She's Walking

She's been practicing for awhile but she's finally walking consistently now. She still crawls a little if she falls or if she's really tired but it's walking most of the time for this chica now. She's loving it. I'm glad too because she really did not like crawling on the tile floors.

Best Bros!

I just had to add this one because it was so cute! They never let me take a picture of them together. Plus, it really shows how different they look. So for all of you who can't tell a difference maybe this picture can help. AJ is on the left and DJ is on the right. Oh, I love this picture!

Domestic Diva in Training

We had a lot of showers this week and I was asked to bring a fruit plate to one of them. Yes, I did this. This was my first ever attempt at a fruit plate. I'm not very creative when it comes to displaying foods. All of you expert domestic divas might think its very basic but I was pretty proud of it. I even sprinkled blueberries on top after I took the picture. YUM! Actually it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. The hardest part was keeping the little kiddie vultures away while I was preparing it.

Fitness Friday

I can't believe I haven't posted in a week! This week has been very busy. We're getting ready to go see Papi for a few weeks. Yea!

I know Adam is dying to for my next tip. It's actually a very simple, but effective tip, especially around this time of year. Everyone's shopping now. All the stores are always crowded. You can waste a whole lot of time driving around the parking lot looking for a close parking space. But why? Park far away and walk briskly into the store. That way you've saved time driving around and you're being more active. Easy tip!

Fitness Friday (a little early)

I love going to the gym. It’s my break away from the kids. It’s a time when I can do something good for myself, which my body greatly appreciates and I feel so much better when I do it. I’m not a freak about it, if I don’t make it I don’t make it. I just know that when I do my life runs smoother. Plus, the average weight most Americans gain between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is 7 pounds - aka the Seasonal Seven. So in order to keep myself motivated during such a busy time of year I’m going to start a Fitness Friday. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post a fitness tip every Friday. This way I’ll remind myself about fitness while also reminding all of you that I care so much about. This one is getting posted early though because of Thanksgiving weekend.

I googled holiday fitness tips and I found quite a few. None of which worked for me. For example, this one: “On the day of a party, be sure to eat regularly all day long. If the party is in the evening, eat breakfast, lunch and a snack before hand (just as you would on any other day). Once you are at the party, go ahead and indulge in some of the fun, delicious foods. Since you have eaten meals earlier in the day, you probably will find that you aren’t tempted to go overboard and eat everything in sight. However, if you starve all day long attempting to save up all your calories for the party, you will be so famished by the time it begins that it will be difficult not to overeat.”

Whatever! If I eat regularly all day long I will still over eat at the party. It’s holiday food. I want to eat it! I prefer a small snack during the day and then going all out for the good stuff. But it’s truly all about what works best for you. You know yourself better than anyone else.

So since that finess tip didn't work for me I guess my first fitness tip will be to take a time out of your day to relax. (Yes, I’m serious.) Mental and physical health are so intertwined it’s important that we remember to just breathe especially when we start to get very busy. Take five minutes at night put on some relaxing music and just lay there and focus on your breathing let everything else go. Don't think about your day or tomorrow just breathe.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

**Edit: We put it to a vote and the results were

Mr. Clean look is hot: 9 (60%)

Love the dreds: 6 (40%)

Thanks for voting! Personally I like the dreds.**

Okay, we are putting it to a vote. We were in Mexico this week and Dionys decided to take it all off. So bye, bye hair. Now we want to know what you think. I know what I think. Vote in our poll on the side bar. With hair or without? Sorry, there is no in between. We are a family of extremes.

Our boys are three!

One big bonus about sharing a birthday with your twin is that Mom feels justified going all out for your birthday because it is for two of you. So we went to Chuck E. Cheese. It was just family. The only kids there were ours and Janalyn's and they had a blast! We got a ton of tokens because we got some extra for going on a weekday so we just let them have at it. They played on all the games. They got to meet Mr. Chuck E. Cheese in person and on stage. Plus the whole pizza and cake thing. They were having so much fun that they didn't even get to the presents before we had to leave. They ended up opening their presents at home. Who knew that Chuck E. Cheese's could be so entertaining? Plus it was totally stress free for me. All I had to do was load the kids in the car and get there on time. The only bad thing was that they were having so much fun that we literally had to pick them up and take them out yelling and screaming. But we still do have tokens left over so I told them when they get done with their job chart we can go again. This time we might make it a longer trip.

Who's really teaching who?

I laid the kids down but they were not going to sleep. Finally, I threatened them with turning out the night light and closing the door. They kept screaming and playing so I turned out the light and said if I hear one more thing I'll close the door. DJ yelled, "Mommy, I not sleeping." So that was it I shut the door. And stood there holding the door shut while my kids are crying because it's dark. I know I'm such a mean mom. Then I hear Alexandria telling DJ and AJ the following.

"It's okay. Come here I'll help you. DJ, if you come here I'll help you. Just lay here really quiet and I'll help you. Don't worry, I'll hug you. I'll help you. Come on, right by me. Okay, here's the deal. Shh, don't talk and I'll bet Mommy will open the door again. Come here DJ. Come here AJ. Just lay right here. DJ, you come on this side. AJ, over here. Now just lay down and close your eyes. You won't even know it's dark. When you have your eyes closed you can't tell it's dark. I'm right here. I'll help you."

Okay, by this time I was thinking, how come she's a better mom than me? I should be learning from her sweet spirit instead of me trying to teach her. The boys quieted right down. And, I stuck to her "deal". I opened the door and said, "no more talking" and they went to sleep.

Happy 1st Birthday Isabel!!!

I can't believe she's already one. It feels so different from your first baby compared to your 4th. I was able to spend so much time with Alexandria when she was a baby. She was like my little best friend. I felt like I knew her really well too. With Isabel though I just don't have as much time. I feel like I'm still getting to know her. And the more I get to know her the more I just love her!







Her birthday was fun. We just had family over. We made spiders with Oreo cookies, M&Ms and pretzels. We had a treasure hunt, opened presents and, of course, had cake. Isabel dove right in. She knew how to open presents. She knew exactly what to do with the cake. I think she might actually be the first baby in history to finish her cake. She loved it. Finally, she was getting all the attention. As you can tell from the pictures she had a really good time. Although she was a little upset when we finally had to take her out of her highchair to go clean her up. I'm so glad we have her in our family.