Scarlett and Clark -14 Months

14 months old, and these two don't ever stop. They are walking, crawling, cruising, climbing, sometimes faster than we can keep up with them. The weather has been glorious the last few weeks, so we have been spending as much time outside as we can. Trips to the playground in our neighborhood or visits to "kid's gym" at The Y show just how mobile these two are. They are up, down, and all over the place. They are constantly climbing and finding new ways to get where they want to go. They are both walking more and more each day, but crawling and cruising are still their preferred methods to get from point A to point B.

They are now consistently to one nap per day. Their schedule most days looks like this:

-7:00am wake up

      playtime

-8:00am breakfast

      playtime or errands

-10:00am snack

      playtime or errands

-11:30am lunch

-12:00pm fall asleep while nursing

-2:00pm wake up

-2:30pm snack

      playtime or errands

-5:30pm dinner

-6:00pm bath time

-6:30pm nursing and stories

-7:00pm bed time

They still consistently have one nursing session per night. I try to limit it to only one, but Scarlett still thinks she should get more. She wakes up crying multiple times per night, but usually puts herself back to sleep within a few minutes. If she wakes up Clark, then we will get both of them out of bed for milk. If Scarlett doesn't wake him, Clark will sleep until 7am and have a morning nursing session before we start the day. We aim for 12pm naps and 7pm bedtime, but often times they can't hang that long and naps happen at 11am and bedtime gets bumped up to 6pm. Regardless of what time they go to bed, they are consistently up for the day at 7am.

I love that they are down to one nap per day. I usually try to get us out of the house in the morning to either go grocery shopping or have playtime outside of the house. Making it until 12pm naps is much easier when we aren't sitting at home. As long as I bring snacks and sippy cups full of water, they are happy do go anywhere. Some days getting everyone dressed and ready to go somewhere is just too much, and on those days we lounge in our pjs all morning long.

Their playtime right after they wake up is always in the living room. That way I can watch them while I caffeinate and get breakfast ready for everyone. They have quite a few favorite toys, I plan to write a post on their favorites soon, that reside in our living room still, so they're happy to play on the main floor. After breakfast though they want to be wherever Brooke and Harrison are, so we usually move into the basement. Climbing on the train table, eating crayons, and riding their roller coaster 1058 times in a row are current favorites in addition to the bounce house.

Clark

• favorite book is Some Bugs. We have two copies of it and his face lights up every time we read it.
• is still saying Mom and Dad consistently, but nothing else
• loves to use our ottoman side table to climb up onto the couch
• is constantly getting into the pots and pans cabinet and throwing lids on the floor
• loves to be thrown in the air, but hates to swing
• likes to come and "help" me do laundry
• waves "all done" but only does it with one hand
• refuses to take longer than a 2 hour nap. It doesn't matter what times he lays down or how full his belly is. 2 hours is his max
• has figured out how to turn around and stand up while buckled into the front of a shopping cart

Scarlett

• likes to chew on books, but looses her damn mind if I try to read them to her
• started walking this month and is already walking across a room before she drops down to her knees to crawl again
• says dad, dog, done, Jules, Tyson, hi, bath
• is constantly getting into whatever drawer or cabinet she can. Playing with feminine products she finds in our bathroom is a current favorite.
• wakes up with a dirty diaper every morning. She also usually poops herself awake during nap time
• is crazy about not just our dogs, but every dog. When we walk down our street, she starts waving and squealing when she sees our neighbor dog that is always outside
• has the best laugh. Its one part belly laugh, two parts evil cackle
• is a biter. Poor Clarkie has red bite marks all over his arms
• loves to high five and has started high fiving heads and faces. Yes, that means she is constantly hitting everyone
• will crawl into the pantry and grab food whenever she's ready for a snack
• is obsessed with my iced coffee. I have to hide it from her otherwise she'll cry because I don't share. The same thing goes for crayons. We have to hide them otherwise she'll cry because I won't let her eat them.

We introduced the wagon to them his month, and they definitely prefer it over the stroller. We leave their mocs by the door, and they are always picking them up and waiting for us to put them on and go outside. The love to stare out the front storm door when Harrison and Brooke are playing outside. I think it's safe to say they like being outdoors. This spring and summer are going to be so much fun with them. I am so looking forward to seeing them experience all that warm weather has to offer. It will all be like new to them again this year, and I can't wait to watch them enjoy it.

Friday Thoughts

We've had a pretty big week over here. The big kids were back to swim class this week. Brooke is now riding a bike without training wheels. Scarlett decided to start walking. The weather has been great so we've been spending all our afternoons outside. Rob and I even managed to squeeze in a date night on Wednesday. We are all feeling really good heading into this weekend.

Last year the kids did dance, gymnastics, swimming, and soccer. They were both so excited for all of their classes, and then when it came time for classes to begin Harrison would complain and refuse to participate. We decided to give them some time away from extracurricular activities.

With pool and lake season fast approaching, we decided it was time to jump back into swim lessons. There was only mild complaining from Harrison, and Brooke was excited for class. They both did a great job participating, and the only child I had sitting on the sidelines with me was Clark, who refused to play in child watch.

It never fails that each week we have a couple bananas that have made it past their prime. I like mine almost under ripe and the kids won't eat them if they're over ripe. I often times make banana bread or toss them in the freezer to use for smoothies. My newest breakfast obsession is using those over ripe bananas for banana waffles. I pinned this recipe for banana waffles from scratch and modified it to use with a box mix. I switch out oil for butter, add in vanilla, nutmeg, and bananas, and use slightly less milk than the Bisquick recipe calls for. They are so good! Definitely my new favorite way to use up our bananas.

I have been doing really good about not purchasing clothes for the babies and sticking to H and B's hand me downs. Sometimes exceptions need to be made. These striped onesies and tank onesies are so adorable and inexpensive. There's a good possibility they will be purchased. These bodysuits are pretty cute too. I love the lace detail.

I grabbed a bottle of Bean Blossom peach cider while at the store last week. It was really good and definitely something I'll be drinking this summer. I didn't realize it at the time, but it's made by Oliver Winery here in Indiana. Local cider, even better!

I went on an outing to look at light fixtures this week. I'm in the planning stages for our powder room and our dining room just needs a new chandelier and then it's complete. I'm trying to focus on those two projects but almost all of the lighting in our house needs replaced, including basic lights like ceiling fans and halls lighting. We went to two different lighting stores and and now I just feel even more confused, except for when it comes to our dining room. I've been obsessing over this style of chandelier for months. After seeing it in person, there's no way I can pick something else. I'm undecided on if the discount we would get for doing our whole house at once is worth it in order to save my sanity. For the time being one light down, only about seventeen more to go.

Today is new music Friday, what I call the last Friday of the month. John Mayer is releasing 4 songs from his upcoming album, The Search For Everything, today. I didn't think I would like the scattered release of the album, but it gives me new songs to look forward to each month and I'm kind of loving it. The first 4 songs are really good, and I have high hopes for this next wave. I'm sure I'll be listening to them on repeat all weekend. Only a month and a half until we get to see him in concert!

We're back to winter after a little taste of spring, so there's a good possibility our weekend will involve at least one day where were stay in our pjs and don't leave the house. I hope you all heave a great weekend!

Linking up with the lovely ladies from Carolina Charm, A Smidge of This, Hello Happiness and September Farm

Tasty Tuesday - Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Can we change Taco Tuesday to Taquito Tuesday? Because after making this recipe, I want to. Or what about Mexican Monday, Taco Tuesday, Taquito Thursday, Fajita Friday, Salsa Saturday, and Sangria Sunday? I intentionally left out Wednesday because there needs to be at least one night for pizza, otherwise I'm good with Mexican food all day every day. Yes I'm aware that sangria is traditionally a Spanish drink, but I'm going to roll with it.

I feel like taquitos don't get enough attention. They're like the Chimichanga's lesser know younger sibling. I love them. The delicious crunchy fried corn tortilla. The crispy burnt bits on the end. The juicy meat on the inside. I've been in love with taquitos since I first had them at La Hacienda restaurant when I was 10 years old. I really wish that place was still open.

This recipe takes it one step further than the taquitos I'm accustomed to and adds in spinach, mom win, and cream cheese. I guess that's actually two steps, but they're two really good steps. This recipe makes a lot. Enough to freeze half and have them again. So buy lots of queso and plan to have Taquito Thursday two weeks in a row.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients

3 cups cooked shredded chicken
6 ounces ounces cream cheese, softened
⅓ cups sour cream
½ cups salsa
1½ cups Mexican cheese blend
1½ cups chopped baby spinach, stems removed

1 lime, freshly squeezed

2 tsp cayenne pepper
12 6 inch corn tortillas
vegetable or canola oil, for frying

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix together the chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, Mexican cheese, spinach, lime juice and cayenne.

2. Heat ½" oil in a sauce pan on medium heat.

3. Once oil is hot enough (place hand over pan, above oil, to feel heat), add a few tablespoons of chicken/cream cheese mixture to the center of a tortilla and spread out. Roll up and set seam side down in oil using tongs. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

4. Repeat until all the tortillas are filled, rolled and fried.

5. Set on paper towels to drain.

6. Serve with your favorite sides for dipping. Queso, guacamole, and fresh salsa!

Notes: I cooked 3 taquitos in the pan at a time. When placing the tauquitos in the hot oil, place them seam side down and continue to hold them with the tongs for 30 seconds after they hit the oil. This will help them to hold their shape. These can be made with flour tortillas, which I know thanks to our dog eating an entire stack of corn tortillas I had on the counter. They will be a fluffier taquito, similar to a chimichanga. They are still delicious.

Recipe adapted from Lil Luna

TGIF

This week was a really good week, but I'm still so glad the weekend is here. We're supposed to have fabulous weather, 60s in February, and we're taking the big kids to see Lego Batman on Sunday. Harrison has been talking about this movie for the last 3 months. I just hope the movie lives up to his excitement. I see lots of bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and bike riding in our near future.

ONE - Brooke is getting her first hair cut this afternoon, and I'm kind of freaking out about it. She has the best natural curls and I'm so worried they'll be gone forever once she gets her first trim. Nevertheless, she needs it because her hair is a hot tangled mess all the time. If her hair comes out as straight as mine, you'll be able to find me crying into my Chipotle while drinking a pear cider. Yes I'm overreacting, but I will be slightly devastated if her hair looses its natural curl. Maybe it's because after over a year of no hair followed by the mullet that wouldn't quit, the curls were such a welcome surprise.

TWO - H and B have made the move from the toddler section to the boy girl section. Overall I'm slightly disappointed in the "big kid" section. The fit and styles aren't nearly as cute as they are for younger kids. I did find a few things to order last week when Gap was having their kid and baby sale. I love this striped handkerchief dress and it's even cuter on. I like it well enough that I may order it in another print. Maybe the watermelons? Bonus, it's still on sale.

THREE - After almost 4 years of on and off blogging, I decided it was time to start a Facebook page for this little blog of mine. Now you can follow us on FB at Our Little Miracles Blog. I'll be updating the page with new posts as well as extra content that relates to this blog.

FOUR - Ok fellow TWD fans, what did you think about this week's episode? I always have mixed emotions each week. Some of the things the show does have become so inconsistent and far fetched. I know, it's a show about zombies. It's not exactly based in reality.

Each week I look forward to Funny or Die's "Most Ridiculous Things" column. Dashiell Driscoll is a fan of the show and writes a column of the most ridiculous things to happen on The Walking Dead episode of that week. Things like King Ezekiel's tiger, Glen and the dumpster(too soon?), and everything Carl. He has dry humor and is really good at sarcasm. I've been know to stalk Funny or Die's page waiting for it to post on Monday afternoon.

FIVE - I am in love with these booties. I own nothing like them, have no idea what I'd wear them with, they aren't at all my style, but I NEED them.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day

Rob and I have never been big into celebrating Valentine's Day. When we were dating we both working in restaurants, which meant our Valentine's Day were spent making sure others were having the perfect meal as part of their celebration. Even once our restaurant days were over, we never made a big deal celebrating. Now that we have kids though, I love celebrating. Any reason to spend an entire day showing them how much I love them.

We started our day with donuts and a few small gifts for the big kids. Harrison and Brooke had school today, and the babies and I were lucky enough to get to tag along for a few. The letters Q and U got married today in an adorable ceremony, and the kids had the option to dress up as queens or quarterbacks. Both H and B picked quarterbacks. After a quick ceremony, there was dancing followed by a donut and fruit reception. All the parents then left so the kids could get back to class, and the babies and I were on to our quiet Tuesday at home, just the three of us.

I've mentioned before that my mom would always make my grandma's sour cream sugar cookies for Valentine's Day. I have made it a tradition to make these cookies with H and B every year since they were almost 2. We made the cookies yesterday, but thanks to a migraine the icing had to wait. I made sure to have all of the accoutrement ready when I picked them up from school. We iced cookies while the babies snacked, and now I have 3 dozen cookies that I don't need to eat, but we had fun making them.

The rest of our day involved dance parties, bounce housing, and lots of laughter. Some of our days are rather rough, but I love these four little people something fierce. Spending the day showing them an extra does of love was a perfect way to spend Valentine's Day. I hope you all had a wonderful day with the ones you love!

It's Friday

It's only been about 10 months since I did a 5 on Friday post, so let's jump right in.

ONE - We got Snow! Only a couple inches, but it was big flakes and it snowed all day on Wednesday. Brooke and Harrison got a chance to play outside in it and the babies each came outside with me for a few minutes. Just long enough to take a few pictures and give them a chance to put their hands in the snow. Clark was indifferent and Scarlett cried as soon as soon as her hand touched the snow. we've had barely any snow this year, so I'm making sure we take advantage of any snow deemed play worthy.

TWO - Does anyone else feel like sometimes they just need to get away from the news? There is so much divide and uncertainty in our nation right now. I could literally watch cable news and read online articles all day, and still not have a full grasp of everything that's going on right now. It's really easy for me to get sucked into the rabbit hole.

It's been a long time since I've binged a series, so I decided now was the perfect time to do so and take my mind elsewhere. All of my usual shows were on a break last week, so I started watching The Crown. If you haven't heard about it, it's about Elizabeth II's reign and it starts right before she ascends to the thrown. It is so good! I finished it in just a few days. Claire Foy is a great Elizabeth, and I love Matt Smith as Philip. Did I mention that John Lithgow plays Winston Churchill? Yeah, definitely watch it.

I totally geek out over English history, so I also started watching Victoria. I caught up in a couple nights and now have my DVR set for Sunday evenings. I love Rufus Sewell but always think of him as Count Adhemar in A Knight's Tale.

Need more shows about English royalty? All four seasons of The Tudors are available on Netflix. It originally aired on Showtime and is definitely TV-MA, so maybe don't watch it while the kids are awake. I haven't watched it in a while and may need to rewatch it soon.

THREE - I of course have opinions regarding everything going on in our nation right now. From Betsy DeVos, to the DAPL, and of course the much talked about travel ban. I try to keep my opinions off of my social media pages, but as I said above, I read it all. Both good or bad, conservative or liberal. A blogger who I follow posted a really great piece about the travel ban. It's definitely worth a read.

FOUR - It's a well known fact that I drink lots of coffee. 2 cups a day every day, and occasionally decaf later in the day. Great for helping me keep up with 4 kids, not so great for my teeth. I usually use white strips or whitening trays every few months, but I don't think they do a great job. I am too cheap to pay for professional whitening treatments, because paying for 4 kids. ;) I saw an add for charcoal whitening powder(maybe a Facebook add?), and thought I'd give it a try. I've only used it a couple times, so no idea if it works yet. I do know that it makes my teeth feel incredibly clean, which I love. I brush my teeth with Tuxedo first and then brush using my regular whitening toothpaste after. I'll definitely report back on this, but I'm feeling very optimistic about it.

FIVE - I know we're still a few months away from summer dress weather, but I am excited to be able to wear dresses again this year. Last summer the girls needed to be readily available for nursing at all times. That meant tanks and shorts all summer. Not this year. Stores are starting to roll out their spring lines, and I'm itching to grab a couple new dresses to wear once it's hot. This one shoulder pom dress is so cute. I'm a sucker for one shoulder dresses, and I love that they're back in style.

We're supposed to have a big warm up this weekend. Mid 50s tomorrow, so a long walk or trip to the park is a must. TWD starts back up this weekend, so if you need me on Sunday night, you know where to find me. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Linking up with these lovely ladies Carolina Charm and September Farm

Scarlett and Clark - 13 Months

13 months! A lot has changed for these two since I did their last monthly update. We have babies who are starting to talk and walk. The night before they turned one, Brooke told me they were going to wake up in the morning and be able to talk. Ha! No surprise they aren't talking that much, but we are starting to get some definite words. They both still crawl everywhere, but we are getting unassisted steps and more cruising around the house. I remember being so ready for H and B to walk, and while I'm excited for them to walk instead of crawl, I'm also in no hurry to push them to do it. Hopefully they'll be steady on their feet by zoo season, but that's still a few months away.

One of the biggest changes have come in the sleep department, both at nap time and overnight. We have been transitioning to 1 nap since we got back from vacation. There are still a lot of two nap days, but we are starting to see more 1 nap days. Which means free mornings. Happy dance! Play dates and errands just became a whole lot easier. We still need to work on extending their nap to 2+ hours before we completely get rid of 2 nap days.

We have been trying to limit Scarlett's night wakings. Some nights she sleeps until 3am or later. Other nights she wakes up closer to 10:30 or 11. I have stopped nursing her every time she wakes. If she wakes up after a few ours of sleep, she gets a quick snuggle and is laid back down. She gets pretty upset when she doesn't get milk, but she settles down quickly and goes right back to sleep. Clark still only wakes up when his sister wakes him. Occasionally he has an off night, but overall he's a champion sleeper.

A good majority of our playtime has moved into the basement. I'm not quite ready to get rid of the toys in the living room yet, but that's not far off. Lots of time is spent in the bounce house, playing with their kitchen, and destroying whatever Harrison and Brooke are playing with. 

Clark

• is taking steps! He took his first steps the day before they turned 13 months. He's up to 5 or 6 steps before crashing into me.
• is pretty quiet, but does say mom and dad. Or maybe milk and dog. Who knows for sure? 
• his favorite food is cheese. He also loves yogurt, scrambled eggs, turkey, and all berries.
• has perfected his backward crawling down the stairs. He much prefers to go up though.
• loves giving hugs and snuggling
• wears size 18 months and 12-18 months
• is back to being heavier than his sister. He weighs in at 24lbs13oz
• is 31 1/4" tall
• has an obsession with nightlights. Mainly pulling them out of the socket. Time for more Snap Power covers.
• doesn't like walking with our toy walkers, but loves to walk while pushing one of our kitchen stools
• is a very happy baby, but is always straight faced when we're out in public. People always ask is he's tired, but nope, that's just his out in public face

Scarlett

• says hi, dog, and dad. Is working on consistently saying water, bath, and down.
• loves to have screaming matches or click her tongue back and forth with you.
• is starting to stand on her own.
• is a cruising fool
• favorite foods include yogurt, blackberries, freeze dried edemame, and scrambled eggs
• likes to sit with Tyson and play with his food while he eats. If I don't watch closely, she will eat his kibble. Yuck!
• climbs up and down stairs 
• hates wearing headbands
• almost has enough hair for a clip
• weighs 23lbs 4oz
• is 30 1/2"tall
• wears 18 month and 12-18 month clothes
• loves to eat crayons anytime she gets the chance
• thinks feeding other people her food is hilarious
• hates being told no

These two are such a bundle of fun. Their personalities are really coming out. They love playing together and "talking" to each other. Sometimes their talk is just them laughing back and forth, and other times they chatter back and forth. H and B never really did the twin talk thing, so I'm looking forward to seeing how their communication progresses. They are becoming more independent each day. They had their one year check up today and got a clean bill of health. We are so lucky to have two happy healthy babies, and we love getting to see them make the transition into toddlerhood.