Terrible 2's and 26

I realize that its a little late to be posting about the birthday event, but i promised my mom pictures of the boys demolishing their cake. on Jan 15th the twins turned 2, and Joe turned 26. Joe made the cakes this year obviously because i can't eat it and i told Joe that preparing, making, and frosting a cake that i can't eat would be torturous. Joe gracefully took on the job and made 2 cakes in the shape of the number 2. We saved one cake for our party guests to eat, and gave the second cake to the boys. We literally stripped them down, put the cake in front of them and let them go at it with their hands. it was pretty fun to watch.

Since this time we've had a few fun things to share. Joe passed his boards with flying colors. He was SO nervous to get his scores back, but we finally did and Joe is much easier to live with. The other night we were watching a little TV before bed and i was being pathetic about the fact that the tv characters were eating chocolate cupcakes. Joe asked me if i wanted some chocolate cupcakes and i pitifully replied that i did. He quickly jumped out of bed and said "okay, i'll make you some!"

For those of you who don't know, this is HUGE for Joe. Getting him out of bed when its time to go to sleep is like pulling teeth-if you'll excuse the expression. It was 10:30 on a sunday night, and he sacrificed his sleep to make me cupcakes. Very sweet.

We tweaked the recipe a bit. I was worried that the cupcakes wouldn't be very flavorful so we added lots of chocolate chips to the batter. We also read a review that said they turned out a little dry, so we whipped up some homemade Hershey's chocolate syrup and poured it into holes we made after the cupcakes were baked. We frosted them with rainbow chip frosting and they were a gluten-free masterpiece. Thanks babe, I love you!

Crazy Story

I don't have any sisters, but growing up my best friend has two sisters. We were all very close, and i came to think of them as my second family. Laura, my pretend olders sister, has an AMAZING birth story. Her link on to my blog is Alex and Laura. I hope she doesn't mind you all reading it. maybe just leave the comment on my blog instead of hers just in case.

Actual Birthday Post

Happy birthday to my boys. Most people look back on their child's birthday they get all misty because the birth was all sorts of beautiful. When i did that today i mostly remembered how freaked out I was. It was a terrifying day, so lets not focus on that. I know that i joke quite a bit about how my kids are monsters, but i really do love being their mom. And in reality I am lucky to have such great kids.
Today is also Joe's birthday, so its not all bad to look back on his birth because i didn't have to do it. Peggy, perhaps you'd like to mention how special it was. I get to talk about how special he is now. i can't imagine what my life would be like without him, and i don't want to. He makes me happier than anything else could. I can't say enough about him, so i'll mention my favoite parts. He is an incredible husband and a wonderful father. He takes such good care of me and the boys, and i know he'd do anything for us. Happy Birthday babe, and thank you for being ours. We love you.

Sick Birthday

The kiddos are sick. Our wicked awesome birthday bash is postponed until further notice. I'll post a long, loving birthday sentiment in the morning. For now, i'll be going to bed early because i expect that Noah will keep me up all night again. For now, I love you Joe. You're the best. I love you Ethan and Noah. You drive me nuts, but its okay because you are so cute.

Updates:

Joe still hasn't gotten his scores back from his boards. He is VERY nervous because he hates waiting. We won't find out for a few more weeks. Going back to school has been fine, except for the weather. And yes, it IS that bad. It seems like we have had temps below zero since the new year. Its terrible! You really just have to stay inside. your cars barely work in this cold anyway. And joe has to go out in it! i feel terrible for him this time of year.

I am on day 9 of my gluten free diet. My symptoms haven't gotten any better, but it takes time. My insides need to heal and then i should be better. Both of us seem to be doing ok with eating this way. At least i think so. i will meet with a nutritionist on the 13th and i may find out that there is some secret food that contains gluten that i've been eating. I hope not, but at this point i'm trying to do this blind. I need more information. Everyone says "read the labels" but i'm not sure i'm even reading it right. oh well, take it as it comes i guess.

The boys are having a birthday this week...ALL the boys. Joe, Ethan, and Noah all have their birthday on the 15th. I still haven't decided what to do. I'll probably throw a big party for Joe and just let the boys eat a normal cake (not gluten free-they just aren't as good). Cripes, i'd better start putting this together. Well fellow Iowans, get geared up for a great party at some point this week!

This is a video of Noah's new trick that threw us for a loop this week.

If you'll notice, i still have a great butt.

End of Christmas Break, end of preparations

Hey everyone! Remember me? Ya, I'm still here. Despite my lack of blogging as of late, I am here to say that I'm alive and well (mostly).
Christmas this year was a wonderful combination of food, friends, and the biggie: RELAXING! We knew for a long time that Joe would need to be studying for his boards over Christmas break and would be spending that time here in Iowa. We made our peace with it long ago, so when the break finally came it was all about celebrating and appreciating the time we have to relax and play and sleeping in our own beds at the end of the day.
It has been a very happy break for us, but the big focus for Joe and I has been preparation for the future. I know this sounds very deep,but its really not that intense i promise. For Joe, obviously he has been studying during the day for his boards that he takes (in the morning actually). Everyday from 9-5 he is studying and preparing himself for this test. The preparation for me has been a little different. For the past 13 months I've been having tummy issues, and just before the break i finally saw a gastroenterologist who informed me that i may have celiacs disease. He told me that my symptoms and blood work indicated that diagnosis, and that he would perform an upper endoscopy to make sure on new years eve. Celiacs disease is basically an intolerance to gluten. In terms that normal people can understand its when you can't eat wheat (bread,pasta,pastries, basically anything made with flour). Knowing this going into the Christmas break, i ate all of those foods while i still could. Don't worry the Dr told me not to change my diet until he'd taken a look at my intestines to make sure. So that's what i did. I mentally prepared myself for the possibility of a gluten free lifestyle starting in 2010. but until that time i was going to gorge myself on lasagna, biscuits and gravy, gyozas, olive garden, Reece's puffs cereal, and anything else i could think of that i may have to go without in the future.
So now its the end of all of our preparations. Joe is taking his boards in the morning. I'm sure he'll do great on his test, and he'll come home either victorious or exhausted or both. For my part (i'm sure you may have guessed) the results of the endoscopy confirmed that i have celiacs. Fortunately, i saw it coming and my preparations have made me feel better about it. i don't have to feel robbed of those foods because i ate everything i wanted until the results came in. now i know whats been going on in my tummy and all i have to do is change my diet. no pills, no surgeries, no shots. just eat rice, meat, or potatoes instead of the pasta and i will no longer have to be on a 13 month long involuntary colon cleanse. its an adjustment for sure, but Joe is wonderful. He told me that we will all just live the gluten free lifestyle as a family. I figure that together we'll just one-up the breaded competition, and maybe shed a few pounds without having to exercise. Wish us luck.

Santa!!!!

here is Joe playing a few Christmas songs at the ward party. sorry these pics are out of order.

This saturday was our ward christmas party, and of course santa was there to take pictures with all the kiddos. Thanks Rachel for taking these since i didn't bring my camera. As you can see, the boys absolutely loved Santa. This poor guy didn't know what to do. it was way past bed time at this point and the boys are both a little sick. Needless to say, this santa didn't stand a chance. At this point in the night I wanted to lay on the floor and kick and cry and scream too. but joe was asked to play a few songs after santa left, so we stuck around, fits and all. oh how i hate the terrible twos.