If I was pregnant right now...

I would be ALL OVER THIS.

You all know that this blog is essentially my baby book for Tyler & Caroline, so I find it awesome that you can easily turn your blog into a printed book these days.  When I was contacted in regards to an opportunity to work with one of these companies, I jumped at the chance (even though I'm not really getting anything out of it... yet).  You see, I'm not pregnant anymore and Blog2Print is actively searching for pregnant mamas-in-the-making.  Dang.

Here are the details, and I desperately want one of MY readers to win this!!  Maybe, so I can live vicariously through you and pretend that I was awarded the ridiculously amazing prize. 

Calling all proud – and showing – pregnant women (must be at least 18 years-old)! Blog2Print (leading website that allows bloggers to easily transform their blogs into beautiful printed books) is having an open casting call nationally online and in NYC on June 17th to find two “spokesbellies” to show off their amazing bumps and to be featured in the company’s first ever print advertising campaign.

Spokesbellies will showcase messages, such as "Congratulations -- it's a Mommy Blog! Blog2Print!" and "Congratulations - it's a beautiful book! Blog2Print!,” which will be superimposed on the two mommy-to-be’s bellies. They will also receive:

- Model fee
- Diapers for 1 year from Diapers.com.
- One Blog2Print book every year, for the next 18 years (2010 through 2027).

All belly bump photos will be submitted to Blog2print.sharedbook.com/castingcall by June 16,, 2010. The in-person NYC casting call will take place on June 17th from 11:00 am – 1 pm EST and 2 pm - 4:00pm EST @ DiMassimo Goldstein's Offices (220 East 23rd Street, 2nd Floor).

I know of a handful of you pregnant gals reading right now, so let me know when (not saying if, because you had better do this!) you submit your photo.  Again, so jealous.  If this were one year ago, I'd be submitting the photo below and begging them to scribble across my belly :)

Still Alive

I think this has been the longest time I've taken in between posts in a while!

We've been really busy this week just getting ready for Nathan's graduation and moving, not to mention I have two little people that are getting more and more active every day!  Tyler is absolutely hilarious now in the walker, and when I say he flies around the house, I mean it.  He is totally obsessed with all the plants I have sitting around, and I have to keep a serious eye on him to make sure he's not eating them.  Caroline usually hangs out in the exersaucer while he's scooting around, and she's got a newfound love of high-pitched screaming.  I use the word "screaming" lightly, because she's totally happy while doing it and it's not earth-shattering or anything.  It's pretty cute, and also pretty hilarious.  This morning Nathan and I were lying in bed listening to her on the monitor for a solid ten minutes... coupled with her flailing legs, she gets a kick out of herself (no pun intended :).

That's it for right now (I know, big disappointment, right?), but I promise to post something bigger and better later.  We're heading out this afternoon for Mimi Kaye's birthday party, so I'm sure I'll get some cute pictures and stories while Tyler & Caroline enjoy the pool!

*We did manage to get to Grandpa Tony's seafood restaurant this week, and the babies loved it.  Here they are in their portable chairs that we now take everywhere... have I mentioned how much I love those things?

7 Months

Caroline & Tyler,

Here we are again, another month later.  I think I just blinked and you are now 30 days older... doesn't seem right, does it?  We've been awfully busy this past month, and you two have seemed to discover new things each day of it. 

You've accomplished actually "walking" in your walker, and you love to scoot your way on over to anything within reasonable distance and yank on it.  Corner shelf?  Trash can?  Those things are just riveting to you, so I have to keep a close watch on you constantly.  When you're in the exersaucer you'll stomp your little feet as though you're in a marching band, and you just crack yourselves up at how much you can shake your little bodies.  I can hang out all day long and just watch the dance... it's precious!  Another new development is that you both can feed yourself puffs and yogurt melts, which means we can now enjoy restaurants again.  While we were out to lunch this week, you both had the best time shoving as many as your hands could hold into your mouths at the same time.  I can't complain, though... you were excellent diners and gave everyone quite a show while they ate.  (Or maybe it's just that our family is a show?  It is quite a production to take all of our "equipment" in and out - haha!).
 

Not only are you a master sitter, Miss Caroline, but you now have TWO BOTTOM TEETH and you looooooove to bite me while you nurse!  You think it's absolutely hysterical when I jerk away and say no!, so we're going to have to work on what "no" means pretty soon.  Although my girls don't appreciate it much when you do that, I can't help but smile through the pain because your sheepish grin is just too stinkin' cute and gets me every time.  I hope this isn't a glimpse of my fierce discipline skills down the road... if so, uh oh :)

Tyler, you are still one big ball of grinning energy and you just can't be still for one second.  You're getting better at sitting, but the truth is, sitting is so boring and you'd much rather roll around and grab stuff.  Your favorite thing to do is roll over to your sister and steal whatever she has in her hands, but she pays you back by pulling your hair until you scream.  I try to intervene, but I'm usually too busy trying to take a picture of it because it's actually pretty adorable to watch you two interact!  Your other favorite thing to do is shake your head back and forth, as though you're saying "no no no no no!"  Whenever you start it up, Daddy or I will start asking you funny questions just to watch you tell us no.  (Another step in the wrong disciplinary direction, so yeah, we'll work on that, too :).

A lot of exciting things have happened this month, and I've tried to soak up every second of it.  I got to experience my first Mother's Day with you last Sunday, and it was so special just waking up that morning and knowing that I could spend it with you both.  You took turns handing me a sweet card from Daddy, and then I got to wear the most beautiful silver locket to church and witness your dedication to God.  You both were so well-behaved and so precious in your white outfits... I'm surprised I didn't burst with pride just being able to call you mine. 

On Monday, we took off to the beach to celebrate the end of medical school for Daddy!  Although you've been a few times already, this was the trip we were so excited to take because you're finally old enough to really enjoy it.  On Tuesday, after we lathered you up in sunscreen and dressed you in your adorable little bathing suits, we loaded everyone (including Connor) onto the golf cart and headed out.  Let me just tell you... there's nothing sweeter in the world than watching the two of you discover sand for the first time.  You rubbed your feet around in it and couldn't scoop it up into your mouths fast enough... it was hysterical!  I was furiously trying to take pictures and video it all, because these are the times that we can't get back and I want to re-live them a million times!!  In fact, I think we've already watched one of the movies about ten times... You two are sitting under the umbrella playing, when all of the sudden Tyler face-plants and emerges covered head-to-toe in it.  Even his little ears were full, and let's not even talk about the mouthful of slobbery sand that came pouring out with his pitiful cry.  So sad, but so priceless :) 

Later that day we realized that the indoor pool had much warmer water than the ocean, so we moved our brigade in there and watched you splash around for about an hour.  You both absolutely loved it, so after lunch the next day, we stopped and bought you your first floats!  Tyler, you weren't so sure about yours at first... you kept trying to look over the side of it and figure your way out (I think).  But Caroline, my dear, you looked like a little prima donna in your float as you laid back, kicked your feet up, and proceeded to lounge around the pool like you'd been doing it your whole life.  To say that you both amuse your parents is an understatement, and we find so much happiness in everything you do.  The squeals of excitement as we swirled you around the water (sans float) or let you "jump" off the side of the pool were simply precious, and to top the day off, we drove around in the golf cart and let you wind down.  Pa Jolly & Granna were there to finish out the week with us, and they had so much fun showing you off to all their friends!

All in all, you two must know by now that you're the loves of my life.  I have enjoyed every second of your seven months, and I continue to look forward to all the rest!

Love,
Mama

*Chair picture at the beach!*

Congratulations to...

Andreina!

Lucky you will get $50 towards your next purchase at Pear Tree Greetings! 
(I hope to see an example of what you pick on your blog... I bet it will include two stinkin' cute little faces, right? :)

"Wholesome" is what they call it.

How many of you make your own baby food? 

I started doing it after my first purchase of Earth's Best from Whole Paycheck Foods, when I decided that it can't be that hard.  I mean, the ingredients list goes like this:  PEAS, WATER.  Not exactly rocket science, and at $.50/jar, I decided to give it a whirl.

The first batch I made was so easy, I figured I must be doing it wrong.  I started with pears.  Peel, dice, puree.  I have a handy-dandy Cuisinart food processor that I just dumped the pears into, and within a minute or so, they turned into the prettiest puree you've ever seen.  I kept a few ounces out for the next meal and poured the rest into ice cube trays.  After they'd set for a few hours, I labeled a Ziploc freezer bag with the name & date... which brings me to the point of this post. 

Do you know that about three or four pears yields about 28 ounces of food?  Tyler and Caroline never eat the same amount at each meal, so freezing their food in one-ounce cubes is the perfect solution for us.  Not only do I feel a lot better about not wasting a million glass jars (we currently don't recycle at this house - we will at our next), but I feel a lot better about not wasting a lot of food.  As far as how much it costs, those few pears were about $3.  If you bought 20 jars of baby food, that would be about $10.  See how that math works?  It's even more rewarding for things like peas... I buy two bags of the steam fresh frozen peas (since the canned kinds have sugar) and each bag is a whopping $1.  Those two bags yield almost THREE ice cube trays, so once again, I basically get $20 worth of canned peas (and I am referring to the 2 oz jars) for $2.  Yes, that's two dollars. 

Forget the cash, though.  I feel so good about the fact that I know exactly what I'm feeding my babies.  They aren't getting any additives (unless you count the dash of cinnamon I've added to their sweet potatoes - yum!), and they're learning to eat the foods that we eat.  So far, I've made them peas, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, avocados, green beans, and bananas (which they hated, go figure). 

I can't wait until they have mastered the art of eating and we can move into more complex recipes, because http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ has a ton of great ones.  If anyone is interested in doing this, I highly recommend perusing this site.  A lot of stage one recipes and foods are obviously simple, but this site provides a lot of helpful information on all aspects of making your own baby food.

A little Pre-Mother's Day Appreciation

When the good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day

of overtime, when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of

fiddling around on this one." And the Lord said, "Have you read the

spec on this one? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic;

have 180 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and

leftovers; have a lap that disappears when she stands up; a kiss that

can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair; and

six pair of hands." The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six

pairs of hands...no way." "It's not the hands that are causing me problems,"

said the Lord. “It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. The Lord nodded. "One

pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids

doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here, in the back of her

head that sees what she shouldn't, but what she has to know, and of

course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up

and say, 'I understand and I love you,' without so much as uttering a word."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve gently, "Rest for now.

Tomorrow...." "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating

something close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when

she is sick, can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger, and

can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."

The angel circled the model of the mother very slowly. "She's too soft," she sighed.

“But tough!" said the Lord excitedly. "You cannot imagine what the

mother can do or endure." "Can she think?" "Not only think, but she

can reason and compromise," said the Creator.

Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you, you were trying to put

too much into this model." "It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear."

"What's it for?" "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain,

loneliness and pride."

"You're a genius," said the angel.

"The Lord looked somber, "I didn't put it there."

Erma Bombeck

*Thank you to the ladies at G.U.M. for giving me this award!  You rock, too!

Prejudiced?

As in, I absolutely know that my babies are some of the cutest in the world. Really, it's true. Just see for yourself.

These are Tyler & Caroline's 6 month pictures.  I can hardly stand how precious they are.

Who doesn't love great stationary?

Get used to this badge, because this is a product and company that I don't mind putting my name out there for.  Pear Tree Greetings contacted me in regards to becoming a "Pearista," which includes being part of their network and receiving awesome giveaways for my readers each month (plus continuous coupons!).  I'm already thinking about themes and invitations for Tyler & Caroline's first birthday party, so I totally enjoyed browsing their site and getting ideas.  I'm not the only new mama out there who does that, right? :)

Visit their website and see for yourself, but to sum it up, Pear Tree Greetings is a fun, fresh and affordable personalized stationery company that offers birth announcements, kid birthday invitations, note cards and more. 

In honor of Mother's Day this month, you have a chance to win $50 in stationery from Pear Tree Greetings.  And because most of you are mothers (where time is of the essence!!), all you need to do to enter the contest is leave a comment.  Tell me what was the best piece of advice from your own mother, and I'll choose the winner at random (http://www.random.org/). Easy peasy.

*Winner will be announced Thursday, May 13th.

Milestone Mayhem

Maybe I should save all this for a birthday post, but I'm afraid I'll forget how fun teething is between now and then!  NOT. 

I have been thinking about this post for a few days now, and honestly, one thing that keeps coming to mind is just how much harder it is to have two babies versus one during "milestone moments" such as these.  I know, I know... everyone's experience is different, but unless you're a mom of multiples, I'm going to throw it out there that you just don't understand. 

I'm not trivializing the trials of being a parent at all, I promise.  I'm sure it's hard to figure out a reflux baby, a colicky baby, and a teething baby no matter who you are.  It just goes without saying that a parent of twins (or more! omg!) is faced with a bit more obstacles than those of a singleton.  Let me help you visualize by describing yesterday...

After sleeping a grand total of about three hours (thanks to a combination of Diet Mtn Dew with dinner and allowing picture-enlargement to overtake my life) I awoke yesterday in a bleary-eyed fog.  I knew that the day would be rough merely because I was exhausted, but I had no idea what teething torture was truly like.  Bless their little hearts.  Bless mine. 

Caroline has the beginnings of her first two bottom teeth coming through, and she is extremely fussy because of it.  Read:  She cannot be put down on the floor, put into the exersaucer, put anywhere without immediately crying.  I have been rubbing Orajel on her little gums periodically, but what else can you do?  I can't stand to see her in pain, so I want to hold her (which is what she wants, naturally).  For some reason, Tyler decided that he must be teething too, and cried whenever I put him down as well.  So here we were, just the three of us... two irritable 6 months olds and one mom.  One mom with only two arms.   When they were tiny, I could manage two babies in two arms... not so much anymore.

I alternated holding one baby while the other was sitting on the floor with toys or in the walker, exersaucer, or jumperoo crying.  Whoever wasn't in my arms was crying.  All day long.  At one point, all three of us were crying, because I just couldn't handle it in my physically exhausted state of mind.  They wouldn't really nap.  They weren't consoled by nursing.  It was just one of those "off days."  We have them every now and then, but usually I have a good night's sleep in my system so I don't break down like I did yesterday.  I told Nathan that this was probably the hardest day I've had since their arrival, and I realized that as I laid them in their cribs (crying, of course) and walked to my bedroom to scream into a pillow. 

Sometimes, you just have to scream. 

Almost every single day (including today), I have two precious angel babies who wake up with a smile, play on the floor together while I get my breakfast ready, then exactly two hours later go down for a nap.  They wake up from their naps with a smile, and repeat process.  Most of our days are pretty much the same as far as their temperament goes... until teething happens.  At least that's what was wrong with Caroline... I'm not sure what happened with Tyler.  I've told Nathan for a long time that babies are really susceptible to our moods, and that they read/pick up on our body language and irritability/anger/resentment/etc. if we have it.  When he's had a bad day, they cry when he holds them.  I suppose that may have been the straw that broke the camel twins' backs yesterday... ME. 

I learned a good lesson - and under no circumstances will I ever give in to the computer rather than sleep again.  Not when my innocent little people are learning to sit (Tyler has joined the ranks!  woohoo!), getting their first teeth (still can't believe they're big enough for all this), or learning to crawl (Lord, help me).  I got a glimpse into what it must feel like to have PPD, and I am truly, TRULY, thanking God that I was spared from that.  I can't imagine having to live with days like yesterday all the time.

So, there you have it.  We have our bad days every now and then, too, just like everyone else.  As I was reading over all my posts (because I opened every single one to enlarge pics, oh yes), I realized that since Tyler and Caroline were born, I might as well have been pooping rainbows and unicorns for six months.  There's no raw-deal posts like there were when I was pregnant, but this is mostly because I do feel unbelievably happy and thankful all the time to have them in our lives.  I don't like to complain, and I don't like to be ungrateful.  But sometimes, it just needs to be put out there that YEP, THIS IS HARD... all the time.  I'm just usually much better at handling it.

I Have Issues.

It is 2:34am and I'm obsessed with enlarging EVERY. SINGLE. PICTURE. on this blog. Do you know how long that may take? There are 142 posts. OMG.

I can't believe I'm just now figuring this out!  At this particular moment, I've completed posts 1 through 50, and it's only taken me 2 hours.  But (!!) you can actually SEE details now.  I love it.

Back to work or back to bed?  Tough call...

New Look!

I've realized this blog needed a "facelift" for a while, and when I came across Kreated by Kelsey, I jumped at the chance to work with her.  How cute is our new look!?  To this mama, it just doesn't get any better than precious baby faces and a polka-dotted background.

Now, as part of my new page, I'd love to include all you sweet readers and your buttons in my friends section!  If you have a button, or if you'd just like me to add a link to your blog, leave me a comment so I can visit your site and pick it up!  (Bonus points to anyone that puts my button on their page... ::winks::)

I've also added a few sections at the top here, and although they're pretty self-explanatory, I thought I'd throw in some info regarding "Our Store."  A lot of you have emailed me and (and left comments here) asking about products that I use for both the babies and myself.  When I stumbled across this option within Blogger, I decided that it was a sweet way to highlight all the things I couldn't live without.  I even gave Nathan his own section, and if the man in your life enjoys hiking and fly-fishing, meet your new go-to site for Father's Day & Birthday gifts.  He was like a kid in a candy store... tooooooo hilarious. 

My section - "For Mommy" -  has every single thing I use on a daily basis (down to every make-up trick in my arsenal), with products I enjoy just thrown in for fun.  After Nathan did his store and I realized that was his wish list for the next ten years, I decided I'd make life easier for him and do the same.  A girl can never have too many pairs of Citizen jeans or spa treatments, correct??

That's about it, and special thanks to Kelsey again for giving us an amazing new look!  Hope y'all like it as much as me!