Eight is great!

Noah is 8 today. Our big boy is finally 8! He has been looking forward to this birthday for awhile now. One reason is because whenever he'd ask for a puppy when he was little, we'd say "maybe when you're 8" & he remembered. It seemed so far away, but now it's here & we're totally not ready for a puppy! Luckily, Noah is very reasonable & understands. He's also excited to get baptized. We're planning on Len baptizing him sometime in April or May & Noah can't wait.

It has been a whirlwind week, as it usually is the end of March for us. Noah turned 3 years old only 6 days after Sam & Mack were born. It's been a busy & fun week ever since! We celebrated on Wednesday for Sam & Mack's birthday at home, Friday with Len's family, Sunday with my cousins, Monday with my parents & tonight at home for Noah's birthday. We are excited for Noah, but pretty pooped!

He's always been a patient kid though. On his 3rd birthday, he was VERY into Thomas the Train & had a list of 7 trains he wanted. His amazing memory has always stunned us! He named the same 7 in the same order every time- he knew exactly what he wanted! Some of them were from the movies & we had a hard time finding them. We had a tiny celebration with just my parents that year, but he was just happy to get his trains & his 2 new brothers! It was at this same age that he was really into "The Wiggles". If you asked him, "what color is this?", while pointing to red, he'd answer "Murray"! Yellow was "Greg", purple was "Jeff" & blue was some form of "Anthony." It was so cute!

Noah hit the jackpot when he was little, because Len worked for the Ritz-Carlton & we traveled quite a bit. He was so easy that we took him everywhere with us. He's stayed in several Ritz-Carlton's from St. Thomas to Miami to Puerto Rico. He still remembers the trips & asks often when we can go back to the beach. Someday we'll take the kids to California, but we won't be staying at the Ritz!

Happy Birthday my sweet Noah! He has always been & always will be our first dream come true. He expanded the amount of joy in our world the second he was here. Len & I were married for 6 years before Noah was born & we had a great life. We had lots of fun, but I remember looking at Len a few days after Noah was born & said "life without Noah seems so boring now". I can't imagine the world without him in it.

Ticket to ride

The past several years when someone in our family mentions plans for snowboarding, sledding, mountain biking, hiking...I'm either pregnant, or the one in the plan staying home with the baby or babies, so that everyone else can go enjoy themselves (not that taking care of my sweethearts isn't enjoyable!) Yesterday we realized, I've finally arrived at that place where I can get out again. No nursing babies & none of the way- ever again! My Mom watched Bella 1/2 day yesterday & the rest of us hit the slopes. Beautiful new snow, but no wind & not very cold. Sam & Mack picked a great first day to learn to ski.

(The photos are backward & crappy, as usual!)
This is after skiing at the lodge, eating our $55 hot dogs, cocoa & skittles!

Our kids really promote peace everywhere they go!

Dropping Sam & Mack off at Kinder Ski School for their first lesson. They are sooooooo cute! We stayed on the bunny hill to spy on them & they did a great job, other than Sam gliding right over the edge into the parking lot on the first run! We realized the teacher was overwhelmed with 2 first time five year old boys, so Len stayed & gave him a hand. Noah & I tore up the bunny hill while they were practicing. Noah told me I was a pretty good snowboarder, for a old person! We'll know we've really arrived when Bella's out there on the slopes with us :)

Happy Birthday my loves

Today is Sam & Mack's 5th birthday. I can't believe they are already 5! It's been such a crazy five years, but I truly feel so lucky & blessed to have them. We celebrated at their school & are going out to dinner tonight with my parents. It's also my wonderful Mom's birthday today too :) We skipped parties this year & the kids just played with their new legos & scooters all day. Friday we are going to see 'How to train your dragon" with their cousins, even the ones from San Diego will be here. I put together a slide show as I was going through old pictures for Len to back up with our new external hard drive. Unfortunetely, we still don't have any of our recent photos recovered from our hard drive crash, so that's why there are no pictures of the boys when they were 4! It was so fun looking back on their baby years though. Mack has always been such a loud, demanding, affectionate & loving kid. Even in the hospital after he was born- he was the one that took 90% of everyone's time, but melted our hearts! Sam, on the other hand, was perfectly happy right from the start to look around, observe & be content. Pheww! We knew right away why they chose each other to come down & share this crazy life experience together. They are the perfect balance for each other. Mack has really blossomed this year & has shown us all how smart & eager he is to learn. He loves to "do homework", which is practicing writing, letters, numbers & dot to dot! He pretends to read books & always chooses work books instead of bed time stories. He's still working on controlling his temper & waiting for rewards, instead of getting immediate gratification, but he's getting better. He's a total home body & is most happy being at home with his family. We all love his constant affection & sweet little voice. Sam has shown us his big personality this year too. He is so totally not interested in following the norm, which makes school a little challenging. Although, he's so mellow that he gets along fine & is learning as expected for his age. His main focus in life is friends. He has so many that he can't keep their names straight! He does ask lots of deep questions & we know that he's always thinking & observing. He has many imaginary ghost friends & always is giving away invisible treats & toys! We love hearing the things that come out of his mouth everyday. We are looking forward to watching these two really grow up this year & start Kindergarten at Noah's school in the fall. They are so excited! We love them so much.

Dang trials

My hard drive crashed & burned the other day. It was my fault.

We had to get a new stove top last week. It was my fault.

I haven't made any money for awhile & it's my fault.

I have gained weight since giving birth, not because I gave birth. Definitely my fault.

{insert crying sound here}

OK- I get it God...I have some things to work on.

These pictures have nothing to do with my ramblings.

They're just the only pictures we have on our computer now.

Anyone know anyone that can recover things, like priceless family photos & a year's worth of business entries, from a fried hard drive? Someone that doesn't charge a ridiculous amount because they know the information is sacred to the person holding the mastercard?

Still, while I am working on things & hoping that lightning doesn't strike, I see my many blessings.

Look at my cutie patootie with her cutie patootie buddy watching baby Einstein...

...and Sam eating no milk cereal with a very large serving spoon.

Maybe these are a few things to work on.

Yes, less TV & better eating habits. Most certainly.

Still, how can I not grin?! :)

Made in the USA

Happy Birthday Dad!

We missed Grandpa Bischoff's birthday this year because, well....we were sick...again. However, we are going to make it up to him with homeade kid gifts. Who doesn't love homeade kid gifts? The boys are totally & completely obsessed with Legos, so Sam & Mack decided a lego frame would be the perfect gift for Papa. I think he will love it.

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  8 years ago we hoped Noah would be born on March 13th & share a birthday with Grandpa, just like Grandpa shared a birthday with his Dad. Noah missed the date by 2 1/2 weeks & chose his very own special day. Then, 5 years ago we thought maybe Sam & Mack could be born on that day again! Instead they decided to stay warm a little longer & were born on Grandma's birthday 11 days later!

Noah, who loves sharing his first name (Robert) with his Grandpa, worked hard on knitting him a camo ski hat for his birthday. He learned how to make these hats in school for the homeless & loved it so much that he earned enough money to go to Walmart & buy his own hoop & yarn. This was his first hat without his teacher's help. He did such a great job & even included a brim! Grandpa will definetely love it as he hits the slopes for a little spring skiing :)

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  Bella's just going to bat her eyelashes & give Grandpa hugs. She's already got Daddy wrapped around her little finger & now she's working on Papa! We also grabbed a chocolate covered apple for him today because he is so sweet. Ahh- cheesy, but true!

hanging in there

"Sam, say cheese!"

Friday night I made a last minute appointment at the doctor, since it was the weekend & it seemed like Sam & Isabella were getting sick. I probably would've waited to see if they got worse, if it were a Tuesday, but I hate it when you wait & Sunday morning they end up being horribly sick & there is no doctor available. So, if they show any signs of illness on a Friday, I call. I wasn't expecting it to be much of anything, but I was a little worried that Sam has been stuffy & tired for over a week. Then Friday, he said his neck hurt. I took Bella too, since she started coughing a little Friday. I was surprised to find out they both have strep! The doctor was surprised about Bella too. I guess it's very rare to get strep under the age of 2. We went home after 2 hours with our antibiotics & the hope of a good night's rest.


Sam felt better after a dose & slept well, but not Bella. She had a horrible night. In fact, she seemed worse. Even after her 2nd morning dose, she was wheezing every breath & coughing worse. I didn't know if this was normal for strep, since we've only had 1 round of it before. I called a good friend, who's a nurse practitioner & she listened to her chest. She told me to get her back into the doctor. We had a friend & Len's brother give her a blessing & took her back in. She has RSV- totally separate & unrelated to the strep. I was really shocked this time & so sad. I can't believe how sick she is right now, but her oxygen level is hanging in there. Luckily, she's also responding very well to albuterol, a humidifier, long cuddly hugs & tons of extra attention.

Only 10 more days until Sam & Mack's birthday, 16 until Noah's & 18 until our sunny weekend in Las Vegas....we can make it!

Twin dilemma

We are trying to decide whether to start Sam & Mack in separate classes, once in school next year, or keep them together. I am thinking of signing up 1 of the boys in morning Kindergarten & 1 in afternoon. They have attended 2 years of preschool together & a few of their experiences are what brought up this dilemma in the first place. Some examples of comments they have made are, "Conrad is my friend, but he doesn't like Sam" or "I'm not good at my alphabet like Mack" followed by crying. I know that pretty much every kid will face these problems, but it made me realize how as twins they are always being compared to each other & now even they are comparing themselves. I started to wonder if giving them a little more of their own space would help them to focus more on their own strengths & interests, rather than just feeling bad about their differences. Then, they'd just have fun & enjoy each other when they do have together time. They obviously love each other & are very used to being together, so it's tough to know what's best.

I know this decision needs to be based on individuals & not just twins in general. However, if you have any opinion, experience or insight that would be helpful, please leave a comment. We really want to do the right thing.

Here are my thoughts on the pros & cons:

Together

They may be closer as brothers & friends- may choose same friends

They would be learning the same material in the same way

It would simplify their schedule for me

Same homework- could help each other

Makes the transition to elementary easier, especially for Mack

They may get sick of each other

1 may hold himself back if his twin isn't at same level

Unhealthy comparing & competition

Separate

They could choose their own friends

May make them less close to each other

Less competition

Could excel at different subjects without comparisons

We could enjoy more 1 x 1 time with them

Learn independence & self-reliance

Will have to be separate in many life experiences as they grow up

Will still have together time after school or at recess/lunch

When I have done research on the topic, there are strong opinions for both sides. Both sides have great points. After asking the boys if they'd like to stay together or be in their own class, Sam said he wants to be in Noah's class & Mack said he just wants a class without a teacher! So, obviously they are no help in this matter! Len is leaning toward keeping them together & I am leaning toward separating them. Ahhh...! Thus, the dilemma.