Laundry Printables

So for all the time I don't spend blogging, I spend a bit of it on Pinterest (which first kept me busy while pregnant).  Because it's easy to bop on and off, it makes me feel organized (ha!), and sometimes I find some inspiration.  I found this little cutie and figured why not actually make something that doesn't involve feeding three year olds.

The pin comes from the blog, The Resplendent, which is written by a lovely young mom named Marielle (what are the chances of that?)and where she features a few other similar designs.

I found an adorable set of paper covered mini clothes pins at Michaels (w/enough to make another) and a cheapo frame at Ikea ($4 all in) and decided to reformat it to landscape to fit on more pins, since twins = lots of little socks.

 

I ended up just using super glue to attach the pins since my glue gun didn't do the trick.

Three months later...

Well hello there... Happy Spring!  It's hard to believe three months have gone by since I left the blog (and on a weird note, sorry).  Five years in and I still don't have a good blogging routine.  I wish I had a good excuse, you know besides life and twins and a kitchen remodel, but I really don't. 

The winter here was kind of meh (the kids or hubs or I were sick all of February), but March has been stellar, until this morning when we awoke to five inches of new snow (everything had melted and was a distant memory).  The kids are bummed because they just got new big kid bikes and have been loving the park and have dropped their last nap (life changing), but it'll be gone soon enough.

Before the snow...

 

Hope it is starting to warm up where you are!

Oh Sister...

I love my sisters.  All four of them. (3 bio/1 step)  They are the only ones I've got, but dear lord can this one test me.  It's December 29th, and I just received a holiday card from my sister Emily.  No biggie, she's got four kids 2-7, she gets a grace period for just about everything.  But check out the address label on the envelope...  It is really bothering me.

I've never seen this before, so I'm guessing this a new kick for her, sharing her pro-life/anti-abortion stance with everyone she sends a card to, but really?   Besides being generally obnoxious (I don't talk about being pro-choice around her), um you know who already freaking knows life is precious?  Maybe her sister whose babies were a four year project (costing many thousands of dollars)?  Or maybe the one who held her dead baby in her hands (4 yrs ago tomorrow)?  Or the one who almost lost her twins and spent four months in bed so they wouldn't die or spend their first several months of life in the NICU?   Oh preacher, meet the choir.  How terribly insensitive.

And maybe I'm a stickler for facts, but given I've actually seen a young fetus w/my own eyes (not on an ultrasound screen), I can pretty much guarantee that a 10 week one does not have feet that large.  At about an inch long total, if feet were actually half an inch long (as above), you'd need to be mating w/Bigfoot.  Not that it really matters, though it seems the whole point of the propaganda laced illustration.

Oh tell me wise one how the size of one's feet determines their value...  What does a size 10 make me?  Wishing I had a big sister with a little more sense...

The Day after Christmas 2004

I still remember watching the horror of that day unfold. It was Boxing Day, ten years ago, when a huge earthquake created a tsunami that swallowed up almost a quarter million people in Southeast Asia.  When so many lives were falling apart (I'll never forget the Nate Berkus interview w/Oprah where detailed how he lost his love to the sea), mine as I know it now was falling together. (Thankfully, Nate's has too and he's now married and expecting a baby!)

I'd recently met a really nice (and cute and funny and smart) Indian guy, and after the tsunami I e-mailed him to ask after his family there.  He's from Bombay, so maybe I was just being nice, but he liked it and asked me out.

A week later, we went on our first date.
A year later, we got engaged.
Two years later, we got married.
Five more after that, we finally brought our babies home.
Now a decade later, I couldn't be more thrilled that he's my partner in our life's adventures...

Hope you and yours had a fabulous Christmas! XO

L'Aime pour les amies (love for friends)

I have some pretty creative and enterprising friends that I thought I'd share with you as we are in this season of memory preserving and gift giving.

If you are a scrapbooker...
Peppermint (middle name: Patty, no joke) is a friend from way back in Jr. High.  Back then (some 25 yrs ago), we always sat next to each other in home room every day since our last names' started with the same two letters, and now she has a fabulous design firm called, One Little Bird.  As my yet to be completed wedding scrapbook (nearly nine yrs later) can attest, I am decidedly not a scrapbooker, but I love me some paper and appreciate good design.  Please check out how fabulously talented she is and follow her on Facebook or Instagram for promotions...

If your body need a little pampering (hello?)...
My dear friend Gina is what you might call a Jill of all trades.  A writer and producer, a corporate hack like me (that's how we met over a decade ago), and now she has launched her very own skin care line, Naturals by Gina B..  Pretty sweet, right?

I can't speak highly enough for her first two products (the Kiss my Ash scrub and balm, both of which my feet loove).  They are all natural (no junk) and smell absolutely heavenly (from essential oils).  She has also just launched two new products in the last few days, another balm and a coffee scrub.  They make awesome (and affordable) gifts, and if you're lucky, they'll come in some of her awesome signature purple bubble wrap (which the twins are completely bananas over).

Turning Three

The kids had an amazing birthday week (plus) between their schools celebrating the holidays, their birthdays, and then we spent a long weekend in the city.  They are really just getting so big.  It seems like a long three (four, six) years, but when you think about it...  They are already a sixth of the way to college and though I will likely return to work, already halfway to not being ours full time.



Making organic sugar snowflake cookies

(thanks Honest Company for the mix and cutter!)

Preschool party #17

Celebrating at home the night before THREE!

Balloon Love!

 

Not everyone gets their b-day gifts under the tree, but we do!

 

 Celebrating the third anni of their arrival (at 5:06 and 5:07pm) at The Rainforest Café.

My goofy girl...

We took the kids to the pedi for their now annual check-up while we were in the city.  Everything is A-OK and they've added the requisite couple inches (pushing 40!) and pounds (now 30+, finally!) since we were there last. 

They've been in 4T clothes for months, so it didn't surprise me that they are actually climbing in the height percentiles (now 91% for A and 87% for M).  Their weights are also on a pretty consistent curve at 45% for him and 44% for her (that's up slightly for her, now if we could just pork him up a bit).  Their BMIs are both at 14 (which is 2% for him and 5% for her).  They are totally my little clones...  Happy Birthday kiddos!! :)

A Few of My Favorite Apps

I admit to being slightly tech challenged (I haven't yet taken the time to figure out how to watch the new Downton Abbey season online before January, since its debut in the UK in Sept.  If you know, let me know!), but I'm trying to work on this and thought I'd share some of my favorite apps right now.

I treated myself to a new iPhone (the 6) for my birthday in September (which I promptly broke, but that's another story) partly because of their new ApplePay.  It's not accepted many places yet, but more are coming, and I'm getting the hang of it.  It is super slick.  It is supposed to be much more secure than swiping credit cards (which we use for everything and pay off monthly) because it is encrypted using a one time code, so there is nothing meaningful for a hacker to steal.

I signed up for Target's Cartwheel app over a year ago, but then didn't use it for months.  When I finally got into it last summer, it became a bit of an addiction.  One that has now saved me nearly $350...  If you haven't tried it yet, it is really great, and yes highly addictive (you've been warned).

Amazon Price Check is a great little app that will scan the bar code (you can also type, snap or say the product) and search for any item and give you the best price in their system.  Really helpful when you find something (in a store, on a deal site, etc.) and wonder if you might be able to find it elsewhere for less or what is the best price.

I'm still a paper planner (and white board calendar) girl, but I've started using the Cozi family organizing app and find it helpful in keeping our four calendars coordinated.  It also gives you the option of automatic updates on family movie openings, house maintenance scheduling, and life tips.

I'm a big fan of Consumer Reports and they have a great app for when you are out shopping and want to check if something you're looking at is rated and how it fared in their tests. (Subscription required to access, worth every penny BTW)

Do you have apps that you couldn't live without?  Please share! :)