A Typical Day

5:30ish- wake to the sounds of L-K sucking on her fingers.. get up, change diaper, bring her to bed, nurse her, fall asleep while nursing..
7:20- wake to realize that L-K is trying to nurse.. switch sides so I can feed her, hear twins playing..
7:41- get up, potty, blow nose, wash face, take pills
7:44- take baby downstairs and place in her chair
7:46- let Eeylet out, turn on radio, go get twins
7:50- 3 diapers and morning hugs (interrupted to help Jennavieve with a bubble wand issue)
7:56- upstairs to put muscle cream on my ribs (didn't realize I needed it when I got up)
7:59- unload dishwasher
8:01- get cups from fridge then back to unloading the dishwasher
8:03- fix cereal and fresh cups for the ladies, put them in their chairs to eat
8:06- fix my breakfast
8:11- sit down with baby, computer, and cereal (L-K isn't eating.. she just wants to talk)
8:17- breakfast done, talking to L-K while I wait for ladies to finish eating
8:19- "all done".. potty then get ladies up from chairs, help A pick up cereal she threw on the floor
8:26- sit down to feed L-K, while doing so, I untangle ladies' necklaces, read 2 books
8:34- burp baby
8:37- read another book, clean up spit-up
8:39- my mom calls.. while talking to her I get to open books and point at things for the ladies to identify
8:47- off phone.. floor time (get L-K floor gym and sit with ladies).. we read books, and play with their necklaces (VDay gifts)..
8:55- begin flower project (label flower pots and start soil prep)
9:00- back to floor time.. more books and puzzles
9:15- flower project (put soil in pots, count out seeds, put in soil, add more soil, put in sun) L-K falls alseep
9:25- coloring time.. A colors for a bit and then walks around with a blanket on her head.. J tries to eat blue crayon
9:35- twin diapers and upstairs to play in room
9:45- come downstairs, L-K is awake.. pick up crayons and cups, potty, fill water
9:52- sit down w L-K and relax.. start typing this
9:59- L-K diaper
10:12- stop typing to see if I can't get L-K to sleep and get something done..
10:30- put L-K in chair asleep and get to work..
10:30- start collecting laundry, start a load, clean laundry room cat litter mess..
10:44- load dishwasher, hand wash dishes
10:54- start working on cleaning countertop.. this involved a lot of walking around aimlessly and eating quite a few fun size candy bars..
L-K woke 4 times during this time and I chose to put her binkie back in and shhhh her back to sleep.. countertop is still not clean
11:12- start the ladies lunch which makes me see how much stuff I need to get rid of in the fridge so I clean out the fridge instead.. THEN I fix their lunch.. (pb&j dogs & chips)
11:18- go get ladies and bring them down for lunch
11:22- sit down on couch with L-K to feed and type up to this point
11:34- get the ladies their chips and then resume feeding L-K
11:42- clean up the ladies
11:49- change diapers and clothes
12:16- everyone upstairs for nap
12:24- everyone in bed
12:31- L-K goes to sleep, ladies are still playing in their room
1:17- L-K wakes up, I put her back to sleep
1:59- L-K wakes up, I put her back to sleep
3:23- L-K wakes up and I hear 1 lady awake.. I feed L-K
3:37- get up, potty, take L-K downstairs
4:00- go upstairs, apply more muscle cream to my ribs, get twins up, bring them downstairs, change their diapers, get socks, shoes, jackets, craft shirts, and paint supplies..
4:32- head outside with the ladies. they run around the yard, swing, etc. while I prep for painting.. they paint, ride their bikes, and run around some more.
4:56- we come inside and I start their dinner (it's left over night so this is rather simple)
5:02- Paul puts them in their chairs and I sit down with L-K to feed
5:08- Paul brings me my potatoes and I begin eating
5:10- Paul cleans the ladies up and gets them out of their chairs.. I am still eating and now I am trying to keep them from taking the remote, my soda pop, my pen, and my paper all while feeding the baby and trying to eat my potatoes..
5:14- we start a Signing Time video
5:20- I finally finish my potatoes.. L-K is almost asleep
5:26- put L-K in her chair and I got to kitchen to eat my chicken
5:32- load dishwasher and finish cleaning out the fridge
5:46- I sit down and try to relax
5:52- L-K wakes up.. I get her and hold her and talk to her while the ladies play
6:00- Paul leaves for rehearsal at church
6:30- put L-K in her chair (where she cries) while I put the ladies in fresh diapers and pajamas.. I take them upstairs (had to carry A because she was having a meltdown.. thus the early bedtime) and get them started brushing their teeth.. I come back downstairs and get L-K.. the ladies finish brushing their teeth and we go to their room for songs and stories, after which they go to bed and L-K and I head back downstairs..
6:50- I sit down with L-K and attempt to feed but she just wants to talk
7:15- L-K is asleep.. I continue to sit and hold her and watch NCIS (which I haven't seen since we moved to CO so I have no clue what is going on)
7:50- L-K wakes up and wants to talk.. a lot
8:18- mom calls
8:27- feed L-K
8:55- hang up with mom
9:00- Paul gets home
9:20- Paul takes L-K and I get up and stretch and then sit down and continue to talk to Paul
9:50- L-K is crying so I take her and get her to sleep.. Paul switches the laundry because I forgot about it.. I did, however, remember to close the superglue I left open yesterday..
10:20- L-K is asleep and I'm about to take her upstairs and put her to bed.
10:21- L-K wakes up while I'm taking her upstairs.. Paul takes her and I go back downstairs to fill my water, take my pills, rinse the ladies milk cups, load the dishwasher and start it, put away the candy, put the cat in her room and shut the window, pick up toys, then I take my water and phone upstairs..
10:33- Paul is rocking L-K to sleep and we start our devotional
11:03- Paul puts L-K in bed and we go to look at our other ladies.. then I shower
11:37- brush and floss my teeth, apply more muscle cream to my ribs, lotion my arms, dry my hair
11:52- climb into bed
2:13- L-K wakes.. I get up, change her diaper, bring her to bed to feed her
2:30- L-K has fallen asleep and I attempt to put her back in her bed.. she wakes up.. I rewrap her and walk her to sleep
2:49- L-K is back asleep and I put her in her bed, potty and go back to bed myself
5:20- L-K wakes.. I bring her to bed where she proceeds to talk for a few minutes while I try to get her back to sleep (she wasn't interested in eating)
5:27- L-K is asleep.. I leave her in my bed and go back to sleep
5:44- L-K wakes up.. ready to eat this time so I feed her and we both fall back asleep (unsure of the time we fell asleep)
7:03- I hear J shouting at A on the monitor (I ignore this and try to go back to sleep)
7:37- L-K wakes.. we talk
7:50- I get up and start my day..

2011

As 2011 comes to a close, I want to reflect on what has happened.. and A LOT has happened.. We started the year off on a sad note in January by saying good-bye to Paul's MawMaw Neel. She was a kind woman with a big heart and I'm so glad to have known her. The ladies had their first Valentine's Day in February and two weeks later we found out that I was pregnant with our third child. We were shocked and excited and shocked some more. We moved to our new home in April and immediately celebrated Jennavieve and Annabelle's first birthday. We had such a good time at their party and we couldn't have done it without all the help that Paul's mom, Beverly, and my mom, Vickie, gave to make it happen. In fact, we'd probably still be living out of boxes if Beverly hadn't been here to help us move.. We went to Florida in June and had a wonderful time with my family at the beach. We came back to Colorado where we met up with Paul's family and headed to Montana to see their family. By this time, our sweet Oso puppy had fallen ill and we were so grateful that our cousin Theresa and her hubby Jason let us bring him to their house to stay with us while we vacationed. We had a great visit with Paul's family and the ladies had a great summer spending time with their cousins from both Paul's family and mine. In August, my Grandma Flo came to visit and we really enjoyed having her here. Sadly, August also brought the passing of our sweet Oso. It was one of the saddest times we've endured, and it was just one year and eleven days after the passing of our sweet Kali puppy which made it even harder. The ladies were thrilled to have so many people to play with during the summer and the visitors just kept coming. In September, my sister and her family came to CO for a friend's wedding and we got to spend some much needed time with them. October seemed to get here super fast and Doug and Beverly came to help prepare for the arrival of our newest little love. On October 21, we welcomed our sweet Lilly-Kathryn Arbana into our lives in a very speedy delivery. She is perfect and the ladies love her. My parents came out shortly after her birth to meet her and, like everyone else, fell in love with her sweet personality. Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving. We celebrated in our semi-traditional manner by heading to Cracker Barrel with our friend, Anna who has been a great friend and a tremendous help since she moved here. Before we knew it, it was December and we were celebrating Christmas with our ladies and our 9th Anniversary. Now here we are, New Year's Eve. Our ladies are running and jumping, dancing and singing, laughing and talking and sooooo much fun. Our littlest lady is full of smiles and the occasional giggle. She rolls over and is sleeping through the night (sometimes) and is just so wonderful to be around. Our lives are full of love and laughter (lots of laughter) and we are thrilled with where our journey has taken us. We are looking forward to seeing what wonderful things God has for us in the new year. 2011 was full of surprises and I'm sure 2012 will keep us on our toes as well. We are so grateful for our amazing families and friends and hope the new year brings great things to all of you. Happy New Year!! 

My First Post..

So, I've decided to attempt a blog.. To try to have some sort of organization to my random thoughts. To keep family and friends updated on our lives.. We shall see how this goes..