Off to Kindergarten!

Today begins an exciting new chapter in the Richardson house.  Bryce & Drew are starting Kindgergarten!!! Thankfully, both boys are excited and eager to start. 

We got to "meet the teachers" the other night and tour the school.  Mrs. Dunham and Mrs. Clarke are very nice.  The boys are also thrilled that their buddy, Cole, will be in their class.

Bryce & Drew are more than ready for Kindgergarten.  They have been doing really well with reading and math for quite awhile.  They love to learn.  They are very social.  And, they love structure & routine. 

For months, I have been hearing other Mom's say, "I can't believe my baby is going to start Kindergarten."  Or, "I'm so sad!  What am I going to do all day?"  Or, "It seems like just yesterday that I brought my baby home from the hospital.  How is this possible?"  Hmmmm...I can't say I share those same sentiments!  There is no sadness here!

I ADORE my boys.  I think they are AMAZING children.  They are so SWEET, FUNNY, SMART and an absolute JOY to be around.  I CHERISH them and I'm so BLESSED to be their Mom.  BUT...
This Mommy is excited for a little break!

One of the challenges I have as a Stay at home Mom is trying to balance everything I need to do at home while engaging and spending quality time with Bryce & Drew.  Trying to get it all done is simply impossible.  There is just not enough time in the day for laundry, cleaning house, cooking, meal planning, shopping, pool maintenance, appointments, errands, etc all while taking care of the boys -  playing with them, doing learning time with them, speech therapy with Drew, play dates, swimming, sports, doctor appts, etc.   It is a really hard balance and something often "gives." SO, with 6.5 hours of Kindgergarten, vs. 2.5 hours of PreK, I think I will actually be a better Mom.  I can better manage my day and get all of my "To Do's" checked off my list while they're at school.  Then, when I pick them up at 2:30, I can simply focus on spending time with them.  With the hot Georgia weather, we will still be able to swim for at least 2 more months. Bryce & Drew will also be starting Baseball and AWANA at church.  Our days will be full!

Of course, I plan to be very involved in their class and school, volunteering as much as possible.  I want to see what they're learning.  I want to see them interacting with others.  I want to hear their conversations with friends and teachers.  

With the hours left over, I am looking forward to quality time for ME and for JIMMY.  I'm excited to get into a regular workout schedule at the gym.  I'm looking forward to getting involved at church and starting a Bible study.  Also, looking forward to spending time building relationships with new friends.

When Jimmy is home, we are looking forward to spending quality time together.  Coffee in the morning with uninterrupted conversation!  Going to the gym together.  Kayaking Lk. Peachtree.  Going on daytime dates!  And getting home improvement projects done together.    

My dear friend, Christy(also a Mom of twins) told me soon after my boys were born to "Embrace and enjoy each phase of life with your boys. Don't be sad to start a new one." 
 
I am not sad.  I embrace this new phase of our lives.  It will be a positive experience!
Praying today for my little boys...that they will feel safe, secure and happy in this new place!  Also praying for their teachers....for extra energy, endurance and blessings as they guide and teach 18 little 5 year olds!

Home Sweet Home!

Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power from the ice storm. People are dying from hypothermia and treacherous conditions. It is so sad and devastating. Please join me in praying for those people!

Amazingly, after 5 1/2 days, our power came on yesterday. I truly thought it would be later next week before our power was restored because we live outside the city limits. We had driven home yesterday to pick up some more toys and clothing to take back to our condo when the power came back on! We were thrilled.

Jimmy left early this morning for a week so it was a relief to get settled back into our home before he headed out.

I received this cute cartoon the other day from my Mother-in-Law. It is titled "Winter Sucks." It pretty much sums it up!

Anyone else ready for Spring?

ICE-ICE-BABY!

Do you remember the song by Vanilla Ice called "Ice, Ice, Baby?" When Bryce was little, we used to sing that to him with his name inserted - "Bryce, Bryce, Baby!" He would smile and bounce to the beat!

On a more serious note, our area has been hit HARD by crippling ice storms. We have been without power for 3 days.

Around midnight on Monday, the baby monitor starting beeping, a sign that the power had gone off. We could hear the ice pelting down on the house. Jimmy retrieved the flashlights so he could turn our propane-powered fireplace on so we wouldn't freeze in the 20 something degree temps. Not long after, he got hit with the flu bug that all 3 of us had. There's nothing like puking by flashlight!

We had heard on the news that night that it only takes about 1/4 inch of ice to take down power lines. We had over 1 1/2 inches! We also heard that it could take several days to get our power back on. As we sat and watched as dozens of trees and branches snapped and fell from the weight of the ice, we decided it would be safest for us to vacate. We packed up a few bags and headed to a hotel in our town. This was the view of our trees in our backyard.

We had a fun few hours swimming in the pool and relaxing in our room, until 9pm when the power went off! It was time for bed anyway so we just went to sleep and thankfully stayed warm. At 8am we were awakened by several fire alarms going off - supposedly candles had been left burning. So, we packed up again and headed home.

In order to drive into our driveway, Jimmy had to cut down a huge tree that had fallen in the middle of the street. While he worked outside a few of our neighbors came over to warm up in front of our fireplace. The had run out of propane!

Then we heard that it could be several more days or even weeks before everyone's power was restored. I was exhausted from dealing with all of us having the flu. I had not slept for more than a few hours each night for over a week and I just didn't feel like "roughin it!" So, we packed up again and headed to the condos that we like to stay at in Branson.

We are so thankful for electricity. Hot water. Washer and dryer. COFFEE! TV. The internet. An oven and refrigerator!

Thank you God for protecting our family!

We will be here indefinitely...I'll keep y'all posted!

Pics from our neighborhood.

Individual Time

We started a new tradition today.

Each week we are going to try to set aside individual time with each of the boys. We see the importance of separating the two of them. They are always together. They play with the same toys. They eat together, bathe together, watch tv together, read books together, go to Sunday School together, ride in a double stroller together, etc... And, they are usually dressed in the same clothes (at least for the time being!)

The twin bond that they share is close and special. But we recognize that a little break every now and again is healthy and necessary!

Today, I chose to spend my "individual time" with Bryce. I have been spending a lot of time disciplining this sweet, strong-willed son of mine lately, so I was looking forward to fun time alone with him!

We spent some time playing with toys at our local educational/toy store. We enjoyed a nice lunch together and he helped me do our weekly grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and the health food store.

It felt very strange to have a "singleton!" I pushed a regular size grocery cart. I only had one diaper to change, one sippy cup to refill, one lunch to buy, one hand to hold and one sweet face to kiss.

After a few hours of special time with Bryce, we were both ready to get home to our Drew Bug! They were so happy to see one another...it resulted in NO NAP! Bryce repeatedly unzipped Drew's crib tent and crawled inside to be close to him. They just wanted be together!

To all of my mommy friends out there (mom's of multiples AND singletons)...do you have any fun traditions that you do individually with your children? Would love to hear your comments and ideas!

Y-IKE-S!

Last night was pretty eventful around here.

We felt the effects of Hurricane Ike all night long - 55+ mph winds and rain. It had such a huge force that the large trees in our yard were waving like grass! At one point we were preparing to bring the sleeping boys into our room because there were so many swinging trees outside their bedroom window. Thankfully, it began to die down.

We prayed all night long for safety and protection. God definitely answered our prayers! We woke up to a mess in our yard - lots of limbs, debris and leave, but no fallen trees.

Our neighbors were not so lucky. On our street alone there are over 10 huge trees completely uprooted and fallen. Jimmy and some of the neighbor men were up early cutting apart a tree that had fallen perfectly across the street. As we headed out for church Jimmy drove around to check on the other neighbors and an older couple had a tree crash down onto their home and through their kitchen! I'm not sure how, but they amazingly slept through the events! Jimmy stayed home to help him cut up the tree and remove it from his house!

Today is sunny and cool. Perfect weather for cleanup! I hope all of you that live in Ike's path are safe and sound!

HUGE Savings!

For those of you that have little bitties still in diapers or know someone that does, check this out!

Target is having a clearance on diapers. We use Pampers Baby Dry brand for the boys. A 116 count normally costs $27.99 per box but the clearance price is $19.58! That's more than an $8 savings on each box! I noticed they had Huggies and Luvs on clearance too.

Check out your local Target - I know each store is different.

On The Road Again and Other News!

We are leaving tomorrow for another road trip. We're headed to "The Big D", Dallas/Fort Worth, that is! We're so excited to see Unlce Jeff (Jimmy's bro) & some of our special friends, to eat some good "Tex-Mex" and to take the boys to the FW Zoo! I'll have lots of pics to share next week!

Also, my brother Eric arrived safely back in the good ole USA this past weekend after being in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the past 6 months. He will be on "leave" for about a month. We are so excited that he gets to be with his family. It's so hard for our military to be gone for so long from their loved ones. His daughter Jordyn is 2 days older than my boys - can you imagine how much she has changed since he saw her last? We are excited to get to spend time at his house in a few weeks.

Yep, or house is FOR SALE! We are hoping to get transferred back to DFW with Jimmy's job in the near future. We don't have a definite transfer date yet but Jimmy thinks it is best that we take advantage of "summer shoppers." So, if we sell, we'll just have to rent something for the time being. Until then, it's going to be lots of fun trying to keep our house clean and picked up for "showings" with 2 little toddlers running around!

Y'all have a great week!

Stupid Things Said To Twin Mamas

I DID NOT write this list. I found it on another mom of twin's blog.

Too funny - I laughed out loud!

15. "I could never do it." (Oh really. What would you do? Are you suggesting I put them on the curb with signs around their necks that say, "Free to a good home?)

14. "Do they have different personalities?" (No. They are the same human being divided into two parts.)

13. Said by a stranger, "They're identical, right?" Mom answers, "No. They're fraternal." Stranger response, "They are NOT!" (OK. You're right. I have no idea what I'm talking about. These are not my children. I thought it would be fun to borrow them from a mom down at Baby Gap. It's been more than an hour. I guess I should return them.)

12. "Are they 'paternal' twins?" (Yes. They have a father. There was only one virgin birth.)

11. "Just wait till they're older. It only gets harder." (Thank you. I woke up this morning hoping I'd receive a word of discouragement while pushing a cart of preschoolers down the cereal aisle.)

10. "When one cries, does he wake the other?" (No. Twins cannot hear each other's cries because they all communicate with their special telepathic language only.)

9. From a perfect stranger: "Were they in the same sac?" (Hello. Nice to meet you, too. Will you be sharing your gynecological history with me as well?)

8. "Are they developmentally behind?" (Well, let's see. They're 3 years old and thus far, all their graduate school applications have been denied. We'll get back with you on that.)

7. "How do you do it?" (Haven't you seen the Nike commercials?)

6. Said by a dentist: "I was shocked that they didn't have the same bite patterns." (They are two different human beings, not clones.)

5. "You must be SO busy." (Are you volunteering to clean my house?)

4. Said to a mom of fraternal twins who are different sizes, have different eye color and different face structure: "How do you tell them apart?" (I just look at them.)

3. "What do you do when they both cry at the same time?" (Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I go to Starbucks.)

2. Said to a mom of boy/girl twins: "Are they identical?" (Uh. Not exactly.)

1. Only one comment could be voted No. 1. The choice was clear. Drum roll, please. After a stranger had been informed that the toddler boys were twins, she asked a simple question: "Are they brothers?" (Enough said.)

A Heavy Heart

Several friends are experiencing painful losses right now and my heart is grieving with them and for them. Thankfully, they are strong in their faith and know deep-down that God is in control of their lives, but it still doesn't make the pain and grieving process go away. It is so natural to question God, "Why me?", "What did I do to deserve this?", "Why is that person blessed with what I'm grieving for?", etc. I have not personally experienced a loss like this but I have experienced loss. From 2001-2005 Jimmy lost 4 jobs and we struggled to get pregnant for 4 1/2 years. During our grieving process, we asked a lot of the same questions of God. Thankfully, during this difficult time, we grew closer together and most importantly to God. This song,You are God Alone, by my favorite Christian group Phillips, Craig and Dean was and is such an encouragement to me. It reminds me that God is mighty, sovereign and bigger than any loss we are experiencing. Is is a comfort to know that even when things are changing in my world, Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."