Binky? We don't need no stinking binky! We do need naps though, like a bunch of naps.

I've decided to split each post into two subcategories so that those who only want info about the babes don't have to sift through the whole post.

Babies:

So today we are trying going binky-free. Walter and I can't take anymore nights getting up repeatedly and putting the binky back in Garner's mouth. I swaddled Garner with his arms out this time for his first nap of the day to see if he'll be able to soothe himself by sucking on his hands. I'm listening to the monitor and he's currently talking to himself. It's the cutest thing ever.  

Later on... Garner  fell asleep okay for his first nap with minimal fussing. He woke up early though. So I decided to start sleep training him, where you go in after the first 3min. of crying then 5, then 10, and increments of 10min. following after. It was kind of sad at 5min. for me. I gave him lots of face rubbing and stroking but was careful to not pick him up. After the first 10 min. he started crying again, but he only used up 6 min. of the following 10 min. segment. It was a miracle! I didn't think it was possible for him to fall asleep by himself without a binky. I'm also trying to get them to take only two naps a day so that they get more on a schedule. Walden still wants to sleep after every feed and sometimes during a feed. To help with that, I found this little number at Goodwill for $5.95! 

After a thorough cleaning, the boys took it for a test spin, and they loved it! It keeps them active for longer and allows me one on one time with each of them as they take turns using it. Sometimes I like to stand one of them up at the other end, so they can play and look at each other the same time. It also thoroughly wore them out for their second and hopefully final nap of the day.

2nd nap:

Garner fussed again a little going down without his bink. Then he woke-up early of course. I went up after 3 min. and rubbed his face. The next five minutes were brutal. He started crying when he saw me leave the crib side and eventually woke up Walden, who surprisingly slept through all of this TWICE up until just now. I wait for the 5 min. to be over and then I go up. I walk over to the crib and stop short. His sweet little eyes were closed in the time it took me to walk up the stairs. Sweet little Walden was a little sad so I rubbed his face. They both slept like little champs.

I guess some people just really do need a third nap though.

...Others too I guess. (I moved Walden to the pack n play so that Garner could have a turn and the following happened)

Eat to Live Diet:

Days 4 and 5- It's weird. I don't crave food anymore and I'm not hungry all the time. I eat until I'm full, and I don't crave snacks in between anymore. TMI ALERT!!!! My other bodily functions aren't really stinky as much anymore. It's weird.  I don't have to worry about portions because you can't overeat on veggies (starchy veggies excluded of course). And I'm getting plenty of proteins with my few servings of beans with every meal. In the past when I've woken up with the babes, I'm starving. Now I can eat after I feed the babes and I don't get the slightest bit nauseous like I used to when waiting. 

I ate a salad that I picked from my garden. It looks pretty, but doesn't taste pretty. I'll just stick to growing lettuce and spinach.

This tasted quite delicious however. Tomatoes, onion, garlic, bell pepper with some grated brussels sprouts. Cooked in water with some basil, parsley, and fresh ground black pepper.

Little Everyday Things:

1. That my garden does actually grow something even if it's not that tasty.

2. That Garner did so well without his bink and that Walden can sleep through just about any amount of crying (which makes sleep training a twin a whole heck of a lot easier).

3. Awesome Goodwilll finds that give me an extra pair of hands.

4. That Walter has such a good sense of humor as you can see in the pic below.

"Yeah they call me 'the fireman'. That's my name. Making my rounds all over town, puttin' out old flames." 

Garner- "Get out of the way, Dub. This is my photoshoot."

Caption contest 1,2,3...Go!

Bob Marley is an Expert on Weight Loss

Okay so the diet is not so bad. I do feel a little weaker because I can't get over this stupid cold and poor little G-money has it too. I've been eating on the thing made of mushrooms and the raw veggie and bean soup. Salads have been a challenge though because I can't have oil, sugar, or salt. However I found that in some of Dr. Fuhrman's aggressive weight loss meal plans that you can use things like low sodium ketchup and tofu, both of which have salt. He also said you could use balsamic vinegar and fruit juices to make dressings.  Well, I went to the health food store to see if I could find something that would fit the bill. That place is intoxicating! Other than the extreme hippy vibe overload, I wanted to just load up my cart with Toms, flavored bath salts, and bars of homemade lavender soap. I was on a mission though, so I asked around to see if they had such a thing as no salt, no sugar, no oil, salad dressing. The dingbat took me over to the shelf of dressings. I was like dude if it doesn't have salt or sugar, then it's going to have to be in the cold section because there's nothing in it to preserve it. So we hopped over to the little fridge of dressings. I told him all the stuff that I couldn't have and that I was trying to lose my baby weight. He was like "Oh, Oh you like the cider vinegar? You taste the apple cider vinegar?" in some unrecognizable foreign accent. I was like, "Yeah but I don't want to put that on my salad plain." He's all, "No, no. You drink a tablespoon a day to get rid of the fat." In my head I'm like, "Okay, sure. Bob Marley from Whole Foods has the secret to weight loss." Anyways, I explain to him that the diet is going to help me lose weight and I just need a dressing that will make things taste better other than just balsamic vinegar. He and is buddy were like, "Oh shmorgiborg borg looks like there's nothing over here derpy derpy derp. I went over there later and found no oil, low sodium, made with fruit juices and less sugar than balsamic dressing (which is allowed on the diet of course) in THREE FLAVORS. They were clearly dingbats or not even looking. I got balsamic and fig, some kind of tangerine, and some kind of avocado vinaigrette. They taste amazing! I think I'll keep buying them in the future or maybe just try to make my own in the blender with the same ingredients. While I was there I also picked up some "no salt" seasoning to help with my salty cravings and it's amazing, a tad bitter, but very yummy. Then I bought something that I swore I would never buy, tofu. I miss dairy products though. I blended it up with some whole fruits and it made a delicious yogurt. I'm going to try to use it as a meat next. We'll see. I also picked up some low sodium, unsweetened ketchup to use when making veggie burger patties.

As for the babies, nothing really cute or funny has happened with them lately. Garner threw up what must've been his entire bottle on a stroller ride because of coughing so much. Thankfully, it was just that one isolated incident, both the coughing and throwing up. I felt even worse though because he didn't shed a tear. He just put his hands up to his mouth and started sucking then looked up at me like, "Hey, why'd you stop the ride?" I almost wanted him to get a little upset. It was traumatic for me at least to see that much of a river. I mean it easily could have been like 3 or 4 oz worth. Anyways, I kicked it into high gear the rest of the way home, so I could put some dry clothes on him. No pics today because our camera battery is dead and I don't know where the cord is.

Little Everyday Things:

1. That I have a Whole Foods nearby to make this diet taste better.

2. That Grandma and Grandpa are back safe from Nepal.

3. That I was able to stick to the diet even when faced with a smorgasbord of delicious foods at Grandma and Grandpa's "We're glad you didn't get crumpled by a catastrophic earthquake"  welcome home party.

4. That Garner has not spewed since and seems to be getting over his cold better than Mommy.

5. That I have two little adorable men who depend on me to make them feel better, which makes me feel like a superhero.

I'm Hangry

I have no energy to post insanely adorable pictures of my amazing boys. This diet is the devil. I feel like a junkie going through withdrawal and it's only the 1st day. So far, I've eaten a banana and orange for breakfast. I've eaten raw veggie soup with water as the broth with spinach salad and some weird dressing made of nuts, balsamic, onions, water, and something else with mushrooms and peppers marinated in it and tossed into the salad. yuck! I'll just stick with plain old balsamic next time. The mushrooms sauteed by themselves IN WATER were pretty alright. So that was lunch with an apple. Then for dinner I had a burger patty made of mushrooms, rolled oats, tomato sauce, and some seasonings. That was surprisingly not too bad with some mustard. I can only dream of how it would taste with a fluffy, buttery bun with ketchup and pickles and cheese, all things I CAN NOT HAVE! For dessert I made this thing out of rolled oats, flaxseed, and mashed up banana with some mix ins. It tastes like cardboard with raisin and apple. Not super bad though. I had that with a side of two kiwis. This is going to be a long six weeks. I need to be sure to up my calories tomorrow, like eat more beans and veggies.


Anyhoo....

Little Every Day Things

1. That I live in a country where some of the poorest people are obese and I have the luxury to worry about a diet instead of worrying about what I'm going to feed my family or wondering if the water is safe enough to drink or having to walk miles to get it. It's funny, but I really am lucky and blessed to be this miserable.

2. Dreams. So I can dream about bread and cookies.

3. A husband who will attempt to eat the thing made of mushrooms.

p.s. This is me Hangry

Fat, Flab, Garner Likes to Grab

Warning:
 In this post there will be pictures that show as much skin as a bathing suit would. There are images of my fat stomach riddled with stretch marks. I'll save it for the end with a big red warning before it if you want to skip that part.

Not much interesting has happened lately. We have had this crazy bird, a finch, that keeps trying his darndest to come into the house. This means that there is incessant knocking on all windows. He goes to the dining room window, the office window, all three living room windows, and the laundry room window. Walter calls him Atticus. Get it?! Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mocking Bird. So here is Atticus. The camera was a bit out of focus.

Anyways, he's the worst. You know what else is the worst but also really funny? Every time my back is turned, Garner has Walden by some part of him or his clothing. Sometimes I've turned around because I here Walden cry out (Walden practically never cries) and Garner has a kungfoo grip on poor little Walden's ear, all the while just smiling away. So I started taking pictures of him every time I caught him in the act.

Sometimes he even grabs stuff and pulls it in over himself.

If you're wondering why Walden is always in the orange clothes and Garner appears to have gone through a few wardrobe changes, it's because Garner spits up on the reg. Although it's gotten much better. Also Walden never spits up, so I forget to change him sometimes. Yep mother of the year here, but it all fairness, I really have to try to conserve all the clothes for Garner when traveling.

So here it is... What you've all been waiting for...(or waiting to skip) .... My super fat pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So her's the deal. I had a friend who had great weight loss going vegan. She did the 6 week program in Eat to Live and is now a lifer vegan. I've been skimming through the book and there's apparently way more benefits than weight loss like reversing diabetes and heart disease and never having to take meds again for those diseases. Read it if you want more info. I'm basically doing it to experiment and lose weight. Apparently it's super hard and you'll go through food withdrawals like a drug addict. Dr. Fuhrman has this theory that most Americans are addicted to food. Anyhoo the goal is to shoot for 2lbs of veggies a day, 1lb cooked and 1lb raw.
Eat at at least 4 to 5 whole fruits and some beans and legumes. You can't eat like a lot of things. So this is what we're working with...

-130 lbs
-Left knee weakness from knee cap dislocation
-Right hip pain from feeding the twins and sitting one foot and leaning while doing so.

But... my boys are getting restless because it's chow time and their cousins have a baseball game we have to go to immediately following. So I'll update you when I start and if their are any changes.

Tornadoes Make Me Sleepy

Today started out as any other day, only tinged with a little bad weather, which is Spanish for "I'm waiting yet another day to get my car back from the shop." (I try to avoid driving in bad weather with the kiddos whenever possible.) Why have I put off getting it back for nearly two weeks? Well, the mechanic lives about an hour's drive away, so we're seriously looking into another guy who's closer. I can't complain though. On the days I haven't had a car, our monthly budget has been at a record low. Seriously, it's embarrassing. If I have a car, I will find something to buy. Case and point: the other day I needed to use the Leaf (Walter used the babe magnet) to take the boys for their four month immunizations, and I came back with a bench swing cushion. Not that I didn't want/need one, but it was out of sight out of mind for quite a while. Jokes on me anyway, it turned out to be too short. Not having a car can't stop me from buying junk. Though I do buy less. Just recently, I took the boys to Wal-Mart and CVS in the stroller. We're lucky to have both stores at opposite ends of our subdivision. Translation: It's not as impressive as it sounds. Although we haven't ventured out in the stroller as much because the weather has been a real jerk lately. We actually had a tornado warning at around 2pm today  (super thankful that I had a TV to warn me. Tornadoes FREAK ME OUT! It's actually the biggest reason that I wanted this house.) Well,  I immediately yanked up the kids and brought them to the basement one by one and laid them on the mattresses in the craft room. Yes, our basement looks like we are currently A) harboring a fugitive B) running a brothel C) junkies or D) involved in some human trafficking ring. Pick your poison. Long story short we had twin beds set up for visitors, had to change them out for cribs, too lazy to put them away but they worked for being comfy during tornadoes, but too lazy to put sheets on them or bed frames under them so now it's the tornado/junkie/brothel room. So now babies are in the TJB room and I'm like "Ah crap, there's so much junk down here." I'm currently getting rid of/ organizing stuff, and very much like my mother, every project I embark on has to get much more disorganized and crazy before completion. So anyways, I'm thinking of all the things that are going to impale me and the boys if a tornado actually does come, so I decide to go to the work room which is safer anyways because it's the farthest away from any windows. And because Walter's in charge of its maintenance, it of course looks like an O.R. with everything perfectly in its place and sterile. So I drag the mattress in there, put the boys on and start scooting them towards the wall. Well, they just start cackling.  I'm talking pure unadulterated laughter. They just thought it was the coolest ride ever. Unfortunately I didn't get it on video because my phone is overflowing with vids and pics of them. There we are, all cozy on the junkie mattress up against the concrete wall.

Well, after the boys' Aunt Mae texted us the "All Clear", the fun was all over. And apparently, tornado warnings just wear the boys out.

 Although, this one doesn't like to stay in his crib for day naps anymore and I  don't feel like running upstairs every five minutes to replace the binky. So this is how we get stuff done now, from the couch or not at all.














This rest of the day was anticlimactic other than the fire alarm going off because of some sauce dripping out of the pan in the oven and the boys refusing to take anymore naps during the day. 

I called up Daddy and said that he could take the last feed because I was mentally exhausted. I've decided that the boys need some sort of entertaining vehicle besides their Mama, like one of these bad boys.



Little Everyday Things:

1. A smoke detector that is in excellent condition.
2. TV's for the sole purpose that they give you tornado warnings.
3. A house with a basement for the sole purpose that it protects you from tornadoes.
4. And a hubby that rescued me from the baby tornado today. Love you, Dub!

Poop and Oatmeal

The boys, the hub, and I had a great Sunday. They ate during sacrament, slept during Sunday school, and played during Relief Society/Priesthood. Garner stayed with me during the third hour and played/talked on a blanket while Walden just chilled with the hubs. It just worked out perfectly!

Later in the day,the boys and I had an excellent nap following a quite eventful feeding. As customary, Garner had a great big poopy during his feed. Rather than have him sit in it while waiting for Walden to finish, which takes forever, I figured I'd take a Spanish pause and change him.

Off topic, but before I forget, Walter is currently singing Take Me Home Country Roads from the story book that the boys' Aunt Katie got them and they don't really appreciate his singing, which is hilarious.

Anyways, I thought Garner was finished because he hadn't grunted in a while nor had I heard any rumblings from below. Oh how very wrong I was. Wiping the poo and smiling down at him as he smiled up at me, a brown devil river shot out of his bum, covered my hand, spilled out onto my foot, the blanket, and my pants. I yelled for Walter to get me more wipes. He came running in and then stood there for about 10 seconds too long laughing at the situation before springing into action. I finished cleaning and diapering him as Walter cleaned my wedding ring which had also been christened by Garner's boo-tay.

After the poopfest we had a much needed nap followed by another feeding and the boys' second attempt at solids which Garner did not appreciate so much but little Walden seemed to enjoy.

All in all, I'm grateful for my little everyday blessings.

1. That at least one of my boys has quite the healthy digestive system.
2. A helpful hubby who can laugh at me in poopy situations.
3. Those delicious moments when we all fall asleep at the same time.
4. When Momma gets a break from her duties so she can blog while daddy puts the babies to bed even if they cry at him during the bedtime routine.

 

All the Little Everyday Things

A little background on the title of this blog:

My father raised my sisters and me on the series Lonesome Dove (the single greatest thing to ever grace any screen at any time ever in the history of the world). One of the lead characters Augustus McCrae, former Texas Ranger, is counseling another character when her escort leaves her stranded . He says to her, "Now Lorie, listen. Listen to me now, pretty little thing. You see, life in San Francisco is still just life. Now if you want only one thing too much, it's likely to turn out a disappointment. Now the only healthy way to live, as I see it, is to learn to like all the little everyday things." "Yeah like what?, she asks. He replies, "Like a sip o' good whiskey of an evenin', or a soft bed, or a glass of buttermilk, or say a... a feisty gentleman like myself."

This piece of advice he gives has always resonated with me. Maybe it's because I'm so prone to dreaming about the future rather than living in the moment, and like Gus warns, thinking this way can have a profound affect on one's satisfaction in life. It's for this purpose that I've resolved to record "all the little everyday things" that make life so beautiful. I can think of three things right now. First, is my loving husband who works hard every day to support our family. He makes me laugh, makes me feel beautiful, and he is my hero. (I'll tell you more of our story in another post)

There he is (the big goofball). 
Numbers two and three are our little miracle babies. (I'll insert a link to another post about our journey with IVF.)

                   

 

They are perfect little angels, but as their mother it is quite tiring sometimes, so I'm going to end this post right here, so I can climb into bed and dream about all my wonderful little everyday things.

Peace!