Another Fall Carnival and Baby News

Wow...it has been too long since my last post. I need to get better about this....it's just the time that I need to find. I am just so busy these days. I guess with the holidays approaching and a busy work schedule, this time of year is just hectic. Thank goodness I will be staying home once these babies get here. I don't know how I would be able to juggle teaching and raising three babies! I can barely manage with just one! Not really...I know I'd find a way to do it, but I sure am glad I don't have to. Anyhow...things have been great around the Stark household. I've spent most of this week's evenings getting ready for my garage sale, which is tomorrow and Saturday. Hopefully we can get rid of some of this junk. Whatever we make, we are taking with us to Vegas next weekend. Yep, that's right! We're journeying out to Sin City again. I swear we can't stay away from that place. We love it sooooo much! This will be my 7th time to go. We are staying at The Venetian which is super-duper nice. I am very excited, yet sad to be leaving my little luvbug behind with Grandma. He'll probably never even know we've left cause he'll be so spoiled the whole time. It'll be a nice vaca for the 2 of us to spend some nice quality alone time together.

Soooo...I went to my appt. with the multiple birth specialist yesterday and everything looks great! He did a whole lot of measuring and other stuff during a pretty lengthy sonogram. My 2 little babies are doing just perfectly. They are exactly the size they should be, they have all of their little limbs and their overall anatomy looks perfect. He couldn't quite tell the sex of the sweeties yet, but he said in another 3 weeks we should know for sure. I will be 16 weeks by then. I had forgotten how amazing it is to watch your own sonogram and see a growing baby. Seeing 2 was even more incredible! They were so cute, laying right on top of one another. They are exactly the same size, and I have 2 placentas. Having 2 placentas doesn't really rule out anything. One placenta would rule out fraternal twins, but with 2 placentas, they could be fraternal or identical. We'll just have to wait and see. I will be thrilled with any of the 3 possible combinations. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.

Onto Landon....he has been a busy busy boy! They have been doing all kinds of fun Fall and Halloween stuff at his school. He has been bringing home all kinds of crafty stuff they do everyday. Tomorrow is their big Halloween Party. They get to dress up, have a parade, play games, and eat pizza and goodies. He will have a blast. I am so thankful that he loves his school. Last weekend we stayed pretty busy. We went to The Harvest Moon Festival down in Granbury, where my mom lives. Landon had a great time riding all of the little rides at the midway. You really can't tell from his facial expressions in the pictures that he's having fun, but he was. He just hates cameras...I mean hates them. I'm thinking he's gonna have to get over that cause I'm not stopping the picture taking anytime soon.

This weekend will be a busy one, but super fun! Of course Friday is Halloween so we will be some trick-or-treating fools. Saturday is our big group picture. Let me explain...my best friend Johnna does photography on the side and she has arranged for all of us girls (my best friends from high school) to all meet at Veterans Park Saturday morning with our babies for a huge group picture. Kendra is even coming all the way from San Antonio for it! There are about 12-15 girls and about 12 babies/kids. I hope we can all fit in the picture! It will be an absolute miracle if we actually get a shot where everyone is looking at the camera. However it turns out, it will be a lasting memory that we will all cherish forever. On Saturday night, we are going to a family birthday party, and on Sunday afternoon, we are going to Ben's 1st birthday party. Ben is Johnna's sweet lovie. It's gonna be a busy, but great weekend.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Be looking for Halloween pictures. I'll be posting very soon. Also...the pictures are small. If you click on them, they enlarge so you can see them better.

You got the right stuff, baaaaabyyyy....

Some of my girfriends and I went to see the New Kids on the Block Reunion Tour last night at The American Airlines Center. I had no idea what a blast we would have! I swear it was the most entertaining concert I have ever been to! I mean, it's NKOTB...so it doesn't take the cake for the best (that's more like Coldplay or Gwen), but I think I had the most fun I have ever had at a concert. Just imagine a sold out AAC full of middle-aged women screaming at the top of their lungs and dancing uncontrolably. We were SO CLOSE to them! We actually had 2 seats...section 109 on the floor and a suite (won by Kelli's mom). So we were back and forth, back and forth. Although I didn't get in till 1:00 am and I woke up with no voice, it was sooooo worth it. They put on a great show of mostly old school songs like The Right Stuff, Hangin Tough, Step by Step, etc. So much fun! Enjoy the pics...I included one of my 12 week belly. It's getting rather large :)

Carnivals and Craft Fairs

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. We woke up to beautiful sunny fall weather, so I decided to take Landon on a walk in the stroller. I'm not supposed to do too much physical activity while carrying twins, but I think a little walking every now and then should be fine. I need atleast some exercise. We walked and walked and walked. Landon loves pointing out everything he sees. His vocabulary is huge now. He can pretty much say anything these days. He has learned an incredible amount since being in preschool. Anyhow, he showed me all of the birds, cars, trees, fences, grass, sky, clouds, windows, dogs, bugs, etc. You name it...we talked about it. I snapped a pic of him while we were walking...he wasn't too happy about getting his picture taken. Look at how huge he looks in that stroller :)

After our long walk around the neighborhood, we went home for lunch and a nap. Then we headed over to the Dunn Elementary Carnival. Dunn is where I teach 3rd grade, and we have a huge fall carnival every year. It is so much fun for all of the kids and their families. Landon got to meet some of my students, and they thought he was super cute. He also jumped in a bounce house, played lots of carnival games, and ate pizza, cotton candy, suckers, and cookies. I thought he would probably get a tummyache since he's not used to all of those sweets, but if he did, he never let me know it. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Landon at the carnival...I was just too busy keeping up with him and visiting with my students.

We headed over to the Martin High School Craft Show after the carnival. Chris met me in the parking lot to pick up Landon. If I haven't already told you, Landon takes after most men and HATES shopping. Unless we are looking in the toy aisle, he wants nothing to do with shopping. He was very excited to his daddy. Johnna and her little man Ben, met me up at Martin to shop around. We browsed around for a while, got a few things, and left. While we were heading out the door, we decided to visit Jason Gully's memorial tree, plaque, and bench. Johnna and I got chills when we saw it. It has been so long...11 years since we lost him. For those of you who don't know, Jason was a very good friend of ours who died from menangitis when we were all 18. We had just graduated, and we were all just a few days away from starting college when this happened. It was very hard on all of us...we were so young to lose a friend. I snapped a few pictures of the plaque and the tree (the tree has gotten so big). I still can't believe it has been 11 years.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Talk to you soon!

Fun Fall Stuff

Fall is such a fun time of year. I love when October gets here because I know Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and cold weather are on their way. It is definitely my favorite time of year. Last week my girlfriends and I took our little boys to the Pumpkin Patch for some pictures and pumpkin picking. Heather & Caden, Johnna & Ben, Stevi & Grayson, Brooke & Lochlan, and Landon & I all went. The boys had a great time playing in the hay and running around in all of the pumpkins. My child wasn't that into the picture taking (as you can tell with the "let's get it over with already" face), but he was a trooper while we all snapped away. The group pictures turned out adorable and I'm sure we will all have one framed in our house for the fall. The top row from left to right is Grayson, Ben, and Landon. The little ones (Caden & Lochlan) sat on the ground underneath the big boys. They are all so dang cute! After about an hour of picture taking and playing, Landon picked out a pumpkin to take home for our front porch and we all went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. It was a fun evening with friends.

Last night, we attended a fall festival at River Legacy Park. It was called After Dark in the Park. It was geared toward preschoolers, so it was perfect for Landon's age. Heather, Caden, and Jordan went too. There was a hayride, a bounce house, lots of arts & crafts, a pumpkin patch, a fire truck tour, and lots of good "fair" food. I snapped a few pictures of Landon decorating his pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, but that's about all of the pictures I got of the evening. I didn't get my camera out very much cause we were so busy playing. His little pumpkin turned out very cute, and it will be joining all of the other pumpkin friends on our front porch. Landon had a great time and as always, he passed out on the way home.

My sweet little girl

I thought this picture of Haley was so cute. She looks like a little human tucked into bed. She's such a sweetie.

Riding the Horsey

My sweet mommy took me shopping for new maternity clothes the other day (yes, I'm almost 10 weeks and can't button one single piece of clothing I own...twins pop out REALLY fast. Check out the post below to see the newly formed bump). While we were at the mall, Landon got to ride the caurosel! He had so much fun going round and round with his Nana.

Just about 10 weeks...

Well...I'm a few days shy of 10 weeks, and I'm very ready for trimester 2 to get here. Anyone who has children knows how exhausting the beginning of pregnancy can be. Multply that times 100 and thats about how tired I really am. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with chasing around a busy 2-year-old on top of carrying twins. Anyhow...I'm ready for that 2nd trimester burst of energy I remember getting with my first pregnancy. In the meantime, enjoy the lovely pic of my 9 1/2 week bump....

I was tagged by Cara! This was fun!

The rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 facts about yourself. Tag 3 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

3 Joys:

1. Landon!
2. Chris!
3. Everything about fall...weather, holidays, family time, etc.

3 Fears:

1. Losing a loved one...particularly Landon, Chris, or either of these babies in me...or my mom.
2. Bad weather...if you know me well, you know I am terrified of storms. I make a mad dash for the bath tub if there's a tornado warning anywhere within a few counties away :) I think I have brainwashed my child, as well. He frets when he hears thunder.
3. ROACHES! Those things are absolutely SICK!
4. I'm gonna add a 4th one even though it only asked for 3. I am quite fearful of how life will be like come this time next year. Not because twins are coming...but because I will no longer be working. It has been a VERY long time since I have not made my own income....since like junior high school. Fortunately, we are blessed with Chris' job and the ability to be able to live off his income alone. It will just be an adjustment and I'm a bit nervous about it.

3 Goals:

1. To become more spiritual. I have a strong relationship with Christ...we speak daily, but I do not belong to any particular church. I would love to find the perfect church to raise my family in. Now if I could just get my husband off of the golf course on Sunday mornings :)
2. To be the best wife and mother I can possibly be....to be able to balance the two. With these twins coming next year, my life will be very consumed with mommy stuff. I will always have to remember that I am not only a mommy, but a wife to an incredible man. Some women tend to forget that and my goal is to always balance the two.
3. Get more organized at home. I'm Miss Organization at school, but at home...not so much. I think I want to get a label maker. Sounds like a good start to me :)

3 Current Obsessions:

1. Blogging!!! Mine, but mostly others!
2.Tuna...I know it's weird, but it's a pregnancy thing. I'm not even aloud to have very much, so I have to limit myself. Sure did rush to Subway after school today and get a tuna sub!
3. Decaf Pumpkin Spice Latte with non-fat milk and no whip from Starbucks.

3 Facts:

1. Landon is the most precious thing that I have ever laid eyes on.
2. This is my last year of teaching. (atleast for several years)
3. I am BEYOND thrilled about stay-at-home mommyhood!!!
4. I'm adding a 4th again...I am SO EXCITED that my family is growing and I can't wait to meet these twins!

I tag Johnna, Heather, Melody, and Andrea