2008 - Year in Review

A quick Q&A session for 2008's year in review....

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’ve never done before?

Um, continued raising twin toddlers!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I can’t remember the resolutions I made a year ago, but I’m I'm working on them for this year.

3. Did anyone close to you get pregnant this year and/or give birth?

Oh wow, yes! A few friends…Alisa, Jennifer, Amy.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

None. I am hoping to change that in 2009 and hoping that Paige & Taylor come along too. (Gotta’ get their passports…I see a warm, sunny South of the Border beach vacation in their future).

6. What would you like to have in 2009?

A lot less stress.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 3 – My five year wedding anniversary! A moment of reflection here…Five years of marriage and look at all that has come to pass…a move from the East Coast to the West Coast, buying a new home, buying two new cars, starting a family (and, at the time, thinking we’d just have one baby and getting 2), raising twins, on and on and on.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Being a good mommy to Paige & Taylor.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Because I’ve been focused on being a mommy to Paige & Taylor, sometimes that has come at the expense of being a really GREAT wife to my husband.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I won’t answer that. Sorry.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Ok, weird question, but I'm going to go with the twins Paige & Taylor.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and frustrated?

Doesn't take a genius to figure this one out, but it’s the same answer as in question #12.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Bills, twins, bills, twins, bills, twins, bills, twins, bills, twins.

15. What did you get really, really, really bummed out about?

Easy one. The lost campaign of Presidential candidate John McCain.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Most of the songs I sing now involve nursery rhymes, sing-alongs for kids, so I think I'll have to go with those.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) More happy or more sad? More happy.

b) Thinner or fatter? Exactly the same - thin.

c) Richer or poorer? Richer for the love in my life and the experiences of being a mom and wife. Poorer only in material things…come on, this should be obvious, we're raising twins and I'm a stay-at-home mommy, the most IMPORTANT, yet most underpaid job that exists. So, I may be poorer but only because our beautiful daughters lives are richer!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Hung out with my friends, made "me" time more of a priority, and work out harder and more often at the gym.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Less reality-show t.v. watching at night after the twins have gone to bed.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

I spent Christmas with my favorite people – my husband and my daughters. We opened presents, then took a little family getaway to Monterey Bay.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Oh yes, times two, all year long in two ways everyday – Paige & Taylor.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

The Unit

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don't have time or energy to hate people.

24. What was the best book you read?

Oh goodness, I read SO many books this year. But I'm going to go with Dr. James Dobson’s “Dare to Discipline”. It’s a must-read for every parent in my opinion!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

That two toddlers who totally sing loud and off-key really is music to my ears.

26. What did you want and get?

To pay off our Jeep Grand Cherokee and we did. Up next, our BMW 3-series…yeah, only 5 more months to pay on our BMW, and then we’re totally car payment free!

27. What did you want and not get?

An uneventful year, and that just didn’t happen this year.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

The Traitor

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Well, on my actual birthday I had to clean house, make meals for Paige & Taylor, wipe bottoms, do laundry, etc. so in that respect it was just another typical day in the life of, but only turning one year older. Mike did however let me escape for a little bit of “me” time to get a nice, relaxing pedicure and I did get some nice presents.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Let’s see…if I had my ultimate wish list…I guess winning the lottery. Oh what else, maybe some plastic surgery….nothing major, just a little nip, tuck here and there. Ha, ha.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Jeans and tank top/t-shirt wearing mommy in flip flops mostly.

32. What kept you sane?

My family, friends, and fellow moms of multiples who give really good advice on raising twins!!!!!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

My girl crush on Edward Norton has not faded.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Listening to uninformed, disillusioned people talk about the election. Ugh. But, to be fair, I know that others found me to be also uninformed, disillusioned about the election. I guess that's just how it goes with politics.

35. Who did you miss?

Old friends and family members I've not seen in a long time, especially from the East Coast where I grew up and lived for 20+ years.

36. Who was the best new person(s) you met?

Well, some of the medical specialists who manage the care for my daughters, and there are a lot of them. I really appreciate each of them in my life and in my girls' lives.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Things definitely don't always go as planned, but that is okay. It keeps life interesting.

38. Quote a favorite thought or expression that sums up your year.

Adversity introduces a person to him/her-self; and it's how a person responds to such adversity that is the measure of a man/woman.

Taking A Time-Out

This week, I'll be taking a time-out from blog postings...family from the East Coast is visiting our family, and our week will be chock-full of all things twins, grandparents, sight-seeing, etc. Twinsanity posts will resume again in a week. Have a great one!

No Time to Write

No time to write much right now...we've returned from a couple of days in Monterey to a post-Christmas house in much need of some tidy-ing up. And, the laundry to do, ohhhh, don't get me started on how much laundry I have to do. So, just a few pictures to post today from our visit to Monterey. Paige & Taylor loved the Monterey Bay Aquarium! It was C-O-L-D though so being outside wasn't much fun...


I have some pretty good videos to upload too, which I'll have to come back to do later on....Be sure to come back to this post to check out the videos I took of Paige & Taylor at the aquarium!

Christmas Eve - Pictures & Presents

Our Christmas Eve began tonight with our family attending a Christmas Eve service at our church...following the service, we came home snapped a few (mostly posed) family photos together...later, made some cookies to thank Santa Claus for his "long trip to Paige and Taylor's house"...and finally, the girls got to open just a few of their presents tonight. Talk about toy overload!!!! I am posting some of the random and various pictures taken throughout the evening at our house. (And, in case you were wondering, yes, that's me, only as a recently dyed brunette and with bangs).


It's now getting late, so I'm turning in soon because Paige and Taylor are now soundly tucked into bed and there is much more Christmas celebrating in store tomorrow, so I will definitely need a good night's sleep!

Baking cookies for Santa Claus....

Opening a few presents on Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve

It’s Christmas Eve…Taylor and Paige are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Christmas.... we've been talking about Santa Claus, and a lot about Baby Jesus. They understand that Santa brings presents and that Christmas is Baby Jesus’ birthday. Most of what we talk about with the twins as far as Christmas goes seems to be sinking in…the twins even got to open one of their Christmas presents early this year. It’s the Fisher Price Little Nativity set and the girls love it. They love perching the little angel on top of the nativity set…they love moving the sheep, the shepherds and the 3 wise men around....and, if you ask them to show you Baby Jesus, they’ll point right to his little manger. It’s very sweet! We’re sure to have a fun Christmas with Paige and Taylor this year. What a great age this is. There will be some pictures posted here in a few days for your viewing pleasure so be sure to check back!

Until then, Merry Christmas!

Festivus - It's Not Just For Comic Relief Anymore.

Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller, left) stands next to Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) and holds the aluminum pole his family has used in past Festivuses, while talking to Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and watching his son George Costanza (Jason Alexander) race out of Monk's Café, at the mention of the Festivus tradition "Feats of Strength."

Now, I’m a long-time enthusiast of Seinfeld and a big fan of nearly every Seinfeld skit….even, the Seinfeld episodes that are dedicated to Festivus. Oh, you know Festivus…it’s the annual holiday created by writer Dan O'Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a scriptwriter for the TV show Seinfeld. The holiday includes novel practices such as the "Airing of Grievances", in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year. Also, after the Festivus meal, the "Feats of Strength" are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned. These conventions originated with the TV episode. (Wikipedia) You might remember some of these episodes…if not, watch them here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQFLqMyo0fo&feature=related

Weren't those funny? Yeah, I just love Seinfeld too.

Well, some people today, I guess either influenced or inspired by Seinfeld, now celebrate the Festivus holiday in varying degrees of seriousness. Yes, seriousness. (And, if you think I’m kidding, well you should just check out the businesses on the internet actually manufacturing and selling the infamous Festivus metal poles that coincide with celebrating Seinfeld’s Festivus). What was intended to be comic relief in Seinfeld is now becoming a serious practice for many thanks to the spread of Festivus in the “real world” chronicled in the book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us.

So, I figured I’d weigh in on this issue since it appears that the rest of the “real world” is already. Don’t get me wrong, these Festivus episodes in Seinfeld were very funny. They made me laugh. They made me smile. That’s what comedy should do. But, in this Christmas season where it seems that nearly everywhere I turn, happy, shiny faces at the stores are wishing me “Happy Holiday”, “Happy Winter Tree Holiday”, or some other concocted variation to Christmas such as “Happy Festivus”, I find myself thinking how ridiculous our society is becoming. Really.

Call me antiquated, archaic and old-fashioned, but I still say “Merry Christmas”. To me, it’s not about some silly little saying that is uttered once a year while we’re all out shopping. To me, wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” is inexplicably tied to my faith as it is for many thousands and millions of others and the “good news of great joy for all people…there has been born for you a Savior…” (Luke 2:10-11).

So, this year, you won’t be hearing me say anything but “Merry Christmas”. It’s okay to say “Merry Christmas” no matter what those big box retailers are doing and saying. Paige and Taylor are also saying and wishing the people they meet “Merry Christmas”. And, that’s okay too.

Besides, somehow the explanations I can offer to the young minds of 3-year old twins come far more easily when sharing with them the story of Christmas. Explaining Festivus to 3-year olds? I don’t think I could even begin to try…there's this pole thing, there's this list of grievances you say, and so on. Nope, I don't see that coming very easily to 3-year olds.

Brrrrrrrrrrr.

Okay, so the title doesn't really have anything to do with the post, but it's been SO COLD around here over the last week that it's hard to ignore. As I type that, it occurs to me that I’ve really become spoiled by California weather because COLD to me is when it’s 50 degrees, whereas where I grew up on the East Coast in Virginia, COLD used to be when the temperatures were in the teens and with the windchill factor made it feel like it was a horrible 0 degrees.

So, I suppose I’ve become very spoiled by the fair weather here in California, but even so, 50 degrees still feels really COLD to me these days. I feel like COLD should be a caption under every picture I post to my blog. We were at a birthday party over the weekend. And it was cold. We were at the mall Christmas shopping yesterday. And it was cold. We were playing around the house today. And it was cold. Anyway....

Paige - COLD

Taylor - COLD

We are getting ready for our Christmas holidays. Today, my husband is at work and making arrangements for lodging/travel for our family for a short family getaway and is also trying to decide whether or not we let our dog Tukker tag along with us or send her to a boarding place while we’re vacationing over the Christmas holidays. Yesterday, Taylor, Paige and I went Christmas shopping to pick up a few last-minute items before Christmas….I have no plans of being at the malls tonight and most definitely not on Christmas Eve so I think I’m officially done shopping now! YAY!