It's Gettin' to be That Time of Year Again...

...and I am super excited. I'm really a warm weather kind of girl, but I try and find things to get me through the cold months. I love fall and winter because I really enjoy a cozy home. The fire crackling, hot cider or cocoa, warm cookies, the smell of cinnamon and Christmas trees, pumpkins and gourds, all the leaves changing color, the cool, crisp air outside...sigh. Oh, and it's so fun when all the family gets together during these upcoming holidays. We pretty much missed them last year because the boys were born November 21, just before Thanksgiving. They didn't get out of the hospital until December though and we couldn't take them anywhere and had to limit their exposure to people.

So now they're big and strong and I am excited about the coming season. I really love baking, but my kitchen gets soooo hot during the summer that I really try to limit my activity. But now it's getting cool and it just serves to warm up that end of the house :) Plus, I love the smells! I wanted to share two of my favorite recipes that I use every year. One is a cider drink that is delicious and smells great. Plus, if you have any left over it reheats in the microwave wonderfully. The second is my go-to cookie recipe that never fails to get rave reviews. It's a double chocolate cookie with chocolate chips, but I'll occasionally substitute with crushed Andes candies. Peanut butter or white chocolate chips work well too.

Teton Tea (From Better, Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookie magazine, 2005)
4 Cups Cranberry Juice
2 Cups Orange Juice
3 Cinnamon Sticks (or 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon)
¼ Cup Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Clove

Bring Cranberry Juice to a simmer, add Cinnamon and Clove, cover and simmer for twenty minutes. Add Lemon Juice and Orange Juice, let simmer until warm.

Double Chocolate Dream Cookies (From Nestle Best Loved Cookies book from Avon)
2 ¼ Cups Flour
½ Cup Baking Cocoa
1 tsp Baking soda
½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Butter/Margarine (2 sticks)
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
2 Cups (12 oz package) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 F. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until puffed. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 4 ½ dozen cookies.

I would like to make an additional note about how much I love my baking stones. They are available from The Pampered Chef, although imitations are available. They are slightly cumbersome to work with, but are infinitely better in baking quality, especially when pre-warmed. These are two of them; the one on top is brand new, and underneath is one of my well-loved cookie stones. You can see how it darkens as it becomes more seasoned.

Happy baking! Hope you enjoy these recipes as much I have :)

It's Not Easy Being Green

I wouldn't say I've lived a posh lifestyle with complete disregard to the environment, throwing endless things away for convenience, but I definately could do better. Mostly I would attribute it to a lack of knowledge, not lack of caring. However, in the last 6 months or so my eyes have been opened to some things that I hadn't noticed. It started with my homemade laundry soap (courtesy of the Webster clan) and a daily awareness of wastefulness and reliance on manufacturing. Then, I found the book Green Housekeeping. Wow! So wonderful! Now, I will say there's some things in there that are a little over the top for me, but it has educated me greatly.

Now, I need to make a disclaimer: I am in no way saying I live the ultimate green life. But I am trying a little bit at a time to transform my way of thinking and living to better my children's future. Notice I did not say 'save the planet'. To be frank, this statement irks me because I think it's ridiculous. George Carlin may be crass, but he's not so far off to say we are egotistical to think the planet needs our saving - it doesn't. Now, before you get defensive thinking I'm saying eco living is hogwash, I'm not saying that at all. The planet will go on fine for many years until it's swallowed up by the sun. We as a race, however, will be in a mess of trouble. That's my point - live with a conservative mindset to better our futures and make ourselves more self-reliant. That's the mental direction I'm heading, one step at a time.

My mom told me about an article she read (I have no idea where) in which a man saved all his trash for a year. Yowza! He realized a vast majority of it was product packaging and food waste. I would love to compost but at the moment I am too cheap to spend money on a compost bin. Shame on me. Christmas gift anyone? It really made me contemplate how I purchase things and what I do with the packaging. I have begun to change my purchasing choices based on this fact. I have also started saving a lot of packaging and creatively repurposing it throughout my home. I love to organize, so I can't complain about my lovely assortment of boxes, bins, jars and bottles. Something very fun I have begun to do is use these in drawers as custom organizers. I love all the little plastic ones you can buy, (oh, the Container Store...) but they are expensive and I just can't rationalize it when I can do this for free. Plus, there's a greater variety of sizes. It may not look as 'pretty' but I'm much more satisfied reusing these boxes than throwing them away and buying more plastic. It could use some fine tuning, but here's what I did with my kitchen junk drawer:

I don't have a before picture, but I'm very pleased with the results. I mean, what does your junk drawer look like? If it's like something out the Container Store catalogue, I don't want to hear about it. On second thought, go ahead and post a pic, I'll live vicariously through your pretty drawer...

Now, I make a lot of my own baby food, but I don't make all of it. Therefore, I have quite the collection of baby food jars. These are wonderful for so many things! One of my recent repurposes for these were some homemade decorative pumpkins. I have been oogling the ones in stores, especially the ones made out of grapevine. But I don't have any grapevine. I do have lots of kudzu I just might try drying out though... Anyway, I had also seen some cute fabric ones that I like but once again, I'm just too cheap to spend money on something I really don't need. So, the other day when the boys were particularly happy, I rummaged through my stash and came up with these:

They weren't really the fabric I wanted, but I didn't purchase anything to make these. I took 3 baby food jars of different sizes, stuffed a square of fall colored fabric around and in to the center. Then I took a torn piece of cardboard and rolled it up for a stem. The leaves are from a silk fern I had left over from a floral project. The bows are rafia and for a finishing touch I wound some gold wire around a pencil to use as a curly vine. Overall, I was pretty happy with my makeshift pumpkins.

I'm really enjoying this transition in my life and I'm looking forward to new creative ideas for a self-sustaining lifestyle. I only have 1 1/3 acres, so I won't be buying a dairy cow or chickens anytime soon, but I hope to start a garden next year. I'm definately doing an herb garden - I want lots of lavender. What are some of your favorite ways that you try to live green? Thanks for sharing!

Without running out the door screaming?

Sometimes people say to me things to the effect of, "I don't know how you do it with twins." Well, to be perfectly honest, there are some days where I wonder how too. Especially those first months...phew! (I do need to give credit where credit is due, however, to a wonderful husband and amazing family who gave me much needed reprieves and sleep.) Well as I was feeding the boys their lunch today, which is a very interactive time, I had to laugh again at this thought. Most days we make it through without me having a melt down, but there are definately times having sweet potatoes spit in your face invokes a little craziness. I fend off food spit irritation by just putting on an apron. I try to streamline meals with side to side high chairs and alternating bites. Finger foods are a nice anti-screaming item while I spend a whole 30 seconds warming up food. Today I had to actually laugh at the antics and decided to share them with you.

The older they are getting, the more they like to help. I was say about one in three meals they end up with food in their hair and eyes. I spend a lot of time cleaning up because I hate bugs. This brings me to another necessity:

The jumperoo and exersaucer. These things have been worth their weight in gold! The boys spend about 15 minutes in them after each meal because they have reflux. I usually put on a Baby Einstein because they're not big fans of me leaving the room to clean up after the meal-tastrophe. I know you're not supposed to let babies watch tv. However, I don't think a crying baby is any better off than a happy baby watching tv. Sometimes, you have to wipe up bananas off the floor, take a 3 minute missions trip shower, or just go pee (shock). And if your children are anything like my children, they think the sheer gall of my desire to do these things equals abandoment. So I distract them with a little Baby Eistein. And I think I'm a better mom for choosing that over a heartbroken child. Just like when I'm having a losing-my-mind meltdown and I choose to put a Baby Einstein in so I can go in the other room for a half an hour and read an unimportant book so I can gather up what's left of me, I think I'm a better mommy for it. Crazy mommy with the babies who are crying...or...happy reading mommy while babies watch tv. It's just reality.

Right now, the boys are napping. Here's naptime for this season of their life.

I give them a bottle until they're sleepy (I sit between them) and plug in a paci. This happens around 10 or 11 am for about 1-2 hours, and then again around 3 adding up to about 3 hours of napping a day. The first half hour of their nap they're pretty conked out so I sneak off the couch to the computer, which is right by the couch. Sometimes I just stay there and read or watch a little tv. I think it's very important to allow myself this bit of downtime during their naps even if I'm not napping because I'm more ready to be a mommy again when they wake up. This supermom ideal that we're supposed to adore being a mommy 24/7 with no desire for anything else is an impossible goal and only leaves us feeling beaten down and like a failure. So I'm here to tell you, don't feel guilty for allowing yourself some mental rejuvenation throughout the day. We need it.

Oh, the point of this was to sing the praises of the boppy. Hands down the best invention ever. When they were little I used it to nurse them, and they also slept in them because they were so teeny tiny. I still use one under my arms when I rock them because it takes the pressure off my elbow.

This was how they slept for awhile.

This is how we fed them with a bottle. I did the same thing when I nursed, with a little rearranging :) I did actually nurse for 6 months, which was very very hard. I wear no badge of honor and don't declare it a heavenly experience. There were some days I wanted to just quit, but I felt guilty because I knew it was what was best for them, especially being 7 weeks early and I didn't want to be selfish. Along about 6 months though, they got very difficult to control at the same time and I knew I couldn't just leave one alone every 3 hours, so, I weaned. They are doing great however, and never lost an oz since the day they were born. You can tell from the pictures how chunky they are :) They stand and crawl and play now, so I am extremely grateful for the play yard.

We cornered off an entire section of our living room, which was a big sacrifice, but totally worth it. We spent around $130 on a new heavy-duty gate (after researching) because I just had this feeling a used plastic gate wouldn't last 2 years with twin boys and I'd end up having to buy another one (or two) anyway. This is great because it gives them a totally safe zone that's fairly large and free of hanging stuff on the walls, trashcans, bookshelves and electrical cords. I can usually cook dinner (when I'm feeling like it) around the corner without too much trouble.

This certainly was not every wonderful thing we came up with for survival, but just a glimpse into our 'double' world. Thanks for all the times you've complemented me for raising twins. I know God never gives you more than you can handle, but sometimes I wish He didn't have so much faith in me :) He's had to give me quite a large share of grace...and I suppose I've grown in a lot of ways through this amazing experience.

Proverbs 31 - Selling my wares

The one thing about art that always holds true is that it's subjective. I come from a creative family and have spent many years finding new projects. Even if they end up finding a home cleverly organized with their counterparts I don't have time for, I always want a new one. It's kind of like wandering into a bookstore. It's irrelevant that I have 17 books and 32 magazines waiting to be read, the smell of fresh, new books never loses it's allure.

I have found many wonderful creative outlets over the years, some that I was enthralled with for a season, others that repeatedly find their way to the top of my 'want to do list'. I fell in love with scrapbooking about 11 years ago and that has proven very rewarding. My maternal grandmother taught me crotchet, punch rugging and freehand embroidery, which took me a few years to really get the hang of. If only my carpel tunnel would let me crochet more. I tried my hand at knitting, which I found rather annoying. Beadwork of all kinds has wound it's way through my past, starting with indian beadwork, then miscellaneous jewlery and most recently bookmarks. I'm a sucker for bead sales like they're new books... I have the beginnings of quilting, yet haven't really finished one of those projects. My mom taught me to sew years ago, a trade which I became comfortable with only in my adult years. (If I really am an adult.) Of course random crafts fill half my drawers and bins to keep my big, consistent projects company.

My one conundrum over the years has been that I couldn't make money with my creativity. I tried a craft mall, ebay and the mart with little success. I have pretty much resigned myself to enjoy them for the value they have to me, and those that I choose to give them as gifts to. But then I found out about Etsy.com. I am super excited! A site just for the peddling of handmade goods? Fantastic! Everyone who wanders there for purchases is expecting unique, quality handmade items. Perhaps I have found my outlet. I'll keep you updated when my page is ready...

One bite at a time

Well, here we go! I say that as though it were a new beginning, when in all actuality this is the same blog I've had for, what, a year now? I suppose it is a new beginning, however, because my attitude has changed. There is purpose now where before I simply felt I was to catalog my days. I do need to give credit where credit is due to my friend Lauren, who I have lost touch with for the most part since highschool. I was up rocking Jacob starting around 3 this morning (I am not a proponant of the "cry-it-out" method) and wandered to her blogs. I lost myself! I had no idea how much we had in common these days...

I was inspired and "spurred on" as the scriptures tell us to do to for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it except to say it made me spend the next few hours (hey, I was up anyway...) seeking God for guidance toward the purposes He has in my life. I mean, I love God, and I try to live for God, but sometimes I feel so scattered in how to live for Him. There are so many things I feel passionate about, on varying levels, and yet I feel as though I fail miserably at nearly all of them. What I really felt like the Lord was speaking to me this morning was that I was waiting to get everything 'just so' before I really used anything. I'm a perfectionist in many areas of my life and sometimes that's a good thing. However, life, and living for God for that matter, is not a static location. It is a direction, perspective, and ever-refining way of living.


So, with that said, I will no longer wait until I have 'completed my research', become well-versed in a subject, or mastered an art before using it to God's glory. The actual posting of this blog is a step in that direction because I love editing yet feel there is much I have to learn. So therefore I fear posting anything I've written because I know many out there have more English skills than me (ahem, Ashley...) and will wonder what in the world I'm doing thinking I can edit. I will let go, missed mistakes and all. No one is perfect, and I might as well share what I've learned when I just plain miss God. I hope you enjoy this because it just might be humiliating for me, but I can't remember the last time I felt so excited to run and fall flat on my face. Because, quite frankly, at least I'm running. Toward Him. And I know He's thrilled to see me coming.

Yeah, it's the school's fault

Ok, so I know this is a random post, but it's the middle of the night and I'm trying to find the end of the internet while I rock Jacob.

http://www.foundmagazine.com/find/2111

BTW, warning ... so hard to not keep hitting next ...

Similac coupons?

So it's been a million years since I posted a blog. I've known for a while now, but then I felt like it needed to be about something important rather than everyday jazz because it had been so long. I'm giving up on that however and just writing... because I can.

We've settled into a nice little routine with the boys. They usually sleep straight through the night now, so that alone makes me feel more human. They're also waaaay more interactive now too, so it's fun to play with them. They really love being startled, which I think is hilarious because I loathe it. I read them stories and they think that's great. We also do a choreographed alphabet song that is apparently fun :) They're rolling all over the place now too, including into and on each other. They sometimes talk to and look at one another and I try to get it on video. However, when I get the camera out they freeze and just stare at me. Little turkeys.

I've been able to start scrapbooking their one-year albums and I'm having soooo much fun! I'm doing one for each of them with 2 pages for every month. Then I will make a yearly family album too. This way I figure one day they can each have an album to keep without having to split everything. Plus, it's easy to lump all their stuff together and I think they need something to make them individual :)

Oh, I've also weaned since about 6 months which has given me mixed feelings. I was really hoping to nurse at least a year, but it got really hard with 2. I had enough milk, but they were very difficult to control at the same time! And it's not like I could just leave one alone while I nurse the other... So, I decided it was better for everyone to just go to bottles. (Oh my word formula is expensive!!!) But, God provides.

Monday is Isaac's birthday, and next week is father's day. I'm taking him to our first Gwinnett Braves game this Sunday (minus the dufflepuds) so that should be fun. Hooray for hot dogs and soda!