Life With Twins

Isn't this supposed to be restful?

2012-02-16T08:38:00.001-08:00

I am guilty of putting my kids in front of a movie when I need them out of my hair for a while. I think all moms do this at some point. But most of the time when I turn on a movie, it doesn't get me off the hook. For example, right now I am folding laundry and I put on The Little Mermaid so the boys can sit contentedly and not wake up Joelle. Her room is where all of the boys' toys are since they can't sleep in the same room as their toys. Ok, so now here is how it goes.
I turn on the movie and sit down with my mountain of laundry. The movie starts and i start folding

Noah: what's that mommy?
Me: it's a boat
Noah: where's a he going?
Me: they're going fishing
Noah: why?
I don't answer
Noah: why mommy? why's a he fishing?
Me: I don't know honey
Noah: (whine) don't say 'i don't know' mommy! i'n asking so nice! I'n bein so nice!
Me: ok, sorry Noah. you did ask me very nicely.
After the song. the fish slaps the skinny old guy and jumps back in the water
Noah: mommy, see da fish? Where's a he goin mommy?
Me: He jumped back in the water
Noah: where?
Me: He's swimming home
Noah and Ethan comment as they see the different fish and whales during the intro. Sebastian's concert begins and Ariel is missing
Noah: what happened mommy? Ariel's daddy's a so mad?
Me: yup
Noah: why is he so yellin?
Me: because Ariel was supposed to be home but she wasn't there
Noah: where is he?
Me: she's right there
Noah: and he's not home?
Me: nope
Noah: he's bein so naughty and swimmin away? and da shark? ......and da shark mommy?
Me: yup, there's the shark
Noah: it's a fork mommy....see? ....see mommy?....see da fork?....mommy! you not talkin to me!
Me: yes honey it's a fork.
Noah: look mommy look! the shark! what's a he doin?!
Me: ya, the shark is chasing them.
Noah: why's a he chasing Ariel?
Me: because the shark is hungry and he wants to eat Flounder and Ariel
Noah: but he's gonna get in trouble wif her daddy pecause he's so mad and say 'Ariel!'
Me: ya, and she'll have to go in time out for being naughty
Noah:sometimes i'n so naughty and have to go to time out.
Me: sometimes
Noah: but today i'n so nic-(gasp) mommy! what just happened!

You can see why i find movie time so exhausting. I'm supposed to just sit, watch The Little Mermaid, and fold laundry while my baby sleeps and my boys watch happily. It's not always the case.

6 weeks old

2012-02-08T08:16:00.000-08:00

Joelle is getting nice and fat. She sleeps really well nowadays-something I DO NOT take for granted. We are all doing really well. ok ok, I did get mastitis and it was really rough going for a while. I'm not going to lie, it was completely miserable. Fortunately i'm past the worst of it and i'm finishing my antibiotics that kick mastitis butt. Joe is totally amazing and took great care of me while i was sick. He even brought me a cool wet cloth for my forehead when my fever made me hot/cold/hot/cold and let me sleep all through the night. I'm sorry ladies, I snagged the very best.

And we make some pretty cute kids

I came so close to catching that smile:

So what do you think? So you think they look alike? This is Noah (i think):

A lot of people ask me "is 1 kid SO MUCH easier than 2 kids?" and my response is that i wouldn't know, because I have 3 kids. But don't worry, i know that you are asking if Joelle is easier than the twins were. Once again, my first snide response is that she is a LOT easier than this:

But to really answer your question, yes she is much easier than this:

My friends comment on how funny it is to see me interact with Joelle. They say that they never saw me oogle over my boys the way I do with Joelle. It's very true. I don't think I had the energy to really appreciate how cute my boys were as babies. But this time around I'm soaking up every second. I love this girl. I love how the boys can get her to smile. I love when Noah whispers to her and gives her kisses. I love when she laughs in her sleep. She is absolutely breathtaking when she laughs, and I'm the only one who's seen it. Its a little sad that Joe hasn't seen it, but it almost feels like a sweet little secret she and I share. I know soon enough she will have big smiles for the whole world to see. They'll look something like this:

Just a little eye candy

2012-01-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

Cutest Dr. Evil pose ever:

I'm quickly realizing that Joelle is growing SO FAST and i'm not documenting it properly!

She is almost 4 weeks old (saturday) and so i need to jot down a few facts about her.

She loves:

-being cuddled

-bathtime

-watching her brothers

-sleeping on Dad's side of the bed in the morning

-sucking on Mom or Dad's finger

-sucking down a bottle

-sleeping on grandma (she got to do that a lot during her first 3 weeks)

-watching Mom work from her bouncer that sits on the table

-being nice and warm

She hates:

-needing to poop

-nursing (we're done trying to force that)

-getting dressed

-having hiccups

-being hungry

She has been sleeping really well lately. She usually wakes up to eat 3 times. once before we go to bed, once in the middle of the night, and once right before we need to wake up in the morning. Joe and I feel pretty lucky that we are getting adequate sleep right now. Sometimes Joelle even sleeps during the boys' nap so I get to sleep too!

Pumping has gotten better. My pediatrician recommended a supplement called Fenugreek that has REALLY helped my supply.

The boys have been remarkable! They are so good with Joelle, and really good to play on their own when I can't be right there. Yesterday they woke up and went straight into their train room to play and before I knew it, Joelle and I had gotten a nice hour-long nap together! I realized what a blessing it was that Joe and I waited until the boys were 3 before we started trying to add another monkey to this mess. This has beed a really great age for a newborn to join us. The boys just turned 4 and they are independent enough to give me a little wiggle room with the attention they get.

My 3 Miracles

2012-01-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

One
Two

Three

Over the past few days I've realized how lucky I am to have the problems I've had.

I was born into a blessed time when everything with breastfeeding can go wrong, and my sweet baby girl can still eat and get cute and chubby and happy. She will still grow into a healthy beautiful girl.

I have three (wow, that seems so crazy) amazing children who are in perfect condition because of things like breast pumps, and formula, and incubators, and feeding tubes etc. What a miracle it is to have my family.

These pictures are from today. Joelle was sleeping like an angel. the boys had their first experience with building snowmen, and riding a sled. Ethan was eating the snow. Noah was hugging "Frosting the snowman".

Joe's mom told me to weary the Lord, which I have definitely done over the last month. And I think the answer I've recieved is that my life is good. Even when it's frustrating, I still have so much joy to take note of every day. Joelle wasn't a good nurser, but that's okay because she takes a bottle just fine and she's back up to a normal weight. I don't currently have enough milk for her, but thats okay too because I can keep trying, and until then I can give her formula. and if my supply doesn't improve I can switch to all formula and know that I'm still a good mom because I love my kids and I try to do all I can for them.

Things are much better around here, and I thank you all for your prayers and support! How blessed I am to be surrounded by such amazing and loving people!

Breastfeeding is hard!

2012-01-12T08:08:00.001-08:00

it's been a struggle. i won't get into all the details, but we've tried EVERYTHING-literally every single thing a person can try we've tried. Right now i nurse Joelle, she gets almost nothing, and i pump while grandma feeds her a bottle of pumped milk. i'm VERY worried that once grandma leaves us I won't have the time to nurse, pump, bottle feed, burp, and lull joelle to sleep every 3 hours by myself.
I've been given priesthood blessings, and said many prayers and received answers, but now i'm enlisting your help. say a quick prayer for us please? i really believe it makes a difference, and i've seen little miracles in these first 2 weeks that Joelle has been home as a result of prayer. but joe's mom had to go home, and my mom leaves on Saturday, and i'm really hoping to have gotten the hang of nursing by the time she leaves. i know that people think i'm strong bc i have twins, but the truth is that i'm a weak woman who needs one more miracle. one quick prayer will do, if you have a second while you read this. Thanks, and i will get more pictures soon!

The Birth Story

2011-12-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Our little Joelle is here and she gets cuter every day. Since I just got home from the hospital last night we decided to celebrate Christmas today so i could be there when the boys wake up. They had a great day and we are all so happy to be together as a family.
Here is the story of how we got our little Christmas Eve baby.
Friday morning i woke up with a little bleeding. I called the Dr and went into Labor and Delivery so they could check me. They hooked me up to a non-stress test and in the 40 min they were monitoring me i had only 3 mild contractions. When the Dr checked me I was only dilated to a "loose 2", so she stripped my membranes and sent me home. About an hour later I noticed some cramping and decided that it was to be expected after having my membrane stripped. Joe had to go into work from 1-5 that day, so i just tried to take a nap and hopefully I'd feel better when i woke up. The cramping started coming in intervals anywhere from 7-20 minutes apart and I couldn't sleep. When Joe got home I had him time the contractions and they started getting pretty regular at about 6 minutes apart. When I called my Dr she said to come in when they are 5 minutes apart or the contractions are too strong to walk or talk through. From 4:30 when Joe got home until about 11 they didn't get any closer together but they did start to get stronger. Finally at midnight we called our amazing lifesaver friend Tawnya Rasmussen to come and stay with the boys so we could go in. I had only had contractions 5 minutes apart for about 20 minutes, but they were getting really strong so i went in. In the 10 minutes time it took to get to the hospital and get hooked back up to the non-stress test my contractions were 2 minutes apart, lasting a minute long, and quite miserable. Very miserable. Every time i had one I thought I was going to throw up, but the nurse said I was only at an "almost 3" and since I wasn't progressing, they weren't going to admit me yet. I didn't think I could handle waiting any longer. I begged the nurse to take me to labor and delivery, and she looked at me and said "this is your first delivery isn't it?" I was devastated that she had decided that I could just deal with the pain because apparently being at a 3 meant that my contractions weren't very painful. About 2 minutes later my water broke and I was SO relieved. I made joe run and tell the nurse and she said i could be admitted. She had me walk to the delivery room and I was really annoyed that they didn't rush me there in a wheelchair, but i was in too much pain to say anything. I had to stop every time i had a contraction. Finally they got the process started and I had my epidural in and working around 2:15. The nurse told me to sleep while my labor progressed so I tried, but I was shaking so violently that I couldn't sleep. I honestly didn't mind the shaking or itching, but after an hour and a half the Dr came in to put in an internal monitor since my shaking was making the contractions hard to see. When she came in I had progressed to an 8! I wanted to rub in in the nurse's face a little that my labor really WAS hard and painful and her lack of urgency was a mistake. But i didn't. She told me to try to take a short nap until I was fully dilated (of course I knew I wouldn't be able to). About 10 minutes later I was feeling a LOT of pressure so i told Joe to inform the nurse. When she came in she said i was ready to push! I still can't believe how quickly my labor progressed. I'm so glad I had that epidural. I pushed for just under a half hour and Joelle Marie Whitehead was born at 5:14 am. She was 7lbs 8 oz and had lots of dark hair.

I love her so much. Its so different having just one. I get to just cuddle her and hold her and smell her head and touch her hair as long as I want without any tubes or wires or nurses or guilt that I'm ignoring anyone else. The boys love her too, and Joe is the most adorable dad ever. He's been so good juggling the boys, and helping me and loving Joelle. Its good to be home.

preggo belly part 2

2011-12-17T19:07:00.001-08:00

By popular demand: its the belly Notice the line above my belly button from my maternity pants I was wearing earlier?

Ya, everything i wear is too tight and leaves indents.

Preggo Picture

2011-12-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

So this is me at 38 weeks...and one day. Every day counts so I had to add that one in there. Yes I am wearing scrubs that Joe "borrowed" from the University Hospital during his 3rd yr surgery rotation-thanks for asking. They are one of the few pants that aren't uncomfortably tight on me.I also took a couple bare-belly pictures. Personally I wouldn't care if I posted them, but I know it grosses some people out. Including my husband. What is your take? It IS my personal blog and not my facebook. On the other hand, this is not a private blog. Meh, if I get a bunch of requests I'll post it, otherwise i won't worry about it.

This is a true testament to how much my boys love to dress up. On the day we got our Christmas stuff out, Ethan snagged some stockings and a Santa hat to wear around the house. They still wear their Halloween costumes most days, so this was a fun change of pace. As annoying as it can be to help them into their costumes almost every day, its so cute to hear them refer to each other by their character. They run around the house saying "Mario, come play trains!" or "Hey Luigi, chase me!" I absolutely have to play along or I'll get corrected. I'll say "what's wrong? Did Noah hit?" and I'll get the answer "No, Woody hit me." I will, of course, have to call for Woody and send him to timeout. (woody was last year's costume).

Joe has his last day before Christmas break tomorrow. After that, this baby has my official permission to come join us. What do you think my chances are that I'll conveniently be a week and a half early? I'm trying to be positive and proactive. I've been eating spicy food-despite my constant heartburn. I got out the exercise ball to bounce around on. I've tried pressure points. I've tried other things... ya, this blog isn't private so I won't get into it. Anyway, this baby needs to come out soon. I'm hoping sheer willpower and determination on my end will make it happen. You can laugh at me later, but for now, don't mess with the crazy pregnancy thought process. Wish me luck!

ethan and noah nativity

2011-12-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

Last night was our ward Christmas party, and the sunbeams put on a nativity for everyone. The video is kinda long, so this is mostly for grandma's and parents. Ethan is Joseph, and his friend Jane Summers is Mary. Evelyn Keyes is the angel, and Noah, Jake Dougherty, Spencer Rasmussen, and Ben Grout are shepherds. I am the giant pregnant lady holding the mic, and Joe is the weird guy who occasionally pops out from behind the stable to corral the kids. Enjoy!

Boys Playing, and Joe Playing

2011-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is what the boys have been up to lately: Building "tunnels". This is a fort we made out of blankets on their bunk beds. They loved it! I find that if I want the boys to actually sleep for nap time i have to bribe them with something fun when they wake up-but only if they take a good nap. This is one of those bribes. Building a tunnel.

Another bribe is playing in the leaves.

They sure are cute. They loved jumping in the giant pile of leaves out front and were supremely disappointed when the city came by to suck up all the leaves.

Here is Joe's project from Saturday. As you can see below, we have an awkward nook in the boys room. Its good for nothing, so yesterday Joe spent all day turning it into...

....This. A built in shelf. Now the boys have a place in their room for their books, hamper, and some toys. While Joe was hammering away I took the opportunity to reupholster the rocking ottoman. It was a cream color with LOTS of stains on it from the boys. We use it as a time-out chair. I also moved the boys recently repainted letters into their room. I think it looks so much better, and now it can be more organized too. Good job Joe!

2011-11-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

Better quality video from the previous post.

Surprise from Joe

2011-11-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

Last night while I was at a baby shower Joe was putting together a surprise for me-and the boys helped.

While watching this I was biting my nails nervously-even though i'd seen the finished product and knew it didn't end in disaster. I was torn between being very worried, and a little proud. I guess thats how it always goes when you let your kids try something new.

Here is the crib all set up with the completely amazing crib bedding I made. Its so crazy to have this all set up. It means a baby will be sleeping in it soon.

Trip to Utah

2011-11-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry, i don't have any pictures. Pathetic right? 4 weeks in Utah and I don't have a single picture. I didn't pack my camera for fear that I'd have my luggage checked and have it stolen. Turns out I did have my luggage inspected on the return flight, so I do NOT regret this decision.
I'll have to keep this post fairly brief since nobody will read a long post with no pics, and I can't blame you.
Quick overview:
Joe has an externship in Des Moines for school for 5 weeks so I decided to spend the first 4 weeks in Utah so I could get some help with the boys. This is another decision I do NOT regret. I cannot tell you how good it was to have so much help. I don't think I could have made it through these 4 weeks otherwise. He still has to finish out this last week, but i can handle one week alone.
the highlights:
-The boys playing with their cousins in Salt Lake. At one point, all of the twins (there are 6 of them) were running around in super hero costumes screaming and hero-ing. it was so much fun to watch them all play together.
-The boys playing with their cousins in Price. One of the nights all of the cousins went to the dirt hills to ride a mini motorcycle. Obviously my boys were too little for this, but it was so fun to see the boys running around with their cousins in the same dirt hills that Joe spent his childhood running around in.
-The Gluten Free Expo. I came home with 4 loaded bags of free stuff. Super awesome.
-My mom putting my kids to bed for me for 2 weeks. Oh. My. Goodness. Can you imagine not having to put your kids to bed for 2 weeks? Seriously-it was SO NICE!
-Relaxing in Price. Peggy (Joe's mom), and Sarah (Joe's sister) probably got sick of my non-contributing laziness, but it was so helpful not to have to worry about meals, and housekeeping etc. Plus Sarah's little girl Molly kept the boys attention most of the time and i just got to sit and relax, and grow my new baby.
-Visiting friends. I got to see a lot of my Utah friends while i was in salt lake-plus some Iowa friends that recently moved to Utah. The boys loved seeing "jackson and akenna" (jackson and makenna), and i loved seeing their mom Kassie.
-i loved seeing my family. over the 4 weeks i was able to visit with all of my siblings and in-laws. plus i got to spend a whole week with my mom, which is rare since she works full time.
-gluten free restaurants. mmmmm.
The Low-lights:
-missing Joe. a lot.
-a very dear friend of mine passed away on oct 24th. But i felt blessed to be in Utah when it happened so that i could get together with our mutual friends and share pictures and memories about her.
-missing Joe more
-Noah discovering that I don't punish him as harshly around grandma. He was such a punk sometimes. He needed/I needed Joe there to back me up. And Ethan felt like he NEEDED to play with the ipad all the time. ugh.
-missing Joe when i had nightmares. yes i have nightmares and yes i usually wake Joe up to help calm myself down.
-the flight back to Utah was terrible, but it's over so i don't have to think about it anymore.

Conslusion: for those of you dental wives who'll have to go through this 5 week externship without their husbands, i would most definitely recommend getting to some extra help if you can swing it. 4 weeks is a long time to be away from Joe, but it was totally worth it. the time went by pretty quickly, and my kids still have all of their limbs attatched. Neither of those things would have happened if i'd stayed in Iowa.

2011-09-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

The boys have been....taxing lately. That's the nicest way I can put it. They're 3. And there are 2 of them. And Joe has been working late a lot. And my belly is finally big enough that bending down is quite uncomfortable. Sorry, no belly pic today. Anyway, the culmination of all of it has made for a tough week. This had been my saving grace.See that sad little face? Ethan fell on something-maybe a Tupperware bin? I was in the other room when it happened. But now every time I look at those sad eyes I can't stand to be mad at him. After all, he's been through so much. Not really, but the poor kid looks pathetic.

Noah, on the other hand, is perfectly capable. Here he is smiling for the camera, and completely oblivious to Ethan's poor eye. Both the boys have been so DEFIANT lately. Unfortunately for Noah he has no ailment to gain my sympathies. My friend Angela offered to bop him over the head so that I'd like him more. Sadly, this plan may have worked. That's when you know you need some time away.
This picture makes me laugh. Joe is trying to put Neosporin on sad little Ethan, and Noah is smiling his biggest for the camera.

This is what I've been doing to get away. In preparation for the new baby, I've been sewing some crib bedding for her. I realized very quickly that new crib bedding is outrageously expensive, and I happened to have a lot of fabric stored up over the years. So far I've made a crib bumper out of some pink curtains and I patched together this crib quilt. The only fabrics i had to buy were the owl fabric, and stripes. As of when I started making this I've spent about $5. I'll still need to buy some batting and yarn to tie the quilt, but then I'll be done.

I'm quite proud of the bedding on a budget. I'm not very proud of my mothering skills lately, but hopefully it'll get better soon. And if not, I'm flying to Utah in Oct for the whole month and then my family can take my kids off of my hands for a while.

I Just Can't Wait to be King

2011-08-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for Grandmas. it gets better the closer you get to the end.

2011-08-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Its a GIRL!

Getting this off my chest

2011-08-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

What if I move to Price? I've been obsessing over this idea for over a month now. Joe and I NEVER considered moving back to Utah once we'd left. We were surprised by how much we love Iowa. I mean, come on-who dreams living it up by moving to Nowheresville middle America? But once we got here we realized that it was home. I fell in love with the idea of experiencing new places and almost immediately decided never to go back to Utah. I'd lived there my entire life and really never realized how much of the world is outside of it. The mountains in Utah are beautiful, but I also think the plains and the rolling hills of cornfields in the Midwest are breathtaking. So why stop here? Why not experience even more? Utah already has almost as many Dentists as they do LDS churches. I was going to move to Tahoe or Northern CA, or Texas, or Georgia, or wherever adventure called. That was the plan. It still might be the plan. But my plan isn't quite as solid as it used to be.
While we were visiting Utah a couple weeks ago Joe was made aware of a job possibility in Price. I won't get into all the details, but we'll just say it was enough to shake up our plan a bit. And now this idea has been blistering in my mind, and I have to get it out. Neither Joe or I are that keen on the idea of living in Price for the rest of our lives, but we'd be completely stupid not to give it some serious consideration. Unfortunately I'm terrible at making decisions. I obsess over all the options and basically think myself in circles (if that makes sense). Joe isn't much help either. The man can't stop talking about dentistry or sports, but when i ask his thoughts on this dilemma he says, "i think the same as you". Thanks Joe that's super insightful.
What if I'm wrong about Price just like I was wrong about Iowa? What if this Independence and adventure that I've loved so much over the last 3 yrs is what is best for me now, but not really what will make us happy in this next stage of life? The stage of having kids in school and in Tee Ball and so forth? When I was growing up I wished I had cousins my age, and that is something my boys have in spades, but what good is it if we only see them a couple of times a year? I know my kids could be happy in Price, and I know Joe could adjust fairly easily moving back, and our families would be ecstatic. but is making everyone else happy enough to keep me happy? I can't make these kinds of decisions. Some days I get a little excited thinking about trips to Lake Powell with our family, and some days I just cry thinking that I might be giving up my dreams of the life I wanted. Maybe I'm just being dramatic or prideful or wishy-washy. I can't tell. All I know is that the plan is shaken, or it might not be fool proof.

Trip to Utah

2011-07-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Joe finished his last day of his 3rd yr of Dental School on July 1st. On Saturday July 2nd Joe and I sat and cuddled on the couch and I thought about how my parents were about to head up to our family cabin. I hadn't been there for about 2 yrs and I was feeling pretty homesick. That's when i realized that I was homesick for the first time in the 3 yrs we've lived in Iowa, and it just so happened that Joe had about 2 weeks off of school. Why not? So at about noon on Saturday we decided to drive to UT and we left 3 hours later. Its was crazy and sporadic, but this was our last chance to go before Joe graduates next summer. We arrived after a L O N G drive and met up with my parents, brother, nephew, and aunt and uncle at the cabin. Most of my family still didn't know we were in UT. This is our family cabin. She's old, small, and falling to pieces, but I have so many memories here. There is just something peaceful and exciting at the same time about being up here. We had a great time for the day and a half we spent there.

We left so that we could take the boys to see fireworks for the 4th of July. Sorry, no pics, but the boys loved it! Next we headed to Price and spent a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Whitehead and a few of the cousins. My boys fell in love with their cousin Kitani and they still ask where "Pitani" is. We then drove up to Logan for the weekend where the rest of the Whitehead clan was. It never ceases to amaze me how Joe's family goes above and beyond to make us at home when we visit. It was so fun to talk, eat, play games, and we even took the opportunity to get some family pics taken in our reunion shirts (even though the reunion wasn't til the end of the month). We loved spending time with everyone, but i wish we could have had a little more time together. On Monday we were back in Salt Lake for a Petersen FHE with my siblings, 3 aunts, one uncle, one cousin, and grandparents. Here is a pic of The Six Pack. Mason & Jaden are the oldest twins wearing black. Austin & Carter are the middle set in white, and then mine in the grey. Between the oldest and youngest there is only one year that separates them. The FHE was a hit. My parents set up a giant water slide that the kids (and kids at heart) all enjoyed. There was also a kiddie pool that was eventually filled with warm water and ALL the cousins got in together! We had volleyball for the adults and lots of food and great company.

The whole trip was so great for us. It was the first time that my kids were really old enough to run off and play with all their cousins-and there were a LOT of cousins between the Whiteheads and Petersens. I was really able to sit back, put my feet up, and watch my boys have the time of their lives getting reacquainted with family. I loved it. I really wish that we'd have had more time to spend with them all. Looking back at these pictures makes it almost ok that we missed BOTH family reunions. Joe's side had a Harry Potter themed reunion-complete with costumes! I mean, come on! that's right up my alley and we missed it. My side of the family had a Petersen Family Reunion at the cabin with tons of my extended family. there was a zip line, 50 ft slip and slide, softball game, skeet shooting competition, line dancing, zumba class, horseshoes, charades with my dad which i haven't done since i was about 12, tons of food, cousins i haven't seen in years-the list goes on and on. sigh. at least i got to see them all beforehand. and it really was great seeing everyone. We only have one year left in Iowa and we can move back west. We've really loved our time here, but i'm getting really ready to be close enough that we never have to miss any reunions again. One year goes by in a blink. Most days I'm really afraid to leave here, but today I'm ready.

Mayhem

2011-06-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

There are 2 things my kids love. One of them is to cause trouble. What happened here that caused such a mess? well lets ask the culprits.

What happened boys? How did you get so dirty? "oh, uh well...you see what happened was..uh (cough cough) I'm not really, um...." Classic 'it wasn't me' excuse.

Turns out it really was them. and mud. and baseball. As I mentioned before, there are 2 things my kids love: mayhem and baseball.

updated slideshow

2011-04-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

It seems like I've been on a blogging fast. Sorry Auntie M. Everytime I checked my blog I remembered you telling me that you needed more pics of the boys. I really meant to update more often, I just never got around to it. I'd get pics or videos and think "ooh, i'll post those on the blog", but then I never actually did it.
Last night was a much needed girls night. When I came home (late) Joe was just finishing this slideshow. I hope it will satisfy your, and everyone else who's been begging for more pics, craving.
We could have posted straight to blogger, but we decided to post on youtube so you can watch it in high def. Mom, that means you can watch it full screen without the pictures loosing quality. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/X7hbD9pHotY?hd=1

We found puddles

2011-02-19T07:55:00.001-08:00

As many of you know, Thursday was a blissfully warm day-especially considering that its February. I decided to postpone nap time for a hour or so and let the boys play in the back yard while I did the dishes. Obviously once I saw what was going on I decided to postpone the dishes too!

Spring is on its way and we couldn't be happier about it!

Any blog readers in UT?

2011-02-14T08:24:00.001-08:00

There is a friend of mine in UT that's having a giveaway for a free photoshoot!
here's her photography blog if you want to enter:

lareephotography.blogspot.com

ok, i don't know why my blogger account won't let me leave link. sorry.

i hope things are going well w all of you-maybe you'll win a free photoshoot!

Sewing can be cool.

2011-02-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

I bought this dress ages ago-probably 4 years ago from Charlotte Rousse. I absolutely fell in love with it, BUT it was just too short to just wear. So i debated about whether or not i should cut off the bottom and make it into a top, but I just couldn't stand the thought of cutting up a dress just to make a shirt. So I finally decided to make this a wearable dress. As you can see, there is a white ruffle along the bottom of the skirt. Here's the secret-its a slip! I simply sewed some eyelet lace to the bottom of the slip!

I wanted the slip to elongate this dress as much as possible, so I bought a couple yards of the widest eyelet lace I could find and sewed it onto the slip in 2 rows. Tada!

The best part is that i can use this slip with as many dresses as i want! For a tall girl like me-adding a couple inches to a dress or skirt is priceless. I just added 3 dresses back into my wardrobe, and the possibility of SO MANY other dresses out there!

I love this slip.

2011-02-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't looked outside...The snow is pretty intense. The roads are bad, the air is freezing, everything is closed, and there is more on the way.

So since we're stuck inside all day we are wearing big boy underwear. No more diapers...hopefully. I put up their favorite Thomas tent and we are all trying our best to make potty training really fun.

We have wooden Thomas trains, bathtub trains, thomas stickers, and lots of track and free time.

It's been hard on all of us.

I'm giving you The Finger!

2011-01-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

I'd like to lie and say that I was brave and calm. Such was not the case. Thank heavens Joe was home for lunch when this happened.
After laying around the house for several days while I'd been recovering from pulling BOTH my hamstrings, I was beginning to feel much better. I'd decided to be a good housewife and load the dishwasher. Joe had been doing most of my chores for the last couple days and I was feeling pretty guilty about it. So I started doing the dishes, starting with the silverware. I actually thought to myself "self, you should maybe turn that knife blade down-just to be safe...nah, I don't think it'll get as clean and I want my NEW KNIFE SET to stay nice and clean."
yes, i realize it's stupid. Hindsight is 20-20. So of course as I attempt to load another spoon in next to the knife-OUCH!
ya, it hurt. I could tell from the amount of pain and the blood dripping on the floor that it was bad, so I started freaking out. Joe literally had to tug and pull my arm to keep my hand under the cold running water. Looking back at this now, the dialogue is pretty funny. It went something like this:
Me: (screaming like a 5 yr old) AAAHHH! IT HURTS! THE WATER'S COLD-ITS TOO COLD AND IT HURTS!
Joe: (calmly) Its okay, the cold water is going to help stop the bleeding.
Me: is it bad?! (sobbing) I don't have to go to the hospital do I?
Joe: ya, we're going to have to get stitches
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Joe: jessica, calm down. we're going to have to do this so just calm down.

I didn't calm down.

Me: JOE! (gasp) My face is tingling! (gasp)
Joe: you're hyperventilating. you need to calm down.
he grabs a box of GF macaroni and dumps out the noodles, hands me the empty box and tells me to breathe into the box. It helped the tingling to stop.
I'd been to preschool earlier that day and remembered Angela Dougherty saying that Joseph had the afternoon off. So I called him on Joe's phone and asked him to watch the boys while Joe took me to the ER. It sounded something like this:
Joseph D on the phone: Hey
Me: Joseph (gasp) can you come (gasp) over to watch (gasp) my boys so Joe (gasp) can take me (gasp) to get (gasp) stitches?

Yes, I realize I'm quite pathetic. As my freaking out continued Joe's patience with me was wearing thin. Here its a snippet of the yelling that went on as we drove to the hospital.

Me: (crying very hard)
Joe: Jessica, calm down!
Me: It hurts!
Joe: No, it doesn't. It doesn't even hurt anymore. blah blah blah medical jargon and that's why it doesn't hurt.
Me: Yes it does hurt! it still hurts!
Joe: Jessica, you need to stop crying. you don't want to show up to the ER like this.
Me: I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE EMBARRASSED BY ME!
Joe: Jessica! look at me! look me in the eyes! stop freaking out!
Me: (looking around the hospital) I HATE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL!
Joe: you'd hate ANY hospital right now, you're acting ridiculous!
Me: WHERE'S THE EMERGENCY ROOM! THEY SHOULD HAVE BIG RED SIGNS SHOWING US WHERE TO GO!
Joe: We'll find it! Stop freaking out!
Me: THIS IS THE WORST HOSPITAL EVER!

So, if you haven't already guessed, the doctor had to give me a sedative in order to get anywhere near my hand. Strangely, I felt a lot better after that. Go figure.
My doctor was actually really nice and funny and kept my mind off of my injury as she told me little anecdotes about her 20 month old son. She gave me six stitches and told me I'll always have a memorable 1/11/11.
Later that night as i was "watching" the boys-i was still pretty groggy from the sedative-they managed to shatter one of our glasses, and I cut my toe through my sock while i was trying to clean it up. Great. Fantastic. That's EXACTLY what i needed. it was bleeding through my sock and leaving little bloody toe-prints on the carpet, so i asked Joe if we needed to go back to the hospital. He told me it definitely wasn't an option because he'd end up in prison, and our kids would go into social services.

Now Joe is back to doing the dishes for me again. I'm a total wimp about my hand and i keep it in close to my body like Mr. Burns for fear that I'll bump it wrong or something. And i do pretty much the same for my toe. I limp around keep it elevated and all those things that are completely unnecessary, but make me feel better. Yes, I think its safe to say that I'm a wuss.

Too much to blog!

2011-01-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

Its been so long since my last post, that it would be way too overwhelming to tell every story in detail. so instead I'm doing a quick recap of the last few months.

This is the reason why I have slowly slipped out of the social networking game these last few months. The boys decided that their favorite thing to do was to pluck each and every key off of the laptop. Joe and I tried to re-assemble the keys several times but the boys wouldn't let it stay in one piece for long. Joe ended up buying a replacement keyboard on ebay and used his amazing handyman skills install it. But once the computer was fixed I stilled stayed away because I've enjoyed the freedom of not having to check my blog/facebook/email everyday.

For Thanksgiving we had our good friends Keenan and Britney and their adorable little girl Camden with us. Keenan is going to Medical school in Wisconsin so it wasn't too far of a drive to come visit us in Iowa. Camden and the boys played so well together. We had a ton of fun making turkey, potatoes, cookies, gravy, apple crisp, and gluten free stuffing. It was delicious and we loved having them in our home.

We went to Utah for Christmas and sadly didn't take many pictures as per usual, but we did get one picture of "The Six Pack" together. ("The Six Pack": Our twins, and two other sets of twin boys from my brothers Justin and Joe) We had a really good time visiting with family and friends.

Overall the trip was great, but out of our two week vacation we were driving for six of those days. As you can see, we got a little bored. Notice Noah's starburst sideburns.

The boys have been doing really well since we have been back. They play with their new trains all day. We came home to new counter tops and a new sink courtesy of our landlord.

I don't have any pictures from today but I had to take a quick trip to the ER to get six stitches after slicing my finger with a knife while doing the dishes. Shortly followed by slicing my toe while cleaning up the glass from a broken glass the boys were playing with.

On a side note...I decided to exercise and pulled both my hamstrings. Pretty sure I will never be whole and without injury. When it rains it pours I guess.

Halloween Early Preview

2010-10-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from our ward Halloween party on Saturday. As you can see, Ethan is Woody, Noah is Buzz, and Joe and I are the children who own these toys...or the bratty kids at the daycare-take your pick.

Yes, we do realize these aren't flattering for some of us. Joe was very worried about his blacked-out tooth. We used a sharpie and yes it did come off with a quick brushing. I am posting these pics as per the Whitehead family's request, but also to show off a little. My sister in law sent us this awesome buzz costume, but the woody i bought as a size 7-8! It was huge and I hemmed and took in -nipped and tucked until this bad boy was a 2T. (silent applause) thank you thank you.

*I tried to post this on Monday, but for some reason blogger wouldn't let me post. Strange.
So to continue my update, Ethan is now sick...again. It is starting to get ridiculous how often my family is sick. In the past 3 weeks I've been sick, Joe has been sick twice, Noah has been sick 3 times and courtesy of this last ear infection, Ethan has been sick 3 times as well. Of course the boys would never get sick at the same time-thats not how it works, oh no. That would be too simple. One would get sick-we'd work through it and as soon as he starts getting better brother would get sick too. Maybe it's better that way since I can't cuddle them at the same time. I mean, I could. I'm capable. They don't really let me though. They just end up squirming and fighting for position and kicking or hitting each other. Anyway, back to the point. I'm sick of all of this sickness. I'm sick of Joe and I being up all night, and I'm sick of being stuck inside.

On a more positive note, Noah finally catching on with his "S" words. Not that "S" word obviously. I mean saying "snake" instead of "nake" or "stop" instead of "dop". Noah and Ethan both can tell me whether they pooped or just farted. Noah also does a pretty good impression of a burp. Ya, we've been stuck at home for 3 weeks, what do you expect? We appreciate the simple thrills i guess. In retrospect I could have spent this time potty training, but I really didn't expect one sickness after another. Plus the boys are still terrified of the potty. Well, this is getting to be a long post so I'll just end with a postitive. Noah was making me laugh so hard as he was repeating me instructing Ethan to go to bed. How can they take me seriously when I laugh the whole time? I couldn't help it. This is how it went.

Translations: Noah says Ethan like E'ees, and he says lala as a transition between words.

Me: Ethan, go to bed

Noah: E'ees! Lala bed!

Me: Ethan lay your head down please

Noah: E'ees! uh head uh down! PEESE! (he's yelling)

Ethan: NO!

Me: Ethan (in a warning tone)

Noah: E'ees! (in the same tone)

I'm trying not to laugh

Me: Ethan, its time to go to sleep-now!

Noah: E'ees! a lala SEEP! NOW!

Me: (laughing) JOE!

Noah: (laughing) DOE!

Ethan: (laughing) DOE!

I got a pretty good kick out of it.

Celebrate Good Times!

2010-10-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

i don't know how joe did it, but he did. I wouldn't say that he is the very best at computer stuff, but he's pretty darn good. He was able to recover our pictures and home videos! He recovered over 6,000 photos and i'm so grateful to have them back-hence the picture overload here. There is no possible way for me to caption each pic-sorry. you'll just have to look and enjoy...or look and get bored bc there are SO MANY pictures!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2010-10-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

its been a month now that I've been ignoring my blog. Sorry guys. Our lives have been pretty boring over the last month. well, as boring as it can get with my two little monsters running around. Our lives have consisted of battling the boys over meals, getting dressed, and going to bed. I've been trying to get them out of the house more often so they're at least a little tuckered out during nap time. it's helped a little i suppose. But the boys have mastered the art of driving me insane during nap time. they play and laugh and fight, and then they get naked, tear out all of their clothes from their dresser and closet, and then pull the mattresses off of their beds EVERY DAY. its getting ridiculous really. I'm trying to rely more on the Spirit to help me since I have already tried, taking away toys and blankies, yelling, putting in time out, spanking (which i HATE doing), or even giving in to their every request. I'd tried everything I could think of, until i listened to General Conference. I'd hear in several talks about the importance of relying on the Spirit to help you, so I'm trying it out. Hopefully it works out.
So, now I'll address the title, starting with the bad news. i suppose the previous paragraph is bad and good new too. oh well. SO, the bad news: We've been having issues with our computers lately. First this and that was acting funny on the laptop, so Joe finally decided to completely reformat the whole thing. Before he did that, he transferred all of our pictures and home videos onto the external hard drive so we could start with a clean slate on the computer. Of course as luck would have it, the hard drive crashed. We lost probably over a thousand pictures. We've looked into data recovery, but that prospect is looking pretty grim. That's the bad news.
The good new is that i have the blog. I have those pictures and videos. I have the pictures that I've scrap booked and i was pretty much caught up. I have a CD with my bridals and our wedding pictures on them. We have a few videos on a mini DVD from our previous camera, and when Joe's parents were here this summer i collected about 20 of my favorite pics of the boys and put them on an SD card for her.
I am trying to be positive about this. In reality I am extremely lucky that i have as many pictures as i do, considering that i could have nothing. Thank you Tawnya for inviting me to scrapbook with you-i owe you a lot for that. I have my children now, and I can take more pictures. I have a family who loves me, and friends who are like family as well.
I'm counting my blessings, but I'm also urging you readers to BURN YOUR PICTURES ONTO A CD, or store them online.
sorry this is a depressing post. I'm committing to post my new pictures on the blog so they can be safe forever-and you guys can see them too!

Save Me A Piece of That Corn

2010-08-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

Remember the other night when the temperature was blissful and the humidity was virtually non-existant? We decided to BBQ and enjoy our dinner outside. Little did we know how much Noah would enjoy dinner!

Before and Afters

2010-08-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

how did Joe's hand get this nasty? SANDING
We've been doing a lot of sanding lately. Joe looks SO DIRTY! This is from this afternoon. He is just dripping with sweat.

It's a little unnerving how much i enjoyed taking these pictures. He's so manly!

OK, OK. here are the projects that we (Joe mostly) has been working on this summer.

Here is the before of a dresser/mirror combo we bought off of craigslist for $10.

A little elbow grease and some black paint!

We ended up selling this bad boy since it didn't really fit in our bedroom.

Some of you in the ward may have remembered me talking about a "gem of a find" from goodwill that i was sorely tempted to buy on a Sunday since i saw it 5 min before closing time on Saturday night.

This is that gem. Its a perfect sewing desk for our little 3rd bedroom.

After:

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but trust me it's really fun!

These are the knobs that came w the desk-we just spray painted them!

I think Joe and I are a little obsessed! We've definitely caught the furniture bug. If you are looking for something to redo or add to your home, let me know because we've run out space at our house!

2010-07-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

So the other night before bed Jessica and I put on the movie "A Bug's Life" for the boys to watch. They have seen it a couple of times in the van when we travel too. The boys cant say Flick so they call the main character "week". After the movie we had dinner, brushed their teeth and put them to bed. A little while later we heard them yelling, "DIE DIE DIE...ouch!" We quickly realized it was from a scene from the movie. We laughed as they kept saying it for about ten minute. I guess they are now in the stage where they repeat everything they hear. The also yell "oh shoot" cuz they learned that from Mater on Cars. We will have to pay better attention the the media we bring into our home I guess.

Good News from the Doctor

2010-07-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

...my gastroenterologist. Which Doctor were you thinking?
I had a check up today with my GI doctor to see how I've been...healing? I guess you could call it that. Last time they tested my blood, my count was at a 9 for gluten badness. I'm not exactly sure what they're testing. Being between a 5 and 8 is normal, and I SHOULD be below 5 after being on a strict gluten free diet. The mean nurse never believes me that I'm following my diet, and after this test result, my Dr had no reason to believe me either. But I AM! I AM following my diet. I've checked and rechecked all my groceries. I don't cheat and eat a cupcake when I feel like it. But after telling this to my Doctor, he was curious as to what my blood test was like the first time I came to see him. He flipped through my chart and found that before diagnosing me with Celiacs, my blood levels were ABOVE 100! Meaning that they are only capable of measuring up to 100, and I was way beyond that. It could have been 2,000 for all they knew. So, Dr. Shreve said that going from beyond 100+ to only 9 was really excellent. He even went as far as to say that I was 98% recovered.
I TOLD YOU I was following my diet!
Isn't that awesome! As I was telling Joe about it on the phone I was almost shaking. I was really frazzled. I had gone from almost crying because I was being told that I still wasn't doing a good enough job eliminating gluten from my diet to *poof* I'm 98% recovered.
Physically I am feeling the progress. I'm feeling a lot better, and now hearing this good new makes me feel a lot more confident about this whole thing.
Sorry to bore those of you who were looking for a pregnancy related post. Gotcha.

Random stuff we've been up to

2010-07-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

I realized that I never posted a picture of Ethan's cast. For those who don't already know, our little E fractured his elbow about 2 weeks ago. He'll have this cast for at least 3 weeks. He does really well working around the cast though. Its actually really cute when its not super sad. These are my couch pillows that I've ALWAYS hated. Right from the start I hated these pillows. Now I'm finally recovering them.
Before:

After:

Sorry, I'll get a better picture once i've finished with the pillows. I just have to hand-stitch the bottom closed, so it is taking a while. More pillow pictures to come.

And I realized that we never posted a before picture of the Hawkeye dresser. Here it is. Scroll to the next post to see the after photo.

Latest Craft Project

2010-07-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

We realized we didn't have room in our apt for another piece of furniture, so we sold it and made $110 profit. Not too bad eh?

some new some old.

2010-06-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about how my little boys will grow up someday and they won't be mine anymore. But today they are. They give me kisses when I ask for them and they tackle-hug me, and they say Dee-do (thank you) Mommy. Most of the time I complain about what pills they are, but today I just keep thinking about their sweet little faces and how much I love them. I really hope that they will always love me this much.

Father and Son pictures

2010-06-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

We are almost ready to move to our new apt in Iowa City. Well mostly ready-we are moving on Tuesday and Joe and I are pacing ourselves with all the packing. Well, at least that is my excuse for not being more ready. Joe and I are both getting really excited for the new place, but at the same time I am feeling pretty sentimental about our Coral Ct. apt. This place really feels like our first real home. Our boys learned to crawl here, and then walk and talk. Joe and I have really grown a lot together here. We've made great friends and we are really going to miss our neighbors. Looking back on our time here and feeling so nostalgic, I was inclined to do one last photo shoot in front of our building. I ended up taking over 600 pictures (yikes!), and spent the last 3 hours deleting all the blurry and/or redundant pictures. So here you go. Ya'll get to see how cute all my boys are.

Wait up dad!

Dad and Noah after a big kiss.

Ethan and dad! I love Ethan's squished face right before Joe gives him crazy kisses aka machine gun kisses.

I love this picture. To me it illustrates how complicated it is to get everyone on the same page. As difficult as it is I still love these crazy guys. For us, being imperfect is perfect.

This is priceless! Noah has an 'ouch' on his finger, and Ethan is very concerned for his best bud.

Holding Hands! Its my favorite way to get them from place to place when I have my arms full.

Ethan and his papa. Right here E is trying to get Joe to smell a 'wock'. Rocks are his favorite thing to play with (meaning throw against the building).

This is Noah's silly smell face. He pinches up his nose sideways and snorts whenever we ask him to sniff things.

Noah putting his hat back on.

This is E's favorite spot. He always climbs up and looks over the parking lot before he'll go inside.
By the way, Ethan turned his own hat backwards. He doesn't like having the bill in the way. And for Grandma W and P: wearing your hat backwards no longer mean you affiliate with gang members or hoodlums.

We are going to miss living here. Bye bye Coral Court home, hopefully our new place will give us just as many happy memories.

Our awesome DIY project

2010-05-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Jess and I have been in need of some sort of TV stand for when we move. The problem was that we were really picky. We needed something sturdy, and something that was tall enough that the boys wouldn't be able to get their grimy little fingers all over my TV. We were definitely on a budget and Jessica kept changing her mind about what exactly she wanted; Doors, no doors, armoire, no armoire, mounted, or just a big dresser. Fortunately-or maybe unfortunately, she caught the crafting bug and decided to find an old beat up dresser to fix up. Exhibit A: I found this dresser from the 1920's for $16 at Goodwill. as you can see, the middle drawer is broken, and there is a lot of damage to the left side of the bottom drawer.

Shown above. Despite its imperfections Jessica approved the dresser and was eager to tackle this new project. Namely, by making me do all the work.

I got my crew together and started sanding this rickety old dresser down. I had to do it all by hand since I didn't have an electric sander.

before and after.

This is after I'd sanded the whole thing down, tacked in new nails to stop all the wobbliness, and put wood glue in every joint. I filled in the drawer gash with wood glue and sanded it smooth.

Shown here

Here is when Jessica got...creative (to put it delicately). We painted the base coat of the dresser red.

notice that the gash is no longer visible. Yes, thank you, I know I'm quite skilled.

The next step got REALLY tricky. We used crackle paint and then did an orange top coat. We had to redo this step three times before we got it right. When we tried to paint it the first time it basically just melted off. It was too humid for the paint to dry so it just sloughed off and i had to sand it all down again, paint it red and try again...and again.

Here is the result:

And this is how it looks once I painted on the top coat of gloss. I have to admit that it turned out really fun. Jess and I were both pretty hesitant about the color choice, but we knew we didn't want to do something boring and mundane. We just went for it.

If you'll notice, these are the handles that came with the dresser. Jess opted to keep the originals instead of buying new knobs-which I appreciated since I didn't have to pay for them.

As much work as it was, I really had fun doing it. It was something that I looked forward to working on each night. It's always a good feeling to work and accomplish something, and it reminded me of watching my older brother and my grandpa working in Gramps' old workshop. Maybe it was some sort of 2ND son pride thing, but it felt good to do some carpentry the right way-and I especially loved that it was super cheap.

Look forward to seeing this in our new apartment in 2 weeks!

"a colostomy waste of time?"

2010-05-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

I thought it was a clever pun, but I have to give proper credit to my neighbor Jonathan for coming up with it. No I do not have to wear a colostomy bag-its just a joke.

So, I thought I would give a quick update about my health. So far I have been trying very hard to get better. People keep asking me if I am feeling any better, but the answer is a little complicated. I do still have all my symptoms, but I don't want to say "oh, no I still feel terrible all the time." The truth is that I don't feel terrible all the time. I rarely feel terrible. Yes, I have tummy issues, but I'm pretty used to it. Its been this way for a year and a half. I don't feel all crampy and twisty and sick inside like I have in the past, so that's good. The answer to the question is I am getting better at being gluten free. I try really really hard. I am very careful, but its not an overnight process to suddenly know every food and every scientific term for all the things I can't eat. I'm still not perfect at it. I got my blood test results today saying that I still have gluten somewhere in my diet. The hard part is finding it. Also, the hard part is coming to terms with not eating it. That was a joke by the way.

I had a colonoscopy on Wed-that was a real treat. Actually having the procedure was totally fine. If there is one thing I love its to be put to sleep in 10 seconds and then to be loopy when I wake up-followed by another coma-like sleep for 4 hours. Wednesday was great, I actually looked forward to Wednesday. Tuesday...was crappy. Very very crappy. For those of you who have experienced this-I am sorry. To say that its miserable is an understatement. I had to drink more than a gallon of laxative. Except that I gave up halfway through my gallon. I figured it was okay because , honestly, going to the potty is not my problem. That gallon jug is designed to clean out 90-year-old constipated men. I didn't need it all. Plus I realized that I was going to kill myself if I had to finish. I'm sorry to disappoint you Peggy-I tried. The Doctor didn't seem to notice and technically nobody asked my if I actually drank it all so I didn't have to lie-technically.

After all is said and done, the results are good. I don't have crohns disease or intestinal cancer. I do have microscopic colitis, which I really freaked out about at first. I had no idea what it was. Secretly I hoped that it meant that I didn't have celiacs, but it turns out it just means that my insides are a little swollen and I should take some Imodium. Was it really a waste of time? Not really. Just more clues to the puzzle. Its hard to expect immetiate results and solutions to answers. Fortunately for me, i'm probably the least perceptive person alive so by the time I learn a lesson, thats about the time I realize that it was a trial that taught me-and by that time the hardest part is over. I hope. knock on wood.

Sorry to bore you all with this stuff. Some of you really care, some of you really don't. I just thought it was time to do a mass update. All in all, I'm doing better. Kinda. Mostly. I'm doing just fine. Still battling against the gluten. If you notice anything that has secret hidden gluten in it let me know. I'm trying to find it so I can get better. All the way better.

Wis Dells

2010-05-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

That's what all the signs say as you drive toward the Wisconsin Dells. Apparently you call it Wis Dells when you are super cool and in the know. Angela had a cool title when she posted about the trip so i thought i had to think of something too.

So this weekend we took a trip up the the Wis Dells which is this city almost completely comprised of water park resorts. There are several hotel resorts in town, each with their own complete water park to go with it. Our hotel (Wilderness Resort) was one of the smaller parks and it still had 3 indoor water parks each complete with water slides and kiddie areas. We didn't get any real pictures of us playing in the water since we didn't want to get the camera all wet, but Joe did take this video of our hotel room that he was extremely impressed with. In the video you get a quick peek at the awesome outdoor water park which wasn't open since its out of season right now.

The trip was a blast! I decided almost immediately that Wisconsin Dells is going to be an annual trip for us. It was so much fun for the adults and still perfect for the boys as well. Even with the outdoor parks closed it was still awesome. We'd take turns with the Doughertys (some friends of ours that we went with) watching all the kids and going down the water slides. I absolutely loved it! It was a perfect little trip-it was cheap, fun for all the family, and close enough that we can still drive home at the end of the day.

Since i don't have any pictures of the water parks I'm going to make you look them up. Just go to www.wildernessonthelake.com and click on water parks. Make sure to look at the pictures of The Hurricane! It was seriously nuts! I thought I was going to die. I'd even seen the picture but I thought they'd turned the camera sideways to make the picture more dramatic-NOPE. We actually did that. How many times can I say that it was awesome? If you live anywhere near the area you need to plan a trip to the Dells, or contact us to see if you can tag along on our next trip.

2010-04-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

i CANNOT figure out how to get the text next to the pictures!

from top to bottom:

1)checking out each others loot

2)the boys spotted a puppy and freaked out-they LOVE dogs

3)i love Ethan's face as he digs around for his easter eggs

4)Noah still trying to figure out this game

5)Dad taking the boys for a stroll

Fun Stuff

2010-04-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a few pics and videos of the boys just to update everyone. As many of you know, we took a trip over spring break out to Utah to visit family. It was quite the long drive but the boys did ok. They did get very bored and tired, though. These pictures aren't great because they were taken with my cell phone.

Here is a video of the boys going on their first Easter egg hunt. They had a blast. I haven't gone through the pictures that Jessica took of the hunt but We will post some of the best ones later.

SPRING!!!

2010-03-22T13:08:00.001-07:00

Our family just got back from spending spring break in Utah visiting our family. Normally we wouldn't make the trip for such a short stay, but we hadn't seen anyone since summer, and it was a long long long winter. We all had such a great time seeing our family and letting the boys get reacquainted with their cousins. My oh my the boys had so much fun running around with all those cousins. They also had a blast running around outside, and in other people's big houses. They aren't used to such big houses-me and all my friends live in tiny apartments. I was sure that after all the running they did, my boys would have gotten that all out of their systems, but the moment we got home last night they just ran and ran. Joe and I decided that it was a well deserved run after having spent the last two days in the car seats. The boys actually did really well throughout our little road trip. We all had such a good time and everyone took really good care of us while we were there. Poor Joe got strep throat while we were at his parent's house, but as i said before, it is a big house and we were able to find a quiet bedroom for him to sleep while the boys played with cousins. He wouldn't have gotten that here at home. He also wouldn't have gotten his mother and sisters to take such great care of him. I still feel lucky that he got sick in Price-i guess I'm allowed to say that since i didn't have to pay for the Dr. bill (thanks mama whitehead!). Other than a sore bum from the penicillin shot, Joe is doing really well.

OK, i know that i sound like a care bear exploded in me, but i just have to say that I'm SO HAPPY ITS SPRING!!! Driving around today I just felt like mother nature was saying "hey there, i know I've been gone a long time, but I'm back now". Other drivers probably thought i was high on something bc i couldn't help but smile like an idiot as i drove along. I'm so happy!

Girls Night Out!

2010-03-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while we have a night out (or in) with just the girls. Last night we met up at Target and picked our ridiculous outfits for each other and tried them all on. That's the last picture of the three. By the way, thanks ladies for indulging me. I obviously never got to play dress up with my 4 older brothers, so I just can't get enough of it even at my age. When all the outfits were discarded and we were done in the dressing rooms we decided to go back to my friend Kate's house and rocked out the Karaoke Revolution-which i also love. This is what you get when you let ME plan the girls night. Seriously, I absolutely LOVE letting go of my reservations and inhibitions and making a complete fool of myself, but its even MORE fun when other people do it with me. That's where the dress up and the crazy singing comes in.

Hope you enjoy these.

P.S. Kim, I'm really sorry we did karaoke without you-it was super last minute and we didn't actually plan on doing it until ten minutes before we did. I promise we'll do it again.

Like Father Like Son

2010-03-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

I saw this and I just HAD to take a picture. To me this portrays so much!
-what a great dad Joe is.
-how having kids changes your life, it may not be what you expected, but it sure is great.
-These boys sure love their papa.
-men love sports their whole lives.
-sometimes the kitchen floor is the best place to bond.
-life doesn't have to be glamorous to be wonderful
-you take what you can get, when you can get it.

I love my boys-all three of them.

This is for Grandma Petersen

2010-02-14T18:07:00.000-08:00

My mom loves baby bums. She doesn't care if she gets peed on, she loves to take off that diaper and pat that chubby little bum. i sent her a few pix on my phone from this bathtime of my boys smiling, but she responded with one word: "bums?"

so i'm posting this video-bums galore. this is for you mom.

Terrible 2's and 26

2010-01-31T20:55:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

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!!!!

2009-12-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

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.

Go Hawks!!

2009-11-20T21:00:00.001-08:00

Here is a quick video that I made to show my love and support to the Hawkeyes.

Happy Friday the 13th!

2009-11-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, I realize that was yesterday, but these pictures aren't. Here is noah eating some scrambled eggs for breakfast. He wouldn't let me get him dressed, so i just left them in their diapers while they ate. Yum!

And after breakfast, I let them play on the new bed. It's a TON taller than the previous bed so they can climb up into the window frame now.

This is Ethan cuddling up in his blanky. Thanks again Janette Lloyd for this super soft blanket. We don't have pacifiers here, but having their blanky makes them just as happy and it won't ruin their teeth.

And this is just for fun. When i saw this i started singing a revised version of the thong song. "Let me see your diaper thong! Diaper thong th-thong-thong-thong!"

gotta love it.

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas?

2009-11-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

answer?
only when you're thoughts of christmas=gifts.
Guilty as charged.
Joe and i already purchased our Christmas gift this year. A new mattress! We have always known that we needed to get one at some point, and when Joe and i started waking up with back, neck, and shoulder aches we decided that the time was now. Joe is usually the one to research, find, and purchase big things like this, but he was quite busy with school so i decided to pick up the slack. I found a going out of business sale here in coralville, found a mattress, got a deal (a total steal! I'm the queen of shopping in case you didn't know), and then brought Joe to the store to give me the thumbs up to make the purchase. We are supposed to have it by tomorrow, but its still going to count as our christmas gift this year. Some people consider this spoiling the gift, but i think of it as enjoying it sooner.

because i feel like it, thats why!

2009-11-06T11:27:00.001-08:00

Just some pictures that i've been meaning to blog, but never actually got around to it.

This is Jackson Abarca. He decided to be a really good helpful boy, and clean up all the toys in the boys room. Obviously he doesn't know where they go so he piled them in Ethan's crib. Everything that was out went straight to the crib. He even went the extra mile and cleaned out the inside of a few drawers. It was very funny. We were all laughing and the poor guys couldn't tell whether or not he was in trouble.

This picture was from earlier this summer. The boys wanted SO BADLY to play in the water in the sink. So i indulged them, and they were very cute and very happy. So long as i was standing there to make sure the water wasn't too hot or too cold, it was perfect.

This is the "before" picture. My amazing aunt sheila promised on her blog that she would give out homemade gifts to the first 3 people that responded. So she sent me a cute handmade craft that allowed me to get rid of this horrendous key ring that i've long hated, but couldn't get rid of bc i'm too cheap to buy a replacement.

Here is the "after". MUCH better, don't you think? Thank you aunt sheila for (1) sending me this beautiful home decor, and (2) allowing me to take out my hatred for the other key ring by stomping on it before i threw it out.

She's so talented, and luckily i reap the benefits for it in this case.

2009-11-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

Here are the boys in their cute costumes before we left to trick or treat. You may recognise the other two boys, Spencer as a frog and Jake as a Lion, who are the boys best buds. It was so fun to have all of us parents parading around our mostly oblivious kids around from house to house.

Noah checking out his loot at the end of the night. Boy oh boy did they ever pitch a fit when we had to take the candy away and put them to bed. Don't worry, we did give them a carmel and some other small candies first.

Here are the pumpkins we carved earlier this week. Can you guess which toothy-smiled pumpkin joe and i made? The scary skeleton belonges to our neighbors Jonathan and Kate.

This was earlier today. I made the boys pose with the pumkin, just for fun. I have some other fun random pictures that are a bit outdated, but i'm so frustrated trying to get these dang pictures in the right order that i'm going to give up for today and post the pictures later. bye bye for now. happy halloween!

Ya? So What Else Is New?

2009-10-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

This is the follow-up post to the previous one that wasn't all that detailed. So...what to report about life in Iowa with twins...Iowtwins. That was a little bit lame, but oh well.
Things have been pretty average around here, except for the fun Halloween festivities. We've carved pumpkins, carameled apples, and even attended an early Ward Halloween party. We dressed up as whiteheads. We wore all red and spray painted our hair white. As a family we were acne. It was pretty awesome, except for the part when we didn't win the family costume contest. I guess our humor is a little too vulgar for some people, but i thought it was pretty good. Joe introduced himself as Poppa Whitehead, and then introduced me as his main squeeze. We also informed the audience that our boys were crying because they just don't do well under pressure. Unfortunately we forgot our camera, but we had a friend take our picture. When i get the pics i'll blog them for you.
Joe is still going strong with school and us. He is getting smarter (nerdier) every day.
I have been trying my hand at sewing. Joe bought be a sewing machine that we found at a yard sale earlier this summer, and i'm still looking for fun ideas. So far I've made 2 baby quilts (for baby showers, i am not pregnant), two hooded towels for the boys, and i've hemmed a few things here and there. i REALLY want to make a huge over sized pink cuddly blanket for myself this winter, but i'm still searching for the perfect fabric to match what i've already got.
I've also been thinking a lot about life after dental school. I know I want to work, and I'm pretty sure i'd like to go back to school, but i have absolutely NO idea what i should go into. I recently took a career aptitude test that was 486 questions long only to find out that i am best suited for a career as a funeral director. Super Lame. I'm open to any non-ridiculous suggestions as to what field of study or employment would best suit me.
Ok, I posted an in-depth post about what is happening in our lives, so now i can go back to posting adorable pictures of my adorable monsters.

So whats REALLY going on?

2009-10-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, I've noticed in my past...ten or so posts, I just put up some fun pictures or videos and say 'hope you enjoy' and leave it at that. I figure that the blog is for distant family and friends who mostly just want to see the boys. But in reading blogs from others, i have realized that i never actually tell ya'll whats going on. This is going to be a hard post, since i really have a bad memory and i can't really remember important events or milestones to report. I'll do my best.
Joe is knee deep in school and football these days. Studying is starting to pick up and the Hawkeyes are ranked #7 in the nation right now. I feel like we've been handling this really well as a family. Joe can usually study at home, when the boys are asleep, and i find something to occupy myself so i don't distract him. I run errands, go to craft night, or just wander across the hall and hang out with Kate (for those of you who don't know Kate, she is an awesome girl in my ward who lives across the hall from me).
This system seems to work really well. I'm not left home alone all the time with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Joe gets to study in his sweatpants, and not feel like he is abandoning his family to go to the school and study.
He is doing superbly in school. And by that i mean that he is satisfied with the grade he is getting/time he is putting into studying ratio. Does that make sense?
Shoot. I have to start dinner-even though joe is already peeling the potatoes for me. I have such a great husband. More about whats REALLY going on in the next post.
Much love, Jessica

Woody Woodpecker laugh!

2009-10-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

Noah has this funny little laugh that he does when he gets super excited. He has always done it, and i've never been able to catch it on video. Score another one for the new Flip!

So Flippin Fun!

2009-10-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

So Joe and i have once again convined ourselves that we really needed a specific gadget. We bought a Flip video recorder. They are like handheld (about the size of the first cell phones) little video cameras that we can tote around with us wherever we go. Joe bid on one that he found on Ebay and ended up getting it for a steal. Here is the first of many videos to come for your enjoyment at home.

I've seen that face somewhere before...

2009-09-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the day that the boys finally discovered the secret corner cabinet where i keep all the cans. As i watched them having TONS of fun pulling out everything they could see, i thought to myself "hmm, this looks familiar, where have i seen this before?"

Right here. This is the day that they discovered the now-empty drawer where we kept the cooking utensils. People say they grow up so fast, but mine seem to be stuck in the past.

Words

2009-09-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

The latest and greatest...and only words the boys can say.

Summer in Review

2009-09-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

In no particuar order...

DISNEY WORLD!!!!! We happened to track down Walt and Minnie for a picture.

My parents came to visit! Yay momma! Also, Joe's parents and older sister came, but I can't seem to find any pictures of it. Sorry, but we still love the Whiteheads too!

Fourth of July at a Kernals game with Jonathan and Kate Allen and Kara and Allen Bankhead. Go Corn!

Babies first tampons. Sorry about this one Joe.

My first taste of the ocean in Florida with Sarah. I'm getting beaten up by the waves and Sarah thinks its hysterical. It was so AWESOME!

Robots in Disguise

2009-08-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Harry Potter the other night, and decided that I had to stop and go to bed. It was already past midnight and I knew that if I kept listening I would stay there til 3 in the morning. When I climbed into bed Joe was already asleep. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "I can't sleep."
silence
Me: "Joe, I can't sleep. I'm too excited. I can't sleep. I just want to keep listening to Harry Potter, but I can't or I'll never go to sleep."
Joe: (groggily) "Just...think about science."
Me: (slightly taken aback-Joe knows how much I loathe science) "I...I don't even know HOW to think about science."

I sat and contemplated how pathetic it was that when I tried to think about science, such a broad topic, my mind went totally blank. I began saying aloud then only things I could about the ominous 'science'.
Me: "atoms....chemistry....cell walls....platelets....catalysts.....atomic numbers....facial nerve...."
On and on I continued. For at least ten minutes. One word statements generally referring to science, but never really saying anything about it.
Me: "kinetic energy....biology....protons....deceptacons"
I giggled. There was no way I could seriously THINK about science, but it did help me fall asleep. No wonder Joe always sleeps in class.

Part Two

2009-08-11T11:19:00.001-07:00

Spokane

Vienna

South Africa

Montana

Long Island

London

Tahoe

Kenora, Canada

Austin, TX

wide open spaces

2009-08-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

i absolutely LOVE living in Iowa. I thought that I would hate it, and every time i tell people how much I love living here I surprise myself. Why on earth would i enjoy Iowa? I had myself a good cry before i left Salt Lake, where all my friends and family live. I knew all the good places to eat or play or hike or camp. i was comfortable there. So why would i want to move to a place that i knew absolutely nothing about except that it didn't have any of my friends or family in it. I thought of moving here as doing time. Turns out that I'm doing the time of my life, and yes i got that line from my new fav show Arrested Development.

So ever since i realized that moving away from Salt Lake wasn't the end of my life I've been excited to decide where I'll go next. I realize that there is this tiny voice in the back of my mind that sounds like my sweet mother that says "you have to move back to Salt Lake, you can't live away from your family" but I still like to dream. Unfortunately i cannot narrow it down in the least. every week I've got a new possible destination. Poor Joe. I always ask him, "Joe, where do you want to live?" and he dutifully responds with the place that i had most recently "decided" that we would live, only to have me convince him of how wonderful it would be to live someplace else. here is my most recent list of places that I want to live someday.

Bear Lake

Amsterdam

St. George

San Francisco

Wyoming

Oh, the list goes on and on. There will most likely be a part 2 to this post. There are so many breathtaking places to see in the world, I just want to scoop it up and devour it like ice cream and a bag of doritos. Any suggestions? I've lived in Salt Lake for 20 years, and i feel like there is so much of the world that i don't even know about.

Trip to Utah

2009-08-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Phew! we are finally back from our trip out to Utah! We had a LOT of fun visiting family and meeting some new family members for the first time. We started our trip leaving Iowa at around 5 pm and arriving in Utah around 10 am. We were quite nervous about attempting the drive all in one shot, but it ended up working out quite well...for the most part. We would definitely recommend doing it this way to anyone-unless your kids won't sleep in the car. We encountered this problem on the way TO Utah, but on the way back we made sure they were properly medicated so they would have a sweet restful night in the car seats.
Anyway, i could talk talk talk about this trip, but that would take forever so I'll just share my favorite pictures. Sorry to all of the family that we didn't get pictures of!
Jaden and Mason, the oldest set of twins

Ethan, displaying his inner petersen-going after the kitty with a bat, naked.

2 out of 3 sets of twins after a long day of swimming.

And little chunker Conner, this was our first time meeting him.

For the first part of our trip we spent our time with the Petersen side of the family. We were lucky enough to have the generosity of my SUPER AWESOME Aunt Sheila who let us sleep in her brand new monster RV. It was incredible, and quite the lifesaver for us. Thanks again Buchei family!

We spent a LOT of time in the water to keep ethan and noah happy since they were understandably grumpy from all of the traveling and dry heat. Hence all of the naked baby pictures you saw. We even lucked out that they had a little kiddie pool at my cousin's baby shower. The boys just hopped right in, fully clothed, but they couldn't have been happier. I gave up trying to stop them and figured that they had their blankets in the car and plenty of extra diapers, so i let them have at it. It was very funny. And I know funny (that's for you Dad).

We got to visit aunts and uncles grandparents and cousins from both sides of my family and Joe's maternal side of his family.

We then spent a day in Logan, a day at Starvation Reservoir, and a few days at my cabin with Joe's side of the family. The whole trip was a blast (despite getting overwhelmed with my boys' tantrums) and i can't say enough about how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends and family. We love all of you and wish we could have gotten to see more of you. Special hello to Joe and Britt, Addie and Hayden, and the twins. Get better Austin, we are thinking of you and love you all!

Yes, I've been avoiding you...

2009-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for so long now that i feel like there is just too much that i need to catch up on, and i have no picures to illustrate-which i hate. so i won't bother with the catching up and i'll just skip straight to what is going on right now. If you want to hear about girls camp, you'll have to check angela dougherty's blog. She covered the basics, but i really did love it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
ok, back to the present. My niece Alex has been with us for the past...week or so. Its been really fun to have her here, and to have a shopping partner-not to mention an extra set of hands around here. Right now we are preparing for our trip to Utah which is, needless to say, stressful. I am NOT looking forward to the drive with my little monsters, as i have taken to calling them. We are hoping to do what the Rasmussen's did and drive straight through the night but if you know Joe then you know what a task that is. He MUST sleep. He has no tolerance for staying up late. It will be a task to be sure.
Goodness look at me. I have a pile of laundry staring at me, and unlike other occations, i have a deadline to get all of this done. But i am typing away hoping that my unending list of to-do's will magically disappear if i ignore them long enough. I've got to go. sorry this was such a boring post.

Good Love is on the Way

2009-07-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

This past week has been quite different from most. Jessica has been gone since Monday helping with stake girls camp and I am being "Mr. Mom." I tell you what, it is not even close to as easy as Jess makes it look. During this last year of school I have dreamt of being able to spend entire days with the my boys; two or three hours each day simply wasn't enough. Now I have a bit better of an understanding as to why Jessica gives a great sigh of relief when the boys go to bed for the night. I have loved spending time with Ethan and Noah but is really is exhausting. In just a few short days I have gained a far greater appreciation for Jess than I ever thought possible. I thought I knew how hard it was and I only gave that level of respect to my wife. Now my respect level for her has increased 10, nay, 100 fold. I have never felt so selfish and naive as I do now that I understand (in a minute amount) what she goes through each day in raising me and the boys. She is my everything. She is beautiful. When she was pregnant I used to say that she wasn't just carrying twins, she carried me too. As we have been here in this unique stage in life she has carried me more than ever. I hope that somehow I can express to her how much I love her. I know that she can sometimes feel under appreciated and alone and I hope I can remedy those feeling by showing an increase in love. Her boys love her too. Two days ago when they woke up from their nap they were both calling "momma." When I walked in I think they were a little disappointed. I could not survive without her. My "Mr Mom" skills can never match the abilities she has. Jessica I love and miss you and I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Im excited for you to tell me all about the things you have learned and the experiences you have had. I can't wait to hold you with no intention of letting go.

I made this video for Jessica but you all get to see it too. If you want to see it full screene you can find it by going to http://www.youtube.com/ and typing "ethan and noah whitehead" of just click on this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAXLnC288TM

Triplets for a Day

2009-06-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Not really, I just borrowed one. Yesterday was my good friends, the Rasmussen's, anniversary. They decided to celebrate with an overnight get-away and trusted ME with Spencer. You remember Spencer right? From the previous haircut post. And countless others. Spencer is the same age as the boys and they have a good time together. Anyway, so yesterday I had three boys, and whenever that happens i like to think that i have triplets for a short time. Not that its anywhere NEAR the same-I apologise to all those who actually do have triplets and are thinking "oh sure, one day? anyone can do ONE DAY. Try a lifetime sister, starting from when the three of them need your two milkers every three hours." Props to you ACTUAL mothers of triplets. You win. Times Infinity.
Alright alright. Picture time.

Here's Spencer!

Count 'em baby. 3! They needed a little supervision while playing. Too much toy stealing between the 3 of them.

Dinner time was a lot easier than i thought it'd be. As long as I didnt' eat anything. jk, I ate my fair share.

Getting on PJ's and diapers.

Overall, everything went smoothly. The evening time wasn't much different than a normal night here. At bedtime I took Spencer to his own crib in his own house so that he could actually sleep through the night. Joe stayed home with the boys. Spencer was so easy to put to bed, and so smiley in the moring when i woke him up. I was worried that he'd be grumpy seeing my nasty morning mug instead of his mommy. But he did really well. I'm really glad that i could help out Tawnya and Jed so they could have some time away for their anniversary. Congrats on three years you guy!

P.S. In response to Haley about C-sections. I had to have one, I wasn't given a choice. The actual surgery part of it was totally fine. While it was happening, I really didn't feel any of what they were doing. I felt some tugging around my chest, but nothing close to pain. The post surgery was no good. I needed a lot of help for a long time. It was about two weeks before i could get myself out of bed without Joe's assistance. IF I had been given a choice, knowing what i know now, I would definately try to deliver vaginally. My sister in law delivered her twins that way, and she said it was great. She fell asleep while she was in labor, and couldn't feel anything while she was pushing. Her recovery was about two days. Mine really was 6 weeks. And even then I was only about 70 %. but i was on bedrest for 6 weeks prior so that makes the recovery harder. It may not be as bad if you are up and about beforehand. I just had no muscle mass to help me recover. Sorry if this is scary. No one ever told me the truth before i had a C-section. It wasn't actually as bad as i made it sound. I wasn't writhing in pain throughout it or anything. I just had to be careful for a long time. email me if you want to talk more. whiteheadcwm@hotmail

Haircuts, Races, and Popcicles.

2009-06-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

This was an event-filled day for us-except that i don't remember which day this was. My friends Tawnya and Angela came over to visit and brought with them Ethan and Noah's friends Spencer and Jake. They have so much fun together. We really lucked out that we all had boys the same age. So we (I) decided that Tawnya and Jed had missed their chance to cut Spencer's hair. They've been talking about it for weeks, and so i told them that the next time I watch Spenc I was going to buzz off his baby mullet. Tawnya was a little hesitant, but I convinced her that the skullet had ruled Spencer long enough and the time had come to take action. So we did.

This is Spencer's before picure.

Cutting Spencer's hair proved to be very challenging. Even more challenging than cutting both of my boys' hair put together.

But we managed to get through it and save the clippings for Spencer's scrapbook.

Next we took the boys outside and they all raced up the stairs as fast as they could, which gave us mom's an idea. We put them all back down to the bottom step and set up a REAL race. I just can't supress my competitive nature.
3...2...1...GO! And they are off. The twins are neck and neck straight out of the hole, and Spencer is following closely behind. Jake, for the first time in his entire life, has not yet moved...

With one step behind them Noah is pulling ahead and Jake has caught up to Spencer in a tie for third place. Yes, you can see Angela and I egging them forward with a popcicle.

Ethan drops behind to last place while Noah emerges ahead just steps from the finish line. Jake is in second place, but seems to have stopped for a quick scream. Will Spencer merge ahead for a chance to pass Jake?

Noah wins! Yay, and the victory popcicle is his for the taking. Spencer takes second place, Jake came in third, leaving Ethan in last place.

But victory comes for all today as Ethan and Spencer both enjoy some popcicle.

...and Spencer really really enjoys it.

...and Jake really really doesn't.

My Five Senses

2009-06-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

This post is for the friends and family in Utah that want to know how things are going. I decided to be quite specific and describe being here using all five senses.
Sight: It looks as if a tornado has torn through the house. Pillows, balls, toys, and blankets strewn about. There are a few dishes, and many pieces of a PB and J on the counter.
Smell: It smells like syrup-from the boys breakfast of maple and brown sugar oatmeal. This particular smell always lingers. It could be worse. I have two baby poopers in the house.
Touch: Its warm. And sticky.
Taste: I just ate a fruit snack.
Sound: Total silence. Its naptime. All is right with the world.
I put this one at the top of my priority list, and that is why the dishes aren't being done, and it smells like syrup instead of clorox, and its still sticky. In order to remedy those things I would need to make noise and risk waking the boys. NOT HAPPENING. Waking them would just make more tornado mess, and more sticky, and more stinky, and more fruit snacks.

sorry if you've already seen these

2009-05-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Florida!

2009-05-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Day one we just flew into Florida, drove an hour-ish to the hotel and crashed.

Day two, this is us on the ferry on our way to...

DISNEY WORLD!!!!

You can't really see Ethan, but he's there. The boys didn't really care that they were in Dumbo, but we had to do it for a picture.

After riding rides in the sweltering heat (so glad we didn't go in July) we were on our way out for a quick break, but we ran into Walt and Minnie. Not really you guys. Its a statue. Fooled you though.

We really needed to cool down so we went to the Dougherty's hotel for a swim. I purposely chose this picture because its the most blurry.

Angela and Joseph Dougherty are in the water already. If you look closely you can see them. The pool was SO WARM! it was so so nice, except that the water didn't have chlorine, it had salt. It tasted so nasty. But the boys had fun in their new swim boats-thanks Gramma! yes thats how i spell it. its shorter. deal with it.

So then we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks and some last minute rides without the heat or the lines.

Joe and I on the Buzz Lightyear ride. I totally slaughtered Joe at this game.

Getting ready to leave. Yes, I am dressed like a floosy, but we didn't have time to go back to the hotel after swimming.

Bye bye Disney World! Next time we will come back in March, a few years from now when the boys are old enough to enjoy it.

On day three, we drove down to visit our friends the Lewis family-Sarah, Mike, and little Anabelle. We took a trip to the beach. Believe it or not this was the first time I'd ever seen the ocean. I was overwhelmed and a little frightened. I think I've seen Jaws too many times. This is Mike being cute with Anabelle, who didn't really enjoy the beach...

...neither did our boys. They HATED the sand, and they were perfectly contented in sitting in their stroller the whole time.

Me and Sarah in the ocean. The waves were HUGE and almost took my suit off a few times. This is me getting swept up in the waves and LOVING it!

Family shot. This is the only way we could get the boys into the water, and by boys i just mean the twins. Joe loved the water and swam out pretty far. Way too far for my taste, but I'm a wuss.

This was Saturday evening when we went to Joe's Crab Shack where we enjoyed some TASTY crab, shrimp, oysters, and other seafood. I'm not quite sure why I made that face in this picture, but the only other pic of us is blurry.

Altogether it was an amazing trip! it was the perfect length for a trip with babies, and it was the perfect time of year for the beach...which i don't think i can ever get enough of. Farewell white sandy beaches, I'll be back someday. Until that time, get rid of all your sharks so I won't be so scared!

Just some pics

2009-05-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm trying my hand at photography. With the Nikon I can all of a sudden take as many pictures as I want without the battery dying after 5 min. I took about 50 pictures during this bathtime and these are some of my favorites.

Ethan
Ethan

Noah

Noah and Dad

This is for you mom! Double Bums!

Also, as a reply to the previous post about the white coat ceremony I'd like to give my side of the story. Some of our Dental School wives have been asking me for weeks if I was planning on going to the white coat ceremony. I had been saying for a few days that I wasn't going to go. I hadn't heard a peep about it from Joe, and the boys are SUCH a handful now that they just want to run everywhere. So, the ceremony is at three, and Joe called me at ONE! Joe said to me that he didn't realize what a big deal this was supposed to be, and could I please come and bring the boys. I said to him "Joe, imagine that you are supposed to keep the boys quiet for two hours-that's sacrament meeting and Sunday school-all by yourself. Does that sound like fun?" He insisted that he wanted me to be there, so i went. As predicted the boys yelled and cried and arched and squirmed the WHOLE TIME! I was humiliated as I took babies into the hall several times so as to not detract from the ceremony. As I'm in the hallway, at the brink of tears, knowing that I had to get out of there before I had a meltdown, a man approaches me. He looked at the twins and I'm sure he started with something typical like "you've got your hands full" or something like that. I tried my best to answer with a smile and a mumble of agreement. Then he said those words-the last words that I wanted to hear at that moment: "These really are the best years of your life". WHAT?! Please tell me that you are either kidding or suffer from amnesia! It can't be true! I still have my whole life to look forward to and the best part of it had better not be THIS! My reply was extremely out of the ordinary. On a normal day when i wasn't on my last nerve I would say something like "Ya, it is pretty fun". But I didn't. For once I didn't give a rats patootie what this stranger thought of me. I wanted to say exactly what i was feeling and walk away. So I did. I told him "If this is the best part, then I guess I'm really not looking forward to the rest of my life". Yes its a bit harsh, but dang it I meant it...at the time. It was the correct response for the moment. Frankly, I've never admitted publicly that it can get this hard. Well, it happens. Fortunately Joe got his picture in the paper so I guess I didn't completely ruin his special day. But it was a special day for me too. That day I realized that its okay to acknowledge that people don't have to think my life is always honkey dorey. My kids are the cause of all of my stresses and anxieties. They are also the solution. Just look back at my beautiful babies. I love them, and I like them most of the time.

White Coat Ceremony

2009-05-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was had our White Coat Ceremony which is when all of us first year students are given clinical privileges to start working on real patients. Up til this point we have been practicing on mannequin heads, ivory teeth, and also doing work on each other. Now we are able to see patients for real. In two weeks we have our first clinical test where we will actually do a full mouth cleaning and scaling. I'm pretty excited to start really working in the clinic. I am a little worried about our anesthesia class in week and a half where we will give nine different numbing injections to our classmates. Anyway, these are pictures are from the Press Citizen which is the local newspaper for Iowa City. Jess cut out the article and hung it on the fridge. "Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it, but I was a star for one whole minute."

I can't sleep...

2009-05-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

I absolutely HATE that it takes me so long to fall asleep at night. I was tossing and turning last night and getting so frustrated that i was still awake. I just can't stop thinking about things that get me worried. For example: I was talking to so and so last year, and I'm sure that i said something stupid, and did I hurt their feelings, and what should I have done, and if I did that with everyone would my life be so much more complicated with all the extra effort and.... You get the picture. I have to stop myself and realize that I'm still awake and still thinking. I say to myself "Stop thinking! Stop thinking!" but that's just more thinking.

Then I remembered what Joe jokingly told me was the reason that he can fall asleep so easily. He said that Joseph Smith said something like being able to fall asleep is the result of a clean conscience. So i thought to myself that maybe if I righted all of the wrongs that run through my head all night long I'd be able to sleep. Obviously I don't want to name specifics because that would be impossible. I've done SO MANY stupid things in my life that I think my fingers would fall off if i tried to type them all. I'm hoping a public apology will do. Here goes:

To everyone that i prematurely judged: I'm sorry. I have no place to judge since i am far from being a model wife, mother, friend, or associate.

To everyone who I rubbed the wrong way: Please know that I'm nervous when i first meet people and I tend to either say something crazy or just sit in silence and hope that no one judges me.

To those at church who I seemingly ignore: I really do wish i could talk to you. I hate to blame my kids, but when I'm at church I get so flustered that i am basically in SURVIVE mode. I'd love to be in learn mode or socialize mode, but that really doesn't happen most of the time. I like you. I really do. I just give me two and a half more months when my kids are in nursery and then i can be calm and collected. I AM interested in getting to know you. Please have patience with me.

To those who've been offended by opinions that I've stated: I'm probably wrong. I change my mind all the time. I'm a little flaky. Unless you really like Samuel L Jackson. In that case i apologise for nothing. seriously, he is a terrible actor and anything that he touches turns to crap. Unbreakable? Shaft? Snakes on a Plane?! Really? how did that movie even get made? I will only admit that I like him as Frozone, but at least i didn't have to see his face.

To those whose feelings I hurt: I'm SO SORRY. If there is one thing I hate, it is to actually hurt someone. As much as I play off that I don't care about anything, I really do care about people's feelings. My mom used to tell me heart-wrenching stories when I was a little girl to make me sensitive to other people. It worked. Just know that I try to be a nice person.

I'll let you know if this cures my insomnia.

More pictures

2009-04-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

more of the cowboy pictures
i love this one of Ethan

and crazy Noah with his messy face. He wanted to eat sticks all day.

This is when Ethan really started walking everywhere. He loved the softball field. Thats a good sign for us.

I wear my sunglesses at night, and in the bathtub.

Advice for our friends Bob and Haley

2009-04-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

WARNING: this is going to be a long post
Dear Bob and Haley,
When I saw your comment I realized that a lot of people ask me for advice and i never know what to say. I decided to jot down some things that i might want to pass on to upcoming parents of twins and it turned out that i had a lot more to say than i expected. Here goes.

*Your #1 first priority is the SLEEP SCHEDULE! We read BabyWise and loved it. Find something that works for you, and i recommend that you read it before the babies are born.

*Be WELL INSURED and keep every single document. Even if its not organized, at least throw everything in a folder and keep it for at least two years. We are still getting bills and our twins are 15 mo.

*Twins are the only exception to the rule "never wake a sleeping baby". Its ok to wake up baby B in the middle of the night to feed him when Baby A wakes up.

*Don't be discouraged if your milk supply isn't enough. Lactation specialists will say "pump/feed more often" but sometimes there is just no "more often" left. Formula can be your best friend as a mother of twins.

*After the first three months it gets easier and easier. At a year it starts to get hard again, but by that time you are a pro and can handle anything.

*When you have a rough day, take the twins out-everyone will smile at you. Even if you look terrible. Then people sympathize and compliment how you must be so strong/patient/supermom ect. Its a confidence builder.

*For this same reason ALWAYS give yourself an extra half hour when grocery shopping. People don't understand that you might be in a hurry.

*"The Twins" is your new excuse for everything. You don't even have to lie or explain. "Sorry we're late. The Twins". "We have to go. The Twins". "I know I look terrible. The Twins". "I really need a massage, mani/pedi, and some new clothes. The Twins". P.S. Don't let Bob read that one.

*Sign up for the twin programs through Similac and Enfamil. They give away tons of free formula. Even if you don't plan on using it at first, do it anyway.

*Ask for diapers at your baby showers. We didn't have to buy diapers until our twins were 6 months old. (shout out to everyone who gave us diapers: we LOVE you!) Its such a huge help!

*Everyone has connections with twins somehow. They had twins, their cousin, their great granddaughter, their puppy-and they will always tell you about it. Its best to have a rehearsed response. I usually tell moms that have 27 yr old twins "its encouraging to see that you're doing so well". Or if someone has twins about a year older than yours, ask them to invite you to their next yard sale.

*Colds will inevitable last all winter long. The twins will just pass germs back and forth constantly. Take solace in Christmas cheer.

*Your twins will eat whatever they find on the carpet. Calm down, its not like you sprinkle down rat poison. Most of the time they eat carpet fuzz, string, or paper bits. They'll be fine, I promise.

*Its unreasonable to try to keep their things separate. You'll save yourself a lot of stress if you just come to terms with that. They are sharing a room or even a crib, and their toys anyway. Let them share bottles or pacifiers, and this way they can build up an immunity to each other early on.

*The greatest day in your life comes when your babies learn to hold their own bottles. That is about the same three month mark when things get so much easier.

I hope this helps. If you are still in Logan, I would like to know bc i know a secret that you can utilize and get A LOT of help. Just let me know.
To everyone else who read this, since I am sure you know someone with twins, feel free to direct them to my blog. Just one more perk of not making this blog private. Or perhaps you found some tips that relate to you with your own family. If you have any other tips that i missed, go ahead and comment.

2009-04-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

I got these pictures back a few days ago, but I didn't post them because i've been having trouble deciding which ones were the cutest. They all looked so good. I think i've narrowed it down to my favorites, but i have like 12 and only room to post like 5 pics at once.

It was very difficult getting the boys to stay together long enough to take this pic

Noah! This is one of my favorites.

And this is my favorite of Ethan

This is my absolutely favorite family picture. Jessica Sorenson did a really great job.

My cute little boys.

I LOVE THIS!

The Simple Things

2009-04-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Today for me has been about appreciating the simple things. I've been watching the morning shows, Today, GMA and such. There was this amazing all over every channel about a woman auditioning for Brtitain's got Talent. Check out her video on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0h1NNk1Ik

I cried within three seconds of when she started singing. I was just in awe that something as simple as a song can bring so many people to tears.
I was also thinking about what a rotten mood i was in last night. Joe and i were talking about why i was so ornery and i just decided that going outside would make me feel better. So we put on some sweats, grabbed a blanket and pillow and layed on the grass outside. I don't know why, but all of my tensions just melted away. Simple.
The other simple thing that i love is making up new lyrics to famous songs. Today's song was a spoof on lady gaga's Poker Face. My rendition was called Booger Face, inspired by the twins of course. "Can't wipe my, can't wipe my, no he can't wipe my booger face..." you can imagine how the rest goes.
Things are good. My boys actually ate their eggs this morning instead of throwing it on the floor. I found a penny when i was taking out some stinky diapers. Ethan learned to give kisses today.
Simple. Good.

Easter

2009-04-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well, its Easter! Probably the most important holiday when considering what it stands for, yet we never get to miss work or school for it. Oh well. For Easter this year I decided to surprise Jessica with some luxuries that I knew she would love but never really ask for. I figured with all of the plasma donating and with our tax return (2 kids in 2008, woo hoo) I would splurge just a little bit to do my part to "stimulate the economy"...(i love how the world tells us that if we spend more we will solve economy troubles. ) Anyway, first I searched the Internet to see what Broadway shows were going on this summer in Chicago since it is only a few hours away. I really wanted to take Jess to see Phantom or The Lion King. Neither were playing in Chicago so I broadened my horizons and found a great show in Minneapolis.

Then I knew that Jess has been wanting a new camera forever. The one we have is great for a quick picture here or there but just like most, it had horrible battery life and seemed to be taking worse pictures every day. So I did my research and found the best reviewed, easy to use, DSLR, lowest priced, smallest...etc. In the end, the winner in all those categories was the Nikon D40. It takes fantastic photos. I am amazed with it every time I take a picture. Jessica totally stood frozen when she opened the package and saw what it was. The sad thing is that I was so excited to give it to her that I couldn't even wait until Easter and had to give it a week ago.

Now, because I am selfish, I couldn't let Jess have all the fun so I bought myself a new softball bat. Its way nice and I got it for a steal. If anyone else is looking for a deal on a bat go to http://www.closeoutbats.com/.

This post could not be complete without a tid bit about the boys' Easter. We bought them a big ball from the giant cages in the Walmart isles. You know what I'm talking about. They also got some inflatable boats for the swimming pool. Jess was so excited to finally be able to take the boys swimming with the other moms. I'm positive that we will post some pictures of those in a couple of months when they are playing with them in the pool.

My Little Cowboys

2009-04-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Joe bought me a camera for easter that he knew I'd been eyeing for a very long time now. I decided to test it out a few days ago, and I LOVE the camera. I think the pictures turned out really well. Now i have to say, I'm not a photographer and I don't pretend to be. I just wanted more memorable picures for myself...Look at my cute babies:)

Date Night

2009-04-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Joe and I had a date night last Saturday. The Dental School was holding a celebration dinner for the fourth years. It was really nice to get dressed up and have a night together without the boys. We really wished that more of our friends could have come, but it was still a good night out. Special thanks to Tawnya and Angela for helping me put this whole thing together in one day! We felt a little prom-ish taking these ones. This is for you Mom.

The dinner was SOOO good. I had salmon and asparagus. Best dinner ever!
Joe preferred his prime rib and potatoes.

Me and Michaela on the dance floor. I did anything i could to not verify to the whole world that i dance like an uncoordinated white girl.

We didn't end up staying much past dinner or else i'd have to dance more, but it was still nice to get all dressed up and meet Joe's classmates.

My Poor Boys

2009-03-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been having the feeling that my boys don't have the benefit of a 22 yr old mom with lots of energy. I have embraced the lifestyle of a "relaxed parent" as i like to call it. I just don't have the energy to worry about everything like a new mother should. I let my kids eat whatever that thing is that they pick up off the floor. As long as its not metal they should be fine. I don't backtrack to try to find the missing sock at the play place. I let them cry themselves back to sleep almost every time I hear them at night. I let them fight over toys-you get the picture. Sometimes I think that if I just had one, I could be a better mom. I could fuss over them and make sure they always had clean faces and noses. I could sit down and read to them while they sit on my lap. I could take them to the library for story time, or to the park to teach them to walk. Wow, I'm incapable of saying him instead of them. Its always them. Even when I'm asking other people about their new babies. I say "How are they sleeping" instead of "How is she sleeping". Anyway, I just feel like I'm not giving my boys the types of things that they really deserve. I wish I could read to them every day, but they fight over the book, or I'll read to Ethan, but Noah hates sitting on my lap. I try taking them outside to play, but then they each take off in different directions, and I can't keep them BOTH safe all by myself. Then i feel like I'm favoring one over the other, and I don't need that kind of guilt. I'm already dealing with enough of that. I realize that all mothers battle with feelings of inadequacy, but I haven't been able to shake this recent bout of it. Maybe when the ground dries out I can take them outside more and feel better about my parenting.

Another Ouch!

2009-03-24T19:51:00.001-07:00

Joe would tell some elaborate story making him sound super tough and manly. One such story i heard involved him playing second base and sacrificing his arm to stop the ball. Yadda yadda yadda. The truth is less entertaining, but that doesn't mean his arm isn't in quite a bit of pain. On Saturday Joe was donating plasma and the phlebotomist missed the vein. He didn't notice so much at first, except that the machine was running a little slow. It wasn't until the machine started pumping his blood back into his arm that Joe realized that there was something wrong. He was immediately disconnected, and came home with a very very sore arm. Although the picture looks bad, it really doesn't do the bruise justice... it looks much worse in real life.

OUCH!!!

2009-03-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

Today, as Joe and I were going about our morning, cooking breakfast, checking emails-don't pretend you don't know he was checking his march madness brackets. Anyway, Ethan started screaming, which is not a surprise since he and Noah were in a tug of war over a toy. We just assumed that Ethan was throwing a fit and didn't pay much attention. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that we realized that Ethan was still crying, which was out of the ordinary. Low and behold, Ethan has a big cut at the tip of his finger! Poor boy was crying out in pain and Joe and I didn't realize it. We took some pictures of our sad boy.

Joe is doing his best to apply pressure to the cut while Ethan struggles to get free.

After we got the cut all bandaged. Here is the towel we used to soak up all the blood. SO SAD!

Ethan still with tears in his eyes, but mostly curious about his finger.

And now he has been successfully distracted by the show Word World.
Noah is trying to look into the camera so his head is in this shot.

Ethan shortly after pulled the bandage off and we had to do it all over again. More blood, more tears. We had to tape the band aid onto his finger, and then tape his two fingers together to get it to stay. Later this evening we had our family pictures taken by a friend in our ward (thanks Jessica!) so his fingers are all taped up for our pictures. Oh well, life with babies.

Happy St. Patricks Day

2009-03-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

We didn't actually buy this hat or even take this picture on St. Patricks Day. So what if we put the had back when we were done. Thats how we roll. We did actually have a festive St. Patricks Day, minus the hats. We wore green, took the boys to play at the park, and then had an all green dinner. Our friends, the Doughertys, make us chicken pesto pasta, broccoli, green jello, and green kool aid. I thougth it was pretty cute. Hope everyone has had a fun day too.

Sunshine

2009-03-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day! What a perfect way to start spring break. it feels like a summer morning when you walk outside in your t-shirt and you can smell the morning, and you wish it could be like that all day long. Today it was. We weren't without our stresses. We had a long to-do list, but all of our tensions melted away every time we stepped outside. Running errands doesn't seem so bad when you can drive with the window rolled down. At one point today I could see that Joe was visibly irritable. He was eating abnormally fast, and he couln't hold still because his mind was going a million miles an hour running all his worries through his head. I thought for sure that his day was ruined, but wasn't five minutes later when i ran outside barefoot to hand him his wallet before he left for the post office, that i saw a completely different person. He casually strolled up to me, took his wallet, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He just needed a little sunshine.

Here are some pictures that are totally unrelated to the story, but who cares?

Could this be any more Ethan?

This is from poster on campus to learn pottery from this creepy creepy man.

This is my unhappy self being not quite 4 month prego with the twins.

Noah at the dental picnic last summer.

Getting Closer!!!!

2009-03-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

I feel like i am getting the first date jitters! thats how excited i am for spring break to finally come around! It seems unreal that Joe will actually have 9 DAYS OFF! We decided to save money and take this time to just relax-I originally typed "chillax" but then decided that i couln't pull that off. For our Christmas vacation we flew to Utah to see family, and while it was great to see everyone it was also quite stressful. About halfway through we needed a vacation from our vacation! So this time we are just doing whatever we want on our own schedule and then coming home to our own beds(cribs). I am so excited! We are actually going to be able to go swimming! yay! anyone else who is staying in Iowa is welcome to join us!

Big Day for Ethan

2009-03-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

yesterday i took the boys to the playplace in the mall for a while. I've heard so many stories of babies who are the age of my kids who take their first steps after they have seen other babies walk first. So i thought it would be good exposure for the boys. If nothing else it is good for Ethan and Noah to get out of the house for a while. So I was talking to another mom who's boy had a balloon. Of course Ethan was intrigued by it and HE TOOK HIS FIRST STEP! He was holding onto a giant block which he let go of, and then took a small step. He stayed stable for a couple of seconds, and then sat down. Later that night Joe was working with him and Ethan took TWO STEPS! yay! I'm so proud of him! Soon Noah will follow, and they are going to be walking boys! Wow. I didn't think it would ever happen. I included some random funny pictures of the boys just for fun. Can you tell who is who?

Attention Family

2009-03-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

Whitehead siblings and parents: Please check the Whitehead Family Blog for important summer updates.
Petersen siblings and parents: Please check the Petersen Family Blog for cute pictures of my twins.
Actually anyone can check the petersen blog since its not private so feel free i guess, but i will eventually post the same pictures on my blog.

2009-02-27T11:14:00.000-08:00

Intervention!!!

2009-02-19T20:06:00.001-08:00

Normally an intervention is organized by your friends, loved ones and such. They sit you down and tell you that you have a problem that has gone on long enough. They are showing their support to you in helping you to change for the better.
I'm realizing now that I am in dire need for a total hair intervention! I realize that its unconventional for me to orchestrate this whole thing, but i know you all love me and will support me in my decision to change. The above christmas picture shows my roots that are practically down to my neck. The cut is a little crazy and uneven as i have tried to trim it myself and i cannot continue to grow it out like this. My overall goal is to grow it out, but in the mean time i want something that will look good now AND as it grows.
PLEASE HELP!!!
I've never been one to go out and get my hair colored every 4 weeks or whatever is the norm, but is that what i need to do to make it look like a clean blonde hairstyle instead of my usual dirty blonde? What kind of cut will look good as it grows?
Also, I'd like to accomplish this on a budget-small budget.

Now i know that you girls have a wealth of knowledge in this area. I won't drop names, but i will say that i know most of you are more informed in this area than i am. HELP!!!

Fun Random Pictures

2009-02-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

Lets face it, everyone loves pictures. Blogs are more fun with visual aids!

This is a picture that i printed out in black and white to hang in my bathroom. I've gotten a lot of comments about it so i thought i'd share it on the blog.

Tawnya, me, and Taysia at the mall being...immature. Yep, thats what I'd call it.

This is from Taysia's birthday this weekend. Starting from the back left. Michaela and Jared, Robyn and Mitch, Joe, Noah, Me, and Ethan, Jed holding Spencer and Tawnya in front of them in black, Brittany, Brandon, and Cayla an the back right corner. Left front is Taysia and Jameson, then Joseph and Angela grabbing his butt.

This is our group that we spend our playtime with. We LOVE them!

P.S. This group is not exclusive. Anyone who wants to share their awesomeness with us is welcome, so please feel free to call us for some weekend fun!

My Crappy Day

2009-02-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

For the last few days, the bears have been putting out A LOT more messy diapers. They used to mess once a day, leaving only two poopy diapers a day. But this last week they have been leaving like 6 poopy diapers a day. Then on Thursday, they put it on overdrive and gave me NINE poopy diapers! NINE!!! So Friday morning when they woke up from their naps with clean bums i thought, "Oh, finally they are going back to normal". So i put them in the shower with me. Yep, you guessed it-Noah pooped in the bathtub! I was all alone, and so i jump out of the shower, dripping water and shampoo suds while i look for the wipes. Totally disgusted, i take care of the mess. I'm over it, and thinking that i'll have a story to make Joe appreciate me a little more. I get out and I'm getting lotion on Noah while Ethan splashes around in the bathtub until his turn. I looked up and smiled at him as he splashes away and SOMETHING BROWN splashes up AND STICKS TO HIS FACE!!!! I looked in the bathtub and Ethan has now pooped in the tub and SMASHED IT ALL AROUND with his splashing! He is sitting in his poop water with all of his bath toys that are all contaminated and disgusting-bleagh. That was my breaking point. Why couldn't they have gone during their naps, or if they just had to go in the tub, they could have at least done it all at once. Things just don't work out that way i guess. So here i am, crying in frustration as i try to take care of my poopy kid and his mess in the tub. I filled the tub with clorox water, leaving his toys in with it, and I go to deal with Ethan. I look in his bedroom and i found a little spit up on the rug (that i had just cleaned by hand) and in the milky vomit i see one small brown chunk. Please please please just let that be the meatball that he had with his dinner last night. I didn't investigate further because i was afraid of what it would mean if i was wrong. Thankfully I had already called my friend Tawnya in tears insisting that she come keep me sane. By this time she has arrived and she got the boys dressed for me so i could get ready to take the boys to an appointment. Thanks Tawnya, you are a lifesaver! I don't know what i would have done if you weren't here. I may have had only one child left after this weekend. And thanks Joe for taking care of the poopies the rest of the night and this morning. I'm so lucky to have such caring people around me.

Playing Peek-A-Boo

2009-02-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

This was so cute. Ethan started playing peek-a-boo with jessica earlier today. noah thought it was so funny that he joined in too. When I got home from school Ethan decided that he was the only one that wanted to show daddy so here it is.

Birthdays Come and Go

2009-01-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

Here are just some fun pictures of the boys' birthday. On thursday we cooked lobster tails. We figured it was cheaper than going out for my birthday. They were pretty good. Then on friday we had a group of friends from school and church come over and we ate sweet pork salads from Café Rio. They were fantastic. Jess did a great job. Then of course we ate cake and ice cream and let the boys enjoy their first cupcake. Noah ate two of them cuz he liked it so much. So anyway, here are the photos.