Back East

My hubby lived in West Virginia/Virginia for 2 years and we've always wanted to take a trip out there and see things on the East Coast. But the more kids we have the harder it seems to plan a big trip like that. I think it would be fun to have a long road trip and visit other sites along the way. But the cost of gas prices and hotels and eating on the road all adds up pretty fast. It would be kind of cool to find some obx real estate for sale and own a place out there to rent out most of the year and have available for us if we ever wanted to take a trip there. One day we will take a trip out there, eventually. :)

Nap time

You know what the most relaxing part of my day is? Nap time. Not my nap time (hah!) but the twins' nap time. It's the one part of the day that I can actually get anything accomplished without interruption. I usually use it to do dishes and clean up the kitchen a little. Sometimes if I just need to rest I will lay on the couch for a bit or finally get a shower. Today I'm looking forward to my shower. Sometimes I just can't wait until nap time and just throw the babies in the shower with me, but it's far from relaxing with them pulling all the shampoo, body wash, shaving cream, etc off the shelf the whole time. I have to watch where I step, keep them from slipping, and then everyone dry and dressed again is a pain. So it's just much nicer if I can shower during their nap time. Since they napped late this morning I've got to wait just a little longer before they'll go down for their afternoon nap. At least I can still count on their 2 naps a day, it'll be harder when they switch to just 1 a day.

Finding ideas

I'm sure I've mentioned it (or maybe not?) but I love pinterest. So many great ideas all in one spot! Fun craft ideas for kids, ideas for decorating your home like picture layouts and log beds, tutorials for how to do hairstyles, etc. Lately I've been looking up cute little girl stuff to make for my sister who is having a baby girl in a few months. I've got a couple dress patterns and baby booty patterns I'm planning to get working on soon. Now I just need to find the motivation to get off pinterest and actually do them lol.

Way overdue catching up

Okay, so I've been promising pictures for so long. I don't think I've even posted any since my Thanksgiving update! So I'm going to start at last Christmas and just post a few pictures from each month since then.

Christmas-

 

 

 

 

 

December-

Twins' first birthday-

 

 

 

 January-

 

 February-

 March-

 

 April & Easter-

 

 

Babies' 1st haircuts

 

May-
Jakey split his head open at the park, 6 outer stitches, 2 inner stitches.

 Alright, took awhile to go through the hundreds or thousands of pics from the camera and cell phone, but that's a brief recap of the last 6ish months!

Waterfalls

Why do kids enjoy getting water everywhere? Anytime one of the boys uses the bathroom they have to turn on the faucet full blast and splash water everywhere. Bath time ends up being soak-the-entire-bathroom time. And my 3-year old likes to turn the kitchen faucet and fridge water dispenser into indoor water fountains. Luckily it's just water, but even water can cause problems if it soaks into too much. And now the babies are starting to join in by playing in any open toilet they find (so glad they don't know how to flush it yet!), so I have to make sure all bathroom doors remain closed and keep reminding the other boys too.

Almost Mother's Day

I just realized Mother's Day is going to be here soon! Not that I need much, except maybe a chance to sleep in and/or get a nice long nap. I like looking at online floral arrangements but I'm fine with whatever flowers Hubby gets me. And he always gets me chocolate. That man sure knows the way to my heart! And my favorite is seeing what little cards and gifts the kids make at school/church for me, so adorable. :) This year I'm going to treat myself to the spa gift certificate Hubby gave me at Christmas that I haven't had a chance to use yet. I need to remember to call and get that set up soon.

Annie's Organic Winners!!!

Thank you to those who entered the giveaway for Annie's Organic Rising Crust Pizza! The 3 lucky winners, chosen by random.org, are:

#5 Alaine88!
#3 Julie S.!
#7 Kristen!

Congratulations! I will be contacting the winners.

Annie's Organic Rising Crust Pizza: Review and Giveaway

I recently got the opportunity to try out and review Annie's Organic Rising Crust pizza through Mom's Meet. At first I was thinking that just sounded odd- to me organic means healthy and pizza is usually not. But I was excited to give it a try. I had never tried anything from Annie's before and I'd also never been to a Whole Foods store, where the pizza is sold.

Annie's Organic Rising Crust Pizza is certified organic, with 100% real cheese and the meats have no nitrates. They have 4 flavors- 4 Cheese, Supreme, Uncured Pepperoni, and Spinach & Mushroom. I chose to get the Supreme because that's the kind of pizza my family usually likes, and it looked delicious. I was a bit disappointed at the small size, but it was enough for our family, just not enough for seconds (well, except me, I took the last slice before anyone else could claim it!). Despite the size I was impressed with the thickness of the crust, and it smelled yummy before it was even in the oven.

I was very happy with the taste of all the toppings. The crust by itself was just ok for me, though the texture was great, just the right amount of softness vs. crispness. And all together the pizza was delicious. My kids gobbled theirs up quickly and my husband said it was pretty good for frozen pizza. I agree. I still prefer pizzeria pizza but as far as frozen pizzas go Annie's Organic is very good and I felt good about feeding my kids something that was made with organic products.

I'm not sure if I would buy it again, but mostly because the nearest Whole Foods is 30 minutes away and the cost for one small pizza is $9.99, but if it were offered in a store nearer me and on sale (when I got mine it was on sale for $7.99, not too bad) or bigger size then I would be much more likely to purchase it.

GIVEAWAY!!!

Would you like a chance to win a free Annie's Organic Rising Crust Pizza? 3 lucky readers will win a coupon for one free pizza, redeemable at Whole Food's Market. To enter visit Annie's Organic and let me know which pizza you would like to try. For an extra entry like Annie's Organic Facebook page and come back and leave another comment.

Contest open to U.S. residents (and you may want to make sure you have a Whole Foods nearby!). Contest will end Friday, April 27, 2012 at 10pm EST. 3 winners will be chosen at random using Random.org.

*Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet SM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet SM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.*

iLemming

Guess what I get to do in 2 months? Chuck my crappy cell phone in a lake! Ok, I really won't do that, it may come in handy at some point, or my kids would love to play with it still. But in 2 months I get to upgrade my phone and it can't get here fast enough. I'm sure my phone would be fine if I didn't have children to drop it in toilets, suck on it, play with it with their sticky fingers, etc. But after 2 years of abuse it just plain stinks. I even had to completely reformat it and set it back to factory settings a few days ago because it decided not to come on anymore. I'm just hoping it will last 2 more months. But until then, I get to do some online phone window shopping. I've checked out forums and review sites that give opinions on everything from blackberry playbook accessories to android phones. But I already know what I want. Despite there being a few other options that are also appealing, I believe that it is time for me to get an iPhone. Now that Sprint offers it, I just can't put it off any longer. But I am going to make sure to get a protective case and keep it away from my children as much as possible lol, I want it lasting a lot longer than my current phone!

Mix it

I am constantly amazed by technology these days. When I think back to how things used to be done before computers and other electronics it gives me a lot of respect for older generations! Before computer technology if you wanted music at an event you had to rent a band or use a record or tape player. Now with items like Hercules DJ Consoles you can easily bring the music with you in a small laptop-sized console! DJs who travel a lot would probably love this because it is so small and easy to take with them. Plus it looks so cool! All those fun little buttons and dials. Of course, I wouldn't know what to do with it, but I just want to play with it. Kind of like one of those kids toys with all the buttons and knobs and sliders, except for adults. Most of whom are really just big kids anyway lol.

Eureka! um, I mean Dyson!

When we got our tax return this year we started to plan for the kitchen remodel we are doing in a few months. Most of the tax money is going towards that, but there were a few other things we have been wanting as well. One of those things was a new vacuum. Our trusty old Eureka has actually held up pretty well for almost 9 years, considering it was just $60 and the most we could afford at that point. But it is starting to show it's age. So we have retired it to the upstairs rooms that don't need vacuumed as often. We spent a few days shopping around online (seriously, I love online shopping! Finding the best jewelry deal of the day or closeout price or auction item is sooo easy!) and came across a refurbished Dyson that was about $150 cheaper than a new one. Let me tell you, the first time I vacuumed with it I was disgusted by the amount of dirt it sucked up that my babies have been crawling around on. My poor old vacuum just hadn't had the suction power to get all that up. It's so nice having a new vacuum and feeling like my floors are getting cleaner than before.

Spring is here!

I can't tell you how happy I am that the weather is starting to warm up here! We still have occasional cold days (we got snow Sunday after having 70* the day before?!) but overall the weather is getting so nice. No more worries about drafts around windows and doors with bad seals. And during the winter I like to have the curtains and blinds open during the day to help warm the house, but it's starting to get too hot inside when I have them open. Which is the one sad part of it, I love letting in the nice light but don't need to the house getting so hot from it. Oh, and the best part? Getting to send the kids outside to play when I need a break! They are loving it and going through a lot of chalk out on the patio lol. Yay for Spring!

Thirty-One Organizing Utility Tote Review

My friend Dana recently became a consultant for the popular company Thirty-One. Thirty-One was started by one woman who wanted to help other women make a difference for their families by having their own home business and the name is inspired by Proverbs 31. The company has really grown over the past few years and provides top quality purses, totes, bags, and other items.

I received the Organizing Utility Tote from Dana to provide a review on. I'd drooled over the catalog before so I knew already that I wanted the cute Circle Spirals pattern. I was planning to just use it to keep all my school books and things organized at home, but when I got it I found out it was the perfect size to fit my laptop (plus books, notebooks, etc) and decided to actually use it as my school book bag since my previous bag was too narrow for my laptop. Plus I figured it would be a good test of the tote's durability to be hauling around my laptop, 2 thick textbooks, notebook, and pencil case. And it's soooo much cuter than my old bag!

The bag has held up so well. There has been no loose seams, pulled stitches, or parts falling apart after so much use. The fabric is very sturdy and strong, and the straps are strong as well. It has 5 fabric pockets on the outside as well as a mesh pocket on each end, which provide plenty of areas to put my keys, phone, water bottle, etc. The only downside to using it as a bookbag is that it doesn't close at the top, and there were a few days I had to put my coat over it to keep the snow out. But other than that I am completely in love with it!

Be sure to check out Dana's Thirty-One page to see all of the amazing, cute items they have!

*Disclaimer: I received one Organizing Utility Tote for free to review. All opinions are my own.

Ready for sunlight

One thing (out of many) that I hate about Winter is how pale I get. Last Summer I was nice and tan because of the UVB treatments I was doing for my psoriasis. I haven't done those for a few months though so I'm back to pasty. Of course if I really wanted to be tan I could go to a tanning bed or a spray tan machine. Mostly I just want to be able to go out in the nice warm sun again. The kids are itching to be outside more as well. Silly Utah weather likes to go back and forth from cold to warm for a few months in the Spring before it decides to go straight into hot Summer. We had a pretty nice week in the 60's but will probably have snow tomorrow.

Leprechaun Traps

My boys love St. Patrick's Day. Every year on the night before it I help them build leprechaun traps to try to catch a leprechaun. We put shiny things and coins in them to lure the leprechauns to the trap. Unfortunately the tricky leprechauns can never be caught but they always leave treats for the boys. I tried to buy gold coins like those chocolate ones, but I couldn't find them. All I could find was Easter candy, so I grabbed a couple bags of Easter candy and picked out all the green and gold wrapped ones to put in the traps. Which left plenty of the candy for me lol. This morning I gave them green milk, then dyed their ramen noodles green for lunch and made green pancakes for dinner. It was a fun day. :)