5 Months Old

The other day some family was holding my babies and I had a little tear in my eye because I noticed my babies are getting so big! It seems like just yesterday I was at the hospital. Time sure does fly and these babies are growing by the day. I broke down today for a brief second. Brooklyn and Beckham choose their days to fight naps and when they are over tired and just cry, I want to just cry too. It is HARD. Two babies keep you on your feet ALL day. Beckham was down for a nap one day and Brooklyn had all my attention for about an hour and I was like 'Geez, taking care of just one baby is SO easy!' Haha, hopefully I will be blessed with just one baby next time :) I do love our little twins though.

Each month Beckham and Brooklyn surprise me with new things they are learning. This month they both started to roll onto their sides. They haven't mastered the full roll but will hopefully get there soon. They both also love playing with their toes! It is VERY cute! They both babble and spit constantly.

Beckham LOVES the exersaucer! We find out next week if he will need a helmet for his flat spot on his head...hopefully he won't need it.

Beckham

19 lbs

26.50 inches long

95% in weight and 95% in height

Brooklyn

13 lbs

24.75 inches long

25% in weight and 25% in height

Brooklyn hates the exersaucer after 10 minutes. Geez girl! But she loves her bouncer. She kicks her right leg back and forth and it makes her chair bounce. I love it because then I don't have to bounce her!

We can start rice cereal now!!! I hope they get used to it because it would make mom REAL happy! I am looking forward to introducing fruits and vegetables next month. Any tips/tricks you have with starting babies off on rice cereal? I've been advised to do it by spoon by the pediatrician.

Felt Flower Pillow

Today some friends invited me to do a little crafting! They were making Felt Flower Pillows and the tutorial they were using was SO cute and easy!

I bought my tan pillow at Walmart for $5 and bought the brown felt at Joann's for $1.19!

I think it turned out pretty good! I hope I don't go felt flower pillow crazy!

Check out the tutorial here at NatSprat!

Did I ever show you...

our apartment we lived in while in Singapore for a year? I have a friend who just moved their family to Switzerland and their new apartment there is AMAZING! It made me think about all the adventures we had while living in a different country. I would love to do it all again! Clark and I agreed that we would get a smaller place to save money so that we could travel. Let me remind you that it was only 400 sq. feet! We were only there at night (we both worked) and on Sundays so its not like we had to fit a whole family in there.

Front door from the inside.

The clothes washer (the dryer for us were rods across the ceiling we hung our clothes on... very tricky sometimes) the sink and the door leading to the bathroom.

Our "cabinets" and hot plate. It made making spaghetti tricky haha.

Our small fridge, microwave, and table. We used that microwave for everything. We even had a sandwich maker which made tasty little hot sandwiches :)

One side of our small bedroom.

The shower, toilet, and sink.

Looking back at this experience, I am so grateful for a house and SPACE. I know people live like this every day so I am especially grateful for all the things I have.

Hope you enjoyed the tour that lasted about 5 seconds! :)

The Help

A few weeks ago I went with some friends to see 'The Help' in theaters. WOW, it was such a great movie. I was laughing and crying through the whole thing. It really made me think twice about how I treat people.

The Help is a 2009 novel by Kathryn Stockett. The story is about African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s.

I had a few friends who already read the book but as a new mommy I sometimes don't even have time to take a NAP! So I opted out of reading the book and did a girls night out to see the movie. I've heard the book is REALLY good so if you decide to read the book before hand you can get it at Amazon I believe for the best price.

Halloween Costume Review

Check out my Styled by Night Halloween costume review I did for Costume Discounters!

http://styledbynight.blogspot.com/2011/09/halloween-costume-review.html

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

Again, I had all the simple ingredients for this DELISH dish!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

(makes 9)

■1 cup all-purpose flour

■1 cup oats

■1/2 cup packed brown sugar

■1 tsp baking powder

■1/2 tsp baking soda

■1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin pie mix

 (Use the Easy Pumpkin Pie mix that already has the spices in it)

■1 egg

■1 tbsp canola oil

■1/2 tsp cinnamon

■1/4 cup raisins

■1/4 cup walnuts

(I didn't add the walnuts or raisins. Instead, I added chocolate chips!!!)

Directions:

■Preheat oven to 375*F

■Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line muffins cups.

■Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl; blend well.

■Pour batter evenly into muffin tins.

■Bake for 18-20 minutes.

■Allow to cool, and enjoy!

Labor Day 2011

We had a wonderful, lazy, Labor Day...well Clark worked almost all day and I took care of the kids so I guess it wasn't too lazy but I would like to think it was....We took the kiddos in the pool later that day (mostly for mom's benefit because I am pasty white!) and they enjoyed it! Phil brought home some things to grill out and Clark made some amazing homemade onion rings.

Thanks Bill and Linda for the cute crab outfits!

Cinnamon Sugar Almonds

I found this recipe and had all the simple ingredients:

Directions:

 In a large skillet combine the sugar, cinnamon and water. Add the almonds and stir constantly with a spoon over medium heat, coating the almonds with the syrupy mixture. Keep stirring until the sugar crystallizes. Remove the pan from heat and scoop the almonds onto wax or parchment paper. Let the cinnamon almonds cool before serving. These can be made a few days ahead.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

3 cups raw almonds (or any other nut)

1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 cup water

Took less than 10 minutes! YUM!!!

Our kids

I'm not gonna lie, taking care of two babies is a lot more tough than I expected. They want to eat at the same time, be with mama at the same time, wake up at the same time, fall asleep at the same time....or fall asleep at separate times and wake up at separate times resulting in mom always having a kid up and no break! But I know the Lord gives me strength some how! I love taking care of these babies. They make me smile and laugh and even cry because I am so filled with joy. Who wouldn't love these little faces