Weekly Recap #11

What a fun week! My husband and I actually got out of the house for a date night for Valentine's Day. Woo Hoo!!! Not every day was full of activity, but I do have my pictures!

On Monday we did absolutely nothing. For once I didn't have to leave the house for anything.

Lauryn actually likes tummy time!

My little love bug!

Peytie Pie is always so serious.

I went in to the OB's office for my 6 week postpartum checkup on Tuesday. Everything is all good! I even got to take these bibs home from the doc.

We hit another tearful milestone this week. On Wednesday we used the last Newborn diaper on Peyton. :( Even he has outgrown that tiny size. He's still in Newborn clothes, but I have a feeling that might change very soon. 

Playtime!

Peytie is just as serious during playtime. 

Baby feet 

Brayden is starting to enjoy being more helpful with the twins. He's a great big brother!

I also made my recipe of the week, Creamy Tortellini Soup. It was so much better than I expected, and very easy to make. This one is a keeper!

On Thursday I stepped out of the house on my own **GASP** for a hair cut! I won't lie though - I couldn't wait to get back home. Mostly for the kids, but also because I hate sitting in a salon (hair or nail) for any services. It's such a time suck, and I'm not exactly a patient person. Also, all I do is think of all the other, more productive, things I could be doing.

I look like a whale in this picture, but I'm so happy with my hair cut.

Jazz is with these babies so much, I probably have a few pictures of her with them every week.

Brayden has his OT on Fridays and, while totally not planned, I took him to a candy shop in St. Charles afterwards. He's been really good at home lately and I thought he deserved a little treat. Plus, I miss my alone time with him too. I heard about Rocket Fizz before, so when I passed it up on our way home I decided to stop in. Little did I know that it's part of a chain and they have lots of locations all over.

Brayden walked in and was blown away! I mean, what kid wouldn't be with all that candy?!?!

They had two bag sizes (small and large) that you could fill up to the top for a set price.

That's one happy little boy!

They had lots of old school throwback candy too, but it looks like their specialty is the soda that they make. Tons of flavor options.

They even had a bacon option and a buffalo wing flavor (which I was too much of a chicken to try).

The rest of the day was spent at home with the littles.

This girl loves playtime.

Channeling his inner Yeezy.

She is so chill and loves bathtime.

Check out those CURLS!!!

I also visited one of my good friends, Kristin, and her new baby boy. Pictures, you ask? Of course I forgot. He is a cutie though!

On Saturday my husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day with a date night to Altiro Latin Fusion in Geneva. I was so happy to get out of the house for dinner and cocktails. I felt like an adult again. And the food at Altiro was fantastic! It's a tapas-style restaurant and we had some steak tacos, pork belly tacos, and some sides. I also had a pineapple margarita which was really yummy, even if it was a bit spicy.

On the day before Valentine's Day I also dressed Peyton in a Halloween outfit...because that's how I do! LOL (It was also time for me to do a load of baby laundry. :)

Valentine's Day was on Sunday. I couldn't forget the family on V-Day so I gave them some chocolate treats and handmade cards.

Sunday also marked the return of The Walking Dead, and my husband and I are huge fans of the show. The mid-season premiere did not disappoint either!

Hope you had a fabulous Valentine's Day!!!

Weekly Workouts:

Monday: Low Impact Cardio Workout- Beginner/Intermediate (35 minutes) I really liked this one! It certainly helps that I love me an English accent. ;)

Wednesday: Low Impact Cardio Workout for Beginners - Beginner Cardio & Toning Workout Routine (30 minutes) I didn't use dumbbells.

Saturday: Day 1 - Ease Into It - 30 Days of Yoga (35 minutes) The Day 1 routine was easy, but I don't think that's the case for the rest of the program.

Weekly Goals:

• Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. YES! According to MyFitnessPal I've logged in for 23 days in a row! :) I'm not always under my calorie goal, but I am logging them.
• Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. YES! I'm starting off slow, but I did do three different YouTube videos this week. I like the new yoga program I found. 
• Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Not this week. Is this ever going to happen???
• Goal #4: Write a post for my other blog. Nope. I have the post started, I just couldn't get it done this week.
• Goal #5: Take Brayden to preschool both days he's supposed to go. Nope. My husband and I actually decided to pull him from the preschool program. He's already being homeschooled at a first grade level, so he was just attending preschool to socialize. He's missed so much that he would be going in again almost like a "new kid". I just don't want to do that to him.

Ok, but not great. I think I have yet to complete all my goals for the week. I really need to try harder.

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: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. I can always spend more time in the basement. I have to get down there this week!

Goal #4: Write a post for my other blog. I have the post started, just have to finish it.

Goal #5: Send email to preschool director. Since we made the decision to pull him from the program, I need to let the school know. It was a really hard decision, but it's the right decision for us.

I'll let you know how it went next week! Aiming for 5 for 5!!!

Mail Call: Twinning Edition #3

I got some mail from a couple more companies this week! I don't want to post the whole list of companies I contacted, because I'm not sure that all the offers are legit, but when I actually receive something from the companies I'll post all the details here. 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 and HERE.

Pampers

I received some GREAT coupons from Pampers. I contacted them two ways, by phone and by mail, and I have to think that these coupons came because of my phone call. It seems like the coupons came too fast to have been from a snail mail to Pampers. I called them at 1-800-726-7377 and just had to give basic info. Some of the coupons are for FREE diapers!

Family Fun Magazine

I received the December/January issue last week, and then the February/March issue came this week too. Not sure how I got on this list, but I'll take it!

Not too much this week, but the Pampers coupons will definitely come in handy. I'll let you know if I receive anything else in the coming weeks!

One Month Doctor Appointment

The twins had their one month doctor appointment last week! They are both doing fantastic but I have learned that getting those two out of the house is quite an ordeal. We started getting them ready to get in the car a full 30 minutes before we had to be out of the house - and we still barely made it to their appointment on time. Yes, they look cute in their car seats, I just wish we could pick up the pace a bit (or at least have them not poop through their diapers so many times!).

At the doctor's office, it was nice that we got to wait in a separate room from the main waiting area. After a few minutes, we were taken in to be seen. So far so good with wait times at this office. We have not had to wait more than 5 minutes yet. One of my pet peeves is waiting what feels like forever and a day to see a doctor. Unfortunately for the twins, they had no idea what they were in for yet.

In this picture you can totally see how much bigger Lauryn is!

First it was off with their clothes and time to get weighed, checked, and measured.

As you can see, Peyton wasn't having it. As a matter of fact, he basically cried throughout the entire visit. Uncontrollably. I asked the doctor about his screaming, and she assured me it was totally normal. I just hate how desperate and painful his cries sound, and there's nothing I can do about it. Holding him helps, but I'm afraid that he's going to be so much more sensitive than Brayden. We've been through a lot with Brayden and his sensory issues, and it just breaks my heart to think that Peyton might experience some of the same problems. Poor little guy!

He even cried when the nurse took his vitals and head circumference. The. Whole. Time. And Lauryn pooped on my hand, so, you know, just another day with these babies. The fun never ends I tell ya!

Then it was time to see the doc.

Even the doctor tried to soothe Peyton (to no avail, unfortunately)!

I'll take this time to say how much I am liking this doctor. The twins have been seeing Dr. Kelly in Saint Charles and, based on the two times we've been in to see her, I think she's really great. The entire office runs very efficiently, and the doctor is completely thorough and still allows me to ask all the questions I had without ever feeling rushed. I had questions about the vitamins they have been taking (they have to take them for at least 4 months), possible constipation (it's not), and the red bumps on the backs of their necks and heads (birthmarks called "stork bites").

I was also given an order to call the hospital so Peyton can have an ultrasound on his hips because he was in the breech position when I was pregnant. Great, just another day to get to hear him scream his head off. :(

At the end of the visit, my husband and I couldn't resist a "famfie" (family selfie).

Here are their stats. It's hard for me to believe that I have a child in the 1st percentile of anything. I'm so used to my larger-than-average kids that to have kids in the 1st, 6th, and 14th percentiles is just crazy to me. Guess it's something I just have to get used to.

I'll keep you posted in the months to come!

Lauryn Elizabeth

Weight: 9 lb 6 oz (45th percentile)

Height: 20.5" (14th percentile)

Head Circumference: 36 cm (25th percentile)

Peyton James

Weight: 8 lb 5 oz (6th percentile)

Height: 20" (1st percentile)

Head Circumference: 36.5 cm (18th percentile)

Weekly Recap #10

This was, surprisingly, a pretty busy week! We had friends and family visit, and of course Sunday was the Super Bowl! Here's how our week went.

On Monday, Lauryn graduated out of newborn clothes to 0-3 months. **SNIFF, SNIFF**

Looks like she's just as sad as I am that she's no longer in newborn clothes.

I also made this week's recipe, a Shredded Chicken Taco Salad. The recipe calls for crockpot chicken, and I'll admit that I cheated and just used a rotisserie chicken that I shredded up. I use that shortcut all the time! I'd like to make the chicken recipe on the website because it does look good. Maybe next time.

On Tuesday, my friend Julia hosted a Valentine's Day playdate at her house. It was so nice to get out for a little bit of adult conversation. One of these pictures featured Brayden's friends, Delaney and Stella, but I didn't ask their parents if it was ok to post their photos online, and I am not in the habit of posting kids pics without their parents' consent. I'll totally post pics of adults though, so if you see me with my camera out, know that you might be on here. :)

This is how Brayden plays with them. He introduces them to Spongebob.

On Wednesday my friend Stephanie stopped by. It was so nice to see her and catch up. As usual, I just took pics of the kids.

Lauryn my chunker, and Peyton, my "Little Dude"

Thursday was my 40 week due date. I know I never would have delivered this late, but it's crazy to think that in a normal pregnancy I could have still been pregnant right now. **SHUDDER** Today the twins finally got out of the house for their 1 month doctor appointment! They have only been out of the house to see the doctor. I'll post more about their appointment later this week.

On Friday my dad, AKA Wello, visited. I love how he always makes it a point to visit all of his grandkids. He is one proud grandpa and is all about the familia. 

Other than that, we just chilled at home on Friday.

Jazz loves these babies so much!

"I'll just sit here and be cute." - Peyton

I'm SO THANKFUL for my mom, who loves ALL my babies just as much as I do.

On Saturday I actually got out of the house to do something fun ON MY OWN! Whaaaaat?!?! I attended a baby shower for one of the ladies at church and loved catching up with my church family - and my sister and Lynnie Lou of course!

We also had one of our favorites for dinner on Saturday - Portillo's! Looks like Brayden approves.

Lauryn actually latched on for the first time today! It hurt like hell, but at least I can say that I breastfed at least once in my life. I'll spare you the photos of that precious moment though. Lol

We hosted a Super Bowl party on Sunday with my siblings! The game, and even the commercials, were pretty boring (although I am SO happy with the outcome and Peyton Manning's win!). I made some yummy eats from recipes I found on Pinterest for the get together, Slow Cooker Chili, Crack Dip, Slow Cooker Spinach and Artichoke Dip, and Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese for my vegetarian little sister. They were ALL good and very easy to make.

Weekly Workouts:

To keep myself accountable to my workouts, I'll post them here every week. Remember - I'm starting off SLOW, so nothing crazy for awhile.

Tuesday - Calorie Burning Low Impact Cardio Workout for Beginners (30 minutes)

Thursday - Postnatal SlimDown Cardio Workout (30 minutes) This workout is supposedly geared towards women that just had a baby. Um...I don't think so! All that dang jumping around?!?! Have these chicks heard of breastfeeding moms? OUCH!!! I won't be doing this one again.

Saturday - Postpartum Yoga Week 1 - Pelvis Alignment and Core Foundation (20 minutes) I didn't feel like I did anything after this "workout".

Weekly Goals:

I did pretty good on the goals this week:

• Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. YES! According to MyFitnessPal I'm on a streak! :) I'm not always under my calorie goal, but I am logging them.
• Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. YES! I'm starting off slow, but I did do three different YouTube videos this week. I have to find a better yoga program though. 
• Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Not this week.
• Goal #4: Write a post for my other blog. Nope. I have the best intentions, and I even know what I'm going to write about, but with cranky babies I just couldn't get to it this week.
• Goal #5: Take Brayden to preschool both days he's supposed to go. Nope. I totally woke up with baby brain on Monday thinking we didn't have to leave until 9:45am, when we should have left at 8:45am. I woke up at 8:30. :( Wednesday wasn't any better,unfortunately. We're 0 for 2 this week.

Not as bad as I would have guessed! Keeping the same goals for next week. We'll see how it goes.

Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. I'm starting to use MyFitnessPal again (links to my Garmin Connect app) and want to record everything I eat. Time to drop more than just this baby weight!

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: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. I can always spend more time in the basement.

Goal #4: Write a post for my other blog. Make that two posts since I flaked last week. I'm not quite ready to let that blog go. I want to keep it to a more destination review site, with some products featured too. I have tons of places that I've been to that I haven't written about, so I won't lack content at all.

Goal #5: Take Brayden to preschool both days he's supposed to go. It is so hard for me to get my stuff together and take Brayden to school. Most days, I'm either just waking up, or already feeding one of the twins when it's time to go. I need to schedule this better so he can make it to class.

I'll let you know how it went next week!

Mail Call: Twinning Edition #2

I got some mail from a few more companies this week - one was a good one! I don't want to post the whole list of companies I contacted, because I'm not sure that all the offers are legit, but when I actually receive something from the companies I'll post all the details here. This is what came in the mail recently, along with the contact method I used.

You can see what I received last week HERE.

TOMY (Learning Curve Brands/The First Years)

I originally called their product support line at 1-800-533-6708 and I was given an email address to write to (karen@tomy.com). The email's subject line should be: Multiple Birth Program and I had to attach copies of the twin's birth certificates. The body of the email should include: Name, Address, and Phone Number. I received 2 sets of sippy cups and two teether rattles. This was a great surprise to receive!

Gerber

I received some high value coupons for Gerber formula and food. I called 1-800-284-9488 and gave some basic information, including the twins' birthday.

Unilever

Don't know why this company was on the list, because from what I can tell, they don't make any baby products. I called them anyway, at 1-800-598-1223, and received a coupon booklet in the mail.

Family Fun Magazine

I'm not really sure why I received this magazine, but hey, it's something else I received for free in the mail.

I'll let you know if I receive anything else in the coming weeks!

Resolutions Update: January 2016

One month into the new year and I'm doing pretty good on my resolutions so far. How about you? I'll remove some of these as I complete them but, as promised, here's an update on how I've done so far.

Read 20 minutes every day. In 2015, my Goodreads reading goal was 36 books for the year. I ended up reading 52! I'm hoping to take it to 55 books this year. I'm an avid reader so it shouldn't be too tough. I'm probably reading more than 20 minutes a day. I read when I'm feeding the kids, and even when I'm pumping. To date, I have read 7 books - that's 7 books in ONE month!

Join a gym. After these babies are born (and I'm given clearance to start exercising), I plan to join a local gym. I love taking classes like Zumba and spin classes, and my local gym offers a bunch of group fitness classes. Time to get my sweat on! Not yet- when do I have the time?!?!

Run 5 races. Before I got pregnant, I had just gotten into a groove with running. It's a dream of mine, really, to be able to say "I'm a runner" and I'd love to eventually run 10k's, 1/2 marathons, and full marathons. I've only done 5k's so far, and I hope to be able to run at least 5 of them this year. I'll do this in the spring/summer.

Drink 6 cups of water everyday. I fail on drinking water big time. I'd much rather have a big glass of juice or soda. I want to try and give up soda completely, but don't want to set myself up for failure. I love it too much. So I'll just settle on drinking 6 cups of water each day. If I can do that, I'm off to a good start. There were days that I did, and lots of days that I didn't. Now that I'm using MyFitnessPal again, I'm going to try to hit this everyday in February.

Get the basement organized. I started cleaning up parts of the basement, but it's really in need of a thorough cleaning/organization session. We just have way too much stuff down there. I'd like to reduce the amount of stuff in the basement by half. I've spent some time in the basement, but not nearly enough. Hey - I've got all year to complete this goal, right?

Save money for our next trips (cruise in 2106 and Disney World in 2017). I love traveling more than anything in the world. I know that it's only going to get more expensive and a lot more difficult to travel with twins, so I need to be more diligent about saving money from each paycheck. Not a single penny. How sad is that?

Cook one new recipe every week. I already started picking out some new recipes I want to try in the new year, and I figure Sundays would be a great day to try them out. I'm used to being on the go all the time, but I want to start taking it easy on Sundays and spending more time at home. I'll have more time to clean up the house and cook some yummy new grub. YES! I'm really enjoying this one too.

Take a little time each week for personal growth. This one is going to be so hard for me, but I need to take a little bit of time, even if it's just an hour a week, for just me. I could get my nails done, read up on a subject I enjoy, or take a class. I'm looking forward to this one. Hmm...I'm thinking I should print out this resolution list because I forgot all about this goal!

Eat 2-3 servings of fruits/vegetables every day. I am the worst at eating fresh fruits and veggies. Doctors recommend high serving amounts every day, but just starting off with two or three would be good for me. This one is easy!

Take better photos. I always bring out my big camera, but hardly ever take any pictures on it. All pictures I use are usually taken on my cell phone. I need to put my phone down and pick up my nice camera from time to time. I think I'm going to have to reevaluate this one. I actually like taking pictures on my cell phone, mainly because all pictures I take are immediately uploaded to my Google account and can be viewed on my laptop chronologically. Who needs the fancy camera? I'll be deleting this goal since I take pics of the twins every single day.

So there's January. Not too bad. Hopefully I can knock some more off next month.

Weekly Recap #9

Nothing super spectacular happened this week, so I won't bore you with the daily play-by-play. I will, however, share pics of my gorgeous babies (of course I'm biased!), and any details of the day. Enjoy!

Put them together in the bouncy seat. Love this pic!

On Tuesday I received a new box from Influenster. Have you ever heard of Influenster? They are a great company that will periodically send you a box of products to review (they call it a Vox Box), based on surveys they send you throughout the year. You don't get chosen for all of them, but occasionally you get one sent in the mail. The one I received is called the #CheersVoxBox and it had a few products in it. The first one I tried was the Way Better Snacks Corn Tortilla Chips (sold at Target). They are a healthier snack option and taste SO GOOD! A different consistency from regular tortilla chips, and a little spicy, but definitely something I'd try again.

Other products I received in the box included Suave Professionals® Biotin Infusion Strengthening Shampoo & Conditioner (full-sized products and they smell SO GOOD!), Dr Teal's Epsom Salt Soothe & Sleep with Lavender (perfect for nighttime soaks), a coupon for a free package of Hormel Taco Meats (haven't tried yet), and a flyer to download and try the Yaye app to track workouts and share them with friends (a little confusing to use). If you want to receive some cool boxes yourself, sign up on Influenster!

On Tuesday I also made my new recipe of the week, Slow Cooker Orange Chicken. It definitely doesn't come out looking like it does in the photo on the website, and the recipe doesn't even have you add sliced green onions or sesame seeds (as you see on the picture on the website), but it did taste pretty good and was really easy to make. Just serve over white rice.

My cutie pie Peyton.

Lauryn was up late on Tuesday

It amuses me how they're usually sleeping in the same position - and they are now constantly trying to fight the swadddle.

I recorded this video on Wednesday to send to my sister-in-law. I always comment on how envious I am of her and her quietly crying boys. This is what I have been given with Peyton (and even with Brayden before him). For your listening pleasure.  

Jazzie loves her siblings!

These are my favorite pics of the twins turning ONE MONTH OLD! It was nice to have my sister and her family visit on Saturday too. She has been so great since my twins have been born so I wanted to give her a special shout-out...although of course I forgot to take pics of her family at my house. We're hosting the Super Bowl next week though, so I'll have another opportunity to take pics with her and my favorite niece, Linnie Lou!

Even Brayden likes to get in on showering the babies with love...sometimes.

And finally, one of my favorite pics of the week. This outfit on Lauryn is about 17 years old. I'm so glad that I kept a few items from when Jazz was a baby. Now Lauryn has some cute clothes that were passed down from her favorite big sister.

I did a little better on the goals this week:

• Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be 5 weeks soda-free! YES! Time to remove this one, I don't need soda at all.
• Goal #2: Send requests to 10 baby companies.  YES! started to receive items from a few companies I called already!
• Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Not quite. I got rid of some of the trash down there, but that didn't take me 30 minutes. :(
• Goal #4: Organize one more kitchen cabinet. Nope. No time for more cleaning this week. These babies are a lot of work!
• Goal #5: Clean off a few toys for the twins.  YES! They're not playing with them yet, but I do dangle toys in front of them so they can have something new to look at.
• Goal #6: Go through about 4 weeks worth of coupons. YES! Clipped and filed!

Almost made all six this week! Here are some goals for this week.

Goal #1: Log calories everyday this week. I'm starting to use MyFitnessPal again (links to my Garmin Connect app) and want to record everything I eat. Time to drop more than just this baby weight!

Goal #2: Work out 3 times this week. My ultimate goal is to work out five days a week, but I'll start off slow with just three times this first week.

Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. I can always spend more time in the basement.

Goal #4: Write a post for my other blog. I'm not quite ready to let that blog go. I want to keep it to a more destination review site, with some products featured too. I have tons of places that I've been to that I haven't written about, so I won't lack content at all.

Goal #5: Take Brayden to preschool both days he's supposed to go. It is so hard for me to get my stuff together and take Brayden to school. Most days, I'm either just waking up, or already feeding one of the twins when it's time to go. I need to schedule this better so he can make it to class.

I'll let you know how it went next week!