? ??????????????????? ????Easy Install Instructions:???1. Copy the Code??2. Log in to your Blogger account
and go to "Manage Layout" from the Blogger Dashboard??3. Click on the "Edit HTML" tab.??4. Delete the code already in the "Edit Template" box and paste the new code in.??5. Click "Save Template" CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS ?

Friday, January 30, 2009

Movie Reviews

House Bunny
I don't care what anyone says, this movie was HILARIOUS! Yes it is retarded. Yes you will probably lose brain cells watching it. But if you want a good laugh ...rent it!

Once
Wow....this is a great movie! The story is very simple. Boy meets girl type story. He is an aspiring musician and she helps him create beautiful songs so he can hopefully one day make it big. The couple in the movie were married in real life and wrote and performed all the songs in the movie. It's a musical, and the movie actually has more to do with the MUSIC then it does with the actual plot. But WOW it's amazing! I do believe they won an Oscar for the music.

Get Smart

This movie was disapointing, guess it's just not my cup of tea. I love the actors in it and normally think they are great. But I lost interest in it half way through and thought it was boring.


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ok another great one!!! I'm sure everyone has seen the previews for this so I don't really have to remind you of what it's about. But I can say this is a MUST SEE!!!





Saturday, January 24, 2009

Baylin my dear sweet angel!

As most of you know I gave birth to twin boys Feb 3rd 2003. I had NO CLUE I was having twins. I was large for my weeks but only by a couple Cm, and there weren't' any obvious clues to say there was more then one. Two heartbeats were never detected either. Of course when I look back now I guess there were a few subtle clues here and there but nothing that would really jump out at someone.



When I gave birth Landon came out first, healthy but little. After he came out my belly didn't really go down much and there was still a large lump. It wasn't until this moment when I looked down at my stomach that I knew something wasn't right. Contractions started again and I pushed out Baby #2 Baylin. I remember the sight of looking between my legs and seeing this baby who clearly was no longer alive. I will NEVER get that sight out of my head.



This event traumatized me for a very long time. Took me awhile before I could actually talk about it to anyone without bursting into tears. The VA law says that we had to have an Autopsy done. Part of me didn't want this done, but the other part of me was curious. I was to scared to request the Autopsy report in the beginning... but I knew that someday I would get it. I wanted to wait until I was ready to read what it might say.



A year later my sister gave birth to my Niece Oleyen, she had a birth defect and was missing her diaphragm. She lived 19days and then passed away. In the back of my mind I always thought there was a chance that Baylin had a birth defect that caused his death.



Each year that passed I kept saying I would get the report, but every year that passed I still couldn't get up the nerve to do it. Clearly it meant I wasn't ready to read it and I was comfortable with that. David has always wanted to know but he kept his mouth shut and let me go at my own pace. He knew I would do it when I wanted to.

Feb 3rd 2009 will be Landon and Baylin's 6th birthday. The other day I was thinking yet again about requesting the report. I didn't mention it to David I just wanted to ponder the idea on my own. I went as far as contacting the Richmond Coroners office asking them how to go about doing it. They responded quickly asking for my name and dates. They wrote and told me they were sending my emails to their Tidewater office. They explained to me that I would have to send a written request with my signature. I felt OK about it, I still had time to decide whether I wanted to send the request or not. But at least I knew how!
At that point I finally told David what I had found out and he again said he wanted to read it but he would wait for me.
A day later I got an email from their Tidewater office saying that they received the request (the fwrd emails) and all I had to do was send them my mailing address and they would get it in the mail before 2pm. I was shocked, my heart pounded and I didn't know what to do. It was THAT easy...all I had to do was type my address and it would be on it's way. I had until 2pm to decide....I sucked it up, held my breath and typed and hit send! Of course after I sent it I was freaked out. I knew I would have it within 2 days or so.

Without fail 2 days later...there it was in my mailbox.

I sat around all day waiting for David to get home. Every time I looked at the envelope my heart would skip a beat. I really don't know why it scared me so much but it did.
David got home, we had dinner, got the kids in bed and then sat in our room and finally opened it. David let me read through it first cause he didn't want to read over my shoulder. I could tell he was watching my expressions as I read but he sat there patiently.

In the end what I found out was that there was NOTHING wrong with him. Not sure how to feel about it. 80% of me was relieved that nothing serious was found. But the other part of me was frustrated that there wasn't a reason.
It said that signs pointed to pregnancy induced hypertension, but I didn't have that. I loved reading his details such as "brown hair and brown eyes"....weight and length. Something about seeing this information printed brought some peace to me. When you have a Stillborn you tend to feel that no one cares. Some people feel that if a baby didn't take a breath that they were nothing more then a "fetus". It's so hard because there is no difference between a baby born alive but dies shortly after birth and a baby who is full term but dies before being born. I don't see how people can view them as different. In a way I'm happy he died inside me where he was cozy snuggled up against his brother...protected from the cold world outside and listening to my heartbeat it brings me comfort. In a way I guess he died to save his brother, whatever it was he was not getting enough from the placenta...I'll never know why but I'll have to live with that.

I think reading this report helped me with my grieving. The pain never goes away, but it lessens over time. I'm glad I waited until I was ready! I now have SOME peace of mind knowing that it was not a genetic birth defect that could effect future children...that was my biggest fear. I am now able to go into any future pregnancies with LESS fear then I would have.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Twilight Books

I just recently finished the 4th book of the Twilight series. Yes these are Teen books but man are they addicting.

I compare them a lot to the Harry Potter books. But even Harry Potter was a bit more complicated as the books went on. Twilight, yeah it's just a teen love story that involved a Vampire and a Human.

It's a wonderful story though, one that hooks you from the beginning. I couldn't wait to pick it up and read....when I wasn't reading I was thinking about the next time I could read lol

David is even reading them now, I think he's on the 4th book. The movie was EH and of course didn't compare to the book...but isn't that how it always goes?

So if you enjoy a good love story and don't mind some graphic talk about Vampires GO READ!!

George Bushington

I'm sitting here watching Super Nanny and feeling so very grateful and proud of my kids! My boys can grate on my last nerve some days. But all in all they are great boys. They behave in public, they are polite with their please and thank yous. They do what they are told for the most part and can be very helpful around the house when they want to be.
Sometimes it takes an episode of Super Nanny to remind me how wonderful they are =)

So the other day Landon and I were having a conversation about President Obama and George Bush. He was a little confused about who was coming and going. So I explained to him that Obama was our new President and Bush is no longer.
My son knows George Washington, it's really the ONLY president he can name or knows anything about. So it didn't surprise me when he asked "But what's going to happen to George Bushington?" I couldn't help but giggle when he said it. So I guess our Presidents have to have the INGTON at the end of their name....especially if their first name is George.

David had to go up to DC from Tues morning till Fri night (tonight). Time went by fairly quickly...I just stayed busy. I had a Hula practice at my house Wed night which went well. Then last night I was babysitting a friends kids so she could go to class. Then after the kids were in bed I had some girls over for a game night. We had a great time playing cards and Taboo. I suffered through today though because of my lack of sleep last night...and a few to many beers didn't help either lol

David got home tonight around 9pm so right at the boys bedtime. I was really looking forward to him coming home. The man walks in the door, gives his hugs and kisses, gets himself some food, then falls asleep in our bed with the boys. I think I said maybe one sentence to the man since he got home. Not exactly what I had in mind for him homecoming tonight lol

This weekend I have NO plans! David works weekends so they are like normal weekdays for me. Only difference is that kids play outside more because their friends aren't in school. I will be doing laundry, laundry and more laundry. I really should get rid of most of our clothes....We have way to much! You'd think I had a house filled with girls instead of guys lol

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Movies



Yet another teeny bopper movie about the popular girls being mean to the new girl in school. Similar to Mean Girls. Yet this was horribly made with horrible actresses. The kids seemed to enjoy it but don't waste your time.






This was an adorable movie!!! It's about a little girl who dreams about becoming a reporter. Her and her family are struggling through the Great Depression. Houses in her neighborhood are being broken into and she helps solve the crimes. We watched this as a family and we all enjoyed it!







Joys of Homeschooling

I thought I'd write a little something about the kids schooling. I am a very relaxed Homeschooler. I don't believe in forcing kids to do hours of school work a day. I believe they learn more through living live then they do from worksheets.

The boys watch educational TV or Videos, and we have computer programs they enjoy. We go to museums and we talk about EVERYTHING.

A couple times a week I'll have them do actual "sit down schoolwork". Yesterday Corbin was given 10 spelling words. I explained to him how to use a Dictionary. He had to look up the words and then write the definitions. After the 5th word he had hit his limit with writing so I let him stop and we moved on. I then taught him how to read a face clock. I had tried this before with him but it just didn't click. Well this time it did, he understood completely and got it in about 5mins.

Landon worked on basic letter's and sounds till he lost interest and then we moved onto basic math. He is no where near reading level. Corbin was reading before he turned 6, Landon will be 6 in a couple weeks and is still working on sounds. Just goes to show how different kids are, no matter how hard you try. That's what's so wonderful about Homeschooling, kids are allowed to go at their own pace without feeling they are below all the kids around them.

One of our local museums has a lot of homeschooling event. At the end of Feb they are holding an Egg drop contest. I had never heard of this before. I guess it's common in public schools but being that I was homeschooled it was not something I was ever around.
It sounds like a lot of fun and I plan on taking the boys to it. They have been discussing ways to keep their eggs from breaking! We'll see how creative they get.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Movie Reviews

The Bucket list
I enjoyed this movie but I felt it was very slow in the first half. They spent far to much time on them in the hospital then they did doing the actual list. Cute but could have been better.
Twilight
I just started the 4th book of this series and decided it was high time I saw the movie that just recently came out which is based on the first book.
Like most book based movies it wasn't as good as the book. The actors didn't play the characters the way they did in my head lol The characters have a lot of passion in the book and I felt the movie lacked in that department. Didn't make me feel that they were madly in love and couldn't live without eachother...it was more like ya ya two teens in love big deal. I was a little disapointed.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Video clips..yay they worked

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Corbin's Guitar

I found this guitar on Ebay for a great price. It's a 36inch real guitar, accoustic and natural wood...very nice looking. He has been asking for one for months. I think he would have prefered Electric but he'll have to build up to that lol

I paid for the guitar in the beginning of December, and the seller said it was shipped on the 16th. It should have been here before the 24th. Well the 24th came and went and still no guitar. I was sad and disapointed. I was looking forward to the look on Corbin's face Christmas morning when he saw his new instrument.

I didn't think to check the tracking number, not sure why just didn't cross my mind. After Christmas I went onto Ebay got the tracking number and looked it up.
It said it was delivered on the 18th of December????

When I looked closer I realized that I had the wrong shipping address on my Ebay account =( Totally my fault...but it was my OLD address which is next door to my parents.

I haven't lived there for 6mos and there are new people living there now. They seem pretty shady from looks alone but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and I thought they might have the guitar or tried sending it back.

I went over to the house and each time I talked to a new person. They have so many people coming and going in that house and I just wanted to talk to the actual Renter. I was told he was sleeping, at work, not home....there was always a reason I couldn't speak to him.

My mother tried, My sister tried, I tried, David tried. Eventually David managed to get the guys number. We left multiple messages on his Cell phone...and still nothing. Each person we spoke to said they never saw a package.

We spoke to UPS and they gave us proof delivery and offered to start an investigation. We said to hold off on that we would keep trying with this guy Mike.

David FINALLY got ahold of this Mike guy today and he basically went off on David using the F word many times. Said to leave him alone, he doesnt have the guitar and wouldn't want it and to never call or knock on his door again.
David being David got pissed and told the guy that we already started an investigation and he would be contacted. When I spoke to David I was disapointed that he was threatening to the guy and wasn't sure it would work anyway.

Not an hour later my Mother called me and said she had the guitar. It was left in a big box in her driveway with a note that said "found this in our garage". There was no packaging, no original box, no reciept, NOTHING...just the guitar.
The guitar was supposed to come in its original box, with a shoulder strap and picks. Clearly they opened the package...took the strap and picks and had NO intention of giving it back. UNTIL David scared the crap outa the guy. Guess there is something to say about intimidation.

Corbin now has his guitar, he has not been able to put it down since we picked it up. We still intend on following up with the situation because they commited a crime...not sure anything will come of it but if I can put them through even just a tiny bit of trouble then it's well worth the weeks Corbin had to go without his gift!

Corbin's friend Noah has a guitar as well so tonight they have been playing together nonstop. Neither one of them know how to play for real but it's so darn cute watching them try. They have made up their own songs and everything...they are quite creative.

I'm going to attempt to add some video clips of the boys playing....lately it hasnt' been letting me so hopefully it will work this time.

Ok didn't work, i'll keep trying and post them later

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Finally a moment to sit down and write!

Our Christmas went very well, the kids got everything they wanted for the most part ....except for the Wii, PS3, and a real cell phone lol

Corbin's big main gift didn't come in the mail in time (story for another post) which was a Guitar. I was very upset and disapointed but he got a card saying that it was on it's way....he was thrilled with just that!

The Monday after Christmas we headed to Williamsburg to spend a week at a timeshare. My entire family does this every year for New Years. This year was interesting to say the least. Far to many kids, different parenting styles, different personalities....all equal out to a very stressful week. I was thrilled to get home on Friday.

Friday night I had friends over for a Poker night, it was a nice release from my week long with my family.

Tonight Corbin's having his best friend Noah sleep over. They are camped out in the TV room on the floor watching Rescuers down under while I sit and type this. It's been a fairly relaxing day didn't do much other then sit and read the 3rd book in the Twilight series...it's true they are addicting lol

I'm looking forward to starting my first week in 2009 (at home) and getting started on my New Years resolution to lose weight. I will do it this time. I am SO unhappy with the weight i've gained over the last year and it effects my life greatly. I just need to get off my butt and DO IT this time!!

I'm going to write about it to track my progress I think that might help.

Story about the Guitar to follow..................