Kimber's Navy Family

Before you even read the rest of this, you should know that today is not  my best mommy day. I was up half the night with Braxton Hicks. Our asthmatic toddler is having a small flare up, not too bad but enough to put him out of sorts. I woke up exhausted; he woke up whining. Then I served the boys breakfast, crock pot oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar simmered in it all night, topped with walnuts and heavy cream this morning. There was an absolute boycott at breakfast, "What is this? This not how you make oatmeal!" Our oldest said, "I like oatmeal how Marmie makes it, not like this." (Marmie is my momma.) By 9 am, I was exhausted and ready for either a re-do of the day or bedtime. I would like to note that the oatmeal was really good and tasted almost exactly like the instant packets of Quaker Oats Apple and Cinnamon, plus it was ready as soon as we got up! So this blog post is brought to you by my pleasant we've-made-it-to-mid-afternoon atti...

I hear this all the time lately, "Take it easy." "Just be sure to take it easy." "Take it as easy as you can." "You just really need to take it easy." I am just over 30 weeks pregnant. I stay at home with our 5 and a half year old, whom we homeschool in preschool , and our 3-year old toddler twins. We have a dog. My husband is in the Navy which, of course, means we live next door to my parents (not). How do I take it easy? We went through this when I was pregnant with our identical twins. I was on modified bedrest and had multiple ultrasound appointments and an OB appointment each week. It was exhausting. When I was pregnant with twins, we lived in a small apartment with one toddler; I left the housework to my hubby. It was a small amount of housework and got done whenever he got around to it. (Sometimes in a frustrating amount of time.) But it all worked out. How did I stay at home and take care of a toddler by myself every day...

As a larger family, our grocery budget can be a little intense, especially as we have really tried to cut the crap out of our diet. I've written before about how we cut out hydrogenated oils and aspartame (" The first step ") and how we really try to eat at home (" Dinnertime "). Over two years has passed since I wrote those blog posts and I wanted to do a follow up. How are we doing now that we have two busy toddlers, a homeschooling preschooler, and another on the way? And, since I wrote those original posts, we've moved twice (" Across town move " and " PCS to South Carolina ") and my hubby started power school--a lot has changed since we decided to undertake a new family diet! I'm happy to report that our family diet is going even better than we had anticipated! Not only have we cut out hydrogenated oils and aspartame, but we've also cut out food coloring and fast food. We stick to foods that have ingredients we can prono...

Our toddlers are days away from turning three-years old which means it is time for another must-have list! :) What are the things that have made this past year with toddler twins just that much easier? I have found that as our twins get older, it is becoming much less about finding things that work for twins and more about finding things that work for having three children. Most of these things are applicable to making life easier with three young children, not twin specific. Side note: I can't believe that my next must-have list will probably be for the youngest of four children-- newborn things again! This pregnancy is flying by; I'm already in the third trimester! 1. The Aqueduck Faucet Extender Without the Aqueduck, reaching for the water flow With the Aqueduck, standing flat footed on the stool Not sure what the silly face is for, but using the Aqueduck This is seriously a parenting must-have, twins or not. I can't believe I didn't own this wh...