14 Months!

I've obviously enjoyed every second of their life but, Trent and Lila entertain me so much at the ripe old age of 14months! I remember always wishing I had happy babies. They reallyyyy like attention. :) I am so, so, so thankful to have twins! They're amazing and soooo much fun!

At 14 months Trent and Lila are -
Walking {they think it's way more fun than crawling or riding in the shopping cart!}
Lila is talking A LOT! Trent isn't quite so talkative, only when he wants to
Giggling, playing, and wrestling with eachother {soooo cute!}
Lila is dipping anything she can into ketchup, dressing, whatever...I think she's copying the adults :)
Pretending to be on the phone with their toy phones
Singing The Office theme song {using na, na, na, na...}
Dancing in the car and bobbing their heads to the music {they LOVE music!}

"I love you because..." Frame

It was just Jerry's Birthday and I wanted to give him something just from me, his wife. I found this online and made my own version....

It's a painted frame with scrapbook paper that has the words "I love you because..." printed on it in black. I chose these colors because they match my home's interior, but it can be customized.
You write with a wet erase marker below the words "I love you because..." whatever your reason is at the moment for loving your spouse or partner. Cute, right?

If you're a busy household, it may be something great to have. We haven't found the perfect place to put it, but it can hang on the wall or be put on the counter, etc. We're probably going to put it in the kitchen because I have all those colors in there and the living room.

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in these if I made some up with different papers on the background and I can even do different layouts and fonts. Let me know!

Credit Cards, Costco, & Couponing

I've been reading the Fun, Cheap, or Free Blog and I'm thinking about trying her Costco shopping practices when our new Costco opens in Knoxville. I've come to realize that extreme couponing is just not something I'm interested in. Sure, I enjoy a good coupon every now and then when I actually manage to remember to take the darn things to the store I'm shopping at. I just don't like buying things I can't use right now or even in the near future. I also don't get all the newspaper ads, nor do I want to. Plus, there are certain things I want/need and certain brands {or store brands} I prefer and sometimes there's just not a coupon for what I want.

I am excited about Target's new debit card deal. They link up to your own bank account and you receive 5% cash back on every purchase, no fees, nothing. I'm not sure you all know how often I go to Target, but it's a lot and the savings would rack up!

Now, about credit cards...I don't know. For 1. I'm afraid I wouldn't control myself very well and for 2. I don't like that debt hanging over my head like that! Maybe I will give it a try. It sounds like a good plan if you can control yourself and get a credit card that does cash back on purchases. That Costco card of hers sounds really nice. We don't necessarily need it for credit score reasons, but if we can buy then pay off, it would definitely keep our credit in good standing.

It's between this plan and Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover. Any suggestions?

Red Spray Paint

I'm a biiig Krylon fan. I love their nozzle! Anyway, I've been painting a few things red lately and have been pretty disappointed in the paint I've been using. It's just runny compared to all my other colors and doesn't cover well, at all!
Today I bought the cheap $1.22/can ColorPlace Spray Paint at Walmart and it works great! I've painted two things and it dries faster and seems to cover better than my Krylon I was using. :( I love all other Krylon colors I've used, but definitely not a fan of the red.
Try these {so cheap!} if you're a spray paint fan and in the market for matte or gloss black, matte or gloss white, gloss green, gloss navy, or gloss red!-

Just thought I'd share! :)

30th Birthday Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

My sweet, sweet husband is turning 30 on the 26th of Jan. He's getting so old, right?? :) Just kidding. Anyway, I made him some cupcakes to take to work that I was pretty excited to try out. I'm really an awful baker but, I love sweets and really, I enjoy baking. I really need to perfect my icing skills and my "fill the cup up half way with batter" skills...haha. {You'll see!}

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES

What you need -

• 1 box of Chocolate Cake Mix - I love Moist Deluxe
• 1 16oz Sour Cream
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/4 Cup of Water
• 2 Lined Cupcake Pans
• Homemade icing or Store bought {I used store bought but, will definitely make my own next time!}
• 1 Package of Refridgerated Pre-cut Cookie Dough {I used the minis and mine were more cake than cookie...so decide which you love more. I bet the regular size pre-cut cookie dough would make it more 50/50!}

Directions-

Combine cake mixture, eggs, water, and sour cream - mix 2-3 minutes

Fill each cupcake wrapper halfway with the cake mixture

Separate and press 1 pre-cut cookie dough piece into each cupcake wrapper filled halfway with batter

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then check {I have a gas stove and mine were ready in 20!}

Let cupcakes cool some then frost with your favorite icing! {I used just regular whipped fluffy white icing - maybe a little too rich?}



All done - see how I need to pratice filling the cups halfway?? Haha!





YUM! I liked them and Jerry said they were really good! :)



Crockpot Potato Soup {SO good!}

OMG! This soup is really, really, really good! I personally believe it has loaded baked potato soup from O'Charleys beat!

Crockpot Potato Soup 

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns {I used Ore Ida}

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup or cream of celery soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped {we didn't use the onion}

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. regular cream cheese

I used 1 can of cream of celery instead of the cream of chicken, omitted the onion {not many people in this house like onions,} added onion salt, and garlic powder to taste {I'm usually generous with the garlic!}

I combined everything except the cream cheese on low for about 8 hours then added the cream cheese about 30 minutes before serving, melted and combined, then served.

We ate ours with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits! SO good. Even Jerry liked it who really isn't a "soup for dinner" kind of guy. We're now making brownies for dessert! :)

Enjoy! Visit Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hour for the original recipe.

Baby Gear for Twins - Must Haves!

I just wanted to share a few things that I felt were {some still are} must haves for a Mom expecting Twins!

Fisher-Price Rock 'N Play Sleeper

We got two of these from one of our baby showers and they were an absolute lifesaver for me! I fed Trent and Lila in these seat every single day, multiple times a day. We took these to TX with us when Trent and Lila were 2 months old and never would have left home without them! If I was by myself, before they could help at all, I needed these to feed them every day. These seats are also great because when you have helpless little newborn twins, you need somewhere to lay them safely and these are a great mobile option!






Gerber Flannel Burp Cloth Set

In my experience, {not all parents are so lucky!} every feeding meant some amount of spit up. Trent had reflux so he spit up on the regular {yay!} We used and still use burp cloths {for snot now!} I prefer the flannel ones. Burp cloths actually seem to be hard to find. I recommend this as a gift for any new parents! Etsy has some really cute ones that can be monogrammed...love that!

                                         

Philips Avent Bottles

I could totally do a product review for these bottles! I believe we went through six thousand different kinds of bottles and Avent were the only ones that worked successfully every time for us. These bottles also have a great wide opening for easy pour and mixing of formula or even to transfer breast milk from storage. HIGHLY recommend!





Pampers Swaddlers Diapers
With twins you definitely needs lots of diapers. We used and dearly loved Pampers Swaddlers until they stop making Swaddlers at size 3. We then switched to Luvs and actually really like them. I definitely don't regret using Swaddlers for the first several months of Trent and Lila's lives though. They are the absolute softest but, not necessarily budget friendly if you're trying to watch your money.





 Philips Avent Soothie
Anyone who swears they aren't going to "allow" a pacifier when they have children is a liar or just doesn't know how beneficial for a new parent that they are. Sometimes pacifiers are an absolute necessity. Lila, especially would just go on and on about something if she didn't have a pacifier. Trent wasn't quite as needy until he started teething then he preferred it for chewing. We cut out pacifiers right before Trent and Lila turned 1. At first, I thought maybe I might need them to use them more than they needed to use them, haha. Thankfully they did very well getting used to not having them. These types of "soothers" were my favorites. They fit well, cleaned easy, and were fairly cheap. I also recommend the pacifier clips {looks like a small leash} - they really helped us when we couldn't find a paci in the middle of the night!





Chicco Keyfit 30 Car Seat

Oh how I love the Chicco brand! Everything we've bought that's Chicco brand, I've loved. These seats have great ratings and fit well in the car. They're not the cheapest car seats but they're definitely worth it if you want a travel system for twins {those are hard to come by!} Oh and you can use the twins discount at BabiesRUs when you're ready to buy two.

Chicco Cortina Together Double Stroller

We got this double stroller because I loved the thought of a travel system and being able to put a sleeping baby {or two} in the stroller and go walk around Target for a little while without disturbing them! I'm not really a homebody so, anything to make it easier to get out with two little ones was on my list of things to buy. It's definitely expensive but, not compared to some other brand strollers. It's NOT hard to push with two hands, impossible with one hand though. It's somewhat heavy but, what do you expect with a full size twin stroller? We didn't have any trouble using it in stores or outside. Definitely a must for anyone looking for a travel system for twins!

Bumbo Seat

I recommend getting two and not listening to all the negative talk around these cute little seats! OF COURSE an unsupervised child could tip over and fall out of this seat if placed on an elevated surface. Just be smart. They're great to have for feeding when the babies start solids and great for them to be able to build muscles and feel like they're part of the group sitting up and becoming observant.

Fisher-Price Cradle 'n Swing
Again, sometimes you just need somewhere to put a baby down! If you have a fussy baby or two, a really great place for one of them is a swing! They need that motion sometimes and when you have two and you aren't able to rock both at the same time - use the swing!!! I highly suggest it. We had this exact swing and got good use out of it and it isn't terribly expensive.






Another thing that I really feel like I should point out is the need for two cribs! Apparently some people having multiples feel like, because they're twins, they're going to want to sleep together forever. That's NOT true...mine didn't anyway. The first time Trent and Lila slept in separate beds they slept the longest they had ever slept. It's necessary to get two cribs. Plus, really...eventually they're going to need to separate...be honest.






Really, the only thing I've come across that I wish I had and that I really believe would have made my stay-at-home life easier with Trent and Lila would have been these hands-free bottles! Of course, as a Mother you enjoy feeding your baby and that bonding time but, sometimes there are things that have to be taken care of, especially with two that interrupts feeding time. I'm sure most of you parents know how impatient a hungry baby is! That's no fun to listen to, is it? I really think these would have been great!

If I think of any other things that are a necessity for twins {early stages} I will be sure to post them on here. Keep me and this post in mind if you're having multiples! :)