Stepping out of the box

 

Normally when I make chili I throw kidney beans, mushrooms and tomato sauce in the crockpot with a seasoning packet and some ground beef and call it dinner.  I never really thought there was anything wrong with that, until now. 

 

For those of you who know me I am no culinary goddess, I lack serious skills and I also lack adventurous tastebuds, this combination my friends leads to many a boring dinner in our house. (My hubby will also say he does most of the cooking but from my boring menu…shhhhhh he’s right LOL!) But being on maternity leave seems to bring out the Susie Homemaker in me (it did last time too) and I just had to try this recipe regardless of the time crunch that dinner has become with newborn twins.  Yeah I am crazy like that.

 

It turned out really good and I now have to wallow in the embarassment of my previous chili making skills, especially now that I have admitted how I used to make it on the internet for all to read haha. Seriously I don’t know why I had never thought of putting any other meat in there besides ground beef, duh! So without further ado I would like to take this time to apologize to my family for making them eat my crockpot goop (though I bet I’ll still make it from time to time LOL!).

 

Now normally making chili wouldn’t come with pictures but in this household…you bet it does. At least now that doing so is a monumental task rofl!

 

So how do I chop, chop and chop some more with newborn twins and a 17 month old? Well it’s simple, you let the 17 month old play in your tupperware and try your best not to trip and fall while she plays under your feet…

You wait til your twins are in their bouncy seats happy as clams…wait did I say happy ugh?! You run back and forth plugging suckies in (all the while trying not to trip on tupperware and Maddy under your feet) while chopping, chopping and chopping some more. Oh yeah and to make it more fun take pictures along the way roflmbo!!! (Poor little man, I promise I didn’t poke him to make him cry nor did I let him cry excessively for this picture I just snapped away while grabbing the sucky in the other hand. No babies were harmed in the filming of this chili experiment…only mommies HAHA!!!)

Well one is as happy as a clam that ain’t bad!

More roadblocks and tripping hazards of the noisy variety…chop, chop, chop

clang clang clang

here we go again, traverse the tripping hazard obstacle course to plug a sucky in

still sleeping like an angel…is this really Jae or did she get replaced with a sleepy little alien? (she’s my high maintenance one usually.)

More tripping hazard fun for mommy

yay the chopping is done…commence cooking!

Gloriously noisy fun!

And finally the finished product!

 

Phew I’m tired again just typing all this out! I will definitely be making this chili again despite all the work vs my old recipe. Maybe if I don’t take pictures next time it won’t be quite as hard LOL!

 

I love my life and my kids, I truly do and I love how they are making me be a stronger woman. I have no choice but it feels good!

Post Catch Up

 

Wow how time is flying! We are so busy around here that we barely have time to think! Everyone is doing well, no sickies yet so that’s good! We all got our h.1.n.1 and regular flu shots so hopefully that will help keep us all healthy.

 

Since I have limited time I’ll get right to the good stuff, pictures. I know that’s what you prefer over the ramblings of a crazy insane mother of 3 kids under 17 months LOL.

 

Jackson moves his head around alot in his car seat, it makes his cute little hat move around too. This is how we found him when we got him out of the car and into the house the other day, he looked like a pirate, ROFLMBO!!!

 

Can you say “Argh, Ahoy Matey!”

 

And here are the two of them  hangin out side by side. They have both just started to smile within the last 2 weeks although it’s not super often yet. And Jackson has started “talking” too, it’s rather adorable!! Comon Jae you can’t let your bro start talking before you, you better get on the bandwagon. ;) I actually caught Jae smiling here. What cuties!

I don’t know why but the sight of them in their carseats always brings out the camera, maybe it because it’s the easiest way to get 2 babies still to take pictures LOL. Jackson is smiling in this one, I’m pretty sure that’s what made me grab the camera.

 

 

And with that I’m off to start my day folks! Enjoy!

2 months old

Wow I can’t believe that the twins are 2 months old today! Time flies by! These 2 babes are the sweetest, cutest little things and despite all of the work and exhaustion I could never give either one of these 2 little bundles up!  They are my sweet little treasures and I love them more and more every day!

 

Sweet little princess Jae is still losing her hair but she definitely has peach fuzz growing on the top again now, we think she’ll have very thick hair when it comes back in. Her eyes are definitely still blue but they are very dark so she may actually end up with dark hair and eyes…imagine that…one of my kids actually having my coloring, we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

And my little man Jackson is starting to lose his hair now on the top sides so he is kind of getting a little red mohawk going on heehee. His eyes are still a gorgeous blue too.  I would definitely be surprised if his hair doesn’t come back in still red but hey you just never know.

 

I just love these two, I wish I had more time to just enjoy each one but that’s life as a twin I keep telling them. ;) Happy 2 months my sweets! I can’t wait to see you both grow and blossom!!!

Halloween 2009

So Halloween 2009 here was total chaos haha, what else would it be with 3 kids under 17 months?

Kelsey decided to go out with friends so her night started early, so no photos of both kids together but that's how it goes when things are crazy :(  We had dinner and then got Maddy ready to go to Grandma and Grandpas and Auntie and Uncles and of course while this is happening the doorbell starts ringing, the 2 dogs go insane and the twins are stirring not to mention trying to get Maddy ready and take pictures still LOL. So we put the dogs in their room for the night and daddy took off with Maddy. I stayed behind with the twins and gave out candy, we had probably between 40 and 50 so not too bad. When Jackson got fussy I held him and answered the door and had one guy tells his son look she's dressed as a new mommy heehee. When daddy got home I got to take Mads out for a little stroll around our block, we really only stopped at like 5 houses of the neighbors we know and are friendly with and then back home but she had fun. She didn't say trick or treat but she would say hi and bye and babble a bit too LOL. We didn't dress the twins up cuz franly they are too young still and the costumes are not really sized for teeny babies so next year they will get to enjoy their first real halloween. So here are a few pictures, enjoy!

Kelsey as a Vampire (she had an awesome wig but apparently it was itchy, bummer!) She looked awesome! My goodness how she is growing!!



And our little pumpkin (dad insisted that she be a pumpkin this year) and she is freakin adorable!




And this my friends is how her hair looks after it comes out of those cute piggy tails, it is hilariously crazy messy as it always is now. She sure has a head of hair our little one and it's so curly in the back!



I hope you all had a great Halloween, what started out as a crazy chaotic mess sure ended up being fun, both ouir girls had a great time and the twins did too even if they didn't get to trick or treat. ;)

Some Pics for the Family :)

This is my life…

sitting on the couch feeding baby jack

baby jae is still in bed, she’s crying now but i can’t get to her (i hate that!)

maddy is pulling the barrette out of her hair and sticking it in her mouth, i try to get her to bring it to me (cuz i’m still feeding baby jack) but she won’t…she just pretends to dip it in some dip and stick it back in her mouth and say mmmmmmmm with a smile (this is what she does now when eating or drinking)

baby jae still crying

baby jack is done-ish

get up to burp baby jack and see what maddy is doing at the end of the couch so quietly

hmmm she’s sitting smack on top of the dog!|(poor nelly)

baby jack is changed and in his bouncy

baby jae is now feeding

maddy is at the end of the couch out of sight again wonder which dog she is sitting on now

baby jae is needing to be burped and changed

now that i stand up i see mads is yet again sitting on nelly poor nelly

baby jae spits up all down the back of me and the hallway floor

change jae and return for second part of feed

maddy is now sitting on the corner of the dog bed, playing with her toys…good or at least better than sitting on the dog

continue feeding jae

maddy decides to be good and come stand by mommy, much better…ok maybe not, now she’s coming after the netbook

close netbook and put out of reach

finish feeding jae

burp jae

maddy sits on my leg and bounces trying to ride it like a horsey, maddy be careful be very careful

finish

put jae in bouncer

pour more coffee

 

deep breaths deep breaths…patience is a necessity

 

repeat every 3 to 4 hours

 

I love my kids

 

my days however are a crazy chaotic mess ROTFLMBO!!!!

No clever title ;)

Well I just thought I'd pop in and say again, yes we are still alive! Things are super busy around here as I'm sure you all can imagine. The babies were 7 weeks old yesterday! I cannot believe it! On the one hand it seems like just yesterday but on the other hand it feels like they've been here forever! These little ones are sure hard work but little sweeties. They also have very different and distinct peronalities.

Jackson is our laid back little fella, he has his moments but overall is pretty good. He is my sweet little man! He is the one who is usually wailing on the way home from the store for lunch, we should have called him (starvin) Marvin. I think it's sooo cute how his hands and feet are so much bigger than his sisters. Having never had a boy it's kinda cool to see the differences like that. He's also my spit-up boy and has had a few moments of projectile vomiting from his chair. He's a noisy little sleeper and it seems like he's taught his sis to be so as well. They are both always grunting and groaning awake or asleep.

And Jae, she is the more spirited little one ;) shall we say. She usually has something to say and boy she'll let you know. Her feet are super tiny like Maddy's were (her feet didn't really grow til right when the twins were born and then they really grew skipping a size!) I have a feeling Jae will be the same. She has the sweetest little looks and I just love how she purses her little lips and looks at you with her certain look. She's pretty cute! She keeps us on our toes for sure, a lot like Maddy did. She actually reminds me a lot of Maddy.

They both have a fussy time that can start anywhere from 5:30 pm and it usually lasts til their last feed at around 10:30. Thankfully they usually calm down if they are held so we all play hot potato with the babies and Maddy in the evenings. ;) It's exhausting but it could be worse for sure! (I seem to remember a little girl who liked to scream during those same hours each night heehee.)

This is all very very very hard work, there are days I feel like sobbing but for the most part I keep focusing on how proud of myself I am that I am making it through each day with twins and a 16 months old. (Nothin like tooting my own horn eh?) I'm not saying I'm perfect, not saying the house is clean and meals are cooked (my poor hubby!)I'm just amazed that I am still here in one piece and so is everyone else. ;) Some lady at the store yesterday asked me how I could be so happy with 2 newborns and I told her COFFEE LOL!!! Today Maddy went to daycare and so I went out shopping to a store other than superstore and walmart and ran into a lady who had 5 year old twins. It's funny how you can feel a kinship and just start chatting with a stranger. It was nice to hear some of her perspective on twins and getting through the first few months. She said that someone once told her that the days seem to go by slowly but the months fly by and that is so true!


Maddy is getting funnier each day if that is possible. Yesterday I caught her putting her cup on the endtable but not before putting a coaster down first, LOL! It was intentional too, guess they really do watch us. :)

Yesterday when Kelsey came home she asked me if there was a reason that there was a bunch of toilet paper and a sucky in the tub...hmmmm...oh yeah Maddy was playing in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready in the morning and that must have been her handiwork LOL! Ohhh our little girl, she keeps us in stitches for sure! I LOVE this age of hers, full of giggles and laughter for everyone. :) She is also obsessed with puppies, she will wake up and play in her crib and almost every single word she says is puppies, puppies, puppies it's pretty cute!

We are exhausted and busy but oh so blessed!