Evening Routine

Q: I'd like you to describe your typical day.

4:00-6:30

• Make dinner
• Play/entertain kids anything to distract them from wanting to eat and dirtying the house.
• Coloring time, puppets, tea time, their baby reading movie, etc.
  

6:00- Til End of Day

• Talmage comes home, the highlight of our day!
• Eat dinner
• Clean up
• Hang out as a family if nothing else is going on.
• Occasionally exercise
• Swimming
  
• Mondays - FHE
• Tuesday & Wednesday - These are the days Talmage does ward missionary stuff, which means I stay home and do homework, browse internet or clean.
  
• Thursday - Baseball, but not all the time
• Fridays - Date night - which normally consist of watching a movie at home on our computer

Midday Routine

Q: I'd like you to describe your typical day.

11:30 to 1:30

• Kids sleep.
  
• Homework, homework, homework
  
• Browse the computer
• Paint, best time to paint. It is hard to stop what I am doing, clean my hands and tend to their needs, plus they will get to anything I put down.

1:30 to 3:30

• If I wasn't smart enough to run errands in the morning, I do it during this time, which is normally what happens. I almost always do the grocery shopping, etc. when Talmage is gone, I would rather spend time with Talmage then go when he is home, even if it means dealing with whinny kids.
• Clean and listen to conference or Book of Mormon, if I didn't get to earlier.
  
• Visit friends
• Work on projects.
• Occasionally exercise. When it was cooler I use to walk/ride bike to do majority of errands, I still do but not near as often. I also did clogging on Tuesdays but they stopped for summer too. I try to yoga and stuff like that at home but not consistent
  

Morning Routine

Q: I'd like you to describe your typical day.
A: I broke this question into three posts to make it short and sweet and to the point. So here is my morning routine for ya.

7:00 wake up with the kids

• Kids eat breakfast.
• I sit at the table and drink something cold (normally water but on occasion OJ or cranberry juice). Unless Talmage is home then I eat breakfast with all of them. But during the week days I don't see him until he comes home in the evening.
• If they aren't grumpy when they wake up, I'll get dressed while they are playing.
• Clean something that they can't undo (dishes, laundry, etc.)
• Or I'll sit on the couch, read something or watch the Morning Show.
• When they are done eating, I generally let them play in their little kiddy pool on the back porch. It is my lazy way of getting them all clean from breakfast and they like it.
• Sometimes I'll put on Animal Atlas, a kids TV show. I feel like we both can learn from it, it has real animals which they love and it doesn't seem like one those cartoons that melt their brains.

8:30 to 10:00

• I'll grab something light to eat, I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I haven't been digging it lately, especially in my first trimester (which I am now out of, no more bad morning sickness!!! Wishful thinking, I still have morning sickness.)
• Clean and listen to conference or Book of Mormon. The kids generally play during this time.
• Read, if they will let me, they normally want to take my book.
• Maybe get on the computer, big maybe. (I try not to get on it with the kids around because first they sit on my lap, then they want to touch the keyboard/mouse, then they want to crawl on the desk... basically if you give a mouse a cookie...).
• Do homework.
• Take kids to park if it is cool enough
• If I am smart I run errands because it is cooler than outside and I love how friendly and welcoming stores are during this time

10:30 to 11:30

• Feed kids lunch and eat something more substantial.
• Put the kids down for their nap

Grad School

Grad school has been on our minds for months.If you click on the image you will be able to see the little flags representing the grad schools Talmage is interested in. He made this map especially for me, aren't I a lucky girl!

Here is his list, it may change, but for now it is what it is:

Top Ten Schools and Degrees in Order of Preference (more or less)

1. George Mason University - M.S. in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering
2. Virginia Tech - M.S. in Civil Infrastructure Engineering
3. University of North Carolina - Public Works Engineering & Administration
4. Arizona State University - M.S. in CE or Sustainability
5. University of Texas at Arlington - MS or M.Engr in CE with an infrastructure systems research focus.
6. Stanford - M.S. in CEE: Sustainable Design and Construction (SDC)
7. University of Maryland - M.S. in CE in Civil systems
8. St. Louis University - Masters of Engineering in Sustainable Infrastructure Design
9. Notre Dame University - M.S. in Civil Engineering
10. University of Wisconsin - Masters of CE with a focus in Engineering & City Planning

Any Others????

Let me in, pleeeeeeeease.

So I changed my email, which changed my blog ID and now I can't get into all the privatized blogs I was a member of. Pretty, pretty please let me in.

Two Peas in a Pod

For the last three nights they have been sleeping in Hannah's bed. We love peaking in on them and watching them sleep. It is even cuter to see them end up in the same bed. It's moments like this that make life so wonderful.

And the Little One Said "Roll Over"

My niece Dana said...

Do they ever roll off the bed??? Those are rich beds!!!!!!!

The answer is yes. Doesn't both the beds side by side look so cute and twin-like? But it didn't work for Hebs. His bed is the far one and is easy to roll off of. I had to either spend twenty bucks on a rail for him or move his bed against the wall.

In the end moving it was the most practical to me. So here ya go. I like it and it seems to open their room up.

Is toilet water drinkable?

This is the first question I got in our All Ears Comment Area.

See side bar

I am so giddy with excitement! Comment person, probably Kimball, you just made my day!
OK, on to answering the question. I found a little info on bacteria and toilets:
Bacteria such as E. Coli that reside inside the toilet pose a greater risk than bacteria found on the surface of a toilet seat. Bacteria from the inside of the toilet pose the greatest risk when the toilet is flushed as they are present in the water that sprays out, and can be easily inhaled. Bacteria is also found underneath the toilet seat.

Toilet water is drinkable. Hans and Hebs have proven this. Should you drink it, I'm going to say NO.
Now lets play a game, who can spot one of Hebs favorite "toys". I'll give you a hint, I always have to keep my bathroom door shut because of it and the thought that he likes getting it any chance he can should gross you out.

If you want to make a comment or have a question, and make my day too, I'm All Ears.

Twin's Twin Beds

Heber and Hannah have moved from cribs to twin beds. I like it because we can read to them easier before they go to be. I also like it because they wake up in the morning and go to playing and don't need me to get them out of bed. That means I get to sleep in almost everyday til seven or so.The white head boards actually where one bed that had I when I was single. The foot boards came from a bed I found on craigslist for $20 cold, hard cash. The rails on each are a mix-match combination of the two beds.

Ultrasound

I had an ultra sound, once again they're absolutely sure that there is just one baby. I am about 14 weeks along now and my official due date is January 14. My next ultrasound is in 6 weeks and that's when we are going to find out the gender if we haven't already (see pic below).The ultrasound made me more baby hungry. Watching the little one in me was truly amazing.

Painting

I finished a painting I did for a friend of the family, Andy. This is the second custom painting he has paid me to do for him. It is a painting of the Nauvoo Temple. It is a fairly good size painting, about 3 x 4 ft. It took a few months, I think I started it back in March. When I first started it all the lines where clean and formal, I changed it up a bit to give it a more whimsical feel. This isn't the greatest camera but it gives you the idea. I am happy with how it turned out.

I am going to take a break fro painting for a while. It requires a level of paint supplies that I can't constantly keep up with. My painting craving might be back in time to do a painting for a Christmas present. We'll see.

Little Sickling

Heber has been a sick little guy for the past three days. I think he might be getting better, but I have thought that a couple times though. The croup is no easy stroll in the park. If your kid is thinking about the croup I recommend the following:

• Humidifier by his crib with Vicks night and day during naps
• Vicks on stomach and feet
• Cough medicine
• Wet towel around neck
• Breathing machine with saline
• Electrolyte baby drink
• Dr. Appointment
• Prescriptions with hormones
• Sleepless nights
• Patience
• Lots of Prayers

I have to admit that he is so cute when he is sick. He is so cuddly. And his harsh sick voice and droopy eyes just tugs at my heart strings.

Update

I went to the doctor yesterday. She said that I didn't feel big enough to be having twins again. (sigh of relief) She said I am around 9 to 10 weeks along. I have my first ultrasound next Thursday and I will find out when my exact due date is, etc.

Now I need to go back to taking care of Heber, he has the croup. He was barking like a little baby seal all night last night. We, mostly Talmage, was up with him all last night. Dad of the year award.