Reflecting on 2008 and Plans for 2009

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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