It was nice to get back to our normal daily activities yesterday, with the older kids back in school. I was able to get some much needed housework done and a few loads on laundry. Why is is that no matter how many loads of laundry you do, there is always so many more. It is never ending! I know I am doing it for 8 people, but come on how many outfits can each person wear in one day!

I laid the twins down for a nap yesterday, cause they had slept like crap the night before. Ya, up at 415 thinking it was time to play! Anyway, I came down stairs and a few minutes after laying them down I heard, what I thought was screaming, but when I got to the top of the stairs I realized they were laughing hysterically! they had climbed into he same crib and were tickling each other and knocking each other down. They were also pretending to bite each others butts, by biting their clothes . They were laughing so hard, I have never seen them having so much fun.

I feel like the girls have changed over night from babies into toddlers. I remember their 18 month check up and telling the Dr. that they did not have very many words yet. And now at 21 month old, they are repeating pretty much everything we say to them. Ava's new favorite word is "shut up", in thanks to her older brother and sister! They are both saying gotcha, hello, bye-bye, more, they say all the kids names, mommy and daddy. They can also say I love you, where are you, Oh and " No"is a favorite here too! They are both also able to repeat you and count to ten.. now they are starting to say the next number that is coming. My very smart girls!

All the kids are growing up way to fast! My 8 year old asked for a cell phone this year for Christmas, and it was really all she wanted. So we got it for her! And she loves it, yesterday she told me she is not a big fan of talking on the phone, she prefers texting... this after one of her friends said they did not have a cell phone and gave here their home phone # ! WOW, that flashed me forward 8 years! Yesterday, must have been a day were kids say the darn est thing in the Sells household cause, my little man also told me that he just was not a going to other people house to play kinda kid! LOL!!! Oh, ya, this may be TMI but, I thought it was funny, I was talking to my Hubby last night after all the younger kids went to bed and my 12 year old was the only one up still. Now, before I get into it..... you know when you have younger children and you can make sly comments of a sexual nature to your Hubby and the kids are none the wiser, well there will come a time when you kids catch on. When they are old enough to get some idea of what you are talking about... Ya, well that happened to us last night! I was talking to my hubby ( I did not know my son was in the around the corner in the next room..... ) My Hubby said something about when we go up to bed, we were going to do something 1st, and I made a sly comment back about I thought we were going to do something else when we went to bed... and my son jumps up and says, " you know I am standing here, right" throwing his hands up in the air! Yep, we have a teenager in the house! What a defining moment! I do not know who was more embarrassed him or us! LOL!

Catching up!

Well Christmas is over, it has been a very busy couple of weeks! We had relatives come in from Boston to spend the Holidays with us. It was so great to see them, the kids and I had a great time. Christmas was great, I love Christmas time! I love the look on your kids faces when they wake up and see the tree! It makes my heart melt! We had a great time with family and friends on Christmas Eve, except poor Olivia puking all over the place. Darn those stomach bugs! Then we had family here for Christmas Day. It was great having both sets of Grandparents here to watch the kids open presents and for dinner! Poor Ava was next to get sick, all over her car seat coming back from Grandma's house. Then that night Maddie and Lizzie got the same stomach bug! I have never seen so much throw-up in my life! Thanks for a Hubby with a strong stomach! The boys never caught it yet, thank goodness! Knock on wood! TWICE!!! New Years Eve was fun, we had a quite night at home just us. The kiddos loved toasting in " special" glasses with their very own sparkling grape juice! I love those moments!

Kids are finally back to school! It was a very long winter break! It was nice having them home, but I was ready for them to go back. I was ready to get back into our daily routine!

The little girlie's turned 21 months old Friday! I can not believe in 3 months they will be 2! Its almost time to start planning their party! It amazes me how fast they have grown. They are little toddlers now! :( Its like in the past few weeks, they have matured so much. Now they are making sentences, and talking so much more! I love this age! I wish it would last way longer! But I am also looking forward to this next phase in my life.... The phase on no more nursing, no more pregnancies! I have spent the last pretty much 8 years either pregnant or nursing! That's, my whole married life! I asked my Hubby the other day if he remembers what I was like not being pregnant. With the girls, its like every milestone they hit, I have been cherishing it cause it will be the last time we go through that! I can not explain that feeling, it comes with so many different emotions! We are entering into a whole other chapter of our lives, raising and watching these 6 amazing kids we have been blessed with grow up. Our oldest is beginning his teenage years this year! I can not believe in 4 months I will be the mother of a 13 year old! Gosh they all grow up so fast!
As this new year begins, I know New Years resolutions (I feel) are so crazy to make but as January comes in I have found myself thinking of how I want to lose this " baby weight". I have been lugging it around for a while now, almost 9 years to be exact! Time for it to go. I think sometimes you get caught up in, oh I do not need to lose this I will be having another baby soon. I know I did! But not anymore! So here goes nothing! I feel like if I put it on here, I am committing to doing it, not just saying it!

Anyway..... My sweet Noah will be turning 7 on the 17Th! And I will be turning oh my goodness... YIKES 31, on the 19Th! I so remember when I used to think 30 was so old and so far away!

Bad Babies!!! Ewww Gross!

These are my sweet babies, when they are were you can see them!



While I was posting a few minutes ago my sweet toddlers, got up the stairs ( my 3 year old left our gate open, she came running down the stairs screaming " Mom the babies are playing in the POTTY!") I went up stairs to find the both girls elbow deep, standing on their tip toes, dipping a triangle block into the toilet trying to drink the water! ( a game they play in the bath tub) YUCK!!! GROSS!!! Are you kidding me!! When I said t the what are you doing, they both just looked up at me with their cheesy little grins! STINKERS!!!!



......................Aw..............the life with twin toddlers!..........................

Busy past week!

Wow! Its been a week and no posts, I'm slacking already.
It has been quite a busy week. We had Lizzie's 4Th Birthday party on Sunday. she will be 4 on the 21st, but having a birthday the week on Christmas sucks! I have refused since she was born, to combine Christmas and her Birthday. My family knows I would stroke out if her birthday and Christmas gifts were lumped together... or wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper for that matter! I think she deserves HER special day.. no matter what day of the year it falls on.

I can't believe Christmas is a little over a week away! I need time to slow down! I have barely started Christmas shopping, never mind I have 6 kids to buy for. We are going out Monday night to hopefully our shopping! Wish me luck!

We are having my Father and Step Mother coming over for Christmas, we have not seen them in over a year and a half. The girl's were teeny tiny the last time we got together. they are driving in from Ma. The kids are excited! It will be our first Holiday together since I was a kid.

Madison had her Brownie Troop Christmas party Tues. night, it was fun. She got her new badges! She was very happy her Grandma and Papa were able to come. It has been so nice having the at all the kids functions and sporting events, now that we have moved back.
Nick had his last basketball game, last night. He did well! Tonight is his end of the season party, should be fun!
The twins seem to be coming down with a cold AGAIN! Hopefully it will be a fast one. Ava had to go to the Dr., she had some kind of infection in her toe.. maybe an ingrown toenail after having them clipped who knows.. but it was all red and swollen.. OUCH! and was becoming infected, so they put her on an antibiotic.
Madison and Noah had their Christmas party for school today. Maddie was all excited cause it was also PJ day! they were doing breakfast and crafts all day! Fun! Daddy went in the morning before work to help cook! The kiddos loved having him there. Wish we could have gone, but the kids techers have a rule of No Siblings allowed, so that excludes us, considering we still have 3 at home! Oh, well! I do miss seeing all these thing though, after all it is one of the reasons I stay home! Yes, the crazy life of a Mother of 6! Busy, Busy, Busy!

I am still trying to figure out what to cook for Christmas Eve for dinner. We are having a family/ friends get together...need some good ideas! I also need some yummy side dishes and desserts for Christmas day! We are having prime rib for the meat... its our tradition!

It has already been a very long day today! My 4 year old, has a cold again! Why does it always seem like someone is sick. I feel like one of my kids always has a runny nose, Yuck! Well my 4 year old was up and coughing most of the night, so she is cranky today. The twins well one slept all night but the other got up at 4 deciding it was time to get out of her bed.. Daddy and Mommy did not agree! I put her into my bed, she finally fell asleep after awhile. Thank goodness! Then her sister got up at 6am, cause she got a great nights sleep. I am hoping naptime will be a good one today. Maybe then I will be able to get something done. girls are going through a very clingy stage... well Ava is, and Olivia has always been clingy. She's a Mommy's girl!

I was hoping the girls would be fully weaned by now, I have self weaned with all my other children close to the time they turned a year old and thought the girls would be just as easy. YAY right. I never imagined in a million years that I would be a mother who was still nursing her 20 month olds. If it was totally up tot he girls they I would probably nurse them off to college. But I on the other hand have other plans. I am so ready to have my body back. ....On a side note, I also never thought I would be that women who was still trying to loose her baby weight, from her pregnancy 8 years ago! Double Yikes! Oh, well the things you know now, right! We are very close to being done with nursing though. My girls are having a hard time giving up the 1st thing in the morning nursing session. I have tried giving them a sippy cup instead, but they throw them on the floor. Then they start yanking at my shirt and screaming crying, yelling "mooob" YAh, funny huh.. NO! Today was a good they did not ask for it and ate breakfast. So far no nursing today!

Should probably go do some house work or laundry, while the girls nap. What I really would love to be doing though is taking a bath and reading a good book. Oh, well. .... Whats that saying... {A mother's work is never done}.... thats how it goes right? Oh, no wait a good one too is No rest for the Mommy! Thats it :)

Thank goodness its Friday! Well we have a very busy weekend ahead of us, basketball practice and Santa pictures on Sat. Santa pics should be fun, considering the twins hate strangers! YIKES! we had a trail run, Santa photo at the Holiday festival in our town and them SCREAMED!! It's bad enough when you hear 1 screaming baby never mind 2.. ever one was staring at us. SO FUN! Hopefully this time it will be better, if we plan it around nap time. We will have to see. Then Sun. we are having our beautiful daughter's 4th Birthday party. A Dora Bash! Gotta love Dora!!! :) Her real Birthday is the week of Christmas, which stinks so we try to have it earlier in the month. I do not want her Birthday to be lumped in with Chirstmas. Should be good times!

I will post pics of kiddos with Santa... well if they are able to be taken that is :)

My kiddos

Having six kids is quite an adventure! Though I think now after 20 months, we are finally getting the hang of it... well most days anyway. My kids are ages 12 ,8 ,6 ,4 and 20 month old identical twin girls. We were going for #5, we already had 2 boys and 2 girls and figured we would love to have just 1 more and at 21 week ultrasound, we found out we were not expecting one but two girls! We were quite shocked, thank goodness I was laying down or I would have passed out! My Hubby did not even blink. I tell people we had twins because of my 8 year old daughter... that morning before we went in for an ultrasound, I asked her which she wanted another brother or sister ( the youngest at the time was a girl, who was a year and 1/2, and up until then we had had a boy then girl, a boy then girl). Well she told me she wanted 2, either one of each or two girls! I said, well sweetie your Mommy only has 1 baby at a time.... Little did I know, right. Kids say the darn est things :) I was so worried about how we would do it, having two babies at once. I worried about where my other children would fit in, and how it would affect their lives. But it has been an amazingly wonderful blessing! They have changed our lives in so many amazing ways and twins are such a special gift. The girls completed our family!

The hardest part of being a Mom to 6, for me is making sure I have time for each and everyone of them. Quality time is hard to find. Most days there are just not enough hours in the day. I do try to do little things with each one of my children throughout the day. Like one will help me cook dinner, or my oldest says up a little later than the rest and we can sit together and chat, or watch a show. and if we go to the store or out to run errands, I will try to rotate who gets to go. I also find it hard to make couples time. I can't remember the last time my Hubby and I had a night out alone together.. or even an adult conversation for that matter.

I think it is also hard to have your kids going through so many different stages in life all at the same time.... Like now for us, we are dealing (almost) 13 year old boy, schooling, sports and dating stuff.. I mean really the the heck is that anyway! 8 year old girl Drama! 6 year old temper tantrums! 4 year old screaming fits! And the terrible 2s times 2 are vastly approaching! never mind teething times 2, and fighting over toys. Oh, and don't forget the fighting among siblings! It can get crazy! But I love it! I have always wanted a large family, and new from very early on I wanted to be a mother.

I have resided myself to the fact, that there is no such thing as a perfect mother, as long as I am the best Mom that I can be. And if my house is not spotless and the laundry is not finished, its OK. Taking a little time for myself does not make me evil. ( I'm still working on that one though)But the most important lesson I have learned to date is to cherish every single moment you have with your kids, cause you will never get it back. they grow so fast, and in the blink of an eye, they are becoming teenagers and then adults.