Christmas and letters to Santa

Jay and Logan decorating the Christmas tree
We took the boys the the Grove and they loved
the Christmas tree .

Letters to Santa, they were so excited to write them and

deliver them. They wrote their own name on the envelopes and

put them in the mail box at the post office. They were so upset

because they needed to call Santa and tell him the letters were on

their way so Andy dialed up a friend and he play Santa. Jay and

Logan were so excited they just kept talking and talking. Santa

wrote back and sent reindeer food and glitter dust to put on

the lawn so he can see our house and the reindeer can smell

the oats. I don't know what they are more excited about putting

out the lawn food and Santa or the fact that they get toys.

Holiday Cheer

The Holidays are one of my favorite times of year. Halloween was an absolute blast, Thanksgiving was wonderful and Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye. There are so many things about the Holidays that make me happy. We all feel so blessed throughout the year but for some reason I always feel so grateful at this time of year. I am so thankful for my family who brighten my day. My husband is my rock and I couldn't be more proud of him. He is an amazing husband and father. I am very grateful to be a mother to two fabulous boys who keep me on my toes and always put a smile on my face. We have been so blessed this year and feel so happy to have such an amazing support system. One of my favorites things about this time of year is all the holiday decorations. I love to see all the lights and holiday decorations as I pass by homes and I all the stores. I love to see the look on the boys face as we go by all the houses and they are just gleaming with joy. We are trying to teach them the true meaning of Christmas and also getting them excited about Santa. They have their lists made and ready to be sent to the North Pole. Are stockings are getting ready to be hung and I am trying to explain to Jay and Logan how Santa comes down the Chimney and leaves all the fun stuff for them. They have so many questions. It is so cute. Holiday TV is also so much fun, I love all the Christmas movies and Old Holidays Classics. Rudolph, White Christmas, Frosty, etc. One of my all time favorites is Santa and the three Bears. It brings back the best memories from my childhood and I hope to pass on that tradition to me kids. And last but not least the holiday food. So many different goodies and wonderful treats, I love to bake and give all my yummy creations to our neighbors and friends. I hope that this time of year brings all of you so many wonderful memories and that we can remember all the great things about the holidays.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9558393568

Watch our fun elf video

Yummy recipe

So as most of you know I have started weight watchers. I have been doing it for about two weeks and enjoying it. I have to keep finding recipes that are good and filling because this is something that I am doing for life. Ok anyway. This is a good recipe that my cousin Tiff shared with me. So here goes.

You can do either muffins or cookies

1 yellow cake mix
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 heaping Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
Chocolate chips ( optional)

Bake at 350 for 15 mins. for muffins and 8 minutes for cookies

Mix all ingredients together and use in muffin tin or cookie sheet.
I also put in 2 Tbsp of fiber such as Fiber Sure
I also put in 2 Tbsp of Flaxseed Meal
Both optional. I just like the vitamins and extra fiber

Cooking is fun again

I am totally loving the kitchen again. I am not a great cook but I like to

try. I really try to get my kids to eat lots of good food, but as we all know it is hard. I am so excited to start doing my purees and cooking. I have to start stocking my kitchen with all the necessary essentials. I am also so excited because I calculated some of the recipes in the book to do my weight watchers and they are low in points, so now we can all enjoy this fun yummy food while getting lots of good fruits and veggies. I will keep you updated on my adventures in the kitchen.

I

sweet moments

We decided to take the boys down to the beach with my mom and dad a couple of weekends ago. Jay and Logan love the beach, we love to walk around and play in the sand. The boys were playing at this little playground that we found and Logan ran up to me and wanted to climb up on the fence to give me a kiss. I was more than happy to accommodate him. He always grabs my face to kiss me. Andy caught this moment at just the right time with the camera. This is one of my all time favorite pictures and I just wanted to share it with you.

Pillow Fairy

The last couple of weeks have consisted of Jay and Logan climbing into our bed at about 2 or 3 a.m. and making themselves quite comfortable. Now, Jay and Logan are relatively good sleepers, they still take a 2 or 3 hour naps and really don't give me any problems going to bed. The problem now seems to be waking in the middle of the night. I don't mind waking up early but waking up at 2 or 3 seems to put a wrench in my nightly dreams. Due to the fact that Andy and I are very tired of waking up with achy necks, arms, and very sore backs we have taken action. We tried picking them up and putting them back in bed as quite as possible but they seem to wake up and cry and cry a lot. I don't know about any of you but I don't want to hear screaming so early in the morning. They would be so upset and so out of it that I would cave and just let them back in our bed or I would put one in our bed and Andy or I would sleep on the floor of their room with the other child. I couldn't take it anymore, I don't function very well without at least 7 hours of solid sleep. So in my search to find some answers I came across ideas as I was looking at some blogs. The one we have found to work is the pillow fairy. I had a talk with Jay and Logan and explained to them that if they stayed in there own bed all night that the pillow fairy would leave something under there pillow. Now I don't like to bribe, but at this point I don't care. I thought it was a fabulous idea and it works. We have had some great nights of sleep and everyone seems to be in much better moods. Jay and Logan love to see what is under there pillows and I think it makes them feel special to know how proud I am of them. Jay and Logan love hearing positive praise and it makes me smile to see the twinkle in their eyes when I tell them how proud I am. So now hopefully it remains to work and we can have many great nights of sleep and no more achy backs and necks.

Mario and Luigi

This year we wanted to do something different for Halloween. As you all know Andy loves video games as do Jay and Logan. They love their Nintendo game boy Super Mario bros. so Andy came up with the idea of Mario and Luigi. Jay and Logan loved it. I think they look pretty cute although I wish I could of gotten better pictures of the two of them together. We had a fantastic Halloween and now we are ready to move into the extreme hussle and bussle of Christmas time. Yikes

Halloween Fun

Jay and Logan had an absolute blast this year during Halloween time. They got to make Pumpkin rice krispy treats, which they loved. We also went to Pa's pumpkin patch with the family which has become tradition. The boys loved it, they went on lots of rides and climbed on lots of pumpkins. We also got to carve pumpkins and we had so much fun. I loved to see their smiley faces and excitement.

.

The joy of having two 3 year olds

Ok, can someone please tell me how to deal with sassy 3 year olds. I can't believe the attitude that 3 year olds can have. It amazes me that children so small can be so sassy. Now usually I can reason with them and they are very well behaved, but I think that they have learned to try to reason with me. I told Jay and Logan that they couldn't go to the duck pond unless they picked up their toys and help me pick up their room. Jay looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, Fine I don't want to go to the duck Pond and walked out. I couldn't believe it. I thought that if I threatened to take something away that they would listen, not turn on me. Soap has become the new thing in our house. I had always heard how much twins would team up with each other, but I guess I never thought that my boys would ( yeah, how naive can I be) They really think that they can get away with things if they team up. They have learned how to whisper in each others ears. It is very sweet and so cute to see how close they are, but sometimes I know I am in trouble when I see those two little heads together and the wheels turning. Now I love being a mother and especially a mother of twins, but please I know that some of you have to have some advice for me.

I been tagged. Thanks Tara.

#1. Rules of the game must be posted at the beginning.
#2. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
#3. At the end of the post, the player then tags six people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


1. I have been married to Andrew for 6 fabulous years.
2. I am a mom of identical twin boys and I love it.
3. I am addicted to reality TV.
4. I love playing and watching soccer.
5. My family and friends are the best.
6. My dream is to go to New York and see a Broadway show. ( maybe one day )

I have tagged, Alyson, Chanda, Vicki, Megan, Marie, Julia

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors.You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius.Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way.While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorcrayonareyouquiz/">What Color Crayon Are You?

This is my favorite show of all time. The new season just started last night and I am so thrilled. As always it kept me on the edge of my seat and wishing it was next episode. Friday night at 10 is date night at our house and I love it. I missed all my shows during the summer. I can't stand summer time TV. As you can tell I love to watch TV. If you haven't watched this show I would really recommend it.

Brothers Love

As I mentioned in my last blog both the dentist appts. this week. Logan's was the worst. I took Logan and Jay stayed home with my mom. Jay was upset when we left and my mom explained that we would be home later. Jay didn't want to take a nap in his room because Logan was not with him. My mom let him sleep on the couch, he didn't sleep long he was upset that Logan still wasn't home. They really can't stand to be away from each other for very long. They are each other's best friends. I am still trying to understand the twin connection. It seemed like Jay sensed that something was going with Logan and was upset about it. When I brought Logan home Jay ran out to the car so fast and helped me get Logan out of the car. He proceeded to stay by his side the whole night. Daddy even offered to take him out to dinner,but Jay said he would eat a sandwich because he couldn't leave Logan. It warmed my heart to see such a connection and love between them. Through all my tears last night while helping Logan, Jay was my constant reminder that he was going to be fine. I am so thankful for having the love that they share and enjoy them so much.

Fun at the Dentist

Jay and Logan both had dentist appointments this week and both were not looking forward to it. Logan had to go on Tuesday and had to go under general anesthesia, I was very nervous, but trusted this doctor completely. We got to the office and Logan headed straight for the video games. The doctor came out and talked to Logan and took some vitals and proceeded to give Logan some medication take is supposed to make him tired and get a little loopy. Well Logan did neither, he just continued to play his video game and never got tired. On to plan B we took him back into the office and they gave him a mask to put on his face, he was a little hesitant at first but eventually did it he was out in about 2 minutes. Kinda scary to see your child just pass out in such a quick time. I was told that they would come and get me when the procedure was done. 3 hours later I was invited back. Yes that's right 3 hours. I paced around the dentist office quiet a bit and read some magazines to pass time. He was still asleep when i got there to speak to the doctor. He had to have 2 teeth pulled and some filling done. He said a lot of it was due to the acid reflux he had as a baby. So I took a seat next to him and gently started to wake him up. We were told we could leave when he was talking to me and that he would be very groggy for the next few hours. It is so sad to see your child in pain and not able to stand on his own to feet. He was so wobbly and so disoriented that it just broke my heart. The night went well Thanks to Tylenol with codeine and he is back to him old self this morning. Luckily when Jay had to go today it was a quick procedure, just some sealants on his teeth, but he was hysterical. Needless to say I am so exhausted

Jay and Logan definitely take after their daddy. Video game nuts. They love them. Andy introduced them to video games at a very young age and they would just love to sit there by him and watch. Now being a little bit older they can actually play them. Andy has taken every opportunity to school them on the art of video games. He loves them. ( good thing since he is studying video game design in school). We play the xbox and the wii and we have an absolute blast playing, we laugh a lot when the boys are playing just from listening to their conversation about how each should be playing. The boys have so much fun playing together and it really warms my heart at the amazing connection that these too have.

Ok, can I just tell you that this is one of my favorite indulgences. I absolutely love this place. I think they know me by name at my local golden spoon. I could probably go there everyday.(it would pretty expensive) I think that I might be obsessive about it, but hey you can't have too many things to enjoy :) If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.

Family Vacation

We recently went on a family vacation to San Simeon Pines. We stayed for 4 days and had a fabulous time. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was around 70 degrees. (perfect weather for me). We stayed at San Simeon Pines lodge and went and climbed on the rocks, golfed, walked the boardwalk along the water and went swimming. The water was freezing. We had so much fun being together as a family and all of the kids really enjoyed playing with each other. We also got to have a great campfire and attempt to roast marshmallows with sticks. The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing shuffleboard at 8 in the morning probably to the annoyance to our neighbors, but hey that's what kids do right!! Overall the adventure was a fantastic one and one that we would love to continue every couple of years.

Jay enjoying the water and the sand.

Logan enjoying digging holes with his papa


Logan had a lot of fun climbing on the rocks


This is one of my fav pictures the kids absolutely loved looking at the water.

This is what we found Jay doing the other day in the bathroom. I guess he needs his time to catch up on his reading. He is such a funny boy.

We recently went to the Los Angeles Zoo and a petting zoo with some of jay and Logan's cousins. Jay and Logan had a great time. It was a hot day so a lot of the animals were hidden in the shade. They love spending time with their cousins and absolutely love animals. They got to hold the guinea pigs and feed all the animals.

Andy recently went to Fort Bragg with some of his colleagues for a video game launch. He got to go back and meet with some of the guys for the 82nd airborne. The game that he is writing about on his website is called airborne. He got to experience some of the things that they do in training and got to play the game with the guys. He really enjoyed his time there and got to meet some great people. Jay and Logan were so excited because we got to pick him up at the airport. Here are some pictures from his awesome adventure

Well I have decided to jump into the computer technology and join the rest of the world with blogging. Time has gone by so fast with our boys and I want to be able to have all our family and friends enjoy the pictures and posting with us. Andy is starting a new job in 1 week and we are very excited. Jay and Logan turned 3 in May. Wow how time flies, they started school this summer and will again join the preschool world in September. They are such a joy and we love their little personalities. They are each others best friends and each other wrestling buddy. I am enjoying being home with them during the day. We have a lot of fun a little challenging at times but overall a great time. Andy has one year left of school. Yeah, we are very excited. He loves what he does and cant wait to get into the industry of the video gaming world. I am still enjoying cutting hair in my spare time and now being a part of the blogging world. Hope all is well with everyone.