Friday, June 17, 2011

Friday Favorites

Welcome to my very first "Friday Favorites" post! Every Friday I was list a few of my favorite things. Some may be things that help around the house, food, beauty products, things for kids, ourselves, or for the men in our lives. Let's get started!

1. Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30
 I put this stuff on EVERY morning...no matter what! It's a light moisturizer that works well under makeup and never feels greasy. My favorite part is that it is oil-free and has an SPF of 30. Got to prevent wrinkles!

2. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation
This is my all-time favorite foundation...at the moment. It goes on smooth, has great coverage, and the best part...they have a shade to match my fair skin. Plus, I have dry skin so this works well with it. It's pricey ($45) but totally worth it. But you don't need to use a lot so it will last a long time.

3. Old Navy Flip Flops

For only $3.50 a pair, you can't beat it! For that price I'm surprised I only have three pairs (black, green, and pink). I literally wear them everyday (in the summer of course). They are comfy and come in many colors.

4. Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Ahhh...my mouth is watering just thinking about them. I love love LOVE these rolls. Probably because they are sweet and need nothing on them. They are best toasted with melted butter though. They are not the healthiest rolls on the market so I only get them on special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yummy...

5. Duvet Covers




I know duvet covers have been out on the market for a long time but I just got our first set a few months ago. I love them because it saves your comforter from needing to be washed every couple weeks. Now I just pull off the duvet cover and watch it every weekend. Much easier than stuffing a huge king sized comforter in the washer and dryer. I personally like all white sets. It feels so fresh to me!

6. Hydrangeas
My top favorite flower! I planted seven in the front of my house a few months ago. They come in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white. I hear it depends on your soil as to what color they will be. Not sure if that's true. They need to be planted in the shade and get LOTS of water.




7. Munchkin Snack Catcher
These work pretty well. Both boys have their own. Of course if they hold it upside-down and shake it really hard the food will fall out. But they are great during long car rides.

8. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
I have a lot of favorite books, but I think this is my all time favorite one. There are not many books I'd read over and over again but I would for this one. I've only read it twice so far but I'm sure I'll pick it up again soon. Great story, great message, great characters. I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already.

9. Buckle Brand Men's Plaid Shirts
Now something for the men in our lives. I personally like it when guys wear "semi" fitted plaid shirts with the sleeves rolled up with jeans. Note I said "semi" fitted. That mean not too tight and not too huge and boxy. Buckle has a good selection of plaid long-sleeve shirts but you can find them anywhere.

10. Seventh Generation Disinfecting Wipes
I use these like crazy around the house. They kill 99.99% of germs botanically. I try the best I can to only use products in our home that are natural and chemical free. These wipes work well at cleaning up the many messes the boys make.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what some of your favorite things are. Share in the comments section!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

My "Sorta" Vacation

I took a vacation last week. OK, maybe it wasn't a "real" vacation since I had the boys with me but at least we got out of town for a while. So technically it was NOT a vacation at all.

I decided to take the boys to Knoxville for a few days...and it turned into 11 days. Tommy had to work, my grandfather and brother were in town, and my dad took a week off so I thought it would be the perfect time for a visit. I had planned to stay about five days then Tommy decided to come in the following weekend to visit his step-dad in the hospital so I figured I'd just stay until then and follow him back home.

It was the hardest 11 days with the boys EVER! I didn't realize how hard twins could be until you change their schedule and routine and put them in a house that's not childproof. I was constantly chasing them from room to room yelling "no, don't touch that" and pulling them off the stairs. They pulled open every drawer, cabinet, and door they could find. I wish Tommy were with me. Man-on-man coverage is much easier. And one of the boys (I won't say which one) acted like the biggest spoiled brat (which is very unusual for him) and cried and screamed most the time. If he tumbled or lost a toy it was the end of the world as he knew it. I think the boys officially made up my brother's mind about having kids...

It wasn't all bad though. They LOVE the outdoors so anytime we were outside they were the happiest little guys. And the pool! They love the pool, especially Hudson. He is too confident with his swimming skills. He'll just jump right in and try to swim. Scares me half to death.

Once we got home (which was one of the top 10 happiest days of my life) they went right back to their happy selves. That just shows how important schedules, routines, and familiar surroundings are to kids. Now we just have to work on getting back to Nashville time. It's amazing what a one-hour time difference does to toddlers.

Anyways, here are some pictures from our trip...

Hudson "drawing" with chalk.

Hudson giving me the evil eye.

Hudson watering the plants for grandma. As you can see, he watered the concrete more than the plants.

Brayden

Brayden "drawing".

Brayden hamming it up.

Heading to the neighborhood pool!

Hudson splashing.

Hudson still splashing.

Hudson splashing some more.

Hudson and grandpa...splashing. Do you see a trend?

Brayden getting out of the "big pool" with grandma.

Brayden playing with "his" ball.

Brayden still has that ball.

What a surprise...Brayden is still holding the ball.

Brayden with GREAT grandpa.

Grandma tickling Hudson.
 I hope to start blogging more regularly again. It's been hard to blog ever since I removed the boys' mid-morning nap (oh how I miss that nap!). I've been writing this post in the playroom with the boys and have had to stop writing at least 13 times already. They keep climbing up on the couch with me and try to push all the keys on my laptop. My blogging is better when they are asleep. :)

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

Good song by David Bowie.

I have made two important "changes" in Hudson and Brayden's lives. One for the better and the other I'm still not sure about. I'll explain.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...OK I'll stop.

First, I took away their pacifiers.  BIG change. It turned out easier than I thought (after the first nap at least). I read an article in Parents magazine on the importance of breaking the paci bond before your child reaches the age of two. I can't remember all the reasons why but the next day I decided to just take away the pacifiers cold turkey. They are only 18 months old but I hear the younger they are the easier it will be.

They had only been using pacifiers during naps, bedtime, and when we leave the house. I was really nervous about how Brayden was going to react when I took his paci away when he sleeps. And I was right....

Day 1 without pacifiers:
Nap one: Brayden screamed for the whole two hours then passed out. I let him sleep another 30-45 minutes. Hudson didn't really care. (note: during the two-hour cryfest a Facebok friend reminded me about the tip to cut off the tip of the pacifier. It takes away their satisfaction of sucking and they lose interest. Brayden was quiet for 15 minutes while he tried to figure out what was wrong with his paci then he chucked it out of the crib and continued to cry.)

Nap two: Brayden was still so exhausted after the first nap he fell asleep within minutes. Hudson still sucked on the cut-up paci. Not sure why but he cried off and on for half the nap.

Bedtime: Brayden cried for maybe 5-10 minutes. Hudson went right to sleep.

Day 2 without pacifiers:
Nap one: Brayden throws both cut-up pacifiers out of the crib as soon as I put them in there. Obviously he doesn't want them anymore. Took 10 minutes to fall asleep. Hudson still sucked on the paci so I took them away from him completely. He wasn't happy for about 30 minutes.

Nap two: Neither of them slept...not because of the "no paci" policy. More on this later.

Bedtime: Both fell alseep within minutes.

That's it! They have been without pacifiers for 14 days now. I think they are cured! Ha!

So the second change in Brayden and Hudson lives....they are now down to one nap a day. Ooooohhhh NOOOOO! I'm not happy about this but they haven't been sleeping during the second nap the past week. I kinda think Brayden would if Hudson would stop yelling and crying for the whole two hours.

I find this all so sad...and exhausting! I really enjoyed the "me time" was I getting twice a day to get stuff done around the house. I think this change is harder on me than the boys. I think they like staying up and playing longer. I hope I can get used to this change.

So because of this change I've had to switch up their daily schedule. Now breakfast is at 8:00 am, lunch at 12:00 pm, nap at 1:30-3:30 pm, dinner at 5:30 pm, and bedtime at 7:30 pm. I may move their bedtime up a bit earlier. It was depend on how cranky they are after dinner.

So far so good. It's only day two of this new schedule. Pray that I have the energy to keep up with these two energizer bunnies!

I'll end this post with some pool pictures (and by pool I mean the cheap $9 plastic pools you can get anywhere) of the boys trying to stay cool in this HOT HOT HOT weather. I was sweating like a pig while taking these photos. I was thisclose to climbing in the pool myself. I wish I did because neither Brayden or Hudson would get in it. Weird. I'm pushing them in it next time. ;)









I hope ya'll are enjoying your summer...I mean spring. ;)