Decorator. Hostess. Snot-sucker. Procrastinator.

I just kind of do it all. :)

First, the decorating. I am not very good with interior design. I'm definitely not one of those people who can be at a store and spot something and say, "Oh, that would be perfect for my [insert room of house]!" But I had been wanting to redo my mantle with pictures of the kiddos, so I bit the bullet and had some frames made. Then, while browsing Kirkland's on Friday, I spotted a piece of iron that I thought might look nice above the frames. Brian hung it up for me yesterday morning and I think it actually turned out quite well!

Pics by Missy Saunders. Frames from Etsy. Curtains draped out of Charlotte and Jensen's reach by dad.

Next up, the hostessing: On Friday afternoon, Charlotte and Jensen were so happy to get an impromptu visit from two very special people who were able to stop by and see us on their way into town from Houston...Tate and Savannah!

Two sets of twins = quadruple the fun! And quadruple the picture-taking chaos!

Tate and Savannah will be two in June and I cannot believe how big they have gotten. They are so sweet and happy and I'm so glad we got the chance to see them (and their parents of course!).

This kills me because I always think J is soooo big...but next to Savannah he still looks like a baby. :)

Jensen and Tate playing in the tunnel.

Tate cracks me up. He made himself right at home!

Okay, so that wasn't really hostessing. It was just a nice visit from friends. But on Saturday, I had volunteered to host a party for my lovely friend Kristen, who recently became a rep for a company called 31. It was a fun afternoon of drinking sangria, snacking, and chatting with friends...oh yes, and shopping! I've never had any desire to host a party of this nature before, but I wanted to host this one because Kristen is awesome and so is the 31 stuff! For example, here's my first 31 purchase:

It's a thermal (stuff stays cold!) tote that I can use to carry Charlotte and Jensen's food when we go places. And it's that material that you can just wipe clean. Cute AND practical, yes??

Anyways, I once again underestimated the difficulty of getting things done when you have two babies crawling around, so thank goodness my mom and Tammy were around to help me prepare for the party and chase Charlotte and Jensen around while I hostessed!

Next up: Sucking snot. This one is fairly self-explanatory, but here's a brief summary: Colds have once again struck Charlotte and Jensen. I have once again resumed sucking snot. It is not fun for anyone involved. I'm tired.

And finally, procrastinating, which is what I've been doing by writing this post. Charlotte and Jensen have been ten months old for almost a week, yet you might have noticed an absence of their ten-month post. I started it, but finishing it has been another story...for some reason it's just too daunting. Oh well...you'll notice that "blogger" was not included in the title. :)

Hosts With the Most

Today, Charlotte and Jensen hosted their first playdate and invited their friends from our Moms of Multiples group. They were still asleep when their guests began to arrive (er, I guess they may not actually be the best hosts) so you can imagine their surprise when I brought them downstairs to a living room full of babies playing with their toys!

Since most of the members of my multiples group live in Fort Worth, I thought maybe one or two moms would bring their babies...I was very surprised that we were joined by four other moms and one dad (to make a total of 12 babies ranging in age from four months to eleven months!). People kept asking me if my house was ready for a play date...as it turns out, it wasn't: The living room needed to grow by about 100 square feet or so! Despite the cramped quarters, a good time was had by all!

And this is a really random side note, but I love baby names and am always so interested to hear what people name their babies. If I ever have any more kids, it will be so I can pick out names for them (my current obsession is Juliet for a girl...so pretty!). So in case anyone out there is baby-name obsessed like me, here are the names of the twin sets from today's playgroup:

Jackson & Wyatt (both boys)
Pearl and Adele (both girls)
Telsy & Luke (girl and boy)
Aizlyn & Drayk (girl and boy)
Presley and Marshall (girl and boy)

And of course you all know Charlotte and Jensen. :)

One Small Step for Mr. Man

Last night, the night before Charlotte and Jensen turned ten months old, Brian and I were getting them ready for bed. I crawled off in the direction of their nursery with hopes that they would crawl after me. Charlotte did. Jensen, however, stood up. He smiled at me and took a cautious step. Just one. The teeniest, tiniest step you can possibly imagine. But it was a step. And it was a moment I will never, ever forget.

Ouchie!

On Friday, Charlotte was standing between the ottoman and couch when she took a little spill...fortunately, she landed right on her bottom and padded diaper. So when she started to cry, I figured she was just being the drama queen that we all know and love. I picked her up and was walking her around the living room when I noticed blood. After a brief moment of panic during which I didn't know where the blood was coming from, I saw that its source was Charlotte's mouth. Poor baby...I think those sharp chompers must have cut her top lip when she fell!

I was able to get her cleaned up and put her in her highchair for dinner...but instead of the usual veggies, I figured that her first real, blood-drawing ouchie had earned her a popcicle.

Yes, I'd say she looks just fine.

The evidence: Bloody sleeve.

Her mouth kept bleeding off and on for the rest of the evening, but I could never actually see a cut in her mouth. By bedtime the bleeding had stopped and she was a-okay.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful...my dad was out of town so my mom volunteered to come over after we had put the babies to bed so we could enjoy dinner with Nick and Hilari on Friday night and a wedding shower and visit to Jonathan's new house on Saturday night. Thanks, Grandma! :)

So that brings us to the big event that's taking place as I write...Charlotte and Jensen are taking their first nap in separate rooms! I knew this day would come...they had gotten really bad about standing up in their beds and talking to one another, and lately Charlotte has been waking Jensen up from just about every nap, leaving him exhausted and crabby. So we brought over one of the pack 'n' plays from my parents house and set it up in the guest room. Since little Charlie is the one who sleeps best in the pack 'n' play, she has earned herself a new room for nap times!

Okay, not a great pic. But that's her new setup and she's snoozing away!

I was shocked when Charlotte went right to sleep in her new surroundings. Her brother, however, was another story. We all know how much he loves his sis, and I think he is lonely without her. He did fall asleep after about 20 minutes of fussing, and all is currently quiet...let's all knock on wood that it stays that way for at least another hour or so!

A Necessary Evil

No, make that an ugly necessary evil. Wait, go ahead and add expensive in there, too. Ugly, expensive, necessary evil.

That pretty much describes the new look of our backyard:

 

Honestly, I never used to "get" pool fences. I was all, "Why would you need a fence around your pool? It's called watching your children, people!" 

(You know that saying, "Everyone is a perfect parent...until they have kids"? I am pretty sure whoever coined that phrase did so with me in mind.)

So, I ate my words (for only about the 367th time since becoming a parent) and we had a pool fence installed yesterday. It actually doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. And look, Charlotte seems to approve!

 

But as for Bailey? I think she's going to need some convincing.

Wordless Wednesday

My Funny Valentines

Blue-Eyed Wild Man Seeking Love!

Why, hello, ladies! I'm a 9 1/2-month-old cutie who's lookin' for love! I've got blue eyes and great hair (some even say I resemble Justin Bieber!) and the cutest little tush in the world! I enjoy fine dining, a good book, and getting into anything I can get my hands on! 

I'm a bit of a mama's boy, but I can definitely stand on my own two feet!

I'm looking for a lady who loves dogs, being outdoors, and doesn't mind getting tackled once in awhile...

 

And don't bother getting dressed up in your fancy hairbows...I'll probably end up pulling them out...

And perhaps even snacking on them!

My mom says I'm the cutest boy in the world, and I think you'll agree! I know my way around an iPhone, so if you think we'd be a good match, just give me a call!

Petite Beauty Seeking Love!

Hey, boys! I'm Charlotte, but you can call me Charlie. I'm a little Peanut with blue eyes, wavy hair, and a killer dimple. I'm a chatty gal who enjoys reading, learning new things, and cuddling. 

I'm a happy girl, but I have a serious side, too...

 

And if you're looking for a shy gal who will follow your lead, you're looking in the wrong place! I'm a feisty girl who has my own opinions! I know what I like and what I don't like...and I'm not afraid to tell you about it! For example, I really don't like to wrestle!

 

I'm looking for a guy who likes to dance...I've got great rhythm and I just love to shake my lil' hiney! I also enjoy a good meal...but if you're on a budget, socks will do just fine:

 Anyways, if you're looking for a strong, opinionated gal to share a play date, give me a call! My daddy is wrapped around my little finger, and soon you will be too!  

Valentine's Day 2011...Brian and I usually don't "do" Valentine's Day (this is a result of a string of Valentine's Day mishaps early in our relationship). In fact, we usually just ignore the day entirely! But it seems as though having Charlotte and Jensen has turned us into saps! I "helped' Charlotte and Jensen make Valentine's cards for their cousins and grandparents, and dressed them for the day in cute red clothes. Brian returned from work last night with flowers for me, a bone for Bailey, and a new pink sleep sack for Charlotte. He didn't get poor little Jensen anything because "he's a boy!" What a sexist, huh? We are going to have to do something about that! Don't worry, Jensen...you'll always be Mommy's Valentine!

It's the Little Things

On Friday evening I had a mini-freakout when I realized I had been storing Charlotte and Jensen's oatmeal and rice in containers that are not BPA-free (I used to do way more exciting things on Friday nights, I promise!). We had been wanting a new Tupperware set for awhile now (oh wow...just when you think this post couldn't get any nerdier!), so Brian went to Wal-Mart on Saturday to replace our old stuff:

A mess.

With this BPA-free set:

Hello, Lover!

After a quick bath...

...my new Tupperware settled in to its new home:

Welcome home, matching Tupperware set! I will do my best to keep track of your lids for at least a few months.

Can you tell I am a bit excited to not have to spend 15 minutes searching for a lid every time I put leftovers away? Anyways, that was the beginning of our weekend. Saturday got much more exciting when I received a last-minute visit from Jill, who was in town to celebrate her nephew's first birthday. Kim came over too, and it was so nice (albeit way too short) to spend some girl time catching up. In the past few months, I've had impromptu visits from Christina, Kile, and Jill...that's three out of four Houston girls! Whitney, if you're reading this, that's a hint that I want you to come over! :)

So...on to Sunday. Have I ever mentioned that I receive a lot of hand-me-downs? Yes? And did you think I was exaggerating? Well, let me give you a glimpse at the latest batch of outgrown clothes:

 

Keep in mind that this is not newborn clothes, 0-3 month clothes, etc. Those are long gone. These bins are all full of clothes, shoes, etc. that Charlotte and Jensen have recently outgrown.  Yikes! It took me pretty much all day on Sunday to sort through everything and stock Charlotte and Jensen's closet with clothes that currently fit them or that I am hoping they can wear this spring/summer. But I'm done...well, for now anyways!

Foodstuff

A few people have emailed me in the past couple of weeks asking about how making my own baby food is going, whether I'm happy I chose to do it, whether I have any tips, etc. So I thought I would do a little update on how the baby food making is progressing. In short, it's going great. I am really happy with my decision to make all of Charlotte and Jensen's food...not only from a monetary standpoint, but from a nutritional standpoint as well. I love knowing exactly what they're eating and, for whatever reason, I just get a lot of satisfaction from making their food and feeding it to them.

I make pretty much all of their food in batches: cook, peel, puree, and freeze. The bottom drawer of our freezer is chock full of Ziploc bags full of cubes of fruits and vegetables. Honestly, it's not terribly time-consuming: I usually make batches after Charlotte and Jensen are asleep, or when my mom or Brian are around to watch them. I don't have any special "gadgets" other than my pots and pans and a blender! I actually ordered this...

but when it arrived I took it out, looked at it, put it back in the box, and shipped it back. It looks really cool and I've heard great things about it, but my countertop is so jam-packed with bottle warmers, drying racks, etc. (remember, two of everything!) that I just didn't want to deal with it. (Plus, any time I can save $130 or so, it's always a good thing.) And I've managed just fine without it.

Now that Charlotte and Jensen are getting older, not everything has to be pureed. They enjoy eating tiny bits of cheese (goat cheese is a particular favorite--after all, they are my kids), banana, scrambled egg yolk and avocado. Watching them learn to feed themselves has been so fun! A lot of their food still ends up on their laps, but that's okay...they're getting the hang of it. Charlotte and Jensen now eat breakfast, lunch and dinner...and I know these are my first kids, but it really seems to me like they eat a lot. A few of their favorites are cheese (I know, you're surprised), sweet potato, butternut squash, and they actually seem to enjoy spinach!

And now for the brutal honesty: I am careful--no, make that totally paranoid--about what my babies eat. At Charlotte and Jensen's nine-month checkup, our pediatrician said they could eat anything except honey. Which means that, according to her, they could be chowing down on egg whites, peanut butter, and shellfish with no worries. But have I given them any of those things? Of course not. That would be too easy. Instead, I have been fretting and consulting various print and Internet sources, trying to decide when and if I should feed them those things. But there's more: Should I give them peanut butter or almond butter? Cow's milk or goat's milk? Should I keep them on a gluten-free diet or introduce gluten? Is soy something that needs to be avoided, too? It seems like there is a ridiculous amount of information floating around out there about what babies and kids should and shouldn't be eating...I honestly had no idea that I would have to make this many choices about their diet. It is becoming quite overwhelming.

I kind of just want to bury my head in the sand. And feed Charlotte and Jensen a diet consisting solely of homemade popcicles. I think they'd be okay with that.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Befores & Afters

If you'll recall, I stepped it up this year and went from my usual zero New Year's Resolutions to three: lose weight, de-clutter, and attempt to look decent. I am happy to report that I've been doing well on all three resolutions...I have lost nine pounds since Christmas, I almost always change out of my sweats (errr, snow days don't count, right?), and I have been doing so much de-cluttering that my mom asked me if I was pregnant again (NO!).

(Funny side story: When my mom asked if I was pregnant, I was like, "Why would you ask that? I don't remember organizing or cleaning anything when I was pregnant." That's when she had to remind me that I didn't clean or organize anything...she did. Apparently when I was on bed rest, I was bitten by the nesting bug and assigned her tasks like cleaning out the fridge, pantry, etc. Thanks, Mom!)

Anyways, during the snow days I managed to clean out the cabinet under my bathroom sink as well as the junk drawer in the kitchen. I don't have any pictures of the bathroom cabinet (I mean, do you really want to see my various tubes of stretch mark cream?) but take it from me: It's clean and full of things I actually use...except there are a few things I just could not bring myself to throw away:

Look how dark those lines are! Maybe I should have guessed I was having twins! Ha!

Can't do it. I know it's gross and weird. But I just can't. Maybe next time I get around to cleaning out the cabinet I'll be able to toss them, but not this time.

My next order of business was the junk drawer. I forgot to take a "before" picture, but I'll tell you this much: It was full. Of junk. Think receipts from two years ago, phone numbers I jotted down on scraps of paper (with no names beside them, so who knows whose numbers they are), keys that open who knows what, and a few of those little cards you get in the mail for a pair of free panties from Victoria's Secret that expired in 2008. Anyways, here is the "after" picture:

Actually, since the picture was taken, the takeout menus have found a new home...so the drawer is even less junky!

Third order of business was the cabinet where I keep my cookbooks. Here's the "before" shot:

It was a disaster area of old cooking magazines, cookbooks, my recipe box, and tons of loose recipes that I'd printed off the Internet.

Sooo...I got rid of a lot of the cookbooks, put every magazine in the recycling bin (because I never looked through them...I just look online whenever I need a new recipe), and went through all the loose recipes and copied the ones I wanted to keep onto index cards and filed them in my recipe box. Here's the "after":

I put the cookbooks I don't use very often in the back, the cookbooks I do use often in the front, and had plenty of room left over to move the crock pot down from its former home and into this more accessible area. And our takeout menus now reside in the little spiral book there in the front (organized by cuisine!).

Yes, I have been quite productive during Charlotte and Jensen's nap times. I think I am going to concentrate on the laundry room next. There are also a few kitchen cabinets I need to re-organize. Lucky for me tomorrow's looking like another ice day, so maybe I will get a few things accomplished. Who knows, maybe I'll even get crazy and change out of my sweatpants!

Icepocalypse 2011

Day One: Tuesday
Wake up and try to convince Brian that the thick sheets of ice on the driveway and surrounding roads would make a great excuse to skip work and stay home. Fail. Spend the rest of the day hanging inside with Charlotte and Jensen. Have a tea party...

...and discover new and exciting uses for our toys...

(i.e., get stuck underneath them.)

Realize that snow days are pretty much just like every other day around here. Read facebook status updates wherein friends complain of cabin fever after being stuck at home for less than 24 hours. Roll eyes. Proceed with dinner and bedtime as usual...until, in an apparent effort to liven things up a bit, Charlotte poops on the floor.

Day Two: Wednesday
Wake up and try to convince Brian that the thick sheets of ice on the driveway and surrounding roads would make a great excuse to skip work and stay home. Fail. Enjoy a visit from Aunt Biff, who braves the ice to come hang out with us. Bundle up Charlotte and Jensen because their nine-month checkup is today and we don't want to miss it.

My little Russian baby!

Make it to and from the doctor's office safely. Learn that both babies are progressing perfectly, with Jensen hanging out around the 50th percentile in both height and weight and Charlotte becoming a little string bean who's above average in height and around the 25th percentile for weight. Read facebook status updates wherein friends complain of cabin fever. Begin to empathize. Cook spinach for the babies and feed it to them for dinner...

Success! Of course, the fact that I mixed in sweet potatoes and pears probably didn't hurt.

Day Three: Thursday
Wake up and try to convince Brian that the thick sheets of ice on the driveway and surrounding roads would make a great excuse to skip work and stay home. Fail. Receive text from Grandma stating that she cannot take staying home another day and that my dad (born and raised in Buffalo and completely unfazed by ice) is bringing her to our house. Spend the day eating Grandma's chicken soup and listening to her marvel about how much cuter Charlotte and Jensen have gotten in the two days she went without seeing them. Debate posting my own facebook status update in which I complain of cabin fever, but resist the urge. Perhaps sensing my boredom, Jensen pees on Charlotte's head during bedtime routine, turning a non-hair-washing night into a definite hair-washing night.

Day Four: Friday
Wake up and try to convince Brian that the several inches of snow on top of the thick sheets of ice combined with the fact that there are no tire marks on our street (meaning no one has braved driving in these conditions!) would be a perfect excuse to stay home from work. Once again, fail. Delirium begins to set in. Attempt to take artsy pictures of the snow and realize the camera class would have been a good idea.

Why yes, that is a beer bottle. We like to keep it classy.

 

When the photography fails to alleviate boredom, pull out fake mustache and try it on Jensen:

Is it just me, or would he make a great silent-movie villain?

Then...a light at the end of the tunnel! Brian's office closes an hour early...and Grandma and Grandpa offer to come babysit so we can get some Mexican food with Dot and Biff! Margaritaville, here I come! Bundle up and dodge deadly icicles hanging from roof...

...and make it to and from dinner with only one incident during which we skidded just a tad too close to the ditch on the side of the road. Success!

So what did I take away from Icepocalypse 2011? That there are no two people I'd rather be stuck indoors with for four straight days than these two:

 

...but that post-confinement taste of freedom (and margarita) was delicious!