Thanksgiving Holiday

Poppy (Ben Turner III) and Eliza (Ben's sister) hanging with the boys. Guess the pacifier gives away who is who? Taylor (left) and Turner (right)

Sunny and Rush "reading " to the boys. As you can see, our studious Turner is taking it all in.

Sunny, Havens and Rush pose with Taylor.

Aunt Eliza and Taylor....love the hat, little handsome pants!!!

Havens, Mommy and Turner relaxing on the couch.

It seems to be becoming an annual tradition for Ben and I...Thanksgiving holiday in St. Simon's Island, Georgia. Home away from home! We can not think of a better place to be for the holidays, especially because "our" Webster girls are there!! This year was even more special because it was the boy's first vacation holiday. They missed seeing their other cousins, who were out of town, but there is always Christmas!

We are proud to report that we got the car packed in less than 3 hours...not record time for us but we remembered everyone and everything and actually had a non-stop trip. Liz did have to climb half way into the back seat for feedings as we hit the causeway...but we made it door to door in record time of 3 hours!!! The hounds had to stay behind but under the loving care of Miss Julie. Thank you to the best dog sitter ever!!!

Here are the highlights of our trip:
1. visiting with our nieces, the Webster girls (our nieces and daughters of Ben's sister, Eliza).... whose comments continue to make us laugh!
Sunny, 3, tells her daddy who is on the phone..." I have to go cuz I'm watching Liz milk her boobies" and asks me every hour or so.... " is it time to milk for the boys".

2. a wonderful thanksgiving feast of tomato pie, smoked turkey, pecan pie, Sylvia's oysters, John's stuffing and Lucy's dumplings!!

3. extra hands of Poppy, Eliza and Sylvia who relieved us for some of the feedings and diaper changes

4. Smiles of Rush, Havens and Sunny as we strolled past Lovely Lane Chapel

5. Ben's freedom to hang with his fellas...know he enjoyed the time away from us!!

6. We still have renters in our home and they seem happy and content on Meadows Drive!! Yeah--what a relief in this economy!

7. The sky lightened up as we decided to leave so all of our "baby goods" were not drenched under the tarp in the pack of the truck!

8. John and Kate Plus 8 Marathon, so I was entertained while I "made the milk".

9. Upon announcing that it was time for us to go home, the Webster girls pitched a fit..." Don't go....Take your time!.....Can I go too?". Boy, do we feel special to have such sweet little girls love us so much. Sunny, the youngest Webster niece, asked her mom if she could go to "Charleston with Liz and B". She told her mom that she could come get her "when daddy got home from work".

10. Arriving home to see three wagging tails and three smiling dogs looking through the front glass door at us....how we miss our dogs on vacations!!!

First Visit to Mommy's Workplace

Today we took a trip to mommy's workplace, Roper Hospital. The acute care therapy department where mommy is a speech pathologist was having a Thanksgiving feast and we were invited! Everyone made a dish--mommy made yummy brownies, which thankfully made it from our house with only 1 missing. Now, that is impressive!!!

We got to meet all mommy's friends...physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, Dr. Warmoth and Dr. Royall, the radiology staff and so many more. Too bad for us, we fell asleep on the car ride there, that we missed a lot of the action. Lucky for mommy though, as she enjoyed a quiet lunch date with her friends and co-workers. We loved seeing everyone, especially mommy's friend Jodi and her "follower" newborn Andrew.

Above: Mommy's friend, Tara, holds Turner, who aroused briefly but quickly fell back asleep.

Photo 2: Some of the 8th floor best PCA's and mommy's friends, Joan (left) and Ann (right), pose with the boys. Joan has twin boys too!!

Photo 3: Mommy's co-worker and "partner in crime", Barbara (also an SLP-left), and her good pal, Beth (right), pose with the boys in Barb's office. Yes, we are still sleeping thanks to mom's good swaddling technique and the loud noises! (Can you tell which boy is which...hint, hint: look for the cheeks!)

And our final stop was to be fed and changed at the EEG/Neurodiagnostics Lab, where Trish, Penny and Judy gave us our milk and lots of love. (This is Trish and Taylor.) Whoops--mommy only took 1 photo! Bad mommy!!

*You avid readers would be proud that mom has ventured out two days in a row on her own and has done great! Yeah--boys, next week, we're going shopping!!!! Thank you boys for being such precious and good natured sons!!!

2 month well visit

Mommy and Taylor taking a stroll through the neighborhood.

Ben and Turner stopping to visit with our favorite neighbors, Andrew, Sterling, Lauren and Ashley...where is Owen?

The family stroll...what you can't see are the dogs at our feet, begging to go. Of course, we took them. Poor Ben has mastered the art of soothing a baby, picking up poop and yelling at the dogs to keep them close. Mommy, of course, has the primary rsponsibility of keeping Taylor's pacifier in his mouth. Today, both boys enjoyed looking around at the changing colors of the leaves.

In our pajamas, before we got dressed for our 2 month well visit with Dr. Zimlich...as you can see, Mr. Sea Horse wanted to go to the doctor too. Mr. Sea Horse is one of their favorite toys because it lights up and sings to them, thus is always close by.

We are proud to report that mommy and the boys made it to the doctor's office on time and by ourselves today. Mommy had to get up at 6 am to get she and the boys ready and out the door, but we made it!! The boys were all decked out in their winter outfits, including monogramed hats, blue blankets and matching sweaters! Unfortunately, mom looked a little dishoveled--who has time to get ready when you have two others to worry about. Plus, her winter clothes are MIA and all she has is some "early on" maternity stuff that still fits (although a tad big) and a winter jacket. Nice, Liz..I bet the pediatrician is wondering if we live in the hood.

The boys got wonderful reports... They had their 2 month shots and did great. Both wailed pitifully, but were soothed with their Georgia pacifiers. (Go Dawgs!) Dr. Zimlich even said that the boys could eat a little more...thank goodness. Her idiot nurse had made me feel bad when i called last week saying that if i fed them anymore "they will get fat". Now, maybe they will be eating every 3 hours versus screaming from hour 2-3. They fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept for 2 hours until Emily arrived.

Turner: weight 11 pounds, 6 oz. 50th percentile
height: 21 1/2 10th percentile...guess he might be short? Go figure, by looking at his parents!
Turner smiled at Dr. Zimlich as she played with him and "coo" ed at her.

Taylor: weight 12 pounds, 2 oz 75th percentile
height: 22 1/4 25th percentile...looking short too.
The doctor says that his umblical hernia ("his outie") will more than likely go away and not need surgery. Thank goodness!! Taylor enjoyed looking around at the bright lights and mural on the wall as Dr. Zimlich tried to play with him.

*Side note: Hope they don't have to go to the speech therapist for their "shortness". Mom says that i went to the school counselor with my friend, Catherine Childs, when i was in elementary school because we were upset that we were so short. To make us feel better, they enrolled me in speech therapy per mom. Yeah right, there must be more to the story but that is what she says.

What a week!

What a week it has been! The week was so busy with visitors, appointments, diaper changes and feedings, mom lost track of the week, literally! Here are some of our favorite photos of the week.



Photo 1: How we like to be soothed...despite what mom's girlfriends think, we love and feel safest when swaddled in our Kiddapotamus blankets. As you see, swaddling calms us, stops the crying and lets us sleep...PEACEFULLY! (Taylor-left; Turner-right)

Photo 2: We made another great stride this week toward mom's sanity!! Mom has tried to talk us into these cool car seat swings since we were born. Thank you to baby shower hostess', Heather, Drea, Sabrina, and Nikki!!!
Up until this week, we screamed every time mom tried them on us. This week--we LOVED them. In this photo, we were supervising mommy as she made Cinnamon swirl muffins. On other occasions, we have directed her in making our bottles, washing dishes and cooking dinner. Of course, she had to stop on occasion and re-place Taylor's pacifier.... she is still actively looking for a personal assistant to keep the pacifier in Taylor's mouth. No such luck to date. Anyone? Anyone? (Turner-right; Taylor-left)
Daddy visited his buddies, Chris Tolleson and Dave Howard, in Savannah for Friday night. They went to the John Prine Concert. Mommy was a bit nervous about being alone for such a long time--day and night, so she enlisted some "helpers". Her mother's helper, Emily from CofC, came for the afternoon and her girlfriends came for the night shift. Mommy spent the afternoon cooking for the "helpers", cleaning house and doing laundry....thank goodness for Emily!! We love Emily! She can hold us both at the same time and even showed mommy how to easily use the Baby Bijon on Turner--and what a hit it was!!

Photo 3: Miss Kim snuggling with Taylor at Girl's Night....

Photo 4: Miss Rachel hanging out with Turner

Mommy is so thankful for her fabulous girlfriends....thanks also to Miss Dawn and Aunt Sabrina. hope we did not cramp you girl's style! Mommy loved the company and we slept like babies are suppose to sleep...only to be awoken by daddy at 2am because he missed us so much! Mommy was up and still a nervous wreck because daddy insisted on coming home after the concert instead of spending the night--he just loves his family so much, even one night away, seemed like too long!!!


Photo 5: Mommy's Aunt Martha drove down for the afternoon to see us from Pawleys Island...we loved seeing her and especially loved our new Christmas outfits. Pictures to come as the holidays arrive. As you can see, Martha had the magic touch keeping Taylor's pacifier in his mouth!! Thank you for making the trip, Martha!!!

In conclusion, we had another wonderful weekend with daddy!!! The highlight of the weekend was the Falcon's game---who dominated over the Carolina Panthers!! Daddy took turns playing with us, while mommy played tummy time and read books to us. Mommy got another much needed nap, as daddy did the feedings and made the bottles. We moved the portable swings--their new favorites for the week--into mommy and daddy's bedroom so mommy and daddy could get organized. We leave Wednesday for St. Simon's Island to see our Granny and Poppy and could not be happier!! We can't wait to put Taylor with Poppy because he looks so much like him--his hair is starting to come in and now he has a brown, fine buzz cut!!! And know that Turner will love looking at all the cool things in their house!!

Living the American Dream

Photo 1 :Turner (left) and Taylor (right) fell asleep during their two month photo shoot! And a special thank you to Granny for our blankets... we love them!! As you can see, they have more than one use!
Photo 2: A close up of Taylor Fitzhugh Slade....things he inherited from his "Gan" (Fitzhugh Henry Dove III) include: his love to eat, fiesty attitude when he is mad, sweet demeanor and love of sleep! Taylor is the one who wants to be held and loves to snuggle. He is most content while sleeping on your chest, swinging in one of his many swings and lounging in his bouncy seats. He likes to be entertained! He loves to give kisses while he waits for his bottle by nuzzling on your shoulder, hand or anything you'll let him. His pacifier is his best friend. He is looking for a full time assistant to keep his pacifier in his mouth...any takers? He lives for eating and is preparing to win a food contest later in life, as he gulps down his milk in record times. Poor guy got his mom's tummy issues and is frequently crying after meals. We're still trying to figure out that one. His hair is still a lighter brown and finer than Turner's with a hint of red like his mommy....his baby blue eyes persist and continue to charm us all.

Photo 3: Turner, who is named after his daddy and Poppy (Ben Turner Slade III), is changing every day. He loves to look around and is never wanting to miss out on anything. He can soothe himself and entertain himself by looking at the various objects in a room, He got his love of gabbing from his mommy already--cooing in response to his playtime and making funny faces are just two things that make us smile about him! He enjoys tummy time and can lift his head off the mat to check things out. He usually sleeps through the outings and takes his time while eating...some days he is so slow, it takes him an hour to finish a bottle. Turner can frequently be seen helping hold the bottle or grabbing onto his brother's ear. He is becoming more laid back like his daddy, which is a change from last month, as he frequently is the one to wait patiently for the next activity. Although, his looks are appearing more like his mommy every day--his hair is darkening and becoming more coarse and his brown eyes could melt your heart.

Photo 4: Daddy and Taylor snoozing between football games..What you can't see is Jackson (our middle lab) snuggled at daddy's feet.

Photo 5: Turner (left) and Taylor (right) posing with an old photo of them from last month. They certainly have grown into their favorite "dog-dog" outfits.

Ben and I are so blessed to be living the American Dream. We talk every day about everything we have to be thankful for.... we love each other, have two handsome and sweet sons, have 3 dogs that brighten our days, have secure jobs, loving families, a home and a neighborhood that we love and dreams for a bright future ahead! We are enjoying getting out more with the boys, even if it is just to go shopping or walking with the dogs. Being at home and watching them grow is one of our new favorite things to do. The boys are already being taught lots about Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Falcons football from daddy and have received many cooking lessons from their mommy. They love the kitchen's swing and bouncy seat that entertain them while mommy washes bottles, packs daddy's lunch or cooks dinner. Or maybe it's the good smells coming from the kitchen....

GIRLS ONLY

This BLOG report is recommended for the girls only. Boys who choose to read it, should beware that it contains girl graphics...read at your own risk! I am choosing to print this in order to keep the BLOG "real" and to help my soon to be first time mother readers...Allison, Jody, Carter, Dawn & Kristi!!!

As many of you know, I am choosing to breast feed the boys via pumping alone, meaning I pump and then they eat via bottles. This decision was made at about 3 weeks, as Taylor was having latch on problems. We went to a lactation consultant and worked with two others, who felt the problem was resolved, though it was not. At first, I was completely satisfied with the decision because it gave me some help as I was not the soul feeder, milk maker, etc. Lately, the whole concept has been nothing but painful in many ways. In hopes of helping those future mom's, I am choosing to share this experience because it seems no one talks about pumping/breast feeding negativities. We all know the positives, hence the reason I am hanging in there!



I thought...You buy a $350 pump, put it to your breast, it sucks the milk, you put in bottles and the boys drinks...HOW easy is that. Yeah right. Here is the real deal.

You buy the $350 "best" pump out there and it dies...twice! oh yeah, I have officially had 2 medela pumps die on me and am now renting a hospital grade pump. They have replaced it for free but still , that is after long waits to talk to a medela 1-800 person and the pain of mailing the old stuff back to them (which meant another putting 2 boys in the car to run into the UPS place for 5 mins. ) I have clogged milk ducts, which are terribly painful, like every day from not completely emptying my breasts. Who has time to empty and can "relax" with two screaming babies going crazy? You know that sitting in a bouncy seat is child neglect in some countries, right? Last night, i took two showers as i was up from 2:30 on after going to bed at midnight, to get the ducts unclogged. I mean, who has time, to sit at the pump for an hour every 3 hours, even at night. Yep--i am setting my alarm clock to pump at night, despite the boys are sleeping. When the boys are awake and I'm alone, I am attached to this short wall unit, playing with them, slouched over in their bouncy seats....talk about bad body mechanics. No wonder my back and neck are hurting! Did i mention that i have blisters on my nipples because they are squuezed throught this tube which is half the size of the nipples every time i pump? And with all of that being said, i still am not producing enough for the chow hounds that i proudly call my sons....

That, my girlfriends, are some joys of breast feeding. Not to scare you, but just so you'll know. No one told me and people still don't like to talk about it. The sad part is that despite all of the negatives, i feel bad about quitting. I know the research and know it is so much better for the boys in the long run! My sister was not breast fed and still to this day, is always sick!!!I know people who were not breast fed who have always struggled with their weight too. I want my boys to have a better chance of a healthy lifestyle...guess that is true love! The pain of this every 3 hours is worth it for my sweet baby boys...at least for now!!! We'll see how i feel tomorrow.

On a positive addendum, they got into the childcare of their first choice--Roper Learning Center!! Starting on Jan. 19th, they will be on site where i work, so i can visit at lunch if i want/need to...they will be having Ms. Lizzie take care of them until then, then off to work with mommy! We can hardly wait!!!

Daddy's home....

Everything is better when daddy is home! We look forward to weekends because daddy is home from work and we get to hang out as a family. This weekend was no exception! Sad to say, we forgot to take photos, but have many stories....

The weekend started on Saturday with a walk about Scott's Creek with the boys in the Baby Bijons. Man, those things are awesome! Scott's Creek is a new neighborhood near us that has yet to be developed, thus is the perfect walking adventure. The dogs can run free, off leash, as we make the mile loop around the pond. Daddy took Taylor and mommy took Turner and off to the trail that leads to the marsh we marched! Too bad, Guinness dropped his "dead bird" (tennis ball) thus had nothing to fetch, but he and Georgia enjoyed a quick dip to check the water's temperature. Jackson took the lead, as he often does, and explored every bush, stream and tree out there!

We decided it was time that we venture out to eat with the boys. We timed everything where we thought we would be ready for no problems....and are proud to report that the boys did great. Not perfect, but great. Ben and I were all excited about going to Wild Wings--they have this great outside patio, tons of big tv's for football, wings, chicken fingers and burgers--what else could you need! Turner slept through lunch and the GA game, Taylor screamed but could be soothed as he ate lunch with me (I personally think he just wanted to be closer to my food, hoping I would drop something.), but the food was a total disappointment. Oh well, good behaved children made the family lunch date all so worth it! And to not have to change any poopy diapers in a public restroom was even better!!

Every weekend that daddy is home with the boys he gets better and better. Daddy now can officially soothe Turner better than mommy and is better and more efficient at getting the boys burped! The boys love to lay on his chest with their hearts touching and love to sit upright in his arms to watch football. Mommy's heart melted when she arrived downstairs yesterday to see daddy and Turner snoozing "heart on heart" together...it was precious! Daddy is now used to their piercing cries and can recognize when they're hungry or just plain fussy. He even lets mommy boss him around when she is "making milk" and gladly performs all daddy duties so mommy can run errands and take much needed naps. GO DADDY--WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!

The weekend would not be complete without the Falcon's game. Naturally, we are "tinkled blue" that both the Dawgs and Falcons pulled off wins this weekend!!

Cindarella has gone to the ball...

For those of you who have not been following the BLOG closely, Cindarella is my mom. (Above is Cindarella burping the boys at week 6; they are now 7 weeks old.) She hates to be photographed and i never look decent enough to be photographed anymore...showers don't occur until Ben gets home when Cindarella is at her "balls".

When she is in town, the poor soul shows up at 6 am and stays until Ben gets home, which is between 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Not only does she help me take care of the babies, but she is at my beck and call while i am attached to the pump and serves as the official Slade Household maid. Now, the maid part, is by her choice, in that she thinks Ben and I are slobs. Thankfully, she has refrained from saying so, because my hormonal, sleep deprived self would only get mad, but i know that is what she is thinking. We do the best we can do to keep the house clean and neat, but because we combined 2 households into 1 already packed household, we look like pack rats. And yes, the three furry friends do not help with the dog hair...even if we vacuum daily with the "Animal Dyson", there will always be dog hair as I have tried to explain.

Back to the plot.... Cindarella went back to Charlotte for a few days and is surely missed! Boo, we miss you, but are doing well without you. I even managed to vacuum yesterday...well, honestly, the boys were screaming and needed to be calm, so i figure " why let the vacuum just sit when the downstairs can be cleaned too?".

Everyone asks, " how do you do it when you're alone", so here goes my best explanation.

It is 6 am and I am sleeping soundly; Ben is in the shower getting ready for work. "WWWWWWWWAAAAAAA". Somebody is up! " WWWWWWWAAAAAAA". The other one is now up. Thanks baby #1!

I grab two bottles and start the warming process; whoever invented mini refrigerators and bottle warmers deserve to win the lottery. For a sleep deprived mom, these two items are better than any million dollar lottery ticket. (Then again, if i won the lottery, I would have hired help...but lose out on all this one on one with my sweet boys!) Then I grab the fussiest one, change his diaper and try to ignore the other " WWWWWWWAAAAAAA". I then turn on the "Hanibel Lector"(theme from the movie Silence of the Lamb) music as Ben calls it and hope it entertains the clean one, while I grab baby #2 and change his diaper. One by one, they are moved from the changing area to the spare bedroom. It is here that they are propped up side by side on pillows and between pillows on the guest bedroom's bed so they can be fed at the same time. I usually say a quick prayer that the phone does not ring, an itch does not occur or the urge to "go potty" because all of those things will have to wait! As they gulp their milk down, I take turns burping them , while listening to the other one...." WWWWWWWWWAAAAA You took my milk!"

Back to the changing area, because boys poop. Boys poop alot! For some odd reason, when they drink their milk, it causes them to pee and poop.... and pee and poop a lot! After they are changed, it is bath time (every other day). One at a time, I bathe one while the other one either goes "WWWWWWAAAAAAA" or listens to the Hanibel Lector music. I then pick out their outfits for the day from their million piece closets...this in itself is a struggle for this Libra. If you saw the thousands of pants, shirts, onesies and sleepers, you would understand why picking an outfit is such a struggle for this indecisive mom.

Then it is dreaded PUMP time for mom. While I pump, I attempt to get the boys to nap, which usually is a big "NO-NO-NO" screamed in my ear, so other options are...I am attached to the pump while i place them both in front of me in their bouncy seats. I then attempt to entertain them by giving them their pacifier one hundred times to avoid the wails, reading books to them or singing songs to them. My collection is geared more to the geriatric population, as i have been teaching my apraxic patients how to sing for too long. Poor guys will know "My Bonnie and Happy Birthday" all too well. Now, if i get lucky and they are sleep while i pump, i get to check emails, play on facebook and complete this BLOG. (This is why you get so many late night responses because I am free while i pump at night!)

By the time I have finished the dreaded 30-45 min. pumping process, one or both are usually asleep....sweet , I have some free time! Did i mention my free time is letting the dogs out? eating? making sure i am drinking 14+ glasses of water a day? washing bottles? changing the diaper genie? straigthening the house? doing laundry? napping (because i have to pump every 3 hours including the 30-45 mins. I am on the pump, thus every 2 1/2 hours, i am attached to this unit....even at night!)

I usually have just gotten started and "WWWWWWWWAAAAA", the process begins again....and again and again until daddy arrives back home.

Please don't feel sorry for me, just be understanding when I don't answer the phone, when it takes me 3 days to return your phone call and when i forget your birthday. I have never worked so hard in my entire life at a job, but have never felt happier either. These boys are so cute that even in my most tired state, i just love being with them! Their funny faces and their "tooting" makes me laugh...I find i look forward to their cries because that means they are up and we can talk and play with each other.

Well, Ben is feeding Turner and i need to wake Taylor, as this PUMP session has ended. Getting the two to stay on the same schedule is the hardest part....they are twins but individuals, for sure!

Election Day 2008

You're never too young to show your support to the great Republicans in this world!!

Well, the big day has finally arrived and the boys wanted to wear something special on their first election day! Turner (right) and Taylor (left) showed their support for their choice for President with these decorative onesies. As you can see, hiding in the middle, Mr. Sea Horse wanted to show his support too! Although, it took us an hour and a half to get out of the front door, we are proud to say that it only took an hour for mom and dad to vote.

Here we are "snoozing on the job"...it was so loud at Whitesides Elementary school's cafeteria, where we voted, that we felt like we were back in mom's womb. Prior to napping, we enjoyed visiting with mom and dad's friends Lee, Allison, Kate and our neighbor Jimmy!

" Yo brother, do you think our vote will count?"

And a bit unintelligible because of the pacifier, Taylor responded:"I don't know but certainly am glad we supported Mc Cain in our cool onesies. Man, we look good. "

** This is an old photo that mom found on the camera and had to post...it was too cute of Taylor to not post.

ADDENDUM- Also today, we met Lizzie, who will taking care of us until we get into Roper Learning Center Preschool. Lizzie is a wonderful lady who takes babies into her home while moms and dads work. Her husband, Owen, works as the PE teacher with daddy and we like him too. Taylor snoozed on daddy's lap, so he missed the one-on-one loving by Lizzie. Lizzie calmed me (Turner) immediately...I enjoyed my "play time" with her and was happy as a lark, so mommy and daddy said "yes". She only keeps children of teachers and is closed on school holidays, which means that on all school holidays, we will be home with daddy. Double Yeah!

Another fabulous weekend with daddy!

As I sit down to write the BLOG, I realized that so many of the BLOG notes are without mention of daddy. I am sure everyone is wondering " where in the world is daddy?". Daddy is teaching his first year after getting his masters degree in Special Education and in SC, thus is not around a lot during our waking hours during the work week. Poor daddy...it seems that when he appears home around 5 or so, we are fussy, overstimulated and needing extra attention and mommy is tired! At first the tears, made daddy upset and frustrated because he thought we cried all of the time, but now he is getting used to our tearful episodes and realizing that it is just what we do. Thanks to some ear plugs given to him by a fellow staff member, advice from a friend who had fussy twins, and the Baby Bijon, evenings are much quieter and more understood than they once appeared. Some are still more challenging than others, but more manageable. Daddy does so well with us and we love him so much!

Mommy, on the other hand, as a speech pathologist, understands the cries....it is our way of communicating. We are mad! We are wet! We are hungry! We dropped our pacifier! We are bored! We want you to play and talk to me! We want to be swaddled! We are mad! Did i mention, we are really mad!

As far as the weekend events with daddy....as a family, we went to Walmart (yes, again!), took walks through the neighborhood each day, went to Mt. Pleasant's Palmetto Island County Park and watched football. We were devastated by the Bulldog's loss or shall we say, killing, by the Gators! But thrilled beyond words when the Falcons whooped some hinny to those poor souls from Oakland! Daddy is more of a Atlanta Falcon's fan for that reason--he says he is used to the falcons being "bad" so the wins are extra special because usually so infrequent. On the other hand, it hurts too bad to be a dawgs fan because of their losses...especially to Florida!

Daddy learned many of mommy's tricks this weekend:
1. The vacuum does calm us when we are practicing for the Slade Choir tryouts!
2. The gumdrop pacifiers are a favorite way to soothe us!
3. Oh, is that what a BOPPY is and why it we have three of them spread throughout the house!
4. Oh, that is the reason that you must cover up my penis when changing my diapers!
5. Planning is key to success on outings....you can never leave the house without diapers, wipes and bottles because all three will be needed regardless of how long you plan to be gone! And yes, you can feed a baby anywhere!!! (This time, Taylor had to eat at the park! Is anyone surprised?)
6. The more they eat during the day--even if it is every 2 1/2 hours, the better they sleep at night! We are proud to say that for the past two nights, both boys have gone 5 hours between feedings. If mommy were not getting up to retrieve their milk, she could really be feeling good with more sleep! Oh well, thank goodness, Boo is here tomorrow!

Mommy especially enjoyed daddy's presence because that meant she had some normality back to her life. She managed to run some errands with old Faithful and Turner--who acted perfect in the grocery store and seemed to be in love with the bright lights and colorful items on the aisles! Ole faithful used to ride everywhere with her mommy pre-babies and pre-Ben; he thought he was king of the castle again after he got to go on the road trip with us!!

Mommy even got to cook two of her favorite meals (tomato pie and creamed chicken)...you know, having the time to plan and cook meals is something i have really missed. When i was pregnant, I was too tired and recently, I am just too busy. Plus, cooking while holding a baby is hardly enjoyable, as I tried eating cereal while holding Turner one time and he ended up with Cocoa Krispies on his head....which resulted in a scream and another scream! Sorry, handsome pants!

Well, more news to follow after our "Tuesday Fun Day" with daddy. He has the day off because of Election Day and we have many fun things planned after WE VOTE FOR MC CAIN!!!!