Yesterday we found out that I am carrying ONE tiny beautiful little bean. Just one. Just one baby to wake up with, to feed, to swaddle. Although it would have been (a little) exciting to have two sets of multiples we are soo happy to just have one healthy little one! We are eight weeks in and the babe is roughly one inch long- the head is on the left side of the picture and you can kind of see a little arm bud coming straight out of the top. It's weird that the next ultrasound we have won't be for another 10-12 weeks. I'm so used to seeing my babies once a month and at the end almost every week!

Posted by Brooke* at Friday, May 29, 2009 |    

There are moments in life where you stop, the world around you fades, and you see- you really see.

Today I had a moment. As I watched my 21 month old babies set their sights on the biggest inflatable slide you have ever seen I realized that my beautiful children are coming into themselves. Their personalities are growing. They are becoming more and more themselves everyday. It is fascinating.


We have fostered an independent spirit in both our children and it has become FIERCE. There is no stopping those two. And who would try?! I love that they make so many decisions on their own. They know what they want and when. And I am soo ok with that. You want shredded wheat instead of Kix today? You got it. No milk on yours Fin? No problem. You want to pour the juice all by yourself Parker? Why not. The pink dress instead of the shorts? Sure. You'll only wear Parker's size-too-big-for-you-green-frog-rain-boots? Whatever. No more sippy cups for you P? I don't mind cleaning up a few spills.

I love that they make decisions all by themselves. Yes, sometimes it takes them a minute of indecision but they always arrive at their intended desire.

We gave up the stroller months ago. Same thing with the high chairs and booster seats. Buckle them into restriction? Not a chance. They walk freely through stores and sit in normal chairs at restaurants. They listen when we say they've gone a little too far or to stay on the sidewalk while we buckle the other into the car or to hold hands in a parking lot.

They do this because we trust them. A funny thing happens when you trust your children. They trust you back. Why rebel when there is nothing to rebel against? Why run away when you're always free?

We treat them like big kids and they act like it. Their manners are impeccable. Their empathy towards others often melts my heart. What 21 month old do you know that hugs all of her friends the second she sees them or makes sure to kiss the dog before she leaves the house (even if said dog is all the way upstairs) or when she opens the fridge (all by herself) to get her milk she always gets and delivers Parker's his first? It is amazing to watch.

I never made the connection that fearlessness goes hand in hand with independence- but it does, and it makes sense. My children are fearless. This is not to stay Finley doesn't have her timid moments. She takes a minute to warm up to new situations but once warm, watch out. They mastered the biggest slides at the playground months ago, they both dunk their heads under water without being prompted, they can hang with the big kids and often prefer to do so.


Sometimes I stand in the kitchen listening to them playing with one another, giggling nonstop, and forcing myself to leave them alone. It's bittersweet. My playmates don't need me in order to play anymore...

Posted by Brooke* at Wednesday, May 27, 2009 |    

I am not a very glamorous pregnant woman.

I puke. A lot. At least three times a morning. Usually once or twice around dinner. Oh, and lately there's been a time or two in the early AM hours. Nothing like jumping out of a nice warm bed to hug the toilet.

I sleep a lot too. My bedtime has shifted from 10pm ish to around 8pm. Any later and I puke. I take naps now too. Some would be jealous of these two to three hour siestas, however, these precious hours are the only alone time I get. Now, they are spent sleeping. Yes. Do the math. I am sleeping upwards of FOURTEEN HOURS a day. Somehow I still feel exhausted.

I eat a lot too. Boy oh boy do I eat. I'm not sure where doctors get off saying that you shouldn't gain one single measly pound during the first THREE months of being pregnant. Have they ever been pregnant before?! If I don't eat (a lot) I puke (a lot).

I like to eat dairy and carbohydrates. It is really the only things my stomach can handle. Bagel and cream cheese, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, cheese and crackers, Cheetos, pizza. You know, the healthy stuff.

I haven't worked out in weeks. I'm not sure where I would fit it in. Between the puking, eating and sleeping there really isn't any time.

My 'symptoms' (as the doctor likes to call them) are just as equally bad this time around as last time. Which makes me wonder just how many babies I'm growing. Maybe I'm being dramatic (as my mom likes to say) but I think it's triplets this time.

I have no other excuse for my pants getting this snug this soon...

Posted by Brooke* at Tuesday, May 26, 2009 |    

There is some trepidation when I write the word 'five.' Something tells me I may be jinxing myself into another set of twins...four under three, wouldn't that be grand?! Baby (ies) Meek will be joining us on or around January 5th and we are beyond excited about their impending arrival!

Posted by Brooke* at Friday, May 22, 2009 |    

I try very hard to encourage the babes to play without me. I think it's important for imagination and independence. Today they journeyed down to the basement all by themselves. I was very excited indeed. As I did the dishes in the kitchen I could hear laughs and a few fights (another thing we are trying very hard to do- stay out of their arguments and let them figure it out by themselves) but all in all happy playing toddlers. Then I heard silence. Silence for just a little too long.

I peeked my head downstairs and heard Fin quietly saying, "oooh, nooo, oooh nooo." This is what I found...


Green crayon. Does anyone want to place bets as to when my toddler will stop eating EVERYTHING?!

Posted by Brooke* at Friday, May 15, 2009 |    

I went to the zoo today with a good friend. We were looking at the warthogs. Both Parker and Finley were standing on the first rung of the wooden fence. I was standing with Fin, my friend was standing next to Parker.

While I was making grunting pig noises I look over to see a nun in full habit rushing to my son's aid. He was on his head, feet in the air, in the pen with the warthogs. Apparently being very tall with a big head has its disadvantages. In his excitement he had leaned over and fallen right in.

Don't worry a nun was their to save him.

No urgent care was necessary and, in fact, Parker was back on the fence as soon as we rescued him from the charging animals.

Posted by Brooke* at Wednesday, May 13, 2009 |    

After a glorious evening of BBQ and eating outdoors we decided to head for ice cream. I'm not sure who was more excited, me or the babes who kept screaming 'cho-lat' 'cho-lat.'

Our custard stand sits in the middle of a parking lot with some lovely plastic tables and chairs behind a complementing plastic fence. We ordered and dove in. I was having no problem with my medium (which I will admittedly tell you is gargantuan) grasshopper concrete, when our children decided to dart in different directions. Brian looked at me and said, 'you're on Parker, I'll take Fin.' This is relatively common speak when you have twins- you simply cannot watch them both by yourself. We tag team these types of situations.

Parker soon came back to the table and while I was helping him with his bowl full of chocolate-whip cream-sprinkled delightfullness our daughter had decided it would be a good idea to run into the parking lot. Way to go tag team. Luckily for us their was a very nice gentleman who scooped her up and brought her back to us. Nothing more embarrassing than claiming your daughter while you have green ice cream dripping down your chin. He too was there with two little ones- one was four, the other 2. Soon the children began playing together and we began chatting. This was about the same time Parker and Finley started using the concrete stops (you know those things that you park in front of to stop your wheels from going into the store?) as balance beams. Great idea.

Out of nowhere the very nice man pulled out his card and said to us, "if you ever need anything I run the urgent care center across the street." He then proceeded to give us his hours of operation and I believe ended with a 'we'll see you soon.'

I always tell people that I have very active children. What I did not know was that when they meet them they instead see 'accident waiting to happen.'

Posted by Brooke* at Tuesday, May 12, 2009 |    

Brian was on-call tonight. When it's just me and the babes we read our nighttime books in our big glider. Tonight was no different.

We were all wearing shorts and as Fin climbed up my legs to get into my lap she let out a long exaggerated "ooooouchhhh."

Me: "What happened Fin?"

Fin: (pointing to my legs) "Oh yuuuck"

Me: "You don't like Mommy's leg hair?!" (I hadn't shaved in two days)

Fin: (looking confused) "Hair?" Then pointed to her own hair looked down at my legs confused that their would be hair there, then took both hands and rubbed them back and forth before saying, "Gross hair."

Nice Fin. She refused to sit on my lap for stories until I had changed into pants. Something tells me this is just the beginning...

Posted by Brooke* at Monday, May 11, 2009 |    

My Mother's Day was spent in airports- 10 hours of it anyways. From LAX to MSP to STL- a very long trip.

The babes had a fabulous weekend at the Butterfly House, the park, Grant's Farm and Grandma's while I was away. They made me these for Mother's Day...


Perfect for the new gardens that we planted a few weeks earlier (all the plants and flowers and mulch were Mother's Day presents from my fabulous husband). When we moved in this garden (and the one in the back corner) was non-existent- not bad for one season.


We also planted an organic veggie garden and worked on our front yard...

Posted by Brooke* at Sunday, May 10, 2009 |    

When I was 15 my parents bought me a cell phone. In this day and age having a cellular at 15 doesn't seem like that big of deal. When I was 15 it was HUGE.

My first phone had this little mouthpiece that folded up and down like an operator. I was kind of embarrassed by it so I made my Dad return it and get me a different one (I totally deserve the high maintenance daughter God blessed me with).

My parents have been paying my cell phone bill ever since. A whopping 12 years of cell phone bills. I remember a few months (back in the day) that bill being well over $1,000 A MONTH (not all my fault- my brother and father contributed to it too). What can I say? I like to talk.

Today is an historical day. I officially canceled the ol' Sprint account and we started up our own (well, in Dr. Meek's name anyways). The days of yellow and black bills are over- not that they were being sent to my house or anything.

Brian and I have officially gotten with the program and have become cool again. We now have the internet on our phones. Exciting right?! I kind of feel like I did when I was 15 and I was one of the few who could proudly say "I have a cell phone" (insert totally snobby/valley girl voice here). Not only can I Google Map my way out of a bind but I am doing it on a spiffy new iPhone. Yup, that's right.


It gets even better. Not only do we have internet, unlimited calling, unlimited texting, picture mail, two new iPhones (paid for by Barnes) BUT it only costs us $90 a month (got to love the Doctor discount of 24%. You can be jealous. I would be)! Woo hoo! Considering we were paying over $50 for just B's phone with Sprint I would say it's totally worth it...

Your welcome Mom! I mean, thank you Mom for all those years of paying my cell phone bill.

I am officially all grown up.

Posted by Brooke* at Tuesday, May 05, 2009 |    

I kind of forgot about this little series of mine...I have made some serious progress on the homefront and am sure that much more will be made in the coming months (I have a plan).

There was nothing really 'wrong' per se with our upstairs bathroom, but not one to leave things well enough alone the demo began on June 2- the day we closed on the house. That afternoon I ripped enough things out to fill a small dumpster. Among them, were the metal mini blinds (eww, so gross) over the window, a Target-esque shelf over the toilet, the sconces on either side of the mirror, and of course the shower curtain (three things to ALWAYS buy new when you move in 1) toilet seats, 2) shower curtains, 3) a dishwasher).

We installed new lights, painted, put up plantation shutters and accessorized. It was REALLY hard to find kid-like bathroom stuff that wasn't too girly, wasn't too boyish, and wasn't too kiddy. I found towels, etc. at PB Kids (my total go-to) and had everything ready to go in my cart when I realized that maybe spending $600 on monogrammed towels, a shower curtain, and a bath mat was a little silly...


The next week I found this shower curtain at Target on clearance for $8- it was the starting point. Then soon after I was forced into a WalMart (to buy the Munchkin snack traps- which are awesome but the only place you can buy them is the oh-so-yucky-WalMart) and found a matching rug for $15. We had the white towels we were using in our bathroom embroidered and ta-da! A new bathroom....

Posted by Brooke* at Friday, May 01, 2009 |