Now a 2 car family, once again
YAY! As of yesterday, we are back to 2 vehicles! DH found a used 2003 Acura from a friend of a friend. It is nice and roomy! It also has space for all 4 of us to ride comfortably. The best part is the sports shifter. It is fun to act like I’m back in a manual vehicle! I miss my old Ford Ranger with the stick shift. 
Made me feel like a strong woman!
Yes, we had been with only 1 vehicle for a little over a month. On July 14th DH was headed to Charlotte (about 2-3 hours) and the head gasket on his Buick La Saber blew. I had to pack up the kids and head out on an empromptu journey. The good thing was, DHs kettle bell class he had help set up was right down the street from my MILs. So, the kids and I had a nice visit.
I was fine with having only one car, in the sense that I felt we were being more green. We have so many cars on the road here in the USA. It was nice to feel like I was saving a little bit of the environment (along with my recycling, cloth diapers, composting, eating organics, etc). However, after a few weeks I started feeling depressed.
With near 100degree days here, there wasn’t a whole lot to do. We played trains, made pictures, played in our little pool, rode bikes, etc. But 1 adult and 3 toddlers is hard in itself. It was even harder being stuck at home most days. On top of it, Zane has continued to struggle with sleeping in his “Big Boy” bed. So, naptime is spent putting him back in bed and bedtime is a bit of a battle. I was getting worn out!
Now we have the van back to ourselves. I am sad to have 2 vehicles on the road, for 1 family. But, for my sanity, it had to be done. We celebrated yesterday by going to the airport to watch the planes and by going to the park with some friends today. Sanity is slowly returning.
Toddler bed update
So far, B has been doing pretty good with the toddler bed. She has gotten out a few times, but only missed her nap twice. Mostly, she just sits in her bed, calling for us. She did get up really early one morning and went in to wake up Z, but other than that, she has been fine.
ZANE on the other hand has NOT been doing so well. I can’t get him to stay in his toddler bed. He constantly gets up, beats on the wall, plays with his toys, etc. He is a routine kid… and he just can’t get back into his routine in the new bed. Last week we actually put the pack n play in his room. He has been requesting to sleep in that. He falls asleep pretty quickly in the pnp. So, we will continue to let hims sleep there until he wants to sleep in his bed. As long as he sleeps, we are all fairly happy. 
Here is a picture of the 4th night of toddler bed. I found him asleep, on the floor. Funny kid.
Now, I’m 31!
Yesterday was my 31st birthday. Where did the years go?! How did I become an adult AND a mom of 2 kids?! I still feel like a kid! lol
Anyway, the kids helped DH make a cake for me. It was the most beautiful cake I have ever seen!!!! I LOVED it!
Aren’t we BIG KIDS now??!!!!
So, yesterday, on a whim, we decided to move the kids to toddler beds. We had been given 1 toddler bed and a twin bed, when I was pregnant. I almost didn’t take them, but did in the end. My theory, if it is something you will have to use in the future… and it is FREE… might as well go ahead and take it, then save your money later!
Anyway, we got the wooden toddler bed set up in Zane’s room. We started to set up the twin in Bree’s, but decided it might be more trouble to get a twin mattress and box springs than it would be to just get another toddler bed. Online, Walmart and Target have some for $50 and up. However, since they would only be in it for a short time, I decided to try elsewhere first.
I checked on our local craigslist. I found quite a few car beds (Zane would have LOVED one of those) but they were about $50. That’s a huge discount from what they normally cost, over $200. But it was more than I wanted to spend. I started calling people who had cheaper beds and had posted their number. I found a lilac princess bed for $15!!!! I called and she said we could pick it up in the afternoon.
When 4:00 rolled around, Brett packed Bree up in the car and they set off to get her “Big Girl” bed. When he arrived, the woman had found a little crack (I still can’t find it). So, she insisted on only charging him $10!!!!! What a DEAL!!!!!
Both kids went to bed fine. They talked in their beds for about 1-2 hours, but didn’t get up. This morning they made noise until we came to get them out of their beds. They slept until about 7-7:30. I’m so proud of them!!!!
What a month it has been for us!!!! Potty training (only about 1 accident a day now!) and BIG KID beds!!!!!! Where did my babies go???!!!!!
Wordless Wednesday
Potty training on the go!
So, my kids have been potty training over the last few weeks… and are OVERALL doing AWESOME!!!! I really think having been in cloth diapers instead of disposables made a lot of the difference.
Anyway, we have finally been going on a few outings. At home I just dump the potty chair in the toilet or bushes and give it a rinse. I hadn’t thought of being out somewhere and having to dump it. You can’t just dump it in the parking lot! (or I don’t think you can anyway ;))
So, I read a tip somewhere and thought I would try it out! When you are out on the go, carry some of your old disposables with you. When they have finished going, put the diaper, inside down into the diaper to soak up the stuff. You could use cloth diapers too! Then, you can just wrap them up and handle them how you normally would.
I tried this and it works WONDERS!!!!!! I’m so glad I found this out in the early stages! No pee/poo sloshing around in my van!!!!!
Stringing cheerios
This is an alternative to stringing beads. Pipe cleaners make a more stable instrument that is easier to grasp. Cheerios can be eaten like a candy necklace after stringing!
Congratulations Jessie!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to the winner of our first Blog contest, Jessie McKinney!!!!!! She is the momma of boy/girl twins who are just a few months younger than mine. Check her out at http://mckinneytwins.blogspot.com/
I appreciate all who entered. I hope you got some good information, even if you didn’t win. I will try to do another contest soon! Have a Happy Independence Day!!!!!! Remember, even though things are tough right now, we have so much freedom and have had (and still are) people who have fought and worked so hard to create a country that is free and is working on equality for all. Anyway, have a safe, happy 4th!!!!
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On the way to being potty trained!!!!!
So, the Wondertwins are 27 months. A little early for potty training, for the average here in the USA. However, one of the many advantages of cloth diapering is that kids potty train on average of 1-2 years before others! We have had the potty chairs out for awhile now. Then last week my friend, who has 2 1/2 year old twins, said she was ready to start training. So, we decided to jump on the band wagon.
Zane started by going pee in the potty several times on Monday. So, I sent him and DH to the store to get some “Spiderman” underwear. Right after they left, Bree started crying that she wanted princess panties.
So, on Tuesday we went back to the store to purchase more for both… and they have been in panties/underwear since! We are still doing diapers at nap and bed, but the rest of the day, we are out of diapers.
They have been doing pretty good. Bree is best at pooping in the potty, but doesn’t really care to pee in it much. Zane can pee in the potty just about any time he is asked to sit down. Yesterday he just had 1 pee and 2 poop accidents… he isn’t much for pooping in the potty yet.
My opinion… if you want to potty train, SKIP the pull ups!!!! They are just diapers you can pull up and down! They still don’t really feel the pee. Why am I starting my kids so early? They were cloth diapered. They are use to feeling that wet warm feeling and know what it means. Disposables wick away the moisture… So, kids don’t really feel it.
While we won’t be fully potty trained for a bit, the kids are doing AWESOME!!!!! We are giving chocolate graham bears from Whole Foods as a treat (though DH found them last night and took care of about 3/4 of the bag ). They are excited an have been making it to the potty more than not. We also have a little b’jorn potty that we move around. So, the potty is always really nearby, making less chance for accidents!
It certainly isn’t SIMPLE with twins, but it is going much easier than I thought. Anyway, wish us LUCK!!!!!
Wordless Wednesday
This is one picture from many… They were taken by Sarah Null www.sarahnullphotography.com
She is amazing!!!!!
