707

That's how many pictures I'm downloading from my camera right now. SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVEN. I wanted to show a few cute pics of the kids lately. So in the middle of the night, I decided to go dig out the cord and get myself all hooked up. At which point, I realized: I haven't emptied my camera in over a year- WELL over a year. Much closer to a year and a half, actually. And with some of the most adorable and obnoxious kids in the entire world, we take lots of pictures. 707 over the course of about 18 months, to be precise. We're good about taking pictures, I promise! It's the getting them off the camera and into an e-mail or onto a website of some kind- that's the problem. I didn't realize it at the time, obviously, but while we thought we were doing ourselves a favor by having such a nice, big flash card, we were actually robbing you of actually seeing any of those pictures. "Now, I could have sworn I'd seen some pictures recently", you might say to yourself (or maybe you're pissed right now because you haven't- I'M SORRY!- keep reading...)- well- you can thank my MIL (mother-in-law) for that!! She is always SO awesome about downloading after every get-together and even uploading to WalGreens and sending out an e-mail. I, on the other hand, obviously suck at it.

So. For a while now, you may have been seeing mostly special event photos, since that's mostly when we see my MIL. At some point in the near future (hopefully- remember- no promises), you will see some every day life. Seriously- apparently, I don't even have time to get the pictures from my camera to my computer- which takes little effort on my part, obviously- a few clicks and some patience, really. But do you think I'm going to have time to organize them? LMAO... Maybe some othere night at 4 am... LOL But my kids are such goofballs, and we've got some really fun pics to share, so I'll just pick a few recent ones...

Okay- another disclaimer or two. I ramble a lot and in reference to my grammar post the other day, I am fully aware that I write in ridiculously long runon sentences. Because that's how I talk. I write like I talk, and I really have the 'gift of gab', one might say (my dad certainly never saw it as a 'gift'! LOL). Bue yes- I'm aware- I talk a LOT. Another disclaimer- I never said this would be interesting either- read at your own risk! If you're amused, GREAT- I aim to please! But really, this is just for me to share... Which makes a great transition:

Maybe this isn't really for me to share (contradictary, I know- I drive me nuts, too) as much as it is to purge... A diary of sorts. You may or may not have noticed the time. I've been up for quite a while tonight. Damn insomnia!!!! Seriously- I'm so over it. I don't have time for insomnia!! Each moment of sleep is so precious to me because there are cherished few of them, and I need every one and then some!!! But I have SO much going on up there *jabs at head maniacally with pointer finger*, and I just feel so overwhelmed with my life that I wake up at random times in the middle of the night and I just can't get back to sleep sometimes because it starts swirling around and keeps picking up momentum, no matter how much I try to shut it off... So maybe that's the real reason for starting a blog... Because I am overflowing up there and just need to let some out somehow. Tonight, my mind is swirling with thoughts of the club that I am the treasurer for and how behind I am (cuz I have time for that too! yeah!), which led to how I don't even have space in this house to keep the paperwork and equipment for the club stuff, which led to "How the HELL can we have FILLED this house as close to maximum capacity as we POSSIBLY could- with both things and people!- and have only lived here for 3 years??!?!" Seriously- how does that happen?? Anyway- my mind just starts to make lists and try to figure out how to make things actually happen. I mean- seriously- my twins are at the age where they have to be watched most moments of every day. Even an unwatched moment is watched from around the corner or down the hall, you know? So there's no "Well, we'll just borrow someone's truck and go out to the garage one day and just gut it out. Truck load after truck load, we'll just spend one whole day and just get stuff to the dump..." Honestly, the thought of doing that while chasing twins around just makes me start to look around for a paper bag to breath into... That's when I try to take a step back and look around and remind myself that someday, I'll be sad that there are no little people around to make my life this insane. That does sound insane, doesn't it? As really, really hard as this phase of our lives is, my Prince and I are having the time of our lives- parts are just insanely difficult, but parts are indescribably awesome and we know that we'll never get this back, so we're going to love it for every moment that it is- good and bad. Truly, I know in my heart that in my later years, I will appreciate OH SO MUCH MORE the feeling of walking into a room where I can see most of the floor and everything is not cluttered, but happily organized and RIGHT where it was when I saw the room last... It will be a bliss that I have not yet truly had the joy of experiencing in my life, but am patiently looking forward to. Patiently, because as I said, it will come soon enough, and I will forever cherish these moments, so I better live it up.

So- deep breaths, buckle down, battle helmets on (maybe I can ignore the clutter a little better if I get a helmet that kind of acts as blinders too...), and here we go. Maybe I should go make some coffee- tomorrow is going to be a doozy, and I've got a hot date with my Prince! Thanks for listening. Or maybe you gave up a long time ago, and you've already skipped past this to the cuteness. That's fine too! I feel like I might be able to go to sleep now, and that was my ultimate goal tonight anyway... :)

And now, here are some random rewards for your patience:

This is how cute my kids are- honestly! They love to sit and read! Hearing the word 'book' as a an early regular makes me feel like I must be doing some things right!

This was an attempt at a posed picture at the Butterfly Pavilion... So close... We're just not there yet...

How can you not LOVE this boy?? He's SO adorable! This was him making the best of his stay at the hospital- he was just kicking it with his toys and his record breaking cartoon marathon while chained to the wall with an oxygen tube.

Seriously- she's creepy sometimes- I worry about her plans to dominate the world. She and Simon are definitely a Pinky & the Brain of sorts...

And now a nap before the kids get up... Deep breaths...

Princess P