randoms

I've been working on cleaning up my eating- I don't think I'll ever go full on paleo, but I've been trying to reduce the amount of processed foods I eat. But a girl still needs treats. Enter this delicious concoction I found on Pinterest:

Vanilla Greek yogurt mixed with a tsp of peanut butter and some chocolate chips sprinkled in. I'll have to pick up some mini chocolate chips next time we are out.

I'm continuing to conquer clutter around here. I was able to donate a bunch of my clothes that were no longer working. I also went through the girls' books and took away most of the books that weren't board books... They have a tendency to rip pages/tear of covers, so I will save them until they are a bit older.

de-junkify that drawer!

I have yet to enter a home that doesn't have one- the space full of miscellaneous odds and ends known as the junk drawer. Ours has gotten quite out of control:

I was able to move a out 50% of it to other areas of our home... i.e. craft supplies into craft box in basement, calculator with no batteries to the office.

I jazzed the drawer up a bit by lining with a pretty gift bag. Here is the after:

Still room for improvement, but it looks much better.

controlling toy clutter

The girls have a ton of toys- we have lots of people that love to spoil them (umm... I am probably the most guilty of doing this). Recently I realized I spent more time picking up after the girls than actually playing with them. Plus since they are now walkers, having an explosion of toys was a bit of a safety hazard.

Last weekend I packed up about half of their toys and stored them downstairs. Then I found some pinspiration, and cut down their collection even more. The girls now have about 10 different toys in rotation (piano, links, blocks, instruments, stacking cups, ball, stuffed animal, farm, doll, and activity walkers). 

Everything except the piano and farm fit in this basket! An added benefit is that the girls are much more engaged in the toys they have available- they play independently for about 15 minutes and 30+ minutes with the same toy if I am on the floor playing with them. The toys they have access to now really encourage creative play- only two require batteries. I'm drawn to the Waldorf method (although we probably only have one or two Waldorf approved toys...) so limiting toys that light up, make a lot of noise, etc is my way of adhering to some of the principles.

I was worried that Justin would roll his eyes about my new parenting strategy, but he was on board- especially when I mentioned that kids tend to appreciate what they have when they have fewer choices (please note that this is not applicable to shoes).

Don't despair- the girls will have access to all of their fabulous toys- I plan on rotating their collection about every two weeks... although the really love their blocks, links, and stacking cups do those will stay constant until they lose interest (they do have two sets of blocks and cups- Grandma Lu insists that both sets need to be out when she is here, but that is what grandmas are for).

I have a few fun craft projects planned for the girls, but other than that my goal is to be on a toy purchasing freeze until next Christmas... my mom claims the girls already have more toys than I had in my entire life (oops).

In other news, Claire is a budding yogi and had been practicing her downward dog:

She also enjoys perusing her closet for accessories:

Audrey has been practicing so big:

organized closet and outsmarted by a baby

I feel like my closet could always use an overhaul. Lately I've been feeling like I've been wearing the same 5 things every day. It is pretty ridiculous, as I have more clothes than the average person... I college about 90% of my discretionary income went towards clothes (the other 10% was split between Oreos and wine). I bought something new at least once a week (in my defense I did work at the mall). Anyways, my wardrobe has been feeling pretty stale... and I am basically back to my prepregnancy size- I have one pair of pants and two dresses that I am 5-10 lbs away from, but hopefully I'll get there in the next few months.

So back to the massive overhaul. Last weekend I cleared out 3 trash bags of clothes. Last night I took everything out of my closet and tried much of it on. If it wasn't flattering/out of style/etc I got rid of it. I ended up with another garbage bag of clothes. Next I put all the hangers in backwards. If it doesn't get worn in the next 6 months, it goes.

After the 6 months are up, I'll go through and colorize everything. My goal last night was to get the rarely worn items towards the front of the closet.

Now, as to how I was outsmarted by my baby. Earlier today, Claire and Audrey were each given a sippy cup of milk. Claire walked off with it and returned sans milk. I couldn't find it for the life of me. I searched and searched and finally found it in her laundry basket. The girls are still transitioning from the bottle (and are reluctant to give it up). I think this was Claire's way of protesting the sippy cup.

12 month update

The girls had their 12 month appointment yesterday. Audrey was 24 lbs & 29 inches. Claire was 18 lbs & 28 inches.

There were only a few tears during shots. The girls also had finger pricks done. Claire cried a bit, but Audrey was a trooper- she just looked at the lab tech like "seriously lady, what are you doing?". 

The pediatrician said it is officially time to start sleep training. She recommends it at 6 months, strongly encourages at 9, and says you really need to do it at 12 months. Claire woke up at 11 last night, so I gave her a bottle of water. She wasn't too impressed and was up again at 2. I gave her a couple of ounces of milk and she slept until about 7:30. Audrey was up at 4 (she went to bed around 6:15) I decided to give her a bottle and she also slept until 7:30. 

I think I'll do my own version if sleep training and try cut their bottles down/give them water instead if milk.

do I really need 20 pairs of jeans?...and other questions to ponder

I've been on a decluttering kick lately- over the weekend I helped (forced?) my mom to declutter some of her kitchen gear and cookbooks. Let me tell you- it is easy to declutter for someone else... You don't have an emotional attachment to the stuff, and also don't remember paying $40 for something to only use it once or twice.

When I got home I was on such a roll, I decided to attack my closet. I was able to cull 20 items without giving it a second thought. Today, I tried on every single pair of jeans I own, and found 5 pairs for the giveaway pile. There are only about 5 pairs I wear on a regular basis, but each pair hanging in my closet fits and is flattering, so they serve a purpose (babysteps, people).

I also attacked my beloved shoe collection. Off the top of my head, I could think of about 10 pairs that I never wear (and never will). They haven't all made it to the donation pile, as some are packed high away in my closet, but that will be a project for this weekend.

I read somewhere that the average woman only wears 30% of her wardrobe... I don't know about you, but I would prefer to wear at least 70% of my clothes on a regular basis. I feel like if my closet isn't cluttered with things that don't fit/aren't flattering/insert excuse for not wearing I will be more creative and able to come up with more options for layering.

So what do I do with all my excess clothes? If it is a higher end brand or purchased within the past 2 years, I sell it at clothes mentor or the local consignment store. Everything else gets donated to the awesome thrift store in my home town- instead of pricing items, they accept a free will donation.

I'm looking forward to further curating my closet. An awesome tip I heard is if it isn't something you would buy today, it doesn't get to stay. Be sure to look for patterns in the stuff you purge- it should help you avoid future shopping mishsps. Of course clearing the clutter makes me itch to do a bit of shopping... on my wish list are mint colored skinny jeans, a chambray short (preferably with polka dots), and something chevron. I'm also on the quest for the perfect pair of nude pumps... they have eluded me for years! Ooh, and if I'm really rounding out my closet, I would like two pair of skinny work pants- one black, one jewel tone... and perhaps the perfect 3/4 length grey blazer...

birthday party

We had the girls birthday party today- it was so much fun! I used the bridal shower I cohosted and Pinterest for inspiration... I'm pleased with how everything turned out!

I'm so thankful for all of our family and friends that helped us celebrate! The day was better than I could have hoped for. 

Next weekend we are having their one year shoot with aunt Amanda- the girls will get chance to have cake again.

thoughts on my first year of parenthood

It is hard to believe the girls are already a year old! A year ago today is when we all got to go home from the hospital (I got to stay an extra day due to needing blood transfusions).

Overall, parenthood has been a delightful experience- however we definitely experienced a few bumps. I remember the first few weeks, where Justin and I would alternate between thinking we had this whole parenthood thing down, to being terrified when people would tell us "just wait, it gets worse" (my experience has been that as the girls have gotten older, they have also become easier to care for).

The first 3 months were definitely the hardest- with a few of the biggest challenges in the first week. Having Audrey whisked off to the nicu before I even had a chance to see her was absolutely horrible. Justin went to be with her, so as I was in recovery I had lots of questions for the nurses, but no answers (just the statement that no news was good news... which ended up being true, but still it was quite frightening). I wasn't able to meet Audrey until she was about 12 hours old (I had some major fainting spells and other fun complications). Everything I had ever heard about attachment disorder was running through my head. Plus I was upset that she needed formula- joys of being a neurotic new mom.

The day after we were discharged from the hospital, Audrey was admitted to the peds unit for jaundice. Having to leave Claire was so hard (she was in the capable hands of my mom, but I was still a nervous wreck leaving her at home). 

Things were going better for a while, but at 5 weeks I had the devastating diagnosis of postpartum psychosis. I was so anxious that something would happen to the girls- I was compulsive about their swaddle (true story, if anyone else swaddled one of the girls, I would sneak in and redo it to my standards).

Anyways, at 7 weeks things started to turn around, and once the girls were about 10 weeks old I definitely felt like I had this mom thing down. At a year, I couldn't be much happier. Sure, we still have a few things to work on (like sleeping through the night and mastering the sippy cup) but overall I think our little family is doing great. I suspect that it is about 25% parenting skills and 75% the girls' temperament (we've been told on several occasions that we have angel babies) but the four of us make a great team.

I know we will have tantrums and challenges ahead of us, but I feel equipped to handle them (it probably helps that my coworkers are some of the best child therapists in the city and I have access to all of their wisdom). So take home from this rambling post... while we faced a bit of adversity, the first year of parenthood was better than I expected. I've said to Justin more than once that we must have done something good to get Claire and Audrey for our daughters.