I Regretfully Resign

From being a full-time mom. 

Nate and I prayed and prayed for a particular outcome in our lives, where Nate got a fantastic job that allowed me to put the kids in Mother's Day Out two days a week and work part-time... But God has different plans for us, and it's time for us to start making better money to support our family. I'm truly blessed for the amazing opportunity that practically fell in my lap. My first call when I began job hunting was to AQHA, my former employer of 7 years. They happened to have a great position open that's PERFECT for my qualifications. After many prayers for guidance, I've become more and more comfortable with our new reality - I'm going back to work. I'd rather be at AQHA than anywhere else - they're family oriented and take care of loyal employees. I'll start as soon as Nate and I get day care arrangements figured out (that's definitely the hard part). Day care will be good for the twins. They'll learn far more than I had the energy or know-how to teach them. Nate and I just pray they won't get sick all the time.

Sometimes I feel like I've failed the twins... but I have to remember that most families have to pull in two incomes to make ends meet nowadays. Nate and I will be committed to making the very most of the precious time we have with the twins after work and on the weekends. Everyone else does it, so we can, too.

A Time to Give Thanks

Especially for not having to take another road trip for a long, long time. We braved the roads for Thanksgiving and trekked all the way up to Kansas City. We'd known better. As expected, it was an awful trip. The kids hated being couped up for 10 hours, and Nate and I got frustrated hearing them fuss. The only "good" traveler in the bunch was our poor dog, who's way too big to be squished into the back of the Durango that long. He never complained.

Once we got to KC, it was a different story. This was the twins' first trip to my dad's in bipedal mode. Seeing his HUGE house on their four little feet was like exploring a new world. They even figured out (quite well!) stairs! They played with the horses, rode on tractors and four-wheelers and drove their toys all over my dad's house. Our Thanksgiving get-together was perfect. Almost everyone was there. The twins are CRAZY about their GREAT-Aunt Sharon, and they love their second-cousin, 3-year-old Schaeffer. Trevin and Kim even came all the way from North Carolina. Don and Jackie, Johnny and Aunt Margie completed the package. And, BOY, did we eat some good food! I appreciate that Johnson holidays are steeped in tradition. Most of the dishes Sharon and Margie make are passed down from their mom, a gorgeous woman who left this Earth far too early for me to have had the pleasure of meeting her. I find myself practically interrogating Sharon and Margie for information about their wonderful mom, who spent her whole life taking care of others. Sharon and Margie love talking about her, and I love hearing the stories. Turns out my Grandma was crazy about shoes! That must be where I get it... Aunt Sharon and I sifted through a big box of Grandma Johnson's linens, many of which she made. They were gorgeous, and Aunt Sharon let me pick out a few to keep. I certainly will cherish them. We decorated the Thanksgiving table with one of Grandma's nice tablecloths. It felt really special to use something she'd used so long ago...

The trip home to Amarillo after almost a week's stay was equally grueling. But we made it, sanity mostly intact, and are resuming life as normal. Despite my whining, I'm truly thankful for family times like those. It's what life's all about.

At Least it was a Happy Halloween

This Halloween won't go down in the books as my favorite birthday ever. I spent it in pain with a belly button full of stitches. See, a few days earlier, I developed an umbilical hernia. Lucky me. The docs say it came about because carrying twins weakens your abdominal wall, and picking up kids all day long was too much stress on those weak abs. The docs wanted it fixed right away, so there I was, the day before my birthday, in surgery.

I've been trying to throw a pity party about it, but I sure am mad I had to deal with this. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to rely on other people for the next week or two. I'm not supposed to lift heavy things for a while and, it's no surprise, the twins count as "heavy things."

But they sure had a great Halloween as Superman and Superman Part 2. It was cold, but they trick or treated to a few houses in our neighborhood, then Nate took them to his Uncle and Aunt's house (Rick and ZoBeth), where all the rest of the family was hanging out in costume. I have a feeling their shiny red capes have become a wardrobe staple for them. They LOVE them.

Who's In Charge Here?

Who sets up a petting zoo and doesn't let the kids PET the animals? Hmmm. At least call it a "looking zoo" so we desperate parents of multiples won't get too hopeful that our little rugrats will be entertained for hours on end chasing goats and pulling donkey ears and running around with sawdust-filled shoes.

Don't get me wrong, the Texas State Fair in Dallas was spectacular. We had an overall good time there during Friday night of our trip to my mom and GB's house. But the big reason we went was to entertain the kids. And the fenced-in animals didn't really do the trick. My twins need serious hands-on fun. I give the Amarillo Tri-State Fair major kudos for their petting zoo, which we went to in September. It was everything a petting zoo should be, and the twins had the time of their lives. Oh, well. Now we know that we don't have to drive to Dallas when the urge to pet goats strikes.

Deepest Appologies to Everyone on Flight 85 to Amarillo

For causing uninterrupted mahem in the fourth-to-back row. 

Perhaps Nate and I were too cocky going into the flight. The twins had been perfect little angels on the flight to Dallas (to visit my Mom and family). On the way home, however, we were all tired and perhaps should have given the twins a coctail or two before we boarded... I think we managed to piss off at least 35 people during the 45-minute flight. If Evan and Owen weren't screaming, they were biting or yelling or fighting. Halfway through the flight, Evan made a very stinky poop (thank you very much, dried apricots), so Nate had to change him in his lap in the cramped bathroom while Evan screamed bloody murder the entire time. Nate was ready to sell them to the highest bidder. I was ready to jump out the window.

Will we ever fly with the twins again? Not without one or more of the following:

1. A miraculous boost of twin maturity
2. Additional adult reinforcement
3. A new "no seatbelts allowed" policy
4. Serious drugs or alcohol.

My Hero

We got to visit one of my favorite people in the world over the weekend - my Grandma Boettcher. She'll be 90 in March, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her. She's breathtakingly beautiful and smart as a whip. She's vibrant and energetic and full of adorable stories. She is my hero and one of the dearest people to my heart.

We all met up in Waxahachie at my Mom and GB's house. Mary flew down with Grandma, and Johnny came, too. The twins had a blast, and they loved their Great Grandma, who played basketball with them and cuddled with them. Grandma kept us all laughing. We all took turns losing to her at Scrabble, and whenever she had a spare minute, she cranked out a crossword puzzle as easily as I brush my teeth. Amazing.

We're hoping to visit her this summer in Michigan for a late birthday celebration. We'll see if Nate and I are brave enough to fly with the twins EVER again. That's another story...

And The Winner Is...

Monozygotic! 

DNA testing confirms that Evan and Owen are identical twins. Crazy. All this time, the doctors have told us they're fraternal, but from all the research I did during my three months on bedrest, I knew it was completely possible for them to be identical. Separate sacks and placentas do NOT always mean fraternal. Curiosity got the best of us, and we ordered the DNA test. We're so glad to know the truth. It's mindboggling to Nate and me that they're identical, because they look like totally different kids to us. Owen looks just like Nate, and Evan looks a lot like my Grandpa Boettcher. But I guess it's normal for the parents to be able to diferentiate each twin. Most people can't - even their grandpas! (The grandmas are the only other people who've got them down pat.)

So what does knowing their zygosity mean for us? Other than giving us a difinitive answer when people ask, it also means Evan and Owen are exact matches for each other in the unlikely event one of them needs some sort of transplant, transfusion, etc. It means they're destined to be almost exactly the same build and height, so maybe they'll have similar physical abilities. It also means they'll probably trick their teachers. Above all, it means they're extremely lucky. Identical twins are very rare, and they share the most unique bond known to man.

Here are some fun facts I dug up:

• Male identical twins are the least-common form of twins. About three in 1,000 deliveries worldwide result in identical twins.
• Identical twins are not considered to be hereditary.
• When one egg is fertilized by one sperm cell, and then divides and separates, two identical cells will result. If the zygote splits very early (in the first 2 days after fertilization) they may develop separate placentas (chorion) and separate sacs (amnion). These are called dichorionic, diamniotic (or "di/di") twins, which occurs 20-30% of the time.
• Genetically speaking, the children of identical twins are half-siblings rather than cousins. If each member of one set of identical twins marries one member of another set of identical twins then the resulting children would be genetic full siblings.
• It is estimated that there are around 10 million identical twins and triplets in the world.

Walk for a Cause, Run for your Life

Saturday morning, Nate and I were pumped to participate in the CareNet (Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Amarillo) 2007 Walk for Life. It's a great cause, and we had wads of cash to donate (thanks to Debbie and Earl). So we loaded up the kids, the wagon AND the dog and headed to MediPark. It started out well. The kids watched contently from their wagon at the festivities surrounding the check-in gate. Lots of dogs, clowns, kids on decorated bikes, a guy singing and playing his guitar... Baron wanted to talk to every dog there, and luckily we didn't cause any distress among our fellow dog owners. Baron did get a lot of attention. He was the biggest dog there, probably by about 60 pounds. All the kids wanted to pet him, which, of course, he loved.

Then the walk got underway. Rather than acting like the well-trained, obedient dog that he really is, Baron was a monster, pulling us toward the other dogs. Without having to say a word, Nate and I mustered up a burst of speed to take us toward the front and away from other dogs. Baron was better because he was "winning the race," at least as far as the other dogs were concerned. We enjoyed our walk around MediPark - it's by far the best park in town. But about three-fourths of the way around, Owen decided he'd had enough of the gyrations of the bumpy road. He was ready to be done. Soon, Evan joined in, creating a lovely duet featuring the oh-so-sweet sounds of screaming babies who are way too close to naptime. Despite the fact that this walk was in NO WAY competitive, Nate and I once again took off, this time at a pretty swift jog, praying for the screaming to stop, praying for Baron to behave. Huffing and puffing, we headed straight for the car and loaded up, sadly skipping out on all the fun food, drinks, games and raffles all the other walkers would soon get to enjoy. Nope, we were headed home with a bad dog and two cranky toddlers.

We used to enjoy doing things like this. It's a feeling that you're giving more than money - you're wearing the T-shirt and pounding the pavement in a public show of support. Man, kids really change things... Maybe next year will be a more pleasant adventure for this family of five. Or maybe we'll write a check and let someone else do the walking.

Holy Crap, They Understand Me!

The past several weeks have been huge eye-openers for me and Nate. Not only are the twins growing (they're getting so tall) and getting into everything, it seems they're also starting to understand a lot more stuff!

The cutest example: they bring me their shoes, so I'll tell them, "Sit down so we can put your shoes on." And they plop right down with big goofy, excited smiles on their faces! So adorable. Cracks me up every time. And they LOVE their shoes. When it's time to go bye-bye, they line up at the door to the garage. When it's time to eat, they run to the kitchen and try to climb into their high chairs. They know what bath time means, nap time, outside, going for walks. They're becoming functioning little humans! This is really getting fun for me. They're not babies anymore, and I'm OK with that. The past year has given us some amazing, wonderful memories, but Nate and I both look forward with great anticipation to the months and years ahead when we can really have tons of FUN with these guys. Nate and I are active - we love to get out and do stuff - and we're excited to have two new partners to share our adventures.

Worst Enemies...Best Friends

Evan and Owen definitely fight a lot over toys, sippy cups, Mommy, Daddy, food... basically everything. But when it's all said and done, they're pretty much best friends. They never leave each other's sides, and the moments Nate and I live for are when we can hear the two of them off in another room cracking each other up, completely enjoying each other's company. Those are the times that I'm reminded I'm not a normal mom - I'm a mom of multiples! It's easy to forget how unique our situation is, because it's all we know. We have no clue what it's like (or how EASY it must be!) to have just ONE kid. How simple it must be to zip to the grocery store toting along ONE single child! Jeesh. All we know is that, when we hear them laughing simultaneously, it's pretty dog-gone neat to have twins.

Someday E and O will understand how blessed they are! For now, we're working on learning to share. Less fighting, more laughing!

Guardian Angel

The twins have a very special guardian angel, someone I miss very dearly: my Grandpa Boettcher.

They were born on his birthday, August 9, as though deliberately honoring a great man whom they will never know except in stories. But I vow to teach them about this great man of West Bloomfield, Michigan, who had all the time in the world for his grandkids despite a demanding career that he carried out far past reasonable retirement. Grandpa was a chemical engineer, one of those people who is so smart he was in a different league than the rest of us.

Yet he was amazingly normal, too. He had a great sense of humor and gave great hugs. He never, ever ended a conversation without telling you he loved you. He was a skilled carpenter and could make beautiful works of art out of wood. And he was patient enough to explain every step of the process while my brother and I held his tools like a surgeon's assistants.

Grandpa died at 83 on April 24, 2003, leaving behind my precious Grandma and his five daughters.

He never had a son to follow in his footsteps. So, I can only imagine how proud he is to share his special birthday with two great-grandsons who actually look quite a bit like him!

Grandpa, we LOVE you! Thanks for watching after these little boys!

I Bleed Purple

This time of year, football is considered more important than... well... everything. Nathan makes an olympic sport of watching as many games as humanly possible. All I care about is watching my beloved Wildcats. It's been a rough several years for Wildcat fans. I consider myself very lucky to have attended K-State during the reign of Michael Bishop. That kid might have been dumb as a box of rocks, but he could get a pigskin to go where it needed to go. Those were amazing times, thanks to the almighty Bill Snyder. The last several years have brought out the true fans - those of us who are willing to weather the storms and still pull on the purple sweatshirts and go out in public. I'll always be proud of my Cats. I never missed a home game. K-State football is special to me, probably mostly because it's so special to my dad. A K-State grad himself, he takes Wildcat football seriously. One of his favorite life accomplishments was getting to be one of K-State's football team's main pilots with TWA. You couldn't find a happier guy, schmoozing with Snyder and his team. He has always bled purple, through thick and thin.

That said, yesterday was a huge day at our house: the meeting of K-State and Texas. Nathan and most of his buddies are crazy Texas fans. I was the lone purple-shirt wearer (but I did apply powercat tatoos on the kids' cheeks - Nate was steaming when he discovered them!), and I was nervous amid a large group of excited Texas fans. Oh, but how proud I was by game's end. For the second year in a row, my Cats upset the Longhorns. And this was a really GOOD showing of some serious talent from a young team coming together. Last year, we got lucky when Texas QB Colt McCoy got injured during one of the first plays of the game. But this year, the Cats had it together. As my dad said after the game, they simply worked harder and wanted it more.

I beamed with pride (although quietly) as I watched the fans in purple like little specks of sand on a beach of burnt orange. It made me realize how fortunate I am to be a graduate of a Big-12 school. I can only hope Evan and Owen can experience that someday. Who knows, maybe they'll be Wildcats. Maybe they'll be football stars and make their Grandpa Johnson the happiest man alive.

Go Cats!

In the Beginning

It's about time I started a blog. Not that my life's interesting enough for other people to want to pour over. But it'll help me remember, in my foggy, exhausted haze of stay-at-home momdom, all the fun and funny things that happen when you mix two very active twin boys (almost 14 months), an insanely huge German Shepherd, a sports fanatic husband and a way-too small house. Every day is an adventure.

Evan and Owen are running circles around us. Literally. They simply won't slow down. And they are SO busy. They constantly talk to each other, and I totally think they understand each other. Nate and I can only distinguish a handful of words so far. They've got the important words down - ball and Baron (our dog). What else could they possibly need to know?

Suspense is driving us mad right now. We sent DNA samples to a lab last week to once-and-for-all answer the looming question - ARE THEY IDENTICAL? We don't friggin know! And it doesn't really matter. It'll just get people off our backs once we finally know for sure. Nate and I are guessing they're fraternal, but there are too many people to count who swear they look exactly alike.

We'll know in the next week or so.

Baron's barking at me to take him to the neighbor's to play. Good old Samson the adorable yellow lab. He's Baron's best friend and we don't know what we'd do without him.