Sunday, December 20, 2009

Christmas cookies


For as long as I can remember every Christmas my Mom and sisters and I would make Christmas cookies. My Mom would go to her clear plastic cookbook holder and pull out a yellow piece of legal paper that had been refolded to many times, spilled on and the pencil smudged and wearing off in places. On this paper in her hand writing were the recipes for all the cookies she made every year, and that my Grandmother had made before her.


I have no idea where they really came from but this recipe (we call German Spritz cookies) is my favorite.


Cream Cheese Cookies (Spritz)

1C of shortening

3oz cream cheese

1C of sugar

1 egg

1/2t vanilla

3C of flour

Make 2 batches (do not double)

Heat oven to 375

Cream shortening- work in cream cheese and sugar

Beat in egg, vanilla and flour

Chill before putting in cookie press


I can't wait to share our cookie making tradition with my girls. I'm hoping we can all go over to Mom's tomorrow (if the roads look clear after all the snow) to help my sisters finish.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Christmas Pictures

I finally got around to taking photos of the girls for our Christmas card, ok it will probably end up being a New Year's card since we are less then a week out from Christmas. Here are some shots (good and bad!)

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S didn't want to turn her head
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S making faces
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S
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L with her hands in her mouth, she wouldn't move them
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L with her paci
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L
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Let it Snow!

So I'm a Texas girl and I have never seen snow like this before in my life. We did spend Christmas in New York frequently and I have lived in NJ. Still nothing like this. We have 15+ inches already. I kind of wish the girls were old enough to play in it!

Snow piled up outside our door
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View out the door
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Back yard
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Friday, December 18, 2009

How Quickly We Forget

So we are really lucky. Our girls started sleeping through the night at around 8 weeks old (they would go about 6 hours between feeding them.) They are now almost 14 weeks and they sleep 10-11 hours at night. I give all credit for this to a book called Baby Wise. Every new mom should read it.

I was going through my email trying to find pictures so I searched for my mom because she and I have sent lots of pictures back and forth. I found all these emails that I sent to her when the girls were newborns. Every morning for the first month or so I sent her updates on how our night went.

How quickly I forgot how bad those first nights were!
"Things were better last night. We had some trouble getting L down but finally did around midnight. S slept like a champ. L was a bit more fussy. We slept from midnight to 3 and then had trouble with L but then got more sleep around 5. It wasn't bad." (10 days old)

"we had a very long night last night. Neither girl was very interested in going right to bed after eating and both were very fussy. We played the pacifier game, the sit there and stare at you game, the scream at the top of your lungs for no reason game (personal favorite). I didn't sleep until 2:30 then slept through the 3:30 feeding, which J took. I then did the 5:30 and went to bed again at 7. I'm currently looking at Miss S's bright eyes from her bouncy chair. I hope tonight is better." (13 days old)

"we need to figure out how to convince S to sleep at night. S was up until 2 again. This is becoming a habit evidently.Then L had gas and I was up with her until 5. Thank god J took the 7 feeding. I think I finally got 3 hours from 5-8 and only about an hour before that, but broken up.
I love them but the twins thing and sleep sucks." (15 days old)

"someone forgot to tell S it was Mommy's birthday. Or she decided to celebrate by having a party all night. We were up from 12-5 with her. She was not interested in sleeping. L was fine although now she is a little fussy but I think she is gassy." (23 days old)


I thought last night was bad because I had to get up and put pacifiers back in 3 times. It's nice to have a reality check sometimes!

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S and L as newborns

Thursday, December 17, 2009

How it Happened

My husband and I found out we were expecting January 17, 2009 (three days before Obama was inaugurated- it was a big deal in DC). We told our families on January 19 because we were too excited to keep it a secret. I saw my doctor at the very end of January and found out I was having twins at the beginning of Feb., 6 weeks into the pregnancy.

The day started off like any other. We went to work, I felt queasy and had some pain on the right side of my stomach. I called the doctor after I freaked myself out googling pregnancy and stomach pain. The doctor called me back immediately and had me come in right away, so I begged people to cover my class and left school in the middle of the day. The doctor examined me and said things looked ok but she wanted me to get and ultrasound to rule out an ectopic pregnancy.

I was thrilled. I would get to see my baby! It didn't really cross my mind that something would be wrong even though I had worried about it all morning. As I sat in the waiting room (because I had to down three glasses of water) I let my mind wander. I remember thinking "wouldn't it be funny if it was twins?" Then I thought "there is no way it could be twins."

I am finally called back and they begin the ultrasound. The tech is really quiet but I can see the picture on a TV screen. She looks at a few of my parts and then focuses on these two little D shaped black spots with little white dots in them. While she is doing this I'm thinking what is she looking at. She flips the screen to my medical information and where it says "fetus(es)" she changes 1 to 2. I'm thinking what the hell is going on, there is no way I'm having two. That can't mean what I think it does.

When she flipped back to the ultrasound she started labeling the little Ds "A" and "B". And I'm thinking No freaking way. She still has not said anything to me. I finally get up the nerve and ask "why is there an A and a B." She hesitates and says "well I'm seeing two fetuses." Then she asks me to hold my breath so she can try and get a heart beat as I am hyperventilating. I don't remember much of the exam after that.

She let me leave but made me wait because she wanted the doctor to take a look before I left. I go out into the waiting room and call my husband. I don't remember exactly how the conversation went but something like this (he knew I went to the doctor and was having an ultrasound):
Me-well everything looks good but umm we're having twins.
Him-Are you serious?
Me-Yes, what are we going to do? we can't afford twins (freaking out continues).
Him- Now I have a quarterback and a linebacker
Me- What?
Him- (he laughs) I can't believe it's two. Don't worry it will be ok.

Alright I was so worried about telling him because I thought he would freak out and he was fine. Although he did tell me later that when I told him he stopped in the middle of the street in downtown DC and was almost hit by a car.

When the doctor release me I called my OB and then went across the street to my mother's school. I showed up in her door way and told her as she was teaching class. She looked at me for a minute and then said "that's not funny Doris" (my grandmother who passed away 3 years ago). After school she took me to Barnes and Noble and we bought every book there was about twins. I continued to freak out about affording them and keeping them safe.

It was certainly one of the most monumental days of my life.

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37+ weeks

A Change in Priorities

So all I want for Christmas is the Medela Freestyle pump. I have the Pump in Style and it works just fine but I really want the Freestyle. Why? Because it is tiny and is hands free and it's pretty and fancy.

Last Christmas I wanted a baby and a house (I got both plus an extra baby).

The Christmas before that a Wii and a new iPod.

It's funny how things change. Next Christmas I have a feeling all I'll want is a nap, a bottle of Captain Morgan and to pee in peace.

This is Us

I guess all blogs have to start with a who I am kind of post.
So:
I'm 26, I have two kids and I married my high school sweet heart. All of this makes me sound like someone completely not me.

I happened to meet the man I married at the Homecoming football game my junior year of high school. I consider myself insanely lucky, why I didn't have to look everywhere for my best friend and husband, I found him right away.

I'm also lucky because after being married for two years we got the surprise of our life when our twin girls came along.

So me in a nutshell- wife, mommy, teacher. Enough about me.