Little House in the Ozarks

Zadie's First Year Photo Book

2012-01-11T17:07:00.002-06:00

After waiting too long to do it, I finally put together Zadie's First Year- a Photo Book. Shutterfly is always sending out email offers for free albums, but you almost have to have one ready made in your account. Enjoy if you'd like to see it!

(Ezra will get one too- when the next free book offer comes around!)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Visit Shutterfly.com to create your own personalized photo book.

Big Cedar Landscapes

2012-01-09T08:24:00.002-06:00

Same Same, But Different

2011-12-29T14:30:00.007-06:00

Ezra in a sink. 13 months. Rogers, Arkansas.

Zeke in a sink. 13 months. Atlantida, Honduras.

Safari!

2011-12-29T14:12:00.007-06:00

Grandma Jean came to town to visit us just before Christmas. We had a blast! Whenever someone comes to visit us we like to try to do a new activity. This time we drove out to the Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari, about 30 minutes from our house. One might think that a safari in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas might be a bit tame. We were delighted to find that there was no crowd, but lots of really cool animals to see up close.

We started in the petting zoo area. One cool thing was that we weren't asked to buy handfuls of food to participate in the petting zoo. All is included with admission. They just gave us 2 big loaves of bread to share with the animals.

This pig was huge and had at least thirteen chins! I see a New Years resolution with more exercise and fewer carbs in his future.

A highlight of the safari for all of us was petting the kangaroos. I had never been this close to a kangaroo before and they were incredibly soft and so gentle. Neat!

The next part of the safari experience was the drive-through. We followed a narrow road through beautiful pastures, ponds, and woods where we saw hundreds of animals roaming freely.

Some animals felt very comfortable coming right up to our car! The signs throughout the drive warn us against rolling down windows or feeding the animals. We could understand why.

If anyone else wants to come for a visit, we'd happily head out to this safari again!

Santa Visit

2011-12-12T09:03:00.005-06:00

We went to see Santa at a special brunch yesterday. Zadie and Ezra were not thrilled. Strange man with a big beard wants to hold them? Not happening. Maybe next year or the year after.

This year, Zeke was ready to talk with the big guy. (Unlike last year) He planned for 2 weeks what he was going to say to Santa. Clear as a bell, he climbed into Santa's lap and said "I've been a good boy this year. So I would like a toy monster truck and a trumpet."

Santa told Zeke he'd see what he could do. He reminded Zeke how important is was to wake Mommy and Daddy up VERY VERY early on Christmas morning. Thanks, big guy.

Things Zadie Won't Do

2011-12-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

Our extremely sweet, incredibly happy little girl has a couple tiny little issues with a few things.

At one year and one month...

1. Zadie doesn't do bottles.

Nope. She used to, and then decided she didn't like them. She throws a giant fit if you try to give her one, closing her lips, shaking her head, and bucking like a wild bull. We just stopped trying. We figured she'd just go straight to the sippy cup. Except...

2. Zadie doesn't do cups.

Plastic and glass do not touch those lips. The little girl still prefers breastmilk from the source at this point.

3. Zadie doesn't do pacifiers.

See above- nothing but the real thing for this girl.

4. Zadie doesn't do utensils.

She eats it with her fingers or she doesn't eat it at all. A true lady.

5. Zadie doesn't do cribs.

We've got the princess and the pea on our hands. She'll nap in a crib during the daytime (after you rock her to sleep and set her down oh so daintily.) But at night, she'll wake up every half hour and cry until we bring her into our bed to sleep. Luckily we've got a big bed and we don't mind. It won't last forever, and she's just too sweet to deny her!

Zadie is such a happy, smiley, and social little girl that we just don't care if she has a few hangups. We're happy to indulge her!

What's New?

2011-12-06T13:43:00.010-06:00

Well let's see... What's new? In the past month and a half, a LOT is new!

For starters...

Tom's green station wagon bit it. It was an awesome car for him for so many years. Honda doesn't mess around. Unfortunately, it's time had come. It is pictured here in the car auction yard.

We said goodbye to the green wagon and headed down to CAR WARS at the mall parking lot. Every car dealership in town was pricing their used inventory to move at this big event. Tom rolled off the lot in a totally pimped out 2009 Ford Fusion. It has mood lighting and butt warmers. And it talks to his cell phone.

Oh, what else is new???

The control panel on our furnace. (There were a few chilly days before it got fixed, but no biggie!) Turns out that when a turtle worked his way into our a/c system last summer and flooded it into the garage, the flood took out the control panel. Oops!

Then, a few days later...

The control panel on our dishwasher went out. Must have been something in the control panel air!

Never fear. A nice appliance technician (courtesy of our home warranty) came out and for a small fee replaced it. But he noticed something... There was a leak under the dishwasher. (Completely not related to the control panel) Darned copper piping. I guess it sometimes fails!

That probably explains the staining around the edges of my hardwood floors I had noticed the previous few days.

SO, we had a nice gentleman bring some giant air movers (not to be confused with fans. Seriously. You may offend the nice gentleman if you call it a fan.) He also brought some sledgehammers and serious cleaners and tore up the damaged hardwood floor.

BUT... the leak didn't just damage the hardwood floors... It leaked into our bedroom too! Oh no! The carpet!

More air movers.

Then we got to go to a store and choose new wood floors for our ENTIRE house (except bedrooms). We decided to try something new! We chose a 4 inch reddish dark brown hickory. We like it. We also got new carpet for the bedroom! (But we liked the previous color, so we got pretty much the same thing again).

We had to move out of our house (and into my parents' house) for a few weeks while the really loud stuff and heavy machinery were here. It just wasn't a good place for little kids to be.

Of course the dishwasher was unhooked for about 6 weeks. Somehow, this ended up causing our garbage disposal to form a leak. Not to worry! We got a new garbage disposal too!

The holiday season wouldn't be complete without a big guy on our roof.

So I called in a roofing expert after I noticed that every person on our block (no joke) is getting a new roof after the hail damage from summer storms this year. Turns out we need a new roof too! The insurance guy walked around up there and declared that we had some pretty severe damage, despite the fact that there are no leaks- yet. We'll probably wait until temps rise a bit and get the new roof put on this spring. In the meantime, we can contemplate our color choices. Who knew there were so many varieties of shingles?

It may sound like a giant pain in the rear end to have all of this stuff happen, and it kind of was. But we did get some beautiful new floors out of the deal. I met a lot of really great contractors and I now have business cards for just about any type of home problem that could come up. I'm hoping I won't need them anytime soon. Between our Home Warranty (which we got when we purchased house) and our Homeowners Insurance, we did have some out of pocket expenses for deductibles and service fees, but everything in the house was covered. Tom loves his (safe and reliable) new car and we're warm and dry. Who could ask for anything more?

Well... now that you mention it, I actually would love to paint our kitchen cabinets white, get a new faucet, sink, and granite countertops. But, that's just too much to think about right now. In time... :)

Ezra Can Walk!

2011-12-06T13:35:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday evening, I was hanging out in the play room with the babies. I had been holding Ezra's hand as he walked circles around the room. For the past month, he's been able to do two steps here and there, but hadn't put everything quite together. Saturday night, it all changed! I put a little toy in his hand (so he didn't dive forward to hold whatever was in front of him) and he took off!

Ezra has been experimenting all over the house with his new trick. Zadie isn't far behind now. I can see the wheels turning in her brain- not wanting to be left behind by the busy boys! For now, she's still a hand holder, but I sense a brave determination. By Christmas they'll both be running all over the house!

Ezra's First Haircut

2011-11-28T13:15:00.003-06:00

We took Ezra down to Regis Salon on Nov. 20 for his first haircut. Though thin, his hair was looking a little mullet-ish in the back. Zeke got a haircut the same day. Zeke went first, sitting in the chair, wearing the cape, and relaxing through his haircut. Ezra did not have the same calm experience.

The poor little guy did a bit better while we took turns holding him standing up. His stylist was fast and very understanding. 8 minutes later, Ezra's hair looked great! His tears dried quickly, and he's ready now for all the photos we'll surely take during the holiday season!

Give me a cookie. Now.

2011-11-10T22:18:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Zadie and Ezra!

2011-11-07T12:57:00.005-06:00

Ezra and Zadie have turned ONE! What a year it's been! We had a fantastic weekend celebrating the first full year of life for our busy twins. Since our home is having some work done (more about that in a different post), we have been moving around quite a bit in the past two weeks.

For their birthday party weekend, we stayed at The Cliffs resort up near Branson, MO. We baked cupcakes, went swimming in the outdoor pool and hot tub, watched movies, and opened presents. Zeke helped me make cupcakes.

I hope to do a reminiscent post about each baby within the next week, focusing on all the fun aspects of each of my precious one-year-old babies! In the meantime, here are a few pictures from our birthday party weekend!

Cupcakes!

Lots of cuddle time at the resort!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:44:00.006-05:00

Happy Halloween!

This year we had Bob the Builder (a construction worker).

And.... Puppies!!!

We started the weekend with the Northwest Arkansas Moms of Multiples Club annual Halloween party. It was so fun to see all the cute costumes on some area twins. Of course, the singleton siblings were also adorable. Fun families, yummy food, a cupcake walk, little balls and lots of crawling space. We had a blast!

Today, we carved some pumpkins and went trick or treating in our neighborhood. It turns out that we live in a "destination neighborhood" for trick or treating. Who knew! It was so fun to see a couple hundred kids and parents out in their costumes. Next year, we'll know to buy more candy- we ran out in 40 minutes!

Sorting his loot...

Tanyard Creek. Bella Vista, Arkansas

2011-10-16T00:39:00.001-05:00

Kiddos: Fall Black and Whites 2011

2011-10-14T16:08:00.006-05:00

Happiest Moments of Zeke's Short Life (So Far)

2011-10-10T06:24:00.004-05:00

New Pants

2011-10-02T14:40:00.002-05:00

My brother Doug got me some new pants. They are awesome!

Pretty Good Saturday

2011-10-01T17:02:00.004-05:00

Took a picture of a pepper in the garden. Ate some ice cream with Zeke.

Zadie Creek

2011-09-26T22:30:00.002-05:00

We'll post more pictures from our Fall Tour later this week. Here is one of the highlights of our trip. This creek is in Missouri. Must be named after somebody's great-great grandmother.

Minnesota Bound

2011-09-22T00:08:00.005-05:00

We took the whole family out for dinner for what I think might be the first time. It was a McDonald's in Butler, Missouri. It was a nice McDonald's with friendly people. The kids were great.

Here we are unloading cargo in Des Moines.

Bubble Beard.

2011-09-16T06:32:00.002-05:00

Super Fun Karine Birthday Weekend 2011!

2011-09-11T22:09:00.006-05:00

We did a ton of super fun things this weekend. It was Karine's birthday. The first thing we did was spend a little time in a forest where all the trees are labeled. (That's my kind of forest!) After that we had some great food at restaurant called Table Mesa on the square in Bentonville. The do a Thai-curry burrito there that is serious business.

On Saturday we went golfing with Papa and Zeke. It was a great foursome.

After, we went to Nana and Papa's for real-deal chocolate cake and ice-cream. Nana made the cake from scratch. We met up with the twins there and enjoyed a nice afternoon in the backyard.

Labor Day Fun

2011-09-06T08:08:00.005-05:00

We had a fantastic Labor Day, and spent some great quality time together. We started out in the morning with a women and children visit over at my parents' house. My aunt Kathleen and uncle Terry were in town for the weekend from Florida, so it was great to be able to spend some time with them.

While the women and children visited and took a little walk, the men hit the golf course. Tom had two holes where he chipped in the hole. For you non-golfers out there, this means he got it in the hole without needing to putt it in from the green. This requires a great deal of skill and concentration. Pictured here is a guy that is not Tom, but he is demonstrating what great chipping looks like.

Zadie was all smiles as we grilled out in the backyard. We're considering a September camping trip with the kids. To try out the idea, we set up the tent in the backyard. The kids loved climbing in and out.

We grilled brats, sliced up some watermelon, and played in the tent and yard. I don't know if it would be practical to bring high chairs on an actual camping trip, but it was great in the backyard. I got some nice snuggles in with each of the kids.

After dinner, we piled in the minivan and went to Braums to pick up some ice cream. We came home and partied till the sun went down. Zeke got a chocolate ice cream cone, and Tom and I got some blizzard-type things with Reese's. Yummy!

We hope your weekend was as nice as ours!

August Accomplishments and Activities

2011-09-02T15:38:00.008-05:00

Hey August- we had fun with you, but you just up and left so suddenly. What's up with that?

I didn't get a chance to do any great recaps. Here's what happened in August for us (youngest to oldest)...

Zadie started crawling! Our happy little girl is on the move now. She tries so hard to keep up with her speedy brothers and delights in being able to get herself from room to room. She's slimmed down a bit this month and doesn't have quite so many rolls. I think she and Ezra are starting to look a lot more alike. Here's a 36 second video of Zadie crawling.

Ezra loves clapping. Seriously. If anyone uses a positive-sounding tone in what they are saying, Ezra picks up on the cue and starts clapping. His sister is usually quick to join in behind him, but he's a real cheerleader. Ezra is also a champ in the highchair. He loves to eat any kind of finger food, and does so with great enthusiasm. Since mealtimes are often hectic around here, the babies have been feeding themselves pretty often. They love peas, carrots, butternut and pasta, chicken, and cheerios.

Zeke successfully beat the paci habit. Giving up his "bepe" was a bit brutal (on all of us) for about a week. It was really tough for us to watch our little guy who had always looked forward to bedtime and hardly ever fussed about it have complete emotional breakdowns. Luckily, the Bepe Fairy doesn't do tradebacks, so we all toughed it out. Zeke has been able to fall asleep pretty peacefully without his paci now for a week, and we congratulate him for it. (Ezra is always game for applauding him) Besides playing all the time with his new big-boy trucks, Zeke happily spends hours playing with his "hooker". (a 12 inch bungee cord with hooks on the ends). Hookers make great cranes, tow trucks, and are just generally great to have a conversation with. (Quote from the living room 5 seconds ago: "Do you have a lot of cranes at your house, hooker?" ) So fun!

I thought that taking care of 3 kids age 2 and under was too easy. I began taking care of a little two year old girl at the beginning of August. The first week was definitely tough, but since then, things have almost been easier than before. Zeke LOVES having a little playmate in the house (and the backyard, and the park, and the library...) and I enjoy having a little side income too. C comes here Monday-Friday during the day, and we're still able to do all of the fun activities we have come to enjoy. She's a really sweet little girl, and I think the arrangement will work out well for everyone!

Tom went back to grad school! Tom is now a full time student and a full time employee, meaning he works and works to squeeze as much into his week as possible. His classes have begun for his Masters in Social Work degree. Tom will be super busy for the next 2 years, but will graduate in Spring 2013. He likes his classes and has made some friends too! I suggested that he find a group of type-A ladies to join for group projects and presentations. So far, he's been keeping up with his homework and even learned a few things about social work.

Well, that's all for us. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Raffle Winners

2011-09-01T08:08:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone that purchased a raffle ticket. Though we didn't quite sell 50 tickets, we did sell enough to get our home internet started and hooked up. SO without further ado... I have used a very complicated technique, involving small pieces of paper, a bowl, and a list of prizes. Below, I have listed the prizes with the winner's initials next to each one. (You know if you bought a ticket!) I will be sending out an email to each of you during naptime today.

1. Homemade Tag Blanket (made by Karine) for a boy/girl- AO

2. Homemade Tag Blanket (made by Karine) for a girl/boy- LZ
3. Baby Legwarmers (made by Karine)- NSB
4. Personalized mix CD (made by Tom, tailored to your tastes with some exciting new music for you!)- NSB
5. 20 Monster Cookies made and mailed to your home! (made by Zeke and Karine)- LZ
6. Reusable Cloth Baby Wipes (made by Karine) awesome for cloth diapering families.- JM
7. One Blog Post dedicated entirely to YOU (or someone you love and want to surprise) complete with a personalized original song/video. - JC

Thanks for playing! The blog is still alive thanks to you!

Zeke's New Haircut

2011-08-28T12:13:00.004-05:00

Zeke went with dad this weekend to get his haircut downtown. Getting a haircut is fun! We think the new cut looks pretty sweet. We've not always served Zeke well in the important department of quality haircuts. Below you'll find a pictorial history of Zeke's less awesome styles.

Awesome.

Less awesome.

Least awesome.

Breakfast with Dad

2011-08-27T09:22:00.001-05:00

Fayetteville

2011-08-23T23:36:00.005-05:00

A couple pictures of where I am going to school. The University of Arkansas -- Fayetteville. We are the Razorbacks. Hogs, they say down here. Now, I guess I am a Hog. I took these pictures while I was walking around campus today. It's a pretty place. I'll take more when the light is nice.

At the Rodeo

2011-08-22T18:49:00.003-05:00

We went to the Benton County Rodeo and Fair last Saturday night. Zeke called a ro-dee-ro, but we call it a rodeo. It was a great time. Saw a camel and some tractors. Zeke rode the Merry-Go-Round with Papa. We ate nut-covered carmel apples and Gyros.

A Visit from the Bepe Fairy

2011-08-21T08:31:00.012-05:00

If you've been around Zeke anytime in the past year, you have probably heard him mention his beloved "bepe" (pronounced (beh-pay). Bepe is Zeke talk for the Spanish word, "chupete", or pacifier. We realize that two-and-a-half seems a bit late to be taking this comfort object away from our little guy, but since we've had so many major changes this year, it never seemed like quite the right time.

For the past month, we've been gearing up for the big day. We told Zeke about the legend of the bepe fairy (or in some families, the paci fairy) and how she works here in Arkansas. According to Ozark legend, when a small child is ready to become a big kid, he packs up all of his pacifiers and puts them in the mailbox before bedtime. During the night, the fairy comes and gathers up the pacis and takes them for babies that don't have any pacis. In their place, she leaves a big-kid toy for the child.

We spent some time browsing at the toy store discussing which types of big-boy toys the bepe fairy might be able to bring. Finally, the big day arrived, and Zeke gathered up all of his pacifiers and solemnly walked them down the driveway to the mailbox. We talked about how the first night might be hard, but it would get easier. Some tears were shed and screams were heard at bedtime (and until 10:45pm), but Zeke managed to fall asleep without his bepe last night.

This morning when he woke up, we hurried out to the mailbox to see what she'd left. The Bepe Fairy came through for our little guy. When asked if it was worth it, he remembers his comfort object, frowns for a minute, then looks at his new digger and smiles. "Yeah."

Blanket Game

2011-08-20T17:45:00.003-05:00

You can have a lot of fun with a blanket. Zeke and I have been playing a game lately called Garage. The blanket becomes the garage door. It goes up. It goes down. Fun game!

Here's what the twins do with the same blanket. Fun to watch them entertain each other.

Sleeping Beauty

2011-08-19T06:07:00.002-05:00

Karine said we were a little Ezra heavy on the blog. Since our posts have been few and far between, [via blogging in the bathroom] that means we've done a pretty poor job sharing the wonders of Zadie with our readers.

For starters, she's either smiling or doing this.

Raffle Update

2011-08-18T08:22:00.004-05:00

Here's the news. It's exciting. At least to us. We've sold enough raffle tickets to keep our blog alive. Thank you for your support. We've done a bit of a technology upgrade all around. No more blogging in the bathroom.

So, (we think), more pictures. More blogs. More fun.

Raffle tickets can be purchased here until August 31st.

Sometimes it's a lot of work. At the end of the day we are all tired. But it is so worth it.

Ezra: Speedy

2011-08-15T09:40:00.003-05:00

Ezra is on the move. Fast. He's the fastest one yet. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement about the future of the blog. Probably Tuesday.

You are the best.

Keep Our Blog Alive Raffle

2011-08-06T16:12:00.004-05:00

The future of our blog is uncertain. Here's the deal... Since we moved into our new house, we had been enjoying some "community" internet shared freely by generous neighbors. Recently, all of these free signals have disappeared. We are now without internet at home, with the exception of email and facebook on our phones (not smartphones, but they kind of work).

In a previous post, I mentioned that we were working our Dave Ramsey approach to finances. This has meant cutting all unnecessary expenses or finding alternate ways to pay for the things you want. Dave Ramsey told us that we really shouldn't spend $40 per month to have the luxury of internet at our house. Our budget simply doesn't allow it.

But I want it. I really want it, however, I understand that blogging and uploading photos and stories doesn't count as a necessity. SO I CAME UP WITH AN IDEA!

We are going to be hosting a Keep the Blog Alive Raffle. We are going to get crafty and creative for some lucky winners. We will be selling 50 raffle tickets to win some awesome prizes. You will have a 1 in 7 chance of winning a prize. Pretty good huh! The money we make from our raffle will help pay for internet for one year.

What do you get for your $10 raffle ticket?
1. The chance to win an AWESOME PRIZE!
2. Future (frequent) posts on our blog. We can't blog from our phones. :(
3. Love and gratitude from our family.

Here is a list of the AWESOME PRIZES!
1. Homemade Tag Blanket (made by Karine) for a boy
2. Homemade Tag Blanket (made by Karine) for a girl
3. Baby Legwarmers (made by Karine)
4. Personalized mix CD (made by Tom, tailored to your tastes with some exciting new music for you!)
5. 20 Monster Cookies made and mailed to your home! (made by Zeke and Karine)
6. Reusable Cloth Baby Wipes (made by Karine) awesome for cloth diapering families.
7. One Blog Post dedicated entirely to YOU (or someone you love and want to surprise) complete with a personalized original song/video.

This raffle is open until either August 31 or when we sell all 50 tickets (whichever comes first).

To buy a raffle ticket, and keep our blog alive, please click the paypal link below. For each $10, your name will be entered one time for a prize. Thank You and Good Luck!

Super Quick Family Update

2011-08-06T16:11:00.000-05:00

Ezra is crawling like CRAZY, chasing Zeke all around the house all day long. He's kind of a spaz sometimes, but we totally love him.

Zadie is the happiest little girl on the planet. She just sits around and smiles at us all day long.

Zeke amazes us daily with his witty remarks and funny creative play.

Karine tried to give Zeke a haircut to save a few bucks. He'll be going to a salon next time.

Also made some cute onesie cookies for Karen's baby shower...

Tom has been practicing some old classics on the piano. (Like from his childhood piano lessons book)

(Picture to come soon!)

July Playtime

2011-07-23T07:55:00.002-05:00

Summer really is more about playing than blogging, right? :) We've been keeping cool in the a/c on these hot July days.
Each morning we pick out some toys and dump them on the living room floor and play with them. One of our favorite activities is cars and trucks. We fill them up, drive them around- to the farm, to the library to see "Mister Baca" (the children's librarian, Miss Rebecca), to the "conskwucktion site", to the grocery store, and to the lake to see Uncle Doug.

Ezra started crawling over the 4th of July weekend, so we are now on to the next level of babyproofing! For the past two weeks, Zadie has watched her brothers chase each other around the house, hiding around corners, and giggling upon discovery. For the first two weeks, I would say she showed absolutely no interest in crawling, being content to sit in one place and watch. Over the past few days, she has started reaching forward, propping herself up on her arms, and doing some rocking while seated. I'm guessing she'll be on the move within the next two weeks!

More July fun to come on a different day. Happy Weekend!

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-08T07:46:00.005-05:00

For several years, we have been going up north in MN to celebrate the Fourth of July with Tom's family. Since this past year has been such a big year of changes, we were not able to make the trip this year. Instead, we thought of our family at the lake, missed them, but tried to have a good old time here at home. Lots of lawn watering, car washing, and baby cuddling.

Tom bought as many fireworks as one can buy for $25. Snakes, tanks, sparklers, a few little rockets, and we were happy campers in the front yard. Tom had fun introducing Zeke to the manly world of "watching things blow up". Surprisingly, Zadie and Ezra were not at all bothered by the noises and liked the little light show.

June... Where did the time go???

2011-07-07T12:37:00.012-05:00

So, June is over. How the heck did that happen? Hmmm. It turns out that three kiddos keeps a family pretty busy. Plus, the weather's been warm and our weekends are filled with family fun instead of internet blogging. Enough excuses already. Here are some highlights from June.

Lots of outside kid time. Backyard pool parties, sandbox play. The babies are in the background of this picture doing pretty much what they did all of June. Ezra hangs out on his belly, hands, and knees, rocking without moving anywhere. Zadie lies on her back with her head up, ab-cruncher style. She doesn't care for her stomach, though she did finally start to roll mid-June.

We've been taking a weekly class called Financial Peace University. It's a program by Dave Ramsey that helps people become debt free and work their way to wealth. It's no overnight solution, and requires quite a bit of sacrifice and tough budgeting. Dave teaches us that right now, we need to "Live like no one else, so that later we can Live like no one else! " Currently, we're in the first part of living like no one else. Selling things on Craigslist, spending only cash, cut up all credit cards, very careful budgeting and planning... No huge secrets, but it requires a way of saving and spending that our generation isn't necessarily programmed for. We try to keep it fun though!

We like the small group that we meet with each week. The class involves watching the dynamic money guru, Dave Ramsey do a one hour video and then discussion with our little group and facilitator afterwards. It's been a nice way to get to know some sweet southern folks. Nana and Papa have graciously volunteered to babysit while we go to class, so we've also enjoyed having a grown-up activity to do.

For Father's Day, I took our special guys (Tom and my dad) to the annual Wing Fest in Fayetteville. I won a 4-pack of tickets on a radio giveaway, so it worked out perfectly to celebrate with BBQ sauce all over our faces. Yummy! Of course, I forgot the camera at home. (This was a very lucky weekend in which I got 4 free wingfest tickets, 3 free large smoothies, 2 free cloth diapers, and 1 free art print. Cool!)

In late June, we were so happy to have visitors! My brother, Chris flew in for some quality time, and the Zabell family (3 generations worth!) drove down from MN for the fun. My cousin's little daughter, Hannah, is also 2. She and Zeke had a blast together, however I have hardly any pictures to show for it! We went golfing, swimming, day-tripping to Eureka Springs, and loads of fun visiting.

Here is a cute picture of Hannah dancing with Zadie. Unfortunately, my finger created a little shadow when the flash went off, but I still think it's a cute pic.

On June 23, while the whole crew was still here, we celebrated Tom's 33rd birthday. Tom wanted to celebrate his day in style, so of course we took him to Chuck E. Cheese. There was digger riding and mole whacking. There were tickets, and of course pizza. Super fun.

Other than big family events, our days are filled with the "routine" things. Changing diapers, washing and drying diapers, feeding kids, chasing kids, picking up toys, applying sunscreen, feeding kids again, working, sleeping. Repeat. The days seem to fly by!

Chastits

2011-06-28T09:02:00.001-05:00

Z: Would you help me pick up my chastit please?
K: Your chastit?
Z: I need to put my chastit in the papack.
K: What's a chastit?
Z: A chastit is for walking a dog and then it gets a owie so it gets a chastit.
K: Oh. I see.

Making Music with Ezra

2011-06-05T14:04:00.001-05:00

Twin Talk

2011-05-18T13:39:00.004-05:00

6 Months Old

2011-05-09T07:27:00.007-05:00

My sweet babies are already half a year old. I can't believe it. In just 6 months, these babies have become such a special part of our lives. It is hard to remember what life was like before them. We find it easy to compare the two (and their older brother) when they are so close in age, but there are also things that are very different about them at six months.

ZADIE

At six months, our darling baby girl Zadie Anne:
-weighs about half a ton and is really long (actually, probably closer to 20 lbs, but I'll get back to you on that after our doctor visit next week)
-loves to laugh. She giggles at her brothers, at toys, and strangers with her contagious smile.
-eats rice cereal aggressively. She usually ends up with half of it on her face, but thouroughly enjoys the process.
-can't stand being left out of the action. She'll go from happiest girl in the world to devastated if she feels left behind.
-falls asleep every night by rubbing her face with her hands and her special blanket.
-loves to sleep late in the morning- an hour later than the rest of the family!
-hates the pacifier.
-will roll to her side when highly motivated, but prefers to lay around on the floor and let the action come to her.
-always steals the "crunchy" books from Ezra
-does stomach crunches and lifts her head up to see what's going on while on her back. Abs of steel (covered by a fluffy layer of chub)
-loves to suck her big toe!

EZRA

At six months, our adorable Ezra Allan:
-is incredibly cheerful and smiley by 6:30am every day!
-likes to "talk" and make gurgully baby sounds like "nnn naa" and "gaa" and "daa"
-rolls and scoots all over the floor to find toys.
-appears to be entirely sinewy muscle and brut strength
-adores Zeke and prefers playing with big brother's cars and trains to other baby toys.
-uses his muscular legs to stand up in the exersaucer, jumperoo, johnny jump-up, and with daddy's help.
-digs the rice cereal, and is excited to move on to more exciting foods soon
-puts everything he finds directly into his mouth
-loves family walks- especially being strapped to Daddy's chest in the Ergo carrier.
-weighs less than his sister, but is still getting pretty heavy! (again will update later)
-has a nice head of darkish hair beginning to make a comeback after disappearing for a few months.

And in case you're wondering... BOTH babies:
- are still breastfeeding- and thriving! We supplement with about 4 oz of formula each per day, and are beginning to introduce some solid foods.
- started wearing cloth diapers last week. So far so good!
-love sleeping close to mom and dad. We keep a crib next to the bed and throughout the night, there is often one baby in the crib and one nursing/sleeping with us in bed. This arrangement works really well for our family, allowing mom and dad to get 8 full hours of sleep each night.

Having twins has been surprisingly easier than we anticipated. While there are definitely moments of insanity around the house, for for the most part, the babies are incredibly happy, easy-going, and patient. We are so blessed.

Watching TV in the Backyard

2011-05-08T22:05:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T08:41:00.004-05:00

Karine is a great mom. The kids are so lucky to have her loving them every day. She's an inspiration. She deserves like a million pancakes in bed. Every day.

Constructing a Square Foot Garden

2011-05-04T14:53:00.001-05:00

Even though our solid food-eating child eats only chicken nuggets, sausage, and pancakes, we thought it would be beneficial for him to realize that green foods do exist and, also, that these wonderful, although, from his perspective, suspicious, foods pop up right out of the ground.

So we decided to built ourselves a Square Foot Garden. There is a guy we like to call Miracle Mel. He is the guru of Square Foot Gardening. His real name is Mel Bartholomew. We bought his book. You can enjoy learning about earlier attempts at gardening in Honduras, here.

Getting corners square is not as easy as you might think. I used C-clamps and something that is already square (the sand box under the play tower) to set up my box. I attached the cedar 1 x 6s (4 foot long) at the corner with two 3-inch deck screws. One inch is not a lot of wood for a screw to bite, so make sure your screws are going in straight. Also helps if you have a sweet drill.

I reinforced my bottom with another cedar plank. This helped me stay square. It also gives my box more support. I put more deck screws in the corner and down one side.

I did my two corners, added the support plank, then connected the two halves with more deck screws. When I was done I had something that was pretty square.

I drilled holes in my reinforcing planks after I had everything squared up. This is to let water pass through. (You probably knew that.)

I put the boxes in the ground and buried the bottom planks. Zeke was a huge help here. He kept asking me what I was doing. So I had to tell him. That way I couldn't forget.

I put some anti-weed paper in the bottom of each garden. I then covered the bottom inch-and-a-half or so with about 150 pounds of fine sand. Zeke helped level the sand with a back hoe.

Then it was time for me to get my hands dirty. I spread out a tarp and mixed up a batch of Mel's Miracle Mix: peat, compost, and vermiculite. Zeke was a huge help here too.

That's it. Now I'm just waiting for Karine to plant something so I can eat it.

New Links Spotlight

2011-05-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Here are some blogs we've been reading lately:

Rori and Jon (and kids!)
Our niece's and nephews' adventures on the Mississippi.

Lindsey's Blog
Family friends. New parents.

Molly's Blog
College friend. New blog.

Jacy's Blog
Funny family tales in SoDak.

Tippy's Blog
Met them in Honduras. Love what they're doing in Kansas.

Chance's Blog
Karine's Underwood High School friend. Teaching in Korea.

Springtime Flowers

2011-05-02T15:25:00.001-05:00

We live in the Ozarks! Sometimes we forget this. One of the things we're blessed with down are beautiful springtime flowers. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago. We didn't plant these flowers. They came with the house!

Trouble?

2011-05-01T13:20:00.004-05:00

Zeke informed his mother this week that he would prefer his boogers left inside his nose. He did that by bursting into tears. When the screaming subsided, she wiped the tears away. He told her to put the tears "back on".

Two Babies! -- Laughing

2011-04-26T05:06:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:38:00.004-05:00

We wish you all a blessed Easter Day! We enjoyed a special Easter Brunch this morning with the Nelsons. Zeke even gave the Easter bunny a "fa-five" (high five). Have a great day everyone!

Happy Easter from the Ozarks!

Nap Time -- Fun Time

2011-04-21T14:15:00.002-05:00

Used to be you could just set them down for a nap and nothing bad would come of it.

Birth Control

2011-04-15T07:08:00.001-05:00

Prom season is coming up. Feel free to share this short video with a teenager.

Baptism Weekend

2011-04-12T07:44:00.010-05:00

Way back on Saturday, March 26, Zadie and Ezra were baptized. We had such a special baptism weekend thanks to our friends and family.

Our great friends, Tommy and Casey, drove down from Minneapolis with their family to be Godparents to Zadie and celebrate baptisms, friendship, and spring break. We are so happy they came. The kids all had a blast playing with each other. Grandma Jean also came to town, and Nana and Papa were already in town, so we had a great representation of family. We missed Kirsten and Doug who are Ezra's Godparents, but we felt their presence in spirit.

After mass on Saturday evening, we had the baptismal ceremony at St. Stephen's Catholic Church here in Bentonville, AR. All 6 kids were well behaved during church- not bad considering five of them were 2 and under!

We came back to the house to celebrate with posed family photos and ice cream cake. We ate all of the DQ cake, so all we have left for you all to enjoy are the posed family photos.

On Monday, we took 2 minivans and hit the road! We drove two hours to the beautiful little mountainside village of Eureka Springs. Some call this town "Little Switzerland". The streets are lined with eclectic little shops, artists workshops and galleries, candy stores, and restaurants. Just outside of town is Christ of the Ozarks. It's a BIG statue!

After a long day in the Eureka Springs (with a dead camera battery for most of the day), we headed back to the Country Inn and Suites for some swimming with the P's. The dads helped the kiddos in the water.

We moms even had a couple of kid-free minutes in the hot tub! All in all, it was such a fantastic weekend! We are so lucky to have such great friends and family!

Annals of the Former World

2011-04-09T11:09:00.001-05:00

I have never before been this excited about a geology book. The earth is really old. Sometimes I try to mediate. I close my eyes and watch my thoughts in silence. I open them and look at my watch and what I thought was forever was actually four minutes. The earth is 4.6 billion years old. This book shares little bit of its history.

Kitchen Before and After

2011-04-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

BEFORE

(Grapes of wrath wallpaper above, mauve pattern below, and lovely bonus grape border, white knobs on cabinets)

AFTER
(New cabinet hardware, Facebook blue* on the bottom, Cloudy sky-day* on top)

*Not actually the Valspar color names, but I couldn't remember them.

Painting the Kitchen

2011-04-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Karine posted a before picture of our kitchen mini-makeover. You may remember the ugly wall paper from this picture. What you can't tell from the picture is that this wall paper will take about ten hours to remove. Somehow I always forget that removing wall paper is one of the worst ways you can spend your time. Almost as bad as digging a hole. Thank God Zeke was able to lend a hand with the priming.

Euraka Springs Mauve Car

2011-04-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

This mauve track inspector's car we found at the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway Depot just outside of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It is a lovely shade of mauve. Don't see that shade of mauve on too many cars these days. We took a peak inside and found that this vehicle has no steering wheel. Imagine that!

Turtle Race

2011-04-04T21:49:00.001-05:00

Ezra is rolling over. So far, he's the most athletic little Lew. Zadie likes to laugh. We'll try to share a clip of her laughing. If we can get ourselves organized.

TWO Babies

2011-04-04T15:17:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I get a big kick out of the fact that we have twins. Whenever they're dressed alike (which doesn't happen too often), Zeke exclaims "TWO Babies!" Here they are in some matching pjs and their little Sophie Giraffes. TWO cute!

(Zadie is on the left and Ezra is on the right)

Animal Sounds

2011-04-03T21:45:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the food in the mouth and the drool on the chin. This is Zeke hanging out with Dad at 7 AM on Saturday morning. This is what we do for fun.

Zeke in the snow

2011-03-31T19:30:00.000-05:00

I think we forgot to mention anywhere here that we got about twenty inches of snow at the beginning of February. Here is Zeke wading in God's gift to Northwest Arkansas.

Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway Company

2011-03-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

Home!

2011-03-18T15:32:00.007-05:00

After 10 years of renting, Tom and I are officially HOMEOWNERS!

On March 4, we closed on our very first home. We've found a lovely spot for our family here in Rogers, Arkansas and it's the perfect house. We had to do some extra waiting and finger crossing for awhile because this was a short sale. Things were a little more complicated than a regular home sale, but we ended up getting a good deal on our dream home.

Bright and early on March 5, we moved in! We're slowly getting settled and loving the fact that we're unpacking for the last time for many many years. The house is awesome for us. It's a 4 bedroom house and almost 2000 square feet. It's all on 1 level, so I don't worry about babies climbing and falling down stairs. There is a ton of sunlight and a HUGE backyard with a swingset.

Here's a view of the house from the back.

I'm particularly fond of our jacuzzi tub in the MASTER SUITE.. Yes, I am the half-owner of a master suite. It feels so good to say that.

Most of the house has been freshly painted and updated. There are new appliances, wood floors in the living spaces and nice carpet in the bedrooms. There is even a real working fireplace! There are mature flowering trees all around the house, and the landscaping has been thoughtfully planned. We LOVE our new home.

The only real project that we need to complete is some wallpaper removal. It kind of looks like the 90's barfed on our kitchen and bathroom walls. But wallpaper comes down sort of easily. And paint goes up quickly! Well, we'll see how quickly it all happens, but I feel motivated. Without further ado, here is our "before" picture of the kitchen/dining room. Hopefully the "after" pic will come soon!

So, we'll post pictures of different parts of our new home as they are completely set up. We're just so glad to be HOME! :)
PS- The weather here is awesome. 70s in March! Take that MN!

End of February

2011-03-18T15:21:00.003-05:00

Late February was tough on our patience. We waited for 3 Fridays in a row to close on our house. While we waited, we kept ourselves busy with work (Tom) play (kiddos) and child-rearing (me). We took a beautiful day trip out to a local park where we walked around for hours and played together as a family. Here are a few pictures of how we spent our late February.

Me with my kiddos at Horseshoe Bend Park

Zeke and Tom frolicking in last fall's leaves at Horseshoe Bend Park

Zeke sporting some shades. Note to self- buy bigger sunglasses for him this year.

Bath time under Mom's supervision. Wait... Is that...???

Yeah, Ezra is in a bucket. He's comfortable there.

Joy of Love 12: The Eyes

2011-03-18T15:09:00.002-05:00

What? You mean to tell me February is over??? Oops!

I had such high hopes for myself with this photo project, and then some of the prompts started to be too tough for me to do since we weren't currently living with all of our stuff in our own house. (Examples: Now/Then photos- ours were all in boxes in a POD, Favorite place in your house- we were just wishing we had our own house- though Nelson living quarters were pretty comfy!) Truth be told, I lost steam and gave up. BUT- I did take these nice pictures of my family's eyes for the day 12 assignment. Do you like them? I do! So, better late than never... Here they are from youngest to oldest: Zadie, Ezra, Zeke, Tom

Prompt:
Today I want you to take a crisp photo of your loved ones eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, to try to truly capture your loved one’s eyes today.

TED: The power of vulnerability

2011-02-12T16:05:00.001-06:00

Joy of Love 11: Dreams

2011-02-10T22:01:00.005-06:00

Prompt: What does your loved one dream of accomplishing or doing? Take a photo that pays homage to this dream.

Explanation: After spending New Years Eve 2009 at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, we vowed to return someday. We dream of spending every New Years overlooking this amazing volcano lake. Someday... :)

Joy of Love 10: Space- Where They Are Comfortable

2011-02-10T22:01:00.003-06:00

Prompt: What is their “spot” in the house? This can be a chair they watch TV in, a manroom, a bedroom, a workshop, their office, the garage, the car, the doghouse (LOL!). They can either be in the frame or not.

Ezra's favorite spot- his swing!

Joy of Love 9: Passions and Hobbies

2011-02-10T19:59:00.003-06:00

Prompt:
Document your loved one’s extracurricular activity today. It can be of them “doing” the activity or just a photo that indicates what the hobby is.

The Joy Of Love Project

2011-02-09T20:39:00.007-06:00

So on February 1st, my friend Casey joined a special photography/blog project called Joy of Love. Basically, you receive an "assignment" or photography prompt each day in February to take pictures of your loved ones. It doesn't need to be the same person each day, so you can focus on many loved ones! At the end of the month, you can turn it into a cool book keepsake. I loved the idea of it so much that by Feb. 4, I could no longer just be an observer. I signed up for this month-long project and have been receiving prompts daily since then.

I've been trying to catch up and snapping some shots for days 1-8. Here, I will post my first 8 days worth of photos. The photos will appear as I catch up. I'll try to do a post each day in February from here on out. Enjoy! (And it's not too late for you to join the fun either! Click Here for details)

Joy of Love #1 What They Do

This can apply to anything your loved ones “do”….what do they do for work? What do they do for play? What chores do they do around the house? Find something they “DO” and document it.

Joy of Love #2 How They Look

Prompt: Capture your loved one at their best (or at their worst). Or both. What you’re trying to capture is the TRUE essence/expression/attitude/posture that SCREAMS your

loved one!

Joy of Love #3 Then and Now

prompt: How long have you known your loved one? What has changed since you first met him or her? Try to capture this change in photos. it would be even cooler if you can show a photo from the time you first met him and put it side by side with a now photo. Or have your loved one hold the “Then” photo and snap the camera!

Joy of Love #4 What They Wear

prompt: Photograph your loved one’s clothes (either on him or in the closet). This can be when they are dressed up or dressed down.

Joy of Love #5 Love To Hate*

Prompt:

You KNOW your loved one does something that drives you NUTS (but you LOVE to

complain about it and the day just wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t have to complain about

it). Capture it…if it is a non-physical thing, then just try to take a photo of something that embodies the idea.

*NOTE- I don't actually hate this, but Tom does pull these blue sweatpants up WAY too high and wears them around the house like this. Annoyingly sweet and cute- don't you change sweetheart!

Joy of Love #6 Who They Love

Prompt:

Besides you, who is the apple of his/her eye? Is it your dog, the kids, his parents, his sibling? Document them with their loved one! If the loved one is not close by, then have them hold a photo of their “beloved”…this can also work for loved ones who have passed away.

Joy of Love #7 Generations
Get your loved one with all the generations of family that are close by. If this is not possible due to military deployments or family not being close, then just tuck this prompt away for when everyone is close together again.

Joy of Love #8 Gift From The Heart
What has your spouse (or loved one) given or promised to you (material or immaterial)? Try to capture this “gift” from their heart.

Watch out Mozart!

2011-02-04T12:46:00.000-06:00

Catching Up

2011-02-03T14:27:00.006-06:00

Regular visitors to our blog may have noticed that the past month has been pretty slow on blogs. I'm not going to make a lot of excuses. The truth is that with three kiddos and a move, the blog has not been a huge priority. Now that we're a little more settled (relatively speaking) I'm going to try to get back on track.

So, for your internet enjoyment today, here is some back-blogging from January. Either scroll back through the posts to January or click below to see our new January posts.

Big Cedar

Hanging Around the House 1/23-1/28

Moving from Omaha to Arkansas

Here's one adorable twin pic that I didn't put in any other posts- but I think it's adorable and wanted to share!

Happy 2nd Birthday Zeke

2011-02-02T14:13:00.012-06:00

Today, Zeke turned 2! We had a fantastic day filled with family, birds, fish, and cupcakes!

Highlights included some little birds from Grandma Jean and 2 new goldfish in a tank from Nana and Papa. I made cupcakes that had some Mickey Mouse wrappers on them. Zeke kept calling him Sticky Mouse. He loves his new fish, and we had a great time watching the first ever full length movie as a family- Finding Nemo. What a great day. Happy Birthday, Zeke!

Big Cedar

2011-01-29T13:29:00.001-06:00

On January 28-29, Tom and I headed north to Branson! Well, actually it was just outside of Branson, MO. The Wilderness Club at Big Cedar is a place my parents head often. Big Cedar is a part of the BlueGreen Vacation Club, and it's just under 2 hours from us. This beautiful vacation lodge overlooks Table Rock Lake. My parents gave us a little getaway weekend up there to enjoy. We really lucked out on the weather- it was a glorious 68 degrees!

We loved the 2 hour walk we took around the resort and the twins loved the sunlight!

You'll notice that Zeke isn't in these pictures. That's because he opted to hang out with Nana and Papa back in Rogers, AR. We took advantage of this time to get to know our babies in a slower-paced environment. Our weekend complete with a prime rib dinner overlooking the lake from our room's balcony.

And then there was the photo shoot... We had nothing more important to do than snap some pictures of our quickly growing babies. It's amazing to us how fast they are turning into little people!

Hanging Around the House 1/23-28

2011-01-28T13:18:00.000-06:00

The weather last week hit all time highs- 70 degrees! We spent some time playing outside in Nana and Papa's backyard. Zeke is pretty tired of looking at me lately. So much so, that he just covers his eyes when I'm around. :)

No joke- this kiddo really wants to play with some friends. Below is a picture I took of Zeke in the backyard looking through the fence to find the kids across the street. If this were a video, you'd hear him saying "Friends? Play friends? Friends out there?" I'm making an effort to find Zeke some friends by attending story/rhyme time at the local public libraries. He loves it. We'll work on finding some neighborhood friends soon.

Here are the three kids hanging out together. Zeke is constantly sitting/lying down somewhere and then telling the nearest adult to "put it right there!" He wants to have his brother or sister set down next to him. After we put it right there, he usually starts saying "Cheese". We indulge him and grab the camera about half the time Here's a cute "cheese."

Moving from Omaha to Arkansas

2011-01-22T13:56:00.001-06:00

We spent Jan 13-22 back in Omaha to wrap up all sorts of loose ends. We hurried back to be at the big $10,000 giveaway at O'Daniel Honda. (Remember back in July when we won $2,500?) Well, we didn't win the big prize, but they did give us sandwiches.

After the non-winning event, we spent the next week frantically running around town and packing up our stuff from the house. I thought it would be pretty easy and not take that long. I wasn't exactly right. It was a lot of hard work, and having 3 little ones made it difficult to do any project for longer than an hour at a time.

But on Jan 22, we hit the road leaving all of our possessions locked up in a 16' POD. Tom pulled some amazing maneuvers getting everything into the pod. He called it a true Polish Packing Job. The final pieces were jammed behind the door as we pulled it down inch by inch, shoving things up a little higher as the door came down securing them. If everything arrives in one piece, we'll be lucky.

We're scheduled to close on our house on Feb. 25. We are so excited! We'll post more photos once it's a done deal and we've got the keys, but here's a little teaser. Our new backyard is HUGE! Zeke loves playing in it already (that's where he's spent time when we've been at the house) and I can see the entire fenced-in yard from the kitchen and living room. I predict many many hours will be spent in our backyard!

New Year, New Adventure

2011-01-16T09:18:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year! We've been a little behind in our blogging lately because we've been super busy. You might be wondering what we've been busy with... Well, it's our newest adventure- we're moving to Arkansas! Yes, the Lewandowskis are heading south!

When Tom's contracted writing job ended in December, we were hoping to find the perfect job opportunity here in Omaha. Everyone knows that times are tough and the economy isn't providing a lot of opportunities for job seekers. Our prayers were answered, and Tom received a job offer we couldn't pass up.

We'll be moving to the northwest corner of Arkansas in the Bentonville, Rogers, and Fayetteville area. Tom has already started working for Nelson Counseling and will be assisting my parents in their counseling business. He will also start graduate school to obtain his masters degree in Social Work.

We spent almost 2 weeks in early January down in Rogers, Arkansas. Tom worked and I child-reared. In the afternoons and evenings, we met with a realtor and visited homes. We did put an offer on a great house, and the offer was accepted! So, if all goes as planned, (it's a short sale, so we're keeping fingers crossed) we will be in our very own house by mid- February!

Our new house???

Just Kidding! We're hoping this is the one!

Of course, we're sad to leave Omaha and especially Grandma Jean, but we are excited about the new adventure. Nana and Papa are thrilled to have their grandchildren closer (and us grownups too, I'm sure). We're excited to get to know a new area of the country.

We took a 6 hour Sunday drive last weekend and spent some time enjoying the beauty of the Ozarks, right in our new backyard!

We are back in Omaha right now, tying up loose ends, packing our stuff (again), and loading up a POD. We'll be here through the next week, and then we're off to begin the next chapter of our lives. We'll post more soon about all the great things in Northwest Arkansas. I'm sure there's a lot of things people don't know about this undiscovered gem of a state!

Reindeer Butts

2010-12-25T22:17:00.003-06:00

Zadie and Ezra wore these adorable matching outfits today. Happy Reindeer Butts!
(And yes, we know that it is not safe for babies to sleep on their stomachs in a big bed, it was just for the sake of the photo)

Sweet Dreams!

All is Calm (mostly), All is Bright

2010-12-25T09:39:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T08:02:00.001-06:00

Holla-Days!

2010-12-22T09:06:00.003-06:00

One Month of Fun

2010-12-07T21:17:00.002-06:00

It's so hard to believe that one month has already passed since our newest family members joined the world. Ezra and Zadie are growing and changing right before our eyes. We just love them! Our days have been busy and our nights somewhat restful. Things are going well and we are all adjusting to our new life.

Zeke has been busy "helping" with everything. Here is a picture of pizza night. Zeke will not actually eat the cooked pizza, but he likes the Boboli crust. We ended up cutting him a slice of crust before he helped put the toppings on the pizza.

Here is big brother Zeke helping to hold his baby brother and sister. He is so proud of them and most of the time he is very sweet and gentle. For those moments he's not so gentle, we just remind ourselves that our almost 2 year old has had major life changes in the past month and it is a phase of adjustment that we all must go through.

I spend many hours a day holding (and nursing) one or two babies. Often times, I'll have Zeke curled up next to me. I cherish these hours spent cuddling with my kiddos.

Zadie and Ezra are about the sweetest things on earth. In this picture, Ezra is helping out his little sister by lending her a thumb to suck on. Sweet huh?

The days have been a little hectic, so the blog has taken a bit of a backseat for awhile, but we'll try to share a few more photos as we can. In the meantime, enjoy this video of Zeke, Zadie, and Ezra...

Ezekiel, Peanut Butter, Francis and the Lights

2010-11-21T22:32:00.003-06:00

We bought a new album Friday afternoon: Francis and the Lights -- It'll Be Better. This is pretty exciting news for us. Huge, actually. Usually we just buy diapers and Desitin. It sort of ended up being the soundtrack for our weekend. It's a great album. We liked it so much we decided to shoot a music video for the title track. Check it on itunes, here.

Grape Nuts

2010-11-18T21:46:00.005-06:00

Grape Nuts is the worst cereal ever invented by a human. Does anyone actually eat it? Every couple of years I somehow forget about the burnt cardboard flavor and bone fragment texture of Grape Nuts. (Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! -- Are you kidding me? My gums are bleeding!) I say, oh look there, Grape Nuts, you can't be as bad as I remember. I'll give it a go. It's not as bad as I remember. It's worse. Does anyone know why people buy Grape Nuts? Can you make great muffins with it or something? Can you use it for kitty litter or to exfoliate your feet or something?

For real, if anyone has any tips for what to do with Grape Nuts, please let us know.

My Twin VBAC Birth Story

2010-11-18T20:30:00.000-06:00

This is the birth story of our twins, Ezra and Zadie. Some information might be TMI for some readers. Birth is a messy deal and some of what I write may not be what our average blog reader wants to read. S0, if you think this might not be for you, please enjoy the other posts on our blog. For those of you who want all the details, here you go!

As early as mid-October I thought I would be in full-blown labor any minute. I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions pretty regularly almost every day. Sometimes they would get stronger and closer together, and then, all of a sudden, they would just stop altogether, and another sleepless night would pass. This went on for three weeks.

When I reached 37 weeks, on Nov. 1st, my doctor stripped my membranes. This process of separating the sac from the uterus is pretty painless, and for 50% of women, labor begins within 24 to 48 hours. I was hoping to be one of the lucky ones, however the twins were not ready to come yet.

I saw the doctor again on Nov. 4th, a Thursday, to repeat the procedure. By this time I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced. My doctor thought I'd be going into full-blown labor before Monday. Thursday afternoon, I was sure it was time. Contractions were moving from uncomfortable to somewhat painful and definitely getting closer together. We loaded up the car with the bags and waited for things to officially cross into labor land. They didn't. I was so disappointed, but I never lost faith. You just can't stay pregnant forever.

Friday passed with pretty mellow contractions. By Saturday afternoon, I was feeling a bit desperate. It wasn't that I disliked being pregnant, or that I wanted the babies to be born before they were ready. But at 38 weeks, I knew the twins were as healthy and strong as possible. I was SO ready to meet them!

The Huskers were playing a big football game that afternoon. Non-Nebraskans (NNs) do not understand how important Husker football is here in Nebraska. Everybody stops what they are doing on game day and puts on their red shirts and cheers on the team. My doctor is no exception. He actually is a season ticket holder, so I was just relieved that this particular weekend was an away game. He told me specifically not to go into labor if the 'Skers were playing at home.

I took a little nap and woke up during the 2nd quarter of the game, determined to get these babies moving on out. I looked up information on the Internet about safe ways to help induce labor (without eating or drinking anything weird). I started with flights of stairs, taking the stairs 2 at a time. This was no small feat considering my massive belly. After ten quick trips up and down the stairs, the contractions started. Next, I tried a 15 minute bounce session on my yoga ball. At halftime, Tom and I took two laps around the block. I had to stop a few times because the contractions were becoming stronger. I felt that this time it was really going to happen. During the 3rd and 4th quarter of the game, I kept up my stairs and yoga bouncing regiment. Tom and I took a couple more laps around the block once the game was over. I could tell that something was finally happening.

Around 8:00pm we said goodnight to Zeke and my parents, hopped in the (already packed) minivan, and headed off to the hospital. We checked into the Labor and Delivery floor of the beautiful Methodist Women's Hospital and were shown to our room. They hooked my belly up to some monitors to monitor the babies heartbeats and the track contractions. Their strong heartbeats sounded great on the stereo. And my contractions were real! They were charted up and down, painful peaks and mellow valleys. About four minutes apart.

In order to keep things moving, the nurse asked if I wanted an IV put in. She said that, often times, the extra hydration helps move things along. I was like, yeah, let's do this! At 10:o0 PM, I was allowed walk some laps in the hospital hallways. After the laps the nurse was going to put in a call to the doctor with a progress report. Tom and I walked for 30 minutes, then returned to the room. The nurse came in to check my dilation, looking for progress. I was still only 4-5 cm! How frustrating!

The nurse tore off the little charts and went off to call my doctor to see whether I would stay or be sent home. We were anticipating a bad report and expecting to be sent home. But Ezra had other plans. About 5 minutes after the nurse left, I felt a strong punch or kick. I believe my words were "Oh shit." This got Tom's full attention. Once we realized that my water had broken, we were so excited. The moment had finally arrived!

Tom ran off to tell the nurse. She was actually on the phone with the doctor when he stumbled into the nurses station. He was so excited to be able to use a clever line while delivering the news. He told the nurses at the station, "Um, we need a cleanup in aisle 9." The nurses were excited, Tom was excited, and I was excited too.

After my water broke, things began to move pretty quickly. Contractions were downright painful. I was doing my best to breathe through them and stay focused on the work ahead of me.

I will pause at this point to explain a little bit about our birth plan. When Zeke was born we didn't really have a birth plan. Birth. That was the plan. Besides, it was all in Spanish and we didn't really know what was going on. I ended up giving birth by C-section. Healthy baby, no complaints. With the twins I wanted to try what's called a VBAC. That stands for Vaginal Birth After Cesarean. Its not terribly unusual for single babies, but it's pretty rare for twins. Quite uncommon, actually. When I searched for reassurance online (that's where we all search for reassurance, right?) I couldn't find and single VBAC with twins birth story.

There are both risks and benefits associated with a VBAC. Many hospitals and doctors will not allow do the procedure due to the risk of uterine rupture. It can be a risky liability for doctors and hospitals to take on, and many health care providers refuse to attempt them. After long discussions with my doctor and with Tom, we all agreed that, if conditions were right (babies head-down, strong heartbeats all around, naturally progressing labor), a VBAC would be the best option for our family.

The nurses at the hospital were definitely nervous, but my doctor was going to be there throughout the laboring process and for the delivery (obviously). He would make the call on whether we could go through with the VBAC or not. There were a few conditions that the hospital had for attempting a VBAC with twins. I would have to deliver in an operating room, instead of one of the plush L and D rooms. And I would have to have an epidural in case we needed to change plans and do a C-section quickly.

At 12:30 AM, the anesthesiologist arrived to insert my epidural. Here's what I think about having an epidural: they're awesome! Now, looking back on things, I just am so glad I had it. I loved that thing! Once it was in, I took a nap for about an hour and a half. I was still able to feel the pressure of the contractions and move my legs around, but I just didn't feel that pain. It was great. After resting, the nurse came in to check me. I was 10 cm dilated! It was go time.

Around 2:10am, I was wheeled off to the operating room. Tom called our parents while someone rushed to deliver him a set of surgical scrubs. He looked like someone from the show, Scrubs.

We learned two things upon our arrival. Operating rooms are very cold. Also, this particular operating room was jamming to some classic rock. Tom remembers this, I don't. The song that was playing when our son entered the world: Freeze Frame by the J. Giles Band. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I turned to my favorite nurse, Kendra, and confided in her that I hadn't ever taken a class, so I didn't know how to push! She gave me a 10 second rundown and then I started pushing. I was surprised at how easy it seemed. I think maybe I had seen too many TV shows with really difficult labors. They held a mirror up so that I could see Ezra make his way into the world. Tom watched the doctor guide the baby out. Front row seat. We had our first miracle.

At 2:35 am, our beautiful little Ezra Allan was born. He cried, we might have cried, we were all so excited. Ezra weighed 6 lb, 6 oz, 19 and 3/4 inches long, and was pink and healthy! We celebrated for about 2 minutes and then it was go time again. By 2:47am, just 12 minutes after her big brother was born, Zadie Anne arrived. Tom was holding Ezra, and together they watched and welcomed the youngest Lewandowski into the world. She weighed 6 lb., 4 oz and was 19 inches long. Tom handed Ezra to a nurse long enough to cut Zadie's cord (as he had with Ezra) and, afterwords, the doctor presented Tom with the special scissors as a keepsake.

The babies and I were deemed healthy. The VBAC was considered a huge success. I was wheeled back to the L & D room for a couple hours to get to know my new babies before moving up to the Mother and Baby floor. We were visited around 5:30am by Zeke and my parents. It was such a special time.

Our stay at Methodist Women's Hospital was awesome. There was 24 hour room service with fresh, delicious food. The nursing staff was kind, patient, and very helpful. If there are any Omaha mommies-to-be that are looking for a good hospital, I have no reservations about recommending the Methodist Women's Hospital. Also my OB was just the right guy for the job. It is difficult to find a doctor who will encourage and support women who want to have VBACs . My doctor was realistic and positive when discussing our birth options, and always listened to what I had to say. I feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful experience. It was all made so much better by coming home after just 2 nights with healthy babies. It was everything I could have hoped for.

Big Brother Z: Squirt, Squirt

2010-11-17T14:49:00.006-06:00

Big Brother Zeke loves his new brother and sister. He thinks that Ezra and Zadie are super cool and loves to help out. Yesterday he helped out by trying to clean his little brother with a couple squirts from the Spray & Wash bottle. Squirt! Squirt! Don't worry, no harm done. Karine was right there. And Ezra was wrapped up like a little burrito, so he didn't actually get squirted. The Spray & Wash has been moved to a secure location. We talked with Zeke about finding some other ways to help out.

Hephaestus Revisited

2010-11-17T07:40:00.000-06:00

In January of 2009 I wrote a little ditty called Baby Hephaestus. I like to entertain the people and myself with jokey posts about sweet names for babies. So I wrote this thing. You can read it here.

It's in the inter-tubes now. It's in a tube. My most popular tube, actually. Due to some type of glitch or something my Baby Hephaestus post is mad popular with Google.

I'm just going to go with it. Expect a significant uptick in Hephaestus related posts. Starting now.

Here is a picture of the Hephaestus action figure. I don't want to be negative. But it's pretty lame.

Ezra and Zadie: Pioneer Chic

2010-11-16T08:26:00.000-06:00

Karine has been bugging me to release this somewhat embarrassing little nugget to the general public. Here it is:

I generally mispronounce the word chic. I pronounce it like you would the word for a small chicken. Whatever. I don't think it's a sign of illiteracy or poor breeding or anything. It's a pretty silly word to begin with. French.

I spend a lot of time describing objects for my new job. Like this bar stool, here. I wrote the description. I try to reduce an object to its essential essence. And then name that essence in celebration so that someone somewhere might want to buy it. I did this with some ping-pong balls last week.

When we were in the hospital with the twins, someone asked, as we knew they would, how we came up with the names Ezra and Zadie. I boiled the names down to their essential essence right quick. They're pioneer chic, I said. Except I mispronounced chic.

....this is different

2010-11-15T10:07:00.000-06:00

Classical Music is for Everyone: Chopin

2010-11-13T15:54:00.003-06:00

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin had a couple of things going for himself:

1) Polish.
2) Sweet name.
3) Genius.
4) Married to brilliant French writer.
5) Polish.

I didn't rock out to Chopin's music much when I was younger. Maybe it's because I didn't have patience, or didn't know how to "listen." I just wasn't ready, I guess, to chill out to Chopin's wickedly expressive piano tunes. Now I am.

Here is my take on Chopin. Bear in mind, I may not know what I am talking about. Dude appreciated silence. Was a composer who recognized the gravity of bringing sound into the world. Back then, I'm sure, a lot of people just sort of spewed forth a constant stream of sounds: thoughts, opinions, phrases, nonsense, jargon, opinion, feelings. Well, that's fine. But just like now I'll wager that most of it was pretty worthless.

Chopin was like this in his music: Watch out. Be Careful. Should I play this note? This phrase? Is it authentic / real / relevant? Tentatively, unbridled passion. Introspective emotion.

This Russian here nails it. She is Yulianna Avdeeva, winner of this year's Chopin competition. She's playing Chopin's E minor piano concerto. Well. Very.

Family Pictures

2010-11-12T08:55:00.005-06:00

Here are some of our newest family pictures...

Meet Ezra Allan Lewandowski. He seems to be the most laid back of our three kids. We think he's the sensitive artistic type.

Meet Zadie Anne Lewandowski. This little firecracker seems to get her good looks from her mom's side of the family.

This is Zeke, aka, the Best Big Brother ever. Now, every morning when he wakes up, instead of his first word being "Mommy" (or "Momby" as he has taken to calling me), his first word is "babies???" He loves helping to look for his brother and sister's blankets, watching them eat and get diapers changed. Zeke always alerts us with a very concerned look on his face if one of the babies is crying.

Meet Super Dad. Tom has been right there along side of me every step of the way. Nights have been short (or long, depending on how you look at it) but Tom is right there next to me, helping to soothe his son and daughter.

I thought that this picture showed a particularly tender moment. I've never had a daughter before. She even kind of looks like me- which is so different than we've ever had with Zeke. It's pretty neat to think about all the girly things we'll do someday.

These wonderful grandparents, Nana and Papa, traveled from Arkansas to spend the past two weeks helping us prepare for the arrival of Zadie and Ezra. They provided countless hours of loving care for Zeke, prepared meals and kept the house well stocked with all sorts of goodies. I can't imagine how we would have survived without them during the past two weeks. It was certainly a special time. Here they are meeting their newest grandchildren!

And here is Grandma Jean. She came to the hospital to meet Zadie and Ezra on their birthday(s?) Grandma Jean has been working so hard after her hip replacement to be up and about again soon. While we're so glad that she's been able to make such amazing progress, we're excited to have her around the house again soon! Her arms are just perfect for rocking these two babies.

And this is our first official family picture. It took 3 days to find a time where we were all awake at the same time (and not in our pjs) But here we are!
Now I'm going to try to get a little shut-eye while I can. I know people are anxious for pics and updates. I promise to post more as things begin to settle down a bit.

A snapshot without pictures

2010-11-11T06:39:00.004-06:00

You'll notice that there are no baby pictures in this post. Karine was trying to get some up all day yesterday. But, you know, she got sidetracked a couple of times. How are things? They are wonderfully intense. Like this: you're rocking Zadie, who has not been the most enthusiastic sleeper so far, and trying your best to get her settled and asleep. You finally do it and you hope it will stick, because she's tuckered and ready for sleep. So you put put her down next to her brother, which is exactly where she wants to be, and Ezra immediately starts SCREAMING like he just got circumcised. That's when you know you're really close to the center of it, and you're really alive. Thank God there are two of us.

Thank You

2010-11-08T20:38:00.004-06:00

We are truly blessed to have a loving family and such wonderful and supportive friends. Thank you all for your best wishes, prayers, and happy thoughts. Karine is resting. I am just blissed-out in general. I think my blood pressure has been a touch high for the past three weeks. I'm sure things will calm down now that the twins are on the outside. Right? That's how it works, right? The hard part is over and now everything is super chill. That's the plan. Karine is going to write about her experience sometime soon, for now I just want to say thank you. Thank you, everyone. Our doctor did everything perfectly. All of the nurses here love what they do and they truly do their jobs with love in their hearts. Karine is my hero. We'll post more pictures of Ezra and Zadie soon. Here I just want to post one picture of Karine. It says it all. I took it about one minute after the twins were born.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2010-11-07T08:25:00.005-06:00

Ezra Allan Lewandowski 2:35 AM 6 pounds, 6 oz.
Zadie Anne Lewandowski 2:47 AM 6 pounds, 4 oz.

1st Haircut

2010-11-07T01:09:00.005-05:00

If you're not at the hospital having more kids, you might as well do what you can to make the one you've got look half-way decent. Zeke was overdue for a haircut. We figured he couldn't look any cuter. We figured wrong. And how 'bout Karine? Wow.

Thanks for the sweet cut Family Fun Cutz!

awesome hair?

2010-11-06T14:38:00.003-05:00

Do u think is this a 'sweet cut'?
Would u like ur child 2 have this cut?
R we 'hipster parents' 4 doing this 2 r child?

Zeke's World

2010-11-04T16:21:00.009-05:00

We've got a few things going on right now. And Zeke has been a super-duper supertrooper through it all. We're focusing a lot of our attention on the twins. Watching the clock. Ticking off the days. Waiting for them to show up for their birthday party. But we don't want to neglect to share Zeke's special moments as their births approach.

To that end, Zeke has recently discovered the joys of kissing. He kisses people, pets, and inanimate objects of all shapes and sizes (doorknobs, for example). It's wonderful to have an affectionate son. He's enthusiastic, but still working out the finer points. Right now, he's got a problem with duration. And a problem with pronunciation.

Zeke's typical kiss lasts a minimum of twenty seconds. He just parks his lips and stays there until you pull away. When it's over you feel sort of awkward. Violated, almost. Zeke, on the other hand, feels a major sense of accomplishment. He shouts, "A Piss! Piss! Piss! A Piss!"

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T11:37:00.004-05:00

This year was Zeke's first "real" Halloween! Last year in Honduras, he was sick and we didn't leave the house. So, this year he got to dress up and even have a couple pieces of candy!

Here we are as a family of 3 standing outside of Brookestone Meadows, the super-nice rehabilitation facility that Grandma Jean is staying at for a few days while she practices walking with her new hip. I look like the Great Pumpkin. A few people asked me if "it" was "real"- my giant belly. I assured them it was. I hope to never wear a costume this large again in my life!
Here is a much cuter picture of my guys on Halloween. Zeke dressed up as a train conductor. His favorite phrase was "Choo-choo!" He also calls out "All Aboard!" in a super high voice every once in awhile. Thank you PBS hit series Dinosaur Train for teaching us all about conductors!

In addition to having a fun time visiting Grandma Jean, Brookestone Meadows had a special trick or treat party for families of patients and staff members. It was so fun to see all the other kids dressed up and walk door to door with Zeke!

Zeke loves suckers. Here he is enjoying his first Halloween candy.

Here he is going to get more candy from someone else! Trick or Treat!

Baby Name Rejects for Twins: Gene and Jean

2010-10-30T08:00:00.003-05:00

PROS:
We both have great-uncles named Gene who were twins. Zeke would only have to learn how to pronounce one sound. We could say this: Gene, why can't you be more like your sister Jean? Conversely: Jean, why can't you be more like your brother Gene? Zeke could say this: Hi, I'm Zeke. This is my brother, Gene. This is my sister, Jean. Shopping for jeans with Gene and Jean. Shock value.

CONS:
Announcements over the intercom at school, athletic events, etc. Inevitably, they will be some who refer to our children as the Jeans (Genes?). There may be other Jeans or Genes in the same class at school, which could make an already potentially confusing situation untenable. Jean could be made fun of for having Gene's genes. Gene could be made fun of for wearing Jean's jeans. Life is long; shock value is short.

Still Waiting!

2010-10-29T07:34:00.002-05:00

Throughout the pregnancy, I had a special feeling that Oct. 28 was going to be the big day the twins would arrive. The 28th was Tom's dad's birthday and Tom's grandpa's birthday, and also our niece Jessica's birthday. Since it is a Lewandowski family tradition to have your birthday the same as another relative, we thought it would be perfect. (Zeke and cousin Natalie share a birthday, Tom and his sister Karen share a birthday)

Well, Oct. 28 was a very special day, but no dice on going into labor. Instead we welcomed the arrival of two other special people, my parents. They'll be staying with us for the next 10 days to help out with Zeke and hopefully a couple other little babies too! This weekend, you'll find me driving over every set of railroad tracks in town and eating lots of spicy food!

Wish us luck- we'll keep you all posted!