Wife Wednesday

I have a bad cold and I'm too tired to write a for real blog.

Rob and I went on a road trip Monday. He spoke at JMU's Greek Intervarsity & did an amazing job. I am always amazed by him and his talents. We had a great time on the road trip with lots of uninterrupted time together. We discovered that we have checked off most of the things on our bucket list, so we started new lists. We talked about the best and worst parts of being married to each other. We made out like teenagers. We talked about dream vacations. We drove there and back in one day and realized we aren't spring chickens anymore. We were strugglin'! Ha!

I just love time with Rob. We decided it is the best to be married to our best friend.

Twin Tuesday

While we were in California, our dear friends Stacy and Angie played dress up and took photos of the twins. They surprised us with these outfits & pictures for the twins' birthday! Enjoy!

Coolest pic ever.

He's basically a model. Ha.

I love these kids. I love Stacy and Angie. I love how much they love our kids. I love being surprised because I am rarely ever surprised. I also can't believe I have two 2 year olds. 

When was the last time you were surprised?

Manic Monday

Much like robshep.com's Mind Dumps, Manic Monday is a snapshot of all the random excitement inside my head.

• What a weekend!
• On Friday, we went to the zoo with just us and the kids. It was so fun and so special. Their favorite moment was when the giraffe started peeing. They thought that was hilarious.

• On Saturday, our sweet twins turned 2! We started the morning at the Bounce House in Williamsburg with Nicole, Jon, Connor, & Brody (aunt, uncle, & cousins). My kids couldn't have been happier to be with them. Jump! Jump! Jump! Is what they kept saying.
• Reese was really scared at first, but finally bounced with Nicole. Hayden went all out, even on the big inflatable slides. 

Jumping, tackling, and laughing together!

Daddy and the birthday girl!

• When we got home, they took a great nap. Afterwards, we headed to our friends' Tim & Nancy's house for dinner with lots of other friends from church. It was great!
• Sunday was Easter! It's probably my favorite holiday because it is the most important to our faith. Christmas is great, but my eternity depends on a Savior who wasn't just born, but defeated the grave and conquered death. 
• We put together two Easter baskets for the kids with a handful of clearance items collected over the last three months, little trinkets from Christmas from friends & family they never got to, and things literally from their baskets from last year (not food- ha). They also got their first Easter candy- jelly beans, a lollipop, and a chocolate yellow duck! They loved everything!

• They had more sugar this weekend than ever in their life! Besides their party next Saturday, they are done with direct sugar. :) For kids that don't drink juice, they were acting like crack addicts.
• We had our Shepherd family Easter breakfast (minus Uncle Jon b/c he was sick) and it was delicious like always. For someone on Atkins, big breakfasts are great! Omelets, bacon, and ham! I even resisted the biscuits, but did eat two hash browns and a small dessert.

I made Tastefully Simple's Almond Pound Cake which is one of my favorite desserts ever!

• I whipped it up in The Pampered Chef's small batter bowl and baked it in our mini loaf stone pan. Added a dollop of Cool Whip and it was amazing!
• I love that Reese and Hayden get to live nearby at least two of their cousins. Every day I wish that we were all nearby, but I'll take what I can get! Reese and Hayden are mildly obsessed with Connor and Brody. Here's one of my favorite's from yesterday!

• At 6 pm we had our 2nd Easter service at Next Level Church. I can't believe it's been a year! What an amazing year it's been! It was an amazing service and I am honored to be a part of it all.
• After a great weekend, we have an amazing week ahead of us. I love celebrating!
• On Monday, we are taking the kids to my parents for an overnighter while me and Rob head to JMU for him to speak at Intervarsity. We love road trips & they've always been one of our favorite things to do together. We aren't spending the night, but driving home afterwards. It'll be a long but fun night. 
• I'll drag myself out of bed Tuesday morning to go get the kids & hope to run some errands. 
• Wednesday is our day to spend with Nicole & the boys- always a favorite day!
• Thursday will be birthday party prep day for the twins.
• On Friday, I head to the first bridal shower for Shima in Virginia Beach. I. Can't. Wait. 
• On Saturday, we are having the twins' 2nd birthday party. It's a Toy Story theme for obvious reasons! Here's the invite! 

I think it is too cute!

• I cannot wait to celebrate with the kids. They are at such a fun age.
• On Sunday, I'm attending a baby shower for my dear friend, Kate, who is having a sweet baby girl! I can't wait!
• My best friend's (Courtney) birthday is this week too! We'll celebrate her Saturday night.
• Party, party, party!
• I need to book some April Pampered Chef shows- let me know if you're interested in hosting a live cooking show or a Facebook show. The host rewards are amazing this week!

What's going on with you this week?

Thinner Thursday

I'm finally over ten pounds lost and staying there! I am at 11.4 pounds lost. Love it! I've even started adding carbs here and there in small moderation, and I'm not losing control. That might sound crazy to some of you, but not to me. I could eat a whole bag of chips or box of cookies and not think twice. We haven't eaten pizza in 5 weeks. That's the longest Rob has ever gone without pizza. He hasn't had a Chipotle burrito since before our California trip or even had rice in his bowls there. We have no frozen pizza or frozen french fries in our freezer. We've only been out to eat once since last week's blog, and we went to Plaza. I ordered a carb free dinner, but I did have some chips. I'm good with that now. My kids turn two on Saturday. I will have a piece of cake to celebrate that. I'm feeling good about these changes. Now I begin adding exercise!! My goal for this upcoming week is to get in at least two exercise "sessions" whether that is a long walk or a work-out upstairs via DVD. Wish me luck!

Any workout videos/DVDs work for you in the past or now?

Wife Wednesday

Relationships and buying a used car have a lot in common. You have to ask the right questions before you get in a relationship with a person (and while you are in a relationship) and when you buy a used car. If you don't ask the right questions, there will be surprises that catch you off guard and could cause bitterness. For relationships and the used car, it can be expensive if you don't ask the right questions.

We recently purchased a used van (that I LOVE) from a friend that I also love! We were eager and excited, and we exchanged the necessary & required information. They were wide open with us and answered all of our questions. However, I don't think we asked enough questions or the right questions (they were totally honest & would have answered any questions if we had asked them).

The van needed four new tires and all of its 100,000 mile maintenance work done a week after we bought it. I expected to get an oil change and to buy a 2nd key (it only came with one), but we expected those things because they told us and we asked about it. We did not ask if they had done the 100,000 mile maintenance, so that's on us. It had 107,000 miles on it, but neither of us even thought about it, nor did we research questions that we should ask when buying a used car. We paid for that- $1,600 more dollars to be exact. Were we bummed? Yes. Are we bitter? Heck no! We didn't ask the right questions.

If you are trying to get in a relationship, just starting a relationship, or smack dab in the middle of one, you need to be asking the right questions. You can't be bitter about a relationship gone wrong if YOU didn't ask the right questions or seek advice from those who knew what they were doing.

I love our van and we are doing everything possible to keep it in great condition and running for a very long time. I love Rob and we are doing everything possible to keep our marriage in great condition and running for a very long time! We ask for help when we need it. We ask each other questions all the time. If you don't do these things, you are going to have regrets and surprises (not the good kind!).

What's a good question to ask before getting into a serious relationship? What's a good question to ask your spouse occasionally?

Twin Tuesday

I've been taking the kids up to the play area at Patrick Henry Mall about once a week. They love it!  I've enjoyed meeting new moms and chatting. I have lots of thoughts while I'm there. Mostly, I feel bad for several of the kids. I never get annoyed with the other children; I get annoyed with their mothers. There should be two separate play areas- one for parents who are actually going to tend to their kids and one for parents who are going to play on their I-phones or talk to their friends (nothing wrong with either of those things ever) but with blatant disregard to the behavior of their children.

I'm not hovering around my kids because I'm nervous they will fall down or go "bonk" as they like to call it. I'm hovering because other kids push them, hit them, and bully their way around the tiny play area with no correction from their mother (never been in there with a dad), and I would never want them to do those things to start with or in return.

This past week there were about 13 moms in there (more crowded than I've ever seen), and only two other moms who were actively parenting. At one point, my new mommy friend literally lifted up a child in the air (who was wearing pjs and had a nasty poopy diaper the WHOLE time we were there) and asked loudly, "Whose child is this?" I tried so hard not to laugh out loud at her solution to the problem, but the kid was literally sitting at the top of the slide pushing children back down the steps. When he pushed my new mommy friend's kid, it was her breaking point. Before that we were kind of looking around wondering who he belonged to & taking care of the crying children he was pushing. NO ONE ELSE SEEMED TO CARE.

My new mommy friend told the poopy diaper kid's mom what he was doing, and the poopy diaper kid's mom took him from my new mommy friend and yelled at him. She proceeded to put him back down (she HAD to smell that poop) and he ran off and started playing crazy again. Poopy diaper kid's mom returned to her two friends.

There was a fourth mom making an attempt with her child, who was HUGE....not fat, but the tallest and broadest three year old ever. He ran around that place like a football player seriously pushing all kids out of the way. Reese got so scared every time he came near her and would try to get me to hold her (granted she's a little more wussy than other kids I know). Every time he charged up the slide stairs, literally pushing kids aside, his mom said (on repeat), "Wait your turn! Wait your turn! Ok, go ahead I guess." Every. Time. She was doing the best she knew how though, so I don't judge that. It's kind of laughable now.

Please hear me- I do not think that I am a perfect parent, or near perfect. I know I miss my kid's bad behavior at times and sometimes even think it's funny. I do however try very hard to avoid this in public and when other kids are involved. I just don't think it's that hard if you are consistent. Until then, I'll keep going back to the mall because the twins love it and it's indoors amidst this nasty weather. I will keep my judgy thoughts in my head there and help when I can. I'll try to meet new moms and invest in them as best I can.

Any funny/crazy behavior stories? Any places you avoid because your blood pressure can't stand it?

Manic Monday

Much like robshep.com's Mind Dumps, Manic Monday is a snapshot of all the random excitement inside my head.

• Courtney asked me to be her co-maid of honor (with Lindsey, duh), and I couldn't be happier! 

Have I mentioned I had a big wedding?? 

• This means I am a maid of honor (won't call it matron of honor even though I'm married b/c it sounds old!) in two weddings this year! Shima's in May and Courtney's in November. Both are with women who have made my life better, both weddings are on the water, and both are going to be epic!!
• Shima's wedding will fulfill all my wedding duties to my bridesmaids above. I was Jen's maid of honor, Amy, Johanna, Kim, Susan, and Allison's bridesmaid, and I did a reading in Marie's. At the end of 2013 I will have been: a flower girl once, a maid of honor three times, a bridesmaid 6 times, did a reading in one, and was mistress of ceremonies for another. Oh yeah, I was a bride once! I think I've run the whole circle! I've had lots of dresses. :)
• What an honor!! Seriously- dresses, gifts, flights, showers, etc are so worth it when you love these people as much as I do! 
• Another fun fact- Rob "married" three of my bridesmaids and many more of my friends. I love it. He is marrying Shima and Courtney (not to each other) which is also awesome!
• PS- Our twin ring bearers from our wedding have their licenses now. We are old. One of the flower girls is in college.
• AT&T's commercials with the guy and the kids- all of them- are hysterical. They never get old to me. "Hold on, I'm watching this." HA! I refuse to believe they are scripted. 
• On Friday night we had Kyle & Courtney's engagement party- so exciting! 
• On Saturday I hosted an open house with my friend Crystal who sells Tastefully Simply. We partnered our business, sold stuff, booked shows, and had give-aways! So much fun! If you weren't able to make it, there's still time for all of those things!
• I'm also doing a Pampered Chef raffle. You can buy a ticket for $5.00 and be entered to win a $150.00 shopping spree!
• On Sunday we celebrated our nephew's, Connor, birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. It was the twins' first trip there and it was successful! Reese fell in love with the mouse (Chuck E.) and Hayden was thrilled to give him a high five. Hayden loved playing basketball with his daddy, and he especially loved putting the tokens into the machines. 
• We didn't have church service last night because we hosted the homeless for the night. Our building actually hosted them for a week, but Sunday was our night. We fed them hot dogs and chili with fixins and played games and hung out with them. It was powerful for our volunteers! So glad they had a place to get out of all that crazy snow!
• This is the last week of having two one year olds! Sniff, sniff!
• Do you have a church to attend on Easter? If not, you should totally come check out Next Level Church! 6:00 pm- you have plenty of time for Easter brunch or lunch, Easter egg hunts, and a nap! 

Do you have any Easter plans or traditions?