Generic or Brand Name???

Ok, so I am a split decision when it comes to buying the generic version vs. brand name. Sometimes I can see a definite difference in quality and go for the brand name--i.e. green beans. Other times I don't and go for the generic version--i.e. ibuprophen. So, I thought I'd throw this out there for the rest of you who are still sitting on the fence. These are two pairs of shoes I have used for the girls for the same amount of time. The top pair is the target version I bought brand new--retail $13.99. The bottom are the brand name Robeez I got used at a twins sale--original retail $29.99. As you can see the target brand is wearing down MUCH faster than the Robeez. I still don't know that I would pay $30 for infant shoes--especially since I don't pay $30 for my own shoes. But it sure makes me realize you get what you pay for!! I'd love to hear your take on the issue. When does it pay off to fork over the extra bucks for the brand name?

Playing in the pool!

Here are the girls and James playing in the pool. James takes his job as toy guardian very seriously.

Ah! Our first otter pops!

Oh, what joy! Otter pops! We'll discuss the fact that Dad is feeding them GRAPE otter pops on BEIGE carpet while the girls are wearing WHITE shirts, later. ;)

Fun in the sun!

Important & Life Changing Things I have Learned Since I became a Mom

Ok, so I've had some things rumbling around my head lately that I just have to get out. There are a few life lessons I have learned since becoming a mother of 3. Here they are:

1) There are not 4 food groups. There are 2. Food that sweeps up easily and food that does not. Cheerios, dry pancakes & Goldfish crackers belong to the former group. Macaroni & Cheese, rice and bananas belong to the latter group, Unless--as my sister Jeny pointed out--you let the macaroni and rice dry over night, then they become extremely sweepable.

2) Babies are not born with 20/20 vision. It is actually much better than that. They use this vision to find all the itsy-bitsy things you failed to pick up off the floor. They also have perfect night vision--so you may thing you're being all stealthy sneaking in on them in the dark, when in fact, you're the only one who can't see a thing. They can see you perfectly well and are happy to let you know it.

3) Ok, this one was an idiot moment. But--it is IN FACT IMPOSSIBLE for 3 kids to share a snack cup. This is a proven, scientific fact. 3 kids = 1 snack cup = tantrums and flying cheerios. 3 kids = 3 snack cups = happy everybody. Ditto for sippy cups.

4) Toes are amazing instruments. They can open doors while you're holding 2 kids, entertain fussy kids while you're breastfeeding the happy one--especially when the toes are painted hot pink with sparklies on them :), pick up blankets, sippy cups, toys . . . Toes can rock car seats, tickle bellies . . . What amazing toes we all have. Who knew?!

5) It's perfectly ok, and in fact expected, and part of the divine plan for mothers, that they will have partial amnesia for the first 6 months post-partum. Otherwise, we'd all be only kids. I came to this realization after I was checking up on a gal from my mission who just had twins. All sorts of memories came back--you know the up till 2:30 with one child only to have the other wake up at 3 . . . You can refer to the boppy bashing incident from last fall for more details :) I had conveniently forgotten how hard it was for the first 6 months. As someone said--a good memory is unpardonable. Or something like that.

Well, that's all the epiphanies I've had for this week. I'm sure many more have occurred, which I would remember if I had any sort of memory at all. Remember, I'm claiming preggie brain until the girls are 1 year, so I still have a few weeks to go.

Happy 40th Birthday Jeny!

To celebrate my eldest sister Jeny turning 40 we had a girls' day at the spa! Not really at a spa, but we did our best to turn my cousin Jessie's house into a girls' retreat. We hired a masseuse to do mini-massages, we had foot soaks, paraffin dipping, painted our toe nails and finger nails, and ATE! It was a beautiful day (an incident we never take for granted here in the PNW).

Grandma Sarah, Birthday girl Jeny, and grand daughter Lauren

Cousin Jessie

Emily paints her toes prettyCousin Grace, Aunt Katie, & Jeny
The lobster claws are for the paraffin dip!

Me hard at work on chocolate truffles for the party. Look at that mess! Jeny can never say I don't love her!

The girls keeping an eye on the party preparations

James is helping out by whipping the whip cream. Sans bowl.

Happy 30th Birthday Justin!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Ok, so we're going with the better late than never theme--Justin's birthday was 5 days ago, but to my defense it's been a whirlwind weekend. For Justin's birthday I surprised him by flying up his brother Aaron from Utah so they could escape for a guy-getaway. Justin has been an 8 cow husband all year as he has moved up here to the NW, lived with his in-laws, and even admits that the "Northwest isn't so bad" for my sake. ;) So, i figured he needed some time with some of his own family, away from dirty diapers and a tired wife. I told Justin wednesday night that Aaron was coming up. To tell him, I made up a "travel brochure" advertising a guy get-away to my mom's family's cabin by Mt.St. Helen's. I included two "tickets" to the trip--one for Justin and one for Aaron. At first Justin totally didn't get it. When I finally explained that his brother was coming up for the weekend he still didn't believe I had arranged it all behind his back. He had to call his boss to check that I had really gotten him Friday off. :)
Aaron flew in Thursday night. Friday they went to the cabin and hiked. Saturday they went to Seattle to Pike Place market and a Mariners/Angels game. Sunday we all went to Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. It was a great weekend weather wise, and I hope they had fun! Thanks Lu for lending us your hubby for the weekend. Happy Birthday Justin!!!

Aaron & James in the tidal pools at haystack rock

Justin with his 6 layer red velvet cake--just as he requested. ;)

The girls at the beach

Justin and & Aaron at Haystack Rock

Justin & Aaron posing with Mt. St. Helens

To the Zoo

The other day Justin got off work early so we packed up the kids and headed to the zoo. I go with the kids quite often, but we never get to ride the train since I can't really manage with all 3 kids by myself. We had a great time. The weather was beautiful and the kids were semi-cooperative. ;) What else can you ask for?

Trip down memory lane!

The other day Justin downloaded some pics off his cell phone and this was one of them. I had never seen it before and I just fell in love. I think this may be the first picture I had with Clara. I still have my hospital gown on so this must be before the girls went to the NICU? I can't believe how huge my hand looks compared to hers!

A day in the garden

Well, we've just pasted the 1 year mark that we've been living with my parents. So much has gone on during the last year, I don't think any post could ever do it justice. I never thought we'd still be here when the girls were crawling! Now it looks like we'll still be here into the toddler stages. We're still waiting for the FDIC to sign off on our lot so we can get started building. We actually contacted the local newspaper and they're going to come do a story on us--you know because we're soooo crowded living in this huge house waiting for the Federal government to allow us to buy a lot so we can put some construction workers in business. :)

Anyway, here are some pictures from yesterday. It was a rare sunny day in April so we made the most of it. Here are some pictures:

So symbolic, in so many ways. It was only last October that I actually went 6 days without leaving the house because I was so overwhelmed at the thought of taking all 3 kids out alone. When I say I didn't leave the house, I mean not even to the mail box!!!

James and Grandma Sarah redoing the garden. Again. Only those of you who know my mom and her garden will understand that comment. ;)
Mommy and Kate self portrait

Mommy and Clara self portrait

The girls in their cage.

Moments I’ll treasure/remember/need therapy for

So, there I am playing peek-a-boo with the girls while they chomp on pears and Vienna sausages, thinking to myself how life is moving along nicely. The girls are big enough to entertain each other, themselves, and their brother. James is progressing nicely in his developmental skills. He as learned the concept of ownership. I get to hear him demonstrate it often. NO Kate! (remember, both girls are Kate) That’s MINE. So I am thinking to myself how easy and fun life is getting. Does anyone see the huge, billboard size, glowing in neon, red flag coming?!?

Well, just then, James dumps the can of pears and pear juice he’s working on down his naked belly. Not on purpose, just an accident. So, I—the quick thinking and multi-tasking mom that I am, think, “easy” We’ll just put him in the kitchen sink and spray him down with the nozzle. All goes well, except I realize his diaper is now full of water. Ok, I take off the diaper. Towel-towel, where’s a towel? OH, YEAH, I decided to watch American Idol last night instead of folding the Himalayan size mountain of laundry down stairs. So, I dash down stairs to grab a towel. Hum, naked little boy in the kitchen with no diaper on. Can you see it coming?

Yep, I get back upstairs just in him to here him declare delightfully—“PEEEEE!” as he does precisely that all over the kitchen floor. So proud of himself, how do you stay angry? Mind, this is after he has already flooded the bathroom (I can’t get mad about that one, I was standing right there cutting my hair, not paying attention) and spilled powdered sugar all over the kitchen floor.

So a life lesson is learned . . . Don’t get to hard on yourself for not emptying out the floor cleaner the night before—you might just need it the next day to clean up pee and you’ll be so glad it’s already full of Lysol and ready to go!! Now on to more pertinent matters: Do I really have to go grocery shopping or is there a way to make dinner out of ketchup, relish, mayo, stale bread, and 8 salad dressings. I might even have some week old cheerios in the bottom of my diaper bag to throw in . . . hum, my creative wheels are churning.

A sunnier day

By the Salmon Creek with Dad and sis
Ahhh! The forbidden fruits! Or, a brother's forgotten PB&J. Either way, what a happy girl.

Tell me how you do it. . .a.k.a. I'm a total snob.

Ok, so I have a question for you all. How on earth do you keep a house clean when you have more kids than hands??????? I admit I am a full on mom-of-more-than-1-kid snob. I remember the days when I only had 1 kid and I thought--big deal--keeping a clean house isn't that hard. You just clean once a week and tidy up now and then. HAHAHAHAHA. Now I look down my nose on those who "only have 1 kid." Keeping a clean house is SOOOO easy. (Please don't take this too seriously--I don't really look down on you. I'm just mocking myself and my naive pre-twins ways) ;)

I swear I clean constantly. While I'm loading the dishwasher, James is unloading the pots and pans. While I'm sweeping the dining room floor, James is emptying a box of noodles/crackers/raisins--you take your pick--onto the kitchen floor. I'm cleaning up the floor after feeding the girls, they're spitting up/throwing up on the living room carpet. While I'm putting away one box of itsy-bitsy little blocks, James is demanding to unload it, and dump out another 3 boxes of similar size toys. (Do I allow him to dump them all out and avoid a temper tantrum, or insist that he only unload one at a time?)

So, I've gotta know. Those of you with neat-nick houses--HOW DO YOU DO IT????? GRRRR. I'm so sick of cleaning up after kids and I have at least anther 18 years of it go! Off my soap box now. Venting done. Tell me how you do it!

A calm moment jumping on the trampoline.

Ahh--so cute--But I think they've started to develop their own secret language. I often hear them "talking" in their cribs. I think someday they'll conspire against me. ;) Wait, some day, I'm pretty sure they do that now.

An eventful, or not really, week

At the Zoo--The girls experience grass for the first time.

Clara wasn't too sure about that green spikey stuff.

After seeing mom freak out when the birds landed on her, James eyes this lorikeet sp? with skepticism

Well, this week has passed with many mundane and unexciting events. Compared to the past month of stressing over work, class, putting bids out on houses and not getting them--all the while stressing that interest rates will rise and investors will flood the market (that's what happened in Sacramento last year when we were trying to buy there. One house had 21 offers on it!) a very boring week is very welcome. We enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL day at the zoo with grandma looking at the hippos, rhinos, and parrots. We discovered that I'm a total wuss when it comes to touching animals. The birds landed on me and I freaked!!! Other big events--Clara went on a nursing strike. I'm still nursing the girls full time and all I can say is OUCH! anymore might be TMI. ;) I had my final last night. Now I can have my evenings free to . . . DO Laundry! Yippee.

ON the good news, we ordered our house plans and interest rates went DOWN! So, I'm having a life lesson in not stressing and learning to trust the Lord to guide to guide our lives for good. He's been very good at not answering certain prayers to our benefit (like not getting the last 6 houses we thought were perfect for us!) So quit stressing Jessica and get a little faith!!!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Ahh, a new stage of life has begun. Sibling Rivalry. A few weeks ago a momentous occasion passed. I had to sit between Kate (the toy thief) and James (the toy hoarder) at church! Since then we have had many shrieking experiences "NO! NO! Kate!" "MY TOY Kate!" BTW--both girls are Kate. I guess Clara is too hard to say. I've tried to explain to James that the girls just love him and want to be big like him, but that doesn't work too well. Nor does the reasoning that some of these toys ARE actually their toys. He's the thief if you want to get technical. Same with their sippy cups.
On the other hand, James has found new built in playmates. The day he insisted on "wake up Kate" from their nap so he could "play Kate." He wanted to play "night,night" with them in their cribs. Too precious. He also likes to "hide" with them under the table and such. The screaming game I'm not such a fan of, but hey, nobody's complaining if they're happy! Ahh, the days when they can entertain each other! Yippee!

Gold Mine!

James dropped his cheerios on the ground and the girls found them.

Two very happy girls.

Playing hide and seek
Playing "night, night"
the girls have hand-me-downs from their brother on. I almost don't recognize them in anything but pink or purple. They're both chewing on their new shoes.

Our little lot . . .of land

At my sister Debbie's request, here are some pictures of the lot we purchased and a nearby duck pond. Not very interesting yet! We should start building in 6-8 weeks if all goes timely. Hopefully we'll move in in 5-6 months. For those of you in Vancouver, we'll be in the St. Johns ward.

Here I am standing at the North west corner of our lot. OUr house will face this little farm. See our minivan. Or the mommy-missile as Justin calls it.

Duck pond. Notice how close the water comes the road!! The ducks come right up to the car to be fed.

Here I am standing at the south west corner of our lot. Our lot basically goes up to the corner of that other house's fence.

We DO have fun

Here are some pics to remind myself that despite all the stress of buying a house and whatnot--we do find time for fun! Off to 9 month checkups I go!! Take care

Soo busy. Soooo stressed.

So, my excuse for not blogging lately. 3 kids under 3. Going to school in the evenings. Working for my dad on the other evenings. Trying to buy a house. We lost out on the 3rd house we offered on because the other buyers went and begged the sellers to give them the house. But, just after that we found some cute little lots in town and a builder who will let you do as much work as you can to keep costs down. So, hopefully we're building. We offered on the lot last night and ordered our house today. If you would like to see the house plans go to www.hilinehomes.com. We are building house plan 1768 if all goes well. Think good thoughts for us!!

Also, hint, hint, hint, anyone here in the 'Couv looking to buy/build/get out from renting/living in mom and dad's house, they still have tons of lots for only $40,000-$45,000. And the house plans start around $60,000+ and about $20-30,000 in over permits/fees . . . I would really love to have you as my neighbor!!!! Let me know if you want more information! I would like to have good neighbors. I know it's silly, but with the developer gone (it was with Bank of Clark County--so now the government owns the remaining lots), there's no control over what is built. So, come build a cute little house with me! I want good neighbors!

Anyway, I get back to blogging later.

So stinkn' proud of myself!

Here is my very first quilt! My girl Clara has always loved touching fabrics and tags. So, when I saw my cousin Jeanie made a taggie blanket for her daughter, I was inspired to make one for Clara. Of course, in typical Jessica fashion, the quilt ballooned from being just a taggie blanket to a touchie-feelie blanket with ribbons, tags, tulle, lace, and a squeaky heart (I stuffed it with pieces of a plastic tortilla chip bag). Justin of course was immediately concerned that I was only making a blanket for only one of our daughters--to which I responded, I can only make 1 blanket at a time, and two--Clara is the one that likes fabrics. So Kate's blanket is still coming. And true to form when I laid the girls down on the blanket, Clara began feeling everything and Kate looked at it, and said "nice mom, I'm off to explore." A special thanks goes out to Grandma Sarah for letting me raid her quilting supplies! I only wish I had made this a few months ago when the girls were still immobile.

In Kate's defense . . .

In Kate's defense, Clara has given Kate more than a few eye gouges and finger nail scratches to the face. I don't think Clara will be permanently scarred by her sister crawling over her on a daily basis, but I've started a therapy fund just in case. :) What I really need is a video of the girls trying to "taste" each other's eyeballs and noses. Or one of them fighting over their brother's shoe. Ick! Gotta love being a baby!

Just some of my favorite pics!

Going for a walk!

Ahh! Snuggle time

Yes, that is a strategically placed sponge.

Melt my heart!