Slacker

Ok...So it has been a long time since I have wrote anything! Seriously..A month?  Life has been crazy hectic and by the time I sit in the bed to have a little me time...Well..I'm zonked...Soo..where were we last?? Halloween has came and passed, Thanksgiving has flew by and Christmas is steadily approaching. Where has the time gone! When I look back at last Christmas and see how much the kids have changed it makes me really aware of how fast time goes. My sweet babies are now toddlers who can walk, are beginning to talk, and are so much more indpendent than they were last year.

The Keown's Christmas 2011.

 

 

Our little tumbler

As a young teen I did gymnastics and loved it. My sister and I both went to Tumble Town It wasn't until later when I got into high school that I did one year of cheerleading. While I liked cheerleading, gymnastics was what I really enjoyed doing. Now that I have a daughter of my own I definitely want them involved in something as soon as possible. Maci is getting enrolled in gymnastics! A good friend of mine has a daughter around the same age and they will be going to Starz Elite! I am so excited! Pictures will be posted of course when she goes to her first class. I can't wait! I would enroll Chipper in a dance class but when Maci and I have our dance sessions at home (yes me and Maci often turn up the music when Daddy is gone and dance around the house) he looks at us like we are crazy. He wants no part in it. OH Well! T-Ball will be here before we know it!

It's been a while

So it's been a while since my last post. Work and family has been keeping me busy! Yesterday was a great day! After I got off work the family met Haley, Brian, Granny B, and Papaw Jerry at a park here in BG and we all got to spend some time together. Those four I am sure are the culprits for my kids being spoiled rotten! After that we went home and had dinner and decided it was time to paint our pumpkins. Maci painted more of herself than she did the pumpkin. She is a lot like me. She is impatient, strong willed, and independent and Chipper is so much like his daddy it's unbelieveable. He was concentrating so hard on every little mark that he made. William is very artsy and can draw almost anything. I on the other hand can't draw a straight line with a ruler...seriously..It's bad. Here are a few pics from last night.

 

She is an absolute mess! :D

 

My little Picasso.

 

 

 

 



Jacksons Orchard

On Friday we spent some quality family time with some of my inlaws. Williams grandma, grandpa, cousin and uncle all met us at Jacksons Orchard and we had a nice outing. It was so different from last year. The kids weren't walking and their wasn't anything they could do besides sit in their stroller and marvel at everything. This year they were running everywhere, climbing on hay bails, sliding down the slides. They had a blast. I really enjoyed the company of the family too. A lot of people complain about their spouses family but I can really say that I adore mine. When I look at Haley I see how much she cares about my sweet babies and loves spending time with them and it warms my heart. As much as she cares about the kids I know they care about her just as much. When they see her they light up. She is such a sweetheart.

 

Haley with Chipper

Haley with Maci Annabella

 

I am so blessed with great family and friends. I cherish the time that we get and all of our traditions that involves my loved ones. I haven't always had that and sometimes I forget and take it for granted. God has given me more than I deserve and more than I could ever ask for.

 

 



 

 





It's Fall Yall!

I love everything about fall. The orange and red hues of the leaves, the cool crisp air, wearing hoodies and being able to enjoy the outside are just a few of the things that is great about this time of year. My husband and I decided we would take full advantage of our twin free weekend and spend some quality time together. Usually we barely see each other on the weekend even when the kids stay at my inlaws. I am buried in a sea of paperwork most of the time and he is finishing up school so we are always doing something. However this past weekend we decided we were going to spend a whole day together doing things we love. It was so nice! We went to a few yard sales Saturday morning and then went on a picnic at a local park and had lunch. It was great to be able to talk to my husband and conversate with him without thinking of the twenty other things I needed to do. And some may not understand this but before we had lunch we had made a pact not to talk about the kids. We get so caught up in them that we forget about each other and what is going on in our own individual lives that we have so it was nice catching up. I have missed him. As weird as that sounds. I mean, I see him every single day but my life is go go go from the minute my feet hit the floor in the morning and by 9:00 when the kids are in bed I am completely out of it, so we get no time to even tell each other about our day. I loved it and hopefully with the cooler weather steadily approaching we will be able to have more of these days.  Here are a few little pictures that I snapped of our outing together.


Waitin for Daddy Bear to get everything out of the car.

 

The hubster :)

 

I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband. God has given me so much more than I could ever deserve. William is completely my other half. I know, know, know that there isn't another person out there that could handle me in all of my craziness but he completely embraces me for who I am  no matter how opposite of him that it may be. I am outgoing, talkative, loud, vivacious and sponataneous and William is mellow, reserved, quiet, and very diplomatic. The Lord absolutely knew what he was doing when he put the two of us together!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking Sideshow

When the kids were first born we didn't take them anywhere. Going from living a life where I came and went as much as I pleased and rarely being in the house to not going ANYWHERE for over 2 months I am sure I became slightly depressed. The kids were born in February and flu season was in high gear. Everyone around us was sick. We had a huge bottle of hand sanitizer on our kitchen bar and visitors were instructed to wash their hands as soon as they came in the front door. Having two preemies in the house we were sanitizing everything all the time. Door handles, remote control, faucets. I may have went a little overboard if that's possible but we stayed healthy and didn't get sick!

I will never forget our first adventure out. We went to church and decided why stop there so we went to Kohls that afternoon. The kids were all snuggled into the double stroller fast asleep and I was in heaven. As we strolled through Kohls we barely made it fifteen steps before we got stopped and the questions started. "Are they twins? How old are they? Who is older? How do you do it?" I became bombarded! My husband is the silent type and I am the person who has never met a stranger and will talk to anyone but my personality completely switched. I didn't want all of these people around my sweet babies gawking. While I appreciated their kind words I didn't know them. After I managed to maneuver us out of the seemed like a sea of people (maybe 3 or 4) I took a deep breath and made my way to the baby clothes. I put a little blankie over them so they were completely covered and began looking at clothes. All of a sudden a little lady maybe in her fifties came over and was talking to me. As we were talking about the kids she pulled the blanket down and touched Maci's hand. I was horrified! She touched my daughter. Who knows she could have came from the bathroom and not washed her hands. Then she touched the door knob on her way out or what about the lock in the bathroom stall. All of the possibilites were racing through my mind. I used to be a Head Start teacher so my instinct kicked in and I did what I would do if a 4 year old was getting into something they shouldn't. I took her hand, gently picked it up and placed it in her own personal space where it belonged and in my best teacher voice said "No, no don't touch." She just looked at me and walked away. I looked up and my husband was across the way laughing  and shaking his head. Seriously lady.. I know my children are absolutely adorable but I had them covered for a reason! This is one of my favorite stories to tell because even now I feel like we are a sideshow. I can't imagine what it would be like with triplets or more!

What is it about wal mart that makes kids go absolutely insane. I am sure we have all been there and seen an absolute temper tantrum taking place. How about instead of gawking you move along or instead of judging give that mom some encouragement. Maci and Chipper was with me in wal mart and Maci was tired but I had to grab a few things and it's like as soon as we get into wal mart she has to burst into tears and just go into full crazy baby mode. I rush through the store and I can feel the stares on the back of my neck. All I want to do is turn around and tap my imaginary microphone.."Mic check..123..lalala..Ladies and gents step right up. Here is an 18 month old temper tantrum at it's finest!" Since they are all so interested and can't stop looking. But instead of going all psycho mommy on them I held my head high and proceeded towards the nearest check out lane. Usually I don't take the kids out with me by myself unless it's somewhere like Sam's that have two seats in one cart. I have mastered however pushing two carts at the same time. Even when I just go in for milk like I did this time I take two carts because there is no way either of mine are going to sit still in the basket. As I get to the checkout lane a woman stopped and told me how brave I was for taking both of mine out by myself and that she applauded me. Even with Maci throwing a fit I smiled. Next time you're out somewhere give that parent having a rough time with their little one some encouragment or just let them know that you've been there too. It's so much better than the staredown.

The Flash

Being a super mommy is no easy task. I find myself doing twenty things at once. Early today I was making dinner, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, changing laundry, and doing paperwork at the same time. Ok, so that's only four things but seems like twenty. I am a busy busy bee. Trying to live a healthy lifestyle is something that I am working hard at everyday and on busy days like today is when it is especially challenging. I have always been "ahem" a  thicker person and being happy with myself is something that I have only recently experienced. I have learned to quit complaining and if you want change you have to work for it. I have been devoted to not giving in and giving my kids sweets. It was so hard when they were younger and we would be at grandma's and grandpa's and telling them not to give them sweets. I don't think an 18 month old who can't even say the work candy should have some. The only time they have had candy was on Halloween and they were given a sucker. Thats it. (To my knowledge) Who knows what goes on at Gran's house. Maci loves her green beans. I mean you set a bowl of peas or green beans in front of her and it is gone. Chipper loves corn. Giving my kids veggies and fruit on a consistent basis and exposing them to different foods in different ways is something that I am proud of. Not that we don't let them indulge every now and then. I have a younger sister who has two kids 4 and 2 that my kids adore and they stayed the night the other night so we had "ice cream" cones. I had some strawberry frozen yogurt so we all satisfied our sweet tooth this weekend. Maci loved it. Chipper isn't really into cold food but Maci ate hers and half of his. Here are my sweet babies enjoying some time with their cousins. 



Maci is our little "pig pen" but is always up for posing for a picture.

Chipper is thinking "The Mommarazzi is at it again!" Get this crazy lady away!

Caylee loves Maci. They are going to be so close when they get older. Lord help us! :)

Emotional Trainwreck??

 So since we have moved closer to my sister we have been going to yard sales on Saturdays. I am not or have I ever been the type to think they are better than anyone else but I never used to go. The thought of rummaging through other peoples stuff that I didn't know somewhat disgusted me, but after a few times of going with my younger sister I am hooked. I found Minnie Mouse bedding (I washed it as soon as we got home of course) for 5.00. It looks brand new! With my little Maci climbing on everything I thought that it would be a good time to go ahead and change their beds to toddler beds. I don't know if this is just a mommy thing or what but I balled the whole time. The thought that my babies are now 18 months and in toddler beds, can walk, talk, and quite frequently even yell at you just made me overwhelmed. It has gone by way to fast. It makes me think about when I first had them and they were so early they couldn't even drink out of a bottle. Chipper could barely breathe on his own and was on a CPAP machine for about a week. I cried when they first drank out of a bottle. They were so dependent and now look at them. I know, I know they still have a ton of growing to do and they are still practically babies but I just can't believe how time flies by.

We're Having What!!!!

I guess to really get to know us I should go back to the beginning. William and I had actually went through a miscarriage two months before finding out we were pregnant again...It has been the hardest thing we have had to go through to date. I remember us sitting outside of the car at GGC and both of us bawling and just at the feet of God asking him to pick us back up. To say it was hard was understatement. Both of my sisters went through miscarriages and I saw the pain that they went through not only physically but emotionally, so the day we found out we were pregnant we did everything in our power to try to prevent it. BUT it happened and we have a stronger marriage because of it. So fast forward two months and I was driving to work one day and something just told me stop and get a test....stop and get a test...helloo...can you hear me...little voice that knows all.....STOP AND GET A TEST!!! So after a few minutes of driving around debating I pulled into the store and grabbed it...Not even 30 minutes later waiting very akwardly in the bathroom at my work I saw the word "PREGNANT." OMG...OMG..OMG.. You really couldn't smack the smile off my face that day. After work I went to Target (who doesn't love target) and got a onesie that said I LOVE MY DAD...I got home and William was on the couch. I sat next to him and handed him the bag. As he pulled out the onesie he looked at it and looked at me...looked at it...and looked at me..."Really..." he asked. "Really" I said...We went through this a few times and finally he broke down. What we had been through the past few months was something that I wouldn't wish on anyone and hopefully we were about to be blessed beyond measure with an addition to our little family...WAY WAY beyond measure.


So (insert sound effect of cassette fast-forwarding). It's D-Day. Our first Dr. Appointment. My stomach was in knots. As they called my name I stood up, took a deep breath and felt my husbands hand on my lower back slightly pushing me toward the door. Man, he is my rock. I can do this...I can do this...As we go in for our first ultrasound I am lying there and all I could think about is the events that happened just 3 months earlier. Being 10 weeks no pain, just excitement about having your first child and then poof it's all gone...It will leave a lasting mark. It seemed like it took forever. I looked over at William and I remember making a remark about how long it was taking for her to turn the screen over and let us see our new baby. I was terrified. William looked at me and nodded his head at me and said "Don't Worry. Everythings fine." He knows me all too well. "Lord, let your will be done. Let your will be done. I love you Lord...Let your will be done. Please give me strength." I must have said this 100 times. Then the sonographer looked up and said what I will never, ever, ever forget. "HMMM...Do twins run in your family?" I looked at William and we both shook our head. As she laughed she said "They don't? Well they do now honey...Take A look!" As she shifted the screen so I could see it they probably heard me crying from the waiting room. Lord. Give Me Strength has been my prayer for the past 2 years.

Baby A- Maci Annabella Keown

 Baby B Chipper Maddox Keown

My Family

I guess I should start of by introducing myself. My name is Heather. I am a super mommy in training to two beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, smart, awesome babies. Maci Annabella & Chipper Maddox, both 18 months. Yep, I have twinnies.

My husband, William, Gilliam, Hey You, he answers to many different things is really wonderful. I couldn't do what I do without him. This is a little bit of us in a nutshell. There will be more coming soon!