10 hours later....

We made it to Cincinnati, Ohio!  To our surprise Addy was our best traveler today and Birk was quite the whiny dude!  I guess he has made this trip a few times and knows what to expect once we hit the road.

We got here about 20 minutes ago, stopped to get some Wendy's chicken nuggets and checked into our hotel.  We're pretty glad we get to spend $70 for less than 12 hours in this joint!  :-)  Oh well!!!  Hopefully we get a good report from Dr. Cotton and it was all worth it.

Wish us luck that we all get up, and get ready by our 6am arrival time at Same Day Surgery.

More details tomorrow...

Check up ~~

So we take off tomorrow morning sometime before 9am to head back to Cincinnati Children's for our 1 month check up (1 month late).  We were scheduled to  head back in January, but due to B's ear infections we had to bump it back.  We have been suffering from some minor colds, but they have told us they still want us to head that way.  I have to say...that I'm TOTALLY EXCITED for this trip.  I want to know that things are still going great for B man.  I want to hear the graft still looks good and that he is doing as great as we see he is doing.

It also feels bittersweet to head back to Ohio.  We've been through so much and each time we head back that way it brings new emotions and reminds of where we've been.

Prayers for safe travels, good kids, and good reports for Birk are appreciated!

A night of Romance....Robertson Style

So in true Robertson romantic style my night started out with a quick run to Fare-way to pick up a few things to make some White Chili for Nick's work tomorrow.  Followed by quickly throwing chicken nuggets in the oven and getting the kids set up for dinner.  Nick got home at 5:50pm and got the kids in their seats for dinner.  I served dinner and by 6:15 I was out the door for a meeting at Church.  I stopped on my way home around 8:15pm to pick up Taco John's for Nick and I (a staple after my meetings at church).  Came home to get the kids out of the bath (THANK YOU DADDY..for bathing them), did our bedtime routine...put the kids to bed, ate our Taco Johns and now Nick is opening up a bottle of wine as we watch The Biggest Loser.

While it may not be out of a romance novel... tonight was perfect in my book.  My life is good.  I don't need Valentines Day to remind me that I'm blessed and loved.

So here is hoping you had as great of an evening as I did!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pajama Day

After a weekend of sickness in our house and a call from our daycare provider that she was going to be closed due to sickness today I made the decision with the kids...that today was OFFICIALLY PAJAMA DAY!

We got our breakfast of cereal, milk, and banana's and hunkered down in the living room under our cozy blankets, in our PJ's and started watching some Mickey Mouse Club.  While I would trade quite a bit right now to not be constantly wiping cruddy noses, all of our coughing, my congestion and sore throat, and a voice since I lost mine on Friday, for health in our family....the sweet cuddling is pretty awesome.

I sure hope when the twins are older this is one thing they remember.  While I "should" be at work as I'm super busy....I hope they know and remember that this was more important to me.  To snuggle together until we all feel better.  To also take a day where it doesn't matter if you get our of your PJ's.  To take time to do the important things like relax, play all day and spend time together.

P.S.  The only thing missing is Daddy.  He braved the icy roads and headed into the office!!

We thought we would escape it...

BUT, when you live in Iowa you can't escape the snow!!!  And I have to be the first to admit that I'm sure glad we didn't.  This morning I asked the kids if they wanted to go outside and play in the now.  The answer was a unanimous YES! So, we spent about 10 minutes getting all of our snow gear on and outside we went.  It was a bit chilly and the snow was coming down fairly heavy.  It was beautiful.  We made a snowman, we made snow angels and had a snow ball fight.  After about 45 minutes we decided that it was time to warm up so we trucked inside.  It was so worth the giant pile of wet clothes I have in front of our door (waiting to be hung up in case we go back outside...it is really snowing here today).

What an amazing gift that God gave our family today.  Some time to spend it together, having fun in one of the most beautiful seasons.  Winter.  You know the true gift that those of us here in Iowa have is that we always have something to enjoy AND something to look forward to.  So, let's take this day, week, month and play in the snow.  Build a snowman, go sledding or just go romp around in the snow.  For when Spring comes we will have new experiences we can enjoy as the leaves return and flowers start to bloom.

Thank you Lord for the magic that you gave us today.  I am so grateful!

Favorites

So again it is no secret that I'm a Pinterest junkie.  (I need some rehab or something....).

I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes that I've "pin'd".  I am not sure what I will ever do with these quotes other than allow them to serve as a reminder to me to count my blessings.  Be happy where I'm at, and serve my God and my family to the best of my ability!

1.  Even Miracles take a little time.

2. Let your FAITH be bigger than your Fear!

3.  Only God can turn a mess into a Message, a test into a Testament, a trial into a Triumph, and a victim into Victory.

4. I don't think the worst thing to me would be raising a child with special needs.  I think the worst thing is to raise a child who is cruel to a child with special needs.

5. True love was born in a stable!

Potty Training 101

Has officially begun.  At daycare they seem to be working towards progress, but I feel like I'm failing at home.  They have had some successes, but man... not as many as I would like to see!  We are using pull ups most of the time and Nick and I both have decided that we think we need to just bite the bullet and let them wear underwear to see if the feeling of "wet" or "worse" would help motivate them to use the potty.  They have proven to be able to hold "it" as they are waking up from naps dry and traveling and get there dry....

I do have to admit that I am scared of potty training.  I am scared of failing at this.  I'm scared that I am not doing it right.  I'm scared that the kids will never be out of diapers!  Hopefully I'm not alone. I look around and see other parents of 2 year olds that their children are using the potty full time...and we are not.  Yuck.

So, needless to say I could use some good thoughts on this adventure.  Good thoughts that the good Lord will bless me with the knowledge to figure this part of parenting out.  Also, anyone reading who has any good advice on this would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!