Twins Share Everything

Sure, siblings learn to share, but if you're a twin, you share EVERYTHING, including your birthday!

So, here's to you, sis, happiest birthday wish vibes being sent your way... (twins can do that...send thoughts to each other with just our mind waves! Luckily I can't feel her pain when she gets hurt, though. That would be brutal and unfair!)

You are fabulous, and great things are in your future!

Xoxo,

Your big sis (by one minute)

Our 10 Month Old is Feisty! (but we still love her)

Wow! 

Suddenly Grace is 10 months old, and she has a personality! 

(I could even go so far as to call it an attitude!)

A spicy dress to match her spicy personality!

She does not like:

playdough

green beans

sand

shoes

having her diaper changed

clips, hair ties, bows or any other apparatus put in her hair

Her newest skills include:

clapping

waving

giving high fives

walking

opening cabinets

bobbing her head to music
giving "kiss-kiss" (only when she wants to, of course)

picking up and eating Cheerios and puffs

dumping Griffin's water bowl

I know it's been a while, so this is what else we've been up to lately:

We ate Mud Pies

I'm not saying they're healthy, but they're good!

We are attempting meal planning

The meal calendar has helped, now I just need to work on my grocery shopping!

We made play dough

How easy is this?

How To Make Homemade Playdough

Supplies:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbls. vegetable oil
food coloring (4-6 drops)

1. Mix together all of the ingredients in a saucepan.
2. Put the pot on the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it globs together in one big ball of playdough.
3. As soon as it becomes one big ball, take it off the heat and set it on a plate or wax paper to cool. 
4. Once the play dough has cooled, knead it to make it extra soft. 

 We created Hand Print Owls

Find the cute owl template at Meet the Dubiens

 We traded in the trusty Jeep...

Thank you, Jeep for your many faithful years of service.
May you find a new home where you are loved and appreciated. 

For a more gas efficient ride!

Introducing the Buick Regal "Beagle"

Boots on the Ground...

...and we couldn't be happier!

Watching the plane land.
Photo Credit

They rolled out the red carpet.
Photo Credit

Here they come!!!
Photo Credit

REUNITED!!!

Grace and her daddy had some catching up to do!

Have a wonderful weekend!

(I know we will!)

DIY Calendar Countdown

During Cole's deployment I've spent a lot of time contemplating painting all of the rooms in our house. Therefore, I steal help myself to a ridiculous number of paint chips at my local home improvement store. I didn't end up painting any of the rooms, but I do have quite an impressive collection of paint chips! 

When you are waiting for something, you have to find little ways to make the days go by. So, inspired by Pinterest, and my clepto paint chip addiction, I decided to get crafty and make a calendar out of paint chips and a picture frame.

How To Make a Paint Chip Calendar

Supplies:

42 paint chips in your favorite color scheme
Large picture frame or poster frame
Poster board cut to fit the frame
Expo Vis-a-Vis Wet Erase markers

Ruler/calculator (or a friend with math skills)

Scissors
Glue, sticky tabs or double sided tape
Chalkboard paint
Chalk

1. Measure out how big each of your 35 squares will need to be to fill up your frame. Depending on the size of your frame, you may need to leave more/less room at the top for the days of the week. (I would tell you how I calculated my square sizes, but honestly, we know I can't do math in my head, and the fractions were throwing me off... I had to recalculate a few times before it worked out. Yes, this is a sad commentary on my math skills. Maybe I should practice up a bit!?)
2. Cut out all of your paint chips and arrange in the pattern you plan to use. 
3. Attach to the paint chips to the poster board using tape or glue. 
4. Tape off a long rectangular section at the top of the frame and paint with chalkboard paint. (Use this area to write in the month.)
5. Fill in the days on your calendar using the wet erase markers. (Just wipe with a wet cloth to change each month
6. Hang and enjoy counting down the days to something fun!

Here are the names of the paint colors I chose, just because I think they are fun, and naming paint colors would be my dream job! (All are Valspar Signature Colors from Lowes):

• Oatmeal
• Gold Coin
• Gypsy Gold
• Beach House
• Woodsmoke
• Gourd
• Winter Wheat

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To

{The anticipation is killing me!}

1. Cole coming home!

He will be home by the end of the month! HOORAY! The sign is made, the house is clean(ish) and the fridge is stocked!

2. The return of Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte

3. Planning Grace's first birthday party

I'm thinking balloons and polka dots. Anything to make her smile!

4. A mini family photo shoot with Kristen Huntley | Photographer

I'm pretty sure Grace and Cole are less than thrilled about this- BUT I DON'T CARE!

5. Running in the City of Oaks Relay with some fun ladies. 

Our team theme is Wonder Woman. Check out these socks!

Geek Chic

6. Grace growing some hair on the back of her head!

It's tough to pull off the reverse-mullet look, but I think she manages...

7. A beach house vacation

8. Starting (and finishing) a good book!

It has been far too long since I've read anything aside from What To Expect The First Year. I'm going to start an actual novel. 
Tomorrow. 
No really.
I will.

Send a Hug

With text messaging, FaceTime and Skype it's definitely a lot easier to stay in touch with loved ones. Sometimes, however, it's nice to send (and receive) actual mail. So this week we made sendable hugs inspired by Tons of Fun and Pinterest, of course!

A hug from Grace

How To Make a Sendable Hug

Supplies:

Finger paint or ink pad
Paper plate
Wet wipes

White cardstock paper

Hole punch

Scissors
String, twine or ribbon

Sharpie pen
A willing or semi-willing child

1. Pour some paint onto a paper plate and smear around.
2. Place your child's hand in the paint and then onto the cardstock paper. (Pretty technical stuff, I know!)
3. Use the wet wipe to clean off their hand.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 using the other hand.
5. Let the handprints dry.
6. Cut out the handprints (feel free to make them look more "hand like") leaving a small boarder around the edge. 
7. Punch a hole at the bottom of each hand.
8. Cut a piece of string that measures the length of your child's arms and tie it to each hand using the holes you punch earlier. 
9. Write a message on the hand, pop in an envelope and send to someone special!

Keep an eye on your mailbox...one might be headed your way!

Wittlebee Kids Clothing Club Review

Our first box from Wittlebee

We found this cool new company called Wittlebee. They offer a monthly subscription ($39.99) for kids clothing (sizes newborn to 5t). What a great idea! Seriously, I wish I had thought of it! You get 6 items worth about $100 from different brands. They ran a special for half off the first month, so we thought we'd give it a try!

Here's how it works:

Sign up and fill out a style profile for your child. 
For Grace's box I chose:
Graphics- polka dots and flowers
Favorite colors- green, blue and purple
Clothing style- hipster

A stylist called me about a week later and asked some follow up questions. I told her it is HOT where we live, so we needed summer clothes and no pink! 

The Wittlebee website says you should get your box in about 2 weeks, but we didn't get ours for almost 3 weeks.
I think Wittlebee is trying to keep up with the growing demand, but hopefully the turnaround is quicker on orders and they bring on more customer service reps/stylists. 


Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the clothes we got in our first box! I also really like getting packages in the mail, and the element of surprise was fun!)

Purple shirt/tunic from Laughing Giraffe* 

(*it looks big, but maybe it's supposed to be worn as a dress?)

Green onsie from American Apparel

Plaid shorts from Baby Headguarters

Flip Flop tank top from Baby Headguarters 

Mint onsie with ruffles from Kicky Pants

Orange flowered skirt from Crazy 8

Grace liked the tissue paper and the box!

"Hipster" box. I really like that all of the pieces are mix and match!

If you use this link you will receive a $10 discount on your first order, and I earn $10 in Wittlebee credits. It's a win win!

This review was not sponsored or endorsed by Wittlebee. I just wanted to share my experience and opinion on the service.