Sunday morning we went to breakfast and to the park to play with Julie’s boys Zane and Cole. They are SO big and cute and all boy!!! Their dad Tony met us there and had a great time throwing and catching them.

We drove up to Mt. Hood to the old hotel that was used in the movie The Shining.

Mt. Hood
On the way up we stopped at to get some fresh fruit, see the beautiful flowers, and go through the corn maze at Rasmussens.

The flowers….to die for.

The view…breathtaking.

Getting knocked out….not so much fun.

I would love to say it happened on some great adventure like mountain biking, or rafting, but noooooooooooooo. It was my own stupidity and crazy fear of spiders that did me in. After entering the corn maze I freaked out thinking there were spiders getting on me so I ran back towards the entrance.

Keep in mind my eyes were closed to keep the corn stalks out of them so I wasn’t really watching where I was going. Next think you know I’m on the ground, knocked out LL Cool J style! I ran full force, fast as could be smack into this wall with a 2×4 enforcer behind it.

In my defense the doorway was only like 4 feet 10 inches tall so you had to duck when entering. Guess I shoulda ducked when exiting as well. What makes it even funnier is my girlfriends who were in the maze heard a loud thud and were jokingly laughing that what if I ran into the wall and the thud was me falling down……They called my name 3 or 4 times - I didn’t hear them due to being knocked out and all. I was so dazed and confused when I sat up…my camera was on the ground, my sunglasses lying next to it and I was just sitting there like WTF just happened. The picture of me above was right after it happened. A couple of hours later it looked like I was hit by a 2×4. Oh wait, I was! My head was not just a goose egg, but the entire goose. It was HUGE! I’m surprised I didn’t get a concussion. And my nose. I for sure thought it was broke. It was all crooked and purple. The next day my eyes were a bit colored, my nose was black and blue and my forehead was gigantic and purple. Duh! One of my stupider moments for sure.

We laughed about it all day (after I had a couple of Motrin in me). Stacey and Julie were laughing so hard because what they joked about happening was what really happened. They were in the maze totally laughing about what if I hit the wall and was knocked out and what if the thud was when I fell and what if I wasn’t answering because I was on the ground out cold. Hardy har har. Today my nose is all yellow and my goose egg is gone, but it still really hurts when Heaten smacks me in the face. Stupid invisible spiders!

It kind of sucks to come back to the daily grind of changing diapers, making bottles, and crying babies after having three wonderful, blissful days to myself.

Do you know what it is like to sit down for not one, but THREE meals and eat in peace. Chew each bite and savor the flavor rather than shoveling the food in my mouth so I can grab a crying baby. Heaven I tell you!!! The entire trip was so fun, relaxing, exhilarating, and beautiful.

Stacey and Julie in Portland

Hood River, Oregon is so SO Beautiful. The Colombia River runs through the Gorge, the HUGE trees, green green everything, flowers, moss, the mountains. Breathtaking. 

Leaving the babies was WAY harder than actually being gone. Once I was gone it was like Hallelujah!! I’m free!!!! After Julie picked Stacey and me up from the airport in Portland we had a fabulous lunch at a little Thai restaurant called Thai Noon. YUM! We drove around Portland for a bit and then headed to Hood River. The drive there through the Gorge was so beautiful.

Once we got to the house I grabbed my camera and got busy on some flowers. They were everywhere….and you know I LOVE flowers.

That night we got cleaned up and went downtown for some drinks and dinner at Brian’s Pourhouse.

Now, I’m not a drinker. One drink a month…if that. Take four big, strong drinks and you’ve got drunk Lesley. And drunk Stacey. Poor Julie was the sober girl..sorry Julie! We met all kinds of crazy, funny people. At the bar we met Ben Stillers look alike from Dodgeball. I kid you not, check him out!

We also watched the coolest band play..they played Big Band music on crazy ass instruments…the girl played a washboard, the dude played something on top of a garbage can.

Excuse the blur…it was hard to hold the camera steady because I was laughing so hard.

The next morning we got up and drove across the bridge to Washington to go white water river rafting on the White Salmon River. Oh My God! It was SOOOOO FUN! I can’t wait to do it again. The water was freezing so we had to wear wetsuits, but other than that it was crazy fun. The rapids, the paddling, the beautiful scenery. It couldn’t get any better. I didn’t have a camera so I didn’t get any pictures. We went down this waterfall…..

It was so fun!! Your adrenaline gets all pumped and you’re on a constant adrenaline high. Strangely enough I wasn’t sore the next day from all of the paddling. That night we went for more yummy food at Aburzzo’s Italian Grill. Then more fun…..riding around on the best toy ever!! And now that I’m sober I can’t remember the name of it. Ha.

I rode around in circles for what felt like hours….again, the drink had taken over.

This is my girlfriends back yard. She owns a creek…how cool is that! Thank you Julie for everything!

Stay tuned for the story of my stupidity and knocking myself out!

*More photos here.

Sweet, hot, sweltering, home.

I will post pictures and trip details later…lets just say I am happy to be home for my babies and hubby, but I could just hop right back on the plane and go back. It was SO MUCH FUN! Highlights included……white water river rafting, having a hangover, meeting Ben Stillers twin from Dodgeball, the Big Band who played garbage cans, yummy food, beautiful beyond belief scenery, Mt. Hood, and getting knocked out (literally).

 Stay tuned!

I’m leaving on a jet plane…don’t know when I’ll be back again….

Oh wait. Sunday. I’ll be back Sunday. For a minute there my fantasy had me flying all over the country and beyond…then reality hit..three days. Three days of bliss..I better make the most of my freedom!

 My passport photo…see how happy I am to be going somewhere!

 Have a great weekend! I’ll be back with tons of photos and I’ll let you know how my first white water rafting was.

Shenzie attacking Heaten

Heaten attacking Shenzie

Remember the days when you used have date night every weekend? I remember them fondly. Jeff and I used to go to dinner or a movie or even both *gasp* every weekend. Friday night was pizza and a rental  and Saturday night was date night. In the last 10 months or so we’ve had about 4 dates that included a babysitter - THANKS Grandma! Back in the day we started to boycott going to the movies because it was too crowded, uncomfortable, and not as fun as laying on the couch cuddling while watching a movie. Last Saturday we went to the movies and it was GREAT! The people, the uncomfortable chairs, the yummy popcorn…sneaking in candy and coke. I had a blast! I was giddy in my seat before the movie started. It’s funny how things change. We saw the Bourne Ultimatum (my pick) and I thought it was pretty good. Thank you to Grandma Jan for babysitting and thank you to my wonderful husband for a great date!

And for photo fun…here is Shenzie’s crazy teeth…see her middle and side tooth. She’s finally working on getting the second middle tooth.

And Heaten’s new do. His hair is too long to stand up so now he has the shag do.

Ok, what crack was I smoking when I booked my plane ticket?!? Anxiety is here in full force. I’m leaving my babies for three days! Ummmm. Yes, I must have been smoking crack. It’s not like I have to leave or have an obligation to be somewhere…this is a frivolous vacation that is causing me MAJOR anxiety. Stacey, my girlfriend who is meeting me there called this morning with the same exact anxiety. She has two kids, 5 and 3 and must have smoked the same crack I did. If I didn’t already have my ticket I probably would cancel. I know its ok for me to go and the babies will be fine with their dad, but the what if’s keep getting me. Silly, silly Mama. I just keep telling myself it is ok, they will be fine, Jeff will be ok, and nothing bad is going to happen. Whew. Stresssssssss!

I am going to miss these little faces like crazy!!!!!

I’m going to miss this face too! I’ll bet by the time I get back he’ll have even more gray hairs!! =)

The one bad thing about the babies sleeping through the night is the nights when they don’t cooperate. Lucky for me Jeff is a night owl and takes any and all wakeups until 2am on weekdays and 4am on the weekends. Last night was the rare exception when both babies were awake and crying and reinforcements were needed. We got both babies back to sleep at 3:45ish, but of course by that time I was too awake to fall back asleep and laid in bed with my mind racing until 4:30 or so. Sleep, oh blissful sleep, how I love thee.

On to some linky links.

Go visit Brandy at Found a Peanut or Two and make a donation to the March of Dimes. She is an Ambassador and is helping raise money for this great cause to help with premature infants. Having had our babies in the NICU this cause is really important to me. Go read her post and see how very important the March of Dimes is and all of the great things they are doing to save babies.

To see Heaten’s twin brother go visit Mason and Erika at In with the New. He is adorable!!!

Staci at The Twinkies (and all contributors) had me laughing at her oh so true ‘You might be a mother of multiples if’ post. Seriously….so so true.

You know that sweet, sweet, yummy breath that newborns have? The breath that you just want to breathe in and never stop. That sweet scent that you want to eat up. Ours is gone. I am so very sad. The other day after the babies nap I gave them a big smooch and found a new scent. Not bad, just not that yummy, sweet, delicious newborn breath. My little babies are growing up and I’m feeling very sad about it.

Check out our whips! We’re cruisin’ in style…Ferrari and Porche eat your hearts out.

We got the custom paint….custom grill….and we’re sittin’ on 6″ dubs. Yeah boi! Machine washable interior..no leather for us!

Oh, you wanna see what’s under our hood…..ha. This baby goes from 0 to .00001 in 5 seconds flat! Yeah, you read that right…5 seconds! We do it Barney Rubble style.

We upgraded the DVD player…who needs a DVD when you have lights and sounds! Not only that, but we can play bumper cars! Can your fancy shmancy vehicle do that?!? I think not.

You think you can mess with this?! Bring it on!

Dear Shenzie and Heaten,

Ten months. I’m finding it hard to grasp the fact that you are 10 months. 10!! The other day I told Grandma that time flies too quickly, but the days seem so long. That is so very true…..time is flying away and you two are getting so big so fast, yet some days feel like forever.

This month everything changed. You are no longer just babies who cry and smile and laugh…you are now little people who have likes and dislikes…and you are definitely not scared of letting us know! You are both doing so many new things it is hard to keep up. I am over a week late in writing this letter because I just have so much to say, but don’t know where to start.

Dear Shenzie,

You are such a fun and funny baby. You make us work real hard to get laughs and smiles, but when you give them they are so adorable and contagious. When you smile we can see your two new teeth poking through. You are constantly playing with them with your tongue and they are VERY sharp and hurt really bad when you decided to turn your sweet kiss into a painful bite. I thought you were going to bite my lip off one day. OUCH! Your kisses more than make up for it though. You open your mouth and lean into mine. Sometimes you want me to kiss you over and over and over and over. It is so much fun. Then there are the ‘attack me’ kisses. You kind of growl and bury your face into my cheek moving it back and forth really fast and hard….almost like an Eskimo kiss with a Shenzie twist.

When you get frustrated with something or want me to put you down you become quite aggressive. You growl and attack. The other day you raked your nail down my cheek because you were frustrated about something. I know you don’t do it on purpose, but I am afraid to say that you are going to be just like your Mommy. I have a mean, violent streak a mile wide.

This month you learned how to ‘drive’. You LOVE to stand and love even more to drive in your car. At first it was like you tipped a few too many back and you would crash into the walls, me, dada, or the couch. Now you can maneuver your car around tight corners, do a three point U turn, backup and get yourself unstuck. You love to follow me around the house crashing into me and laughing. If I leave the room you scramble to come after me…it is so cute.

You are no longer my picky eater…it’s Heatens turn for that. You love finger foods. You eat pinto beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, bagels, tofu, soy nuggets, soy hot dogs, cheese, bananas, eggos, and bread. It is quite messy these days, but so much fun.

I love to sit and watch you learn new things. It seems like every time I turn around you are learning something new. You are learning cause and effect. You learned that if you throw your food it falls to the floor. You learned that over and over and over. Then you looked at your tray and to the ground like ‘what happened’. You learned how to clap and do so all of the time. Everytime I clap you start clapping. It never fails to crack me up. You say two words now..mama and dada…and bwah bwah if that counts. Your first word was mama although dada would like to believe it was his name. Sorry Dada.

You are very very close to crawling. You army scoot your way around in circles and roll most places. You’ve started getting up on your knees and rocking back and forth. Pretty soon there is going to be no going back….babies on the loose!

You are such an amazing little girl. I love spending my days with you and am so thankful that I am able to stay at home and watch you grow. I love every moment we spend together and look forward to all of the new things you will learn and teach me.

I love you.
Love,

Mama

Dear Heaten,

My little boy. You are getting way too big and I think you should slow down. You look like such a little boy now, not a baby anymore. Your hair is getting so long it won’t stand up anymore. It is messy and cute and I love it! My little surfer dude.

You are so much fun. You are so quick to laugh and smile and scream and yell and cry. You are a very emotional boy. You go from laughing to crying in a heartbeat. You are so much fun. You love to stand and also love to drive in your car. You are still in the drunk driving stage, but getting better and better. You love to stand and play your piano…and by play I mean bang on the keys. You get bored with toys easily so I am always scrambling to find new things to entertain you.

You used to eat everything and anything…nowadays you are my picky eater. You do not like most veggies whole, but will still eat them mushed up. You love soy nuggets, bananas, soy hot dogs, potatos, eggos, and pinto beans. You do not like broccoli or cauliflower. Your favorite lately is tofu coated in crushed graham crackers. You can’t get enough of the stuff. You now know the sign for milk. You recognize it when we do it and do it yourself. The first couple of times I thought were a fluke, but you now do it regularly. I’m still working on more, eat, and gentle.

You are still a toy thief. It doesn’t matter what Shenzie has, you want it. If you can’t get to it you cry, very loudly. You just reach over and snatch everything right from her little hands and look so pleased with yourself for having done so. Cute, but not nice. I’m trying to teach you to share, but so far I’m not having much luck.

You are so adorable. I love to watch you interact with Shenzie. You look over at her and laugh reaching for her hand, foot, or whatever else you can grab. It is so sweet to watch you play together.

You learned how to turn on your Ocean Wonders Aquarium crib toy. At first you would kick it and turn it on..now you can turn it on with your little paws. Putting you down for naps is a process. I sing you two songs while rocking you and put you in your crib. You then lay there and kick your crib and your aquarium for a bit. Then you move onto your turtle that plays music and finally you fall asleep. Sometimes this process takes an hour. I listen to it all through the monitor and giggle to myself at how cute and funny you are.

You love your Dada. And I mean LOVE. You are still so addicted to him. He can’t be in the same room with you without you fussing and crying to be held by him. We are trying to break you of the addiction and have made a little progress. It is so cute to see you get so excited to see him in the mornings and at night. You squeal and laugh and wriggle all around.

You also army scoot in circles, roll everywhere, and have started getting on your knees. Crawling is just around the corner. You also give me kisses. They are sweet as can be. You don’t give them out as willingly as Shenzie, but I love them just as much! Watching you learn to do new things is so amazing. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family!

Little Heaten, I love you so much!

Love,

Mama.