$2 Tank Tops! What What!!

In our house, money is tight. I NEVER and I mean NEVER buy anything for myself. My friend Julia let me know about Old Navys $2 tank top sale. I was just sitting around and didn't have anything planned, so the twinsies and I headed to check out the deal! I was pleasantly surprised that there was a huge selection and that they had my size! So I felt like it was meant to be and got 7 new tanks! I know this might be the most random post, but I truly was super excited about getting 7 tank tops for $15 bucks...it's the little things I tell you!!

Just a random RANT!

Sometimes I really want to WRITE on here and I mean write like I have never written before. But sometimes I know that the subject or issue I want to discuss/vent about, will bring flack and unnecessary comments from the people the issue is most likely aimed towards! I don't even know if "these people" read my blog, but I just don't want to chance the drama. But MY blog is just that. MINE. Therefore I should be free to discuss whatever, whoever, whenever. Just sayin.

One on ONE time

I don't know what it feels like to have "just one child." Besides Brayden being in the NICU for a few days when he was born, and besides Dylan's time at Valley Children's Hospital when he was around 3 months, I have ALWAYS been with the both of them. Like clock work, we put the boys down to sleep at 8pm every night, and they quickly go to bed with no hassle and no crying. Tonight at around 9pm we heard laughter and the sound of squeaking (which indicated that one or both of the kids was jumping for joy in their crib). To our surprise, Dylan was wide awake and full of energy! We quietly snuck him out of the room without waking up Brayden and brought Dylan back out to the living room. We had the Giants game on and for those of you who know Dylan, he is Momma's boy when it comes to baseball! He is a huge baseball fan and gets SUPER excited when he sees it on TV! He did a little jump, grabbed his mitt and baseball out of the toy box, and then jumped on the couch next to Dad. In fact, one of the only words he says is "BASEBALLLLL"-I am proud =) He was just sitting there, watching the game. It was so odd because it wasn't chaotic at all. Having one child awake and one asleep is something that never happens. I always see my boys together and so I never get to spend one on one time with each boy, and don't get to explore their individual personalities. We thought we would take advantage of it and so Daddy & Dylan had a mini play date with each other. The sound of Dylan's constant giggles made me feel just so incredibly happy. I love both of my boys so much, but it is fun to spend time with each one individually.

A much needed Date Night

With Aaron in the academy and working a full time job, with Christian here 3-4 days a week, and with the twins here 24/7, it is a very fair statement to say that Aaron and I have very minimal ALONE time. With our schedules as busy as they are and with the lack of funds to hire a sitter, we just don't get to be "just together." So since LivingSocial ran the special for 2 movie tickets for $9 bucks, I snagged them. Aaron called his Mom and asked her if she could babysit, and last Tuesday we got to have a date night! We were so excited to just GO! We started the night off at a restaurant called B Street & Vine and had dinner and a show! The seating is very intimate at this restaurant and we had a pair of weirdos sitting next to us. It was a couple in their mid 30's and at first everything seemed normal. Then we heard them discussing each of their relationships at home with their spouses and how his wife was a B**** and her husband was an A-hole! Aaron sent me a text message that read "Ashley Madison?" He was referring to a website that is designed for people who are married that want to meet people who they would like to have an affair with! It was sooo true and Aaron and I just sat back enjoyed our bottle of wine and our yummy food and took it all in! It was a riot! Before our movie we stopped by Sweet Orchid and had some cappuchino & dessert. It was a cute little place that just opened. It was delish so I think we will go back. Finally we got to the movie, Super 8. Since it was around 10pm it was WAY past our bedtime and we had a hard time staying awake. But all in all, it was a great date night and I hope we are able to do that more often. Gotta keep the spark alive ya know what I'm sayin?! =)

Oh Father's Day.....

For those of you who know me, you know that my Dad passed away in August of 2008 and we weren't on the best of terms. It is something that I think about often, and feelings of bitterness, sadness, and happiness consume my brain. I have very mixed emotions. The Downs's are known for being very opinionated, very prideful people, and being blatantly honest (which isn't and wasn't always a good thing)! You either love us or you hate us and it was to a point where my Dad and I were involved in a love-hate relationship with each other. I always think about him and miss him the most during baseball season. Watching baseball together was OUR thing...he wished I was a boy from day 1, so he naturally attempted to raise me as a "Tom-Boy!" I love the game of baseball and have always been a true Giants fan! I know that if he were here today, we would be watching all the games together. He would love the fact that my boys LOVE baseball and that they aren't even 2 years old! A few days ago, I got a package in the mail. It was from my Grandma Peggy, (My Dad's Mom). In it was a cassette tape that said: George to Brittany Started 9/20/85 and was written in my Dad's handwriting. Apparently it is a tape that my Dad had made for me, and I have never heard any of it. I don't have a cassette player, so until I get my hands on one, the contents of the tape will remain a mystery. I am sure when the time comes for me to listen to it, it will be pretty emotional stuff. Today is a bad day for me all around. I am sicker than a Dog, My husband is out of town, and I miss my Dad...I feel stuck in this town that will never feel like home to me. I yearn for the day when I can take my family to experience what it was like to grow up where I did and to be around my family and friends. Soon enough....just gotta keep pressing forward and work towards our goal. Hope you enjoy some of the pics =/

The Sick House

This past week has really been a stressful one. On Wednesday morning around 3:30AM I got woken up by the sound of a scary cough coming from the baby monitor. I got up and rushed into the nursery to find Dylan sick as a dog. He was wide awake and was staring at me with these sad little eyes. I knew that it was going to be a long day since he was up at 4am and his brother was still fast asleep....People with one baby don't realize how hard it is to have one sick kid when you have twins. If I had one baby who was up sick in the middle of the night, I could easily just sleep when he does. HOWEVER, my luck would be that as soon as Dylan went to sleep, Brayden would wake up. Sure enough, this is exactly what happened. So I tried my best to cuddle Dylan because he just wanted to lay around all day, but Brayden is sooo incredibly jealous that he couldn't stand me holding Dylan. So on top of a sick baby, I had an extremely whiny baby too!!! After a long day, they finally both went to sleep and I was exhausted but was hit with a bout of insomnia! The next morning I had a sore throat, cough, migraine, chest ache, and my ears were hurting...oh and now Brayden had a 102* fever! Now, 4 days, 3 packs of theraflu and 1 bottle of children's motrin later, we are all 3 still sick as can be. And to make things worse, Aaron is gone all weekend at the Academy. =/ Seeking prayers for my family to be healthy soon!

Aaron the A-chiever!

June 4, 2011-4am, Aaron's 1st Day of Academy! He didn't get his uniform shirt yet! =)
So proud of my hubby! Today was his first test in the Police Academy and he got an A!! I am soooo incredibly happy for him! He hasn't been in school for over 10 years so he is a little rusty and wasn't sure he would get the hang of "crackin the books" again! The police academy is broken up into 3 modulars BAM III, BAM II, & BAM I. The whole academy is going to take him about 2 years to finish. He is in BAM III now, and that will be over in August. BAM stands for Basic Academy Modular just in case you were wondering. This is a lot for him to take on considering he has a full time job, a wife, and 3 kids at home. This commitment is taking a lot of dedication and support from our entire family because it is a lot of work & pressure on all of us. We are all so proud of Aaron & we can't wait until he reaches his goal of becoming a police officer!! Since he leaves all weekend and has to travel to Gilroy, we were all so excited to see him when he got home tonight. We had so much fun just spending quality "family" time! Aaron facilitated a game of 'Ring A Round the Rosy" with the boys and they thought it was hilarious when they got to "All fall down!" I love my family oh so much! Now off to bed! Goodnight!

Growin up toooooo fast!

I just really cannot get over how big my kids are. It seems like just yesterday I was listening to their first cries in the hospital, and they were laying on the floor not even able to turn over! Now it is a whole different story. They are constantly climbing all over everything! I can't keep my eyes off of them because they will wind up injured! At 18 months, they have more scrapes and bruising than I could have ever imagined. They are so rough with each other and it freaks me out. My husband tells me I have to let "boys be boys" but it just really freaks me out. I want to protect them 24/7 and they just don't me it possible! I went into the bathroom for like 10 seconds and when I came out I find them standing in the center of the kitchen table. Seriously? How the heck did you get up there? They are so precious...I cannot even begin to elaborate on how my heart is full of love for these little men. Every morning we have the same routine. I get up and go into their room to witness them both jumping up and down in their cribs. They jump super high too! The sound of their giggles makes me smile. I walk into the room and pull whatever one is standing up out first. I change his diaper and then get the other one out. The 2nd one to get out, always finds one of the binkies that are thrown onto the floor, and walks it over to the "other" brother, and puts it in his mouth. They do the same thing, every single day. It is so precious to me how they help each other out. I think having twins is so cool because they will always be BFF's and will always have a play mate! I am blessed beyond measure!

Blog Makeover

I am really inspired by a lot of my friends and family who are up and blogging again. I figure that it is summer vacation, so I should not have any more excuses as to why I am not updating my blog. But frankly, my blog is so BLAH! I tried to revamp it by changing the color scheme, but I am still not a fan! Pretty sick of working on it so I think I am just going to let it be for a little bit. My preference on decor is usually warm earth tones but I tried to go out of my comfort zone and play with yellows and blues! I am not one to go out of my comfort zone so I think tomorrow this bad boy will be back to normal with a "safe" color scheme!!