Love is in the air

Saturday I was invited to a baby shower for my friend Tami, who is married to one of Jeff's "bromances", Jeff Rivera. Its their first baby, and we're so excited for them. They are going to be awesome parents! Anyway, the Riveras and the Hinds' are practically related. My mother-in-law, Patty, and Jeff R.'s mom Pat, are best friends and the two families have known each other a long time. So Patty and Jeff's sisters, Missy and Katie, were also invited. Since the girls were all going to the shower, all the boys (except Bill) came up to our house to play Xbox. Mason was excited to play with Jackson, and I decided to take Mallorie with me to the girl party.

People ask me all the time if my kids are close and I always answer yes, but I think in the back of my mind, I usually think that they are not any closer than other siblings. But, Saturday I realized that yes, they do have a special bond because they are twins. Even though they fight sometimes, they really are best friends and depend on each for a lot. Moreso I think, than a normal brother/sister. As we were getting ready to leave on Saturday, Mallorie threw her arms around Mason and said "Bye Mason, I love you! I'll miss you!" It was so sweet! One of those moments that you just want to freeze and keep forever in your heart. After we left and were on the way to the shower, Mallorie was being pretty quiet, so I tried to talk to her. She kind of sniffed a little bit, so I asked what was wrong. She said "I just miss Bubba." It was so cute! So, as we pulled up and started getting out of the car, she then said "Mom, my eyes leaked a little because I miss Mason, but I didn't cry." What a sweetheart!! I hope they always stay close, I just love seeing how they take care of each other.

Advice needed...

If anyone has found a way to slow down time, please let me know!! It is now time for registering the kids for Kindergarten. Aaaaargh! How did they ever get this old? I'm having the same type of freakout that I did last year about starting preschool. I'm not worried about them, they'll be fine. I'm worried about me! These are my babies and they can't grow up anymore. I won't allow it! Any suggestions for dealing with the rapid growth of children and the psychosis that go along with it would be appreciated.

Also, I have realized lately that I need balance in my life. I work, take care of Jeff and the kids, and I don't leave myself a lot of time to do anything for myself. It leaves me pretty wiped out and feeling like I'm emotionally drained. So I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on time management and balance. And if you have any ideas for hobbies that are relatively inexpensive, I'd welcome those too.

Oh so clever...

Kids these days. I have to say, my two little twinks are very clever. While I was working the other day, the kids were playing out in the living room and when I took a break to check on what they were doing...well, this is what I found:


































The first two were on a light switch and door, respectively. Mason wrote those and put his name on the one on the door. He said that was because he is in charge of that door and he was trying to tell us not to turn on that light switch or open that door. And the others were on their bedroom doors, so we would know that Mason's room is a boys room and Mallorie's room is a girls room. Just like the bathrooms at the store. Oh, and these are not post-its, nor are they stuck on with tape. No, my little geniuses used good ol' SPIT to stick these up. You have to give them credit for ingenuity!