"You're ruining my life!"

Ava was surely in rare form this evening.  As a 3-year-old, she goes through her range of moods, but generally she's happy, energetic, extremely humorous, insightful, bright, and just so dang cute!

This evening she graced us with her after-dinner entertainment - which included her rendition of several Rihanna and Nicki Minaj songs, sung through a pencil microphone.  Just when you felt it was time to applaud, she would abruptly put her hand up and say, "Wait, I'm not done yet". We did this song and dance for about twenty minutes until she gave us permission to leave the table.

After dinner, Ava and I had a discussion about her birthday that's coming up in a few months.  It went a little like this...

"Mommy, for my birthday I want high heels, Chris Brown..."
"Honey, you can't have Chris Brown for your birthday."
"But I love him!  I want Chris Brown, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars..."

I love how the mind of a 3-year-old works.

After a little play time with her sisters, I let the girls know that it was time to put on their pajamas, brush their teeth, and get ready for bed. Maddie and Savannah were very compliant and responded with a simple, "Okay Mommy".  Ava on the other hand had quite the meltdown.

"Mommy, this is horrible!" she whined as her body folded and collapsed to the floor.  "You're ruining my life!"

All I could do was laugh - where in the world did she get that from? It was too hilarious.

I knew that she was extremely tired and was fighting sleep.  In her effort to prove to me that she wasn't ready for bed, she came out of her room every 15 minutes with something new to share.  First it was a wardrobe change from her pajamas to her bathing suit.  Then it was that she had painted her nails.  Each time I quickly sent her back to bed and firmly told her to go to sleep.  The pièce de résistance was when she announced that she had put lotion on her Barbie horse.  I had to see this one.  Sure enough, she had shellacked A+D ointment all over this plastic horse!

Now, I could have easily yelled, but all I could do was laugh.  "Ava, why did you do this?" I asked.  "Because I wanted to make my horse soft" she replied with a big smile.  So after explaining that you cannot put lotions, oils, ointments, etc. on dolls and toys, she very sweetly apologized and went back to bed.  I, on the other hand, spent the next 20 minutes shampooing this horse in Dawn, trying to get the grease out.  Oh, the life of a mom!

I need something to do!

So it's been a month since I've been home full time.  My last day of work was January 19 and the first several weeks were great!  I sat outside on the front porch with my morning coffee, listening to all the little creatures.  I played hide and seek, red light-green light, and tag with Ava.  I've done countless loads of laundry, I've read, I've surfed the web, I've been shopping, I've watched daytime television.  So now what do I do?

I need some sort of hobby.  I'd like to explore jewelry making and see what I can create.  I'm the type that gets so lost in my art that you might catch me with my tongue touching my lip, much like my kids do when they are coloring!

Soooo, even though I LOVE being at home with my kids, I'm starting to miss work...Isn't that always how it goes.  When you work, you long to be at home - when you're at home, you long to be at work!

My Weight Loss Journey...Day 2

I think I'm one of those women who have a thinner perception of myself in my mind.  That's until I see a picture of myself, and of course who likes the mirrors in the dressing room that pick up every unflattering angle! So mom and I have decided that we would try to tackle our weight loss goals together.  It's always easier with a partner, right?

I wouldn't say I'm heavy, but not skinny either. Call me slim-thick with a side of jiggle! I guess you can say I am of average weight, but those pesky height/weight calculators always categorize me as being overweight.  Lovely! 

Today is day two of our morning walks around the neighborhood with my 3-year-old, Ava.  It's not quite a brisk walk because Ava must explore every puddle, stick, and pebble on the street.  Then she insists on walking underneath every mailbox.  I'm just waiting for the, "BONK", followed by the long pause. Cue curdling scream. I may have Papa babysit her tomorrow so that we can get our walk on.

My mom has done Weight Watchers on and off for the past several years with much success.  She is going to use her tools and go that route.  I, on the other hand, have tried a multitude of methods.  Some with great success, others, not so much.  About two years ago, I was able to lose 20 pounds over a 3-4 month period using Nutrisystem.  I loved that program and it was easy and convenient.  Unfortunately, I can't afford it right now.  I've also gone through periods of intense workouts and weight training, which I did really enjoy, but I'm feeling a little less than enthused about going that route.  I've done juicing, which I find delicious, but extremely tedious.  So for now, it's daily moderate exercise, eating well-proportioned and balanced meals, and getting protein-rich and fruit/vegetable snacks in throughout the day.  I'm already a vegetarian (I eat fish/seafood), so it's just a matter of making some smarter choices.  I guess that means my bowl of chocolate chips and peanut butter needs to be kept to a minimum, huh?

Surviving with Twins: Helpful Tips & Lessons Learned

Rules to live by:

• Having twins is like having little celebrities...everyone stops to stare, comment, approach, give advice, ask questions, squeel, etc.  Take it in stride.  One new baby is cute, but two new babies are irresistable.
• Strangers will make stupid comments - In an effort to sounds funny or sympathetic, there are some that will just make you want to scream.  Examples:
• "Oh, I feel sorry for you!"
• "I wouldn't want to have to pay for that wedding!" As if having twin girls means they will automatically marry on the same day.
• "Double-Trouble!" In which we would always respond, "Double Blessing!"
• "Are they boys or girls?"  Don't even think that dressing them in pink, frilly dresses with bows in their hair will exempt you from this question!
• "Did you know you were having twins?" 
• "My second cousin's uncle was a twin!"  I don't care...
• And my favorite..."ARE THEY TWINS???"
• Don't be scared to breast feed.  It's not as complicated as it may seem.  Imagine holding two suckling footballs supported by pillows!
• Try to keep them on the same schedule.  If you feed them at the same time, they will generally pee and poop at the same time. 
• Take any help that's offered...you'll need it!
• Remember you're still a woman and a wife...both need lots of attention
• Prepare to gain strong forearms after carrying around two car seats
• Analyze the size of your trunk. Can it accomodate groceries and a twin stroller?  If not, you may want to get a bigger car!
• You don't HAVE to have two cribs early on.  Twins are small and take up very little space.  One crib will certainly do until they are much larger.  I personally loved using a pack-n-play in the living room during the day and a crib at night.
• You won't be kicked out of the club if your twins' names don't rhyme or start with the same letter.  It's perfectly okay to go in another direction.
• Being a mom of twins is tough, but obviously not impossible.  Take everything in stride, make sure you enlist family and friends for help, and be sure to take care of yourself!

I'm having what???

So in order to better understand my life, you'll need a little family background.  In August 2004, Jay and I purchased our first home, I graduated with my Master's Degree, and I learned I was pregnant with our first child, all in the same week. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?  It was pretty awesome! Jay was working as a college football coach, and I was just accepted into a doctoral program. Life was grand...

Early pregnancy was a biaatch - I was throwing up about 6-7 times a day. Everyday. For 9 weeks.  Food was my enemy. I went to class each day toting my Saltine crackers, my ginger ale, and my handy-dandy barf bag, just in case.  My face and neck were rosy all the time, I'm sensing because my face was literally hanging over a toilet all day long.

I finally reached a reprieve when I hit 15 weeks, thank the Lord!  Week 16 was my first ultrasound.  We were so excited.  I had to drink about a gallon of water before the appointment and was doing the pee-pee dance all the way there.  We anxiously walked down the hall toward the ultrasound room where the tech applied some warm goo and poked and prodded on my belly until she could find a good image.  Jay and I smiled and gazed warmly into each other's eyes as we waited to learn about our little baby.  Not a moment later, the ultrasound technician squeeled and said, "Oh my God! There's two in there!"

"Whatchu talkin 'bout, Willis??" is what I wanted to say. Having always wanted twins, Jay was ecstatic. I, however, lay in shock...

Yes, Ma, it's true!

So we immediately told our family about the exciting news. Jay's mom almost fainted and my mom thought it was a joke.  No-no, no joke here.  I was pregnant with not one, but two precious little girls!

The rest of my pregnancy went really well, actually. I devoured every book on twins I could find. Suddenly having a Ph.D. didn't seem too important.  Especially since the school I was attending did not have the program that I wanted, so I had to find something remotely similar. Similar was not interesting enough for me, so being pregnant with twins became my easy way out of it.

Welcome Madison & Savannah!

Knowing that twins often do not make it to 40 weeks, I was eagerly counting down once I reached my 32nd week.  Boy, was I huge!  Luckily, it was mainly in my belly, but my poor face and feet were so swollen! At 36 weeks, my contractions became regular and it was time to head to the hospital.  Of course it was a looong waiting game.  After being at the hospital for 22 hours, my OB/GYN made the decision that I would NOT be pushing these girls out. I stalled at 5 centimeters, so off to the operating room we went.

I was amazed at just how fast they had me prepped and ready to go.  So fast that they forgot to get Jay before starting the procedure.  The poor thing - just his luck, my feet were facing the entry way to the O.R. door, so he had the pleasure of walking past my body on the table just as the doctor was making the incision. A vision that took some time to get out of his head. 

Within minutes, Madison - a.k.a. Maddie - was plucked out into the world and made what sounded like a little giggle! That immediately brought Jay and I to tears. The doctor waited 1 minute so that Savannah would have her own birth time.  They seemed so tiny, but at 5lbs 8oz and 5lbs 1oz, we were reassured that they were a good size for twins.

They stitched me up and I was off to the recovery room while Jay played Proud Papa.  What an adrenaline rush it was.  So much so, my initial thought was, "We should all go out to O'Charley's to celebrate!"

Who Da Man?

So as I've mentioned, Jay and I have been married for almost 10 years. We met in high school - but before you start "awwing" about marrying my high school sweet heart - it didn't happen that way AT ALL!!

Yes, I was the girl that you recognized from class, but you had no idea what my name was.  I got a lot of, "Heyyy, what's up you over there...girl in my World History class."  I was smart and artsy, but quiet. I had my own intimate group of close friends who I cut up with and let into my wacky, little world.

Jay was the all-around guy - athlete, brains, class clown, everyone's friend.  We didn't exactly run in the same circles. Besides, he was a sophomore and I was a senior when we met. 

Fast forward about four years and we find ourselves in familiar territory - but on the collegiate level.  He was entering his sophomore year and I was a rising senior.  Both home on summer break and purposefully running into each other at a local pool via nudging of a mutual friend, we suddenly noticed each other.  It's amazing what four years will do.  The formerly obscure teens were now looking at each other with ginormous stars in their eyes.  Where were you all my life??

So as life had it, we dated, we fell in love, and after college graduations, countless dead-end jobs, and years of "finding ourselves," we got engaged and had a beautiful wedding in 2003.  Let the party begin!!

What the Heck is Pease Porridge Anyway?

"Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot nine days old...nine days old? Puuu-eeey!!"  This was a childhood favorite of mine when I was a little girl.  I can't tell you what pease porridge is, but apparently if you leave it in a pot for nine days, it gets pretty funky.

Life as a married, educated, work-obsessed professional, turned full-time mom of 3 girls (twins + preschooler) can get just that...pretty funky.  My life is by no means glamorous, but it is full of good 'ol messy fun.  I'm not a member of the PTA, I'm not in any interesting book clubs.  I tried hopping on the couponing bandwagon, but hours of searching for deals and scavenging for discounts is (in my best whiny voice) - just too hard!!

So for those of you moms who are by no means perfect, find humor in the little things, and are not afraid of your life getting a little funky, I hope you find enjoyment in this blog!