Follow up Friday!

Jenn asked:
If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live and why?
Answer: Wow anywhere? Tahiti even though I have never been there it looks like a place that would appeal to me. Of course my whole family would have to move with me.
What physical thing would you change about yourself if you could easily?
Answer: For sure my mommy belly

Kim asked:
What would be your ideal job? - other than being a Mommy. :-)
Answer: I have never really thought about it. There are different things I would love to do like own my own daycare, or insurance agency or a school nurse but mostly a photographer.

Do you notice things about the kids that might lead you think they might have a certain career when they get older? (Like you've noticed about Ashley... I know it's early, but I'm just curious.)
Answer: Preston will follow in his daddy's foot steps and be an engineer. Everyday I see his little wheels in his brain turning. Lily I think will be a vet or do something working with animals or helping people. Ashley says she wants to be a lawyer. I think she would make a great social worker she is very caring and I can see her fighting for cause.

What would your main wish or desire be for your kids in their lives?
Answer: To have wings to soar to new heights and roots to keep them grounded.

Joe asked:
Have you had a chance to take leisurely drives around town or the little communities yet? What's the prettiest spot or your fav spot you've seen so far?
Answer: Yes as a matter of fact we drive around quite often. Just this past weekend we drove to Middle Cove, Conception Bay then back home along the coast. My favorite spot though is Cape Spear. It is really the edge of North America and it is amazingly beautiful. This summer we are going to venture out around the bay to the little towns along the coast.

My favorite time of day!

We all have a moment in the day that is our absolute favorite. Mine is the time when Aaron and I say "are you ready for bed". We usually try to go to bed at the same time. We head upstairs and he or I will say ooooo I am going to see the babies. We sneak into the babies room and quietly stare and them, cover them up or rub their face. Sometimes one will start to move and we quickly rush out laughing. A few times Lily has popped her head up as soon as the door opens but we close it and go about our business hoping she will think it's a dream. I head down the hall and check on Ashley too cover her up, kick up the heat or make sure her alarm is set. We do this routine before bed on most nights and it is by far my most favorite time of the day!

What is yours?

Scrap lift

I love Tammy's blog. I love all the papers and techniques Tammy uses. I recently found this card she made and decided to give it a try.I didn't have the paper that she used but on a recent trip to Michael's I saw it and thought hmmmm it must be meant to be. So here is my take on her card: I have uploaded Ashley's Disney World album, the babies first birthday album and some more layouts to the scrapbook stuff link located ont he right.

Q & A Wednesday

Whew we have been going this week. I don't even know with what, I guess life in general. We had 2 snow days last week, the weekend and Ashley was out of school Monday, needless to say it was nice to get back to normal. We have had a few nice, blue sky days and we have been able to play outside without wearing mittens, hats and snow gear.
So here we go ask away! I have already received my first question via email. Stay tuned for Follow up Friday.

Silent Sunday

Follow up Friday!

Jennifer asked:
How are you guys passing the day with the storm?

Answer: Mostly by cooking, surfing the net, watching movies, driving each other crazy!

Kim asked:
How'd you figure out the signature?

Answer: I went to scrapblog.com and created a layout but only used a corner of the page. I then uploaded to photobucket and cropped, then saved on the blog so every time I post it automatically appears on the post. I also use scrapblog to create my header.

Shelley asked:
How many family pictures do you actually have printed for photo albums or to use for scrapbooking? I've taken over 12,000 pictures of the kids (18 months old) since they were born! Because they're all digital, I don't have many printed pictures and I'm not really a scrap-booker. I am planning to use blurb to turn my blog into a book, but I just can't decide what to do about the buzillion digital pictures. Anyway, just curious since I know you're good at this stuff! I thought about maybe picking 20 of the best pictures from each month, but of course it's hard to narrow it down. :-)

Answer: Well I am like you I have lots of digital photos probably not 12,000 (wow) but alot. What I do is go through them every month and decide which ones I want to scrap then print them off and get them done. I usually choose funny faces, milestones or cute pictures in general. I have started a blurb book but am only up to May of last year. I am not sure where to stop, maybe their 1st birthday. You can also go to Shutterfly and do just a picture book. I have thought about doing that for their first year, second year and so on, that way it's just a book of pictures. I made a book for my grandparents at Christmas and was very pleased how it turned out. We don't have any pictures printed except what's scrapped or in frames around the house. Good luck....... let me know what you decide since I am always looking for ideas.


Thank you so much for participating each week. It has been really fun!

We had a pretty bad storm this morning but by 11 am it was all done. Ashley was out of school due to the weather. She has plans to go out of town to Grand Falls this weekend so I went and dropped her off and headed to Micheal's while Aaron was home with the babies. Of course they were having a sale! I have been eyeballing the Cuttlebug for a while now but couldn't decide if I wanted to order it online from the US or pay for it up here. By the time you factor in duty, taxes and shipping fees it would have been about the same. So anyway I went to Michael's and they had it on sale for 50% off and only 1 left....... of course it's a sign so I bought it. I can't wait to try it out tonight.
I am looking outside right now and the sky is so blue, their is no wind, and the temp is 41! The drive way is clear and the babies just woke up so I think we will head outside for some fresh air. Have a good weekend!!!!

Finally

We finally got what I call a winter storm. Since we have moved to Newfoundland we have heard horror stories of the winters here. This is what I pictured:

This is what our house actually looks like:

This is the basement level about a 2 foot build up.
Still not as bad as I thought it would be. I hope I am not jinxing us now. I think further into the city there is probably alot more snow because it doesn't have many places to blow so it builds up.

On a different note, I am a busy little bee planning our Texas/Louisiana trip. We were originally going to come in May but due to some change in the wedding plans we are coming in later in the summer so the kids and I can stay about 3 weeks and not have to worry about the amount of school Ashley is missing. Aaron will come in for as long as he can take off work.

We have also decided to move our Disney trip from Feb 2010 to this November over the U.S Thanksgiving holiday. We are going with my sister and her family and wanted to make sure her daughter didn't miss any school. I am so excited to take the kids to Disney. I know they will be young and Ashley is a little older but they will enjoy it and hey who says we won't go back. My first trip to Disney was 9 years ago when Ashley was 5, she remembers most of the trip and we have lots of pictures and memories. I actually just got done with her Disney scrapbook, hey better late than never, right!

Q & A Wednesday!

Welcome back I hope you got your questions ready! I already have a few from some early birds. Leave a comment with your questions or send me an email. Stay tuned for Follow up Friday for all the exciting answers.

Notice anything different? I have been trying to figure out the signature for quite some time. I finally did it! woooo hoooo I think it still needs work, it's a little too big. What do you think?

Silent Sunday!

I don't have alot of pictures this week because my computer has reached it's breaking point. Everytime I put pictures of videos it tells me I am running out of space. We are working on this issue until then enjoy these.

We got a dress for Ashley to wear to Andy's (Aaron's brother) wedding in May. Don't worry she will wear something over it.

Cypress Calling Ministries

Before leaving for Canada some girlfriends and I started a ministry called Cypress Calling. Cypress Calling helps pregnant women who are in need of strength, counseling or prayer. Since starting Cypress Calling the ministry has really taken off. This past weekend there was a planning retreat to lay out the future of Cypress Calling for the next few years. I am honored to have been chosen to be the creative coordinator for Cypress Calling. I will be in charge of scrapbooking, tag making and documenting all the activities, as well as keeping up with the Cypress Calling Chronicles blog. I was fortunate enough to attend a Cypress Calling baby shower while I was in Texas in October. I can not tell you how awesome it is to give a basket full of baby items to a pregnant mother in need. It was so rewarding.

Random things

I would love to say that I am so busy I never have time to blog but that's not true. We just don't have anything exciting going on in our lives to blog about. I guess this time of year in Newfoundland all you do is watch it snow then clear the snow. We have been going to playgroups, gym, grocery shopping and picking up/dropping Ashley off from all over the city.
During the week all we do at night is watch movies and of course American Idol.
Our new favorite love is our electric blanket. I remember growing up my parents had one that was s hideous yellow color as I shopped for ours I realized they haven't changed much over the years. Ever since we started using the electric blanket it's like sleep is so much better. I would recommend one for every member of the house. Ashely decided on the heated mattress pad, which is also a winner.
So that's what's going on over here. We have a few birthday parties tomorrow so the babies will have a blast, not sure what Ashely has planned.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Follow up Friday

Mama Jean asked:
I am now an old woman, but, I remember raising young babies feeling so inadequate. A feeling that nobody appreciates what I do. Do you get these feelings also?
ANSWER: Sometimes but then I say something and Aaron and Ashley quickly remind me that I am appreciated by cleaning up and helping out with the babies. Ashley has been really good at always saying thank you. If I buy her something or she gets to go somewhere she always says it. Then of course the babies show they appreciate me by giving me endless hugs, kisses and smiles.

Have you ever thought of using your talents of superior scrapbooking as an income or online?
ANSWER: I don't think I would do well at an online venture. I have seriously thought about opening a scrapbooking store in Houston when we get back. There aren't any now and I think it would do really well. A friend told me once that you don't want to make your passion your business because then you might not love your passion as much...... so we will see what the future holds.

Jenn asked:
What activity/toy do you enjoy playing with each child?
ANSWER: These days we love books and anything hands on, blocks, puzzles. They also love when we play chase (I'm gonna get you) and peek a boo or the tickle game.

As a mother of twins, what do you feel you do well?
ANSWER: Organize, prioritize my time. Having 3 kids 1 which is a lot older I have learned you have to make sure everyone gets equal time.

What do you wish you did better?
ANSWER: communicate....... I am hard headed and don't always think before I speak. As far as doing better in regards to twins I don't know.

What advice would you give someone pregnant with twins (no, I am not pregnant with twins :) ) ANSWER: first and foremost it does get easier well not easier, different but better. I would also suggest a routine. Have a set time that specific things will take place, eat, sleep, play, bath. These things are key to keeping twins on a schedule. If one wakes, wake the other, when one eats the other one should too. That's what has kept me sane from the beginning.

What qualities do you like about yourself and Aaron?
ANSWER: my outgoing goofy personality, Aaron's ambition and motivation

What would you change?
ANSWER: I wish I was more compassionate, it's really hard for me to feel sorry for people even though I have a big heart and love to help others. Aaron I wish he was more patient.

If you had a $100 dollars and couldn't spend it on bills, how or where would you spend it?
ANSWER: I would love to do what I saw on an Oprah show once and raise more funds to help even more people. One lady raised more than $24,000 from just $1000. Awesome! I would probably do something like that or donate it.

Joe asked:
Any special plans for Valentine's Day?

ANSWER: Not on my end maybe Aaron has something special planned for us but I doubt it. We don't really go all out for Valentine's. We will usually get a card and candy for Ashley but that's about it.

Q & A Wednesday

As always all questions are welcome. Post a question in the comment section for me to answer, emails are welcome too. I have had some really great questions and I think my readers have seen another side not always talked about on the blog. Please come back on Friday to see all your answers for Follow up Friday.

Silent Sunday!

Swollen left eye from a cold earlier in the week

Sisterly love
Preston what does a lion say?
Where's your belly?

Hmmm why isn't it working?

From beautiful to...............

BRACES!

Remember this smile because

for the next 18 months you will see this!

I took some really awesome pics of Ashley but when I went to upload them they were gone and this was in it's place. So........ I guess she didn't like the one's I took.

Follow Up Friday!

I know it looks like I didn't get any questions this week but I did. Joe, one of my Newfoundland mom friends sent me an email. For some reason the comments section isn't working for her. I promise I didn't block you Joe. Jenn commented the day before because she knew she was going to be busy on Wednesday. Thanks for participating and keep em coming.

Joe asked:
Do you think it's going to be hard to leave Newfoundland...would you ever consider permanently settling here?

ANSWER: I do think it will be hard to leave because we are making friends here. I also worry about Ashley she is at the age where she is making good life long friends. She will complete 2 years of high school here (grade 9 & 10) so I just worry about her leaving her friends when the time comes. With technology the way it is we will always be able to keep in touch. Permanent....... unfortunately no. We have always said that no matter where we go Houston will always be home.

Jenn asked:
How are the twins personalities the same? How are they different?
ANSWER: They are both pretty laid back and sensitive but Preston is very funny and Lily is very sweet.

If you had to "sell" Newfoundland to someone in a few sentences, what would you say? ANSWER: Newfoundland is a beautiful province where the people are friendly, the air is fresh and the adventures are endless. It's a great place to make lasting memories!

Besides friends and family, What is the one thing you miss about Houston and why? What don't you miss?
ANSWER: It's silly but I really miss Target & mexican food ok that's 2. Sometimes the weather.... this time of year in Houston is awesome! What I don't miss is the TRAFFIC!

Where do you see yourself in five years? In twenty?
ANSWER: Good question. Ashley will be almost 20 and hopefully almost done with college and soon off to law school. The babies will almost 7 so they will be in school. I will probably own my own business or be doing something with Cypress Calling. We will be living in Houston...... I hope. hmmm I don't really think 20 years ahead but here goes Ashley will be 34 and probably be married with kids of her own. The babies will be in college and probably sucking every penny from our retirement. Aaron and I will still be working, saving for retirement and spending time with our family.

If you had to pick your kids' abilities and talents now, what would you say they will excel at? (does that even make sense?)
ANSWER: Yes it does make sense. I already see the rhythm ability in Preston. I am sure he will do something with music. Aaron always wishes he would have started playing the guitar when he was younger. I am sure with Preston he will have something musical by the time he is 3. Lily she is a total girl, very sweet and caring. I see her doing something along the lines of helping people weather it be a great mom or a doctor! Lily and Ashley are very similar. Ashley is genuine and caring. She is sensitive and even though she says she doesn't want kids I know she will be a great mom. With that said I think Ashley will be a great attorney which is what she wants to be. She loves to argue and debate so I think that will come in handy.

Kelly asked:
Do you plan on having more children? If the answer is no is b/c it was difficult to have the twins, would the answer be different if you could get prego with ease?
ANSWER: I would love more children but in my case I can't just have sex and poof I get pregnant. We do have one frozen embryo from our first IVF cycle. We have said we will do a frozen transfer with that one but if I don't get pregnant I don't think we would do a fresh cycle. However if I didn't have fertility problems (sometimes I think this is god's way to control my urge) I would say I wanted 2 more, yea call me crazy!

Big gym or Little Gym

I just had to blog about this. Seriously.......... The Little Gym what a great concept. I took the babies this morning for a free trial class. Their website talks about promoting developmental skills, motor skills and building confidence. I am all about those things for my kids BUT it was chaotic. I waited to go to Little Gym until the babies could walk. Why did I do that? Now I just have to chase them in 2 different directions. It was fun and the babies enjoyed it BUT it's expensive. I broke it down. There are 20 classes for us it would be $42.15 per class. PER CLASS! I am sorry but I am not sold on Little Gym. It's a great idea but on Thursday's I usually go to a playgroup with some of my Newfoundland mom's and their kids. I think I will stick to that plus it's free. I enjoy the adult conversation, I couldn't even chat with the mom's at the Little Gym, too much going on I guess. I have been going to the big gym where I take my kids to the playroom and I get an hour to myself while someone else plays with them and sings songs. I think I will stick to that too. I have no doubt that my kids get plenty of interaction with other kids. Between the playgroups and each other they should be fine.......... right?

Q & A Wednesday

Ask away. I am excited to see what question you will have this week. I am sure you are trying to think of some good ones as you read this.
As always I will Follow up on Friday to answer them all.

One of those nights

The babies both woke up with the green funk on Saturday morning. This is the kind of funk that their eyes are all crusty and their nose is just gross. We had a long weekend inside but they aren't cranky just crusty. lol So last night we put them to bed at 7 and I kept hearing Lily coughing but it sounded like she was choking so I went in to check on her. They were both awake and did not like it when I peeked in and quickly peeked out. After a few minutes of screams and and it was obvious they were not going back to sleep I brought them downstairs to hang out with us. Oh I forgot to mention, Preston has his molars coming in and Lily has 2 more front teeth coming in. It seems they always get sick when they are teething. So anyway we gave them some milk and Tylenol, let them hang out a bit and put them back to bed. Not a peep until 3 am when they both woke up again. I got them out of their beds and laid on the floor with them for 30 minutes or so. Put them back in their bed and again they fell asleep until 8:30 this morning....... wooooo hoooooo!!!!
Whew I hope tonight is better. I guess it would help if I didn't stay up until midnight scrapbooking. hehe

6 more weeks of this!

Are you kidding me? Does the groundhog ever NOT see his shadow? I guess 6 more weeks really isn't that bad since officially I think winter started in Newfoundland yesterday. Before that it hasn't been too bad. From what I hear though the worst is yet to come.
Happy Groundhog Day!

Silent ~snowy~ Sunday

We will call this one Silent Snowy Sunday since we are having one heck of a storm today. You will notice a trend with Ashley's pictures............ she is rarely alone!