Holiday Break

So sorry to all my followers and readers, I have had a ton of family here for the holidays, and have been busy trying to keep my sanity enjoy time with family.  I will be back by next wednesday!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Yet, Another List

We all fantasize about our lives right?!  How our kitchen will look, how big of a backyard you have, the car you drive, the love your family shares, the financial security, fresh sheets everyday (or for me, just having the sheets remain on the bed more than one night)  anything!  So here are my life goals, I hope that they are all attainable.

1. Move home to California (this WILL happen)
2. Own at least 40 acres
3. Have a huge bathtub (some things are just a must have)
4. Work a job that I can do from home, and help pay the bills (currently finishing up my schooling!!)
5. Be a great role model for my daughters
6. Have a stable family base
7. have enough money to allow my girls to rope or do gymkhanas and ride their horses whenever they want.
8. Be genuinely happy with my life

Now I am sure there are more, and I am sure I am missing some, but this is what has been on my mind lately, so why not share.

Change for the Future

When we began trying to get pregnant, we never, ever, in a million years thought we would wind up with twins.  We hadent even done any research on car seats, diapers, breast or bottle, NOTHING!  We just knew that we were ready to start our family, and in a naive notion, we though ONE baby would come, and everything would fall into place.  

WRONG!

When we finally got pregnant 16 months later, (40lbs heaver and almost ready to give up) we were SHOCKED to see two perfect babies up on the screen

Our lives were turned upside down, and sideways, and through a baby bullet (haha) Since that day, we have learned so much!  SO MUCH!  

Looking back on it now, I am so thankful that the control freak in me was tamed and put on lock down by my doctor.  I had so much time to do my research, but I wasnt researching cloth diapers, or breast milk, I was trying to find as many ways to keep these babies in me for as long a possible!  Now that they are 13 months old, I have been thinking about our next baby (not that it is even on the table now) and what we want for our child.  

First things first, I am for sure breast feeding the next baby.  I do not care what it takes, I am not giving up, I am doing it.  Also, I WILL cloth diaper the next baby.  No matter what, I am doing it!  Everything else, I will do exactly the same (or close) as I did with the girls.  I gave up on cloth diapering because honestly, its so overwhelming.  I had two babies, two times the everything and the last thing I wanted to have to worry about was washing diapers, and spraying diapers and ahhhhhh!!!  One baby?  piece of cake, done and done.  

So Thats my rant of the day :)  What I will change for our next baby (in 2 or 3 years )

Have a nice day everyone!!

Blessings & Battles {Week 1}

{Blessings}

• Mommy being over her cold
• Girls not getting the cold mommy had
• beautiful roses as a centerpiece on my kitchen table
• a husband who makes me so proud of him
• Moving back home to California in 16 months

{Battles}

• My mom leaves today :(
• People cant pulls their heads out and book plane tickets
• hubby has a lot of classes on his days of, cutting time with us short 
• tight budget this week
• MOLARS x 2

Wordless Wednesday

Swing Edition

Rylie is in Pink, and Laramie is in purple.  Oh, and Laramie doesnt look identical to her daddy at all ;)

Best Friends ♥

These little girls are best friends, and it seriously melts my heart.

Tales of Two Girls { A Guest Post }

The Fine Art of Manipulation

Hi, everyone! I’m Tessa, from over at Tales of Two Girls.  As the title of my blog shows, I am the momma to two adorably awesome little girls.  Kendall is 3 and Sydney is 18 months.  Needless to say, our house is never quiet…or dull!

Kendall, in her wise three years of age, has already seemed to master the art of manipulation.  The best part about it is, she has no idea she’s doing it.  The other night, the girls were having a sleepover at my parents.  There is a little crib set up in my old bedroom that has Micky Mouse bedding in it.  Kendall thinks it’s hers, and Lord help us if we try to put Sydney in it.  So the big kid has to sleep in the crib, which means a pack ‘n play needs to be brought along.
That night, they noticed Sydney was getting tired so my dad went to put her in bed.  Kendall chased after him to be sure that her little sister wasn’t getting her beloved resting place.  She then decided it was time for her to go to bed, too.  You know, in case her little sister got any ideas about trying to invade on Kendall’s domain.

She took a couple of books to read and hopped in. From the moment she went down, she was singing and chatting away.  My dad had gone in numerous times to tell her to quiet down, so she didn’t wake up her sister.  Finally, the last time he went in he said that if she didn’t quiet down a little, he’d have to take her book.  
Kendall’s response?  In her stoic little face, she replies, “Take it.”  My dad tried telling her that, no, she could keep it, but she just had to be quiet.  
Kendall: “No, take the book.”
Grandpa: “No, Kendall you can have it, just be quiet.”
Kendall: “Take it.”
Grandpa: “Kendall, why do you want me to take it from you?”
Kendall: “Because I have another book here.  When I read this one, you don’t come in the room to tell me to be quiet.”

Score 1 for Kendall.  She just outsmarted Grandpa.

The next day, while the girls were napping, I decided to get a jump start on wrapping the Christmas gifts.  Not 2 seconds after I had them under the tree, Kendall ran in and screeched, “Mommy!! Santa came!!!! Santa came and brought me presents!!!!”  Oh, crap.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I tried to explain that Santa didn’t come and these presents were not for her.  She was having a hard time comprehending this, and her little shoulders fell.  So, I did what any {sucker of a} mother would do.  I gave her a little present.  
Score 2 for Kendall.

Yes, in a matter of 24 hours, my lovely daughter has outsmarted 2 of us.  So, here is my advice to you if you find yourself in a similar predicament.  

Step 1: Turn around.
Step 2: Quickly try to walk away
Step 3: Break into laughter.

And, then of course blog about it. 

12 Month Check Up (part 1)

Today we have the girls 12 month checkup (at almost 13 months old) and last time we had a check up and shots, we all ended up in an ambulance headed for the er to make sure Rylie was going to live.  her fever was really high, and I thought she was having a seizure (which she may have been, we will never know)  So I am splitting up their shots which isnt ideal.  I am all for vaccines and believe in the schedule.  But I will never put my baby through that again.  So off we go......wish us luck.

Back to School I Go

Before I got pregnant with the best things (thing 1 and thing 2 to be exact) I was trying to complete a medical transcription program, with the help of the military MyCAA financial aid program.  The program gives all military spouses (E-1 through E-4) $4000.00 for school.  I really like the program, and I love the fact that I can move, and still have my job with no interference.  Its a beautiful thing.

Unfortunately, I had severe morning sickness, and couldnt even sit up, let alone do school work.  After 6 months of not doing my school, I was over it, and wanted to focus on becoming a mommy.  In hindsight, that was an awfully bad decision, but I made it and Im moving on.  Now that the girls are almost 13 months old, and sleep 12 hours a night (THANK GOD!) I feel like I can really focus on school again, and with a short time left for recieving a twice monthly military paycheck, I want some stability for when he may not have a job.  

So I signed up again!!  With just enough money left on my MyCAA financial aid, I will be able to complete the program cost free!!  I am so thankful for this!!  If anyone wants info on MyCAA, or Career Step (my school)  email me.

Going Home

So as most of you know, my hubby is in the Army.  We are stationed in Missouri, and we recently bought a home here.  (which is amazing I might add)  Well, we have less than a year and a half left here, and werent really sure where we were going to go after this.  I for one will not stay here.  My home may be awesome, but it ends there.  I dont appreciate my life being threatened all summer (fall, winter, spring) by tornadoes.  And I could never get over that.  

Being from California (yup, California, the state that elected a freaking movie star as its Governator, I mean governor)  we were sure we didnt want to move back there.  We tossed around Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington, but we dont fit there.  We fit in our original little ranch town in Northern California.  we fit near our friends and our family.  Near all the recreation (the camping, the lake, the mountains!) Near my Team Roping family!!  We are meant to be right where we started!  And I am so thankful we know now, before its too late.  

Now I am looking for homes there, and planning on the ropings, spring musicals at my old elementary school, and football games.  My hubby isnt thrilled (california has the dumbest gun laws) but if youre picking a state on the gun laws, youre an idiot.  I want my girls to know their family!  I want to be near them too!!  My horses are there, and essentially, our lives are there.  We need to be there too!!

So we came to a decision, that once his contract is up, were going home.  And I couldn't be more thrilled with that choice ♥

Its Christmas Time Again

So its Christmas time again!!  Who is super excited??!!!  ME!  I love Christmas, and Thanksgiving, and New Years!  November, December, and January are my favorite months.  I love the snow and the smells, the colors and warmth of a fire.  I love all of it.  

We have a family tradition (all three years of it ) of putting up our tree on Thanksgiving night, and this year was no different.  We went to our local grocery store and got ourselves a real Christmas tree!  We have had a fake one for the last few years (were in Missouri, we cant just go cut one down!)  So we got it and put it up!  Surprisingly, the girls havent messed with it too much, and I am sure it helps that I only decorated the top half, and put a few of the bulbs on the floor, so they wouldnt want to reach for the ones on the tree.  

So here is our Christmas tree!  I hope it helps all of you get into the Christmas spirit!!!!

LOSE IT!

Okay, this is kind of a personal, embarassing post for me, but I feel like I have to do it!  (this is my blog right)  Okay so.  Every year on January 1st I make a "new years resolution" as almost all of us do, to lose weight.  And every year, usually by my birthday (January 11th) I quit the diet/exercise gig for food! 

Ever since I got out of high school and out on my (well, actually our) own, and once Nick joined the Army, I packed on the pounds like it was going out of style.  I gained nearly 60 pounds in the year and 2 months between getting married, and getting pregnant.  During my TWIN pregnancy I gained an additional 50 pounds and took my girls to full term!!  Then, after losing all the baby weight, I gained back all but 15 pounds of it. 

This means I gained a total of 95 pounds since the day I got married.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? 

So heres what I did.  At my highest non pregnancy weight of my life, I was feeling depressed, enormous, and ready to set an example. So On October 1, 2011  I took a personal oath to myself and for my family, that I was going to lose weight and become a good, healthy role model for my two daughters, who will surely face some daunting body issues growing up.  (It doesnt help that they have the worst mix of a gene pool for fatness)

So I have been working out, cutting calories, and charting everything.  My amazing hubby even got me a wii!!  so now I use that for 95% of my workouts!!  I hate video games, but I must say this one is amazing!!  So far I have lost 20.2lbs, and I have about 100lbs to go.  I have a goal of the 11th of every month, to have lost 10 lbs.  (so 10lbs a month)  Seems extreme, I know, but I know I can do it!!

I am working on a weight loss page, so check for that!!  You can find tips there, and follow my before and after pictures!!  And if anyone is in the same position as I am, email me !!  we can do it together!!

  

 

Twilight, oh yeah!

Yup, I am a fan of TWILIGHT (the books first, then the movies)

And...

I am going to see it tonight with the hubby!!!!!

Im so excited :)

BRING ON THE YUMMY-NESS!

Questions, Questions

"How do you do it?!"

That question not only baffles me, but almost makes me want to say "umm, I just do, because there is no other choice"  I assume I feel this way because I have been asked this question so frequently.  However, its a total loaded question, and there really isnt one answer.

People...BE SPECIFIC!

Ask me how I get them into the car at the same time, or what I do when the shopping cart at walmart is only ment for one child.  Dont just say "how do you do it?!" and expect anything more than, "I just do!"  If I came up to you in the grocery store, and saw that you were wearing "work attire"  and asked you "Wow!  you must have a stressful job!  how in the world do you do it?!"  you would think I was crazy, and wonder why I was asking someone I didnt know, how they managed to keep their life all on track.

I feel like having children really opens up a platform for conversation.  Frankly, its not a conversation I want to have.  Yes, I love discussing my children, but when you ask me something like "breast or bottle?"  I kinda want to punch you in the face. 

Some people are very well meaning, and think my girls are soooo cute, and really dont know how to get a good look at them unless they strike up a conversation, and to them, I just say, "arent they cute!"  But when the mother of one wearing a nursing cover feeding her baby (ALL FOR IT!!!  WISH I WAS ABLE TO BREAST FEED LONGER) comes up and asks me if I breast fed my children, I know she wants to make herself look like a good, caring mother, and me look like the piece of crap mom who gives her child the dreaded formula *GASP*!!!

I do try to be nice, after all, most folks are just striking up a conversation, but I hope theyre not offended when they tell me "better you than me!"  and I quickly reply "Yeah, thank God!  You're a rude man/woman with no filter, I would never trust you with my children.  Thanks for playing, move along now."

The Great Milk Debate

What do you think of when you see this?

 or this?

Maybe youre thinking "cows milk all the way"  or maybe "Soy is full of hormones"  or maybe "soy!  because cows milk is full of hormones!"

obviously, the list of possibilities is ridiculously long.  I am going to tell you my take on this (as it has been quite the debate on my birth board on babycenter)

Before the thought of cows or soy milk came along, I planned to breast feed my twin daughters exclusively.  Well, a plan is just that.  It only worked for about 3 months, and my milk dried up.  I did everything I could with no luck.  At ALL!  So I had to use formula, oh the dreaded formula :)  I actually learned to love it, because it kept my girls healthy.  However, we quickly learned that our sweet, sweet babies had a major lactose allergy.  This led to SOY formula.  it was a God send!  seriously yall!!  it was awesome.  They were happy, no more spitting up, no more upset tummies, happy, happy little girls.

Until the girls were 11 1/2 months old, and WIC told me to begin integration of whole milk in with their formula, to do a gradual switch.  Like an idiot, I listened, even though I knew the previous experience with milk based formula ended in awful diarrhea and rashes so bad we visited the doctor 4 yes, 4 times to get it cleared up.    So I did that and the next day, BAM awful rashes and diarrhea (I am so stupid, and never again will I go against my intincts as a mother)  So soy milk it is.  

As soon as I switched the girls to fully soy milk (On their 1st birthday :) all was right in the world.  They loved it, I love that they have no ill effects from it, and this is how it will remain.  Some might ask, "WHAT ABOUT THE HORMONES IN SOY??!!"  to which I will reply...

"Are you kidding me?  Unless you raise that dairy cow, feed it hay, grass, and grain, and you milk the cow and give that to your kid, you got some major hormone issues in your milk too"

Everyone is different, and everyone is entitled to their opinions (maybe they should blog about it :)!!!!)  but if you child is getting the nutrition they need, and are happy, functioning members of society, who cares what they drink?!  

Thats About it for this subject :)  So drink up, and raise a glass of milk (or soy milk!) to happy, healthy families!

Toddlers & TV

There is (and has been) a huge debate of allowing your baby or toddler to watch tv.  Is it okay, maybe in moderation, not at all....the list goes on and on.  Well, be prepared!  Im going to give you my take on it, the good, the bad, and the horrible motherly.....

I have a phobia of silence.  Okay, maybe not silence per say, but being able to hear things (that may or may not be completely in my head)  that are scary.  I have been this way all my life, and I am sure it will continue.  I'm over it, I have accepted it, and I am a fully functioning human being.  Well, I always need sound on...I don't care what it is, but sound is good.  So, we turn on the TV.

Now, now, now, before you get mad at me, listen here.  If the girls are awake, we only have things playing like Miss Spiders Sunny Patch Friends, Baby Einstein, or some other happy baby/toddler DVD.  Also, we do not have cable or satellite, so its only DVDs.  I choose them.  

So when the girls get up, I give them a sippy of water, plop them in front of some good old TV, and make them breakfast.  It keeps their attention for....maybe a minute.  No literally, its on so much that they don't even pay attention to it.  Its not a good distraction tool for me.  They really aren't interested in it!!  I might be worried if they sat in front of it in a daze and never got up, but they literally don't care.  Well, they do like to turn it off, and they LOVE the remote control, but other than that, I am not in any way worried about them becoming TV addicts.

My mom HATES it.  She hates background tv noise.  she would much rather play music, but that really doesn't cut it for me.  (that's whats nice about it being my house!)  She sees that the girls don't care, so shes cool with it being on for me.  Usually we aren't in the living room anyway.  We love to hang out in their room (there's no toys in there, but they love it!)

So for the toddlers and tv debate, I am all for it.  As long as your toddler isn't glued to it obsessed.  Kids now a days are all about technology, but they need to go for a run in the park too!!  I feel like we have a good balance in our home.  I feel like were real, and we know in a perfect world, our children wouldn't know what the TV was for, and they would be saying 100+ words by now, but we don't!  So for those of you who worry that maybe you're doing the wrong thing by having the tv on, don't sweat it.  Just make sure they aren't fixed on it, and neither are you!  I couldn't live without background noise, I would go nuts!  

That's my little schpeel  for the day, I am off to....watch some TV!  

30 Days Of Thanks

So, obviously I missed the memo, but im starting late, shoot me :)

I am thankful to have two of the most amazing, beautiful, caring, sweet, adorable, smart, happy little girls in the entire world.  They make every day worth living!  I am so thankful to be able to stay at home with them every day, and watch every little thing they do!!

Winding Roads

Puts these little girls to sleep. 

We dont have a Target in our town (or the next, or the next...)  so we have to drive 50 miles down some of the curvy-its roads in all of Missouri.  So when we planned a trip to Target, we knew the ride there and the ride back would be rather quiet, and I was right!

On the way up there, the girls were out 5 minutes into the 1 hour car ride.  (It helps that we left at nap time)  after our (totally worth it!!) two hour target trip, I fed them lunch and headed home.  This is what I saw when I went to take them in the house 

Laramie

Rylie

See?!!!  Adorable!!!  Naps have been a little challenging since their 1st birthday, so it was nice to see them take two naps that day :)  And because I can only ever get a cute picture with Rylie, here it is :)

Sick Little Munchkins

These were taken a few weeks ago, during the girls very first cold.  They were so sad and pathetic :(  Anyway, this was after a little medicine, they were feeling much better, and Laramie decided to attack her sister.  The following, adorable sequence followed :)

Cutest. Babies. EVER.

Okay, obviously everyone believes they have the cutest baby ever (and its the truth!  we all do!!)  But seriously, take a look.  

(Rylie is in the purple-ish top, Laramie is in the pink-ish top)

See what I mean?  Its stupid cute!!  I have no idea how I get anything done with these two!!  Well, I dont really haha!!  As you can see from these pictures, I was clipping coupons, and was, uh, interrupted by babies who decided to take all the expired ones from my coupon binder and run wild with them.  It was so adorable!  Who needs to clip coupons really!!  

PS~  I LOVE their hair in the cute two piggy tails :)  it really makes them irresistible!!

Bigger, not Cleaner

Keeping up on our new home isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Sure, bigger space means less clutter, but it sure doesn't mean less mess. My life has always been messy. I was the kid who hid everything under the bed,and considered that "cleaning my room" through the years, and once I was married at 18 years old, I had high hopes for myself that once we had our own home, that's when I would suddenly keep a perfect, beautiful house.....WRONG!

After we got married we lived with my parents until Nick went to basic training. Honestly, our bed took up most of the bedroom, so a mess wasn't really an issue at that point. We got our own house just before the holiday season and it was easy to keep clean! Maybe it was the size, or the lack of anything an established home would have, or the fact that 1. I wasn't pregnant with twins and 2. We had no children to spill their go go squeeze all over the carpet.

So I told you that to tell you this. Having more space, does NOT mean less mess! Not when you have two toddlers running around destroying everything in sight (though I must admit, they are so cute in the process!) I honestly feel like investing in a steam cleaner will pay for itself in a matter of month. I would love to be super organized, and know how to organize everything in its respectful place, and I try, but cheese and sprinkles its hard to keep up on!

Really I guess at the end of the day, the home doesn't make the family, the family makes the home. I am so proud of us and so proud of being homeowners at 21 years old, and we still have so much room to grow, maybe someday I will have everything figured out, maybe not!

How do you find the balance between family and keeping up with the daily grind?

Happy Birthday, MUNCHKINS!

It was Thursday, November 4, 2010.  I was awake, getting in the shower, trying to prepare myself for the day ahead.  In a matter of hours, I would be holding two babies....

At 8:23am Rylie Leona was born weighing 6lbs 8oz.  One minute later, at 8:24am, Laramie Beth was born, weighing 5lbs 12oz.

That was one year ago.  

Now, Rylie and Laramie are both over 20lbs, walking, dancing, talking, and being the absolute center of my existance.  They bring their daddy and I so, so much happiness!!  They will blow you a kiss, or wave "bye, bye"  they sleep all night, in their own cribs, and it is so amazing to say we have made it here, and happily at that!!  So since we live a million (okay, slight exaggeration, 2200) miles away from our friends and family back home, we did a little shin dig with us and a few friends.  My mom did fly in on the 2nd, and will be here for a month!!!!!!!!!!!(can you tell that I am 13-year-old girl excited?)  So, here are the pictures from the birthday extravaganza (I will be adding a few videos in the coming days being that this was a three day birthday extravaganza!)

You gotta spend it to earn it

Or ya know, something like that.  I have been writing this blog for over a year now, and I have no followers.  HOW SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No seriously, I ramble to myself on here.   So, my new plan is to advertise on my 4 favorite blogs :)  So, if this is how you got here, welcome!

Welcome, You're Not Alone

We have all done it right?  You get home from the doctor with the news "It's Twins"  Suddenly, its not just "I'm pregnant, were going to have a baby.  I wonder if its a boy, or a girl?"  It is more like "Were having two babies....that's two of everything.  How can we afford this?  two cars in 16 years!  two college funds at once!!" and the list goes on. 

YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

I'm sure I am not the only one who got home and after calling our parents to share the news, got on youtube to watch ultrasounds, where people found out they were having twins.  I found that most of these people, were in the same state of mind I was "twins?  are you sure!"  oh yes, were sure.  

Twins were the very, very LAST thing that I had ever expected, and if that wasn't enough, finding out we would be welcoming two GIRLS in the coming months, really blew my mind.  My husband is one of four boys, as is his father, and his fathers father.  Of our generation, there were 3 girls.  I didn't think "a Jones" as I so lovingly refer to my husband as, could even make a girl. LET ALONE TWO!  

Despite everything,  here we are, 2 weeks away from our twin daughters first birthday, alive, sleeping all night, waking refreshed and enjoying every moment with our little Munchkins.  I am welcoming you on my journey through mommyhood.  Things I have learned the hard way, and things I have learned the harder way.  I hope  what you take away from this is that you are not alone.  Weather you have one baby at a time, or an entire litter, People before you and people after you are experiencing this too, and it sure is an amazing part of life.  

I welcome you to Mommyhood (Twin Style)  I hope you enjoy the ride.

Samantha

ITS TUTU TIME!!!

I ordered tutus for the girls birthday.  They seem a little silly, but I knew the would be super cute too!  So I ordered them, and the came today!  Let me just tell you how adorable they are!  There is no way to prepare yourself for how terribly adorable they are.  

What we saw when we opened the box!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are SO ADORABLE!

Laramie and her birthday tutu!!

Rylie and her sweet tutu!!

Come on...this is now Chief Rylie

Its big girl lunch time!

Waiting for our kiss from dada when he left for Kansas the second time!!

Waving "bye bye" to dada for the second time.

Beans on her face :)

Laramie having lunch!

Rylie loves rice & beans

Laramie (cake in one hand, rice & beans in the other)