Just because...

It's the little things that mean so much to me...

-thanks for making me hot chocolate with a little splash of Bailey's last night.

-thanks for getting the boys dressed in the mornings so I can go for my runs before you go to work.

-thanks for always helping to unload the dishwasher, fold laundry, get breakfast ready, dinner, etc. even though I always insist I can do it.

You are the greatest father and husband! I know I may not say it often but I appreciate everything you do and after being together for 12 years now...I am still just as in love with you and actually even more!

I love you Dan! Your boys love you too...

Maybe I'm a little crazy...

So this morning my girlfriend and I took her little girl and my 3 boys to the Children's museum and out to lunch afterwards. Brady and Jack do very well hanging out in the stroller in the museum until we get to the play room. Then I take them out to crawl around and they love it. I don't know what I'll do when Harrison is obviously too old for that room...but that's for another day. We then took the kids (and ourselves) out to lunch at Five Loaves. It was so good, but I couldn't help but feel the stares as we were eating. The kids were very well-behaved, as well-behaved as could be with busy little hands...but people love to watch us in action. I guess I'm getting used to it, one lady even asked as I was leaving.."why do you do this to yourself?" I said, "I guess I'm just a little crazy"... But really, I do it because my kids need to be taught how to eat in a restaurant and behave in public. I do it because I need a lunch out every now and then. I do it to feel normal and socialize with my friends and to teach my boys to be little "gentlemen".

In other news, we may be planning a little weekend to Vegas soon. Just some tentative planning in the works. Dan has been a couple of times for work, I just want to go for my birthday....just to go. Maybe see a show and eat some good food. This is where I'd like to stay....The Venetian. I know some of you have recently gone. Any suggestions?

Wrinkly bellies and other random thoughts...

What a blah day it is...it's raining and supposed to get colder again (50's). I know...I know, I'm spoiled down here in the south. Harrison said he wanted hot cocoa and "scout cookies"when he woke up from his nap, guess who introduced him to those? You can't hide food from them after a certain age anymore. As I'm sneaking eating a samoa..."mommy, can I have one"? BUSTED!

Right now the boys are all napping..so I'm about to go cuddle with my NAP blanket. I don't know how much running I'll get to do the rest of the week. I ran 6 miles on Saturday and it wasn't too bad, but I thought to myself, could I run 20 miles more? Week 5 of training down, 27 more to go. YIKES! My friend, marathon mom, is pregnant and ran 26 miles last weekend, so what am I complaining about-go marathon mom-you rock!!

With spring and Easter right around the corner and the pools opening soon...they open at the end of April around here-YIKES...I'm trying to decide on a bathing suit. Since I weigh about 30 pounds less than I did last summer, I need a new one. And, even though I've lost so much weight, I still have the stomach of a 90 year old..(with all of the wrinkles), so it will be a one-piece. I still don't understand how a stomach can be flat, yet wrinkly at the same time...it's so annoying. I tell you-it's the dark side of having mulitples...Tankini's just don't do it for me because of my short torso, they actually make me look shorter. I'm eyeing up this one over at J Crew...what do you think?

What do you think of my new music? The group Bitter Sweet has a lot of songs on Lipstick Jungle, which is growing on me rapidly....I love their music!! Makes me want to dance as I clean the house....

I'm hooked...

on this fig spread from Whole Foods. My cheese guy there introduced it to me and I LOVE it. I love my cheese guy too...not in a L-O-V-E sort of way (no worries, Dan) but I love how knowledgeable he is about cheese. I love all things cheese and my goal is to one day be as knowledgable...so, lately for lunch I've been eating Stacy's whole wheat bagel chips, fig spread and a chunk of havarti (one of my faves) cheese with a green salad drizzled with a small amount of EVOO and basalmic vinegar. I'm telling you....this is so good! I get my whole grains, fruit and veggies(from the figs and green salad) and dairy all in one bite. My cheese guy also knows alot about pairing wines with cheeses, (something else I've been learning more about) and I'm starting to think I'm turning into a regular old foodie. So, when I'm in Whole Foods (which is weekly), he now sees me coming and gives me a mini-lesson on cheeses and wines. I look forward to it every week!

Oh, and I forgot to mention...for dessert I'll have a square of 70% dark chocolate-I love the Green and Black's kind . I look forward to it everyday...I get my kicks whenever I can. For some reason, I don't feel quite so guilty knowing that it's loaded with antioxidants (or that's what I tell myself).

Mommy's Diner

With 3 small children it can be pretty fun and interesting...especially around meal times. So far, the twins are better eaters than their big brother Harrison was at this time. However, pickyness is starting to occur in our household. For instance, Brady is now starting to dislike peas and green beans and Jack doesn't like bananas now. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember who doesn't like what, so I'll put something down for them to eat and they give me a stare as to say "I don't like this, you know that", so then I'll switch their foods and they happily dig in. Now, I don't feed them 3 different meals...but I've tried the "give it to them 20 times" rule and they simply won't eat it....what to do? I feel like a dancer as I bounce around from child to child keeping them happy and their plates full. By the time I sit down to "enjoy" my meal-ha!-it's pretty cold and they are nearly done with theirs. So then the process of getting them cleaned up starts...it's like a countdown for me. 1 down, 2 to go and so on. So this my friends is why I treasure the sacred nap time. Because in a few hours, dinnertime will start and the whole process starts again...welcome to Mommy's Diner...where the service is sweet and the food is excellent, but don't be surprised if the server passes out from fatigue in the middle of the meal!

Life is a Journey...enjoy the ride!

If you are planning a vacation in the upcoming weeks or months, you should definitely check out this site. Journeys...A Travel Company is the brain-child of my sister-in-law, Debbie (Dan's sister). She has recently started this company and just went live with her website a few days ago. It looks awesome and definitely makes me want to travel. So...if you ARE thinking of traveling soon, you should check it out. She's done quite a bit of traveling herself and has lived in several countries along the way. Let me know your thoughts and what you think of the website, she'd love to know your opinions...

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a blast at Brady and Jack's birthday party this weekend! It's still so surreal that they are one-we made it through their first year in one piece. Here are a few pics from the weekend...and Slacker Mama, the carnitas were awesome!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Whew...it's been a busy week here in the magnolia household. Tonight I'm looking forward to making dinner with my husband after we put the kids to bed. We're having seared halibut with sauteed greenbeans with garlic and shallots, and butternut squash risotto. For dessert I picked up a decadent chocolate and banana rum cake from Whole Foods, just big enough for two people! We're also having a rose' prosecco that looks oh so good-I'm really into rose' sparkling wines these days. I had a glass when we went out to dinner the other night and it was tasty!

Speaking of dinner, it was so nice to go out the other night. I had lobster and shrimp macaroni and it was soooo good. It was pretty rich and I was actually full most of yesterday. It also could have been from the piece of cheesecake we shared for dessert too. (YIKES!) I could hardly eat at our Mardi Gras themed supper club last night. I signed up for dessert and made Emeril's Praline Bread pudding. It was good, but took a LOONNNGGG time to make. Don't recommend making it with 3 kids running around.

Now I'm just getting ready for the boys' birthday party this weekend. We are having carnitas, (thanks Slacker Mama), guacamole, pico de gallo, Paula Deen's slow-cooker macaroni, and these cupcakes. How cute are they?

A letter to my boys...

Dear Brady and Jack-

A year ago today I fell in love at first sight. You were born onto this earth on February 12, 2007 at 10:15 am (Brady) and 10:41 am (Jack). Your father and I loved you before we even met you. All of my life, as far as I can remember, I've wanted to be a mother. I think I went into teaching because there is so much mothering involved. We prayed and prayed for healthy children. It wasn't easy for us to have them, but 2 1/2 years before you were born your brother Harrison was born. We were so excited! A bouncy baby boy! He brought us so much joy that we couldn't wait to give him a sibling. But something kept happening to mommy when she was pregnant. We went to the doctor and he helped us alot, soon we were pregnant again. Imagine our delight when we found out we were having not one, but two babies at the same time. We were so excited and prayed every night that you would both be healthy and happy children! You were both born at 35 weeks weighing almost 6 lbs (Brady) and almost 5 lbs (Jack)-both healthy baby boys! All of you have brought us so much joy...we feel as though we have been blessed so much. I wanted to write you this letter to let you know how much I love you. You were wanted so much and we are so thankful to have you part of our family. Happy 1st Birthday Brady and Jack!!!

We love you so very much!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy and big brother Harrison

Sweet Baby Jack (27 weeks-4D ultrsound)

Sweet Baby Brady (27 weeks-4D ultrsound)

Brady's birthday 2/12/07

Jack's birthday 2/12/07

Look at you now! Happy Birthday Brady and Jack!

Handy Danny

So, I told my husband this morning that I've upgraded him to being handy. This weekend, he along with a few neighbors (but mostly him) put together the wooden playset for the boys in the backyard. I'm so proud of him...I may start calling him Handy Danny!

We had such a good weekend, busy but good. The weather couldn't have been any better. Saturday morning I ran 5 miles. I'm on week 4 of a 32 week training for a marathon. It was gorgeous weather! I really wish I had a running partner though. I know it's going to be tough when I get into the long runs 14-15 and up. Afterwards, I went and got my haircut again. I'm loving the chin-length bob. I don't know if I'll ever have longer hair again. I've gotten so many compliments and I told my hairdresser that it's the best haircut I've had in a long time...I never thought it would suit my face shape but it does. I have such a love/hate relationship with my hair, so this is a big deal for me. In not so good news, I have been pulling a grey/silverish hair out of my head every day for the past couple of days...sheeesh!

Saturday night we went out with a couple of neighbors to Red's on Shem Creek. Very laid back, on the water, perfect for kids...however, the service wasn't that great...very slow! Slow is not good for kids. It's a great place to go in the summer and watch the boats pull in while you sit outside and sip margaritas! Harrison had been to a 3 year old's birthday party that day and enjoyed not one, but two pieces of cake...so needless to say there was a bit of "sugar" crashing going on at dinner. Brady, who loves to hear his voice, especially in a shriek-y high pitched scream, wanted to make sure everyone heard him. Fun times were had by all!

Sunday we went over to my nephew's 1st birthday party. He was born on the same day as the twins. (Yes, my sister and I delivered our babies on the exact same day. How cool is that?) He had a great time smashing his cake. We are looking forward to the boys party next weekend.

We have a busy week this week. Tonight I'm doing a babysitting swap for a neighbor and she is watching our kids tomorrow night while Dan and I go here for dinner. We don't usually go out on Valentine's Day because restaurants usually overcharge for a Hallmark holiday, but we do go around it. Hey, I am a romantic...Tuesday is the twin's birthday! Yikes, I'll post more about that tomorrow. We have family coming into town this weekend for their family party. So hard to believe, but I'm sure all of you with children know exactly what I mean. Time really does fly...

I feel like I've discovered the motherload...

We are in the market for a new sofa and chair. I've been lusting over this one at Pottery Barn...

It's the Pearce Sofa in everyday suede that I want. However, yesterday as I was googling "who makes Pottery Barn furniture" this website popped up....Club Furniture. As I was looking over the site, I read how all their furniture is custom-made in N.C., sofas are made of kiln-hardwood, blah, blah, blah-which is the same thing Pottery Barn says about their sofas...well, then I discovered this sofa...Brooke Upholstered Sofa (their site won't let me post the picture). It's basically the SAME SOFA. And they have an everyday suede option, same kiln-hardwood, same down-wrapped cushions for a fraction of the price. For the same price of the Pottery Barn Sofa, we ordered a sofa and a chair and with shipping and taxes it was still $400 less than the sofa alone. They also have a 30 day in home guarantee that if you don't like it, then you send it back. They don't have a showroom so that's how they keep their prices down. Some of the sofas I saw were exactly like the ones I've seen on Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel. I honestly feel like I've discovered the motherload!

Two Sweet Peas in a Pod!

I think the picture says it all...

Cows for sale!

The twins are now on whole milk..I know, I know...it's a week early but with the stomach virus they had...I'd had enough of formula. They LOVE it and I do too. No more bottles to wash, no more trying to feed 2 babies their bottles. It's gotten so much easier without having to make batches of formula. Their appetites are great, too. Brady will pretty much eat anything and everything. Jack is a little pickier but is a great eater also. I can tell by the time they are all teenagers, they will be eating us out of house and home. As it stands now, we already go through 4 GALLONS of milk a week! So, I was thinking....it might be cheaper to just buy a cow? By the time they are teenagers, we may be going through 8 gallons of milk a week...

I *HEART* weekends...

We had a great weekend-Harrison had his last flag football game of the season. They got a medal for participation and he's been wearing it nonstop-he wanted to wear it to bed, but we had to object since it could be pretty dangerous!

The weather was fabulous-I am definitely ready for spring! We spent some time outside. We are getting the twins a wooden playset for their birthday, so it will be so nice when we have it up and all 3 boys can play on it.

We went over to a neighbor's house for the Super Bowl. They had tons of great food-quesadillas, wings, chili, dips, cheeses, etc. Of course I ate way too much and felt horrible when we got home. But it was worth it. We are lucky the boys are such great sleepers. We set up both pack and plays over at their house and they went down and were able to go back to sleep with no issues when we got home. Thank goodness for that. I know I've said it before...but I'll say it again. I'm so thankful that we live in such a great neighborhood with super-nice neighbors. It makes all the difference in the world.

Friday Favorites-Boys Spring Wardrobe

You know I love my boys in madras plaid and embroidered creatures on their shorts/pants. Gap and Janie and Jack both have adorable spring outfits that are so freaking cute. Here are a couple of my faves...the first 3 are from Gap and the last is from Janie and Jack.

Now all we need is for spring to come!