Sawdust and Embryos

Happy Valentine's!

2012-02-14T07:11:00.002-06:00

Valentine's Day became more than just a cheesy irritating holiday for us when Nick and I met on Valentine's day exactly 4 years ago! You can read that story here. If I were President of the United States, I would mandate that all holiday's land on the weekend... cause how are we supposed to celebrate on a Tuesday?! Nick and I celebrated over the weekend by reenacting our first date by going to Dublin Bay (thanks for baby sitting Debbie!). Nick got me flowers, and Sunday morning made me homemade cinnamon rolls!

My parents sent a sweet little Valentine's care package for the girls with 'Valentine's S'mores' inside. It was so adorable and creative. That's my mom for ya! Of course the girls couldn't partake in the deliciousness, so Nick and I "helped out"... hehe. And my mom made these adorable heart shaped printouts using their names, nicknames, and all kinds of lovey Valentine's words. They're so cute, and going straight into their baby albums!
Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Glaze doesn't HAVE to be brown

2012-02-13T10:41:00.002-06:00

So we picked up this vanity on craigslist for $35. I instantly loved all the detail and grooves it had in the drawers and on the mirror.

We sanded down the top surface to see if we loved the woodgrain or not. The combo of exposed wood combined with paint has been growing on me.

Then we taped off the top real good...

And after being primed...

...this bad boy got doused in Rustoleum Oregano... which is a really unique AWESOME shade of green!

And as you'd expect, we glazed... in WHITE! That's right! You heard me!

It provides this subtle, fresh, delicate detail that feels so soft and, well... amazing.

Why should anyone feel limited to glazing only with black or brown?

You'll have to excuse the coloring in these final photos. It was cloudy outside, and the dern thing looks more gray than green. Super frustrating! Use your imagination please!

Have you ever tried glazing in a unique color?

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle... nevermind

2012-02-10T12:52:00.002-06:00

It's the middle of February, and winter has finally arrived here in Iowa. There's no snow on the ground, but it sure is chilly and blustery. A great day for the little ladies and I to stay IN!

Girlfriends have become more like little people than little babies in the last few weeks. They have feelings, and know what they want. They see a toy on the other side of the room and cry because they can't get there. However as a new development, Paisley has realized she can reach a destination by rolling... which has turned our household upside down! Now we're considering gates and outlet plugs and rethinking our sharp-edged furniture. Little Dell is a lot more content to lie stationary on her back and play quietly, but just today she rolled from back to belly, which is a FIRST! It's not that she couldn't roll until now, she just didn't have a burning desire to be doing anything other than playing happily on her back. I think she sees her sissy's newfound mobility and decided there are definitely benefits.

Today the girls are wearing matching T-shirts that they got for Christmas from their Auntie Laura! She got them as souvenirs when she was studying abroad in Spain last semester. The shirts say something in Spanish. What? I do not know. Laura! I forgot what the shirts say! Enlighten us all!

Happy weekend.

Paisley Magazine Rack

2012-02-09T12:26:00.003-06:00

I know I promised to reveal our vanity makeover this week... but it's going to have to wait. We've been busy, and haven't gotten around to hauling that bad boy in the house to take pictures. A tragedy for sure. But we have another little project to share!

So we had this little antique magazine rack that suffered from Lack-O-Personality Disorder (I assure you this is a real disorder... all 5 of my brothers have severe cases).

We originally thought we'd just paint it a bright cheerful color to give it some life

...but we hated it.

So we wasted a can of Krylon Bauhaus Gold... oh well. Well then we got to thinkin' it'd be shnazzy to decoupage some pretty paper on the side panels of the magazine rack, and paint it a color that complements it! So we toyed with the idea of using scrap-booking paper, or wrapping paper... but we didn't have anything we liked on hand. But then Nick's very occasional stroke of genius kicked in, and he suggested we go through our enormous plethora of gift bags we acquired via wedding/baby gifts over the years.

I knew it when I saw it... this AMAZING vintage-y feeling paisley gift bag was perfect! (I specifically remember that it came from my friend Amber for my bridal shower... I loved it that much. Sure don't remember what she gave me IN it though!)

So we considered the colors in the paisley design, and loved the sea-foamy green color. We found the perfect match by way of Krylon! The color is Satin Jade. And it's amazing.

We then carefully cut our gift bag to size and applied it with our decoupage, and used a razor blade to make the edges crisp and perfect!

I love the way this piece is now FULL of personality and provides a pop of color with a hint of vintage.

I find it to be adorable.

Lace Stencil Curtains

2012-02-07T08:52:00.008-06:00

Our bedroom transformation has to be the slowest room makeover in the history of interior design. And for that I apologize. This weekend, we finally got around to making curtains for the room! And I'm going to show you just how we did it.

Fabric can be so expensive. Even when it's on sale, it still seems to add up when you're buying enough for something like curtains. It's one of those things where it's almost cheaper to just buy already-made curtain panels. But where's the fun in that?

I got to thinking about the cheapest possible way to acquire fabric... and it hit me: a drop cloth!!! (I learned yesterday that I wasn't the only one that had this idea... my girl Brooke at All Things Thrifty did the same exact thing! Great minds think alike! Check out her curtain transformation here!) So I bought a 9 foot by 12 foot drop cloth... for $12. This was the perfect amount of fabric for 4 curtain panels for our two windows in the bedroom. That's right, $3 per curtain panel!

After cutting the drop cloth into 4 equal panels, ironing and hemming the edges, I laid a strip of lace (I scored 3 yards on sale for a total of $7!) on top of the drop cloth like so:

Using the lace as a stencil, I spraypainted over top. The drop cloth was already light gray-ish in color, I wanted a very subtle yet elegant design (since our headboard has a busy damask print on it), so I used a simple white flat Rustoleum spraypaint. (As you well know, painting curtains and other unusual items is not foreign to me, if you remember the Skyline Curtains and my Stenciled Area Rug from back in the day!) I used 2 cans of spraypaint on each panel to make sure I had good coverage. It gave me just the right amount of contrast when I removed the "stencil".

After waiting a half hour or so, I just pealed off the lace to reveal a beautiful reverse lacey design! AND, I was able to reuse the lace for all 4 curtain panels!

Having finished my curtain panels, we put up our curtain rods (and by "we" I mean NICK) We went with oil rubbed bronze finish to complement the antique DIY swag lamps.

You might be wondering how we're going to handle the fact that our headboard is wall-mounted... directly over the window. Here's a little reminder:

Simple! Naturally, we just mounted it onto 2x4's to give a 4" clearance for the curtains to hang behind. Bingo.

I loooooooooove the way that curtains make such a huge difference in a room.

They just make everything feel more soft and... finished looking.

In certain lighting, the subtle lacy stencil really pops! And other times you can't see it at all. But that's ok with me.

Obviously we need to address the bedding situation. I'm keeping my eye out for the perfect comforter. Since we've gone bold with the walls, I think I'm going to look for something light and airy feeling. Here's a pic with no bedding... do you have any comforter suggestions?

I'm planning to DIY a bedskirt using inspiration from something I found on Pinterest. And some fun throw pillows will really make things feel more fluffy and inviting. And we still need to tackle the opposite side of the room. I'm looking for a low/long dresser, and a couple chairs for a little seating area! Our master bedroom is slowly coming together!

Can't think of a title...

2012-02-06T09:41:00.003-06:00

Last week, one of the things on my ambitious list of things to accomplish was going through the girls clothing, organizing, and putting away. I had put away their preemie/newborn clothes way back last fall, but sizes 0-3 months and 3-6 months have just been... accumulating. And having recently gotten out their 6-9 month clothing, I needed room asap.

When we finished the girls' nursery, several people said to me 'it looks nice now, but give it a couple weeks and it'll be a disaster!' BUT! I knew that if there was a place for everything, I could keep up their room just fine.

But this weekend was an exception... I'm a little OCD about organization, so the whole process took longer than it may have for most. I wanted the sizes separated, and all 'like' items together (onesies, footy PJ's, two piece outfits, jackets, dresses, etc).

I feared I would need to go buy a bunch more tubs for storage. But miraculously, it all fit into this:

I'm good, I know.

Nick and I have been 'taking turns' making design decisions for our furniture projects, and I'm so excited to show you my vanity we finished up this weekend! I still need to take pictures, so you'll just have to wait for now. We also got started on a new project in the works... this little ancient sewing table is going to be reincarnated. My lover has wild plans for it's future.

The girls have been sweet little angels lately, allowing us to be insanely productive this weekend. Our girl Dell even passed out in her little bouncer. Have you ever seen anything cuter than this?

And while I'm on the topic of our adorable miracle princess, do you recall when they used to be this size?

Me neither.

I know what you're thinking... 'please tell me you don't still have them sleeping together in that cradle'. Well relax, for nap times during the day, one girl sleeps in the cradle and one in the Pack and Play right next to it. At night though, we still have them sleeping together in their crib! We'll see how long that lasts. We're without a plan B... no room for a second crib!

It's February!

2012-02-03T14:21:00.006-06:00

Oooook, well I wasn't AS productive as I planned on this week... but I accomplished a fair amount. I didn't completely fast from the computer (as you well know if you follow me on Pinterest) but I consciously cut back and tried not to 'linger' ...if you know what I mean. Did anyone else feel like this week lasted forever? And yet it feels like January flew right by!

One of the things on my list to do this week was visit my cousin's tiny preemie newborn in the NICU... brought back so many memories!! Only her baby was 3 months early and weighs 3 pounds. I shoulda taken a picture, but didn't even think of it. You would have been blown away by how tiny and perfect that baby was. AND, she made my little monsters look like 5-year-olds.

I got out the 9 month clothing this week, and these two shirts are... well, on the smaller side. This is the first and last time they'll be wearing them! And while we're talking about clothing being a little snug... I'm totally breaking my diet this weekend in the name of SUPER BOWL FOOD!! (I don't even know who's playing) heh..

I've got some fun projects to share next week! Have an awesome weekend!

Craigslist - do's and DON'TS

2012-01-31T08:41:00.012-06:00

I'm no pro at marketing or anything, but being a seasoned craigslist buyer/seller, I'm going to share a few tips on how to list an item for sale in a manor that will allow you to get the maximum dolla sign.

Firstly, be thorough in your description of the item. It'll save you having to answer questions from people. Describe why you're selling it, what the dimensions are, what condition the item is in (being specific about damage, sturdiness, missing pieces), and include the price in your listing. Nobody wants to have to contact you just to find out how much you're asking.

Secondly, don't be overly enthusiastic in your wording, or excessive in your use of exclamation points. You don't want to sound like an infomercial.

Most importantly, for the love... take good pictures of the item. Pictures that MAKE THE ITEM LOOK GOOD. We've all seen craigslist ads where you're not quite sure what you're looking at in the picture. Or it looks so undesirable that you overlook it, when in fact it might be a great piece for a killer price.

1) Please, consider what's in the background of your photo. A big mess or lots of busyness is really distracting and doesn't accurately represent your item. You want your item to be the star of the photo!

2) Make sure there's nothing inappropriate in the photo. (btw, Kotex is my tampon of choice. All opinions are 100% my own. Kotex did not pay or perk me for this advertisement).

3) CLEAN IT OFF. We've all seen someone trying to sell a dresser with the drawers open and clothing overflowing out of it. Potential buyers need to be able to picture the object in their home. Remove your garbage.

4) Make sure the lighting is good and your photo isn't fuzzy.

5) Please, I beg you, don't have a person in your photo. It's tacky. Even if you have a smokin' hot model like I do here:

Instead, take clear crisp photos of your item.

Have at least one photo that shows the entire item.

But also have a close-up or two, highlighting areas that may be of interest to the buyer.

Here's our craigslist posting for Nick's Rockin' End Table.

Like the Woodgrain Coffee Table, it sold within hours of being posted. It's amazing how taking the time to make your item look appealing can make such a difference. Sometimes I see a post on craigslist, and I think to myself 'this person could list their item for 3x the price if they bothered to post nice photos and provide a detailed description'.

Most importantly folks, be safe when meeting up with a buyer/seller that you don't know personally. Don't give them your address. Meet them in a well-lit public place, take a friend, and have some pepper spray close by. There's some real freaks out there.

Now go forth and sell!

under-ambitious

2012-01-30T09:02:00.001-06:00

There was a day when the girls did a lot of... sleeping. This is not the case anymore. Our days are filled with story books, tummy time, spoon-fed meals, and trying to strategically find time to exercise. But the truth is, I'm not really that busy. I just make myself feel that way. If my computer magically disappeared, I would likely have a lot more time on my hands. A little facebook here and there, and checking other blogs that I religiously follow, it all adds up.

SO: I'm making a public declaration this week that I will spend less time on the computer, and more time getting things done! I need your accountability!

Here's my ambitious to-do list:

finish writing/addressing thank you notes from our baby shower from two months ago (OOPS!)
visit my cousin and her micro-preemie in the NICU
finish painting/glazing the vanity in the garage
organize my catch-all room... which is a disaster on many levels
get started on (if not finish!) curtains for the bedroom
organize/fold all 3-6 mo clothes and put away
teach my babes to walk

Just kidding about that last one. I may add to this list as I think of more things throughout the day/week. Feel free to check in on me and make sure I'm keeping busy! This girl needs to be kept accountable!

Little Rascals

2012-01-27T13:01:00.000-06:00

The girls have been... well, NEEDY this week. Fussy little crabsters. I want to be extra loving and snugly if they're teething or not feeling well. But I don't know if it's that, or they're just plain crabby. So I try to maintain a happy medium between catering to their every cry and letting them cry it out from time to time. Nick took a vacation day today, for the heck of it. And about an hour ago, he exclaimed "HOW DO YOU DO THIS EVERYDAY"! That's about the best complement I could get... I think.

What are you doing this weekend? Let's talk.

Blogging

2012-01-26T08:33:00.001-06:00

I got to thinking about how crazy it is how far this little blog has come in 2.5 years. I started this blog to document my journey as a newlywed, and a new homeowner... excited to share my love for interior design, family, and country living. I had no idea that so many strangers would find this life so interesting. I remember being tickled pink the first time someone I didn't know left a comment. I never dreamed that one day we would have thousands of visitors each day.

I rarely glance over at my 'number of followers', and if I compared the success of my blog to many other blogs that I follow, I would be a blogging failure. But to have over 500 blog followers to date? I think that's CRAZY! I feel so humbled and blessed that so many of you stick around for this wild ride that is my life. You're all so encouraging to me as I blindly navigate marriage, design, parenting, photography, cooking, etc. I feel like you all are my BFF's! And some days, your comments are the only 'adult conversation' I get to have! THANK YOU!

Rockin' End Table

2012-01-24T09:40:00.005-06:00

We've had this end table in our garage for at least a year.

It's very charming and has obvious potential, but lightening wasn't hitting me on what to do with it. It's a really interesting design with a tray-type thing that comes off the top, allowing for a shadowbox effect. (the glass had been removed in the 'before pic'. Finally Nick got tired of looking at it, and had some lightening of his own... and I said GO FOR IT BABE!

Drawing from his love for music, he tore up some old sheet music and decoupaged it to the top surface like an old pro! I would have helped, but I was napping.

He painted the end table based on his inspiration from a shiny red electric guitar.

We used this opportunity to try out Krylon's Dual two-in-one paint/primer. We'd like to report that we neither love it nor hate it. Our feelings are neutral.

In addition to the shiny red paint, Nick took it upon himself to add some very fine glitter to the poly to give it a shimmery glossy effect, similar to a guitar! Real men use glitter.

The result is this super rad "rockin' end table"!

I love the retro vibe. There's just something about a red end table that adds an exclamation point to a room! Like this other one we did!

And the fact that this was completely Nick's vision! I love that guy.

As usual, this bad boy is going up for sale. Our faithful readers get first dibs! *UPDATE* sold!

TGIF Anyone?

2012-01-20T13:22:00.000-06:00

Whataweek yo? I haven't left the house since Saturday (that's right, 6 days), but it's been kinda nice to just chillax with the girlfriends and get back into the jive of life after my near breakdown last Friday at the Dr's office. We've all recovered from the trauma, although Dell's been feeling a little icky this week.

Babes are becoming a little more accustomed to eating their baby cereal now that I'm mixing bananas in, but it still seems like they spit out more than they swallow. I'm just gonna keep persevering though! We tried apples yesterday, and Paisley gagged so hard I thought for sure she was gonna lose her lunch! Maybe we'll revisit apples some other time?

Know what's weird? Sometimes I'm just not sure how to end a post. You see, I don't really have anything else to say, and all I can think about is the bag of chocolate chips that's calling my name. So sometimes I probably end abruptly, and other times I'm sure I just ramble on and on because I'm terrible at wrapping things up.

Good talk.

The Angels are Singing

2012-01-18T11:55:00.002-06:00

Remember my desperate struggle to feed two newborns? That highly anticipated and glorious day has arrived.

Imagine a huge choir of angels singing HALLELUJAH:

There are no words.

Brenda's Backsplash

2012-01-17T08:19:00.001-06:00

I usually try to keep our backsplash updates over on our S/E Backsplash Website, but this most recent one we painted was a little different... and we think deserves a shout-out! Brenda's getting her house all gussied up to put it on the market, and naturally she brought us in to do our thing in her kitchen! We were a little nervous about using a darker grout line:

Brenda wanted long and skinny staggered horizontal tiles... needless to say, the taping took us awhile.

But once we got to the painting, it went real fast! And after removing the painter's tape, we revealed this beautiful and modern... yet subtle backsplash!

The gray grout line ended up being gorgeous!

Doesn't it really look like tile? It's amazing what you can do with a sponge brush and a couple tubes of acrylic paint!

If you're new to our blog, you can see many of other backsplashes we've painted here, or visit our S/E Backsplash website to learn more about how it all works!

Giveaway WINNER... and bonus video

2012-01-16T09:33:00.016-06:00

Holy busy busy weekend! Is it weird that I'm glad it's Monday? Somehow we managed to paint a backsplash, deliver the woodgrain coffee table (that sold in just a couple hours after posting it last week!), finish an end table (that I'll post later this week), get a month's worth of groceries, and start on a vanity. Feels great just to relax at home and be back in our chill routine.

But let's get to our winner of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software GIVEAWAY.

We had exactly 50 entries, and thanks to Random.org, we have a winner! Congratulations to:

#20 Tonia H!

Tonia! Congrats! Please contact us at sawdustandembryos@gmail.com and we'll get you set up with your My Memories Suite Software!

For those of you that didn't win, do not dismay! There's still a great opportunity for some serious savings on the My Memories Software! Use this code STMMMS22303 at the checkout, and you'll save $10... which means the whole package will only cost $30! This is such a steal! I wish I had discovered My Memories Suite a LOOOONG time ago. I've been having such a blast with it, AND creating memory books that will last... instead of just letting my pictures sit and rot in folders on my computer. No more photo-guilt! :)

And now, if you're needing a shot of cuteness, here's a little video of my babes from a couple weeks ago that I just found on my camera. (as usual, ignore my baby voice)

Momma Trauma

2012-01-13T19:32:00.004-06:00

I recognize that I'm blogging in the evening and that it's not characteristic of me... but the girls had their 6 month appointment late this afternoon, and I wanted to wait so I could post their stats! I should begin by saying, it was one of the most traumatic experiences I've had in my recent memory. So traumatic that I think I might remember it for years to come. See these glowing little faces?

Caption: our girl Dell wouldn't listen when I told her to sit like a lady and keep her legs
together when wearing a dress or skirt. It won't be long before Paisley's playing house
with her Popple, and Dell is outside digging holes in the mud.

They were not so glowing for the 2 hours we were in tiny cold exam room. This was the first time ever that I've felt like I wished I had a second person with me. Nick, my mom, the neighbor... ANYBODY. Adelyn screamed for the whole visit. And not just regular screaming. The type that she reserves for her night terrors. And there was a loose stool incident that I blocked out. The whole visit was pure chaos. Mayhem if you will. I didn't get a chance to ask any of the questions I had come with. I didn't get to console Paisley after her shots. I barely even heard this information:

Paisley: 16.5 lbs 26.5 inches
Adelyn: 16.5 lbs 26.5 inches

In case you're skimming and not really caring, it's really crazy that the girls weigh the EXACT same and measure the EXACT same. The nurses couldn't believe it. They definitely carry their weight differently... Paisley is bigger-boned, and Dell has a big head and cheeks that are heading south for the winter.

Girlfriends are asleep for the night, and I'm going to get back to my glass of wine and homemade pizza (complements of the sensitive man-boy). Cheers.

My Memories Scrapbook Suite GIVEAWAY!

2012-01-11T13:33:00.010-06:00

Oh my gosh you guys, something exciting is happening! The makers of My Memories has contacted me about hosting a giveaway for their amazing digital scrapbooking software!

Their timing couldn't be more perfect, because I've been feeling pretty guilty for letting pictures of the girls pile up, when I could be putting them in albums. But albums are so... uncreative. But scrapbooking is so... messy. And expensive. Consider not only the cost of printing all your pictures, but also purchasing scrapbook papers, various punches, glue/tape, embellishments, ribbon, stamps, stickers, blah blah blah. And then, you have to designate an entire room to this project. Because we all know it looks like Martha Stewart vomited all over everywhere after just a half hour of letting your creativity run wild.

So... My Memories Suite is a software package that is soooo fun and easy. You can create your pages from scratch, or use one of hundreds of templates they have available! They provide over 1,500 papers, and over 1,000 page elements (ribbons, buttons, brads, flourishes, flowers, bows, TONS of fonts, colors, shapes, need I go on?!). You're gonna have a blast with this! And clean up is as simple as clicking SAVE!

My Memories allows you to print your own scrapbook pages, or you can have them professionally printed and bound into books for a very affordable price! You can also share your digital scrapbook with all your friends and family members, or post it right to Facebook. They seriously thought of everything!

And, your kids and family will have a timeless collection of photos and memories to cherish for a long, loooong time!

You may think that because I'm a blogger, I'm computer savvy... but it's not true. I was really intimidated to try this because just the word 'software' makes me a little sweaty. But... it's SOOO easy and self-explanatory. And FUN! Are you so excited?

Complements of My Memories, we're giving away one My Memories Suite (a $40 value) to a lucky blog follower! (I've always wanted to say that!!)

HOW TO ENTER:

All you have to do is comment below and tell us what your current method of photo storage or display is. For example: MY photo's are all saved into folders on my computer, labeled by month and year. Ever since cameras went digital, I fell off the hard-copy bandwagon. I would die if my computer was stolen or died permanently. It's sad, and I'm ashamed if you must know.

Only one entry per email address, and no entries after midnight on Sunday night (1/15). Winner will be selected at random and announced Monday morning!

But WAIT! (yep, always wanted to say that too!) hehe... I have a promo code that will allow any one of you to receive $10 off the My Memories Suite AND $10 off their online store! You should totally take advantage of this. You're going to love this program, and your kids will thank you someday when they have a beautiful memory book designed my YOU! Here's the promo code: STMMMS22303

Comment away my friends!

Woodgrain Coffee Table

2012-01-09T10:38:00.005-06:00

Today, I awoke refreshed and excited for the start of a new week! It didn't hurt that the girls let me get a good 9 hours of sleep, and I was able to jolt myself back to life with a strong cup of black coffee. And I'm excited to show you one of several little projects we have going right now!

We've been clearing out the garage, one thing at a time. And so this involves fixing up some smaller little pieces that have been collecting dust and overspray over the last year or so. This unfortunate coffee table has obviously seen better days.

The wicker on the bottom is all broken, and the open panels on the top presumably used to have glass in them. If you saw this little gem on the side of the road, would you slam on the breaks and load it up to be your very own personal coffee table?

What about if you knew it could look like this?

Hehe, I just ruined the surprise... but I couldn't help it! OK, so let's talk about what we did. We originally thought about turning it into a bench with an upholstered top. But the price of foam is so obnoxious, we decided it wouldn't be worth it, and started brainstorming how we could make the biggest transformation with the smallest dollar sign. First we ripped out the nasty wicker from the bottom, and put a panel of pine in it's place. The top surface also got a nice new sheet of pine, and everything got sanded down real good. And got a stain job using Minwax Pecan, and sealed things off with a coat of poly.

Of course there's no pictures of this. So let's jump straight to the VINYL! You know we're going through a little phase of loving the woodgrain peeking through paint. A nod to all you wood purist out there. And our vinyl "dealer" Dana totally rocks. She whipped up this amazing leafy swirly vinyl for us, and we slapped her onto the coffee table. BAM.

Using similar techniques from our Profile Plaque project, we polyed over the vinyl.

Then primed.

Then painted a chic glossy black.

Then we slowly and carefully peeled off the vinyl, to reveal our beautiful pecan woodgrain!

And to make things feel seriously GLAM, we put several coats of poly on this baby, for a legit lacquer surface that's overthetop glossy and very durable!

We love that this coffee table is one-of-a-kind!

And we love introducing exposed woodgrain to paint, and setting them up on a date. So far, we're a pretty good matchmaker! Successful relationships have been cultivated every time!

If you're interested in purchasing this piece, shoot us an email at sawdustandembryos@gmail.com. *UPDATE*... SOLD!!! ... that didn't take long!

Half-Birthday Girls!

2012-01-06T11:17:00.008-06:00

Here in Iowa, we've been having record high temperatures. Normally we would have 18 inches of snow on the ground right about now... but it's been in the 50's and 60's this week. Yesterday we even went for a walk on the nature trail!! It feels so much like spring outside... it's got me anxious to start planting my veggie garden! I'll be living in denial that the whole winter will be this way... until further notice.

The girls were born 26 weeks ago today! That's exactly half a year! But their true half-birthday is on Sunday (January 8th). We have their 6 month Dr's appointment next Friday, and I'm so excited to see how they "measure up" (pun intended!) with their weight and measurements! Paisley's always been bigger... heavier AND longer. But I have a sneaking suspicion that Adelyn is giving her a run for her money. Girlfriend carries her weight a little differently... in her FACE. Am I right? Check out those cheeks! I should add that by nature, her face/head is rounder... which I find makes her appear exponentially larger than Paisley almost every week in our Friday pictures. But in reality she's very similar in size to her sissy. It's gonna be a close call this time around. So stay tuned next week.

Sloppy!

2012-01-05T14:42:00.001-06:00

Well, I was going to post earlier this morning, but I didn't realize it would take 5 hours to upload my video to YouTube. NICE.

With new beginnings in mind, we decided it was high time to let the girls try out some baby food! Our Dr gave us permission to start at 4 months, but with the girls being 5 weeks premature, I didn't feel comfortable pulling the trigger until they were closer to 6 months. This decision was partly for their developmental well-being, and partly for my well-being... because this milestone seems to mark a point where they're no longer little babies anymore. And that idea causes me a certain degree of distress.

But with the girls drinking a combined 72 ounces of formula each day (!!!), I figured it was high time they start having a little grain tucked in there. So on New Year's Day, Nick and I got ourselves all prepped... everything short of putting on raincoats and covering the room with plastic (think Dexter). We even remembered to record it! (sorry about the video quality at the beginning)

Funny how you don't realize your annoying baby-voice until you hear yourself on video. As you can see... Paisley needs to be put in a straight-jacket to keep her hands and bib out of her mouth. But since that day, she's really taken to the cereal and can't get enough! Our girl Dell, on the other hand, reacts this same exact way. She makes and icky face and spits it out every time. Does this mean she just isn't ready? Or should I keep trying each day until she gets used to it? So many questions! It's such a fun new stage though.

To my Beloved

2012-01-03T15:54:00.003-06:00

My Beloved Nicholas,

Today, on our 3rd wedding anniversary, I need you to know that I love you so deeply that it's difficult to describe and properly give it justice. You have been a profound blessing in my life on so many levels. It's a mystery to me the way you so naturally and effortlessly cultivate the things I need most in my life, making me a better person. You are a gift... far more wonderful than anything I could have asked for or imagined. You're an amazing man with awesome qualities, ambitions, and a passion for life. With you, I don't feel like I'm compromising in any way. You're a natural leader, an amazing father, and your strength is effortless. I love and respect you without hesitation.

Happy Anniversary Baby. I love you!
~Bethany

Looking Back @ 2011

2012-01-02T09:16:00.004-06:00

Well whatdoya know, it's a brand new year! I made it to 9:30 on New Year's Eve... not because I'm sleep deprived though. I'm just an early-to-bed kinda girl. Ain't nothing I'd rather do on New Year's Eve than rent a movie to watch with my betrothed lover... and hit the hay early.

I've never been one for making resolutions of any kind, I just like to think of each new year as a new beginning. And I love to take some time to look back on the last year at all that we accomplished. Click on each photo to go to that post. Reminisce with me!

WOW. Not bad for being pregnant half the year, and having twinfants the second half of the year! When I lay it out like that... it makes me feel pretty darn productive!! And if that's not enough, I included a couple of our favorite backsplashes, but in reality... we painted 32 backsplashes in 2011. And started S/E Backsplash with a 'branch' in Minnesota! And my mom, sister and I started up our Etsy Shop!

Of course, our biggest and best accomplishment of all was conquering infertility and finally having our tiny blessings... our baby girls. They are truly the light of our lives. I can't imagine life without them. Fight for what you want, my friends. The reward will be priceless.

May 2012 bring you joy and blessings!

Spoiled Little Scoundrels

2011-12-31T14:23:00.000-06:00

I know we overshot on our Friday photoshoot by a day this week. But here's the thing... it was very cloudy yesterday. And our girl Dell was not a happy camper, so we stalled till today. We're flexible like that...

Wowzers! What a crazy awesome week full of family, food, and festivities! Did everyone have a swell Christmas? We certainly did. We made tons of memories to coincide with the girls' very first Christmas! Not to mention being the recipients of an absurd amount of baby toys! Girlfriends are definitely spoiled!

We'll be back to our regularly scheduled ~~program~~ inconsistent-yet-somewhat-frequent-blogging on Monday. Guess that gives me 2 days to think of something to write! HA!

Happy New Year's Eve!!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T17:59:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to you from our family!!

We'll be busy with our holiday festivities this week and won't be posting on the blog. But we'll resume the regularly scheduled program thereafter! Have a jolly week!!

Christmas Belle's

2011-12-23T13:57:00.000-06:00

Things are pretty low-key on the homestead as we finish up all our little projects and prepare for the big holiday weekend. My sister, Anna, is here to visit for a couple days and we've been dressing up the girls in their Christmas outfits!! Anna got to experience firsthand the ins and outs of our weekly photoshoots. She was laughing at me making high pitch sounds and squealing at the babes trying to make them smile or look at the camera. Made me realize how silly the whole scene probably looks! Girlfriends are getting geared up for a festive weekend!!!

Nick and I (and the girls!) wish you all a very happy and safe holiday weekend, filled with minimal family drama and maximum caloric intake!

Behind the Scenes

2011-12-22T10:39:00.018-06:00

One of my favorite traditions we started with the girls is taking their Weekly Pictures. They were born on a Friday, and so every Friday we take a new picture... documenting how their features and personalities develop and change over the weeks, and demonstrating how FAST our little ones grow (am I right?) in these early months of their lives! I absolutely love looking back through the weeks and reminiscing.

I've had lots of questions about this tradition, and several friends have started doing the same thing with their sweet babes. And this prompted me to outline a few things that have been helpful for me to have successful photoshoots each week!

Pick a location and stick with it. If you photograph your little angel in the same place each week, it will better demonstrate growth because of your babe's proportion to the backdrop. Young House Love had a great idea to use different fabric as a backdrop each week. OR, you could put the same stuffed animal next to your baby each week to use as a point of comparison. My friend Barb used a large stuffed Curious George next to her little guy, and by the end of the year, he was bigger than George! The fun of it is to have a point of comparison. We chose this $3 orange thrift store chair.

Most importantly, capture your baby's personality! It doesn't have to be perfect! Each week, I take between 50-150 pictures (depending on how compliant the girls are) just so I have lots to choose from. If for some reason you find yourself with a single baby instead of two... you may not need to take as many pictures to get a few good ones! For the blog, I always choose one that's kinda boring... with both girls just facing forward and looking pleasant. I do this because, when flipping back through the weeks, it's easiest to see all the little changes that happen in their features and facial expressions if they're always similarly placed from week to week. But don't delete all those other pictures! The real fun is looking through ALL the pics and seeing their crazy little personalities and funny little antics that get captured (I'll get back to this later in this post). You may have a calm baby that sits still and perfect, or you might have a wild child that wiggles and cries. I've been blessed with one of each. Here are some examples from 9 weeks:

Another thing that's important is to be prepared. Gather all the things you need near the chair before you place your baby(ies) there.

Camera ...with a fully charged battery and large-enough memory card (there's nothing worse than having your baby smiling and being adorable and then having your battery die, or your memory card full).
Have a pacifier or two nearby just in case (I prefer not to have them sucking on a paci in the pics, but if they're not cooperating, I'd rather have ONE good pic with a pacifier than none at all).
Burp cloth (need I explain?)
Boppy Pillow to go under my knees. Or a towel, or SOMETHING. We take our pictures in the dining room which has hardwood floors, and this task is killer on my knees without some padding!! Lifesaver.

Choose a time when when there's good daylight, and your baby(ies) is/are in good spirits and haven't recently eaten... unless you want to also photograph Jr's not-yet-digested lunch.

Make sure the lighting is good, and not coming from behind the chair. You'll want the light source (preferably natural light) to be coming from the side or behind you- the photographer. And don't use a flash. I don't know much about photography, but these are things that I've learned from experience.

Don't zoom in too close to the babe(s). You want to get their whole body(ies) in the picture, and you want to stand (or kneel) at the same distance away each week.

Create a folder on your computer for each week of photos. Delete the super fuzzy or dark pictures, but don't delete the ones with your babe's finger up his nose, or that big yawn, or screaming at the top of his lungs. Those will be the ones you love, I promise! You'll have a blast looking back through them! Have fun with them! Ok, maybe not THIS much fun:

Lastly, if you're going to start this tradition... COMMIT TO IT! If every week is too much of a commitment, just do once a month. Being a stay-at-home mom, I look forward to Fridays and love picking out outfits and whathaveyou. If it's a little more burdensome for you, you don't have to change your babes clothes... who cares? Or take 150 pictures (!!!) The whole point is to document growth and developing personalities. So you don't have to make a whole production of it. Snap a picture, file it, and go back to cleaning spit-up off your yoga pants.

Do you have any traditions you started with your little one? Or have you been doing something similar to our Weekly Pics? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Hilarity

2011-12-21T10:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, remember my mason jar inspiration post? How could you not... it was very long and excessive. Well my girl Leah just emailed me this photo, and I about fell off the couch laughing.

Oh Ryan Gosling, I'm glad you appreciate my thrifty creativity. Now on to more important issues... why are you wearing a shirt?

It's about time!

2011-12-19T15:06:00.002-06:00

I have great news... you no longer need to lose sleep over your overwhelming curiosity for what color our bedroom walls would end up. I've temporarily overcome my bout with indecisiveness and finally just chose a color. I'm definitely not feeling inspired with this bedroom transformation the same way I was in the nursery. It could be because that was a labor of love for my long-awaited darlings, and the ideas just naturally flowed into my head. But one way or another, our bedroom needs a facelift... cause I can't handle the beige any longer. I believe this is where we left off after the addition of the headboard, the nightstands, and the swag lamps.

I "tried out" about 100 different wall colors in my head, and nothing really jumped out at me and said PICK ME! So finally I had enough. While Nick, I and the girls were at Menards picking up some things, we stopped by the paint section and... just picked a color! I'm so proud of myself. I love how this color is not quite gray, but also not quite brown. I call it BRAY. It's that center one... Oswego Tea by Pittsburgh Paints.

And here's a totally random angle that I thought showed the integrity of the color very well.

I like that it's neutral, yet still unique and dramatic. In the pics, it kinda looks purple... but it's not. So this is what our bedroom looks like from out in the hallway.

And this is the new wall color looking towards the bed. I love how deep and rich it is! And because our bedroom is a southeast room, we get tons of daylight in our room pretty much all day long... so we were able to get away with going dark. Do yourself a favor, and ignore our bedding situation... namely the RED (ew).

Here she is at night.

What say you? Do you like it? Obviously we need to seriously consider the curtain and bedding situations, but we're working on that. Also, you may be wondering why we only show this one view of the room... this is why:

We've got some work to do with floor-planning. We've been batting around a few ideas, most of which include a seating area and quite possibly some shelving of some kind. And giving that dresser a new lease on life. But don't hold your breath. We're pretty slow-moving lately, what with two babies moving into the separation-anxiety phase of babyhood.

Do you have any projects you're tackling over the holidays? Send me links to your blogs so I can feed off your creativity! I need some inspiration today, and Pinterest just isn't doing it.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

2011-12-16T11:45:00.002-06:00

Today I realized that the placement of the orange chair is perfect with regards to the Christmas tree! We didn't give too much thought to where we should put our tree, but what a happy little accident! I love that the tree shows some in the corner of the pics!

I officially declare today National Pajama Day! I and the girls are all still wearing our sleepwear, and lovin' it. OKAY, it's true... I wear my sleepwear on most days. Oh yeah, and the girls usually do too. Ok fine, everyday is pajama day around here. I just didn't bother to dress them up all cutesy for our weekly photoshoot. Consider it National LAZY Day! It's been a long week of nothing-ness... accompanied by the knowledge that nothing is happening this weekend either. I haven't left the house since Saturday, and won't be leaving the house again until a week from today. To keep myself from baking and eating and baking and eating... I've been working out everyday! No progress to speak of, but I'll be keeping you informed on that matter. Let's just say this is the worst time of year to try and lose weight. Especially for someone that LOOOOOOVES baking. Anybody else tackling a December-weight-loss? Strategies?

...a couple more favorites.

2011-12-15T08:29:00.005-06:00

I've been slowly making my way through all your recipes you shared on my recipe exchange post... and I have a couple more favorites to share! I love that you all offered up delicious AND easy meals... cause this girl is no pro in the kitchen. You should really consider trying these. I promise they'll be a hit at your house.

Creamy Italian Chicken (from Ry & Heather)

2 lbs chicken

1 pkg dry Italian dressing

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can mushrooms- optional (i skipped this)

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low all day. Mix it up (you can shred chicken, but I didn't) and serve with rice or pasta. This recipe is INSANELY delicious.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu (from Ang)

1 box prepared stuffing mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 T dijon mustard

4 chicken breast halves

4-8 slices of ham

4-8 slices swiss cheese (I just used shredded cheddar because it's what I had and I'm classy like that)

Prepare stuffing as directed. Preheat oven to 400. Arrange chicken in a greased casserole. Top with ham and cheese. Mix soup and mustard, and spoon onto top of chicken/ham/cheese. Cover with stuffing and bake 30 minutes or until meat is cooked through. ...this is such a fancy meal, yet so easy. It'll make you look good.

If you missed it, you can still leave your favorite go-to meal in the comment section of my recipe exchange! I literally have written every single one on a recipe card and put it in my recipe box. It may take awhile, but I'll try them all eventually! Have you guys tried any of them??

Calling all Thumb-SUCKAS!

2011-12-13T11:48:00.006-06:00

Paisley has taken a liking to her thumb lately. I freaked out for a couple days and tried 'redirecting' her by removing said thumb and inserting her pacifier. This would usually work for a couple seconds, before she'd spit it out and return to chowing on her thumb again. After doing tons of research (and getting lots of advice from FB friends) I decided it wasn't the end of the world if she sucks her thumb. Sure, it'll be harder to break that habit than paci-suckers... (you can't just slice her thumb off, or make it disappear overnight). But the upside is that it's one less thing I have to keep track of. Can't argue with a built in self-soother!

As an in-your-face gesture, my mommy posted this lovely photo of yours truly on my FB. I guess thumb-sucking is a family trait. I'm pretty darn cute, no? And check out those kicks!

Did you, or do you have any offspring, that sucks their thumbs? I'll be asking for advice about a year from now on how to break this habit!!!

Mom's LR

2011-12-12T10:23:00.001-06:00

This is old news, but I didn't want to forget to show you what my mom and I did in her living room! You all remember last spring when Nick and my little bro, Tim, tore apart the slat and lathe walls and put in new drywall. Well my mom painted the whole room beige (not MY first choice, but it's not my house) and I convinced her to do a little something special on one wall as a bit of an accent wall. Here's the before:

She liked what I did in my kitchen with the tone-on-tone swirls, using flat wall paint and high gloss for the effect. So we ran with that! We used this as a stencil... idea borrowed from this website.

We pretty much went to town tracing lightly with a pencil!

At one point, things weren't lining up perfectly, and instead of hauling out a big ol' level and trying to get the stupid bubble in the center... Mom just took off her wedding ring and tied it to a string. I would have NEVER thought of this. I literally would have driven to the hardware store and bought a laser level before I came up with that. It totally worked though and gave us perfectly level vertical lines to follow!

The end result gave her a very subtle texturey design on the wall! It shows up more, depending on the time of day and amount of light. It's so soft and subtle! And SO classy! The lighting in this photo wasn't ideal, but if you look closely, you can see it!!

It brings a special sort of glitter to the room! And makes up for the fact that the room is otherwise... beige.

She did most of the work... I just helped get her started and then tended to my babes and watched her labor. It looks nice, huh?

My Lovlies

2011-12-09T13:05:00.005-06:00

My babes are starting to really seem like little people! They let me know exactly how they're feeling, and they have opinions... strong opinions. "I'm hungry, and I'm hungry NOW!" I know what you're thinking... wait till they're toddlers. But being a nanny for 8 years, I'm familiar with the sweet potatoes flying through the air, poop smears on the wall, and public tantrums. We're taking developmental phases one at a time 'round these parts.

Adelyn is my "Daytime Angel Baby" who smiles and coos and plays quietly for hours, even when sissy is being a crabster. However, night time is a different story... girlfriend wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and lets me know that's she's bored. She's not all-out crying, but it's not pleasant happy sounds either. I would describe it as a whiney-bored cry.

Paisley on the other hand, is my "Nighttime Angel Baby", and will sleep for 13 hours each night, whether sissy is crying 2 inches from her face or not. She sleeps hard, and she sleeps long. But during the day? Girlfriend wants attention. And I'm NOT talking about the attention that twins automatically benefit from, having one another to play with. I'm talking about mommy attention. The type where mommy has to be looking at/playing with/ doting upon pretty much constantly.

It's so weird how incredibly OPPOSITE they are! I love them in such different ways! Not a day goes by that I don't think about how I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Not only did I score a smokin' hot man-boy... but against all odds, I got my lovlies.

Card Wreath Reboot

2011-12-08T15:46:00.001-06:00

If you've been around the blog for awhile, you remember our Christmas Card Wreath that we crafted last year about this time. (it was one of those posts where I reeeeeally wanted to scream I'M PREGNANT but couldn't because I was only 2 weeks pregnant). To those of you that are scanning this post and not really reading it: NO I'm not pregnant right now.

Anywho, over the last year, our "Christmas Card Wreath" turned into simply a Card Wreath... because it filled up with wedding invites, birthday cards, graduation announcements, and our favorite baby shower cards.

But alas, the time has come for us to "reboot" our card wreath and start anew! For we've received our very first Christmas cards this season!

I took it upon myself to remove all the cards from the last year, and went through them to decide what to keep for memory books and whatnot. Can you believe how tiny and pathetic that thing looks when it's nakey nakey? And such a dirty mirror!

And this is when I start getting excited to receive Christmas cards from all our family and friends!! Bring 'em on!

Do you have a method for displaying all your holiday cards? Have you come up with your own creative way to display them? Have you made a non-traditional and/or functional wreath lately? Or any Christmasy crafts at all whatsoever? Me neither. So last year.

Many Uses For MASON JARS!!

2011-12-07T10:51:00.001-06:00

I'm a long-time lover of mason jars, and the vintage/industrial feel that they provide. Who doesn't love drinking ~~rum and coke~~ lemonade out of a mason jar on a hot summer day? These inexpensive and easily accessible glass jars have SO many uses, and I've been oogling all the amazing ideas there are out in blogland and Pinterest. Using mason jars for lighting, centerpieces or storage is a fun and inexpensive way to update. I hope these ideas will get your creative juices flowing, or give you some fun and easy holiday gifting ideas! (Click on each photo to go to the corresponding website- if known)

Let's start with centerpiece ideas!

We did our wedding reception on a serious budget, and I chose to use different sizes of mason jars and old clear glass vases with tea lights in them to make a beautiful glowing centerpiece on each table. This was so inexpensive, as we were able to use all my mom's old canning jars and jars/vases that we found at thrift stores and garage sales.

Simply spray painting mason jars can give them a fresh pop of color.

Or use some scraps of burlap and ribbon and make a beautiful vase!

This one is a great tutorial for tinting your mason jars to look more vintage!

I love this next one for a holiday centerpiece! Just wrap some scraps of festive red fabrics around the jars, and put some berry branches inside!

This last one is just a collection of tinted mason jars with random sprigs of baby's breath. LOVE this look!!

Lighting Ideas are next!

Totally love these twinkle lights in the mason jars, giving a lantern-like effect! What a great idea for an outside party?!

This chandelier is a DIY tutorial from my girl Kara Pasley. I love how industrial and custom it looks!

Here's a great little tutorial on etching glass, making such a perfect little home for a tea light.

And another chandelier idea... this one was found on Etsy, and is PRICEY! But the whole idea is to get inspired by these ideas and maybe even attempt your own!

And finally: Mason Jar STORAGE!

I don't have the source for this one, but it's pretty self-explanatory I think. I like the idea of using chalkboard paint as a non-permanent label for various storage uses! And it's chic!

Using mason jars for pantry storage is so inexpensive and classy... AND you can see what you're looking for!

Here's another pantry pic that also utilizes the chalkboard labels. Mostly I just love that chartreuse wall.

And this last one I have every intention of doing in my future craft room. Gluing the lid of the jar underneith a shelf or cabinet... GENIUS! It gives you more table space, yet neatly and visibly displays/organizes and stores your little items that would otherwise be... EVERYWHERE otherwise. Great idea huh?

Have you already tried any of these ideas? Are you GOING to try any of them? I have a whole box of mason jars that I'm really excited to play with. I'll keep you apprised!

Carpet and Christmas Tree

2011-12-05T10:45:00.001-06:00

For you, the weekend may be over... but not for meeee! Nick took a vacation day today, and we all slept in... even the girls! It's been a busy weekend, and I'm so excited to show you what we did! At the beginning of the weekend, our living room looked like this:

After saving our pennies, Nick and I have invested in carpet for the living room! It's our Christmas present to each other! I do love our 112-year-old hardwoods, but it's so cold and uninviting, and non-child-friendly. Now that the girls are starting to play together on the floor, and will soon be sitting/crawling/frolicking about, it just makes sense to have some fluffy soft carpet in this room that we spend all our time in!

So we moved all our furniture into the dining room (which will still have the exposed original hardwood flooring), cozy, right?

Nick's coworker, Gene, came over to help is out with installing the carpet! You may be surprised to know that laying carpet isn't part of Nick's professional resume. But it is now!

And now we have this warm fluffy carpet to enjoy! I find myself spending tons of time on the floor with the girls now. And it's so much more inviting!

We also finally got ornaments and such onto our Christmas tree. Our sad little artificial Christmas tree.

This is my absolute favorite ornament from my childhood. It's my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament! Which reminds me, I need to start searching for 'first' ornaments for the girls this year!

The girls love the sparkly lights of the tree. It's so special having them experience their very first Christmas season!

We're gonna make tons of memories! And take lots of pictures!

Peej and Dell

2011-12-02T11:42:00.007-06:00

Sorry for my blatant lack of posting this week. The girls got spoiled last weekend with family members loving them and holding them constantly, and they decided that mommy should have 4 arms and unlimited time to hold them and play with them now. Not gonna happen. So it's been a trying week, as I try to break habits before they become permanent. Don't they look so naughty in this pic?

Lots of people have been asking us if any nicknames have emerged for the girls... and the answer is YES! For a long time, we called Adelyn 'Crazy Horse' because she was the high-strung wild girl with tons of personality and... volume. One look at her, and you KNEW she was an ornery little scoundrel. I thought she was going to be my wild child that's always getting in trouble and sneaking out at night, etc. But she's calmed down a lot, and has turned in to a snugly sweetie! Her smiles aren't as frequent as Paisley's, but when she smiles... it lights up her whole face, and you just want to squeeze her!! Anyway, I started calling her Adele, and that turned in to simply 'Dell'. So we call her Baby Dell pretty much all the time.

Paisley, on the other hand... she's got lots of little nicknames. She gets called 'Pais Pais', 'PJ' or 'Peej', and 'Paisley Petunia' or just plain 'Petunia'! After going through her Hemangioma crisis and suffering through Acid Reflux, Paisley's personality has really come out. She's back to being our happy girl again, but she's much louder. Her high pitch happy-screams make me worry the windows are going to shatter. Or that Adelyn's eardrums are going to shatter. She talks constantly and likes to be the center of attention. If she's not screeching, she's gargling her own spit.

That's all I got for ya today! Lots of projects in store this weekend, and hopefully I'll be a better blogger next week. Happy Friday, friends!

A Shameless Plug

2011-11-29T14:40:00.002-06:00

What's the difference between true creativity, and a poser? When I'm bored at home, I take a picture frame off the wall, and spray paint it orange. When my mom is bored at home, she plays with her fabric, thread, beads and buttons... and comes up with something like this:

Um, hello? Can you believe the detail?

And my girls were the lucky recipients of this boredom.

I couldn't come up with something like this in a million years.

These stockings are the newest addition to our Etsy Shop! My mom has posted simple patchwork stockings, all the way up to these fancy detailed stockings!

If you want to place an order for one of these, you'll want to do it soon... mommy wants to allow 2 weeks for completion... a LOT of time goes into these puppies! And you can choose any design! It doesn't have to be snowflakes or paisleys, you can have candy-canes, stars, reindeer, whatever you want!! There you have it, a shameless plug for our Etsy shop and my mom's natural awesomeness. And I'm not even mentioning all the cute baby/child items that would be perfect for Christmas gifts and stocking-stuffers! tee hee!

Christmas Arguments

2011-11-28T10:02:00.002-06:00

We had an amazing weekend filled with family and food... both of which I'm very THANKFUL for! I ate excessively, and will be paying the price for some time. This winter, when I feel cold... instead of taking a hot shower, I vow to instead work out on the Wii Fit. These last 25 have GOT to go. And the timing of holiday food is less than convenient.

We put up our artificial tree over the weekend. I prefer real Christmas tree's and the tradition surrounding it. I love going out in the cold and choosing a tree with character, chopping down, and dragging it home. But Nick doesn't share this same fond Christmas tradition. When we were first married, he made his argument:... "let's use our fake tree until we have children and they're able to appreciate the tradition of it all." I said FINE... but then it turned out I was infertile. Let me just say the infertility is inconvenient on many levels.

Anywho, our 'family' was delayed by a few years... and now that we have our sweet babes, I thought finally we could get a real tree!!!!

NOT SO.

Nick argues that the girls are too young to enjoy the holiday spirit and traditions, so we should wait until next year to get a real tree. Seriously? I composed a document using his words, had him sign it, ...and notarized it. We better not be having this conflict AGAIN next year. Amen.

So the tree is up, lights and garland on! But we haven't gotten to the ornaments yet, so I just snapped this super artsy macro photo of the Christmas lights.

The girls watched and giggled as we listened to Christmas music and put the tree together. They loved the glittery lights! And I love Christmas music... SOOOO much. And did anyone see Michael Buble on the Today Show this morning? He was promoting his new Christmas CD:

...which I love love love. His style is a modern version of my BFF Bing Crosby. So classic and festive!! I like to think of myself as a Christmas music connoisseur, and I can't wait to add his album to my collection! Here's some samplings of the songs on his CD. You can click on different songs... White Christmas is my fave.

Do you have a favorite Christmas CD that I should probably have in my collection? And/or, do you and your spouse have a recurring argument each year around this time? Special.

One year ago...

2011-11-25T10:02:00.000-06:00

It totally seems like a weekend... and I almost forgot to take weekly Friday pics of the girls! Luckily they were already dressed cute since we're heading to see family soon. Did everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving? This year, I'm thankful for my babes. It's crazy to think that they were microscopic one year ago at this time. Heading to my parents this weekend has so many memories surrounding it... exactly one year from tomorrow, we found out we were pregnant and announced it to my fam. One of my proudest moments. It's wild how different your life can change in one year's time. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Twin Twilight Zone

2011-11-23T08:59:00.003-06:00

Having twins isn't as obscure as it used to be (although we still somehow get mauled at walmart every time), and everyone wants to tell you that they too know someone that has twins!!! "Awwww, twins? My neighbor's step-daughter's god-child has twins!" It's like they want you to be super excited that you have this awesome thing in common with their neighbor's step-daughter's god-child. And it's true... everyone knows someone that has twins. And when you have twins yourself, other twins start coming out of the woodwork!I have several friends that have twins, and another friend that just birthed herself a set of twins on Monday (congrats Holly!). And yet, every time I meet another twin mamma, there's some sort of kindred spirit we both feel. It's like we KNOW each other. We understand each others' struggles.

Anywho, yesterday my dad flew back from China (YAAAAY!) and we went out to Famous Dave's for a little dinner and convo. After we all finished eating, I took the girls one at a time to the restroom to change their diapers before we headed back home. And whilst I had Baby #1 on that nasty germ-infested plastic changing table thingy that folds down from the wall (I put my own little portable plastic changing pad on top of it, and made sure she didn't touch ANYTHING). This lady comes out of one of the stalls with her little toddler, they wash hands and leave the bathroom. THEN, 5 minutes later, I was repeating my diaper changing ritual with Baby #2, and the same exact lady came out of the stall with a little toddler. I was like... dejavu? Am I losing my mind? Baby #2 was crying pretty loud, and I smiled at the lady and apologized for all the noise.

The lady says, I understand... I have twins too! And the dejavu made sense!

At that very moment a second lady who was elderly was coming out of the other stall, and her mouth fell open when she heard our conversation. She says... "I HAVE TWINS TOO!"

Say WHAAAA? Come again?

We just all three stood there in shock for a second. Three women in a tiny restaurant bathroom, ALL THREE mommies of twins? Cah-RAZy!

We each took turns saying how old our twins are, whether they're fraternal or identical, and what their names are. Mine 4 months, the second lady's twins were 3 years old, and the third lady's twins were 46 years old! Yowza.

It was such a weird and awesome experience!!

Weekend in a Nutshell

2011-11-21T08:55:00.009-06:00

This weekend, we had a blast hanging with a couple of my BFF's and their hubbies! I love hosting friends at my house... especially when they bring food. :)

Saturday, I got a much needed haircut from one of those BFF's (thanks Ang!) I tried taking a self-portrait to show you my new super cute cut, but alas I looked ugly in every single one of them. Perhaps it's the lack of makeup and presence of maternity pants.

Sunday, we painted a backsplash in Cedar Rapids ...I took pictures of THAT! (click on the pics to see them larger)

Here are our most necessary tools... coffee being of utmost importance.

And here's what the girls were doing whilst we taped/painted. We didn't even have to drug them this time! ...oh calm down, it was a joke.

Chris and Wayde painted a backsplash Minnesota this weekend too! Check our their amazing transformation on the S/E Backsplash Website!!

It wouldn't have been a complete trip to a city without a stop to pick up a craigslist find! One of our blog stalkers emailed to notify us of a craigslist posting for TWO MATCHING TWIN JENNY LIND BEDS!!! (huge thanks Kelly!) Let's just say I was overjoyed! Granted, the girls won't be sleeping in big girl beds for awhile... but you just can't beat $40 for two matching antique Jenny Lind Beds. I have their future big-girl room all figured out in my head! OH! And get this... the lady that we bought the beds from? Also a stalker of our blog. How very weird! Whatarethechances?

I also recently finished a couple new headbands for our Etsy shop! I love how they turned out! And the baby models are pretty darn cute too!

And as usual, we found time to just relax as a family. :)

What did YOU do this weekend?

My Itty Bitties

2011-11-18T14:16:00.001-06:00

It's been a pretty low-key week 'round these parts, and I'm not feeling very loquacious today, so I'll just leave you with this pic of my sweet babes...

Have a safe and awesome weekend. Over and out.

Diaper Decision

2011-11-17T07:41:00.005-06:00

Back when I was entirely pregnant, I posted a plea asking for advice on disposable diapers vs. cloth... and we got tons of responses... THANK YOU! Since we have an old-school non-high-efficiency washer/dryer, we knew if we decided to go with cloth diapers, it wouldn't be to save money. Our main dilemma was disposal of disposable diapers, seeing as we burn all our garbage... and poo don't burn. We tried.

Since the girls were itty bitty for a couple months, we had no choice but to use disposables for a time. And during that time, we discovered Amazon Mom. Which allows us to order our disposable diapers online and have them conveniently delivered to our door (which rocks since we live in the country) with free shipping... and the best part? When you subscribe to Amazon Mom, you get 35% off... making our diapers approximately .09 cents per diaper. We get a box of 300 count for only $28. You just can't beat that.

After doing lots of research on cloth diapers, I found that on average they cost about $17 each, and BabyCenter recommends having around 30 cloth diapers for twins... that's over $500. Such an investment! I even scoured craigslist and garage sales for used cloth diapers, and they were always either in bad condition or they we asking close to full price.

SO... we go through 1 box (300 ct) of diapers each month (at the moment), costing us $28 per month. Convenience aside, it would take almost 18 months for cloth diapers to pay themselves off, and that doesn't even include the extra cost of water and energy used to wash/dry them!

As for disposal, we keep a big ol' garbage can in our garage (with a lid), and when it get's full... my little bro and his wife live close by, and they're fortunate enough to own a dumpster! We just haul our diapers to their house every so often when our can gets full, and we take turns paying for the dumpster to be emptied (about twice a year). Not bad eh? (thanks Tim & Carrie!)

I say all this NOT to put down cloth diapering. I know there are definitely pros and cons to both options, and I do appreciate the green-ness of cloth, and the benefits of no chemicals, etc. Plus they're so darn cute, right? But financially, disposable is by far the best option for us!

Please don't comment negatively on our decision! We acknowledge and appreciate the fact that what works for one parent may not work for another parent, and we respect each others' decisions. We just wanted to share our money-saving finds with our fellow disposable diapering readers!

Wednesday

2011-11-16T08:13:00.002-06:00

Admittedly, I've been experiencing a serious debilitating case of 'designers block' with the bedroom. I'm loving the addition of the nightstands, headboard, and swag lamps, but I just don't know what color to paint the walls. It's a big decision. It sets the whole mood for the room. Do I go neutral since the headboard is bright and the nightstands are that burnt orange color? (in which case I might as well leave it the boring beige that it is). Do I go bold because I'm me? I just don't want to get it painted and then hate it. And I can't really do curtains until the wall color is established. Ya know?

I'm just thinking out loud here...

I guess I'm not as motivated with the master bedroom as I was with the nursery! Which I still LOVE.

Speaking of nursery, I made a little video a few minutes ago of our wake up routine! Every morning, I listen to the girls coo and squeal at each other on the baby monitor for awhile, and when I can't stand their cuteness anymore and HAVE to see chubby little smiley faces... I start my trek up the stairs, and that's where this video starts!. :)

Baby Profile Plaques (with tutorial)

2011-11-14T11:09:00.009-06:00

We're back at it with baby crafts! But unlike this footprint baby craft, this one didn't require active participation from our twinfants. And to change things up a bit, I'm going to show you the finished product first so you don't have to scroll through this long post to see them all finished if you don't really care about the process by which we made them!

I give you... our profile plaques of our sweet babies!

Isn't it incredible how different their head-shapes are? And their noses are totally different too... so weird!

Ok, so let's get to business and discuss how we made these suckers! We started out with a plank of oak wood (because we love the grain of oak!) and cut each piece 11.5' x 15". You can use any dimensions you want!

Then Nick used his router to make the edges decorative and finished-looking. As you can tell, he's very enthusiastic about this project!

And we got down and dirty with our Minwax Ebony stain... LOVE THAT STUFF!

We didn't go all the way down the edges on the second one because we realized all that would end up being painted white, so why bother?! Then we hit 'em with a couple coats of poly.

My ex-coworker Dana gave us some beautiful vinyl wall art that she MADE for us (check out her Facebook page HERE) as a baby gift that we were so excited to use for this project. And we had some contact paper to use for the profiles! I was really worried about the 'crispness' of the edges after the white paint went on, so I did a little practice sample board using a leftover chunk of oak. I polyed it twice (just like the plaques) and after it dried, I put 4 strips of contact paper on and did some tests using spray primer, brush-on primer, straight up spray paint, and a coat of poly. I'm soooo glad I did this! It was very helpful, and allowed me to determine that putting a coat of poly directly onto the contact paper really helped seal the edges. Then I just primed and spray painted after that and got a perfectly crisp clean line!

So next, we carefully put on the vinyl name decals (which involved some frantic calls to Dana to make sure we were doing it right). We have NO experience with vinyl wall art. But we got 'em on nice and straight.

Then we printed the girls profiles (we took their picture when they were sleeping) and printed them on paper first to make sure they were the right size and so that I could practice cutting them out with scissors. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! It just took some concentration and a steady hand.

Kinda creepy, eh?

And finally we printed them right onto the contact paper and carefully cut them out, peeled back the backing, and pressed their little faces right onto the plaque! I didn't figure out exactly where the center was, I just eyed it and made sure that their faces were looking straight forward.

They then got two coats of poly.

Once the poly was dry (about 4 hours) I hit 'em with spray Kilz primer. And an hour later, I hit 'em with Rustoleum flat white spray paint.

I only let the paint dry for about 10 minutes before I started peeling back the contact paper and vinyl. I wanted the paint to still be tacky so it wouldn't be so dry that it would pull back the paint and make for a messy edge.

All pieces came off so easily... it was SUCH instant gratification! And seeing that beautiful wood grain popping through... Wow. Incredible.

These babies (no pun) got a comb hook on the back, and they were ready to go! Easily done in a day if you have everything on hand and/or don't live in the wilderness so far from civilization that you're not about to make a special trip to town for Kilz primer or contact paper, or whatever you don't have. :)

And I love that we have these beautiful custom plaques that are timeless and meaningful! The girls can cherish these for many years! And it might even be fun to make a new one every year to show how they change year by year.

Give it a try! And send me pics when you're done! I can't wait to see how yours turns out! We're also posting these on our Etsy shop if you'd like us to make one for YOUR child(ren)! Go check our our Etsy shop HERE!

4 Months... can you believe it?!

2011-11-11T12:51:00.005-06:00

My little baby humans turned 4 months this week! And we celebrated by going to the doctor and getting shots! And while we were there, we got some measurements/percentages to share...

Paisley's Stats:

Weight: 14lbs 3oz (65th percentile)

Height: 24" (46th percentile)

Adelyn's Stats:

Weight 13lbs 9oz (30th percentile)

Height 23.5" (25th percentile)

These percentages are based on regular baby growth charts, and not the preemie chart. So all things considered, they're growing quite well! As you can see, Paisley's maintained her lead since birth. We like to call her 'generously curvy' or 'big boned' or 'not as petite as Adelyn'.

As you can see in the picture below, Adelyn obviously isn't suffering from malnourishment. Her 10 gallon cheeks are SO SQUEEZABLE!

In other health-related news, Paisley's hemangioma is healing slowly but surely, and it looks like we're going to be able to dodge making a trip to see a Pediatric Dermatologist. Her Acid Reflux is also under control! Adelyn, however, has taken to night terrors... seriously such a scary thing! I didn't even know babies this young could have that! I've been reading tons of forums and talking to other mom's that have dealt with it, and it sounds like there's not a lot you can do. Do any of you have experience with a young baby suffering from night terrors? How did you comfort him/her? Or did you notice any triggers to avoid? My poor little baby!

2011-11-09T12:40:00.002-06:00

I've had several readers request that I add a button to my blog inviting you all to "follow me on Pinterest", which seems weird to me... but I finally took the plunge! I added a little red button to the left sidebar in case you're interested or feel so compelled, but certainly don't feel obligated. I don't have tons of boards with hundreds of pins or anything. I only pin something when I actually plan to refer back to the image for one reason or another. I don't just peruse Pinterest in 'all my free time' and repin tons of other people's pins just to fill up my boards and have plentiful beautiful pictures to show off. So don't be disappointed!

I used to have a folder on my desktop filled with pictures and websites that I wanted to remember for one reason or another, and Pinterest has allowed me to organize all my thoughts and ideas on one perfectly organized website! AND I'm able to refer back to the actual website and give credit where credit is due (when I borrow an idea... we all do it, right?)

So there you have it. Today is November 9th, and I'm thankful for Pinterest. Amen.

China Cabinet and Server

2011-11-08T07:38:00.002-06:00

These hefty pieces of furniture have been occupants of our garage for at least a year. We bought this china cabinet and server for dirt cheap on craigslist, and knew we could at least slightly improve their appearance. All pieces are well-built and structurally sound. Just needed a bit of a face-lift... primarily losing that awkward blue-green wash. Below is the BEFORE pic (doesn't it look like we have a warehouse of china cabinets? The one in the background is the Drexel we did for a client last winter... it was just waiting to be picked up when this photo was taken).

With me being pregnant for the majority of the previous year, this project got put on hold until I bore me some babies. But I jumped right on it as soon as I was physically capable! I wanted these peices to be neutral enough to fit in anyone's dining room, but with our signature pop of color... because not everyone can pull off a royal blue china cabinet in their dining room.

Knowing that we were going to paint these pieces white with an antique glaze, we hit the backboard (as well as the top surface of the server) with Krylon Ivy Leaf, and used our trusty overhead projector to map out this bold paisley design!

I traced it onto the backboard with a white colored pencil...

And then tediously painted all the tiny details... 4 coats in all. Yowza.

I love the graphic details and visual interest the design provides! Without it, this would be just another boring piece of white furniture with brown glaze.

You can see we did the same hand-painted paisley graphics on the server as well.

We're relieved to have these pieces DONE! And I'm happy to have them adorn my home until we can sell them! (You can't tell in the pictures, but we still have an issue with cracked glass to address before we sell these puppies). Hehe... OOPS.

Lacking Direction?

2011-11-07T10:25:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about the blog lately, and direction we're going. But are we going in a direction? If I were asked what the "theme" of my blog is... I wouldn't know what to say! Most blogs have a primary topic that they cover, but my blog is just a jumble of a bunch of different things (my life!)... home improvements, country living, furniture transformations, parenting multiples, photography, cooking, infertility, DIY tutorials, personal family blog, and very random uncategorized topics.

So my question for you to ponder is... do you stop by the blog hoping for certain content? Or do you enjoy the haphazard combination of my reality? Do you get tired of seeing pictures of my babies? Or do you yawn when you see yet another DIY tutorial? I started boring myself with backsplashes, so I try to keep those on our SE Backsplash Website. Are my posts too long/short? Do you feel like I write too much and just scroll through to look at pictures? We really value your opinion with regards to the content of our little blog, and want to keep you around! While I'll take all suggestions seriously and looooove my readers tremendously, I ultimately blog for me... because I enjoy it, and I love being organized and documenting the life of myself and my family.

I love receiving comments from all of you! It helps me connect with my readers, and let's me know that someone keeps coming back for more! Don't stop commenting! EVER! It keeps me going!

P.S! I updated the buttons to the left (Furniture Transformations and Tutorials) to be more organized and make it easier for you to find posts! Check it out!

Giggles!

2011-11-04T13:02:00.000-05:00

Breaking news!! This just in! The girls are laughing! It's about the cutest thing I've ever seen or heard. Paisley laughed for the first time on Sunday, and Adelyn yesterday! It turns out they're quite ticklish!

The following photo doesn't necessarily portray them using their new talent. Adelyn's been on an emotional rollercoaster today. She's even got a little tear, can you see it? Paisley on the other hand... can't keep her fists out of her mouth. And subsequently drools constantly. It's so weird how different they are! Adelyn doesn't drool at all!

Looking back through all their weekly pics, are you starting to be able to tell the girls apart?

In other news, two of my old coworkers are gonna come watch the girls this weekend so Nick and I can have a hot date! Can't WAIT! Thanks Dana and Denna! (that's right)

Photoshop Editing Tip!

2011-11-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

Ever since I was in design school, I've had Photoshop on my computer... and absolutely NO idea how to use it. I've googled tutorials and whatnot, but they always assume you have a basic knowledge of photoshop, which I don't.

But yesterday, my photographer friend Destri posted this photo on her facebook page. Notice the eyes...

Aren't they so reflective and glassy in the second shot? I immediately fell in love and asked Destri if she would show me how. And wouldn't you know it? She agreed! AND she gave me permission to share it with you all! Here's the link to the tutorial on her website! (and while you're there, check out her amazing portfolio!)

I tried my hand at it with this photo of Paisley:

Before pic:

After pic:

The difference is only slight, but it adds such an amazing depth and sparkle to the eyes! I love it! Can you see the difference? It makes the photo totally come alive! Plus Paisley's just plain cute anyways. It's hard to remember her being this tiny!

Recipe FAVES!

2011-11-02T10:15:00.007-05:00

Ok, so remember our super fun recipe exchange? I was so impressed with how many of you shared your favorite go-to recipes! I hope to try them all eventually, but today I wanted to share a couple of my absolute favorites so far! (in case you are too lazy to rifle through the comment section of our Recipe Exchange, or if you're one of those people that needs a second opinion before you deem it potentially delicious enough to actually try). These were a HUGE hit with myself and my smokin' hot boy-toy.

Tatortot Casserole (from Melissa!)

1 lb ground beef

1 can Cream o' Chicken or Tomato Soup (I used Cream o' Mushroom!)

1/4 white onion - chopped

1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables

Tatortots

Preheat oven to 325 After ground beef is browned, mix in soup, onion and veggies. Dump mixture into greased 9x9 pan. Top with tatortots, and bake for 45 mins... (we added some shredded cheddar to the top the last 15 mins... cheese makes everything better) ~thanks Melissa!

Sloppy Joe's (from NearlyDawn!)

1 lb ground beef

1 cup ketchup

1 large onion - chopped

2 T brown sugar

splash of vinegar

2 t. Worchestershire sauce

2 t. prepared mustard

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. salt

Hamburger buns

Brown beef with chopped onion, drain. Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, vinegar, onion powder and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until hot. Slather it onto those hot buns baby! (you perv, that your mind even went there) ~Thanks Nearly Dawn!

Try these recipes immediately! They're easy and will make for a party in your mouth! And you'll be relieved to know that you can and should still submit YOUR fave go-to recipe here! Or at the very least, go check out the plethora of amazing recipes in the comment section! OH, and does anyone know the difference between yellow and white onions? Does it really make a difference?

And since it's not in my nature to have two pictureless posts in a row (and also not in my nature to think to take pictures while I'm cooking apparently), I'll leave you with this endearing photo of a couple of our farm animals.

Against all odds, Reuben has made a friend. Either that, or Blanche is reeeeeeally cold. We spotted this cuteness from inside looking out through that window right above them. And I knew a picture from that angle wouldn't be as adorable, not to mention the dirty screen/window. So I snuck out the back door and stealthily tiptoed in my socks around the house like a ninja, and snapped this photo before Reuben's mega-alertness was activated.

Blah

2011-11-01T07:50:00.001-05:00

I just wrote about 3 full paragraphs, but then I erased it all because it was entirely uninteresting. Lately, it feels like everyday is exactly the same. And while I love being a stay-at-home mommy, I struggle with feeling stranded out in the country, far from town, friends and civilization. It makes for very limited adult interaction for myself, which puts a lot of pressure on Nick when he gets home from work... because he's my primary source of entertainment. But by the time he gets home from work, he's exhausted and wants to relax and watch TV. I on the other hand want to have conversation or work on a piece of furniture together, etc.

Additionally, I feel guilty for not contributing to income. And yet, with all my 'time to think' during the day, I conjure up tons of fun creative projects around the house that I'd like to work on. My projects are almost always extremely thrifty and DIY... yet a couple cans of spraypaint here, and some decopauge there... well lets just say it all adds up. So I have to be careful how ambitious I am creatively, and consider the full picture. Some projects will just have to be on hold for now I guess, while we buckle down and banish our student loans forever! I have to be careful not to let my creative mind negatively affect our family budget. Especially when I'm not making any money at home all day!

I will say that I'm planning to paint the walls in the bedroom sooner than later. And that dreaded china cabinet is almost done (we had some broken glass issues that delayed things slightly... ok a LOT), so don't climb under your desk and have a breakdown and start emotionally eating your kids' Halloween candy. I'm not breaking up with DIY. Just thinking out loud over here.

I'm half tempted to erase these 3 paragraphs too, because it's all nonsense. But I won't. Cause then I would have to write something else.

TWinnovative

2011-10-28T11:51:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I and the girls went grocery shopping together for the first time! I had put a lot of thought into the logistics of this, including reading twin books on the topic and talking to other twin moms. The most common idea included having two carts, either with both babes being pushed in one cart, with the cart of groceries being pulled behind (which sounded awkward and difficult to maneuver), or having two carts with a carseat on each... equally awkward. Another idea is to just take the double stroller, and only get enough groceries that would fit in the bottom compartment thingy, and we all know that wouldn't work since we only shop for groceries once a month. So I decided to 'wear' one baby in the Bjorn, and have the other baby in her carseat on the top of the cart. It worked swimmingly! Adelyn was in the Bjorn (cause she's lighter) and Paisley in the carseat... and they were such good little girlies the whole time! Adelyn slept, and Paisley played and smiled charismatically at all the curious onlookers. There were a lot of double takes when people realized that there were TWO BABIES. Could it be? *gasp* And we went through all the questions with each excited person. In addition to all the typical 'twin questions', most people's first reaction is "Double Trouble!" or "YOU'VE got your hands full" ... but yesterday, one elderly lady said "awww, aren't you such a lucky mommy to have two babies! Double blessing!" I said, "THANK YOU for saying that! They ARE a double blessing!"

It was a sight to see when my cart was overflowing with a month's worth of groceries and me with the two babies. I almost asked someone to take a picture so I could show you all how obnoxious it looked. But that just felt weird, so I didn't.

Enough about that, it's Friday! Let's look at my cute babies!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bedroom Design Inspiration

2011-10-27T08:05:00.003-05:00

As I've been considering the design development in our bedroom, I stumbled upon the following photo on Pinterest of this beautiful Greecian Port and fell in love. And I realized, the colors are sooo incredible... so this photo is now my color inspiration for the bedroom!! You can start to see hints of it with the turquoise headboard and burnt orange nightstands. It's beautiful right?

Photo found here.

I can see it now! It's slowly coming together!

She's Got Swag

2011-10-25T09:25:00.009-05:00

A looooooooong time ago when we painted this backsplash, the homeowners Stan and Sue gave us a tour of their lovely home... and I comment on how I loved their vintage swag lamps in their living room. It was meant to just be a compliment... but they proceeded to remark, "those old things? We just bought new lights to put in their place. Do ya want the old ones?" ...ummmm, yes please? And so Stan whipped out his ladder and climbed up to their high vaulted ceiling, and removed the fixtures right in front of us. How incredibly generous and awesome?!

I'm sad that I don't have pictures of the lamps before our ADHD dog broke the globes (we shouldn't have had them in our garage I guess)... but we were left with just the ornate brass parts of the lamps, which is what I loved about them to begin with... so it was ok.

After occupying our garage for far too long, I finally decided what I could do to make them awesome again. Our bedroom's been in desperate need of some new matching bedside lamps, and we all know how hard it is to find two matching lamps at garage sales or thrift stores. Why is there always only one? So the swag lamps were the obvious and budget friendly choice for our bedroom... AND they have major character!

So here's what we did. The brass was very tarnished and icky, so everything got a good scrub-down with soapy water. Which didn't help AT ALL. So after googling some home remedies for shining up icky brass, I went at it with lemon juice and an old toothbrush. Also didn't help. So we broke down and bought some brass polish which worked like a charm. We'll know for next time, eh?

For $15, I ordered 36 yards of 6mm crafting beads from Amazon.com. I cut lengths of 18 inches.

While I was measuring and cutting strands of beads, Nick was wiring and soldering the fixtures so that they would work... and not be fire hazards.

Then I just used crafting wire and attached each strand of beads to the brass top and bottom thingys. I didn't take very many process pictures, because I got on a role and wasn't thinking to document my beading journey. But this is what it looks like now!

And here they are in the bedroom during the day.

And at night.

We tried putting in some amber tinted bulbs, and it made for a fun vintagey-yellowy glow.

But I'm not lovin' how the amber bulbs look during the day. So maybe we'll just pull out those bulbs for "special occasion mood lighting."

Remember what our bedroom looked like just last week?

The addition of the headboard and nightstands and sweet swag lamps is making a world of difference! It's slowly starting to feel like a romantic paradise escape from our wild chaotic life!

I'm not saying that being a hoarder is a healthy lifestyle, but there's SOME merit to keeping things around "just in case I might use them someday." Such an improvement!!! Not sure what's next. Curtains p'haps?

A New Sister

2011-10-24T09:57:00.005-05:00

Having grown up with five brothers and only ONE sister, it would be an understatement to say that the testosterone to estrogen ratio in my childhood home was severely off balance. But... I wasn't considering the fact that as we become adults, those brothers would each be bringing me a brand new sister (assuming it's girls they like, and they can find one to like them back). And against all odds, my little bro Caleb has found himself a lovely lass to become my newest sister! Meet Laura:

So ok...

Laura will be graduating in the spring with a double major in Marketing and Spanish, and she's studying abroad this semester in Spain. Caleb plotted, without her knowledge, and flew to Spain last week to surprise her and ask for her hand in marriage! She was walking across this bridge (below) with a group of friends, and Caleb walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around, he got down on one knee and asked her to be his forever wife!!! Are you getting all emotional like I am? Hearing such an amazing romantical proposal? You should be.

The following photo was NOT a reenactment! Real time folks! Real time!

She said yes.

How super adorable and lovely are they together? I love you Laura! Thanks for agreeing to be my sister!!

I admit...

2011-10-21T14:15:00.012-05:00

I'm all about being real on this ol' blog. And one thing I wasn't expecting with parenthood is the pressure to feel like a rockstar-mom. I've always taken great pride in how easy my twins are. They've always slept through the night, and been easy babies... till recently. And I don't want to admit my struggles!

In addition to this parental pressure, I have lots of guilt for feeling overwhelmed when I have two screaming babies and haven't left the house in 13 days. I feel like others expect me to be happy and loving life no matter what... because we won our fertility battle and finally got our little bundles of blessing. I even have trouble admitting my struggles to my own family and friends... even my husband. But here's the truth, sometimes I feel like I'm going completely crazy, inadequate as a mother... and ugly.

It's not really as bad as it sounds, and I don't ALWAYS feel this way. But it's been a rough week. Paisley has been struggling with acid reflux, and she has a hemangioma that broke open and has been causing her lots of pain. She's usually my little angel baby... but wow. Crabby CRABBY baby, and understandably so. I'll be glad if/when we get past this particular stage. Adelyn recognizes her sister's distress and has decided to take over sissy's role as angel baby to give me a break. She's been so pleasant and smiley! Loving it!

I know this post is super negative and whiny... but it's my blog, and this is my real life. I'm not going to sugar-coat anything! I'm hoping that there are others that identify with my mommy-insecurities and guilt. I am not (and will never be) one of those put-together mom's whose kids are dressed adorably in non-stained outfits, and herself wears size two designer jeans, always has great hair days and matching undergarments, and brags about how her 1-year-old can count to 20 and fluently speaks several languages. I'm embracing my imperfections, my sweatpants, and my perfectly imperfect family. Take THAT!

A Few Dilemma's Addressed

2011-10-20T12:20:00.007-05:00

For some time now, I've been really itching to tackle another room in our home. The only rooms I feel are done are the nursery and the kitchen... (and the kitchen could really still use some new appliances, flooring, and the washer and dryer needs to be moved OUT of my pantry so I have room for our month's worth of food). And since we're on a serious budget, designing and updating our home has been put onto the back burner. And that... drives me CRAZY. I neeeeeed to keep crafty in order to feel alive and legitimate.

With all that being said... the living room and our master bedroom are the two rooms that are in the running for "needs to be next" on the list. And while we're not about to run out and buy a bunch of stuff (even from craigslist) I realized I could be using some of the things we already have to start making improvements... specifically to the bedroom in this case. Here's the view of the bed, as it's been (embarrassingly) for the last two years. Hate it.

Firstly, I'm SUPER happy to announce that we decided to keep our classy damask upholstered headboard that we crafted a few weeks ago (tutorial here). At first I wasn't a fan of having the same exact fabric displayed in the nursery AND our master bedroom... but then I decided: who cares? I like it a lot, and I want it on my bed. And if that's bad design, then call me an amateur. Cause technically, I have no qualifications whatsoever.

Additionally, my cousin Johnny and his wife Heather passed along this charming painted childrens desk/hutchy thing about a year ago, and gave us free reign to do whatever with it. They just wanted it out of their garage! And while I love this piece (what with it's great legs and whatnot) I just didn't know what to do with it! Should I save it for the girls room someday down the road when they're old enough to use and appreciate it? Should I fancy it up and sell it? Should I let it sit in our garage to accumulate sawdust and house our spraypaint collection? Yes! Let's do that!

BUT... about a week ago, it hit me. I knew exactly what the fate of that little tween desk would be. And, by fixing this dilemma, I would also be fixing another dilemma. That being our serious issue with our nightstands. They're really flimsy and without storage or style. And I hate them. Can you see where this is going at all??

So after convincing the man-boy of my unconventional plan, we started the demolition. Truthfully, I was excited about swinging a sledgehammer, but Nick got all logical and parental on me.

Which left us with two awesomely perfect matching nightstands... nightstands with great legs. Holla!

They got about 3 coats of burnt orange paint (that I brushed on, since we had a leftover can of paint from HERE in the color I wanted). This experience reminded me why spraypainting is SOOOOO much easier... and funner. And it gives you a better finish. And it's faster. I can safely say that if I had instead driven an hour round trip to town and purchased the color I wanted in spraypaint form, and come back home to spraypaint my bedside tables, it would have taken less time than using the can of already-owned paint. That's all yo. We glued together a couple planks of oak, and stained them in Minwax Ebony... for the tops of the nightstands. I loooooove how these turned out. ...(yes, that's my husband sporting a tie-dyed T-shirt and classy froggy flannel PJ pants I sewed for him)

Then these little gems got some glazing treatment, and they're ready to go!

Not only do we have matching adorable bedside tables with TONS of character... but we also have storage for all those bedside "items" that we won't discuss here... because this is a family blog. JK... I'm mostly speaking of my retainer.

I so love these new little additions to our bedroom! There are still many things to do in this room, but I think this is a pretty good start for now.

Here are some things I'm still planning to do in this room:

1) curtains
2) seating area (scouring craigslist)
3) new ceiling fan
4) painting treatment to the dresser (??)
5) paint the drab beige walls another color
6) bedding... DIY? perhaps

OK, so I know these plans aren't very specific, but I'm the design-as-I-go type, so I really don't have a picture in my head of how it will look in the end. That's annoying to you, I can tell.

Animals

2011-10-18T11:44:00.003-05:00

Remember how our kitties, Blanche and Lucille, collectively had 11 kittens this summer? We were planning on keeping a couple of them... or however many we couldn't find homes for. But happily, they all got snatched up and taken to loving homes! I was a little sad, but luckily I hadn't allowed myself to get attached to any of them, because I didn't know which ones we would end up keeping. We didn't even name them! But it was so fun to have baby kitties on our acreage for a summer. It's a good thing Paisley and Adelyn aren't old enough to love them and want to keep them ALL. And since we don't have any out-buildings on our acreage, our cats come and go from the garage during the winter... which means a litter box is in active use. And if we had any more cats, the litter box situation may just become out of control. So we're content with adult kitties, and ...Reuben.

If you haven't been around the blog for too long, Reuben is our special-needs dog. His special needs include: destroying everything he sees, killing tiny helpless animals, defiant refusal to obey or manage his emotions, total lack of attention span and general common sense.

My Sis... Anna (and her uke)

2011-10-17T07:23:00.000-05:00

Of all seven children my parents procreated, Anna is my only sis... you can imagine how happy I was when she popped out with girl parts, after waiting for 10 years. My baby sis is a sophomore in college now! ...Yes, that means I was a sophomore 10 years ago, and sadly again 5 years later when I went back and changed majors. But that's off subject. My sister is the younger, much better looking and better dressed version of myself. And not only that, she plays the ukulele... can you think of anything more adorable?

here she is getting down on her uke...

Chickies

2011-10-14T13:52:00.000-05:00

Note to self, orange is not the best backdrop color to complement most baby girl clothing. I thought pink outfits were sketchy, but I put RED outfits on them today... didn't fly. So we had several wardrobe changes... what else am I supposed to do with my free time?!

There haven't been any major developmental milestones to speak of thus far. Still no rolling or reaching for objects... but that's to be expected since they were 5 weeks premature. However, since the two month marker (when the doc let us quit waking them up to feed) the girls have slept all night. And by all night, I mean 10 straight hours. Both of them. That's a milestone, right? But it probably won't last forever, I know.

The girls have begun traveling in the crib, and it makes me nervous that they're going to get their faces right up to each other and not be able to breath. We've begun trying to figure out how to put another crib in that tiny room, or if it's even necessary. They sleep so much better together... but keeping them alive is the ideal scenario. Twin mommies? Advice?

The day we found out...

2011-10-12T14:20:00.003-05:00

OK, this is my long-awaited story of becoming pregnant. I'm going to give a little background info of the happenings a week before we got the great news. For even more background info, you can read our full IVF story in chronological blog posts here, and read more about our struggle with infertility (backwards chronological) here.

It was at this time last year that we reached our $12,000 goal, and with MUCH anticipation began all the hormonal injections in preparation for IVF. For over a month, we planned our lives around our injection calendar, having to be injected 2-3 times daily at exact times, and driving across the state several times a week for ultrasounds and tests. We did everything by the book. If this didn't work, it wasn't going to be because we cut corners. Not a single person on earth knew that we had reached our financial goal and were starting IVF. Although we would never have that special surprising moment announcing a pregnancy, I still desperately wanted an element of surprise. I wanted it to be a moment. Another reason we didn't tell anyone was because of the extreme emotional and anxious state of our hearts. We knew family and friends would be supportive and loving, but if the IVF didn't work... I would need to morn by myself. Possibly for a really long time. A grief that I knew might make my heart stop beating. All our eggs were in one basket (and that was NOT meant to be a pun). There was no other way.

My egg retrieval was on a Friday. I was under general anesthesia, and they inserted a catheter with a needle that penetrated into my ovaries and sucked the contents out of each egg sack, from each of my ovaries. Fourteen eggs were retrieved in all. And after mingling with my beloved's 'seeds', we had eight embryos growing strong after the weekend.. Monday morning we were scheduled for the Embryo Transfer. They handed us a picture of the two strong embryos they had chosen (the same picture we have at the top of our blog). For me, looking at my embryos was a comparable emotion to hearing your baby cry for the first time after 48 hours of intense labor. I said "hi babies, I'm your momma" to the picture. It's true. And Nick said, "the one on the left has your eyes".

The embryo transfer went smoothly. I thanked the doc for knocking me up, and he said 'the pleasure was all his.' We went home... and waited. The idea that I could potentially be pregnant is a feeling I can't explain. So much pain and anticipation for a moment like this. I loved those little embryos, with a mother's love. I wanted to know them, deeply and profoundly.

We were instructed to simply wait, for ten days, until our scheduled blood test to determine pregnancy. They highly recommended we NOT take a pregnancy test before then, because my levels would be so low that, although I may in fact be pregnant, it probably wouldn't detect it. And they didn't want me to be disheartened. I was grateful that they were thinking about the condition of my heart. But there was NO WAY I was waiting ten days. I've taken hundreds of pregnancy tests in the last two years, and I needed that moment of peeing on a stick... and seeing it for myself.

So our Embryo Transfer was on Monday, Thanksgiving was on Thursday, and we were heading to my parents on Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving with my fam. All seven of us siblings were going to be there. And I woke up that morning thinking... wow, today would be the perfect day to announce a pregnancy. Plus, I just didn't know if I could act cool and not let on that there were two embryos in my uterus that could potentially become two babies!!!!!!!!!!!!

So although it was only five days since our Transfer and we were supposed to wait ten days for the blood test, I got out of bed that Saturday morning, walked in the bathroom and peed on a stick. I knew full well it would probably be negative, for two reasons: 1) my pregnancy tests are always negative 2) they told me not to take a pregnancy test because it would almost definitely be negative until ten days has passed. But I had a pregnancy test lying around. Why not? WHY NOT I ask. I had prepared myself for the negative test, and knew that it wouldn't necessarily mean I wasn't pregnant. And I was not going to let it ruin my weekend.

The pregnancy test I used was ClearBlue from a two-pack I had bought a few months back when I wrote this post. It's the type of test that digitally tells you either "pregnant" or "not pregnant". So I'm sitting on the toilet looking at that blank gray screen, just staring. Waiting. Staring. Hoping. Waiting. And then a word popped up on the screen. Just one word. Not two. One word...

PREGNANT

What? WHAT? I stared blankly in disbelief for a fraction of a second. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. I don't think I wiped, or pulled my pants up. I ran into the bedroom screaming and jumped on top of Nick, waving the pregnancy test in his face. I was crying and yelling hysterically. Nick probably thought there was an intruder in our house. He was groggy and confused and half awake. But once he figured it out, we rejoiced together. It was a crazy morning. We kept saying to each other... "We're having a baby!!" I talked to my belly. "hello babies, thanks for grabbing on tight. Are there two of you or just one of you?" In the shower that morning, I had an idea of how we could announce our pregnancy to my family. After taking pictures of the two of us, we went to Walgreens.com and uploaded the photo of us and the photo of our embryos, and created a holiday card using both pictures. And below, it said "Happy Holidays, from ALL of us!"

Walgreens had them printed in one hour, and we picked them up a few blocks from my parents house. I quickly shoved each holiday card in it's envelope as we were pulling up to their house. We walked in the front door, trying to act cool. I nonchalantly set up my camera on the TV stand and set it to record, and began passing out our "Christmas cards" to each of my family members. The video says it all. You can just watch the first 2 minutes. This is one my most treasured moments of my entire life. I'm so glad that I thought to record it so I can relive it whenever I want... and so I could share it with you.

And that's the story of conceiving, discovering pregnancy, and announcing to my fam! We can't believe all that's happened in the last year. We still are in awe that these girls belong to us... that we finally got our miracle(s).

Weekend Misc

2011-10-10T09:45:00.003-05:00

This weekend, we visited a pumpkin patch (my first time ever!) with some friends and had so much fun! We carried the girls around in the Baby Bjorn's and they got to see lots of pumpkins, walk through a corn maze, and see ponies and goats!

Nick was concerned about the sun being in Paisley's eyes. What a thoughtful daddy.

Upon our arrival back at home, we had lots of projects to tend to! Beings that the weather was AMAZING, Nick took advantage, and ripped out the window in our bedroom and tore off siding and rotting wood from a leak. I know nothing about this sort of creativity, but he was using words like flashing, joist, and tin snips. It was a perfect day for a project requiring a gaping hole of absent window.

What was that? You're wondering where the front door is? I'm so glad you asked! I mean, what's a girl supposed to do when your hubs is busy on a non-fun project? Why not impulsively paint the front door? Ok!

Here's the door before:

I know door-painting is super trendy, but our boring beige house needed some lipstick. And orange seemed like the obvious choice... NOT because it's autumn/halloween, but simply because orange is awesome, unique, and obnoxious! Nick was a little worried about painting the door and it's durability against the upcoming harsh Iowa winter, but when I showed up with Rustoleum's TRACTOR PAINT, the durability problem was fixed! And Nick likes orange too, and the reference to farm equipment didn't hurt my case either.

This project only required one can of spray paint, and had awesome coverage!! Beware of serious overspray though. My tootsies took the brunt of it. Try to ignore my chubby unpolished toes, and instead focus on the orange hue.

I SOO love how our door turned out! It adds a certain something to our home! Ain't nothin' wrong with doing a little exterior design!

And you might be wondering what the girls were doing all this time? I'll show you:

Friday Photoshoot

2011-10-07T11:31:00.001-05:00

Let me just say that i LOVE having twins. Watching them lay on the floor together interacting and cooing to each other... I couldn't ask for anything else. And when they're both crying at the same time, I just laugh and say "TWO BABIES!!! Babies are everywhere! Baby chaos!" And then I pick which one to comfort first. In the beginning, my heart would break a little every time I had to choose between my babies. I remember the very first time it happened... we were in the hospital and the girls were just days old. I was holding them both, one in each arm, and they were both looking at me with their dark newborn eyes. And I had to choose which one to look at. No joke... I started bawling. How can I choose which baby to look at? I felt like they were both saying "mommy do you love me?"

ANYWHO... I just took 187 pictures of the girls. And there were so many good ones, it was hard to choose! And as you can see, I dressed them in the most obnoxious impractical outfits, without apology. Every baby girl should wear leggings at some point. And if they don't wear them today, when will they wear them? Speaking of impractical, I don't have a single set of matching bra/undies.

Come on people, let's stay on topic here. Without further ado... my darlings:

As a reminder, Paisley's always on the left, and Adelyn on the right! ... but you knew which was which, yes?

And don't forget to participate in our fun recipe exchange!

Crafting with Twinfants

2011-10-06T07:44:00.005-05:00

So my sis-in-law Kelly gave me a great idea (via Pinterest) for a craft to do with the babes! Sorry about the low quality Pinterest photo:

I loved the idea, because not only is it a fun activity that the girls will love to look back on someday, it can also be artwork! We started out by whipping out a little rainbowy stamp pad and some card stock!

Then I just pressed the stamp pad on their little tootsies! After getting them all inked up, I held their ankle still for a few seconds to wait for them to stop wiggling before I pressed that chubby foot onto the card stock!

And then I just used a couple markers to draw in the body of the butterfly, antennas, and the girls' names!

And I pulled out some cheap unused picture frames, and spraypainted them gray with some leftover Krylon.

Cute, right? I can't decide if I'll put them on that long shelf in the nursery, or hang them on the living room wall for awhile!

Do you have any other ideas for baby-crafting?

A Few Items of Business

2011-10-05T11:16:00.004-05:00

First off... HELLO! Those meals you guys are throwing at me for our Recipe Exchange look so so sooooooo yummy! Are you frantically writing them down on recipe cards like I am? Keep 'em coming!

Secondly, my bloggy friend Mrs. Lloyd is FINALLY PREGGO! It makes me tear up a little every time a friend struggling with infertility finally gets their miracle! Reading through her blog a little last night, all the pain and heartache of infertility came rushing back into my veins. It physically hurt. And made me panic and want to have frantic strategically-timed sex and take pregnancy tests every 20 minutes again. It also made me remember the day I saw that positive pregnancy test... which led me to remember that: I never shared that story on the blog! And it's a good one. I got all wrapped up in creating our "Pregnancy Announcement Video" and never thought to tell the whole story! It'll take me some time to type the whole thing out. But you have that to look forward to in the next week or so! I still watch this video every couple weeks. And I still cry every time.

Something else you can look forward to is seeing a little crafty project I've been doing with the girls! (It's NEVER too early to be crafty with your young ones!) here's a little sneak preview photo:

And, I know it's been a long time coming, but we're finally starting to wrap things up with the china cabinet we've been laboring over. Actually, Nick got a little burnt out on furniture while I was pregnant since he had to do everything himself there for awhile. So this china cabinet is 95% ALL ME! That's right. And of course I can't leave you without a sneak preview of that too!

And... I may or may not be thinking about painting our backsplash WHITE and starting over fresh! And... here's my inspiration backsplash! Tiny tiny tiles, right? and LOTS of tedious taping in my future! ...when I showed Nick, he said "are you being serious right now?" Come now honey, we can totally pull this off.

(photo comes from here)

In other news, last weekend we visited Grandpa Bob and Grandma Diane in southeast Iowa and had a total blast! Instead of going into too much detail (I'm trying not to be so wordy lately) I wanted to share these AMAZING BLANKETS Grandma Diane crocheted for the girls!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOOVE them! Orange and pink combo? What could be more perfect?! They're both orange/pink striped, but one has a pink border, and the other orange! And they're super-duper soft and snuggly. I can't wait for the girls to love their blankies!

Well this turned into a pretty excessively long post, when in fact it was supposed to be just a brief update. Do you feel updated? Do you get bored of our lives? Cause I just blog about our life, our family, our projects. It's a mystery to me that so many of you come back for more. But I want to say THANKS for sticking around for our dysfunction!

Recipe Exchange? YES!

2011-10-03T08:03:00.002-05:00

HEY guys! So... I've been thinking about how I would love love love to do a recipe exchange right here on the blog! Would you participate? Please? I mean, every one of us has a couple go-to recipes that are fairly EASY and DELICIOUS, right? Why not share the love? ...with me, and all my readers!

If you're like me, you get in a rut with cooking, making the same rotation of meals every week/month. Let's do ourselves and our families a favor and break away from our boring everyday spaghetti, and try each others' amazing dishes! I can't wait to try YOUR meals! And I'm totally going to share some too! And don't you just take advantage of everyone else's delicious submissions, make sure you spell out your own! Give us a couple even!

(we only shop for groceries once a month, so see this post to see how we keep track of our food items and meals that we have the ingredients to make! annd... this post about how we freeze milk!)

I'm gonna go flip through my recipe's right now and share one in the comment section! You might not realize this, but you can leave an incredibly large comment... I don't think there's a limit. So don't worry about your recipe being to hefty for the comments below.

Let the recipe exchange begin! YAY!

My Pride and JOY!

2011-09-30T12:01:00.003-05:00

My little babies are 12 weeks today! It's hard to remember how tiny they used to be! It used to be a special treat to try and prop the girls on this orange chair so their heads wouldn't flop around. But now their necks are strong and they sit there like big girls!

It's a good thing yesterday wasn't picture day, because the girls were extra crabby. SO crabby in fact, that I emailed Nick at work and informed him that when he gets home, I'm locking myself in the bedroom BY MYSELF. He obliged me like the lovely husband that he is. Of course I came down the stairs to two quiet, happy babies and a husband looking at me like "sheesh it's not THAT hard". And then he lost his life.

Just kidding... it's really not that hard, it's just that some days... well you know.

Are you starting to be able to tell the girls apart?

Oh The Countryside

2011-09-28T13:12:00.003-05:00

It's this time of year that Nick starts referring to our acreage as "the farm", when in fact... we don't farm. Nor do we own any farming land. We only own our wee morsel (5 acres) of land amongst all the fields of soybeans and corn. I like to call it "an acreage". He also starts dreaming of combines and grain bins. This is the view from our front porch... harvest in full swing.

I found this little friend on our screen the other day. "Hello little praying mantis. Say a prayer for me to lose these last 15 pounds."

Two of our five acres used to be baled by our neighbor, but last year we planted trees... so now it's just an overgrown field. I like to call it a PRAIRIE. But anyway... way back when Tim and Carrie were living with us, Nick would mow around the perimeter of our property, and the four of us (along with four high strung dogs) would go for evening walks on our "nature trail". Well, now that Tim and Carrie live on their own spacious acreage, Tim's been mowing a nature trail as well, and his is more windy. So Nick rolled with that, and mowed an especially maze-like twisty turny nature trail that Nick and I and the girls (in the Bjorns) walk every evening while the sun is setting. It's really great family time, and the girls love to get fresh air.

And today, I started walking the trail with each girl (while the other sleeps) to get some one-on-one bonding time, and increase my physical activity! I totally love it! This pic is the trail coming up the opposite side of our house.

While I was out with Adelyn and my camera this morning, I snapped this photo of my flower bed. Lovely, right? I haven't pulled a single weed this summer. It was more than I could commit to, being due on August 11 with twins and all.

And here's my thriving vegetable garden. What? You can't see it? It's RIGHT THERE.

And I know I've mentioned this before, but... behold our vast wasteland of asphalt, covering at least one solid acre of our beloved land. It's a thorn in our side, and we've been throwing around ideas for how we could have it removed... or buried. It's extremely ugly.

But it does have some redeeming qualities. These little wildflowers are growing up through the cracks all over the expanse of the asphalt. Kinda pretty if you're looking close enough.

I love this time of year... having bonfires, wearing socks, watching football, the smell of burning leaves, crockpot meals, hoodies, and pumpkin spice lattes.

What's your favorite thing about fall?

Weekend Activity

2011-09-26T07:10:00.008-05:00

I'd like to take a moment to recap our weekend.

Saturday morning, we awoke at 5, showered, fed and prepped the girls, loaded the diaper bag and car, and headed to Eldora to paint a backsplash!

We then drove directly to Gladbrook where we celebrated our neice, Kendall's very first birthday! There was grilling, presents, ...and cake. Lots of cake.

Upon our arrival back home, we glazed the china cabinet and server. I could show you a teaser picture, but that would require me to get up and take a picture, and I'm feeling mucho lazyo at the momento. *UPDATE!* ~mi hermana informed me the word for 'lazy' in espanol is perezosa. Aren't you so glad we learned a new word together today? YES!

Because I desperately need to get groceries, we ate rice and corn... and watched a few episodes of House.

Next mornin' we awoke at 7 to a couple of hungry babies.

After some house cleaning, we headed to town for some family grocery shopping. Taking the girls out in public is like a circus freak show. People flock from all corners of the store to see the two babies! "You really have TWINS? LIKE TWO BABIES? Double trouble! Better you than me! Busy Momma!" Yes I have twins. Yes they are both girls. No they are not identical. Yes I can tell them apart, by simply looking at them. No, I was not surprised when we found out we were having twins. Yes, I was overjoyed more than you can possibly imagine. Yes, we have twins in our family... you're lookin at 'em. No, I'm not breastfeeding. Yes, I get plenty of sleep. Yes, they have totally different personalities.

...and why is it that people don't have the self control to keep their bacteria covered paws off my precious offspring? Kinda makes me want to carry my crossbow with me.

Calm down, I don't really have a crossbow.

We spent some time outside on our acreage enjoying the fall air, and walking our "nature trail." Girlfriends love getting some fresh air.

In the evening, we strapped on our Baby Bjorns (thanks for the second one Carrie!) and did some baking in the kitchen together! As a family! Nick and Paisley made banana bread from scratch, and Adelyn and I made homemade pumpkin pie!! Then we relaxed, watched a couple episodes of House and ate baked goods.

What did you do over the weekend? Was there any painting involved? Or cake flying through the air? Is anyone else inexplicably obsessed with the show House? Ooo, has anyone been to a pumpkin patch yet? Maybe we'll take the girls next weekend. FUN!

Pardon me now, while I go eat another piece of pumpkin pie.

11 Weeks

2011-09-23T12:52:00.003-05:00

It's so weird how I love my girls differently. Equally, but differently. They're such different little people, with different personalities, preferences, and sleep patterns. I hope they know how much I delight in them! How do people get by with only one single baby? It seems so unnatural to me! I can't put into words how much I love these little girls.

They haven't quite figured out that they should look at the camera. :)

Kathy's Backsplash

2011-09-22T07:35:00.003-05:00

YAY!!! We're back at it! This past weekend, we partook in painting our first backsplash since the girls were born. It's been a nice two month siesta, but it feels good to jump back into our creative niche. Kathy was one of my coworkers at the clinic, and she was willing to be our guinea pig for seeing how it would all work bringing the girls with us on the job!

Here's Kathy's kitchen... she described in frightening detail how it was covered floor to ceiling in wallpaper for far too long. But now it's a lovely blank canvas for us to rock our foam brushes!

She really loved this backsplash from way back when, but felt like it was a leeetle TOO blue/green for her taste. She really wanted the earthy naturals, with occasional bursts of color. She has a sagey green thing going on in her kitchen, and let us use her actual wall paint for a perfect match. She also wanted a cheery pop of turquoise to bring out her personality and make her kitchen super custom!

The girls did really well, only requiring minimal attention! Of course it didn't hurt that Kathy felt compelled to love and shnuggle them the whole time! Who doesn't love an abnormally adorable little baby, let alone TWO abnormally adorable little babies?!!! OK... maybe not everyone. But they should.

Kathy! Thanks for letting us paint your backsplash! ...and for entertaining our small litter of baby humans! ...and for the yummy brownies!

New Addition

2011-09-20T07:21:00.003-05:00

We've knocked out some pretty awesome end tables (like this, this, and this) that I reeeeeeeeally wanted to keep for my own living room. But for the greater good we sold them. I don't regret that decision at all. But I still dream of fixing up my living room to be awesome. I want to love it the same way I love my kitchen and nursery!

Well... over the weekend, we acquired a new end table for our living room. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

I give myself snaps for being super wifish and supportive of my husband's hobbies. He's very musical and loves rocking out on his bass, or acoustic guitar. Isn't there something just sexy about a guy with his guitar? MEOW!

Sugar and Spice

2011-09-17T17:48:00.003-05:00

Well, I took pics of the girls yesterday, like I always do on Fridays... but it was super cloudy without much natural light, and I don't love how they turned out. Today, however, is also cloudy. And tomorrow will be as well. So I'm just going to post this picture anyway!

Lil chickies weren't entirely cooperative. But they're babies. And I'm an incredibly tolerant and awesome mom.

Can you tell who's sugar and who's spice?

Upholstered Headboard Tutorial

2011-09-14T07:52:00.006-05:00

Things move a little slower around these parts, what with 16 diaper changes a day... but I've finally finished the headboard! I know you're thrilled.

Well this headboard was a no-brainer... we had leftover fabric (from the nursery curtains) that I'm totally in love with. And the pattern fit perfectly with the 10" x 10" squares of wood that we already had pre-cut and lying around. You can use as many or as little fabrics as you want. It just depends on the look you're going for. See?

The following tutorial is for a queen size upholstered headboard. You can tweak it accordingly for other bed sizes.

If you don't have a table saw, start with having your local lumber yard cut 18 squares (10x10) of 1/4" wood. We used Mahogany underlay because it was cheapest. You'll also need a 1/2 inch thick board 28" x 58" to serve as the 'backboard'.

I started by cutting my fabric in 13" squares, 18 in all.

Then I lined up the 10" board on my fabric so that the design was perfectly centered. If you're not using a patterned fabric, you don't have to be as careful with centering and lining everything up just so.

Using a staple gun, I folded the bottom edge over the wood and stapled (every 2-3 inches) at a slight angle so that the pokey edges of the staple didn't come through the other side. Like so:

Make several tiny folds on the corner, and pull it tight to make a perfectly smooth corner... and staple it down!

I added some fluffy polyester fiberfill a little at a time, adding staples every 2-3 inches as I made my way up the square.

I cornered off the top the same way I did the bottom. Voila! One down, seventeen to go!

Once you have one square completed, use it as a template for the rest... making sure the pattern lines up the same way in the same places. But like I said, if you're using a solid fabric, or lots of different patterned fabrics, this step can be omitted! Hooray for omitting steps!

Once you've got all 18 upholstered 10x10 boards, give yourself a high-five and have a Martini. Then, after sobering up, start prepping your "back board". No matter how perfectly your 10" squares are cut, there will always be slight cracks showing between some of your upholstered squares, so I take some fabric (in this case a simple white $5 bed sheet) and cut it into strips. I created a grid with the strips of fabric, strategically placed where the edges of the squares would line up. Then I used a spray adhesive to make them stay. (As you can tell, we've been using this board to paint other projects on for many moons! We're classy like that.)

Then place all 18 squares onto the board. Your 'back board' is cut 28"x58" so that the upholstered squares overlap on the edges so you can't see the tacky unfinished backboard peeking out from behind.

Glob on some Liquid Nails onto the back, and press each square down firmly. Be sure to read the directions carefully. This may not seem entirely secure, but we built our own headboard almost 2 years ago, and she's still rockin' out in our bedroom.

Kids, that's it. You can and should build one for yourself immediately. It's totally easy slash fun. We used interlocking flushmounts found here to secure the headboard directly to the wall. This allows it to be flush with the wall, and extremely secure. (we DON'T have it secured to the wall in these pictures, so ignore our lazy installation)

I so so so love how this turned out. And if we didn't already have this fabric/pattern splashed all over our nursery, I would totally make it my new bedroom theme. But that would be too repetitive for me. Especially for two rooms right next to each other.

Are you gonna give this one a try? Let me know if you have any questions!!!

Miss Molly

2011-09-13T09:10:00.001-05:00

Molly showed up with some more shockingly awesome pictures from our newborn photo shoot from last month. Dang she makes it look easy! It's hard to believe these precious angels are my own flesh and blood. Nick and I have created one kick-a** gene pool. Hopefully our girls won't resent us someday for these nakey nakey pictures.

These here three people are my whole world.

I can't believe I finally have a family of my own. My boy and I worked hard for this, yo. Didn't happen overnight in a drunken stupor. Nope.

And you all remember this photo... my fave! I promise they don't fit in that basket anymore!

Molly's website is HERE! She's incredible!

Family Matters (a lot)

2011-09-12T09:26:00.001-05:00

Well here we are back at Monday. The weeks are flying by, and my girls are getting so big. Everyone says "they grow so fast" ...ain't it the truth! Soon they'll be teenagers wearing excessive makeup and sneaking out at night. I guess that would be the least of my worries.

My little bro Josh went home yesterday. We had a great week hanging out with him. He and Nick spent some quality time under the hood of his car installing a new exhaust system. Apparently it's important to a 17 year old boy to have an extremely LOUD vehicle ...boys.

We also put him to work taking care of his nieces. Name that baby.

Also, Chris and Wayde painted a family room for a client this weekend. Holy... amazing... job-they-did. Can you imagine how much work this was? We'd like to take some credit for their mad skillz, but the this was ALL THEM. Incredible.

Best Friends

2011-09-09T15:25:00.004-05:00

The girls are getting so big and chubby! It's crazy to flip back through pictures and see how tiny they used to be!

Every single day I think about how lucky I am to have not just one baby, but TWO babies! What did I do to deserve such an awesome blessing? I can't get enough of them!

Na-Na Na-Na

2011-09-09T11:26:00.002-05:00

Oh yeah... I have a blog!

My daddy moved to China on Monday... and apparently the Chinese government BLOCKS ALL BLOGS and Facebook from their internet. Isn't that ridiculous? And how is that even possible? Isn't the world wide web the world wide web??? So not only is he unable to view my blog and that of my siblings, he also can't have his own blog to keep us all updated on his international travels. So not cool.

In other news, my youngest bro, Josh, has been staying with us this week... so my mind has been on things other than keeping the masses up to date on our daily happenings. In addition to entertaining a 17 year old, we've made TWO trips to the clinic this week (HI COWORKERS!) for routine-type visits... nothing scary or serious.

But while we're discussing ailments, here's a little interesting factoid...

Not only am I allergic to Penicillin, I'm also allergic to the ALTERNATIVE to Penicillin! Fun for me!
Imagine this all over your whole body, including face.

I hate to leave you with such a horrific picture. I'm sure your eyes are burning. But happily, weekly baby pics are on the way later this afternoon! That should make up for it!

Shana, could you update my medical chart in Epic to reflect my new allergies? Thanks.

Bloggy Makeover

2011-09-06T06:42:00.002-05:00

Notice anything different about our little bloggy-blog? We needed a serious change of scenery. And while the last blog design was ok... I really hated that there was so much wasted space on the sides, and the pictures were so small and crammed in that center column. See?

Not to mention, it was such a froofy lacy design that didn't really fit quite right.

You might be thinking that Adelyn could feel left out because our new background is a "Paisley" pattern. But unfortunately, her name doesn't represent a pattern. Things may have been different if we had named her Argyle, Houndstooth, or Damask. But we didn't. So Paisley it is.

Also, we realized we wanted our baby girls to be represented on our title banner as more than just microscopic embryos, so we added a photo of them! It was the right thing to do.

We still can't figure out which girl is which embryo. Let us know if you have a hunch.

So we hope you enjoy the new design! Please let us know if there are any quirky things that don't look quite right on your computer. I'm sure there's a few glitches to still work through. And let us know if you have any suggestions for how to make our website more user-friendly! Thanks for sticking around, you crazy people!

Ladies

2011-09-02T20:18:00.002-05:00

It's that time again... when I get to play dress-up with my little babydolls! The girls are quickly moving out of their newborn clothes, and I'm realizing that it's now or never! So we bust out cute little dresses and whatnot for our Friday Photoshoots! Here they are at 8 weeks!

The Twin 'Boppy' Wannabe

2011-09-01T10:14:00.003-05:00

Over the last year, I've done my share of research on unique twin novelty items. But I always thought "someone would make a killing inventing the "Twin Boppy". Well it turns out... someone did!

Can you hear angels singing?

My good friend Nicole bought me this insanely genius invention. Truly a must-have for any mommy of tiny twins. The actual product name is Twin-Z Pillow and can be found at THIS website, and you can choose from lots of different fabrics! You can do boy-ish, girl-ish, OR gender neutral. Someone was thinkin!

The girls love to sit in it.

...and sleep in it.

Also, why is it that we dress our tiny newborns in denim jeans, despite it's obvious impracticalities?

Because they're so darn cute. That's why.

And today, for the first time, we had a successful tandem feeding!

Hands down my favorite twin-baby item.

And if your new 'round these parts, both my twins are girls. We just don't always dress them in pink.

Amen.

Camera Happy

2011-08-31T15:34:00.004-05:00

In case your as obsessed with our babies as we are, I thought I'd post excessive pictures of them. For fun.

Check out how different their profiles are!

I like to have the girls sleep in different positions so they aren't too used to anything. Dependency is never good!

Most of the time I swaddle. I'm a serious pro at swaddling. I could make a video tutorial on YouTube and it would totally go viral.

But sometimes I just let them hang free.

And other times we do a tummy nap (ONLY when I'm close by checking on them often), because I don't want them to hate tummy-time, thus delaying crawling. I think too much, I know.

But enough sleepy pictures!

And lastly, can we talk about how wicked long their eyelashes are? Lucky ladies for sure. I don't even remember which baby this is. Let's just say their eyelashes are comparable.

Thanks for doting on our girls with us!

Projects and Happenings

2011-08-30T11:52:00.005-05:00

The girls and I are all feeling better and getting back into the swing of things. It's been a rough few days on many levels, but life is finding it's balance again. During the day when the girls are snoozing, I've been busy working on an upholstered headboard using leftover fabric from the nursery curtains. It's not quite done yet, but when it is... I'm going to bust out a tutorial for y'alls!

Speaking of tutorials... you'll notice on the column to the left, we added a couple buttons for you to easily navigate to Furniture Transformations and Tutorials, which seem to be popular. Aren't we super accommodating?

In the evenings, while the girls are sleeping, the hubs and I head out to the garage with the baby monitor and work on various furniture projects. If we were to focus on one project, we'd get done a lot sooner. But unfortunately, none of them are close to completion. So don't hold your breath. Here's one that I'm particularly excited about. These are BEFORE pictures of a china cabinet, just to wet your whistle.

We've also been playing and frolicking with our baby kittens. You'll be happy to know that we've found homes for almost all of them! We're keeping one for sure. Why not! We live on an acreage!

Other things that are going on:
~ I have an ingrown toenail
~ the girls have arguably started smiling
~ I'm gonna make meatloaf for supper
~ my dad is moving to China on Monday
~ it's raining. and I love it
~ my good friend Meg got married last weekend
~ you shoulda seen her dress. specTACular
~ I've been experiencing garage sale/thrifting withdrawls
~ the girls have been sleeping 8 hour stretches at night
~ my belly button is still an outie
~ I love super love my bro Josh

Our Wee Babies

2011-08-26T19:56:00.006-05:00

Well here we are at 7 weeks, AND today marks 1 month being home from the hospital! I never knew being a mom would bring such extreme emotions. I used to be so free-spirited! Now I'm either overwhelmed with worry, or overwhelmed with joy, or just plain overwhelmed. But with only a few exceptions, they're really good babies. I've gotten into a rhythm of feeding them one at a time. Adelyn first (because she's the 'livelier' of the two) and then Paisley. Each girl gets a half hour of meal/cuddle time. Then if they're still awake, we do bouncy seats or the swing for "playtime". And then they go into the cradle, awake or not! They're pro's at falling asleep on their own.

Would you call this "nipple confusion"? HA!

I can't wait till their old enough to really play! And yet when I think of them growing, it tears my heart out because I want them to stay tiny forever! I'm trying to enjoy every little moment with them at each stage of their babyhood. Neither one of them fit in preemie clothes anymore! Ahhhh!

We had a small run-in with the ER the other night... Paisley was running a fever. It's been determined that she has a bit of a bladder infection, in addition to the sinus infection we're all suffering from. Two sick babies makes for a rough day when I don't feel that great myself. But we manage!

S/E Backsplash

2011-08-23T10:34:00.011-05:00

We have an exciting announcement to make! Our backsplash painting has become inexplicably successful, and we have requests from all over the country from people begging us to take a trip to their respective city to revive their drab kitchen situations. And while we've taken a couple ~~tours~~ mini vacations to St. Louis and Minneapolis (where we painted a few backsplashes), traveling around the country to paint backsplashes is just plain impractical for us, what with our acreage to tend to... not to mention infant twin girls to care for.

We started toying with the idea of training other individuals everything we know about painting backsplashes to represent us in their city and spread the love, if you will! Our backsplash painting was especially popular in Minneapolis, and one of our clients, Chris and Wayde, approached us about learning the trade and taking over business for us in her region! Perfect timing!

Chris and Wayde were willing and excited to be our guinea pigs for this whole endeavor, and made the 5 hour drive to the quaint city of Des Moines where we met up with them and spent the weekend painting backsplashes together! We taught them our measuring, taping and painting techniques as best we could... and then sent them off to their city, equipped with our vast knowledge and skill set. (HA!) And all this happened just in time for me to go on my self-inflicted bedrest!

Check out my 8 month prego-gut and unfortunate lack'o'makeup!

We had to quickly learn as much as we could about owning a small business and all the legal matters that go along with it, including taxes, insurance, contracts, lawyers and accountants... super confusing stuff! I leave all that to Nick. But one of the first matters of business was picking a name for our "business". And Sawdust and Embryos didn't quite seem appropriate. Especially with our new designers having to explain this to their clients "Well the owners of this business were infertile, and they frantically saved money for InVitro (hence the Embryos) and they did so by working a lot of hours being crafty with building/refurbishing furniture (hence the Sawdust) and painting backsplashes." Just sounds like a conversation that Chris and Wayde NEED NOT have with their clients. So we got creative (not) and abbreviated to S/E Backsplash. Innovative, right!!! jk jk

We launched a website specifically for our backsplash painting business... you HAVE to check it out! I spent a lot of time designing it to be awesome, and as informational as possible with lots of pictures, examples and verbage. Your feedback would be much appreciated! The link is www.SEbacksplash.com And this way, perspective backsplash clients won't have to come to our personal blog and hear about toilet paper, carpentry, and diaper rashes.

You can check out Chris and Wayde's portfolio on the website too! They're one talented couple! And the business has started flowing in! And of course... if you live in Minnesota and want your backsplash painted, you know what to do! I feel like every sentence has to have an exclamation point!!! So sue me!

We're super excited about this new chapter, if you can't tell.

Chunky Monkeys

2011-08-19T15:48:00.003-05:00

Well snap... it's already Friday again? Time flies when you're having fun! Our weekly photoshoot is proving to be a total blast... and I love being able to look back over the weeks and see how they've grown! Are you able to tell them apart yet? We think they look TOTALLY different, but we look at them all the time. :) Paisley's always on the left, and Adelyn on the right.

I've been terrible at blogging lately, but most days I just don't have anything to say. You faithful readers who stick around for my inconsistent blogging are the best!