OUR 3RD ONE...And LAST One!

We are SO excited! We have been planning this for a long time.

NO

WE

ARE

NOT

PREGNANT!

We are leaving today for our 3rd and longest summer road trip. My brother and sister-in-law are both in the Army based at Fort Knox Kentucky. Eric has been in Saudi Arabia for the past 6 months and is home on "leave." We're excited to see him, his wife Donna and my 2 nieces Logan and Jordyn. Jordyn is 2 days older than Bryce and Drew so it's always fun to see them all together...it's like triplets! Eric and Donna went on a little get away alone this week so my Mom is there babysitting the girls. We are so excited to spend time with her too, and see her enjoy all of her grandbabies! It will be about a 10 hour drive so we will stay in a hotel tonight to break up our days.

Here's a couple of cute pics from this week...

Bryce has found new things to explore this week...he is such an investigator!

My sweet and silly Drew!

2 year old twins + 3 year old triplets = crazy play dates! (I can't show any more pics - the boys were swimming naked and I don't think they would appreciate their naked buns all over the Internet!)
A common sight - Mommy on the computer with 2 little monkeys crawling all over me!

Wordless Wednesday!

Well...not too wordless!

Bryce walked out of his bedroom this morning with a huge smile on his face.

He was very proud of himself for putting his shorts on. He has never attempted to dress himself before, so I was pretty proud of him too!

Whatcha think?

Family Food Faves

My Mom sent me this recipe. She said "It sounds strange but it's really tasty!" I made it tonight and LOVED IT. It has lots of flavor and a good texture. Even the boys liked it...YEAH! It's high in protein, fiber, iron and vitamin B. Good for all my pregnant friends out there!

Lentil Spaghetti Sauce
yield: about 12 servings with pasta

1 1/2 cups washed, dry lentils
4 cups beef broth
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 60z can tomato paste
1 medium chopped onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon vinegar

Saute onion & garlic in a little EVOO for about 5 minutes. Add lentils, red pepper & broth. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

I used elbow macaroni pasta because it's easier for the boys to eat. But use your favorite shaped pasta.

HUGE Savings!

For those of you that have little bitties still in diapers or know someone that does, check this out!

Target is having a clearance on diapers. We use Pampers Baby Dry brand for the boys. A 116 count normally costs $27.99 per box but the clearance price is $19.58! That's more than an $8 savings on each box! I noticed they had Huggies and Luvs on clearance too.

Check out your local Target - I know each store is different.

You're Doing What?

Today at nap time I could hear the boys laughing and being silly, long after I had put them down. I knew they were up to something. I walked into their room to find Bryce in bed with Drew and their cheeks puffed up like chipmunks. I thought it was cute too until I realized they were holding water in their mouths and spitting it over the crib railing onto the carpet!

They thought it was absolutely hilarious.

Mommy DID NOT...the carpet was soaked!

I've never been a fan of the term "the terrible two's" but I think I'm changing my mind!

Our Newest Purchase

I knew I had to buy these when my friend Rebekah told me about them.

We are going on another road trip next week and I WILL NOT make the boys sleep in their pack n plays one more time. You know your babies have outgrown their pack n plays when they climb in and out with ease, when they scratch the mesh netting to a rhythmic beat and can touch the ends with their heads and feet!

The Camping EZ-Bed is a great option for traveling! It is an airbed that has a fitted slip cover and sleeping bag top that zip together. It also comes with an inflatable pillow and pillowcase (although not very comfortable!) It comes in the Disney "Cars" pattern and the Disney "Princess" pattern. I thought they were quite the bargain at Wal-Mart for $30! I sure wish I would have had one of these as a kid. It sure beats sleeping on the hard floor!

And the verdict?.........

THEY ARE A HUGE HIT!

Family Food Faves

I'm always looking for new, fun & healthy meals/ treats for the boys. They love to eat popsicles so I thought these frozen yogurt pops would be a good alternative. They're a good way to sneak more protein, calcium and fruit into a sweet, yummy, cold treat!

I use popsicle mold like these

but the recipes say you can use little dixie cups with popsicle sticks instead.

Fruit Freezies

Makes 4 popsicles

8 ounces Key lime yogurt

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

In a medium bowl, stir the yogurt until it is smooth. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the mixture into popsicle molds or dixie cups and insert the sticks. Freeze for 2 hours or until firm.

Play around with your favorite flavor combinations...

strawberry yogurt with banana pieces

peach yogurt with strawberry pieces

lemon yogurt with raspberries

I have not tried this recipe but it sounds good too

Frozen Fruit Pops

3 cartons (6 ounces each) raspberry yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 medium ripe bananas, cut into chunks

12 popsicle molds or dixie cups

In a blender, combine the yogurt, lemon juice and bananas; cover and process for 45 seconds or until smooth. Spoon into molds or cups and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.

DFW Road Trip: Part 3

We had such a great time in DFW and took so many pics, I had to break it into 3 parts. I promise, this is the last one!

Jimmy's youngest brother Jeff is a Firefighter/Paramedic for a fire department south of Dallas. He invited us to come tour the station and meet some of his work buddies. Every little boy I know loves fire trucks so our friends Trey and Alec came along with us.

My boys wore their Cedar Hill Fire Department shirts that their Uncle had given them as a gift and Alec received one as well. They also got little fire hats and stickers!

They got to...

Sit in the fire truck

Try on Jeff's heavy fire helmet
Sit in the ambulance

Touch the dummy
And the best part of all...

They got to play with the water hoses!

And run under it!

Thanks guys for spending so much time with us and for letting us play!

Uncle Jeff, thank you for being so loving and sweet with the boys. We love you and are so proud of you!

DFW Road Trip: Part 2

We only had a few short days in DFW so I crammed as much fun as I could into each day! I planned something every morning and evening with enough time in between for naps. We have so many wonderful friends that we wanted to connect with but unfortunately, there just wasn't enough time.

We did get to spend a few hours with my very special friend Christy and her sweet children. She has 3 1/2 year old twins, Morgan and Bailey. I am blown away each time I am with them. They are so well behaved and enjoyable to be around. I love to pick Christy's brain. Her kiddos are about 18 months older than mine so she has a lot of advice and wisdom to share with me about mothering twins! We played for a few hours at their house and then ate lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Bryce and Drew loved "rocking out" with Morgan and Bailey's guitars!

It is so fun to have our twins together. Aren't they cute?!
That evening we had dinner with our dear friends Willie and Stephanie. We also got to meet their precious little 3 month old baby girl, Siena. I cried when I saw her because she is such a miracle. Stephanie and I both struggled with infertility so it was pretty amazing to see them with a baby in their arms. They are wonderful parents and friends! Congratulations!

The next day we went to my friend Patti's house for lunch and swimming. She is actually my former employer from my sales rep days (before I became a SAHM!) Rebekah, another co-worker/friend joined us with her darling little girl Emma. Patti's children, Ryan (13) and Hope (9) were so polite and grown up. They were so sweet and helpful with Bryce and Drew. It was fun to see the boys play with Emma, too. They sure like little girls - who could blame them. Look at her big blue eyes and blond hair! I got so busy visiting that I only captured a few pictures! Thanks girls for the fun day and for the yummy lunch and dessert!

Lots of hugs with Emma And Hope!
Trey and Sheila offered to babysit the boys for us so Jimmy and I could go out to dinner...twist our arms! We enjoyed a yummy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Thank you for playing with and loving our boys!

DFW Road Trip: Part 1

It felt so good to be back in DFW! I felt like I had never left, even though we've been gone for 2 years!
We stayed with our wonderful friends - Trey, Sheila, and their little boy Alec. They were so gracious and generous to open their home to us. Thank you so much for your hospitality! Bryce and Drew had lots of fun playing with Alec and all of his toys!

On our first day we took the boys, Alec and Uncle Jeff to The Fort Worth Zoo (Bryce and Drew's first time to the zoo!) It was a scorching 100 degrees but we had so much fun watching their reactions to all of the real live animals.

The monkeys always bring lots of smiles!
Alec got up close and personal with the gorilla!
We saw rhinos
Elephants

Giraffes

And much more!

I think the boys' favorite part of the zoo was the reptile area. They loved the snakes & lizards, of course!

That evening we cooled off at Uncle Jeff's pool at his apartment. The boys had lots of fun swimming with their buff Uncle and splashing in the fountains!