House declutter challenge

Money Saving Mom is having a decluttering challenge. Her first assignment was to declutter and organize the living room and closets. Here are my before pictures.

Here are my after pictures.

I ended up getting rid of one coat, several gloves that were missing the mate, some mittens the boys will outgrown next year and some odds and ends for a total of 8 items

SwagBucks

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Family Vacation

Last week we went on a family vacation to Florida. It was a fun trip. We drove down there in a Chrysler Town and Country. That was a very nice ride and the boys enjoyed it, as much as they can for a 23 hour drive.

We spent the first 4 nights in Orlando. We went to Magic Kingdom for one day. Here are some pictures.

This is where we parked in Magic Kingdom.

Brady and I on his first roller coaster.

Isaac & Brady being silly. (Especially Isaac)

Buzz Lightyear ride. We got stuck on the ride a couple of times, so we were really able to score high.
Shawn maxed out at 999,999 points.

Isaac & Daddy on the Buzz ride.

Brady and Mommy on the buzz ride. As you can see, Brady spent a lot of time with mommy on the rides.

Isaac with his new "mouse" ears.

Isaac & Brady waiting for the parade to start.

Cinderella's Castle at night.

Family picture

We were also in Orlando with Grandma and Papa Neuser. Unfortunately, they had to cut their trip short because Grandpa McCabe passed away on St. Patrick's Day.

After our 4 nights in Orlando it was back on the road again for a short ride to New Smyrna Beach (near Daytona Beach) where we spent the next 3 nights. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from this part of the trip. We spent most of the time on the beach or in our condo.

The weather overall was pretty nice. We had low to mid 70s most days, but there was a strong wind that was cold. Because of that, I didn't spend a lot of time in shorts. I wore mostly capris and I made sure we all had long sleeves for the nights. We had one not so nice weather day on Thursday where the temperatures were in low 60s and cloudy. Then Friday the temperatures were in the mid 70s and sunny. The beach came to life then.

Shawn and I didn't care too much for the beach because you could drive on the beach. So we were always watching out for cars and making sure the boys watched out as well. The boys loved the ocean. They loved playing in it and we had to drag them out, even though it was freezing cold. They didn't even ask about playing in the pool.

Organizing

At our March Mother of Multiples meeting, Shelly showed us ways to get organized. She has really given me some inspiration to get organized. I started with my kitchen, and especially my pantry. Below are some before and after pictures.

Before

After

This pantry is actually only a small sampling of the food I have. Most of my extra food is stored in my basement on shelves. I have so much food thanks to Shelly teaching me about using coupons. I have saved well over a thousand dollars by using some of the tricks she has taught me, so now I don't pay for a lot of my health and beauty products and know when to stock up on groceries to get the most for my money.

I also cleaned my cupboards and organized my upstairs bathroom cupboards. I didn't get a picture taken of that area.

Happy 5th Birthday Isaac & Brady

A couple months ago during my Mother of Multiple's meeting we were taught how to decorate cakes professionally. I decided I would give it a try with the boys' cupcakes. Here is the outcome of that try. They turned out pretty good and the boys were able to bring them to school.

On the weekend, we gave the boys a party at Chuck E Cheese. Michelle brought Megan and Logan, and my neighbor Megan brought her Brady. The boys had a great time, until Chuck E came out. Then Brady didn't want to have anything to do with him, which is why you don't see him in the picture below. I've decided that I will never have a party there again on the weekend. It is just WAY to crazy busy and they rush you off the tables before you really get a chance to do anything. You only have an hour and a half and then they need to table for the next party. I really didn't like it at all.

At least the boys had a good time.

Christmas 2009

Here are some pictures from Christmas 2009.

Whaccha doin'?

The boys were very engrossed in whatever it was they were watching or doing on the computers.. Brady looks so cute in daddy's hat.

Where's Brady

Tonight I was sitting downstairs talking on the phone. I thought Brady was playing upstairs in either the living room or maybe even his room. When I got off the phone, I went to look to see what Brady was up to. I looked in the living room and he wasn't there, then I looked upstairs and he wasn't up there. I couldn't see him anywhere. Then I remembered this one time that he was actually inbetween the wall and the couch playing, so I looked there. That's where I found him....sleeping.

School pictures

We have received the boys school pictures. Here is how they turned out.

Isaac's are pretty much what we figured. He isn't shy at all and was glad to smile for the camera.

Brady on the other hand was totally shy and didn't want to smile. This is completely how he would act when he doesn't know someone.

When we got the sample pictures home and Brady had the chance to look at both of them. He told me that he wanted a picture like Isaac's. I guess he didn't like that fact that he wasn't smiling in his. I told him he needed to smile for the camera. Maybe next year will be different.

Sad day

Today is a sad day in our house. We had to put one of our cats to sleep. We had Kamy for many years, but she was sick. I never got her officially diagnosed, but we all know she was sick. Shawn brought her in today. The boys really were fond of her as she let them do anything they wanted to her. She will surely be missed. I never thought I would get attached that much to an animal, but she was the best.

One of my favorite memories of her is when she was a kitten. Shawn had his shoes off and she was playing with one of the laces. Somehow she had gotten it caught on her paw, so when she would try walking, this big shoe would following her where ever she went. The shoe was bigger than her at the time. I almost cried I was laughing so hard.

Kamy, we will miss you.

Halloween 2009

Yesterday was Halloween. I don't have any pictures because both the boys ended up dressing the same as they did last year. Isaac was Eeyore and Brady was a pumpkin. They won't be able to be those next year, or at least Brady won't be able to wear the pumpkin outfit next year. I had grocery shopping to do that day and we also bowled, so it was a busy day. Daddy ended up getting their costumes on, so when I got home the 3 of us were out the door to go trick or treating.

We tried going to this one house, but some kids in front of us said not to because there was a sign on the door saying they had run out of candy. It was nice of the kids to let us know so that we didn't make the hike up to the door. Well, anyways, a few houses later, Isaac was telling me a story. He was going on about this one time we couldn't go to a house because they had run out of candy. I said, "What like 5 minutes ago?" and he replied "No, 3 minutes ago." It was so cute, I couldn't help but laugh.

Daddy putting the boys to bed

Here are a few pictures the boys actually took while Daddy was trying to put them to bed. I was gone to my Mothers of Mutliples meeting.




Happy Birthday Daddy.

Miracle Babies Celebration

Today we had the annual Miracle Babies celebration at Aurora Hospital. This is an event that Dr. Severino's office puts on every year for his patients. This year was no exception. It is an event that includes activities for the kids to do, food and ice cream with cake. Shawn and I had started out with both the boys, but it was a good thing that we ended up with two vehicles, because shortly after we had arrived, Brady didn't want to stay. So, daddy took Brady home while I stayed with Isaac. We had a great time. Here are some pictures to show you how much fun Isaac was having.

He got an Elmo balloon hat.

He played with Playdoh.

He got his face painted (both sides).

Afterwards, I had to stop at Festival to get a few groceries, so he played in the Tot Spot while I shopped. He then came home with a couple more stickers to add to his collection of things from the party.

You can't see it in the picture, but he had a couple stickers on his legs, two name badge stickers, a balloon and a cup full of treats. I think he had a good time. Just too bad Brady missed most of it.

School update

The boys are really enjoying going to school. Brady is comfortable with me bringing him into school and into his room and then I can leave with no issues. The boys have learned that a zero voice is no talking. An outside voice is a 5. An inside voice is a 1-2. They have chocolate milk with their snack. They are brought to go to the bathroom twice. The first couple of weeks of school, they are learning about school routines and getting to know each other. They get to play with blocks, puzzles, table toys and play dough.

Next week the boys will get to go to the library for the first time and get to check out a book. They will also bring home an activity pack that we will work on for a few days until we bring it back to school.

Our schedules seem to be working pretty well. I bring the boys to school every day (Monday-Thursday). Then Daddy picks them up from school on Mondays and Wednesdays since he is done with school early those days. Ashley Smits picks the boys up from school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then watches them until Daddy gets home around 4 pm. I get home about an hour later, and then Shawn and I only have a few minutes before he leaves for work for 6 pm. Hopefully we will be able to keep this schedule next semester. We will deal with that when the time comes.

First Day of School

Today is the boys' first day of 4K. Wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe they are already in school. Daddy and I both took the boys to school for their first time. Everyone warned me that I would probably cry, but I was hoping I wouldn't. I was fine until the boys were actually called into the school and then I when I had to leave them.

Isaac was all excited about school. He went into the building without an issue, put his backpack on his hook without any problems and when the teacher (Mrs. VanKirk) asked who had put their backpacks away, he raised his hand right away.

Brady on the other hand, acted like I figured he would. He didn't want to go into the building without me, so I walked him inside. When it was really time for me to leave, he started crying and didn't want to let me go. The teacher saw he was having troubles, so she grabbed him up and brought him into the classroom.

Here are some pictures while we were still at home.

Isaac & Brady taking pictures

I guess the boys got a hold of the camera while I wasn't looking. Here are some of the pictures the boys took. Not too bad.




They are playing with Mom's iPod Touch. They love that thing. I have a few good games for them to play with on there that are very educational for them. However, one of Isaac's favorite games to play is "The Price is Right". He does pretty well too.

Rainy day attire

It started to rain today while the boys were playing outside, so they came inside to get their rain gear on. This is what they came up with.

Boys new beds

The boys are now in really big boy beds. This summer we were able to purchase bunk beds for the boys. Right now they are just side by side, but eventually they will be moved to bunk beds. The boys really like their new beds and have been sleeping in them pretty well. Here are a few pictures.