Just when I think I can't take another minute of the hollering, the hitting, the taking away of someone else's toy....they do a complete 180 and love all over each other.  Sometimes the loving turns into tackling, or squeezing a little too hard, but I guess that is what being twins is all about.  In utero, Hayden was always kicking and punching Cale in the face, and he always had his little arms up protecting his head....and now on the outside, it seems as if this trend is continuing!  Don't get me wrong, he can defend himself, and does if the need arises...but it seems like she does more of the instigating at this point.  The thing about Sissy is; she can love you just as hard as she can irritate you. One second she will be mad as a hornet about something, and the next minute she will be telling you she loves you.   Daddy says she reminds him of someone else....hmmm, I wonder who he is talking about?

I like....

At almost three months old, my favorite things are:
1.  Eating.
2.  Being held.
3.  Talking and being talked to.
4.  The vacuum cleaner.
5.  Smiling.
6.  My mommy.
7. Smiling at my mommy.
8.  Did I already mention eating?
9.  Trying to sit up on my own.  I think I am big already.
10.  Being awake when other people are asleep.

This baby is turning into a real hoot!  She is the smiliest thing around, and really "talks" to you if you pay her any attention at all.  I mean really, REALLY tries to talk.  Sounds come out and everything.  Sometimes she looks like she is struggling so hard to make it really sound like words, and she looks almost surprised that all she can do is coo at us.  The babies make me laugh more and more each day...tonight when I was putting Hayden to bed, as the door was closing I hear, "Mommy?  I need something."  I asked her, "What do you need baby?" and her response was, "Ummmm, I don't know."  She knew she didn't want me to close the door, but she couldn't come up with anything in time!  We went to put Cale to bed and heard her hollering, "I have to go potty!" which is hilarious since she doesn't (will not) use the potty, even when put on it.  We've fallen for this one a few times, until we realize it is just bedtime stalling.  After we sit fruitlessly on the potty, we are inundated with requests to "wash hands", "get a clean paci", "get a drink of "moka" (milk),....even "get some candy corn".  (She is really stretching!) Her reluctance to go to bed is in direct and equal proportion to my desire to spend more time in mine!  We are still on a pretty weird schedule with baby Livi, who (despite what all the books say) doesn't think it's necessary to sleep all night yet...I know this is because she isn't bottle fed, but I'm not willing to give up the nursing, so we are just going to have to do on less sleep.  I have a BILLION things to do this week to get ready for Halloween...and in the midst of it all, I've started another new project.  If you want to see something really adorable....go check out the felt playhouse made by my imaginary best friend Jill. (We're friends, she just doesn't know it! :)

I would have lovey, lovey, LOVED this when I was little, and I'm hoping mine can turn out just half as cute as hers is!  Our dining room table is HUGE, so I am using a king sheet set as the base, and adding all the cutie extras in felt.  I MADE myself fold this thing up and hold off on it until after Halloween, because I am putting off other things that need to be done in order to work on this.  I can tell you already, this one is going to be a BIG project...but I know the babies will LOVE it! In my ongoing quest to make, not buy this Christmas, I have my eye on these ideas from this cute blog:

.....as well as a whole bunch more cute ideas from the big, giant world of blogging crafters.  Can't wait to get started on some new projects! (And hoping I can squeeze some parenting in somewhere, too....)

Help!

My regular readers might notice the switcharoo I've been doing every few weeks on the blog template.  I can't decide what colors/format I like!  I follow a ton of crafty bloggers, and they use blogspot just like me, yet somehow they have figured out how to set their format to include HUGE pictures....I would like to be able to showcase my photos bigger....none of the templates they offer have big photos....HELP.  Does anyone know how to do this?

My craft room: Disarray.

I am finding myself in a way that is pretty familiar to me nowadays....in the middle of about four hundred projects.  The crafter in me (okay, just ME in general) is pretty ADD, so I usually have about ten things going on at once, and they are all laying all over my craft room in a state of "half done-ness".  I took this picture as proof of my disability....I've got laundry all over the place, a dress I am working on, freezer paper stenciling projects (my new favorite!), both girls Christmas dresses half cut out, pants for Hayden that I want to make shirts to match, clothes I made Hayden that I still want to photograph...the list goes on and on!!  I particularly like the breast pump on the floor of this picture....must multi-task while scouring the internet for ideas! If I could only figure out how to sew and pump at the same time, I'd be in the money!! Junk is all over the washer and dryer, since I don't have enough work space...which reminds me I need to start coming up with a solution for that, too.  

I have a TON of other stuff I'm working on.....getting Halloween stuff ready, painting a little table for Cale's room (and debating whether or not to mod podge fabric to the top), organizing the craft room, making these cute little flower hair clips I saw in a boutique but can replicate for about twenty five cents apiece, starting to think about Christmas presents and my attempt to make heartfelt, meaningful gifts this year instead of buying everything...(more on that later!) etc, etc.  I need to buckle down and actually finish some projects before starting a new one.....if not for my sanity then for the sheer fact that I can't do laundry in this room as it stands now! 

A little football

Perhaps the title of this post should read "A LOT of football" since that seems to be what magically appears on my TV screen every time I leave the room.  I am just disinterested in professional football....I feel like it's all about money, rather than trying to win for the love of your school. (Anyway, I could go on all day about THAT, which is not what this post is about!)  I do however, actually enjoy college football.  Shawn has figured out that I enjoy it even more when the players are like characters on a soap opera to me....so he has me watch all the backstories they show on ESPN....which does make it so much more interesting, and something I really like watching...  More than half the fun to me is getting together with friends to watch the game, munching on yummy goodies and talking while the game plays.  This weekend we watched the TX/OU game with our friends the Zunkers, who we love!  Our kids especially love their playroom and backyard.  You would think our kids don't own a single toy the way they go crazy in that playroom.  And they act like they've never seen a backyard before!  (technically, they haven't, since my flea bitten mongrels occupy ours, leaving it not suitable for playing!) Anyway, we all had a great time....my cutie girls were all dressed for the game in matching Texas cheerleader outfits that Popo got them, and all the boys had on their little jerseys...

which I would have photographed if they had sat still long enough to capture it on film.  Cale has a way of disappearing into another room whenever the camera comes out!  Funny story:  if you look at the first picture in this post, you'll see it is of Hayden and Parks watching TV in Daniel and Amy's bed.....towards the end of the game, the kiddos were wearing thin and Parks wanting to watch Wow Wow Wubzy in their bed....Hayden decided that sounded like a good idea so Amy set her up with her own little pillow and blanket and they had the best time relaxing and watching the show.  Since then, Hayden keeps telling me, "I get in bed with Parks?" which is cute now but won't be so adorable in a few years!!  

Oktoberfest

Friday night we went out to the little Oktoberfest put on by Ft. Sam.  We weren't expecting the cold, so our kids were a little under dressed for the weather, but they were so entertained by the festivities they couldn't have cared less!  When we drove up and saw the lights of the carnival, they got SO excited....they were practically crawling out of their skin to go check it out, but we hadn't eaten yet so they were forced to hang out in the food tent while we grabbed something to eat.  After they scarfed down about half a roll and four raisins, they were ready to go check out the rides.  (luckily the eating part sped right along because my husband inadvertently walked right up to the front of a LONG food line and bypassed about fifty people to order our food.  We cracked up when we realized what he'd done, but what could we do at that point?  We just laughed thinking about what the people in line thought of him sashaying up to the front like he was a VIP or something...)  The german band (Oma and the Oompahs) were really cute, and they held the babies attention long enough for us to eat....when we headed outside to see the carnival, we almost had to run to keep up with the babies...they were in AWE of the noises and the lights....we were pretty sure that they would have nothing to do with the rides once they got up close, but after walking around inspecting them for a few minutes, they actually expressed some interest in riding the little cars that go around in a circle.  I was a little worried because the cars not only circled, but went up and down about six feet in the air on a giant metal arm.  I knew there was bound to be some freaking out once they were on the ride, but I don't want to make them scared of trying new things, so we got out our tickets and got in line.  I retrieved my camera to mark the occasion of "first carnival ride" and had to take a picture of the rules....Which made me wonder what kind of freak would FORCE their frightened child on a carnival ride....(probably the kind of people who frequent carnivals)  This sign got me a little worried about the in flight "panicking", so Shawn and I gave them a pep talk before the ride started, and positioned ourselves on opposite sides of the ride so that one of us was always in their line of vision, hopefully to prevent the kind of freaking out that the rules sign forewarned.  They were happy as clams as we strapped them in and gave them the pep talk........but once the ride started you could see some pretty evident fear written on their faces.  Cale hunkered down and grabbed the hood of the little car with both arms, and Hayden's eyes were wide open, swiveling her little head all over the place looking for us.  Shawn and I stood on the sidelines clapping and hollering about how fun it was, hoping to distract them from the terror that was going on.  Luckily it only lasted a few minutes (probably because the ride operator thought my kids were about to lose it) and they were happy to get off in one piece.  I am hoping the ride didn't scar them forever on trying new things......unless it just makes them scared of carnivals (which I am fine with).  I asked Cale if he liked it and he said, "It was a little scary but I didn't stand up.".....which was cute because he obviously listened to the pre-ride briefing.   Later, when I was scrolling through the pictures from that night, I came across this one and had to laugh...Cale is hanging on for dear life and Hayden looks like she is thinking, "Get me the hell off this thing!".  Clearly this picture isn't going to win me any mother of the year awards, but it cracks me up.   I am just proud they tried it in the first place....although our suggestions of riding the tiny ferris wheel were met with two very vehement "NO's!" 

skirt refashion

I've been reading about refashioning a TON on the internet (namely the forty or so blogs I stalk daily) and as really excited to try my hand at it!  I would have liked to refashion something of mine that I didn't use anymore, but seeing as I recently purged a GIANT amount of unused clothing to Goodwill, there wasn't much left in my closet to choose from.  (which got me wondering what exactly I had given away that might have been of use.....didn't I have a really cool wrap skirt in fall colors?  Dang it!  That would have made an adorable dress....oh well!)  So one lazy Sunday we ventured in to the local Goodwill to see what we could find....if I can get past the smell of old junk, I am just fine.  Ninety nine percent of the stuff is worthless, but every once in a while you come across something pretty cool.  My husband actually found this women's skirt for me....

...which was lined and everything!  I liked the colors, so for two bucks we were on our way home with a big 'ol skirt that turned into this for Hayden:

I really wish I'd taken a picture of her IN it, rather than it just laying on my craftroom floor, because it is much more adorable ON a human.  

Smiley girl!

I love this baby! 

Two month checkup

Our little chunker is still growing!!  At her two month checkup, she weighed 12 pounds, 2 ounces...she is in the 90th percentile in weight and the 75th in length.  I still can't believe that a breastfed baby can be that big, but there you have it! She is cooing and smiling so much now, and is so much fun to hold....which is a good thing since she wants to be held all day.  She fusses sometimes like she is in pain, so the doctor recommended I cut out all dairy for awhile to see if that is causing it.  I am really hoping it's not dairy that is causing it, and it's just colic or something because I LOVE milk and drink several glasses a day....I am waiting to see if she seems to feel better!  I am breaking all the rules with this baby, and nursing her whenever she wants....we have NO semblance of a schedule at all!  This is what I said I would NEVER do, but it is so easy to do with one baby.  She is sleeping a pretty good chunk at night, but since she wants to be held all day, that is when I get stuff done, rather than sleep.  She eats at about ten and wakes again at three or four to be fed...when I put her in bed with us, which means I don't get any more sleep past three because I am looking at her/nursing her/making sure the blanket is covering her little hands....UGGHHH!  I have GOT to figure out a schedule....at least before four months, which is when the doctor said the can form "bad habits".....

As far as the twins go, I am AMAZED at how they are playing pretend.  They seem so much older than two and a half.  I think it is so much more interesting because they are twins and they have someone else to dialogue with....I love listening to them when they don't think I can hear...The other day they were pirates, and I could hear her talking about her pirate ship....yesterday she was playing with her baby doll and we noticed that baby was in "time out".  She was telling it, "You didn't listen to me.  God says you have to obey.  Say you're sorry."  It was hysterical!! This morning they were going in my bedroom and shutting the door, and Cale told me they were playing elevator.  I am so glad they have such great imaginations....my favorite thing to do when I was little was pretend!  The TV in their playroom isn't working right now, which makes it that much better...they have been forced to make their own fun.  Now if "playing pretend" didn't entail carrying a bunch of props out to the living room, I'd be in a much better place as far as keeping this place clean! 

On the potty training front, we aren't making much progress.  Then, to be totally honest, I'm not really trying that hard, other than suggesting randomly that someone might want to try sitting on the potty.  (Which is always answered with an emphatic NO!)  We were hanging out at home one day, with no plans to go anywhere, so we decided to try out wearing big kid undies to see if they could hold it.  Sissy did really well, and was proud to be wearing them, but Bubby ran right around the corner and as far as we can tell, immediately peed his pants.  (and then didn't tell anyone)  Shawn thought she was doing well, so he laid her down for a nap in her underwear...I had to make him go back in there and put a diaper on her....she loves using the privacy of her room to vacate her bowels, and that is NOT a mess I feel like cleaning up...I am pretty sure we are light years away from "underwear sleeping".  

It's fall ya'll!

I know, I know...lame title for the post, but I couldn't think of anything else.  I am so excited to have two tiny people in my house that get geeked up for my decorations...finally, people who live here that will be impressed.  Hayden told me my Halloween tree looked "like a beautiful."  I guess it's a success!  

Hayden loves this one, of course...because it's PINK!  Everything is requested in pink these days...dresses, drinks, ice cream, and this morning: waffles!  This little dress is a variation on the men's shirt dress pattern, and I think it is super cute!!  When the weather gets a little colder, I am going to have her wear it over jeans or leggings....You could even put a long sleeved shirt underneath if it was super cold. Readers, it's your lucky day!! I have enough fabric left over to make another one.  Hayden is a super skinny 2T, so I can make another one just like this, or widen it a little for a regular 2T or a 3T.  The cost is $30.00....email me at nmhatter@hotmail.com if you are interested....first person to respond gets it!  

Regular old Saturday...

Something about the weather changing makes me want to stay home...For some reason, I need less "entertainment" and am happier just putzing around the house.  I love lighting candles, listening to football on in the background (sometimes even watching it!) and working away in my craft room...I love the little visits I get from the babies..."Mommy, You seen Shrek?", "Hi, Mommy!", "Mommy, what you doing?"....for some reason (probably all the pretty colored spools of thread and colored pins) they LOVE being in the craft room with me...which poses a bit of a problem since it is all of thirty square feet and there is always an iron plugged in.  

This morning we were going to venture out to the pumpkin patch, but woke up to rain and decided mud and pumpkin patch just don't mix.  What to do in the rain?  Head out to the mall for some Chick-fil-a!  The mall is always an interesting cultural experience...luckily I have a husband who notices/is entertained by all the same things as me, so we have quite a time together!  We enjoyed the laziness of having nowhere to be, and walked around until it was nap time.....and then spent the rest of the day at home.  Shawn ran out for a few minutes to see some homes on the architect's tour....and rushed home so that I could go see them, too.  I opted out....not that I don't LOVE oogling mansions, but I didn't really want to go alone, and I was enjoying being snuggled in at home with the twins napping and sweet baby Livi hanging out with me....she tried to "talk" to me all day, which basically consists of moving her eyebrows up and down and opening her mouth like she is trying to make sounds come out.  She almost looks surprised that no words are coming out....she was SO smily today, which I love....she is starting to become quite the little charmer.....anyway, I enjoyed the laziness of today, something I would have thought BORING not so many years ago....did a little crafting (more to come on that) and what is a blog without a picture??  I added this one of baby Livi in her bumbo seat....she looks so big, and surprised that she is sitting up.  She can handle the Bumbo for about four minutes before she turns into jello and starts slumping over like a drunk on a public bus, which cracks me up.