A little bit of crafting

These days projects must be short and sweet.

These earrings fit the bill nicely.

I love instant gratification projects.

I kept the first pair for myself and my sister looks pretty snazzy wearing the other pair.

[All pieces were purchased at Hobby Lobby and are brushed bronze.]

Fat Quarters and Insul-Bright

My sister and I discussed a new set of potholders for her kitchen. She wanted something bright, simple and functional. No grommets, no hoops to hang from, no frills. Just hardworking square potholders that could double as a trivet.

2 fat quarters and some Insul~Bright later...success.

A perfect pair of potholders.

Bye-Bye Stinky Room

See those cute little sachets in the middle of this picture: I saw these little sachets while strolling through the baby section at Target picking up diapers, wipes and those handy, oh so handy little bags at the top of the picture. I immediately picked up the package and almost threw it into my cart thinking 'This is great! A cute little lavender scented sachet with baking soda to absorb the odors! Perfect for the twins stinky room!' (Despite the Diaper Champ it still just isn't as fresh as I think it should be.) Then I stopped. Why spend $5 on 2 of these sachets??? I could make these!

So, yesterday during the twins nap (which is hardly never longer than 30 minutes...my children think sleep is for the weak...especially sleeping at the same time...I think they have a pact for one to keep watch while the other sleeps!) I made these:

Scraps of fabric from stash were used and all I had to purchase was the baking soda.

I placed one in the bottom of the diaper champ and one in a Longaberger basket hanging from a peg above the changing table.

The result: A breath of fresh air in the twins room. All for the low price of 57 cents.

Finally

I'm crafty again!

Times are a-changin'. Routines are becoming more routine and mama is finding sometime for herself. I've been working on a few knitty projects since they are more portable and easy to pick up and do a few rows while the babies play.

Can you believe it? I found time tonight to sew! Oh, how I missed my Bernina! Our reunion was blissful. Two (yes! two!) completed projects to share once I can take some decent pictures in the daylight.

Spent some time tonight giving the blog a facelift. What do ya think?

Can't get enough...

...of my baby loves!

The babies have discovered the sunlight and will stare in amazement every time I sit their seats in the floor of our living room in the afternoon when we get home. They move their toes in and out of the sunlight as they smile and coo. It is so precious. I had to capture the moment.

On the crafting front...I am still working on a knitting project...though I think I am going ot have to rip out half of it! ARGH! Still working on getting our sewing studio/office cleaned up so I can have a little mama time in the evenings after bedtime.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Wonderful Weekend.

[So & I dipping our feet in the pool]

This weekend was great.

It was the best.

Friday
I was able to come home a little early so I got to spend some extra time with the babies. Leap and So came over Friday evening for a visit and we had a great time playing with the babies and then sitting outside by the pool eating cheese and drinking cran-grape juice and getting caught up on girl talk. Mom stopped by too and we all had dinner together from a local Japanese restaruant. To top it all off, once the babes were tucked in, DH and I turned in early and ended up getting 9 hours of sleep!

Saturday
Lazy Saturday morning in the bed playing with the twins. Then Mom came to visit and we went to the mall and out to dinner at Cracker Barrel with the babies so DH could get some work done for work. Good day indeed.

Sunday
We were early risers today with Baby Boy waking at 5am to nurse. I decided to stay up once he was back to sleep and enjoyed a little alone time before getting ready for church. We attended the early service and the babies fell asleep on the way home. DH & I enjoyed coffee and breakfast on the back porch while they napped. Afterward, the babies happily played in their bouncers and watched mama clean up her office (it's still a work in progress). Auntie Leap, So and Mom stopped by for a visit this afternoon and all of us gals sat around the pool enjoying the 70 degree weather. After the afternoon nap, our little family headed to the grocery store to gather supplies for the upcoming week. After bath & bed time for the babies, DH & I sat down to a yummy dinner (DH made it!) of crab stuffed salmon, green beans and rice.

Now I think I'll go work on my knitting WIP.

I feel refreshed, relaxed and ready for the week ahead.

Playtime!

Grasping...

Swatting...

Kicking...

Loving all of this playtime with my not-so-tiny-anymore babes!

Wonderful Weekend

My birthday was this past week...the last one in my 20s! Yikes! So to celebrate the family gathered at my sister's house for a little celebration on the farm. It was a beautiful day (until the very end!) and we all had a wonderful time! My multitalented sister, Leap, (you've seen her photography work here) made my birthday cake complete with fresh picked berries - de-lish-ous!

My sister is all about homesteading. I am very impressed by all of this. It makes me wanna buy a farm. Fresh eggs, fresh picked berries, fresh produce, fresh air - I want it all!

Leap made steak, fresh green beans, potatoes, corn and fresh zucchini and basil bread for dinner. Mmmm.

After dinner, while we were eating cake, it began to rain. I mean it was a DOWNPOUR! The runoff from the hill behind her house flooded the road in front of her house - and I forgot to grab my camera to take a picture of it! It was crazy.

I got the cutest berry colander for my birthday...I'll have to photograph it and share it with you here. I love it.

This weekend was also super productive and relaxing at the same time. Since the babies have started sleeping better and going to bed easier, I have reclaimed some time for myself. Last night, DH and I cleaned up my sewing room so that I can get back in there and tinker around once the babes are asleep at night. We also have cleared out a lot of clutter and we are planning a huge yard sale for the beginning of August. We still have more clutter to clear from the office so that is on our list for the coming week. Tonight, after putting the babes to bed, DH and I had dinner outside by the pool and now I am sitting on the porch catching up on my blogs and blogging. Ahh...life is good.

Hands.

Today is my grandfather's 82nd birthday. Amazing. Such a full life he has lived and I hope he is around for many more happy years. My sister (the talented photographer) snapped this picture of my grandfather's hand holding my baby girl's hand. I love it...the gentleness of such an experienced hand lovingly holding a hand of such youth. Breathtaking.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Turn the Page Tuesday

I am finally getting back into the bloggy swing of things. As I was trying to get caught up on one of my favorite blogs Some of a Kind during a break this morning I realized Adrienne is up to something new (at least new to me in my recent live under a rock state, but hey she started this on the day I delivered the twins!)...Turn the Page Tuesdays. Her challenge - read a good book and tell a bit about it the first Tuesday of the month. Well, I'm in luck. Reading is one thing I do have time to do during all of those nursing sessions and I recently read a good one.

Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks is a beautifully written story. I read it in 4 days flat only picking it up while I was nursing or pumping. It was all the better because I had no idea what the book was about when I started it (again, I live under a rock). This book fell into my hands because last weekend when I was on call I started talking to the nurses about movies while doing a c-section. I told them up next on my Netfix queue was Nights in Rodanthe (DH fills our queue with movies for me interspersed with movies for him). Of course, all the ladies were telling me how much I was going to love the movie. "But the book is so much better," one of the girls said. THE BOOK??? This movie was made based on a book?!? (see, told you...live under a rock lately). So the next day, one of the nurses brought me the book and I of course have had the DVD sitting on the coffee table still. It is one of my rules...if there is a movie based on a book I must read the book first. So I did. And it was fantastic.

The book is centered around a woman named Adrienne and her story of a weekend spent in Rodanthe, NC watching a bed and breakfast owned by a friend. 3 years divorced it is here that she meets the true love of her life Paul who is also recently divorced. The story tells of their getting to know one another over the course of days and then continuing their romance through letters over a year. The book is somewhat predictable and very Nicholas Sparks-y but still a good read.

I'll let you know what I think about the movie once I get a chance to watch it.

I'm still here.

[a summer favorite - eating fresh cherries and sitting by the pool]

I know I have been absent a lot lately.

I hope you can understand.

Of course, you might want to consider yourselves blessed since if I had been posting about my daily happenings they would be pretty coma-inducing. Up until the last week or so my posts would have gone a little something like this:

I wake. Get ready for work. #1 Wakes. Diaper #1. Feed #1. #2 Wakes. Diaper #2. Feed #2. Diaper #1, again. Dress both #1&2. Wake husband. Huband gets ready for work while #1&2 watch Baby Einstein. Wrangle #1&2 into car seats for drive to Omi & Opi's for the day. Go to work. Work. Work. Work. Pick up #1&2 from grandparents. Drive home. Diaper & feed #1&2. Playtime. Diaper #2. Diaper #1. Diaper #2, again. More playtime. Bathtime. Massage time. Diaper & feed #1&2. Put #1&2 in cribs. Sigh. Chores time. Collapse into bed time. #2 wakes for 3am feeding. #1 wakes for 4:30am feeding. Repeat.

Since I have returned to work our house is a bustle of activity from the time we wake up until our heads hit the pillow. Little Mister and Little Miss are growing so fast and I am trying not to miss a minute more than I have to (work takes away so much of my precious time!). Both have found their voice and use it often (cooing and babbles are so darn cute!), both love their hands/thumbs, both love to give Mama lots of smiles, both love it when Mama comes home from work (constant nursing!) and both are sleeping through the night like champs for the past couple of days which makes Mama very happy indeed. It is amazing what I can do with a little sleep! I have had a lot of work-related work to get caught up on lately so my hope is once that is behind me I can start using this new-found after-the-twins-bedtime-time to sneak in some sewing and blogging.

We'll see, I guess. Maybe by telling you all that I will feel pressured to actually deliver.

Have a great one everyone! I've missed you!!!

update

Thank you all so much for your comments on my last post. I have given it much thought and I'm just not ready to share my little ones here...I may never be ready...we will see.

Things in my life are CRAZY right now. I went back to work last week and already have a big presentation pending (will give it tomorrow) and TONS of cases in the OR. I am exhausted when I come home only to work an even harder job (being a mom) than my profession. One of the medical students said "Oh, well at least you are used to being up all night from all those years of taking call." I thought about that a lot and this is my reply: It is TOTALLY different. At least with call after a terrible-up-all-night kind of night you know that you can come home and forget about it and sleep all day (or at least I used to). With my babies there is never a time when I am not on call.

I now have an even deeper appreciation for my mother and ALL mothers out there...Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of you!

Crazy cat

I know this is probably not the picture you are wanting to see here. I'm sure everyone is checking in to see if I have posted pictures of the twins! Quite honestly, I don't know how I feel about that yet. Seeing as how I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of myself or even associating my real name with this space (for some reason I feel I can speak/post more freely without "fear" of my colleagues/friends reading...silly as it may be I like the anonymity) I cannot see how I will get to the point where I will feel comfortable to post pictures of my adorable children's faces or use their names here. Don't get me wrong...I would love to share them with all of you who visit my space often, those I consider my bloggy friends...it's the weirdos out there I worry about. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments about this! Do you post pictures of your kids???

Anyway...an explanation of the photo...Chloe is obsessed with the bird feeder. She sits on the back of the loveseat stalking the birds morning, noon and night. She is sitting there first thing in the morning waiting for me to open the blinds and is often still sitting there at night when I close them. She leaves only for food or a bathroom break...and the occasional dash out of the room when one of the twins screams out :) Quite comical.

Happy Easter!

Our first Easter with the twins was quite nice. Lots of food, lots of family, lots of rest...divine.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and took a little time to remember our Lord and how much he has blessed us all today.

Tiny fingers and tiny toes...

We are finally settling in to things.

Sleepless nights.

Seemingly constant feeding sessions.

Endless joy.

I'm taking a little time to just enjoy these things before the hustle and bustle of life returns to normal when I have to go back to work.
We will be around soon :)

March 17, 2009

Today is my favorite non-major holiday.

Well...it will soon become a major holiday for our family.

...and what a perfect present for mama on St. Patrick's Day...

Two little leprechauns will meet us today!!!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and follow my twitter-ings if you wanna know up-to-date info from the hospital!

Will it be this week?

[Photography by my amazingly talented sister!]

36 weeks today!

Who would have guessed we would make it this far?

All the praise and glory of these two little miracles staying put goes to God above. Thank you all for your prayers and support through this pregnancy (with all of its ups and downs) as well as during this difficult time of loosing the first man I ever loved.

1 month

It has been 1 month without my Dad.

My father met his Heavenly Father on February 5, 2009 at 8:00PM and every day since has been hard. Very hard. I miss him so much. Dad was so young, appeared so healthy. It is hard to believe in a matter of a few short weeks one can become so sick. I have so many questions. I replay so many of the events in my mind. What could have been done differently? However, I know my father is in a glorious place and I have started to find a peace in knowing that it was just time. God has a purpose for Dad...a new task...not an earthly one but a heavenly one...I have to focus on that.

Dad was an amazing man. A wonderful provider for his family and a strong Christian. There was nothing on this earth he loved more than "his girls" (my mother, sister, niece, & me). As a child I can remember he would stay home on Saturday mornings to watch The Smurfs with us and spend hours playing with Matchbox cars. I have so many precious memories of Dad: laughing so hard while telling a joke that he couldn't make it to the punch line, twirling and dancing (something I never thought he would do) with my at my wedding, bringing me "treats" (ice cream, dinner, anything!) to the hospital when I was on call, his mantra "If I can't fix it, it isn't broken" (he really could fix ANYTHING) - all of these memories and so many others dance through my head daily.

There wasn't anything my Dad did not do for me or our family. We used to always laugh when he had his "moments" - times when for no reason he would just start crying at dinner, during a movie or driving down the road. It was during these "moments" he would say he just felt so blessed with all that the Lord had given him - mostly meaning us girls. One cannot even watch my high school valedictorian speech...the camera was too shaky and all you can hear was my Dad...my Dad the videographer boo-hooing through the entire thing because he was so proud. He loved being proud of his girls and I loved to make him proud. He would swell with pride each time he saw me wearing my white coat. He loved that and I did too.

I miss him deeply. It hurts everyday.

I am still pregnant...will be 36 weeks this Sunday. I'm back to work and taking it day by day. Amazing, huh? As my due date approaches I find myself with a mix of happiness and extreme sadness. There is nothing in this world that my father wanted more than to hold my babies. He was so proud. My son was to be his first grandson...the first boy in our family. He had such big plans for the two of them. My heart aches that my two children will not physically know this amazing man. However, I plan to make sure they know as much as possible about their Poppy so that his amazing spirit can live on in them. And on that joyous day when Baby A and Baby B make their entrance to this world, I know my father will be there in spirit. He will hold those babies. Dad always was persistent in saying he would be there to hear their first cries as he was for my sisters daughter (the way the delivery room there was set up was perfect...family could see the baby without having to see the delivery) despite my persistent nagging that there was no way that could happen in our hospital with the set up we have...I didn't want him seeing that stuff!

Well, Dad...there is nothing to keep you out now. And I really hope you will be there to meet my babies & hear their first cries. Nothing would make me happier.

[Thank you to all who have noticed my absence and emailed to check on me. It is so touching to know that you care.]

At my fingertips

One of the daunting tasks on my to-do while on bed rest list is finally complete. I had a folder full of recipes that had been printed from websites, ripped from magazines, cut from labels and even some handwritten ones from my momma. I could never find the recipe I wanted when I needed it. I needed organization. A couple of months ago, I attended a Longaberger party hosted by a very dear friend and purchased a recipe basket (at an unbelievable sale price!) with the thought of someday organizing my recipes.

Well someday finally came (thanks to bed rest)...

...and I now have all my recipes at my fingertips. Plus the basket looks so darn cute sitting on the little shelf in my kitchen.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

[The dogwood in our yard...the snow has a little ice mixed in with it and it sounds lovely as it hits the tree branches]
[A fishbowl of coral and shells from our honeymoon in Anguilla that sits on our back porch...love the combination of snow and shells]

So our meteorologist was waaaayyy off the mark. Figures. The one time I listen to a forecast (cause I typically don't) it is wrong. We were supposed to wake up to a "dusting" and some "light snow." What did I wake up to? Heavy snow and lets just say a dusting plus 4 inches! It is still coming down like crazy out there. I don't mind. I actually love the snow as long as I don't have anywhere to go...and today I don't. However, a heat wave needs to come through our area tomorrow because I have my first baby shower on Sunday and I don't want to miss it!

Perfect Playmats

These little boxes delivered by Mr. Mailman always make even the dreariest of days (like the one we are having today) a bit brighter.

Remember this post by Jennifer? I was floored when I found out I won the giveaway and flabbergasted when I found out Jennifer was going to make TWO of them for me since I am having twins! Don't you just love that packaging? The day keeps getting brighter and brighter.

This one is for little miss Baby A. It is so perfect. And yes, that is a sneak peak of her crib!

And this one is for little mister Baby B. Again, it can be summed up in one word - perfect!

I just love the design, the fabrics, the quilting (freehand!!!), the snugglieness...

...the detail! The backing is beautiful and both quilts have this adorable little square in the middle - one girl, one boy!

Each playmat has it's own personality while mixing some of the same elements...just like my two little ones. I love that!

How many more times can I say perfect in one post? Let me get by with one more time...they are so me, so what I have in mind for their rooms and just so perfect!

Thank you so much Jennifer! You really did an amazing job - I admire your skill and creativity! My day is bright as can be now!!!