Snow Day

Tennessee got snow.  WHAT?!  It happens maybe once every 2 years.  And if you're lucky, it stays for more than a day.  This year, it stayed for about half a day.  

That half a day was enough for Jeremy to (mildly) wreck his car.  Because people are crazy.  and FREAK out when it snows.  And drive even crazier than they do normally.  

We enjoyed this mini snow day by hanging out at home, and going out in it for a bit in our backyard.  My friend Katrina got the boys these really cute warm onsie outfits, so I put them in them and sent them out to check out the snow.  

Got some cute pictures too!

Little snowflakes on his eyelashes!

The boys enjoyed playing in and looking at the snow...And the picture above immediately precedes screams of panic after realizing that they're heads were stuck!  (they slid out with help no problem).

laughter

"I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us." - Charles Dickens

The sound of your kid laughing is one of the best sounds ever.  I'm sure any parent would agree.  I love hearing Judah & Foxx laugh.  

They usually aren't laughing because they think something is funny.  They don't have much of a sense of humor yet. When we walk through their classroom door at daycare to pick them up, they spot us, and immediately start laughing and running toward us with open arms.  They laugh together while playing cars or cooking in their kitchen, or building towers with blocks.  They laugh when I tell them we're going out somewhere.

They laugh when they are happy or excited.  

When was the last time I laughed just because I was happy?  I am happy and content the majority of the time, yet I don't go around laughing everywhere.  But what if we did?  What if we laughed to show our  gladness and joy?  How awesome would the world sound?!

If seeing my kids so happy that they laugh makes me feel unbelievably overjoyed, think of how God must feel with us.  When was the last time we laughed or sang or smiled really big, just because we are happy that we are God's children?  The love that I have for Judah & Foxx is only a fraction of the love that God has for all of us.  I am trying to embrace this more.

I cried the other night when putting my boys to bed.  As I sat there singing a nightly lullaby to them, with their huge little smiles looking up at me, playing with my hair or each other's hands, I could not believe how blessed I am to have these 2 little guys.

I see God's love through my children every single day, and I am so dang thankful.

A Couple Videos Of My Really Cute Kids

         

The boys love brushing their teeth!

              

Trying to catch a cricket!

             

Foxx saying "Judah"

             

"Hit that rock!"

              

My kids are the best.

A Road Trip; Asheville, NC.

driving toward those mountains!!!

A couple weeks ago, my friend Katrina and I took the boys on a trip to Asheville, NC.  Katrina is my travel buddy.  We took trips together often before I had the boys, and now we just take them with us!  I've always heard how cool of a city Asheville is.  We thought we'd go for a few days, to see the city as well as the mountains surrounding it.  

The first full day we were there, it was rainy and chilly.  We decided to brave the mountains for a hike despite the weather.  We traveled a couple of miles uphill, in the rain and fog to get the the top of Mt. Pisgah.  The drive was a little scary.  As the picture shows above, that's as far ahead of us that we could see.

The view from the top of the mountain was pretty awesome!

The boys weren't huge fans of this hike, so it didn't last quite as long as we had planned, but we hiked a couple of miles anyway.

These are a fwe before and after pictures:  We're all a little wetter and colder than prior to the hike, and our kiddos got switched half way through the trek. 

We had lunch in the back of the car.

This is where the boys slept for naps and at night.  I decided to not bring our pack and play and just put them on the extra bed.  They were so cute!  They would always stay pretty close to each other.  We covered the floors around the bed with pillows and thick blankets.  We only had 1 roll off!  Little Judah hit the pillowed floor one night.  He just cried for a few seconds and then went right back to sleep.

Our second hiking day was much better liked by all.  It was still pretty chilly, but the bright sunshine made up for it.  This area that we hiked in were some of the same spots where they filmed the movie HUNGER GAMES.  The whole movie was actually filmed in and around Ashville.  We saw the hotel where the actors stayed and ate at some of the same places they did.

The boys were such good little hikers!  They walked a whole lot more of the trail than I was expecting them to, even uphill in some parts.  They were pretty impressive!

We took a snack break on some rocks near the river. (Don't worry-we found Foxx's missing shoe in this photo!)

At the Early Girl Eatery (delicious, by the way), they had a bucket of toys ready for the boys to play with while we waited for our food!

These are some photos of the foods we ate.  Food is Asheville was pretty awesome.  They had a lot of different types of little restaurants.  Pictured above:  Breakfast from our Bed & Breakfast//Chips & Roasted Tomatillo Salsa//Tofu & Veggie Pom Pom Pom//Tofu Quesadillas//Sweet Potato & Black Bean cakes with Cucumber Salad.

We saw this in downtown Asheville.  Katrina ran behind it with the boys and held them up for a photo.

This was also downtown.  It's a coffee shop inside of this double decker bus!  The coffee making was on the first floor and all the bus seats were made into little tables.  It was awesome!

A lot of people stopped and talked to us, the same that always happens when I take the boys out, but I think that most people thought that Katrina and I were lesbians and the boys were our children.  haha!

We had lots of fun!

Toddler Nom Nom 2

Second edition of Toddler Nom Nom!  

Here's what the boys have been eating lately:

Stewed Beef over Cheesy Polenta

Black Bean Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries

Beef Stew & Roasted Cauliflower

Chicken Marsala and Mixed Veggies

Mini Chicken Pot Pies & Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

Traveling Alone With Twins (After)

You guys.  I DID IT!

ok. so maybe I'm being a little dramatic.  but I just got back from a round trip of flying solo, with two toddlers.  We had just one little incident, and no major hold ups or tantrums.  I'd say that's pretty good.  And I'm glad it's over.  

If you didn't read the "before" post, you can read it here.

The night before our plane ride out, I felt like I was pretty prepared.  I had everything packed, a plan for the airport, security, flight and luggage.  We were leaving plenty early enough to give enough time for long lines and such.  I had plenty of things to keep the boys occupied on the plane instead of crying. 

On the way up there, the Nashville airport was easier to get through, but the flight was tougher.  On the way home, the Detroit airport was the tough part, and the flight was easy.  

So, the morning of:  We woke the boys about 2 hours earlier than they normally wake up.  They were fine.  We loaded up the last of our things and headed to the airport.  Got there and checked our bags no problem.  The lady who checked our bags even allowed Jeremy to go through security with us, even though he wasn't flying.  Yay!  This was a huge help, especially since the security line at Nashville was really long that morning.  We each had a kid and easily maneuvered the stroller and seat through the lines.  It took us a minute to actually get through security though...we had to fold up and put both our car seat and stroller through the xray scanner thing, then I had to take my sling off and put it through since it had a metal ring (totally forgot about that being metal).  But even with all that, it went quickly and we grabbed all our things and headed to the gate.  Since the security line was so long, we didn't have but just a few minutes at the gate before we boarded.  I got to be one of the firsts to board since I was traveling with 2 small children.  One of the flight stewardesses grabbed my carseat and put it in our seat, we all gave Jeremy a kiss and headed out.  

The majority of the flight was fine.  We were in a 3 row seat, with no one occupying the third seat.  This was nice since it gave us a little extra room.  I didn't have to worry about the person next to me getting annoyed or hit or kicked by one of my kids.  The boys did great during take off.  Slept for about 15 minutes during the flight, but then were pretty easily entertained for the remainder.  Foxx loved when the plane would go really fast during take off and landing.  He just laughed and smiled while looking out the window.  So finally landed in Detroit, and all was well. until right when we pull up to the gate, I hear a large blegh!!

I look over to find that Judah (who was sitting in the car seat next to me) had just vomited everywhere.  It was all over him, all over the car seat, all over the floor and on the plane seat.  I quickly grabbed the wipes that I had brought for diaper changes and cleaned up what I could of the giant mess while we were waiting to get off the plane.  The lady sitting behind us offered to help carry out our car seat.  I grabbed both the boys (one in a sling, and just carrying the other one), grabbed our bag, and then handed the car seat to the nice lady (warning her of the vomit, of course).  On our way out, I told one of the stewardesses what had happened and that I cleaned up what I could, but that they probably want to go back over our seats with some disinfectant wipes.  She kinda gave me a dirty look.  Really?!

Got to the luggage claim quickly and saw my parents right away.  We then had an hour and a half ride home, all smelling awful. 

The 15 minutes of flight time (out of both flights) that they slept.

On our way back to Nashville, I was for sure that the boys would sleep the whole way, since we were traveling during their typical nap time.  Well, I was not taking into account the hour and a half car drive that it takes to get from my house in Michigan to the Detroit airport.  I tried my best to keep them awake during the car ride, but that is when they slept, and therefore wouldn't sleep once we got on the plane.  But it was fine.

Checked our bags fine, but this time, there was no offer to allow one of my family members to go through security with me like they did in Nashville.  And I didn't ask.  I guess I could have, I just figured I'd be fine to do it by myself since the line wasn't that long anyway.  I went through security fine, it just took me a minute.  I had to set Foxx down next to me, with Judah still in the sling (hoping that he wouldn't wander too far-which he didn't).  Folded up the stroller and put the car seat and our bag through the scanner, took my sling off, grabbed both boys and walked through the scanner.  Grabbed our things out of the scanner, herded the boys back up-one in the sling, one in the stroller, and then we were off to our gate.

We had quite a bit of time before we boarded, so we got some lunch, and hung out at our gate.  The boys were so good here.  We sat down in a row of chairs and ate.  The boys ran around a little bit, but never wandered too far.  They were happy as could be.  After we finished lunch,  there was a lot of trash that I needed to get rid of before we got on the plane.  The trash can was just a little too far away for me to be comfortable enough to walk over to with out the boys.  So I called them and they followed me across the big walkway,  to the trashcan.  I felt a little like I was herding cattle.  I was really thankful that they were so well behaved there.  There were a lot of people, and they easily could have wandered off while I was changing or distracted with the other one.  There was another kid there with her mom.  She was probably a little older than the boys, about 2 or so.  She just screamed and screamed and kept running away from her mom and wouldn't cooperate at all.  I felt so bad for her.  Here she had one screaming kid that she can barely control, and I had 2 little boys who were being perfect.

When it was time to board, there were no stewardesses there to help me carry on my car seat, so I just took it myself.  This part was hard.  I had Judah in the sling, Foxx in my other arm, and I was carrying our bag on my shoulder and the carseat in my hand.  I'm pretty sure I knocked that car seat on every plane seat that we passed, including a first-class passenger's knee, but we made it.  Unlike the first flight, this one was very uneventful.  The boys were good, and no one threw up.  When getting off the plane, someone offered again to carry our car seat.  We met Jeremy at baggage claim with lots of hugs and kisses.

So it wasn't all that bad.  Multiple people have told me before that when they see me with the twins, a "force" comes out of me when dealing with them.  A force that allows me to do what needs to be done to 2 toddlers at once.  I feel like that "force" was on all the time during our travel.  There were so many people that said, "Wow, you're brave." or "How do you do this?" or "I'm impressed."  I never have answers for these comments...I just do what I have to do to get things done and stay sane!

We had a great trip!

Traveling Alone With Twins (Before)

This was almost exactly a year ago.  Jeremy and I (still fat in this picture) flew to Michigan with our 5 or 6 month old twins.  We had a very smooth travel day.  We checked our bags, wore the kiddos through security, and just had a small carry on bag.  We had no poop blowouts, and no screaming breakdowns.  We had no major turbulence, no flight delays and no ear popping issues.  The boys slept or were content the whole day.  

Tomorrow,  we are flying to Michigan again, but it won't be the 4 of us.  It will only be me and the boys.  Yes, that's right, me + 2 crazy toddlers, with no other help except the (hopefully) nice people who work at the airport or other passengers who offer their assistance if they feel bad enough for me.  

I think I have it pretty well planned out.  But I also know that whenever I make plans, things usually happen the opposite way.  But here's my (tentative) plan anyway...

 Our flight leaves at 630 tomorrow morning.  I put the boys to bed an hour and a half early tonight so that they would get more sleep and be rested for tomorrow.  Waking the boys up at 4.  Feeding, changing, and heading out the door.  Jeremy will help me check my bags.  I'll carry one boy in my sling, and one boy in the double stroller.  The other seat of the double stroller will hold the car seat.  I have a small carry on bag that I can carry on my shoulder.  We'll hopefully get through security pretty easily...last year they did not make us take the babies out of carriers...hoping for the same this time.   Find our gate, grab some food for the littles, and chill till we get on the flight.  I can check in our stroller right before we board, and I'll get to be one of the firsts to board.  Ill carry both boys onto the plane, and find assistance to help carry in the car seat.  We'll get settled with one boy in my lap, and one strapped into his seat.  I have a few new toys packed in our carry on, as well as Despicable Me ready to play on the iPad.  (Have I mentioned how much the boys love the minions?!)  Hopefully I can keep them entertained for the hour and a half flight (or they'll sleep...but that's just wishful thinking.)

I'll let you know how it goes! 

Toddler Nom Nom

I'm going to start a new thing here.  Every so often, I am going to post photos of what the boys eat on a daily basis.  Dinner is typically our biggest meal of the day, so most of the photos here will be what the boys eat for dinner.  I'll also link the titles with the link to my food blog where I'll have the recipes posted (the ones I've gotten around to posting, that is.  I'm so bad about posting over there.  I have a list of sooooo many recipes that need to be blogged.)  

Toddlers and eating can be tricky.  Some days are definitely better than others.  Sometimes the boys clean their plates, leaving only a few crumbs here and there.  Other days the boys have food all in their hair, their clothes, and the majority of their meal ends up being thrown on our kitchen floor.  

I'm determined to raise kids who are open-minded to food.  I want them to appreciate all types of food, and never deny trying something at least once.  If they refuse to eat something, I don't just give in and give them something else that I know they like.  If they are hungry and need food, they will eat it (and usually end up eating at least some of it anyway, so don't think I starve my children). 

So anyway, this is the first of many renditions of Toddler Nom-Nom.  

 I would love to make this a link up spot for other mom bloggers who have found food that their littles love to eat.  Link up at the bottom so that we can share food posts!

Chicken Fried Tofu Nuggets & Roasted Potatoes and Carrots.

Cheese Quesadillas & Black Beans and Rice.

Ginger Lentil Soup over Pasta.

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese & Boca Vegan Nuggets.

Chicken & Waffles.  (didn't get a chance to get a before picture for this one...they dove right in!)

Halloween Semi-Fail

I feel like we kinda dropped the ball on Halloween this year.  We had a few awesome costume ideas, but just could't afford to put much money into it.  So we had to default to re-using and make shifting costumes.  Jeremy and I were Alice and Hatter a few years ago, so we reused our costumes.  We scrounged up some of the boys' clothing that could maybe loosely resemble Tweedle dee and tweedle dum.  People got it anyway, so I guess it worked out.  

We went to a halloween party hosted by a friend that Jeremy used to work with.  It was a lot of fun.  The boys had fun running around with the other kids in their costumes. 

We're still pretty cute right?