Newport, Summer 2019

This was our second trip to Newport, but the boys didn't remember the first one. 🙂 As always, we stopped in Tillamook. Our first stop was the beach! It was a gorgeous, perfect evening! We spent our second morning at the Newport Aquarium. On our last day, we went to Yaquina Head. We clambered about...

Before and After Baby Tips

What I'm glad I did before babies were born: Joined the local twins' club (the classified section was a huge help; we got to shop early at the club consignment sale; we got to meet other new and expectant twin families in town) Took photos every week to document my belly growth (see them here!)...

Having Toddlers

I've read and heard lots of parents say, "Oh wow, this age is so much fun!" About a variety of ages. I thought they were those crazy parents who loved everything all the time and who only saw things through rose-colored glasses. In short, I thought they were full of shit. But it's true! This...

The Mama Matters

I'm in a lot of online groups, and many of them revolve around parenting or babies/kids. Often there are posts from moms who are exhausted and frazzled and emotional. I never have much actual advice, but I like to chime in and say something like, "Your mental health and sanity is really important. You matter...

Pumping for Twins

I'm finally posting this on the one-year anniversary! On the babies' seven month 'birthday,' I pumped for the last time. Yes, I was finally DONE WITH PUMPING. It felt like a major decision. And for a long time I still didn't know how I felt about it! Once I knew that I didn't want to...

Expectant Mamas: Giveaway!

  I have never been a huge fan of e-books and e-readers, or at least the idea of them; I am such a book lover and the tactile experience of a real book is just priceless to me. Now, I did take my husband's first, old Kindle on some work trips and vacations, and the...

Our Favorite Toys for Babies, 6-12 month edition

 When I went to the big twins club re-sale last spring, I had a very specific list of items that I knew the babies would need in the short term. When I saw the huge area of big toys, I froze. I tried to think about the next 5-6 months and what the babies would...

10 Surprising Things I’ve Learned This Year

(two weeks old, E on left, M on right) One of the scariest things about being pregnant was not knowing how it would be to actually have a baby, and not knowing how I would deal with the various challenges. Being new at this, I was pretty worried that everything would terrible and horrible and...

Intentions

One of the great things about a very tiny baby is that you have explicit permission to do whatever works. Anything that gets you through the day, anything that gets that baby to sleep or stay calm, DO IT! Guilt-free! Safe in the knowledge that you are helping your baby be happy and healthy! It's...

Baby Room Makeover!!

Previously: My thoughts on "nurseries" and the first baby room makeover/setup. The babies have been sleeping in their room for what, six months now? They don't really spend any time there in daylight. But as they get bigger, and our living room-slash-playroom starts to feel smaller, I started to think about actually getting some fun...