Trauma Trauma Trauma...Part I

HOLY COW yesterday was eventful! You know those days where so much happens so quickly that you can't help but just have a good cry once it's all said and done?? Yes. That was my yesterday.

For those of you who do not yet already know, we were EVACUATED. So much for it always happening to everyone else except me.  You'd think that having moved away from California and their crazy wildfires would have saved me. Well...it did. I can still give thanks to God that we weren't evacuated for something permanently damaging like a fire.

My Thursday started off a little stressful, but not unusually so.  The twins were being pretty whiny and were refusing to sleep.  Hence I was exhausted and had not even dressed for the day yet by 3:30 pm. Ratty PJs all the way my friends. At about that time, the twins woke up from their 30 minute nap (ugh) and had made a mess of their bedding and selves.  So I cleaned them up, freshly diapered them, and took them into the living room for playtime (or whine time as it had been all day).  At that point someone began furiously trying to break down our door!!!!! Just kidding. Actually, they were just knocking but for 2 minutes straight as hard and as loud as they could. I was pretty upset.  They were SO lucky my kids had already woken up. As I neared the front door I noticed a University Parking car outside my house.  Great...they were probably going to complain about someone parking somewhere around our house.  All I could think was "Really?! You're trying to break down my door over a parking job?!"

Imagine my surprise when I answered the door and it was a full blown police officer! The upset look on my face took him off guard. I felt a little bad.  The problem obviously wasn't parking.  He told me that my neighborhood was being evacuated because of a blown gas line and I needed to leave as soon as possible.  I was speechless for what seemed like the longest minute of my life.  I asked for details.  There were none. I asked how I was supposed to get out when my husband has the car at work.  He said he didn't know.  While this exchange was taking place I could see my neighbors jumping into their cars and taking off.  I felt stranded.  I asked him if ANY of my neighbors were still home and he said one was. Great. He told me to leave as soon as possible and walked away.

I WAS SCARED.  Noxious fumes were making my neighborhood unsafe for residents and I was STUCK with my two precious children.  I called JT and frantically told him he needed to come home right away because we were being evacuated.  I didn't give him any more details.  When he tried to call on the car ride over, I told him I'd talk to him when I saw him.  I didn't know how long we were being evacuated for and I needed to get the babies ready to MOVE.

Oh heavens. The craziness that ensued was traumatizing in itself.  Delilah was in one of her "Mommy needs to hold me around the clock or I'll scream like she's stabbing me" moods. I don't know which of the two of us was more flustered.  I dressed, got her into a carseat, prepped the diaper bag, threw meds in, and threw in our important documents. I even called my dad to make sure there was nothing important I was missing.  He suggested my laptop and camera. Check.

I got the kids, our gear, and waiting on the front lawn....and waited...and waited.  Traffic was at a standstill. JT was having one heck of a time getting to us. I took the kids back in the house in case the air was purer there than outside.

JT called and told me they were not allowing him past the police barricade.  He was very upset.  He asked the police officer how I was supposed to get myself and the twins out of an evacuation area without help...and the officer and no answer.  After a bit of arguing the police officer finally came around and sent a squad car in after us. By that time I was already to the end of the street. When JT said he couldn't come for me, I took matters into my own hands and trudged down the street with a carseat and baby on my hip.  My angel-of-a-neighbor-boy came outside and offered to carry the carseat with Delilah for me.  I think I'm buying that kid a ticket to Disneyland or SOMETHING.

The squad car loaded us up and I realized we were lucky we hadn't crossed the barricade by the time the squad car showed up.  There's no way they would have let my neighbor go back to his family. Glad we dodged that bullet!

The police officer was super nice and took us to meet JT.  It was a comfortable ride--but I was informed it's not so comfortable if your hands are handcuffed behind your back. That makes sense. Then there's the whole being child-locked in the car thing. Not the most fun.

The wonderful, beautiful, kind, sweet, saintly Magleby family took us in until the evacuation orders were lifted! It was SO nice to be able to take the kids home. They were absolutely exhausted by the end of it all----as was I.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:
*We're pathetically underprepared as a family for an emergency.
*We can't rely on others to save us--they've got their own families to worry about.
*The Magleby's are awesome.
* I know there are a few other lessons to list, I just don't have time.

Hope you all didn't die of old age after taking the time to read this. ;) I'll leave with this: Life can get quite interesting in a hurry. Adios.

Learning to share

We've still got a ways to go.



maybe we could share?



not a chance

Give it back!

Mommy help!

Gotcha!

Back to square one.

Recipe adventures

In my quest to cook daily in our home, I have tried to liven things up by trying a new recipe almost daily.  I figure that when I find a recipe that either one of us absolutely LOVES, why not share?

Copycat Cracker Barrel Baked Macaroni & Cheese

2 Tbsp. butter



2 Tbsp. flour


1 tsp. salt


1 tsp. dry mustard


2 1/2 cups milk


2 cups cheddar (8 oz.), divided


2 cups elbow macaroni (8oz.)


1/4 cup buttered bread crumbs


paprika


In saucepan, melt butter. Blend in flour, salt, and mustard. Add milk, stir constantly until sauce thickens a little. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese, heat until melted, stirring.


Remove from heat.


Meanwhile, cook macaroni as directed; drain. Combine with sauce in a buttered 2 quart casserole; top with remaining cheese, then buttered bread crumbs and sprinkle with paprika.


Bake at 375′ about 20-25 minutes or until nicely browned.
Serves 4-6
credit: The Secret Recipe Blog

JT absolutely adored this recipe! He even had 2 1/2 servings...which is saying a lot since these days he doesn't even finish one serving. I'm not sure if that's a reflection of my cooking or his appetite. ;)
I didn't have the resources for the bread crumbs this recipe called for so I just used the Italian bread crumbs I had on hand.  I also used mozzarella cheese to sprinkle over the top instead of more cheddar. I liked it, but think that it would benefit from an added kick. Not having the paprika to add to it probably was the reason I felt like that. Either way, this was REALLY good! Enjoy!

Sunday stroll

Don't you just love a beautiful Sunday? We had a lovely time at church and were excited to have an intimate family BBQ. JT set the ribs on the grill and we grabbed the kids and went for a walk. Is there anything more peaceful than sharing a day of joy & beauty with your family?



Grace

"I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am."

--John Newton

Getting in the Fall spirit

Sunday I had myself a good crafty time. Honestly, I've never been one to care about doing crafts before.  But for some reason it's starting to grown on me.
I went to JoAnne's on Saturday to hunt down a costume pattern for the twins. While there, I decided to check out the fall decor.  I found a wreath I fell in LOVE with and was about to toss in my cart when I realized the price tag said $60! You've got to be kidding me! Do they KNOW how much formula we have to buy in a month?! So rather than let the twins starve, I chose to spend $15 on the supplies to make it myself. I was pretty proud of myself and rushed home to get right to work!
I pulled out my craft box from JT's Grandma Pace and started looking for the glue gun. The panic set in when I realized I had pulled it out to attempt another project and left it in our office.  The office was being used as a construction zone at that very moment and there was NO WAY it was going to be where I left it. Dang it. Thankfully, our friend Tara offered to let me borrow hers. My life was saved.
Once I had all my supplies set up and was ready to get to work I realized that I didn't have a crafty clue. After many failed attempts and rearranged flowers, I finally found an arrangement I liked! Success!
I was pretty proud of myself and set it up in my kitchen to take a picture. There it remained for 2 days so I could smile at it every time I walked in.  I'm a dork. I know, but it makes me happy! To be honest, I don't consider it 100% perfect and there are some things I will end up tweaking, but until then I think near-perfect is perfect enough for me. :)
I'm linking up to The DIY Showoff Fall Festival.

JT providing me with some Fall inspiration

Welcome to the family!

On July 27th we had a little nephew named Anderson born into the family! Lacie did a wonderful job and looked amazing when I went to visit them in the hospital. The little guy had to wait a while to meet his daddy but once he did they looked really cute snuggled up together.

Some friends of ours babysat the twins the day after Anderson was born so that I could go to the hospital to see him. Isn't he adorable! Congratulations Stephen and Lacie! I bet they're in heaven.

Our (almost) 8 month-old twins!

I can't believe how quickly my babies have grown up!  It's so sad that my little newborns are gone.  Don't get me wrong, I'm LOVING the full nights of sleep and not having one or both babies in bed with me.  But I still want my little miniature Porter & Delilah to cuddle with!  Okay though, this post isn't about me whining.  It's about THEM.

Oh my goodness I adore these cuties! They keep me so busy now.  My biggest problem is that Mommy isn't as cool as she used to be and they get bored a LOT quicker than they used to.  Thank heavens for our "Los Pollitos" song in those moments. It always stops them in their tracks and brings out the smiles.  Or there's always distracting them with each other. It's super adorable to see the way they start smiling and laughing while holding hands. :) 

 

Don't worry. He doesn't actually sit forward facing in it. He's was modeling his big boy carseat since he's now 23 lbs!

  

Visiting Daddy at work

Our mischievous little Porter is always ready to go.  Just look at that little smile! He wakes up (and actually wants out of bed) at about 8:30 am.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am a lucky girl.  My babies like to sleep about 12 hours a night and only wake up at 6am for a bottle before going back to sleep. I know how blessed I am. Anyways, I'll walk in there to pick him up and get greeted with the BIGGEST smile I've ever seen as he begins to bounce on all fours.  He gets super excited to see me (and get rescued) after he's slept.
I bring him into bed with me hoping against hope that he'll want to spend 5 minutes cuddling with Mommy.  Not a chance. He flips over onto his stomach and almost army crawls his way off the bed about 10 times before I give up and head to the living room.
Since Mommy & Daddy haven't yet figured out that it's easier to babyproof the house before bed, I spend a good half hour cleaning up the living room and telling Porter that once again he is not allowed to eat wires/cables of any sort.  When he hears me say no he does one of 2 things: he either drops the cable out of his mouth and starts to fuss or makes eye contact with me and then continues chomping away. Why do I feel like he's already prepping me for the teenage years?!
The rest of the day alternates between his meal, nap, and play schedule.  He gets plenty of time playing on the floor with Mom and Delilah.  There's also quite a bit of time where he's thrilled to play in the jumper that Grandma and Grandpa Trout bought him.  I think the girls that live in our basement must think there's a kangaroo living up here!
Porter and Delilah share the same nap schedule: Anywhere from 9-10am small nap (if they've been up for at least an hour), 12-2pm nap, 4-5:30/6pm nap, and 8pm is bedtime.
Food is greatly enjoyed by all.  Porter is very particular about getting all the food he deserves. He has 4 teeth (I can't believe it!!!) so he can munch away on things like multigrain cheerios, pieces of cheese, and mashed/chopped (really really really finely) foods.  Tonight we tried pinto beans for the first time.  He locked his mouth and turned away from the spoon every time.  Delilah was more than happy to finish his portion for him. :)
Porter is just really a boy.  He's curious, active, strong, happy, and headstrong. I LOVE it.

Our little Delilah girl is just full to the brim with personality! She's a happy little girl that has no problem letting you know how she feels...immediately.
On the mornings that I go in and get Porter first, she waits until she sees me picking him up and then bursts into tears because she isn't the one being held. It doesn't matter that she MUST know I'm coming back for her. She cries until I reappear and pick her up. Then she flashes the biggest smiles possible and babbles to her heart's content.
During the day she just has one simple rule to keep her happy (aside from feeding her and letting her sleep): I must hold her at all times.  No joke.  Funny thing is though, I LOVE IT! I really thought it would bother me more since there's always a million things to do.  Maybe having Porter no longer feel the need to cuddle with me has made me aware of how precious this stage really is.
In fact, Delilah likes spending time with me so much that she has no interest in doing anything to become mobile.  When I put her on her stomach, the most she'll do is hold her head up for a few minutes and then decide to take a nap or fuss with her face into the carpet. She doesn't want to crawl or roll. She has recently learned how to sit upright, although I feel like she knew all along.  You see, I worked with her nonstop to get her to sit up and she never would.  Then a few weeks ago JT and I bought the twins a fun little tree/animal toy.  Guess who suddenly knew how to sit up all by her lonesome?  Yep. Since purchasing the toy she has spent a lot more individual time on the floor sitting upright.  I just have to be careful that I don't let her see me walk by, hold her brother, or feed her brother. 
I'm not sure if I'm just making her sound like a demanding little brat, but I assure you she's not! I can't get over how sweet she is.  She's always cuddling with me, breaking out into spontaneous giggles, or letting me play games with her.
Maybe when they turn 1 then Porter will want to play with ME and Delilah will want to learn how to do...anything really.  That could be a longshot though...