Lenten Madness.

See this stuff?  

It's one of my biggest weaknesses in the world.  I know, I know.  It's insanely terrible for you.  But I've loved it for years.  I've quit a few times, but can't seem to quit for good.  And I've gone through a few times in my life that I drink obscene amounts of it every day.  OBSCENE.  I've been getting bad about it since having the boys too (caffeine free though!).  

So this year for Lent I decided to give it up.  Madness people, madness.  Today was my first day sans-DC and I survived.  Sure, I drank a cup of coffee.  But coffee is so much more work than just walking the the fridge and cracking open a can that I'm confident it won't just replace my beloved DC ... it'll just help get me through the mornings.  

The hubby has decided to give up meat.  He has an unhealthy relationship with it.  I mean, he's not a "meat and potatoes" man, he's a "meat" man.  One time at a family gathering he ate 7 steaks.  That's it.  Just beef.  I feel sorry for his GI system.  Of course, because he has given up meat, I'll be eating significantly less of it too. It's a good thing though.  I think it'll shake up the monotony of dinner ideas and open his mind to beans and seafood.  

The next 40 days will be interesting in our house.  We aren't sure who'll be crabbier:  me without Diet Coke or him without meat.  I think both of our money is on me.  Seriously, it's an addiction.  I miss it already....

Twin Weight Tuesdays.

My keyboard is getting a workout today.  I've started this post a million times and deleted every attempt.  I just don't have many words to describe how I feel about weight loss this week.  So I'll leave you with some of the pictures I've been looking at lately for motivation.

It's not about looking like this person again.  It's about feeling like her.  Feeling strong, energetic, and healthy.  I'll get there.

Weekend success.

Can I just say that I loooooove weekends?  They've always been precious to us since I worked nights and weekends and our time as a family was already limited.  But now?  They're so.insanely.important.  They are days that Brian and I can accomplish things as a team and time that we can focus on the 5 of us.  I love it.  And long weekends?  I die.  They're amazing and beautiful and spectacular and seem to fall perfectly into times when I'm starting to lose it and am in need of my hubby's presence for an extra day.  (Yay God.)

So we had a pretty productive weekend.  Some things didn't get accomplished and some things were added in.  And while I planned I totally forgot that Brian had Monday off, so that was a big fat bonus.  All in all?  Fantastic weekend.  Here's the breakdown:


Friday

• Finish boys laundry and diaper laundry
• Sort the rest of the laundry
• Organize coupons
• Menu plan 
• K - finish Brian's Vday gift (he knew it would be late)  (moved from Saturday)

Saturday

• Laundry
• K - coffee with a friend
• Run errands as a family  (added)
• Clean out babies' dresser (added)

Sunday

• Laundry
• Clean and organize laundry room
• Steam mop floors
• Family walk to yogurt shop (this might not happen depending on weather!)

Monday

• Play frisbee golf as a family (added)
• B - mow lawn and edge (moved from Saturday)
• B - fix screens (added)
• B - fix under-cabinet lights (added)
• K - sort through baby clothes (added)

So there you have it.  I still need to steam mop the floors, organize my coupons, and menu plan.  But it felt like a very productive weekend.  We're getting better at balancing life and babies as they get older.  It feels good to function semi-smoothly.  Emphasis on the semi.

Florida in February.

Last weekend we threw housework out the window and decided to get out of the house.  We went to the local Toys-R-Us that's going out of business and got a crap ton of stuff for under $130.  (Brennan's 3rd birthday ... done!)

On the way home we decided to stop at our favorite park to let Brennan burn some energy.  It was gorgeous outside, which is still hard to wrap my brain around since it's February, but we certainly enjoyed it.  The babies are getting old enough to enjoy the swings now and Brennan doesn't need quite as much supervision (read: stalking) as he used to, so it was a nice relaxing visit.

Documenting the cuteness overload:

Poor Kiernan has insanely light and wind sensitive eyes.  The tiniest breeze makes him squint.  He was giggling up a storm though!  And do his legs not look a mile long in this photo?!

Mr. Beckett was cool as a cucumber.  He could've stayed in that swing all day.  

All of mama's boys enjoying the swings!

It took 12 tries to get Brennan looking at the camera.  And that blanket on Brian's lap?  Covering the pile of puke Kiernan had just gifted his Daddy.  He's so generous.

I love it when my insane photo snapping actually produces a cute picture of my little tornado.  He's so much fun these days.  Love him.

Weekend planning.

Weekends are precious in our house.  We've always looked forward to them, but once the twins were born they became exponentially more valuable.  It's not only our time to relax and spend time with each other as a family, but also to GET.SHIT.DONE.  On a day-to-day basis, I barely have time to accomplish the essential tasks - vacuum the family room, do dishes, wash bottles, pick up toys, keep the kitchen clean.  I try to squeeze in other stuff when I can, but big projects seem to get left in the dust.  So every week I formulate a nice plan in my head of all of the things I want to get done for the weekend.  

The problem is that Brian does the same thing.  He makes his own list, which doesn't usually overlap with mine at all, with the exception of spending family time.  Inevitably, Brian heads off to tackle things on his list and I'm left to tend to the boys and stew and boil and get insanely irritated because I have 78934 things to do and no help and WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT OF EVEN TRYING WHEN YOUR HUSBAND DOESN'T EVEN LOVE YOU?!?!?!   (Can you see how things escalate quickly?  I have a tiny tiny tiny bit of a temper when I get frustrated and overwhelmed.  Brian is a freaking saint.)  So then the lawn is mowed and the cars are gleaming, but we're wading through 4 inches of dirt and dog hair inside the house.  (Oh, and I like to exaggerate too.)

So we decided to start coming up with a joint list, with a balance of tasks for each of us so that we're better able to function as a team.  Last weekend it worked well, but I thought it might be useful to blog about it to keep us on track.  A few of the blogs I read do Weekend Planning posts weekly, so maybe I'll link up to them too!  So here's the rundown of what we'll be doing this weekend:

Friday

• Finish boys laundry and diaper laundry
• Sort the rest of the laundry
• Organize coupons
• Menu plan 

Saturday

• Laundry
• K - coffee with a friend
• K - finish Brian's Vday gift (he knew it would be late)
• B - mow lawn and edge

Sunday

• Laundry
• Clean and organize laundry room
• Steam mop floors
• Family walk to yogurt shop (this might not happen depending on weather!)

We'll see how well we do!  Who else has busy weekends??

Twin Weight Tuesdays.

Woo Hoo!  Actually writing this on a Tuesday this week!

Anyways,  there isn't much to update on this week.  I haven't lost any weight, but I haven't gained any either, which is always a celebration in my book.  I'm working on finding the time and energy to workout each day.  These babies are not making it easy as we're having sleep troubles.  And honestly, the last thing that I want to do  when I'm running on 3 hours of sleep is work out.  So that's the current issue.  And when I'm tired and stressed, I eat.  So that's the other part of the issue.  Right now I'm trying to focus on jumping on the treadmill even if I have 10 minutes.  Because those 10 minutes are better than no time at all.

As weird as it sounds, my goal for this week is to straighten out the boys sleep struggles.  Because if I can work that out, I'll have more time to focus on exercise!

Blog Roll Please.

I've been reading a variety of blogs for a few years now and writing in my own for a little over a year.  I wouldn't consider myself a "blogger", but I do enjoy writing to keep my friends updated on our lives, to have something written to look back at and remember these crazy times, and just a place to vent!  Having my own little strand of this great big spiderweb we call the internet is fun.  And I love reading other people's strands too!

I thought it'd be fun to list some of my favorite blogs.  You know, the ones you read first when a new entry pops up on your reader?  Anyone who reads blogs knows what I'm talking about!  Funny thing is, when I did just that this morning and clicked onto my dear friend's blog, I saw that she had done the same thing!  I love it when even after more than 10 years of friendship, I'm reminded why I keep certain people in my life.

Anyways, here are some of favorite things to read while feeding and rocking babies (and maybe sitting on the toilet behind a closed door with the sole purpose of getting some alone time without husband, kids, or dogs.  Shhhh, don't tell them).  Because, let's be honest, holding babies is mostly what I do all day.  No one asked me to write about their blogs.  These are honestly just my favorites, with my own little descriptions.  Enjoy.

Mommies

• the Heir to Blair:  I feel like I could be friends with BethAnne in real life.  And her blog is probably popular because that's how a lot of other mamas feel too.  She writes about real life with a toddler (a little boy just a few days older than Brennan), being a working mom, battling with postpartum depression, and struggles with her weight.  She's real.  She's witty.  I like her.
• Baby Rabies:  Jill is a lot like BethAnne.  In fact, I think they're friends in real life.  She's funny and honest and makes no bones about putting in writing what a lot of moms think about life and kids but won't say.  Her Momisms make me laugh out loud.  

• The Southern Belle {and her boys}:  Jessica is another mama that I feel like I could be friends with.  She writes about being a mommy, a wife, and a child of God.  She has a little boy who's cute as a button and another arriving any day now who'll no doubt be just as cute.

• What the blog?:  Jenny has freaking triplets.  Triplets!!  So she writes a lot about them.  And she pumped, nursed, and bottle fed them for a year, so she's a great inspiration.  And she's funny and marches to the beat of her own drum.  And she has triplets.  'nuff said.
• Baby Making:  This one is pretty new to me.  I stumbled upon it from another twin blog, and I like it so far.  Becky has twin boys who are a few months older than mine.  She's relateable.  I like that. 
• Young House Life:  So I guess this isn't technically a Mommy blog, but more of a family blog.  John & Sherry's main blog is Young House Love, a DIY and home reno blog that I also follow and love.  But since we're renting and can't do anything to our current home, reading that one just makes me jealous.  So I get more excited for Young House Life posts because the focus is Clara, they're sweet little girl.  So cute!
• Momastery:  I recently stumbled across this one too and I'm IN LOVE.  Glennon writes so beautifully.  When I read some posts she writes, I think, yeah, that's exactly how I feel, but she prettied up the words a lot.  Her article for the Huffington Post "Don't Carpe Diem" went a bit viral on facebook recently.  I believe it's because she's saying things that many mommies are too afraid to admit.  Honesty goes a long way with me, and she's got plenty of it.

Funny Ladies
• The Bloggess:  I discovered Jenny's blog when my friend Emily sent me a blog post about Beyonce, the giant metal chicken.  It's pee-your-pants funny, if you have the same sense of humor as I do.  She suffers from anxiety and depression and seems to use her writing as an outlet for recovery.  Respectable AND hilarious.  What's not to like?
• Barefoot Foodie:  Self-proclaimed chubby girl, Brittany loves herself no matter how big or small she is at any given moment.  She curses, she babbles, she's flippin' hysterical.  You should read her blog.
People I Know
• A Modern Family:  My best friend from high school.  She's known her husband for over half of her life (and she's only 28), they've lived in 4 different places in the last 5 years (or so), she has a sweet little girl who's a month older than my boys and half their size.  She's an eternal optimist and a great friend.  She writes about all things mommy and family.  
• oneCHURCHaWEEK:  My sister-in-law has decided to try out a different church each week for a year and to blog about it.  She's funny and irreverent and pretty much the female version of my husband ... no wonder I like her.
• My Happy House:  I went to high school with Molly and discovered her blog when I asked her about some freezer meals I had seen her write about on facebook.  She writes about keeping a tidy house (and shares some great tips - although I won't be able to keep up with them til my boys are out of this house), shares yummy recipes, and talks about her cute chubby-cheeked Cam.
• Adventures in Mommyland:  My friend Steph from my L&D days started a blog about being a mommy, which morphed into the perfect outlet to chronicle her experiences as a surrogate gestational carrier.  She hasn't written since shortly after giving birth to that little man, but I'm hoping I can talk her into it because having 3 kids in 3 (or so) years is definitely interesting to hear about...