How could I forget?

The guys flew up last week for the 'big' sonogram. We were all very anxious to know what they're expecting & if the babies are still doing well. For those of you who haven't found out yet it's: A BOY & A GIRL!! We are all very excited & I have to say, she is gorgeous. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of the boy but here she is:

Of course, the next question is names but they haven't been chosen yet. Doc says they look fantastic & healthy & I feel great. This has been the smoothest pregnancy I've ever had so that's good.

Loving the new camera still. Today is picture day for the kids. If I can get them to cooperate! We are in the process of potty training Gavin which is just an absolute joy. God love him but the kid tells me just as he's going that he has to go potty. Needless to say I have about 20 pairs of pants & underwear for back up. I am praying for success by this weekend but that may be wishful thinking. But I can't wait until I don't have to look at another diaper! At least not until I have grandchildren!

Well, gotta get crackin' on some Thanksgiving preperations. Jim makes THE best turkey gravy in the whole world. Last year he decided to do something different & used CORNSTARCH instead of flour even though I told him not to. But I'm just a woman so what would I know about cooking right? Mind you, I wait all freakin' year for his gravy. So what happens? It turns into a big lumpy disgusting mess & guess what? NO FREAKIN' GRAVY! I didn't even want to eat. So this year I reminded him, you screw up the gravy, I'm making another turkey on Friday & you are making my fat pregnant butt some gravy!! I doubt that he'll screw it up this year. Poor guy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you're traveling, drive safe, leave early & enjoy your trip. Happy holidays!!

Happy Birthday to Vinnie & Gino!

Can't believe it's been 14 years! Vinnie is actually about an inch taller than me and has had the shadow of a moustache for a year. We had a slumber party for him at his dad's and he had a lot of fun. Vinnie, Clayton, Ben & Suzanna played foosball while I took pictures with my lovely new camera. Yep, I finally got it. But not the D20 like I had planned. I was gagging on spending $1500 on a camera even though it did come with a lot of stuff. But I decided to get the Digital Rebel XT instead & I am very happy with it. So I am all set to start taking those professional shots! Kids are all geared up for having a camera in their face 24/7. Gavin is the only one that doesn't cooperate but since it's a lot faster than my small digital that kid can run all he wants, I can still get him.
So I have to admit, I am quite the baker. I cook pretty good but I kick ass at baking. So Vinnie asked me to make his cake. This kid will not eat a store bought cake but he'll eat mine. So it must be good. Saturday morning I pull out the old Kitchen Aid and whip out a beautiful devil's food cake. And I decided instead of taking a chance and driving with it in the cake dome in the car, I would put the cake together at Ben's. And here is the end result:

This is by far, the UGLIEST cake I have ever made. When I put the cake on the plate, I put the flat side on the bottom. Then I forgot to trip the dome off the top & tried to put the second layer on. Here is the result. We were cracking up. I joked that it was the California Earthquake cake, fault line included. And while it looked hideous it actually tasted really good. Poor kid, mom gives him an ugly cake for his birthday.

Friday night I had my second Designing Memories party at Miss Corinne's. And I have to say my album came out darn cute. And everyone liked it or at least said they did. I am so loving this & I realize now I have to put myself out there more & start marketing this venture of mine. I had a lot of fun & Nancie was a sweetheart & came & helped me after a long day at work. I was so glad to have her there because she knew all these little tricks that I didn't so I got to learn some stuff too. That smartie girl! If you want to check out the album, I created a blog for the business and it's DesigningMemories.Blogspot.COM. And please feel free to give me some input! I'd appreciate it.

Last but not least, it is Thanksgiving vacation. The kiddies are all home to drive me crazy. Luckily I am only solo for 3 days because Jim is off on Thursday & Friday. So I am trying to plan some activities so they don't get stir crazy. It's foggy & freezing outside but being boys, they want out! They are going to have to settle for going for a ride because the last thing we need is 4 sick kids on Thanksgiving. And I am so excited because my sister is flying in on Wednesday night for the rest of the week. We haven't seen her since July & I can't wait. Just wish my brother could have made it too but hopefully he will be home in January. We are praying. So everyone, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, eat lots of turkey & hug your families even if they drive you nuts. Happy holidays!!

Sleep...Need sleep

So Gavin has decided he really doesn't need to go to sleep at 8:30 with everyone else. Which is just a joy to me because I love watching him run around like he's had a pot of coffee at 10pm. Here's how it goes: we put the kids to bed and 5 minutes later Mr. Sunshine is up and in the living room. Yes, we've tried putting him back to bed but short of strapping him to the bed, it ain't happenin'. Then at 9:45: It's Showtime at the Apollo. Gavin will stand in front of the television and just dance, sing, make a total fool of himself while Jim & I are at our wits end. Usually he'll do that until he collapses on the couch, exhausted with lots of dollar bills in his waistband. Now Jamie is the complete opposite. We're lucky if that kid stays up past 7pm. Then wakes up at 6am. And last night I had a shoot so Jim was watching the kids. Disaster. Jamie fell asleep at 6 and do you think he woke him up?? Heck no. He was thinking, one less kid to chase and let him sleep. So guess who woke up at 5 freakin' 30am??? JAMIE. Singing, laughing, basically waking the whole house up. Never mind that it's still dark. This kid walks in my room and says, mom, mom. It's time to get up.' And I'm like, 'It's still DARK! Go back to sleep!' Too late. He's up and ready to go. Needless to say, by 1pm I'll be passed out on the couch. Ahhh the joys of parenthood.
And then there are the true joys of parenthood. Like this:

And even though Vinnie is too big to go trick or treating, he managed to put a mask on for our amusement:

Took the kids to SunValley for trick or treating and then went to Haagen Das for ice cream. YUM! Gavin stole my Bailey's shake and gave me his mini cup of chocolate ice cream. Isn't that sweet? All in all we had fun and the kids got some candy. And now we're gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If all goes well, my brother will be home in less than 2 weeks. We can't wait and pray all goes well and he gets the leave still.

The twins are doing great and moving more every day. I finally got a little pooch and if you look closely you can see the first signs of babies. Other than the kids keeping me up, this is the smoothest pregnancy I've had (knock on wood) and I am feeling great. We're doing the big ultrasound on the 16th and hopefully we'll find out what they are. Looking forward to seeing the guys again and very excited about the ultrasound.

Last but not least, did a shoot in Brentwood last night for a basketball league. And can I just say I rock? Yes, I am normally modest but I shot over 200 kids in less than 3 hours. And we are supposed to shoot each team in 10 minutes and I was timed at 8 minutes per team. I was very proud of myself and finally feeling very comfortable doing this. I am also learning a lot on the big fancy digital we use and it's not so intimidating anymore. When I first started using the digital at work I was petrified to touch any of the buttons fearing I would screw something up.

Alrighty, that's it for now. Hope everyone is staying warm & dry. Drive safely out there! It's wet!!