I can't help it

I should be sleeping right now but I can't help it.

The girls should be waking up shortly for yet another feeding but I can't help it.

I am sitting in the dark living room with country music playing softly on the radio and I can't help it.

There is snow outside our house for the first time this year and I can't help it.

I can't help looking in on our little girls. Our little miracles.

I still can't believe they are here. And so happy and healthy.

I am so 100% in love with these little girls I can't help it.

Hannah and Hailey are the loves of my life and I can't help it.

Mommy and Hailey
Mommy and Hannah

Miss Hannah

Miss Hailey

My beautiful little girls.
I love them with all my heart and I can't help it.

Sick sick sick

I can't even remember the last time I was sick. A cold, usually once a year. Those things are so hard to get away from when you and your husband both work with the public. But something more serious then that? I seriously can't remember. That is, up until last night. Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets sick in a bakery and ruins his no vomit streak for some crazy amount of years. (And yes honey, I did just reference Seinfeld :O)

Not that you want details, and I don't want to share them either. Lets just say that during a wonderful meal cooked by my mommy I started to feel hot and dizzy. Almost like the 1/3 or the beer I had just consumed was actually 5 or 6 beers. One thing after another and I was in the bathroom. Ugh.

So much for not getting sick. Ever. But it did mean that I got to go to sleep and didn't have to wake up with the girls. Thank you to my wonderful husband and very understanding mother. I just hope that the girls haven't gotten whatever that tummy bug was. They had been a little more fussy than normal and have been spitting up after every other feeding yesterday. Fingers crossed it was just some 24 hour thing.

I am happy to report that as of 6:30 am I am feeling much better. I even had some toast due to my tummy talking very loudly. My good mood my have something to do with the inch or so of snow that is on the ground too. So excited for snow!!!

This mommy is going to go crawl back into bed while my little miracles sleep for another hour or so. Fingers crossed I don't get sick again.

Parents prayer

I found this between the 11pm and 2am feeding. I think it is a little more than perfect...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my sanity to keep.
For if some peace I do not find,
I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind.
I pray I find a little quiet
Far from the daily family riot

May I lie back--not have to think
about what they're stuffing down the sink,
or who they're with, or where they're at
and what they're doing to the cat.
I pray for time all to myself
(did something just fall off a shelf?)

To cuddle in my nice, soft bed
(Oh no, another goldfish--dead!)
Some silent moments for goodness sake
(Did I just hear a window break?)
And that I need not cook or clean--
(well heck, I've got the right to dream)

Yes now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my wits about me keep,
But as I look around I know--
I must have lost them long ago!
~Author Unknown

I know we haven't experienced a lot of these things, such as the dead goldfish or the cats being tortured, but I can totally relate to the lack of sleep. And I can only imagine what it is going to be like when Hannah and Hailey get older, especially if we throw a little brother or sister in the mix a few years down the road.

Cheesey Chicken Spaghetti

Now that my mom is not here cooking for us for a few more days...I have to cook. It is only fair that I do the cooking with Jake being gone coaching practice or games, but I still don't like to cook. So I have turned to pintrest.com for inspiration. (Please know recipes are not the only thing I look for, and yes I am quite addicted to this website.)

I found an easy croc pot recipe that even Jake thought looked good. With it being a game night, and it only taking a few hours to cook (but so much longer to get in the croc pot with two little girls that don't want to sleep when I want them to) we decided we should try it.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
Serves 12 ( one cup each)

16 oz. dry spaghetti, cooked
1 lb. Velveeta Light (2%)Cheese
12.5 oz can chicken breast, drained & flaked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
10 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 oz can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1/2 cup water1 small onion,
diced1 med. green pepper, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to mix well. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours. Stir again just before serving.

So far, after getting it all in the croc pot, it looks delicious! I am very excited to try it when Jake gets home from their game.

Looking back over 2011

Our year at a glance...

January:
*Basketball leads to Districts, Regionals, and eventually to State.

February:
*Breakdown for the millionth time that our attempts to get pregnant didn't work. We decide to make the next big step and do Invetro.
*BE Tigers win 5th place in the State Tournament

March:
*Eggs harvested, fertilized and 2 implanted on the 29th.

April:
*On the 12th of April we found out we were going to be parents!
* TWINS! We find out we are having not one but two miracles

May:
*Trip to Forks for the weekend. (And yes, we got a picture of me by the "Welcome to Forks" sign)
*Jake is going to be the head coach for the Tiger boys basketball team starting in the 2011-2012 season.

June:
*Bring on the baby planning...room, furniture, ect.
*Summer BE Blaze basketball is in full swing.
*Jake's family visit for a weekend.

July:
*To lake Coeur d'Alene for the 4th.
*Invitations go out to friends and family for the surprise 40th Wedding Anniversary Party for my parents.
* Girls! We are having twin girls! Hannah and Hailey
*I become the God Mother to one of the most wonderful and amazing little girls Alex.

August:
*Jake and I celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary on the 11th.
*Jake turns the big 30 and we have a party for him with friends and family out at the lake.
*Spend hours at the fabric store with my mom picking out material for the girls room.
*Family visit, for some reason all the same week. (See next line for reason...)
*Surprise party for my parents. 40 happy years! (both mom and dad had NO idea!)
*Start planning the baby shower for our girls with my best friend Ami and my Mommy

September:
*Start getting the girls room put together. (Ordered cribs and changing table. Got butterflies up all over the room. Ect.)
*School starts for Jake
*Continue stocking up on baby supplies (especially diapers :0)

October:
*God Daughter turns 1 year old
* Baby shower in Spokane with all our friends and family
*Put together crib.
*Wash a seemingly endless amount of baby clothes.
*Wonder how much longer until I am not able to work...
*Have baby shower in Burlington with girls from work and a few of my friends (Thanks Katina!)
*Visit Ikia for the first time while Jake goes to the Cougar game in Seattle with my dad and brother.
*Baby shower in Bellevue with family from Seattle and Portland
*Starting to feel ready for the girls to be born.

November:
*Put on part time at work due to high blood pressure.
*Tiger basketball season starts.
*Done working again due to high bp
*November 22nd put on strict bed rest until appointment on the 23rd again due to high (160 something/115) bp.
*Call mom and dad the 22nd and tell them to come over a day early...we will probably meet these girls the next day.
*23rd, 1pm appointment. Bp still really high and not going down. Doctor worried about long weekend...we go to the hospital that day.
*3pm we meet my parents and brother in the parking lot at the hospital and get checked it.
*5pm the Doctor is ready to deliver the girls.
*5:39pm Hannah is born.
*5:41pm Hailey is born.
*Our lives are changed forever in those few minuets.
*We entered the hospital a family of 2, and on the 27th we leave a family of 4.

December:
*Getting use to life with two little babies. (Constant feedings and no sleep)
*Forever grateful for my mom staying and helping us.
*Stephen (my little brother) asked Caitlin to be his wife!
*BE Tigers win their first 6 games of the season!
*Jake gets a few full nights sleep before he joins the girls and I in Spokane for Christmas.
*The girs meet their Great Grandma, aka GG, and cousins, my best firend, my God daughter Alex, and lots of other people.
*Christmas at my parents house.
*Back home and on our own for the first time.
*Hailey, at 5 1/2 weeks rolls from her tummy to her back...over and over. (I'm not ready for that)
*Jake and I celebrate the end of the best year of our life sitting on the couch, watching the ball drop in New York on the tv, with a glass of wine (that froze) listening to the noises of our little girls while they sleep on the monitor.

2011 brought a ton of challenges and miracles. We are so grateful for the past year and the new members of our family. I can't wait to see what the year 2012 brings the Martyn family!!

Meeting our Great Grandma

When we found out we were pregnant last April, one of my biggest fears was that our baby/babies wouldn't get to meet Jake's Grandma. The entire pregnancy she was in and out of the hospital for one thing or another. I was afraid something would happen and she would pass away before the girls were born.

Thankfully that didn't happen!

On our trip back to Spokane for Christmas we got to introduce Hannah and Hailey to her for the first time! At first I didn't really understand why Jake wanted me to wait for him to be there but when we walked in the door and I saw both of their expressions...I knew. He was so proud to show them off to her.

Below Dolly, aka GG, is holding Hailey for the first time.

And here she is holding Hannah for the first time.

I know Christmas in everyone's family is crazy, especially if there are kids involved. Our Christmas Eve at Jake's sisters house was no different. With the kids running around, opening packages, screaming with delight...it was crazy to say the least. But we did make sure we stopped at took a few family pictures at the end of the night. (That reminds me, I need to email my mother-in-law these pictures :O)

The picture below is one of my favorite pictures from our whole trip. Its of Dolly (GG) with her daughter Chiere (my mother-in-law). Along with Jake and Trena, Dolly's Grandchildren. And then we have Noah, Nathan, Faith, Hannah and Hailey; Dolly's 5 GREAT Grandchildren. 4 generations in one picture. I love it!
So here is to family. Be thankful for them and never take family for granted.

Full hands

Jake goes back to work in T-minus 9 days! On a normal work day he will leave the house at 7ish and get home about 6ish. That's 11 hours of just me and the girls. And a game night into the mix and he wont get home until 10pm or later. It is going to make for long days for the next few months, until the end of basketball.

Even today, with only practice, Jake was gone from 11:30 until after 3pm. So what do I do when both girls are hungry? Depends...
Sometimes I have to let one of them cry. Other times I am creative enough to feed both of them at the same time. Not really sure how, but I was able to feed both the girls with one between my legs while sitting indian-style and the other on my left leg. The picture above is how they were sitting without the bottles (I haven't figured out how to take a picture, hold both girls, and give them their bottles.)

I love my little girls :O) They sure keep my busy and are constantly challenging me.