Happy Thanksgiving!

To end my week of thanks I have to mention my fur baby Layla. She is not the perfect dog. She's hyper, doesn't always come when called, sleeps on the couch when she knows she's not supposed to, does the barf-n-roll, jumps on guests and is sometimes just plain underfoot!

BUT, she was my baby before I had babies. She was my Rollerblade and bike buddy. On my days off we played at the dog park for hours. She has kept me company and made me feel secure on nights I am home by myself. She is happy to see me when I have been away even though she has been terribly neglected and pushed aside this past year. She is sweet and gentle with my children. I am thankful for her forgiving nature and hope that I can make it up to her in this next year.

Today I celebrated the holiday with the special ladies in my life: my grandma, my mom, my sister and my daughters. All the guys were either away or working. We ate a great meal and had fun marveling over how grown up the girls are getting. My life is good and I am THANKFUL!

I am thankful for...

our jobs! There were so many sleepless nights we spent hoping that Rusty could find a decent paying job when the economy took a plunge and the auto industry fell with it. Not only has he found a job with great benefits and good pay but he also ENJOYS it! That is something to be thankful for!!! Working at Universal Studios has really taken a big weight off our shoulders.

Now that Rusty is able to carry the benefits, I have been able to drop to a per diem position 2 days a week. Not that being a nurse working 3 12hr shifts isn't great enough but dropping that extra day has enabled me to stay at home with my girls 5 days a week and avoid child care (see: I am thankful for my family!) I am so lucky to have such great co-workers and have such a flexible work schedule. Our jobs don't make us rich but we can pay the bills and have a little bit left over. Besides, the time I get to spend at home is truly priceless!

I am thankful for...

our family. We would have never survived this year without the support of our families!!! My dad was a tremendous help while I was on bed rest. He cooked me dinner and kept me company on the nights that Rusty had to work. I would have been one hungry and lonely pregnant lady if it wasn't for him!!! My mom was especially helpful in the early days of bringing the girls home. She would come over and convince me to take a nap (sleep when the girls are sleeping!!!) and help tidy the house and do my laundry! She also did my grocery shopping while I was on bed rest :) Rusty's parents have been an awesome help with babysitting the girls on Saturdays on alternating weekends with my dad. They also fed on MANY occasions when we were just too busy (or tired) to leave the house! Not to mention my sister, whom left a huge void in my life when she went back to college! We would stay up late and have desperate housewives marathons and keep me company while I was feeding (and feeding and feeding) the girls! You all are amazing and I'm so glad you are part of our lives!

I am thankful for...

our friends! Today we celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with our friends. We have done this every year since Rusty and I have lived together. It has always been something that I have looked forward to even though I always stress out over cooking the perfect turkey. This year, we haven't had much time to gather with our friends and it was so nice to see everyone again. Between 4 couples we had 5 kids under the age of 3! Our guest list has certainly evolved since our early gatherings and I wouldn't change it for anything! I'm especially grateful that I can be my tearful self during the blessing and not feel too silly. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful and loving support system!

I am thankful for....

my Madison! It wasn't long after Audrey was born and along came Madison. It was a totally different birth because she wasn't breathing and they had to resuscitate her. It was the most scared I have ever been! Right then, nothing else mattered except knowing that she was going to be ok. She finally let out a loud cry and I knew everything was going to be fine! It was one long week after that, that we were able to bring her home!

Madison was the easier of the two to soothe and put down for bed. She had this long, soft fuzzy back hair and super soft skin that was irresistible. We had our special time together when she was still in the NICU. I would leave Audrey with Rusty and go to visit Madison. I would arrive in time for her evening feeding, nurse her, give her a bottle, and then sit and rock her until I had to go back home.

She is a sensitive baby and loves to cuddle with her momma. Every now and then she will even rest her head on my shoulder but those moments are becoming few and far between. The world is just too interesting to rest! I am thankful for her tonight; her sweet smiles, her silly giggles and the way she gets excited when I come in the room.

I had so many sleepless nights while pregnant wondering how I would ever survive two babies. I just couldn't fathom TWO babies at once. Now, I think of all the joy I would be missing out on if I had only been blessed with one instead of two :)

I am thankful for....

my little Audrey. She can be such a stinker but she sure is worth it! I feel like it was yesterday when I held her in my arms for the first time. She didn't waste any time joining this world after a swift kick to the amniotic sack at 36 weeks. Only 6 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing and she was in my arms. My 4lb 12oz ball of fire!

She is my daughter and the whole experience is so surreal! Rusty and I made her! She was inside of me! And now here she is, 7 1/2 months old, into everything and interested in everything. Sharp, bright eyed and one-of-a-kind! She is my spitting image (or so I'm told) and knows what she wants and how and when she wants it.

I feel like I had the full birth experience with Audrey and it's something I missed out on with Madison being in NICU. Just after they were born I went back to my room to recover. Daddy was with Madison and for a few minutes it was just Audrey and me. It was as if we were the only two people in the world and it is a memory I will cherish forever. I am so thankful for her being born healthy and for the opportunity to be her mother!

And I think we all know what I'm thankful for tomorrow :)

I'm Thankful for...

...this guy! When Rusty asked me to be his girlfriend 11 years ago this month, I got this feeling that I was getting myself into more than I realized. Was I ever right! I never could have predicted what a wonderful husband, friend and father he would become! There isn't anyone else I'd rather go through life with!

A Week of Thanks

There is something about this time of year. A change in the weather, crisp mornings, fall colors and then Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday! A day of coming together with family and friends, enjoying good food and good company. This year, more than any other, we have so much to be thankful for. Each night until Thanksgiving day I'm going to share some of these things.

Tonight I am thankful for our basic needs. We have shelter, food and water, and our health. We have never known what it is like to be hungry, truely hungry. We've done our fair share of cheap spagetti dinners but we have never gone without. I recently took care of a patient that hadn't eaten in 3 days because he didn't have money to buy food and I realized that we sometimes take some of the most basic things forgranted.

Fall is here!

The weather has turned cool, my spiced pumpkin candle has been lit and life is good! Things have been busy around here and the month flew by! I think the girls wore their Halloween outfits three times (maybe).

We bought weekday passes to Disney and started with a visit to Epcot. The girls rode their first ride (the boat ride in Mexico)! It seems to be getting a bit easier to go out with them but we haven't quite figured out naps on the go. The day usually just ends in tears and an early bedtime..haha!

We also took a trip to the Sanford Zoo. Of course, the girls don't really get much out of all this but Rusty and I enjoy the time out as a family together. Paige was down for that weekend so it was so great to see her too!

THEN we hit SeaWorld. Uh, I'm tired recalling all of this! SeaWorld's Spooktacular was crazy! Could've had something to do with going the day before Halloween but I see a few more of those trips in our future. We got the girls dressed up in their costumes and people were stopping us to take pictures. Twins certainly draw a crowd!

The girls continue to mature rapidly! They are getting really good at self-feeding and their favorites are carrot, asparagus and banana! I used to have to help them get the food in their hands but now they just go at it as soon as I put the tray in front of them. Things that used to be difficult for them to pick up are now simple. They are working on drinking from a sippy cup and can now sit up on their own (still losing their balance from time to time!) Audrey crawled a few inches with daddy the other night and Madison is now starting to roll more often. This makes sleeping interesting..I no longer find them where I left them! Who knows what this month has to bring?

In other news: Rusty enjoyed a nice raise at work (yay!!) Universal is now having to compete with Lego Land but all the better for us! We have moved into busy season at my job which is good since I won't be getting canceled as much!! This month we are looking forward to having our annual get together with our friends just before Thanksgiving. This year we have SO MUCH to be thankful for!!! More pictures of the girls are in our photo album to the right!