TIDWTFT

- We went to dinner on Saturday night and I have been trying to work on sharing with them. So I ask Gabe if he can share a piece of his chicken with Grant so he acts like he is giving it to him and then snatches it back and puts it in his mouth and he continued to show Grant every piece of food before putting it in his mouth. I then asked Grant to give me a piece of his food and he started stuffing the food in his mouth and what wouldn't fit he put in the pocket of his bib. As you can see our lesson in sharing is going great haha.

-While driving home from dinner Saturday night, Gabe was just a chattering, in a language I can not understand. All I heard was "blah blah blah bubba"(bubba is what he calls Grant). Well apparently what he said wasn't very nice because Grant burst into tears. So I guess it is true that twins have their own little language that only they understand.

- They have been having fun playing with pots and wooden spoons lately. Grant will pretend to pick something out of his pot and put it in Gabe's mouth and Gabe says "mmmm".


- Now to the ugly, the climbing. They climb on everything possible...couches, chairs, coffee tables, fireplace hearths. They like to climb on, run on, dance on, jump off. I feel I am constantly redirecting and it is two against one and they are winning....but this too shall pass. By the way, my mom said I never did any of this, so they must get this from their father. Lucky for him he works all day so he doesn't have to deal with it.

Totally Organized Tuesdays: Coupon Binder

My name is Krista and I love to use coupons. There I got it out. Not only do I love to use them but I try to convert other people and it really frustrates me when I see other people buying items that there are coupons for (why should I care?). Now this doesn't mean that if I want something and I don't have a coupon that I will not buy it, I am not that extreme. Nor do I hoard stuff like the people on the "Extreme Couponing" show. I am one of those crazy people that bring a binder with me in the store though and today I am going to show you how I organize my coupon binder.

Supplies you will need:
- binder
-pencil pouch
-filing tabs (I used Post-It Durable Hanging File Folder Tabs)
-baseball card page protectors (you can find these at walmart or target by the playing cards)
-8 1/2 x 11 page protectors
-scissors
-pen
-calculator (if your phone doesn't have one)
-paper clips
-label maker (optional)
- lots of coupons (of course)

In my pencil pouch I keep a pen, scissors, extra file tabs, paper clips, and I often put my wallet, phone and keys in here so that I don't have to carry a purse( because well a binder and two babies is enough to lug around)

I used baseball card protectors to keep all my coupons in. They have the perfect size slots for most coupons. To organize by category I used my label maker to label my file tabs. These are the categories I used but obviously different households will have different needs: Snacks/Cereal, Pasta/Bread, Refrigerated (yes I misspelled this on my label), Freezer, Baking, Condiments, Paper Products, Cleaning, Laundry/ Dish Detergent, Personal Hygiene, Beauty, Baby, Pets, Misc, Retail, Shopping List.

In the Retail section I put coupons from retail stores and my rewards coupons. I put these in a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet protector because most of them are too big to put in the baseball card protectors.

Before going to the store I gather all my coupons I plan on using and paper clip them together. I also have my shopping list in this category but I forgot to get a picture of it. But it will look something like this for each item on my list:

Huggies Little Swimmers Diapers $6.99
Use $2.00/1 Huggies Little Swimmers Diapers from SS 5/15
And use $2.00/1  Huggies Little Swimmers Diapers from Walgreens May Booklet
Final Price: $2.99

Which by the way I picked up a couple of those because we do a lot of swimming in the summer and it is a pretty good deal. Swim diapers are normally 10 dollars a package.

Hope this helped someone out and I am fully aware that some will think I am crazy (including my husband) but I still think people that don't use them are the crazy ones.

Disclaimer: I feel very weird giving out organization advice right now because my house is in complete disarray but all for a very good reason (more on that later).

TIDWTFT

They both love to give me high fives. Before it was just a guy thing and they would only give them to daddy. Now if my hand isn't out for them to slap they will slap whatever is closest.

They both love to "help" me with laundry and loading/unloading the dishwasher. It often ends up being more work for me but I can't be mad because they have such a good heart while doing it.

The both like to dance. Grant likes to bounce up and down when he dances and Gabe likes to bob his head. They make quite the pair. They are the only babies I know that can rock out to a lullaby.

A little fun in the sun

Sunscreen ( put some on Grant's bald spot too)- check
Swim diaper- check
Swimsuit- check
Duke locked in his kennel- check
Towels- check
Camera- check
Lots of fun to be had- check check

Totally Organized Tuesdays- The Catch-all

I already posted about how I organize our mail which before had cluttered our kitchen counters but I still had our keys, phones, wallets and change spread out all over the cabinets. So I picked up this basket from Hobby Lobby to serve as a catch-all for all that stuff and it seems to be working for the most part.

If you are a regular at my blog you might remember this tip jar that I made for all the change I find while doing laundry. Well the husband didn't find this fair so I made him a jar to put in the spot where he empties his pockets so that he can choose to put the change in his jar or if it goes through the laundry it goes in my jar. Fair enough, right? Let's just say my jar has more than his....enough said.

To all the Mommas...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!  I wish I had the time to devote a post to each one of the special mothers in our lives but I decided to do a shout out in pictures. So to my mom, stepmom, grandma, sister, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunts, aunts-in-law, cousins, and friends, we apprecitate all you do and love you very much. Hope you all have a fantastic day.

My mom. I wouldn't be where I am now without her....

My stepmom, who treats me just like I am her daughter...

My grandma , who is the glue that keeps our family together...

My older sister who I can always count on for motherly advice...

My mother-in-law, who gave birth to my son. She must have done something right because she raised a wonderful son who is now the father of my children.

My sister-in-law, Mardy, who has given me the custest nieces and nephews

All my aunts, who spoiled me rotten and continue to do the same for my kids



If I did not picture you here it is probably because I do not have a picture of you but know that I love and appreciate you too this Mother's Day!!!

I am also remembering all the hurt that surrounds this holiday for women who want to be mothers so bad but for whatever reason cannot and to all those that have lost their mothers, so know that I am thinking of you too.

My Journey to Motherhood

From the time I was a little girl, my main purpose in life I felt was to be a mommy. Other kids my age wanted to be doctors and lawyers and I just wanted to have someone call me "momma". I was the girl playing with baby dolls until I became way too old for playing with baby dolls and then it was real babies that I was baby sitting. Working in the nursery at church, being a nanny for a lady who had 7 kids (two of which were twin boys), helping another mom of twins with housework, teaching preschool where I had twin boys in my classroom. Are you seeing a pattern here? I truly believe God never gives you more than you can handle and he prepares you for every season of your life. After investing my time in so many other kids lives on December 26, 2009, God blessed me twice and gave me two sweet baby boys of my own.

While I love being a mother it differs a lot from the picture I had in my head of motherhood many years ago. I thought I would find out I was pregnant and tell my husband by wrapping up a little onesie and my pregnancy would be so glamorous and I would have a cute little belly. We would go to the 20 week ultrasound and the tech would say "It's a boy" or "It's a girl". My water would break and I would say "Honey. it is time" and we would rush to the hospital and a couple hours later I would miraculously have a baby laying on my chest with tears of joy streaming down my cheek. We would have lots of anxious visitors come ohhh and awww over the new addition and we would all the  leave the hospital at the same time in a wheelchair with a nurse strolling us down to the car. After all that is how it happens in the movies right?!?!

But what no one tells you is that you might find out you are pregnant by puking in a trash can in your classroom where you are cleaning up getting ready to leave for the day (but are very thankful that all the other teachers and students aren't there). Your husband will find out because you call to tell him you can't stop throwing up and he will ask "do you think you are pregnant?" and you will continue to throw up for several more months. You will go to your ultrasound and the tech will say "It's a boy" and when you ask what the round thing at the bottom of the screen is and she says "oh my. it's another baby..another boy". You will wake up in the middle of the night in a panic and not be able to breathe because you are worried about all the bad things you have read can happen with twins. You will gain 60 pounds and look ginormous.  You will go into labor in best buy and continue to purchase a video camera and then you will calmly tell your husband " I think I am in labor". You will have a c-section and when both babies come out and you hear their cries you will feel a sigh of relief but it doesn't last long because those babies will not be placed on your chest like you imagined and those cries will become faint as they are whisked away to the NICU and you will not be able to hold them until 12 hours later. When visitors come to see you, you have to show them pictures off a digital camera or let them admire them through the nursery window.  As it is time for you to be discharged you will not be jumping with joy, you will be stalling and begging them to let you stay one more night because you don't want to leave your babies at the hospital. Nope no one tells you these things.

But what they also don't tell you is that you would go through all that morning sickness, all of the worries, all of the tears and pain again because those babies will bring you more joy than you could ever dream of and more love than you can imagine . More than any hollywood movie could ever portray.


Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.  ~Elizabeth Stone

TIDWTFT

So I am just getting time to sit down and write this post out because we have been crazy busy today.

 The boys have been big into "helping" Mommy lately. They "helped" mommy unload the washing machine, dumped all the trash out of the laundry room garbage can and distributed it all around the living room. While I was getting ready for the day I let the boys come in the bathroom with me and they proceeded to dump lucy's water all over the floor, unrolled all the toilet paper, dig in cabinets. Then I took them in their room to get them dressed and while getting one dressed the other emptied their hamper of all the clothers, cleared the bookshelf of all books, and emptied trash. After all this I am reminded why I normally get ready before they wake up or during nap.We then left to meet Nana for lunch, then went to Target (twice), Hobby Lobby, Bath and Body Works, JCPenney, Kirklands, Dillards, then back home for dinner and put boys to bed. Once they were in bed, I went back to JCPenney and to Walmart. Tired yet? I am.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

-Gabe started covering his mouth when he cries. About the first three times I ran over to him because I thought he hurt his mouth but now I realized that is not the case.

- Grant has learned to climb out of the tub. Isn't that lovely? He is not a fan of bath time anymore.

- They both love to play peek-a-boo with our new puppy. They use the curtain and cover up the windows on the french doors. So cute!

Take Me Out To the Ball Game

This weekend we took the boys to their first ball game and it was a special because it was to see their big cousin Collin. A little over five years ago, he made me an aunt for the first time. I can't believe he will be starting Kindegarten this year.

"uh Mom where is my uniform? I need to go play!!!" - Grant

Collin warming up before the game.

A little pep talk before the game. Collin is #5

Daddy teaching Grant proper batting techniques

Collin up for bat

Running into home. He scored twice for his team and they won their game! WooHoo!

We can't wait for the boys to play ball and I know if I blink too long that day will be here.

Meet Duke

We added a new member to our family this weekend. I have to admit I didn't want another dog AT ALL but my husband wanted one "for the boys". You know because that is how my husband justifies everything he wants is to tell me it is "for the boys" and then I cave. I kept telling him that if he came home with a dog I would be finding a new home for it by the time the day was over.

Now that he is here I decided he can stay because.....

- he stays outside

-he doesn't jump on anyone

-he doesn't really shed

-he listens

-the boys already love him and like to stare out the window and watch him

- he doesn't want to eat Lucy(our Maltese) even though he is 10 times her size

-he will make a good guard dog

-it also is pure entertainment watching him drink water because he sticks his whole head in the water bowl and one might think he is trying to drown himself.

So with further ado, here is Duke, our 7 month old chocolate lab "puppy"

(I use the term puppy loosely because he is HUGE)