New Years Eve!

2010 has been quite the year for our family!

We bought a new house, we found out we were pregnant with baby number 2, then we found out we were actually pregnant with baby number 2 AND 3 :)

Our big girl turned one, we bought a new car, and we met our precious new twin baby girls, born September 7th!

I have loved everything about this year!

I'm excited for all the new possibilities that come with 2011.

This will be my first New Year's Eve at home, since I was probably 12 :)

No parties, crazy drinking, or dancing the night away for us. Not this year.

I'm thinking, a pot of chili on the stove, me in my jammies and comfy slippers snuggled up on the couch with they hubs, watching the coverage of the ball-drop on tv, perfecting my New Year's Resolution, and enjoying a big glass of red wine.

Enjoying New Year's Eve at home with my husband, with a big girl fast asleep upstairs in her bed and the twins fast asleep in their swings....sounds pretty amazing to me!

Hope everyone has a safe and fantastic New Years!

Back to the grind...

I hope everyone else's Holiday Season was as memorable and special as ours!

As a young family, we are still figuring out our own traditions, and as a mom I am trying to come up with fun ways to make the season feel as magical for my children as my mom made it feel for me!

Believe it or not, this was the FIRST Christmas morning I woke up in my own home, not my parent's!

Yes, even last Christmas, when we were just a family of three, me, the hubs, and BG packed up and headed to my parents for Christmas Eve, spent the night and woke up the next morning to Santa's surprises!

This year though, with our now huge family, it was time to stay at our home. I was worried I would be sad, or that it wouldn't feel much like Christmas, but I was so wrong!

We still headed to my parents house Christmas Eve for all the yummy food and to see aunts and uncles and my grandmother. But we headed home around 8, put all the girls to sleep and me and the hubs waited up for Santa!

Christmas takes on a whole new meaning when you are a parent! I still couldn't sleep a wink all night, because I was so excited to see the Big Girl's face when she saw all of her presents!

This year, we kept with some of our old traditions, like Christmas cookie making and decorating, and the Christmas Eve gathering at my parent's house, but this year we also started a few of our own traditions!

Christmas Eve presents!!! Last year, I started out giving BG special Christmas PJ's to wear Christmas Eve. We kept with that tradition this year, but also added ornaments! I LOVE this idea! Every Christmas Eve, the girls will get their Christmas PJ's and an ornament. When they are older and have their own homes and families, all the ornaments they received through the years will go with them.

These are their ornaments this year! Last year, BG got a skiing hippo ornament because her lovey that she sleeps with every night is a hippo. This year she got the mickey mouse because she is OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse! Tinkerbelle belongs to Annabelle because we tend to call her tink from time to time, and the care bear is Gabby Girl's because her lovey is a bear!

Santa Came! Santa doesn't wrap at our house!

Christmas PJ's for the twins...pretty darn cute huh?

3 kids under the age of 2! Quite a hectic, but PERFECT Christmas Day!

It's a Christmas Miracle!! An amazing picture of ALL 3 girls :) I got this gem, Christmas morning! The girls are hanging out in my bed, while dad made sure that Santa had come!

the Big Girl got a guitar, and she loves it, and played it all day. I'm thinking, the next Taylor Swift??

Dad broke his guitar out as well...if we could get the twins some bells, and if I could carry a tune, we'd be the new Partridge Family!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

and Happy New Year!

The Big Christmas Post

I love Christmas!

It's hands-down the best time of year! I was worried I wouldn't be able to get everything done this year, but this season has truly been amazing!

I'm happy to report the twins are sleeping through the night :)

They seem to be falling into a routine during the day, and the big girl has been going to daycare a few mornings a week, which has been a little break for me.

Some how, I actually found time to decorate my house, do some shopping (although I'm not done yet), have the twins 3 month portraits done, decorate Christmas cookies, wrap presents, make presents (more to come on that), get Santa pictures done, and even get our Christmas cards made, ordered, delivered, and sent!

I didn't have the energy to try and get a picture of the three kids, I knew it would have been madness trying to get the big girl to stand still so my husband and I hopped in and decided to make our Christmas card a family photo...

I think it turned out pretty awesome! We ordered our cards through Tiny Prints. If you've never ordered anything through their website, check it out! It's incredibly user-friendly, it's easy to personalize, I use them every year for our Christmas card, I've used them for my kids birth announcements, baptism and birthday invitations, even party invitations..they are simply amazing!

Here's a shot of our stockings. I am in love. I ordered these from Land Of Nod. They are HUGE, the quality is sturdy and you can get them personalized. They were $25 bucks each, and I didn't realize how much of a steal that was until they arrived on my doorstep! They are seriously such high-quality, I know we will be able to use these forever!

Our pretty mantle!

Our beautiful tree!

Remember this post?? This is our ornament for the twins, from Light of Mine Designs!

Here's the Big Girl's ornament! These ornaments are hand-painted and absolutely fabulous, check them out!

Finally, in the spirit of our Christmas card photo, we all had to hop in on the Santa picture as well. At least by doing so, we overted a complete meltdown from the big girl. Why do all kids go through the "scared of Santa" phase?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Too little points, too much time

I started weight watchers on Tuesday.

Boo.

I have to admit it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The points aren't too bad to keep track of, and you really can eat anything you want as long as you keep track of your points.

However, I'm still hungry.

I'm a snacker, a grazer, whatever you want to call it. I'm not big on the 3 meal concept, I pretty much like to munch and crunch all day long. Since my days are always busy, my snacking has diminished a bit, I seem to eat when I remember to eat!

We will see next Tuesday if I've lost any weight this week (fingers crossed).

Happy Thursday!

I'll just be munching on some cucumbers over here :)

HAPPY 100 :)

THIS IS MY 100TH POST!!!!!

Wow, that's a lot :)

Thanks to EVERYONE who follows this blog publicly, reads it privately, and/or comments to my posts! I'm thankful for all of you!

If your new here, you can check out the "About Stories" Tab to figure out what this blog is all about, it still needs some sprucing up, but I do the best I can with the time I have!

I'd love for you to follow me, and I'm happy to check out and follow your blog, just shoot me a comment or an e-mail with your url!

Well....

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving! Ours was a blast, my one regret...I wish I'd taken more pictures...sigh.

We spent Turkey Day decorating our house for Christmas (pics soon) and then we headed to my Grandmother's house to stuff our faces.

The food was delicious, and so was the company! Now we are in full on Christmas mode at our house! I have so much to get done it's insane!

Enjoy the pictures below!

This is how we started our day off! The kid is fearless!

Gabby Girl :)

Little Miss Annabelle!

QT time :)

BG, loving the new baby doll her great-grandmommy got her! If only she could be so sweet with her sisters!!!

Thank you Starbucks!

Starbucks has their peppermint hot chocolate out, and it makes me happy!

Other things that make me happy right now.....

Christmas Shopping

Christmas Music

Christmas Decorating

(can you tell I'm obsessed with Christmas)?

Babies smiling

Big Girl's laughing

Falling leaves (as long as I'm not responsible for picking them up)

My night-time (bottle) glass of wine :)

and, alone time...just me and my computer, no kids, no husband, just me. (and you guys). ha

Happy Tuesday!

Dance Star Mickey!

BG, has a straight-up OBSESSION with Mickey Mouse. It literally came out of nowhere, but the past few weeks, it's "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey" and her pointing to the TV.

I know almost every Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show dialog by heart, and I'll admit, I kind of like the hot-dog song...whatever.

Anyways, I don't know if you've seen the Dance Star Mickey toy???

This thing is awesome.

It's also sold out.

This Mickey toy actually moonwalks and sings...it's pretty amazing and I know my big girl would FLIP OUT over it.

It's ridiculous, but it's sold out in all the stores, of course it's the "hot" toy this season.

I managed to find it on Amazon though! Happy about finding it, NOT happy about paying for it.

The price gouging begins!

I had to pay way more than it would have cost me IF the stores had it in stock.

But, all in the spirit of Christmas, right?

Oh well, the look on my sweet girl's face will be worth every cent...

On a side note: What the hell are people thinking? I made the mistake of going to Toys R Us today to get some Christmas shopping done, and the way people were shoving through the crowds, and the sheer number of people that were there, was INSANE. If I hadn't known better I would have thought it was Christmas Eve, and there was a mad rush to get last minute presents...geeze.

'Tis the Season.

I Love Christmas Ornaments!!!

The Christmas I was pregnant with BG, my husband's co-worker gave us a fabulous Christmas ornament from Light of Mine Designs. I fell in love with the quality, I immediately searched the web for their site..I was blown away by all their products, but mostly loved the story behind their company. Through their "Little Star Outreach" they support programs in music and arts for Special Needs children. As someone who sees the challenges and obstacles Special Needs children face first-hand (my cousin, is special needs), I can not even explain how much it warms my heart when individuals, small businesses, and corporations give back, especially when it's giving and helping people/children who need that help the most!

I would have spread the word about these ornaments just on the simple fact the quality is outstanding, but the amazing work this company does for Special Needs children, makes endorsing them, a little sweeter!

I love these ornaments, they are 4" glass balls and are hand-painted, they are absolutely beautiful! Our ornament was the "It's a Girl, baby bundle", and I'm excited to report, my husband came home from work today with....

Another Light of Mine Ornament!

I am seriously in love with Emily (his co-worker) and the ornament, It' s "Two peas in a pod" for our twins, and their names are painted on the ornament as well!

If your looking for gifts or just some cool ornaments for yourself, check out the website! They really are beautiful, and there are all sorts of designs from traditional to fun and funky!

Complaining DOES pay off!

So, my last post, I was feeling a little down and a lot exhausted.

Apparently, complaining can pay off though!

Here I was, complaining about my lack of sleep and last night, the twins went a whopping 5 hours in between their feeds!

YAY!

We fed them at 7, and then I promptly went to bed to catch up on sleep ( yes, I went to bed at 7, I feel like an old woman now)! The girls didn't wake up for a bottle until 12:30 a.m.! So, we fed, diaper changed, swaddled them and put them back to sleep, I didn't expect them to go for as long a stretch the next time, but they didn't wake up until 5 a.m. for their next bottle!

Oh glorious, uninterrupted sleep!

I feel like a new woman today, it's amazing what a little rest can do! Hopefully last night wasn't a fluke, and this is the beginning of a new trend.

So, it seems complaining on my blog has paid off! In the spirit of that, I would like to take this moment and complain about how my husband doesn't help out enough with cleaning around the house, I'm still rocking the pregnancy pounds, I don't feel like I am ever going to get my Christmas shopping done, and poor LM has an awful diaper rash, that despite my best efforts, I can not get to clear up!

There! It's worth a try :)

No end in sight...

I don't even remember the last time I got a full night's sleep....sad.

The twins are 9 weeks today, and I wasn't getting sleep while I was huge and pregnant, sooo I'm guessing it has to be at least 3 months.

3 months!

I have finally broken down. The twins are staying at my parent's for the night this Saturday, so that I (hopefully) can finally catch a full night of sleep! I was hoping I'd be able to tough it out until they started sleeping through the night, but that is still a ways off....

The big girl started consistently sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, so it stands to reason that the twins should be sleeping through the night soon since they are 9 weeks, right? WRONG!

I constantly have to keep reminding myself of their "adjusted age".

Adjusted age, is a concept that sucks!

The twins were born at 35 weeks gestation, which is awesome for twins! However, they are each still considered premature. Five weeks premature.

So, their age is adjusted. It's adjusted for development purposes, for the weight, height, etc. They were tiny when they were born (they were 5 weeks early) so, they literally didn't hit a normal term baby weight, until they were about 4 weeks old...hence why everything is adjusted for preemies!

I have to say, the first month they were home, when technically they were still sopposed to be cooking inside my tummy, they were NOT like normal newborns. They literally slept all the time, rarely cried, and never woke up to eat. I had to set my alarm every night, to keep to their strict 3 hour schedule.

Once their due date arrived (Oct. 11), it was like they suddenly "woke up". Somehow, it was like their little bodies kicked into gear, and realized "Okay, we are sopposed to be here now, time to start acting like babies!!!"

They cried, woke up hungry, still slept often but actually had awake time. Although they are 9 weeks old, adjusted they are only 4 weeks; I have to admit, they really are 4 week babies, as far as feeding, sleeping, and even small development things like holding their head.

So, if I go by adjusted age, these babies still have another 6 weeks before they hit the equivalent of the 10 week age that their older sister began sleeping through the night.

6 weeks.

6 weeks!!!!

That puts me at the week of Christmas!

Hence, why the are getting shipped to the grandparent's house this weekend!

If I am going to survive another 6 weeks, I HAVE to get at least one full night of sleep. Of course, if I could nap during the day that would help, but the concept of "sleep when the baby sleeps" is thrown out the window when you have a bouncing 18 month old to take care of also!

I never thought it was humanly possible to run off of so little sleep....or to consume so much coffee in a 24 hour span!

But, I keep surprising myself!

Oh well, hopefully I'll survive all of this and laugh about it in a few more months once I'm actually sleeping....

hopefully.

It's November???

When did that happen?

Time, is flying by...now that Halloween is in the books, I'm looking forward to stuffing my face on Thanksgiving, and really looking forward to Christmas!

I'm a huge kid, when it comes to Christmas time, I have my mom to thank for that, she always does everything she can to make this time of year special for all of us (and all of her kids are old now...hahah). With three girls in the house now to spoil, I know my husband must be terrified about what I am going to come home with :)

I also can't wait to put up the Christmas decorations, although I'm not quite sure when I'm gonna find the time to do it! The hubs just got his wisdom teeth out, so I've been flying solo on night-time duty with the twins. It's not that bad. It runs smoothly when one wakes up first and I'm able to feed her while the other sleeps, but when they both wake up, hungry and crying...things can get a little stressful.

Oh well.

Speaking of the twins, they are officially 8 weeks old today!!! I can not even believe it! I am so proud of how far they have come!

Hopefully everyone had a fun and safe Halloween, we had a blast! It was the Big Girl's first time trick-or-treating, and I have to say, she did really great. This was the first year in my adult life that I handed out candy to trick-or-treaters! The hubs and I always lived in the city, not exactly the hot-spot for kids looking for candy. Since we've moved to the 'burbs, I've been soaking up neighborhood life and loving all of it!

We got lots of cuties coming up to the door for treats, it was so much fun checking out the costumes.

Don't worry, I wouldn't end this post without a few pictures!

The twins! In their Halloween onesies!

The Big Girl!!! The cutest Monkey, around!

The twins were her banana's!!!

The sight of her sisters made her realize she was hungry! She demanded a real banana!

This is probably my favorite picture!

Juliette was ready to trick-or-treat, but we had to try and get one more picture of the three of them together....obviously the Big Girl was not too happy :)

But then, the following morning, I get this gem of a picture!

Happy Fall, Ya'll :)

Hey, Pumpkin!

So, one of my favorite things to do is bake, odd since I hate cooking anything else!

This time of year is perfect for baking, and every fall I bake chocolate pumpkin bread...yummy!

I'm not big on pumpkin stuff, but this bread is delicious, the pumpkin isn't overwhelming, and of course there is chocolate in it...chocolate makes everything better!

The recipe is super easy, so I thought I'd share with everyone!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups of All purpose Flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups granulated sugar

1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree ( it's in the baking aisle)

1 cup canola oil

2/3 cup of water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1) Preheat 350 degrees and spray (3) 1lb. loaf pans

2) In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt

3) In another mixing bowl, mix sugar, pumpkin, eggs, water, oil, and vanilla.

4) Blend in flour mixture and fold in chocolate chips. Evenly divide batter between the 3 loaf pans

5) Bake for an hour, remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes, use a knife to loosen the edges and remove the bread from the loaf pans...and ENJOY!!!

Happy Fall Ya'll :)

You know how it is...

Any parent knows how important pictures are, and how impossible it is at times to get good ones of their children...

It only gets harder, the more kids you add in to the mix.

Matching Outfits!!! Pretty darn cute, right???

Ahem, yes...all three girls in matching outfits!!! Please contain your excitement! This picture would be amazing if there weren't stray shoes and a breast pump in the background! Oh well...

All three of the girls! It's hard to see the twins faces, BUT, that is a captured SMILE on the big girl's face!!!

I'll take it!

After all, beggars can't be choosers :)

This post sucks.

This really isn't much of a post..

I wanted to write something. It seems like I never have the time, between feedings, sleepless nights, keeping the big girl happy, and attempting to stay on top of laundry and have a clean house, there is seriously no time for me.

That's okay though.

Adjusting with an infant is tough for anyone. And we are adjusting with two....and a toddler.

Once the twins are able to sleep through the night, I know my life will change, for the good.

ahhh, I can't wait for that day!!!!

But, they are still doing fantastic, and their big sister is turning into quite the little mommy! She loves helping, she gets the bibs, helps "burp" the babies and loves holding the bottles!

It warms my heart when she gives them kisses, I don't know how I got so lucky to have these amazing little girls in my life!

life is good.

Just wanted to post something so you guys would know I'm still here, and still care.

Til next time (which will hopefully be sooner than later)!

Fallin for Fall

Still here! Still Alive (barely)!

Now that I somewhat have my energy and strength back...I'm back to posting! Yay!

Between middle of the night feedings, changing diapers x 3, a teething toddler, growing twins, making bottles, attempting to nurse, pumping, and occasionally remembering to brush my teeth and shower, I have been one busy woman!

Things are going amazing though! All 3 girls are doing fantastic. LO is adjusting well to her sisters, the twins are gaining weight and getting cuter every second of the day! Each day is hectic as hell, but everyday is filled with love and laughter (sometimes crying, even from me) and at the end of each day I find myself overwhelmed by how much love and joy my heart is filled with!

Lucky? That word doesn't sum it up.

Blessed? YOU BET!

Fall is hands-down the best time of year to have babies! I am loving the cooler weather! The windows in the house are open, and stroller rides are actually a reality now that the stifling heat is out! We've already been to the pumpkin patch, and hit up fall yard sales! sigh.

I love fall, seriously!

Even though I never know what day it is, and I'm becoming a pro at executing day-to-day activities on ZERO sleep, I'm thankful at least it's a beautiful time of year :)

Pictures for everyone!

How cute??? Gabrielle is on the right, Annabelle the left! Now that Annabelle is gaining weight they are starting to look identical!

Me and Annabelle...snuggle central

Who's tired??? Daddy and his baby girls!

Life is good...stay tuned for more!

Where have I been???

Where have I been???

Having Babies!!!!!

September 7, 2010 I started having contractions around 10 a.m., nothing too dramatic or painful, just a tightening in my stomach, I started timing them around noon and by 3:00 my doctor told me to come to the office. Naturally, I hadn't dialated at all, but my Dr. sent me to labor and delivery to get hooked up to the machines to measure exactly what was going on.

As soon as I got hooked up, my contractions started to get painful, and were about 3-4 mins. apart. By 8 p.m. I had dialated 2 cm. and by 9:15 I was getting wheeled into the OR.

At 9:45 pm. Gabrielle Marie came into the world, weighing 5 lbs. 12 oz.

At 9:46 pm. Annabelle Grace came into the world, weighing 3 lbs. 14 oz.

Neither one had any breathing issues, thank god, both came out screaming and pink, and with LOTS of hair (that explains why I had to live off of tums the last month). Annabelle had to stay in the NICU because of her weight, while her sister was able to go to the regular nursery.

It was so hard having Annabelle in the NICU, no parent wants to be there. The nurses were amazing though, and I must say, if Annabelle had to be there, being there for weight was was the ideal reason. There were all kinds of babies, much worse off than her, and some babies born as early as 25 weeks!!! I have a new-found appreciation for the miracle of life, and the strength and resiliency of tiny babies, after our time in the NICU.

Annabelle ended up having to stay in the NICU for 8 days, but we were able to bring her home and re-unite her with her sister on Wednesday! All the girls are home now, and doing amazing!

Ohhh, and they ARE identical! Bring on the matching outfits!!!

Pictures below! I'll be sure to add more recent ones soon!

Gabrielle!

Annabelle in the NICU, the wires are just heart monitors, nothing too serious!

The first time holding BOTH of my girls! Best Moment Ever!!!

Our Family! Mom, Dad, Big Sister Juliette, and Twins Gabrielle and Annabelle!

Welcome Baby Eva!

My sister-in-law had her baby today!!!!!

She was in labor FOREVER, and they finally ended up having to do a c-section. They did not find out the sex of the baby, so the suspense was ridiculous...but I'm happy to report, we have a new baby girl in the family!!!!

Eva Winslow Monroe, 7 lbs. 14 oz. she is completely precious! Unfortunately they live about 3.5 hours away so we haven't been able to see the precious angel in person yet. I'm not sure when we will be able to get down there, since I'm too big to travel and Hurricane Earl has decided to plague the east coast :(

As for me, still here, still huge, still waiting. I'm 34 weeks, and I am NOT exaggerating when I say " I am enormous". I had a Doctor's appointment today, and I haven't dialated yet (naturally) which sucks because I've been having lots of contractions. The babies look good, so we've bought yet another week.

Every week these babies stay in, the better off they will be come delivery, but I am just so ready for them to be here and be un-pregnant.

Here's to another week!

I've been neglecting you guys...sorry

I'm big, pregnant, and hormonal.

This pregnancy will go down as the longest pregnancy in history!

My sister-in-law is pregnant also, and d-day for her is next week! To say, I've been living vicariously through her is an understatement.

I still have a ways to go, I'll be 34 weeks on Monday...to make matters worse, my nesting instinct has kicked in to over-drive, and I'm pretty sure I've pinched a nerve in my back from trying to clean my baseboards (no wonder no one ever cleans those things).

The babies apparently are circus acrobats, because every other minute they are either flipping back and forth between vertex and breech positions or purposely trying to take out one of my vital organs.

Is is it possible for an unborn child to puncture your kidneys or sever your spine?

At least the bright side is, I'm pretty sure if I invest in gymnastics lessons, these girls are Olympic Games bound, they obviously already have the "drive" to perform fantastic stunts.

Well, sorry I don't have much more for you guys, I'm still here...."sitting, waiting, wishing" (I've re-discovered my love for Jack Johnson)!!!

Showers!

My aunts showered me with lots of love and GIFTS, this past Wednesday night!

It was so much fun to see family and friends and bask in the excitement of the impending arrival of our sweet twin girls!!

The Shower was beautiful, and amazing and I received all kinds of amazing gifts....lots of clothes, our car seats, our double stroller, diapers, new diaper bag, toys, bottles, pacifiers, bumbo seats, and much more, the only thing we still need are the babies!!!

Below are pictures from the festivities!

The Food Table!

Matching umbrella's! How cute? My aunt actually tied the ribbons and painted the polka dots on them! I'm going to try and incorporate them in to the baby room somehow!

The cookies matched the umbrella theme!

I loved these cute dolls! One for each girl, and LO even got one as well :)

Close up

lots of matching outfits :)

hand-made baby blankets! Nothing better!

Bunny bath wraps, AND they were monogrammed...precious!

Going home outfits! The twins outfits are on the right, they have hats with their names on them and onesies with their initials on it! The outfit to the left, is LO's outfit for when she "brings" home her baby sisters!

The aftermath, our attempt to cram all of our gifts into the playroom once we got home!

Now, I have to organize EVERYTHING!!! My work never ends :)