I'm Back!

Ok, I haven't been really gone, but I have been gone from the blogging world for a long time now. Pretty sad I know....hopefully you all missed me some! We went to spend some time with 2 of my sisters and brother-in-law 2 weeks ago...it was suppose to be a 3 day visit, but due to weather (and enjoying our time!) we decided to stick around and then just head down to visit my family. So, what was originally 3 days turned into a week...it was really nice though and we had a fun time! I do have pictures, but I have yet to take them off the camera, I will get them off soon and I do have some pictures of before we left so that will have to suffice for now! :) I mean the Olympics are going on right now and we actually have a way of watching them....so, yes that's what I'm doing in the evenings! It's been nice to actually get to see the Winter Olympics this year...I can't even remember when the last time I saw the Winter Olympics was, but it's been a long time. My favorite part is definitely the figure skating, but I do enjoy the skiing too. Of course, I've been doing other things besides watching the Olympics.....like taking care of two ornery little girls....oh and working out. Yep, I've managed to keep up with P90X and hopefully next week I'll be able to get out and start running a little....I'm excited about that since it's been my goal since starting P90X. It has been difficult for Jacob and I to workout with Abigail and Bethany running (and crawling) around, but somehow we manage. :) Speaking of the cuties........"Bubbles" as Jacob and Abigail call her!
No smile from Abagail, but at least she's looking at the camera, which is getting harder and harder for her to do lately!
"The guilty ones!" Taking the clothes out of the basket and putting them back in multiple times turned out to be quite amusing for them and they spent probably 15 minutes doing nothing but that! Abigail did get frustrated with Bethany when she'd try to put all the clothes in the basket and Bethany would be pulling everything back out again! See that little "evil" smile! :) She was enjoying taking everything back out of the basket while Abigail ran around trying to get it to all "stay in the basket!"
Aww, but how could you be mad at a little girl that looks this sweet!
Abigail has decided she likes her pacifier now.....tell me why she couldn't have decided that the first 6 months of her life when Jacob and I were desperately trying to get her to like it! Kids, they never (ok, not usually) do what you want them to do when you want them to do something! Oh well, you gotta love them anyways!

Coconut Meringue Pie

I had my first attempt at making Coconut Meringue Pie....and I'm sure it could always be improved, but I was very happy with how it turned out since I had never made it before. I was especially worried about the meringue, but I think it turned out really well and I'm looking forward to making it again and trying to make it even better. I had more meringue I could have used and I think next time I'll put the extra on to make the meringue even bigger and prettier...then I might be able to say it was perfect! :) See, it could definitely use more meringue! :) I'm still happy with how this one turned out though. The two hours of baking were definitely worth it to see how well it turned out and how yummy it was! Mmmm....happy memories! Jacob was pretty happy with it too since it's one of his favorite pies, so I'll be making it again real soon for him and he wants me to make it for his granddad who really likes coconut meringue pie. So, plenty of practice coming up for me and Coconut Meringue Pie...hopefully I'll get a lot faster at making it! :)

I also know it's been forever since I've posted, but a 3 day trip to see my sisters and brother-in-law in Columbia turned into over a week long trip, but lots of fun too though! So, lots of updating to do.....sometime soon I promise...with pictures!

Roses & Love

Jacob is good to me in so many ways and the other day he surprised me with flowers "just because". He does things like that a lot...like yesterday he bought me a Snuggie because I hate wearing socks so my feet are always cold and I'm usually cold whenever we're sitting around watching movies or reading. So, now I have a leopard print snuggie....I had seen all the advertisements/commercials for them, but didn't think much about them....I love mine though! It's really comfortable and lightweight...perfect for sitting on the couch reading a book or cuddling with Jacob while watching a movie. :) I haven't gotten a picture of it yet (I'll try to do that sometime) but I do have more pictures of my flowers. :) I love the white lilies! I don't think I used to like them that much, or at least I hadn't seen enough of them to know I liked them, but I really think they're pretty and they last for quite awhile too. Of course, I love the red roses too....you can't go wrong with roses no matter what the color....or at least that's what I think. Even colors I don't normally like I like when it's the color of a rose....roses just make any color pretty! I try to dry every rose Jacob gives me, so these roses are already drying to then add to my basket of roses that Jacob has given me.
My wedding bouquet is in there too (I thought I had a better picture, sorry) and I believe almost every rose Jacob has given me....I think there was a few that got to the point beyond drying before I realized it. They even survived being stuffed in a cabinet (just as they are) and being driven across Kansas in a U-haul and then being packed into a storage unit for almost a year....they don't look bad considering the facts! :) I know they won't last forever, but I think it's neat to have that many of the roses Jacob has gotten me....especially the half dozen that he gave me the day he asked me to marry him....I can still pick those roses out. They were the biggest roses I had ever seen! I wish I had gotten a picture of them the day he got them for me because they were beautiful! I actually have a picture of one of them because I held one of them when we got a picture together, that we later used as our engagement picture, but you can't really see how big the rose is in the picture........This was the day after Jacob asked me to marry him! I love him so much and I keep loving him more and more.....you know, that's a really good feeling to be so in love with someone and know they love you just as much back. I love you Jacob even more than the day you asked me to marry you!

Back To A Routine

The goings on around here have been about the same....hmmm....which I suppose is good, I kind of needed things to slow down and get back into a routine. I'm getting into a pretty good "workout in the mornings" routine....definitely about time I did that! It feels really good to be working out and feeling a little better about myself...this is my 2nd week doing P90X and I can already tell a difference. Jacob started doing it with me this week, which is nice and makes it much more fun to do...we end up laughing a lot! :) Of course, he wants to do the yoga (UGH!), but it must be good for me, so if he wants to do it I'll do it with him...it will be better doing it with someone else....I think....I hope! Tomorrow is yoga day, but he's probably going to be leaving in the morning to help do some things for his granddad, so if that's the case, I'm going to skip the yoga and do cardio instead. :D Yes, the cardio is an option if you don't want to do certain things...like yoga...and I've never done the cardio disk, so it will be interesting to see what it's like. Hmmm....other then working out I haven't been doing too much. Jacob's grandma has been staying with his parents the past week so I've been spending a little more time upstairs visiting and letting the girls spend time with her. She's his grandma on the Close side and I like her a lot...she's always been friendly and nice towards me, whereas some of the family on Jacob's mom's side of the family take a little more warming up so they come across as less friendly. I think they've finally all accepted me though so that's a nice feeling! :)

Abigail took control of Bethany's play phone...she looks pretty intense about it too. :)
Now for "silly time" with the babies!
Bethany was being the princess for this picture....she's a perfectly cute little princess too! :) Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I have to post, due to the fact that I can't find the battery charger for the camera and of course I didn't realize it was missing till the battery died and when I went to get the spare battery it was dead too. So, I have got to find the charger...I need to put that as my #1 thing to do because until I find it I can't even take pictures of the girls...I have no clue where it is either because I don't think I've used it down here yet and I have no idea where I would have put it. I believe I have been slowly losing my brain ever since having kids....hmmm, I wonder if that's normal or just me! :)

Jacob With His Little Girls

I think this is such a cute picture! Abigail loves "reading" books and Bethany is getting a little better about actually sitting there and not constantly trying to put the book in her mouth...of course she did have her doll so that helped! I love watching the girls with Jacob....Bethany has really bonded with him and gets so excited when she sees him! She's always trying to reach for him so he'll hold her and if he says anything to Abigail she has to try to get his attention so he'll look at her...it's so funny! Yep, definitely a daddy's girl! Hmmm....our red wall looks good as a background for pictures...I'll have to remember that! Or at least I think so, I'm no expert when it comes to photography, but I think it looks good! :)The girls love these porcelain persian cats that Jacob's mom has...the only thing is keeping them from breaking them....so, they don't play with them very often! Oh, and I just have to bring to attention how good-looking Jacob looks in this picture....yep, I love him sooo much and he knows it! Alrighty then, back to pictures............. :) At some point she'll keep something in her hair.....I hope. Whenever I put something in her hair she tells me that "daddy thinks it's pretty" (that's what I would always tell her so she would keep it in), but then she usually takes it out a few minutes later and then when I catch her at it she repeats that "daddy thinks it's pretty" and brings it to me to put back in her hair....then we repeat it all again! One of Abigail's favorite things to do is have Jacob (or me) draw circles, triangles, etc on the carpet with our finger and then tell her to sit or stand in the circle and so on. One day Jacob had a lot of fun making circles for her to stand in and then making a triangle (a little in front of her) and telling her to put her head in it! They had a lot of fun doing that and this picture I took when Abigail got off balance after attempting to put her feet, head and hands everywhere Jacob would draw circles...they both thought it was pretty funny too!
She loves her daddy so much!Bethany loves her daddy....and rides on his head! :) She likes his hair a lot too, but I don't blame her because I really like Jacob's hair (it's really soft!) and he's enjoying not having to get it cut, every other week or so, for the military.
Yes, Abigail already plays PS2 with daddy and grandpa! Ok, not really, but she does like to have her own controller so she feels like she's playing with them...it's pretty cute. She's actually figured out though that hers isn't hooked up so she usually wants to switch with Jacob! :) Here they are again...the PS2 couch zombies! :) Even Abigail looks to be getting into it, especially in the first picture! The game they're playing I actually really enjoy playing and watching so it don't mind it too much. :) Champions of Norrath....the first PS2 game I ever played. Jacob and I played it on our honeymoon since he was sick and we couldn't go out very much and then we played it for a couple months....till my "lizard" started getting better then Jacob's "wizard"! :D It was a lot of fun and I still give Jacob a hard time about it!

Yoga....

Once again it's been a week since my last post....I won't say it'll be the last time that happens, but I will try and I think it's suppose to be a little bit of a slower week so hopefully that will mean I will have more time to post. Never know with two little girls to keep me on the run...I also started P90X which I squeeze in whenever I find time...usually in the morning before the girls wake up (it can be hard to determine that sometimes though). Today was my 3rd day doing it and I'm enjoying getting some exercise in besides the usual of chasing down a child! I've also decided today that I greatly dislike yoga (seeing how today was yoga)...I've done it before but it's been awhile and I was pregnant when I did do it....pregnant or not, it is not my thing. I would probably do any other kind of exercise if it meant I didn't have to do yoga...yoga days are going to be days I dread from now on...and I promise I started it thinking positively (didn't do much good though after about 1 minute)! I think it's mostly because it's really slow and drawn out and I have a hard time with that (never been real good at the holding still thing) and I don't find it very relaxing at all because I get bored with it....ok, it is hard too, but the other days exercise programs are hard too and I don't mind them, so I still think it has more to do with it being slow and drawn out! :) Its almost 2 hours long too; I mean really that's crazy! "Now....slowly....go....down....into.....the....runners.....pose....and....hold....for....an....eternity!" Ok, not really, well just the last part isn't true, the guy really does talk that slow or slower for sure though! I will continue doing it simply because I know it's suppose to be good for me....but....if anyone knows otherwise please tell me, I'd be glad for the advice! Hopefully doing this P90X will get me a little more prepared for when I start running as soon as the weather is warm enough for the girls to be outside...I hope by March. I'm really wanting to run a half marathon in June with hopefully my mom and a couple of my sisters, but we'll see....I think it would be a lot of fun! I used to run, but I probably haven't really ran much in 3 years, so kind of a long time. I might try at least running a couple days a week while Jacob doesn't have work (so he can watch the girls) because I don't know if 3 months will be long enough to get ready for a half marathon...especially considering I haven't ran in forever! Even if I don't end up running the marathon, it'll still be a good way to get motivated and get back into running...make me feel better about myself after having 2 babies too! :)

The activities tonight included: Abigail emptying out the toys in the box and then thinking it's pretty fun to sit in the box (I wish she would keep something in her hair!). They both look pretty ornery in this picture and Bethany "on the outside of the box" didn't last long either! :)

Barely, but yes, they both fit in the box and they seem pretty happy about it too!
Then it was kissing time...at least on Abigail's part! :)
Then Bethany had enough and wanted to get out....Abigail looks pretty pleased about the fact too....hmmm.
I guess she needed to try it out for sleeping space or maybe she wanted to imitate her daddy!
He's had to get up the past couple of mornings really early so he got cozy with the baby blanket and took a little nap! :)
The "pulling up to everything stage" has begun or maybe I should call it the "bumps, bangs and bruises stage"! It's gotta be one of the worse stages because they always get hurt, but they just keep doing it over and over again. Its cute though, especially when she's pulling up to me, smiling and trying to talk the whole time!

I have more pictures and more to say, but both will have to wait till next time!

Just Stuff...And Pictures!

It's been like a week since my last post...I know, it's horrible, but I did make 130 truffles today! Yeah, not bad if I do say so myself, but I still have to dip them all in chocolate tomorrow so I'm not all the way finished...dipping them in the chocolate is a lot easier then the crumbling up the cake (which I do think is fun!), mixing in the icing and then rolling it all into balls. Oh, and yes, I did make them much smaller so hopefully they'll be as good as they were when they were bigger! :) So, I've been keeping myself busy...even if it's just keeping things clean after two munchkins...which is definitely a full time job. :) We've had company twice in our new "living space", which has been nice, but has also kept me pretty busy with cleaning and cooking. We're having another little "get-together" on Saturday and that is what all the truffles are for....ok, well not all of them because I'm going to save a bunch for when my family comes by on Sunday. I'm really excited about them getting to come too! They haven't seen our place (other then in pictures) so I'm looking forward to showing it off, and even more, getting to see them all again. I'm fixing dinner too...I think it'll be the first time I've ever fixed dinner for all of them! Of course, its not quite as nice since I'll have to go upstairs to do any of the cooking...one of the reasons I can't wait to have my own kitchen! It would be nice if I could remember to take some pictures while they're all here so I can post pictures...which reminds me, I better remember to take pictures on Saturday too. While we're on the topic of pictures........Yep, it's pretty impossible to get a good picture of the three cousins with them all looking and no "helping hands" in the way (which is my fault). Paige (left side) looks adorable in this picture though. :) My grandma (Nanny) got all the little cousins matching dresses for Christmas so we were trying to get a picture....we tried multiple times actually!Bethany knows what do when she sees a camera. :) Abigail must be watching the other kids play. Kinda' looks like she's saying cheese! I love that smile of hers though...she is soo silly! She's finally smiling nicely for a picture and I had to take a blurry picture...I have no skills with the camera...it's still a good picture of Abigail though!
Bethany loves her Uncle Nathan! He is a pretty awesome uncle and brother! :) I can't wait for the girls to get to see all of them on Sunday....its always so much fun and, especially Abigail, loves playing with all of them....she'll love showing off her new room too!

So, one of the most important accomplishments of this week was Bethany slept through the night!!!! It was wonderful, of course, I still was up a couple times in awe that I still had not had to get up and feed her, but that was much better then being up for at least 30 minutes to feed her. We've been having to let her cry the past couple of nights due to the fact that she had decided that she would get up an hour after I put her to bed and want to play for 3-4 hours. Yeah, not happening! The first night she cried for about an hour (on and off, since Jacob sang to her for awhile), then last night it was only for about 30 minutes (she slept through the night after that!) and then tonight she only cried for about 5 maybe 10 minutes. Hopefully real soon there won't be any crying and, I'm not getting my heart set on it, but hopefully she'll sleep through the night again tonight....we'll see though. :)

Here's a picture of my Jacob....getting ready to "shoot himself a rabbit!" I'm a pretty lucky girl to have such a wonderful and handsome guy love me....almost as much as I love him! :D