A long long long time ago I found a package of Huggies on a clearance rack. They were a size 6. They were also only $3. I rationalized that although my newborn babes were still in nonnumerical sizes one day they would surely grow up and fit into these super cheap diapers. Right?

This morning I dug them out of the closet. This morning my son fit into a size 6 diaper. It is the largest size diaper they make before pull-ups. How did this happen? When did he get so big?

This morning in his size 6 diaper he threw his overnight diaper into the diaper pail when asked to. In his size 6 diaper he unzipped his PJs by himself and put his pants on. In his size 6 diaper he asked (by signing diaper, which we use as the sign for potty) to use the adult potty. We stripped down and he went potty as I held his once little body on the big seat. In his size 6 diaper Parker opened the cabinet, got out the dish soap tab, put it into the hole in the dishwasher, closed the flap, closed the door, and pressed the button- without any help. After this he asked to feed the dog (by signing eat and woofing like a puppy). In his size 6 diaper we went downstairs. He unlocked the dog food trash can lid, opened it, took the cup with two hands, scooped in the food, carried it very carefully to the bowl where he dumped it in. After returning the cup to the trash can and closing the lid he clapped. Good job P! All without any help.


When did this happen? When did my son start drinking out of a cup, throwing garbage in the trash can totally unprompted, turning off the TV and closing the armoire when I say it's time to eat or sleep? When did he get so big? It was just yesterday that I was throwing $3 size 6 diapers into my cart and thinking to myself 'maybe someday'....That 'someday' has arrived and I'm not sure where all the days in between have gone!

It took us 42 minutes to get layer upon layer upon mittens upon boots on our toddler bodies. We were outside for 6. Six minutes of complete bundled up cuteness. Parker kept tipping over because he had so many layers on- his arms were rendered completely useless. Finley really enjoyed making snowballs and throwing them at the dog (in her direction anyways). And we all loved eating the fresh snow...and drinking hot chocolate on the kitchen floor after we had unclothed. It doesn't get much better than baby snow bunnies!

Get your heads out of the gutter people.

As a twin mommy I am often asked 'how do you do it?' ...or 'do you need help?' Both of which I politely smile to and keep on wiping, chasing, holding, packing, dressing, etc. etc. I'm not much of a converse-if-I-don't-know-you kind of person, especially regarding my private life- I mean, ever had someone ask you if you delivered vaginally?! Um, yeah I just met you. The topic of my vagina is totally off limits. Strangers ask twin moms the craziest things...So anyways, today GoddessInProgress has a post on 'Where do you do it?' (as in blog) I'm not usually one for pass around the questions/copy my style/repeat after me but this ties in to something I've been working on for the past few months...

One my New Year's resolutions was to get my house in order. If you know me you know that I love all things house- molding, panelings, window sashes, 1 1/2" hardwood flooring (dare you to try and find it in a house less than 75 years old), bronze doorknobs, the list could go on and on. I am slightly OBSESSED with OLD houses- sometimes I spend our entire two hour nap time looking at Remax.com and Prudential. I will never ever never in my whole life ever live in a new or newish house. So help me God. I would die a slow very painful death if I had to pull up to neighborhood of newbies. No. I am the old house type (at least 75 years) and currently we have a very cute 88 year old beauty that needs some serious TLC. Many of you know how much work we did to our house during the first month- new carpet, new rooms, new kitchen...but, unfortunately those before and after pics that I had promised are long in coming. I used to justify this because Suzanne Whang (of House Hunters) always gives people six months before ringing their door bell to 'check in' on them, so I figured I had until December. December has come and gone and I have little to show.

The good news is that we have decided to finish much of what we had started over the next few months- finally doing the last built-ins in the kitchen, a backsplash and maybe some new walls (or wainscoting, I can't decide). New paint, furniture, drapes, etc. in our family room. Finally painting the babies' bathroom. YAY! A new roof and, well you get the idea.


Living in my unfinished bungalow has been tough. Home stuff is my 'craft' and living in my unfinished walls has been like living in the craft closet that so many of you talk about (the messy one full of started but not finished projects). It seems the mommy blogosphere is busting at the seams with crafty mommies. I'm just not one of them. I get lost in the sequins and glue and paper thingamadoojobs at Hobby Lobby. Micheal's is intimidating and Ben Franklin is good really for only one thing- PENNY CANDY. I mean, give me a list, a picture and some instructions and I'm your girl. Leave it up to me and it will come from Pottery Barn not me and my glue gun. So over the next few months I'm going to have an 'open house' of sorts to A) get my butt in gear to finally paint the ONE door upstairs that has yet to see a paint brush (plus accomplish all those other to dos on my list) and B) show off my little house- think of it as my homemade quilt/wreath/shirt/scarf and all those other crafty things mommies blog about.

As the topic was "where do you do it" it is only fitting that I give you a picture or two of my office. It is boring. Other than some paint we did very little to it (except rip out the hideous built ins that the previous owner had made himself- perfect example of crafty gone wrong) and because in the next remodel phase we plan to do nothing in the basement it won't change much. So without further ado, I give you our office...


Notice Blogger on my computer screen? Pretty standard. I don't really 'surf the net,' I surf blogs. It's far more entertaining- and you're never tempted to buy anything...also notice that Brian gets a 16" screen and I get the mega big dog...such a good man!

PS I am fully aware of the irony that my last post was about sharing too much and now I am posting pictures of my home for all to see. I suppose you could say, well, I've gotten over it.

Thank you blogosphere for giving me such clarity and insight...how can I draw strength and wisdom from you if I myself don't reciprocate? WHO I AM is because of so many of you and your words, your thoughts and your posts...so how could I refuse answering the question WHO AM I? for all of you!? (this sentence was cut and copied directly from a very wise mommy who has written a very impressive 400 posts)

Besides, our life is waaay too BEA-UUUU-TI-FUUL not to share!

Perhaps it's the new year, or maybe the new political climate in our great country. Perhaps having to face a parents' mortality forces self introspection. Or perhaps it's the numerous bloggers revealing their own resolutions, misgivings, and hopes for their futures. Maybe it was Parker's leg or maybe it was the article on ParentDish discussing the psychology behind the NEED for SAHMs to blog and social network...whatever the cause, I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past few weeks- about family, about me, who I am and what I am becoming, my dreams and those for my children. I'm not quite sure how to put into words all the different legs these thoughts have taken, in fact, one of the major sources of my angst comes from the idea of putting words here, in this media, at all...

Let's start at the beginning. Eighteen months ago (nearly to the day) I started this little blog of mine as a way to keep ourselves entertained while we waited and waited and then waited some more for the two little lives I was growing inside of me to make an appearance in this world. When the babes were finally here our blog served as a great communication tool to connect our friends and family who were in different zip codes, states, and even countries. Somewhere over the past year it has evolved into a mishmash of my own personal journal and a place to record our beautiful babies' goings on, a baby book of sorts.

Fast forward to now. I'm starting to get a tinge of anxiety every time I sit down to write these little ditties of mine. Who's reading? Am I sharing too much? In today's technology driven world what is too much? What is privacy? Will I come to regret this sharing of my most intimate moments, of my parenting philosophies, of my children's growth and development? A part of me feels so strongly that I should embrace this new and exciting medium and keep on keeping on...one day me and my children will read through my Blurb books with great appreciation. My blog is my therapist, it helps to write down my thoughts, my fears, my joys...my life. The other part feels that if I want a record of our lives I need to buy a leather bound journal already and keep it to myself.

My close friends know my misgivings and dislike for social networking. I find it not only creepy but slightly, well, untraditional (yes, I know the irony in writing that). I am a traditionalist. In all things. How are the two related? Well I think it is just plain strange to get an ego boost from having 300 'friends-' it's untraditional. I think it is weird to come home after a night out and search for people's pictures and find who is friends with whom- totally untraditional. I think it is ridiculous to consider a person a 'friend' whom you haven't seen nor spoken with in ten years but by golly you press accept on that invite they sent you because who knows what good pictures they may have up and, well, who doesn't want another friend. BUT I BLOG. Isn't blogging the same thing? I am choosing to allow ANYONE who searches for me in Google an intimate glimpse into my life. In a way this is much worse than having to log on and being able to accept or deny a friendship invitation.

I was recently struck by one of my good friends' posts. In it she describes a friend as having, "found himself judging other people and sort of putting them down to gain self-glorification for the strides he's made towards creating the man he wants to be and reaching some of his goals. Although he didn't want to accept it at first, he realized the flaw in question was indeed a flaw, and that tearing apart others for their differences, inabilities and/or basic bullshitting does nothing for his own journey and isn't a respectable way to advance oneself." As humans this is what we do. We criticize others for "fear of judgement-based rejection in our own lives." Bingo. Here I am criticizing the members of Facebook (et al.) because I myself am self conscious of my decision to blog as it doesn't jive with my traditional upbringing. Deep right? (Although the writer of the above mentioned blog already knew all of this...)

SO then I start thinking maybe I should go all in and embrace it ALL. If I join Facebook NOW I might just be a hip mom who can smile and hit 'accept' when (I originally wrote IF but then realized that I was just dreaming that my babies won't grow up and learn how to use a computer) her children invite her to be their 'friend.' I won't have to join covertly when they're tweens to discover what they're doing and who they're friends with, I'll already be there. So on top of the blog vs. privacy question I find myself wrestling with the become a traditional mom vs. keeping up with the times and Twittering/Facebooking/MySpacing my heart out to stay with the program...

When I boil it down, it's kind of a black and white issue. I can't blog AND criticize others for their love of MyFace, or whatever- it's all or nothing. But I also can't help but feel the whole tech-sharing-social networking world is slightly strange...which by deduction makes me strange. Unless that is I stop doing it. But where does that get me? On a high horse saying "I don't partake?" But why would I not partake...well, for privacy maybe. But what am I hesitant to share? See this round and round I'm putting myself through?

This is an awfully long post for what many of you may deem a silly dichotomy. To blog or not to blog. To adhere to my traditionalism and deep rooted love for privacy or to get with the program and, in doing so, keep a damn good record of our children's lives. Right now, this second, I'm not quite sure which will win out. I DO know, however, that my criticism of people's technological social lives has ended. To each his own. And, who know, I may need them to hit 'accept' when I join...

I'm not sure if you can make out the large white spots in the picture- the ones around P's mouth and the gobs smeared all over Fin's left eye and cheek. Oh, no worries, that's just thick, smelly Desitin slathered all over my babes' faces. After allowing P to play with the tube after our AM diaper change, I walked in to find a full fledged diaper cream fight occurring between them. Finley had it in her eye but was continuing the fight (which involved her dipping her little finger into the hole and then gobbing it onto Parker's face) with one eye closed. The good news is that they were taking turns doing the dipping!

Parker is doing soo well in his robo-boot- he is walking (and sometimes running) just fine, he is sleeping fine, no problems! I think he actually kind of likes it- he hates when we take it off! We've gotten a few comments, but I suppose that's to be expected. I'm not sure what I would think if I saw an 18 month old in a cast...

As parents we have found ourselves in one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't types of situations. We encourage our toddlers to climb and jump. To test themselves and learn from their falls. I treat them like big kids and am trying to instill a sense of independence and self confidence. Because of this they have become fearless- picking the biggest slides on the playground, begging to be thrown higher and higher into the air, galloping piggyback rides and raucous games of chase. Maybe they have become a little too fearless. I always swore that I would never be the type of mother that hovered, the type that went running after every fall. We've tossed the babes into piles of cushions millions of times before but, what if we are too rough? What if we are giving them too much independence? Maybe I should hover a little more often...

Last night was our first trip to the emergency room. With a little boy like Parker I know it won't be our last. After an ill fated jump during 'no more monkeys' he cried a little. Nothing serious. He quickly got over it and was soon eating a veggie corndog off the stick...then he started pointing to his foot. Kind of a whine. After dinner he wouldn't put weight on it. An hour later he was still limping and we knew it was time to head out. P has an incredible pain tolerance. I've seen him take falls that leave ME in pain only to have him get up and continue on...For him to complain about something an HOUR later means it's pretty bad.

Three and a half hours in the emergency room, (you'd think that if you were a doctor in the hospital who is currently working in the ED you would get a little preference here, right?! Wrong.) two trips to the x-ray machine and a cast from foot to butt we were home. Not a complaint the entire time.

This morning after breakfast we put him on the floor to see if he would belly crawl and he immediately tried to stand up and walk. The kid was SO pissed that he couldn't get around that he began trying to rip the thing off. No pain. No tears. Just pure annoyance.

We saw an orthopaedic surgeon today that informed us P has three fractures in his foot. During the exam she was SHOCKED he did not cry out or complain. She kept telling us that in kids his age they tell you where they hurt when she pushes on it...then she pushed and nothing. P looked at her like she was crazy. She said Parker had one of the highest pain tolerances for a toddler that she had ever seen. I could have told her that. Because of his insistence to walk while in the exam room and his all around can't-keep-me-tied-down attitude they decided to put a boot on him instead of a cast. At one point she asked if he would crawl if they put a cast on him. HA HA HA! My son would A)find a way to run in it or B)find a way to rip it off so he could run.

So boot it is. We can take it off to bathe and sleep. He only has to wear it for 2 and a 1/2 weeks then we're back for more x-rays and follow up. Oh, Parker...you are going to give your Mommy a lot of heart attacks aren't you?!

We have discovered ketchup. We LOVE ketchup. On fish, on veggie corndogs, on turkey dogs, on tater tots, on veggie burger, on, well, just about everything really...It also works as a fabulous mommy secret weapon- oh, you don't like (insert food type here), well how about a little dip in some ketchup?! Works like a charm every time- broccoli? Just add a dab of ketchup. Shrimp? A dip in some ketchup. Grilled chicken? You guessed it, ketchup...


We have also finally mastered our utensils...they can both scoop up applesauce, peas, oatmeal, just about everything. And we love stabbing things with a fork. This development has made meal time A) much cleaner and B) much less labor intensive for mom (you kind of get dizzy going from one bowl of oatmeal to the next helping to load spoons!). Got to love silverware! (...and ketchup!)

Fin has a head of curls...right after she gets out of the tub that is. Lately, she has been waking up with, well, a mullet. That's right, I said it. My beautiful perfect little cherubic angel has a mullet. To make the look complete she even has bald spots on the sides. I am completely conflicted with how to deal with this hair mishap- do I dare cut those beautiful out-of-the-tub curls? Or do I leave it and hope those bald patches catch up? Come to think of it, maybe this Hall and Oates 'do will stay forever and keep all the boys away...

We are VERY fortunate to have been sooo spoiled this Christmas...HOWEVER, I'm starting to feel some slight primary-color-plastic-phobia. For such a small house, I'm being overrun.

Basement Playroom (Recently I have been letting the babes journey downstairs all by themselves and play...they LOVE it! They think they're doing something totally against the rules! This morning they played by themselves for almost a half an hour down there!)

Upstairs Playroom (When we moved in this was exposed attic- we finished it off and made the perfect kid size playroom off their bedroom under the eaves...)

Living Room Playroom (Our lack of furniture has turned this into their favorite stomping ground...)

Brian told me the other night as we were watching "broke ass tv" (so coined by my little brother in response to if he would want to come over and babysit- "what will I do after they go to sleep, you have broke ass tv?") that he "WOULD BE OK IF WE NEVER HAD CABLE AGAIN." I'm sorry. Did you hear that? That was the sound of angels singing in our family room! NO MORE CABLE! I'm thrilled by this prospect as we have accomplished soo much in the past few weeks and have turned our evenings into movie watching/talking/reading hours instead of DVR'd shows that we really could care less about.

As we have no television I'm taking it upon myself to share with you my recent reads and movies. If you're not interested, well, sorry 'bout 'cha...I have read three books in as many weeks and am sad to say that I would not recommend a single one...except maybe The Thief at the End of the World, and I would only recommend this one if you like history. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was TERRIBLE and the only saving grace of The Middle Place was that it was a quick read. If you like a self-absorbed author (think Eat Pray Love here) who views her children more of a bother than a blessing this book may be for you. Suspicions was written in the likes of Poe and Doyle mixed with the historical context of language, clothing, etc. It was a total waste of my time. I also recently read a few of the short stories in Unaccustomed Earth and found them quite similar to his previous novel, The Namesake. Good but not recommendation worthy. I'm about to start reading The Lush Life (from the author of Clockers) and am hoping I'll finally hit a good one...Next in line are American Wife and The World Is What It Is- anyone out there read either of these? I would love your input!

On the flip side, I have seen TWO FABULOUS movies in the past week- Alpha Dog and The Duchess. I am slightly obsessed with period flicks and The Duchess might just rank at the top of the ones I've seen (I think it was even better the Elizabeth!). Alpha Dog is slightly older but was AMAZING. I can't stop thinking about it. If you're into romantic comedies (Meeks) this movie is NOT for you...it's dark, but oh so thought provoking...

PS I found my bracelet! WOO HOOO! It was underneath Fin's car seat! Thanks for sending the good vibes my way!

I lost my David Yurman bracelet yesterday. The one I wanted for a very long time. The big one with the black onyx. The one that Brian surprised me with last year on my birthday. The very expensive one that I know won't be getting replaced anytime soon.

Wait, did I say I lost it? I meant my child lost it- which I suppose indirectly means that I lost it since who in their right gives such a thing to a baby to play with? In the past 6 months I have given our kids an entire set of keys to play with- gone. I have given our kids a cell phone to play with- lost. I have given our kids a camera to play with- disappeared. And now a very very super expensive bracelet... Blaming them would be like the out of uniform kid who blames her principal for the detention she received. It's totally my fault. Brian gave me the lecture (the one that makes me feel slightly like a three year old) again on why we don't give the kids expensive things to play with...maybe this time I'll listen.

To all our friends who have recently become engaged- Katherine and Paul, Kinkel and Ben, Mike and Amy, Jeff and Heather, Beau and Jules, Emmalee and Chad, Emily and Pete, and Arsham and Elizabeth...

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitement marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another - not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults.
If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another's presence - no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

This morning I went back and posted on December 24 through the 30th...so many great pictures I couldn't not share! And doing it out of order would have made my OCD flare up...

I asked for a crock pot this Christmas. Just writing those words makes me laugh. They made my Mom laugh too. Last year I asked for a pair of Tory Burch flats and a Burberry scarf. This year, a crock pot and a vacuum cleaner. I'm not sure what it is, but all things that make domestic life easier seem right up my alley these days.



I'm making my first 'slow cooker' meal. I think it looks disgusting. Something about throwing raw meat in with raw vegetables and sloshing it all around to cook for EIGHT hours kind of grosses me out. But tonight I will not scramble to get dinner to the table by six. I will not be frustrated that my steamed broccoli doesn't seem to be steaming or that my pork chops that said would only take 30 minutes are on minute 52 and are still a little too pink for comfort. Parker will not be signing frantically 'EAT EAT EAT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.' Unless of course they refuse to eat the eight hour mush I have put before them and in that case we have a whole new signing fiasco on our hands...Here's to hoping that my chicken/sweet potato/maple syrup/chicken broth gloopity glop turns out well!

Grandma took the babes for a much needed evening to ourselves and it just so happened to also be New Year's Eve. We had big plans. Chinese takeout, lots of champagne, a quiet house and watching the ball drop from the comfort of our couch...



This is what our fridge looked like at 9am (YES! I slept until 9AM!). By 10:30pm we were both snoring. Not a sip of champagne between the two of us. To our credit we DID at least BUY champagne...Is this what old people do?