Upside Down

Today is a day of contradictions.

I pride myself on being (reasonably) organized. I believe that life is easier if everything has a place and things are returned to their places when you’re done with them. (Of course, there are four other people in my house who don’t always share my philosophy, so I do a lot of picking up, as well as a great deal of coaxing.) However, sometimes I clean things up so well that I can’t remember where I put them. And that’s where I find myself today.

This morning I decided to let my 16-month-old twins try crayons for the first time. And then I realized that I have no idea where I stored our set of Crayola Tadoodles Crayon Buddies when my oldest son was finished with them. My mother gifted them to us several years ago, and we quickly learned how easy they make it for a little one to hold a crayon. (I tend to think they also discourage chewing on the crayon, which seems to be a temptation for my boys.) They’re inexpensive, so I could easily buy another set, but that’s beside the point right now. I know our original set is in this house somewhere, and I’m determined to find them.

While sorting through drawers and cabinets, I needed a little entertainment. I decided to watch Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.

If you're suddenly confused because you thought I only had sons – not daughters – you’re not wrong. I don’t have any little girls. Given that I’m a child at heart, though, sometimes I still like to privately indulge in a girly movie. (I must confess, The Princess Diaries is one of my favorites.) I found Kit Kittredge to be quite entertaining, as well as educational, and after watching it I believe it would be equally appealing to a boy or a girl. This will likely be one that gets added to our list of acceptable DVDs once my boys are a little older.

What about you? What are you doing today? Is anything in your world “upside down” at the moment?

PSA: Similac Formula Recall

I'd like to take a moment away from my usual style commentary for a public service announcement.  If you are a parent who happens to feed your infant Similac formula, you should be aware that certain Similac products have been recalled because they may contain beetle parts or larvae.  (Yes, I know.  Ew!  And to think the FDA doesn't consider this to be a big deal... Don't get me started.)  To find out more about the recall, visit www.similac.com/recall. 

I will warn you that their site is running incredibly slow.  Apparently they did not prepare for the amount of traffic that an announcement of this nature generates.  (Of course, this is a company that didn't manage to keep beetles out of its infant products in the first place, so should we be surprised?)

A Fun Third Birthday

The last few weeks of summer were a whirlwind of preparations for preschool (which began today), having portraits taken of the twins, and party planning, as well as catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while.  It's been fun, but I'm happy to finally have a moment to update you on everything that's been happening.  In the time that I've been absent, I've come across a lot of fabulous items that I can't wait to share!

Today I thought you might enjoy seeing some photos of the setup at my tot’s third birthday party, which we held just over a week ago. Like many boys his age, he is more than a little obsessed with Thomas the Train, so naturally we celebrated with a Thomas the Train party. (Although I personally don’t adore character-driven themes, I would do anything for my little boy!)

I wish I could claim that the door sign in the top photo was an original idea, but admittedly I “borrowed” more than a little inspiration from this party that was featured on the Hostess with the Mostess Blog.  I saw this less than two days before our celebration, so I created my own version in Adobe Photoshop. If I had more lead time, I could have ordered the exact sign she used, and other adorable items directly from WH Hostess.

All of our young guests had a wonderful time, although I’m sure their parents will be paying me back for the whistles I included in the goody bags!

Sources:
Cake and Balloons: HEB
Clear Goody Bags and Curling Ribbon: Michaels
Red Table Cover: Hobby Lobby
Thomas the Train Plates, Napkins and Stickers, Birthday Penant Banner, Whistles: Target
Door Sign: Made in Adobe Photoshop, but a similar one is available from WH Hostess

Random Saturday

I hope you won’t mind if I interrupt my usual commentary on fashion, books and children’s clothes for a slice of daily life.

For an accurate idea of what I'm referring to in the following paragraphs, picture your favorite blogger (hah!)  in jogging clothes, pushing this, with an antsy toddler running alongside.












I was having “one of those” mornings. (Yes, even Mrs. Julep has those days.) I was desperately in need of a trip to the post office with three cranky babes, no help in sight (Hubby’s working) and I wanted to get there before the line got too long. We got there early, but there was already quite a wait and my toddler was understandably antsy. (And of course, the sight of my twin stroller plus my tot is enough to attract attention from every well-meaning person for miles.) Little jaunts like this have a tendency to throw off our schedule for the rest of the day, and today my husband has begged me to have this crew on schedule so that we can enjoy a wonderful dinner out. (The restaurant we’re going to makes a delectable cucumber martini that is calling my name…)

Needless to say, I was feeling (and probably looking) rather harried. Cue the lovely woman in line behind me – who as it turns out, is someone I should know. She hails from my home state of Virginia and graduated from Mary Washington, where I attended for a brief semester before transferring schools. We were actually at Mary Washington at the same time in neighboring dorms. Add to this the fact that she also lived in the DC area before she and her husband moved here, has two little ones of her own (and a third on the way) and her second child is the same age as my toddler. And of course she lives in my zip code. How random is that? I adore this kind of coincidence. Fortunately she is also the friendly sort who voluntarily slips her phone number to people she hits it off with in line at the post office. (This is absolutely the kind of thing I do when I’m not so frazzled.) Overall, this ended up being a very interesting start to my Saturday and totally worth the schedule juggling that commenced once we returned home.

Needless to say, I do have some fun finds to share with you, but they will have to wait for another day. If you’ll excuse me, the children are napping and I need to figure out which of my Lilly P. frocks to wear tonight….

Practicality Aside…

Aren’t these Kerrington Ballet Flats from J. Crew heavenly? In my fantasies, I am wearing these with a white sundress, a sherbet-hued cardigan and a perfect pair of pearl earrings. I am running errands and taking the kids to playdates in the park, never stepping in a mud puddle or having little ones drop their snacks on my perfect silk and cotton-clad toes. A girl can dream, right?

(And LPC, if you’re reading this, you should know that yes, I even want to wear prints on my shoes. Does this make me the Artsy Cousin?)

Fleeting Moments

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend. I know I did! Sunday night we drove around town and saw multiple displays of fireworks. This was quite exciting for my big kid, Little Mr. W (who’s almost three). We then capped off the evening with some ice cream from Sonic, which is a rare treat for him. (I do not believe in pumping kids full of sugar on a daily basis.)

Yesterday we left the twins with a babysitter and took Little Mr. W on his first movie theater outing. We saw Toy Story 3 (and got some popcorn). He was quite in awe of the entire experience. You add to this the fact that we have been working on potty training and he has been wearing training pants for the last five days, and he’s had quite a busy week!

If you’ve read the reviews, I’m sure you know that Toy Story 3 is about what happens to the toys when their owner grows up. As a mom, I felt a little teary thinking about it. Of course, it’s thrilling to watch your children grow and develop and gain their independence. But we also have to remember that these moments we have with them when they are little are precious and fleeting and we need to make the most of every minute. As much as I look forward to seeing them become the adults they are meant to be, I also want to make sure I always remember what they are like today.

Sweet Bliss

I am enjoying one of those blissful days at home with my children that I always dream of (you know, in those not-so-blissful moments when I’m rushing to make preschool drop-off and then zipping off to run errands with the smaller set). Everyone has been fed and the babies are napping while my two-and-a-half-year-old plays happily beside me. In fact, he is engrossed in an activity that has become all the rage in this house as of late — the Melissa and Doug Vehicles in a Box Jigsaw Puzzle Set.

In no time at all my son has become adept at piecing them, and he can now assemble all four wooden puzzles on his own. And he’s more than a little obsessed. This set has been such a hit and is such a fabulous learning toy that I am planning to order one or two more. Perhaps the farm animals and the sea life sets this time?

(The Melissa and Doug jigsaw puzzle sets are available from Amazon.)

The Sippy Solution

Labeling my toddler’s sippy cups for play group and mother’s day out has always been a challenge. It’s important for his name to be on his cups, but it’s difficult to keep it there. So-called permanent marker washes off and stickers don't stay put for long.

My sister-in-law recently sent us the perfect solution: the BumpyName Orbit Label. The non-toxic, reusable BumpyName labels stretch to fit bottles, sippy cups and snack containers, and they fit snugly so that busy little hands can’t peel them off. They are also microwaveable and dishwasher safe.

Genius!

Happy Mother’s Day!

I would like to wish all mothers a wonderful day with your family. For me, this Mother’s Day is a celebration and a special time of giving thanks for my three wonderful blessings. You see, this has not been an easy year.

I know I’ve mentioned in passing that I had a difficult pregnancy with the twins. At 22 weeks, we were told that one of our little boys (Little Mr. G) was much smaller than his brother and on the ultrasound it was obvious that something was wrong with his right arm. One of my doctors told us she suspected our baby might have a syndrome that could affect most of the systems of his body and could potentially leave him with very little quality of life. I'm sure you can imagine how we felt when we heard this news. As the weeks went on, our little guy fell further and further behind in his growth, and we began to wonder if he would make it.

Our twins were born prematurely at 33 weeks. The big guy was a healthy 4 lbs, 8 oz. Little Mr. G weighed a mere 2 lbs, 1 oz. We found out that he was missing the radius bone in his right arm, which explained the way his arm and hand appeared on the ultrasound. I myself ended up having two surgeries (the second was due to a severe postpartum hemorrhage) and I didn’t get to hold either baby for several days. During this time, the doctors in the NICU were running a very thorough battery of tests on our little guy. Do you know what they found? Nothing of consequence, other than the missing radius bone. (Okay, he does have a tiny hole between the ventricles in his heart, but apparently this is very common and should close on its own.) But they found nothing genetically wrong.

Today, Little Mr. G is over 8 lbs. and he and his twin are both very happy, healthy 3 month olds. Together with my 2 ½ year old, they keep me very busy.  I could not be happier.  I know how lucky I am.

Note: For those who are wondering, there is a possibility that Little Mr. G may have surgery on his arm at some point in the future. We have to wait and see how he grows and develops before we make that decision. Either way, we are not worried about it.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

The Best Laid Plans

As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, my twins’ baptism is right around the corner. Make that a week and a half away. We’ve booked the church, invited our family and friends, and ordered beautiful christening gowns for the babies from a local boutique where we frequently shop. We even arranged for the store to embroider each slip with the baby’s monogram and the date. All of the details were in place and everything was going to be perfect.

That is, until I saw the embroidery. Instead of embroidering the outside of the slips as discussed, the store embroidered the inside, so that when the baby is wearing the slip you see the ugly back of the stitching and everything looks unfinished and backwards. Unfortunately, the store is refusing to accept responsibility and we've been left to figure out a solution on our own.

Being a resourceful belle, I called the designer directly to see if we could order new slips. If only it were that easy. The person I spoke with was sympathetic, but told me they can’t sell directly to consumers. Even if they could, they wouldn’t sell the slip alone, no matter the situation. He actually suggested that the babies just wear the slips inside out. (Let me assure you, dear reader, that won’t be happening.)

If I want to rectify the situation, it appears that I will have to purchase new gowns online and have them sent to me via rush delivery. We may or may not be able to get the new gowns  monogrammed in time.

I am trying very hard not to feel like this puts a damper on this wonderful occasion. I had a very complicated pregnancy with the twins, followed by a difficult (and premature) delivery. Both babies spent time in the NICU. We are so very blessed to have these two beautiful baby boys and this is their day. I know in my heart that this is not the end of the world. Still, I would love to hear how the rest of you maintain your composure in situations like this.