Friday Fill-Ins: My First Time

9/30/2011 11:34:00 AM Posted by mommy2twincesses

Here’s the start to another new meme for me, courtesy of Friday Fill-Ins! This should be fun and if you decide to participate, let me know, I’d love to link up :o)

1. I need to figure out why in the heck my back feels so out of whack! (Probably has NOTHING to do with the fact that I have two 30+ pound children who still like to be carted around on my hips both at the same time ;)

2. K pooped in the yard yesterday but had the decency to come tell me about it so no one stepped in it, lucky we were.

3. A great deal of excitement is bubbling up in me and it’s freaking killing me not to be able to shout it from the roof tops…………no need to beg, I can’t tell YET ;)

4. I feel so old admitting that every morning I mix powered fiber in with my “rich chocolate Ovaltine” in a big tall glass.

5. It was announced yesterday to my family that I burned my children with a hot glue gun. My children have clearly hit the “tale tales” stage and my family clearly bumped their heads going from the looks of disgust I got.

6. I’m asking Santa for new steak knives. Mine won’t cut hot butter :/

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a whole lot of nothing, tomorrow my plans include entertaining 3 two year olds during the morning and spending the afternoon learning a half time routine with my Cowboy cheerleaders (ages 8-12), and Sunday I want to not only attend church, but actually get to sit out front and hear the sermon instead of staying in the nursery and then do as little as humanly possibly the remainder of the day!

Friends after Kids, a Whole New Ball Game

9/30/2011 11:10:00 AM Posted by mommy2twincesses

I never dreamed how much friendships would change, shift, and just too bluntly state it, be different with kiddos in the mix.
Before having our beautiful identical twin girls DH and I had friends from all walks of life, some married with kids, some married without kids, and even some still single. I will admit to sometimes feeling a sting of resentment when our friends with kids didn’t seem to have time for us and often thought, “well, can’t you just get a babysitter”. But now that we’re in the “married with kids boat” I fully understand what was going on back then and feel more than a little bit ashamed of my selfishness.
Now that we are a happy little family of four things have drastically changed, but I make a real effort to maintain my own individual identity and allow DH the same freedoms too.
We both have time, though drastically limited compared to before, to ourselves, to do the things we enjoy, and to have time with our friends. I wouldn’t say that this happens more than once per month, but still, we make a genuine effort and I think it’s one of the things that keep us sane.
Me and my girly companions make time for each other, scheduled as much in advance as possible, to do things like, chat on the phone, catch a movie, have lunch, go shopping, and sometimes we’re even lucky enough to have a dinner date. DH and his buddies like to play cards, cook out, and hunt. It really doesn’t matter what it is that you do, it’s just important that you set aside time and do it!
There are of course a friend or two who falls by the wayside from time to time, especially when you’re not in similar seasons of motherhood, but don’t give up, flowers that wither can spring back to life with a little love and effort.

What kinds of things do you like to do with your mommy friends? Is it as difficult for everyone to find time outside of family life?

Thankful Thursday-My Savior

9/29/2011 06:19:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

As I’m just getting my feet wet in the personal blogosphere river of posts, I thought it would be nice to participate in memes to not only get my own ball rolling, but also to give you a glimpse into the mommy behind the blog.
Being a Christian is the center of my life, it’s why I am who I am (though I’ve got an awfully long way to get to where I want to be). Therefore, when I came across the Thankful Thursday theme I couldn’t pass it up.
Being my first entry of thanks, I have to give props to the Father who makes it all possible: today I am thankful for salvation.
I was fortunate enough to be raised in church. My mother and grandmother made sure we were there every time the doors were open and at the tender age of 8 years old I personally accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I wish I could claim to have grown spiritually by leaps and bounds since then, but it would just not be so. I’m a work in progress.
Though all my faults, my sins, and my short comings, I rest assured that my feet are on the solid rock and my heart securely in the hands of the One who created the universe. Today and every day, I am thankful for eternal life through Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever lasting life.” John 3:16

Money Saving Tips from My Home to Yours

9/27/2011 07:21:00 AM Posted by mommy2twincesses

Check out this post on my blog on the WTE site for awesome money saving tips!!!!!

Your clicking through could help me possibly win an iPad2...............PLEASE check it out! And, who knows, you may just learn something too :o)

Homemade Spirit Gloves-Crafty Mom Copy Cat

9/22/2011 11:42:00 AM Posted by mommy2twincesses

I have a little confession to make. If you know me, IRL or perhaps from following my mommy blog on WTE, you already know this so it won't be a big surprise. If not-here goes: I'm a tight wad! I do NOT enjoy spending money and almost refuse to do so if the item I'm purchasing is not on sale or what I consider to be reasonably priced. To add to that, I also refuse to buy something I "think" (quotations signify my assumptions-sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong) I can make myself.

My tight streak along with my inner toddler (I can do it MYSELF) is what brought me to make the nifty little craft I'm about to share with you.

We were waiting to be seated in a Cracker Barrel restaurant when I spotted the cutest gloves ever mixed in with the Razorback merchandise. They were either $20 or $25 and that is a price I simply refused to pay when I knew without a shadow of a doubt I could make them myself! They were called Spirit Fingerz if you care to look them up yourself, and they come in a variety of colors to compliment whoever it is that you cheer for. Super cute idea and kudos to the original creator, but times are tough and I've got the crafty gene so I just had to make some of my own.

To make Homemade Spirit Gloves all you need is a pair of cheap stretchy gloves (I bought mine at Wal-Mart, $1.50 for two pair), colored yarn, a needle and thread, and a pair of scissors.

I simply cut 10 short pieces of yarn in two colors, for a total of 20 pieces, for each finger. Then I tied the individual bundles in the middle to create the "pom pom" for each finger. Lastly, I stitched one pom on the tip of each finger. And wa-la! You have yourself an absolutely adorable set of spirit gloves! (The next pair I do I will create bigger and slightly shorter bundles for a fuller look.)

I posted a picture of this on my Facebook page and have people offering to pay me to make them some :o)

Testing Triberr and Praying to the Techy "Gods"

9/19/2011 02:35:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

Since joining a "Tribe" my numbers went up tremendously and I can't express my gratitude enough! However, I'm pretty darned technology challenged, therefore I feel like a little lost child wandering aimlessly around in a crowd of geniouses while I'm trying to get my feed to drive my new personal blog. All I can do is cross my fingers right?! Here goes nothing...............

Testing, testing, 1-2. Testing, testing, 1-2-3.

Mike Check. Mike Check.

*squeezes eyes closed and crosses fingers* I REALLY hope this works because I've got some amazing crafts to share with you guys!!!! Pom Pom Gloves, Recycled T to Necklace, and Recycled T to Scarf.......and I'm working on more! PLEASE WORK!!!!!

And the Mystery Incidents Begin

9/15/2011 05:52:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

I’ve always heard about mysterious things occurring in homes and no one willing to step up and claim responsibility. Until today I so foolishly thought that we were somehow going to skirt around this problem. After all, I’m teaching my girls that “honesty is the best policy”.
LOL! Yeah right! It seems that they’ve learned the value of a good fib. *head slap*At only 2 ½ years?!
Well, I suppose to be fair I should still hold the hubs in question, but surely even with his “being male” and all other “disabilities” of the brain, he couldn’t be this dense.
So what was today’s disaster? Read on for the full effect.
I get up, get going, and hit the floor running full force thinking that if I finish everything soon enough I wouldn’t feel guilty for goofing off the rest of the day just enjoying life. I pick up the girls’ hamper and dump all of the contents into the washer, as is my routine.
When the washer goes off I of course go in and begin to unload it into the dryer. With the first handful I pull out I feel something falling around me, but between my hubby’s candy wrappers and random papers the girls may have hidden in their things I didn’t think much of it. So out came the second handful.
This time, a huge blob of something lands on my bare foot and lots of little somethings fall around me.
I’m standing there like a deer in the headlights and M&K are at the door looking in on the action. One of them asks me, “Is that ice mommy?”
No. This is definitely NOT ice. It takes a few beats for my brain to catch on to what’s going on. It’s the contents of a disposable diaper. *head slap* You’ve GOT to be kidding me!
I pull out the clothes piece by piece and shake all of the clear clumps I can into the floor. It looked like someone spilled a giant snow cone-with no flavoring.
I had NO clue what to do! This stuff felt like it would melt if I put in the dryer so I ran them through the wash one more time.
After the second wash they were significantly better and I had no better ideas, so I threw them in the dryer with a wish and a prayer.
Thankfully, after emptying the lint catcher thing a couple of times all was well. The goo didn’t melt, it was somehow sucked to the lint trap. Woo hoo! I’ve never been more thankful for that little contraption.
All is well with the exception of “who done it”!

Birth Post Links

9/14/2011 02:19:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

The C Section Births of my Twins (all the gory details-and it’s NOT that bad!)

Possible Toddler Illness Makes for One Scared Mom

9/14/2011 12:58:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

Toddler illnesses come and go. And luckily for us, we’ve not dealt with but a handful up to this point.
A stomach virus a couple of times, one ear infection, allergies, 5th disease in one of the girls, but seriously, nothing major. But most importantly, nothing that took more than a simple trip to the doctor to figure out. That was until today.
The hubs and I decided last night that I should probably take M in to see the pediatrician this morning. Although she has no definite symptoms we all know something is just not quite right with her. She has no fever, no cough, no turning blue, or sprouting a third eye. Nothing that would scream to an outsider-“Take this kid to a doctor!” But we know something is up.
Since the week of Labor Day she has been a total pill. Whiny, crying over every little thing, moody, slightly aggressive, more tired than usual, and had one major dizzy spell Monday afternoon…….just all around OFF. Her appetite is coming and going, but that doesn’t concern me since I know that is “normal” toddler behavior. I’m just baffled at why my sweet little cuddle bug Claire Bear has recently turned into a grizzly bear.
The doctor did his thing; all the normal check-up stuff and could see nothing out of the ordinary. After listening to me recount these past few weeks he decided to send us over to the hospital for some blood work just to be on the safe side.
My stomach flipped, my heart flopped, and my head started spinning. I wouldn’t be human if this whole thing didn’t scare the bejeebers right out of me, and I clearly am, because I’m sitting here now shaking like a leaf.
We paid our co-pay, M&K collected stickers and a sugar free sucker each from the nurse for being so patient (yeah right-they gave them to us to hurry up and get my screaming banshees out of there!), and we headed off to the hospital. I called the hubs and didn’t get an answer as usual-stupid cell phone service in the boonies, so then I called my mother-in-law, who always comes running to the rescue. Bless her heart!
I made the short drive over to the hospital, checked M in with out-patient services, and sat down to wait. I got the paper work filled out, we all three got “cool” blue bracelets, and then we were back to waiting. Waiting is the worst isn’t it?! They ought to require you to do some kind of brain teaser puzzles or have a stand-up comedian to keep your brain busy when you have to wait for something like that!
A sweet little old lady finally came to escort us back to the lab so off we trudged. M crying on my hip and K following by my side like a little trooper fully equipped wearing her little backpack full of goodies that I hoped would be enough to keep them from making too big a scene (No such luck!).
When we got to the lab it was close quarters and full of boxes, vials, and other scary looking things. Neither of the girls wanted to even step foot in there, much less be left there to wait some more. After what seemed like a long time but was probably no longer than 5 or so minutes, the vampires emerged to suck blood from my first born.
They decided that since she was already a screaming mess it would be wise to lay her down, wrap her in sheet, and jab a needle in her arm that way. Huge help. (Notice my dry sarcasm.)
But, we did just that while K got the grand tour being carted around in a wheel chair and fed a crayon shaped Popsicle.
When all the drama was over and we had made it back to where we could see the light of day and the exit doors, Nana walks in! I give her the run-down of the day and she offers to take the still very shaken M back home with her so K and I could have a few minutes in town to ourselves. Bless her heart!
We won’t know anything about the tests until in the morning, so until then I’m keeping a trash can handy in case my tummy decides to turn inside out.
If you’re the praying kind, please say one for my baby girl (and if you’ve got a second to spare throw my name in there too!)

Quick Links to Pregnancy Posts

9/13/2011 07:10:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

Being pregnant with twins was one of the most absolutely amazing things that has, and probably will, ever happen to me! No matter where you are in your pregnancy there is post here I’m sure you can relate to. And if I’ve missed something you’re wondering about, PLEASE feel free to ask-I’m an open book and would love to help!
4 Weeks Pregnant with Twins-BFP (starting belly pic-watching it grow is unbelievable!)
17 Weeks Pregnant with Twins-It’s Girls! (ultrasound photo included!)
25 Weeks Pregnant with Twins-Buddah Belly (of course there’s a picture of the Buddha belly!)
35 Weeks Pregnant with Twins-Count me Out! (this one seems to be a favorite and of course there is a picture of my gianormous belly!)

Mommy Blogger Testing New Waters

9/13/2011 06:27:00 PM Posted by mommy2twincesses

Hey guys! Yes, it's still me, just in a new place. This mommy blogger is ready to spread her wings, stretch her legs, and test new waters.

My original mommy blog is on the What to Expect website and is still there, but for now, I’m going to give posting on my own two feet a try.

If you are interested in my twin pregnancy, dealing with infant twins, and anything in between then and now, 2 ½ years young, check that out at the link above (and/or upcoming posts with quick links to specific information that seems to be hot topics). This fresh start is going to deal more with our everyday lives. All the laughs, chaos, drama, and tears. And trust me, there is plenty of all that and so much more every single day!

Thanks so much for checking out my new space! I hope you’ll stop by often, leave me comments, and share it with a friend (or fifteen) who might find it useful (or just plain entertaining).

Parenting in my world “takes a village” and I would LOVE for YOU to be part of our village :o)

Our little happy family