"Where are you Christmas?"

This song should be the theme song for Christmas this year at the Dent house. Decorations are non-existent. Christmas tree... we figured we could do without one. Our home is definitely lacking Christmas spirit. In my defense, I blame school finals and two sick children. OH wait! And... a sick mommy! OH wait! All at the same time! Yes, during the last week and a half of school, Trey and Easton became sick with croup. And I jumped on the sick train just a couple days later. Talk about worst. timing. ever. Thanks to the craziness I'm just not feeling Christmas this year :( I was so ready to tackle Christmas after school was finished, but now I really just want to sit around and do nothing. Our apartment is a disaster, there is a "to-do" list that is not being done, and I plan on it being that way until the Holidays are over. At least I've been able to bring myself to make some yummy Christmas treats for family and friends, and best of all... visit Santa Clause. I hope everyone has a great Christmas! :)


Trey was not fond of Santa Clause, so I jumped in and we got a good picture :)

Our twinners...

... are 18 months old now! They are more fun than I can handle, and I love being able to be with them so much. Here is what Trey and Easton are up to lately...

They love dancing to music.
When you ask them... they will tell you where their eyes, nose, mouth, ears,head, and belly are.
Easton especially likes to show and tell anyone where his "pee pee" is.
They love giving high fives and "pounding it."
They take one nap a day and it usually goes pretty well, occasionally we struggle.
They love giving hugs, and more recently they have started to hug each other. So sweet.
I think their most favorite thing is to be chased by Mom or Dad.
They are becoming quite independant and want to do just about anything on their own.
They are constantly climbing onto anything, tables, chairs, etc...
They eat with forks all by themselves.
They love flushing the toilet.
They love throwing their diapers, or anything else, into the trash.
They are saying lots of words these days, and just as of late it seems they are trying out new words much more often.
Some of their words are... Mama, Dada, nana (banana), up, no no, don't touch, more, pee pee, doggie, two, yeah, ball, and... that's all I can think of for now.
And evidently... they love to kick back and hang out in our pantry :)

I love my baby boys!!!

Thankful.

We had a really great Thanksgiving this year. I love being able to spend time with family and friends. The break from school was so nice and much needed. We stayed up way too late just about every single night and now I'm hoping I can do some catching up on my sleep.

Over Thanksgiving weekend I finally saw The Help with some girlfriends. (I forced myself to hold off on seeing it until I finished the book. The books are always better.) Dave played football with his pals. We spent Thanksgiving with my family. I went Black Friday shopping for the first time ever, and we got some pretty cool stuff. We hung out with friends who were in town from out of state. And Dave and I hosted our first ever Thanksgiving potluck with friends. Great times!



I'm extremely thankful for many things in my life, but this year I am specifically thankful that Dave and I have a sweet, sweet, little family. And that we are always blessed with the things that are most important and that we need, not only so we can just make it through everyday life, but so we can enjoy it as well :) I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

First things first.

Blogging hasn't been on my list of priorities lately, so here's my attempt at bringing us back up to date! Halloween. We had an awesome Halloween this year. Dave and I attended our 4th annual Halloween party with friends. Always a good time. This year we did a Halloween picture scavenger hunt. And of course, our bobbing for apples contest......





I'm all about family themed costumes. Tacky, I know, but you can only do it for so long before your kids don't care to participate. This year Dave was a bee catcher. I was the Queen Bee. And Trey and Easton were our little bees. So much fun. We all experienced our first Trunk-or-treat which was fun, although, I still think trick-or-treating is way better.



Other than Halloween, we are just living the dream as of late. Busy with babies, school, and work. We are anticipating Thanksgiving, especially because after that Holiday, there are only 2 more weeks of school left! This is my last fall semester ever and I am beyond excited for it to be over. I registered for spring semester, my second to last semester, and it feels so good to almost be done! I don't think I've ever anticipated something as much as I am anticipating graduation. For both me AND Dave! We've been going to school since we've been married. I feel like this chapter of school is about to come to a close, and we're on the verge of a new chapter, which I'm very excited for.

As for Trey and Easton, there are as great as ever. Busy busy toddlers always getting into things, climbing on to things, and keeping me on my toes! My patience has been tested a lot lately, but I suppose it just goes along with the age. Every day they seem to learn something new which is so much fun to witness. They are truly the sweetest most loving little toddlers ever. They give me hugs and kisses all day long and it makes me so happy, and makes the few not so fun things about parenting totally worth it :)

My Pinterest addiction.

I am obsessed. I love logging into Pinterest so I can pin away. My board filled with the most stuff... is junk food. Sadly. But with the holidays here and parties to attend left and right who isn't making treats every other day? I have used several Pinterest ideas in the last month and they are all awesome. Compliments are handed out way too graciously and I have to remind everyone that I'm really not that cool or crafty, I simply copied someone else's idea. So... here are the things I have done...

The first thing I did was a kit-kat cake for my step-dad. He loves kit-kats so when I saw this cake I knew I had to make it for him.
After my step-dad's Birthday my family voted me in as the Birthday cake maker. My mom's Birthday was coming up so I asked her what she wanted. She said, red velvet, elegant, and delicate. So I found a red velvet trifle cake. So good.


I then came upon the "Green Monster" smoothie, which I had heard about but never really looked into. I made the smoothie I found and I've made it almost every day since. Awesome.


We had some new neighbors move in right next door. So I made them the chocolate chip cookie/oreo/brownie treat. I'll admit... this one didn't turn out to be the best, only because I didn't do it properly. Still super yummy. I can only imagine what it's like when it's done correctly. Hopefully our neighbors liked it.


And lastly.. our apartment complex had a Halloween party for all the little kids. Everyone was asked to bring a treat so I did the spider-web cupcakes. So much fun.




Pinterest is the best. I love being able to take things to parties now. It's so much fun to look up anything for a party and be able to find something that will meet your needs. Love love love it. If you aren't on Pinterest already, you should jump on the bandwagon :)

Easton sleeps...

... so funny. When we check on the boys as they sleep we usually always get a good laugh thanks to Easton. He is such a silly sleeper :)

Sweet sixteen!!!

Sixteen months that is. And I think it's more bitter-sweet than just sweet. These two children of mine have got me on my toes constantly. The only free time I ever have is nap time, and even then it's hardly free because I do homework. I dont' know about anyone else... but I've found this age to be extremely challenging. I'm approached by moms of twins all the time and they ask me how old the boys are, etc... and then I swear every single one of them (mostly moms of twin boys) has said something along these lines as our conversation ends... "It only gets worse!" And they smile at me and tell me how cute my kids are, and wander off, as if their comment hasn't just made me seriously question our future and what's in store for us. At first I laughed it off, but now I'm wondering if they were all right. Trey and Easton are just as sweet as can be. They really are. But we've hit this stage where they cry over every little thing. They steal toys from each other. They bite each other. They even hit now. Even though it's crazy frustrating at times, and there are days when Dave and I tell each other this is it, no more kids (which we both know isn't true) we put them down for bed at the end of the day and all we can do is talk about how cute they are and how much we love them. It's the awesomeness of children I guess! So now let's get to the good stuff!

They both have a serious obsession with shoes. I don't know what it is... but they want their shoes on, always.

They loooooove being outside, even in the freezing cold rain.

They are finally off the bottle. Which is an interesting thing to me how so many moms want their kids off the bottle asap. What is the big deal?

They have started signing, and I have no idea how because I gave up on teaching baby sign a long time ago. But they both sign "more" and "milk" now. Baby sign is the cutest thing ever.

They say a few words here and there but as for talking... they are not doing much of it for now. Which is totally fine.

They love giving hugs and kisses.

They are difficult to feed sometimes.

They love jumping on the couch or in their cribs.

And even though we are going through a difficult stage... they are loved and loved by mom and dad.

Thoughts

I'm sooo thankful fall break is around the corner. One more week of school and then a whole week off! And... fall break means this semester is half way over! Makes me so happy.

During fall break, I plan on reading The Help. And sitting and doing nothing. That sounds soooo nice.

This semester has been my most challenging yet. Between school, babies, Dave's school, Dave's work, homework, finding time to go to the gym, and finding time to do things we like just for fun, life is more chaotic than it has ever been.

I think I think about quitting school every day.

I had a dream the other night that I was driving my father-in- law's car and it ran out of gas. I pulled into a parking lot and sat there forever. Just waiting for someone to come and help me. You know how they say your dreams mean something? I looked it up online. It said that a dream in which you run out of gas means you are physically exhausted. Doesn't that make perfect sense? I'm totally physically, mentally, and emotionally drained this semester. As of late, I seriously don't function like a normal human being. Blah.

I look at houses online all the time. I so desperately want to move into a house. Mostly so we have a backyard. With a fence. So Trey and Easton can play outside like they love to do. And I won't have to chase them all over the place. Out of the parking lot. Out of our neighbor's apartment. Away from the stairs. Etc... Our apartments obviously aren't very baby friendly.

Lately I'm in one of those moods where I just want life to fast forward. Pretty much to when I'm done with school and we have a house. ha. I hate being in this mood though because I know that through the struggles lots of good/great things happen.

I'm so excited for Halloween. I love Halloween. All of the festivities and activities to do with family and friends are so much fun.

I have a thing for family themed Halloween costumes. Kinda tacky, right? I can only do it for a few more years though, and then Trey and Easton will totally decide what they want to be on their own.

This September has been amazing!!! I am loving this weather. I hope it stays as long as possible. Especially for the sake of being able to take little kids outside...

...Which brings up winter. I am dreading winter. I need to get creative and think of fun things to do inside to keep the boys entertained. Which makes me think...

Play group anyone? I've tried to organize one but ya know... it's hard. Everyone has crazy busy schedules, but couldn't we get together like at least a few times a month? I know people who have play groups and get together once a week. C'mon people.

I am already thinking of what I can get Dave, the babes, and family members for Christmas.

The Biggest Loser is back on. Best. Show. Ever. As I sit and watch it while I scarf a bowl of chocolate icecream or a bag of popcorn or a Dunford donut I'm totally inspired and want to go to the gym and work out right at that minute. But then I just eat some more icecream/popcorn/donuts ;)

I love the Allstate Insurance commercials... with Mayhem. Hilarious.

I wish that 90% of my free time wasn't consumed by homework. Although, I'm very thankful for our amazing families who are always willing to help out and babysit so we can catch a break. I really shouldn't complain, we do a lot of fun things considering how busy we are.

I hate cleaning our apartment. Seriously... it stays clean for one split second, and then it's a complete disaster again. Is there really a point? Like, really?

I hate laundry too. I've mentioned this before. It is a never-ending vicious cycle that will never end!!! As a matter of fact, I should be doing laundry right now... or homework.

This weekend should be a good one. A nice little break, lots of fun plans... but it would be so much cooler if I didnt' have homework in the back of my head... stressing me out.

So pretty much, the conclusion of this post it something that I just can't stress enough. School is for the birds!!! I hate it. It is ruining my life. That statement may or may not be a little over dramatic, but I'm sooooo over it!

Here's to the weekend! :)

Admit it.

Seriously... aren't these guys just the cutest little Utah football fans out there? A BYU fan can't even deny the cuteness of my Utah babies ;)

Sad day :(

When Trey and Easton were born and Easton was taken to the NICU, I of course cried and cried and couldn't stop crying. At one point I told my mom I just wanted someone to tell me what was wrong and that he was going to be ok so I could stop worrying. And then my mom said, "Carly, you're a mother now. You will never stop worrying." And boy did she make a good point! It's true!

A few weeks ago Dave noticed that Trey had what he thought was a hernia. We took him to our pediatrician and sure enough... he had not one hernia, but two! So we quickly scheduled surgery at Primary Children's and have been playing the waiting game ever since. I've dreaded this day since we knew it was coming.

Today we woke up at 5:00 in the morning and journeyed up to Primary's. The whole way up I kept telling Dave how lucky we are to live so close to such an amazing and well recognized facility. Primary's and University Hospital are AMAZING!!!! Don't you all think we are so lucky??? :)

We did all that dreadful sitting and filling out paper work and more sitting and finally it was time for Trey to go in for his surgery. It's so devastating to watch your sweet little baby be taken away by the Doctor. Trey was sad but I knew he was in good hands so I was ok.

A quick hour later he was done and he was so good! He handled surgery and all the medications like a champ! We were discharged about 45 minutes after surgery and I was so happy to be able to come home.

Our families are the best ever. We had so much help all day long! Dave's mom came over at 5:30 in the morning so Dave could come up with us and support us until he had to go to school. When I got home Dave's sister Lisanne took Easton off my hands so Trey and I could catch up on our sleep. When she brought Easton home we were still asleep so she just changed his diaper and put him down for a nap, and we all napped some more! Later in the evening my mom brought us Cafe Rio for dinner. Lisanne watched Easton again... just so we could catch a break. And then Dave's mom came back over to bring us a whole box of diapers, groceries, some new PJ's, and Elmo DVD's! Holy cow! We are so lucky that we both have such great families who love us and love Trey and Easton so much. Not to mention... Dustee is coming over tomorrow morning to help me out while Dave is at school. We are beyond grateful for all the help :)

Since being home things have been fine. More difficult than usual, but that's what we were expecting. Trey is quite irritable, and Easton wants to know why his brother seems to be a completely different person and why mom and dad aren't paying as much attention to him as they are to Trey. We are on the road to recovery, and excited for Trey to start feeling better and get back to his normal self :)

Where to start?

Sometimes lots of stuff happens all at once and I just have to catch up. It's probably not interesting for others to read but I like to do it for the sake of our family and being able to look back :)

At the end of August we enjoyed a nice weekend with close friends up at Bear Lake. We boated. Played games. Watched movies. Swam. And relaxed. It was lots of fun and we're so grateful we have the opportunity to go to Bear Lake every year.







Dave and I went to the first Utah game of the season. We love Utah football so it was lots of fun being able to go. We somehow ended up sitting in the MUSS... and I think I've just grown up way too much since having children. It is so not my thing. Next time we'll just sit in the student section. But what are we going to do next season when we aren't students any more and don't get to go to home games for free? :(


And lastly... over Labor Day weekend my family spent the afternoon at Liberty Park. We ate food. Ran around on the lawn. And played games. It was such a fun way to spend the day.





With all that said... school has started and this semester is probably the most challenging we've had yet. I don't know what makes the difference but we are just so busy! I have somehow managed to start waking myself up at 6:30 in the morning to go to the gym... because that is the only time I have to go. Dave is around a lot less than we are used to, so I am taking the babies on by myself much more than I am used to. I watch friends and in-laws children on a regular basis (who would have thought I'd be such a caretaker one day!?) And I have so much reading and writing to do!!! AHHH! The only thing that makes me push through is thinking about this time next year and how our lives will be oh so different. Lots of fun and exciting things will be going on, and I'm excited :) Until then... we are managing to enjoy now and in the midst of school and what I feel like is complete chaos we find the time to do things that we love and find enjoyable.