How did we get here?

Oh man....how did I get to this point?  April 2014 was the last time I blogged?
Shameful. ;)
Do I just jump in on where we're at right now, at the END of 2014, or try and back track the past 8 months?  .....oh momma.  That may take MANY posts....and a lot more brain power that I'm currently running on.
But, I think I have just enough to update our pics.
I think.

Our old family picture was taken in July of 2013:

And the new Christmas 2014 pic:

A little growing up was done in that time, huh?

I mean, I'm sure Tim could still probably pick up both twins at the same time...but my guess is his face would look a little more strained.... ;)

Cale?  Gosh, he's just a monster.  Look - he's up to my chest!  Should we take bets on when he will outgrow me?  - I wonder how weird it will be the first time I catch myself looking "up" at him.

Slow down, son.  Slow down.

SONS! All of them are getting so big!

And you, dear daughter.

Oh my love, you are far too mature for your not-quite-2-year-old self. 

 

Tim and I joke that if we had had Neve first we would have thought the boys were all a little behind.

She's just seems so...advanced. 

Talking full sentences at 18 months? Check. 

Singing songs and demanding she does EVERYTHING herself before she's 2?  Double check.

BUT how I've longed for my very own dolly.  She's perfect.

Christmas-time is a blast this year!  ...I have had a great time shopping for lil' Miss Neve.

I'm not gonna say I took a deep whiff of a few cabbage patch dolls, but I'm not gonna say I didn't.

.....Smells. Like. My. Childhood.

 

One might say that wanting to relive your childhood is a powerful enough urge to have a brood of boys -and keep on going.

(Maybe that one is me.)

Today I took pictures of every doll I wanted I thought Neve might want and sent them to Tim to have her vote on her favorite.

His reply back: "She wants them all."

Me too sister, me too.

 

And I love that mess of boys we have. 

....I gather having boys is intimidating to some moms, but listen...
I'll boil it down for you:

Superheroes...Fighting...Things that move fast.

Elaborations vary.  My boys aren't ALL into Super-Heros.
I'd give that card to Megersa first and foremost (dressing up, pretending, and the like) followed closely by Thad.  I would say those 2 are my fighting men as well. 
Shep will jump in there if the urge hits, but...that boy's inner workings deserve a blog post of it's own.  He is one. of. a. kind.
All 3 have asked for Nintendo DS this year for Christmas.

Truthfully I can't wait til they have their own systems...
What?!  Not wanting to share my phone (and it's super awesome games) with them for hours on end makes me a bad mom? ;)
 

Cale's interest "growing up" (as if at his ripe old age of 7.5 is grown) have never touched on any one of those things for very long.  He is already pulling away from the pack with his 'own' thing. 

I was talking to the dentist today (when his hands were not directly IN my mouth) about his age and how the requests from Santa are more grand and specific. 
My dude loves soccer.  LOVES. His request was simple this year. 
"2 soccer goals"
...yes, 2 goals so he can turn his siblings into little opposing teammates that he can dominate with his newly acquired skills. (...gotta love the oldest child's choice of how to be a dictator leader. ;))

 

So, that's where I will end. 
I realize I only updated 1 pic....but if I continued on with the other 7 that need changing and description updates I would be writing until morning....and I'm certain everyone would fall asleep.

I wonder if people with only 2 children can wrap up their thoughts without making it a book.

I know I can't...

SO, stay tuned. 

Or not, whatever you want. ;)

 

I solemnly swear am going to make a valiant attempt to blog more finishing out this year and into 2015...... perhaps I'll make it past April. 

 



hashtagging

I did sign up for twitter.
At least I think I did.
I have not followed anyone's twitter feed and I haven't "tweeted" anything (that I know of)...
so why do it?
Well, honestly, I love reading people's hashtags.
I feel like it's people little inner thoughts on the post at hand.
Kinda like the emojis....(which are very facially descriptive) but with actual words.

I need to ask Tim how to do it correctly, because I'd like to be able to log away certain tags with what my kids do... An easier way of recording their funny/serious/insane moments without opening up the old blogger and logging away.
(I do intend to keep up with this though for my own sake...and theirs some day.)

For now though, before I can confidently say I'm hashtagging correctly, I will just list the things that I wanna log away (and just for fun this time- lets do it "hashtag" style).

Eats cereal in a bowl, with a spoon...without milk.
#megersa4
Puts his shoes on the wrong feet.  Every time.  Always.
#megersa4
Takes a bow after taking a dump.
#thad3
Started walking on 4.23.14
#neve1

They say...

Opposites attract.

Well, maybe they weren't talking about twins, but growing in the same uterus is about as close as two opposites can get.
Even now, on the "outside" - 3+ years later, they're super close...BUT, they're also super opposite.

 and as more evidence a fun look at a FB post from April 15:
I took a half hour to "ignore" (if thats possible) my troops while I watched the Duggars.
2 potty accidents.
One twin stood still screaming in his wet clothes glued to his spot.
The other changed clothes and started a small load of laundry. (Sure it was dirty stuff in the dryer...but he deserves some props.)
....Guess who did which.

I love that they're opposites!
Their interests actually rarely cross.
Which makes me hope that they won't be fighting over girlfriends when that day comes (you know - in like 20 years...) ;)

Easter 2014

So technically these pics were taken the Sunday before Easter - but Nana & Pop-Pop (hosts of the egg hunt) were going to be out of town on Easter, so we celebrated this festivity a week early.

No matter - kids celebrate the day that there is a celebration.

Calendars don't matter as much.

The amount of candy these tikes got was INSANE.  For two days I had kids willing to do whatever it took to get a piece, but...like Halloween, I separate it, then hide or freeze it, and the desire to beg sorta fizzles away...and I can use it as fun treats or rewards. ;)

Thumbs up, Easter 2014!

Hey Mom...

I hear this phrase "HEY MOM" probably about...1000 times a day.
Whining, crying, complaining, arguing, fighting....
BUT SOMETIMES the words that follow are completely hysterical.
For instance:
"Hey Mom, what are these?  ...You're new glasses?"

 Come on...tell me you didn't laugh!! :)

It's true. He's 7.

7 years ago I gave birth to my first born son. He made me a mother and has taught me so much.
He is loving, determined, strong willed, silly, devoted and super duper handsome.
I love you him much.
Just so so much.  
My Cale Timothy Nester.

Potty Training

It's two okay... so you need to cut me some slack.
When I start to whine about it, I get lots of advice on potty training boys...
BUT...that's not what I needed.
I have boys.
I've trained boys.
I haven't trained TWINS.

Cale was potty training around 22-28 months.
Megersa started early (his poopy success was astounding!) at 18 months...
But the twins?
Well, there's the fact that there's 2.
And they were premature so I didn't wanna rush them? And then...it's two.  Two boys.
And when THEY were 2, their baby sister was born.
So, I went with my gut.
And my gut said to wait.
So we waited.
And then we moved, and since I was worried about potty training in a house that isn't our own, we waited some more.

BUT...here we are at 3 years old, and now getting on the ball.

Thad is doing pretty great.
We still do diapers for nap and bedtime (as we will continue until they are consistently dry), but otherwise, he's good.
Shep, on the other hand...well, he's hit or miss.
He is inconsistent at best.  But, ya know what?
He'll get there.
Neither will be wearing diapers forever.
It's all part of growing up.

school work

Came home in Cale's bookbag.
I found them myself because Cale doesn't realize how great he actually is:
1. He is hysterical.
Apparently (after concealing my giggling) I asked  Cale why he wrote #6.
He told me it was because he was instructed to use the underlined (spelling words) in sentences.
2. His heart is pure.
Wow. 
That's all I can say.
Upon finding it, I almost cried.



Here, is the featured author, who recently lost his second baby tooth (pulled out 1.11.14).

fish tales

Me: Cale, I wanna take a pic of you and your fish. (Mumbling under my breath..."so I have documentation of its life")
Because I don't think that fish will be long for this world...
Do fish jump?
YES!
...As luck would have it, Ive got yet another thing to take care of.
-Cale got an early birthday present - a bright blue beta fish.-
The water needed changing.I had a nice clean bowl of water and accessories. The fish was swimming in a small cup of its filthy water anticipating the new scene I assumed.
Changing out water?
This was suppose to be a piece of cake. I've done this a million times (I'm a beta lover - note this is the ONLY animal I will ever love.)
I got my slotted spoon, and "fished" him out.
He jumped off the spoon....
INTO THE SINK......
AND DOWN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL!!
...talk about a Mom who loves her son. All I could do was picture his crumpled lil face when I told him his fish died... (And I know he would insist on knowing how.)
So, Despite that horrible sick feeling you get when you shove your hand down a disposal, I went after the fish.
...For my sad sensitive Cale.
I kept feeling that lil slimy booger escaping my grasp amongst the soggy old Rice Krispies from breakfast and the carrot peels from a recent dinner prep.
But I got him....and deposited him in his new clean tank.
All the while Cale had his back turned.
Smiling pleasantly but grumbling something like: "Judah, you rotten son of a gun...lucky lil.........",
I presented my firstborn with his fish. In a clean tank as promised.
All is well...for now. Only time will tell his future. ((He may end up in that drain after all but with me calling the shots....))
 

Sometimes I truly feel like a ninja.
...And also like I wanna throw up a lil bit.

Gotcha Day #4

Megersa has been home for 4 years today!!

He is so loveable. 
And sometimes loveably random: 
"Mom....its okay if we only have one whale in our family. We can't be greedy about that.... Some people only have one room to live in. All the people share one room. Hey, Thad! ...want Seka read you a story?"
 
When I stepped off the plane and met his daddy and big brother I remember wondering if he would always be so quiet....
He's usually pretty calm, but not so much quiet anymore!
My times have changed!!
 
Adding joy to our lives, we couldn't imagine life without him.
Happy gotcha day, Megersa!
We love you.

popcorn and pictures

They're ALL adorable.
All of them!
My daughter AND my sons.
When we go out and about we always get the token comments "you've got your hands full...I don't know how you do it...are you done yet?"  yada yada, puke.

BUT, on some rare, special occasions we get people just watching silently, and sometimes, a quiet compliment comes out of their mouth.
"Wow.  What a beautiful family you have."

THANK YOU stranger.  You have blessed me with your words.
And I agree.

Our duo turned 3!

Happy 3rd birthday to the most handsome set of twins in the world!
Though they came into the world together they couldn't be more different!!
But best friends without a doubt.
I thank God for His most abundant gifts in both my 
Thaddeus Drew and Shepherd Kingston.
Nothing but love today (and that's truly saying something because one of them took a diaper-less dump in his sleeper....:/)

We celebrated our 3 year old TWINS with burgers and fries at 5 guys and then had some great fun at Booneshoft Children's Museum. 
It was an awesome afternoon! 
I'll admit, 3+ years ago I was terrified when the doc said "look, there's 2!" 
But our lives would be seriously lacking without 2 of the coolest boys in the world.