Happy New Year

I have to say 2010 was a pretty ordinary year....nothing extraordinary happened. Not that I am complaining one bit. I have two healthy, beautiful children. 2008 was way too eventful for me with having Molly and Luke at 28 weeks! 2009 was used mostly as a catch up year....we spent a majority of the year getting (& worrying about) Molly and Luke caught up to their birth age physically and mentally! My 2009 New Years post talked about that. I feel like Molly's diagnoses of BPD (chronic lung disease) has changed me. I really do hate that the first two years of my kids life we were practically on house arrest. Was it fair to Luke? Probably not. Did I have a choice....absolutely No. Maybe my personality took it to the extreme?!?! Do I have any regrets...absolutely not. I can honestly say I did everything possible to make sure Molly developed no more scarred lung tissue. We have started this winter off with a few head colds, but nothing major. None of them went to her lungs (insert happy dance). They have enjoyed spending time playing with their cousins. I am pretty sure their cousins have enjoyed them too! Do I still fear a major illness...yes. Probably always will! I do believe she is strong enough to overcome any obstacles that come her way. I know our situation could have been so much worst, so I thank GOD everyday for blessing me with these children! I hope that 2011 proves to be a great as 2010. I would love a low key year filled with love, health and happiness! I hope and wish the same for all of you!

Inspiration For The New Year

Every now and then I need a good dose of inspiration (or kick in the rear) for motivation! Dolli-Mama (Life not finished) has created a 52 weeks of ME challenge that really appealed to me. Not for the same reasons she challenged herself. The challenge I am sitting for myself is to go on a date with my DH once a month. As you know I work full time, so for the last 2 & 1/2 years I can literally count on one hand the times I have left my babies (yes they will always be) on the weekends! I feel like (maybe it is the guilt) the time I spend away from work should be spent with my children. So I accept this challenge Amber! I hope you all will be inspired to do the same! Please visit her blog for all the details. Thanks Amber for this motivation! I wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

The above pic is of Luke when we got home last night. Can you tell he was exhausted? His brain was on overload. The kids had a ball, but were extremely worn out by the end of the day.

Molly was so excited this morning. When she woke up I asked her if she thought Santa came last night. She said un-huh. She walked into the living room saw the kitchen and said "WOW".

I had to wake Bubba up to join in the Santa fun. He of course loved the kitchen as much as Molly.

He then saw his Santa gift..... a Toy Story race track.

I had to get Molly her first American Girl baby. They are the itty bitty twins and they are too sweet. Molly really isn't into babies yet, but I know she eventually will be.

Luke helping himself to a snack from Molly's kitchen.

Molly whipping us up some breakfast.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning. Todd actually had to work at the fire station today, but a guy worked over for him. He didn't have to be there until noon. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Day! :)

Christmas with Grandparents

It amazes me that Molly and Luke have already figured out how to use my Ipad. They both know which apps I have downloaded for them. As you can see they share it very nicely.

The next 2 pictures are from when Grandpa & Grandma came over. Molly got some really neat supplies for her kitchen that Santa is bringing her tonight. Luke got some Chuggington the coo coo train stuff! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma very much! We love you bunches!

The next 3 are from Nana & Papa house. Molly & Luke got little scooters and Leapfrog LeapSters. Thank you Nana & Papa. We love you very much!

The next 7 are from Granddad and Nannies house. Molly and Luke got bikes. Thank you Granddad and Nannie. We love you bunches!

Snow White

Woody

The above picture is of my oldest niece and her boyfriend. They are great with Molly and Luke. Molly and Luke love them. They got them a dress up chest for Christmas. Both Molly and Luke are modeling them above. I was so happy that they got Molly princess stuff. The last couple of days she has told me that she wanted princess stuff from Santa, but Santa did not know this.

Christmas Card Photos

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Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, of all the trees most lovely

Front of the tree.

We had to stick our Christmas tree in a corner this year. It is out of the way and didn't take much thought to having to move something to make it fit. The Christmas tree is by far my favorite decoration of the season. Every Christmas my siblings and I would fight over what ornaments we got to hang on the tree. We each had our favorites. Some of which were the same, so that is where the drama started. As far back as I can remember my Papaw and Nana gave my parents a Hallmark ornament with a crisp $100.00 bill inside the box. It was tradition. These were the ornaments that we fought over to hang. Each year we would have to hang them in order by year. That is whats awesome about Hallmark ornaments...They are all dated. Oh it brings back memories! My Nana continued this tradition with her grand kids. Once I was married I too received the much desired Hallmark ornament. There came a time my Nana could no longer afford to buy Christmas presents for all her kids, grand kids and great grand kids. This is when my Mother picked up the tradition.

Back of the tree.

Below by far is my favorite ornament X2. Reason being there was a time in my life that I wasn't sure I would be blessed to have a ornament that represents my babies first Christmas. My Mom bought Molly and Luke these ornaments to celebrate their 1st Christmas.

Below is the Hallmark series my Mom started me in 1995 called Frosty Friends. I picked this series since I love penguins.

Below is the series my Mom started Todd in 1995. I am not positive on the name of the series, but basically it is a different classic truck and car every year. He loves getting the new one every year.

Of course no tree is complete without supporting your college football pick!

Below is the series that my Nana gave me before she had to stop. It was the Madame Alexander doll collection.

You always have to have at least one Coca Cola Santa representing!

My Mom got Todd this ornament his first Christmas after getting his childhood dream job of a Fireman.

My stepmother started the below series for me when I was in high school. She pasted them on to me once I was married.

Mine and Todd's ornament representing our 1st Christmas together as a married couple.

Below is the Hallmark ornament that represents our 1st Christmas in our brand new home.

What Christmas tree is complete without a pink Cadillac.

Thank you so much Mandy (twintrialsandtriumphs.blogspot.com) for hosting this post link up. If you haven't visited Mandy's blog before I totally recommend the read. I happened upon her blog through M&M and got hooked. She is the mother to adorable twins girls that will turn 2 very shortly.

Busy, Busy and Oh did I say busy

I have been extremely busy this past week and I don't see next week being much slower. I do feel like I can relax on the Christmas front. I am pretty much done with shopping. I still need to go by my bank to get some Visa cards for the hard to buy individuals in my family, but other then that I am done. I received my Christmas Cards in the mail last week, so I got them addressed/stamped ready to put in the mail. I ended up not doing the Shutterfly free 50, but did get $25.00 for sharing my finished card on my blog. I think I will use that for the kids 3rd Birthday invite cards. I already have one picked out. I just need to figure out where to have their party. I can't believe my babies are turning 3 in 2 months! It makes me want another baby. Oops did I say that out loud? That is a whole other topic and post. This next week is my crazy busy week at work. I hope to get most of my wrapping done today. That would probably ease my nerves a little bit. Molly and Luke are doing great. Nothing really to report new. They are so into Christmas this year. It is a lot of fun hearing their delight in seeing the Christmas lights. They both tell us every color they see. They really don't get the concept of Santa bringing them a gift. Every time I ask Molly what she wants from Santa Clause she says " I don't want it". I guess I better enjoy that while it lasts....I am sure next year the list will be never ending. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Please keep in mind the real meaning of this season!

Merry Christmas 2010

Slate Snowflakes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

This year I decided to attempt our Christmas Cards by myself. For the past 2 years Bryan Kannowski (www.bryankannowski.com) (Amanda's (NICU nurse) husband) has made them for me. He has always done the twins professional pictures & has done an awesome job. They just welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their life's this year. I hate to take away any must have family time from them this month. It will be their first Christmas as a family of 3! :) Amanda just returned to work a few weeks ago, so I know how their time together is precious. What gave me the idea to attempt this project alone was reading every one's blog posts about Shutterfly's promotion of 50 free cards for bloggers. You can't beat that deal! How awesome it that? I will try my creative skills out. Wish me luck. It is a very hard job trying to get good pictures of very active almost 3 years old. Please go check out all of Shutterfly's (www.shutterfly.com) seasonal deals. I love the photo books you can put together. What a great Christmas gift that would make for Grandparents! I will post again soon on which card we decide to go with. Have a great weekend!