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

The girls LOVE "rocking" at Cracker Barrel! They love eating there too.

"Boots"

2008-10-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

If you look closely, you'll see their tiny pony tails....

The girls love wearing our socks and shoes. Yesterday morning, they wanted to wear my big, fuzzy socks over their pj's - they call them their "boots." They were walking around, in their boots, singing Happy Birthday Jack (his party was the day before) and playing with their balloons. They also wanted "bows" (my hair bands) in their hair. Notice their tiny pony tails - we are finally getting hair!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch, at Stewart Farms, with our friends. The girls had a lot of fun running through the pumpkin patch and playing with the pumpkins - they were picking them up and rolling them around like balls (thankfully, they didn't "break" any). We LOVE Fall!

Happy 1st Birthday Jack!

2008-10-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we went to our friend's house (David & Christina Weiner) to celebrate their son's birthday. Jack has been such a blessing to David, Christina & Morgan and it is awesome to see them all so happy.

Happy Birthday Jack!

We Love BOWS!

2008-10-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

The girls have really gotten into hairbows lately; they even ask for them now! Tonight, after bath, daddy put almost all of their bows in their hair. They looked so cute! Grace cried when it was time to take them out. Hope this doesn't start something new - we'll see how many bows they ask for tomorrow morning...

Through a child's eyes...

2008-10-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make you laugh. Lately, every time we pass the Hampton Inn billboard on the highway (dark haired lady sleeping), the girls get excited and start screaming "mommy, mommy." Here's the even funnier part...Every time we pass the KFC man, they scream "daddy, daddy." This would be a little embarrassing if anyone heard them.

I'm just glad that they compare me to a nice looking lady. Poor Brad - in their eyes, he is Colonel Sanders (from KFC).

Fall For Greenville

2008-10-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we went downtown to Fall for Greenville with our friends (Alisa, Frank, & Alex). We enjoyed spending time together, however Fall for Greenville was NOT an event for toddler's. By the end of the day, it was decided that next year we will get a babysitter and make it a "date" afternoon/night!

GMOM (Mothers of Multiples) Fall Party

2008-10-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the GMOM club's Fall Party. It was held at a Farm this year and we had so much fun! Auntie Martie went with me and the girls because Brad had just gotten home from camping and wanted to do yard work. As you can see in the pictures, we enjoyed (kinda) horse back riding, petting animals, playing with friends and eating snacks. We can't wait for the next party!

Pumpkin Time!

2008-10-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

We had a great time decorating pumpkins with our friends. I found these Mr. Potato Head kits, for pumpkins, at Target for $5 and they are perfect for toddlers! The girls LOVE their witch pumpkin. Lisa and Bridget also made a witch and Alex and Alisa made a pirate, which was very cute.

Ever since I told the girls "it's pumpkin time!", Hannah has been using the phrase "it's______________time!" for everything. Some examples of her phrases are: It's Gogurt time! It's Story time! It's night night time! It's scarecrow time! It's school time! It's Dregen (boy from their class) time! I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. I think it's really cute though.

Happy 2nd Birthday Morgan & Jonah!

2008-10-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

Today we went to my good friend Shannon's house to celebrate her twins birthday! Morgan and Jonah officially turn 2 on Monday (only a couple months older than Hannah and Grace). Shannon and I joke all of the time that at least one of her boys and one of my girls will get married one day - then we'll be sisters!

Anyways, we had so much fun playing with all of the toys. Grace loved the "real" train ride and Hannah enjoyed playing in the playhouse. Of course they both LOVED playing in the jump house; I was smarter this time and didn't let them jump after eating (see earlier post for story).

Since the party was a train theme, all of the kids got to wear bandannas. Morgan and Jonah each got their own train cake - they were so cute and tasty too! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to get together again!

Freaky Friday

2008-10-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Last night we took the girls' to a Fall Festival aka Freaky Friday, hosted by one of the schools in town. Our friends, Lesley, Jackson & McKinley Griffith met us there. There were a lot of rides and a LOT of sweet treats! We took the girls on the "Strawberry Patch" ride; although they clung to me for dear life, I think they enjoyed it, at least a little. After the ride, we went to the toddler area to hang out. The Chick Fil A cow and his "calf" were there - while McKinley was amused, my girls were terrified (Hannah was crying "cow" and pulling on my shirt so that I would take her away, which I did).

After the Festival, we went to the Lazy Chicken for dinner. Other than Hannah spilling her milk (actually, she threw her cup across the table), dinner was uneventful and enjoyable.

Hope your Friday was as "freaky" as ours!

Fun at the Park

2008-09-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that another weekend has gone by - they go way too fast! We had a lot of fun this weekend. Saturday was a lazy day for us; it was cloudy and rainy, so we stayed in our pj's for most of the day. We finally ventured out around 4 pm to visit Grammy, Grandpa & Aunt Laura at their store before meeting Nana & Ralph for dinner. Then it was back home for bath and bed.

This morning we went to church and then did our grocery shopping before coming home for lunch and naps. After us girls woke up from our naps and daddy was finished mowing the yard, we met our good friends (Ryan, Ryan & Cade) downtown for some fun. We started out at a playground then went to see some ducks and water falls. After that, we stopped at Spill the Beans for a little ice cream and then walked to Mellow Mushroom for pizza (dessert before dinner - yum)! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to do it again!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

See ya...

CHEESE!!!

Where are the ducks?

Wow! Ducks!

Fun Saturday!

2008-09-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today we had a long day, but it was so much fun! The girls and I went to a Fall Festival, in Belton, with my friend Shannon, her twin boys (also almost 2) and Lolly (Shannon's mom) this morning. There was a lot to do there, including a train ride, face painting, balloon animals, jump houses, and goats! The girls really enjoyed seeing the goats and getting balloons. They were too scared to ride the train and they didn't want to go anywhere near the clown who was face painting.

After the festival, we went to the Clock to eat lunch. Then we headed to Target to get a birthday present for Teddy (and some cute church shoes for the girls). The girls were so cute! they kept pointing to all the clothes and shoes saying "cute." I must say that word a lot!

After Target, we headed to Monkey Joe's for Teddy's 2nd birthday party. (Teddy's mom was my IVF RN and we have since become friends). Monkey Joe's is an indoor playground with LOTS of jump houses and slides. I don't think I've ever seen my girls have so much fun! They jumped and played and flipped all over the place!

Of course the girls fell asleep on the way home from their fun day. When we got home, I was telling daddy about the fun we had and when I walked back to the van, I discovered Hannah had thrown up all over herself and her car seat. Guess I shouldn't have let her back in the jump house after eating.

We ended our day with a long bath, warm milk and trying on clothes that Nana bought us (thank you Nana)! Could it get any better than that (minus the throw up)?! Hope you had a great day too!

Sick Days

2008-09-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

The girls have been sick for the past couple of days with a virus. Brad stayed home with them on Monday and I stayed home with them on Tuesday. We took them to the doctor because they were both running high fevers (102-103), but he said it was just a virus that had to run its course. So,we took it easy at home, drank lots of juice and read a LOT of their favorite book (Shapes). They are finally doing better and went back to school today.

Daddy, on the other hand, is not feeling too well. He has had a sore throat for the past few days and just feels bad. He temporarily lost his voice to; I think this may have been intentional so that he "couldn't" respond whenever I asked him to do something. :-) His voice is back now, so no more excuses!

Here are some pictures from my day with the girls. Notice the bows and shoes in many of the pictures - these have become a necessity for the girls, even when sick and in their PJ's.

Saturday Fun!

2008-09-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

We had a fun family day on Saturday! Since it was so hot and humid outside, we took them to the indoor playground at the mall. The girls had a lot of fun running around and playing. Then we met Aunt Tanya & Nana for dinner at Brixx Pizza before getting ice cream. Hannah LOVED her ice cream, but Grace had more fun playing with it and throwing napkins away in a nearby trashcan. Many people around us enjoyed watching the girls and of course, everyone thought they were precious!

Play Time With Daddy

2008-09-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Brad is so good about letting me catch some extra zzz's on the weekends. During this time, he usually takes the girls for a walk to the neighborhood playground. Here are some pictures from last Sunday morning. You can see that they were getting tired from playing, especially Gracie.

We Love Daddy!

I'm in Business!

2008-09-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

I made the decision to start my own business! I am officially an Independent Consultant for Arbonne International and am so excited about this awesome opportunity. My ultimate goal is to stay at home with the girls and what better way to get there than by promoting products I love! Arbonne offers a wide variety of botanical based products including anti-aging, detox, skin care, make-up, baby, weight loss & nutrition, and much more. Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about Arbonne products and/or business opportunities.

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2008-08-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun celebrating our nephew's first birthday. My sister & Ben had everyone over at their house to celebrate. All of the kids (even us big ones) enjoyed playing outside. We also enjoyed the cake Melanie made. You can see in the pictures below, Hannah enjoyed putting icing in Grace's hair!

Tina's 10 Year High School Reunion!

2008-08-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that I have been out of high school for 10 years now - I am getting OLD! The reunion was held at the Marriott, off the parkway, in Greenville. We had a lot of fun catching up with "old" friends.

Happy 1st Birthday Cade!

2008-08-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

Cade turned 1 this past Thursday (August 14th) and we went to his birthday party today. His parents did a wonderful job - everything was so great! We had barbecue and since the theme was monkeys, there was a big monkey cake and banana cookies. The girls were very excited when Mrs. Ryan gave them their goody bags, which included their favorite - BUBBLES - and monkey lollipops, as well as monkey squishy toys.

Happy Birthday Cade!

Vacation!

2008-08-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

We went on vacation this past week with our good friends Ryan, Ryan & Cade Spencer. My Aunt offered to rent us her condo (for a very reasonable price - thanks Aunt Mary and Craig), so we took her up on her offer! The scenery was breathtaking as you can see in the pictures. We had so much fun just relaxing with our friends. The boys went fishing & golfing and us girls (plus baby Cade) went to the pool everyday. Ryan (girl) and I also took advantage of the masseuse at the resort - the bad news is that she thought we both wanted a deep tissue massage - OUCH! Overall, it was a relaxing vacation and we can't wait to go again next year!

Andrea & Tim's Wedding

2008-08-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends from high school, Andrea Sharpless, married her sweetheart last weekend. Her and Tim are so cute together! They got married at Creekside Plantation in Simpsonville, SC and it was beautiful.

Sweet Lilly

2008-08-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

We went to visit sweet Lilly at the MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston) this past weekend. She is recovering from her open heart surgery well and actually came home from the hospital last night. We really enjoyed getting to see Michelle, Charlie and Lilly, especially because it's been 2 weeks since we've seen them. Hannah & Grace were in awe of "baby" and anytime she made a noise, they would say "baby" over and over again. I was amazed to see all the little babies and children at the hospital too. It definitely puts things in perspective and makes you realize how lucky you are.

While we were in Charleston, we were also able to spend a little time with my sister Nicole (from MA), her boyfriend Stu, and his mom Dori. They were there for a long weekend and allowed us to stay with them, thank goodness! We were able to go to the beach for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.

Please pray for Lilly's health and strength/courage for Michelle and Charlie.

Potty Training?

2008-07-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

Are the girls trying to tell us they are ready to be potty trained? I don't think so - they just enjoy playing with toilet paper. If we forget to close any of the bathroom doors, rest assured we'll find a pile of toilet paper on the floor! We are going to buy a couple little potties for the girls to start "practicing" on before & after bath time. We figure this may be a good start, especially since we've had several "accidents" in the bath tub lately! We'll let you know how it goes!

Please Pray for Lilly...

2008-07-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

Most of you know by now that my niece Lilly is having open heart surgery on Monday morning at MUSC (Medical University of SC, Charleston, SC). My sister has started a BLOG to keep everyone updated on Lilly's progress; scroll down the right side of this page and click on Lilly's name to view her page.

Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for our family as we anxiously await Lilly's surgery.

Mom, Gary, & Nicholas Visit...

2008-07-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Mom, Gary & Nicholas came to visit for a few days. Hannah & Grace LOVED playing with Nicholas and even let him brush their teeth one night! We enjoyed having them visit, especially because they were a big help with the girls. I've included some pictures from their visit to Melanie's house too - I must say, I have some adorable nieces and nephews and a handsome brother!

Visit with Aunt Melissa!

2008-07-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Fort Mill to see Aunt Melissa (Brad's sister) last weekend and had a lot of Fun. Melissa is an Optometrist, so went to her office first to get our eyes checked out. Then we headed over to her house for a fun afternoon at the pool. We ended the day with a nice dinner before heading home to Greenville.
Thanks Aunt Mel!

Happy 30th Birthday Brad, Laura & Jill!

2008-07-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

Brad and his sister's turned 30 on July 12th and to celebrate, we had a birthday cook out at Laura & Courtney's house. We had a lot of fun spending time with family and friends.

Pool Time!

2008-07-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

That isn't juice in those red cups!

Sexy Man!

Mom and Nicholas came up from Hilton Head to visit on Sunday, so we decided to hang out at the pool. Tanya and Michelle also came over to visit. Michelle is pregnant with her first baby (Lilly Elizabeth) and is due on July 15th - poor girl is swollen and miserable, but looks great. Here are some pictures from our afternoon in the sun.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th of July with friends at our house. Brad fired up the grill and we had a cook out. It was very relaxing and the girls had a lot of fun playing outside. Tonight we went down the street to our friends annual 4th of July party. As usual, there was lots of good food to eat and of course, plenty to drink. Hannah & Grace had a lot of fun playing with Bridget and Zander while us mommy's talked up a storm! The guys had fun playing Botchi ball outside. We ended our evening with BUBBLES! Maybe next year we'll try some fireworks.

Hope you all had a great Holiday weekend too!

We love shoes!

2008-06-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

The girls LOVE to put on shoes now, especially at bed time. The past few nights, they have "asked" us to put their shoes on right before bed. So we let them wear them while they drink their milk. They don't like taking them off, so we have to make a big deal and say "nigh nigh" to the shoes while taking them off before they get into bed. Maybe we should start saving now to support their shoe habit!

Silly Girls!

2008-06-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

I had to post some pictures of the girls playing after their bath last night. They were hilarious! We couldn't even get them dressed because they were chasing each other, laying on each other, kissing each other, etc. It is so neat to watch them grow close and develop a bond with each other. They even try to hold hands when we are walking around and kiss each other good night. PRECIOUS!

Daddy's Girls

2008-06-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to Toys R Us for the first time on Saturday and they LOVED it! They were running around looking at everything! We bought them their very own baby doll strollers and they love them. After we went shopping, I dropped the girls and daddy off at home so that I can get our grocery shopping done. This is what I found when I got home...

In his shoes...

2008-06-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

The girls have been into playing with our shoes lately. Tonight after bath, Grace had a great time standing in daddy's cowboy boots. Hannah wasn't so sure about the boots - she prefers my dress shoes. I know I say this all the time, but they are so cute!

First Haircuts!

2008-06-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to Jelly Beans today for their first hair cut. You may be wondering why since they only have a little hair, but they were both growing "rat tails" in the back! They did really well and were so excited to get their balloons afterwards. Each of them also got a "First Haircut" certificate and locks of hair for their baby books. I can't believe how fast they are growing!

CVS - ING!

2008-06-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

If you don't know what "CVS-ING" means, listen closely. My friend Lesley has been trying to get me to do this for weeks now and I finally started today. It is a GREAT way to save money and a lot of fun. This is definitely something I will keep doing each week. Today I bought:

3 Boxes of Cereal
5-1 Liters of Vitamin Water
Dove Shampoo
Dove Conditioner
Dove Body Wash
Dove Deodorant
12-pack Scott Toilet Paper
Kotex Pads
HUGE thing of Folgers Coffee (seriously, it will last us forever!)
Coppertone Sunscreen
Bath Sponge
2 things of Gum
BIG bag of M&M's
Box of Raisinets

I spent a little over $69 OOP (out of pocket) and received $22 ECB (extra care bucks/basically cash you can only use at CVS) back. Next week I should be able to break even or MAKE MONEY by only spending my Extra Care Bucks to buy things on sale to earn MORE ECB's. Let me know if you are interested in learning more and I'll forward you the "how to" websites, etc. I'm still learning too.

"DAWG"

2008-06-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

We are taking care of the Clements' dog Abby while they are out of town. Hannah & Grace LOVE having another dog around and get so excited every morning when they see her. They affectionately call her "Bee" (Abby). The girls definitely sound southern when they say dog (dawg), which we get to hear them say everyday when they see Scout, Abby, any dog, or for that matter, any 4 legged animal! Here are some pictures we took after playing in the pool this weekend.

So tired...

2008-06-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to the pool this past weekend and they had a lot of fun (although the water was a little chilly). Since the girls were getting crabby, Brad offered to bring them home for lunch and then lay them down for their nap. As you can see, Hannah was so tired that she couldn't even stay awake to finish her lunch. So cute!

Suitcase Fun!

2008-05-28T19:34:00.001-07:00

Ever since we got home from the beach on Monday, Grace has been addicted to playing in the suitcase. She wouldn't even take her medicine that night unless she was sitting in it! Here are some pictures...

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed the long, Holiday weekend with our friends (Jackson, Lesley, & McKinley Griffith) at Litchfield Beach. We had so much fun! Here is how our weekend went...

On Friday, we slept in (yeah right - girls' were awake by 7) and then Lesley and I went grocery shopping. When we got home, we headed to the pool before lunch and naps. That evening we went out to eat at The Crab House to celebrate Lesley's birthday, but before that we went to the beach to take pictures. After dinner, we rode the Carousal with the girls - they LOVED it and cried when we left.

It was cloudy and rainy on Saturday, so us girls headed to the Outlets for some shopping while the boys went fishing. As you can see, the girls were tired just thinking of all the shopping we were going to do...

Later that evening, we headed down to walk on the beach and take more pictures. Grace did NOT like the sand that day, but Hannah and McKinley enjoyed it.

On Sunday, we woke up to beautiful weather! It was a perfect beach day! Hannah loved the sand immediately, but Grace took a while to get used to it. But, by the end of the day she was throwing sand all over the place and having a blast. McKinley wasn't scared at all - she loved being in the sand and water. Later that afternoon, we made a flag cake in honor of Memorial Day and had some friends over for dinner.

On Monday, we finished packing and then spent a couple of hours at the pool. We were hoping that the girls would be so tired that they would sleep most of the way home - WRONG! They slept for the first 2 hours and were wide awake most of the way home. They were a little fussy, but did well for the most part.

We arrived home around 6:30 pm safe and sound. God Bless America!

Crazy Hair...After Bath Tonight

2008-05-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday! I hope you are all having a great week. These are some pictures we took of the girls after their bath tonight. As you can see, Gracie had some crazy hair! We are noticing that both of our girls have some curl to their hair, especially Grace. They are getting so big and sweeter by the day.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day, we went to Portrait Innovations to get the girls' 18 month pictures done. Thankfully we got some really good pictures, although the girls weren't too thrilled about getting them done. Of course afterwards, they were all smiles and happy as clams in the waiting area! Can't wait until 24 months!

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day!

Saturday Morning Routine

2008-05-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

It has become routine for Brad to take Hannah & Grace for a walk every Saturday morning while I do chores (or play on the computer). The girls love spending this time with their daddy (contrary to the look on Grace's face in the first picture)!

Bye Bye Mailbox...

2008-05-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine how you would feel if you saw your car rolling down the street, by itself? We don't have to imagine...

On Wednesday morning, Brad parked his Jeep on the street so that he could get the dumpster out of the garage. I had the girls' all buckled in their seats in the van and as I was backing out of the garage, I noticed that the Jeep was rolling down our street, by itself! I just sat there staring for a few seconds not knowing what to do. Then I jumped out of the van (after putting the emergency brake on) and ran down the driveway stop the Jeep. I tried, with all my strength, to "hold" the Jeep back, but watched helplessly as it took out our mailbox. Just at the moment, Brad jumped in and stopped it. PHEW! Thank goodness no one got hurt. I was surprised that none of our neighbors came outside when they heard me screaming and honking the horn. I later found out that one of our neighbors looked out the window and thought we were having a "domestic dispute", so he didn't want to get involved. Funny! The only fight was between the mailbox and the Jeep and we know who won!

Story Time

2008-04-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Where's Hannah???

There she is!

Tonight after the girls had their bath, we had some fun in their room. They thought it was so funny to watch Scout in the backyard from their window. They also enjoyed playing peek a boo behind their curtains. We also practiced our walking/balancing skills and read a story (they sat still for one sentence).

On another note, the girls have been spending some time in "time out" at daycare. Although they love on each other most of the time, they have been biting and hitting each other recently. On many occasions, Hannah will steal Grace's toy and Grace's response is to crawl after her and bite her on the back. Hannah then hits Grace on the head and they both end up in tears. I tried running interference yesterday by tapping Grace on the lips and saying "no bite" and she bit my finger! I must say, those little teeth sure are sharp! I hope this "mean" phase is over soon. Unfortunately, having a twin sister myself and hearing "stories", I know this phase will repeat itself throughout the years. But, we both survived and are great sisters & friends and I know my girls will be too.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Birthday Bridget!

2008-04-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Bridget's first birthday party. We ate hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, fruit, cookies and of course, cake and ice cream. Hannah ate an entire cupcake by herself; she was a little hyper and would not take her nap. Oh well, it's the weekend!

The girls had a blast playing with Bridget's toys and watching the bigger kids. Grace especially loved playing with the toy cars - daddy calls her his little "grease monkey" (anyone who knows Brad knows that he loves working on cars, especially corvettes; he hopes that at least one of the girls will want to go with him to the car shop when they get older).

Happy 1st Birthday Bridget!

Rainy Saturday

2008-04-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

Today daddy and the girls' got to spend some quality time together while I was at a convention for work. As usual, daddy grabbed the camera to snap some shots of the girls playing. It looks like they had a lot of fun while I was gone. Notice in the pictures that: the girls are feeding themselves now (most of the time), they make each other laugh a lot, and are starting to show their tempers.

Enjoy!

Laundry is so much FUN!

2008-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

The girls (and Scout) occasionally help out with the laundry. As you can see, they think this is tons of fun! I hope they still think it's fun in a few years when they can really help!