New Year's Resolutions

Now that I've reached my pre-pregnancy weight, and am narrowing in on my pre-marriage weight - we've decided it is time for another challenge. And this challenge is pretty big for us - it means giving up some of life's little luxuries....which we so enjoy!!!

We've had credit card debt since we got married. We stopped spending on credit cards quite awhile ago, but have made very little forward progress in reducing the debt. We've schemed many different ways to pay it off - but always had an excuse to delay any action until later. Well - the time has come and we are getting down to business. The car you see above we are selling and will have just one car to share. This means a savings of ($4,000 for the car & $450 in car insurance)! 

That takes us about halfway through our debt. Then we are dedicating a budgeted $300 a month to debt as well as what is leftover in any envelope. (We just started the envelope system this month and it has been such an eye opener and SOO good for us!) With Alex's yearly bonus that comes in February, hopefully some tax return, my Ebay profits (I sell used clothes on ebay for a commission for friends and family), etc. we may just see the end of credit card debt in 2008!!!

We look back now and wondered why we didn't do this sooner...but it is always easier to look back than forward. Half the purpose of posting this goal is for accountability. I know if we tell you all about this - you'll be asking - checking in - and we will want to be able to report progress! So for now we are making our own bread, buying canned domestic beer and saving imported bottled beer for special occasions, making our own baby food, buying all our clothes used, I'm cutting Alex's hair, I'm growing my hair out for Locks of Love, turning out lights, not showering (just kidding) rinsing out plastic bags...I know I know...desperate measures! 

My mom has given me this HUGE binder of all her issues of "The Tightwad Gazette" - I can't quite get into them yet...but I'm sure the time will come!

We both actually enjoying the new level of creativity that living within a budget requires - although I am regretting buying a case of "Steel Reserve" beer...thought it could be good...yuck...will be sticking to Bud, Miller, or something familiar in the future! Check back and I'll let you know how we are doing!

Christmas

Jasmine loved all of the paper and ribbons and barely noticed the toys! She was in super spirits and had lots of fun with grandma and grandpa.

Addie wasn't having such a good day. This was one of three outfits she went through on Christmas Day. One outfit change was my fault...didn't know that Addie would detest the taste of Swisss cheese so vehemently that she'd vomit...

The dogs jumped on the opportunity to monopolize Alex's lap while he was talking to his friends and family on Christmas Day!

Jasmine was having a great time with grandpa - he never runs out of silly faces or energy!

Here are the girls in the hats that their grandma knit for them! Alex and I also got hats...but we aren't nearly as cute in ours...

We discovered on Christmas that the reason Addie was so cranky was two bottom teeth poking through. These are her first teeth - Jasmine has had her bottom two for months! Here's a picture of her with the candy cane she stole of the counter!

These are some of my favorite pictures of Jasmine! Here she is playing by herself while Addie is napping and I'm emptying the dishwasher. The orange star she has in her lap has a big mirror in it - she'd bend down and see her face in the mirror really big and then sit up chuckling to herself!! Cute sausage!

We had some friends, Gareth, Chantal & Gabriella come stay for Christmas Eve & Day. It was so much fun to have them in the house. Gaby is 13 months old and the girls loved to watch her move around and play with toys in ways they have yet to figure out! Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of them all together...!

Grateful

Have I mentioned how grateful I am to have twins?! I was reading my Twins magazine I got in the mail yesterday, and all the stories and letters to the editor made me happy to part of this unique group. There were some letters I read in amazement...but relieved to not be totally in the same boat! There were two women who had written in who had two sets of twins, one set was 11 months apart, and the other set was 13 months apart...yowzer!

I know it is in the realm of possibility that we could have another set of twins - normal average for anyone to have twins is 1 in 80 - BUT once you've had fraternal twins (without fertility meds) you odds are 1 in 20. I sort of feel like we are the 1 in 20 kind of family!!! Seriously think about - my husband is from Zimbabwe of all places, our house was struck by lightening a month after we bought it and caught on fire, we have twins - we are the kind of people who would have two sets of twins! That is why we aren't even thinking about more kids until these girls can go to school!

The evenings that Alex comes home and I go see clients, I'm relieved to leave the house and get out on my own without a double stroller, diaper bags, etc. However, when I return home I already miss their little faces and can't wait until morning to see them again! The best part about the stage that they are in now is that they can physically express attachment to us. Addie is starting to kiss. They are both reaching for us & cuddling. Even when I just sit next to Addie on the floor, she pats my leg and looks up at me and smiles.

Flashback

Today one of my girlfriends had her first baby! For those of you who know her, Angie Burlison had a beautiful baby girl, name Reese Lynn. I'll resist posting the pictures they sent me until they are posted on her blog - but they are very cute!

The anticipation of Angie's baby gave me a flashback last night. Just before I was to have the girls, I constantly wondered how I was going to be able to carry two babies around the house at the same time...I realized after they were born - you don't. You get one, set that one down, go back get the other one! Pre-babies as I was trying to figure out this puzzler, I envisioned myself carrying them around in a laundry basket...um...doesn't work so well with two newborns who can't hold their heads up (never tried it don't worry)!

But - it works fabulous now that they can both sit up! They love it - it makes it even easier to grab each other's faces and toys. The only problem is now...they are 40 lbs combined...and too heavy for me to carry in a laundry basket. Oh well! : )

Another Milestone

The girls can now sit up long enough to take baths together - which has been so much fun for us! There is always a little drama trying to make sure someone isn't slipping slowly sideways or about to bonk their head on the faucet. They LOVE to splash with their feet & legs. I'm guessing soon enough Alex will be soaked after each bath!

The biggest problem we have with crowd control in the bath is precipitated by those rubber ducks you see in the pictures! If they drop their duck, they will fearlessly lunge forward for it - Addie ended up head first on her belly in the water while trying to get her duck! She wasn't upset at all about the water in her face - just upset that her tidal wave floated her duck even farther away!

We've already had one duck casualty - turns out the dogs like the ducks just as much as the girls. One of the dogs took a duck outside and removed its cute ducky lips!

Crime & Punishment

The Crime:

As I was going to retrieve her sister, Jasmine decided to start dinner on her own! Silly mom put the baby food just within reach on the counter. Notice the initial look of BUSTED - and then how her expression changes to AREN'T I CUTE!

The Punishment:

The easiest solution to this big purple mess was to give the dogs what they were begging for! Once again, Jasmine starts out looking forlorn, but ends looking ecstatic! Lesson learned - place baby food farther back on counter...

Window Gazers

Yesterday I needed a good distraction for the girls who were crabby in the afternoon! It wasn't time to eat, it wasn't time to nap, they were bored of their toys, bored of their exersaucers, bored bored bored! So I decided we would practice standing - and since I can't hold them both up at the same time, we decided to mimic Belle and look out the window leaning against the couch.

The girls look much more accomplished then they really are in these pictures. They can stand for about 30 seconds and then either do a slow slide or a fast flop! They LOVED looking out the window and were quite proud of the few seconds they could remain standing!

We Are On Our Second Beer

Don't worry - we aren't entering the world of alcoholism, but we are both drinking our second beers of the night! It has been a ROUGH day!!! Jasmine has been sick with a 102.5 temp since Friday and very very needy. I took her to the doctor today and she has two ear infections - poor girl! I got the girls home after the doctor's visit and picking up Jasmine's prescription and missing their afternoon nap...and it all feel apart!!!

We decided to make our own baby food over the weekend, but I couldn't break the sweet potatoes out of the ice cube tray so it was bananas and oatmeal for Addie (Jasmine isn't eating since she's sick). I gave Addie a bite of her mixture and she was not thrilled - spit it all out and gagged! So I moved on to her bottle and gave Jasmine her bottle. Alex got home in the middle of this (a relief - extra hands on board since Jasmine is extra cranky). I decided to give the oatmeal another go sans the bananas to see if Addie will take the food - one bite - PROJECTILE VOMIT for 1 minute...Seriously! I'm consoling Jasmine who is unhappy because her ears hurt, Alex is consoling Addie while he changes her into her second set of PJs for the night, the dogs are chasing each other around the house because they haven't had a walk today (freezing rain & ice), and it is CHAOS!

So if you've ever wondered what it is like to have twins - sometimes it is an absolute delight - and sometimes it is CRAZY! Alex went to the store after the girls went to bed for comfort food - we nearly finished a bag of chips, we're having marmalade on toast, and there is REAL BUTTER on our bread - a big splurge!!! : )

The Oven was on FIRE!

Every year our church has hold an event called, "Advent by Candlelight". It is for the women of the congregation. You can sign up to host a table - which means you will decorate the table and provide dessert. I went with a 1950-60's theme. I used the china I inherited from my grandmother, found the charming pink tree at Big Lots!, sewed the silver garland onto a table cloth I bought off Ebay, and filled the champagne glasses with sparkling grape juice. I LOVE decorating anything and this is always a good excuse to get friends together and get fancy!

The baking portion of this event was rather exciting...! I made apple cake and choco-berry tartlets. The tartlets required toasted coconut...I'd never toasted coconut. Alex and I debated on the best toasting method and settled on broiling. I set the broiler on high, put the coconut on a baking sheet, and then promptly walked away and forgot all about it! That is until I smelled something burning only to open the oven and find the coconut in flames. Alex rushed the flaming cookie sheet outside and we then fumigated the entire smoke filled house! Take two on the coconut went much better.

Then I was baking the apple cake - in a springform pan which I'd never used before. Once again, the oven was smoking....hum...oh! The springform pan was leaking, hot liquid from the cake was spilling over and hitting the bottom of the oven. I put a pan under the cake to catch the liquid, but the already spilled liquid kept smoking. I was afraid that the cake would taste awful and smoky so every few minutes I'd open the oven door to let out the accumulated smoke. What a nightmare!!!!

Luckily I think both desserts survived untainted...at least everyone said they were good....unless they were just being nice! : )

Mom's Prayer Group

This is a picture of the prayer group that I go to every Wednesday. Most of the women have had babies within months of each other. The proximity in babies ages has given us a great ability to empathize with sleepless nights, feeding problems, diaper rashes, etc since we are either going through the same thing or have just gone through it! It helps keep your sanity when you know other people who are having the same challenges.

In the picture, we went out for a girl's night out at a nice restaurant. The food was amazing and it was fun to see everyone dressed up. One thing we definitely need to improve on is having conversation that isn't baby related~!

Bold & Beautiful

Okay so it's been over a week since my last post so I figured I needed to post the cute baby pictures first for all of you junkies out there! : ) I got a big bag of hand me down bow/headbands last week, so we've been trying them out. These are by far my favorite just because they are so huge and obnoxious! I did get the feeling, however, when I put them on the girls on a trip to Target that people's reaction was..."Lady your kids are cute...but seriously...the bows are a little over the top!" Perhaps they could be a good stranger repellant when we are out and don't want to answer 600 twins questions! : )

The best thing about the bows was Jasmine's reaction when I first put one on Addie. She just kept staring at her sister's head and laughing...like...oh if you only knew what you have on your head...you look like such a dork! Funny thing was...she had a bow of her very own on her head at the time! Addie wasn't as amused by her sister's headband, but instead just wanted to grab it off her head!