Abigail & Bethany....My Pretty Girls

Here I am again...this time with hopefully lots of pictures to make up for all the "talk" in my last post! :) I need to download the camera onto the laptop, so you all will have to be happy with some older pictures of the girls and hopefully later in the week I'll have the new ones all ready to post! :)Abigail was actually on good terms with the camera when I took those pictures, thankfully, since sometimes it can be impossible to get pictures of her because she takes off running when I say I want to take her picture. Bethany still loves getting her picture taken and she usually gives me the sweetest smiles....she just is easily distracted so if there's anything else going on it can be hard to catch her looking at the camera!

It Feels Like Forever....And It's Abigail 2nd Birthday!

Ok, I know it hasn't been forever but it really kind of feels like it because it's been so long since I've posted. I'm really sorry to any of my faithful followers (I'm talking to you, Adalie!), I really didn't mean for it to be so long till I wrote again...time has been trying to get away from me...seems like it has been succeeding! :) I seem to have been finding more and more things to do lately and as my time to get on here is limited as it is....then as you can see I don't get on and post. I've missed it though. I hadn't really thought about it, but as soon as I started typing I realized how much I miss writing away to anyone who might be out there reading. I won't post any pictures in this post (sorry), but I have a post in progress with pictures and tons of pictures that I want to post.

So, I'm sure everyone is just "dying" to know what all I've been busy with to keep me away from my blog and the truth be know I've been pretty busy with....LIFE...hehe! Ok, I just had to say that cause I thought it was funny...of course, life has been keeping me busy, but yeah, the details, you want to know the details...got it! :) Well, running has been keeping me busy on the days I run...especially since I'm slow it takes even longer. Like today for example, I'll be running 11 miles (whenever Jacob gets home from work to watch the girls) and it will probably take me 2+ hours....I hope I can make it!

I've been perfecting my coconut meringue pie and apple pie and I really want to try my hand at selling some pies this summer and possibly starting up a little business or at least as much of a business as I can in a really small town. It sounds really fun to me though and it would be so neat to be able to sell something I make, so I'll probably have a bake sale sometime in the next couple of months and see how that goes and in the process pass out my name and number and see if I get any calls for pie! I think that would be sooo awesome to have people calling me to make pies....don't you guys think so!? I think I'll stick to Apple, Cherry, Pecan and Toll House Pie for my first sale day....maybe a coconut meringue or chocolate cream pie to have as samples so that people can try them and if they want something like that I can make them up especially for them. I'm really excited about it, if you can't tell! I know it might be a little difficult with the girls, but I'm sure I'd be able to manage it and it would be really nice for me to have a hobby that I really enjoyed doing....and that sounds like a fun hobby to me and a nice way to earn a little money too! That's always a plus! :)

Enough about pie, I'm sure you all want to hear about the two ornery girls that live here....Abigail and Bethany! :) Today is Abigail's 2nd Birthday and it's really hard to believe it's already been 2 years since the day she was born....hmmm, I can still remember the 26 hours of labor but it was definitely worth it! She was far from being the perfect little baby, and even though we are now into the "terrible 2's", I'm hoping she's not to terrible. :) It is so neat to hear how well she talks and the things she says...by far the cutest thing she says to Jacob and I is "I love you the most"! Also if she likes what we're wearing she tells us we "look cute". :) She also told me this morning, when I pulled out her strawberry cupcakes, "they smell pretty good mommy"...I thought that was so cute, especially how she said it pretty solemnly! :) She spends a lot of time on her pretend phone talking to her aunts and uncles about any random thought that pops into her head. She also copies anything that she sees me do while I'm on the phone....pretty cute and really fun to watch! :) She has also gotten more serious about playing with her dolls or one of her animals. Yesterday as I was working on dinner I heard a thumping noise, so I look over at Abigail who is standing in a chair holding a big toy Elmo, who she is spanking. She then proceeds to turn him around to face her and says "we don't bite"! I had to laugh about that...I've had to spank Abigail a couple times when she randomly decides to bite Bethany. She never seems to do it on purpose, but it does happen on occasions....at least she seems to remember that she gets spankings when she does that and obviously she didn't want Elmo biting her! I love hearing the different things she comes up with and what she says to her dolls and animals or just her grown-up responses to different situations....I will be sure to include her "insight" in my posts as she gets a little older and that happens more and more often!
Bethany is now walking....she's doing really well and I find that I have to be quicker at following her because she's fast! She'll be having her 1st birthday in just a few weeks and then she'll be my big 1 year old....she already thinks she's big stuff and tries to keep up with Abigail and do everything that she does. Bethany still isn't quite up to actually playing with Abigail (unless they're doing something bad like dumping water out of sippy cups onto the floor), so I'm looking forward to when they can really play and entertain each other instead of both needing me to play with them at all times!

This is all I have time for now and no promises, but hopefully I'll be back to writing regularly now!

Pink & Brown....

Yes, I'm talking about my "new look"...what do you all think? I'm pretty pleased with it, I've been looking for one that was pink and brown for a long time now. Of course, I still wouldn't mind being able to add a few things to make it more me, but I guess that won't happen unless I learn how to do all that stuff that's involved in making your own background...which is probably way above my realm of understanding! :)

If any of you are wondering....we're all doing pretty well around here for the time being, things can change so fast around here though. Last week Jacob came down with a stomach bug which lasted about a day; a few days later I came down with it...thankfully it was on my "rest day" (for my running schedule), unfortunately it was also the day before I needed to do my long run, which for that week was 5 miles. I managed it though...I didn't feel real good around the 2nd mile and then again around the 4th mile, but I was able to do it so I was pretty pleased with myself. :) And so far the girls haven't shown any real sign of getting the bug, which is a relief.

Running overall is going alright...it's extremely hilly around here and there's no direction I can run in that doesn't have at least one huge hill. There's probably not even a half mile stretch with no hills, that's pretty sad, especially when you're starting out....I just keep telling myself that in the long run it will be better. So, yes at some point it better start paying off! :)
Yep, the girls are as ornery as ever! Some of these pictures are from last month...this was actually from when we spent a few days in Columbia at my sister and brother-in-law's home.
Crawling up and down the hallway was lots of fun....hmmm, not sure why, other than it was a new place.
Crawling up the stairs was, by far, the most exciting thing ever for them! Bethany knew right what to do, so she followed Abigail right up the stairs....so, of course, that meant I had to be watching them like a hawk! Bethany also liked to crawl up a step or two than just think she could sit herself there on the steps....they like to give their mom heart attacks I believe!
Abigail thinking she's pretty cool....hmmm, she needs to work on keeping the slobber in the mouth though, I think that would be wonderful and make for much better pictures. :)Bethany following suit, except for the slobber (thank goodness). Abigail would constantly have to pull Bethany's hood up too when she would have hers on....I guess she didn't want to be the only one wearing a hood!See?! Abigail trying to pull it up and Bethany doesn't want it up....it's a common occurrence when they wear these outfits. They do love each other though....ok, most of the time....they have their moments like any other kids! :)

Running....Oh, & Kitchen Update!

Wow, how time flies! I never can seem to catch up on everything and I just made things busier on myself by adding in some "outdoor running". I say outdoor because I always feel like I'm on the run, but I've actually starting getting out in the mornings and running to hopefully be able to run a half marathon in June. We'll see though....having two kids definitely doesn't make it easy to get out and run, but when the weather warms up I'll be able to get the BOB stroller out and go running with the girls. Abigail asks me every day about going running....hopefully she'll be just as excited after she figures out that she'll be riding not running! This morning I ran 3 miles (for my long run), it felt like a long ways for me, but I'm so behind in the training schedule....I guess it would have helped to have been checking into training schedules so I would have known to have gotten started running sooner. I have such a bird-brain sometimes! I'm trying to catch up, but that means having to push myself a little more....which isn't a bad thing, but I do what to be careful and not hurt myself. I'm really worried about that because then I wouldn't get to run the marathon and I REALLY REALLY WANT TO! So, besides running it's been all the normal hustle and bustle of life with 2 girls and half a kitchen! The kitchen has been making progress though...it now has a ceiling and it's first coat of mud....which is way too enticing for 2 little girls that like to be in everything....I try to keep them out, but they like to follow their daddy around and that stuff does look like it might be fun to play in! :) Just saying....mind you, I haven't tried it out to know for sure! We also have a fridge which is wonderful to have; the little one we had held just the bare minimal, so having a nice huge fridge is extremely nice! Plus, we got it off of craigslist for $100 and it's almost brand new! Yeah, you can't get much better than that! In the next couple of weeks we'll be ordering our cabinets and counter tops, then we'll be getting a stove and sink and then we will be set....I can't wait! I will definitely be posting pictures of the finished product and any that I have of before.....you know...."before and after pictures!" ;)
I do have bunches of pictures, that are now on my laptop, so I will be posting pictures very soon, but this will have to be all for now because if I don't post this I might not get around to it and then it will be another day before you hear anything from me!

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!