Weekly Recap #15

I have a feeling I'm going to be really late with this one! I keep meaning to write this post a little bit every day, but here I am at 4:30pm on Monday, trying to cram a week's worth of goings on into one little post. I'm gonna try to get this done at some point today. Here goes!

Monday was a beautiful day. We've been lucky with a few mild temp days and I was itching to get Brayden outside. Brayden, on the other hand, flat out refused. That's Brady for ya! We'll try again tomorrow.

Monday was DINO-MITE!

Well, DINO-Feet, anyway!

Here's me and my little princess. I'm wearing my daily uniform, by the way. A ROBE! All day, errry day!

It was almost 70 degrees on Tuesday! I wasn't taking NO for an answer so I forced Brayden outside - and I took Peytie with me! The babies never leave the house, so I was happy to give Peyton some fresh air. I would have taken Lauryn with me too, but she was sleeping. You snooze, you lose...literally. But we had the windows open all day, so it was like both of the twins hung out outside, right? RIGHT?!?!

On Tuesday, the treadmill I ordered was delivered. WOO HOO! Buuuuutttt - it'll have to wait for another day because momma's goin' out tonight!

I can't wait till we mount a TV up on that wall!

My Stork club had dinner on Tuesday night and I was so happy that I was able to go. This group of ladies all have twins that are under two years old so I learn SO MANY THINGS each time I see them. This lady right here had her twins just one week before I had mine. We bonded real quick when we were pregnant!

Dinner was at the Claddagh Irish Pub in Geneva and I had the MASSIVE corned beef sandwich. For as much as I like to eat, even I couldn't finish it all!

I wore my new LulaRoe leggings to dinner, My family HATES them and swear that they will never be seen with me in public while wearing them. Unlucky for them, I march to the beat of my own drum and LOVE them. Don't wanna be seen with me? Don't go! Lol. What do you think of them?

On Wednesday the twins had their 2 month doctor's appointment. I'll share more on that later this week, but here's my obligatory office famsie!

They just had their vaccinations, and instead of comforting them, I'm taking selfies. PRIORITIES, people!!!

I will throw in some pics of smiley babies though, because, CUTENESS!

Brayden and I got in a treadmill workout too. I'm gonna have to sneak to the basement to workout because this boy follows me like a tail.

We chilled at home on Thursday and the twins just hung out. So of course I had to snap some pics of the babes.

On Friday I FORGOT to take any pics of the babies. BOO! I did hit up TWO twin resales and picked up a TON of stuff. Kinda makes up for my lack of baby faces.

I picked up all this for LESS THAN $100!!! I don't know why I never really heard about resales until I became pregnant with twins. I wish I had known about these sales with my other kids. Not everything is a great deal - some people want way too much $$$ for things, and other people try to sell old clothes with lots of stains - but finding Carters, Gymboree, or Gap Kids outfits for about A DOLLAR can't be beat.

I woke up on Saturday morning to this. Just goes to show how goofy Brayden is at home. He was serving breakfast at his "cafe". See how he set up the boxes around him to serve as his counter? Love that boy's imagination.

And the twins woke up in a fantastic mood too! It was a great morning.

Saturday was also Maple Sugaring Days at the Creek Bend Nature Center in St. Charles. Tis the season to tap those maple trees and there were lots of events going on this weekend and next weekend to highlight the making of maple syrup. I learned that the season only last 10-14 days, so time is of the essence to tap the trees for their sap. Another tidbit: it takes 40 GALLONS of sap to make just ONE gallon of maple syrup! See, I do some learning when I take the kids out and about too! We had a great time with friends during the event.

I made this week's new recipe on Saturday night: Three Cheese Zucchini Stuffed Lasagna Rolls. I had some help from Brayden & the hubby. I need to get them in the kitchen with me more often - it was fun!

And the lasagna rolls were the bomb too!

The twins went to church on Sunday! Well, we all went to church, but it was the first time the twins have been out for anything other than a doctor's appointment. Ever. I was so happy to be back in the land of the living and look forward to taking them out of the house more often. My husband asked me to wait 10 weeks before taking them out and I did. Now that we've hit that milestone, watch out world! Lauryn & Peyton will be out on the town!

That's my gorgeous niece photobombing in the background.

I also took the opportunity to take some pics of the twins since they were in their Sunday best. And can I just say, I LOVE getting them dressed in something other than a sleeper!!!

Have a good week!

Weekly Workouts:

Two this week - I walked on the treadmill on Wednesday and Thursday

Weekly Goals:

• Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. No.
• Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. Almost - TWO! 
• Goal #3: Drink at least 6 cups of water every day. And no.

Keeping the same goals for next week again.

Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. Not only do I need to login, but I need to stay under my calorie goals.

Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. My ultimate goal is to work out five days a week, but I'm starting off slow with just three times for a few weeks.

Goal #3: Drink at least 6 cups of water every day. I basically drink coffee all day long (I have to keep up with these twins!) Water is so important so I need to make sure I meet my daily goals.

I'll let you know if I completed any next week!

Mail Call: Twinning Edition #5

I got a few good packages recently! Still not getting exactly what I thought I would as part of a Multiple Birth Program, but I am grateful for anything I receive. Here is what came in the mail recently, along with the contact method I used.

You can see what I received in previous weeks #1, #2, #3, and #4.

Pampers (P&G)

I received another envelope of GREAT coupons from Pampers. I contacted them two ways, by phone and by mail, and since I already received some coupons, this was probably from the mail I sent. I mailed copies of the twin's birth certificates to Pampers Multiple Birth Offer, The Procter & Gamble Company, P.O. Box 599, Cincinnati, OH 45201 along with a cover letter. I received one coupon for a FREE pack of  diapers, one coupon for $5 OFF, two coupons for $2 OFF, one coupon for $1 OFF, and a coupon for $1 OFF of a pack of Charmin.

Luvs (P&G)

Luvs is also a P&G company so their coupons were much like the Pampers ones. I mailed copies of the twin's birth certificates to the same address Luvs Multiple Birth Offer, The Procter & Gamble Company, P.O. Box 599, Cincinnati, OH 45201 along with a cover letter. I received one coupon for a FREE pack of  diapers, one coupon for $4 OFF, and two coupons for $2 OFF.

Similac

This Similac sample pack came in my husband's name. I have no idea how they got his info and I know he did not request anything. This one was different, though, in that it came with a few Babies R Us coupons in the box, along with 3 sample canisters. Maybe Babies R Us collected his info somehow and sends these samples themselves? Who knows - it's FREE, so whatever.

Amazon

This next one is the BEST! I recently found out that if you create a baby registry on Amazon.com (first of all, I never knew you could even have an Amazon registry. I have purchased SO MANY baby items on Amazon too!) you can request a Welcome Box worth $35 for FREE! All you have to do is purchase anything worth $10 off your registry. I followed the instructions on how to do this HERE. I should state that I had to set a due date in the future in order for this to work since my babies are already here. I think I used 4/15/16. This is NOT limited to multiples. Anyone can get this one! These are the products that were included in my box (products may vary if you request a box too).

• Philips Advent Natural Bottle (holds 4 fl oz)
• MAM Newborn Pacifier
• Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath (3 fl oz)
• Burt's Bees Tear-Free Shampoo & Wash (1.8 fl oz)
• Aquaphor Ointment (0.14 fl oz)
• BabyGanics Daily Lotion (0.5 fl oz)
• Seventh Generation Sensitive Diapers (2)
• Philips Advent Breast Pads (2)
• New Chapter Prenatal Vitamins (5-day trial)
• ZICO Chocolate Flavored Coconut Water (8.45 fl oz)
• KIND Fruit & Nut Bar - Peanut Butter & Strawberry
• Burt's Bees Renewal Firming Serum (0.06 fl oz)

Cool stuff this time, huh?!?! I'll let you know if I receive anything else!

Weekly Recap #14

So much happened this week, but I'm going to try and make this post short (especially if I want it to post on time!).

Monday (2/29 Leap Year) was my younger sister's birthday! I always thought it was pretty cool to have such a special birthday, but I can see how it can be annoying if your actual birthday only came once every four years! February also brought on a dilemma for me. Since the twins were born on 12/30, which day should I mark as their "official" 2-month milestone? I decided to give their 2 month photoshoot a try on the 29th. (You can check out their 2-Month Update if you missed it.) Did I get perfect shots? Of course not. But I got some ok ones. Man I wish I had better staging/photography skills.

Check out the ridiculousness of these socks. I do love them though!

These hands! SO LITTLE!

I love it when my Peytie Pie smiles!

But he can also be shy.

And then he cries. He always cries.

I tried another photoshoot on Tuesday, but thank God I took pics on Monday. The Tuesday shots were awful. Well, except for this one. Peytie is adorable.

"What's that monstrosity on your head? Do you have an owie? Is that a big ol' band-aid?"

Tuesday was also the day my son spent $140 online, on Candy Crush. I wrote about the whole unfortunate saga HERE. Beware of the Moms, indeed!

On Wednesday I got my obligatory pics of the twins. I think this is the first real smile Lauryn gave me that I caught on camera. She has smiled before, but never when I have my phone ready. 

Hanging out in the gym. Gym rats!

I also took Brayden to buy his first big boy bike! He outgrew his tricycle ages ago but has never really gotten the hang of a real bicycle. At 5 years old, I figured it was about time he learned. Plus, we've had a few nice weather days here lately so I wanted him ready to ride by the time the next nice day rolled around. I love that Toys R Us had this handy chart for me to see what size bike he needed.

This is the cool bike he picked out. 18" wheels!

 Then it was off for his favorite treat - Spirels!

In unrelated Wednesday news, doesn't this outfit fit Peyton's personality perfectly? Forever a crab apple!

Here's the twins on Thursday. Peyton is just fascinated with his big sis, Lauryn.

In Brayden news: I registered him for KINDERGARTEN Thursday night! How are we here already? I have so many thoughts and fears that I have about him going to school full-time that I'm sure I'll share at some point, but today was just all about the paperwork. I still have a few months before I'll bawl my eyes out with him at school.

On Friday, after Brayden's OT appointment, I took him out for a little playdate treat. We went to Epic Air in South Elgin for the first time. We had a jumptastic time! This place is trampoline city, and even I got in on the action. What a workout! It was so fun hanging out with friends for a bit (and letting Brayden burn LOTS of energy!).

And what trip to South Elgin would be complete without a Spirels visit? Brayden would go here everyday if he could.

I also made my new recipe of the week on Friday - Carne Guidasa (Beef Stew). I served it over rice and loved it! My mom just kept commenting on how different the methods and ingredients were from her recipe, but no matter the recipe, it was darn tasty.

And of course there's the Friday pic of my cutie pies (with another smile for the camera from Lauryn!).

Saturday was spent at home doing a whole lotta nuthin'. But here's Peyton with the Dr. Brown's Easter paci I got for FREE (with a Dr. Brown's Easter bottle) from Babies R Us. All I had to do was spend $25, which I do all the time anyway. They change the promotion every month - last month I got a Minnie Mouse sippy cup - and the coupon is always online. Cute, right? (Both the paci AND Peytie, of course!)

We had a 60 degree day on Sunday so Brayden got to break in his new bike! Look at him go for the first time ever on a big boy bike. So proud of him!!!

Finally, we can't forget Lauryn with her FREE Easter paci!

Have a good week!

Weekly Workouts:

Zero. Again. *SIGH* Once again I skipped on any workouts. BUT, my excuse saving grace is that we did order the treadmill this week and it will arrive on Tuesday. YAY! So Tuesday. I WILL workout on Tuesday.

Weekly Goals:

• Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. No.
• Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. No. 
• Goal #3: Drink at least 6 cups of water every day. And no.

It's funny that the week I remove "Cleaning the Basement" as a goal, is the week where I spend HOURS in the basement (Sunday) getting ready for my treadmill to arrive.

I'll keep the same goals for next week and I WILL complete them.

Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. Not only do I need to login, but I need to stay under my calorie goals.

Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. My ultimate goal is to work out five days a week, but I'm starting off slow with just three times for a few weeks.

Goal #3: Drink at least 6 cups of water every day. I basically drink coffee all day long (I have to keep up with these twins!) Water is so important so I need to make sure I meet my daily goals.

I'll let you know if I completed any next week!

Things We Love: Mustela

When Brayden was younger - even weeks after he was born - he had horrible skin. I remember having to take him to a pediatric dermatologist at just 3 weeks of age for severe eczema and cradle cap. FOUR prescriptions later, and months and months of treatment finally cleared it up, but we dealt with skin issues pretty much from day one. So for regular baths, we ended up using Aveeno products on him because that brand seemed to be the only one that didn't cause his skin issues to flare up. The only problem for me was that the Aveeno products were unscented. And I like me a pretty-smelling baby.

I was afraid that we would have the same issues with the twins so I bought a bunch of Aveeno products before they were even born. Unscented, pretty basic products. Bleh.

So imagine my surprise when week after week goes by and these babies have almost perfect skin! Pfft...forget the Aveeno - bring on the scented babies!!!

Normally, I feel like Johnson & Johnson scented products are synonymous with baby smells. Your ovaries can't help aching when smelling J&J baby lotion. It's a fact. But when I started a baby registry (at either Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby - I can't remember which), I received some product samples to try. One of them being for Mustela Hydra Bebe Body Lotion.

Shocked!

That's basically how I felt when I smelled this stuff. Best. Scent. Ever.

I lather this stuff on the twins daily (and I even use it myself). It's not thick, but it did clear up the baby scalies my twins had during their first few weeks of life. And I'm telling you - there is no better baby scent. This stuff is magic. I liked loved it so much, that I ended up buying the whole newborn baby gift set.

I love every single product in the gift set too. On days where I don't bathe them, I wipe them down with the PhysiObébé cleaning fluid. I use the Hydro Bebe lotion daily. The Dermo-Cleansing gel is awesome at bathtime. And the foam shampoo for newborns is the best! I love, love, love this company. Don't believe me? You'll have to smell it for yourself!

My Kid Spent $140 on Candy Crush

No, that is not a typo. Oh how I wish it was. It is unfortunately true that, in a matter of just a few minutes, my 5-year-old was able to send Facebook $140 from my PayPal account. Shocking, right? Turns out it's a lot easier than I thought.

Let me backpedal for a minute and start by saying that my son has done this once before, just a few weeks ago. Only difference was, that time it was only $2.99, and I got my Facebook notification fast enough to catch him before he was able to purchase any more. I quickly scrambled, Googling how to prevent this from happening again, and found the Payments option under Settings. There is an option there that you can toggle On or Off that says it will prompt you for your Facebook password before sending money. After that first time I noticed that mine was set to the "Off" position by default. Phew. I switched that baby on and (incorrectly) assumed I was now protected.

So, under that assumption, when Brayden asked me if he could play the game on my laptop with me sitting right behind him with full view of the screen, I said "Sure!". I did make it clear before he started that there would be NO purchasing and NO sharing. He agreed to the terms, and so he played.

After about a half hour one of the twins started crying so I had to get up to get a bottle from downstairs. "I'll be right back, Brayden," I said. I was gone for 2, maybe 3, minutes total.

I came back upstairs and noticed the blue light flashing on my phone, letting me know that I had a notification. I looked at my phone to see that I had 8 Facebook notifications.WHOA! I hadn't posted anything lately so I thought, "Ooh, cool! Something must be going on!"

Then, after about 5 seconds, the realization set in. All those notifications were actually RECEIPTS!

Count 'em up people. 8 notifications, totaling $140. My 5-year-old was able to purchase ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY DOLLARS worth of gold bars on Candy Crush in approximately ONE MINUTE.

I. LOST. IT.

I'm not proud of it, but I totally had a Mommy Meltdown. Screaming, yelling, stomping around the house...thinking we were out $140 on a computer game. Not one of my finer moments.

Evidently, it made quite an impact on Brayden. At the end of my tantrum, I went looking for him and found him downstairs at the kitchen table. Before I got any words out, he handed me this...

A graphic depiction of my rage. Him holding his ears. Even a dollar sign, showing me he knew exactly why I was mad. And, of course, a warning to all others who come close.

BEWARE OF THE MOMS

Great. Please, don't all call DCFS at once.

And - even after all that - he tells me that his Candy Crush goal was to spend $30,000 on power-ups so that he can pass the level. At least he thinks my bank account is Trump-worthy.

At the end of it all, Brayden was grounded from all electronics for one whole week (any suggestions on how to entertain a 5-year-old without a TV, tablet, or computer are greatly appreciated), and Facebook did quickly refund the money. Just know that the refund was a one-time-only deal. If it happens again - even if it's for the $30,000 original goal - I would be owing Facebook ALL of the money.

Moral of the story: The Facebook password setting for payments does NOT work for apps. I suggest signing off of Facebook if your kids like playing Facebook games, or logging off the computer all together to make sure this doesn't happen to you too.

The Twins are Two Months Old!

I can't believe we're at the two month mark already! The twins have been getting so much bigger, it's almost hard for me to believe that they were so teeny tiny in the NICU. They are both awake for longer stretches of time during the day, which is both kinda a blessing and a curse. I was so used to their old schedule of sleeping, then eating every three hours, getting a diaper change, and then falling right back asleep. It was GREAT! Well, those days have come and gone. Sometimes it's hard to get them to go back to sleep at all. The crying! Boy oh boy do these kids have pipes. And they LOVE to be held. If they are being fussy, most of the time they can be soothed by picking them up. Which is exhausting, by the way, just in case you were wondering. They are lucky they're cute!

Lauryn 

She is definitely the princess of the house. Her dad makes a beeline for her when he gets home from work and is totally in love with her. She still likes looking around and seems very aware of her surroundings. She likes looking up at the toys in the jungle gym and loves the bouncy seat. Many nights the only way she'll sleep is in the bouncy seat.

She dislikes drinking formula, which pretty much sucks for her. My breast milk supply is quickly dwindling and she won't have a choice in about a week or so. She can be tough to go to sleep, but she can also sleep the longest through the night sometimes. And for as content as she is most of the time, she's not much of a smiler. She smiles, but they are rare.

Lauryn is bustin' out of 0-3 Month clothes. The outfit she has on is 0-3 Months and it's pretty snug. Most of her jammies are 3-6 Month.

Peyton

This boy loves to smile. He hears my voice and starts looking around for me and grins from ear to ear when I start playing with him. I love it. He also likes studying faces. While Lauryn loves looking all around the room, Peyton mostly likes to just look at whoever's face is holding him. He also likes patterns. My mom wears a lot of shirts with patterns on them, and Peyton stares at them all the time.

He still dislikes lots of things. Bathtimes are a joke. He doesn't enjoy them one bit. I feel bad for him really. During bathtime, his cries are bloodcurdling screams. It sounds like someone is hurting him, and all it is is a little water. I try to finish up as fast as possible.

Peytie is still fitting nicely in 0-3 Month clothes.

Baby Milestones

According to the CDC, these are the milestones that should be reached by two months of age:

Social and Emotional
Begins to smile at people
Can briefly calm himself (may bring hands to mouth and suck on hand)
Tries to look at parent

Language/Communication
Coos, makes gurgling sounds
Turns head toward sounds
Baby raising head and chest when lying on stomach

Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)
Pays attention to faces
Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance
Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn’t change

Movement/Physical Development
Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying on tummy
Makes smoother movements with arms and legs

Both babies meet all the milestones, with the exception if the cooing. They make noises, but it's not really coos. It's more gurgling, so I guess it still counts. So far, so good babies! The CDC only releases the milestones as they coincide with doctor appointments, so the next one is at 4 months. Hopefully they continue to meet their age appropriate milestones. We'll check back in next month!

Mail Call: Twinning Edition #4

I got some more mail from a couple more companies recently! For whatever reason, companies aren't sending out the things I thought they would (according to the sites that originally listed the Multiple Birth Programs). Something is better than nothing I guess, but it doesn't look like there's a whole lot to this multiple birth thing. Maybe too many people took advantage of the offers ans companies scaled back. Who knows. This is what came in the mail recently, along with the contact method I used.

You can see what I received in previous weeks HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Huggies (Kimberly-Clark)

I received four $3.00 OFF coupons from Kimberly-Clark to be used on any of their products, including Huggies, Kleenex, Cottonelle, Kotex and more. I like how they're not limited to Huggies diapers, but wish they were more baby-centric,considering they are supposedly part of a multiples program. I contacted them by mail, sending copies of the twins' birth certificates to Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Department QMB-017063476A, P. O. Box 2020, Neenah, WI 54957-2020. They sent the birth certificate copies back in the mail too. Their welcome letter also had instructions on how to sign up for member benefits and coupons on Huggies.com. I am already a rewards member.

Similac

I am already a member of the Similac Strong Moms program and received a few sample cans of formula in the mail. I sent a message on the Contact Us page on the Similac website inquiring about a "multiples" program. They ended up sending me an extra Similac Advanced Non-GMO sample can, along with two $3.00 OFF coupons and two $2.00 OFF coupons.

 Ocean Spray

This one completely baffles me as to why they would have a multiples program, but evidently they do. I saw on a site that they would send you coupons and a gift basket. Who wouldn't be all about a gift basket?!?! Well...that's partly true. They will send you two coupons - one for a FREE jug of juice (up to 96 oz and not to exceed $5.99) and another for $0.55 OFF - and a cranberry recipe booklet. Twins-related? Not even a little bit, but I'll take the free cranberry juice. It goes well with vodka! ;)

That's about it this week. I'll let you know if I receive anything else!