Moving Announcement :)

This is a bit delayed. If you have been reading since December, you may know we moved houses. I thought it would be fun to do a moving announcement :)

We plan to be in this house for a while and we were in our previous house for about four years, so I thought why not!

With this being said, it has taken me a while to find time to sit down and address these. I've sent more of them out, but I still have a few more. So, if you are reading this and you get one after the fact, sorry for spoiling the cuteness ;) Better late than never, right? 

I had been swooning over ALL of Ashley Brooke's designs that I had seen so I really wanted her to do something for us. Thankfully, she was happy to! She is SO sweet and SO SO talented! Her and her staff were wonderful to work with.

I gave her pretty free range to do whatever and it is exactly what I had in mind! I went with the nursery because I knew it was something that wouldn't always be the way it is now. Our babies are growing before our eyes and they are already lowered in their crib! I wanted to remember this sweet little vision :) I also had her do a design without the writing so that I can have a print made and have it framed.

 addresses edited out, yes.

Adorable, yes?

They are pretty much exactly identical to our cribs! Nursery pics here and here.

She created all this fun stuff! I already had books of stamps I had previously purchased, but I did order a few of the Elton ones, too! Love them :) I believe I can also order more in the future! I did get the note card print as well!

I had also previously ordered Erin Condren return address labels. I picked ones with hearts :)

If you need any custom designs, I highly recommend Ashley Brooke Designs! She also has a great selection of pre-mades that she does seasonally!

Have a good day!

*Don't forget about this week's free printable & discount code HERE!
*Speaking of Erin Condren, she is on HauteLook right now!

Scheduling Confidence

Another post in this fun series! I just wanted to touch on scheduling and how it really has been great for us.

While pregnant, I heard from many twin mamas that schedules are essential. But I really didn't think much of it! I thought we would kind of figure it out and Knox & Sloane would let us know what they wanted, when they wanted it.

Two weeks after they were born, I thought, there is NO way we can go on like this. We had started trying to feed them close together, put them down at the same time, and so on, but it always ended up being a mad dash to the first one who started squirming before needing to take care of the other.

When one woke up, that typically woke the other. One would stay up for thirty minutes, then one would stay up for fifty minutes. I kept thinking about how Brent would be returning to work outside the home in the near future. That would leave me alone. One person and two babies.

I was referred to Moms on Call, and I can honestly say they gave me confidence in structure. They taught us so much. They let us know that babies can really thrive on schedules. Sure, you don't have to stick to a strict one, but trying to do things at close to the same time every day--and with twins, the same time for both babies--could make a world of difference! Since Knox & Sloane were only about two weeks old, they really didn't have any schedules or routines that we had to break just yet. We simply implemented the new one and they caught on a little more every day.

We made sure we each spent one on one time with them, but overall, their routine of doing things was very similar. And can we talk about how sweet they were sleeping next to one another??

Brent went back to work and I knew what my days were going to look like. I couldn't control Knox & Sloane's moods, of course, but they began waking at the same time, eating at the same time, sleeping at the same time, playing at the same time. We all kind of knew what to expect. We didn't feel like a juggling act in the circus. During the day, I was, and still am, one person taking care of two babies with confidence.

This also kind of helped me know what they wanted and when they wanted it. When it was time to eat, they would wake up, and I knew it was time for their bellies to be filled! It also helped my milk. I nursed them around the same time every day. My body caught on, and I think it also helped keep my production going as needed. I'll soon do a breastfeeding post that will include more detail on that.

A schedule can also give you and your spouse a set amount of time to plan on spending with one another. Like I said, sometimes the babies call the shots, but the majority of days, they stick to their schedule because they like it as much as we do!

I can imagine one baby may be bit easier when it comes to deciding to schedule or not, but with two, I know it has been SUCH a major help to our family.

Now, they are still sleeping side by side, but in separate cribs. They also enjoy a little talking about playing before and after sleep :)



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Find more posts from bloggers sharing their experiences of motherhood on the Huggies page on BlogHer.com.

mess it up... it's easy to clean up.

This is a guest post written by meg duerksen from whatever.

when Clorox^Æ asked me to write about making messes with my kids and cleaning them up
i said, "YES! we are GREAT at making messes and coincidentally . . . CloroxClean-Up^Æ is my favorite cleaning product!"

they directed me to the Clorox Clean-Up Recipes for Fun--Where Mess Doesn't Matter!
have you been there?
it is FULL of ideas for crafts or cooking or even science experiments to get messy with kids!

i make crafts with my kids quite often and i LOVE to see them get really into their project no matter how messy it gets!
at the Recipe for Fun site i found an idea for using collage and color together to make a color wheel!
we got busy on the mess making.

i got out our stack of old magazines and began ripping out anything that was mostly one color.
we made a big pile of magazine pictures.
i cut a large circle from a piece of poster board and drew lines diving the circle into six equal sections.
i wrote the names of the colors in rainbow order on the wheel to know where to put each scrap.
then we started gluing down our pictures.



i came across rubber cement at the grocery store and wondered if my girls had ever used it.
i knew i had never purchased it, so i got some.
my daughter was very curious!
"WHAT is this?!" she asked in a doubtful tone.
then i showed her how it had a brush INSIDE, and she was excited to use it.



we also used a paint brush dipped in the glue bottle so we could all work at the same time.
it's just like painting but you paint with glue.





layering and layering . . . picture after picture . . . overlapping until there are no white spaces at all.





we almost always make our crafts at this table.
i painted it white almost 10 years ago.
my kids use everything on it!
and it always comes back to white with Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner.



i was out of town recently, and when i came home i noticed my 10 year old had organized this coca-cola crate
with our art supplies by color!
how cute is that?! i love it! we like to do lots of things around here in rainbow order.









it was coming along quite nicely at this point.
there was glue all over our hands and the table!

they finished their color wheel collage but the mess still remained.

well...every Recipe For Fun needs a Recipe For Clean.
Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner combines a cleaner and the disinfecting power of Clorox Bleach letting you spray away messy play. It removes tough stains as well as the germs you canít see, leaving your home sparkling clean and ready for the next recipe.

usually after craft time my kids quickly scatter leaving the mess for me to clean up.

but today my youngest surprised me by helping out!

she loves to use spray bottles and paper towels.



when she saw the marker and glue wipe right off she said, "this is going great!"


with my daughter's help, a trash bag & Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner, the room was cleaner than when we started!

find the perfect activity for you and your kids to live it up, mess it up and then clean it up at Clorox Clean-Up Recipes for Fun ñ Where Mess Doesnít Matter!

do you like getting messy and creative with your kids?

tell me about it in the comments and be entered to win one of ten $100 Visa gift cards!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post*

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post*

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

Entries from all participating blogs will be pooled for winner selection; only two entries per household. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

*Entrant is receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for the tweet/blog post.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/30/2012-6/24/2012.

Clorox^Æ and Clean-Up^Æ are registered trademarks of The Clorox Company.

Free Printable! & discount code :)

As most of you probably know, I love chevron. Always have, always will.

I was very excited when my sponsor Embellish*ology told me her 4th of July printable would include chevron!

 I wanted to share it all with you :)

Heather, shop owner, also wanted to treat you all to a FREE PRINTABLE and discount code! How sweet is that!?! I just printed and framed the printable and I LOVE it!

To get your free printable, download it right HERE!

HOW CUTE is the 4th of July, Let Freedom Ring, collection!? I'm definitely going to be using this on the 4th :)

 You can go ahead and get your printables now with a discount :)

In the Embellish*ology shop, you can buy the collection or each file separately. The collection includes a banner, party circles, cupcake wrappers, straw flags, water bottle wrappers and tented food labels/place cards. I’ll give a 10% discount to anyone who buys the entire collection. Coupon Code is FREEDOM10.(expires June 30th)


Hope you have a good Tuesday!

A few other things!
*You can grab another free printable from last week HERE!
*There are several fundraisers going for Cohen's iPods HERE :)
*Be sure to check out my latest post in the Huggies series on expecting & parenthood HERE. This one is on "incoming advice" :)
*Enter to win a $100 Target gift card HERE.

 

Memorial Day

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend!

I'm very grateful for those who serve, and have served, our country! Our freedom has everything to do with them and I'm so thankful for all they do and have done.

I try not to ever get political on my blog, but I'm not a fan of war. I think it's because it scares me. It scares me for all of those involved.....while they are there and once they get home. It's a lot to go through, I can only imagine. Of course, my heart hurts for those who don't come home...and their loved ones.

My dad is a veteran and has taught me a great deal. 

Memorial Day is about remembering those soldiers who have died at war.

If you've lost a loved one or a friend at war, please know we are thinking of them and you!

Our red, white and blue is for you.

 For Moms by Moms skipped this week, but will return next week!

 

Winners :)

We have TWO winners for the Paper Clouds giveaway.

I seriously love both the striped and chevron note cards!

Winners were picked randomly tonight.

For the CHEVRON note cards...

 Katie, from Keep Calm & Carry On....

You are the winner! CONGRATS!

For the STRIPED note cards...

 Krystal, from Letters to Aubrey....

You are the winner! CONGRATS!!

Paper Clouds will be emailing you both :)

A new giveaway will start on Tuesday!

 

Sweet Saturday

I hope you are all are having a good holiday weekend :)

We are just hanging around. We had a few invites to the pool, but we aren't sure how Knox's skin would hold up in the heat. His little legs are pretty flared right now. The past few days I've kept him off the carpet and I switched off Gerber organics. His face seems to be doing a bit better. I put those play foam pads down on our carpet. Our carpet sheds little fibers really bad and I can't imagine it would be soothing, but probably more irritating.

Anyways, I think we will get a little kiddie pool and see how he does here at home before taking him some place and it not going great.

We went to La Madeline for lunch early. They fell asleep in the car, so Brent dropped me at home and drove them around. If they fall asleep in the car, they don't transfer to the bed well. They will wake up and won't go back to sleep. So he drove them around for a bit and then took them to Sam's. They returned with some food items and festive flowers :)

 I took this video yesterday of Brent tickling Knox. His laugh is hysterical!




Me with my nuggets today :)

Tonight we are going to just grill out :) yum

happy saturday!

 

Getting close.....

The first batch of Cohen's iPods arrived today.

It reminded me Cohen's second birthday is getting close. I can't believe another year has already passed. It doesn't seem like it's been two years since we said hello...and goodbye. 

My stomach gets a knot when I read "In Loving Memory of....", no matter whose name is under it, and to see our son's name there still gives me a little lump in my throat. I'm not sure it will ever be easy. In fact now that I'm typing this and thinking about it, I have tears in my eyes. Sometimes I still can't believe it. Sometimes I still can't believe I have twins either. Sometimes I still can't believe my heart feels so full after Cohen, but then I have moments it hurts so bad.

I have hopes that his second birthday will be easier than his first. His first really wasn't too bad. Looking back, I was pregnant with Knox & Sloane on his first birthday and I know that was part of God's plan. I know my heart would have hurt much worse had I not been. Being pregnant with them and having them now doesn't make me feel differently about Cohen, but I think it keeps that gut wrenching pain from existing all the time. Now, it just pops up randomly, and thankfully, usually disappears quickly. Seeing Knox & Sloane often makes me wonder what Cohen would have looked like at their age or which one he would have acted like more. It makes me wonder if he were still here, would they be, too. Mostly, having them makes me thank God for such blessings. It makes me cherish each day. It makes thankful for the blissful moments with them and the hard moments with them. It gives me hope I will see Cohen again and one day, Knox & Sloane will as well.

I think Cohen will love Knox & Sloane blowing out a candle for him every year on his birthday :)
 

Midweek Randoms

 Happy Thursday :)

• If you didn't see the Proctor & Gamble video I posted yesterday, it's a must watch. 

• Brent was gone on a business trip for the first part of this week. We missed him and we are glad he is home!

• My mom came over to help me some while he was gone. Brent's mom also came and played with Sloane while I took Knox to a follow up dermatology appointment. So thankful for grandparents.

• I'm pretty sad about Knox's little skin mostly because I know he is miserable and tired.... and I can't fix it. Based on his biopsy and a few other things, he might have an atopic disease (which eczema, dermatitis, etc. can all play rolls in). We are going to an immunologist soon and will find out more. I'll blog more when I know more. If your adding to your prayers, please pray that it's treatable and that we can keep in control as well as comfort for our little guy.

• On to lighter things... Since Knox isn't wearing clothes all too much around the house, I'm thinking of ordering him some cute diaper covers. I figure Etsy will be my best bet for those, yes?

• We are all scheduled for the iPod donation and Children's and I'm so excited!! If you participated in the fundraisers, thank you SO MUCH for shopping for a good cause :) A few of them are still going on here and we will have a few others coming up! 

• I can't believe Cohen would be turning two years old so soon. I'm too hormonal to go there right now.

• I'm behind on emails, per usual. If you've sent me one, I will respond. I just cannot give you a time frame. Please forgive me, but I know you know my hands are full :)

• Something is eating my sage and it's about to get the ax!

• That cake I posted here, I had several people ask for the recipe... it was basically one of everything... one box of chocolate cake mix, one can of eagle brand milk, one package of cream cheese, one container of cool whip, one small jar of caramel (or as much as you'd like)...easy cake :)

• I've carved out a little time stayed up way too late to read Fifty Shades of Grey. Interesting book, I must say! It's kind of what I expected it to be since so many people had Tweeted about it. Definitely keeps the attention. 

• The past weekend I got to meet one of my favorite blogger/twitter friends, Kari Beth. I also got to meet her sweet dumpling and mama! I really do enjoy meeting girls I've been internet friends with for a while, it seems! Kari Beth snapped this pic and I borrowed it from her. Yes, I cropped the bottom part because my shortness looked silly. 

• Brent, Knox & Sloane also got to meet everyone! We had a nice lunch outside afterwards...

 

• Saturday afternoon, we went to a birthday/graduation celebration for our friend, Kyle! Lots of fun and so glad to see our friends :) I snapped a picture of the pretty cake Jessica made. We left a bit early to get the babies to bed so we didn't get to taste it, unfortunately! 

• Brent's brother and his girlfriend watched Knox & Sloane for a bit while we were at Kyle & Jessica's. When we got home, we made dinner, watched TV and looked at old pictures :) I also thought of a way to mark stemless wine glasses. Duck tape is awesome.

• On Sunday, early evening, we made a trip to Whole Foods. I say trip because it's across town. They are actually building one just down the road from us, but it won't be ready until next summer. There is a Fresh Market opening around the corner from it that should be opening any day now! Anyways, Knox & Sloane had fun and we opted to eat dinner there as well, which was a nice treat. Knox loves to people watch and Sloane sucked on her toes.

• Sweet little man...

• I should clearly get back to doing my weekend recap posts to keep things in better order ;)

• We are still watching Revenge. Sometimes I get bored with it, but then it catches my attention. I'm back and forth. I'm still not sure how many seasons it can actually go on. 

• I caught some of Bethenny, Housewives (OC) and Pregnant in Heels a few nights ago. I've not watched any of those in forever and it was a nice refresher. I love some junk TV when I can find time. 

• I have been working on sorting through the babies clothes this week. So many they have already outgrown. Most they've only worn once, a few times or not at all. I've got piles to keep, piles for Goodwill and piles to sell. I think I will have a little blog sale or two soon! Ridiculous, I know.

•  If you haven't snagged the free printable and entered the giveaway I posted on Monday, GO!

• I think we are close to deciding on some details for Knox & Sloane's first birthday. Still can't believe it will be here so soon.

• Oh, before I go, I snapped a picture of my favorite thing from Whole Foods. It's probably one of the most unhealthy things they have, but I love them. I'll never admit to how many I ate when I was pregnant with Cohen. I took a few years off from them, but had to pick up some this last time.

• If you are needing ANY goodies from Tiny Prints, the entire site is 25% off until Tuesday!