Life

That's all. I took all social media off my phone a couple weeks ago so I can more easily be where I am. I don't want or need validation from the internet and I don't need to see other people's internet-selves all day long. No offense, of course.
Will be posting soon, catching friends and family up on our life.

Boys

Being a mom to boys is the best. Okay, so I don't know what's it's like to be a mom to girls, but I know for me I prefer boys. I can't take drama - my first boy deals out enough of it already.

I grew up playing video games with my older brother (which is why I am soooo good.... seriously) and I learned how to skateboard from my friend's older brother in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight and my mom got scared........ just kidding. Sorry I had to do it. Fresh Prince anyone?

Anyway, so I was definitely a tomboy when I was little. I wished that I could have been a boy for a long time. It just seemed easier. The funny thing is that I sent out love notes to boys all the time! I was weird. I think in the end, though, it all worked out for me. And now I have two sweet boys that I will probably send love notes to on a daily basis. They're really cute. It's like having two boyfriends without cheating on your husband. And they smell good too.

I have a feeling that boys will be much easier for me. I will actually be kind of terrified if I ever have a girl. But maybe she'll be a tomboy too. A less awkward one at that. A well-rounded, dress-wearing, skateboarding, sports-loving, sewer. Girl. Who's not afraid of boys. I could deal with that.

In the meantime I will enjoy watching my adorable and wild boys become more adorable and wild, and hope that they can have fun with their mother - their open admirer who wants to teach them everything she knows.

Everyone should want boys. They balance the hormones of women, including myself.
Today my husband had his off day from work, and we played with our boys all day. We didn't watch TV once (I hardly do on any day) and we let them feel the rain. And then Dave slid them around on a big piece of cardboard...

My life isn't perfect and I surely am not. That's not what I'm trying to say. I just had a good day with these boys and I'm glad they're in my life. That's all.

Coconut Strawberry Shortcake (low carb)

Here's another low carb treat. I am more impressed with myself on this one. On my third attempt I have figured out the best low carb shortcake mix (so far). I was nervous because the first two weren't quite right and this one I was making for our friends who invited us over for dinner. Luckily they absolutely loved it, especially because they are living low carb as well. It's moist and delicately rich, and it's really simple. Can you tell we are obsessed now? It's our go-to dessert (the second being the Low Carb Chocolate Fondue). I would love to do this and take step by step pictures but I haven't felt like making time for that (everything not involving twins has to happen pretty quick around here). Besides, this isn't some food blog! I think you can figure it out from my directions alone. Alright, here it is...

Coconut Strawberry Shortcake

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted

3/4 cup splenda or coconut sugar, or other sugar substitute

1/3 cup melted butter

1/3 + 1 tsp cup heavy cream

1/3 + 1 tsp cup water

2 eggs

2.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat all ingredients for 2 minutes. Grease and flour a 9 inch cake pan and add mixture evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool and add strawberries and whipped cream.

My one nasty phone picture of the final product. 

Those are the most precise measurements I can guess from my experiments. If the consistency or taste doesn't work for you, try it differently! 

Crying it out

Having babies on a solid, reliable schedule feels absolutely wonderful. The boys weren't on a schedule until around 5 months. Then we went home to California (3 hour time difference) for 2.5 weeks and it ruined everything. After coming back to PA they woke up every night between 1 and 2 in the morning. One usually wakes up and the other either wakes up afraid of the cries, or we have to wake him up because we can't get the first one back to sleep. It sucked. We fed them, gave them water, burped them, laid down with them... anything to put them back to sleep. They were getting used to eating in the middle of the night again, so they kept waking up.

We asked some of our other friends who have twins how they dealt with this. They swore by the method of letting your baby cry it out. So we knew it had to be done.

The first night I could barely handle it. Harrison started crying and David soon after. There is a lot of anxiety when they are both bawling because they get scared by the other one's cry so it's hard to stop it all without comforting them. Dave handled it pretty well though. He was much calmer than I was. He went into their room and started singing and held their hands. They still ultimately want to see me before they go back to sleep and I couldn't resist anyway, so I went in. I re-tucked them and gave them a toy to chew on (they don't like pacifiers - which is kind of a relief - but they'll chew on those too). They were both back to sleep within an hour I think. A long tearful hour. It was terrible. We checked every once in a while to make sure they weren't hurt or needed diaper changes but we didn't pick them up. 

The next day every nap I put them both in bed once one of them was getting tired. I didn't rock one to sleep and then let the other one get tired and rock him too. I tucked them in their cribs, gave them a toy, sang, and left the room. The less tired one cried for about 15 minutes. Then they were both asleep. That was waaaay easier! A lot less of my time taken and the boys were getting a schedule (the same one at that) and learning to go to sleep on their own. It got easier and they stopped crying so much, and now they are on a predictable schedule. They get tired and hungry at about the same times every day, and that is because I PUT them on a schedule and modify it according to their growth. You don't wait to see what their schedule is. You make it.

And that is another beautiful lesson of (twin) motherhood.

Harrison sleeping in the NICU

Another little thing: My babies sleep WAY better with noise and a warm, steamy room. When the boys first got sick the pediatrician recommended a humidifier to prevent congestion. After we got one we didn't have to pick dry boogers or syringe their noses in the middle of the night anymore. We also got the heating fixed and their room gets the warmest. It's about 75 F in their room at night and we try to always keep it above 70 in the day time. If it's below that they don't sleep as well. If your baby isn't sleeping long those are some things you should keep in mind. It works like a charm.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                       

Salt and Pepper Tees

Hey everyone, my eldest sister and her friend (Laura and Summer) created a fashion tee company!

It's called Salt and Pepper Tees. It's kind of brilliant because they sell simple, yet fabulous, shirts and sweaters. Like:

This is exactly what I look like most days but with my black S&P sweater. And snow on my boots.

These two are my fav right now:

And some more goodies:

    

They have a lot more and you can see them on their simple, yet fabulous, website:

http://www.saltandpeppertees.com

There's an ad on my sidebar so you won't forget ;)

Basically, they're rad and you need some. Plus they have sales all the time and they keep making more, so keep an eye out!

You're welcome.

Eight Months

My boys are seeming less and less baby-like. It helps that they don't have a lot of fat (David just looks like a little kid with his skinny little abs)...

David is not quite crawling yet, but he is dragging himself fast enough to disappear within a minute. He's definitely an explorer. We always have our gate (and our guard) up now. His hair is still a mohawk but it's getting longer...

Harrison is just learning how to crawl and is still perfecting it.  He is already pushing himself into sitting position and trying to stand. So that's scary.

He's just a sweetheart younger brother and I love it.

Thanks Auntie Serenity for the cool mustache shirts! They've used them well. (This is the only picture I could get that wasn't blurry...sorry David won't show his)

They are finally on a great schedule that I hope lasts a couple more months. They take two naps a day, they sleep about 11 hours at night, and they have 4 bottles and 3 meals a day. They have caught up in weight and height and they are learning fast. I feel pretty good and actually proud of myself for having them on the same schedule - and a good one at that. 

Honestly, it's hard as a mom (just as it is in most experiences in life I think) to know what you're doing right or if you're doing ANYTHING right. 

The main thing I have to remember as a mom is to not compare myself or my kids to anyone else (or anyone else's kids). That always destroys my confidence and consistency. When I start to stress about them learning this and that it becomes forced and I can actually see my boys picking up on my stress. The flow is gone. They learn when they are ready. I am not an uptight person and sometimes I wonder if I need to be that type of person to get more things done. But it's actually the opposite! I get more things done when I relax, and if I don't, I'm not freaking out about it. I have to remind myself that I can only do well being myself. Everyone benefits from that. So that has been my main focus recently between all the goals I have and ways I want to live my life. 

Be yourself, be yourself, be yourselffff....

On another note: I am so done with all this snow and I gladly welcome all the birds and bees and rabbits and chipmunks. I just want to go outside with my kids!!! It's pretty hard to take two little boys that don't walk yet out in the snow. So thanks snow, come again... just kidding, don't.