BritneyMarie

They Said It Would Get Harder...And Now It Has!

2008-09-23T09:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was one of the most eventful days I've ever had with the twins! Here's what happened, in no particular order:

1. They were in The Octagon (which we now don't set up as an octagon. We prop it up around the couch and love seat so they can "walk" around.) The purpose of The Octagon is to keep them safe so I can go to different areas of the house. Well, I went into their room to help Ricky get some stuff to pack up and when I came back I only saw Emma. I looked all over the room for Olivia! Finally, I looked behind the couch, and there she was, chewing on the fan outlet plug! Needless to say, I freaked out a little bit. We no longer put The Octagon up like that when we do other things.

2. As I was setting The Octagon up, I picked Emma up and put her in it, and when I turned around to grab Olivia...she was gone. Gone to the kitchen to eat some kitty food. By the time I grabbed her, she had already eaten a few pieces and swallowed them and had her hand in the bowl for more.

3. We were in their room playing before bedtime and Ricky left to go to get a book for them from the living room. When he left and closed the door ('cause they have a bad habit of crawling off down the hallway now) and Olivia crawled over to the door, stood up on her tip-toes and was reaching for the doorknob to follow her daddy! She couldn't quite reach it, but it was nice to know she knew what to do with a door! LoL!

4. All day long Emma has been loudly saying, "Dadadadadada!" I keep telling her "Daddy's at work", but it doesn't do any good. :)

5. Both twins have finally started saying "Mama" and "Dada" albiet in their own little ways, and Emma a little more clearly and often, but they're still doing it! Yea!!

6. While we were playing on the floor, Emma crawled over to Ricky's X-Box controller, picked it up, unpaused his game and started moving his character around the screen. I know it was all a coincidence, but it was still pretty funny!

7. While we were in their room before bed, I stood Emma up (she's gotten really good at standing up by herself, but only when I stand her or she lets go...she can't sit and stand without touching something/someone yet...) and then she took a step! Over the course of a few stand up, take a step, fall down...she managed to take five steps one time before falling! I'm so happy! We got Olivia to take one step, which is really good! She usually does things a few days/weeks after Emma so her taking a step today is awesome!!

8. While playing in the living room, I look over and Emma is standing on top of a stack of boxes three boxes high! I don't know how she got up there, but she did and was headed for the window.

I kept hearing from different parents that once they're "mobile" it would get harder, and the other day I was thinking, "Eh, it's not that bad. They're mobile (crawling) and they're not getting into anything. I've got the best kids ever!" Yeah, right! haha!

In other news, Ricky and I are moving in 3 days. We're moving in with my dad, until he moves out sometime between October and December then we're going to buy his house (the house I grew up in). We've been packing for almost a month and still have so much left to do. All the things that are left out are things that we're still currently using, like the television and the computer. We've packed up our dvd collection and have been watching the same box of movies for a straight month. If I have to hear that VeggieTales theme one more time I'm going to shoot myself. The other day Ricky and I went to Best Buy and I got the twins a few (*ahem* ten *cough*) new movies to watch.

Oh, I almost forgot. Ricky and I went to the flea market on Saturday (we do *heart* our dirt malls) and there's this guy that has a booth there that we've purchased stuff from before. I got a couple Disney vinyls to frame (I like to frame records) and Ricky found me a New Kids On The Block cd from 1994. We've purchased from this guy before, but sometimes his merchandise isn't exactly what you thought you were buying. For example, one time Ricky got a cd and when he opened it, it wasn't in there. Another time, he bought a cd and there was two copies of it in there. For two dollars, it's not a huge deal that it happens every once in a while. But, when we got to the car, I had Ricky open it up to check to see what was actually in there. When he did, he looked at the front cover (on the inside of the case) and it was autographed! For two dollars, I got NKOTB's autograph! :)

On a completely different note, do you ever wish you could look at someone and tell them exactly what's on your mind instead of sugarcoating it all the time because you don't want to make them mad at you? 'Cause I do all the time.

Britney Marie

It's Been A While

2008-09-18T16:23:00.001-04:00

It's been a long time since I've posted. I didn't realize that. Hmmm....

Our family will be moving back to Panama City, in 9 days (that's next Saturday for those of you who can't count days). I'm really excited. We'll be living with my dad and step-mom until probably Christmas, but that won't be bad. They said we won't have to pay rent or utilities while they're there so basically we'll get to keep Ricky's entire paycheck.

The only thing I'm really going to miss are our friends we've made here.

BritneyMarie

Book Meme

2008-07-10T12:27:00.002-04:00

I'm bored and since I saw this on Hollow Squirrel, I figured I'd do it.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you

The book is, Drugs in American Society.

"Sedatives are general depressants; they retard signals passing through the central nervous system."

"As such, then, their effects are contrary or antagonistic to the stimulant drugs."

"Sedatives also slow down a number of functions and actions of a wide range of gorans of the body, as well as general activity, or "behavioral output.""

I'm tagging Sheena, Jessi, Gen, Heather, & Steen.

Reassurrance

2008-07-08T20:40:00.002-04:00

As I look around and see other people's kids (not other twins, though they certainly are doing this as well) doing so much more than Em and Liv, I can't help but wonder if it is because I'm not giving my girls enough attention. I try very hard to make sure I'm teaching them everday how to do things, but I wonder if because I'm having to do things for two, instead of one, that it is more difficult. Surely, it has to be easier to work one on one, than one on two (or more) right?

Please tell me that Em and Liv will catch up. Please tell me that they'll start walking and talking. Please!!!

Britney Marie

Me and My Big Mouth

2008-07-03T01:33:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I swear I'm a glutton for punishment.

We're having the twins birthday party this weekend...at our house. It was originally supposed to be a grilling pool party, but it has rained every day for two weeks and our local weatherman said there's a 50% chance of rain on Friday. So, because of this possibility, we most likely won't be able to go swimming. And, since our upstairs neighbor's balcony does nothing about keeping water out ** we won't be able to grill. So, now the party has been changed to a completly indoor party and instead of grilling, my Mom is going to grill everything the night before and we'll just reheat it. Talk about lame!!!

Ok, on to the point of the story, I (well, Ricky has helped too when I've asked him) have planned this party for months. The details surrounding the party have been set in stone for weeks. Granted, it took me a while to actually get around to making the invitations, but I knew what type of party, where, when and all that long beforehand. Anywho, so all of a sudden this past week everyone in my family has had a problem with this!

In the past week I have heard, "You only have one bathroom..." (I guess my father is planning on spending the entire party in the bathroom and was wondering where everyone else was going to go...) "Where are we going to park, there's not enough space..." (Yeah, there's only so many parking spaces directly in front of our apartment, there are plenty of other spaces if you don't mind walking an extra 25ft. Geez!) "If you won't let me bring mayonaise, I'm not coming..." (I have a very very strictly enforced rule that no one is allowed to bring pickles or any form of pickles (relish included) into the house. I hate pickles. I hate the way the smell. I hate the way they look. I hate everything about them. Ricky, on the other hand, feels the same way about mayonaise. When Ricky and I were discussing things to get for the party he said that if I said no pickles, he was going to say no mayonaise. So, when I informed my Mom of this, that was her reaction.) "Gas prices are so high for all of us to come in, why don't you come into Panama City instead..." (Yeah, they don't have to drive here and spend money on gas, but apparently it's different when it is Ricky and I spending our money on gas...) "Instead of having the party at your house, where it will be crowded, come into Panama City and we can have it at *insert whoever I was speaking to at the moment's house*..." (My family and Ricky's family do not get along. So everyone was constantly trying to get us to have the party at their house, so the other family wouldn't be invited, and then they could throw another party at their house. So, in essesnce, they were trying to get us to have multiple parties for each of the families, just like at Christmas...uh...NO!!)

After hearing constant arguments about what I had planned for MY CHILDREN'S birthday party, last night I told Ricky that I was just ready to cancel the whole thing. A few minutes before that, I was on the phone with my dad, who was still telling me all these negative things about the way I planned the party, and I finally said (in the most polite way possible), "I understand your points, and if you or anyone else still feel this strongly about it, I will not hold a grudge if you decide not to show up. If this is going to cause you so much trouble, don't even worry about it."

Ultimately, Ricky and I decided to keep the party on. We figured, if they show up, they show up. If not, then whatever.

So, then this morning I get a phone call from my brother-in-law (he's married to Ricky's sister). He has to be on-call for work and won't be able to come. That's fine. I had been warned that this might happen, so it was completely okay. No big deal. I told him I would get Ricky to video tape it and we would send him a copy. No biggie. Then I find out that my father-in-law might not be coming. He has a paper due in class (he's going back to college) and he's been so stressed out that he hasn't finished it yet. Now, on this one, I'm calling BULL! I don't care what school work he hasn't finished, he needs to be here for his granddaughters. He knew he had this paper due, and he knew the twins had a birthday coming up. He fucking knew!!! So, now because of his laziness his granddaughters have to suffer. Fuck that.

After I got off the phone with my brother-in-law, I talked to my mother-in-law. Basically, they were supposed to get a hotel room Thursday night so they could help set up the party (I don't need any help, but whatever...). Then they were going to come over on Friday for the party, then leave that afternoon. Well, since it is now going to be just my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and my granny-in-law, I offered to let them stay with us. Hence the title. I do not get along with Ricky's family. We're civil enough, but they drive me berzerk! There's too much back story to delve into why that is, but let's just say that I am sometimes physically incapable of being in the same room with them sometimes. They make me that fucking angry. They're nice "people", but their actions and their choices make me want to strangle them! (If that makes any sense.)

So, yeah. Now I've got my mother-in-law, who will constantly ask what I need help with, my sister-in-law, who the majority of the time is a waste of space, and my granny-in-law who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. All this, and Ricky has to work on Friday. From 3am-12:30pm (he's going to try to get off at 9am though). During the before-party and the beginning of the party, I get to play referree between his family and mine. That's going to be loads of fun right there.

I was just informed that my father-in-law will be coming. That's good, I'm glad. But I think I pissed my sister-in-law off when I told her I how I felt about the situation. Oh well.

I'm really hoping this party goes well. I've had a tension headache for like three days now. And I don't think it's going to be letting up any time soon. Ugh, I just looked at the clock, 2:02am. I should have been in bed hours ago. Damn it...

Britney Marie

**The other night Ricky and I were outside talking to our neighbors (the ones right next to us). And all of a sudden we hear this big splash behind us. Our new upstairs neighbors, who I affectionately call "Smokey McSmokerson"***) dumped his cooler, garbage water, or something down through the slats of his balcony...directly onto our porch. He made no effort to try to dump it over the side into the bushes. Now, normally, when we're outside talking to our neighbors, Ricky and I are standing on our porch and they are standing on theirs. This time, however, we were all on their porch, which turned out to be quite lucky! The guy didn't even look! Ugh, I hate them already, and they haven't even been living there for a month yet!

***The day "Smokey McSmokerson" moved in our entire apartment smelled like cigarette smoke. It was so bad in our kitchen that I couldn't go in there for more than five seconds without getting a horriffic headache. The maintenance man came by and sealed up some holes under our cabinet then went upstairs and did the same to their apartment. It smells a whole lot better, until we run the dryer, then we can smell it again. I've toldthe maintenance men, but they haven't come by to fix it again.

Dancing Through Life -- Wicked

2008-07-01T00:55:00.000-04:00

The trouble with schools is
They always try to teach the wrong lessons
Believe me, I've been kicked out
Of enough of them to know
They want you to become less callow
Less shallow
But I say: why invite stress in?
Stop studying strife
And learn to live the unexamined life

Dancing through life
Skimming the surface
Gliding where turf is smooth
Life's more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard
When it's so soothing
Dancing through life
No need to tough it
When you can slough it off as I do
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through

Dancing through life
Swaying and sweeping
And always keeping cool
Life is fraught-less
When you're thoughtless
Those who don't try
Never look foolish
Dancing through life
Mindless and careless
Make sure you wear less
Trouble and rife
Woes are fleeting
Blows are glancing
When you're dancing
Through life

Smart vs. Supid

2008-06-28T11:57:00.002-04:00

Sorry if today's post is a little incoherent.

Why is it that bad things happen to good people and good things happen to stupid people?

Lately Ricky and I have been having some financial trouble. It's nothing major, but it is there none-the-less. We're constantly living from paycheck to paycheck and it always seems like we're just barely getting by. I guess that's what happens when you have four mouths to feed and only one person working. Ricky tries so hard to make ends meet for our family. Since we can't afford day care I won't be able to get a job until the girlies go to school. Right now we've got some extra scholarship money coming in, but we're still waiting on the check. We're always waiting on the check. Whenever we need the money it's not available to us.

What I don't get is why people who work hard and try to have a decent (not lavish) life get crapped on constantly. For a few months, we were able to get food stamps, and it really helped out a lot. We only got $83 a month, but that was more than enough to get the twins their baby food and us some staple food. We had to re-certify the other day and were told we now make too much money. All because this semester I received scholarship money over and above my tuition. Is that not some crap? I'm trying to better myself and am now getting punished for it.

I'm always a little scared to mention other family members in this blog unfavorably because I'm so afraid they'll stumble across it one day. As small a possibility that it is, it is still there. But this time there's really no way of getting around it.

The whole point I'm trying to get at is that my sister-in-law (who's 21) and her husband (they haven't even been married a year yet) have already filed bankruptcy and are now back living with my in-laws. They are so stupid, and yet they get to live free and clear! How is that fair? Because they were stupid and racked up credit card debt, now their debt is wiped clean and they don't have to pay for anything? I think that if my mother-in-law is going to support them, then they should be sending us money monthly as well. I mean, my mother-in-law quit her job because her husband was making enough money to support her (after my husband and sister-in-law moved out). And now that my sister-in-law has moved back in, she had to get a job. Clearly my sister-in-law is not supporting herself if my mother-in-law now has to get a job!

So, tell me...why are we having trouble when they are getting everything???

Britney Marie

13 Days And Counting...

2008-06-21T00:11:00.002-04:00

In 13 days my little babies will no longer be little babies...they'll be little toddlers. I'm both excited and sad at the same time. This year has definitely flown by faster than I've ever noticed before. I can't believe all the things the girls have learned in the past year either.

When they were first born they would only take 25cc's of formula...and even then Olivia had trouble with that. At birth, Emma weighed 4lbs 14oz and Liv was a mere 3lbs 12oz. They have put on so much weight since then it's amazing! And I love it!!! Those first days in the hospital were so very different. Ricky and I would sleep in shifts because we didn't know we could both sleep with the baby in the room. Even though she was sleeping the whole time too...and it's not like we couldn't hear her when she cried! I remember the first time she spit up so badly it came out her nose. I was the only one in the room and I panicked. Seeing her face all red, her gasping for breath was just too much for me. Ricky was just outside the door and came rushing in to see me freaking out over her. He swooped in like some sort of super hero and took care of her with no problem at all. All I could do was sit on the cot and cry. Little did I know that she would do that more than just that once. Pretty soon I was a pro at cleaning up the projectlie vomit!

When I was discharged from the hospital (10 days later) Emma was big enough to come home with us. Liv was confined to the NICU for another week. It was so hard for me to leave her there. I felt like I was abandoning her. I cried everyday. And everyday I would get up and go visit her. Every time they would tell me she would be coming home very soon, she would take a step backwards and they'd say she needed to stay longer. For a few days she even had to have a feeding tube. Seeing her like that was like a knife in my heart.

Having both girls home was a big change from just having one. They both slept really well and were on the same schedule, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. From the time they were both home it was like time just hit fast-forward. One day they were sleeping-eating-pooping-crying machines, and the next they were staying awake, giggling and attempting to roll over.

I've noticed that while Emma does things before Olivia, Liv will do things faster. For example, from the time Emma realized she could move around by rolling places to the time she started crawling forward was a few weeks. When Liv realized she could go places by rolling, it only took her about a week to go forward. She's last getting it, but faster at figuring it out, if that makes any sense!

Now things have started to happen even faster. Two weeks ago, Emma pulled up while in her crib. Two days ago, Emma crawled over to one of her sit-in-and-play things (I'm not sure what they're called. They sit in the middle and have toys all around them) and pulled up using it. She stood there for a few minutes before she got bored with the toys that were on it. Yesterday, Emma stood up by herself holding on to the side of "The Octagon". She did this so she could see VeggieTales better. They love that show!! And today there were even more milestones! Emma used the couch to pull up, then a few minutes later when she did it again, she walked the length of the couch! Here's video of her doing it.

Also today, Ricky was holding Liv so she could stand up, he let go, and she stayed up! I just happened to be taking video when he did that, and I'm glad I was, 'cause she wouldn't do it again. Here's the video for that.

The final video I'm going to post is of Olivia crawling. I call it "The Wounded Soldier" Crawl. I have no idea why she crawls like this, but it gets her where she wants to go.

BritneyMarie

Grades

2008-05-24T12:23:00.002-04:00

I am doing a lot better this semester than I ever could have anticipated. We haven't done any class assignments, homework, papers, or exams in my Criminal Justice Policy class yet, so I don't have any grades in there. But we have done three in class writing assignments, a personal statement paper, and an exam in my Clinical/Counseling Psychology class. We haven't gotten a grade back on our paper, but so far I have gotten a 100/A on all three writing assignments and a 94/A on my first exam! Happy does not adequately describe my mood right now!

Britney Marie

The Death Match Continues

2008-05-21T01:31:00.001-04:00

I was not kidding when I said that putting the twins in "The Octagon" was a fight to the death. Here is what I caught Emma doing this afternoon.

I caught her not once, not twice, but three times crawling over Olivia, hitting her in the face and pulling her hair!

Britney Marie

The Octagon Baby Death Match

2008-05-13T00:35:00.008-04:00

Recently, we purchased one of those giant play-yards for the twins. It barely fits into our living room right now, but it was completely worth the $120 we paid for it. It lets the twins have their tummy-time on the floor so they can start crawling better, it keeps them away from all the stuff we haven't baby-proofed yet, and it gives me a little peace of mind knowing that inside they cannot (theoretically) get hurt.

y little bubble was burst the other day when I realized that the play-yard I purchased served no other purpose than to give my kids a death-match ring. Ricky calls it "The Octagon" and his tag line for it is, "Two babies go in, only one baby comes out." Which, lately has been true. For the past couple of days, every time we put them in "The Octagon", they start fighting over toys and kicking each other in the face. Emma has learned to crawl very well and when she sees Olivia playing with something, she army-crawls right over to take it from her...even if she's currently playing with the exact same toy! Liv has yet to be able to crawl forward for anything yet, so she just rolls and rolls until she gets to where she wants to be. This sometimes puts her right in Emma's path, so she gets crawled over...and kicked. Then the crying starts.

Well, on Friday I put them in "The Octagon" in the dining room so I could clean up the living room for a video game night we were having. All of a sudden Emma starts screaming like crazy. Ricky and I checked it out, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with her. So, we chalked it up to her wanting a snack or needing her diaper changed. So we changed them and fed them both and put them back in "The Octagon". Later that night, when I was putting Emma in her pajamas I looked at her arm and noticed this:

(It's really blurry, but you can kinda make it out. It looks so much worse in person, but Emma wouldn't sit still for me to get a decent photo.)
I can think of someone who has a bite pattern just like that:

Yep, Olivia had BIT her sister! I had always imagined it would be Emma biting first, but it looks like Liv got to it first. We haven't had a problem with Emma stealing toys or crawling over Liv since then, so I guess she got her point across.

Britney Marie

A Message From Olivia

2008-05-06T14:51:00.001-04:00

Mario Kart Wii and Some Other Crap

2008-05-02T00:48:00.002-04:00

Not a whole heck of a lot going on with me lately.

Got back from the Panic at the Disco concert (which I will blog about in-depth later). Just been hanging out at the house watching the twins.

Ricky and I got Mario Kart Wii the other day so that's been sucking up a lot of my time. If any of you guys who read my blog regularly want to connect our wii's just email me your nickname and Wii number and I'll do the same. If you don't have Mario Kart Wii...drop what you're doing right now and go get it. It's that awesome. The new controller is a little different to get used to, but it it so much easier than the old controller once you get it down. Just like driving a go-cart.

Tomorrow I've got a few errands to run. Got to go by the bank to deposit a check and I figured I try to see what type of loan we would qualify for. It's 99.9% certain we're going to buy my dad's house. He told me the other day that he would sell it to us for whatever we could get a loan for, even though the house is worth like double what we can afford. Seriously. The house is worth close to $300K and we're going to get it for under $150K.

I'm really excited about the new house. 'Course it's not really new to me. I lived in it for 10 years, but that's beside the point. Ricky and I have already started planning out what we're going to do with each room and where we're going to put all of our stuff.

Anywho, after the bank tomorrow I'm going to head up to FSU to get my books. I start my last semester on May 12th. I thought I started on the 20th, but apparently I was wrong. I'm glad I checked because I w0uld have shown up on the 20th and been very, very lost! I was expecting my books to cost me somewhere in the vicinity of $600 (four classes) but they were only a third of that. Things like that make me smile. *smiles*

Alrighty, well that's all the updating you get for now. I hear my Mario Kart Wii engine revving and that's my cue to race.

Britney Marie

How Far- Martina McBride

2008-04-28T04:25:00.001-04:00

There's a boat, I could sail away
There's the sky, I could catch a plane
There's a train, there's the tracks
I could leave and I could choose to not come back
Oh never come back

There you are, giving up the fight
Here I am begging you to try
Talk to me, let me in
But you just put your wall back up again
Oh when's it gonna end

[Chorus:]
How far do I have to go to make you understand
I wanna make this work so much it hurts, but I just can't
Keep on giving, go on living with the way things are
So I'm gonna walk away
And it's up to you to say how far

There's a chance I could change my mind
But I won't, not till you decide
What you want, what you need
Do you even care if I stay or leave
Oh, what's it gonna be

[Chorus]

Out of this chair, or just across the room
Halfway down the block or halfway to the moon

How far do I have to go to make you understand
I wanna make this work so much it hurts, but I just can't
Keep on giving, go on living with the way things are
So I'm gonna walk away
And it's up to you to say
YeahI'm gonna walk away
And it's up to you to say how far

The Next Nine Months Could Only Be More Eventful If I Was Pregnant

2008-04-24T21:59:00.004-04:00

The next nine months are going to be craaaazy!

First off I had a doctor's appointment today. Last weekend when we went into Panama City, my step-mom mentioned that she noticed quite a bit of hair loss. Ever since the twins were born I've noticed it too, but I just thought it was me losing the fullness of pregnancy hair. Apparently, it should have stopped by now, nine months later. So, she made me promise to go see a doctor about it. She's afraid I might have a low thyroid (hypothyroidism) or low iron (anemia). So, I made an appointment and went to see the doctor today. I got some blood drawn and have another appointment on May 8th to find out the results. I made the appointments, but I'm still not convinced it's anything. If it does happen to be anything, I'm suspecting anemia instead of hypothyroidism...I don't have any of the symptoms Y is dealing with.

May 20th I start back at FSU. I've got four more classes to take and then I can graduate. I'm taking three criminology classes and one psychology class. Two classes will be in the evenings from May to the beginning of July and the last two classes will also be in the evening from July to August. Six weeks for each class. It's probably going to take up most of my time but it's not like I update this thing regularly anyway. *smirk*

Also, right in the middle of classes will be the twins first birthday. The fourth of July is their actual birthday so we're going to have a pool party over at our apartment that afternoon. It's mostly going to be a family gathering with a few close friends invited. I've tried to start planning some of it now but there's only so much I can do so far in advance. Plus, I've got to get my butt into gear if I'm going to be seen in a bathing suit. *smiles*

August I will graduate from FSU and then come the job hunt in Panama City. We've all but been given my Dad's house so it's almost 100% definite that we'll be moving. He is planning on being in Pensacola by the first of the year so that means we're also going to have to move by then. So, right after graduation comes the job hunt and packing up all our crap and hauling it back the two hours from whence we came. I still cannot believe we're moving back to Panama City...but that house is just not something we can pass up. We'd never be able to find something that big for as cheap as we're going to get it.

I just really hope that I'll be able to do everything that I'm working on. I don't want anything to suffer because I've overextended myself. I'm trying to take one thing at a time. Unfortunately, some things overlap so it's going to be difficult to do at times.

Tomorrow a friend of mine and I will be driving to Atlanta for a concert on Saturday. We're going to see Panic at the Disco. I'm really excited. It will be the second time I've seen them in concert. The last time I saw them was for my birthday in November '06. It was the greatest concert I had seen. They put on such a great show. I'm not sure what they'll do this time since they've scaled back their music so much, but I'm sure it's still going to be great. Since Deidre and I are part of the PATD fan-club we get early entry into the concert. The concert doesn't start until 6pm, but we're going to get there at 4p so we can get close to the stage. The only thing that really sucks about going to see PATD is the fact that most of the fan-base if adolescent girls that just want to get up front because "Oh em gee...Brendon is soooooooooo hawt!" *Gag* That was the same problem we had at the last two Fall Out Boy concerts. Everyone wants to get up to swoon.

Anywho, I'll be updating when I get back with some pictures from the concert. Until then, I leave you with a message from Emma:

Britney Marie

Might Be Leaving Tallahassee

2008-04-22T13:02:00.002-04:00

Over the past weekend I was hit with some pretty big news. My dad, who has lived in the same house for 14 years has decided to move to Pensacola. I was not expecting this at all. It came as a complete shock to me. Nothing even hinted that this was coming. It was dinner then *bam* news.

The first thing out of my mouth when he told me was "I want your house." And I do. I grew up in that house and I really don't want to see it going to anyone else. So, Ricky and I are in negotiations with my dad and my mom (who is still on the deed) to purchase his house. It is five bedrooms and three bathrooms...3500sq ft. To us it will be a mansion.

Unfortunately it is in Panama City, the one place I swore I would never move back to. I guess that goes to show you that you can't always tell what the future will hold.

Luckily, my dad has told me he would work with us as much as possible to make sure we get the house because he wants us to have it. Also, it is right next door to my grandparents (paternal). So, the twins will definitely get to know their great-grandparents.

My dad won't be moving until January so we still have a good 9 months to plan everything out.

I'm really excited.

Britney Marie

Riddle

2008-04-16T11:07:00.002-04:00

Question: How many times do you have to call the maintenance men to come replace a fluorescent light bulb in your kitchen so you can see?

Answer: I'll let you know when they actually come fix it. Three times and counting...

*UPDATE*
Three. The answer is three.

Britney Marie

Laughing Matter

2008-04-12T19:59:00.006-04:00

Today the girls came home from Panama City. Ricky and I missed them like crazy! They were quite happy to be home as well.

Here's Emma:

Here's Olivia:

They were so sleepy from the trip home that they fell asleep right after their 3pm bottle. When we put them to bed Liv kinda woke up, but Em was still out.

Britney Marie

Total Request Live

2008-04-10T11:07:00.005-04:00

Well...it's not exactly "live", but it is total request.

It's come to my attention that my Flickr buddies would like to see some videos of the twins. Since I'm too poor to shell out any money for a pro account on Flickr, I figured I could do the next best thing. Blog them. So here they are, some videos of the twins.

This first one is the twins discovering the baby wipe box:

This one is Emma doing her best to crawl to a toy she's spotted:

This last one is Olivia playing with a toy radio she got for Easter:

Hope you guys like them!

Britney Marie

No Kids = Freedom No So Much Freedom

2008-04-09T16:05:00.003-04:00

Since my in-laws came in to pick up the twins for the week, I thought I would be able to get some errands done during the day. Grocery shopping and just going to stores in general with twins by yourself is a big hassle and I try to avoid it as much as possible. Ricky gets home at 1:30pm anyway so usually we both go wherever we need to. But since the girls are both gone Monday-Thursday I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to head to some stores I never get a chance to go to.

It was a good plan...in theory. Actual execution didn't go so well.

Tuesday I went to meet up with Ricky for lunch. Everything was great. When I went to leave WCTV my car wouldn't start. To make a long story short I had to call AAA and get a tow truck and now my car has been at an automotive repair shop since then. I still haven't gotten the call to tell me what exactly is wrong with it.

This morning I got up at 3am and took Ricky to work so I could use his car all day. Not exactly the freedom I was picturing.

Britney Marie

Is It Me, Them, Or Neither?

2008-04-07T05:32:00.002-04:00

Lately I've started to worry about the twins. I know I'm not supposed to compare them to other people, but it's really hard not to. Everyone at Ricky's work keeps asking if they're walking yet. No, only one of them is barely crawling. They're not sitting up on their own yet, they're not pulling up yet, they're not talking yet, they're not walking yet, they're not using sippy cups yet, and they just recently started rolling over really good. All of this at nine months old. I just feel like they should be doing so much more.

Part of me wants to blame myself for not working with them as much as I should. I feel like I should be right there with them 24 hours a day right by their sides instead of letting them do some things on their own together.

Am I crazy? Am I paranoid? Am I not doing enough? I hate this feeling.

Britney Marie

The Lady And The "Dee Dee Dee"

2008-04-02T16:51:00.002-04:00

The transition into hated lady who lives in the apartment complex is well underway. Last night about 11pm I hear girlish giggling and screaming from the pool which is right next to the twins bedroom window. I look outside and see eight or ten people out there. This isn't the first time people have been out there after hours and lately they've been teenagers throwing lawn chairs, beer bottles and televisions in the pool. I look at the clock to double check that it is in fact 11pm (the pool closes at 10pm) and I go get my sneakers. I march myself outside in my pajamas, no socks and sneakers and proceed to tell those people what's what.

"Excuse me..."

They didn't hear me.

"EXCUSE ME..."

"Oh, Hi!" The dad, who was sitting on the edge of the pool says.

"Uh, my kids window is right there *points to the window 20 feet away* and my kids and husband are trying to sleep. Can you guys keep it down?"

"You heard the lady. Be quiet"

It's still really weird for me, who is only 22 years old, to be referred to as "the lady". I felt kind of bad because apparently the people who were doing all the screaming were little girls about 7 years old...and they were having a sleep over because it's Spring Break. I didn't feel bad for long though because their parents should know better than to have a sleep over on a Tuesday night...people have to go to work even if their kids are home from school.

Oh, and a funny story that I almost forgot.

I go to our apartments office to renew our lease. I get there and one of the ladies asks whether the twins are identical or fraternal. I say they're identical. The other lady who works there tells me she is an identical twin too. (This is important.) So, the twin lady then asks me if I had "boys, girls or one of each"! COME ON! How can I have a boy and a girl if they're identical!!! I can understand, maybe, hearing it from someone who knows nothing about twins, but coming from someone who IS a twin...DEE DEE DEE! (I've been watching a lot of "Mind of Mencia" lately, forgive me!)

Britney Marie

Can You Tell It's New?

2008-03-31T01:19:00.003-04:00

Something is different, and none of you out there in blogland can tell. I am sitting here typing this entry on a brand spankin' new computer. Today I sent Ricky to Best Buy to purchase a new computer. The old one we had crapped out on us on more than one occasion. This time I ended up losing all the photographs I had taken between March 14th and yesterday. Yep, no Easter Sunday pictures of the twins for us. I was so mad about that!! So, Ricky went and got a new computer and monitor. Luckily we had gotten a new printer for Christmas. So far it seems to be working rather well. I'm not sure how much I like Window's Vista yet. It's a little different.

For the first time ever, SuperChunk was actively trying to crawl. She would get up on her hands and knees, but from there she didn't know what to do so she would fall back down. I kept trying to put things just out of her reach so she would crawl to them, but she just wasn't getting it. I expect her to start crawling very very soon. SubChunk on the other hand was quite content staring at the underside of the coffee table. To each his own, I guess!

The twins still aren't sitting up by themselves. I'm starting to wonder if they ever will! Though I thought that about rolling over too and now they do it all the time. I guess I just need to be more patient. SuperChunk's two front teeth came through the other day. She looks so goofy! Now she has a total of six teeth, four up top and two on the bottom. SubChunk still has two and two.

I guess I should probably wrap this up and head to bed. G'night all!

Britney Marie

Don't You Hate It When...

2008-03-26T23:50:00.003-04:00

- You have one day to go turn in your paperwork for college and when you ask them if that's everything you need they say yes and then call you the next day to tell you there was more you needed to fill out.

-You've been craving fettuccine alfredo all day and when you get home from house hunting for three hours you realize you don't have any alfredo sauce.

-You go to the grocery store specifically to get cat litter and you come home with $140 worth of groceries and no cat litter.

- You get through 97% on a song on Expert on Guitar Hero III and you get booed off the stage.

-You get vomited on by two different people in the span of one hour.

- You have all intentions of folding and putting away the laundry, but you never actually get to it.

'Cause I do.

Britney Marie

Because I Just Got Around To Making It

2008-03-26T23:45:00.001-04:00