I'm still here

Yes, I'm still alive.  It's been a busy, busy 2 weeks.

We got home from vacation on Saturday.  I had every intention of working on my new private blog during vacation but it just never happened.  So, for the time being, I'll keep this one up and running.

Vacation was good.  And different.  I went to the Outer Banks (NC) with my family which consists of my mom, stepfather, sister, BIL and my 2 year-old niece.  Believe it or not, it was our first time vacationing together in several years. 

And, our first vacation with the twins.  DH couldn't stay the entire week because he just hasn't accrued the vacation time yet (started a new job in January) so unfortunately, it wasn't the first family vacation that I had always envisioned.  It made me sad that he couldn't be there to see the twins' faces the first time they saw the ocean or touched the sand.  I know we will have many, many more vacations but you can't get back the first one.

My family was a huge help with the kids but it was still exhausting.  If I wasn't handling one of the kids, I was giving instructions or answering questions about what they needed to do.

"I think he needs a diaper change"
"She sounds like she's still hungry"

I didn't expect a lot of "me" time but I thought that maybe I'd get an hour or two during the day while the kids napped.  I could not get them to nap at the same time to save my life.  If they did both fall asleep, it would only be for 15-30 minutes and then someone would wake up. 

Mid-week, my BIL said to me, "I don't know how you do it.  You never get a break."  Tell me about it.  By Thursday, I was exhausted and burned out. 

And ready to come home.  I love my kids dearly but 2 of them 24/7 is just exhausting.

I haven't even mentioned my family.  It has been confirmed.  The same things that annoyed me about my mother when I was a teenager still annoy me.

She asks the same question over and over again.  I don't know if she's early Alzheimers or trying to make conversation or doesn't listen or what.  I'll answer twice and by the third time, I get snippy.  For the love of God woman!  I don't know what the weather forecast is for today!!

And my stepfather is just weird.  He treats my mother like gold and that's what matters most.  But, he's still weird.  I honestly think there's a chance he has a social disorder. He tries to crack jokes but they are in such poor taste or downright stupid that he never gets laughs.  And, he thinks he's a know-it-all but half of the time, he's an idiot.

He also thinks he's a tour guide.  It was raining one of the days so we all went to the aquarium.  The kids and I rode with them and the entire ride, to and from, he was pointing out landmarks and random facts.

That restaurant used to be owned by Gerken Flerkenherken and now Bob Smith owns it.
And, that store used to have a red roof and now it's blue.
Every time we drive along this marsh, we always see rabbits along the road.

Anyway, it's good to be home.

The kids are growing up so fast.  Kendall started saying "Da Da" last week.  She doesn't know what it means yet but it's still cute.  Christopher is a rolling fool and that is his main mode of transportation these days.  He's trying to figure out the crawling thing.  He pushes up on his hands and tries to scoot his knees under him but he can't quite get it yet. He's also a stomach sleeper.  We put him on his back and within 30 seconds, he's flipped over.

I'm going to break my rule and post some recent pics from the beach.  Enjoy!