Just Another Day in Paradise

Go Cards!

7/14/12

Today we got all geared up for the central division showdown against the Reds.  The Cardinals are on Fox today and ESPN tomorrow.  What a treat!  Too bad the birds couldn’t pull off a victory.  Guess we’ll have to cheer them on up in Milwaukee this week.  Look for us on Wednesday!

Dressed for dinner... Check out the sweet kicks for the ladies.

7/15/12

Mohawk-ish

This evening we had dinner with the Hendrickson’s!  They have wanted to meet the boys for quite some time now.  Ken, Deb, Adam and Corrie all met up with us at 100 South.  Good times were had by all.  Later that evening, Corrie and Adam came over to hang out.  Corrie didn’t think twice when she heard it was bath night for Brenden and Jackson.

Brenden: "Check out this new trick I learned!"
Jackson: "Duuuuuude"

Eat, Sleep, Poop... Repeat

7/12/13

Eat, sleep, poop… repeat.  It’s been a pretty uneventful week, but we welcomed it with open arms after all we had going on last week.  We finally had a chance to kick back and relax.  It’s crazy how quickly the days pass without a thing on our schedule, but Brenden and Jackson provide plenty of entertainment.  It’s also funny how even a walk or trip to the grocery store turns into an adventure when these guys are with.  Take for example our trip today.  We started off at REI to look for a newborn attachment for our bike trailer.  Then we headed to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us for some returns, hit up Wal-Mart for a few things, and stopped by the bank to set up savings accounts for the Brenden and Jackson.  This seems like an average day of running errands.  Simply add two babies to the mix and you now have the challenge of packing the diaper bag and car seats and stroller and transitions between car and stroller and playing the pacifier game where each baby thinks its hilarious to spit out their pacifier at any chance they get and diaper changes in public restrooms without a changing table and attempting to comfort a small person you can’t reason with during a total meltdown… All of this times two.  Have no fear; Super Mom and Super Dad are here.  Sometimes I feel like I’m doing the job of a superhero.  I definitely walk around with my chest puffed out a bit more during a trip like this one. Haha!  Obvious both of there smiling faces make it all worth it in the end.

7/13/12

Today Mom had her first audition since Brenden and Jackson were born.  She was definitely a little nervous this time, but well prepared as always.  I could tell she was really excited to be singing again.  We all packed it in the SUV for the long hall down I-290 during rush hour on a Friday… destination, the Lyric Opera House.  After I dropped off the future star, I parked the car and played the proud father who pushes his new twin boys around in the stroller.  Once she nailed the audition, we headed over to the Flach’s place for some dinner and drinks.  Did someone say Deep Dish Gino’s East?  We got to meet their new addition, Eloise Marie. She was so precious!  The boys were on their best behavior.  I’m convinced they were trying to show off for their new lady friend.  Haha!  Scott and Laura also stopped by to hang out.  It was an all around great trip… good food, good conversation, and awesome company!  We can’t wait to do it again.

Maximum Twinsanity

7/5/12

We had intensions of heading back today, but after further discussion it just made sense for us to stick around… what’s one more day.  With the temperatures the way they are and not knowing for sure if we had power, made the decision pretty easy.  The Beavers were also in support of our decision being that it meant more baby time.  Haha.  With our extra day, we decided to go visit the new addition to the Caraway family, Easton Lee.  We got the tour of their awesome new house and let the babies mix it up for a bit.  It was pretty crazy to see all the little guys together.  The scene was a bit different from the old college days.

Easton, Brenden, and Jackson 

7/6/12

This morning we confirmed that our power was back on and pealed out around 9:00 am (This is Toni Time so it was actually around 9:50).  We were loaded down with fresh veggies from the Beaver garden and plenty of venison from Caraway’s hunting stash.  We took a break around half way to feed the babies and fuel up.  Again, it was a pretty smooth trip.  The rest of the afternoon was not so smooth.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a yard full of branches and pinecones.  The tree that had been resting on the power line pole next to our house had snapped in half and was just wait for a breeze to finish it off and knock the power out again. 

The thermostat read 95 degrees when we got in the house so we flipped on the air and headed to run some errands.  First stop… Wok’n Fire!  We ordered some sushi and fed the babies.  Once everyone had their fill, it was off to the library.  Brenden and Jackson did not do a very good job of following the rules.  I guess they must have missed the QUIET signs on the way in.  The house still wasn’t quite there so we decided to push it and try a trip to the grocery store… bad decision.  They were absolutely out of their minds by this point.  I can’t help but wonder what some of the people in the grocery store thought.  The babies were much better when we got home.

Once mom got the babies settled down, I started the long process of cleaning out and replacing the entire refrigerator full of bad food from the power outage.  Later that night we visited Chuck and Jan Anderson.  Thankfully, Jan had saved Toni’s breast milk that was in the freezer from the heat.  It really sucked to throw out all that food but we definitely saved the important stuff.

7/7/12

It’s my birthday! Toni has to work all day so I have the babies all to myself.  I foresee lots of tummy time and guitar riffs in the future!!!

Brenden and Jackson's Big Weekend

6/30/12

We began our first of two trips home this week.  Mom had to work all morning so the responsibility of packing and getting all the boys ready fell into Dad’s hands.  I started the day with a nice 3 mile walk/run with Brenden, Jackson and Baxter.  It’s always a good idea to get as much energy as possible out before we spend 3 and a half hours in the SUV.  Brenden and Jackson didn’t do quite as good as last time but we had no major problems.  Mom got off work at 1:00 and we were on the road by 2:00.  We stopped at a rest area just south of Champaign to feed the boys and let Baxter out.  Luckily, the heat wasn’t too bad.  We found a shaded bench outside.  Mom, Dad, Baxter and the twins were all happy to be out of the car!  That evening we were greeted by open arms and another excellent home cooked meal.  Mom and Dad both tried out Brenden and Jackson’s new wheels, a bike trailer.  They recommend waiting until the babies are 1 year, but it’s going to be pretty tough to let that thing sit in the garage for another 10 months.

7/1/12

The next morning, we woke up and started prepping for Brenden and Jackson’s big day.  Most of the work had already been taken care of due to our wonderful families.  A special thanks to Grandma Esker and Nana for all of their help!  As I dressed the boys in their brand new white outfits I couldn’t help but think, “please don’t have a blowout.”  Brenden and Jackson both did really well in church.  Both their behavior and diapers were easy to manage.  The ceremony also went really well.  Father Vernon delivered a very meaningful baptism while keeping the mood light.  When he poured the water over their heads he said, “these boys take to the water like fish.” Haha!  He even managed to embarrass Aunt Michelle a little during his serman.  A big THANKS YOU to all the godparents.  Uncle Brent and Aunt Lynn were there to support Brenden and Uncle Scott and Aunt Kaleigh were there for Jackson.  All of your future guidance and prayers mean so much to the boys and us.

After Church we head back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for lunch.  I’m sure Brenden and Jackson got their workout for the day because they jumped from hand to hand like a couple of hot potatoes.  I took advantage of the time off and ate until I was completely miserable.  We got to bed early that evening, little did we know, we were going to need at.

7/2/12

When we woke up, I loaded mom up with the boys for a quick feeding and packed the SUV so we could get an early start.  Mom had to work at 1:00, so we wanted to be able to get back and eats some lunch before she went off to teach.  We were about 3 hours in when the babies got a little fussy so we stopped to feed, fuel up and get some food for ourselves.  This is the point at which mom and dad’s stress level reached an all time high.  Mom received a call from one of our neighbors that the power was out due to severe thunderstorms and high winds.  She also said that it might not be back on for another 5 days.  A few phone calls later, we made the decision to turn around and head to Newton for a few days...  nothing like a 6 and a half hour drive from T-town to Newton.  We’ll just tell people we took the scenic route.  That evening were joined by Aunt Lynn and Cousin Eli for food, drinks and plenty of B-ball.  The stress level was quickly restored back to its normal state.

Our First Night Away

Showing off their new hats

6/23/13

It’s been a little less than a week since our first trip home, so naturally Grandma and Grandpa Esker were missing their grandchildren.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so excited about something.  Grandma even made some new hats fro Brenden and Jackson.  Mom and Dad decided to take advantage of their trip with a little trip of our own.  We decided to celebrate our 5-year anniversary a week early, since we will be busy with the twins’ baptism next week.  We planned a romantic night in the city free of dirty diapers and filled with sleep! (Doesn’t take much to excite us these days) 

Bling Bling

Enjoying our room

Taxi

Grandma and Grandpa arrived around 4:15 and we left shortly after.  I wasn’t sure if we were going to find our way out to the car with all the tears in our eyes but we managed.  Grandpa Esker dropped us off at the Metra station and we were off.  We got out at Union Station and went for a short walk.  These babies must have brought out the sappy side of Dad too, because I wrote some poetry for Mom and surprised her with some new earrings.  Our hotel was only about a half mile from the train station so we walked.  We stayed at the W Hotel.  It was very modern and had a cool look about it.  We took the water taxi to dinner at Lawry’s Prime Rib.  The place was pretty swanky, but we did our best to fit in.  I had the prime rib and Mom had the catch of the day.  Mom was especially excited about dessert.  She had something they call a chocolate bag, a bag made out of chocolate stuffed with sugary goodness and berries.  After we had stuffed ourselves to the point that we could hardly walk, we decided to waddle out of restaurant and take it to the streets.  The timing worked out perfectly for us to watch the fireworks at Navy Pier and then we took a taxi back to the hotel for a night of uninterrupted sleep. 

The Chocolate Bag

Now thats a meal

6/24/12

 

The next morning, we woke up slow and spent the majority of it at the hotel.  To finish our trip, we hit a diner on the way to the train station called Lou Mitchell’s.  The food was really good.  Toni had bacon waffles.  We hopped the train early that afternoon and anxiously waited to be reunited with a little two little nuggets.  When we returned home, we spent some time with the babies and exchanged stories with Grandma and Grandpa.  That evening, we took the boys to church for the first time.  It was really cool to be able to take part in mass as a family.  We got quite a few looks on our way to and from communion.  After church we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and headed home for an early night of sleep.

Grandpa falling asleep on the job

Our first trip to church

Picnic in the Park

6/21/12

The boys and I accompanied Mom to her voice lesson in Evanston today.  We decided to get an early start and pack a lunch to enjoy next to the lake.  It rained almost the entire way there but the weather managed to hold off during our time at the park.  The cool breeze off the lake made for ideal conditions during our picnic.  After the park, we headed up to campus.  Toni had her lesson while I spent some quality time with Brenden and Jackson.  We walked around downtown for a bit and then laid down a blanket by the lake.  Once our time was up we met Mom and her voice teacher, Sunny.  Sunny also had twins of her own several years back.  She had nothing but good things to say, both about the twins and Mom’s voice!

Toni was able to feed, talk on the phone and eat lunch all at the same time... the ultimate multitask.

This evening we did baths and, man, did Jackson make a mess.  He wasn't very happy to begin with so he let dad know about it.  Thank god I was standing off to the side for a bit, because the next thing I knew a golden arch was on display, and it ended on the kitchen floor.  He wasn't finished!  When I laid him down in the sink he was ready for round two.  Except this time, It was more like a fire hose that nobody was holding.  It went about everywhere in the kitchen that is humanly possible.  I finally handed him off to Mom for a peaceful feeding session, while I tended to the remanence of the chaos that preceded.