Thursday, January 31, 2013

Twelve weeks

I can't believe it's been twelve weeks since the twins' birth! I made a photo book this week of the hospital pictures and relived that night - it was just SO amazing!!

Here's a quick update on the babies:

-both are over 12 lbs. We will probably make it through our current stash of size one diapers and move on to size 2 soon!
-babies are still in 0-3 month clothes , but will probably move into 3 months very soon.
-both babies are getting to be pretty smiley. Mostly in the morning and after they eat. They love smiling at the light and fan :)
-they are awake for a good while after each feeding and like sitting in their bouncies and swinging. I love hearing their sweet coos!
-we are working on tummy time. Major is a champ, but Harper not so much. That head is heavy to hold up!
-they are still sleeping about the same. We usually have them down by 9 and they wake up once before 5. Monday night they slept 6 hours!! That's the longest I've slept in 12 weeks! Last night they got up twice, but I'm hoping that was just a fluke!
-they are still sleeping in the rock & plays in a bathroom or closet. The fan makes great white noise!
-both babies are still bald :)

In other news my biggest girl will be TWO in one week!!! Can't believe she's so big! Love that girl so much!

Also, I've been asking the boy/girl twins that I teach if they're BFF. Both sets say no! I hope that's not the case for my babes!

Here are the most recent pictures I have of them. The individual pics were taken this morning by Mitch.  I think they capture their personalities well.

BFFs!!
Smiley girl. Smiling now & yelling the next second :) I am just in love with her smile, chubby cheeks, and pig nose!

Stretching boy...always stretching and pooching those lips out for a kiss. His stretches mean he's ready to relax like always :)


Quick pic of Maddex from Sunday. She came home from church and put her penguin boots on herself :) LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Cooking Frenzy

So lately I've been inspired to do some meal-planning. I believe this will help our family to eat cheaper and healthier. I thought I'd document my short journey here on the blog...because, after all, surely you want to hear about something other than my adorable ELEVEN WEEK OLD (who told them to grow up?) baby twins.

It all started with a sale on chickens. My friend Kerri informed me of the sale at Albertson's. I have decided that the price of these chickens are comparable to what you can get at Sam's, so we'll probably just buy from Sam's in the future. You can usually get a pack of 2 whole chickens at Sam's for $7-8 (if I remember correctly). I then spent some time scouring the internet and asking friends for recipes. I was looking for ideas that would be varied, reasonably healthy, cost efficient, and make lots of food. I was hoping to have meals to eat, freeze, and share.

I finally made it to the grocery on Sunday evening and Sunday became my first day of the cooking frenzy! It started in the morning with the crock pot and ended with a night of cooking two meals. Here's what I ended up with:

-Chicken in beer & spices (crock pot) with boil/smashed potatoes and okra (2 meals)



-Mexican cornbread using chicken from above recipe (2 meals - one eaten, one frozen)


-Chicken enchilada soup (4 meals - we ate twice this week, froze the third meal, and froze the fourth meal for a friend)


**This is where I have to interrupt my frenzy. I planned to finish cooking on Monday, but I ended up with a terrible headache that I'm pretty sure was a migraine. It was awful. I was pretty worthless most of the day, but thankfully the migraine-level of my headache was gone by the time I had to go to work on Tuesday. The headache lingered for a few days, but it was manageable.

At this point, I decided to cook in steps. I prefer this method WAY better. To try to cook & clean several recipes in one day was a little too much for me. This week I boiled and deboned the chicken one night, made white chicken chili one night, and will make southwest egg rolls this weekend. I found it much more manageable to cook this way and plan to keep this method for the future. Perhaps I can cook the meat on the weekends and then work on sides/soups/casseroles during the week.

Here's the rest of the breakdown of meals:

-White chicken chili (3 meals - one frozen)

-Southwest Egg rolls (2 meals)

(no picture b/c they aren't made yet!)

Overall breakdown of meals: 3 chickens, 13 meals (3 in freezer and one used to bless a friend). I'd say that's a pretty good frenzy!

Now, let me tell you this: If I can manage to plan, shop, and cook amidst working full time, graduate school, and baby twins - you can, too! It just takes a little extra effort and scheduling! Disclaimer: I've done this once...we'll see how long it lasts ;)

See below for recipes used in this week's frenzy.

Beer in Chicken & Spices
-one whole chicken
-1-2 beers of your choice
-spices of your choice (I used salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and paprika)

Put all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours.

Boil/Smashed potatoes
-Boil small red potatoes
-Place on a cookie sheet & smash the potatoes down
-Sprinkle w/ salt & pepper
-Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes.

*These are a delicious, different way to make potatoes!!

Mexican Cornbread
-1 pkg mexican cornbread
-1/4 cup onion
-1/4 cup bell pepper (I just used seasoning blend for the veggies)
-1/4 cup celery
-1 can cream of chicken
-1.5 cup chicken broth
-2 cups cooked chicken

Cook cornbread according to package. Crumble. Saute onion, pepper, and celery until tender.
Stir all ingredients together and bake at 350 for 1 hr or until slightly brown.
*This was my first attempt at this recipe. I plan to try a can of creamed corn in the mix next time!

Chicken Enchilada Soup
-3 large chicken breasts
-2-3 cans chicken broth (I used a whole chicken and the broth from boiling it)
-1 large onion chopped
-1 large bell pepper chopped (I used seasoning blend again here)
-4 carrots chopped
-1 cup celery chopped
-3 cloves minced garlic
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 large can rotel
-1 jar of salsa
-1 packet of enchilada seasoning mix
-1 bunch of fresh cilantro
-5 bay leaves

Cut chicken breasts into bite size pieces. Boil chicken in chicken broth. Add water as needed. Add carrots and celery. Bring to a boil. In a large saucepan, sauté olive oil, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Stir in enchilada seasoning to sauteed mixture then add to the pot of chicken. Pour in rotel, add salsa, bay leaves, and about 3/4 bunch of cilantro. Bring all ingredients to a boil then simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Garnish with tortilla chips, fresh cilantro, cheese, and avocado slices.

White Chicken Chili
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
-1 onion, chopped
-1 1/4 cups chicken broth
-1 4 oz can diced green chiles
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
-1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
-1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
-Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken and onion in oil 4-5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Stir in the chicken broth, green chiles, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with shredded cheese.

*I usually use 2 cans of beans - 1 cannellini and 1 great northern. I also mash the beans around to make the consistency a bit thicker. When I made the recipe this week, I used dried beans that I soaked earlier.

Southwest Egg Rolls
-Vegetable oil
-2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
-4 tablespoons geren onion
-4 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
-2/3 cup frozen corn
-1/2 cup black beans
-4 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
-4 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
-3 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-2/3 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-20 egg roll wrappers

Preheat oven to 450. Saute red pepper and green onion in oil in a large skillet until tender. Add the chicken and next 8 ingredients. Cook for about 4 minutes until hot and ingredients are well incorporated. Remove pan from heat and add the cheese, stirring until melted. Spoon about 1/4 cup of mixture into the center of double layered egg roll wrapper (2 wrappers stacked on top of one another). Fold in the ends and then roll the wrapper over the mixture, wrapping it up tightly. Lightly brush egg roll tops and bottoms with oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until browned, flipping after 5 minutes.

*I usually don't double layer the wraps & make 20 smaller egg rolls. We each eat 5 per meal.





Saturday, January 19, 2013

Back at work

So, I planned to do this post last weekend but never got around to it. I think it will be more interesting and detailed today since I've had two weeks back at work. Here's a basic rundown of my day:

5 AM - wake up
5-5:45ish - feed, burp, and snuggle each baby.
5:45-6:15 - get ready, pack pump parts and food for the day, prep bottles, leave.
6:40-2:45 - work. I usually leave between 2:45 & 3:00.
3:15-3:30 - arrive home. This part looks different every day. Many days I'm greeted by sleeping babies. Sometimes one has awoken and needs some snuggles; I certainly don't mind that.
3:30 - 5:00 - this time usually encompasses a feeding and snuggling. I can usually get a quick chore done: unload pumped milk, wash bottles, throw dirty clothes in the wash, take something out of the freezer for dinner.
5-5:30 - if I'm lucky, this is some quiet time. The babies are usually back to sleep by now and Maddex isn't home from the sitter yet. Eventually this will become cooking time, but for now it is relax, do some quick schoolwork, or do another chore.
5:30- Maddex gets home. We play and eat dinner.
7:00- nighttime routine begins. Ideally, I get the babies up between 6:30 and 7:00 and feed them again then play. Mitch bathes Maddex between 7 & 7:30.
7:30-8 - put Maddex to bed, bathe twins.
8:30- feed twins again. Put them down at 9:00. I go to bed as soon as possible after they are down.
On a GREAT night, they'll sleep until 2:00 and wake to eat. This has happened a couple of times. They usually wake between 12 and 1 AM for a feeding. Then again maybe around 4:00. This totally throws off my schedule of their first feeding at 5, but we work with it and adjust.
So, on a good night I'm up twice to feed. I am very thankful that they are sleeping how they do. I am super tired, BUT I realize it could be SO much worse!

Of course in addition to everything there, we have diaper changes for all 3, medicine, changing clothes/swaddlers/bibs, cleaning up the kitchen, cleaning bottles for the next day, etc, etc.

My daily/weekly chores are made much simpler thanks to my mom! She usually finds time to fold laundry, do dishes, dust, sweep/swiffer the floor while she's here. Hallelujah for that or my house would be NASTY! Thanks, mom :)

I really enjoy my job. In a season where many teachers are overwhelmed, stressed, and fed up, I am truly enjoying my job. I think this is for several reasons: 1 - I love teaching. It's what I was born to do. 2 - staying at home with the babies right now would probably be harder! There would certainly be advantages to being home with them all day, but taking care of twins is no joke! Working feels like a nice break :) 3 - I prayed, and continue to pray, that the Lord would grant me freedom from stress this year and He had answered! I'm just going to continue to "do my thing" and not let everything else involved get to me too much. I know that I'm good at what I do; I welcome specific, constructive feedback. Until I have that, I'm going to keep moving on in the best way I can during this current season.

The hardest things about being back at work are the lack of sleep (it's SO much nicer to get to go back to sleep after that 5 AM feeding on the weekends!) and the difficulty of doing anything else in the evenings. This week I had life group and a doctor's appointment, and I found how difficult it is to get out of the house AGAIN or to come home late. For the next few months I think most of my days will include just work.

With work, graduate school, three kids, and church, I'm starting to notice how crazy my schedule is becoming. I'm so excited about this new beauty that came in the mail today! I ordered an Erin Condren life planner to help keep my life organized. I love a good planner and this one is the mac daddy. I'm so excited to fill it with all of my events :) And almost more exciting than the planner itself are the fun extras it came with: pretty paper in the back for notes, a bunch of labels w/ my name, stickers to put all over the planner for events, and a zipper pouch. So much fun!



And I'll end with a picture of my beautiful babies ready for their bath last night. Can you believe they are this big??? 


TEN WEEKS!!! Can you tell who is who?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Family Pictures

As I mentioned in our "Big Night Out" post, we had some family pictures taken this past week. Our sweet friend Maegan is building her photography business and does a great job! She took some pictures for us at her grandmother's beautiful home on Saturday afternoon. She was so patient and sweet with Maddex. Unfortunately, our girl was just NOT cooperating! Maegan tried everything...she bribed her, brought her away from us, talked to her, encouraged her, but Maddex just wouldn't have it. She'd hardly do anything we asked her!!!

Now, I do not have high hopes for pictures of an almost 2 year old and 2 month twins. I am amazed by any good shots of us at this point in our life - it's just not realistic! I was very anxious to get pictures done though because we have ZERO pictures (until now) of all five of us! I know, it's such a shame. I am really pleased with the results of our shoot. I hope she doesn't mind me saying, but I know that Maegan was hoping for some better shots. Like I said, I just don't think that is realistic for us right now - this is as good as it's going to get! I so appreciate her spending time, patience, and talent on us! If you need pictures - please check her out (MC Photography on Facebook). She is flexible, creative, talented, and as sweet as they come! We are blessed to have her in our lives.

Now, be amazed at what she captured!!

Beautiful girl



Look at the twin-ness: arms in the same position!

Daddy and his baby twins

Our sweet family - a successful picture :)

 Be still my heart - can you believe that smile??


my precious boy

breathtaking!

silly girl

another good family picture


I know I'm blocking Harper's face, but I love Maddex in this picture

Me and my girls :)

With our baby twins

My THREE kids! Hard to believe...

Don't you think these are great? Send Maegan some love (and business ;) )!!!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Big Night Out

After our family pictures yesterday (by the fabulous MC Photography), I told Mitch that we looked too good to just go home. We decided to take a chance on dinner with the FIVE of us! We were off of Sherwood Forrest, so we headed over to one of our faces - The Chimes East. Thankfully, they weren't busy yet for Saturday night. We had a great experience! The babies were total angels (probably worn out from picture taking)! They would wake up and we'd gently rock their carseats and they'd go back to sleep. I was thrilled that they did so good! It's been a while since we took Maddex to a restaurant, but she did pretty well, too. We both had a delicious meal, and our waitress helped make sure we got out of there pretty quickly. Made it home in time for the babies' next feeding and Maddex's bath and bedtime. A successful night indeed :)

Here's proof...

Saturday, January 12, 2013

2 months

I can't believe my sweet babies are two months old! I feel like I'm loving them even more now that I'm working again - I appreciate every snuggle and feeding just a little more since I miss so much when I'm gone. Here's some info/stats about the twins at two months.

Major

-This boy has completely stolen my heart. Sometimes I feel sweet Harpy is neglected bc I just might snuggle Major Man a little more.
-Major is such a laid back baby. I've reported this before, but it's even truer these days! He'll fuss when he's tired, you swaddle him up, and he falls almost right to sleep. He hardly cries - he may cry out when he's hungry & fuss when he's tired.
-He loves to watch the fan & lights. I remember Maddex did this, too. He's definitely become more aware of his surroundings and will be perfectly content to stare up at the fan for his wake time entertainment.
-Nicknames: Major Man & Buddy Boy
-Weight: 11 lbs 5 oz (50th percentile)
-Height: 22 inches (10th percentile)
-Head: 90th percentile (typical)

Harper

-Sweet girl is still the more high maintenance twin. I think this has to do with the volume and pitch of her cry! You will KNOW if Harper is unhappy!
-Harp does not go to sleep on her own quite as well as her brother. Usually she will fall asleep if held, or we will let her cry for a little while. I'm not a proponent of cry it out at this age (for an extended amount of time), but Harper will cry off and on for 5-10 minutes and then go to sleep. I can handle that (although she usually does her crying in the back bc it does make me sad to hear!).
-Harper loves a pacifier most of the time. Thankfully, her daddy fashioned our awesome homemade wubbanubs AKA bub rubs (read about that here).
-She is still just a little clone of sweet Maddex. I do think it's possible Harper's eyes could end up being blue. Her eyes are much lighter than Major's.
-Nicknames: Harpy Harp & Angel/Angel girl/Angel face
-Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile)
-Height: 21 inches (5-10th percentile)
-Head: 95th percentile (typical again)

Here are there 2 month pictures. I'm not sure it gets CUTER than this!!!
sitting together

we are two months old!!!

kissing brother


Friday, January 11, 2013

A Virtual Complaint

I'm tired. That should be no surprise to you if you've considered my life these days :) I need a little caffeine to make it through my day. Since I made it through my first full week back at work, I thought I'd treat myself to some CC's coffee and a bagel this morning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen due to a very disappointing experience.

Let's back up a little. I love a CC's drink. I often treat myself on the way to school - as much as my budget will allow. It's a little Monday pick-me-up or a Friday treat at the end of the week. I even continued trips to CC's during my pregnancy to get a drink (with the allotted amount of caffeine). I hadn't gone back to CC's after the babies were born until Christmas Eve. I'm sure I've mentioned that I have tried to cut dairy from my diet because I believe it irritates the twins. On Christmas Eve, I tried a latte with soy milk instead. I knew that they could have some of the same issues with the soy proteins, but I felt it was worth the risk. A peppermint mocha was just so Christmas-y. I got my drink made with soy milk, but found that it irritated me and the twins had a pretty fussy Christmas day, sooooo no soy for me either.

Fast forward to this morning. I'm tired after a week of going to bed around 10 and waking anywhere between 1 & 3 times a night to feed babies. Then getting up at 5:00 for another feeding and a full day of work. I'm tired. I deserved a treat :). I thought I'd go to CC's with some almond milk. We keep almond milk around all the time because Maddex has a milk allergy, so this is her source of calcium. I've also been cooking with it instead of milk the last few weeks. I figured they could easily replace their soy or regular milk with my almond milk to make my drink. I have since learned that there is some steaming and a little extra work that goes into a latte, so I realize this is not as simple as just pouring the milk into the drink. Here's what happened...

I went in to the store and greeted the barista with, "I have a question." I then explained that I can't currently drink regular or soy milk, but almond milk instead. I told her that I brought some with me and asked if they could make my drink with the almond milk. Her response? "I don't know the answer to that. I've never had anyone ask me that before." I kinda stood there awkwardly & said "Oh okay." She told me the manager would be in at 7:00 (it was 6:25), and she could ask then. I said I guess I could just call later to find out the answer to the question. Here's my disappointment - it's cool that she didn't know the answer to the question, but she did absolutely nothing to try to find out and please her customer. Y'all, I was so excited about having some CC's this morning and my dreams were just crushed. Okay, maybe slight exaggeration, but I was bummed. Is it too much to ask for her to have questioned her fellow workers? Perhaps they have been asked before and could help us out. Or, if her manager was due to work in 35 minutes, maybe she could have placed a quick call to get the answer. He/She was probably awake and soon to leave for work. I know the answer to the question could be a big fat NO...maybe there are some allergy or contamination issues. I just wish the answer could have been established while my tired, yet anticipatory, self stood in front of her, longing for a hot, steamy, delicious beverage.

Maybe I'm overreacting...maybe it's hormones or exhaustion, but I just wish this morning had gone a little different. Next time, I will be the proactive one to suggest she check with her fellow baristas or call the manager. I guess I'll make that phone call later today to determine the answer to my question. Unfortunately, I'm still tired. And if, in fact, they can't make my drink with almond milk, then, well, it's going to be a long year!

UPDATE 1/19/13 : I went to CC's this morning for a meeting. I didn't even ask about the almond milk, but the girl who did not help me was there again today. She remembered me and asked if I had ever gotten my answer. I told her no and she said they cannot use outside milk because they have pitchers designated for soy milk and regular milk. No big deal. I was disappointed in her lack of effort last week, but I am impressed she remembered me and checked to see if I got my answer. Also, fun fact: if you get a super grande tea at CC's you get unlimited refills on the day of purchase as long as you have your receipt!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

2 months

I can't believe these babies are 2 months old!!! What a fast couple of months it's been. We are doing a quick feeding before I leave for work since they ate around 3:30 and I'm struck with sadness to leave them today. I was really ready to return to work yesterday, but today, I'm tired. And I'm sad. I would love to stay home and snuggle these little babes all day long. I'm realizing they won't be babies much longer :(

On the topic of work, say a prayer for me. Yesterday was not bad, but I woke up this morning exhausted from moment one. And there's still 4 days left to work! Please, Lord, continue to give me the strength I need for each day! I am hoping for a nap today. If the babies are on schedule, they shook go to sleep soon after I get home. This would be the ideal time for me to get some rest before Mitch brings Maddex home.

I hope that I'll get some time soon to do a more detailed post about the babies. We go to the doctor Friday and I'll try to snap a 2 month picture of them later today. Perhaps that will make for a lengthy weekend post...we'll see! I've had trouble getting my pictures to update on my computer, and I'm blogging from my phone this morning so I'll include a few recent ones today.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Grocery store

Just thought I'd share my view at the grocery store these days. If I don't have a huge trip I try to take the babies with me since they will usually sleep. Harper gets the sleepy wrap and Major gets the carseat in the buggy.

People often don't realize that I am wearing a baby or that I have one in the carseat and love to share their shock over the twins. I get lots of comments :)

On this particular trip, Major man did a bit of crying. It wasn't so bad though because his cry is not very loud. He quieted down while we stood in line to check out.

So, here's my new reality...

8 weeks

I can't believe the baby twins are 8 weeks old today! Everything is still going by in such a blur! We are on our way to being on a schedule, but not quite there yet :)

The babies have slept about 5 hours between their night feeding and first middle of the night feeding the last 2 nights. Let's hope this is a pattern because I am really needing the sleep! This mama is tired! Unfortunately they are still a little hard to settle after that middle of the night feeding and we seem to be up a good bit for the next few hours. This could prove very tough when I head back to work on Monday.

What else is going on? Hmmm...

-Both babies are starting to smile some. I can usually catch a smile during the day, but not incredibly often. Sure does brighten my day when I see one!
-We are starting to figure out what works for each baby. Major can often be put down when it's time to go to sleep and he'll just drift off, maybe fuss a little. Harper can be rocked, bounced, and walked all around and will stay wide awake, but put her down in her bed and she'll cry for a few minutes then be out. Sometimes she'll wake off and on and cry, but will eventually go to sleep pretty easily.
-I just had a miracle & put both babies down awake in their beds and they were asleep within 10 minutes with NO crying! Their favorite place to sleep right now is in our bathroom w/ the heater running. I think they enjoy the white noise & there's not the other noise of a TV or toddler running around!
-We are at that stage where the babies stop pooping as much. Sorry if this is TMI. Harper especially will go a few days without pooping and then have a big one. I remember the days of Maddex's massive blowouts. I'm not looking forward to that times two!
-I'm not sure there's much else to report! We are working to get into a routine & schedule. I really believe when I head back to work on Monday, we'll see that schedule come together a little better.

In other news, Maddex has been doing pretty great over this break considering she stays at home inside most of every day. She's been playing well and it's been nice for her to have a few new toys to hold her attention. Mitch and I had a day date on Sunday and it was fantastic. We went to our favorite place - Chimes & to see a movie. Thoroughly enjoyed our time together!

I'm in the beginning stages of planning Maddex's birthday party. The theme is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & it should be a fairly simple affair. I bought the paper for decorations & invitations yesterday, so I just need to get it all put together!

Before I end with a slew of pictures, I have to give a shout out to superdad. I had a dentist appointment this morning, so I left Mitch with all of the kids around 8:00. They were asleep when I left and I think he was able to sleep for about another hour. I got several picture updates to show everything was well & when I came home, every baby had been changed (diapers & clothes), fed, and the twins were sleeping in their swings. He had also squeezed in a bowl of cereal for himself. Seriously, I don't know if I could have done all of that! Way to go superdad :)

OK - the pictures aren't working right. I have tried since yesterday...will try again soon!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Take that wubbanub

So we spent a glorious day out yesterday to run a few errands with the twins (thanks Nana for entertaining Maddex)! One of those errands involved a trip to Babies R Us. Harper enjoys a pacifier every so often and Major will sometimes partake. They seem to prefer those round ones like the hospital gives that bounce and roll everywhere. We have lost several pacis due to such bouncing and rolling. I decided it was time to invest in one of those little animals that holds on to the paci, so off to BRU we went. I had a couple things to return and some store credit to use, so Mitch stood in line while I went to grab the furry creatures.

Lo and behold, to our luck, they had 2 red wubbanub dogs left! They even came with a pacifier! Awesome. I headed to meet Mitch and showed him my find. He asked how much they were and I told him $11 each. He promptly informed me as to how utterly ridiculous that was! He claimed he could make something similar for way cheaper and was not OK using our credits for this invention. I laughed at his passion against the wubbanub and went to put them back. We did our returns and simply bought a new pack of pacifiers.

Sidenote: I used the mother's room to nurse the twins. It was very convenient, but nasty. The walls were covered in dust and the rocker was all stained. We sat on the small couch instead.

Fast forward to today: Superdad kept all the kids while I went to the dentist. I came home and he was hard at work on his creation. We had discussed using some lovie blankets one of my sweet dance team girls gave me and some little tigers our friends gave us. Mitch secured a round, bouncy pacifier to each lovie and tiger. Tada! Homemade wubbanubs! I must say that ours are much cuter and cheaper than those small red stuffed dogs.

Pictures below of Mitch's creation.

3 of Mitch's creations. There's one more tiger w/ a green paci.

Harper enjoying her paci attached to lovie. We have decided to call them "bub rubs"

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

13 goals for 2013

I'm not usually a "New Year's Resolution" kind of girl, but I thought I'd follow up my post from the other day with some goals for 2013. Thirteen is a lot of goals, but I'll try to make it.

1. Plan a fantastic party for Maddex's 2nd birthday and actually enjoy myself :)

2. Survive this semester: working full time, my final graduate class (which is supposed to be a doozy), and baby twins. I just may not make it :)

3. Graduate with my Master's degree.

4. Find at least one new way to be generous and give out of what the Lord has blessed us with.

5. Continue to blog amidst the craziness.

6. Have a short vacation or getaway with just my baby daddy.

7. Determine the best course of action for my job. With the completion of my degree this spring, my credentials & experiences may open some doors for other positions. However, I really enjoy my job right now - I teach with great people and love the 1:1 program. I'm really comfortable - which may be the reason I need a change.

8. Invite at least 5 people to our new campus at Fellowship Church South Ascension. I know 5 is a low number, but this is something I struggle with, so gotta start somewhere, right? If you're reading this, you're invited! Boom! Goal met! Just kidding :)

9. Lose about 10 pounds. I am fortunate to have almost immediately lost most of my baby weight, but there are still some pounds to go. I'd like to fit in my clothes!

10. Build up our savings account and emergency fund.

11. Develop a consistent and disciplined time with the Lord. I'm embarrassed that this goal is so low on my list! I'm going to set it as priority in my mind!

12. Plan an awesome first birthday party for the twins. And enjoy myself :)

13. Invest in one friendship for the purpose of accountability.

Wow, that was easier than I thought it would be! Now that I've put these goals out in cyberspace, I will be held accountable! It will be fun, or not, to look back at the end of the year and see what I've accomplished!