My Adventures with Superheroes and Twincesses

Brownies Are a Treat for Everyone

2014-08-12T19:18:00.002-07:00

Everyone deserves a special treat filled with gooey goodness. Brownies are one of the top treats of all time. They come in a variety of flavors and filled and topped with random things, from chocolate chips, nuts, fruit and more! These special treats are great for any occasion and great to customize. You can even decorate them.

Vermont is a special state with a lot of farms and crops grown throughout the state. It's a beautiful state and it's people are very proud to be Vermonters. Brownie Company makes their brownies fresh from scratch with local (to them) farm-fresh ingredients that are natural and preservative free!

Vermont Brownie Company has delicious brownies in an assortment of flavors. They ship them fresh right to your door! I was spoiled and got to try their sampler box which was filled with 6 brownies which includes signature, espresso dulce de leche, peanut butter, maple toffee crunch, walnut chunk, and blondie. Their sampler comes in an adorable box and can be wrapped for special occasions. And all the brownies come wrapped individually so they're good for up to 12 days! No rush to eat them, just enjoy every bite.
There are a ton of different flavors from white chocolate to blondie to esperesso to peanut butter and more!

Vermont Brownie Company was even on Throwdown with Bobby Flay!

Check them out and order yourself a special delicious gift at
Vermont Brownie Co Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Vermont Brownie Company sent me a 6 brownie Sampler Pack to review. I am not compensated for my reviews, so I do not make money on them. My review is in no way influenced by anything other than my personal opinion.

Who wants to win their own 3 pack sampler from Vermont Brownie Company? They're absolutely delicious and we want you to see for yourself!! Enter below!

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My Fave Juice

2014-08-12T19:15:00.003-07:00

As a lot of you know I'm on the track to getting healthier. I'm starting day three of no PPP, added tons of water to my diet, and trying flexitarianism. It's a journey I'm pushing myself through.

I posted about the fun ways to jazz up plain water. But juice can be good for you too. Especially if it has tons of fruit and veggies! I've started drinking Fave juices. They're a fruit and vegetable juice mix that is delicious. It comes in a variety of mixed flavors. So far I'm loving the strawberry, kiwi, banana! My kids love it too. It's not packed full of calories and junk.

Each 8-ounce glass of Fave contains:

• All-natural 100% fruit & vegetable juice

• Three full servings of vegetables

• Only 60 calories

• Antioxidant power of Vitamins A & C

• No preservatives, artificial sweeteners or high-fructose corn syrup

I love that it's smooth and not too sweet. It has no artificial sweeteners, no added sugars, is all natural and bottled here in the USA! It also makes a great smoothie.

Find Fave at The Fresh Market, Meijer, H-E-B, Loblaws, Amazon.com, SuperValu, Cub Foods, Lunds & Byerly's, and Coborn's

FAVE Juice sent me 3 FAVE juices to review. I am not compensated for my reviews, so I do not make money on them. My review is in no way influenced by anything other than my personal opinion.

Who wants to win their own 3 pack from FAVE Juice? I absolutely love them and want you to have some too!!! Enter below!

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Capturing Couture

2014-08-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

I've recently taken a fondness to photography. I love being able to follow behind my kids and capture those little moments for everyone to see. The best thing is being able to share those moments with my family who lives a state away, and my father in law who is currently deployed. Why should they miss out on my kids growing up just because they can't be here all the time?

Carrying a camera can be dangerous. I'm so afraid to drop and break it, and there goes the money I spent! A camera strap helps keep the camera around my neck so I can still chase my kids and be involved and not have to worry about it hitting the ground!

This adorable camera strap by Capturing Couture is absolutely gorgeous and works amazing! It's also padded so it doesn't hurt my neck and shoulders.

It comes wrapped in a cute little box with a bow!

A picture of Eli and I at the Frederick Meijer Garden while I was taking photos!

We had so much fun and I didn't have to worry one bit about dropping the camera and had no issues with a scratchy strap around my neck/shoulders.

I'm in love with my camera strap. It's now a permanent attachment to not only my camera but me as well.

good2grow Drinks

2014-07-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

Kids juice boxes and pouches seem like a waste to me. You can't reuse them and when the kiddos squeeze them, they spill all over! And the big name juice drinks now a days are filled with tons of yucky things such as sugars and GMOs. Why can't we get a simple kids juice drink in a reusable container that isn't full of crazy ingredients?

Good news moms and dads, you can!!!! good2grow is a great juice drink for kids that has no added sugars, no GMOs, no artificial colors, preservatives and flavors! They even have an organic line! Not only is the juice delicious and healthy, but the containers are cute too! You can let the kiddos pick out what topper they want, and the topper can be used on the refill packs! I've even kept the bottom of the bottles to fill with milk, water and other juices to save money! The toppers are spill proof too!

good2grow offers a wife variety of flavors as well as a huge selection of character toppers. Some of the characters include those from Disney, Marvel, WB, Mattel, Hello Kitty, Nickelodeon and American Greetings! My kiddos chose Spider Man and Thomas the Train as their favorite toppers. It not only lets them choose, but I can easily figure out who's cup is who's at parties and when we go out! And the containers are BPA free!

Check out their website for a BOGO coupon too! (limited time offer)

good2grow and Moms Meet sent me coupons for 2 good2grow character topper juice bottle and 2 coupons for a 6 pack of refills to review. I am not compensated for my reviews, so I do not make money on them. My review is in no way influenced by anything other than my personal opinion.

A New Chicken Salad

2014-07-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

My mother in law is an amazing cook. From her famous egg rolls to her pho. She can make anything out of nothing and it be a gourmet dish.

She finally introduced me to this amazing chicken salad her mother made. It's absolutely amazing. Now this isn't your typical chicken salad. It's better!

Ingredients:

As much as you'd like of:

Bell peppers

Tomatoes

Green onions

Hard boiled eggs

Lettuce

Diced chicken (we used leftovers)

Cilantro

Dressing:

4 tablespoons ranch dressing

2 tablespoons thousand island dressing

1-2 teaspoons sriacha sauce to taste (optional)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

Salt

Pepper

Throw all the veggies in a bowl together and mix. Mix the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour over salad and mix. Enjoy! This is such a simple and easy lunch! I'm addicted to it now.

No sleep until...never.

2014-07-09T23:13:00.001-07:00

It is now 2 am and my twincesses have decided its time to get up and play. While they're rolling and crawling and walking across the living room giggling at each other, I'm sitting on the couch, exhausted, running on the fumes of last nights 4 hours of sleep. For the past 5 years I haven't gotten a real good nights sleep. I have nights where I get overwhelmed and wonder if and when I will ever get a full night of sleep. Then it hits me.....

For the rest of my life if they're not waking me up for a bottle, to pee, because they lost their homework, because they want a glass of water, because they need a ride home from a party, or whatever reason..... Then I'll be awake worrying about them. I'm never going to get a full night of sleep. Ever. I gave up that when I gave birth to my first child. Would I trade lives with someone who sleeps whenever and however long? No way. I love my life. I have four amazing little loves that make my every day wonderful. Not a day goes by that something doesn't happen, good or bad... There's never a boring moment. Ever.

I do have nights I'm thankful my mother in law lives so close. She stays and helps the kiddos in bed and helps me out a ton. She helps when I need to take a nap or fall asleep on the couch. But I honestly don't remember the last time I had a nap. A real nap. I think it was when I was pregnant with the girls.

One day, my kids will all be on their own in their own houses and apartments and with their family, and I doubt I will ever sleep well. I'll think about how they're doing, if they're having a problem, if they need me... I'm a stresser and a worrier. I tend to over think things a lot. But that's what makes me a good mom. I'm paranoid. And love my kids

So now, I'm going to try to get these girls back to sleep and get at least a few hours of sleep myself.

See 'n Store

2014-07-03T09:49:00.003-07:00

Baby-BeeHaven sells a variety of items for parents and babies. One of their items is the See 'n Store. This is a cloth organizer and storage unit for a stroller. It fits a variety of different strollers.
The See 'n Store has different compartments to hold different things, and even a place to display an iPad! The display can be down so baby can see and be entertained, or can go up facing towards the parents.
While we did not get to use it on our stroller, as we have a twin side by side stroller and it was too small to fit around the bars, we did use it on a friend's stroller for a few trips out. It held both our cell phones, wallets, bottles and the iPad so they were easy to get to, not in the way and not being tossed off the stroller when bumped into. It's definitely very convenient and helps keep everything within hands reach and kept our kiddos entertained.
I was definitely impressed with the See 'n Store and would suggest it for moms who are always on the go and trying to keep their kiddos entertained without letting them have the iPad to drop on the floor.

You can see more information about the See 'n Store here.
Check out Baby-BeeHaven here.

Baby-BeeHaven sent me a See 'n Store to review. I am not compensated for my reviews, so I do not make money on them. My review is in no way influenced by anything other than my personal opinion.

Get Paid to Buy Pampers Diapers

2014-06-29T21:57:00.003-07:00

So here's the deal...
Buy 2 pampers diapers (big boxes) from Target, get a $20 gift card.
Price match with Dollar General's deal for 9.50 on ANY AMOUNT AND ANY SIZE of Pampers Swaddlers.
Use $1.50/1 Coupons below
Get paid to take home diapers!

Repurposing Changing Tables

2014-06-29T14:00:00.001-07:00

I'm always looking for ways to repurpose things we already have. My mother in law gave us this really nice wooden changing table. It's real wood and a great storage shelf. But it was just sitting there taking up space. So instead of leaving it bare and stuffed with clothes the kids can't wear, I found a better use!

It is now a book shelf! It fits a ton of different sized books and the shelf on top is great for my personal books for school and homework. I've also got a few stuffed Raggedy Ann and Hello Kitty dolls on top.

My grand mother in law retired as a teacher a few years back and her collection of books came home with her. My kiddos acquired quite a few from her and love them.

Healthier Me, Healthier You

2014-06-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm on a health kick lately. I realized how big I was after I had Elijah. Then I started losing the weight... my job was kicking my bum and making me workout - lifting 90+lb bags above my head and throwing them into containers and bending over and walking a ton. As soon as I started to feel better about my self, I found out I was pregnant again, this time with two!

Now it's been almost a year since the twincesses were born, and I'm motivated to get myself back in gear. I've been walking 2+ miles whenever I can, doing yoga (children's yoga is much more of a workout than adult yoga... they change positions and do crazy things so fast!), eating better, counting calories and being more active (lots more house work!) I'm basically being a mother and losing weight! I've lost 4 lbs already, and gone down 2 inches! Yay for me!

My next goal is to cut out all pop. I was at the point where I was living on caffeine. It was a constant thing for me. 5+ Pepsis a day cannot be good for anyone. While I cannot give up my morning coffee, I can definitely save money and have a healthier me by eliminating the amount of pop I drink. So today is my day 1 of no pop.

What am I drinking to help my journey? Well water... water.. and more water! But water is boring. Very boring. Especially when you drink a ton of it all day every day. And most juices have a ton of sugar and nasty added things. My mother in law introduced my to infused water. It's the greatest thing ever! Not even kidding.. this is my serious face... All it is is plain water with fruit or veggies or herbs added. So far my favorite is watermelon with mint and lemon, lime, cucumber! It's so easy! I just take my water bottle, fill it up at night before bed, add my goodies and leave it in the fridge all night. The next day I have yummy water!

While hanging out on Facespace one day, I happened upon a challenge.. one that I knew I could take and complete (I'm terrible about giving up on things.) The F Word challenged me (along with the rest of their fans) to drink more F Water! What's F Water? It was a challenge to get in at least 64 ounces of water a day. I didn't do so well ont he challenge, but I did up my intake a ton! And my kiddos joined me in the water intake challenge and are doing amazing! I always find them grabbing water bottles from the fridge rather than asking for juice and milk! Yay! I'm still doing amazing on my water intake! I'm also drinking FAVE juices (Review coming soon!) because they're yummy and only 60 calories!

My next challenge is to try flexitarianism (Check out my friend Steph's blog post on flexitarianism). This SHOULD be easy for me! I won't be eliminating meat, just reducing the amount of meat I eat. I'll add more veggie and fruit meals rather than meat. It'll be a nice change, and help in my process to get slim!

I've picked up gardening thanks to my mother in law and we're growing our own veggies! Some are in pots, but a lot are in the ground. She does herbs year round in pots. She brings them in when it's cold and we still have fresh!

Who's up for the challenge of more water, less meat, and a healthier you??!!

Free Huggies Samples

2014-06-27T08:32:00.001-07:00

Get a free Huggies Diaper and Wipes sample straight from Huggies!

Frozen Birthday Parties are Still Rockin

2014-06-23T21:14:00.001-07:00

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

Create a Winter Wonderland with Frozen Party Supplies from Birthday Express
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At Birthday Express, you can shop Frozen-themed party supplies, favors, decorations, costumes and more! Some of our favorite products are the 41" Olaf Jumbo Balloon and the Deluxe Anna and Elsa costumes. Right now at Birthday Express, you can Get 10% off all Frozen party supplies through 6/29. Be sure to shop this collection today and turn your next party into a winter wonderland!

Mars Movie Moments

2014-06-23T17:17:00.002-07:00

See if you can instantly win a Free $6 Virtual Pre Paid MasterCard (from the M&M movie contest!) To play, text MOVIE to 78787 (3 Sent Text Messages Required Per Play. 1 play per mobile tel number per calendar day) 500,000 Winners total. If you win you will have a choice of a movie on demand credit or a online streaming credit, the online streaming credit is a $6 Virtual Pre Paid MasterCard. The other one is $6 off your cable bill, not a MasterCard.
Mars Movie Moments

Pretzel-ly Deliciousness

2014-06-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

I love a certain "warehouse store's" food area. We visit often and my kiddos love their giant hot dogs and slushies. My favorite snack from them is the giant soft pretzel with a cup of cheese. Oh how I enjoy that salty pretzel mixed with the creamy cheese.
Why travel to get what I want though when the San Diego Pretzel Company ships soft pretzels that taste even better than the store!?!?! I was lucky enough to try some with my family, and they love them too!
San Diego Pretzel company offers a variety of choices when it comes to their pretzels. They have slider pretzel buns, pretzel puffs, a jumbo gift box (pretzel in a pretty gift box with mustard salt and more), and 4 different styles of soft pretzels - each come 8 in a bag! That's a lot of pretzels!
We received the slider buns and a bag of 8 Munich pretzels along with sea salt to top them off. I have to say they are some of the best pretzels we've ever eaten, and will definitely be ordering some to have around as a snack. Now only if they did auto-ship of pretzels.... I'd be one happy mama!

The Munich style pretzels were soft and delicious. They were very easy to prepare! All it took was rubbing a little water on the top, sprinkling with sea salt, throwing in the microwave for 30 seconds, and it was ready to eat! The dough was amazing, soft and not overpowered by the salt. My kids enjoyed them because they look like smiley faces (the hoops on top were the eyes and the big crescent shape at the bottom was the mouth.) They enjoyed the taste too, minus the salt.

The slider buns were amazing too! We made mini venison burgers and mini turkey burgers, grilled them and threw them with some bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, mushroom and the fixings! They were absolutely delicious next to our homemade french fries! I've never been a big fan of pretzel buns until now (there's a certain fast food chain that has disgusting pretzel buns in my opinion.

I love the dough of both pretzel types we tried. It's not too sweet nor is it bland... it tastes just like a pretzel should. I'll definitely recommend San Diego Pretzel Company and will be ordering more pretzels from them soon!

Who wants to win some yummy pretzels?? San Diego Pretzel Company has partnered up with me to give away pretzels to 2 of my fans! One fan will win the mini slider buns and one will win a bag of Munich pretzels! I want you to taste for yourself how amazing they are! Enter below, and don't forget to visit their Facebook page and thank them for the opportunity!
Please remember to do all the mandatory entries (liking the pages and leaving your email). Any winner drawn who has not done all the mandatory entries will be disqualified and a new winner will be chosen.

San Diego Pretzel Company sent me pretzel slider buns and an 8 pack of pretzels to review. I am not compensated for my reviews, so I do not make money on them. My review is in no way influenced by anything other than my personal opinion.

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Digital Movies are the New Cool

2014-06-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry but I'm having to retract on the review and giveaway with Kellvis.com as some issues came up. I apologize for the situation and we will post a blog post about the situation sometime later today. I'm sincerely sorry. As a consolation, we will be giving away :
Disney's Tangled on Blu Ray 3D or 2D or DVD
Disney's Winnie the Pooh (2011) on Blu Ray or DVD
Marvel Avengers Blu Ray or DVD
Disney Planes Blu Ray or DVD
Disney John Carter Blu Ray or DVD

Please be sure to do all the mandatory entries! This includes liking the pages and leaving your email address so we can contact you if you win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Free Yoplait Yogurt

2014-06-10T07:00:00.001-07:00

Get a free Yoplait Greek or Greek 100 5.3 oz cup of yogurt at Meijer! Go to www.mperks.com and log in. Click on Coupons, at the top, find the offer code bar, type in freeyogurt14 and hit the arrow then clip the coupon!

To The Lady In The Baby Aisle

2014-06-09T21:39:00.001-07:00

To the lady in the baby aisle who judged me without knowing my story.....

Thank you for making me feel like the worst mom in the world. I have Twincesses at home that need to be fed. How I feed them shouldn't matter to you as long as they're fed.

I struggled for months to try to breast feed. I pumped around the clock and changed my diet hoping and praying my milk would come in. I borrowed a medical grade pump because I thought it would help. I latched them on as often as they could and dealt with the pain and the upset babies when nothing was coming out. I missed taking my oldest to the bus stop some days because I was up all night power pumping.

My milk never came completely in. I only got drops. I became depressed because I felt like a failure. I felt like the only girl in the world who couldn't breast feed.

I had prepared. I did all the research and read a ton of books and talked to lactation consultants and other breast feeding moms. What was I doing wrong?

I failed at feeding my own girls.

I relentlessly gave up after 5 months. I formula feed my girls. They are happy. They love me. They are fed. And they're growing into big girls.

Do I hate myself now? No. I'm doing what's best for myself and my kids. Would I have likes to breast feed? Yes. I would have given my right arm to do so. But it just wasn't in the cards.

So next time you see a mommy buying formula in the baby aisle, don't make harsh comments or give her dirty looks and glare. You don't know her story.

How would your life be different if…You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day…You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.

Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Let Them Be Little

2014-06-05T22:31:00.001-07:00

When your kids do something that they shouldn't do, such as drawing on the wall with permanent marker or squirting the entire tube of toothpaste on the floor... It drives us crazy. A lot of us get overwhelmed and flip out and sometimes lose our cool. I've done it. I admit I've lost it and yelled and put my kids in their room with the door closed because I couldn't even look at them after what they did. I'm not a perfect mom.

Afterwards I felt really bad for yelling and apologized and explained what they did was bad but mommy was bad too. And we all do things we shouldn't do.

I've been trying a more gentle approach lately. And thanks to Facebook I've found easy ways to clean up these crazy messes without a hassle.

Rather than yelling and getting worked up over things, don't react at all or laugh. Even when they know better, maybe they did it because they had to do it.

Messes can be cleaned up. Broken items can be replaced. Our children have feelings. Why yell at them when we can embrace their mistakes and help them learn from them? Why do we expect our kids to grow up so fast and be these "perfect little adults" when we ourselves make the same mistakes even as adults. We drop and break things. We make messes. We make mistakes. We are just as human as they are. We deserve respect from them, but we also need to show them respect. You earn respect just as they do.

My two year old has an obsession with drawing. It's his favorite thing to do. And when I'm not paying attention he will draw on the wall or whatever he can get to. So their bedroom (he shares with his older brother) has crayon drawings on the wall. And I'm ok with it. It's their room. They're not hurt by it. And it can be covered one day. I told him it's not ok and explained to him about taking care of his things. He hasn't done it since.

Although one day he got ahold of a permanent marker and drew on my living room wall. This wasn't ok. And I made sure to talk to him and show him what he did wasn't ok and that's not how we treat other peoples belongings. Thankfully it came off with some scrubbing with toothpaste. But so far he hasn't drawn on our wall again.

Life is too short to be upset about kids being kids. Embrace them. Love them. Teach them right from wrong and about respect. But let them be little. Don't push them to grow up too fast. Choose your battles. Is it worth yelling at them? Hug them tight and talk to them the way you'd like to be talked to. Kids listen more to gentle talk. :)

Why I Wear My Kids

2014-06-04T09:29:00.001-07:00

I've been asked numerous times why I wear my Twincesses. What enjoyment do I get out of wearing two tiny little angels who continue to get bigger? Doesn't it ever wear me out wearing them?

To answer everyone's questions, I'm worn out whether I'm wearing them or not. They're mobile and there's two of them, along with their two older brothers. It never fails that they all rub and crawl four different directions so I'm constantly chasing kids and trying to keep them distracted.

I had never heard of babywearing before I had Aiden. Once I found out about it an received a free carrier from a friend I was addicted. Now i love it. I'm in love with my Tula and enjoy woven carriers just as much. Mei Tais are great too!

I enjoy having two hands when I do dishes, help Aiden with his homework, chasing Elijah around to change his diaper or get him to sit down and eat, and take walks.

I'm in the process of getting my pre-pregnancy body back and what better way than to lug a 17 lb baby around on my back while I walk a couple miles and clean the house? Why pay for weights when I have two adorable ones to encourage me to get healthy? I've saved money by not getting a gym membership when I can do better than those workouts at home. Squats and lunges and yoga with a baby on my back rocks. Plus hearing them giggle at my movements is the best encouragement.

Lifting the double stroller and dragging it out of the house, putting it in the van, pulling it back out, putting it back in... That's just exhausting. It's heavy and bulky and takes up the entire back end of my van. I can't even see out of my rear view window because of it. And putting it in the back I have to angle it just right and clip the locks at the exact moment or it comes tunneling down on me.

I wear them because they belong with me. The memory of us being one is brought back and shared with them. Feeling and watching their bodies become limp as they listen to my heartbeat, bringing back that nostalgic sound from the womb, as they fall into dream land.

I wear them because we belong together. It reminds them they're wanted and always will be.

I live seeing what they see, encouraging them to see new things and explaining things to them. I can see their little minds turning through their eyes as they listen and explore this huge world.

Emma is in that "stranger anxiety stage" and Addi loves meeting new people, so setting them down to roll around and crawl all over in a public place isn't something I'm comfortable doing.

I wear them because I'm going to miss the days of cuddling and smelling their baby smells and feeling them sleep soundly on me. I'm going to miss the baby days. I'm going to miss the days where they want mommy to hold them and spend all the time with them.

Life is so short and they grow up so fast. I'm taking advantage of these precious moments to wear them as much as I can. They won't want to be worn forever so I'll wear them while I still can.

Scariest Thing in the World

2014-03-17T18:31:00.001-07:00

The scariest thing in the world is being pregnant. When you go in for that first ultrasound, whether it's your first kid or 16th kid, it's scary. You don't know what you're going to see - will there be a heartbeat? will the baby be ok? (it's really hard especially after having lost a baby.) It's scary.. overwhelming.. shocking... when the technician says it's twins. You have to see for yourself to make sure that your parents didn't pay them off to joke around with you.
Before having twins, I'll admit, I was scared to death. How on earth am I going to handle doing everything a baby needs twice, plus tending to the needs of Elijah and Aiden as well? It was a lot to think about and take in. From the questions of feeding two at the same time, comforting them when they're both crying, changing diapers, spending time with each individually... You name it, I thought about it!
My biggest questions and fears were if they would come early, would they need any NICU time, would they have any problems? I think every mom has that fear, but it seems to be something mom's of multiples discuss quite a bit when they're pregnant.
I never imagined I'd have twins. We joked about it, they do run in both sides of the family (even though it's only the woman's side that determines frat twins, and identical twins are not necessarily genetic).
How did I react when the tech said we were having twins? Well, I was happy, scared, nervous, ready to throw up and dance at the same time. It was the greatest and scariest time of my life! I was carrying two little rainbow babies!
My husband slipped up and told the world on facebook without my knowledge before I had even announced that we were pregnant. (Thanks Jon!) And in nothing better than a one-word post that confused everyone!

There's no real way to prepare for twins. You can buy two of everything, but that's not what I'm talking about. Mentally, its something, even after they're born, it's hard to believe. I remember going into each doctor's appointment, NST, ultrasound and asking for them to make sure there's really two in there.
The entire pregnancy is a challenge. From the overwhelmingness of your giant belly, to the random people in public who think you're "ready to pop" when you're really barely pregnant and then the shocking look on their face when you say there's two, to the crazy amount of doctor's visits and the amount of doctors you end up with (I had a regular OB and a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor, leaving me with 2 to 4 doctor's appointments a week). Then you pile on the amount of worry that twin pregnancies bring. Twin pregnancies are much more risky (compared to "normal" pregnancies), there's more complications that can happen, and bed rest is quite common.
And then it hits you... MONEY! You will NEVER have money EVER again. Ok, you'll have a little... if you save... but you'll need to buy twice as many diapers, formula if you use it, clothes, toys, etc. Everything comes in twos. And if you have other kids, you'll need even more!
Sleep is like a unicorn. When you're pregnant, it's hard to get comfortable. They tell you to lay on your left side and you should be fine. Well, when you've got twins inside your giant belly, there's no comfy regardless of which side. I always had one in one hip bone and one in my ribs, so comfy wasn't something I felt very often, not even sitting or standing or laying.
If having twins as your first, you already have no idea what you're doing with one, but now you have no idea what you're doing times two! Babies are scary little things. They get sick, they're so small and gentle, and they cry and need a lot from you.
Along the road of twin pregnancy, something scary will happen. Whether it be a minor scary, or a major scary, something will happen. You have to have a good support team by your side at all times. And by your side I mean literally, you'll more than likely need help getting up from the bed or couch or floor or bath.
The hospital will be your home for a bit. Most twins end up spending some time in the hospital. Whether it be a day or two, or a week or two, or a month or two depends on your children and the staff. Mentally and physically this will be draining. You'll need to make sure during their stay you get as much sleep as you can, spend as much time as you can with them, eat and take care of yourself. Also, don't let the nurses and staff boss you around. You can hold your child (unless there's a big major medical reason for you not to) and you can pump breast milk or even try breast feeding. Formula is NOT needed if you intend to breast feed. Do not let them tell you otherwise. You can do research and talk to a lactation consultant while you're there.
Be prepared for stares and questions. You'll be asked a ton of questions... the most famous being "are they twins?" Just respond with "yes..." and move on. And everyone "knew" or "knows" a twin.. or went to school with one.. met one once at the movies.. etc. Stories are commonly shared, and unwanted by us parents lol.
Do not compare your twins. They will grow at their own pace. Do not compare them to other children. Again, at their own pace. Each child is unique and will stand, sit, eat, walk, talk, etc at their own pace. Don't rush them!
Each of your twins is an individual. They will be grouped together as "the twins" quite often. But please try to make them each feel as they are important as individuals and not just a unit. They will each have their own likes and dislikes. They may not share everything.

But honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've had the most fun being pregnant with twins, and the greatest amounts of fun since they've been here. I'll admit we've hit our down hill points, especially having two older brothers along the ride as well. Between Addisin and Elijah both needing a billion doctors appointments, a hospital visit for a few days, specialists called, and Emmalynn having this odd mark on her belly which scared me... it's been an eventful ride filled with tears of joy and tears of fear. I love each of my kids.

We All Need Some Time...

2014-03-09T13:42:00.002-07:00

After some much needed time away from blogging, I am back!

Life got very crazy for a while. As most of you know, I delivered my twincesses in July. After that, we were hoping life would bounce back to normal. Boy were we wrong. Adding 2 to our household of 4 added some unexpected turns. Not only did we have a 2 year old toddler who decided to test the waters with mommy and daddy and become jealous, a 5 year old who started his first year of school (yay for preschool!), we also ended up spending a few days back in the hospital because dear Addisin contracted a bad case of RSV/pneumonia ontop of her asthma. That was one of the roughest times! Not only did I spend a few nights alone with her in the hospital, away from my other 3 kiddos and hubby, but seeing her so miserable was sad.

That Friday we decided, after a week of coughing and snotting and feelin miserable, we decided to take her to the doctor. They gave her some antibiotics and sent us home saying it was a cold and ear infection. Monday it got worse, so we brought her back. Her coughing sounded rough and she wasn't sleeping well. They sent us home with a nebulizer and albuterol for her asthma and coughing. While that helped her sleep, she still wasn't getting better, and had nearly stopped eating.
New Years day she hit rock bottom and we called the night nurse line and they said to wait til Friday, try some water/pedialyte and increase the times we were doing breathing treatments. She didn't get better by Friday, I took her in to the doctor, and she had lost half a pound since Monday, which is a BIG drop for someone so little, a preemie who was already having some weight issues from the start. My mother in law and I drove to the hospital with her (I'm so thankful she met me at the house to go so I wasn't alone.) They admitted her immediately and started her on IV fluids and debated oxygen.
That night she stopped breathing for a few seconds in her sleep. My heart dropped as the nurse who was already in the room pushed some buttons and started her on oxygen. She struggled to breathe for 2 days in the hospital, they continued her oxygen, and she had stopped breathing a couple more times.
The one thing that bothered me the most was the stupidity of one of the doctors. I'm not sure if she was going by the old-school ways of doctoring (she was an older lady) or was just difficult and stupid, but she CANCELLED Addisin's breathing treatments, took the orders out of the computer so the nurse couldn't order the albuterol to help her breathe and sleep. The nurse was confused and just as angry as I was. I was to the point where I was calling my husband to come get us and we were going to another hospital (we were at a local children's hospital, which we now wish we had taken them to the hospital they were born at.) After her and I put up a fight with one of the other doctors, he came in to check on her, and decided it was best to continue the albuterol. She got her breathing treatments again and finally got to sleep peacefully for a bit. Mommy knows best, sometimes doctors need to listen to mommy, we see more than they do, even without a medical degree.
Sunday she started looking and feeling a ton better, and was eating on a decent schedule. I was overly exhausted but happy. Hospital beds are NOT comfortable, I was ready to go home. They released us that night, my mother in law and father in law had come to the hospital to visit her and bring us home. I was so happy to be home.

The boys got to spend a much needed week in Florida at our grandparent's house with my mother and father in law. They had so much fun going to the aquarium, finding shells, swimming and spending time with family. We skyped every night so they could tell us about their day, check on their sissys and we could send love from afar. It's going to be rough to see my father in law deploy soon, the boys will miss him greatly, so he's spending as much time as he can with them now.

Now that things are more organized and our family is adjusted to one another and on a decent routine I'm able to come back to blogging and enjoying my space to vent and write. I've missed doing reviews, expressing myself, and showing off my babies!

Addisin

Emmalynn

Aiden and Elijah

Free Stella Artois Chalice

2013-12-10T10:01:00.001-08:00

Get a FREE Stella Artois Chalice Must be 21 or older!

Connect your Facebook account and then you will receive an e-mail titled “Happy Holidays from Stella Artois”.

Click the link, and and choose to either ‘give’ or ‘keep’ the gift.

If you ‘give’ the gift, a $.10 donation will be made to the charity of your choice.

If you keep the gift, you’ll get an e-mail after December 21st with a link to a request form to get FREE Chalice.

Free KCups from Cafe Express and Keurig

2013-12-02T10:13:00.003-08:00

Free Cafe Escapes 4-count K-Cup Pack – FIRST 10,000 – Just head to Keurig facebook page, “LIKE” it and submit the form under tab GIVEAWAY

Saving On Online Shopping!

2013-12-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

People often ask me how I save on all my online shopping. Well, it's as easy as pie! A lot of sites offer coupon codes, but they can be HARD to find!
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Ebates offers tons of cash back on many stores and sometimes has exclusive coupon codes!

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Free Toys R Us Gift Card

2013-12-02T10:06:00.003-08:00

Order $40 or more at Toys R Us and get a FREE $10 gift card! Use promo code 963838 at checkout for this deal! Valid 12/01/13-12/31/13

Plus use Ebates to get cashback on all your purchases!