Friday Favs

It's Friday and I survived my week alone with my baby girls! It was a tough one, but we did it and I feel really good about it. We only had one major sleep meltdown, one vomit incident and eighteen breathing treatments. I call that a win. Oh and I may have consume more wine this week than I normally do. But don't worry, it was after my lady babies went to sleep.

Today I am linking up with Karli and April.

One. The girls dad aka my husband comes home today. Yes, we are all so excited. The girls' routine has been thrown off a bit and it shows when I drop them off at daycare. They get super clingy and cry when I get ready to leave. Even Avery. And this isn't usual. It only started this week. Even though we survived this week, I had me time (where I ate what I want...read mac n cheese and burritos most nights) and extra time with my girls. It was a much needed week all around.

Two. My super dry hand. Yes, hand. I have one hand that is youthful looking and one that looks like a grandmas hand and dry as all heck. I put so much hand lotion on during the day, but nothing helps. And I wear gloves outside, in my car and whenever I am out in the cold. My hand cracks all the time and is so painful and ugly. I am constantly checking if I get blood on things because they crack THAT much. It is so gross. This is about an hour after using Gold Bond Intensive Healing Hand Cream.

GROSS

Three. I am trying to decide if I should bite the bullet and buy a Garmin Vivoactive. I really want to track my workouts, my sleeping habits (fun to see how much I really get to sleep getting up with twins at night) and my steps. I know there are a hundred different options out there, but I know this one is great because my husband has had it for a year. I want the white one (more girly), but not sure if I want to drop the $179 on it. Only because I love new gadgets, but don't always use them as often as I should. I have a few watches, but don't wear them enough. What do you think? Do you wear your fitbit, garmin or other step calculator as much as you think you would?

 source

Four. I have had a lot of interest and questions about my HOPEFUL boob job. So I was thinking of documenting most of it (sorry no boob pictures) for my readers. This way you can have an insider perspective (I asked two of my friends endless questions while researching it for myself) and get any questions you want answered. What do you think? Is it something you want to read? If so, send me any and all questions you have (email or through comments) and I will compile a list to make sure I include it in my journey.

Five. And here is a photo dump from this week since I have been living at work and home. I can't wait to go out to dinner tonight and have something other than burritos and mac n cheese (even though there is nothing wrong with that).

 

Avery watching me get ready Monday morning

I was sent this from daycare. Avery hanging out.

Sutton after art time

Baby toe art

Wednesday morning outfit shoot

Avery after her vomit episode. Freshly changed and cute as ever.

Post bath bottle (calm in between the crying storm)

Sutton Thursday morning

I couldn't get Avery to sit still.

Here's to another week in the books and a weekend on the horizon. Have a great weekend!

Game Day Foods

So now that we know who will appear in the Super Bowl, Panthers and Broncos, it is time to start thinking about the foods we will DEVOUR at our annual Super Bowl party.

Here are my top contenders...(forewarned they are not so healthy, but Super Bowl is a CHEAT day)

Spicy Crockpot Meatballs

I made these for the girls first birthday party (which I am still working on that post) and they were a hit. I wanted to eat them all. They have the right amount of sweetness to spiciness. They were gone in a hot second. Rory never even got to try one, so this is a must for Super Bowl. Make these and double the batch if your crock pot allows.

Crock Pot Queso Dip

This dip is a guilty pleasure of mine. I know it is so bad for me, but it tastes so good. I usually only have it a potlucks at work, so I limit my intake and wait it out before eating it. Spicy sausage and cheese paired up with chips or pretzels and I am SOLD.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

I have been making these for years. Thanks to my friend Kristina introducing me to them about 12 years ago. They are a staple at any get together.  Plus they are super easy to make, easy to travel with and who doesn't like bacon?

Crock Pot Pulled Chicken

A recipe similar to this was served at the girls party and it went so fast. We paired it up with some simple rolls and it was so good. I loved pulled pork and chicken, so this was right up my alley. A definite crowd pleaser.

And for the sweet treats these will be on our table.

Funfetti Cake Batter Popcorn

If you know me, you know that I love Funfetti anything. I made funfetti cupcakes for the girls birthday (again, a post is coming) and I taste tested several to make sure they were good.

I have made this for Super Bowl and tailgates and it is a hit. I only make this for special events because I could eat the entire thing by myself. I halved the recipe and it still yielded a ton.

Cookie Dough Footballs

Seriously, how cute are these? I love cookie dough and so does everyone on this planet (ok maybe a few don't), but these are so festive and seem pretty easy to make.

Wednesday Confessions

It's been awhile since I have done a Wednesday's confessions, so I thought today would be as good of a day as any.

I confess I was pretty excited to have a week with just the girls (and Walter Roo), so I could have more "me" time at night. This translates into girly tv shows, mac n cheese nights and wine. Trust me, I miss my husband (especially with Avery's sleep habits this week), but sometimes its nice to have time apart and miss each other more.

I confess that I bought myself an ombre tunic from Pearl and Monroe even though I am trying to save money for our vacation and boobs. I felt like I needed to spoil myself a bit after having serious mom guilt Monday night. I can't wait til she arrives on my doorstep.

I confess that I made three consultation appointments between now and February 9th to get quotes and options on getting my boobs done. I want to see what I need done (implants vs. lift and implants), the cost and hoping I can get it done prior to my vacation to Mexico. Fingers crossed.

I confess that I couldn't wait to get out the door last night to have sushi with my dear friend who is in town searching for a new house since he is moving back from Las Vegas. I love my lady babies, but I couldn't wait to catch up with my friend. This is my dear friend who lost his grandson two days after he was born and we haven't caught up since September.

I confess that I am very annoyed with political ads on my Pandora stations. Yes I could buy the monthly subscription and never hear ads, but the point is, I HATE political ads. Ugh.

I confess that my daughter is so constipated that she threw up all over herself right before we left for work and daycare this morning because she was grunting so hard. I feel awful for her. Any advice on helping her out? We tried massage, she has a puree of prunes and apples today, she is drinking water by itself and mixed in with her milk. Any other things I can do to help her?

And these are my confessions...

A Rough Night

You ever have one of those evenings where it literally kicks you in the ass? That was last night. The girls were pretty good when we got home from daycare and work. We did our normal routine of cleaning the bottles, putting away the dishes and letting them crawl around the dining room while I readied their neubulizers. Sutton went first and Avery just watched and played. Easy.

Avery went next and Sutton seemed in pretty good spirits. She was looking at herself in the mirror and entertaining herself. Then she started to meltdown. No worries, we don't have much time left. I finished Avery's neubulizer and had to clean them. Sutton continued her meltdown until I could take them to their room to play while I prepped bottles and got everything ready.

I could hear squeals, the sounds of their toys and general laughter. Thank goodness. But then the meltdowns started again. You see Monday's are tough in our household because the girls are used to having us all weekend and then they go back to daycare. So their routine is thrown off again and Monday evenings can be tough, but do able. We know it is going to happen, so we are prepped for it.

I changed the girls, got them ready for bed and fed them. While they were drinking their milk, I lotioned them up and sang them songs. (Maybe that is what did them in, ha). Right after they were done, they got fussy again so I put Avery down first (since she finished her bottle first) and then Sutton.

All was well for a couple of minutes. Then Avery went into her "sit up mode". She is beyond exhausted, but won't lay down. She flips on her tummy, pulls herself up and sits and cries if I leave the room. I put her back down, rub her back for a few minutes and leave. Bam, she is screaming again.

So I come back in knowing I will be rubbing her back for maybe 10 minutes like the night before (the previous one to that was only 2 - 3 minutes). 20 minutes in and she is still flipping on her tummy, still won't settle down and I am feeling helpless. I try to rock her to sleep. No good. I decide to let her cry it out (like some have suggested since it is probably just a phase).

I let her CIO for 10 minutes before going in, picking her up, taking her in the dining room (where I can see her while I cook) and I yelled at her. Total mommy fail. I feel like the worse mom EVER. I yelled "just go to f'ing (didn't say the actual word) sleep Avery". The look on her poor face did me in. I cried and felt like scum, but I was at my wits end. I am doing this all alone this week and it is hard to manage it all and keep it together. Worst mom award here.

I put her down and she just wailed, put her head down on the ground and rubbed her eyes. I know she was tired, but wouldn't sleep. I just didn't want her to wake her sister in the process of her meltdown. Feeling defeated, I turned off the stove, cradled her in my arms and took her into her room where we sat for a good 20 minutes just holding her tight. She just stared up at me while I felt sad (for yelling at her) and so loved in that moment (because she only wanted me).

She was still awake when I put her in her crib, but she fell fast asleep. I don't know what I did or if God gave me a little break at that moment, but I am so thankful.

I was able to make dinner and finish by 9 (not ideal) and cuddle down with a glass of wine and The Bachelor.

I wrote on my local multiples mom group (Facebook) for advice for the future since I have the girls to myself til Friday and I want to nip this in the butt ASAP. Can't be having a stressed out baby and mommy. Plus I have the worst headache behind my right eye this morning. Lack of sleep, screaming and stress will do that to you.

But the ladies recommended letting her CIO until she falls asleep. She eventually will and it will get better each evening. She is going through a phase and she will self sooth eventually.

Do any mommies out there have any advice for me? Any recommendations? They wear sleep sacks, have a night light, have a noise machine, have a heater and a humidifier. This has only been going on for about 4 nights now, but I want to fix this now before I lose my sanity from lack of sleep and stress.

But then this morning they were so cute, cuddly and happy that it washed last night away.

  Sweet Avery

Sutte Bear

Cold Weekend and a Recipe

Another weekend passed and another day closer to vacation. Oh yes, the countdown is on.

We had a pretty good weekend considering the girls are still getting over RSV. We are down to two neubulizer treatments a day and the girls are sounding so much better. RSV is rough, on both the girls and the parents.

Thursday night I finally made the Sausage and Tortellini soup I posted about here. I had high hopes for this soup. It has two of my favorite things...sausage and pasta.

Here is the recipe and my minor tweaks.

1 1/2 pounds cooked Italian sausage (ground)
3 cups cheese tortellini (I used the "fresh pasta" from the refrigerated section)
4 cups water
1 can evaporated milk
6 chicken boullion cubes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. chives
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese (to top with)

Put all ingredients except tortellini and cheese in medium size sauce pan and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Add tortellini and allow to boil for 8 - 10 minutes (or go by the packaging of your tortellini). Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

I opted to use the ground sausage instead of sausage links and cutting them up. I love the flavor and texture of the ground sausage and Whole Foods makes an amazing mild pork Italian sausage.

Everything smelt heavenly.

I added a bit of pepper towards the end and tasted it to see if it needed any salt. It did not.

The soup looked and smelt delicious. But then we tasted it. It was WAY TO SALTY. But still good. I don't know if it was the 6 chicken bouillon cubes (most likely) or what, but I never added any salt to it. We loved the flavor and I want to try it again with less bouillon cubes (maybe 3 or 4). I ate half a bowl because I really did like the underlying flavor of it, but we just couldn't get pass the saltiness. My husband added water to it for his lunch the next day and he said it was pretty good. Did anyone else make this and experience the same thing as me? Any other ways to fix/tweak this?
 
Friday my mother in law watched the girls, so Rory and I could go to work. After work, I got a much needed pedicure and a little "me" time. The toes are a hot pink sparkle and very Valentines festive. After my toes, I picked up sandwiches for my MIL and I. Then I took over mommy duty and hung out with my girls. Side note: we finally got the girls on two solid naps a day. One one hour nap in the mornings and a two hour nap in the afternoons. So much better!

Sutton was cranky that evening because she is also getting her one year molars on top of being sick. So brutal for my baby girl. So we ordered in pizza and hung out for the evening. Plus it was raining really hard and it was nicer to stay in and cuddle down.

Saturday morning we took the girls to breakfast (first outing in awhile) and they were so happy to get out. Sutton even ate some food that morning. Big win for us.

We ran a few errands after and went to an early Mexican dinner. Rory had a basketball game that evening where Nevada beat UNLV (yes!) and I binged on more Gilmore Girls.

Sunday we had an early breakfast and then Rory flew out to Minneapolis for work. My mom came over and we watched the playoffs, played with the girls, walked Walter and made lasagnas (for dinner that night and for the freezer). It was the best way to end our weekend. Plus Tom Brady and the Patriots lost and that is a huge WIN in my book.

My mini lasagnas (one for dinner and one for lunch)

The girls (or should I say Avery) has been sitting up within seconds of putting her down for bed (not at nap time). It has been rough the last few days. We put her down, give her kisses and within five minutes she is up and playing or crying in bed. We have had to go lay her down and rub her back for 5 - 10 minutes to get her to go to sleep. Does anyone have any other solutions? 

After the girls went to bed, I finished the boring Cardinals/Panthers game and I caught up on some DVR shows. 

I was up bright and early this morning (4:40 am) since it's just me and the girls this week. That means I have to get myself and the the girls ready plus do their neubulizer in the mornings too. Only one more day of morning neubuilizers, then we only have to do it in the evenings til Friday!

Well Miss Avery decided she was ready to get up for the day at 5:00 am, so she had the pleasure of watching mommy get ready and hanging out with me all morning.

I had to give her a bunch of bath toys (behind her) to entertain her while I did my make up and blow dried my hair.

How was your weekend?

The Friday Life

Another Friday and weekend is upon us and I have some mixed feelings on this. I will get to that in a second. But first, I am linking up with Karli and Liz today.

One. I haven't been around this week that much. Yes I have posted (scheduled), but yesterday I was able to sit down,r ead my favorite blogs and catch up with my bloggy friends. Why haven't I been around that much this week? My girls have RSV. Yes it is THE WORST. The girls started getting sick on Friday or Saturday. By Sunday, they were pretty bad and Monday was worse. We hoped that our pediatrician was open on Monday, but no such luck. We even considered Urgent Care.

Tuesday morning we called the doctor and the girls were seen Tuesday afternoon. After several tests (ears, throat, listening to the chest, swabs, etc.), it was discovered that they have RSV. It makes me mad that someone brought their child to daycare knowing how sick they were (whether they knew their child had RSV or not) and it spread to others. And on top of it, Avery has an ear infection too. Plus she lost weight since her 12 month check up. Total bummer all around.

Avery is on antibiotics as well as a nebulizer (breathing treatment). Sutton is on the breathing treatment as well. We have to do the treatment every 4 hours until their cough gets better. Once it gets better, we can space out the treatments more and more. The girls don't mind it THAT much, but Avery fights it more than Sutton.

I put Avery's paci in while doing the treatment and she sits more calmly. Just as a piece of advice to other moms who might be in the same situation as we were/are.

Two. My husband leaves to Minneapolis on Sunday. That means 6 days ALONE with my girls. Ok not alone because I have family coming over to hang out some of the day. But it is so crazy to do it all alone for a week. Last time I did this was when Rory went to London when the girls were 5 months old. That trip was brutal for me since the girls relied on us SO much more. But we get to have grandma (the girls grandma) come over and cook us some dinner (yum), the other grandparents visit us and maybe an auntie visit too. Plus Stacey is going to come hang out with us. Definitely feeling the love here.

Three. I am looking for another concealer since my YSL Touche Eclat is so expensive (read $42). A few ladies have talked about their love for this concealer. Does anyone have experience with this one? What do you think? Others you might suggest?

Four. Gilmore Girls. Amy suggested I watch Gilmore Girls and even though I am only 5 episodes in, I am loving it. I never jumped on the show when it was originally on. Just like with Gossip Girl and I LOVED that show. I needed something to watch at the gym and in between my regular shows and this is a great choice. If you haven't seen it (I can't be the only one who hasn't), I would recommend you start it.

Five. Weekly Photo Dump.

 Spinach and Bacon Salad from the promotion dinner

 Filet, veggies and potatoes au gratin

 

 

 Sick baby and still looking cute

 Breathing treatment

 Sweet Aves still smiles when she is sick

 

My favorite sandwich

Vacationing

So with Mexico less than three months away, I need to get my butt into gear. Health wise, body wise and mind wise.

I would consider myself pretty healthy, but I do indulge in my favorite things...wine, pizza, pasta and an occasional burger. I go on walks, I chase my babies around the house and I work out at the gym two to three times a week. But I want to get a bit more clean leading up to our trip. But that doesn't mean I am cutting out my favorites. Just having them less. I want more soups, salads, fake-outs (turkey tacos in an avocado shell, spaghetti squash instead of noodles, etc.).

Body wise I just want more tone, to be more lean and my dang droopy skin on my tummy to go away (but that doesn't look like it's happening). And I really need to focus on using my scar creams and other stuff to get my excessive number of scars to fade (c-section, umbilical hernia and breast abscess). So if anyone has miracle creams or things to help, send them my way.

My boobs won't be fixed by then, so I am going to have to bite the bullet and find a new bikini or at least bikini top. I have one that MIGHT work (its a 34C) and not gap too much, but I haven't tried it yet. So I am looking for new bikinis for my trip. And it sucks looking at bikinis right after the holidays. Hello extra 5 pounds from the holidays. Luckily VS has its 2016 line out. Here are some of my favorites.

Left  Center  Right

Suggestions on other places to shop for bikinis? Or just bikini tops?

Mind wise I am mentally preparing for taking our girls to Mexico. They are sitting on our laps the entire flight (5 1/2 hours in total flying time) (please pray we can get bumped up to economy plus/business class, haha), they have never flown before, then we have to lug everything around to get to our condo and hope that we have some happy babies, ahem, toddlers.

So I am looking for tips and tricks on traveling with toddlers on long flights and international flights. Heck any flights. Snacks, toys, entertainment, must haves, things to leave at home, etc.

Oh and we are looking at umbrella strollers or easy travel strollers that don't cost a fortune to take with us. Suggestions on those.

Help me out please. 

Winter Wonderland Gift Exchange

Back in December, I signed up to participate in a blogger exchange (yes another one!). This time it was with Amy from Keepin' Up with the Smiths and Jessica from Secrets of a Stay at Home Mom. I love these two blogs. So it was a no brainer when they wanted to do an exchange.

I was paired up with Jessica and Jennifer (another blogger I adore from Jenuine Happiness). I sent Jessica her gift on the 8th and I received Jennifer's gift on Friday.

The rules were you must spend $15, not including shipping. Easy peasy.

I LOVED my gifts from Jennifer.

First up, was their Christmas card which is beyond adorable. I love seeing all the photos of her sweet family over the last year. Isn't Ben (their little guy) the cutest!?!

 

Her sweet message to me.

Next up were these adorable magnets. I have a lot of magnets at work with places I have traveled and blogger exchanges (this is the second time I have gotten magnets and I LOVE it). I love the sayings on these and they will keep me motivated at work.

Next up was this journal. I can't wait to use this to write down all the blog ideas I come up with at home or in the middle of the night. I currently put them in my phone and rarely look at them again. Now I can add them to this journal and make use out of the ideas.

I also received this picture frame. I love the rustic look and have so many photos that need a home. 

Thank you so much Jennifer. I love my gifts and can't wait to use them all.

If you want to see what I got Jessica, head over to her blog and also check out the other ladies who are part of the exchange.