happytubbs

Tap the Mic

2019-12-03T21:41:00.000-05:00

Is this thing on?

Yes?

Just checking.

When the year comes to a close and I do my normal - LET'S MAKE ALL THE RESOLUTIONS - I peer back to this blog with a sigh and I must admit, I really do miss it.

My last post was in 2017. I had to transfer it here, because in typical fashion, I created numerous blogs that I could never maintain. Better to keep it simple. Better to bring it home.

It is a little hard to come back to. It contains a lot of the nitty gritty before the gals, the challenge to get them here, and the growing pains we had as parents when they finally arrived. But I can safely say, as I look back on it now, damn we were lucky, and that the trauma has passed. (Well except for that whole not wanting to have anymore kids because it was a nightmare process thing...)

I've had a ton of friends catch the blog bug again and it's exciting. I can't lie, I've fed off of the enthusiasm. I can't wait to support them and see their content. Platforms come and go, but the blog writing is cathartic, and I think we've realized that.

I realize I have a lot of updating to do here. I'm no longer the workout obsessed, hardly eating type in the left hand picture of your screen. Many of the links are broken, but I will fix that, I promise. Things have been really good though! New jobs, new house, new phone, who dis?

So Cheers to Us! Let's have an awesome 2019.

When you want to find a cute family pic, but this comes up in your Google Albums, and it just speaks volumes, as it just describes you so much better.

I Went for a Walk Around Atlanta

2017-11-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

I proclaimed yesterday that I would be going for a walk. The gals were at camp. Dave was at work.

With a high of 61 and not a cloud in the sky, I dropped the gals off at dance camp, and set out. My plan was to stick to the Beltline, but as soon as I got to Piedmont Park, I couldn’t resist a romp in the city.

The day was grand and I walked over 12 miles. The air was crisp, my step was upbeat. I enjoyed my time alone, had a nice little reset, and remembered why I love this city.

Bring it on holidays.

Here’s some of my adventure:

Going for a Walk

2017-11-22T20:55:00.000-05:00

I’m going for a walk tomorrow. Ideally it would be up a mountain. Instead it will be more of the urban variety. I’ve taken off the rest of the week for Thanksgiving, but my family is still on the go. The gals will have their last day of dance camp and my husband has to work. This means…*GASP*…I HAVE THE DAY TO MYSELF.

For those who know me, this does not happen. Days off BY MYSELF do not happen. So I’m going to live it up as best as I can.

I tried to think of all the things I’d like to do. All of them involved spending large amounts of money on myself, but y’all know that is not in the cards. I previously mentioned hiking, but we are a one car family and the closest mountain requires a car ride. So the next best thing in my mind is hiking around the Atlanta Beltline until it’s time to pick up the gals from camp! I have several podcasts to catch up on and I’ve downloaded a new book to listen to from the library. My favorite Pandora stations will be on rotation. Snacks will be packed and maybe I will cross-stitch or journal during a break. All in all, I’m excited for some time to myself. Great for reflection and a reset before the chaos of the holiday season descends upon us.

I’m a big fan of Instagram stories {@happytubbs}, so feel free to follow my solo adventure around the Beltline. I’m hoping to log some quality miles, especially on the unpaved sections that I haven’t visited since it’s early inception.

Thanks Dance Camp!!!

Experiences

2017-11-19T20:54:00.000-05:00

The idea of two of everything when the gals were about to be born was so overwhelming. I remember having a mini-meltdown while organizing an oversized mound of hand-me-downs. So much STUFF. I’d like to think my minimalism roots started here. The idea of two of everything seemed so opulent, but it just boiled down to wasteful. We lived in a small space, and I’d like to think that we did the best that we could to keep it simple.

But now the gals are older. Our home is still small, so we crusade on. We talk about donating to those in need. We have a regular donate bag by the door that leaves monthly. If we don’t use or need it any more, into the bag it goes. Do I think there is still too much stuff in their room? Yep, of course I do! However, I want them to adopt my philosophies by choice, not by force. I can continue to guide, and hope that they too will understand that “things” are not important. People and experiences are what matter.

Today they found a left behind fidget spinner at the park and “Whoa Mom look at this! It’s so cool! It’s a Figgey Spinner! AHHHHH!”

So they aren’t immune. I get it.

In the long run though, I hope that they don’t think this day at the park was grand because they found a fidget spinner. I hope they think it’s grand because we hiked to the park on a beautiful day, found magnificent leaves, played catch, ran fast, practiced gymnastics, had snacks, kicked the ball, chased friends, and had fun as a family.

That's Enough

2017-11-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

I’m trying to avoid the blog post with the explanation of where I’ve been. I’ve always been here, but struggle to find time to put everything into words beyond the easy Instagram post.

Post a picture with a caption.

That’s enough.

Satisfy the masses…

…or at least the grandmas?

Yet, I continue to have this never ending inner monologue. I am writing in my head, and sadly, none of it goes further. No pen to paper. No typing on a computer. So here’s the commitment to myself. Write for at least 30 minutes a day. Whether it be just a journal entry, or something much more, but in the long run, I’d like to get more of our experiences out there. I know with every challenge I’ve faced, there is someone out there that can relate.

I’ve contemplated for quite some time if this new blog will have a theme, and honestly that’s just too constricting at the moment. I enjoy so many experiences lately, that having one thing define me is overwhelming. I’m more than a mom, more than a runner, more than my job, more than a minimalist.

I’m more than that.

2016 Goals

2017-01-07T21:09:00.000-05:00

I’m not the “roll your eyes over resolutions type of person.” I love making them and I love supporting others in their endeavors for the year as well. I think it’s all because, in the last several years, I have been successful at sticking to them. Personally, I enjoy at attempting to make myself a better person.

So here it goes! My goals for 2016…

Health:

In the past, a lot of my goals have been health related. Mind & Body. I’m in a comfortable space now, and realize that maintenance in that area will always be a constant. I will always be an active person. I love to compete, but I still struggle with my food choices. So my wellness goals for the year are to be mindful of what I eat. If I want to indulge, do so only once a week. I always seem to fall down the slippery slope of bad eating habits, and find it hard to pull myself back out. I’m hoping 2016 will be a better year in that sense. I’m currently doing another round of whole30 with my friends to jump start it all.

I NEED to stop biting my freaking nails & cuticles. In fact, keeping my hands out of my mouth all together! It’s such a bad habit, and this week with the cold, I made my fingers physically hurt. This has to stop. I bought a gambit of nail products and polish to help with this matter.

Athletics:

In 2015 I PR’d my half marathon & completed my goal of coming in under 2 hours! I finished the Jeff Galloway 13.1 in 1:57:44. I was really excited, especially considering I ran the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon a few weeks earlier 10 minutes slower!

EVEN JEFF GALLOWAY WAS PROUD OF MY PR!

I’d love to expand on that and start running miles in 8 minute range consistently. I want to be more diverse with my training this year. I got slack about strength training when I was training for the half marathons and I shouldn’t have. I also want to weigh the pros & cons of the triathlon. For me it’s all about the road block of buying a quality bike. It’s a huge investment for us, and I want to make sure I am serious before I go ahead.

Home:

I have this really bad tendency, after dinner and the gals’ bedtime, to just veg out and play on my phone. Then all of a sudden I realize it’s time for bed, and I haven’t done much for getting ready for the next day, let alone finish the dishes that have built up in the sink. (In our house, whoever cooks, doesn’t have to clean up the mess, and since Dave is usually home before I am, he is the chef.) So my goal here for the year is to nightly take that 10-20 minutes it take to clean up the kitchen and have everything ready for the next day. I want to expand upon that and daily clean one area/item that doesn’t get cleaned often. I leave things too long, then everything is a mess, and it stresses me out. Taking the time to do it in small chunks should help this.

I want to decorate my home. I’ve always moved after 1-2 years in a place, so I’ve never collected “cute” decorations or had the time to really make it ours. Maybe I will crack open that wacky Pinterest site I can’t stand for some inspiration…

To do lists. I love these at work. Time to bring them into my personal life.

Relationships:

Dave and I have decided we will try and have at least 30 minutes of game time every night. Tonight, for example, he easily kicked my ass in UNO. The gals are finally old enough to play several board games, so a weekly game night with them will be started. I want to make a big deal out of it. Popcorn, treats, puppies, kitties, and rainbows.

Blogging:

At least one blog a month.

Hobbies:

Reading – I met my goal last year of 20 books. This year it’s 30.

Cross stich – finish the 3 projects that have been collecting dust in my desk drawer for the past 3 years.

Photography – I have this fancy camera, and I love to take pictures with it, but I barely know how to use it. This year I learn how to use it properly!

Photos – So if I figure out my camera, then I really need to start doing something with the photos that are currently taking up almost 200 gigs of space in the cloud. I want to start making yearly books for the gals and boy do I have some catching up to do.

That’s it…I think?

Whoa, that’s a lot to accomplish, but hey I’ve got a whole year right?

Stoutness in the ATL & The Hotlanta Half Race Recap

2016-06-19T21:00:00.000-04:00

She was here! She came back! It’s been far too long, but Stoutness returned to the ATL. It was a 6.5 hour drive that we made every few months back in the day, either myself to Cincinnati or her to Atlanta, and then…kids.

Yea, we both had a couple of ’em. They are wonderful, adorable, and sweet, but they sure do monopolize your time!

Enter getting back into shape. Enter running.

It’s something that has helped us stay in touch. We’ve trained for races and cheered each other on through the interwebs, but never have done a half together. We set our sights on The Hotlanta Half.

“It’s in June now, much easier than when Dave did it the first time in August 2014. Where he proceeded to run off the Marta train and puke everywhere! It can’t be THAT bad…” I said to convince her.

So we trained. I was really into Orange Theory this time around, so my short distances were fast, but man did I find that my long runs were SLOW. Of course the heat and humidity were a lot more severe that my fall races (I PR’d the Jeff Galloway half). I did however, feel fabulous. Man did Orange Theory do wonders on my body image.

Race weekend finally came, and so did the heat. We’d had some quality weather building up to the race, but in true Atlanta fashion, this one was going to be a scorcher.

Friday night we had a bit too much fun.

OLD LADY SNAPCHAT

Probably not my smartest idea, since I had a tennis match in the morning. I played horribly. Many apologies to my partner. Stoutness brought her sketch book though and got a good shot of me at the net with her creation.

GAME. SET. MATCH.

We headed back to my hood for an afternoon outside and a quality dinner. Chicken Tacos for all!

We forced ourselves to bed early, but not before laying out everything for the next day. The plan was to wake up with enough time for coffee and a quick breakfast. We didn’t want to drive over, but take Marta instead. Dave and the gals planned on heading out at the same time to cheer us on by Turner Field.

FLATBECCA & FLATKATIE

When we woke, we were on time, ready to roll, but the coffee did not do the trick for me. No worries, I thought, I can hit a port-a-potty at the race start.

OH MAN WAS I WRONG.

We passed a public restroom with a smallish line. We got into it, but we decided, hey let’s just get closer to the start and find the port-a-potty setup. As we saw people coming the opposite way to go to this restroom, we should have caught on. There were NO port-a-potties.

They weren’t delivered.

Look at Katie. She’s so smug. Her coffee did the trick before we left home. She’s a jerk.

So we waited in line a mile long for another public restroom near the Coke Museum, which ended up being the line for the Men’s room. The race at this point had already begun. We then heard rumblings that there were port-a-potties on the course.

Fuck it. Let’s go run.

When we ran through the start we were by ourselves, yet there was a steady stream of bathroom hopefuls behind us. Two miles in, HUZZAH, we got our bathroom break. It took forever, because this line was also a mile long. Thankfully, going into it, Katie and I had both determined this would not be a race for time. We were going to run it together and not drop each other, just simply have fun.

So here we are, mile two and I finally feel like a human again. Time to RUN! We wove our way around downtown towards Turner Field. We saw some cute cheerleaders (aka Dave and the gals) on Memorial, briefly said “hi” and made the loop back to see them again. Throwing care to the wind, because hey, our time was already shot with the bathroom break, we grabbed a quick photo.

We kept on rolling.

The hills kicked our asses.

Playing tennis the day before wrecked my feet a bit and I had to stop and re-tie them twice.

Hydration was fab.

We slogged along, but could still chat and have fun.

We took unflattering race photos.

We finished!

And in true BFF Fashion we celebrated!

The weekend was fabulous and I can’t wait to do it again. The plan is that I will run a full Marathon with this lady in the fall!

The Great Toy Takeover

2016-01-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

When we lived in the one bedroom loft in Cabbagetown, we tried our best to live simply. Simply, because there was just no place to put any added junk. We then built to a, too big for us, 5 bedroom house in the burbs that shot that all to pieces.

In this new home, I found places to hide things. Shoot! The place had closets, doors, walls! What is this magic? Of course things started to pile up. Toys included. The gals even had a dedicated playroom, that although it stayed tidy by the end of the day, there was ZERO organization. Every little thing was thrown into storage containers in any sort of fashion, as long as it was off the floor.

We then hit a wall with this burbs home. The house itself was wonderful, but the neighborhood all wrong. It wasn’t for us. We had to move back Intown.

We were able to sell quickly, having the house on the market for only a day, when we got the offer we wanted. Our hunt focused us in the affordable neighborhood of East Atlanta. We we found an adorable (read also: tiny) bungalow. Right then and there, we knew the stuff had to go. Some of the furniture went to my parent’s house. We sold a lot to our neighbors, donated even more, and the rest went to the curb.

I was so proud of the amount of stuff we were able to get rid of. We were ready to move into our tiny house now…right?

Nope. We still had SO much stuff. Over the past several months we’ve basically just moved it around, trying to find homes for all the things. This is the year though, my resolution, to get organized. If it’s staying in the home, it’s filed neatly with correlating objects. If it’s not needed, then goodbye. It will have happier home somewhere else.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting the gals’ bunkbeds. To give them more space, for you guessed it, their stuff. We no longer have a playroom, so this is their area for play, just as much as it is for sleeping. And although I haven’t entirely put this idea out of my mind, I knew the room needed to be gutted of stuff first before we even went down that path. We needed to make it work with what we currently had, before we spent more money on a bunkbed.

So this past weekend, I blitzed the room, and rearranged it, so they had more floor space to play.

So of course my living room now looked like this…

I made myself go through every toy. A task that is not so easy to do with two 3 year olds hovering over you, wanting to play with the toys that you are trying to organize.

I started with piles.

Pile 1 – trash.

Pile 2 – donate.

Pile 3 – toys to store for rotation.

Pile 4 – sorted toys for bagging & placement.

Toy rotation is something I’ve always said I would do. But honestly it’s something I never really got around to. I placed the still loved, but less used toys in bins, that will be rotated out again in the next 3 months. It is with the hope that the girls will see these toys that were away for awhile, as if they were a brand new toy, thus find interest in them again. If that’s not the case, they will be sold or donated. See ya later dolls. Ninja turtles and Paw Patrol rule this roost at the moment.

The end result was glorious and just as I had imagined. I was just finishing up the separating and bagging, when the gals woke from their nap. They requested to play with the animals and vet hospital. They took them into their newly spotless room and began to play with such vivid imaginations. When that lost their favor they came back to me. We put the animals away, and the Magnaformers came out. Wash, Rise, Repeat.

TEA FOR TWO.

It made me feel really accomplished. I have already begun to plan which spots of the house I want to hit next. Grand Dad’s old desk…i’m looking at you!

We’re off to a good start 2016.

DIY Bathroom Remodel

2015-09-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

Our last two home purchases have been straight from the builder. To say that Dave and I aren’t into the whole DIY scene is an understatement. However, after moving back Intown to a fixer-upper type neighborhood, we had to change our perspective.

The seller of our new home was lucky we didn’t run screaming from her horrible painting efforts. Not only are the colors offensive to the eye, and dark for such a small space, but the quality of the job was atrocious. Drips and blemishes are everywhere and I think I spent more time sanding, spackling, and kilzing, than I actually did painting our first big project of the house.

We decided to tackle to smallest room in the house. When I say small, I mean it. This bathroom is tiny. The previous owner wanted to box you in even more by painting both the walls and ceiling a very odd shade of green. Y’all. Green is my favorite color. This made me hate green.

Not only were we going to paint, but we also wanted to remove the rather dated (and gigantic) sink and medicine cabinet. Why these were chosen in the first place is beyond me. There is zero storage under the sink and that is maddening to me. We also switched out the vanity light fixture. For some reason everything in this bathroom is chrome, yet the rest of the bungalow has craftsman bronze fixtures.

Here’s the before:

BEAST MIRROR

THE OFFENSIVE GREEN

CHROME CITY

ZERO STORAGE WASTE OF SPACE

During:

NEED A COMB?

SO. MUCH. DAMAGE.

ALL THE SANDING

ALL THE KILZ

REPAIR WORK

LATE SUNDAY NIGHT & THE SINK WAS IN!

Lots of curse words were uttered.

The Gals spent entirely too much time on iPads.

We survived and are still married.

So here’s the finished product:

BRONZE VANITY LIGHT & MIRROR

NO MORE BOXED IN FEEL!

VANITY & BRONZE DELTA SINK FIXTURES

WE EVEN PUT UP A TOWEL RING! WE FANCY!

The space is so much brighter now. By lightening up the walls and removing the large fixtures, we were able to really open up the room. Not to mention, we now have some great storage space!

I’d say our first project was a success!

First Haircuts

2015-08-24T21:07:00.000-04:00

I finally did it! The Gals got their first haircuts!

They always had such bald nuggets, so when their hair started to get longer, we just let it grow.

Amelia went through the amazing toddler mullet phase and looked like a tiny Terry Bradsaw. Madeline’s hair grew wild, just like her personality. I never attempted the at home bangs cut either. I didn’t trust myself and I’d just probably end up scarring them for life.

Fast forward to today. The gals will be off to preschool in a couple weeks and seeing as this is their first foray into school, we might as well make it all official and get a haircut too! They need to look somewhat put together at school, right?

We headed on over to Salon Red Kids. They have a train table, so it’s perfect for occupying one twin while the other gets their cut.

Both gals did great and we were in and out in no time! Madeline got a shoulder length cut and we just evened up Amelia’s and kept it longer.

MADELINE

AMELIA

All Finished!

MADELINE

AMELIA

Kids are Awesome

2015-07-16T21:06:00.000-04:00

They have no preconceived notions. They just want to have fun and when there is an opportunity to meet new people, they jump on it.

I ran up to our local park this morning for the first time. The gals are always happy to find a new playground and this was no different. After we had played for about 10 minutes, a group of about 10 kids from a local church camp came cavorting through the park. I knew the gals would be excited, because they were a bit older. Maybe in the Kindergarten to 1st grade range. The gals love big kids. They spend most their days with a 9 year old, so they love engaging in that style of play.

The entire group hit it off with the gals. They started including them in their play even though they were far bigger and more advanced. They called them both “baby wonder women.”

Baby Wonder Women! How awesome is that?

As the kids enjoyed themselves I started chatting with their group leader. I used to work in camps, so this is something I enjoy talking about and their leader was a delight. She told me that the kids in this group are from homeless shelters and halfway homes. The camp was established to help their parents with a daycare option while they were at work.

Wow. I would have never guessed it, and all I could think about was THIS is why we moved back intown. My kids are meeting children from all walks of life. They are seeing that it doesn’t matter about your background, that all types of kids are good kids. Our burbs experience was nothing like this. It was so very…privledged.

This group was having a blast, they included my much smaller children in their play without a bat of an eye. They were caring, sweet, and even showed Madeline how to slide down the fireman’s pole.

They thanked me when I gave them a leg up for the monkey bars & squealed with delight when I congratulated them on their climbing accomplishments. Not only were these kids awesome, but it made me really miss my camp director days.

There was a tiny girl in the group that immediately took to Madeline. They held hands and giggled the entire time. She showed me she could do cartwheels & even convinced me to do one as well (I was actually really impressed with myself after I completed one without falling on my face).

As the group packed up to go back in for lunch, they squeezed the gals and said goodbye.

I hope we run into them at the park again.

We Were Story-time Dropouts

2015-03-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

Last Fall I decided that we would commit to going to weekly storytime at our local library. We had gone sporadically in the past and the gals had always enjoyed it. They were in the 0-2 range, and there were never any expectations, so the gals just did their own thing and everyone had a ball. However, since they don’t go to daycare or preschool, I felt it might be good to add to our routine.

I was so excited to go on that first day. They had aged up to the 2-3 group and I was hoping that they might actually understand what was going on. The crowd was small that day. Some little ones looked a lot younger that my 2 year olds. Hmm. First tip-off that things might not go so well. Strike One.

There was some free play at the beginning and Madeline tried to interact with a girl around 18 months. The mother instantly said to Madeline “don’t touch her.” Ok, she wasn’t touching her, but that’s fine and I respected the mother’s wishes (there could have been a good reason why she didn’t want her child to be touched), apologized, and moved Maddie in another direction. Maddie does some laps in the crowd, mingles, then heads back in the small toddler’s direction. On her way she trips over that same mother’s outstretched leg. Goes flying. Shakes it off. The mother just glared at Maddie. Awesome. Strike Two.

Moving on…

Song time! Sing! Dance! The whole crowd loved it.

Another Song! Yay! This one has puppets! EVEN BETTER! But you guys, in this librarian’s head, it might have been a song, but you better sit down for this one. Because it was honestly too much for her. The gals were up and dancing, still reeling from the last song, and several other children were too. “I’m sorry, I have to stop” said the librarian. “I cannot concentrate and must have everyone sitting. I can’t go on until they do.” All said while staring in my direction.

COME ON! They are 2! You really expect them to be sitting the whole time???

We are done. Strike Three, we’re out.

I have a tendency to speak my mind in unjust scenarios, but that’s when I decided this just wasn’t for us. It wasn’t worth getting worked up over. We weren’t ready and that library had forgotten how kids work. I swooped up the Gals, apologized, while throwing in some sarcasm (come on, it’s me) as we left the building. Twitter talked me down off the ledge after that nightmare, but as far as I was concerned, we needed to take some time before we hit up the library again.

A few weeks ago, I got the notice that my library card was up for renewal, and since we no longer lived in that county, I decided to finally get one for our new address. The whole experience was night and day. As soon as I walked in and stated my business, the librarian showed us the kids area. The gals were free to roam and even, GASP, make noise! This library has a separate quiet room! Genius! While the gals played, I was shown around and issued my card. I even laughed with lady helping me about our last library experience and she was horrified that we had to go through that.

After I had gotten my new card, another librarian approached me because she saw I had kids. She let me know all about their children’s program, their storytime, and other fun activities that they held through the month. She even gave me a couple of tips on how to read to the gals to help them learn how to read in the future. After her invite to storytime, I shared my previous story again. She couldn’t believe that the librarian expected 2 year olds to actually sit for 30 minutes.

I felt so comfortable now! Not worried about how the gals would behave, I brought them to storytime yesterday. They made several laps around the library, played with the iPads, felt board, and tapped on the keyboard of a computer. They yelled and giggled. They ran away from me when I tried to herd them towards the storytime section.

Then the story started…and this magic happened.

One gal SAT DOWN. The other gazed over from the felt board, but was actually LISTENING and responding to the librarian’s questions.

It was amazing, and I actually have hope for these two rapscallions. They finished out the story, stayed for the song, and peaced out at the end during ribbon play (darn iPads).

So I’m calling it a success. The librarian was extremely nice, and encouraged us to come each week to create a routine. Now that we are actually welcome at a library, I plan on adding it to our regular schedule.

We are no longer storytime dropouts!

Now shopping at REI is another story…

Flight of the Tubbs: How I Survived Flying Alone with Twin Toddlers

2015-02-24T19:06:00.000-05:00

It’s been a week since we flew back from Ohio, and I’m happy to say all parties returned home safely. Our trip was a whirlwind, hilarious, but most of all, fun. And while I shared our adventure live on Instagram, I thought I’d give an update here as well!

The day we left Atlanta we woke up bright and early so we could take the train down to the airport. Thank goodness for the massive stroller or else I wouldn’t have been able to carry all of our stuff!

Here’s where learning as I go began. The car seats didn’t do well in the space below the gals. I rearranged everything once we got onto the train and placed the car seats on top. I recommend Cosco brand for travel. Cheap, slim, and are well rated for safety. Another must that made our travel easier was wearing an old hiking pack instead of dragging luggage.

The girls were thrilled to ride the train. It was pretty awesome to watch the sun rise as we traveled through the city. At this juncture I was happy to report that iPads were not needed just yet. Instead we played a rousing game of “let’s count the stops till we get to the airport” on the closest train map. It was quite entertaining to say the least.

We made it to the airport with good time. As we approached security, the TSA agents opened up the line and sent me straight through to the family security check. That was amazing as it was a part of the trip I was dreading. We slowly but surely unloaded the stroller and the girls walked through the metal detector with me. After the agents checked the seats and stroller, we loaded everyone and everything back up again. Boy am I glad we have ourselves some extra time!

We were flying out of Terminal A, so I opted to walk instead of taking the airport train (it was a bit to crowed and we had the time). Once we arrived at the gate, the gals got squirmy and thus began round one of the iPads.

We boarded early and I got the car seats installed and the gals all situated. Apparently at this age a seat isn’t necessary, but I’m pretty sure their good behavior was directly related to them being buckled in with a 5 point harness!

I was nervous about their ears for takeoff and had fruit snacks at the ready. However, as the video shows, they loved taking off!

I packed the gals backpacks with new toys, puzzles, new Contico water bottles, coloring books, headphones and our old iPhones loaded with fun apps. We rotated through it all, so I’m glad I came prepared. I also got them little planes which I purchased before our flight. The planes in the gift shops at the airport are ridiculously expensive.

After we landed, and by the time we got ourselves organized and off the plane, we arrived at baggage claim with our bag ready to go and my mom waiting to pick us up! The gals did so well, and I even had a few people tell me that as they were leaving the plane!

The only thing I didn’t prepare myself for was the gals kicking the seats in front of them. As much as I pleaded with them, they just didn’t get it. To the people in front of them…I apologize!

Our trip home was much of the same. We had a slight delay in Detroit, but of course, the iPads saved the day. We had a blast in Ohio, Baby Caton is the cutest thing ever, but man were we exhausted by the end of the trip.

I can now confidently say that I no longer dread taking the gals on an airplane!

2015-02-09T19:01:00.000-05:00

First off...
Baby Caton is here!

Oh man are we excited. My sister had her sweet girl a few weeks ago and we are off to visit them in a couple days.
And we are flying.
**insert a picture of Munch's The Scream here**
We've never flown with the gals. The idea of it made us cringe. For our own sanity (and everyone else on the plane) we have always packed up the car and made road trips. The gals are great road trippers in fact! Always well behaved and don't mind the long haul.
But this is a special occasion and somewhat last minute.
And I will be going at it...ALONE.
I already have a list going. I'm bringing all the iPads, all the snacks, all the toys, and all the headphones that I can fit in my rucksack.
I will be rocking a massive double stroller, two car seats, two tiny backpacks, one day pack, and my massive hiking pack. (I will be checking the hiking pack, because the idea of dragging luggage and pushing a stroller seemed too much)
Dave has to work the day we leave, so we will be riding Marta down to the airport. I hope the thrill of riding the train will last the 50 minutes it takes to get down there. I also will have the pleasure of entertaining the gals at the gate all while trying not to lose one (or two?). I'm hoping snacks will be our savior at that point, because the precious battery life of the iPads will be saved for the actual flight.
But oh the joy of seeing Baby Caton! I am truly elated and it will totally be worth it. Not only will the gals be meeting their newest cousin, they might even get an opportunity to play in the snow! A true rarity for Southern kids.
All disaster aside, I'm somewhat excited to tackle this challenge. Just to tick it off the list of bad ass parenting. "Oh...traveling alone with twins you say? Been there...done that!"
So wish us luck! We're gonna need it!

Amelia is ready for the cold!

Gym-iversary

2015-01-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

An old Instagram picture popped up in my Timehop today.

It was a sad blurry pic of my foot on a treadmill.

However, that sad blurry picture reminded me of where I was two years ago. I had put the health and well being of my preemie twins first for all of their short life, and I felt it was finally time to work on me for awhile.

Their first trip to the Y was interesting, in fact that first year was always touch and go. Would the gals let me actually get in a workout today? Or would I be constantly looking over the shoulder, wondering if the daycare attendant would be searching for me to come get my inconsolable child. If anything that made me work out with more intensity, who knows how much time I would get today!

It's been 2 years since I started going to the gym regularly and it's been such a breath of fresh air in my day, both mentally and physically. Now, while the gals enjoy the daycare, I workout, read a book, or just completely veg out on my phone.

Over the first year I was able to lose the 50lbs I had gained while pregnant with the gals, and then because I was on a roll, I went for 40 more!

I've also learned a lot about myself these past two years and I'm continuing to grow. The joy of lifting, running isn't for me anymore, and now this year's venture is Yoga and Mindfulness.

So don't think all those New Year Resolutions are a sham! I'm proof that these goals are a great way to kickstart a healthy lifestyle.

Happy New Year Y'all!

Hotlanta Half Marathon

2014-08-24T20:28:00.002-04:00

Yeah, don't get me started on the name. We know, we know. Don't call it Hotlanta...

Back to the point.

This one's all about Dave today!

He just ran his second half marathon, and is already planning more in the weeks and months to come. Back in November he got what he considered a "wake-up call" from his doctor. He needed to lose weight, eat better, and start being more active. He got to hear about all the things that could happen if he didn't change his ways. He started running after work, lost a good 20-30 lbs, and feels better than when he was a college athlete.

Yay! Go Dave!

For some crazy reason, however, he picked this nuts race in the middle of August. It was hot, humid, and full of hills.

To quote him "it sucked."

Suckage aside, we had a good day. After watching Dave start, the gals and I headed over to Centennial Olympic Park and played till the runners started to flow by.

They were at their 11th mile and the hill that passed the park was insane. I sat with the gals next to some other people cheering on runners and patiently waited for Dave. I packed the gals lots of snacks, juice, and things to do (thank you My Little Pony stickers). They didn't complain a single bit! Finally we saw Dave and the gals clapped and screamed "Go Daddy Go!"

I ran back over to Underground Atlanta and was able to make it before Dave crossed the line.

Hooray!

Dave and the gals after the race.

The gals thought that Dad's medal was pretty awesome.

The gals also had their first train ride. Madeline was scared at first, but they both ended up loving it and screaming for the train.

Big Kid Status: Room Edition

2014-08-17T20:45:00.001-04:00

We did it! We finished the gals' room and we've lived to tell about it.

This was our first attempt at painting as well, so I was a bit nervous. However, now that it's all done, I'm patting ourselves on the back! We rocked it!!

Because our house is a new build, boring beige is EVERYWHERE, and we had to rectify it right away. Painting the ceiling was a challenge, but I finally got the hang of it and we knocked out the whole room in one afternoon.

I'm so excited to have their room done. It's been a long time coming, and they definitely deserve it!

Here's a quick tour:

My mom made the Gals a teepee. She is awesome.

We found their dresser at the Lakewood Antique Market today! We had been hunting for something for a long time and it was quite fitting that we found it today. We are hoping to find some more art for the walls in the next few months.

This wall is still rather empty, but we are hoping to find a big tree decal on Etsy to fill the space.

This nightstand was also found at the antique market today and my mom brought down this lamp for us on her last visit. It used to be my grandmothers and I didn't realize how perfect it was for this space until today!

I made the plaques this week as I ventured back into the crafting world.

The gals were a little unsure of what was going on, but after a bit they warmed up to their new room!

Goodnight Gals!

Getting Crafty

2014-08-12T22:13:00.001-04:00

I used to LOVE crafting!

Then I became budget conscious.

That happens when you marry an accountant.

I would waste so much money on crafts that should cost $10 to make, but because I never remember where I kept my supplies, I ended up buying all new things. I was then creating something that was not worth the $65 I just spent at Michaels.

And let's be honest, it's easier to just pay someone on Etsy to do it. I can guarantee they will do a much better job than me.

However, now that we've moved, all these glorious craft supplies from the past have resurfaced! Gasp! Our loft was tiny and a lot of my crafts were relegated to our storage unit. In our new place I finally have my own office where said things can live and turn into magical crafty creations!

Hooray!

I'm on it now. Like Martha Stewart all up in here.

The Gals' new room has me reinspired and I'm ready to create.

First on the list: Initial Plaques.

It was pretty easy and a good place to start. Just a little tape and paint!

I loved how they turned out and I didn't actually break the bank this time.

As I dusted off all of my old supplies, I found this cross stitch buried deep down where I'd hidden it after my long stay in the hospital while I was pregnant with the gals.

I've had enough time and seeing things that remind me of this stay don't bother me anymore. So here's my next project!

This will certainly be framed and also placed in the Gals' new room!

The Gals' Room

2014-08-11T13:24:00.001-04:00

Most of y'all already know that the Gal's entrance into this world was a bit hectic. I was admitted to the hospital at 27 weeks pregnant, and there I stayed till the Gal's birthday, 4 weeks later. Both of the girls had a NICU stay, Madeline for 6 weeks, and Amelia for 7.

So needless to say our nursery was never decorated.

And because of previous losses, this was a milestone I had held off on.

Don't want to jinx it, right?

And all of a sudden I wasn't home to do it. There also was certainly no desire on my part to decorate after making trips to the NICU everyday. Then, just like that, you finally have these two tiny people home that need you all the time.

Life right? It keeps you busy.

We lived in a tiny factory loft condo, no real room to move around, let alone decorate, so we just shrugged it off, assembled our Ikea furniture and went on our merry way.

Last Summer, spur of the moment, we decided to put our condo up for sale and build in the burbs. Moving twice (we lived in an apartment for a few months while out house was being built), and trying to fill a house 3 times the size of our condo was a daunting task and rough on our wallets. We agreed that the real decorating would happen after we purchased all of our furniture.

Fast forward to 8 months later and finally we are making an effort to give the Gals a room that I've always pictured in my head. The one that I wanted to give them before they were born, but never had a chance.

We are going with a nature/camping theme and have already picked out some essentials. Yesterday Dave and I bought two twin mattresses, so we can move out the Gal's toddler beds as well. This weekend we will be attempting to paint. If you guys know me, you are already aware that I come from a family who LOVES to renovate things. I, on the other hand, do not. At all. So painting will surely be a labor of love. If you follow me on twitter, I'm sure I will be cursing up a storm and asking for all the advice in the world.

Hopefully it will all come together in the next few weeks and I will post the pictures here.

Until then here's a sneak peek!

The Trail Bites Back

2014-08-02T16:42:00.000-04:00

Oh man did I start out this run like a cocky bitch.

Gorgeous day. Cloudy. Breezy.

Perfect for running. My new found love for running the trail eases my achy bones and keeps my mind calm. I started out confident and strong. Leaping over roots, avoiding turtles, and even circumventing a few scary bugs.

Y'all. This nature kid hates bugs. Did I ever tell you about my camping trip to Florida? No? Well long story short, finding palmetto bugs on the inside of your carefully placed bug net after you've already crawled inside to go to sleep is NOT fun.

Anyways.

After avoiding a particularly frightening bug, I descended down the trail, picked up speed, and caught my foot on a root. I tried to over correct, ran faster, but I knew my big ass was going down. Right now I'm blaming the bug for my misstep. It surely could not have been my fault.

I felt like I was going in slow motion. All I could think was: "Ouch. This is going to hurt." There may have been some choice expletives running through my head as well, but we won't worry about that.

Then I went all GI-Joe and Superman mixed into one. Instinct kicked in, I tucked, put my shoulder down first, and completed a masterful roll/flip and popped back up so quick, you would have thought I did it on purpose.

Now when I fall on a regular run (I have to admit that it's happened more than once) boy does it hurt. I usually go straight down, bust my hands and knees, and my ego hurts the most of all. This time? Instead of looking around ashamed, hoping that no one saw me, I looked around and wished that someone saw my masterful feat.

I only had a small cut on my knee, and since I was already standing again, all I had to do was brush off the dirt, and finish my run.

So thanks trail running. I'm now able to add on another reason why I like you so much. When I fall, my body and my pride doesn't hurt so much.

Goodbye...Till Next Time!

2014-07-25T22:11:00.001-04:00

Oh y'all.

Today sucked.

My mom and my sister went home.

They were in town this past week and left for home today. Living 10 hours away from your family is just...sad.

So when we are together, we soak it in, do the normal fun things we do, and make the best of it. Par for the course, the weather in Atlanta was deplorable, so we found ourselves indoors till yesterday, when we spent the day at the lake.

When they first arrived of course the gals were shy. But after the first hour of the gals being weird and trying to remember who everyone was, the air was soon filled with their calls for "Grandma" and "Rachel!"

So many books were read. Grandma's are good at that.

New tutu's were acquired. Grandma took part in the fun.

When Rachel and I were small there was the "Mummy Monster" and the "Bucking Bronco." Amelia gladly learned about the bronco and held on for dear life.

Rain = Puzzles. Of course only one piece was missing. Rachel showed her displeasure.

A trip to the local Mexican restaurant showed our gals exquisite dining skills.

We moseyed back into Dunwoody to visit one of my mom's friends, so of course we went to Wright's Gourmet and of course we ran into someone we know. This time it was a notorious substitute teacher named Mrs. Dimenstein. Oh man did she have a hatred for footsie under the table. She still haunts any Austin Elementary grad's dreams.

Finally the sun came out and we went to the lake. When we were kids my mom always took us to the Buford Dam Park, so it's pretty cool to come full circle and bring my gals here too.

There were so many tears today when my family left.

Of course we can't wait till we can see them again.

Breaking the Routine

2014-07-17T11:49:00.001-04:00

Routine. I usually thrive on it. Schedules are fabulous and very necessary in this household. It's what gets us through our days and leaves us with at least a small bit of sanity.

Over on Instagram I've started doing an Atlanta Mom's Blog photo a day. It's been fun to check out the hashtag {#atlmomsblog} to see what other local moms are doing throughout their day.

Today's picture was asking for your morning ritual. Pretty standard here, wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, drink coffee, and go to work. If I'm lucky, 3-4 times a week I go to the gym.

I'm a standard gym rat. I run, walk, and lift. Nothing too fancy. Every now and then I'll throw in a HIIT class or some cross training on the Arc Trainer. Oh and I catch up on Twitter, but y'all already knew that. When I started my whole weight loss journey, I simply did what worked for me to get the weight off & that was it. Nothing extra. Now that I've lost 90 pounds, I'm no longer striving for shedding the lbs, but maintaining my hard work, building muscle, and having fun.

Here's where I'm going to break my normal routine. While I want my gym visits to be entertaining, I also want them to be social. There are lots of mommies who take classes at my Y, so I'm going to force myself to take all these crazy classes they offer, have fun, and make friends. Today's class? Zumba.

Oh Zumba Y'all. For those who don't know me, I'm 6 feet tall, pretty athletic, and have zero dancing ability. So picture this giant in the back of the room, taking her first Zumba class, looking like a complete jackass.

I started out a hot mess. I was slow and concentrating too hard on the footwork. I couldn't understand why people took this class.

I'm not sweating.

This is dumb.

Then the instructor yelled "stop looking in the mirror!" It woke me up and I realized that if I wanted a good workout, and if I really wanted to sweat, I needed to not worry about the steps and just move. As soon as I did this, I was able to relax and step it up. Now that is when I began to sweat.

I danced, I jigged, and I just enjoyed the music. I had a blast watching the only gentleman (who looked about my dad's age) in the class bust a move. I pushed myself hard & got a good workout in. I will definitely take this class again, and next time I want to wear my heart rate monitor to compare it to one of my normal workouts.

Lots of the mommies were chatting after the class, but I scooted out quickly and skipped the friendly banter. Let's just do this one step at a time.

Crazy dance class first, new friends next.

I promise I will push my social comfort zone future!

There's No Overthinking When You Are On the Trail

2014-07-13T15:36:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days that I needed to desperately get out of the house.

I needed to be by myself.

I needed to just get away for a few.

I wanted to go for a run, but my foot & knees have been bugging me lately. So a jaunt around my hood wasn't what I was up for. Not to mention, our new locale is just not very running friendly.

As soon as the gals' heads hit the pillow for nap time, I was in my car heading for the Laurel Ridge Trail. It's just around the corner and follows the shoreline of Lake Lanier, the Chattahoochee, and the Buford Dam. It's well shaded and good for any type of hiker or runner. While it doesn't have a lot of traffic, it does have a lot of beauty.

I haven't done a true trail run in ages. I'm going to rectify that and do this more often, because I had a blast. I needed some time out of my own head, not to worry about the day to day, and a trail run was just what the doctor ordered. I couldn't be bothered by my problems, because I was too busy concentrating on not busting my ass while dodging all the roots and rocks! I felt like I was back in Maine at summer camp bouncing all around the trail. I was having fun.

The trail is a loop and with the direction I go, the Dam is close to the finish. This makes for some steep running at the very end of your run, but it was a good challenge! I was beat!

The best part about this trail is that it starts and ends right on the lake. So it was nice to cool down after my run right by the shore. I will definitely be coming back to do this trail again, even though it was a challenge, I wasn't bothered by my usual nagging knee and foot pain.

I'm probably in the market for some trail running shoes now. Anyone have any recommendations?

Welcome Back!

2014-07-11T21:30:00.000-04:00

Ah, it's been too long! Too long!

I've really just used this space as a place to update my family about the gals, but I hope to evolve it into something more.

I liked updating my blog with news about the gals because I've always been kinda anti-Facebook. More or less because I felt that some things just aren't meant to be shared. When I spent a month in the hospital hoping that the gals would stay put just a few weeks longer, I couldn't bring myself to post anything about it. Instead, I stuck by my family, friends, and my twitter ladies (who understood what I was going through more than anyone else). These people kept me hopeful. That's all I needed.

The gals came 9 weeks early, and again, all I could post on FB was a quick pic of the gals. I'm not a fan of searching for likes, for comments, and for prayers. I wasn't ready to hear the sympathy from a person I hadn't talked to in 10 years. I just wanted my family and friends to know they were okay.

However, over the past few years FB has evolved into something more and more of my "older" family members have embraced, so I'm gradually letting my guard down and posting more pictures there. I must admit, I love it when the Grandmas get excited about the latest gals post.

I've been thinking that this place doesn't just need to be an "update" blog. I want to branch out a bit more.

So here's what I want for this blog:

Obviously I want to talk about the gals. I'm with them all day, everyday, and they are embarking on such an amazing part of their development. These enthusiastic 2 year old could fuel any blog for centuries.

I want to talk about ME! Me?!? Isn't that selfish? But of course!! What are blogs for? I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments over the past year and half. Mostly because I put my nose to the grindstone, lost 90 pounds, and have kept it off. Yea. Pretty proud of that.

My family. All of us. What we do, where we go, and what we enjoy in our fun town of Atlanta and beyond.

And anything else interesting. Captivated yet?

There I've blogged it. That means this will all totally happen right? I won't forget about this blog again will I?

Nope...no way.

A Gal and her Phone

2014-05-19T22:44:00.000-04:00

I originally started off thinking I would post about how proud I was of myself for not being on my phone all weekend, but then I realized why...

This past weekend I spent several days with some of my favorite people. We had our 10 year college reunion, and it felt like we had never left.

As soon as I checked in, I ran to UDF, looked for Comb Over Clint (he sadly does not work there anymore), and bought myself a Luna Bar (a healthier update from my 22 year old self) & a Limerita (a new addition, thank god these weren't available back then)

I searched for my friends who were already there, but since they hadn't posted their whereabouts on their AIM away messages (oh we don't do that anymore do we?), I was at a loss. I texted, phoned, & even Instagrammed.

I grabbed my stuff from my car, and was quickly greeted at the entrance of the dorm by 3 lovely ladies I hadn't seen since our 5 year reunion. The party had officially begun, and I barely touched my phone again.

In odd moments of solitude, aka, trying to recover from Friday night. I posted a send coffee selfie (see below) & checked in with the hubs to see how the gals were doing. But other than that I didn't really need my phone. The people who I interact with on Social Media daily were here. We were interacting with each other and that was all I needed.

But it got me thinking - I'm not the high and mighty type that looks down on others with their faces in their phones. This weekend solidified that entirely. These people are the ones who make me check my phone. Who keep me entertained regularly while my kids nap and before I go to bed at a ridiculously early hour.

Being a parent can be isolating.

We don't intentionally do it. I make the effort to schedule play dates for my own social interaction as much as my kids, but the reality is, if we go out, it's as a family. We know our schedule, our routine, and can predict our kids nuts behavior.

I am very social, very outgoing, and I love my friends. I need to chat with them on iMessage everyday and show them pictures of my kids climbing up a bookshelf because I am obviously such an awesome parent. It's why I love the ladies I chat with on twitter too (so if we could just organize a reunion type event, that'd be great). But the gals come with me to work, we moved to the burbs, & our commute sucks. We don't see our local friends like we used to.

So honestly, no worries. Check your phone. Take millions of pictures of your food, your self, your kids, and your pets. I want to see them. Tell me how your day is. I want to share the joy you feel or send good thoughts if shit just sucks lately.

But please quit sharing those damn quizzes.