At the Pumpkin Patch

Tanner & Morgan convinced us to make a trip to the pumpkin patch. We weren't going to since we had already done Jack-O-Laterns with Grandma, but our Jack-O-Laterns had an early demise.

So, here we are at the farm that we bought our pumpkins from this morning.

And the winner is....

Where is the strangest place you've hidden things before showing your house?

I'm going with underneath the computer scanner lid....

How do you...

convince your 3-1/2 year old daughter that girls don't pee standing up?

Please...this has been going on for waaayyyy too long now.

I Hate Cell Phones

Warning: Rant ahead.

I hate cell phones. Granted, they are handy at times. Say I'm in Target and I need to call my mom and see if she's been looking for something, I can make a quick call. It's handy when I'm out of town and need to stay in touch with my family. I even like the peace of mind knowing that if my kids need me, they can reach me at any time.

What do I hate about cell phones? I think it's the fact that it implies urgence. There are so many times when the situation doesn't call for that.

I absolutely refuse to call customers on their cell phones. I'll have Sales Reps say to me, "call them on their cell phones, they'll answer their cell phones". But I'm not calling for something urgent - it can surely wait until they are back in their office. I don't like people asking me to call them on their cell phone - again, it's not urgent - I'll leave a message. I figure if what I have to say is important enough or interesting enough, they'll call me back. Right?

I hate talking to someone on their cell phone. The coverage is often lousy, you can hear people talking in the background or wind blowing - it's distracting, it's too difficult to talk to them.

I think driving and talking on the cell phone is unsafe (particularly without a hands free device). I don't want to be responsible for someone else's misfortune.

I don't have to be availbe to work 24 / 7. It's healthy to get away from work folks, really, it is.

Really, folks - a personal conversation while you are grocery shopping? It's not only rude to the person on the phone, but to the other shoppers as well. And, don't even get me started on having a conversation while you are checking out / having a secondary conversation with a cashier. Seriously people - can it really not wait?

I like talking to people, and I literally seem to spend about 6 hours a day on my phone talking to people. I enjoy hearing from our customers and working with them...just don't call me on my cell phone.

Charity

I had a garage sale this weekend - and it was much different than I had anticipated. I expected that the hot items would be kids clothes & toys. So not the case - but all of the household stuff is gone. That was a big relief.

So, I decided to do something charitable with the clothes. We hand down Tanner's clothes to my nephew, Brayan, but we can't find anyone to hand Morgan's clothes down to. Morgan has some beautiful clothes - and way too many. Most of them are really in great shape.

I contacted a children's shelter to see if they would accept the clothing. They only accept NEW clothes! Really? I love hand-me-down for my kids - and you won't accept them? What? These are really nice, outfits (pants, shirt, sweater, socks, headbands - OUTFITS) that are mostly Baby Gap, Gymboree, or boutique brands...Does that seem totally wrong or what?

Big Brother

Yesterday, Morgan came home with some scratches on her leg. She proclaimed that "Ethan did it."

This morning, on the way to school - I hear Morgan & Tanner talking.

Morgan: "Tanner, Ethan scratched me."

Tanner: "I'm going to tell Aiden." (Aiden is his best friend at school.)

Morgan: "Yeah, let's tell Aiden."

Tanner: "And then I am going to spit on Ethan."


WHOA. (insert sounds of screaching trucks coming to a halt here)

I did explain to them that hitting / biting/ spitting / kicking were not okay, and that I was sure Ethan had only accidnetally scratched Morgan.



But, deep down, I was really proud that he was protecting his sister.

Too Cute

Good news: We've had some interest in our house lately. We've got one couple who we believe have been here two - maybe three times - and possibly another who is interested.

Bad news: You have to vacate the house when they want to tour it. 95% of the time, this will occur between 1 - 2 p.m. For those of you with toddlers, you know what time that is, right? Naptime.

My solution - ICE CREAM. I mean, really, even when they're tired and cranky, it's good enough bribery to keep them behaving somewhat. The Dairy Queen is somewhat close (8 miles), it'd take almost exactly an hour, it was safe from the rain showers, and the opposite direction from the race track.

The best part of the whole trip, listening to Morgan talk about going to "Dairy Cream".

Angels

One of the stark realities of being submerged into the medical world, is that we've been introduced to too many children who have left this world way too early. Liver disease isn't pretty. It's sometimes hard for me to realize that if Tanner had been born a generation ago, his odds of survial would have been around 20%. It's still hard to realize that even today, a child with Biliary Atresia chances of survival are around 80%.

When we were first submerged into this liver world, three families surrounded us with love, warmth, understanding, and friendship. Two of those families, Aiden's and Anthony's, had very similar stories to Tanner's. They were little boys, born with Biliary Atresia, had liver transplant when they were under 1 year old, and have done well since then.

The other, was Haley's family. Aiden's mom and Haley's mom were very close - and the four of us would often chat on AOL Instant Messenger. Haley's story was very different - she had Autoimmune Hepatitis, and she wasn't diagnosed until she was in childhood.

Haley had a love and compassoin for the other little kids touched by liver disease. She had a true compassion for them - and she reached out to them in the most special way. Haley was a gifted singer and songwriter - she wrote songs for these kids. Beautiful, relevant, funny songs. Billy Rubin talks about bilirubin being a mean fellow and turning her skin yellow, Prednisone talked about the ill effects that this commonly used steroid can have on our liver kids, and Hots! was written for Aiden who used to enjoy McDonald's French Fries after his regular lab draws. But, my favorite song is Everywhere - which talks about her strong faith in God, even through her illness.

Haley had so much spunk. She had a massive brain bleed in February 2005. During surgery, they shaved part of her head - and when she saw it, her comment was "You should never let a neurosurgeon cut your hair." This girl was flooded with hats that people sent her to wear while her hair grew back in. And, what did she do? She shared them with other kids who didn't have hair (many of them cancer patients). She sang at fundraisers whenever possible.

Two years ago on Monday, October 1, Haley lost her fight. At the time, she was just a little over a month away from her 12th birthday. I still remember when I first heard that she'd gone home to heaven. It still hurts me, two years later - I can't imagine the pain that her family endures on a daily basis. Haley's legacy continues in a foundation that her parents started in her honor - The Haley Vincent Foundation. Through this foundation, they send out care packages to kids who are in the hospital due to liver disease and transplant.

I don't talk about it often on this website, although I really should. Organ donors save lives. If Haley had gotten a transplant, she might still be with us here today. I could list a long list of names here - all children who died waiting for a liver transplant or from complications from getting their transplant after they were too sick. These are children - not people who have abused their livers through drink, alcohol, or drugs. There are over 90,000 people waiting for an organ donation right now. Please consider being an organ donor - and make sure that your family is aware of your decision. To find out more about organ donation, please go here.

Angel Haley, we still miss you, girl.

Overheard

This is the conversation that Randy & I overheard tonight as the kids were enjoying the last of their bath.

"Tanner, do you have a sore on your penis?"

"No, I don't have a sore on my penis. I have a helmet." (I have no idea where he got this from...)

"You have a helmet?"

"Yes, that is where the butterfly* bit me...and drank my blood."



So, my next question - at what age do you make boy/girl twins quit taking baths with each other?


*Now, the butterfly part I get. Whenever Tanner has to have his blood drawn for labs, they use a butterfly needle. We tell him that the butterfly is going to bite him and then drink his blood. Yeah, I know, whacked out & a little weird, but it prevents him from crying during lab sticks.

This Sucks

You know it can't be a good sign when the day you put your house on the market, the stock market drops over 200 points, it's the first day of school, and it's over 100 F outside. It's now been six weeks, and we've only had FOUR couples tour the house. That's disappointinly low.

And, I knew it would be really, really hard to try to maintain a "show" home with two three year olds in the house. That has been difficult - incredibly difficult. But you know what's worse?

Having people come through and critque your house. Randy & I designed this house - giving so much thought into the location of everything in the home - making sure it was laid out to be easily lived in. It's very well constructed, with behind the scene things that you don't get in normal houses (radiant floor heat, whole house audio system, a light switch to turn off/on the Christmas lights). It may not be the most architecturally intersting house you'll ever see - but it's a comfortable home that is easy to live in.

So my point? Oh yeah, getting there, when they fill out the survey on their tour, it's a personal assualt when they write something like "didn't like the layout at all" or "it would be great except for the staircase".

And worst of all? As my husband said this weekend, the house doesn't even feel like it's ours anymore. As per all the shows / books / websites on "designing your house to sell", we've decluttered, hidden the toys, and removed many of the sentimental things in our home. Our wedding pictures are stored away - pictures of the kids. Trust me - it's nice to kick back and relax in an incredibly clean home - but I just wish it felt like ours.

So - if you've got some "sell the house" vibes out there - please send them our way.

A Preview of Halloween 2007

During our Open House today, we took the kids shopping for their Halloween costumes. I was resigned to letting them pick their own costumes - and I was tickled when they actually did chose a "twin like" costume.

It can't be good...

when you hear a loud crash, screaming & crying from the boy, followed by - "I'm sorry, Tanner, I'm sorry, Tanner!"

Huney

Tanner has a horrible fear of dogs. We think it may have stemmed from our neighbor's German Shepherd who passed away last year. This dog was wonderful with children, but her wagging tail had a habit of knocking Tanner over a time or two.

So, it shouldn't of surprised us that Tanner was frightened of dogs. But, we didn't realize how terrified of them he was. When we went to Denver in July, Tanner spent the day with Aunt Sherry. Well, more specifically with Aunt Sherry's kitchen counter. He was so scared of the dog that he wouldn't get down off the countertop. Morgan, our animal lover, absolutely adored the dog. She spent the day laying on the floor, petting Huney, and feeding her Scooby snacks.

So, as Randy's trip to Denver approached, Morgan kept asking if he would get to see "Aunt Sherry, Uncle Al, and Huney". And, when we called Daddy in Denver, she always inquired about Huney.

Early Tuesday morning, the kids ran upstairs to say hi to daddy - even though he was in the shower.

Morgan's first question was "Daddy, did you bring Huney home with you?"

"Yes."

"Where is she?"

"In the closet."

In the next instant, the shower door was open and a terrified Tanner was hopping in the shower with Randy - pajamas and all.

Observations

"Mommy....did you know M&Ms have chocolate in them?!!!"






I love this girl.

Hmpf....

Friday's conversation...

Morgan: "Mommy, why are you wearing those shoes?" (referring to my dress shoes)

"I have a meeting, honey, and mommy has to dress up and look nice. Do I look pretty today?"

"No."

"Why not!?!?"

"You're not wearing pink."

Come On, Four!

The age of three is by far the WORST age we have encountered (so far). I really didn't think two was all that bad, and at least they weren't waking up through the night. It just hasn't seemed like for the last three months that both kids can be happy at any time. And, the fighting...it's enough to drive me crazy.

This morning was a prime example. Tanner is always the first up - he's awake when I come downstairs to get them up. So, I get him out of bed, we go to the bathroom and then wake up Morgan (who is not a morning person). I get out their clothes, and Morgan asks to wear a dress.

"Morgan, your dresses aren't clean. How about a skirt?"

"No."

I pick out a T-shirt/short option and a T-shirt/skirt option. "Why don't you chose which one you want to wear?"

"No." (Arms now crossed on the floor in front of me and big pouty lip sticking out.)

"Morgan, you can chose what you want to wear from these two outfits."

"No, I want to wear a dress!"

"Please choose, Morgan." (Trying to keep my patience...)

"No."

"Fine, I'm chosing."

She jumps through the air and snatches at the skirt. Of course, since she procrastinated too long, that isn't an option any more. She falls onto the floor, a heaping, sobbing mess.

And, that doesn't touch the conversation regarding going to the bathroom, going upstairs, eating breakfast, or watching Mickey Mouse. I don't cave in to the behaviour, because if I do - that only reinforces that when she does this, she'll get her way, right?

Is it just me who is crazed by the age of three? Or is there a parenting secret out there that I don't know about?

And, other twin parents - did/do your twins fight? How do you handle that? It's so difficult to take something away from one as a punishment (i.e. TV or a toy) when they share so much and are together all the time.

On The Farm

At least once a year, Randy & I try to take the kids to his Uncle's House to spend some time on "the farm". We managed to sneak out last year for an anniversary. At that time, the kids got to chase after the cows, and we snapped this picture.

It's amazing how much the farm changes from year to year. They've had a lot of rain this year. It's much greener, the green, short vegetation you see in this picture is as tall as the kids are these year. There is no lack of feed, so the cows are further away from the house. None the less, the kids had a blast doing all the "fun" things on the farm.

Morgan was SO excited to see the cats. Thank goodness for cousin Joey who worked for weeks to tame a couple of kittens so Morgan could play with them.

Tanner helped feed & water the cats.

Then, he was ready to do other fun things. Like ride in the big red truck...

"Driving" the yellow tractor:

Where's Morgan? Oh, yeah, with the cats...

Checking out the combine:

Walking the farm with Uncle Randy (love this shot) :

Taking a 4-wheeler ride out to the pasture to see the cows (see all that green behind them, that's the same pasture from last year's picture):

And where was Morgan? Still with the cats...

Ok...so she didn't spend the ENTIRE time with the cats. We did pry her away for a few minutes to check the combine and ride out to the pasture. But 90% of the time...yep, she was with the cats.

Because it's too cute

We spent the weekend in Western Kansas (which is somewhat like "Upstate New York" - anything West of Kansas City is "Western Kansas"). We spent the night at Randy's Uncle & Aunt's home (also Tanner's godparents) after a cousin's wedding. This is the uncle that my husband was named after and his wonderful wife, Elaine.

The kids got to spend time on the farm, sitting in the tractors and trucks, riding four wheelers, petting cats, and going to see the cows. But the cutest thing ever, was the fact that the kids just couldn't quite remember who's house we were visitng.

When asked where we were staying, they always referred to it as....

Uncle Randy and Unc-Elanine's house.

Pictures to follow.

She May Be Nagging a Little Too Much

My mother-in-law is a devout Catholic. Oftentimes when we call in the evening, Grandpa will tell Tanner & Morgan that grandma is "at church".

On the way home from the grocery store on Sunday, we drove by a church. Here's how the conversation went from there:

Morgan: Mommy, that's a church, Jesus lives in Church!

Mommy: Yes, dear.

Tanner: No, Mor-dan. Grandma lives in church.

Dear Blog,

Umm...hi, it's me. I'm sorry, I haven't been neglecting you. You see, things have been busy. Really, really busy.

Remember that whole job thing? Well, I think I finally got it figured out. As much as we really didn't like the thought of moving, the opportunity is just too good to pass up. It really came down to the fact that I can't do this job in Kansas City. I would have to go back to a job in a related field, but with completely different hours and priorities. This job is fun, I enjoy the work, and I think I add value to the company.

The decision process wasn't easy. I took the advice of a friend who told me to "pray for roadblocks". That's what Randy & I did. At first, we saw many roadblocks. The company didn't want to pay me what I wanted for the move - that went away. We were concerned about selling our house and having two mortgage payments - the company allowed us not to move until after the house has sold. Randy's change in jobs - nearly every company he has applied to has expressed interest. We worried that my mom wouldn't be able to come visit, but she's had some health issues lately which will even prevent her from coming to see us in Kansas City.

Today is the day that we put the house on the market. This house was built from the ground up by Randy,I, and my family. I know no one else will appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears that went into this home. Will they appreciate all the little things that we did to make the home easier to live in? Will they know that the corner near our master bedroom door is where the kids have spent almost all of their timeouts over the last two years? Will they see the fact that the last two ballusters on our railing are different from the previous ten? Will they appreciate the cost or labor that went into building the playground and putting the rubber mulch underneath it? Will they realize how much the willow tree has grown from the small tree we planted six years ago? Will they know the Ash tree in the yard was planted for Tanner and the Maple for Morgan? Will they know the beautiful pink Crepe Mertle was planted in Angel Haley's memory?

And, as much as I know moving out of this house will be the third most difficult thing I've probably done, I'm kind of looking forward to the future, too.