Kentucky's latest....

Since most people reading this blog probably have never been or lived in Kentucky, I figured that I would dedicate a post to some random highlights........

During the summer we enjoyed the heat (especially since we have central air conditioning) and that heat continued well through September and the beginning of October. As nice as the heat was, I was really looking forward to the lack of snow, and the warmer winter temperatures. Well, that hasn't really happened. It went down hill very quickly and it has been about as cold if not colder, on some days, than Connecticut. And Ben had 3 snow days the week before his Christmas vacation started. The first was due to an inch and a half of snow! And the second and third were due to a half of an inch of ice. I expected the ice, but snow?! I thought we would get off easy the first year. Although 1 1/2 inches is much easier to handle - - especially when you have the day off. (if you look hard enough in the picture, I think you can still see some of the grass poking through - - and yep this was on a day when Ben's school was canceled!)

We live just outside of Louisville and just past our neighborhood it gets pretty rural. Because of that, on clear nights we can see stars and the moon really well. Here is the full moon through the window in our foyer. I thought it was pretty cool.

Our neighborhood is pretty hilly. And we seem to be a one of of peaks and it ends up being pretty windy on most days. During the summer and fall this was problematic for Ben's grilling as he always had to keep moving the grill around the deck so his burner wouldn't blow out. But being at one of the peaks does have a benefit.....we get some of the most beautiful sunsets looking out of the back of our house. I just love the nights we have pretty sunsets. Here is one night, about 5 minutes too late from a gorgeous sunset. (We were scrambling to find the camera).

Alex

It has been so long since I have blogged about each of the kids. I feel they both deserve their own blog post because so much has change din what seems to be such little time. Our little babies have grown into jabbering, energetic toddlers who seem to be getting close to not being toddlers anymore. Alex is no exception. he is so full of energy - - it must be a boy thing! He hit 2 1/2 and it was like he exploded with energy. And the jabbering thing is definitely him as well - - sometimes I think his mind is going so fast about what to say next that he cannot even get the words out fast enough which results in him saying some pretty funny things and being difficult to understand (the missing tooth doesn't help!).

And he is just like his daddy. He may not look a single thing like him, but he is so much like him. i don't think his mind stops churning and thinking when he goes to sleep at night. He will wake up int he middle of the night and when one of us goes to see what is going on he'll say things like "what we having for breakfast tomorrow?" or "you make my breakfast tomorrow?" or "can I turn the football guy on tomorrow?" It is always so random, and so funny. We get frustrated when he wakes up after he goes to bed, but we never get a chance to express our frustration because we are greeted with something that just makes us laugh. One time in particular, Alex went to bed with a Corduroy stuffed animal that had removable overalls. He called my name several times after going to bed, and I had already been to his room several times, and this last time was the straw that broke the camel's back. I was so frustrated with having to constantly go upstairs, that I was going to be really tough with Alex this last time. When I walked in his room, I was greeted with "Corduroy naked mommy!" Yep, Alex had taken off Corduroy's overalls! How can you be tough when you are dying laughing?

Alex always has food on the brain. He isn't a particularly good eater (in fact meal time seems to be his stage), but he is always thinking about food. At breakfast, he'll ask "what we havin' for lunch?" The few times I have picked him up from school, I am greeted with "what we havin' mommy?" He is always talking about who is going to make his meals, and now asks in the morning "what we havin' for dinner?" and when I respond with "chicken and carrots", it seems like it isn't good enough because the response I get is "what we havin' with chicken and carrots?" But it is just his inquisitive nature.

And inquisitive he is.......about everything....not just food. Every night when he goes to bed he asks "what you gonna do?" Now he is so use to our response it usually goes like this: "what you gonna do? You do the dishes? You take Dudley potty?" He frequently asks "is the garbage truck coming to our house today?" He wakes up asking "I watch Dora with daddy after school?"

As much as he talks, he still is our gadget guy! he knows how to turn the television on and off better than me, I think (and he doesn't even watch that much tv). A Christmas tree (make that 2) with lights and Alex was in HEAVEN!!! One day after school, the kids were in the basement playing on their own while Ben was making dinner. Once we got the kids down for bed, we went to the basement to find the Christmas tree lights on. Yep, Alex had plugged in the lights. And he did this every day he had the chance. In fact, our artificial tree is still up because Alex asked me to leave it up for one more week.

He is full of energy and loves to make people smile and laugh. He loves to be the center of the party - any meal time typically results in Alex putting on some sort of show. When he does get going, it does get a bit out of hand, and he usually brings his sister down with him. But we struggle to get angry with him because ultimately he is just trying to make you laugh and put a smile on your face. Alex gets very sad when one of us is sad, or not feeling good. In fact, he gets very upset until we tell him we are not sad. And this is what happens when you try to get a serious picture on Christmas eve....Alex thinks its time to be silly!

The questioning never ends, and the high energy boy never stops, and at times it is exhausting (especially when he gets mad if you tell him the garbage truck isn't coming to our house), but nothing puts a smile on my face more so than how inquisitive he is and how much he tries to make people laugh. He truly has a heart of gold and a sister who he loves so dearly.

2 years, 8 months

What I have discovered about twins is the best thing is that as a twin, you have a built in playmate. But also have a person who is with you almost 100% of the time (at least as a child) and they get on your nerves, they know all of your buttons, and they take joy in pushing all of those buttons. Alex and Olivia are no different, in fact they are really good at pushing each other's buttons. But starting at a young age they never really interacted much with each other. We always assumed it was because they were so different in their personalities.

Then there was a day in November that both kids were home sick with a stomach bug. I stayed home from work with them and besides the effects of the stomach bug, they were perfectly fine. I had planned to play/hang out with them in the morning after we ate breakfast. The next thing I realize, I am int he basement trying to get some things done and Alex and Olivia are playing together. Yep, it was one of those times that if Ben was there I would have turned to him and said quietly "hey look, they are playing together, and so nicely." Yep, that is how rare it is in our house. Typically playing together for Alex and Olivia means arguing or fighting over toys (2 - 2 1/2 was a rough time which is probably why there are no blog posts, we were EXHAUSTED!). But this day, it wasn't just 5 minutes of playing nice with each other, it was more like 3 HOURS!!! I couldn't believe it, and at one point I found myself kind of bored since I am usually breaking up the fights while trying to get my own stuff done.

So 2 years and 8 months, in my mind, is the magical moment a twin sees their twin as a positive in their life and not a hindrance. Now I should clarify, that in our house "playing together" typically means Olivia is calling the shots, and Alex is doing whatever Olivia tells him to do. I suppose he is in "husband training" for the rest of his life. And with this style of playing, it could mean they both end up in princess dresses playing with dump trucks.

And it wasn't just this one fluke day. It has actually been like this ever since, and it is SO wonderful. In fact, the day following the day I was home with them, Olivia was fine to go back to school, but I suggested to Ben to keep her home because his job would be easier since Alex would have a playmate. And I was right. They now go down in the basement when they get home from school and play on their own while Ben cooks dinner.

This may come back to get us though, as they seem to also enjoy ganging up on us, and plotting against us together.

And some issues never seem to die......as the never ending "who gets to go first" battle......but I'm hopeful.

My old Kentucky home.....

Now that we have been settled in our new home for a little over 3 months, I have finally found the time to write about it.

When Ben and I started talking about moving closer to family, we really were thinking of Indianapolis - - it's right in between our parents (3.5 hours to Ben's, and 5 to mine), an hour from Purdue (so we can catch football games), and we have a ton of college friends who live in the area so it sounded ideal. Then the opportunity in Louisville came up. I NEVER in a million years ever thought about living in Kentucky. In fact just about a year ago, a guy that I use to work with was telling me about when he was younger him and his family rented a house boat on a lake in Kentucky and how great of a vacation it was. I just looked at him and said "Kentucky? That is one of those states that I lump in with West Virginia......." And now I live in Kentucky!

Lots of jokes were told to us before we moved, and I understood because I had similar thoughts. My family asked if Alex and Olivia would grow up with southern accents, and I told them that I sure hoped not! And after being here for a few months, here is what I have learned and thought about our move:

1. A study was released listing the states with the most millionaires - #4 was Connecticut (what were we thinking moving?)
2. Another study came out shortly after that ranking the large metro areas with the lowest percentage of residents with college degrees - #6 was Louisville (what were we thinking moving to Kentucky?)
3. A ranking of the most affordable places to live had Louisville ranked #8 (Kentucky was finally redeeming itself!)
4. Not knowing whether I live in the south or the midwest, I have been told that Lexington, Kentucky is the south, and Louisville is the midwest. Interesting.....
5. I've always told myself (perhaps trying to convince myself) that Louisville is much different than the rest of Kentucky and I am finding that others who live here say the same thing, and I still think it is true.
6. Everyone who sounds like their from the south, I find, doesn't live in Louisville but lives in a surrounding city - perhaps proving that Louisville is indeed the midwest and the rest of Kentucky is the south!
7. People do really have "double wides on the lake" and others seemed excited about it. Maybe one day we will own our very own double wide on the lake!

With all that said, so far we really do like living in Louisville. There seems to be so much to do here - - with and without kids. They have a great zoo and science center, and then there is always Churchill Downs (which we haven't been to yet) There are also some great restaurants with fabulous food.

Even though we targeted Indianapolis, Louisville is an ideal location as well. Ben's parents and extended family are just 2 hours away. My family is 6 (half of the drive from MI to CT), and Ben's cousin and college roommate live in Louisville.

We found house that has been great for our family - - a lot more space than what we had. And it is in a neighborhood which we love. There is even a playground in the neighborhood which we can walk to. Ben and the kids got a lot of use out of the playground this past summer and will continue to in future summers when he is home with them.
The kids have enjoyed all the extra space but it was a transition moving to a new place. They got their own rooms for the first time - - this actually went over much better than we thought it would. After we closed, Ben and I stayed at the house for a few days by ourselves painting the kids' rooms to make them extra special for when they first arrived.
And the kids had to get use to us going downstairs after putting them to sleep at night (our house in CT was 1 story) - - this was a bigger transition than we anticipated - they thought we were leaving them. 3 months in and they are well adjusted to their new rooms. They even have a playroom all to themselves which is off of Alex's bedroom.
The finished basement is a hit with the kids (so much space to run around since we don't have a ton of furniture down there), us (great place to hang out at night and also do work in the office), and our guests (the guest room is down there with their own bathroom and coffee maker, etc -- much different from our old house).

Here are some pictures of the main floor:


The only painting we have done is the kids' rooms. Ben hates painting, so it is kind of like pulling teeth to get him to paint. Lucky for him I LOVE the yellow in the kitchen and dining room, and the red in the living room. So there won't be too much to paint. Our room will probably be the next to paint.....we'll see when that actually happens!

So far my job is going good. And I am happy to report that in the middle of September (about 4 weeks into the school year) Ben landed a job teaching 7th grade social studies (what he taught in Connecticut)...things have been crazy busy ever since! Here's a picture of the building where I work - AEGON Center which is the tallest building in Kentucky (my brother took this while we were walking through downtown).
It's official....we are Kentucky residents!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedershen, Good-bye....Connecticut........

It's been 3 months, but at times it is still so hard to believe that we moved from Connecticut to Kentucky. From the time I gave my notice at work, which was the beginning of May, to the time we actually loaded up the car and left, LIFE WAS CRAZY! A lot of our time was spent spending time with good friends for the last time for a while (not forever, we will see you again!), keeping life as normal as possible for Alex and Olivia, packing up, and keeping our house clean for showings.

As much as we knew that this was the right move for our family, it still was very hard to say good byes to all of the wonderful friends. Ben's co-workers threw a wonderful party for him on the last day of school, and gave him some wonderful gifts including a Granby, CT mug, a Connecticut tile, and a signed yearbook from his school that was signed by all the teachers and students. These are some great memories that Ben and I will cherish forever.

It was hard for me to say goodbye to all the friends who have been wonderful to me over the years, and all the co-workers I have kept in touch with. It still has not set in that I can't just call a former co-worker to see if they want to go to lunch. I'm no longer just down the road at ING working alongside people I've worked with before, instead I am several hundred miles away working at a new company with nobody I've ever worked with before. Still very very strange.

AEGON, my new employer took care of all the moving arrangements, which was really helpful. The packers from the moving company came 2 days before we left for the midwest. They packed everything that we had into boxes. I had this done when I moved from Michigan to Connecticut and as I told Ben, you better watch out, they pack things you think they wouldn't even pack. And sure enough that was the case. By the time they got to the office, they wanted us to put the printer ink into a sandwich bag, at which time I informed them that they already packed our sandwich bags into a box!

Alex and Olivia were in day care up until the day before we left, mainly because there was going to be a lot going on at our house, and I wanted to keep their life as normal as possible. As the packers finished up, our house was beginning to look so empty. Here are a few of the last pictures we have of the inside of our house after the packers had started:

Every personal belonging packed in a box, labeled with our name, and barcoded.......




I was very concerned about how the kids would react to the house being filled with boxes and a lot of things packed away. The furniture was still there after the packers had been there, so it still looked a little normal. They were completely unphased and thought the boxes were sooooo cool!

The next day (our second to last day in Connecticut, for a while), the moving truck came.


They spent all day moving all the boxes, and all of our stuff that wasn't in a box (furniture, tv's, washer and dryer, etc) onto the truck. And when I say all day, I really mean all day. They seemed to move so slow, and if I would have been given the job, I swear I would have been done a few hours earlier than they were.

The truck also came to pick up our jeep to transport it to Kentucky. They guy drove all the way from New Jersey to pick up our car!

And then he backed our car up onto the truck! This guy had skills - - I would have never made it up the truck in reverse! So strange to see a truck drive away with one of your cars.
After the movers left, we went to pick up the kids from day care and Dudley from doggie day care. It was very hard to pick the kids up from day care. This was their last day at Apple Tree, and the last day they would play with the only friends they knew, and some of the friends (Kaitlyn and Daniel) that they had been playing with every day since they were 5 months old. They are young and resiliant, but Kaitlyn and Daniel have made an impression through all that time as we still talk about them today. Ben and I shed lots of tears picking the kids up.......the day care wasn't always perfect, but we always knew how much everyone there cared for and loved our children. We can't be thankful enough for the time they spent there. And even in their last week they talked about going to Kentucky in their class, and their classmates made a beautiful art project for them which included the following poem:

"We'll always miss your five little fingers
Used to wave high and give "High Five".
We'll miss the way Alex tilted his head in wonder
and asked the never-ending question of "Why?"
We'll miss Olivia's smile and how it was always so sweet,
A hug fro her was the best; it was such a special treat.
We really wish that you could stay
But we know you have to be on your way.
Continue to learn and play and grow!
We hope that you will always know.....
You will forever be in our hear,
We loved you from the very start!"

And with that we know how much our children were loved at Apple Tree as this poem describes them perfectly. We couldn't be more thankful for the people that watched over our children every day.

As we brought the kids home we were a little worried about how they would react with the house being completely empty - - they thought it was so awesome to have so much open space (I wish I could see life through the eyes of a child), and Dudley seemed to be the one to take it the hardest.

So with that we spent one last night in our house, one last morning with our favorite Miss Cole, and then packed up the car and said one last goodbye to the only house we have every known, and the one house where so many memories were made for the Jarboes.......a new career in education, a new doggie to love, two beautiful babies to love, and so many other memories......

And once again, I would love to live life through the eyes of a kid, because as we pulled away, tears filled Ben and my eyes, and Alex said in the back "daddy, you sad? why are you sad?" And then Olivia saying "don't be sad daddy".

Good Bye Running Pine Rd........
And even now, 3 months later, it is still hard....in a way much harder than it was on, June 26, 2010, the day we pulled away from our house as a family for the very last time...........so much love for all of our friends in Connecticut - - We miss you all and think of you every day!!!!

Never a dull moment.......

It has been so long since we have regularly updated the blog that I am not sure if anyone checks it anymore, but in the case that people do, I thought it made sense to update it before we experience many changes in our lives in the next few days.

2010 has been a whirlwind......having twins has changed our lives completely and I thought things would get easier as they got older and more independent........but I will say some things have become easier while other things more challenging and thus exhausting! Two two year olds is CRAZY! It is constant monkey see- monkey do in our house with one kid getting in trouble while the other one follows the lead and joins in the fun, or someone is always asking "why?" (particularly Alex), and then there is Olivia who likes to tattle on Alex when he is getting in trouble..."Look at him mommy! Look at Alex doin'" With all of the challenges does bring so much happiness and excitement to listen to what the kids say on a daily basis and listen to the sentences that they put together and the things they tell us. In fact the other day Olivia and I had the following conversation:

Jackie: "what did you have for lunch today?"
Olivia: "mommy me no like fish sticks" (I sent fish sticks in with them for lunch)
Jackie: "oh, you didn't like the fish sticks?"
Olivia: "Ms. Darla eat my fish sticks!" (Ms. Darla is one of her teachers! - - yep her teacher got ratted out by a 2 year old!)
Olivia: "Ms. Darla give me some more yogurt" (Apparently they traded lunches!)

Anyway, this year has seemed busier than most, and I am not sure if it is because we have been doing a lot more or if it is just from having 2 two year olds....Here are some highlights of the year:

In January, Uncle Dave came to visit for the weekend, and he took us to a local kids museum and Alex and Olivia had so much fun!
In March, we all got zapped with a NASTY stomach bug that was going through day care. Olivia fell victim first, then Alex two days later, then Ben got sick the day he stayed home with Alex, and then I was the last victim that got sick on my birthday! We cleaned more vomit and did more laundry in one week then I ever cared to do. This literally all took place during one week with Olivia getting sick on Monday morning, and me being the last to get sick on Thursday night. By Friday morning luckily both kids were healthy enough to go to day care, so Ben and I essentially drew straws to figure out who was going to take them in since we both felt so awful.

Luckily we all felt much better in time for Alex and Olivia's 2nd Birthday which they celebrated with friends and family with a Sesame Street Theme!
At the beginning of April, Alex and Olivia enjoyed their first easter egg hunt! They had lots of fun! Alex was not too into picking up eggs once he realized there were things inside. He would just get one, sit on the ground and eat the candy (with the wrapper still on!)....he has a sweet tooth!We also took a vacation to stay with my parents in Michigan in April. The week was very busy spending time with family. We went to the zoo with my mom and my brother.


We went to a bounce house with Uncle Dave.
Hung out with my parents.We also got to spend some good quality time with my grandma.

In May, we decided to make a big change in our lives.....I decided to accept a job in Louisville, Kentucky so that we could move closer to family. I have been out in Connecticut for 10 years and Ben for 9, and after raising 2 children for the last 2 years we decided that we really want to be closer to family so Alex and Olivia get spend more time with their grandparents and great-grandparents. In addition, we wanted them to be able to experience some of the same things we did growing up. This was a very difficult decision, as we are very sad to leave Connecticut, leave all of our friends that we have made out here, and the memories we have made in Connecticut. However, we think this is the best decision for our family and we are super excited to be so much closer to family and friends that we haven't see that much over the last 9 - 10 years.

At the end of May, Ben and I spent the weekend in Louisville looking for a house. We had a fabulous realtor who took us around for 4 days looking at houses and we found one on the second to last day. We are in love with our new house and can't wait to move in and enjoy all the extra space. We close on June 30th.
In the meantime we put our house in CT up on the market, and are happy to announce that we have accepted an offer on the house. We are set to close on our Granby house on July 23rd. Even though we are excited to have extra space, a wonderful backyard, and central air-conditioning, we are very sad to leave our current house. We have made so many memories in this house between bringing Dudley home, to bringing Alex and Olivia home.
And then I will miss the fireplace surround that we designed.........
But now, we just have new space to decorate and call our own, all with family much closer. We couldn't be more excited!

That's the update for 2010, and hopefully once we get settled in Louisville, we will have more regular updates.....and finally, through all these months.....Olivia's hair has gone WILD!!!!!