Rough Day

Today was a tough day...I struggled to meet my only two goals of safety and nourishment for the kiddos.  Hannah drove her bumble bee wheelie toy off the ottoman and bit through her tongue.  I shudder each time I think about her wound and the blood pouring out of her mouth after it happened.  She's sleeping peacefully now, thank the Lord.  I pray that her body is hard at work healing as she rests. As per the advice nurse, I am to treat her at home and monitor her for signs of dehydration or infection.  I am still shaking several hours later from the ordeal, but found some of solace walking into my bedroom to find this...

1 outfit, 2 months, 3 girls

Finding our Stride

I mentioned awhile back that the day I got six hours of sleep would be the day I conquer the world.  Well, that day was yesterday!!!  You know you've had a good night when you pump 16 ounces at the end of it! HALLEJUAH!!!

Yesterday was the first day in, I don't know, a year (?) that the girls and I had lots of spontaneous fun, my house was picked up, and I knocked a bunch of things off my swollen to-do list (except for thank you notes, I still have a handful to do--and I feel intense guilt about it :( :(.)

We had a wonderful time raking the leaves in the backyard...and then jumping in them!  We cleaned off with a mid-day bubble bath!  Emmy made lunch (she made a mean pb&j!)  Everyone took naps!  The babies were generous with their smiles!  We Skyped with Andy, Clairey and Jacob!  We made some smoothies and granola bars for snack...Best of all, we laughed a lot.  It was the best day we've had in quite awhile. :)

New Pictures

Auntie Judi and Uncle Ted sent these ADORABLE matching jammies for the kids and I had to take pictures of them!  Seriously, these outfits make me feel even better about everyone staying in jammies all day!!

The Napping House

One of the children's books that we have in our burgeoning collection is "The Napping House" by Audrey Wood.  It's a funny story about how every person and critter in the house end up in the same bed (until one of the critters gets startled and they all go flying which is not too far off :-P.)  Here is the Horn family version...

My Emmy Date

Nick is gone to North Carolina and New Mexico for two weeks of training, with just one "refuel" day in between.  We made a snap decision that, instead of quiet time, I'd take our Emmy out on a Mommy-Daughter date while Nick stayed home with the others.  We really needed to "reset" and have some fun together.  I think the last time we did any such thing was when my mom was visiting in July. :(  Our first stop was lunch at "Old McDonalds."  At first she wanted to eat at a restaurant that served Cheetos (how she knows about Cheetos is beyond me) and pickle sandwiches (?), but then decided she wanted to look for Ronald McDonald when she saw the golden arches.  (Some background: In an effort to promote clowns, after she stumbled into a scary "clown show"/haunted house with Auntie Kristi, Uncle JP and cousins at the pumpkin patch, we had a long conversation about Ronald McDonald and how he builds homes for families to stay at while their sick children are in the hospital.  She was impressed by his altruism and her clown Halloween costume was once again acceptable.  Crisis averted.)

After lunch, our next stop was my old salon (from the days when I actually felt like spending two hours of precious "me" time at a salon) for her second haircut!  She did a WONDERFUL job, and looks so grown up with her new 'do!  We took a little more off that we had previously negotiated with Daddy (in the name of healthy hair!) and Emmy was a little concerned about Daddy's reaction.  As we drove away, she told me, "Daddy will say, 'Ah! Why is your hair short?' And then he will cry."  Luckily, he didn't cry, but did admit he'll need to get used to it...He agreed that she looks very beautiful, though.  Which made Emmy light up. :)

We went to Kroger to pick up some ingredients for the dinner Emmy chose to serve to her friends at church group on Sunday, and she got to push the kiddie basket around the store (something she's wanted to do for a long time, but we haven't been able to with Hannah in tow.)  We ran a couple more errands before heading home, with batteries recharged.  It was exactly what the doctor ordered, and something we'll need to do with much more frequency (minus the haircut.) The last couple of days she has been back to her sweet, helpful self, which I have missed dearly since the babies' arrival.  So grateful for the respite between Nick's trips for many reasons, and our Mommy/Emmy date being a big one of them!

Before

After!

I had to include this gem from our story time last night...She has been focused on the book "Madeline" for the last couple of days.  She asks to read it to me first and then asks me to read it to her.  Each time she reads it to me, she does an even better job...Watching our baby learn is the most exhilarating, awe-inspiring experience:

During

We conquered Lowes!

Since I absolutely refuse to be helpless...I gave shopping with all four another go last week, and it was a much different experience!  I am attempting to organize my life and keep up with Nick's crazy schedule with a family calendar/whiteboard on the fridge.  I needed magnets and I was a few days away from another Mom's Day Out.  Once I get my head stuck on something, I'm committed.  All four of the kids were super happy, and, I think grateful for the change of scenery! The earlier start time was clutch, as are these awesome new car carts, AND the Christmas decoration aisle had the girls squealing happily!  Emmy and Hannah were buckled in side-by-side (Hannah LOVED the steering wheel!)  Jules' carseat went in the front basket and I wore my big boy in the Ergo carrier.  I was stared at by nearly every person we passed, and got at least six "you've got your hands full" comments, but this time I was glowing with pride for my well-behaved foursome!!

Just Three Words...

HANDLED WITH CARE

At my six week post partum check-up, Dr. Anderson handed me two more "shameless plug" bibs to add to our collection.  I marveled over the fact that he has delivered all of our babies, which, he said is very rare, even for non-military families.  So, I promised him that I'd send him a picture of our crew, wearing all of their bibs. for one giant Dr. Anderson endorsement...

Sissy was being so sweet here :)

Newborn session photos

I just picked up our pictures today from the newborn session!  It's crazy how much the twins have grown since these photos were taken!  Here are some of the highlights!