Pottery Barn Kid's Sale

Pottery Barn Kids is having a sale. Had I not already purchased a diaper bag, I may have gotten this Petunia Pickle Bottom backpack. Apparently, they're some of the best around.

There are also lots of wallpapers, decals, bedding sets, etc. on sale. Check it out!

New Diaper Bag!

I got a new diaper bag today! WOO HOO! I am super excited because: 1) It's houndstooth--Roll Tide! 2) It's a Kalencom, and I've heard rave reviews. My little refund check from the University is serving me (and the twins) well. The style is called Jackie O' and it was the only one left on Amazon. I've heard they're discontinued, but you might could check Ebay, or even just Google it.

My one little issue is that this one isn't laminated. I guess they just didn't do it for this style???? Anyway, I feel like this will suit Jaye and Lyla just fine, and I get to show my Alabama spirit every time I go out. My babies are meant to be Bama fans!

3D Pictures

Here are two of the best 3D pictures we got yesterday. Little Lyla was not cooperating, so you won't be seeing here until she decides to greet the world in a few weeks. These pictures are of Jaye. We cannot wait to meet him!

I have two very active babies, so things look a little distorted. At one point during the ultrasound, Jaye yawned, and I think it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen.











We had our ultrasounds done at 4D Sneak Peek in Jackson, TN. The lady who helped us had twin girls of her own. She and I were able to relate and chat about all things baby. She worked really hard to get a good pic of Lyla, but all we got were some knees and elbows. Once we get our CD in the mail, I will upload those. There's not a whole lot of room in my belly and throughout the ultrasound, Lyla had her rear end up in the air with her legs over her face. I cannot even imagine how that would be comfortable. Jaye took up most of the room (typical boy) and was stretched all the way out. Lyla said, "Well, take this!" Her bottom was right in his face the whole time. If you are interested in getting a 3D or 4D ultrasound, I recommend this company. We were treated well, the ultrasound gel was warm and the table was comfortable. Stay tuned for the video (if we can get it uploaded)!

4D Ultraounds

Our 4D ultrasound is today and I am super excited. My husband has been looking forward to this for weeks, and I honestly didn't care, but now that it's here, I can't wait! I debated on whether or not we should spend the money, especially since I am not working right now. Thankfully, the University of Cincinnati (where I attend grad school) came through, and sent us a refund check.

I'm 26 weeks tomorrow, so the girl was a little unsure of how our pictures would turn out, which makes me nervous. However, these could very well be our first and last kiddos, and you don't get a do-over on things like this. If there is a next time, we'll know if the expense was worth it. If you live in Western TN, and are interested in getting a 4D, I suggest 4D Sneak Peek in Jackson. The price was pretty reasonable, but still more than a regular ultrasound. Check back later for pics!

Have any of you had a 3D or 4D? Was it worth it?

Pick Me Up Love!

Inspired by a post from Angie Mizzel, I thought I'd share this nugget of JOY with you to start your day off right. If you aren't smiling at the end of the video, or even shedding a tear, I feel sorry for you.

Hug someone today!

A Cool Mist...

Look what I got in the mail today!

Owl Cool Mist Humidifier

It's my new humidifier and isn't it sweet?!? I don't know if anyone else is currently preggers, but if you are, or if you plan on being that way soon, hear this : YOUR NOSE WILL CEASE TO FUNCTION.

It's true. I can't breathe. I can't smell. All I can do is blow. And blow. And blow. It never stops, and it's almost like the minute my body realizes there is a narrow passage open in my nostril, it fights to close it. I told my fabulous OBGYN about my predicament and he suggested getting one of these babies. Now, I know he didn't mean this one exactly, but it was so cute I couldn't resist. And, the babies will need it in a few months, so it wasn't like I went out my way to spend money on something that would only be used for a short time.

Crane makes all kinds of fun creatures. My grandmother has an elephant. She's a young at heart :) I got mine on Amazon, but you can check anywhere and find one for a decent price. I'll let y'all know if it worked or not tomorrow.

Night y'all!

Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes

First, I want to make it clear that I snagged this from Pinterest and made it my own. Look at the original recipe first. She actually knows what she's doing. I do not. I just piddle until I get something that looks decent, and this actually turned out tasting pretty good too.

First, preheat the oven to 350.
Line 10 muffin cups.

Start your crust:

1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs (about 5 whole crackers)
2 1/2 tbsp butter melted
2 tbsp brown sugar

I used a big ol' Ziploc bag to crumble up my graham crackers, then mixed in the brown sugar. Next, I poured the melted butter in my baggie so that it could all mesh real nicely together. Then, I got out a spoon and pressed the crust mixture into the bottom of each muffin liner. It ended up being about a tbsp and a pinch per liner of crust.

For the cheesecake:

1/2-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp. sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put your cream cheese, sugar and sour cream in the mixer and blend it til it's smooth. I did not do this like the girl on the website said, and it turned out a little lumpy. So make sure you follow her steps! After everything is nice and smooth, beat in your egg and vanilla.

Now, the original recipe called for 1 cup chocolate chips, but I wasn't sure if that would be too chocolate-y for me or not, so I cut down and I am glad I did. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of the crust in each liner. Start by putting 1 tbsp of cheesecake batter into each liner, on top of the chocolate chips. You're going to have a bunch left over, so just keep portioning it out until it looks good to you, or at least evenly divided. After your cups are full, sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top of each cheesecake.

Set your pan in the oven for 25 minutes, but CHECK IT A LOT. My edges browned and my crust was a little hard. It also cracked on top, but filled itself in after I let it cool.

After you remove it from the oven, let your cheesecakes sit for about 10 minutes, then remove each one and place it on a wire cooling rack (leave them in the liners!). Once they are completely cooled, stick them in the fridge until they are chilled, and hooray! Instant dessert.

Note: My husband did not like the chocolate chips. He said the chocolate crust made it sweet enough. Leave them out if you like. I plan on trying a strawberry swirl next.

Here is the link for the original recipe. Hers look a good bit prettier than mine, but hey, I did it!

Original Recipe

Freebies

I love, love, love this blog. Click on the link under the picture to see this and even more freebies they have!




Free Invitation Printables

It's a Sad Way to Wake Up

After a crazy night here in Tennessee, waking up to hear of damage back in my home state of Alabama makes me sad. The weather is no joke folks. We can't control it, but God gave us enough sense to be prepared. Even though I wasn't at home last April, I know now to have tennis shoes, a driver's license or some form of valid ID, a little cash, and some first aid supplies on my person when that siren goes off. My husband doesn't even roll his eyes at me when I say "Have you got your tennis shoes and socks?" He just goes back and gets them. He certainly didn't hesitate to put them on last night when we heard a loud whirring noise and watched our friend nearly get pulled out of the door when she opened it. We don't take chances here, so despite there being no siren, seven of us made our way in the pouring rain and strong wind down to the Orchard's storm shelter. What proceeded to follow was lots of laughter, discussion of how we would get out if we were trapped, and a 4-year-old being so scared he had to "go to bafroom" every five minutes (in a bucket). Nothing happened, and chances are it probably was just some straight line winds, but you never know. My motto has, is and always will be "better safe than sorry" when it comes to weather. Stay safe and be prepared y'all!

Church

I miss going. I miss seeing people other than my husband. No offense babe. Looking forward to this afternoon though, since some sweet friends are bringing me some chicken alfredo (YUM!) and some company. On another note, we may have some severe weather today, so if you're a praying person, pray for no storm development. Have a great morning and go to church!

Hungry...

Did you ever stop to think about how bedrest and boring both start with the letter "b"? I assure you that it is no coincidence. I really should be spending my time catching up on all my lesson plans and grad school work, but I can only type TLW so many times before I want to scratch my eyes out. What do I do with all this free time? So glad you asked. Just to name a few, I:

pin a lot of recipes and dream about good food
throw my husband's green croc down our hallway for the dogs to chase
blow my nose about every 3 seconds (pregnancy congestion)
watch Law & Order SVU on Netflix (who knew that Alex got shot? not me! sorry if I spoiled it...)
turn the heat off, then on, then back off
type a lesson plan or do some homework
think about all the things I could be doing in a vertical position

Repeat that cycle every hour or so and you've got the gist of my day. I know, I know, it will all be worth it when these babies get here. I don't doubt that for a minute. I'm just super duper bored right now. If the Cheesecake Factory was within driving distance, I'm pretty sure I could be satisfied for at least a day or two :)

What about you ladies? Have any of you ever been on bedrest? Did you spend every minute thinking about the food you wanted but couldn't have?

Oops

Okay, so apparently my pregnancy hormones are in overdrive, because last night when we went to bed I could have sworn it was about 90 million degrees in our house. So...I turned on the air conditioning...in January...bad idea. When I woke up this morning, we had to chip our dogs out of the ice blocks in their cages so they could go outside and warm up. Next time, I'll just sleep without the covers :)

Shoes Pic

My sweet friend Kaley took this picture for Erick and I. We LOVE it. I'm putting it on my blog for the world to see and appreciate her fantastic work!

Hello

Hello fellow bloggers and just readers of blogs! Let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Holly, I'm 27, and I live with my sweet husband and two crazy dogs in West TN. I'm originally from the great state of Alabama, which I miss dearly. My mom, dad, sister and all the grandparents are lucky enough to reside there now. Nothing against TN mind you, but home is home.

You may ask yourself, why is this person writing a blog? Well, let me explain. My husband and I married in June of 2010, and last August we discovered we were pregnant. When I discussed with my doctor about the stomach pains I was having, he said, "You know, you could be carrying multiples." I laughed out loud, shook my head and walked out the door $20 poorer (stinkin' copays!). Six weeks later, while waiting for our first ultrasound, the nice lady said, "Oh here's one fetus, and here's the other." My husband squeaked out "TWO?" and she laughed at us, then helped me scrape Erick's jaw off the floor.

Now, here I am 5 months later, only 25 weeks pregnant and confined to my bed/couch. So, since I basically have all day to write maternity leave lesson plans and do grad school work, I figured I'd squeeze in something fun to pass the time. A blog. That way all my friends and family in good ole' Alabama and around these parts can keep up with me, since they won't be seeing me til little Jaye Andrew and Lyla Marie make their grand appearance.

If anyone else out there is a mom of multiples, loves Australian Shepherds or just wants to comment/read, feel free.

Oh, and one more thing, ROLL TIDE ROLL!