Happy 2nd Birthday Micah and Benji

I cannot believe my babies are TWO! TWO???? SERIOUSLY?? I cannot believe it...wait. I just said that. But it is true. They turned TWO on October 9th. We had a great day! I hosted a "friends" party for them in the back yard. It was really a glorified play group but we had a LOT of kiddos there: 12 toddlers and 3 babies, plus all the moms! WOW!

Happy Birthday Breakfast

It was an absolutely beautiful fall day. The kids ran around, played on our slide, "mowed" the leaf pile, and played in our baby pool that was filled with plastic balls. Plus there were snacks and mini birthday cupcakes! YUM! Micah at four cupcakes himself (they were MINI, don't worry!) The boys got lots of presents too which we opened later, after the party. The thought of opening up new, exciting toys with over 10 two year olds was simply overwhelming to me, so we didn't. I hope none of my friends are too offended. I truly was sorry. 

My BIG two year olds (enjoying their cupcakes!)

Micah MAN!

My little Benji

Party bags for our friends

Borrowing some "reading" glasses from Mr. Potato Head

Birthday Snuggles with Daddy (Benji)

Micah: I love Daddy

We had sloppy joes for dinner that night, which is Aaron's favorite (and requested) birthday meal. The boys LOVE sloppy joes too! It must be a Meng-man thing. :) 

We opened presents after dinner and the boys had lots of fun playing with new cars, trucks, Mr. Potato Heads, books, etc from all their friends. I had been buying them toys all week (and the week before that!) and was too impatient to make them wait until their birthday to open them, so there were no presents from Mommy and Daddy for the boys to open on their birthday, but I don't think they were missed. We now have TONS of new toys! AK! I feel like I need to "purge" some of their old toys to make room for the new....

That night, we put the boys to bed at 8pm, a little later than their normal 7:30 bedtime. Micah had taken a super long nap that afternoon (12:30-5pm!!!) and was still awake at 9:30. He was crying a bit so we went in to check on him. He said HI!!!! We got him up and he played, just as sweet as could be, until 11:30pm!! He was so happy and good though, we just let him stay up. Hey, it was his birthday after all! Around 10:30 (a little irritated, I must admit) I said, "Micah! Why are you still awake??" He looked at me, held up one his four wheeled birthday presents and said, "Cars!" Of course, Mommy! I am awake because of cars! We laughed. We should have known. 

I love my babies so much! Yes, they are still my babies, even though they are two. Seriously, how can it have been two years already. At the risk of sounding cliche, time flies way too fast, especially when you are having fun. Happy Birthday Precious Micah! Happy Birthday Sweet Benjamin! You are SO loved! 

PS. When we ask the boys, "How old are you?" They say, TWO!!! So cute!! I love it!

Buttercup Bags

So, I have been complaining about having NO FREE TIME! WOE IS ME! I am actually a lier. I have carved out a little free time to do some sewing. I call it my Sanity Sewing Break. I found this adorable little bag pattern on Arin Rollins sewing blog. Her blog led me Made by Rae. Here I am, giving you the links, dear reader. But most of you who read this blog are related to me. Here is my warning: DO NOT GO TO THESE LINKS, PRINT THE PATTERN AND MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTERCUP BAG (at least not until after Christmas, wink wink!)

Anyways, I LOVE sewing these bags! They are super fun and quick! I had the great idea (if I do say so myself!) of trying to sew the bags out of recycled material, aka old clothes from Goodwill! So far, I have sewed several bags out of curtains, pants, and two ladies blazers! They have turned out amazing! I have even sold two purses! YEA! If YOU, dear reader, are NOT related to me, and would like to buy a bag, I have some for sale. Here is the break down of prices:

Small: (date night bag or purse for a little girl) $15

Medium: $17.50

Large: (this is a great purse size. I am toting one around myself these days!) $20

If you provide your own material, I can make any size bag for $12

Here are some pics. Enjoy! 

This purse is made out of curtains! I made one for myself and for a friend of mine. I still have tons of material left if you like this look!

I love this combo! My sis in law as already claimed this purse...sorry...

My "upcycling" process: Before...

AFTER! This purse went to my BFF Candace for her birthday

My very first Buttercup bag! This is a Small. 

Not only have I been a blog slacker...

I have been a Shred Slacker too. Yes, I am bad. My exercising has dwindled down to....none or maybe once a week. I lost some momentum when my knees starting hurting around Shred day 22 or so. So I cut back. Then I starting doing my Biggest Loser Yoga video (which I really like, except for the fact that it takes and hour to do the whole thing!) instead of The Shred. Then I got lazy and started sleeping in. If I don't get up the morning before the boys get up, I have no time to exercise during the day. The boys have no patience for Mommy's work out dvd--not when Thomas the Train could be on the screen. (Aaron HATES Thomas the Train, btw). And after the boys are napping, all of my free time has to be devoted to homework. I try not to even do housework during nap time--homework consumes every free minute. So...needless to say, I am a slacker. And I can already tell a difference. My stomach muscles were feeling nice and tight and now they are feeling squishy again. Sad, sad day. :( I really, really want to get back into it. I just have to tell myself that in the morning at 7am--before I hit my snooze button 4 times.

Blog SLACKER

I haven't blogged in over a month! AK! Not that I have readers pounding at my door, dying to know about my life...but still! I feel bad. I have been so busy with school and just LIFE! My time is consumed with homework. This is actually a "lighter" week--meaning I don't have 600 pages to read for the week, more like 400-500, plus a few short papers to write. Ug. Grad school is no joke. I really do like school (I keep telling myself that....) but the homework load is overwhelming most of the time. I just wish I had more time to do things that I WANT to do....like blog...:) I will post a few short posts to update my life for the past month, just so I can remind myself, and you, dear readers (all 2 of you...maybe less) of my life in past few weeks.

Menu Planning

I was inspired by my friend Tara's blog to post a copy of my weekly menu plan. I have been planning weekly menus since Aaron and I got married. It helps me know what I am going to make every night and, more importantly, keeps me from wandering aimlessly in the grocery store, buying lots of stuff I don't need and forgetting half the stuff I do need. If you are curious about any recipes, let me know!  I love to cook. I know my mom hates thinking of things to make so, if you are like my mom, steal one of these recipes or meal ideas for your own family!

Monday (while I am in class): Chili dogs, baked french fries, jello w/manderian oranges and fresh strawberries

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas w/green and red peppers and sliced onion (I make my own seasoning for this because the packaged kind messes with Aaron's stomach) 

Wednesday: Eggrolls (Sams), peas and carrots (super busy night for us....class, rush home, leave for church) 

Thursday: Marinated Shrimp w/ peppers, cheesy grits (using up the extra pepper from the fajitas, just saute it a bit before adding the shrimp and sauce to the skillet)

Friday: Chicken Parmesan bundles (new recipe for me!), pasta and spaghetti sauce, salad

Saturday: (Aaron's b-day! 26! Woot!) Sloppy joes, french fries, green bean casserole, Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen :) (This is his requested birthday dinner EVERY year! Go figure...he is easy to please)

Sunday: Frozen Pizza 

Enjoy! Maybe I'll do this again in the future....

Shred- Day 12 The Good and the Bad

Today is Day 12 of Shredding. After 10 days of doing Level One, I was feeling pretty good--a lot stronger, confident, maybe a little cocky. It is time, I thought, to move on up to Level Two! WOOT!

Well, after two days of Level Two, I am not feeling so, um, cocky anymore. Level Two, to put it mildly, kicks my BUTT! It is a LOT harder. I have yet to make it through the whole thing doing all the exercises. Mostly, I find myself dripping sweat, gasping for breath, staring blankly at the screen as Jillian and her two minions do "plank" exercises confidently while I am falling on the floor from exhaustion. I am back to the sore and shaky state I was in after Day 1, Level One.

But, I am determined to stick with it--as much as I may HATE the word "plank" now...

Here is the good news though:

I had to know that this Shredding thing was working, that all of this pain and suffering truly wasn't for nothing. The scale was barely giving me reassurance--I have MAYBE lost a pound. But I have been "feeling" slimmer lately so I grabbed my tape measure and slung that baby around my body. And, joy and rapture, it gave me amazing news. Here are the results:

I have lost

1 inch from my natural waist

1 inch from my lower waist, ie. twin baby flab

3/4 inch from my hips/ba-donk-a-donk

YES! YES! YES! It really IS working. So, tomorrow morning, I will get up early, (yes, even on Saturday) because Jillian Michaels delivered these past 12 days. I am looking forward to seeing what the next 18 days will bring--even if the diabolical "plank" is involved.

Shred update

I am still Shredding! Today is day 10!! WOW! I took Sunday off--I told myself I needed a break (seriously, I think I was just being lazy)--but I was back at it on Monday. Tomorrow I start Level 2! EEK! I am scared. My endurance is so much greater than when I started a week and a half ago. I am still sweaty and breathing hard by the end but I definitely feel stronger.

Two day this past week I haven't wanted to get up and Shred before the boys got up. So I slept in. But I felt so guilty/compelled that I couldn't skip a day. So, I ended up doing the DVD while the boys watched. The first day, I had to bribe them 4 times (fruit snacks, cereal, books, juice) before I could finish the 20 min workout. It took me about 35 minutes to do the whole thing. Benji was hanging on my leg during the lunge--"hold me! hold me!" 

 The second time I Shredded while the boys watched they were better. In fact, the even tried to imitate some of the moves, ie. waving their arms while I  did Jumping Jacks and pretending to lift "weights" (toys) above their head. So funny! 

Not sure if I have lost any weight yet--maybe a pound. But I feel really proud of myself for making it 10 days! I have NEVER liked exercising (Read: I HATE EXERCISING!) so I am kind of amazed that I am actually sticking to this. Only 20 days to go till I reach my goal! 

My new cloth diapers!

I made some new cloth diapers. I LOVE using cloth! We have used cloth diapers since the boys were born (we use disposables sometimes too, but cloth about 90% of the time) and I love it! 

I made some diapers last summer. They were for 10-20 lbs and now the boys are growing out of them. I made 26 last summer (!!!) and it took me about 2 months to sew them (off and on). 

I ordered 13 diapers this time (bakers dozen special) from diaperkit.com. This business is owned by a work at home mom. The diaper kit arrives with all the pieces washed and cut--all I had to do was sew the diaper together. 

This time, I sewed the diapers in about 4-5 days over a period of 2 weeks or so, the majority being the past 2 days. I made some modifications from last time. My boys need more absorbency so I decided to buy some bamboo fabric (online) and use that for my soakers (absorbent part of the diaper). 

The fabric I bought is a blend of bamboo and cotton and it is SOOO soft--like a cross between the inside of a brand new sweatshirt and the softest towel you have ever used. The kit came with a cotton piece for the soaker so I used that for a pattern and sewed a two layer soaker--one layer of cotton flannel and one layer of bamboo. 

Bamboo is also 60% more absorbent than cotton (which is what I made the soakers out of last year) and has antibacterial properties. Awesome! Plus, did I mention how SOFT it it? Love it!

The only part I am not happy with is that the lady didn't send me very good colors this time. I don't know why. Last year, I got a rainbow of hues. Oh well. The diapers will still work the same. I just wish she would have sent a better variety of colors with my order. 

Here are some pics! Enjoy! And if you have any questions about cloth, please let me know! 

The size difference from last year to this year! WOW! The boys have grown!

I made 13. One was in the wash. Benji baptized it by, er, fire. 

The inside of the diaper. I only sewed the soakers on one side so that they can be free in the wash to get really clean and so that they will dry faster in the drier. 

All tucked in!

I only got three colors this time. But the diapers turned out really well! I love them! 

After I chased Micah around for 10 minutes, I FINALLY got a picture of him modeling the new diaper. They fit great and plenty of room to grow too! 

Day 4- The Shred

An update on my workout challenge: I am MUCH less sore today! YEA! Thank goodness. Right now, my muscle are feeling good and not hurting so much. I am getting stronger!

Shred = Sore

Day 3 of exercising/The Shred. One word: SORE! How can 20 minutes leave you aching for the rest of the day? The good part is, I feel really good after I finish and the exercising makes me feel strong. Just really, really sore. Waiting anxiously for results and more endurance as I keep at it!