Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Its all in the Schedule!

As a mother of twins you would think that everything is done in pairs, at the same time. Most days that is correct, but recently with the kids being sick I got a good taste of what it would be like to not have Matthew and Emma on the same schedule. Those days I was so thankful for our daily routine. Having a schedule has saved us so many times! To know exactly why your children went from zero to crazy in a half a second is extremely helpful because these two are getting louder with every passing day! Here is a look at our daily routine:

6:00 Wake Up
6:30 Bottle
7:30 Breakfast
8-9 Nap
9-10:30 Play
10:30 Bottle
11:15-12 Nap
12:15 Lunch
2:00 Bottle
2:30 Play
4:30 Dinner
5:00 Bath
6:30 Bottle
7:30 Bed

The times of feeding will vary slightly day by day, but sticking to this schedule is my saving grace! They even sometimes take another nap between dinner and their last bottle! :)

I was a big planner before the twins were born, and even more so now. We are taking two vacations this summer and I am already planning and partially packing. I make lists for everything and practically live by my calendar in the kitchen. Honestly, I love it. I know what is going on, and when. My house is calm and I have the feeling I have things together. For now anyway. I know it won't always work out that way. Our routine changes with the babies milestones and as their needs change. But I have to admit I usually plan that routine out ahead of time too. :)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Six Months in the Making

Sitting watching my kids play before their morning nap and it makes me sad how fast time has flown by. You hear it all the time, "they grow up way too fast", and it doesnt ring true until you blink and your child or children are 6 months, 1 year, 10, 20... I cant even imagine what 20 feels like! :) There are so many days that I let laundry, dishes, and dinner, wait until after they go to bed (really, my husband will tell you) becuase I want to spend that time with them, and maybe sneak in a nap while they are napping! But shhhh he doesn't know about that one!

 
 
 
3 weeks old!! Where did the time go?
 
 
But seriously, it baffles me sometimes that they are 6 months old, the summer is nearly here and before I know it, I will be planning their first birthday! Ok, ok, ok, I already stated that too. Can you blame me?

Matthew and Emma have both hit some very exciting milestones in their first six months! They both have one tooth, hold their bottles on their own, sleep in their own cribs all night long (that in itself is a blessing!). They can sit up by themselves and Matthew is on ther verge of crawling. Emma is going to be the dictator and have her brother get her everything, she just likes to sit and watch.........
 

They were Baptized at St. James Cathedral on January 13th! What an exciting day!
 Top: aunt Saira and Uncle Chris: Emma's Godparents;
Bottom: Uncle Dominick and Aunt Melanie: Matthew's Godparents

We started solid food at four months, and I make it all. It is so rewarding to know what is in my childrens food, and not in the hippy way. If it says carrots, I want it to be carrots. Not carrots and 80 other chemicals you have to add to make it have a shelf life of 6 years. I digress! Anyway, it is fun, and time consuming, and annoying at times, but we are saving money and my babies are healthy so I couldn't ask for much more!

This summer is going to be crazy, and that will make it go by even faster. It is going to be so much fun though! May is my birthday, June we are going to Vegas (we meaning Matt and I, the kids are staying home) and in July, four days after returning from Vegas, we are flying up to NY to see my family. This is what I am most excited about. It has been a few years since I was able to go see my family. We really wanted to go last year, but I was too far along in my pregnancy to take any chances, so we had to wait.

So as time flies by, I'm going to enjoy my children! They are my sanity, my crazy, my whole world and although I hate thinking that one day they won't need me, I love watching them learn and grow!
 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

That's One Damn Good Excuse!

Once again I have slacked on myy good intention of keeping my blog running, but I had a damn good excuse this time!

December 5th 2011 was the last time I updated my blog. We were just married and recovering from a whirlwind year of bridal showers, bachelor parties, our wedding and the honeymoon! But boy were we in for a surprise. 2011, as crazy as it was, was not even close to being as crazy as our lives were going to get!

December came and went, and we rang in the New Year with a party at our house! Family and friends and some nice adult beverages! But all fun things must come to an end. On January 12th, 2012 we found out we were pregnant! We were so excited!!! Our dreams were coming true and we were going to have a family of our own. ( I do actually have pictures of all 7 (yes 7!) of the pregnancy tests I took, but I will spare you all that detail.)

Four very long, stressed filled weeks later, it was time for our first ultrasound. I was seeing a reproductive endocrinologist, so we got to have an early sneek peak look at our future child.

February 8th, 2012, we found out we would be having not 1 but 2 precious additions to our family! TWINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
We were so over the moon and totally shocked! We had taken one round of ovulation medication and were told our chance of having multiples were a 3-5% chance! Guess we should have played the lottery too!
 
 
So we went through a rather uneventful pregnancy, for a twin pregnancy. We had a few trips to triage for preterm contractions, but other than scares everything went very smoothly. i was taken out of work and put on modified bedrest at 29 weeks. Here are some pictures from the pregnancy, so we can all admire how large I got :)
 
10 weeks! 2/25/12
 
 
 12 weeks 3/3/12
 
 
 13 weeks! 3/18/12




 
17 weeks!

 
19 weeks!

 21 weeks!
 

27 weeks!
 
 32 weeks!
 
 
Delivery Day! 37 weeks 5 days!
 
Matthew and Emma were born September 6th, 2012!
 

 
 
Fast forward 6 months and this is what you get! Two very happy, healthy babies!
 
 
 
I will do a seperate post on their birth and all the awesome details!
 


Monday, December 5, 2011

Life as a Newlywed!

Matt and I are Newlyweds and we love it! The last month and a half have flown by! We have been very busy with work, friends, family and the holidays! We get to hang out with our friends more and spend a little extra money on things we couldn't before the wedding! Life is good! I'm starting school again in January to finish my Associates Degree and work always keeps Matt busy. All in all we are truly blessed by what life has brought us so far!

We got our first real Christmas tree as a couple and Whiskey has managed to stay away from it! The house is decorated and we are ready for Christmas with our families! Saira will be home and all will be right in the world as far as I'm concerned! (No pressure Saira!)

Of course like everyone, we do have our struggles. We knew going into our marriage that adding to our family was not going to be an easy road. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome last year and up until now it sounded worse than it was. Due to birth control and other medications it really did not have a huge impact on our lives until we decided we wanted to start trying for children. With PCOS I do not ovulate regulary, sometimes going for months. With no ovulation came no period, so there is not start to a new cycle to start trying. I have been seeing a Reproductive Endocrinologist since May and with another appointment around the corner we will be making some decisions on what road we will take to start our family. With PCOS comes lots of frustration, stress, anxiety, depression and uncertainty as to what to do and how long this road may be. Although it won't be easy, already this chapter in our lives has shown me how wonderful Matt is. As a husband and eventually as a Father, Matt is understanding and compassionate and the only person I would want standing next to me through this process! For the next year, we will be more than thankful for our health and the great things that are waiting for us!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Forgiveness

"...And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us........."

These words, from The Lord's Prayer, resonated in my head last night as I was trying to get to sleep. Matt taught me a few years ago, if something was bothering me, that praying would help. So if I can’t sleep, I say The Lord's Prayer in my head over and over, until I fall asleep.

These words hit home last night, and I started feeling a bit of peace. Peace with different situations I have faced in my life that I cannot control. They were never in my control, or so I thought, until now. Without getting too deep into a sob story that no one wants to hear, again, I have come to the realization that life is too short, and holding grudges will just poison you, and keep you from seeing the good in any situation. I have held on to resentment and animosity for too long, and I feel like I can finally let it go. I have said my piece, and God willing, it will not fall on deaf ears.

 I do have to say one thing though that will hopefully bring other people that may be reading this  back into reality and show a little perspective on life. Not that I’m well versed in many of life’s lessons, but I think I have this one down. Your family is all you have. Friends are great and wonderful and they are there for parties , and holiday celebrations and all of that. They may even be there for some of the bad, but your family will always be there. You started out with just you and your family. No children, no husband or wife. Just you and your family. That should never change. As we all get older and branch off our lives in different directions, no matter what comes our way, or how much someone makes you mad, we should Forgive and let it go. Not just say we have let it go and bring it back up in a year, let it go! Say you’re sorry, you love your family and let it go. I just did this and I have to tell you, I feel better. And maybe, if this hits home for you, you can do the same. Because life is too short. One day you are here, and the next you could be gone.

I will end this ranting with something my dad told me before my Grampy passed away. You should not ever have any regrets in life. If you have something to say to someone say it. This may be your last chance. Forgive one another and continue on with your life. Love each other and find peace every night when you lay down to sleep.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Officially Mrs. Stoddard!!!!!!

Well it happened! I am officially Mrs. Stoddard! All of the drama and craziness is over and it was all well worth it! Matt and I are so happy and we wouldn’t have changed anything about our planning experience! The ceremony was short and sweet and the reception was the best party in the history of weddings!!!!!!!!!! ( I’m a little biased…..)

The week leading up to the wedding was tons of fun! I’m so happy my family, and Matt’s were there to share in our big day. We had a few hiccups along the way, but again, we wouldn’t change it for the world.

My sister Saira was able to come home, along with family on Matt’s side and mine came from out of town!!!! We are truly blessed to have such an awesome family!!!!

Matt did an amazing job planning the honeymoon! We had our own personal cottage in St. Augustine and a nice hotel in Savannah! Perfection all around!!!!!

Honeymoon pictures will come soon, but here are some from the wedding!!!!!!!!!!













Monday, August 15, 2011

2 months and 1 week..............

So I am officially a Blog Slacker and have let my blog sit idle again. I'm working on it.

To catch you up on recent events. I have officially 2 months and 1 week until I am married! I am so excited! I have done a few DIY projects, and I am still working on a few as well. I got my shoes and my veil. My list is slowly but surely getting smaller. Excited! Excited! Excited!

So here is some wedding stuff I have worked on since the two month gap:

These are done, or bought and ready for the big day! Some are not for the wedding itself, more for me and the fun of it!




My Shoes!!!!!!!!!!



 My Bride Cup!!! $ 0.99 at Goodwill!


My DIY Robe to get ready in!!!!!!!!!!!!


So this is what I am still working on:  



The beginning of my Card Box! Its still in the works.....

The tags for the escort cards, going on the board i made shown a few posts prior!

So those were my projects. Im still obviously working on the card box, but its coming together. I have changed my mind about the Table numbers 3 times in the last week, so that is a major one I need to get done. Things are really coming together now!

Also, this past weekend was Matt's birthday, so my friend Amanda and I made him a Brookie. A Brownie/Cookie Cake!



 It was delicious!!!!!!!!!!


So thats what ive been doing wedding wise! We have our food tasting tomorrow! I cant wait!

Im also going to start adding the books im reading/ just read on here, and maybe, just maybe, it will kick my butt into gear to contiue reading them. Can you tell yet that I am a slacker!!!!

Just read:

It was amazing. Im going to see the movie tomorrow!


Right now I am reading the first book of the series of Rizzoli and Isles, watching the show only 1 night a week is not enough for me!

So far it is very good!