Playtime!

The kids are in such a fun stage and we are just loving them soooo much! The spring weather is here and we're enjoying spending lots of time outside and with family.

We went for a little ihop breakfast the other week and we are at a point where the babies HATE being in their carseats during meals and much prefer these Phil & Ted's lobster chairs. Holden is quite the screecher but is easily silenced by puffs. He LOVES those things! I keep a bottle of them with us wherever we go.

Emma Cate has been pushing up like a CHAMP! I'm sure she will be crawling sometime soon. We spend a lot of our time outdoors playing around. 

The next few pictures are just some sweet ones that my mom sends me during the day while I'm at work. I LOVE getting baby pictures and hearing about what they are doing!

our new patio chairs!

modeling the Easter shirt Gigi made

Gigi spoils us rotten with TONS of toys.

practicing getting into crawling position and bearing weight on her arms

my little reader

I love not having cheerleading after work. I am able to get home around 3 and play with the babies while they are still up and happy! We've moved a lot of the toys down to the basement and the babies are loving their new space. It is so much easier for them to crawl around on the carpet and I don't have to worry about them hitting their heads on the hardwood.

Easter 2013

We had a fun time celebrating Easter this year! It was very different compared to last year were we had a small celebration as just a family of two. My how things have changed in a year!

We attended Easter service for the first time at our new church. It is CRAZY busy! We arrived 45 minutes prior to the 11am service and waited in line to get in. We barely got a seat! Thanks to Gran, Great Grandmother, Allie, & Gigi for saving seats for us while we took the babies to the nursery. The service was amazing. I just love hearing Dr. Howell preach. His sermons are always entertaining and keep my attention (which can sometimes be hard to do!).

Gran spoiled the babies with new Easter outfits while Gigi bought them each their new church shoes. It sure is nice to have such generous Grandmas! Allie and Gigi had to go home and pack Allie up to head back to GA after church so we snapped a few pictures with Jay's side.

at the Easter cross outside of the church

Jay and his mom and Grandmother

After church we came home and saw that the Easter bunny had made a visit! The babies seemed to be at least a little interested in what he brought them! They each got a new ride on toy giraffe, two bathing suits, a beach towel, sunglasses, sun hats, a new smocked outfit, glowworm, bubble gun, a hand puppet, paci clips, puffs, and a barrel of monkeys to play with. The Easter bunn(ies) sure were good to these babies!

We followed up with some portraits of the babies in their adorable Easter outfits.

 soooo proud of himself for standing up without assistance

After checking out our Easter goodies, the babies went down for naps and the adults were able to chill out for a few minutes before heading downtown for lunch at mimosa grill. We had a yummy brunch and I was just so glad I didn't have to cook! This is our second year eating a Mimosa and I think it will become a tradition!

We ended the day with some family pictures but as soon as we started the rain started coming down and we quickly wrapped things up! We had such a fun first Easter with the kids and are thankful for all the family that came to spend the day with us!

Remembering Me

I'm linking up today for the Build 'Em Up series.

Today's topic is about remembering you. It is so easy to do everything for the kids and let yourself slide. At the beginning (when the kids still slept 20 hours a day and I didn't work) I was really good about taking care of me. I worked out everyday, got ready, and got my nails done bi-weekly. As the babies got older and slept less things started to change but I've still made time for myself. Things I like to do for me:

• getting my hair done. standing appointment every 6 weeks. this is a non-negotiable. 
• errand running dates with my husband. my mil stays with us on thursday nights to watch the babies on friday and we take advantage after we put the kids to sleep and run any little errands together.
• CMOMS nights out. I go out to eat once a month with my charlotte mothers of multiples group.
• reading blogs and us weekly. my guilty pleasures. while i pump i take full advantage of the 20 minutes of quiet time and catch up with my reading.
• i have a fabulous husband that also knows my need for "me" time. he's good about being by himself with the kids (I mean he is their father after all) I can leave on a whim and he's got everything taken care of. I am so appreciative of this! I am able to take advantage of impromtu dinners and shopping trips with my mom and sisters. Doing this on a whim reminds me of my pre-child days and helps rejuvenate me :) I feel like there is always SOOO much planning when you have kids.
• nights out. my parents have graciously babysat a few times so Jay and I could really have a night on the town. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Traveling with Twins

A little reminder to myself about traveling with nursing, cloth diapered, twins.

1. Hotels are accommodating  They have cribs and pack-n-plays. Use them. Much easier than lugging ours in and out of the hotel (and we didn't have to worry about sheets). Since I am still nursing but mainly pumping  we really needed a fridge. The hotels were nice to accommodate but it doesn't hurt to mention that you need it for breastfeeding.

2. Buy a bottle warmer for the car. We didn't and we paid the price. We traveled with bottles in a cooler. Holden is sooo picky and would not drink it. I totally spent time in the rest area rotating the bottle under the hand drier trying to warm it up. We also heated up our glass bottles in gas station microwaves... hey, we didn't have a lot of options!

3. Rest Areas are your friend. So is this website to find them. They have a site for almost all interstates.

4. Pack a waterproof blanket. Perfect for letting babies play at rest areas.

5. Pack a diaper caddy. We used this from target.

It contained 4 diapers, 2 bibs, 1 spray bottle (we use water on our cloth wipes), cloth wipes (also great for messy faces and hands), children's ibuprofen, lickity split boo boo cream, extra pacis, travel baby shampoo, baby lotion, and thermometer. It was perfect for rest area diaper changes and I didn't have to fiddle with a diaper bag.

6. Prepare to stop. Frequently and unplanned.

7. Pack an easy to access bag of toys for rest areas.

8. Load your iPod with familiar baby tunes. We go to Music Together classes and the "Hello" song instantly calmed screaming babies while stuck in traffic.

9. Bring lots of change for the washing machines at hotel and use Soap Nuts as your detergent. It is so portable and you can keep it in the dirty diaper bag.

10. Plum twist on spoons are your friends. I make all the kids' babyfood but bought organic pouches for this trip. These spoons are amazing and save so much space!

Spring Break 2013

Pictures coming soon!

I am very fortunate in my job that I have always had a spring break. I don't know what I would do without it! Last year I was very pregnant and enjoyed a relaxing beach vacation with Jay. This year was 100% different. We decided to take a trip to New Port Richey, Florida to visit my Grandpa and Susan. Driving 9+ hours with two kids was no picnic but I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my Grandpa. He and Susan were so hospitable and so good with the babies!

We hit the road at 7am on Monday morning. The twins had just finished bottles and we were good to go until 11am. We made great time and arrived at the Georgia welcome center just in time for 11am bottles. It was fun spreading out a blanket and relaxing at the rest area. This is something I would have NEVER done in the past (I am always go go go!) but I guess children will do that to you!

We arrived in Jacksonville and our room was ready yet so we took a stroll along the mayo clinic campus.

Funny story- I used priceline for our Jacksonville room because I am CHEAP when it comes to hotel stays that only require one night or limit use of the hotel. I used the name your own price thing and picked the Jacksonville beach area. Of 8 hotels, 7 of them were on the water. I entered $50 and my bid was accepted. Of course I "won" the only hotel NOT on the beach. The hotel happened the be the hotel for the mayo clinic. Just my luck :) The hotel was wonderful though and we had a great experience. 

Once our room was ready we got the kids dressed and headed to the beach! Just our luck it started to rain as soon as we got there. We did a change of plans and headed west towards my old house (we lived in Jacksonville for 2 years during elementary school). We decided to have an early dinner at Clark's Fish Camp. This place is so fun and good and you should definitely go if you are ever in Jacksonville. It is definitely an experience.

We got the kids down for bed back at the hotel and enjoyed some cold beers and tv in the dark (oh the perks of sharing a room with babies that go to bed at 7pm).

The next morning I woke up with the stomach virus of spring break 2013 and after some meds we finally headed south. We had a little bumble Saturday morning that may have included one of our kids falling head first off the hotel bed... the nurse at the pediatrician's office seemed more concerned about the germs infecting the scrape on our child's head from landing on the hotel floor than anything else so we loaded up and headed on.  Our trip was pleasant but the novelty of riding in the car had definitely worn off! I also was distracted and missed my exit and went 20 miles outside of our route. Whoops!

We arrived at my Grandpa's a little after lunch and after a great visit, headed out to grab Mexican at Estella's. It was delicious and the twins had a great time.

Back at home, the twins were ready to go. Holden LOVED the carpeted floors and crawled like a maniac. He also learned to pull up on furniture and pulled up on everything in sight! Grandpa and Susan thought he was such a treat! We went for a stroll around their neighborhood before settling the babies in for the night. The adults stayed up and chatted and again, I'm so thankful for this time I got to spend with Grandpa and Susan.

Wednesday morning we woke up and played a bit before naps. After naps we headed out to Fred Howard Park to play in the ocean! Holden LOVED it (and loved eating sand). Emma Cate- not so much. She and I preferred hanging on the blanket and playing with toys while the boys played in the ocean. I can do this arrangement! We only stayed about 45 minutes but that was plenty. We enjoyed a scenic drive through tarpoon springs on our way back home.

Wednesday evening the kids went to bed and we stayed up chatting with my Grandpa. I'm writing this down for my memory. We talked about his job at the post office. He told me about a time he took a shortcut through a corn field, got stuck, and delivered the mail late that day. He told me about my mom as a baby and the dog following her around as she crawled. He talked about going back to college and raising three kids under four at the same time. He talked about owning his own business. It was just so nice to sit down and chat.

We were up early Thursday morning to pack up and hit the road! We ate a quick breakfast at the Breakfast Station with Grandpa and Susan before taking pictures and saying our goodbyes. My stomach bug was still in full force and we had to stop frequently on the way home. We arrived in Savannah (our resting place for the night) with high hopes that we could take the babies for a stroll around the riverfront. Rain ruined our plans and we settled for early bedtimes and take out. We planned to walk around the next morning but the rain was still coming down so we packed up and headed home.

Spring break was crazy and fun. I wouldn't describe it as relaxing but I doubt any of our trips will be until the kids are much, much, older.