Random July

While the boys started crawling in June, only C's was a true crawl, W could only do an army crawl. It took W about 2-3 more weeks before he figured out how to do a true crawl. His problem was that he didn't want to bend his legs. He learned how to crawl and a few days later he started pulling himself up on the furniture. In one of his crawling/pulling up adventures he got stuck under the chair. He wasn't too happy about being stuck there.

Here are the boys eating off the floor - their food started out in bowls but they dumped them out, and don't worry, the floor is clean. W is in the green and C in yellow. They're eating carrots, which along with cheerios is one of their favorite foods.

Here is a cute picture of J playing with one of her baby dolls. This little girl has a wild imagination and loves to play pretend.

Grandma Visits

In July Erik had minor surgery and had to take a few days off of work - which worked out great because that same week my mom came into town and we were able to go do some fun activities. We took the kids to the Museum of Natural Science. J loved the Butterfly Museum and the dinosaur exhibit, but the rest made for a really long day for her. Erik took my camera in the butterfly museum and got some good pictures. J got excited every time a butterfly would fly close to her and she thought it was great when they would actually land on her. When we were walking out of the museum they had a millipede that you could "pet" which J thought was pretty cool - she even wanted to take it home with her.

 

While Grandma was in town she got the boys new high chairs - we'd been having them sit on the floor because they were getting too heavy for the high chairs that we had (small travel ones that hooked onto the side of the table). They loved that the could feed themselves. [C has on the blue bib and W the green one].

J got a doctors kit for an early birthday present and played doctor with grandma everyday. We also played a lot of "Pretty, Pretty Princess" (even Daddy played).

30 Post Challenge Post 17

Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

Honestly, I wouldn't want to switch lives with anyone. Yes, my life is hard at times and I frequently get discouraged and frustrated. My kids drive me nuts and my husband irritates me (on purpose), but everyone has trials and I'd like to keep mine. I just went through 5 months of hell (colicky twins for 5 months is nothing short of hell) and so I deserve the relative calm that we're going through right now. I deserve to experience the joys of having a spastic/witty almost 4 year old and 2 9 month old babies that are learning by leaps and bounds each day. If I were to switch lives even for just a day I would miss so much and I'm not willing to do that.

and a picture of your biggest insecurity

Now, this isn't really me (my stomach has a so many tiger stripes - stretch marks - that J asked me where my tail was) but I'm sure you get the point. I've always had a bit of a gut (some have suggested it's because I had major abdominal surgery when I was 5) but having kids has made it worse and having twins definitely didn't help things out. I'm fortunate enough to be tall so I can hide it fairly well but I know its there and it makes it hard to find clothes that fit and look good.

30 Post Challenge Post 16

Something you could live without

Believe it or not, I could live without my car. I know, because I have had to (three times) in the past month. Erik's car broke down while he was at work and it took about a week to get it fixed, but then a few days later we had to take it in again because the shop did something wrong. Then this past week I was without my car for a few days while it was in the shop getting some routine maintenance done. Now our cars should run for at least a couple more years (hopefully).

a picture of something that has had a HUGE impact on your life lately

No, the Irish Debt crisis hasn't had a huge impact on my life, but the US Debt Crisis has. Erik and I have some money in the stock market and have lost quite a bit in the past few weeks, but more importantly, we're concerned about our economy as a whole. It's made us focus on our own finances (especially since Erik works for a government agency and our income is affected by the debt) We only have school loans and our mortgage for debt but we've been trying to build up our savings and make sure our food storage/emergency supplies in order. We're fortunate to have the space to store enough stuff for a year supply and through the help of some coupon savvy blogs we're able to slowly build up our supply while keeping our budget in tact.

30 Post Challenge Post 15

Put your iPod on shuffle and share the first 10 songs that play
1. All for Love - Bryan Adams
2. Meet Virginia - Train
3. 8 Seconds - Tracy Bird
4. Telephone - Lady Gaga (performed by the Glee cast)
5. Need you Now - Lady Antebellum
6. Burn - Usher
7. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
8. Underneath your Clothes - Shakira
9. I want it that Way - Backstreet Boys
10. Comin' to your City - Big & Rich

I've got quite the random mix. But it fits the music Erik and I like. If I had Erik's ipod, there might be some Metallica or Rap put in the mix.

a picture of someone that inspires you


This is my dear friend Brittney and her sweet family. This was taken at the airport as they got ready to send their Daddy off for his THIRD deployment (at least I think it's his third). My heart aches for her. I can relate with the stress of worrying about if a loved one is going to make it home or if you're going to get "the call", but at least, my hubby gets to come home each night and I can text/call him through out the day. I don't know if I could do it not knowing when or if I will hear from him again. Yet Brittney seems to do it. I'm sure it's not easy and that she has hard days, but I doubt she does much complaining (it's just not like her to complain much). Fortunately she gets LOTS of support from a very loving family. We LOVE you Brittney (and boys) and think/pray for you often.

30 Post Challenge Post 14

A picture of something you hate I HATE snakes. I know, a lot of people dislike or even hate snakes, but I HATE them. It's so bad that just looking at pictures makes my heart rate speed up. And my feelings aren't only for the poisonous kinds its for ALL snakes. When ever I see a snake or someone tries to throw a rope at me and pretend its a snake (not that my dear HUSBAND would ever do that to me) I scream and I freeze with fear. I think it all stems back to when I was about 2 and almost got bit by a rattle snake. I have no memory of this but I think it has affected my subconscious memories. My mom tells me that when I was about 2 or 3 we stopped at an old look out point while on a trip. It was a bit neglected and there were cracks in the pavement and tall weed growing all over. I went to sit on a rock and then next thing my mom know, my uncle grabs me and throws me to my dad and that's when they see the rattle snake strike out. It was sunbathing on the rock I had tried to sit on. At that point the adults start to look around and notice that we were in a nest of baby snakes and quickly got us out of there. Thank goodness no one got bit, but I was apparently traumatized and am left with this paralyzing fear of snakes.

10 confessions. . .
1 - It's not uncommon for me to spend the entire day in my pajamas
2- I hate doing the dishes
3- I hate my husbands job (and he knows it - I deal with it because he LOVES it)
4- I LOVE both my boys, but I wish that they would have come one at a time - having twins is hard
5- On average, I only leave the house to go to church and go grocery shopping (so 2 times total)
6- I wear my heart on my sleeve and get quite emotional over little things - especially when those I love get hurt
7- I am terrified of guns (it doesn't bother me when others have them but I wont touch them)
8- I used to want to be a model when I grew up but was told by a friend that I was too fat (we were about 7 or 8 at the time) and I have been very self conscious ever since
9- I'm very grateful that J isn't a twin
10- Sometimes I wonder why I even go to church - only because I spend most of my time in the mother's lounge or hallway. I can't wait until the boys are in Nursery (we're half way there!)

30 Post Challenge Post 13

Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them

When I have positive feelings/thoughts about someone I try to tell them - everyone likes a compliment now and then. Negative feelings about others are usually kept to myself and if they are something that needs discussing I do so in private or vent using generalizations.

Dear Random Person at the grocery store, gym, mall, etc;

Yes, my babies are twins - in fact, they are identical twin BOYS (people always think either boy/girl or both girls for some reason) and yes, my hands are full, but no, they are not DOUBLE TROUBLE. If you have questions/comments about me or my family please direct them to me and not discuss them with your friends behind my back. I may have 3 screaming kids but my ears still work and I can hear you. Yes, our family is done, but not because we now have a girl and our boys - I would consider having another if wasn't a hazard to my health (and I could be guaranteed a girl and that she'd not be colicky). I don't mind that you stop and stare at us, we are quite the sight, but please DON'T TOUCH, and don't be offended if I don't stop to talk, I too have a schedule to adhere to and can't spend all day at the store fielding questions. Thanks for making us feel like a circus side show.

Sincerely,

The Zugners.

and a picture of your favorite band/artist. One of my favorite artists is Carrie Underwood. I think she has an amazing voice and I enjoy the songs that she has chosen to record. One of my favorites is "Mama's Song". The video is about enough to make you cry.

30 Post Challenge Post 12

Share a secret

I frequently get teary eyed when J says her prayers at night. It breaks my heart when she says, "Jesus, please give me a sister" knowing that there's no more babies for us, and no kid should have to pray that their Daddy "not get ran over or shot with by a gun".

and a picture of your favorite memory

This is a tough one. I have so many fond memories - my wedding day, the day each of my kids we're born, but those have all been written about before so I chose something different. Erik and I didn't get much of a honeymoon due to Hurricane Katrina (that's a blog post all on its own) so we went on a cruise for our 1 yr anniversary. It was AWESOME. We stopped at Montego Bay Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico. Grand Cayman was our favorite stop. Personally, some of the best days were the "sea days" I've never slept so much in my life - and I could definitely use a few days worth of sleep now. It was such a fun, relaxing vacation that I can't wait to do it again [we're thinking a Disney cruise with the kids next fall since Galveston will be a temporary port-of-call starting September 2012].

30 Post Challenge Post 11

A picture of something you dislike. . .
I don't have a picture of this (it's not a concrete thing), but I dislike it when people are inconsiderate of others. This is kind of a touchy subject for me right now. We're in the process of selling our kitchen table and we've had 2 different people say they wanted it and then just never show up when they said they were going to. I understand if you change your mind or something comes up so you can't get it right now, but call, email, text, send smoke signals, what ever you need to do to let me know that you're not coming. This goes for companies too they always give you an estimated time that they'll be there and either they show up the last 5 min of that time frame or long afterwards. It amazes me that people think that since I'm home I have nothing better to do than to sit around and wait for them to show up.

and A picture of your room & don’t cheat by cleaning it. I know in an earlier post I talked about having OCD issues with cleaning, and I do - well, I used to. I don't have the time (or energy) to keep my house spotless. I try to keep the main living areas clean but on most days that doesn't even happen. Needless to say, anything behind closed doors gets forgotten. Here is my room on a typical day. Clean clothes piled on the dresser because I didn't have time to put them away, but needed to get them off the floor before the boys unfolded them. Bed is made about 50% of the time, this particular day, J and I took a nap so it didn't get made. Erik's clothes are piled on the floor in front of his dresser (and it looks like they're migrating over to mine as well). The clothes that need to be hung in the closet tend to get piled on my hope chest and the decorative pillows are thrown in the mix as well.

30 Post Challenge Post 10

A story about a past relationship: To be honest I don't really have any past relationships (in the dating sense). I didn't date a whole lot in high school or college. Sure, I liked boys (and a lot of them) and I know of a couple that liked me - but most of them weren't guys I'd date anyway, except one. I liked this guy and a couple of months later he liked me (but neither of us knew it at the time). He ended up becoming one of my best friends throughout high school. I can still remember my excitement when he called me in Hawaii after we'd graduated to tell me that he'd decided to go on a mission. I went to his parents house on Christmas and got to talk to him. I hung out with him the night he got home from his mission and then I left for a family reunion to Nauvoo for a couple of weeks and haven't really talked to him since. I don't know what happened while I was gone but I still think about him often, we're friends on facebook and I read his family blog, but we don't really talk much. He now has a beautiful wife and 2 gorgeous little girls. He's got the most wonderful parents, the sweetest big sister and the goofiest little brother and I love them all.

A picture of your most treasured item: Well, I'm not going to post a picture of my most treasured item on here for security reasons, but I'll just say it's my wedding ring. I haven't been able to wear it for quite sometime due to the pregnancy with the twins (still have fat fingers, but we're getting there). The ring was Erik's Grandmother's ring and it's gorgeous, but not only that, but for what is symbolizes. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I'm married to my best friend, who treats me like a queen. He loves me, adores are children and takes great care of all of us. He works hard at his job and still finds the time to help me around the house and "play rough" with his little princess. WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!

30 Post Challenge Post 9

Something/someone you’re proud of: My big sister, Heather. I had the wonderful experience of being able to go to the temple with her for her first time back in March. She went through many hard struggles in order to prepare herself for that occasion and I am so proud of her for persevering and over coming those trials. She is an amazing sister, a wonderful mother to her 3 children, and an awesome aunt to my 3. We all LOVE her and MISS her (and her family) very much!

A picture of the person who's gotten you through the most: That would be my Mama. She is one of the most selfless people I have ever met. She was injured in a car accident several years ago and was left with major nerve damage and debilitating pain, yet she is still willing to do whatever she can to help those around her, especially her children. She's always there when you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, she's an amazing seamstress and makes the best sugar cookies ever! I'm so excited that she gets to come visit us soon!

30 Post Challenge Post 8

Short term goals for this month:
- Get the blog up to date and print last years blog book: J loves looking at the blog books and frequently asks me to read them to her. I want the boys to be able to enjoy them as well so I guess I'll keep blogging for now
- Clean out the fridge: It hasn't been cleaned out for quite a while and it's getting kind of gross
- Clean/organize laundry room: The laundry room has become a dumping ground and I'd like to find a way to organize it so that the stuff doesn't just pile up.

A picture of your knight:
Isn't he handsome?!

30 Post Challenge Post 7

A picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you:

Jesus Christ has had the biggest impact on my life. Everything I do, every choice I make is based on His teachings and His example. I'm not perfect by any means, but the whole purpose of this life, of my life is to return to live with Him and our Father in Heaven.

* as a side this picture is hanging in our playroom and has significance in our family. The first time J saw it she thought it was a picture of her sitting on Jesus' lap.

Playing in the Rain

After the heat of the 4th we were glad to get a little rain a couple days later.  While J played out in our swamp of a yard the boys sat under the patio cover and watched.  (W has the pacifier in his mouth).

 To play in the rain J insisted on wearing the proper attire so she had on her gymnastics clothes, rain coat and rain boots.  Once the outfit was good she was set to go jump in the swamp puddles. 

 This girl loves to play in the water, and will put on her rain clothes anytime it even sprinkles outside.

30 Post Challenge Post 6

A hobby you have: I have 3 hobbies that I actively pursue. The first is sewing. My sewing skills are limited, but I enjoy is nonetheless. I usually just sew rag quilts, but I made a Sudoku quilt for J's bed and these decorative pillows (the 2 square pillows are the same pattern as the quilt). I also tried my hand at sewing J a dress. It wasn't the best but it was wearable. Another hobby is photography. I haven't worked on this one in a while. It's hard to pull the camera out and snap good photos while trying to corral 2 crawlers so most pictures these days are taken with my phone. Here's one I took at my MIL's house.

The third is cooking/baking. I enjoy cooking but don't do it too often because it's usually just J and I eating at home and all she usually wants is cereal or a hot dog. I cook on the night's Erik's home and that's it. But I make up for it when we have people over (which happens at least once a month, we enjoy entertaining).

A picture that makes you laugh:

This picture isn't all that funny when you look at it, but it the story behind it keeps us rolling. This particular picture was taken at J's gymnastics show week. All the kids in her class were supposed to run out and do a forward roll when their name was called. J was called last and instead of running she came out hopping like a bunny and hopped all the way to where the rest of her class was sitting. I didn't get any other pictures because I was laughing so hard (all the parents were laughing - wish I'd caught it on video). This girl has a mind of her own and keeps us on our toes.

30 Post Challenge Post 5

A picture of somewhere you've been: Ireland - in the fall of 2003 I went to Ireland with some girl friends and had a GREAT time. We flew into Shannan drove down through Claire County to Waterford and then up to Dublin then cut back across to Shannan. We stayed in a different Bed and Breakfast each night (except in Dublin, we stayed 2 nights there). If the video of our trip wasn't too long I'd upload it so you all could have a good laugh. Instead here's a couple pictures. The first is a collage of Ireland doors. Legend is that the doors are painted different colors so that when the men are coming home from the pub they don't have to remember a door number they just have to remember which color of door theirs is.
and the second is an Irish street sign. This one isn't too bad. When we were there we passed a Y in the road and had to stop and take pictures because is was so confusing (for us tourists anyway).

Something you love: The new patio in my backyard. Well, the patio isn't new, it was there when we bought the house, but we recently added the patio cover and Erik made this awesome table for it. I'm actually sitting outside enjoying it right now.

4th of July

Erik had to work the weekend of the 4th so we had a low key celebration.  We took the kids to the parade in Kingwood Saturday and called it good (which they were fine with since the boys didn't know any better and J HATES the loudness of fireworks).  We got to the parade and found a good spot of grass to lay down our blankets and relax, the boys were content playing with their toys (C is wearing Mickey and W has Donald), that is until the sun came up the rest of the way and then it got HOT.  About 1/2 way through, Erik took the boys to the car to cool off and try to get them to sleep while I stayed and watched the remainder of the parade with J. After the parade we went to lunch with Erik's mom (who also watched the parade with us) and then went home and called it a day.   

June Recap

June started of with J's show week for gymnastics/dance. J has been taking gymnastics at The Little Gym since she was 2 and this past semester she decided that she wanted to try ballet. For her age, all the dance classes in our are are tumbling/tap/ballet so she got a little bit of everything. She did really well and has really enjoyed learning ballet (tap is not her favorite) and she has always loved the gymnastics part.
Daddy and Mimi got her flowers for after her performance. She was thrilled.




June also means the start of summer and swimming. I got brave and took all 3 kids to the pool by myself. Luckily we live in a small community so our pool is never crowded. I think the most people I've ever seen there is about 20 and half of those were my friends and their kids. Our community pool has a small baby pool off to the side. I put the boys in their floaties in that pool and they had a great time floating around while J and I swam in the big pool. (W is in the purple float and C is in the green)


Since June means swimming, we decided to enroll J in swim lessons (I know it's pathetic that I taught swim lessons for 5 years and I can't teach my own child how to swim - she wouldn't listen to me). She took lessons for 2 sessions and though she still can't swim on her own she's not afraid to put her face in the water which is great. I wasn't too impressed where we went for lessons, next year we'll try somewhere different and maybe she'll learn a bit more


To add to the craziness of the month, we decided that it would be fun to take a 3 year old and two 7 month olds to Schlitterbaun (a water park). Erik has a good friend from work that invited us to go with his family. Fortunately, they have twins as well (8 year old boys) so they understand the craziness of it all and were very helpful. Some how I don't have any pictures of the trip (we did take some, I just can't find them on this computer), but to make things easier for us, we got a wagon to carry the boys and all our stuff - and I don't mean a little red wagon, I mean a big work wagon. It was great because it fit our cooler, bags and the boys in it to get to/from the park and then we'd empty everything out lay a blanket down and it made the perfect crib for the boys to play/nap in during the day.


In other random news, the boys started crawling this month, (this is C)we took the kids blueberry picking (twice) and J grew a giant sunflower - I need to find a picture of her standing next to it, this thing was taller than Erik, it was HUGE. And don't the boys look cute in their church clothes! (C is in the vest and W in the tie)

Patio Table

Since the large outdoor table that Erik built last year was used as a ladder/sawing table during the construction of our patio cover it was pretty much destroyed and was rendered useless. Erik decided to build another one, this time instead of a LOOOONG picnic style table he did a LARGE square. He was planning on building benches to go with it, but we decided to do chairs instead and are so glad we did, they're much more comfortable and look a lot nicer. Erik might make benches later so that we can fit a few more bodies around the table if we need to. We also got a couple of Adirondack chairs for extra seating. To give the patio a splash of color Erik stained the table and Adirondack chairs in a redwood color - it looks great and we have already enjoyed many evenings sitting around our table.