House Stalking

Three guesses who this is...

 

A fellow '99er in a yearbook profile

It probably goes without saying that I'm not a fan, but we were college classmates and I have a weakness for houses. 

I recently got my nails done for the first time in over a year (the only place I read the rags) and saw that she (Elisabeth Hasselbeck) bought a new house in Greenwich.  She and her family, Tim (a '00 grad) is now a fantasy football analyst and their three young kids, were most recently Upper West Siders, but they've fled to the burbs, giving her View driver quite a hike.

Their old place was 2,300 sq. ft (for the low 3's).  You have to think that she could have gotten more for it had it been better/professionally decorated and staged, but I digress...

Now I love blue more than anyone, but I'm not sure all this cornflower works

 but love the built-ins and the cabinets

 

and the rug...

 

the view that The View bought...

  

 

Hey, that's my chainlink rug in the den



And the new place...

Apparently $4MM will buy a nice 7,600 sq ft. Colonial in foreclosure in CT, though her decorator has a LOT of work to do...  It would be interesting to see when they make it theirs.  Who am I kidding?  Most people only head to the shelter mags when they are going to put their house on the market.  Have you noticed that too?

 

Nice curb appeal

 

The man and his dog in a painting.  It is too much.

 

I actually really like the master as is, but it seems like it is in a different house

 

Love Serena and Lily?

I didn't end up using them much for our nursery, but they have lots of great finds (love their Hanna jammies) and non-baby stuff too.  Get $100 credit for $50 from Bloomspot (you can buy more than one!) for the next ten days only!  Enjoy!

Shopping Small

Being small business owners ourselves, DH and I try to make an effort to patronize local and small businesses whenever we can.  But honestly, it is difficult and getting more so all the time.  I actually had to look up where to spend our credits for Small Business Saturday last weekend (we ended up at our fave local sushi place and produce market to spend both), since it was not usable online like last year. 

Even though it is super close, Wal-mart is already on the "avoid if at all possible" list and Amazon is working hard to get itself on there too because of their sketchy business practices.  When you have two small kids, online shopping is nothing short of a godsend, but so is the chance to get out of the house once in awhile, even when it is with said children. 

Where we live is adjacent to the largest single retail area in the state (i.e. the mall is somehow/sadly the largest tourist attraction in all of IL.)  While this means that conveniently pretty much every store has an outlet within minutes and many of my faves: Costco (double carts, samples), Whole Foods (underground heated parking), IKEA (dark chocolate, and soon Smaland), Target, Buy Buy Baby, Baby Gap, Anthro, Starbucks, Janie & Jack, etc., etc., it is also heavily dominated by chain stores.  After living in Wellesley (Natick), Brighton (Chestnut Hill), and downtown Chicago, my mom still jokes (only half jokingly) that I choose where to live based on the local shopping.  One of my fave kid's stores is Land of Nod, which started as a small business, but was then bought by Crate and Barrel (a Chicago institution), which the Segals have since sold to a German retail conglomerate.

One of my fave new finds this year has been The Honest Company, which was co-founded by Jessica Alba (probably the least interesting thing about and best thing for marketing the company).  Their stuff (natural and adorable diapers, baby and beauty products, and household cleaners) is not cheap, but it is really nice.  We've been happy with everything we've tried, and we've tried almost everything.  I highly recommend it if you are inclined to such products, shopping small (if not always local), and patronizing responsible companies.

Divali

So skinny, but such a strong girl

And busy, and into everything

Visiting with great G-ma G over Thanksgiving

Don't let the innocent face fool you, she's trouble...

Real life with a sensitive child...

Your questions answered

So, as you may have noticed I'm not the most attentive blogger.  Sorry about that. I spend my days chasing two almost toddlers around (he has started crawling too, and she just pulled up to her feet for the first time today, eek!) and when the days are over I usually feel like they've slipped me a roofie. Lately (meaning over several months) I've gotten questions from folks who either don't leave a reply e-mail address or when I do find a way to reply it gets kicked back and FB is also not letting me send/reply to messages.  Much of this is on my Pinterest site, but no worries, here goes...

Where are the twins' outfits from in their pictures?

Mari's blouse and sweater are from H&M (one of my many fave places to get their clothes, love their organic basics) and her leggings and List's sweater are from Pearls and Popcorn.  His oxford is Polo RL and jeans are Old Navy.  They are sockless since it was 80 degrees.  H&M unfortunately does not offer online shopping, but P&P does.  I got the P&P stuff (among other pretties) late last year for a song from Vente Privee (Amex's deal site), but they are still available (and on sale) on their website.

Are you planning the twins' first birthday party yet?

Yes, in that we have a date (1/5, in an attempt to avoid the holiday madness), location (we've rented the clubhouse to accommodate all those who were vocally disappointed I wasn't able to have a shower), and invites and TY notes (that match their birth announcements)are in hand.  I have picked up some decorations and am working on the food.  Stay tuned...

Where are their cart/highchair covers from?

They are both from Itzy Ritzy, their Ritzy Sitzy covers.  I got them (and everything I'd ever want from their website) when they had a half off sale, so follow them and watch for sales if you don't want to pay full fare.  Another gadget that we find helpful is the Tiny Diner placemat since we've started taking them out more and more and they prefer to feed themselves.

What is your pumping schedule?

Well right now I'm pumping three times a day (first thing in the morning, early afternoon when the kids are napping, and then again before I go to bed).  I dropped the fourth late afternoon pump at about ten months after doing that for several months.  Previously I had pumped up to 5-6 or more times/day, but found that pumping more did not increase my supply or yield, it just resulted in lots of pumping with a smaller yield with each pumping.  They have been on 100% BM for several months, but I have had no extra to freeze.  I used to pump for 20 mins each time, but with my latest issues, I'm stopping at 15 and not sacrificing much if any milk.

How much does all that life insurance cost?

For $2MM/ea. in 20 year term policies through ING our premiums for both of us are roughly $2K/year.  This obviously will vary by person (gender, age, health history), but my share (35 yr. old woman, best rate class) was ~$750.  DH (36 yr old man) is also healthy and had a normal cholesterol level, but since his split of good/bad is a little wacky (which is often hereditary), he is in the next to best rate class and pays more.

As always, feel free to e-mail me at kthappy76@gmail.com for a more prompt response.  Be well and thanks! :)

Six more weeks

I can not believe how close we are to the twins' first birthday.  Their party is scheduled for just after the new year, but the big day is just over a month away.  Oh my goodness...

A sampling from our photo shoot...

We are still plugging along with the pumping schedule, though this last week was a doozy.  Mastitis and bleeding, coming from inside (hello pink milk)

and outside (my nipples might come off completely), don't make for a good way to finish up.  I thought I might have to stop completely over the weekend, but we are still going for now.  I obviously can't speak for those who feed at the breast or only have one mouth to feed, but this breastfeeding thing is certainly not for wimps, that is for sure.  I'm already plotting out what I'll do with all my time when I am done pumping.

I am so happy that it has worked out for us, that I had some milk and pumps (and formula too, so no one starved to death), but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed it or would happily do it again (but since we are done, I guess that doesn't really count).  Definitely worth it, but not easy that's for sure.  It might be one of my only personal accomplishments from the last ten months.  That and helping me lose all the baby weight (the fifty I gained and another ten for good measure).

And Halloween went great, the kids didn't like their hats (of course the part of their costumes I spent the most time on), but fun was had by all

The complete Paddington, including a suitcase for marmalade.

Now that Mari is mobile, she doesn't want any part of holding still for pictures.  She must be moving at all times.   The smallest and bravest one was Madeline...