Monday, January 31, 2011

Free Pampers Potty Training Kit

Pampers.com is offering a Free Pampers Potty Training Kit.


The kit includes:

  • A free sample of Easy Ups Trainers
  • High-value coupons
  • Fun stickers & coloring pages
  • Step-by-step potty training tips
  • Potty Progress Chart
  • Dora or Diego training trophy
Click here to request your Free Pampers Potty Training Kit

Thanks for the heads up A Place For Everything!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Covered in puke by Noon




I am covered in puke.


Cold.


Slimy.


Puke.


And it is not even Noon yet.


Not looking forward to what the rest of this day holds for me.


Or what A and K hold in their little stomach's for me.


Arent I supposed to be doing something?


Ahh… Yes. Packing.


BUT I DON'T WANNA! I am feeling childish today. I want to go ride bikes on this rare sunny day in Oregon.
I want to walk to the Co-op in my heel's. Just so I can complain and get a foot rub later.
But most of all…. I want to go max out my Victoria's Secret credit card.
Welcome back saggy not full of milky goodness mom boobs.
When will I be able to afford the boob job I so long for?
How does never sound? Ha! Hubby is stuck with the Mom Boob Monster forever. I do believe it is a load of shit when he says he loves my body just the way it is. Twin Skin and all.
Actually… I am pretty hot. Just BTW. Put a nice push-up bra on me, and some skinny jeans and I could pass for… Well… Not a mom of 3.
Oh… Wait… I have to get rid of the perma-puke smell as well. That's NOT going to happen. It seems to be seeping out of my pores.
DAMNIT!

Cry It Out Day #4


Ahh… Yes. They CIOM really does work! I am officially a believer. The babies are sleeping through the night! And the best part… THEY ARE HAPPY IN THE MORNING! This morning, I laid in bed. Waiting for them to start crying. Trying to figure out if they were alive or not from a room away. When I finally mustered up the energy to crawl out of bed, I found them in the crib smiling and talking to each other!
How wonderful to wake up to happy babies! After a change and a bottle they are now in the saucer and jumper still talking to each other. Tomorrow I am turning on the monitor to see if they are still waking up to play, and what time. Then the next step is getting them to nap in the crib instead of either on me or in the swing. I am assuming this will be harder than letting them CIO during the night.


Oh how friggen cute. A just fell asleep in the bouncer. I wonder how long they were awake for this morning? Well… I should get him into the crib for his nap. What happened to never move a sleeping baby?
My day starts here… A lot to accomplish for moving. The 18th seems so far away, but I know it will come sooner than later and we are NOT ready. This will be harder than the last move. I was four months pregnant with the T's. No help at all. Now that we have them here… It is a little more complicated than just not helping.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Free Tide Wash Machine Cleaner Pack

Tide will be giving away 5000 Tide Washing Machine Cleaner packets  at 12pm Pacific HURRY! These go fast! 

Cry It Out - Morning #1




For those of you who know, or had just read my last post, we are doing the Cry It Out method. It is the only way that seems logical and will work for us and our family. Last night was night #1 and was hell on earth here in our little house. The twins slept like usual. I woke them up at about eleven to get them fed and into pajamas and laid down in the temporary port-a-crib in D's room. I wrapped the twin's favorite blanket around the mattress, no chance of suffocation. Laid them down, kissed them and waited for tears. There were none! I had felt so accomplished! They were happy! I blogged about it, and went to sleep fairly quickly. *thank you Ambian*


Fast forward to 1am - I woke up in a panic wondering where the babies had disappeared to. Realizing that I am crazy and they were to my amazement, still asleep. I dozed back off.
2am - I HAD to peek. I just had to. They are still alive right? WHY ARE THEY NOT WAKING UP!?!?!
2:30am - The screaming begins. And does not stop. I feel like a horrible mother. Why is Hubby not waking up and feeling like this? I kicked him in his sleep. F$%ker. I want so bad to go rescue them. But I dose back off.
4:30am - I woke up to more screaming LOTS of screaming. Wanted to go rescue my babies. I decided it's now or never. I have to stick through this.
6:00am - My alarm went off to let me know it is time to wake up and get the twins. But there was no screaming! They were both sound asleep. Re-set my alarm for 8:00am
8:00am - Still no screaming. I decided to get them out of the crib, wake them up and feed them. I put them in bed with me and fed them. Now they are sleeping soundly in my bed.


Normally they are wide awake and bright eyed this time of day. Playing, laughing and giggling. I don't know if I should wake them up or not. If I do, I may have some seriously cranky babies on my hands. But if I do not, I am worried that their sleep schedule during the day will be messed up, effecting the night time routine and sleep.
Gosh parenting is hard.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Cry It Out - Night #1

Tonight is the big night. We are letting the twins cry it out. After many hours searching the internet on what to do and how to do it, I finally took the advice of a dear family friend. She is a wonderful little old french lady that was a NICU nurse before the NICU even existed. She said in her sweet, deep accent "let them scream". She told me it could take up to three weeks, but eventually something just clicks and they start to sleep.

I was going to do it one at a time, first let Aaron go. He is almost sleeping through the night anyways but wants mama to snuggle. Kay still sips a little at night, but no more than four ounces over an eight hour period.

So here we go, another crazy adventure in parenting. This one is on me. If they where sleeping through the night I would love for them to still be in our bed. There is something so preciouse about sharing a bed with your children. My Mommy, my Sisters and I all shared a bed, and sometimes still do. Co-bedding or "The Family Bed" is something that is too oftern looked down apon. It's a shame that being close with your family in every aspect of life can be shunned.

Pff! To each their own and damnit I am doing it my way!

Here is to the first night, hopefully all is well in the morning and I will still feel like doing it again tomorow night. Hopefully they do not wake me through my ambian haze that is kicking in as I am posting this.

I should shut dowm as it is getting harder to type and the screen is seeming to run away from me!

Praying for my twins, that they will live through a night of terror. Well, terror for me. But pray that we are happy healthy and alive in the morning.


RoundAbout Cupkake Sleeve Review & Giveaway







Looks like a tasty hamburger, does it not? Well you are right! It is not. It is actually a cupcake with a RoundAbout Sleeve on it. I was sent a package up hamburger cupcake sleeves to review by the lovely lady over at http://www.roundaboutsleeves.com/, and I have to say they were quite a bit of fun.

They were sent to me in a pack of 12, in a cute little sleeve with some wonderful directions and tips, such as what kind of frosting to use, or how to color it to get it to look like a bun. The baking was the easy part, of course we went with chocolate cupcakes, and we used there peanut butter frosting idea for the "bun" and white sprinkles for the sesame seeds. When it came time to put the sleeves on is when it got a little tricky. Some of the cakes where too tall and some too small *come on now, we do not come from a bakery* But we managed to get them together in one piece, and then tear into them like ravenous wolfs who had not eaten in days.

Here is what the wonderful lady who invented RoundAbout Sleeves has to say:


"I'm a busy mom of two that invented a new product called Roundabouts® Cupcake Sleeves and began selling online in Feb 2009. They're wraps for cupcakes that transform standard cupcakes into virtually anything.

Using toppings easily found at a grocery or local party supply store, our decorative self-adhesive cupcake wrappers instantly transform cupcakes into popcorn tubs, gumball machine, sushi, and ice cream cones. Our wraps are resistant to grease an oily substance, are earth friendly, and wipe clean if things get a bit messy in the kitchen! We've even had customers wash and re-use them, adhering a second time with a dab of frosting.

We have 70+ Designs/Themes to choose from. We personalize, customize and have not only been featured on Rachel Ray Magazine, we are proud winners of the Most Innovative Exhibitor Award at the 2010 July CA Gift Show in Los Angeles."

 

After enjoying our amazing, not naked cupcakes, I did attempt to wash the sleeve's so that eventually they can be re-used. I am thinking at a BBQ this summer? Some worked in my favor, and some did not. I recommend wiping them down with a dry cloth to try and preserve the sticky.
All in all we enjoyed the product; it was great fun for the kids on a rainy day and would be great for any occasion as they have over 70 styles to choose from!








Anything and everything from baby shower and kids parties to cupcake couture!


This is where you guys get really interested, the lovely people over at Round About Sleeves are offering one of my lucky readers a package of their own!

HOW TO WIN!
You MUST be a GFC follower to enter. Visit http://www.roundaboutsleeves.com/ and comment telling me your favorite sleeve, and what event you would use it for!
EXTRA ENTRIES!
  1. Follow www.twitter.com/roundaboutwraps on Twitter - 1 comment
  2. Follow www.twitter.com/vileramblings on Twitter - 1 comment
  3. "Like" http://www.roundaboutsleeves.com/ – 5 commentshttp://www.facebook.com/pages/RoundaboutsR-Cupcake-Sleeves/362263559250?ref=ts on Facebook – 1 comment
  4. Comment on another post, any post, with something that pertains to that post – 1 comment
  5. Purchase a package of
Remember! Leave your email address in the comments! I will need a way to contact the winner! Winner will be selected by http://www.random.org/ and be posted within 48 hours of contest ending. Contest ends February 6th at 11:59 PM.
Good Luck!






I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Win A Wusthof Culinar 7 piece Block Set! MSRP - $449.95


Product Features

  • 3-1/2-inch paring knife, 5-inch tomato knife, 8-inch bread knife, 8-inch cook's knife, 8-inch carving knife, 9-inch diamond steel, and a 15-slot maple block
  • Precision-forged high-carbon stain-resistant steel blades
  • Tang extends full length of handle for perfect balance
  • Ergonomic 18/10 stainless-steel handles
  • Hand washing recommended; lifetime warranty; made in Solingen Germany

Product Description

Stainless steel adds a contemporary look to any kitchen. At Wusthof we have been make fine cutting utensils for over 190 years. This Culinar 7-piece set comes with a 3-1/2-inch paring, 5-inch tomato, 8-inch bread, 8-inch cook's, 8-inch carving, 9-inch diamond steel and a 15-slot maple block.


At my house we have what I like to call a knife curse. I think a lot of families have this issue as well. Since I can remember, every time we have gotten a new set of knife's someone has gotten cut. Christmas eve, thirteen years ago is when it started. Cutting open a bag of potatoes, knife swung up towards my nose, eleven stiches. Last week, brand new AMAZING Wusthos set. Sliced the skin off my knuckle preparing carrots to boil for the twins. And so many in between that I cannot list them today.

The Wusthos set that I was sent is again, AMAZING. They are easy to hold *important for me and my RA* and slice well. I do not however understand the tomato knife, when you have a paring knife? Personally, the perfect knife set consists of a 8" cooks knife, and a paring knife. What else could you ask for in a set of knife's? Well you could ask to win one!



The prize to one lucky reader is a Wusthof Culinar 7 peice Block Set valued at $449.95.

This one is very simple for you guys. First you MUST be a GFC follower. Second, just comment saying you want one! For an extra entry you can visit their website at http://www.wusthof.com/ and let me know something you learned about the company or another product that you would just die to own. Or like to have. Either way... These are a great product!

Giveaway ends February 6th 2011 @11:59PM


~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

Free Herbal Essence Shampoo/Conditioner Coupon

FREE Herbal Essence Shampoo/Conditioner Coupon @ NOON EST

Go here to register for a FREE Herbal Essence Shampoo or Conditioner coupon (up to 12 oz.)! Coupon will be mailed in 4-6 weeks.

There are only 6,000 coupons available today.  Today is the last day to score this freebie!!!!
Thanks for the heads up One Momma Saving Money!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Applied Labels LLC - Review





By simple nature, I am a labeler. I should by stock in label companies and own a professional labeler. Normally I use tape and a piece of paper. Do it the cheap way. Recently the wonderful people over at www.appliedlabels.com sent me a package of kids labels for shoes and clothing. I was really excited because I am SICK of writing on my sons clothes with permanent marker. Not only does it ruin the clothes, but when the twins are bigger I can expect them to be at least a little upset that D's name is all over their clothing.
I went through D's closet and labeled all of the clothes I could, his shoes and for grins a couple toys. He got a kick out of it and has been bragging about his labels to his friends. Which is a little weird. But to each his own.
The real test was when it came time to do laundry. Cautiously loaded up our wash machine and started it. Terrified of the outcome. Will there be labels clogging the drain pipe? Will the white's get stained with the black ink? When the washer finally buzzed, my worries disappeared when miraculously everything was still intact!
Ok… So I am being a little dramatic here. By the time the washer buzzed I has completely forgotten about the labels, and threw everything in the dryer. It wasn't until I was folding the clothes that I remembered they where there. But, I was amazed to find that they were intact, and nothing had bothered them. Not even looking like they where worn. Pretty cool in my book.


Here is what www.appliedlabels.com has to say :


BETTER ADHESIONOur labels have twice the adhesive strength of most labels.  It is so strong that it is classified as permanent.  The labels can be removed but it takes deliberate action.  That means your labels should stay put until you want them removed.

BETTER PRINTING TECHNOLOGY & INK


We use a proprietary print technology to produce durable, long-lasting labels that easily withstand harsh environments (such as your dishwasher).  The image is permanently affixed onto the label, providing a durable, robust marking.  This simply means that the ink won't wash off.

BETTER RESOLUTION We use high resolution, professional grade print technology to produce sharp, crisp images.

BETTER INNOVATION
We provide a simple, quick method to label clothing with tags that does not require any sewing or ironing onto the fabric or marking the fabric with ink.

BETTER QUALITY CONTROL & SHIPPINGOur labels are 100% inspected.  We typically print and ship within one to two business days so you get your labels quickly.  Any rare exceptions to our shipping policy will always be posted.  We will also send you both order and shipping confirmations.

BETTER EXPERIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BASE
Applied Labels LLC was founded by a degreed Chemical Engineer and mother of two.  She was a key engineer in charge of labeling for a leading aerospace company and has put her experience with cutting edge technology to work for you.

BETTER MATERIAL SELECTION

We have given careful consideration to the selection of the label materials.  Superior materials yield labels that offer unsurpassed performance.  Basically, these labels are tough.

BETTER SAFETY PROMISE AND MATERIALS KNOWLEDGE
We promise to always screen our materials for safety of use.  Applied Labels LLC restricts the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) / polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEPH) and Bisphenol (BPA) in all of our products.    We also had an independent,  third-party laboratory test our Applied LabelsTM and Baby TapesTM for six banned phthalates and heavy metals.  We met or exceeded all government standards. We care about performance but always put safety first. This is our promise to you
.



Why our family loves them - They work! They don't wear down. Most importantly, they are not irritating or scratchy!
If you would like to learn more about www.appliedlabels.com you can visit them on:
Website- www.AppliedLabels.com
Twitter- http://twitter.com/appliedlabels
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Applied-Labels-LLC/57280604120



 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Just Another Thursday Morning


 

It is just another Thursday morning here at my house. My soon to be EX-House. We are officially moving into our own little teeny 500 square foot apartment. Going to be clipping coupons to save my life, doing our own haircuts and no more Hollywood showers. It is going to be tight trying to get by, we have done it before so why would we not be able to do it now? The big bummer is, no washer and dryer. It will have to all be done at the laundry mat down the street. But it is a sacrifice we are willing to make in order to get out on our own again. There is nothing like being able to have noisy sex!! And oh! I cannot wait to have that back! That and wandering around naked in my own house! Oh, to feel a breeze again ;-)


 

But in all seriousness, I am semi pro at moving, I have done so more times than you can count on any limb or ligament of your body, pack up the shit we need and throw away everything else. It's a good cleansing that is needed every once in a while. Moving or not. D's room will be the last to tackle. It scares me. I think that if the Boogey Monster does exist, he will be hiding in there. Our room is easy, clothes and more clothes. I am a bit of a clothing hoarder. I LOVE clothes, and don't want to part with any of them. I might wear it again someday! I have enough sense to get rid of all but one pair of size 0 jeans. In hope that someday I will be able to squeeze my size 3 ass into them. The rest of the house will not be as easy. Sorting our stuff from Mom's will be a hard task. It will be like getting divorced. Mine and yours, or yours and mine. No one knows.

I have to get to it soon, or else it will be chaos trying to get it done in just a few days. I am going to start by… Well… Getting off of here.


 

XoXo

Jess

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

5 Months Old

It is crazy to think that the twins are already 5 months old. Racking my braintrying to think of how the time flew by so fast. The only thing I can possibly come up with is exhaustion. Pure exhaustion. Today on the way home from my dear friends house, A was in the back "singing" with the radio and K was grabbing at his toys. They have both come so far from their hard beggining into life and I am so thankful that they are healthy and happy.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sunday's Recipe - Monkey Bread

A day late, but we had a busy day yesterday, full of a two trips to the Dr., an ear infection and colds. My-oh-my... These children are never all well at the same time!

Yesterday we all made a family favorite, Monkey Bread. It is sooo good, and it is another recipe that you can make your own by adding or taking away different things. We do it in "Pizza slices", my slice has nuts, D's has chocolate, and Hubbies is plain, so on and so forth.

Here is the “official” recipe:

Ingredients:
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (these are optional, it's great with or without them)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-10 inch tube pan.
2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into halves or quarters and place six to eight biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Shake well.
3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the greased pan. Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are coated and in the pan. If you are using raisins, place them among the biscuit pieces as you are layering.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.
5. Bake for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!


At home we have used several different types of pans with the hopes of finding one that works the best. It really varies depending on what kind of monkey bread you would enjoy the most. If you like it crunchy, use a glass pan. If you like it moist and sticky use a pound cake pan *this is my favorite because some of the bread stays sticky, but if you leave it in an extra five, it gets crunchy as well*.



Saturday, January 15, 2011

Friday, January 14, 2011

10 Habits of Happy Moms - Update

 This week I have been working on the 10 Habits of Happy Moms starting of course with habit 1, to take time for myself. I will tell you that is something almost impossible to accomplish in this household. I managed to do it a few times, dumping the kids off on Hubby and taking a meaningless drive. Just me and the radio with no where to go. That was amazing. Coming home I felt like a whole new me, relaxed and ready to take the day on! I also took a few "Hollywood" showers. I never thought of bathroom time as alone time but there is a lock on my door that prevents little children from scampering in. I put that to good use this week. I did get a couple bangs on the door but overall I think the kids get the gist of it. Just that little bit of alone time this week has done me wonders.

A happier mom means happier kids. And I am willing to go to extremes for my children so why is it so hard to go their for myself?


24 FREE Enfamil Nursette Bottles

Enfamil is offering a FREE 24 count case of the 2 fl oz Enfamil Premium Newborn Nursette Bottles. 

You will need to call 1-800-BABY123 and request this item. (Valid until 1/31/2011 or while supplies last.)


Thanks The Wright Way to Save

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Softness Worth Sharing - Free Kleenex

Send Your Kleenex® Brand Tissue Mail a pack of America's Softest Tissue*!
Send a Kleenex® Brand Share Package

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Parent Enhancement Program

I didn't know what I was getting into when I found out I was pregnant. The realities of being a single mom hit me full strength when my son was born. The best day of my life. But still the scariest. Pep set me up with the confidence I need to be a wonderful single mom. When I joined Pep I was about eight months pregnant. In the two short months before my son was born they set me up with everything that I needed to be able to take care of him. A crib, blankets, clothes, a car seat, a bouncer. Everything that you can imagine.
When my son was nine months old I found myself in a bad situation and he went to live with my Aunt. In short I fell hard in the three months that he was gone. Amanda and Nancy helped me pick up the pieces and set me up with everything that I needed to be able to be a mother again.
Over the past three years I have had countless rides to the doctors, referrals to furniture share, toys and clothes. I have shed more tears and had more laughs in there office than I can count. It helps to know that there are always people there that will support me without judging and be there to back me in my decisions as a mother. Through the classes and the emotional support they have provided they have given me the courage it takes to deal with the daily struggles of being a single mom. I could not have made it where I am today without them behind me. - 2007

I wrote that a few years ago for a dear friend at the Parent Enhancement Program. I was only 18 when I had my first son, and the world scared the crap out of me. But with there help, the world wasn't such a scary place anymore. I am constantly trying to promote them, get donations for them, basically doing anything that I can to help out. With my review program this year, I am also going to donate whatever items I get after they are reviewed to either The Parent Enhancement Program or Vina Moses - Another organization that has helped me in the past. Both of these programs have been struggling in this economy, having too many families that need there help. I figured that donating these items is the least that I can do. If anyone has any questions about either of these programs email me - jdsmyrf3@yahoo(dot)com 

Free Sample of Cool Diaps!

                                  Free Sample of Cool Diaps (Facebook Offer)


Calling all Mommies! You Can Get a free sample of Cool Diaps! Just go to the Cool Diaps Facebook page, “like” them, and then email paige@cooldiaps(dot)com to request a free sample. Include your address in the email. 
 
Thanks ChicNSavvy for the heads up!
 
 

Monday, January 10, 2011

10 Habits of Happy Moms - Habit #1

I found this wonderful article called 10 Habits of Happy Moms. I consider myself a happy mom. I do what I can to take care of myself and my children and usually end the day with a smile. But I figured, if I try these, can I make my life happier? This week I am starting with #1.

1. Find time for yourselfHappy moms know they deserve a little time to themselves. When you know you're going to have a little room to breathe later on in the day, it's easier to take on everything that's in front of you. Our formula? Take 2 hours out for yourself every 3 days.

Ok... That's easy enough to handle. Maybe a nice bath twice a week, or a glass of wine and a book? What's really sad is that I am going to have to schedule this on the calendar. "Mama's Time".

I will let you know how it goes.

Whirlwind Birth


                                                   Baby Z 1/6/11 4#12OZ 18 1/4" Long

I have spent the past few day's at my close friends side, helping her through what has to be one of the hardest things that she will experience. She has graciously aloud my to write about this on my blog.

Thursday morning I received a call from her letting me know Baby Z had not been moving for quite a while and it is time to go to the hospital. At this point in time she was 37 weeks pregnant with Baby Z. After about an hour of monitering at the OB office with no raising or falling of the heartbeat, the DR. did an ultrasound. No movement from Baby Z, just a steady heartbeat. The DR. then decided to send us to Labor&Delivery at the hospital for further monitering. Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, Baby Z's heart dipped low and took a while to raise back up. The nurse took a look at the moniter and said "It looks like we are going to have a baby today".

A few seconds later, T was rushed into the the OR for her C-Section. It was now an emergency to get Baby Z out. After I got my scrubs on, the nurse usherred me into the room. Immediatly after I had sat down by her side, T started SCREAMING that it HURT! I was thrown out of the OR, and just stood on the other side of the doors, helpless listening to her scream. When Baby Z was born, they let me back into the room, where she was laying there shaking and crying. The whole room was pretty shaken up.

Come to find out Baby Z had turned and jumped so much, that his umbelical cord had tied in two knots, and had twisted around his neck and body. He was born blue, but quickly pinked up and got great apgar scores for a preemie size baby. Upon entrance into this world, he was 4 pounds 12 ounces and 18 and a 1/4 inches long.

Mommy & Baby Z are doing great, and hope that he will be released soon. He has had a few "blue spells" and the docters are all saying if he can go on three day's with heart rate and respitory doing fine, then he can come home.

The docters are confused as to how far along T really was. if she was really 37 weeks along, then Baby Z should have been bigger. There are two possibilities, she was in fact 37 weeks along, but the knots had been there for a while or they had screwed up the ultrasound dating by at least two weeks, making her 35 weeks along. Which would make his size more apropriate.

I don't know. I am still freaked out by this whole ordeal, and I can't imagine her NOT having PTSD.


Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sunday Recipe Box - Shepherds Pie


After a long week, I am ready to settle down this Sunday and cook dinner with the girls. After an hour or so of scouring the internet for some great recipe, I decided we would my shepherd's pie. The wonderful thing about my shepherd's pie is that there is no recipe. I follow the basic guidelines of what to put in, then I add or delete what I want.
Here are the basics:
Ground meat mixture-
Ground beef
Diced Carrots
Pea's
Black Beans
Worcestershire
Catsup
Mustard
I usually cook the meat, then add whatever frozen vegetables I have in with it. The sauce is a little tricky. I just add a little at a time, until it tastes the way I like it. I know, not very helpful. But this is a cooking adventure. It ends up being about a tablespoon of Worcestershire, a couple tablespoons of catsup, and about an eighth of a cup of mustard. When you are done with the meat, fill the bottom of a glass dish evenly.
The potatoes are pretty simple, boil, mash, smear on top of meat.
You can eat it right away, or you can cook until the top is golden brown and a little crispy. To each their own. It depends on how much time until dinner we have at our house, or if I am preparing it for another day I won't cook it.
Ok… I am drooling. We might have an early dinner tonight.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Life fly's when you are seeing double

The title to this post pretty much says it all, time has flown by so quickly I have to look at the calendar to see how old the twins are. They have more than tripled there birth weight and are starting to sit on their own. Not to mention smiling, laughing, giggling and today A grabbed a toy from me for the first time!

It is hard to think of A&K as seperate people, but they are so incredibly different. We are thinking they where physically conceived about a week apart, making K more preemie than A explaining the time difference in their developement.

A is such a quite peaceful and fat baby, who likes to just sit and watch the world as it goes by, unless he is hungry. Then instead of crying, he bitches. Almost like talking, but long whiney complaints. He also prefers the vibrating seat t o any other "baby holding device" that we have. He hasnt had any medical problems at all, besides trouble holding his temp and feeding issues right after he was born. He is a daddies boy, and they snuggle all night long. His favorite food is definitaly prunes, he will NOT eat pea's or carrots. He also sleeps a lot better than K, we are thinking it is the weight and developement difference. He will sit while we hold his hands for balance, and if he is feeling adventourus he will stand for a few seconds as well.

K is not so quiet and not so peaceful, he cries about anything and everything unless I am holding him. He has just started to come out of his shell and laugh and giggle at other people besides me. Look up Mama's boy in the dictionary and you will see a picture of his, worried look in his eyes because Mama is out of the room. When he is tired, over stimulated, hungry, or just tired of not being held he will scream and scream. Not just baby crys, long, drawn out, turn his face purple tears of sadness and lonelyness. He refuses to sleep in the crib, only in bed snuggled up next to me. We all sleep better this way. When he was born he had trouble breathing and had tested positive for some bacteria, so was hooked up toa c-pap for a couple days and anti-biotics and fluid for the first week and a half of his life. Then two months later he developed a hernia, and shortly there after had surgery *one of the scariest moments in my life* He is about four to five pounds smaller than brother and about an inch and a half shorter. His favorite foods are carrots and bananas. He will sit just like A, holding our hands for balance. He will stand better and a lot longer than A. We think its because of the weight difference.

That's them, two very different babies. I was pregnant with them at the same time, they where born within minutes of eachother, but are two different people. Just siblings that happened to be born on the same year and day.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Sunday's Recipe Box


One of our favorite things to on Sunday's at our house when things quite down for the day, is family recipe night. We try to pull out recipe's with ingredients that is foreign to us, or food that we normally would not eat on a fast paced week night. As often as I can I am going to post recipe's old and new from our family recipe night so that you all can enjoy them and maybe learn something new along with us.


Saturday, January 1, 2011

Routine.

How did I ring in my New Year? I slept through it. Ahh sweet sleep. I would like to think I was not the only one. Most likely I was not, but us sleepers are far and few between. Hubbi stayed up all night, as well as the kiddo's. What an exciting thing for them. Banging pots and pans and lighting off fireworks.

As much as I love the holidays I am happy that they are over. The house is quite and the decorations are down. Now it is time to settle into a routine again. Over the holidays our house became a chaotic mess. We are just now starting to settle into a sleep, eat, play routine with the babies. Little D has a routine of his own, he snacks and plays all day. I am thinking it will be harder to get him on a routine. But DAMNIT I will.

Wish me luck.