Do You Like Being a Twin?

I can't tell you how many times I have answered that question in my lifetime. My usual answer is, "I don't know what it is like not to be a twin." But lately I've been thinking about how much I like being a twin, so here is a post dedicated to my twin.

Lisa came out at the beginning of the month. I still feel bad that I didn't take her out to do anything exciting while she was here, but having her stay with me reminded me of what an awesome mom she is! She and James were sick for a little while during their stay, and she was so incredibly patient with him even when she was sick and he was throwing a tantrum. She was up earlier than I was every morning and did more cleaning the couple days she was here than I did.

Lisa has taught me so much about being a mom! I watched her with James and try to emulate many of her mothering qualities. She sings constantly with James. I have tried very hard to remember all the songs she sings with him and sing them with Ethan. She also spends a lot of time explaining things to JJ instead of just telling him no. For example, when we were at my mom's house, JJ went over by one of my mom's dogs while she was eating. The conversation between Lisa and JJ went something like this:

Lisa: JJ, can I talk to you?
JJ: Yeah
Lisa: Do you like the dogs?
JJ: Yeah
Lisa: Do you think the dogs like their treats?
JJ: Yeah
Lisa: If you go over there, the dogs might think you are trying to take their treats. How do you think the dogs would feel if you took their treats?
JJ: Sad
Lisa: Yeah, and they might even get mad and try to bite you. So let's stay away from the dogs while they are eating.

Way better than, "No!" She is always so positive!

I miss having Lisa here, but the nice thing is, it kinda feels like she does live near by. It is because of her that I need unlimited text messages and Sprint to Sprint cell phone minutes. I love having someone I can call or text about anything. With us, even the smallest things like losing a pound, or a change in our babies' poop warrants a text message. I call her about everything, and she always let's me vent until I get it all out. She is a great listener and full of good advice.

Lisa is also incredibly smart! She graduated Summa Cum Laude in BYU's Audiology and Speech Language Pathology department and spoke at graduation! Then she went on to complete her Master's in one year, getting all A's, with a new born! And, I don't remember what her GRE score was, but I know it was awesome!

Lisa is very creative and generous. She has done a lot of painting and decorating around her house and makes really cute homemade cards and gifts. Since elementary school, she has had a gift for poetry. I still remember the award she got in first or second grade. As silly as it sounds, anytime I need something turned into a rhyme, I call her and she can do it. She has even made up special verses to songs for James (if I had more time I would link to her posts about them). She has gone on service trips to Kenya and Mexico and has aspirations of saving the African children--even if that means Dan never gets his dream car. ;)

So do I like being a twin?
When my twin is Lisa: YES!

P.S. Any of you who knew us pre-college are probably picking your jaws up off the floor right now. Let's just say I haven't always thought so highly about Lisa, but we both know we didn't mean all those mean words that were exchanged. :)

Talking, Rocking, and the Vacuum

Ethan has gotten very vocal. He sings (grunts) himself to sleep and makes all sorts of noises when he is awake. Here is one of his noises. Notice at the end how he rocks forward. This was a little while ago, so now he rocks forward even more and pushes with his arms like he is trying to stand.



Ethan has always liked the vacuum, but now he tries to get it. Before I got the camera he was diving for it with both arms, but he had calmed down by the time I took this.

Pictures!

A few weeks ago, when Ethan was first getting good at sitting up, this was my view of him from the kitchen. Maybe it was because he looked so different sitting up, but I though it was adorable!
The boys playing.

Mike getting all fancy with his picture taking.
Enjoying the sunshine before it gets too hot.


Bath time--I was very indecisive, so you get to see the whole photo shoot.





Ha ha.



Splash splash.

PYP

For the last couple weeks I have been using the website Pinchingyourpennies.com to help save some money. I love getting free/really cheap stuff! I have gotten free toothpaste, haircare products, vitamins, etc. And check out my grocery list from today:

4 boxes of Life cereal: Free!
8 tubes of Pillsbury stuff (biscuits and pizza crusts): $.25 ea
2 gallons of milk: $1.47 ea
sour cream: $1

Grand total: $6
Amount Saved: $39

On top of all that, I babysat today, got 3.5 hours of work done, exercised, and I'm going to make dinner for the second night in a row! Can you tell I'm smiling?

Advice

I've heard a lot of talk about great deals on flights and hotels lately. On the news they were advertising a two night trip to Vegas, airfare and hotel included, for $85/person. We were thinking we should do something like that, so I've been looking online. The problem is, I don't care when or where I go, but I don't want to spend a lot of time searching online. Does anyone know a website that will allow me to say, "I want to go on a vacation, leaving from Phoenix, let me know when you find a smoking deal, anywhere, anytime?"

Good morning!

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Change of Heart

When I first heard of kleenex with lotion I thought that sounded so silly. A few colds ago, though, I realized how great the idea was. This winter Mike and I both had colds, and sore noses, at the same time. So, despite our "cheapness," we bought some lotion kleenex, to use only when we are sick. My nose is very grateful.
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Yum!

I actually made dinner tonight! I tried a new recipe: Blackberry Balsamic Chicken (from Simple Meals for Busy Families), but I made it with pork chops because I have had some pork sitting in my freezer for quite some time. It was very yummy and easy. We had the green chile rice that was suggested with it and roasted veggies.

For dessert: left-over cream cheese swirl brownies. This is a tried-and-true Betty Crocker recipe--SO good!

1	box (1 lb 6.5 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix
1/3	cup vegetable oil
1/3	cup water
2	eggs or 3 eggs
1	package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3	cup sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla
1	egg
1/2	cup semisweet chocolate chips

	Print these coupons...
	About Concordance™

1.	Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.
2.	In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, pouch of chocolate syrup, oil, water and 2 eggs for fudgelike brownies (or 3 eggs for cakelike brownies), using spoon, until well blended. Spread in pan.
3.	In another medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in vanilla and 1 egg just until blended.
4.	Pour cream cheese mixture over brownie batter in pan; cut through mixture with knife several times for marbled design. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
5.	Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cream cheese mixture begins to brown and toothpick inserted in brownie 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean or almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For 24 brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered and, if desired, in refrigerator.

Still cute

I haven't posted many pictures of Ethan lately, so here is our little smiley boy. He only sleeps in his crib now and can fall asleep by himself. We ask ourselves everyday how we got so lucky!
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Splish Splash

Last night Ethan discovered splashing. I tried to teach him two weeks ago when we were spending all of that time in the pool, but he didn't seem interested. Last night he was splashing constantly. He got very into it, raising both hands above his head and bringing them both down hard into the water. He got water everywhere-it was hilarious!

He is very steady sitting up now, so he sat all by himself through the whole bath and had lots of fun playing with the rubber ducky and bath book that my mom got him. He amazes me everyday with how coordinated he is getting!

Another Switch

This is the money I could be wasting with Geico. :)

Six months ago we switched to Geico because it was cheaper than all the other agencies we called. It was time to renew our auto policy this month, so we checked around to make sure we were still getting a good deal, and we switched our Auto and Home insurance to Liberty Mutual.

A few years ago Mike's dad was t-boned by a young driver who ran a stop sign. She had Liberty Mutual, and he liked working with them so much, that he switched his insurance to them. That experience, plus the 10% discount for BYU alumni convinced us that we should at least call.

We are now covered better than we were before, and we are paying less with a company our family has had good experiences with. We worked with a really nice agent that spent a lot of time answering every question we had and answering each one very well. She even satisfied all of Mike's concerns, which is not always easy to do. :) I especially liked that she was available after 5pm and responded quickly to emails!

If you're looking for new insurance, you should try Liberty Mutual!

Our agent was:
Darlene "D" Smith.
Darlene.Smith@libertymutual.com
1-877-518-1389

Sweet Mike, Sick Wife

I haven't been feeling 100 % this week, and this morning I woke up with 103 degree temperature and a terrible cough. Mike missed half a day of work getting me all set up. He spoke to Sam's family, got all the stuff for the DI pick-up I had scheduled out on the driveway, called his mom for advice on how to treat me, set up this bedside station with tea, water, juice, vitamins, etc., cleaned up around the house, called our home teacher over so I could have a blessing, and fed and played with Ethan until Ethan's first nap of the day. Judging by the pictures he took of Ethan this morning he dressed him and styled his hair too! Thank goodness I have Mike!
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Green Stuff

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with green pizza and a cute green outfit.
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What will he do...

When Ethan can move?
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Tongue

Ethan has been experimenting with his tongue lately.
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What's this?

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Confession: I'm a blog stalker

Anytime I find a (public) blog written by someone I know, I add it to my reader. Between my Blackberry, trying not to watch TV, and all the time I spend rocking and feeding Ethan, it is fun and easy for me to keep up with lots of blogs. Since I am always excited to find new blogs, I added a list of the blogs I read to my side bar. Maybe you can find a blog to be excited about today. :)

Be True to Your School

When we got our new car I wanted to show some school spirit, but couldn't find the sticker I wanted. So, I called my best-friend and roommate from BYU, Leslie, (who is still in Provo) and asked her to check the bookstore. When she came home to AZ for X-Mas break she brought this along. Hooray! It may seem silly to post about this, but I was SO excited! I have been waiting to post a picture until I washed the car, but seeing as it is March and that hasn't happened yet, I took a picture anyway.

Go Cougars!

Ethan+Ruth=BFF

Ruth was due 19 days after Ethan and was born 18 days after him. It was fun to see them interact at 4 months and it will be fun to see them play throughout their lives. If only we lived closer.





James didn't really want to be in the picture.

Animal Lover

Ethan LOVES animals now. Katie, one of Nana's dogs. (Nana=my mom)

Lexi, Grammy's dog. (Grammy=my maternal grandma)
And Kiwi, our cat, has finally caught Ethan's attention--lucky cat!

Hats!

We all went shopping on Saturday, and my main objective was to find a hat for Ethan so that I didn't have to keep smearing sunscreen in his hair. We got two little hats that ended up being too little (Ethan wasn't with me). Today we went and exchanged them and then had fun taking pictures. I had trouble picking just a few. :)


Lisa and I took the kids to Costco so that we could get some frozen yogurt and Ethan got to sit in the cart for the first time. I am so excited that now he will be able to see things without me having to hold him the whole time. I just need to get/make one of those covers so he doesn't suck on the bars.





This is the toy that goes everywhere with us right now! It entertains him indefinitely whether he is sitting in a lap, in his car seat, or by himself. Thanks Kris and family!

Super spitter!
So the hats make him look even more like a girl, so we'll have to dress him in collared "masculine" clothes in the future, not frog shirts that kinda look flowered.