my birthday is coming up... hint hint... nudge nudge

My birthday happens to be one week before Christmas (interesting fact... I was due on Christmas Day)... this year I am hoping for clothes, the non boring type yet the okay to get spit up on type...

god these look comfy! Thermic Bliss Socks via

okay so not so spit-up-friendly but cute and could work for a we have twin babies so we're spending new years at home new years... Bright Forecast Tank via

buttons = breastfeeding friendly... and cute I might add... with skinny jeans... hello!  Pintucked Plaid Buttondown via

love that this spells out amore in morse code, via

What are you loving these days?

babies Christmas wish list

Okay Santa, it's our first year here and we've been good... no wait... make that awesome... so here's the inside scoop on what we are hoping lands under our tree...

we're smart babies and read daily... Duck and Goose's Christmas book is pretty fantastic... we would like to explore them further... via 

It's time to get some eye candy on that ceiling of ours... the popcorn up there can only entertain us for so long...Cloud Mobile Estrella by The Butter Flying via etsy

We would like Sir Prance-a-lot.... we love his friend Lulu-in-a-tutu and think that she deserves a friend... but more than anything... we just love the name sir prance-a-lot...

All of our twin friends are rocking the Robeez and Mommy has yet to clue in and get us a pair... please help us keep up with this trend and more importantly... help us keep our socks on our feet! ps.. the peek-a-boo ones are our faves

Checking ourselves out in the mirror rocks... being able to do this while enjoying some tummy time would be a-maz-ing... via

Mommy keeps dropping the word snow and mentioning how it is going to get super cold out... something about how the foot muffs for our Bumbleride Indie Twin stroller would keep us warm and make her life easier... please make that happen

mini mioche...  we've been awesome remember.... enough said

There you have it... that's our list.

Oh and Mommy's already clued us in to the fact that you prefer wine over milk and cookies so we'll hook you up.

xoxo isla & alice

we got sick

I apologize for the lack of quality posts this week... Andrew's cold turned into the babies cold... and I went from feeling slightly less energizer bunnyish to just plain tired.  I've been laying low at home with the babies, keeping them nice and warm inside away from the snow that arrived on Wednesday, reassuring them when they cough and get a horrid... what is happening to me look on their face, and giving them nice warm eucalyptus scented baths.

I did manage to get my first massage post babies yesterday.  What a way to spend an hour.

I am hoping to find some fabulous deals tomorrow for black friday.  More and more Canadian stores seem to be adopting this holiday... and I am loving it!  First up... Anthro... tomorrow am... an extra 50% off all sale items... unheard of!  Also... tons of stuff on etsy is on sale!

Are you planning on taking advantage of black friday sales?  Please do share!

I hope your week has been splendid and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving (for all of you Americans)!

dancing babies

Isla meet Alice, Alice meet Isla...

now dance...

I was starting to wonder if either of you would ever notice there was another little person in the room with you... and then all of a sudden you are all over each other.

I am loving it...

and then there were three....babies that is

The words I was so dreading.... I think I'm getting sick... were spoken by Andrew on Friday.

I immediately pictured myself running all over the house with disinfectant (which of course we don't own), sanitizing any surface that had possibly come into contact with Andrew... yes I do have traces of OCD perhaps.... in an effort to keep our babies away from whatever it is that he had (or has.... dammit)

And so there I was....no longer caring for two children... enter a third.

Okay so that's a slight stretch... if anything Andrew has been thoroughly neglected aside from the fact that I put sheets on the guest room bed for him (yeah he was relegated in his sick state to the guest room), got him gatorade and cold fx and nagged him like it's my job about taking in more fluids.

The babies knew something was up... they still know in fact and have been taking out their why isn't Daddy giving us quality Daddy time anger on me.  

Two crying babies for the last three days and one Husband who needs to stay away from the crying babies makes for one Mommy who wants to grab a bottle of wine and go and drink in a corner.

Okay once again being a bit dramatic.... but seriously... taking care of twins solo is so not a fun time.

Thankfully I dragged my tired butt to a yoga class tonight and I am now drinking a glass of wine.... I feel a little more energized, a little less beaten and am fully prepared to put on my game face tomorrow if the backlash continues... 

but I am quietly hoping for an overnight recovery by all three of my babies.

by GusandLula via etsy

now i know why people do this again

and again, and sometimes again...

Growing up there was a house in our neighborhood that I used to refer to as the village, well I used to call it half of a house since they lived in a semi and I didn't realize that many many people live in semis, townhomes and condos.  When you walked by this home you saw toys all over the lawn, children running all over the yard and a pregnant woman.  Rumour even had it that they converted the garage to house more children.  I think they were up close to ten children by the time I was a teenager.

I always wondered why.... why would you ever have that many children?

Well I kind of get it.  I mean I will never have ten children, I will likely never have anymore children.  But I get it. You look at their face... especially when they start to smile at you... when they are babies and want them to freeze like that, be forever young.  I mean I want mine to grow up but slowly... very slowly so I can relish every second of it but time goes by so fast and they are only little for so long.

I've been out with Alice and Isla a few times with other moms of singletons (what we multiple moms refer to moms with one baby as) and inevitably they start to talk about plans for the next baby.  Some of them try to work out how soon they can get pregnant again and still be eligible for another year off after the next baby.  I usually end up repeating to myself (in my head of course) that two is wonderful, it was our best case scenario and it will be wonderful to raise these two girls and that will be enough.  And it likely will be.  Of course a small part of me thinks about that embryo frozen at the clinic.  I end up thinking about it more now since mother nature pulled a fast one on us and tricked us into thinking one of our transferred embryos didn't take last december and that our girls were identical... which they clearly are not.  So they both took.  Maybe the frostie could take too?

yeah i get it.  babies are awesome.

how many children do you dream of having?

via

baby wearing take two

When I was pregnant I posted a few options that we were looking at regarding baby wearing carriers and wraps.  Well we headed off to Milkface, a local babywearing store and tried out a few options.  I picked the hug-a-bub but actually bought the sleepy wrap since it was very similar and much cheaper and Andrew picked the Beco Butterfly II, which is a soft structured carrier.  We've used both carriers quite often and I've spent hours and hours each day wearing the sleepy wrap.  Newborns love love love the sleepy wrap.  I kid you not, nestle a fussy newborn into that wrap and the fussiness will disappear.  The girls have both napped away afternoons in that wrap and it has saved my sanity during many duel cryfests.

The only problem... the girls are getting bigger and my back... oh my back.... just isn't loving the sleepy wrap anymore.

So a couple of weekends ago we returned to milkface and I tried on a whole slew of other carrier options.  First I considered trying to use Andrew's Beco Butterfly II carrier but it just never felt right on me.  There is an inner panel between the baby and the carrier, which in this case would be me.  This panel is handy for actually loading the baby into the carrier before you put it on, but personally I found it cumbersome.  Also, this Beco model does not have straps that cross in the back, which I thought made it less comfortable for my back.  So that option was quickly dismissed.

Next up was the Ergo.  The Ergo had the added ability to wear a baby on your hip, something I was really interested in since I often find I hold them on my hip while walking around.  Unfortunately the Ergo also had the panel in between baby and carrier and the straps couldn't cross in the back.  So that was out.

The Scootababy is a great concept - it is a carrier specifically for carrying your baby on your hip and looks super comfortable... however... I didn't even try this one on since I didn't want to fork out that much money for a carrier that only did one position.

Finally I tried on the Beco Gemini.... winner!  The Gemini has no inner panel (so baby is right up against the carrier (me), the leg openings for the baby actually adjust to a narrower width for tinnier, younger babies, the straps can cross across your back (amazing) and you can use it to carry your baby on your hip.

I am loving this carrier.

and so are Isla and Alice.

and i thought i was the flexible one... hello under-the-cabinet lighting

I hope the weekend treated you well.  Ours was spent in the confines of our suburb... I now feel as though I have fully given in to the appeal of suburban living... hell I've embraced it.  On Saturday I did manage to venture outside of this suburb and into another one for a body attack class.  Saturday afternoon was spent undoing the effects of said exercise class by going to the new local burger stop.  It had a similar concept to Splitz in Whistler but not quite as good.  We also went to Chapters to start Christmas shopping... yes it is definitely that time of year already (more evidence to prove it.... I spent this afternoon hanging Christmas lights on my parent's Christmas tree).  Yesterday over brunch at my parents Andrew suggested we go out and find some under cabinet lighting for our kitchen to help our babies sleep....

So we put them down to sleep on the main level around 6 o'clock every night.  At around 10 o'clock we bring them upstairs and feed them in our room and then put them to sleep in our room.  Between the hours of 6 pm and 10 pm we get to have dinner together, talk and watch some tv.... so this time is precious to say the least.  Isla is awesome at falling asleep shortly after 6 pm, no mater how bright or loud the room may be.  Alice on the other hand... would prefer to not sleep at all at this point and fights it quite often with all of her might.  Making dinner when your wife keeps asking you to turn the lights down has proven to be a challenge for Andrew (yes I married a man who cooks... thank god!) so the whole under the cabinet lighting idea was perfect.... and we've secretly wanted these lights since we moved in... but now have a good excuse to actually buy them.

Luckily there were already outlets pre-installed under the cabinets so it was just a matter of drilling in the fixtures and concealing the cord... easier said of course by me... who watched and laughed at the moves required to get the lights in.

Everything is so sparkly under these lights and I am happy to report that tonight at 7... Alice was also asleep.  thank you andrew.

tis the season for party dresses

Okay it's cold out.  I took the girls out for a walk today... well it felt like tonight since it was 4 pm and the sun was setting... why does daylight savings exist... and it was cold... like winter cold.  I can just sense that snow is around the corner.  The one good thing that snow signifies (besides Christmas) is holiday party season.  We so rarely get dressed up so I always look forward to a good Christmas party where I will be required to slip out of my skinny jeans or leggings and into a dress.

Of course I am still carrying around pregnancy weight... I am losing weight... slowly... but surely... but no dress in the closet is up to the task of fitting this body.

So..... options... yes please.

Dolcie Dress via anthropologie

City of Lights Dress via anthropologie

Alice + Olivia Eleanor Metallic Striped dress via shopbop

Gracia Dress via anthropologie

I am loving that red dress!

Do you have a holiday party to dress up for?  What will you wear?

out for a rest + a one week movember update

Today a little break was in order.  I knew it was time to take a little mommy time out when I fell asleep in the tub ... last night... for the second time.  I've felt like an energizer bunny these past three months and have never really experienced the sleep deprived, energy sucking state that so many new mom's talk about.  Well I'm still not totally there but I do feel like I am running against a ticking clock from the first cry for the first feeding of the day.  I feel like I'm in a race... every single day but I also feel like I've trained for years for this race and am capable of tackling it every day.

but everyone needs a break

and for me the oh shit i almost fell asleep in the tub for the second time was my a-ha moment.

so today instead of going to the gym while Grandma came over I went to Chapters (which of course also means I hit up starbucks)... there's something about wandering around a big book store with a late in tow that really makes me melt.

of course it would have been nice had this little trip out of the house sans babies not involved me witnessing a car crash right as I was turning into the chapters parking lot...  i drove away... and felt like a bad person..... but come on universe.... this is my first outting out in days and I only had like an hour before they needed to eat again... do you really think I had the time to stop ... but then i ran into my mom at chapters (coincidentally we both love the starbucks + chapters experience) and she decided to go and give the cop my number on her way home... so then I felt like a better person once again.

Funny what an hour out can do... I am feeling like a human once again.... lesson learned... apparently I'm not invincible after all.

now for the movember update... one week in and the stache is looking quite dirty...

okay so the adorable baby lessens the nastiness factor a tad... but I kid you not... when I look at Andrew it's like the moustache is a million times darker and is doing everything in its power to monopolize my attention.

it's only temporary, it's only temporary, it's only temporary....

christmas came early

Thank you for all of your lovely comments yesterday on Isla and Alice's three month post!

I am especially happy with the photos I posted... not because I claim to be some amazing photographer but because we bought ourselves an early Christmas present this past weekend... in camera form.  We'd toyed with the idea of buying a digital slr camera pre birth but we came to the conclusion at the time that twins are expensive, we have a decent point and shoot so we will hold out for now.  Well that was just over three months ago... clearly we did not stick to the original plan.

It was so worth it.

Such a difference.

Huge.

I can't believe we didn't buy this sooner.

We ended up buying a canon rebel t2i.... so it's by far not at the high end of digital slr's but it is a great camera for the price and so far we are thrilled with the images it's letting us capture of the girls.

So far we are just clicking away but there is a plethora of online tutorials on how to really make use of this camera and one day when I have a spare minute or two I will track them down.

So now I'm curious.... what camera do you use?  What software do you use to edit your images if you do?

please do share...

three months old

dear isla and alice,

on Sunday you were three months old.

I can't believe how big you are now.  It's so hard to believe that you ever shared the same dwelling in my tummy.

You both smile at me all of the time.  I especially love the big, open mouthed smiles... they melt my heart.  You two are both getting so strong and you hold your heads up all of the time.  I am thinking it might be bumbo and jolly jumper time very soon although I don't want to rush you.  I now change each of you with one hand on your tummy as I am pretty sure you will start rolling over any day or week now since you shoot your legs up so high in the air every chance you get.

Alice, you love your soother.  Isla, you still think the soother is evil but that is okay... you are so relaxed as long as your tummy is full.  Isla, you are grabbing toys on your playmat and Alice, you smile when I touch your face.

....um I breastfeed you two twelve times today, that's twelve times between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm... can we say growth spurt?  I'm not complaining, I want you to get big and breastfeeding has become so so much easier as of late (thank god).

You are both sleeping wonderfully.  You love sleeping in your bassinet, in the swing, in the wrap and in your new carrier.  You normally take a nap after you play in the morning and then another nap after you play in the afternoon.  You sleep from around 6 pm to 10 pm (eat) 10:30 pm to 4 am (sometimes 5 am if we're lucky... sometimes 3 am if we're not so lucky) (eat) and then wake up around 6 am or 7 am (sometimes even 8 am.... amazing).

the other day I felt a little hand on my shoulder, I loved it so much.

xoxo mommy

movember...

I haven't seen my husband clean shaven since oh maybe our wedding day.  When he came home yesterday and I got a good look at him (not like the semi conscious look I got that morning in bed when he said goodbye before he left for work) I thought he was an impostor.... a much younger and noticeably paler version of his former self. Who is this man and why is he making me feel so old all of a sudden is what went through my mind.

Luckily he forwarned me that the shave would be going down and I made a bargain with him... I will deal with the stache if you shave your head.  There is something about him with a shaved head that I can't resist.  Last night when he got home he was pre-shaved head.  Now yesterday was a trying day over here for me.  There was a lot of crying, none of which was from me but believe me, the thought crossed my mind several times.... just give in... let the tears flow... but I held out.  So when he came home I wanted to leave the house.  But I also wanted that head shaved so I could feel less like a cougar and more like his younger wife.  So off the hair came.

I get to enjoy this look for a couple of days until the moustache starts to take centre stage... on his face.

I know it's for a good cause (prostate cancer research) and I know it will only be for a month.... but damn it is going to look dirty I just know it!

who is this man?  (the before.... bring on the stache!!)

So am I alone in this moustache phobia or do you share my disdain for said facial hair?

nanowrimo

November 1st marks the first day of NaNoWriMo.... "thirty days and nights of literary abandon" where one must concoct a 50 000 word novel by the end of November.  I first heard of this event a year ago and I actually thought about doing it.  Well it was my backup plan if our IVF cycle was postponed until the new year.  I needed something to distract me and I figured that coming up with a 50 000 word novel might just do the trick.  The 50 000 words seem quite daunting to me.  I mean what would I write about, how do you even plan out the novel or do you take a fly by the seat of your pants approach and just dive right in?  The nanowrimo vets seem intimidating to me with all of their potential plot discussions, writing software debates and the fact that they have successfully completed a novel of 50 000 words before.  I mean no one even reads the end product... the event isn't about beating someone else's book, it's about taking on the challenge yourself and succeeding by finishing.

When I did some more digging I discovered that several published books originated from thirty hard days and nights of work.  Some people clearly take this very seriously... which further intimidates me, the one who only writes emails, blog posts and grocery lists.  I still remember way back in school when we would be asked to write a story and how hard it would be for me to figure out what to write about.

but, can you envision the sense of accomplishment?  I am pretty certain I would feel completely awesome at the end of the challenge, having dreamed up 50 000 words.

So maybe next year, when I have two one year olds to chase around.... I will find a hiding place and join in on this challenge.... maybe.