3 Months

Well my darling little mansies are 3 months old TODAY! Why does it have to go so fast?! They are now full fledge babies- no longer newbies :/ On the bright side- they are on a schedule, eating one meal a day (tbsp of oatmeal) and SLEEPING! Halle-freaking-lujah! I'm sure I totally screwed up that spelling and I don't intend to figure it out at the moment. I've got about 20 minutes to throw this post together so bear with me....

Last month was pretty hectic. Mike spent 2 weeks in Alaska for work and I had more visitors in those 2 weeks than I do all year. It was great! Having our family come help me out was incredible and I am so SO SO appreciative. You all rocked the mission and even survived!! hah! But really, it did help the time go by and having extra hands was certainly needed. I also MUST mention what an awesome support group of girlfriends I have here! I love each and every one of you and will be sure to "pay you back" when the time comes. E.D.- As soon as you have a little tot of your own, I owe you a night of feedings! :) These ladies walked in with open arms ready to change diapers, give baths, and feed some mouths! So again, a huge Thank You to all of you who helped my four little ones get extra loving (and keep mom sane) while their daddy was away.


The twins have finally adapted to the schedule I put them on and Mike and I are getting sleep! It was my goal to have them sleeping by the time they were 3 months old, and I DID IT! Here is where they are at now..

6:30/7:00- wake up, bottle, followed by awake time

8:00- nap in swings

9:30- bottle, awake time

10:30- naps

12:00- bottle, awake time

2:00- bottle, hopefully a long nap bc this is when M&T take their naps

5:30- bottle, awake time (we eat dinner around 6 so the babies are fed and hopefully quiet while we eat)

6:30-  1 tbsp oatmeal/rice with pear juice

7:00- baths for everyone (I do babies, Mike the big kids who take a bath every other night)

7:30- 2 oz "night cap" followed by bed.

The babies rarely even cry at bedtime anymore and if they do it's about 5 minutes. People often ask what we do to get them to sleep so good. I have kept them on the exact same night routine since birth. Always has been bottle, awake, bath, bottle, bed. After the bath we put on a diaper with powder, nighttime lotion, fresh pajamas, and socks on their hands. We then give a 2-3 oz nighttime bottle (when they weren't eating cereal we gave a much bigger bottle). We then take them in the nursery, turn on the sound machine, tuck them in, put binkies in mouth, wind up the mobile, turn off the lights, and close the door! Same thing EVERY SINGLE NIGHT :) If they cry longer than 5-10 mins I go in and put the binky back in their mouth. If they still cry, I'll go in again and pick him up and try to burp him. This hasn't happened in about a week. They are such sweeties!

Stats-

Clothes- Size 3 months
Diapers- Finishing out our box of size 1's, and moving to 2

Sleep- lots of naps during the day and sleeping from 8 pm- 7 am with NO wake ups :) :) :)

Milestones- rolling onto their sides, eating cereal, sitting in bumbo/jumpers, talking and smiling non-stop. Have even gotten a little giggle!

Feeding- I cannot seem to get these boys to eat more than 4 ounces at a feeding. Even if I give them 5 they stop and fuss at 4! So therefore they still eat every 2 hours during the day.. But it works for now so...


K, I'm done for now. I'll try and post more often!!

7 1/2 weeks and a smile :)

**Madden smiled at me on purpose this morning!! Grayson will give a smile when you brush over his chin or lips, so he should give me one any day  :) **

Our sweet twinkies are 7 1/2 weeks now. In just the 2 weeks since my last post the babies have become so alert! They just stare and stare at me and melt my heart over and over again. I'm not gonna lie, the constant crying/eating and not giving a hoot about me trying to communicate with them were bumming me out. But now they seem to want the attention- being talked to, walking around, playing with rattles...It's nice knowing they are starting to appreciate my attempts at making them happy!

I'm happy to report that we are now getting 4-5 hours at night! We are still pretty close during the day only going 2-3 hours, but I'll take that. A schedule is falling into place and I am THRILLED!! In the books, sleeping through the night means sleeping 5-6 hours from the hours of midnight until early morning. So I can ALMOST make this claim :)

Currently, I consider my days starting at midnight since I am always up around that time anyway. Here's a peek into our day-

12:00/1:00 am- first night FEEDING and right back to bed

5:00 am (ish)- second night FEEDING and right back to bed

7:30 am M&T up and dressed and fed breakfast

7:45- FEEDING then nap

10:00 am- FEEDING,  awake time

12:00 pm- (12:30 on school days) FEEDING and lunch for the big kids.

12:30 pm- (1:00 on school days) naps for everyone

3:00 pm- FEEDING and awake time. Big kids wake up between 3-4.

5:30 pm- FEEDING, quiet time in swings or bed (in hopes of an evening nap).

6:00 pm- dinner

6:30 pm- big kids baths

7:00 babies bath; snack/story time for big kids

7:45 "big" FEEDINGS for babies (5 oz) immediately followed by bed

They are taking 4 oz bottles so that = about 32 ounces of formula a day

STATS-
Madden- 9 lbs 11 ounces (Madden has passed Grayson!)
Grayson- 9 lbs 9 ounces

Milestones- Lifting their head fully and moving it from side to side during tummy time. They are also "scooting" around. Grayson managed to get off the playmat and Madden almost made it out of the bouncer. Guess I need to start using the straps!

Clothes- 3 months!!! chunksters!!
Diapers- Size 1

As for mommy, here is my newest accomplishment- hands free feeding! Gotta do what I gotta do with all these tots ;)

Weekly Meals-

Monday- Tilapia, broccoli, rice http://www.food.com/recipe/mamas-supper-club-tilapia-parmesan-53914

Tuesday- Ham, mashed potatoes, peas

Wednesday- Split Pea Soup http://allrecipes.com/recipe/split-pea-soup/detail.aspx#

Thursday- leftovers

Friday- Chicken wraps http://pinterest.com/pin/233272455670165306/

Saturday- Stuffed shells, Caesar salad

Sunday- leftovers

XO

 

5 Weeks!

Just a quick little update :)

If you have seen my facebook posts you would know that it has been HELL pretty hard at home. We had a rough few first weeks, with losing two of our close family members, the traveling, adjusting to the twins, my recovery, lack of sleep, and Mike returning to work- which meant I was back on my own during the day. I'm not gonna lie, twins are serious work. So many people have said I don't know how you do it, and honestly, neither do I. It's pretty much constant moving. Days & nights are all the same, crying has become the background music in our house, and brushing my teeth has become almost non-existant (ew, I know!). Oh, and now that I stopped nursing, I actually wear clothes again!!! That was becoming an issue when the doorbell rang, lmao!! I can't even believe I'm attempting to write this blog! Feeding two babies & burping them takes forever, just to turn around and do it again one hour later. They are still eating every 2 hours, and if by chance they go longer, Mike and I definitely do a happy dance!! They have been pretty gassy on formula so we are working on finding something that works. They seem to be doing well on Enfamil newborn. We haven't been able to get them out of the house really because feeding them at the same time is difficult enough, so it's not like we can just pack bottles and feed them easily.

All that set aside, all the work is totally worth it. We have four happy, healthy, beautiful babies! I constantly remind myself this is all just a moment in time and will be over soon. Really, I'm just waiting for them to sleep through the night. I will be a much nicer mommy when I can get my 10 hour nights back...

Stats:
Grayson - 8 pounds 14 ounces
Madden - 8 pounds 10 ounces (I weighed myself then held them, so these may not be accurate)

Clothes- newborn
Diapers- Size 1

Milestones- they are lifting their heads when on their bellies and holding them for a few seconds while sitting. They "trail" with their eyes and have found the fan! My kids have always seemed to be fascinated by the spinning ceiling fan. They are also holding binkies in their mouths for longer periods of time.

Sleeping- I had them sleeping in their boppy pillows since birth with their feet touching. But now they wiggle around a bit so I took the pillows out. They actually enjoy sleeping side by side, although they are only sleeping 2 hours at a time. We have started the cry it out method also this week. We only let them cry 10 minutes at a time before going in. I do not take them out I just lean in and put my cheek next to theirs and put their binky back in. If they cry to 30 minutes, I take them out- but by then it's almost time for them to eat again anyway.

Schedules- I don't have them on a 24 hour schedule yet because their eating habits aren't very routine yet. Yes, they do go every 2 hours, sometimes less, rarely more. I do have in place naptimes and bedtime routines. I put on dry diapers and put them down for naps in their crib at 9:30 am, 1 pm, and 5:30 pm. They do sleep in between these hours but usually on the couch or in their swings. I do this so they get used to these nap hours for the future. They do late bedtimes right now just in case they decide to do a long sleep stretch. We have been giving baths at around 8:30 followed by a "baby massage" and fresh, warm pajamas. They then get a 4 ounce bottle, a long burp session, swaddled, and to bed around 9:30-10.

As for myself, I'm feeling great as far as recovery. I stopped nursing last week, so that pain has subsided. Although I'm kind of sad about losing my double d's, haha!! I gained 29 pounds during pregnancy abd have dropped 40 pounds since giving birth! I've been stuck at 140 pounds now so I will really need to watch my diet and start an excersize routine. I've only gotten as far as buying new running shoes, a double jogging stroller, and downloading the couch to 5k app! hahaha I'll get there....!

My "big" kids (sad face) are pretty much wild animals that would tear down these walls if they could. Their behavior has slightly improved as they have stopped pegging me with toys while I was feeding the babies. Actually, bottle feeding has seemed to have helped, since I can prop the bottle if needed to help them if they need something. Mike and I have become more constitant with time outs so they know now not to mess around! Michael and Tenley both enjoy school, but it takes tenley a little while to settle down. They already remember little songs and have brought me home special crafts :) Michael has also started soccer and I'm really excited for him. He was a bit shy at the first practice, but on the way back to the car he was dribbling the ball and hasn't stopped talking about how he is a "soccer man" now. So cute!

Ok, that was a little more than an update but people have been asking so I delivered!

We are back to home cooking again, ordering out was getting expensive!

Sunday- Cheesy sausage penne...which was simply delish! http://cassiecraves.blogspot.com/2012/02/cheesy-sausage-penne.html

Monday- leftovers

Tuesday- potroast

Wed- leftovers

Thursday- turkey tacos and spanish rice

Friday- takeout of some sort

Saturday- chicken wraps

Sunday- pork loin, mashed, veg


XO

Summmaaaa Time!

We are taking full advantage of this early warm weather! I plan on grilling EVERY night (which won't start until this weekend) :) It's so easy and the clean up is so minimal!

Saturday- BBQ Ribs, asparagus, cheesy rice

Sunday-  Turkey Burgers, pasta salad, garden salad

Monday- Ny Strips, roasted red potatoes (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2007/12/13/roasted-red-potatoes/ , corn

Tuesday- Teryaki shrimp kabobs (shrimp, peppers, onions, pineapples), white rice (I highly doubt my kids will eat this, so I'll be using the leftovers from another night for them)

Wednesday- OMG Chicken (http://pinterest.com/pin/233272455669113994/), green beans, buttered egg noodles

Thursday- Sausage & Spinach Pasta ( a FAVORITE here)

Friday- Leftovers

Sat- CRABBBS, Mikes famous macaroni salad, broccoli


AND- We have all our flowers put in!

I could NOT resist this hanging basket. It might sound weird, but it

makes me smile :) Isn't it beautiful?!

Coreopsis Moonbeam. Hopefully they grow the full 2-3 ft as

the tag said!

Mailbox garden. Hard to see but the Clematis is up to the "4" already!

Just another pretty basket.

A SPRING schedule- yayy!!

Ok, I came up with our new daily routines. It's pretty similar to how we have always done things, just a few tweeks. I keep this up 24/7 on a sticky note on my desktop so I can stay on track.

7:30- I wake up. Coffee,shower, or quiet time. Sometimes the kids are up around this time, but I make them stay in their room. (They share a room now, so they can learn to entertain each other)

8:00- Kids up and pick out clothes. Breakfast. Get dressed.

8:30- Take a walk.

9:00- TV time. I get ready if going out.

9:30- Free play, tv off.

10:00- Morning Snack. Errands, chores, playdates, etc.

12:15- Lunch

1:00- Naps

3:30- Afternoon snack

4:30- Start dinner accordingly

5:30- Dinner

6:30 Baths

7:00- Stories and light snack.

7:30- BED!

Dinner Menu 3/7- 3/13

Wednesday- Chicken enchiladas, chips/salsa

Thursday- Spaghetti & meatballs

Friday- Leftovers

Sat- Homemade pizzas (hoping the kids can help make theirs!)

Sunday- Tilapia, white rice, broccoli

Monday- London broil, roasted onion and sweet potatoes, asparagus (green beans for the kiddos bc asparagus is a no go)

Tuesday- Garlic cheddar chicken, mashed potatoes, peas

Happy cooking :)

Meals 2/12- 2/21

I will be doing my meal planning starting on Wednesdays, because that's when I go food shopping. It's when the new sale starts, and all the produce and meat is fresh.

Sunday- Whole roasted chicken, pan roasted potatoes, broccolli. The leftover chicken should make sandwiches for Mike for the week for work.

Monday- Baked pork chops, egg noodles, green beans
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-pork-chops-i/detail.aspx
         
Tuesday- Valentines Day- taking the kids to Friendly's for dinner and ice cream

Wednesday- Mike's request- Hamburger steak with gravy & onions, mashed potatoes, corn(http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hamburger-steak-with-onions-and-gravy/detail.aspx)

Thursday- Spinach stuffed shells http://annies-eats.com/2009/02/27/sausage-and-spinach-stuffed-shells/

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Fish Wraps (these our one of our favorites!) and french fries. We use chopped up fish sticks, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and tarter sauce. Stuff into a wrap and there you have it!

Sunday-  Garlic & brown sugar chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed baby carrots

Monday- Stuffed peppers

Tuesday- Turkey Tacos

yummy :)

Getting Back to "Normal"

Ok, what is with those first trimester blues? Please tell me I'm not the only one who has suffered through this?! It's as if I feel like nothing is fun anymore and all I want to do is put my head under the covers and sleep for weeks. I cry, I'm moody, irrational, I pretty much don't like anyone anymore, and even taking a shower and brushing my teeth was such a chore. Add that onto feeling deathly sick, and you have a down-right miserable person. During those few weeks I swear I was feeling like I needed to be medicated or seek some sort of professional help. However, like clock work, right at 12 weeks to the day, every bad feeling disappeared. It was a rough week too last week with Mike being gone. I was being pretty hard on myself. I decided I needed to make some changes and get rid of anything bringing extra stress to my life. It's not healthy for myself, or for the growing babies. We have come up with some plans and I'll fill you in as they happen.

If you know me well enough, I work best on a schedule. Soon after Michael was born, there wasn't an hour of the day where something wasn't planned, even if it was "sitting on my butt" hour. It worked really well for me. My weekly meals were planned, activities were planned, I was sleeping better, and had much less anxiety. I NEED this back in my life. I'm going to work on a daily schedule tomorrow, and yesterday I did my meal planning. Hopefully these two little things help me get back into the swing of things. If you don't mind, I'll be doing some meal planning posts :) Maybe they will be inspirational and be worked into your meals too!

Another thing I've decided to start doing more of is reading. I love to read! I just finished The Hunger Games and it was great. I've started the second, but it's a bit slow so far.

We spent the whole weekend inside by the fire doing crafts, reading, and watching movies. It was great. Mike even did his "pregnancy run" to Coldstone for me. A big waffle bowl of french vanilla ice cream with reese's, cookie dough, butterfinger, and caramel was a great way to end that week I had! I didn't even get an upset stomach afterwards!! We did a craft I found on Pinterest, and they turned out so cute <3

Sun catchers! It was night time so the only light we had was the lamp...

Have a Happy Valentines Day!!

The reason why...

I decided to delete Facebook because I honestly just couldn't take it anymore. I find myself logging on and actually CARING about what people wrote. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about how my friends kid's are growing and what my family is up to. But why should I take away precious time with my kids reading about NON-SENSE. Delete people you say? I just couldn't do it because I truly did not want to even log on anymore! I couldn't find a happy medium on who to accept and what to share. And on the sharing note, I'm not fond of being judged, or told how to parent. I would find myself thinking several times a day "Oh, I should put that on FB". Seriously Nicole? I could just ease up, not log on, turn off phone alerts, etc...but the temptation is there. It's still there even though it has been deleted. Sounds like an addiction? Maybe. But the social media aspect has been freaking me out lately and I need a break from "society" (I'm not sure if that's even what it is, but you get my drift).

The ultimate reason I have decided to leave for a little while is because of the "announcements" being posted. I am not fond of waking up in the morning and reading RIP "someone". Really? This has happened to me THREE times in the past few months. I have to learn about childhood friends or family members on a SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK?! Really? I mean give it a few days for family to actually speak with other family/friends and warn them of the bad news coming. It almost comes across as people just want to be the first to shout it out. Please people, this is not (I repeat, NOT) a bash on anyone, because I respect the way you need to grieve and show your respects. I however, don't like waking up to bad news. This is my issue, not yours, so do what you need to do. The fact that I'm losing true contact with those that I love and care about bothers me.

Many of you have expressed how you love the updates on our family. That being said, until I return to Facebook, I will keep this page updated as much as possible with pictures and fun stories from our crazy lives :)

January Wrap-Up

Thank God January is over! Now that was a  tough month to get through. I'm finally (yay!!) feeling better, despite a few bouts of "night sickness". Right around 6 pm I was getting headaches, nausea, upset stomach, cramps, and extreme fatigue. That has slowly been subsiding and I think February will bring me better days as I near the end of the first trimester.

We (yes, we- all 4 of us) went to my first real OB appointment yesterday. You would have never guessed, but I have been a WRECK thinking about going to this visit. I was honestly preparing for the worst. My biggest fear was when they went to look the nurse would say "I thought there was supposed to be 2?". Ah! It started consuming my every thought, and I truly think it may have been adding to all my issues. But, all went perfectly. The babies have grown, had strong heartbeats, and were moving their little limbs all over. The only scary news the Dr had to deliver was the fact that by 28 weeks, I will look like I'm 40 weeks. Super! Also, we have managed to come up with two girls names, and one boy name! Just one more to pick!

The Dr said the babies are measuring a week early so here they are at 10 weeks. The due date is now Sept 1. The Dr also said that they will absolutely not let me go past 38 weeks, but being my 3rd pregnancy and twins, I should expect something to happen around 34-36 weeks. I'm not going to push anything because I know it's all just a waiting and guessing game until the very end!

My sweet boy also dropped a bomb on us this month. It went exactly like this..."Trux needs a bath". Me: "Why?". "He smells like shit!!". I guess I really do need to start watching what I say! And he needs to just stop growing so fast :( He started saying mommy SO clearly now, and I love the way it sounds!! I could ramble on and on about the conversations we have! My favorite part of the day is in the morning when he tells me about his dreams- animals, the beach, his birthday, and Dixie to name a few. Ohhhh innocence....

Miss Lee Lee Bug has been the meanest little girl lately! Her favorite word is NOOO. She won't kiss or hug, she actually runs the other way. Temper tantrums are part of her daily routine. She can't decide what she wants, but it's definitely not what I choose. Wonder where she gets it? ;) She tries soo hard to keep up with her big brother, and gets so angry when she can't do something he does- like climb on the couch or dress herself. . She'll be happy once she is the big sister and has someone trying to copy her. Maybe.Potty training is beginning and she is actually into it! We only have gotten one pee on the potty so far.

Mike of course has been working hard. Between work, the kids, and taking care of a bitchy pregnant wife, he is holding up pretty well. He has even managed to squeeze in some time to tile our bathroom floor. What a lucky lady I am!



Our Family is Growing by 4 Feet!

What better time to start blogging again? It's a new year and we have new babIES on the way!

How blessed are we? A joyful, funny, curious little boy and a sweet, independent, beautiful baby girl- what more could anyone ask for? Why, two more to add to the bunch of course!! Mike and I are beyond thrilled at the surprise of our twins on the way.

It's been a rocky month so far. We were elated and a (bit) surprised with our positive pregnancy test. We had been talking for months about completing our dream family of 5. I'll spare you the details, but soon after my + test, I went to the ER for a check-up. During the ultrasound, clear as day, there they were- 2 black yolk sacs! The dr brought us the unnerving news that one of the babies did not make it, he called it a "blighted ovum". After much hearsay and reading, I came to the conclusion that as an ER dr he was not specialized in pregnancies, and the chances were high that he was wrong. And if he was right, then that's how things were supposed to be. All we could do was keep our hopes up. I went to a follow-up appointment with my dr and had the pregnancy hormone checked. I received the call the next day, that the levels are "tremendously" high for my indicated week. Good sign! However, I was still feeling super icky, crampy, and down right nervous about everything. I waited the LONGEST WEEK EVER, and went in for my ultrasound. Sure enough, there they were! It took what seemed for forever to locate the heartbeats. Nonetheless, she found em! Little black, beating dots to me eyes!

So here I am just shy of 9 weeks. Everything still seems so unreal. I'm sure once all this nausea and fatigue pass, reality will set into place. We've got a lot of planning to do in the near future. But for now I'll be resting and watching my little tots that are here keep growing :) Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers for the health of our new additions.