Month: January 2018

31
Jan
2018

January Book Review

How is it the last day of January already? At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself to create better habits in my life. One of the areas I wanted to focus on was self-care habits, especially working to intentionally set aside time to spend doing things that I love.. like READING! I have to say, this has been amazing for me. I thought since this was something I have loved, maybe some of you will too. I’m going to start a monthly book review to keep myself accountable to my new goal, but also so we can share good book recommendations!

I read 5 books this month, which is already more than I read all of last year. (Insert embarrassed emoji here.) Three of them I loved, one was fine, and the other I just really didn’t enjoy. That’s not too bad for my first month!

It Ends With Us – Colleen Hoover

This was the first book I read this year and it was the best way to begin. I flew through this one and yet it was so hard to read in the best way. Given the chance, I will always pick a light hearted book over any other book. This was not light hearted and yet still one of the best books that I’ve maybe ever read. (I know.)

This story was of personal experience to the author which made it even more endearing to read. It’s a love story filled with heart break that made me see relationships in a whole other way than I had before. This book had me from the very first page and didn’t let up it’s fast pace the whole time. I’m not sure how to give much detail on the synopsis without giving away the heart of the story so I’ll just say that this is one you should read. It’s one of those that sticks with you and I won’t be able to forget it. The characters were so relatable and realistic that I felt their emotions myself!

I just really loved this one. I also loved that the author didn’t shy away from telling the story full of the details that needed to be told. Alert: graphic scenes and language, just FYI.

Cancel the Wedding – Carolyn Dingman

With this title, I went in thinking this book was going to be a cute little romance. No way! This book was so much more than that. A little romance, a little conflict, a little heartbreak and a lot of mystery. And I LOVED it. This was the author’s first book and I was disappointed to see that so far it’s her only! I love how she writes and the story she weaved together.

It’s about a woman who travels to a small town in Georgia to scatter her mother’s ashes. She goes there originally for a few days to do some research on her mother’s life before she was her mother – a life that was purposefully kept secret. She finds out way more than she bargained for and has to reconcile the things she learns with the woman she thought she knew. It’s one of those really good books that keeps you guessing and up past midnight because you can’t put it down. Totally recommend!

November 9 – Colleen Hoover

I wanted to read another Colleen Hoover book this month because I loved It Ends With Us so much. I chose this one because I loved the idea of the plot and I think it was her next most recent one she published.

The story is about two people who meet by chance, develop a meaningful and intense connection and agree to meet back on that day every year for 5 years. It started as a sweet love story but then kind of took a dark turn. I was a little over halfway through this one and I was absolutely loving it. And then sadly… I just didn’t. I found the end of the book unsatisfying and a little difficult to get through. I didn’t dislike it, I just had a hard time reconciling the end of the story with the rest of the book?

I love the way Colleen Hoover writes but maybe it was just the plot of this one that I didn’t enjoy as much as her other book. I think I need to read another of hers in the next couple months and break the tie. 😉

The Professionals – Owen Laukkanen

I hadn’t intended to read this book this month but I’m so glad I did! My husband has been teasing me about how into my books I’ve been lately and how I’ve been staying up way too late some nights wrapped up in a story. I convinced him to choose one for himself a couple weeks ago and this is the one he chose. Well wouldn’t you know that HE got so wrapped up in this book that he read it in less than a week. (And if you know my husband you know that’s a big deal for him to care that much about a book.) He just could not put it down! I picked it up one day while the kids were watching a movie, read a little and I understood why he didn’t want to stop reading.

THis isn’t usually my genre of book but it was so good! It’s a thriller/suspense novel about a group of kids who just graduated college and are facing a dreadful job market. They decide to start kidnapping rich men and asking for a low amount of ransom from their wives. They receive their money, let the men go and move on to another city to do it all again. It all works great until they accidentally kidnap someone of importance and it all spiral wildly out of control.

Owen Laukkanen, the author, wrote these college kid’s thoughts and behaviors so realistically that he just about had me on their side of this whole scheme. They were just so likeable! The book was extremely fast moving, unpredictable and doesn’t focus on the gore and violence that similar story lines might have. It was a book I wouldn’t have chosen for myself, but I’m so glad I read! This was the author’s first novel but he has since published more that will probably have to make it to my list!

It’s Not Okay – Andi Dorfman

So, if I’m being honest I struggled with this one. Backstory: I’m a total Bachelor fan and have been for years. I don’t really even know why, but even in all it’s ridiculousness I enjoy the show. I read Sean Lowe’s book For the Right Reasons last year and I totally loved it. I love hearing behind the scenes info from the show and I really loved hearing about his faith journey. So I thought I would read more books from the Bachelor franchise. Andi’s book has been on my list for a long time.

I wanted to like it but I just struggled. I thought it was marketed as a ‘tell all’ but it’s really more a book about dealing with break-ups with tiny bits of Bachelor experience in between. I think I may not have been in the target audience of this book which was probably why I didn’t enjoy it very much! Parts of the book were way too TMI for my taste so it was a little difficult to get through. Unless you are in the target ‘dealing with a break up’ audience, if you want to read a Bachelor book I would absolutely recommend Sean Lowe’s!

Now it’s your turn! What have you read lately that you loved? What should be on my list to read next?

26
Jan
2018

Friday Favorites {1.26.18}

categories: Everyday Life

Happy Friday!! This week definitely made us work for it! This is pretty much how I’m feeling right now too.

I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for Friday Favorites!

one

I added a bunch of adorable Valentine’s to my Etsy shop this week. They are all $5 Instant Downloads that you can print at home yourself!

All of these new designs are available either as treat bag toppers OR as 4 x 4 Valentine card tags that you can use alone or even attach to candy or another treat. Plus you can spare yourself the annoying picked over Valentine section at the store.

I love the treat bag toppers because I can buy a big bag of whatever the kids want to give out (like M&Ms, goldfish, etc.) and they can split it into snack size baggies instead of buying all the individually wrapped packages of things.

You can click any of the pictures to be taken to the listing. Or you can click here to see all the Valentine’s in my shop. Keep me in mind when you are looking for easy Valentine’s for your kiddos to take to school or daycare!

two

It’s just been one of those weeks! Josh has been working long hours in a busy season at work. The little boys are sick with colds so they are crabby and not sleeping well. The house is a straight up disaster that I feel like I’m always picking up but it’s not making a difference. I’m totally testing the limits of my dry shampoo. And I’m just tired and weary. We’ve all been there.

I love when I stumble upon a Bible passage that just speaks to me, even when I’m not looking for it. I saw this passage and just felt that it was meant for me. I so need some ‘strength in my soul’. When I looked it up in my Bible, it is from the ‘Hymn of a Grateful Heart’ which is even more perfect.

three

I posted Part 2 of my step-by-step guide to making birthday cakes this week. I’ve been making my kid’s birthday and special occasion cakes for 7 years and I’ve learned SO much. If you have ever wanted to make birthday cakes for your kiddos but didn’t think you could- go read this. I promise you can. Part 1 is about the baking and Part 2 is about the decorating.

four

My mom works in academic support and recommended this Mathopolis app to me to help Caleb with his ‘math facts’. They’ve been working on addition and subtraction and they are working on getting basic repetition down (4 + 4, 6 + 5, etc). He loves the app because as you answer questions correctly within the time limit, you help put out the fire. It’s so much more fun than flash cards! 😉 They have all 4 operations and different levels for each. It’s perfect for adding a little fun into homework which is ALWAYS a favorite here.

five

I’m putting this book in my book review next week so I almost didn’t add this to my favorites. And then I just had to. When I made a goal for myself to start a habit of making time to read this year, Josh jumped on board too. He grabbed The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen at the library last week and I have never seen him read a book so fast. Truly. And we’ve been together for over 13 years.

Josh and I don’t usualy read the same kind of book. I’m more light and fluffy stories and he likes the thriller/suspense which usually isn’t my scene. I was cuddling on the couch with Luke and Reid the other day when they weren’t feeling well and picked up the book out of curiosity. And then I couldn’t stop. It was SO good, you guys. It’s super suspenseful and an action thriller without being gory or too intense. I really loved it. If you are looking for a good book to get wrapped up in (even if you don’t usually read this genre) – check this one out!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

24
Jan
2018

A real mom’s guide to making birthday cakes for your kids – Part 2!

categories: DIY

(This post contains affiliate links that may provide a small commission to me at zero extra cost to you. Click to see my full disclosure here.)

Happy Wednesday everyone! I’m here talking about cakes again and I’m excited because this is the fun part. If you missed last week, I posted about how to bake birthday cakes and this week it’s all about easy ways to decorate them! You absolutely have to have solid, flat, delicious (obviously!) cake layers if you want to decorate a cake yourself so go back and read all those tips in Part 1 before you bake your cake.

Just as a side note, all my decorating tips are to be used with frosting. I’m not a fondant girl and I don’t think I’ll ever be one. 😉 Fondant doesn’t taste good and personally, I’m making my cakes so that they look cute but also so they taste delicious! Just taste the very best homemade frosting that I’ve been using for years (recipe down below in step 2) and I think you’ll see why.

I love to search Pinterest for cake inspiration. It is such a great idea resource! I find a few inspiration pins and then always put my own spin on an idea! You can check out my cake board here.

Decorating seems to be the scary part for everyone – I know it was for me when I started making my kids cakes. I promise though, these easy tips are all you need to make an amazing cake PLUS I’m going to share the very best homemade frosting recipe that I’ve been using for years.

Things you need:

Cake board (if your cake isn’t already on one) (Half sheet cake size, 8 and 9 inch round or 10 inch round)

Decorating Tips – see my favorites down in step 5

Decorating Bags

Gel Food coloring

Lots of my favorite homemade frosting – see step 2

Any decorating elements you choose (small toys, candles, etc.)

Angled Frosting knife

White piping bag couplers (totally optional – I use them when I need two different tips for the same frosting color – see step 5)

Rotating decorating turn table (also optional but makes turning cakes to decorate the sides a lot easier)

Step 1: Trim and/or carve your cake layers

If you followed all the steps in Part 1 for baking a flat (not raised in the center) cake then you really shouldn’t need to do much trimming off the top if at all. You do want your cake layers to be as flat as possible so if you see any raised areas, just easily trim them off with a serrated knife.

I love using cake shape as an easy part of my design. You can do this by carving the cake or using different size cakes to form a shape. I made this Paw Patrol cake by using a double layered 9 inch round cake and four cupcakes to form a paw.

I made these “2” cakes for my twins by carving 8 inch round cakes and an 8 x 8 square cake with the below tutorial from Cakebaker that I found on Pinterest for easy ways to make number cakes!

Whenever you carve a cake, I prefer to do the carving with a serrated knife on a separate cutting board and then move my carved pieces to my cake board. Doing it that way prevents tiny pieces of cake from getting stuck all over your board. (TIP: I put a tiny bit of frosting on the cake board where I am going to lay my cake so that it doesn’t slide around when the board is moved!)

Step 2: Mix up your frosting and color it!

I’ve made a lot of frosting when I’ve been baking but this recipe I’m going to share is my very favorite. I’ve been asked for this recipe a bunch of times when I bring my cakes places because it’s really amazing.

Wilton Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups of powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons of milk (I usually use the full 4 to make sure that the icing is not too thick to spread)

Cream butter and shortening together with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Mix in the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, mixing between each cup you add. Gradually add the milk, until you reach the right consistency.

The amount of frosting you need to make depends on the size of the cake you have. In order to have enough frosting for a base coat and any frosting decorations I want to do, I listed below how many batches of my frosting I make up. It’s just a guide though, you may need more or less depending on how thickly you frost your cake and how many colors of frosting you need!

8 inch round double layer cake – 3 batches

9 inch round double layer cake – 3 batches

10 inch round double layer cake – 3-4 batches

Half sheet cake (12 x 18) – 4-5 batches

I strongly recommend that you mix up these batches individually or the frosting doesn’t mix properly. For example, if you need 3 batches do NOT triple the recipe in your mixer. Mix the recipe up 3 times. It’s worth it.

Use gel food coloring to color frosting in the amount you need for your design! I always use gel coloring instead of the traditional liquid. It gives brighter, deeper colors and also doesn’t add liquid to make your frosting too thin! In my experience, the color does get deeper with time. I’ve had trouble trying to mix up a bright red that just wouldn’t change from a dark pink. I used it anyway and the next morning it was very red!

Step 3: Stack your cakes

If you are making a single layer cake (like a half sheet cake) – you can skip this step!

If you are making a double layer cake, put a dab of frosting in the center of your cake board and place one layer of your cake with the top facing up. (The flat side that was in your pan should go against the board for a flat, level base.

Put a good layer of frosting in between them. It always needs more than I think. Nobody wants a dry cake!

Then place your second layer on top of the frosting, with the top side down and the flat side up. It’s okay if there is a bit of a gap in between the layers- you can fill that in with frosting!

Step 4: Give the whole cake a base layer of frosting

Before you begin, make sure your frosting is the right consistency to spread. It should not be too stiff or it will not spread easily and will pull off the top layer of your cake! If it’s too thick, just mix in a little more milk in half teaspoon increments.

With your frosting knife, take big dollops of frosting and place a few of them over your cake. Gently spread them around until the top is covered. Then carefully do the sides, making sure to fill in any gaps between your layers of cake. You want a good, thick layer of frosting. Your knife should not be scraping the top of your cake, only touching frosting if that makes sense.

If you have a small gap between the bottom of your cake and the board, don’t worry. We’ll cover that up. If you have carved your cake and find that your cake is breaking apart as you frost, you can always follow the below step for putting frosting in a piping bag and pipe on your frosting with a large tip. Just gently smooth the top out.

Step 5: Add your decorations!

This is the fun part! Now that you have your base layer over all your cake, you can go back and add anything you want. Place your frosting tip of choice in your piping bag, snip off the end and place it into a glass. Then fill up your bag with frosting, leaving enough room that you can twist it closed at the top.

There are probably hundreds of piping tips out there but these 5 are my favorites and the ones I most use.

# 1M – I always use for frosting cupcakes or for piping borders on cakes

# 12 – I use for general decorating, filling in shapes, or borders on cakes

# 3 – I use for fine decorating details and any writing I do

# 233 – Grass, Elmo’s hair, dog fur, anything fun like that. I love what this tip can do.

# 47– I think it’s purpose is supposed to be a basket weave or straight ribbon but I love using it for a border.

I’m not very good freehanding my designs so I love to use guides. I’ve lightly traced around cups, straight edges, etc. with a toothpick, then piped over it with frosting to make a design. I also love to print images off the computer on regular paper, cut them out and gently lay them on the cake to trace the shapes (especially with character cakes!). I traced the shield and the bone in the Paw Patrol cake I mentioned earlier.

I used a ruler to mark the web on this Spider-Man cake and traced the Batman shape from something I printed online.

And this soccer cake, I laid a smaller cake pan on top and lightly traced the shape for the soccer field!

I also love to decorate cakes with small toys or edible items. It’s an easy way to make your cake fit the theme without having to free-hand difficult decorations. The soccer balls and goals on that soccer cake and the Paw Patrol pups were perfect for those cakes. The train tracks on these “2” cakes were made with upside down Hershey bars, black icing and small toy trains. I loved using tractors and crushed up Oreo “dirt” to decorate this construction themed cake too!

Finally, I always place a border around the bottom of the cake to cover up the messy gap where it sits on the board. You can do anything with this you choose. Sometimes I just do dots of frosting, sometimes I try to be fancy with the basket weave tip.

** You can also use these white couplers if you want to use the same color frosting with different tips. You place the larger piece of the coupler inside your bag and snip off the end. The tip fits on the coupler outside the bag, and then the other piece of the coupler screws in around the tip to hold it in place. You can unscrew that and replace the tip with another without having to get a new frosting bag.**

Also, if you mess something up don’t panic! Either roll with it or scrape off your mistake, replace your base layer of frosting and try again. 😉 I may have done that a time or two.

That’s it! If I can do this, you can absolutely do this too. If you have any questions, contact me or post in comments! Your cake does NOT have to look perfect to be perfect for your child!

Happy cake decorating!

18
Jan
2018

A real mom’s guide to making birthday cakes for your kids

categories: DIY

(This post contains affiliate links that may provide a small commission to me at zero extra cost to you. Click to see my full disclosure here.)

Today I’m talking about one of my favorite subjects- birthday cake! It’s birthday season in our house and I’ve been in the kitchen a lot lately baking cakes, treats for school, etc. I was thinking the other day how I much I enjoy making their cakes myself but how intimidating I used to find the thought of it. And so this post was born. I’m going to share all my easy tips and I promise when you are done reading, you absolutely can do it yourself too. I’m going to break this down into two parts – today’s post will be all about baking the cakes. Next week in part 2, I will share my easy tips to decorate them.

Growing up, my aunt always made all of my birthday cakes. I’m pretty sure I asked for a Barbie birthday cake (you know the kind with the actual doll in the middle of a dress made of cake) for at least 5 years in a row. I remember being so excited to see it and watching out the window for her to arrive at my party with my cake.I never even realized that was something special that she did for me until I was in college. I somehow thought that everyone had an aunt that liked to decorate cakes. 😉

Years later, I found out that my grandma used to decorate cakes and sell them out of her home when my mom and my aunt were little. She would of course make their birthday cakes too and taught my aunt how to bake and decorate them. My grandma died when I was really little so I don’t have very many memories of her. I had always loved to bake and hearing that she did too made me feel connected to her in a way that I hadn’t before. I have always made my kid’s birthday cakes myself because I want to but also because it makes me feel close to her. I love that I come from a line of cake bakers and I like to think this is in my genes. (That’s a thing, right?)

PLUS it’s way cheaper than store bought, it can look exactly how I want it and the look in my boy’s eyes when they come down on their birthday party morning and see the cake I made is priceless.

When I had my own kids, I started making their birthday cakes and learned a lot from my aunt and A LOT from trial and error. If you have ever wanted to bake your child’s birthday cake but were too intimidated to try, follow these easy steps. I promise you. It’s way easier than you think it is!

I love baking half sheet cakes (12 x 18) for their birthday parties which is what I did in the pictures here. I love half sheet cakes because they feed a ton (30-40+ people in my experience), have an easy flat surface for decorating and are thick enough that they look great without needing to have layers stacked. However, you can follow these steps for any size cake pans. I included notes in each step for how I bake 8 inch, 9 inch and 10 inch round double layer cakes.

Things you need:

Cake pan – Wilton cake pans are always my choice (These are the ones I have for half sheet cake, 8 inch, 9 inch and 10 inch round.)

Baking strips – see below in step 2 for my cheater version

Parchment Paper

Cooking spray (like Pam)

3 cake mixes + eggs, oil and water per the mix instructions – I like to use 2 of one flavor and 1 of another but you can always use 3 of the same! **See my notes below in Step 3 for amount of cake mix needed for other size cakes**

Cake board (Half sheet cake size, 8 and 9 inch round or 10 inch round)

Step 1: Prepare your cake pan

Take your cake pan and lay it on a sheet of parchment paper. Use a pencil to trace the outline of your pan and cut it out with scissors. Place it in the bottom of your pan. I usually don’t line the sides of my pans but I do spray them with cooking spray. You absolutely can line the sides if you want to, and it’s fine to let parchment paper stick out over the sides of the pans.

It’s tempting, but don’t skip this step. Especially with larger cakes, sometimes pieces of your cake do stick in the pan even when you spray it well. And that SUCKS.

TIP: If you are having trouble with the parchment paper curling and not staying flat in your pan, spray your pan with cooking spray so it has something to stick to. It’s not necessary, but I always do this so that my paper lays where I want it to. The last thing I want is the paper moving while I pour the batter and having half of my cake stick to the pan.

Step 2: Wet and wrap your baking strips

Baking strips are like a hidden secret that I discovered years ago. If you’ve ever baked a cake before, you’ve probably seen how the middle of the cake commonly domes up when it bakes. That’s fine for cakes you are planning to spread with frosting and leave in your 9 x 13 pan. It’s not good though when you need to remove your cake from the pan, stack it with another and decorate it. You can try to trim off the dome, but you lose a good chunk of your cake and your edges are funky and crispy from baking unevenly.

Wetting these baking strips with cool water and placing them around your pan helps the cake cook more evenly. They get rid of the dome and the crispy edges. You can buy these strips OR you can be cheap like me. I use cut up strips of old (clean!) bath towel that I wet and safety pin around my cake pan. It does the same thing and costs nothing but is a little more work without that Velcro of the baking strips.

Step 3: Mix up your cake

A half sheet cake needs 3 cake mixes to fill for a nice, thick cake. I like to use 2 cake mixes of one flavor (here that is the funfetti) and 1 of another (here that is the chocolate) so that we can have two kinds of cake for the party. If you dump both your mixes into the pan at the same time, the bigger mix will fill approximately 2/3 of the pan and the other the remaining 1/3. It’s funny because people always love the line of pieces that are a mix between the two! Use a small spatula to smooth out the cake mixes to fill the corners of the pan.

I use 1 cake mix divided into two pans for 8 and 9 inch double layer cakes. When I do 10 inch double layer cakes, I use 1 full cake mix for each layer.

I don’t even attempt to make my own cake from scratch when I bake a half sheet cake because I know exactly 3 mixes fill it nicely and I don’t know how much a homemade batch would fill. I have made my own cake when baking 8, 9 or 10 inch round cakes. I’ve tried several different recipes and I’m going to be honest. They didn’t taste as good as the box mix so I hardly ever do it anymore. Because why do more work for something that doesn’t taste as good. #just saying

I have ‘doctored’ the cake mix though before with good results. Although absolutely not necessary, adding 1 extra egg to each cake mix and/or replacing the amount of vegetable oil called for with melted butter makes a more rich cake.

Step 4: Bake cake

Bake your cake according to package directions for 8 and 9 inch cakes. For 10 inch cakes, also bake at 350 degrees but for approximately 10 minutes longer than it says for the 9 inch cake. Keep an eye on your cakes! For the half sheet cake, I bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Here’s a pro tip from my aunt: The general rule of thumb is to bake a cake until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. That is actually too long. Once a fork comes out clean, the cake is already overbaked and too dry. Once the top of the cake is set and if you gently push down in the center with your finger and it springs back, then the cake is done. That’s the secret to a delicious moist – not dry – cake!

As a general rule, I always set a kitchen timer for at least 5 minutes less than the box recommends and keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t over bake.

Step 5: Dump and cool

Once you pull it out of the oven, set your half sheet cake still in the pan on top of the oven for 30 minutes to let it cool. Then carefully place the cake board on top of your pan and quickly flip it over to dump it onto the board. Let it cool the rest of the way before decorating which is probably at least an hour.

If you are using 8, 9 or 10 round layer cakes, let your cakes sit in the pan for 15-20 minutes and then dump onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

5 easy steps and your cake is baked. And it’s delicious! I’ll be back here next Wednesday with part 2 – How to decorate a birthday cake!

Thanks for stopping by! You can find me on Instagram here. Or on Pinterest here!

16
Jan
2018

5 ways to survive your first winter with twins! – Twin Tuesday

categories: Twin Tuesday

Today, we are officially over halfway through January and so begins the time of the year that I slowly start to lose my mind from being inside all the time. 😉 December is always full of fun with Christmas activities and seasonal temperatures but January, February and most of March (if you are in the Midwest like we are) can be tortuous. This year we have already had a bunch of windchill warnings and have another one issued for tonight, which makes getting out of the house to do anything with young children very difficult! They are too little to understand why they have to keep their hats and mittens on at all times and cannot express to you if they are cold or what body part may be exposed to the temperatures. As they get older, it gets much better but those first few years can be really difficult! Especially when you have twins!

When our twins were born premature in late September, before we were discharged the NICU doctors recommended to me that we keep them away from people and at home as much as possible during the next few months. It was daunting to think about the winter ahead stuck in the house all the time!

Today’s Twin Tuesday is all about how to survive your twin’s first winter. Because that first one is HARD. If you can survive the first one, you can do anything momma. Here are 5 things we did to make it through the winter with our infant twins.

Accept the realities

Our oldest son was born in January, so I didn’t have to go back to work until spring. We snuggled in and barely left the house his first few months of life. Since we didn’t have any other small children at home, we were all able to stay healthy during the traditional cold and virus season. Fast-forward to December right before he turned one and all 3 of us caught every single cold and virus that went through his day care. We were sick all the time his first real winter. I was super concerned and mentioned it to our pediatrician who said “Oh yes. A baby’s first winter, they get sick all the time. Don’t worry. It builds immunity.” And that was that. The same was true with our second baby’s first winter but I knew what to expect and didn’t sweat it.

I was more concerned though when we brought our premie twins home who had a much less mature immune system than our older two did facing their first winter. Our pediatrician warned me that we had to accept the reality that with two other children at home the odds of them not getting sick at all were slim. She told us to expect common colds but to call her if they had a fever or had trouble breathing.

Basically, we did our best. We kept the older boys away from them when they had a cold. We washed our hands like crazy and we limited visitors (and made them wash their hands too!). I was breastfeeding on demand and I felt comforted that would help them fight whatever they were exposed to also. They each got a small cold or two but nothing that concerned us or that I hadn’t expected.

Expect that your twins will probably get sick. Do the best you can to limit their exposure to germs and follow the advice of your pediatrician when they do. Try to appreciate that anything they do get will increase their immunity and hopefully make all future cold and virus seasons easier on all of you!

Find some inside activities outside your house

When the cold winter days seemed endless, I would sometimes pack up the babies and go walking at the mall before it opened to shoppers. It was pretty dead early in the morning so there wasn’t anyone wanting to touch the babies or get close to their faces (as strangers feel they need to do). Josh and I would also on the weekends sometimes take everyone to a local indoor Sports Complex on off hours just to get everyone out of the house. The older boys would watch whatever high school sport was being played while I walked around with the babies in the stroller. Again, no crowds so no people trying to stop me and get a look at the babies.

I loved using these car seat covers instead of having to dress the babies in thick coats inside their car seats. I would dress them normally in long sleeves, pants and a hat with a lightweight blanket and this cover. In the car and at our destination, I would unzip the sides of the cover so they didn’t get too warm. I was amazed at how nice and warm it kept them!

Attempt to get out without the babies

I know it’s hard, but attempting to get out of the house without the babies is extra important during the winter months of being constantly stuck inside. I find that if I’m not conscious of getting out of the house (even now!) it can really get me down. Mental health is so important with brand new babies and it’s difficult to be stuck inside without sunshine or interaction all day. You could plan for your significant other to keep the babies for a bit while you meet a friend, go grocery shopping, grab a book from the library or run some errands! It makes such a huge difference.

Enjoy the drive

When my twins were infants, the car was kind of our happy place. Sometimes they would nap, sometimes they wouldn’t but they were almost always quiet. We would go for drives in the winter for a change of scenery. I would listen to the radio or a podcast and sometimes I would stop for coffee at a drive-through. A drive for 30 minutes of the day did wonders for my outlook on being stuck inside!

Find a routine inside your home

I’ve always been a person who thrives on routine and I found when we were stuck inside that was even more the case. When we couldn’t leave the house, it helped to have a routine of even moving rooms of the house at the same time every day. For example, maybe we would start the day doing tummy time in the family room for awhile, then move upstairs while they played with a few toys in their bouncers and I folded laundry, then read books in the kitchen as I got lunch ready, etc. It seemed like so much work to move them from room to room but it gave us a purpose for our day and something to do. I still do a version of this with our two year old twins during the winter!

Don’t forget. You will make it through this too and it’s okay to count down the days until spring!

You can find more Twin Tuesday posts here!

12
Jan
2018

Friday Favorites {1.12.17}

categories: Everyday Life

It’s my favorite time of the week! Happy Friday!

Our week was spent pretty much boycotting all bed times so it was a rough one. At around 8:00 each night in our house, my energy level is at 2.4% and my boys are at 120%. I don’t even know how this happens. My kiddos had another short week at school and have Monday off next week. I’m not sure if we will make it when it comes time for a full week of school again!

Like always, I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for a fun list of Friday Favs. These are my favorite posts to read and put together!

one

After I killed my second giant Big Bubba water jug by dropping it (from the top of the car as we drove away and knocked off the counter by tiny hands), I knew I needed a different choice. I notice a huge difference in the way I feel when I’m dehydrated so I always keep a giant water bottle with me all the time. I got this stainless steel Liquid Savvy one for Christmas and I think I’m in love. It does a really good job at keeping my water cold and it came with 3 different lids to choose from. It has already been knocked on the floor a few times and there isn’t even a scratch on it! I do miss the huge straw that my Bubba had but on the plus side, this one never spills when it gets knocked over like that one did. I chose the 32 ounce bottle which is big enough to hold a good amount of water and small enough to fit in my cupholder in the car. I also love it because it’s only $20 unlike some of the other brands of stainless steel water bottles. It’s always a goal of mine to drink more water, and if that is you too – this one is my new favorite.

two

This week I posted my 2018 goals and one of them was to work on my terrible habit of worrying too much. My small group Bible study just chose a book by Max Lucado to read together called Anxious for Nothing. It arrived this week and I’m so looking forward to reading it. Just looking at the inside cover talking about how to overcome everyday worry spoke to me like I could have written those specific worries down myself. This book covers several of my 2018 goals- limiting worry, further developing my faith and prayer life and making more time reading as a self-care goal! (I’m quietly high fiving myself.)

three

My older boys both had birthdays in the last couple of weeks and we have had so much fun celebrating. We had a little birthday party last weekend for them with my family instead of a doing a big party like we usually do. The boys had a great time and we ordered pizza so there was zero stress for me. That’s my kind of party! I still made their choice of cake of course, because what’s a party without cake. 😉 Caleb chose a Yoda cake….

and Eli chose a Paw Patrol cake.

Instead of a doing a big party with friends, they chose to take a little trip as a family to celebrate. We’ve never stayed in a hotel all together since our twins were born so it should be a fun adventure. With lots of coffee….

four

The last couple of years, Caleb has decided that he wants to be an artist. He has always had an artistic eye like his Daddy so that never surprised me at all. He has an amazing art teacher at school that encourages him so much and I love seeing him in his element! My mom got him these two books for his birthday about creativity and art and they really are amazing. He loves The Dot more and I love Ish more, but they are both great. If you have a budding artist in your house, you should check these two Peter Reynolds books out!

five

Finally, I got these Fila yoga pants at Kohl’s and I love them so much they are all I have been wearing lately. They are super comfy and they have back pockets! Maybe it’s because of the pockets or maybe it’s the material but they look like real pants which makes me feel like I can wear them all the time. 😉 I have them in black but I’m definitely going back and finding them in gray!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you all have the best weekend!

10
Jan
2018

How we…. do resolutions

categories: Everyday Life

Happy Wednesday!

Today I’m linking up with Shay and Erika for their brand new How we do… link up. This month it’s How We Do Goals/Resolutions.

I have to say before I start that I’m all about making new goals/resolutions/etc. but I haven’t been super great at keeping them. I think part of my problem is that I set my goals to a standard that is completely unrealistic to keep. For example, a few months after my twins were born I famously set tons of 2016 resolutions including working out 4 times a week and waking up early every day before the kids. Obviously, I failed miserably. Those are not realistic goals for a mother of 4 with infant twins.

I started thinking about goals to set for 2018 and I feel like mine almost always follow a similar pattern: pray more, exercise more, read more, etc. Which are always things I need to work on. Although I consistently do a little better each year they are still at the top of my list. This year, I kept seeing all over my social media the ‘One Little Word’ that people have chosen for 2018. Nothing really resonated with me until I thought back to a Matthew Kelly book I read in 2017 called Resisting Happiness. (If you haven’t read anything by Matthew Kelly, you should. I love everything I’ve read of his and I find him completely inspiring. He just speaks my language.)

There was a chapter of the book that he talked about the power of habits. He says that your habits, whether they are good ones or bad ones, are actually what shape our lives. Bad habits are formed easily, but good habits take “great intentionality and persistence” to create.

And so… I found my word.

Habits. This year I’m going to focus on my habits in these areas.

Self-care

Self-care is a constant struggle for me. I absolutely need to work on better habits that allow me to find things for me that I love. This past year, I opened my Etsy shop which has really been a huge bright spot in my life. There is something about design that brings me joyful peace and I have some big goals set for this year.

I want to be more intentional with how I spend my time in the evenings after the kids go to bed. Social media and binge watching shows all have a time and place but it’s my goal to keep them in their place… which is not the entire evening. Haha! I think this is where those exercise more and read more habits come in.

Worry

If we want to talk about bad habits, here’s one for you. I am a worrier. In a bad way. (I just started listing things that I worry about and it was ridiculous, you guys. So I hit delete.) If you can think of something, I most likely worry about it. I would imagine that everyone is a worrier to some extent, but it’s obviously a problem when it starts to consume your thoughts on a regular basis. I think I’m walking a fine line in that area. I don’t think for me that it’s an easy solution to just stop worrying ;), but I’m excited this year to work on strong habits in my faith and prayer life.

Embracing this Stage

This is the stage of a messy house, endless laundry, being needed all the time, and switching back and forth between a referee and a chauffeur. I think I’ve struggled with trying to embrace this stage we are at instead of trying to change it or speed it up. I need to work on accepting that the house is messy and that’s okay. I will literally NEVER be caught up on laundry and that’s okay. My children will probably never stop switching between perfect angels and WWE fighters at the drop of a hat and that’s okay too. 😉 And it’s also okay to be so flipping exhausted at the end of the day and still have nothing really to show for it other than that the kids are all alive, fed and mostly clean. So I’m going to make it a habit to focus on the joy and the fun and try to let go of the rest.

Also, to stop comparing myself to other mommas who look like they have it all together. (Or corner them and ask them their secrets.)

I’m excited to see what 2018 has in store for us. And how everyone else does their goals for this year!

Thanks for stopping by! You can find me on Instagram here.

09
Jan
2018

Lucky number seven

categories: Everyday Life

I was saying to Josh yesterday that 7 years and 1 day ago we were just Amy and Josh. We weren’t Mom and Dad yet. How crazy is that to think about? Now there are days that it seems that is all we are! All those years ago we had no idea what being a parent actually meant.

Yesterday Caleb, my very first baby boy turned 7. And it has gone by in a flash. As I do for all my kiddos in honor of their birthdays, I’m sharing some fun facts today about the sweet boy who made me a mommy!

He takes his job as big brother to 3 very seriously. He reads to them, he helps them find toys, and he explains life to them. It’s really the most beautiful thing to watch.

He loves art and wants to be an artist when he grows up. He has this amazing artistic and creative ability that reminds me so much of Josh. He has an eye for patterns and can just sit and sketch for a really long time.

He has such a sensitive soul. When he feels things, he feels them HARD.
This kid can RUN. Josh and I always say that he’s going to be a cross country or track star. Those little legs can go so fast! If only we could put a small track inside our house for winter use. 😉

Some of my favorite moments are sitting and having long discussions with him. He has so many insightful questions and has learned so much this past year. The difference from 6 to 7 is seriously amazing.

I can always count on Caleb to eat and love anything I make. I can probably count on one hand the number of things he doesn’t like which is such a huge blessing to balance out our Eli who is the complete opposite. For his birthday dinner he chose chicken pot pie. 😉

I see myself in him so much. He and I just really understand each other. I think we process and feel things the same way so I can understand the things he goes through differently than Josh can. I hope we always have this unique kind of bond that we do now.

I know that seven will be a big year and I know he is ready! I can’t wait to see what this year brings for our sweet boy.

Oh and if anyone figures out how to slow down time… you let me know.

05
Jan
2018

Friday Favorites – {1.5.18}

categories: Everyday Life

I feel like I’m sort of cheating this week because we only had a two day week! That doesn’t make me any less excited for the weekend though. I think I’ll take it.

It’s birthday busy season in my house and we will have a brand new SEVEN year old on Monday. He’s kind of bummed out that his birthday is on a Monday this year but we plan to spend our weekend celebrating his last days of 6!

Today, I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for the first Friday Favorites of the new year!

one

All you fellow Gilmore girls out there are going to love this. For Christmas, my sister gave me this coffee. And I was pumped because obviously I love coffee. She had to stop and explain that this was no ordinary coffee! Scott Patterson (who plays Luke, the diner owner and pourer of the coffee in Gilmore Girls) came out with his own line. So, in other words. I’m drinking Luke’s coffee. 😉

Such a genius idea. Plus, it’s actually smells and tastes amazing. I loved this gift! (Luke image – not mine! I only wish. Found on Pinterest.)

two

On a random whim on Black Friday, we bought our older boys a 4-in-1 game table. It has Foosball, Slide Hockey, Ping Pong and Pool. It was kind of a spur of the moment gift that I found on major sale. Turns out, it has been their very favorite gift this year. Our boys are (almost) 5 and 7 and they play with it non-stop.

Even the little ones play with the hockey part if we bring over chairs for them and they LOVE to watch their brothers play foosball. We’ve had many a tournament that went late into the night over Christmas break this year. (Excuse the background, I’m working on refinishing a desk for my new work space.)

It has been so much fun! This is the table we bought from Walmart but I do have to say: we had trouble with the shipping from them. We ordered on Black Friday, had it shipped to store for us to pick up and still had not received it mid-December. They assured us it would be fine, that it was on it’s way but the tracking information showed it never moved. We finally had to call and insist they cancel our order. They wouldn’t reorder it themselves so we had to place another order and hope it showed up on time. Thankfully, this time it did. We loved the brand of the table though and I found the same one on Amazon but just the foosball part (which truthfully is the favorite anyway!).

three

In my confessions post this week, I explained why I have a serious obsession with jigsaw puzzles. If you are a puzzle lover like me, you should check it out. They are my happy place! My post also talks about my latest obsession that may even replace my puzzles on the table. 😉 Maybe.

four

Last weekend we got some serious snow in Iowa. It came at the beginning of a windchill warning, so the kids and I sat inside all day playing and watching the snow. I just thought it was way too cold to take all of them out by myself. (By the time I got on boots, hats, snow pants, mittens, etc x 4 they would all want to come in!)

Then, Daddy got off work early before the holiday weekend and surprised us all. He is wayyy more fun than I am and insisted we all head outside. We seriously had the very best time. We barely got any snow last year so this was really Reid and Luke’s first time playing in it.

We stayed outside way past the point of being frozen, but they could have cared less. Thank goodness for Daddy. 😉

five

Finally, these are some of the brand new calendar designs I have up in my Etsy shop for the new year. We have ours printed 24 x 36 in our kitchen and I write everything on it! Even the kids love to come look and see what is going on for the week or count the number of days until something special.

Print + frame = instant dry erase! You can use code NEWYEAR18 for 18% off your order now through January 10th. And as always, any calendar can have custom color requests or additional fields/phrases added.

Click on the picture below to be taken to that calendar listing or click here to be taken to the shop where there are even more listed!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you have the best weekend and if you are anywhere near the Midwest – I hope you stay warm!

Keep up with us on Instagram here!

04
Jan
2018

Confessions – Episode 3

categories: Everyday Life

Happy Thursday everyone! Today is my kiddos first day back to school after Christmas break. While I’m ready to get back into our routine, I will miss those lazy pajama mornings hanging out with my crew. Thankfully it’s already Thursday, so I’m thinking we can make it through our short week. Maybe.

I’m linking up with Amanda from This Inspired Chick for her monthly Confessions link-up on the first Thursday of every month. You can find my November confessions here and my December confessions here. If you blog, you should join us! It’s so much fun to see what everyone has to share.

This month, I’m going to confess my secret nerdy hobby. I am a die-hard jigsaw puzzle fanatic. Seriously. Give me a Friday night, a glass of wine and a puzzle with my husband and I’m living my best life. 😉

I don’t remember doing very many puzzles when I was a kid, so it hasn’t been a lifelong thing for me. My degree is in Biochemistry and before I had my twins I worked in a research lab for 8 years. I love science and there are so many things I loved about working there. Anyone who has worked in that kind of medical research for a long time can tell you that there are far more failures than there are successes. Research is SO, SO important and every day amazing strides are being made. However, meaningful discoveries take tons of hard work and years to find.

After a few years, I started to get a little discouraged. I felt like I was running into a lot of dead ends at work and not making much progress. My husband is in finance and his job is to make everything add up the way it is supposed to. He can see the end of projects, accomplish them and move on to something else. And I SO envied that! One day, I sat down with an old puzzle and I found it so incredibly satisfying! Everything fit together and everything had a place. Working on a puzzle started to be what I would look forward to after the really tough days in the lab.

Even after our twins were born and my days were so far out of my control, Josh and I had this gigantic puzzle on a table in the corner of our room. Every night I would fit a few pieces (because it was all I had time for before collapsing in a heap) and it made me feel accomplished. I know it’s probably crazy, but I still do it today.

I put puzzles on my older boys Christmas lists for our families this year. They love them too, especially my Eli. I will admit though- it was a little for them, a little for me! Haha! We spent a bunch of our break with 750 piece puzzles all over our kitchen island and it was the best!

My mom got Josh and I these super cute BRXLZ sets for Christmas and they may be my newest obsession. They are basically teeny, tiny Lego sets but they give you a small instruction book of how to put them together like a puzzle. They have so many different themed sets and I’m excited to break it out.

So, that’s my confession. I’m a crazy puzzle fanatic. Life with four boys is pretty chaotic but a puzzle is my calm. Everything has a place.

Except this Toy Story puzzle Eli got for Christmas whose last piece did NOT fit. I know it looks like it should fit but it did not. #apuzzleloversnightmare

Go ahead and make fun of me but I’ll be over here with my puzzle and my glass of wine. Not caring at all. Haha!

Any other puzzle lovers out there?

Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites!