Weighing In...

Yes, I know the blog is about the babies....and I am sure most of you will yawn at this post. BUT...I am the author so :P  

I am officially weighing in on the style of THE DRESS. I honestly don't know why I feel compelled to do so but this way I can say "I told you so!" and be backed up by it. Yes, I will be watching the Royal Wedding a week from today on TV (mostly because I'm off work on Fridays so it is awfully convenient to tune in); but, and let me make this clear, by no means do I have more than a casual interest regarding the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton (I will admit that I am fascinated in general by Royals & their lifestyles). Actually, most of it is WAY overblown and I honestly feel sorry for the couple and especially Middleton. I mean....what bride will have the least control of wedding decisions ever besides her? The invitations should say "Please Come to the Queen's Wedding" in BIG BOLD FONT and then in teeeny print say "oh...the wedding is for wills and kate by the way."

Anyhoo, the only reason I can think of regarding my compulsion to write this post, is that I surprisingly have an idea of what I think the all important dress will look like and I find myself annoyed by all of the fashion columns and their (in my opinion) way off base guesses of what the dress will look like. Yes....THE DRESS, the dress that is likely to cost thousands and thousands of dollars, worn for the ceremony and formal brunch thing after, and then put on display in a museum several years from now but never worn again.

Again, I am surprised I have an opinion at all....my own wedding dress was lovely but very simple. Jared and I wanted our marriage to be center stage, not our clothes, flowers, food, or anything else. So...without further ado, here it goes:

1. The dress will have some sort of sleeve. She is marrying a royal after all and this particular royal family is extremely old fashioned and traditional and perhaps even a bit modest. The dress will fit the traditional ceremony as well as the historic opulence of the Abbey the big shindig is taking place in. My guess is that the sleeve (which is a compromise for her, see #5) will either be cap sleeve or 3/4 length and perhaps more sheer than anything.

2. The train will be long....not anywhere near the length of Princess Di's train, but it will be appropriate for the looooooong walk to the front of the church.

3. The dress silhouette will be more traditional (no figure hugging, slinky material...) but I do think the details and fabric will have more modern touches....dare I say even more fashion forward elements. I am leaning more towards details that are simple but statement making. It won't be a gaudy dress. I do think there will be a mix of lace and satin.

4. She's a hat lady. Let me back that up....she wears architectural hats...very modern, almost...art...on her head. I think the veil will incorporate some sort of artistic "hat." Clarification: the hat won't look like the Queen Mum's hat. 

5. It won't be the dress she would pick if she were marrying a common person. The dress will have touches of her style but will be a compromise with what is acceptable by the royal family. 

Obviously the dress will be an original...and none of these pictures have all the elements I described, but it was as close as I could find. Of course I could be TOTALLY off base with all of these assumptions and if that is the case then this post will be promptly deleted and I can claim ignorance that any such post was ever made. :)

Hat, Fashion Forward Dress Elements (ruffles, waist, bling...)

Sleeves (the silhouette isn't something you will see)

Cap Sleeves, Layered Ruffles combined with Lace, Neckline

The Sheer Wrap, Dress Details

PS: I SWEAR I am not a royal stalker...this really is just a casual interest. :)

Zzzzzz.....

The girls are so busy that they wear themselves out these days. I haven't felt the need to have an 8:00 bedtime for myself since they were wee babies. :)

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Crazy Busy

I can't even describe how insanely busy we've been lately. Yesterday was the first time in a long time that the girls and I did NOTHING on my day off. That's right...nothing, zilch, not a thing...didn't even take a shower! Shh!!! Don't tell. :)

So what have we been up to...besides being fabulous and seriously sassy? Well, my dad has been visiting from S.Korea. He got here in early March and is leaving next Thursday. It has been a wonderful visit and unfortunately Thursday is already creeping up faster than I would prefer.  We've also been very busy enjoying the B-E-A-utiful spring weather (alright, prelude to summer weather....I am trying to be optimistic Texas people...). Teddy Bear Parades and Library time have filled up our calendar; as well as birthdays, zoo trips and BBQs. :)

Here are a few pictures to enjoy until I can get back on track with routines and normalcy....

Love,



Jillian, Momma and Jenna planting seeds     



Jenna, "Papa Marnie," and Jilly enjoying grapes after nap (all 3 napped for a good 2 hours!)

Getting the girls in on chores early... :) Just teasing, they like to play with bubbles

Dancing Queens

The girls are dancing to a Wiggles song..."Can You Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist." They love to sing and dance right now. You may have to turn your volume waaaay up to hear the music. :)

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For Grandpa Marty

Jenna (L) and Jillian Praying Before Breakfast. Jenna Looks Serious Because She is the One Praying. They Initiated This All On Their Own By Their Way. I Was Just Fortunate Enough to Have My Phone Nearby to Snap a Picture.

Jillian (L) and Jenna. They Were Caught Sitting on the Table, Which is a "No, No." :)

Jillian Enjoying Some Strawberry Limeaid Ice Cream :)



Jenna Doing EXACTLY the Same Thing!

There are days when I sit back and stare at Jillian and Jenna thinking, "Good Gravy!! There really are two of them!" The fact that I have twins can still blow my mind even to this day. A lot of strangers we meet think they have unique wit when they label my girls "double trouble." The response in my head (the one I would like to give but withhold due to manners) involves lots of eye rolling and letting them know just how many times I've heard that...which is to say I've heard it A LOT! P.S: It gets more annoying each time people say that. No, the response I give them is merely a polite correction, "No, not double trouble. Double blessings, " and we move along encouraging the girls to wave "Bye Bye" as we go.

These days we truly are in a phase of double blessings. Now that Jillian and Jenna (and depending upon the day, Shelby) are BFFs (best friends forever), everything is truly in twos. Seriously, if I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Jillian, I also read it to Jenna. If Jenna gets a horsey ride, Jillian does, too. If Jillian gets tickled, Jenna is right there as well. If Jenna is upset, so is Jillian. It seems like all of these twinkee-isms happened overnight. The girls have always played near each other but up until recently they played side by side but separately. Not engaging each other but rather observing one another. Now, they play together all the time, very rarely playing on their own. Which brings me to something I've been longing to brag about....for the first time ever in my child rearing days I can safely say that there are times (which is to say about 5-10 minutes here and there) when having twins is sooo much easier than having a single baby.



Jillian Sitting in Her Baby Doll's Stroller



Jenna Sitting in Her Baby Doll's Stroller, Too

So now that the girls can entertain each other, I am left to simply observe and oversee. Acting as a referee, if will, of "who had that toy first." Anyhoo, now that I have all of this extra time on my hands (enter sarcasm here) I've made one other observation I feel obligated to share. It isn't just any observation either, I find it somewhat frightening and disgusting all at the same time.... I am noticing more and more how teething toddlers can sometimes be compared to puppies.

Here me out now: In my home I have a husband, two toddlers, an overly excitable dog, and myself. I am quite certain that Jared and I aren't the culprits of what I am about to reveal; and while I do admit Shelby is a dog with "issues" she is far beyond her puppy hood days of chewing things up and destroying household items (with her teeth, not her fur and slobber, Jared). After all, Shelby did turn 6 this year so we are safely in the adulthood phase of her life. So riddle me this: Why then, am I finding household items, like books and remote controls, with gooey teeth marks all over them? I'm just sayin'....all other culprits have been ruled out.



The Evidence: You Can Clearly See the Bite Marks on the Bottom Controller on the Left Side. The Top Controller Hasn't Been Eaten Yet. The Controllers are Exactly the Same, Except the Rubber Overlay Has Been Stripped Off the Bottom Remote After a Little Some One's Teeth Shredded it to Pieces. That is Why the Bottom Remote is so Much More Shiny.



Another Angle of the Damage

Anyhoo, I will leave you to make your own judgement on the puppy comparison. I did want to post the below video for my Dad though (taken tonight during bath time). One of the things I remember most about my Dad was being tickled by him all the time. I smile looking back on those times. My sister and I would pester my Dad until he started his tickling shenanigans, we would keep coming back for more and more until we were both in tears looking for Mom to report Dad's harassment to. Dad's classic response to us while we were ratting him out? "If you mess with the bulls you get the horns!" Tee Hee...I am laughing just thinking of it. Anyhoo, there was always a certain "way" Dad tickled and a lot of times it was the "Roly Poly Way." If I am not mistaken, my Grandma (Dad's Momma) did Roly Poly to Dad, Dad did it to Teri and me, and now, I do it to the girls (even Jared gets in on the fun!). Roly Poly tickle was a simple rhyme but with a menacing finger spiraling above your head and making a slow decent throughout the rhyme towards the middle of your ribs or back:

Roly Poly Shot a Bear

Where'd She Get Her?

RIGHT IN THERE!!!

You knew the closer Dad got to "Right in There!!" the sooner the tickles would be upon you. Crazy fun and good times. It would be neat for the pattern to continue. Clearly in the video the girls already Roly Poly each other...I wonder if perhaps in many, many years to come when Jilly and Jenna have their own kids if they will carry on the Roly Poly tradition?

Until Then....

P.S: I love you Dad. Sometimes Korea is too far. XOXO

Fun at the Park

Sharing some fun Jilly and Jenna had at the park. Other than a random pre-schooler saying "Hi" and Jenna shouting "Poo Poo" it is pretty self explanitory. :)

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Epic Fail

I know every parent has their Moment. You know what I am talking about, The Moment where you fail miserably. My Moment was today. I fear that because of my Moment, my poor Jillian may be frightened of snow for the rest of her life. Allow me to enlighten you:


So, it snowed today! Where we live we typically get just a handful of snow days in a year. Today was the first time it snowed for us this season. Last year the girls weren’t even walking during the winter, so the snow in our yard was sadly left pristine and untouched. Which is why I was so excited that it snowed today. It is Sunday, we are all home together, and there is snow on the ground begging to be played with. Now that the girls are old enough to play it I couldn’t wait to get them out in it.

After Jared and I got the girls bundled up we ventured out into the front yard (less dog poopie than the backyard). At first, the girls weren’t completely sure what to do with everything. Jillian did as she normally does and braved a walk out into the middle of the yard. Jenna stood still in the spot Jared set her down on and didn’t move for quite a while. So, Jillian and I are out walking around. I am trying to show her exactly how magical all the white stuff is and how exactly it works. You know, on second thought…I think the video can better describe it from here (sorry for the lack of sound, the video was actually shot by accident as Jared thought he was taking a picture and was in fact filming…but the volume on our camera doesn’t work. In any case, I highly doubt you need the sound, just imagine a lot of crying…and apologizing):

Yes, you saw right. I smashed Jillian in the face with a snowball. I absolutely promise with all of my heart that I was trying to aim for her tummy. Really and truly I was. And even tho it was a really soft toss, I don’t feel any less guilty that she had snow in her nose and mouth. ). Unfortunately, my aim (even from a VERY close distance) is unreliable at best. Just ask my co-workers who repeatedly witness my embarrassing attempts at tossing trash into the waste basket several times a day. I felt awful, apologized to Jillian over and over, and tried to explain that Momma made a “boo boo” and that snow really is fun. None of that worked tho and despite my very best efforts Jillian is not only petrified of snow (really….she won’t even walk in it now, only look at it from the safety of a window inside) but she has suddenly become a Daddy’s Girl (she has been permanently attached to my hip for the last month to two). Anyhoo, our first attempt at playing in the snow can officially be characterized as an Epic Fail.

In other news, we had a great Christmas. Busy as usual but the girls did well and even managed to open a present or two themselves on Christmas Day. ;) The Terrible Twos are continuing as well….just in case you are curious. The will of a two year old is a mysterious and mighty thing to behold; a little tiring as well. :)



More to Come,

PS: We are wishing all of our friends and family a wonderful 2011, filled with the love and peace that can only be found in our Savior, Jesus Christ.