The way I see it...

BUSY.

“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.”  This is a Lucille Ball quote.  What do you think?  Is it true?

I have to admit, it caught my eye and made me think.  When you think about it, it would seem obvious to ask a person who doesn’t have a lot going on to do something, but it might not be the case.
Those people who constantly have things to do and tasks that they have to get done really know how to get things accomplished.  My verdict on that quote is that it could be one of my new favorites!

If my planner is any indication, I am a busy person.  I was just telling Aaron the other day that if I lost my planner I may have an anxiety attack.  I was only half kidding.  I feel like my whole entire life is in that thing.  Doctor’s appointments, snack days at the preschool, early outs, when I need to call and refill Blake’s prescriptions, birthdays, ordering of dialysis supplies, basketball games Jenna plays, basketball games Aaron refs, etc., etc., etc.

I literally must write it down or I forget.  Even if it is something completely insignificant like, “Eat a taco on Tuesday.”  If I didn’t write that down, I would not be eating a taco on Tuesday.

After I had Jenna my brain was ok, with Brody I started to see a little bit of a change and when I had the twins I feel like all of my brain cells took a permanent vacation.  Has anybody else experienced this with the birth of their children?!

I have a busy week in front of me.  I’m not complaining!  I like to stay busy, but sometimes I let the stressful part of busy overtake me.  I cope with coffee and chocolate.

The other day I was thinking to myself as I was trying to figure out an ad for the paper mid-afternoon during naptime, “I wonder how much coffee is considered too much in a day?”  I might need to look into that.  I don’t have problems sleeping and I still drink a lot of water and milk, so I’m going to say I’m still ok.

I’ll make it through another week just like I always do.  Just like busy people everywhere do.  It’s all about being efficient and having good time management skills don’t you think?  Oh!  Talking about my planner reminds me that I need to ask for a new one for Christmas.  I better go write that down before I forget, but that’s just the way I see it.

Basketball

Jenna is playing basketball.  Yeah.  It was a tough decision for us, believe it or not.  She's only in first grade and we never wanted to be those people who started their kid playing organized sports super early.

One of Jenna's friend's mom called and said they needed another player.  The program is run through a church and is very church-oriented.  The kids pray all together before the game.  A devotion is read for the parents at halftime.  No score is kept.  And I'm ok with that. 

 They play 6, six-minute continuous clock quarters.  They all rotate through all the positions, which I think is definitely a positive.  Oddly enough, I think Jenna likes to be the point guard. :)

 I'm very surprised at how timid she is.  She's not overly aggressive and is just too nice. Ha!  I told Aaron I wish we could get Brody out there because that would for sure light a fire underneath her.

 

Paul, the girls' coach, is great!  

 The really cool part is that I can already see a big difference in the girls from week one until week four.  The last game is the second week in December. 

 I don't know how Jenna got old enough to be able to start playing ball.  To me, she's still my baby girl. I just hope that she enjoys the sport as much as I did. :)

My 4 on the 4th

 This blog title is a lie.  Yeah...I remembered last nite after the kiddos were in bed that I was going to do the 4 on the 4th thing.  I tell you, if I don't write it down there is zero chance that this mom-of-four-brain will remember.  AHH!!

Anyway, please enjoy these pictures of our 4.  On the 11th.

The best one we got...from left: Jenna, Bowen, Blake and Brody.

 

And the funniest one we got...
No idea what Blakers is doing. :)

Make this...Apple Dumplings!

Every fall, the kids and I and our friend, Mary, go over to pick apples.  This year, there were no apples.  This crazy weather where it got so warm and then the trees blossomed and then the frost happened and it killed all the blossoms.  So sad!  I'm desperately missing my homemade applesauce!  And this recipe I'm going to share with you - Apple Dumplings.

My grandma June sent this recipe to me a few years ago.  I thought she was crazy when I looked at the ingredient list, but it is so gosh darn good!  I even put it in my column in the paper and had numerous people call to tell me how much they loved it.

So, without further ado...

APPLE DUMPLINGS

Ingredients:
1 tube of crescent rolls
1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup Mountain Dew

Directions:
Prehead oven to 350.  Unfold crescent roll dough.  Placed diced apples on wide edge of each piece, roll up and place in an 8x8 baking dish.  In a saucepan, melt butter with sugar and cinnamon over medium heat.  Stir in Mountain Dew.  Pour mixture over dumpling.  Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.

I made these last weekend and forgot to take a picture.  Darn it!!  Anyway, if you're looking for something easy and delish, try these.  Bet you can't eat just one. :)

More Twin Antics

These two!!!  Boy oh boy, do they keep us on our toes.  Literally.  Like today for example.  I'm pretty sure from the time I got up in the morning I didn't sit down for the first time until lunch and to drive Jenna to school.  This age is challenging.  And rewarding, of course, as they are learning and gabbing pure jibberish.  

I'm not sure if I told you but I couldn't take it anymore one day and I moved all of our kitchen chairs to the back porch.  If I don't get the chairs moved immediately following a meal this happens...

 

 

 They think they're pretty hot stuff... :)

Instagram Friday

TGIF!  We have had a busy week at our house and it looks like the weekend is going to keep us busy as well.  I thought I would post some more Instagram photos of what we've been up to the past couple of weeks. 

The boys had their 18 month check-ups.  They are both doing really well!  And can I just say that appointments are getting much easier for me to take the boys to all by myself?! Yay!

 Aaron wrapped up his volleyball reffing schedule.  He actually ended up having quite a few games and even got assigned three district/regional volleyball games.  Doesn't he look so professional?!

 We've been taking advantage of the weather by going to the library for some playtime.  Blake was very determined to make it up the slide!

 Last weekend when we were in Cherokee my dad randomly pulled out some old suit coats that my brother,  Mitch and Jenna tried on.  Can you say my family is so weird?! LOL

 Jenna has started playing basketball on Saturday mornings in Marshalltown.  We were very conflicted about letting her start so early, but the program is very church oriented, which is wonderful.

 I snapped this photo in our neighbor's yard.  I titled it, "nature's carpet." Just gorgeous. 

 The boys dancing (hence the blur) on top of the kitchen table.  STINKERS!!

 

Bowen enjoying a Halloween cupcake. 

 

And last but not least, the four kiddos ready to go trick-or-treating.  Jenna the cowgirl, Brody as Scooby Doo, Blake as a monkey (although he sort of looked like a bear) and Bowen the lion. 

  

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYBODY! 

Short and Sweet Urology Appt.

On Monday, Blake and I headed to Iowa City for a follow-up urology visit.  If you remember back in July, they told us his bladder only held about an ounce and Blake was put on some medicine to relax his bladder and hopefully to make it hold more.

We ended up only having an ultrasound on Monday.  The doctor said that everything looked pretty much the same as back in July and we talked about the bladder augmentation surgery.  Dr. Kieran said Blake would need about three months of healing time in between the bladder surgery and his transplant.

She also told me again that he would probably need to go on hemo dialysis, BUT (a very small silver lining) she might, maybe, there's a super small chance that she can cut around the peritoneum (what he currently uses for dialysis), but she won't know until she actually gets in there.  I'm holding out hope!!  If she can't that means three months of hemo in Iowa City most likely three days a week. 

Other good news from the consult was that she is fine with waiting until the spring for the bladder surgery.  Since it will be me driving down to Iowa City, I don't drive in snow.  It freaks me out.  This way, it will lessen this mama's stress level a little.  :)

We go back in March/April for another appointment and to set-up plans for the surgery.