Family Fun

Well, two weeks full of fun and family bonding are in the books! 

We were very lucky to have Dan's mom, step-dad, and little sister make the trip all the way from England to spend some quality time with us! We really only see them about once a year (apart from our weekly FaceTime dates) so it is so nice when we get some uninterrupted time with them. We made these last two weeks really count and we are already counting down until the next time we see them! 

While they were here we got to take the babes on their first (hopefully of many) trip to Disney! As cheesy as it sounds, it really was magical. The kiddos all had an amazing time. They were so excited at all the little details, and their faces lit up with every character sighting. We are big Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fans in this house, so I think my favorite moment of the whole trip was when the girls started looking up at the sky calling "oh Toooooodles!" We were all cracking up! That just goes to show how great of a job the Disney crew does to keep all of their guests completely in the moment!

We talked it up quite a bit before we left so in the morning when we were getting ready to leave for the park I asked the girls what we were doing that day and was answered with a very enthusiastic "WE'RE MEETING MICKEY MOUSE!!" The enthusiasm continued with the first glimpse of the 'pwincess castle' and lasted throughout the day from a Mickey Mouse meet and greet, to twirling with Cinderella and Rapunzel, to a captivating light parade, ending with a beautiful fireworks show. The next two days were just as fun with a couple of different parks and a few evening swims. We caught a little rain, but it was over quick, and the babes had so much fun splashing in the puddles! I was worried about the girls maybe being a little too young to really enjoy it, but they are still talking about to everyone they encounter so I will definitely call the trip a success!

When we got back to Georgia we all made the most of the rest of our time together. Nothing too crazy, just a couple late nights, a few trips to the pool, delicious food trucks, and lots of laughs. It's always hard to see family go when we know it will be so long until we see them again, but the time is so sweet when we are together! Moving here has definitely put the importance of family into perspective and we do our best to really appreciate each other when we can. Thank you for a great two weeks Nana, Pops, and Auntie Zoe! We already can't wait to see you next summer!

Xoxo
-Emily

Hump Day Happenings

This has been a crazy week for us full of early mornings and late nights, but we made it to hump day! Hooray! 

Unfortunately we have had a cold wreaking havoc around here. It started with Harper, and of course it wasn’t too long until we all had a good case of the sniffles. Nothing major, but no one likes a summer cold. I love that my little babes can fight through just about anything and still have the same energy, but this momma was not so quick to recover so it made for a rough couple of days. Our local pool was the best way to keep them occupied and somewhat contained so that quickly became our new favorite hang out. Thank goodness it’s so close! Times like that I wish I could bottle that energy. It might even be enough to replace my coffee ;)

 

 While attempting to get better I, for some reason, decided it was a good time to start the 21 Day Fix. I have no clue what I was thinking because the energy just wasn’t there, but I made it through the workouts, stuck with the meal plan, and am now over half way through and a few pounds down! Definitely worth the investment and I highly recommend it. I feel great, have tons more energy, and actually feel like I am eating enough which is a first on a “diet” for me. 

 On top of everything else, biggest and best news for me is that I got a job! I applied about a month ago for a job that I thought would be a great fit for me. I never heard back and assumed the opportunity had passed, but last week I got a couple of interviews and I am starting in a couple days! It is perfect for what I am looking for with great opportunities for growth and I couldn’t be more excited! Best part is that I get to bring my girls with me. I am lucky enough to get the best of both worlds and bring some of their silly energy with me to work! 

I have absolutely loved being a stay at home mom and have been so blessed to be able to focus only on my little babes. This last year has been a crazy one, especially with our big move, but it has been so rewarding. I guess the time has finally come to turn in my stay at home mom card and I am so excited to embark on this new adventure!

Enjoy the rest of the week, you are almost there! 

Xoxo

-Emily

Toddlers and Tantrums

It has been sass city around here lately.

I thought for a hot minute that we were getting through the terrible two’s with some ease…until the last two weeks came rolling around. The tantrums are daily, the attitude is out of control, and I find myself giving in (for the sake just a little quiet) far more often than I would like to admit. Analiese has quickly gone from 2 to 16 and it is blowing my mind.

I’m not quite sure what flipped the switch, but something set her off. She is talking back, screaming “NO!” whenever I ask her to do anything, and lucky me, she just starting hitting. I’ve been b***h slapped roughly 4 times this week.  Counting isn’t working, time outs are useless, and when I raise my voice she just matches it. I have uttered the phrase “I do not negotiate with terrorists” multiple times…then try to negotiate. With my toddler. While she’s grabbing my face….not very productive.

For the most part lately I have just been waiting it out and she gets bored when she doesn’t get a rise out of me. I will say she is one smart cookie. She knows exactly what she is doing, and exactly how to push our buttons. I’m not looking forward to her teenage years!

We do have it somewhat easy though because it’s only one of our girls giving us a serious run for our money. Thank God for our Harper. I’m pretty sure she knows Ana has been pushing us a little too far lately because she has been extra sweet to compensate. She adds a sweet “pwetty pwease” and a giant smile to even the simplest request, and gives extra hugs and kisses…especially when I look like I’m about to lose it. Her sister and I both owe her a huge thank you!

As frustrated and mad as I sometimes get, I still can’t get over how amazing it is watching my little babes grow into little girls. Their small personalities have gotten very big and at the end of the day I can’t help but smile while day dreaming about what they will be like, what they will do, and how they forge their way in this world. Something tells me Analiese will be able to hold her own. ;)

So I’m curious moms. Any advice for this stressed out momma bear? How did you handle your threenager?

Xoxo

-Emily

Sweet Chaos

Being a mom is hard. I don’t mean “I could really use an extra cup of coffee” hard, I mean “I could really do with a  glass  bottle of wine…and maybe a shot of tequila” hard. It’s exhausting, nerve wracking, frustrating, often thankless, and always messy. The days tend to drag on, nap time is never long enough, and when five o’clock is slowly approaching I tend to start counting down minutes until my husband/tag team partner walks in the door. 

I know, I sound like the biggest pessimist ever, but bear with me.

Being a mom is confusing. Just when you reach for that extra cup of coffee because your twins have been up and crazy since roughly 5am, one of them climbs up on you, snuggles up and says she just wants to sit on your lap. When you feel like you’re a slave to your toddlers, and all they do is demand things all day with that same mean look that your husband says that you get, and you just give in because it’s easier than a standoff that you know you will lose; one of your precious little babes grabs your face and gives a huge kiss and that ‘thank you’ you have been hoping for all day. When you are cleaning up 4^th spilled cup of Cheerios for the day, and all of a sudden there is a little hand helping you put the dropped cereal back in the cup. And the big one, when you keep looking at your watch to see if bedtime has magically rolled around since the last time you checked…HOLY COW! It’s finally here! You get through your bedtime routine, teeth are brushed, jammies are on, kisses are given (again, and again, and again…) you finally get to sit down in the quiet, and roughly two sips into that glass of wine you have been thinking about all day…you miss your kids. The house is suddenly too quiet, and all you want is the noise that’s been giving you a headache all day, and those kisses that you had to steal. I know it’s crazy, but that’s how it works. 

Being a mom is wonderful. It’s the most rewarding job I have had or will ever have. It’s the hardest job you will ever love. It’s really the best job ever. 

Now, you made it through another week. Give yourself a pat on the back and go pour yourself that glass of wine...you deserve it. 

Back to Reality

I've been writing this post a little at a time over a couple days. It's taken me a lot longer than I was planning to get back into the swing of things post vacation, but I'm okay with that because it was so worth it. I think all of us really needed a little physical and mental break. The girls and I have been all up in each other's business 24/7 since we moved to Georgia, and we were all driving each other crazy. It was good for us to miss each other a bit, and now we can be home happy, thankful, and refreshed. Especially because since we've been home, the girls have been on their most impressive sleeping hiatus yet... but I digress. first of all, let me make you all a little jealous of our sunny paradise in the middle of February. ;)

We made the long 10 hour drive to Chicago overnight so the girls got a full night sleep in and didn't make us completely bat shit crazy the whole time. If you have kids who sleep through the night and you can handle being up all night, this is totally the way to go. On the way down when we moved, we drove during the day and it was a new kind of hell. The girls were miserable and so were we, and we tacked on another 3 hours to the journey with stops for food, gas, and diaper changes. Driving overnight was totally worth it. 

Once we finally made it around 4am we were promptly spoiled by grandparents (yes, I'm 23 and my grandparents still spoil me rotten) and they woke up with the babes and let us sleep in. It was wonderful. When we decided to join the world, we got to spend some quality time with the Fam bam! I've been really happy in Atlanta, but I realized how much I missed them when I went home. They missed the girls so much, and the babes went crazy when they saw everyone! We went to the auto show, went to a few of my favorite restaurants, and overall just had some much needed family time. Such a sweet reunion, and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Bright and early Thursday morning we were off to the airport and got the cocktails flowing promptly at 6am. I knew that was a sign that it would be a super fun (and highly intoxicated) trip. 

We arrived in sunny Puerto Vallarta in the afternoon and met up with our friends from Minnesota that we met on our girls trip the year before. The first day we were a little too excited, drank a bit too much (even by my standards haha), and half of us didn't make it to dinner that night, but the day was totally worth it. The rest of the trip was more toned down, packed with hanging out in the pool, eating delicious food, relaxation, and a few drunken shenanigans including the theft of a cantaloupe basket and a couple of our guys hopping on stage for the Mr. Riu competition! We were there for the perfect amount of time, because by the last day we were all more than ready to get back to our babies and fur children! Our vacation in the sun was exactly what we needed to unwind and come back refreshed and ready to keep up with our crazy toddlers! We are already talking about making it an annual tradition...I won't need much convincing. ;)

Here are a few highlights! 

Our matching bags and fun towel animals just made everything a little better! 

We flew home to a very cold Chicago on Monday after enjoying our last morning in the sun for a while. It was definitely a shock to our systems getting off that plane and walking through the snow!

Dan and I were planning on spending Tuesday in Chicago, but made a last minute decision to drive back to Atlanta Monday night. We wanted the girls to sleep, and avoid the snow that we were supposed to get in Georgia.  That turned it into a very long and exhausting day of travel, but having the girls sleep the whole drive was well worth it. We didn't get into Atlanta until 10am and poor Dan had to work all day. That evening though we finally got to sit down and snuggle with our little babes that we missed so much!!! 

Since we've been back the girls have been sick and hardly sleeping at all, so all of us are running on empty.  Even before they were sick though, they have completely done a 180 in the sleep department. They are up playing (which really doesn't bother me), coming downstairs multiple times, throwing tantrums, and overall averaging a bedtime of around 9.45. It's awful. On top of that, every night since we've been home they have ended up in our bed in the middle of the night and all but kick us out. The inmates are officially running the asylum!! On the plus side they finally started napping again, but I'm dreading potentially having to nix that so they sleep better at night. I'm hoping once we fully get back to our routine, things will level out.

In general we are slowly but surely getting back to normal with work, routines, and getting back to the gym. We are also tackling some potty training again this week which I have attempted multiple times with no success, so wish me luck!! 

Counting down the days until the sun comes out to stay...

Xoxo

-Emily

I Might Be Losing It

No really, I think I'm going crazy. I have been so busy lately trying to get us settled in and familiar with the area and people in it, and my mind has a hard time keeping up with me. I am going to attempt to recap our week, but bear with me if I go off on a tangent. Ive been a bit ADD lately, so I apologize in advance if this is difficult to follow and.....OH Squirrel! ;)

Monday started with hangovers thanks to some Superbowl fun. Not so fun with a early wake-up call from two very loud, very bouncy toddlers. It made for a long morning, but once we got up and going (and I got my coffee) we were all doing okay. Monday was also the day that we picked up trying to potty train. 

I've tried before, but it just wasn't happening. They weren't interested, and it ended up with more frustration for all of us than it was worth at the time. Analiese started to show some interest, so here we go again. Last time, I tried more of a structured method: the potty training weekend. Honestly, I think if we did that now it might actually work, but for twins, it needs some major adjustments....and we would still need our hard floors. Carpet + 2 naked toddler booties = a mess I have no urge to clean. I have found tons of information on potty training, but nothing really on potty training twins. I've seen the general advice given (they both don't have to at the same time, give them their own potties, don't compare success, etc...) but nothing as in depth as you would find for a singleton. Frustrating. As you can imagine, things get a little trickier with two little babes running around, and I don't think a lot of people realize that it's more in depth than "just get two!" or "do the same thing, but double!" It's a bit harder than that. What works for one might not work for the other, but they still want to be doing the same thing, and when one sits down the other stands up, then one pees on the floor and the other slips in it before you can clean it, and...well you get the point. Anyway, for now, we are just winging it. The girls will tell me the have to go potty or I will ask them if they have to, and most of the time they will go in their diapers before they even get there. We have had a couple successes, but nothing consistent. When we get back from the vacation we are taking next week I will be more consistent with getting them to try and sit down, but for now I'm mostly letting them call the shots. But question: any twin momma bears have any advice on the potty training front? If so, I'm all ears!!

Well folks, that's tangent number one. Let's see how far we get before number 2! 

Tuesday was another lazy one, with the majority of the day sat on the bathroom floor because the girls' new favorite game is to see how many times we can pull our pants up and down before mom goes crazy! It's a fun one full of laughs...mostly from them. We did get some serious book reading done though!

Wednesday was probably my favorite because we got to go have lunch with Dan at work! We have met him at his office in Chicago a couple times, but nothing on a regular basis and it was always something that had to be planned in advance. Its so nice that his office is close enough for us to make a last minute decision to meet up for a quick lunch! Our days tend to get a bit monotonous if we don't have tons going on (I feel like it comes in waves) so its nice to break up the routine and see our favorite guy!

Thursday was the day my kids decided they didn't want to nap anymore. Cue mommy's major panic attack. They have been fighting them for a while now, but they can't really make it through the day without them and not be complete basket cases. I also need the naps so I don't go completely crazy. Nap time is my time to clean up a bit and watch some trashy reality TV in the peace and quiet. It's vital to our household sanity. Without that...all aboard the hot mess express!! They have also been fighting bedtime (which I don't understand because they can barely keep their eyes open during dinner.) I know its common after a big change, but again, if anyone has some tips for us I would greatly appreciate it!! 

Friday we got to go on our first date night since moving here!! I can not even begin to explain how much of a relief it was to find out we have family here with a 16-year-old daughter to babysit!! We finally got to see American Sniper and we watched in style! The theater here is amazing. Complete with full bar and comfy reclining seats. The movie was amazing as well. I have never left a theater with everyone so somber. It was very moving to see, and there was not a dry eye in the house. I would definitely recommend it! It makes you remember that our freedom isn't free and will make you appreciate all our service men and women even that much more. 

Today (well almost yesterday) we had some serious running around to do! I did some grocery shopping for a 5 day juice diet I am starting tomorrow, then the 4 of us went to sign up at our new gym! I am so excited to have another positive reason to leave the house! We also went to check out some furniture. We set out looking for a dining room set and patio furniture, and ended up buying a new sectional instead. How that happens I have no clue. I am pretty pumped for it to get here Thursday though!! Tonight we have just been relaxing and enjoying our gift we got from the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Hill. We have the privilege to stand next to them when they get married and could not be more honored!! So here's to you guys!! 

I think its time for this late night blogger to get some sleep because we have a personal training appointment bright and early! Wish me luck on this juice detox. Good night! 

xoxo

-Emily

Sunday Funday: Super Bowl Edition

Happy Sunday all!! (No, I haven't started with y'all yet, but it's coming I'm sure)

This week has not been super eventful (it's been a little gloomy outside) but the couple things that we did do were worth talking about...at least in my world. First of all, here is a picture of the girls pathetically looking out the window, hoping the sun comes out so we can go play. Spoiler alert: it didn't. 

In lieu of some fun in the sun, I went to my first playgroup! Not only in Atlanta but ever. I've had the girls together with other kids plenty of times, but never really too close to their age. I found online a group of moms with kids right around the girls age, that gets together every week. I went for the first time on Wednesday, and am pretty sure we will be going back every week. The moms are so easy to talk to, and it's so nice having all the kids going through the same things at the same times. I can only speak for myself, but I am always second guessing if I'm doing the right thing, or being a good enough mom, so it's nice to have other moms back you up. That is so huge and helpful! And of course, it's wonderful having the girls around other kids their age! They were shy, and kind of just played with each other most of the time, but I'm sure they will warm up and be great friends with the other tots!! Let's be real: play dates are more for moms than kids, so if the babes can have fun at the same time? SCORE! 

This week we also played some dress up: 

Went on a quick shopping trip to our new  favorite grocery store: 

And put the finishing touches on the girls' room. I'm so excited, because I already feel like this house is more of a home in just a couple weeks, than our townhouse in Beecher ever felt. It has nothing to do with the family (or lack thereof) around us, so to my fam back home, don't be offended. I just think that we have actually moved into this place more. We've put pictures on the wall, have space in the kitchen to have all of our things out, eat meals at the table together everyday, and just put more of our personal touch on everything. We grew out of our house in Beecher shortly after the girls turned one, so it's nice to have a space that we know we will be staying at for a while! This is just the girls room, and I will be putting more rooms on the blog as the finishing touches are put on. 

Today, along with the Super Bowl festivities, we also got together with the family we have down here! Now let me tell you, my grandma is one of ten, so we have a lot of family. It's crazy to think of how many cousins we have all over the place (still mostly based around Beecher), so we didn't even know we had family here until we decided we were moving. I've seen them at various family events, but not tons, so getting to sit down with them today was kind of like meeting them all over again, and it was great! We have a new babysitter for the girls, I have a new shopping buddy, and Dan has someone new to go golfing with. I'd say the meet and greet was a success!! It's such a comforting feeling knowing that we have family down here. We are already planning on getting together for dinner soon, planning on heading to an outlet mall I just found out about, and going out to see a movie utilizing our new sitter. I'm pumped! 

Now for the rest of the day, we are just watching the pregame coverage and the the big game!! GO SEAHAWKS!! (at least that's what Dan says) We are also eating my specialty crock-pot chicken fajitas, and trying some cilantro lime quinoa. We will also be drinking what has become a Super Bowl tradition: Corona-ritas!! They are delicious and go perfectly with our fajitas! 

And one quick pic of Dan's serious game face and Ana not caring. 

Sorry this post had pretty much nothing to do with the Super Bowl and the title was misleading...but really, I wouldn't know what I was talking about anyway ;)! Everyone enjoy the game and have a great week! 

Xoxo

-Emily