Jane's Random Thoughts and Other Stuff

Finally, a Post!

2011-08-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted on my blog! it's been quite a tough year for us, so I think I haven't really wanted to write about it. But, today is such a nice day, with time at home with my babies, getting chores done, and relaxing a little bit, that I'm motivated to post. I'm writing this on my new i-pad that I won through a contest a work--thank you Gale! It's so fun to have this little gadget. I'm suddenly so wired in with an i-phone, an i-pad, and a Kindle! Never thought I'd be into these things, but I'm really enjoying them. Mainly, I'm never without reading material!

So, to summarize our lives over 2011 thus far . . . we're now nearly completely out of the real estate business. We've lost all but one of our properties, including our home, in this real estate debacle of the last several years. One remaining property is going to also be gone within the month, thank goodness. We found a lovely home to rent in our same town and moved at the end of March. We're happy here--closer to church, where we go every Sunday and where the boys go to preschool. We are happy to be renting and free from the hassle and expense of home-ownership. Perhaps we'll own again one day, but for now, it feels good to be flexible and with reduced expenses. It's still tough to make ends meet, with only one salary, 3 kids, and Chris in school. More about that next . . .

Almost 3 years ago, Chris decided he wanted to become a physical therapist assistant. It took some prerequisites and two years on the waiting list before he finally started school in May. It's a program that will take until September of next year (2012), and so far he's doing great. He has the perfect background for this type of work--fitness and training--so he's able to understand and absorb the material right away. He's working at the Y one night a week and occasionally fills in as needed. We had a lady coming in to take care of the kids 15 hours a week, which was such a wonderful break for us--but even that became too expensive (over $700/mo), so we've had to give her up. The light at the end of the tunnel is that once Chris has his degree, he'll be able to find a good-paying job that will allow us to afford childcare without it eating up his entire paycheck and then some!

We started going to church about a year ago, and we're really happy there. It's amazing to me that I now have a husband who won't miss a Sunday (I think it's because there's free childcare!), who prays with our kids before bed when I'm out of town, and reads his Bible. So happy to have a Godly husband!

I'm still super happy at my job with B&T, though we're suffering with the economy. Library budgets are way down as cities, states, counties, and the federal government all try to deal with huge declines in revenue and climbing expenses. There are some exciting things happening though, mainly the sky-rocketing interest in all sorts of digital media. My company is just launching its own library platform for digital materials, so it's a fun time to be out talking to libraries.

Let's see . . . pets. We still have 3 dogs--Jessie, Brady, and Coco. We are down to one cat--Moonie. We finally lost Chico this week; Chris had this sweet black cat for 18 years, so he had a good life.

The twins are back in 3-year-old preschool 2 days a week for 3 hours. They love it. Christian will start into the 2-year-old class in October when he turns 2. They are all doing great and are growing and changing so fast--it's so fun to watch them.

I've been having a tough spring with a cough that won't go away. I finally got to the doctor, and it turns out I have a partially collapsed lung. A CT scan couldn't give any clue to a cause, so I'm now set to see a pulmonologist on the 30th. Hoping to get my lungs back at 100% one of these days! Maybe then I won't feel as tired and will be motivated to start running or yoga again.

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff, but this is the gist!

So blessed to have the best life in the world--3 beautiful little boys, a wonderful husband, loving family and friends--couldn't ask for more!

Three Baby Herbs Get Baptized!

2010-12-28T14:47:00.005-07:00

Here are pics from the boys' most important day of their lives!

Trike-a-Thon at Preschool!

2010-11-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

White Tanks Library & Nature Center--Grand Opening

2010-11-14T05:53:00.005-07:00

We had a wonderful time at the opening of the new library and nature center at the White Tanks Regional Park! We got to see snakes, an owl, a kestrel, and the release of two hawks back into the wild. The boys had fun running all around, especially Matt who has decided dirt is the best thing ever. We checked out 3 Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs, and the boys can watch those for hours. It was super crowded--which was great to see. I'm so happy our community is supportive of libraries. It's a gorgeous place, with windows on the entire back of the library looking out into the desert with all the giant saguaros. Can't wait to visit again and check out all the other new books, music, and DVDs in the brand-new collection.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T15:12:00.003-07:00

We dressed the boys up for the first time this year--they went as little San Diego Chargers. The Goodyear Ballpark had a big Halloween festival with rides, a pumpkin patch, and a kids costume contest. Chris and I and Alicia and Frank brought the guys and met Dave and Kate and Brayden there. It was a fun event. Matt discovered he really, really, really wants to go on a roller-coaster.

Phoenix Zoo!

2010-10-30T14:17:00.003-07:00

Our friends Kate & Dave treated us to the zoo last weekend. They have a little boy who's 2, and all of our guys had a great time! They especially liked the lions and the baboons, and they enjoyed petting the goats.

Phoenix Public Library Dinner in the Stacks

2010-10-30T13:15:00.003-07:00

Baker & Taylor sponsored a table at the Phoenix Public Library Foundation's annual gala, Dinner in the Stacks. We had a wonderful time! Chris, and I, and Chris's dad, Frank attended, as well as children's book illustrator Lynne Avril and her friend Connie, artist Craig Cheply, Brenda Brown from the Chandler Public Library, and her friend Lois, and Hana Kapic and Elsa Black from Phoenix Public Library.

October Update

2010-10-16T08:32:00.007-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I forgot to take any pictures of our big birthday party bash, and I've been paralyzed since then!! It's so disappointing to have had such a nice day with wonderful family, friends, kids, and cake and have no picture record of it!

It's October, my very favorite month. It's finally getting a little cooler so that we can spend time outside. A couple of Saturday's ago we went to a birthday party at a local park for our friends, Dave & Kate's little boy Brayden, which was really fun. Later that evening Alicia and Scott (picture of him wiped out on the chair!) and Gramps came over to babysit for us while Chris and I got to go out for a date night! It was really nice to enjoy a dinner out together. It was quite embarrassing, though, when after dinner we were too tired to do anything else and were home by 9!

Baby Christian is finally holding his own bottle. This is a nice step to free us up a little bit. For the longest time he preferred that someone else hold it. It seems to me the twins held their bottles much earlier--I think that was probably out of desperation! Christian is also very, very close to walking. He cruises all around and holds on to our hands and walks very well. It's just a matter of time before he's on his own.

We're looking forward to Christmas! Mom is coming out for 10 days. And, we're getting the boys all baptized on December 19!

Matt loves trains, and we watch Thomas the Tank Engine non-stop, day in and day out . . . Thomas love planes. Christian plays with whatever the twins will let him have, until they decide they want it back.

Thought I'd post the picture of our family room--it doesn't always look like that--this was just one particularly horrifying day!! Avert your eyes all you neat people out there!

Chris is enjoying his new job at the physical therapy clinic, and everything's going well at B&T. Looking forward to an evening out tonight at the Phoenix Public Library's Dinner in the Stacks Foundation fund-raiser.

I think that's all!

Love, j&c, m&t&c

Our Summer Vacation 2010

2010-08-22T12:53:00.007-07:00

We've just returned from Oregon, where we enjoyed a wonderful week of being with family and playing in the outdoors. The trip started with a long drive to Roseburg--24 hours. The boys did incredibly well, and there was very little crying or screaming from any of us!

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and got settled in to the barn/shop/apartment which was just perfect. The apartment had its own kitchen and bath, and we shoved two couches together to make the perfect bed with edges for the twins. Dad and Shari had a portable crib for Christian.

Mom came down from Salem and also spent the week with us. Michael and Jill and Olivia arrived on Monday. Troy and Crea and Theo and Mose were there, and we got to see Lee and Morgan a little bit, too. Carol came to see us one day; Betty and Joan and Allan visited one evening.

Dad has created a beautiful swimming lake, complete with island, dock, boats, lounge chairs, picnic table, umbrellas, toys, and a sandy beach. We spent time relaxing there. The boys mainly played on the dock and the beach. Chris did a lot of swimming and some boating. Chris also brought his bike along so he could ride--I was impressed with how he tackled all those crazy hills!

On Wednesday, Michael, Jill, Olivia, and the Herb-5 went to the Wildlife Safari. We drove through the park and saw all sorts of animals. Then we had lunch there, and after that we let the boys feed the goats at the petting zoo.

Dad has several "Mules" which are open-aired vehicles that everyone uses to tool around the ranch. This was Thomas's favorite thing--he liked riding in them, and was happy just sitting on one when it wasn't moving. Matthew enjoyed all the space to run around, though he really suffered from allergies. Christian had a good time, too--he liked the people holding him and the good food. On Thursday, we rode the mule to go blackberry picking, and the twins loved blackberries. Blackberry picking was over, however, when I got stung by a bee or hornet. Ouch!

Michael and Chris (and Jill, too) did a bunch of shooting at the gun range on the ranch. It was great for them to get practice and enjoy the challenge, too.

Finally, Friday was our day to make the long trek home. Another 24 hours--this time at least one baby, and often 2 or 3, were crying or screaming nearly the entire trip. It was quite miserable, and we were so happy when we finally arrived home yesterday at about 12:30. We did have one enjoyable stop--we picked up Taco Bell and enjoyed dinner in a park in Yreka. The boys played on the slides, and we thought we'd worn them out so that the would sleep for hours . . . unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Matthew didn't get sick (normally the puker), but Thomas got sick from the winding hills.

Can't wait to go again next year!!

xo, j&c, m&t&c

A quick update . . .

2010-08-01T12:13:00.002-07:00

It's been too long since I've posted, so even though I can't get the pictures off my camera, I'm going to at least write!

All the boys are doing well, except for a slight cold. Christian is now pulling himself up to stand all the time and is getting very good at it. Matt and Thomas love going to their "school" two days a week; all 3 boys get to go for an hour on Sundays while Chris and I are in church.

We're having lovely rainy weather this weekend--the backyard had about an inch of standing water yesterday, all the way up to our sliding glass door. Chris was out there shoveling to try to keep it away from the house. It's raining again now, but not as much. LOVE IT!!

Chris is at work, but unfortunately, they are cutting his position, so he's looking for another part-time job. He may be able to work in the fitness center at the Y, instead of being the manager on duty.

Chris's dad, Frank, is living in Arizona near us now, and we hope to have him move into one of our condos over in Litchfield Park this week. Alicia and Scott are moving back to Arizona at the end of the month, and we're so excited about that!

We're looking forward to going up to Oregon for vacation later this month.

That's all for now.

Love, j&c, m&t&c

Ugggh!

2010-07-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's 112 and our AC broke . . .

July 4th Pool Fun!

2010-07-05T07:43:00.004-07:00

We played with the guys in our pool and b-b-q'd hotdogs for the 4th. We all had a great day!

Spent much of the weekend cleaning and organizing. The baby has now moved up to his own room (out of ours), so we took down the pack & play and moved out most of the baby stuff. I went through tons of baby clothes, and they now have two destinations--a couple of boxes for Goodwill and a box to take to Once Upon a Child to trade for "new" clothes.

I have one more day off--5 whole days!! It has been wonderful. Back to work tomorrow. To St. George on Wednesday and Thursday to work with the Washington County Library.

The twins will go to school again a couple days this week, so that will be fun for them.

Bye for now!

Love, j&c, m&t&c

Matt & Thomas start school!

2010-07-02T06:37:00.004-07:00

Matt and Thomas are now going 2 days a week to school at our local church/school. They've gone one day so far and had a great time! So did their parents!! The pics are a little bit blurry, but I still wanted to post them.

xo, j&c, m&t&c

New Pics!

2010-06-29T07:37:00.005-07:00

Well-baby check-ups

2010-05-22T11:22:00.003-07:00

We took all 3 boys to the doctor for their well-baby check-ups (Matt & Thomas: 2-year, Christian: 6-month). They're all doing just great! Here are the stats:

Christian:
28 1/4" long--85th percentile
18 lbs, 4 oz--35th percentile

Matthew:
37" tall--95th percentile
31 1/2 lbs--85th percentile

Thomas:
37 1/4" tall--97th percentile
30 1/2 lbs--75th percentile

I hear the baby waking up . . . gotta run!

Congress

2010-05-20T10:12:00.003-07:00

Every single congress person who clapped for the Mexican President as he voiced his opinion on Arizona's law should be voted out of office or, if it's possible, impeached. This is unbelievable and incredibly, incredibly scary. What has our country become?!! I cannot believe the American people would be in support of what certain members of our leadership are doing. WE are responsible for our country--NOT a leader from another country, especially a country with terrible poverty and a corrupt government.

Update for May

2010-05-17T04:54:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures of Matt and Thomas with their new trikes and basketball hoop they got for their birthday. They've been having fun with them. The trikes can be turned into stepping stools so they can climb up on our half-wall and escape their enclosure . . . the basketball hoop can be knocked down and pushed around the room. They are very creative and don't let an item's intended use deter them from figuring out new ways to have fun!

Matt is also now starting to build with blocks; Thomas then destroys anything Matt creates.

Christian can sit up on his own for quite a while until he falls over. He can't get to a sitting position on his own yet, but if you sit him up, he will stay there for a pretty long time. He's also sleeping through the night, yeah!!

That's all for now!

Love, j&c and m&t&c

Matt & Thomas Turn Two!

2010-05-06T06:16:00.005-07:00

Our twinnie boys turned two last Thursday, on April 29. Christian turned 7 months on Tuesday this week. Hard to believe--the time has gone so fast!

Thought I'd post some pictures of the waffles I made a couple of Sundays ago--sweet potato waffles, thanks, Alton Brown! They were really good.

All's well here, except that everyone seems to have a bit of a cold.

xo, j&c, m&t&c

More thoughts on SB1070

2010-04-28T19:11:00.002-07:00

Today I was incredibly angry and saddened listening to our President. I am outraged by this statement by President Obama, who told a crowd in Iowa: "Now, suddenly, if you don't have your papers and you took your kid out to get ice cream, you're going to get harassed -- that's something that could potentially happen ... That's not the right way to go."

He omitted a cornerstone of the new law, specifically the fact that law-enforcement personnel cannot just randomly stop and ask anyone about their immigration status. Here is the exact language: "FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE
PERSON'S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c)."

And, here is the federal law that proscribes that aliens in the US legally are issued documents that must be carried with them at all times. "Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1304(e), aliens are issued registration cards and must carry such cards with them at all times. Aliens who gain entry without the requisite inspection, and who therefore are not issued such cards, violate 8 U.S.C. § 1325. Consequently, a law enforcement officer confronting an alien who is unable to produce documentation arguably has probable cause to believe that a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1304(e) (failure to possess documents or 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a) (entry without inspection) has occurred. (If the alien is undocumented and has been in the United States for longer than 30 days, he or she has also violated 8 U.S.C. § 1306(a)).

I hope you bear with me here. I do not understand our President's criticism of the law and seeming attempt to flame feelings of anger in parts of our population; isn't he sworn to uphold the laws of the United States? And, isn't he a person who claimed he wanted to be a "uniter" instead of a divider? Here are my thoughts on why he would have said this; none of them make any sense to me:

1. Did he read the actual law? If not, why did he claim that people could be harrassed by taking their children out for ice cream? Where did this notion come from?

2. If he did read the law (it's quite readable and not difficult to understand), how could he have missed the clear language that does not allow officers to ask about immigration status unless they are already in "lawful contact" with a person? He is a well-educated and intelligent man--misunderstanding the law seems highly unlikely.

3. If he read the law and then purposely omitted pertinent information to make it upsetting to people, what was his purpose?

All of these scenarios are quite distressing. We are a nation of laws, which is what makes us civilized and able to live peacefully together. We can't selectively enforce our laws, or all of our laws are weakened. Other countries do not allow illegal immigration, and they mete out harsh penalties for violating their laws; they also don't allow political speech by non-citizens. Why are we intimidated and shamed into cowardice? We are not a racist country--far from it. Our nation will be able to come together as a people again only when we stop using that argument and can be reasonable in our discourse. We should all want our country to succeed so we can continue to enjoy the freedom and blessings our founding fathers envisioned--and we can continue to welcome new-comers who come here for the dream and promise of a better life.

I stand behind our governor in this law, and I hope that the rest of the country will at least read the laws for themselves and think this through without the opinions of others obscuring the facts.

Why must this law be so politically divisive?!

2010-04-26T21:31:00.002-07:00

If anyone's interested in the facts about Arizona's new illegal immigration law (SB1070), here is a link to the law itelf, followed by the federal law that Arizona's law is upholding:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01918.htm
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/04/16/AzSB1070.pdf

Please study these laws for yourself before making a judgment. The media certainly seems to be biased against Arizona's new law--I'm not seeing any positive news stories about this. WHY NOT?! Arizona has a severe problem with human and drug smuggling. Violence accompanies both of these activities, and Phoenix was recently talked about as the kidnapping capital of the US. Our law enforcement officers need all the resources they can get to protect the law-abiding citizens of Arizona and the United States.

Nana and Papa visit!

2010-04-23T22:06:00.002-07:00

Nana and Papa came for a visit last weekend, and we had a nice time with them. Spent the day at our home on Saturday and then went to the Wigwam for breakfast on Sunday. Forgot my camera; wish I had taken pics at the Wigwam!! It was a gorgeous day.

Waffle Sunday

2010-04-11T09:42:00.003-07:00

Banana Walnut today.

Natalie Merchant!!

2010-04-08T20:41:00.005-07:00

Natalie Merchant gave an amazing private concert during the Public Library Association convention, and I was also lucky enough to get to meet her in our booth!! Here is a picture of our group. Her new cd is called "Leave Your Sleep" and is scheduled to release next week. It's a children' book and cd package--I've already ordered my copy! We were treated to a preview of the music, and the story behind her work.

Christian turned 6 months old on Sunday, and he got his first tooth! Happy belated birthday to Olivia (April 5); she's 3 years old!! And, also happy belated birthdy to River (April 2), who has just turned 2!

Love, j

Just a quick thought . . .

2010-03-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

We have twin two-year-olds and a six-month-old. Nuff said.

xo, j

What's new

2010-03-14T09:13:00.008-07:00

Another long time between posts, sorry!! Here it is, the best 5 minutes of the day--everyone's fed, diapers are clean, and no one's crying!

Happy Birthday, Jill!!

It's Sunday morning, and our new tradition is waffles every Sunday. Mom got me a waffle iron for my birthday, and it's wonderful! I made apple waffles this morning out of the beautiful, delicious apples Aunt Janet and Uncle Rich brought us from their orchard. The boys love waffles! Plus, we have lots left over to freeze, so they are a perfect snack or breakfast any time. I found a waffle site, called waffleizer.com, and there are great waffle recipes and tales there, if you'd like to check it out!

We've had a lot going on in the past month or so. One Saturday while Chris was at work, Jen and Janine and their twinnie girls, Jordan and Syndey, and Dave and Kate, and their little boy, Jayden, came over for lunch. It was a bit crazy with 6 kids running around (well, Christian wasn't running--he was just getting held by everyone), but we all had a good time.

I went to Charlotte for our B&T Sales Meeting for 4 nights. It was the first time I'd been away from the baby, and I was sad to be away from him. Gramps came to stay with Chris and the boys while I was gone, so that was a huge help. It seemed to go OK after the first day which was hard because Christian cried a lot. He's now getting more used to the bottle, and I'm starting to wean him. I'll be gone again next week, just for 2 nights, and Gramps will come and stay again. I enjoyed my meetings, was happy to spend time with all my colleagues, and learned a lot.

This weekend is the Tucson Literacy Festival, and they're raising money for a great cause. Friday night I got to go to Tucson for the Author's Table dinner. There were 800(!) people there, and I got to sit with Alice Hoffman!! She is one of my favorite writers, and she is really nice as well. I learned a little bit more about her life, and she was gracious enough to sign the books I had brought from my personal library.

And, my brother is running for Congress!! Here is a link to his webpage. I hope you'll support him in whatever way you can! Spread the word, send money, vote for him if you live in Idaho, etc!

http://www.mikewashburnforcongress.com/ and http://www.sos.idaho.gov/elect/candidat/2010_primary_candidates.pdf

Note to self: EVEN if we're completely out of juice, and the boys really, really want juice, do not give them prune juice . . .

Love, j&c, m&t&c

Our crazy weekend

2010-02-16T06:06:00.004-07:00

We knew it would happen one of these days, and sure enough, it did. Matt figured out how to escape his crib last week. At first it wasn't too bad because he was just getting up and out in the morning. Then, on Friday night when I put them to bed, Matt got out immediately. So, I was running up and down the stairs putting him back in--who needs a gym membership when you've got 3 boys under 2?! Finally, he stayed in his crib and went to sleep, until 4:00 a.m., that is. So, on Saturday at o-dark thirty the baby was up screaming, Matt was up, and then Thomas woke up, too. Meanwhile, Chris had come down with a terrible cold and was trying to sleep through it all. I managed to get everyone's diapers changed, and we were up for the day.

Now, all we had to do was come up with a plan so that I would be able to sleep again! We considered toddler beds, but then we figured we might as well jump right into bunk beds--we'd need them for the next many, many years anyway. So, we found a very nice set of bunk beds at Wal-Mart that can be twin beds until the boys are ready for them to be bunked up. We got mattresses and all the bedding, and while he felt terrible all day, Chris spent Saturday dismantling and re-assembling the twins' room. Anyone need a crib? We'll save one for Christian, but now we have an extra. Chris also had to take out the dresser so they wouldn't climb, fall, take out all the clothes, etc. He had to install some fancy gadgets on the sliding closet doors so the boys wouldn't open, close, smash fingers, etc. We had to turn the locking handle around for the door so that we could lock it from the outside--we can't have them escaping and running loose through the house!

Their first night was a bit traumatic. They didn't quite know what to think about their new room and beds. Eventually, they fell asleep, both in the same bed; they were so cute. Our room is right below theirs, and we heard a few thumps in the night. We might need to get some rails so they don't keep falling out of bed . . . luckily, it's carpeted, and there's a rug for extra padding. Plus, it's a pretty short fall. In the morning, they pulled lots of books off the bookcase and were playing in a sea of my prized picture book collection. So, we cleared all of my books out--one day they'll get to read them, but not right now! Last night they seemed to do a little better; still, I heard Matt fall out of bed once or twice.

They're up early again today, hence, here I am up early, too. Who knew blinds could be an endless source of fun? They keep banging them against the window and giggling.

So, this was one of our more difficult weekends, but we made it through, and really, it wasn't that bad in the larger scope of things.

Until next time . . .

j&c, m&t&c

I'm back on the blog!

2010-01-31T11:49:00.004-07:00

Sorry for the long delay between posts; I can never seem to get a moment to blog.

It's been quite a month. Mom is here to help with the babies for 3 weeks--thank you Mom!!! She and I went on the road with Christian for a week, and we're going for another week beginning tomorrow. I'm visiting as many customers as I can in California.

We went to San Diego, and we were so happy to see Chris's dad and go over to Auntie Barbara's for dinner. Pam and Paul and Staci and Stella were there, too. We also got to see Chris's grandpa and Auntie Maureen, but all too briefly.

I had so much fun with friends from high school who were in town for the R-n-R marathon. Kiersten and Jurhee came over for dinner one night, and then a bunch of us went out to dinner on another night. I got to see Julie Lewis, Jean Robertson, and Kim Lewis, too. Wish I had more pics!

Gotta run, the twins need lunch . . .

xo, j&co

The Herb's with Santa and Mrs. Claus

2009-12-19T08:47:00.004-07:00

We had a fun time at our public library, hearing Christmas stories and getting our picture taken with The Claus's. The twins were terrified and wouldn't go near them, so we had all of us in the picture. Maybe next year they won't be so scared.

Marjorie Paula Goodman, 1919 - 2009

2009-12-06T19:23:00.006-07:00

My beautiful grandmother passed away this week. She was 90 years old, and she was ready to go; she was a devout Christian and she's now in Heaven with my grandfather who we lost in 2001. Grandma Marjie was my mom's mom, and I am so lucky to have been her granddaughter.

When I was growing up, they had a farm in Albany, Oregon, and I spent a lot of time there. My grandmother was a platoon leader for the local strawberry farmer, so every summer, my cousins, my uncle Wayne, and I would hop on the bus (it was parked at their house, and Grandpa drove it!) at a very, very dark early hour and head to the strawberry patch. We picked strawberries all day, and then got back on the bus for the long ride back to the farm. I loved picking strawberries, and I liked the spending money I made.

When Grandma and Grandpa retired, they bought a motor home and joined Thousand Trails. They'd take us grandkids with them camping each summer; we especially loved going over to Pacific City on the Oregon Coast.

Whenever we were all together as a family we ate lots of good food, and we were always telling stories and laughing. My grandma and grandpa were married more than 60 years; they had 4 kids, 9 grandkids, more great-grandkids than I can count, and two great-great-grandchildren so far.

We were blessed to be able to celebrate Grandma's 90th birthday this summer; we will all miss her so much.

We love you, Grandma.

j&c, m&t&c

Wonderful holidays!

2009-12-02T06:43:00.005-07:00

Hello! Lots of wonderful things going on! Chris's dad, Frank, came to visit so it's been wonderful to spend time with him. He then went off to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with his sister Anita, and brother-in-law Bill. He had a great time there at The Villages. My dad came for Thanksgiving week and spent lots of time with Matt, Thomas, and Christian. They learned how to call him Papa right away, which was very cute. Frank is now back from Florida and will spend some more time with us before heading back home to San Diego.

On Saturday I got to have a spa day with my amazing friend, Amy! We met out at the Wild Horse Pass spa, Ajji, at about 8:30 a.m. First, we went for a walk along their gorgeous 2.5 mile interpretive trail that ran along the golf course. Then, we took a Pilates class (I'm still sore!), and then Amy had a massage, and I had a facial. We then had lunch by the pool. It was the perfect weather, sunny and clear and low 70s. Wonderful, relaxing day!!! Amy came over on Sunday to meet our little guys before she flew back home to the Bay Area.

I've posted lots of pics here.

Love, j&c, m&t&c

November update

2009-11-12T14:45:00.002-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated our blog!! I don't have a lot of time available as you might imagine. This is my last week before I head back to work on Monday. It has gone so fast!! We've been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing. We're always trying to stay one step ahead of the twins to keep them in a safe place. They are climbing everything in sight! We basically moved everything out of the living room except the couch and chair and their toys. It's gated in, and they have the entire run of the room. Earlier this week we moved everything off the carpet and cleaned the carpet. We moved the bookcase into the family room, and I cleaned and organized that. Then, since I was in the cleaning mode, I cleared out 4 bags of clothes from my closet and took them to Goodwill. I still need to go through my dresser and get that cleaned out. I guess I'm still nesting!!

The twins went to the doctor last week for their 18-month check-up. They're doing great. They haven't gained much weight; they're still at about 27 or 28 lbs. They're tall, at 34". Christian had his check-up yesterday. He has gained 3 lbs since he was born and is now up to 10 1/2 lbs. He's grown 1 1/2 inches to 21 1/2". We blessed that they're all healthy and doing just fine.

That's all for now!

Love, j&c, m&t&c

First Haircuts!

2009-10-19T09:36:00.002-07:00

I took the twins to get their first big-boy haircuts yesterday to a place called Cool Cuts 4 Kids. They got to sit in little cars and watch an Elmo video while they got their hair cut. They did great! No crying or anything, and they stayed fairly still during their cuts. They look so cute!!

New Little Baby Herb Arrives!

2009-10-08T10:24:00.002-07:00

We are so happy to welcome Christian McCoy Herb to our family! He arrived a week early on Sunday, October 4, at 10:25 p.m. 7 lbs, 9 oz, and 20 inches long. He has a little bit of dark hair and is a sweet little guy!

Thanks so much to everyone for their prayers and well-wishes.

Love, j&c, m&t&c

Getting Close!

2009-09-27T05:45:00.006-07:00

Just 2 more weeks to go! Mom has changed her flight so she can get here on October 1 instead of October 8, so we're looking forward to her getting here on Thursday. It will be so nice to have her help with the twins.

I went to The Little Gym yesterday morning for a free trial class for Matt and Thomas. Thomas had a rough time; he's nervous about new people and places, so I had to hold him most of the time so he wouldn't cry. Matt ran around exploring and having fun. One of the other moms was so sweet and held Thomas for a little while so I could play with Matt. He walked on the balance beam and did some backward rolls. Please follow the link below for a cute video!

We got back home just after 9 and had a big breakfast--scrambled eggs, veggie sausage patties, strawberries, and blueberries. Chris had to work from 11 - 7, so we were just home hanging out and doing chores. The little guys didn't take any naps, but they had a great day playing. They were very ready for bed at 6, so, they got in their cribs, and we read several stories. They love the Big Dog and Little Dog books by Dav Pilkey and Where's Spot? by Eric Hill, and of course, Good Night, Moon. We read Olivia for the first time, too, and they seemed to like it.

Chris's friend, Robbie, is in Phoenix this weekend for the Cardinals/Colts game. They're going to go play golf this morning. Wish we could have the whole family over, but it's a quick trip for them, and they're staying all the way over in Mesa.

Copy & paste this link into your browser to see the video: http://sharing.theflip.com/session/64e6ad2b67af483f901c6494f5a6fbee/video/6367035

ttfn

xo, j&c, m&t

Sunday update

2009-09-13T15:30:00.003-07:00

4 weeks to go!! The ETA of our newest little Herb is October 11. I'm 36 weeks along today. Getting very ready for him to arrive. We've finally settled upon his name--Christian McCoy Herb.

Chris has been working at the Y now for a few weeks, and he really likes it. Once I'm back in action, we'll join as a family and be able to take the kids there to play while we use the gym.

Apartment news: Sadly, one of our tenants passed away a couple of weeks ago. Royle had been with us at our Glendale apartments since we first bought them. She was a bit grumpy, but in general we all came to like one another over the years. She made beautiful quilts, and she was making quilts for the twins. They didn't get finished before she died, but lucky for us, Jill's mom, Helen, is going to finish them. They are very special to us; they have a Phoenix Suns theme, with pictures of the little guys. Her passing leaves us with an apartment that needs lots of work. One of our other tenants is going to remove all the trash, strip out the popcorn ceiling, and pull up the carpet. Then he's going to paint for us. He has a friend who can get us tile for a good price, and we have a tile-layer who will meet us there Friday to give us a quote on tiling the whole place. Then, it'll just be a matter of cleaning and hanging blinds. We hope to be able to rent it within the next couple of months.

Here are some pictures from today.

xo, j&c, m&t

An update on the newest Herb-to-be!

2009-09-02T19:52:00.003-07:00

We had our doctor's appointment on Monday, with an ultrasound. The baby seems to be doing just fine--they estimate he weighs about 4 lbs, 12 oz, so he's right on target. He's supposed to be gaining an ounce a day for the next 5 1/2 weeks. He was being very shy and wouldn't let us get a good look at his face, but I have a couple of profile pics. It's a little hard to see, but basically, it's the left side of his face, looking up, and you can see his mouth and nose.

The twinnie boy Herbs are doing just great. They had salmon cakes for dinner tonight and ate most of them! They had chicken for lunch, which is their favorite. Plus, they always have lots of fresh fruit--turns out they really don't care much for cantaloupe or pineapple, but they love strawberries and blueberries and grapes and bananas.

Chris is at work tonight--his birthday! Thanks Mom and Jill and Michael and Olivia and Alicia and Frank for the birthday wishes! We'll have a nice dinner with cake on Friday night when he doesn't have to work.

That's all for now.

xo, j&c, m&t

Recent Pics of the Little Guys

2009-08-19T19:05:00.001-07:00

The Baby Herbs at 15 Months

2009-08-19T06:57:00.002-07:00

We had their 15-month check-up yesterday, and they're doing just great! Matt is now 27 lbs and 32 1/2 inches tall. He's in the 75th percentile for his weight and 90th percentile for his height. Thomas is almost exactly the same--27 lbs and 32 inches tall. This makes him in the 75th percentile for both. They had their last PC and HIB shots, so that wraps up all the shots they're going to have for several years. We used the modified plan of vaccinating suggested by Dr. Sears.

I had my doctor's appointment on Monday, and all's well with me and the new little guy, too. I've gained about 16 lbs, which is good. They said to gain 20-25. I have just under 8 weeks to go!! No signs of any problems, thankfully. In two weeks, we'll go in for an ultrasound to check out how the little one is growing and developing. We're looking forward to that.

Chris got a job at the Y! We're very excited about this. It's part-time and very flexible, so we'll be able to work it out with my schedule and one of us will always be able to be with the babies. He worked at the Y in Encinitas for many years, so he's familiar with most everything there. He started last evening.

I'll post some new pics soon.

Love, j&c, m&t

Let's try this again

2009-08-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Another test. Keep your fingers crossed! j

Just a test

2009-08-08T09:02:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone! I'm trying to figure out how to link up my blog and Twitter. I'm not the techiest person, so we'll see how long it takes before I give up! xo, j

2009-07-19T09:31:00.004-07:00

Hi everyone! We've been having a fun summer so far. It's hot here, but I mainly stay in doors if I can help it. Chris loves the heat and goes out all the time. Last weekend we went to a barbecue at our friends Jen and Janine's--they have twinnie girls the same age as our little guys. They had yummy salmon, chicken, pasta salad, and fruit. The boys had a great time playing with the other kids there. They also loved the salmon.

I spent this past week working in Northern Arizona. I visited the libraries in Page, Flagstaff, Cave Creek, Prescott, Cottonwood, and Sedona. It's beautiful up that way, and thankfully, much cooler!

Yesterday we took the boys to the mall in Chandler; it has a great kids play area, and the little guys had fun walking around, playing with the toys, and watching all the other kids. It was a bit of a mad-house, with lots and lots of kids, so some day we'll have to try to go back when it's not so busy.

We got the boys their own little wooden high chairs that scoot right up to the table. They've been having fun eating from their own plates and feeding themselves. I still have to feed them anything that needs a spoon, but they much prefer being able to eat finger-foods. They eat a lot of fruit--blueberries, cut-up grapes, bananas, oranges--turkey hot dogs, ground turkey, chicken, whole wheat bread and bagels, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, corn, cheerios--I can't think of anything that they don't like. They're good eaters!

I'm in town for work this week, and next week we'll head to San Diego for work and play and family. We're looking forward to that.

TTFN! Love, j&c, m&t

It's been a long time!

2009-06-28T19:32:00.008-07:00

Sorry for the lengthy delay between postings! It's so hard to find time to do everything I'd like to do these days. We've had a fun couple of weeks. Chris's dad came to visit over the Father's Day weekend, and we all enjoyed spending time together. Yesterday, we had our friends Jen and Janine over with their little one-year-old twin girls Jordan and Sydney. We had lunch and played in the pool, and the kids seemed to all have a good time, with a few melt-downs here and there. Matt and Thomas hadn't had their usual morning nap, so they were a little grumpy.

Today I found a nice crib on Craigs List and bought it for Thomas. Matt's been sleeping in a regular crib, but Thomas has been in the co-sleeper (portable crib). So, he needed a regular crib, and we'll have the co-sleeper for the new baby. We've re-arranged their room, and it's a tight fit, but it looks pretty good. Thomas seemed happy about his new digs! One of these days, we'd like to create a door between their room and the bedroom next to it--then, we can have the whole big space for the three boys.

I've traveled to Utah and Southern California since the last post, and Friday marked the last day of our fiscal year at Baker & Taylor. It's been a tough year, but I'm eager to see how we ended up. There are a lot of new and exciting things going on, so the next couple of years should be interesting.

The new kitty, Baxter, is fitting in just fine--he gets on the kitchen counters, which we do not like, but we hope to break him of this habit as he gets older.

Our new little baby seems to be fine--I go to the doctor tomorrow for a check-up. I'm feeling good, thankfully.

Looking forward to the holiday weekend coming up!

xo, j&c, m&t

The Baby Herbs are Walking!

2009-06-06T07:29:00.004-07:00

Matt and Thomas have both started walking a lot now. They're practicing all the time, and they're doing great! We just had their 1-year pictures taken, and they turned out so cute. I'm posting some here.

In Chris news: He is working out and running all the time and is in really good shape. Ed and Eileen are hosting a luncheon in his mom's memory on June 14 out in California. We hope to be able to go, but it would be a very long drive for just a day. He's finished up his pre-req's for his physical therapy assistant school, so he'll be starting the actual program sometime this fall. A new little kitty has adopted Chris, so it looks like we have an addition to the family--Baxter who is 6 months. He is currently living in our spare room, but he'll get introduced to the family this weekend. He got neutered and his shots this week.

In Jane news: I'm excited that my friend Amy is now the northern California rep for B&T! We'll get to work together over the coming month, heading to Utah for the week on Monday. Found another scorpion in the house last night, but luckily Brady pointed it out to me before I stepped on it in the dark. It's a constant battle for us, and Chris is good about exterminating around the outside of the house. I'll be 22 weeks along tomorrow with our new little guy--we're so looking forward to his arrival!

Our real estate continues to be a hardship--we have several vacancies, but so far we're managing. I hope this economy turns around soon!

Love, j&c, m&t

Our Summer Vacation

2009-05-31T06:30:00.006-07:00

We got back home Friday afternoon after our fun vacation to Oregon and Washington. The babies did great traveling on their first airplane ride. Thomas slept most of each flight on Chris's lap, while Matt squirmed all around on my lap and in the aisle until he fell asleep for about the last 30 minutes. They were also great in the car--we did quite a lot of driving and really only had a tough hour or so on the way from Yakima down to Roseburg. We rented carseats and pack-and-plays (cribs) from a company called Jibba Jib. Deb met us at the rental car at the airport to deliver and pick them up, and it worked out well. It saved us from having to travel with those 4 large items.

Our first stop was Yakima, where we attended my cousin Laurie's daughter's wedding. Emily and Richard had a beautiful outdoor wedding at a local park, and my uncle Wayne officiated. On Friday, we spent the day at my aunt Janet and uncle Rich's house, with my mom, and my cousin Jamie, her husband, Brian, and their little boy, Trevor. Then, on Saturday, we went to the 90th birthday celebration for my grandma. She looked beautiful, and it was a fun day filled with lots of time for family and delicious food.

Then, on Sunday morning, we drove to Roseburg. It took us 8 hours, so it was quite a long drive. We got to Dad and Shari's ranch at about 6pm. Michael and Jill and Olivia also made the drive. We spent 3 nights there, relaxing with family and enjoying the gorgeous weather. On Thursday, we drove up to Salem to spend the last part of our trip with Mom. She took us to Riverfront Park so the boys could ride on the Carousel.

Here are lots of pics.

Love, j&c, m&t

We're having a . . .

2009-05-14T13:17:00.007-07:00

Today we found out we're having another little baby boy Herb! We're so excited about this little guy; he looked just fine on the ultrasound. He weighs 8 oz, and is right on target with his growth. Here is a profile view of his little face.

Sunday was my second Mother's Day, and it was a good one. Chris gave me an electronic picture frame where we can store all of our pictures and videos. I can take it on the road with me, so I can see the babies even when I'm away. Saturday we had their one-year pictures taken. We'll get to see them tomorrow. Other than that, we stayed home the whole weekend, and I deep-cleaned and organized our kitchen. It was such a disaster! Now, it is nice and clean with all the stuff put away in cupboards--so it's much easier to keep it clean from here on out. Also, vacuumed up about 2 additional pets worth of dog/cat fur. Ick.

Happy Birthday to Shari (yesterday)!

We're so excited about our Oregon/Washington trip coming up next Thursday. Michael and Jill and Olivia will be coming in from Boise, and Chris's dad is also going to be visiting with us at Dad's ranch. Lots of family, kids, animals, celebrating, and relaxing! Can't wait!

Love, j&c, m&t, and new baby herb!

The Baby Herbs Turn 1!

2009-05-03T10:03:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe that we've survived and our little twinnie boys turned 1 on April 29! They had little birthday muffins and opened lots of presents.

We're looking forward to our trip this month up to Oregon and Washington! My cousin Laurie's daughter Emily is getting married on May 21, then we'll celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. That will be up in Yakima, Washington. Then, we'll drive down to Oregon and spend a few days on my dad's ranch. Then we'll spend a day or so with Mom, and fly home on the 29th. It should be an adventure flying with the little guys!

That's all for now. Love, j&c, m&t

Cutest Baby Herbs Ever!

2009-04-19T13:55:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Baby & Family Expo over in Scottsdale. State Farm sponsored a photo-shoot, where your picture would be mocked onto the cover of American Baby. It turned out cute of Matt and Thomas!

We got a bunch of good stuff--Parent's Choice gave us a case of baby formula!

Love, j&c, m&t

Catching Up

2009-04-18T06:39:00.005-07:00

It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks. I went to Oregon for the Oregon Library Association convention April 1 - 3. I got to stay with Mom, which was fun. Dad and Shari and Troy also came up one day, and we had lunch together. I got home late Friday night, and Saturday we drove to San Diego. We arrived at the hotel and discovered they had no more cribs available. This was terrible! Thomas had to sleep in the stroller, and Matt slept in bed with us. Sunday, there was a beautiful gathering in honor of Kathy, Chris's mom. Maureen and Bill arranged all the food, Staci and Auntie Barbara and Pam created beautiful flower decorations, and Alicia made several picture displays celebrating Kathy's life. Many, many people came to be with the family and honor Kathy's memory. Below are several pictures from the day.

This week on Wednesday night as I was going through B&T boxes in preparation for my trip to Las Vegas and Utah, I got stung by a scorpion on my left ring finger. I had shooting pain up my hand and arm to my elbow all night and the entire day on Thursday. Finally Friday morning it felt a lot better, but today my finger is still numb. Luckily, Chris found and destroyed the scorpion. They can be extremely dangerous for babies.

Thursday and Friday I was visiting North Las Vegas, Las Vegas Clark County, and Washington County Public Libraries. I arrived home last night about 5:00 p.m.

Today I'm looking forward to a fun outing to the Baby and Family Expo in Scottsdale. There will be baby crawling races and other activities for the little guys. It'll be great to be outside walking around and looking at all the vendors' wares.

Tomorrow, it'll be back to working on the properties and the house.

That's all for now.

Love, j&c, m&t

The New Little Baby Herb

2009-04-01T05:03:00.003-07:00

I had my doctor's appointment on Monday for some non-invasive genetic screening of our new little one. The baby is twelve weeks along now, and with a combination of some testing of my blood and an ultrasound, my doctor was able to give me a risk percentage for genetic defects. The risk turned out to be incredibly low--1 in 145 for Down Syndrome and 1 in 902 for Trisomy 18/13. So, right now we feel happy knowing our baby seems to be just fine and healthy. I also got to see a 3D image of the baby! It's incredible. Here are some pics.

The little guys both have colds this week, so they're not feeling very well. I hope today will be better for them.

I'm heading to Oregon this morning for the Oregon Library Association Conference. It'll be fun to stay with my mom, and I'll also get to see Dad and Shari. This weekend we will go to San Diego for a gathering to honor Chris's mom. When we get back, we have two condos to get ready for new renters. Crazy busy times.

Love, j&c, m&t

A sad loss for the Herbs

2009-03-29T10:47:00.009-07:00

After a long and very courageous battle with cancer, Chris's mom passed away peacefully on Friday afternoon. It's going to be so hard to be without her. She loved her family more than anything, and no matter how she was feeling, she was the one who always took care of and spoiled all of us.

We were very lucky to get to spend a week with her not long ago. She was so happy to see the babies. She fed them, held them, and played with them throughout the week. She also had a big party for all the family, and we all had a wonderful time together, eating St. Paddy's Day traditional dishes such as corned beef and cabbage.

We will miss her so much.

Love, j&c, m&t

2009-03-14T07:10:00.003-07:00

Update from the Herbs

All's well here in AZ. I went to the doctor and everything is fine with the baby. I've posted the ultrasound picture. He or she is just a little blob--and oh, there's just one little blob, thankfully! The baby will be due October 11. I'm going back to my same doctors, so I met with Dr. Sawai who delivered Thomas. She was happy to see me back--and not surprised, because she had warned us it may happen.

Aunt Janet and Uncle Rich came to visit a few times over the last couple of weeks, so there are some cute pictures of Aunt Janet with Thomas and Uncle Rich with Matt.

Also, Chris does such a wonderful job on our yard, and it's a beautiful time of year, so I've included a couple of pictures.

Matt and Thomas had their check-up this week, and they're both doing well. Matt weighs 22 lbs, 6 oz, and is 30" tall. Thomas weighs 23 lbs, 2 oz, and is 29 1/2" tall.

That's all for now!

xo, j&c, m&t

Great News!

2009-02-28T19:00:00.003-07:00

It's hard to believe after all we went through to get our blessings, Matt & Thomas, but guess what?!! Chris and I are having another baby! It's quite a surprise, but a happy one, and we are looking forward to another little person in our lives. The big day should be in October sometime. We go to the doctor on Monday to get all checked out.

Matt and Thomas are doing great. They pull themselves up and stand all the time. They're starting to cruise a little bit, too. They're feeding themselves a little bit--cheerios, brown-rice cakes, bananas, and they especially love shredded Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese.

Tomorrow night Aunt Janet and Uncle Rich are coming to dinner. We can't wait to see them and for them to meet the babies. I'll be going away to our sales meeting in Charlotte, NC, on Wednesday through Sunday, so they said they'd be happy to come over a couple times while I'm away and let Chris get some time off. That'll be really nice for Chris and much appreciated!

ttfn, j&c, m&t

The babies turn 9 months!

2009-02-08T15:26:00.002-07:00

Matt and Thomas turned 9 months on January 29. They're both pro-crawlers and are pulling themselves up to stand all the time. It's fun to feed them new foods--this weekend they've been eating quinoa, roasted beets, blueberries, bananas, and their favorite, yogurt, with vanilla bean. They'll have their next check-up on March 11, and we're looking forward to getting their latest stats. They are perfect little sweetie guys!

xo, j&c, m&t

Reflecting on 2008 and Plans for 2009

2009-01-18T10:44:00.005-07:00

2008 was quite a rough year, for us, as well as for many of our family members and friends. The country has gotten into quite a mess financially, on an individual as well as government and corporate level. It's so widespread, no one seems to be unscathed. Still . . . I count my blessings every single day. 2008 was the BEST year of my whole life because our miracle babies arrived.

On the 1st of January 2008, Chris and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary. I was about 5 months pregnant. We definitely fooled all of you who thought we had a shot-gun wedding, getting married only 6 months after meeting each other! Turns out we were just madly in love then, and still are today, even if exhaustion sometimes muddies those waters. Anyway, singleton pregnancies are 40 weeks, but twins on average arrive at 36 weeks. So, while worrying throughout my entire pregnancy that something would go wrong, and the biggest of those worries was that they'd arrive much too early and get off to a rough start in life, I was also hoping that they'd arrive at about 36 weeks. 36 weeks came and went . . . and we scheduled a date for induction at 38 weeks (April 28). I was confident they would arrive well before then. Well, so much for confidence--we ended up keeping that appointment.

The little dudes arrived on April 29--nearly 3 hours apart. For a blow-by-blow, please see my blog from May 6. Matthew arrived at 5:18 a.m., and Thomas came along at 8:01 a.m. Those first several months were the hardest of our lives. Sleep was not to be had--if the babies were awake, they needed something, and it took both of us to make sure they were getting fed, changed, or held, no matter the hour. During those all-too-brief times when they slept, we were preparing for them--making bottles, doing their laundry, trying to keep the house somewhat clean. Finally, at about 5 1/2 months, we started putting them to bed in their nursery, each in their own crib, and they began sleeping through the nights. And we started to feel human again.

Now, they're almost 9 months, and they have changed so much. They're over 20 lbs and very tall. Each of them now has a tooth on the bottom. They sit up and roll and crawl. They love to eat and will pretty much try everything. They smile and laugh, and don't cry as much as they used to. They are the loves of our lives.

Moving on to what's in store for 2009.

Health & Fitness: Chris still works out all the time--he has a gym set up in the garage that rivals any fitness center, and now it has spread to our former guest room; our treadmill and his stationary bike are in there, with a TV set for easy viewing. He also runs and takes the little guys out in the jogger all the time. He walks the dogs every day, too. He is someone to hold as a role-model for making exercise part of your life--I'm amazed at him every day! I have finally gotten motivated to start exercising again, too, thanks to my personal trainer (aka my sweetie wonderful husband). Though the scale says I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight, health-wise I need to get busy! He has me on a running plan, and I've just finished up my 3rd week. He has me running 2-3 miles every other day, so I figure I've put in about 27 miles thus far. I recently heard that if you're still maintaining your new year's resolutions by Valentines Day, then you're likely to continue. Keep your fingers crossed!

Church: We would like to start attending the Catholic Church near our home--one of these days we'll get our act together and make this happen.

School: Chris is starting a program to become a physical therapy assistant.

Work: Chris has the hardest job--staying home with our boys. It would cost us too much to get childcare for them, and plus, we prefer to raise our babies ourselves. Still, we are struggling financially, so we need to think about how Chris can bring in income, while being at home. I celebrated 9 years with Baker & Taylor on November 1 and am now a few months into year 10. I still really enjoy my job, though the traveling is difficult--I hate being away from Matt & Thomas! I'm working really hard, but libraries are suffering budget cuts in this rough economy. I'm looking forward to our early March sales meeting in Charlotte to get inspired and re-energized. It will be especially fun to see all my colleagues, since I missed our sales meeting last year while I was pregnant.

I hear the guys back from their walk, so need to sign off for now. More to come!

Love, j&c, m&t

The Baby Herbs First Christmas

2008-12-28T08:15:00.005-07:00

We had the best Christmas ever! It was our first one with our little baby blessings, and we are so grateful for these sweet guys. Wednesday morning we got on the road only a half-hour late heading to California. We felt pretty proud of ourselves, given the amount of stuff we had to pack, getting the little ones and ourselves ready, etc.

First, we stopped at the Miller Road exit to meet with our new condo renter to get his paperwork. We're so happy to have the condo rented for Christmas! Then, we drove to Rancho Mirage, where we stopped in to have lunch with Nana and Papa. They were happy to see Matt and Thomas, and it was a great break for us in the drive.

Then, we got back on the road and arrived in Oceanside for dinner with Granny and Gramps. The little dudes were troopers and did great the entire way. We were exhausted and checked into our hotel by about 7 pm. We stayed at a brand new Residence Inn in Oceanside, where I had enough Marriott points to stay 2 nights free! They brought in two cribs for us, and the room had a kitchen, so it worked out just fine.

Christmas morning we went to Granny and Gramps and enjoyed a wonderful day. Great Grandpa was there, too, and we had a yummy dinner, opened presents, and watched basketball--unfortunately, the Suns lost at the buzzer to San Antonio. Stefanie, Francisco, and baby Cisco also stopped in to visit, and it was such a treat to see them! They had presents for the babies, and we're looking forward to playing with some fun new toys. Baby Francisco is already 13 months and is walking.

The day after Christmas, more family came to Granny and Gramps--Great Grandpa, Staci, Chris, & Stella, Pam & Paul, Auntie Barbara, Auntie Maureen, Uncle Bill, & River. River is 9 months now, a month older than our guys, and he's already crawling like crazy and pulling himself up to stand. Stella is 3 1/2 and is such a sweet little girl. She had some fun toys and books to play with, and she loved the little boys.

That afternoon, we loaded up and headed back out to the desert to be with Nana and Papa. Shari made us a delicious dinner, and we relaxed for the evening; it was a nice way to break up the trip.

Saturday, we enjoyed the morning with Nana and Papa and then went to visit Bob and Charlene Murray. We had lunch and headed back home. The drive was a little bit rough, with Thomas screaming for about the last hour of the trip. They were so tired and were happy to have dinner and get into their own beds for a long night's sleep.

I hear them waking up now . . .

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!

Love, j&c, m&t

A Happy First Thanksgiving with Babies!

2008-12-06T12:49:00.005-07:00

Chris's parents and my mom came to Avondale for Thanksgiving this year. Mom stayed almost a week here in our guest room; Frank stayed 4 days, and Kathy stayed for 11 days. They stayed in our condo in Litchfield Park, and Kathy caught a flight home this morning. The babies were so lucky to have their grandparents to hold them, feed them, and play with them. We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner--with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rutabagas, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. The babies just had their regular food, but they got to try their first chicken this week. Pureed chicken may not sound too appealing, but they like it mixed into their baby rice cereal!

I went back to work on Wednesday, and it was wonderful to have Granny here to take care of the little dudes. They loved it! And, Chris was able to get out of the house to pursue his new goal--becoming a physical therapy assistant. He has to do 40 hours of volunteer work and then he starts some on-line classes at the end of January. His program will begin in late spring through Gateway College.

That's all for now! xo, j&c, m&t

6-Month Check-up for the Baby Herbs

2008-11-13T05:46:00.003-07:00

On December 3 we took the little guys in for their 6-month check-up. It's hard to believe they're already 6 months old!! They're both doing great. Matt is 27" and 19 lbs, 2 oz, and Thomas is 27 1/2" and 20 lbs, 7 oz. They had their last rotavirus and dtap vaccinations, but I got a lecture from the doctor for not bringing them in for their pc and hib vaccines. We'll probably do these at the beginning of December. I'm just still ambivalent about vaccinating--the diseases are so rare, and I hate the idea of loading up their little systems with all these chemicals.

They are both great eaters now, and love eating their oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and apples. I need to make them more food--I've got butternut squash, apples, pears, and avocados to make for them. It's handy to freeze it all in little baby food jars, and just take it out as we need it each day. They're also starting to be able to hold their own bottles pretty well, especially Thomas.

Here are some new pics!

Love, j&c, m&t

Our New President

2008-11-04T21:51:00.002-07:00

Though it's difficult to get over the disappointment that American Hero John McCain will not be our next president, I hope we can all come together as a country and work hard to fix the things that are broken. God Bless America and President-Elect Barack Obama.

A Rare Political Posting!

2008-11-03T05:55:00.003-07:00

Good morning everyone! I'm up early, first of all because Thomas woke up and needed to be changed and fed, but secondly because I'm having a difficult time sleeping in these last days before the election. And, with the financial crisis we're facing in the USA, I can't seem to stop thinking about how all of this mess has happened. There is so much media spin and finger-pointing at one party or the other, that it is nearly impossible to discover the facts. That is now my mission!

My first line of research is going to be getting myself up-to-speed on Congress and legistation--it's been way too long since I tried to understand all that goes on in Washington. There is news all around us, but it all just gets so muddy; I'm going back to basics! Why am I starting here? Well, because I'm completely outraged at the $700 billion bail-out. It can't be just me, is it? Why isn't there a collective movement of us little people out here to get our broken legislative system fixed? Or, perhaps there is, and I'm just in the dark. I feel like that very often--but maybe that's how the "powers that be" want us to feel so that we don't rock the boat!

Anyway, it wasn't only the bail-out itself that has me so angry (though that's a major sore point!)--it's how it happened. At first, I was amazed and excited that the citizens of our great country made so many calls to our representatives in opposition to this plan that the lawmakers voted it down. I thought I was seeing our representative government at work--our leaders were listening to what the people wanted! Well, fast-forward to two days later. The bail-out became $800 billion, and went from 3 pages to 1,000 pages of pork-barrel spending--and congress passed this!!! What?!!! OK, I understand this is nothing new, but this was such a blatant example of our broken system, that it finally got my attention. So, here is the very beginning of my research--my first question: Why isn't there a line-item veto? Apparently, the Supreme Court struck this down as unconstitutional back in 1998--to the chagrin of President Clinton and the Repulicans, Here is an exerpt of the news from "All Politics CNN," June 25, 1998:

The line-item veto had been a hallmark of the GOP "Contract With America," when Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, and was the only plank of that agenda that Clinton supported

In a written statement, Clinton said: "The decision is a defeat for all Americans, it deprives the president of a valuable tool for eliminating waste in the federal budget and for enlivening the debate over how to make the best use of public funds. ... I am determined to do everything in my power to continue to cut wasteful government spending, maintain fiscal discipline and create opportunity through continued economic growth."

In addition to allowing him to strike specific projects from spending bills, Clinton said the line-item veto was useful as a negotiating tool -- a weapon to discourage Congress from adding pork-barrel spending to legislation.

Key Senate supporters of the veto power, Sens. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) said they would try to work around the court's objections, perhaps by requiring each spending item to be sent to the president as a separate bill.

"This is a temporary defeat -- a temporary defeat for the American people, for fiscal responsibility. But anyone who knows John McCain and anybody, hopefully, who knows Dan Coats knows that this is one battle in a war to address the issue of fiscal responsibility and to represent the American taxpayer so that the light of day can be shed on the way in which the Congress spends their money."

McCain had suffered an earlier blow last week as his tobacco legislation was scuttled in the Senate. Even so, the former Vietnam prison of war was able to keep a light view of the defeats.

"I would just like to point out that this has been a wonderful two weeks for me personally," McCain said to laughter during the press conference. "I'm really on a roll. I really haven't had quite so much fun since my last interrogation in Hanoi."

We need this option, or I like the idea of all of the bills needing to be sent to the president separately. That is also a big part of my frustration about knowing how our law-makers voted--it's impossible to tell if they voted one way or another because of the main bill or because of some other new law buried in the legislation. We and our lawmakers should be able to vote on something because we believe in it or not, rather than having to accept "the bad with the good, or the good with the bad." Let's just call it what it is--bribery.

Now, I'm going to have a lot more to share in future posts as I continue my exploration, but since we're only a day away from voting in a new president, I'm going to tell you my opinion and one of the reasons why--we need John McCain. He is the one talking about the broken system and the pork-barrel spending that needs to stop. His opponent is not addressing this, and in fact has participated in this practice during his years in the Senate (beginning January 2005), asking for earmarks of $931.3 million. John McCain appears to have asked for $15 million in his entire 24-year career in the senate (both of these numbers are according to PolitiFact.com).

Another reason I've voted for Senator McCain is because I'm vehemently opposed to the "steal from the rich and give to the poor" mentality. It goes against everything we believe in the United States. Every single person here should want to strive and achieve their own goals--not be encouraged to believe other people should work to support them. I'm not saying that there aren't people in this country who need help--there are, and, as a country, we devote tax dollars as well as our own charitable funds to support those truly in need. But, this will need additional research for another time! In general, those of us blessed to have able bodies and minds are better off in every way if we take care of ourselves and our own, rather than relying on "the government."

My humble two cents!

j

Babies and Their First Halloween

2008-11-02T08:22:00.004-07:00

We dressed the boys in cute little glow-in-the-dark onesies with pumpkins on them for their first halloween. There were about 25 kids who came to the door to trick-or-treat. Check out Jill's blog for Olivia as a darling bumble-bee!

This weekend Chris is working on our rentals, as usual. Our new renters, Judy and George arrived yesterday to stay in the condo for 2 weeks. I'm staying home to do chores--laundry, cleaning, paperwork, and making baby-food. I'm going to make them sweet potatoes, pears, and apples today. We're running very low on their frozen jars!

That's all for now!

Love, j&c, m&t

New playpen

2008-10-26T12:59:00.002-07:00

Chris bought a playpen for them this week, so they can stay safe and off the carpet. It also keeps the dogs away from them--the dogs don't hurt them, but they do like to give them big doggy kisses!

Stef sent them a bunch of clothes that her baby Cisco has outgrown--thank you! Here are some pictures in some of the cute clothes. Grandma Kathy sent two darling footie pajamas, and there's a picture of those, too.

Nothing much else to report!

Love, j&c, m&t

Special Photos

2008-10-18T16:39:00.004-07:00

We had a photographer come to the house a couple months ago to take pictures of the babies. They made this one into a 16 x 20 for us, so we're looking for a pretty frame.

They're getting so big! They're pretty much sleeping through the nights now, which is so nice for us. They're eating purees of green beans, avocado, butternut squash, and apples, as well as oatmeal, rice cereal, and their bottles. Thomas loves eating! Matt is not as interested and prefers his bottle.

Chris is working on the apartments today--trying to move some people out of Sunnyslope who have not been paying. We have a vacancy over at Alice, too, and we've started running ads. I hope it rents soon! I've been able to stay home with the babies all day; it's nice since I was out 2 nights this past week.

Love, j&c, m&t

Happy Anniversary to Jill and Michael!

2008-10-04T14:04:00.001-07:00

Jill and Michael celebrated 10 years this past week, on October 2. Congratulations on a wonderful accomplishment!! Love, j&c, m&t

They're finally sleeping!

2008-10-03T20:27:00.003-07:00

They've just turned 5 months old, and they're finally sleeping (mostly) through the night in their nursery. We have two cribs, and they do better when they are each in their own. Matthew still wakes up once a night to eat, but then goes back to sleep pretty easily. Thomas is a trooper and sleeps for about 10 hours! He likes to sleep on his tummy, and Matt likes to have his head covered. Whatever works for them! We have the video/audio monitor set up so we can hear when they wake up. Chris and I are finally getting a lot more sleep than we have been for these past many months.

I traveled this week, over to Kingman, which was not windy for the first time I can remember! And, then up to beautiful Flagstaff, Camp Verde, and Sedona. It's perfect weather up there right now. We're looking forward to a nice cool weekend here in Phoenix, too--yipppeeee Fall!!

All is well here at the Herbs!

Love, j&c, m&t

Baby Herbs in San Diego

2008-09-20T10:37:00.003-07:00

Last Friday we loaded up the boys and all their gear and headed to Oceanside. We rented a condo right on the Oceanside Harbor, which turned out to be less expensive and so much more comfortable than a hotel room. We had a wonderful day on Saturday at Kathy and Frank's. Auntie Maureen and Uncle Bill and Megan and River came down from Orange County, and Great-grandpa John came over from Carlsbad. The three babies got to meet for the first time. They're still a bit too small for any real interaction, but at least they looked at each other!

I worked the rest of the week, while Chris took the babies to meet other friends--Robbie, Shannen, Richard, my friends at Oceanside Public Library--and dropped them off at Grandma and Grandpa's for some much-deserved time to do his own thing.

It was a fun week, but we're also happy to be back home with the animals. Thanks Lise and Thomas for taking such good care of them!

Love, j&c, m&t

Baby Herbs 4-Month Check-up

2008-09-10T18:54:00.004-07:00

We took them to the doctor on Monday for their 4-month check-up, and they're doing great! Matthew is now 15 lbs, 11 oz., and 26 1/2" long, and Thomas is 17 lbs, and 26 1/4" long. They are up in the 75-90th percentiles for their age. Matthew has very sensitive skin and was really itchy and upset. The doctor gave us a prescription for some hydrocortizone ointment, and it has helped so much, even just the first day using it. Poor little guy--he was so miserable! Now, he feels better and isn't crying all the time before bed anymore.

We're heading to San Diego this weekend, and we're looking forward to seeing family. We'll get to meet River for the first time, and it'll be fun to have all 3 boys together.

Here are some new pics.

xo, j&c, m&t

Catching up!

2008-08-17T15:41:00.004-07:00

Sorry I've been remiss in updating our blog! Last week Chris's mom came to visit on Tuesday - Friday. Grandma Kathy had a great time with the babies--feeding them, changing their diapers, and even getting up with them in the middle of the night! I had to go to Las Vegas Wednesday - Friday, so I was only here for one day and a morning with her before I had to go. Alicia also came to visit, Thursday - Saturday, so I got to see her Friday night and Saturday morning. The babies were very happy to get to spend time with their Grandma and Auntie Alicia.

Matthew and Thomas had their first big people food this week, too. They had organic brown rice cereal. They did really well and liked it! They wore a lot of it, too, but that's OK. Matt went swimming with his mommy last evening. He didn't quite know if he liked it or not, but he didn't cry, at least. We're going to take both of them in this pool this evening. Thomas was in the gym today and rolled over from his back to his stomach and went to sleep! Matt rolled over once, when he was on the couch. Matthew is very loud and makes lots of noise. Thomas is still pretty quiet, but he talks a little, too.

We re-arranged our bedroom and moved the crib away from my side of the bed and over by the door. Now, I can more easily get in and out of bed. Having the crib there seemed like a good idea at first, but it didn't turn out very well. When they cried, I always had to get up and feed them anyway, so it didn't really help to have the crib within arm's reach. Plus, the babies mostly sleep apart so as not to wake each other up--one in the crib and one in a swing, or both in the swings. But, last night we put both of them in the crib, and they did fairly well. We need to get them used to sleeping in their cribs. One of these days, we'll move them up to their nursery to sleep.

Bye for now. Love, j&c, m&t

Earthquake in LA

2008-08-03T08:03:00.002-07:00

I was traveling this week for work in the LA area and felt the earthquake that was centered in the Diamond Bar/Chino Hills area. I had just come out of an appointment at the Palos Verdes Library District and was perusing their Friends book sale in the parking garage when it hit. I thought maybe it was an earthquake, but I wasn't completely sure. I'm glad it wasn't "the big one."

Matthew and Thomas are doing great! They're just over 13 weeks now, and they've gotten so big. We got them each a little Bumbo chair. They hold their heads up pretty well now, and they really like being able to sit up and look around. They especially like looking at each other.

Here are some new pics!

Love, j&c, m&t

The babies are almost 3 months old!

2008-07-27T10:23:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe, but Matthew and Thomas will turn 3 months on Tuesday! They are both so big. Thomas is about 15 lbs, and Matthew is right behind him at about 14 lbs. Matthew is more high-strung and cries more than Thomas. Thomas is quiet and easy-going. The are still generally getting up twice in the night to eat, but sometimes Thomas will only get up once. They've outgrown their littliest onesies and are moving into level 2 diapers!

Love, j,c,m,&t

Meme tagged from Jill

2008-07-20T10:41:00.002-07:00

Jill tagged me to do a meme, so here goes . . .

Three Things...
THAT SCARE ME: That someone close to me will die, accidents, evil people

I LOVE: my family, my friends, and my pets...(yes, Jill & Kelli, this is identical to yours, but it's honestly what I would have put, too!)

I HATE: shopping, ironing, unloading the dishwasher, moving

I'M DOING RIGHT NOW: doing this meme, drinking coffee

I CAN DO: bookkeeping, play the piano (though I don't do it often), write pretty well

I CAN'T DO: crossword puzzles, remember details (have to write everything down!)

THAT ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS: pasta, hummus and pita, potatoes--prepared any way possible!

SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS A KID: Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Gilligan's Island, The Flintstones, Little House on the Prairie

I'm tagging these people to do the same meme on their blogs: Cheryl, Anthony

The babies are already 2 months old!

2008-07-12T17:03:00.005-07:00

Hello everyone! They had their 2-month check-up on Monday (and they turned 10 weeks on Tuesday). They're very healthy and have gained so much weight! Thomas is now 13 lbs and 24 inches. Matthew is 12 lbs, 6 oz, and 24 1/4 inches. They had two vaccines--I wanted to spread them out to one per visit, but the doctor talked us into two--so we went with the recommendation of the Dr. Sears Vaccine book, which was rotavirus and DTaP vaccines at 2 months. The rotavirus was oral, and the DTaP was a shot. The boys only cried briefly with the shot, and they seem to be fine. I saw on the news this week that an autism gene has been found. The gene is still there in autistic kids, it's just "idle." That is why behavior therapy has been successful--it can turn the gene back on. So, the story went on to say that now the challenge is to create a medication that turns the gene back on instead of using the behavior therapy. Hmmm, more medication! Perhaps it's the vaccines that are turning the gene off!! There was no mention of even trying to discover why the gene is idle in the first place.

Here are some more pictures.

* "Let me in the picture!"
* "Matt and Mommy"
* "Matt on Tummy Time"
* "Thomas on Tummy Time . . ."

Bye for now! Love, j&c and babies

Herbs on a Roadtrip!

2008-07-02T17:57:00.004-07:00

Last Friday we loaded up the car with baby gear and babies and went to Anaheim. I worked at the American Library Association convention for Baker & Taylor, while Chris hung out with Matthew and Thomas. He brought them by the booth each day for a little while, and it was fun to have my colleagues and many customers meet them. Friday we got to stop along the way and see Auntie Alicia in Yuma and Grandma Kathy in Oceanside. Then, Chris and the babies went back to Oceanside on Monday and spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandfather. We drove home on Tuesday and were all happy to be home. It was quite a feat to travel with these two little dudes!

Love, j&c and babies

Baby suitcases

2008-06-26T20:50:00.002-07:00

Hello Everyone! We received the most adorable little suitcases with snuggly blankets inside. They say "Ready or not Grandma, Here We Come!" We love them, and they'll be going on their first trip tomorrow out to Grandma's in Oceanside! Then, we'll be at The American Library Association convention in Anaheim until Tuesday. Why am I writing about this, you may be asking yourself. Well, the suitcases arrived without a note as to who sent them! If you sent them, please let us know, so that we can thank you properly!! Thank you!

Love, j&c and babies

Babies in the Gym

2008-06-23T07:11:00.003-07:00

They're taking after their dad already--working out in their little gym! They seem to like it, but they're still a bit too young to really enjoy all the toys. Couldn't resist taking this cute picture of Matt in his swing. They're starting to smile every now and again, and one of these days we'll catch them doing that for a picture. xo, j&c and babies

Herb Morning Walk

2008-06-20T07:58:00.002-07:00

It's quite a parade when Chris takes out two boys and two big dogs for their morning walk!

More pics

2008-06-14T09:03:00.006-07:00

Here are various pictures--Matthew (will forever be known as "the one with all the hair!") Thomas, Chris, Dad and Shari, Michael and Jill and Olivia.

They're already about 9 1/2 lbs, and Thomas has caught up with Matthew. They're about 22 1/4 inches long and at the 75th percentile for their length. They're healthy and happy, and we are so blessed!!

Love, j&c

The latest

2008-06-11T18:59:00.004-07:00

Sorry for the lengthy delay between posts! Last Monday the babies had their 1 month check-up (at 5 weeks, oops), and they were just perfect. They had their 2nd hep B shots, and they cried which was awful. With all the controversy about vaccines and autism, especially in boys, we are carefully considering how we want our babies vaccinated. We're reading books by Dr. Sears and by Stephanie Cave, and are likely going to follow in the path of our friends Stefanie and Francisco. They are only having their little boy get one shot per month.

I had my 6-week check-up Monday, and I've been given the all-clear to go back to work, exercise, and generally resume life. So, I started back to work yesterday, and I'm happy to be back. I'm working from home this week to try to get caught up. Chris is excited to be a stay-at-home dad. I've posted a couple of pictures here, and I'll add some more later. They are of me and the two babies (actually awake!), them asleep on the couch, and the last one is Mom and her kids (Michael and me), her son-in-law (my sweetie Chris), and her grandbabies--Olivia, Matthew, and Thomas.

Love, j&c

Thomas & Matthew

2008-05-07T18:22:00.001-07:00

More details and pics!

2008-05-06T17:22:00.006-07:00

Here are some more details. On Monday, April 28, the hospital called at about 8:30 a.m. and asked if we were ready to deliver some babies! As you know, I had been very eager for them to arrive (Chris wasn't as impatient!), so I was very excited that it was finally time. Mom took a picture of us just before we left--my last pregnant picture.

We got checked into the hospital (Banner Good Samaritan, in downtown Phoenix) and had a nice room with really good nurses. The resident doctor, Dr. Harmon, checked on me, and in consultation with my perinatal doctor, Dr. Lam, decided they'd start pitocin--this began at 2:00 p.m., and I started into labor. They had me on an IV and the babies' heartbeats were constantly being monitored. Everything was going along just fine. I started to have some pain, so the anesthesiologist came in and gave me an epidural--this helped tremendously! My legs were completely numb, which was kind of uncomfortable, but it was much better than the pain.

It turned out to be a very busy night at the hospital! I was basically ready to deliver the babies in the middle of the night, but since I was doing so well, several other mothers were put ahead of me with emergencies. They wanted to deliver the babies in the operating room, just in case anything happened with either of the twins. They were especially concerned about the 2nd baby; sometimes, once the first one is delivered, the 2nd one will turn and be breech, necessitating a c-section.

Finally, at about 4:30 a.m., they moved me to the operating room, and Matthew arrived at 5:18 a.m. Chris got to see and hold him fairly quickly, once the nurses got him checked out, and he was doing well. He also got to cut the umbilical cord.

We started to try to deliver Thomas, but he wasn't quite ready and was still head-down and doing fine. So, they decided to give me a break and move me back to my original room. I got to spend time with Matthew for a couple of hours before his brother came.

Then, the pain medication started to wear off, and I was in a lot of pain. The doctor came back and sent more medicine through the epidural, and I was much more comfortable. The doctors and nurses were in no rush--it turns out, it's best for the babies to sort of make their own way out! So, finally, the nurse decided Thomas was ready. It didn't take long, and he was nearly born, and she quickly called the doctors in--Dr. Harmon and Dr. Sawai. Thomas arrived at 8:01 a.m.; I got to hold him immediately which was amazing. Chris also cut his umbilical cord.

Then, the doctors had trouble with the placentas and I lost a lot of blood and started to feel incredibly nauseous. Then I blacked out. My blood pressure went down to 65/32. It was a very scary feeling. The doctors sent a lot of fluid through my IV and luckily were able to get me stabilized. I came to, and I felt a lot better.

My mom was there the entire time with us, except for delivery, and Chris's parents arrived the next morning. We stayed in the hospital until Thursday, and it was a pretty rough couple of days getting used to the babies. We seem to be getting adjusted now, and Mom has been a huge help. We're looking forward to Dad and Shari arriving this evening. Michael and Jill and Olivia are getting here on Thursday, and we're so excited to see them.

I will be off work until June 9, and then Chris will be staying home with them.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers! We have two healthy, adorable, baby boys, and we couldn't ask for more.

Love, j&c

A couple more pics!

2008-05-02T17:54:00.002-07:00

Baby Herbs!

2008-05-02T12:57:00.005-07:00

They finally arrived! Here are the specifics:

Matthew James Herb (he's the one with all the hair!)
April 29, 2008
5:18 am
6 lbs, 11 oz
20 inches

Thomas Joseph Herb
April 29, 2008
8:01 am
5 lbs, 15 oz
19 1/2 inches

Will write more later!

They're almost here!

2008-04-26T07:52:00.003-07:00

It looks like the little guys are going to wait until their scheduled inducement date--Monday, the 28th. I started leave from work this past week, and Mom arrived on Monday. We had a doctor's appointment to see the babies on the ultrasound, and they were doing fine. It took a while for them to pass all their tests because they were sleeping, but eventually they did what they were supposed to do. We had another appointment on Thursday, and they monitored their heartbeats. They were just fine.

Now, we're just waiting! We'll let you all know when they arrive.

Love, j&c

Happy Birthday to Olivia!

2008-04-05T08:24:00.002-07:00

It's hard to believe, but Olivia is 1 today!!! Happy birthday! She has her party at 1:00 over at Helen and John's. We'll look forward to pictures and to hearing about the fun day!

The Litchfield Park Condo

2008-04-05T05:30:00.005-07:00

We finished up the condo last evening and welcomed our first guest! Here are some pics.

Congrats All Around!

2008-04-04T06:31:00.005-07:00

Marriage News: Alicia and Scott tied the knot this week, Wednesday, the 2nd, in Yuma. We are so happy for them!

Baby News: Megan and Aaron welcomed their baby boy, River Riley Francis, early Wednesday morning, April 2, at about 1:00. Everyone is doing fine, and they were going home yesterday. We can't wait to meet him!

We had a busy day again yesterday. Chris and I both took the day off from work, so we could get things done. We went to the doctor where they did the non-stress test on the babies. They monitor their heartrates and movement, and any contractions. I had no contractions, and they babies did just fine!

Then, we had a nice lunch at Johnny Rockets in Westgate. It is so pretty there--it's the new shopping/living/sports complex where the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Cardinals play. It's right across the freeway from where our new condo is. So, afer lunch, we decided to go to the sales office at the new condo and talk to them about when we would be able to close and find out the status of the community. We are at the point where we could cancel and get our money back, if we wanted to. But, it's such a great area that we were thinking we'd just hold on to it, knowing it would be a great investment over time. When we tried to get through the gate into the sales office, it was closed! So, I called the number I had and was told that they had decided not to sell the condos, but turn them into apartments! So, later in the day I spoke with the developer, and he said he'd e-mail me a cancellation notice to sign, and he'd send us our money back by next week! It's actually kind of a relief to have it over, and to be getting that money when we can really use it.

More good news is that we rented the Litchfield Park condo for April! Lise and Thomas sent this gentleman our way, and we really appreciate it! He's arriving this evening (Friday). So, yesterday we had a ton of stuff to do to get the condo ready--we picked up a dresser and 2 nightstands and had the bed and headboard delivered. We found and bought a kitchen table and chairs and a patio set, and Chris put those together. Meanwhile, I finished up stocking all the dishes, etc, in the kitchen, and made the beds in both bedrooms. We both did a lot more, too, because we were working for about 7 hours, but I can't remember all the details. Basically, just moving stuff into place and doing a little cleaning, fixing the locks, etc. We were exhausted when we finally got home at about 8:00 last night. I still have a few things to buy, and then we'll meet him over there this evening at about 7:00.

That's all for now!

xo, j&c

2-3 Weeks to Go!

2008-04-01T18:32:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, Chris and I went to the doctor for an ultrasound where they did what is called a Biophysical Profile on the babies. They check for 4 things: enough amniotic fluid, movement, tone, and breathing. Both babies came through with flying colors! The nurse warned us ahead of time that it might take 30 minutes to see their chests moving, with their practice breathing. But, both of them were breathing the whole time! They're actually taking in fluid, but once they're born, they'll be able to breath air. Also, Matthew has lots of hair! We couldn't get a good look at Thomas's head to see if he has hair, too. They were moving a little bit, but the nurse wanted them to move more so she could see their "tone" which means they're moving strongly, rather than appearing limp or lethargic. So, first she put this little buzzer up against my stomach near Matthew's ear; he did not like it and moved his hand up to cover his ear! Then, she did the same thing to Thomas; it gave him the hiccups!

I'll go back on Thursday, and they'll be monitoring the babies for 30 minutes--I think this is just their heartrates, but I'm not sure. It's called a Non-stress test. Next Monday and Thursday, we'll do the same things. I'm now at 34 weeks, and the babies could come at any time. It's ideal if they arrive at 36-37 weeks, because their lungs should be mature enough by that time. If they came now, they'll likely be just fine, too, but may need a couple more days in the hospital just to make sure.

Megan, Chris's cousin, is on baby countdown, too! She had her last day of work on Friday, and her due date is April 6.

GO SUNS!!!

That's all for now.

Love, j&c

Another Baby Shower!

2008-03-27T20:05:00.006-07:00

My sweetie customers at Yavapai County Library District in Prescott gave me a surprise Baby Shower last week! Cheryl, Barbara, Ann, Priscilla, and Mary spent part of their afternoon showering me with gifts and cake and ice cream--yum! Other people also sent gifts--Arminta who used to work at Yavapai County and the Sedona Public Library people, Pam, Amy, and Carla. It was such a special treat, and our babies got the most wonderful gifts!

Thank you!!!

Love, j&c

Our weekend and 33-week check-up

2008-03-25T05:38:00.003-07:00

We had a really busy weekend. Saturday we finished getting our Glendale apartment cleaned and ready for the new tenants. It looks really good--brand new tub/surround, paint, and carpet. One of our other tenants did all the repair work and painting and did a great job. I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures before the new people moved in, darn it!

Then, we had a basic gun safety training class. Chris bought a Glock 40-caliber for protection. In Arizona, it's fairly easy to buy a gun, and he can carry it now as long as it's viewable. He's going to take another class that will allow him to carry concealed. That'll be next weekend. At the basic class, he got to practice shooting at the shooting range. I was nearby watching, and each time the gun went off, the babies jumped!!! I was worried that the noise would damage their hearing, so I opted out of shooting and sat in the car while Chris practiced. He did great and has a very accurate shot.

Sunday, Chris spent the day over at our Sunnyslope "estates." He worked on our vacant unit and cleaning up/weeding around the property. He's happy because it's starting to get hot--88 degrees already! He really likes the heat and being outdoors. Meanwhile, I worked on our Litchfield Park condo. We are getting it ready to rent it as an executive/vacation home. I had already purchased a lot of kitchen stuff, as well as bath/bedding for the other condo we still have under contract that has not yet closed. So, I washed everything and put things away. It looks really nice. We still need to buy a bed, a dining table and chairs, a dresser, a patio table and chairs, and some other necessities to have it totally ready. Take a look at the new link to see where it is posted for rent. I'll also put some pictures here.

Speaking of the other condo that we have under contract . . . I had put money down on it back in October 2006 and it was supposed to be constructed and ready by May of 2007. Then, the date became August 2007, then October, and then I couldn't get in touch with anyone there! The housing market was coming to a standstill, and construction was basically stopped. We had hoped to have it available for Super Bowl, which was in February 2008, but that didn't happen. At this point, we are a little nervous about going forward with purchasing it, with the babies coming, and the state of the housing market. The only way to get out of the contract and get our money back, is if they don't deliver within 18 months of the original contract--that happens to be next week! So, at this point, we're going to wait until the 18 months runs out and talk to the sales agent about either reducing the price to entice us to follow through with our purchase, or canceling and get our money back.

With all we had to do over the weekend, we didn't celebrate Easter at all. It just came so early!!!

Yesterday, I had my 33-week check-up. They did an ultrasound to check the heartrates--Matthew was at 135 and Thomas was at 137--both are just fine. All is going well, and now I will have to start seeing the doctor twice a week. They'll be monitoring the babies at each visit to make sure they're doing OK. They want the babies to wait until at least 36-37 weeks to be born, so they have time to develop as much as possible. They should arrive in just 3-4 weeks now! I'm getting very ready for them to be here. Moving around and sleeping are difficult, but really everything is going well and I can't complain too much! We are so blessed to be having these little guys!

That's all for now! xo, j&c

31-week check-up and the house is coming together!

2008-03-16T07:34:00.004-07:00

Chris and I went to the doctor on Monday, March 10, for my 31-week check-up and ultrasound. The babies are doing great! Baby A, AKA Matthew James, is 4 lbs, 2 oz, and Baby B, AKA Thomas Joseph, is 3 lbs, 15 oz. Matthew should arrive first, and he's the slightly bigger baby, which is good. They are also both head-down, so they're doing what they're supposed to do! Thomas was not in the mood for the paparazzi, so only Matthew has his picture here this time.

I'm doing much better; I think I have almost recovered from the flu. I'm still congested, but that's most likely from being pregnant. Chris and I both have a lingering cough, but it's much less frequent now.

Yesterday we both got so much done. Chris spent the morning over at our Glendale apartments, collecting some late rents and working with our handyman, Matt, on tearing out and re-doing the bath/shower in one of the apartments. It's vacant right now, but new people will be moving in next Saturday. Once the bathroom's done, Ron, one of our other tenants, is going to paint it, and then the carpet is getting installed on Friday. He also collected rents over at our Sunnyslope "Estates."

Meanwhile, I was home finishing the painting in the nursery and washing all the new baby clothes. When Chris got home, he re-hung the blinds and put together the crib. The crib is nice; I bought it used through Craigs List, but it is in great shape. It is quite large--big enough for both babies for many months, at least, and it has a changing table and drawers and shelves attached. Then, Chris brought in all the bookcases, which had been sitting in the hallway for weeks now. He attached them to the wall and to each other, so that they are nice and sturdy and can't be tipped over. I brought in all the books, that had been piled up in the guest room, and loaded them onto the bookcases. They look really cute! I also moved all the condo stuff (dishes, linens, etc.) out of the guest room, and it's all ready to be loaded into Chris's truck and taken to the Litchfield condo today. So, the guest room is now back to being a guest room, and we can walk in the hallway! The living room is also almost back to normal, though it still has the stroller and baby stuff that I haven't yet gone through. Today I will do that and finish writing my thank-you notes!

The pictures are of my newly moved office (it used to be in the room that is now the nursery) and the still-a-work-in-progress nursery. I need to hang the border, and we're going to bring Alicia's dresser over from the condo. Otherwise, it's pretty much done. There is also a picture of their first shoes! Jill, Babs, and Shannon and Craig all gave us the most adorable shoes. They're different sizes, so they'll have shoes for a while.

That's all for now. xo, j&c

Baby Shower!

2008-02-28T07:07:00.005-07:00

Chris's mom and dad hosted a baby shower for us and Megan and Aaron on Sunday, and we had such a wonderful time! It was so nice to spend the day with family and friends. Kathy made beautiful table decorations and a darling gift table. She had the food prepared by Cappizolli's, which is their favorite local (Oceanside) Italian restaurant--it was delicious! Megan and I are both having boys, and all the gifts were adorable! I can't wait to have the time this weekend to slowly go through everything and oogle over it! Thank you to everyone who shared the special day with us!

xo, j&c

Starting the 3rd Trimester!

2008-02-18T06:51:00.002-07:00

We got the labs back, and everything is fine. I'm not going to get near any more cats besides our own! Yesterday was 28 weeks, which is the start of the 7th month/third trimester. We are so excited for our little guys to arrive! If they arrive at 36 weeks, then there's only 8 weeks to go.

Saturday I finally finished painting my new office, and yesterday we moved in. I still have some boxes to go through and throw out/organize, but for the most part, it looks really good. Next step is to paint the nursery and put up the border. Then, we can move the crib and other furniture in--and out of the hall, guest room, and living room!

Yesterday I posted our Litchfield Park condo for a vacation/business rental on Craigs List. We've already gotten 3 responses, so I think it's going to work out well to do it this way, rather than as a regular rental. Alicia will be moving to Yuma on March 1, so we'll need to get it ready on the 2nd and during the following week. We already have someone who wanted to rent it starting on the 1st!

We also have a vacancy coming up over at our Glendale apartments. I posted it for rent yesterday on Craigs List, and I've got two people scheduled to come and see it on Tuesday evening.

Next time, I'll post pictures of the house and baby stuff. xo, j&c

27-week Check-up

2008-02-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting for so long! Here are the latest pictures of our little guys. They are both doing fine. They're a week ahead of schedule in their growth, which is good, since twins often come early. They weigh about 2 1/2 pounds each already! They're likely about 15" long.

I got into a tangle with a cat over at one of our apartment buildings last Sunday, and I've been panicking about a disease called Toxoplasmosis. It's not harmful to adults, but it can hurt the babies. I talked to the doctor about it yesterday, and they drew blood to test for it. About 50% of people in the US have already been exposed and are immune to it. I'm hoping I'm among the 50%--it's likely since I've lived with cats for so long. The test can determine if you're immune or if you've been recently exposed. If I got it from this cat, then I'd likely go on antibiotics to prevent the babies from getting it.

Chris and I both caught a terrible flu--he had it for about a week and a half, and I had it for about 2 1/2 weeks. It sidelined us from doing a lot of things we had planned around the house getting ready for babies.

We're going to be making our upstairs front bedroom into my office, so I got everything moved out (it was my craft room), and I started to paint. It's about half done, and I hope to finish painting this weekend. We'll make my current office (the back upstairs bedroom) into the nursery. So, once we move out all the office stuff, I'll paint the nursery and start moving all the baby stuff in.

We bought a crib through Craig's List. It has a changing table attached, with drawers and shelves, so it will be very handy. We also bought a co-sleeper through Craig's List; it is a soft-sided crib that attaches to the bed. In the night, I won't have to get up to feed them. If they wake up, I can just reach over and bring them into bed with us.

Chris's mom, Kathy, bought us a wonderful dual stroller, as well as two matching car seats. We also bought a glider and ottomon that arrived last week. It's an upholstered chair-and-a-half, and it's a beautiful lavender color that perfectly matches our bedroom. So, we had to move out the chaise (which is now in the family room), and the dog crates, and then Chris "encouraged" me to clean out our bedroom--he was right, it was a bit of a disaster! So, it's now all nice and clutter-free and clean. We hope to be able to keep it that way.

Bye for now! j&c

23-week check-up!

2008-01-17T17:19:00.001-07:00

Chris and I went to the doctor for our 23-week check-up this week. The babies are both doing fine! They're right on schedule as far as their size for their age. They both weigh about 1 lb, 5 oz. The nurse took measurements of their heads, chest, and femur to gauge their size and weight. The pictures are getting a little harder to see, because they're now too big to fit entirely on the screen. So, these pictures of of their faces looking right at the camera! I hope you can see them well enough.

We also had our first childbirth class last Saturday and will have our next one this Saturday. We learned a lot. There is one other woman in the class also having twin boys!

xo, j&c

Snowy Christmas 2007!

2007-12-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful Christmas in Idaho at the Tamarack Resort, which is about 2 1/2 hours north of Boise. My mom flew in from Oregon, Abby (Jill's sister) flew in from Chicago. Michael and Jill and Olivia and Jill's mom and dad, Helen and John, drove up from Boise. We rented a car and arrived at about 7pm Saturday evening, the 22nd. It was quite a scary drive, dark and snowing for about the last hour and a half of the trip. Luckily we were in an all-wheel drive Chrysler Pacifica, and it did just fine.

We rented a beautiful 4-bedroom chalet where we were nice a cozy and could look out at the snow. Most of the time we sat around in the chalet and played games--Sequence and Mexican Train. Some of us (not me!) went skiing and snowshoeing.

Olivia got lots of fun presents but had the most fun playing with the wrapping paper.

We came home on Wednesday evening, and unfortunately, Chris had to work Thursday and Friday. I took the rest of the week off and will go back next week on the 2nd. It is so nice to have 11 days off! I'm working on clearing out the craft room to make way for babies!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

xo, j&c

18-Week Check-up

2007-12-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

Chris and I went to the doctor yesterday for our 18-week check-up. The nurse and the doctor spent a lot of time on the ultrasound, taking measurements and making sure everything looked good with the babies. They were very active and had good strong heartbeats. They are both about 9 oz and 9 1/2" long, which is good. Baby A is 18 weeks and 6 days along, and Baby B is 18 weeks and 4 days along. The doctor said it's fine for them to vary. They each live in their own amniotic sac and have their own placenta, which is also good. He checked several areas and was fairly certain that there is no sign of Down's syndrome, cleft palate, or spina bifida. We are very grateful that they seem to be developing normally and are in good health!

Love, j&c

We are having . . .

2007-11-18T09:27:00.001-07:00

Two boys! We're thrilled to find out we're having twin boys. They're fraternal, and they're both doing fine. My official due date is May 12, but usually twins are delivered at 36 weeks--4 weeks earlier than a single baby. So, we're hoping they arrive in mid-April.

We have our next doctor's appointment on December 10. They'll take another look at the babies with the ultrasound and do all sorts of measurements and tests to make sure everything is fine.

Wednesday we'll head to San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with Chris's family. My mom is flying in, too, so it'll be wonderful to all be together.

That's it for now. xo, j&c

Meet Coco!

2007-10-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

Here is the newest addition to the family . . . Chris found her lying in the street about 4 weeks ago. She didn't have any visible injuries besides some scrapes on her belly and leg, but she was very lethargic for a couple of days. We posted signs to see if anyone would claim her. But, you know us, we didn't want to give her up after about 3 days! She came around and seems to be in perfect health. We need to get her to the vet for a check-up and shots, and then we'll get her licensed. She's adorable and fun! Very clingy! She is getting alog OK with the other animals, but not great. She has sort of taken over--all 6 pounds of her! xo, j&c

Our first doctor visit

2007-10-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

Chris and I went to Phoenix Perinatal Associates today for our first doctor visit. This clinic specializes in multiples and high-risk pregnancies, so I wanted to have them as our care providers. We first met with Suzanne, the nurse practitioner, who gave me a brief physical and talked to us about what to expect with the twins. Then, we went to the ultrasound room with Paula, and we got to peek in at the little kidlets! They are just over 2 inches long each, and they both have good heartbeats--about 153 for Baby B and 167 for Baby A. Baby B was in a perfect position to see and measure. He (for ease of writing and reading, I'm referring to Baby B as "he" and Baby A as "she") appeared to be lounging on his back, with his foot in the air. He moved just a little bit, but was probably sleeping. We could see his profile, with his little nose, eye, and mouth.

Baby A was being shy, as well as very active. She wouldn't hold still for her pictures or heartrate! She was jumping and waving her hand. She looked right at us, so we got to see her face--she looks like a little skeleton face, but we could see her eyes, nose, and mouth.

Then, we met with our doctor, Doctor Lam. He is very nice and talked to us about all the things they'd be monitoring for the next several months. He wants to make sure I'm exercising at least 3 times per week--walking, swimming, or doing yoga. He said I will gain about 35 pounds, but I was thinking more like 40-60 from the book I'm reading. So, we'll see how it goes. He wants me to eat nutitionally dense foods, which I do try to eat, so there's not much change there. I will also start taking a calcium/magnesium supplement, which can help avoid pre-eclampsia (a dangerous high-blood pressure disorder which can occur). And, he wants me to stay on my daily baby aspirin.

OK, here they are--the baby pictures!!!

Baby B is in the first two.

Baby A is in the second two--her hand is in the first picture, and her face is in the second picture.

Hi, we're back!

2007-10-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I updated our blog! I'm writing from a hotel in Arcadia, CA, on Sunday evening, October 14. Yesterday, Chris and I drove to San Diego so we could attend my cousin Stephanie's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony next to the water on Mission Bay, followed by a reception filled with yummy food, dancing, and all the special wedding traditions. Stephanie married a fellow doctor she had met on the first day of her freshman year of college. It took them about six years to figure out they were more than "just friends" and another four years before tying the knot. They're now heading off to New Zealand for their honeymoon for two weeks. Congratulations to Stephanie and Leng!

This morning we met our friends Stephanie and Francisco for breakfast in Del Mar. It was so nice to spend time with them. They have a little baby boy due on November 5, so we wish them well, too!

Then, we went to Chris's parents house and were able to spend just a little bit of time with them. They fed us our second breakfast, and I was happy about that! I'd like to have two of every meal, if possible! Then, I dropped Chris off at the airport and he flew home. I'm staying in LA until Wednesday for work.

One of these days I'm going to write about our Hawaii trip and post some pictures.

xo, j&c

Guess what?! We're having twins!

2007-09-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

We had the ultrasound this morning, and it was amazing! Two little miracles appeared. They are both about the same size, 1/2" or so, which is good, and they both had good strong heartbeats. I am 7 weeks and 4 days along, so my due date is May 12. Twins often arrive early, though, so it could be April. They are fraternal twins, in their own sacs as you can see from the pictures. We won't know their genders for a long time yet, but we'd be happy with any combination! Thanks everyone, for all your thoughts and prayers. Love, j&c