Mommy Day

My Mother's Day was ssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooo perfect! I loved every second of it. Robert made sure every part was perfect! He got me a cologne that was my favorite brand - Ed Hardy - that we can't afford to ever buy cuz it's WAY pricey! Yet the kids picked the exact one. And it really is great!




Then I also got a personalized cake! How much better can it be?!?! I got to take a nap while the kids and Rob made me a funfetti cake! Rob even substituted the frosting for the reduced sugar and added sprinkles :)








I think that my day was absolutely PERFECT! I feel so lucky to be a mom. I don't feel like a day to recognize it is really needed. I feel appreciated every day from the twins & Rob. But it's not every day I get homemade stuff to spoil me!!! I L-O-V-E that stuff!!!! It's kinda my fault though cuz i made a "holiday rule" - the kids have to do something homemeade every holiday, even if it's just a card. I don't want every holiday to be about expensive gifts. I want things from the heart because they have such big hearts that gush when you talk to them about loving people.... It's so great!!! :) i have such amazing boys.... all 3 of them!

The day pretty much started after my nap at 2 while I was still grounded to my room while the cake finished. I got a thoughtful phone call from Aunt Elaine. It truly gave me a great start to the day. Just thinking about it makes me teary. Sometimes it's just nice to get a "thank you" phone call! But never expected thats what made it so great! a genuine Happy Mother's Day along with a great compliment and a Thank You. It was a great beginning to a fantastic day!!! I just hope her day was as great as mine!

We also went to my grandparents' house for a BBQ which wiped me out! Lots of people and a new medication made me really sleepy so we left in a hurry so we could make it to "Grandma Chicken's" LOL. I wish we could have gone there earlier so we could spend more time. But grandma Marty loved her paper flowers the kids made & picture frames. There is still one gift that takes a few days to dry (we didn't anticipate such a long drying time!) so she is waiting on that one, bless her heart!. It was important to us this year to do homemade gifts. They seemed to go over well. I took the kids to a class at Michael's to learn how to make the flowers & we did the flowers and picture frames with my best friend's kids that they LOVE playing with. (They are the older boy and little girl you see in the cookie/cupcake decorating pictures w/ the twins all the time. We do lots of play dates. We try for every week.)

Well, it's late and I'm gonna read for a bit since Rob is at work.... I never sleep much on the nights he works. I feel too guilty!

G'night all!!!

Be Spontaneous!

So yesterday me and Chris decided to take the kids to the new Childrens Museum. It is a tad on the pricey side but they had fun so it was worth it! Since it was a very last minute decision I didn't have my camera. Here are some pics I was able to get with my phone. There aren't any good ones of Carter cuz he couldn't sit still long enough to get a pic. :) It was a blast! I love my weekly outings with the kids. Each week gets better and better!







And here are some pics of how I have the windows for Easter along with one pic of Carter while he was pouting... so cute!

Short & Sweet?

Family update...

I always start these with no clue what to say and they end up being a novel. I have every intention of this being short and as sweet as possible ;)

Rob is still workin away and doing everything possible for everyone. He is looking forward to Softball starting in a few weeks.

I am still loving the time with the kids! I have taken up a new hobby - baking. I am having so much fun with it! I have gotten SO much stuff for decorating cupcakes and cookies. I don't know why I started with that little obsession but the boys love earning cupcakes or cookies. (Now I have quite the collection of baking extras :D )When they each get 10 eggs on their behavior chart they get a reward. In the last few weeks, a few of the things we've done is go to the library twice, 2 play dates, cookies & cupcakes w/ their friends... fun stuff!




















The boys are doing well. We are looking into starting them in separate preschool classes. They need the time away from eachother and with more kids.

It is late and I'm tired.

Peace out

Shelby

The Big 7-0!!

Recently my great grandparents celebrated their 70th Wedding Anniversary! In an age where 7 years seems like an eternity, I cannot help but be amazed. Their child-like playfulness is often lost in our own lives.

People marry later and divorce sooner. Yet, here we have a couple who married at 19 & 17.... 70 years later they can still look at each other with a love we all can only hope to find.

The family that has spread so far away, came together again. We came for many reasons -but in the end it was the same.... to show two amazing people how much we love them and hopefully show them what has grown from their years together. We gathered as their friends & family. Children & grandchildren. Great-grandchildren & even great-great-grandchildren! What a sight we must be.

The Birthday Edits

Well well well. It has been a while - or at least so it seems. We have been working on repainting a lot of the boys' room. Some of what was put on their wall was not exactly ... child friendly. GREAT! It was all done by a 20yr old guy who is expecting his own child. I can't believe it! Sadly, I can actually. All I can say is PAYBACKS ARE A BITCH! I believe in Karma and he will get his!

As for the rest of their room - it is really fun! It's just a bunch of fun wacky colors all over! Even their decorations. I got a bunch of Dr. Suess stuff to put up on their walls. I got them some bean bags, organizers, totes, and I am having some shelves & cubbyholes built that we'll paint. I'm setting up a "reading corner" since they love books & I want to make sure their room stays for a few years. I've also been looking at some of those inter-locking foam mats for their floor. They are expensive though. We have been able to get more and do more with their room because of Christina being so generous. It has allowed us to put in that reading area and get more storage. We did buy them swim suits from aunt C also. I figured she'd love that.

Anyway- I'm excited and look forward to their new pad

Twins 3rd birthday

It has been a while since my last post. The past week we have had a few things to write about. I do feel bad about not writing. I have been avoiding an update but won't anymore.

First, the boys celebrated their 3rd birthday. What an amazing journey it has been. My children have graduated from the "infant" clothing section and are officially in "toddler". My babies aren't babies anymore. That is the hardest thought. I of course should know it - but still!!!

• We decided to redecorate the boys' bedroom to something that is closer to their age. Wow, that was an experience! We painted the walls crazy kid colors. The ceiling is bright yellow. Followed by one wall of blue, purple, red & green.
  

• For the party we wanted every one to put their personal touch on it and paint something on their wall. That had mixed results. Repainting is needed in areas and we LOVE the personal touches given.

• People were very generous to the boys. They got a big tent that has been up in the living room for the past week. They also got a basketball hoop which they love. Lots of money for the bank - it may go towards their bedroom but haven't decided yet. There was only one gift that we needed to return because it was too small. Now we will be using the store credit towards things to help decorate their new room. It is much appreciated!

A couple days after the twins' birthday the twins & I met an old friend for breakfast. It was great! I met-up w/ her on myspace about a year ago. We went to Jr. High and high school together - though we didn't talk in high school. We were such great friends before. I was so happy to catch up w/ her. I have to admit that I did brag about her ;) She is so amazing. I am jealous! She just got her nursing license. She spent time rebuilding houses after Katrina. How cool is that?!?! I admire her a lot. She is such an amazingly genuine person. So positive. Ifound myself being very uncomfortable yet comfortable. Confusing, I know. I felt akward because she gave such wonderful & genuine compliments (they still will make me cry if I think too much about them). It is nice to hear that I'm a loving & patient mother (from someone besides Rob ;) Other than that I felt so comfortable talking to her. I even asked her to come back to the house to talk more. I don't ever like people coming to the house. Or usually talking. So it was really good. I can't wait to do it again! It would be awesome to have it become a regular thing. I think Rob appreciated us getting out of the house also. He got some extra sleep while we were gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~By the way... I know you're reading this Miss Tami & I had this part of my post written days ago... promise I wouldn't say something nice just to make you feel good! LOL ;) You know I'm honest to a fault so it's your turn for a compliment SUCKA!~~~~~~~~~~~


This past couple weeks I have had some medication changes on the physical & psychological sides. What a difference! Things have been better than they have been. So I have to learn my limitations so I dont hurt my self being too active. Yesterday I decided to take the twins on a walk to the library. We stayed there for a couple hours. They had a great time! I loved it! I'm hurting pretty bad today though... so small steps. But we're going in the right direction.

I, too, have a dream

So I must admit that I have never been really fond of Presidential Inaugurations of the past. This year is very different for a number of reasons. First is because I am VERY excited that George W. is G-O-N-E, GONE!!! Second, I am hopeful that all of the controversy and questionable decisions from the past 8 years will come to an end. I will hope for the best while awaiting much needed health plan reforms. The most important thing that I will witness tomorrow is creating hystory. I am proud to be a part of such a monumental step forward.

This is not so much about the candidate I voted for winning. This is about an amazing man who is also African-American. I only hope that those who did not vote for Barrack Obama can see past political parties and platforms. Tomorrow is a landmark. We all should be proud to be able to say, “I remember when the FIRST African-American became President.” I feel that watching him being sworn in to office (even watching just the Acceptance Speech) is such an honor. I imagine being able to tell the boys about this time years from now. Obama’s Acceptance Speech was the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. There were tears across the Nation that night. We cried not in excitement of our future but remembering the changes in our past.

I can’t help but wonder where our society would be if not for the path that was paved by people like: James Meredith, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.

I can’t help but be excited to see where we are going.

SNYDER

WARENSKI

Christmas Fiasco Pt. II

Here is a short slide show of our Christmas Season.

Christmas Fiasco Pt. I

This Christmas we definitely had to make more with less. It was very important that my family experience more than flying boxes, torn wrapping paper & gifts that have a life-span of 24hours. Despite my failed attempt at making EDIBLE Dutch food earlier in the month, I was determined to try again. I promised Rob croquettes and I intended to follow-through. The challenge was, of course, making VEGETARIAN croquettes. We do have a substitute for ground beef but it won't stick together to form the ball. I was able to find a recipe for Potato cheese croquettes. I went CRAZY! I had never eaten a croquette before - I had NO CLUE about sizes, shapes, and especially how much one batch would really make. So I TRIPLED the batch!!! Holy shit! I had more than enough to experiment with!



I experimented with cooking methods. I can't eat them deep-fried so I tried baking, pan-frying, and deep-frying. The various methods did affect the taste a lot. The pan-fried (I used PAM non-stick spray) I didn't care for. I think the PAM burnt. The oven baked was actually really good and no grease was used. It took longer but its a healthy alternative! Once I started deep-frying them, the mouths started watering! They were so good! I was impressed with myself!



The process took a long time but was well worth it. I don't think it would have taken so long if I knew how to do it. Next time I don't think it'll take near as long.