Santa could have a twin...

Last year around this time I picked up Santa outfits for you two ;c) The sizes read 3/6 month but ended up being HUGE! Of course I had to try them on you to see if they fit. I was delighted to see they semi-fit and made you look like chubby little Santas haha 

 Who needs professional pictures when you have a camera and your adorable handsome faces!

Not us ;c) I think they turned out well for not being staged... I just sat you up on the counter in the kitchen and tried to get you to look my way ;c)

 Cash and Bentley, you have such BIG personalities! It was a bit of a challenge to get you both to look at me, smile, keep your hands down and stay close together..... whew...

Don't worry, i'll be taking many more pictures this month ;c)

I love you equally and more than anything!

Xmas Decorating, BW3s & a REAL tree!!!

Sunday is our family day! YAY!  We spent most of the day unpacking the last few boxes from our move... Around 5 we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. It has been a while since we have taken you out to eat in a restaurant. We were very impressed with your good behavior :c)

 After dinner we picked up most of the tree accessories and of course more duct tape! I was very excited to add more to our house decor and get a tree! Your Dad and I had debated about getting a fake tree, a real tree or even a tree at all! We were worried you would knock it down, break the ornaments or electrocute yourselves... In the end we decided to go traditional and pick up a real tree! The smell is amazing and it really feels like Christmas in our home!

 

We picked out white lights to go with our ornaments and colored lights for the windows/mantel. I absolutely LOVE Christmas lights! Something about them is just magical! I remember as a kid, my dad put up colored lights down the long hallway...We loved them so much they stayed up for what seems like years ;c)

 I wanted to let you know I will be collecting your advent calendars for the next 16 years. I have yours from last year (unopened), as well as this year ;c) I think they make great decorations and it will be one of our special traditions!

 

We decided to put last years little mini white tree in the kitchen. It fits perfectly! You guys were playing and munchin while we decorated and listened to holiday music on 97.1! We had a great day ;c)

Here is last years Christmas photo... It was much easier to pose you before you were walking!

 

**ADORABLE **

 Wonder what we will come up with this year ;c) 

Cash and Bentley, I love you both equally and more than anything!

Thanksgiving 2011- How-to for next year!

WOO HOO! Turkey day has arrived! The average American eats over 4000 calories on Thanksgiving, insane! 

 This year your Dad and I were given the task of cooking THE turkey! I'm sure vegetarian Grandmother was happy to pass that one on to me ;c) Since we have yet to host a Thanksgiving I decided I should learn the ropes for next year! This blog will contain  MANY pictures of food and how to make the scrumptious dishes ;c)

 

#1 - TURKEY

I'll admit I was a bit worried when I found out we were in charge of the main dish. Your Dad told me not to worry... After Googling and talking to both mothers we figured out a game plan. Take turkey out the day before to thaw in cold water! Also, note to self  *the spare parts bag is tucked up near the neck and its extremely disgusting...Unfortunately Dad doesn't follow recipes...  SO the turkey herb/spices mixture and stuffing are a bit of a "secret"... Cook turkey in bag for 3 hours... DONE!

 

#2- Green Bean Casserole from Pioneer Woman

We had the vegetarian version ;c)

 #3 Candied Yams

Super simple but my FAVORITE Thanksgiving dish! I should make it more often... Cut yams, add 2 cubes butter,  a bowl of brown sugar and melt in oven ... Finally add marshmellows and YUM!

#4  Kid Friendly Broccoli with Velveeta & Ritz

Melt giant block of Velveeta, milk and cream with a bit of salt and pepper... (I am fully aware these measurements are extremely vague) Pour over chopped broccoli and add a bit of "punched" Ritz cracker ;c)

 

#5 Cornbread, Apple and Mushroom Stuffing! **Pioneer Woman**

I know this consists of veggie broth, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, salt, apples (cooked in wine with caramelized onion) , mushrooms, cornbread and other assorted dried breads...

 

  While Grandmother and I cooked, all of you males hung out in the living room watching football and Monster's Inc :c) Grandpa Jon played guitar, Uncle Maddox hid in the box was transported the trukey, Uncle Jack played with you and Daddy watched in astonishment...You are no longer babies, you are becoming little boys in jeans!  Cash & Bentley, know you are very very loved and no matter what you have your family forever!

Our feast was beyond AMAZING! Everything turned out wonderfully! I do not have pictures of the mashed potatoes or the gravies... Probably because mashed taters are easy and gravy is gross (haha)...However Grandmother's vegetarian gravy was pretty tasty... I regret not taking leftovers of that! 

As soon as we started to dive into our magnificent Thanksgiving day meal, the two of your decided to take the first nap of the day... Luckily the Grandmother was there to hold you while you fell asleep and we indulged in pure deliciousness!  Uncle Maddox had a turkey leg! When you woke up you both had a small portion of everything...and the two of you were part of the clean plate club ;c)

 We had a delightful time! I am so thankful for my loving family!  I love every single one of you that were able to make it and the many of you that were not able to come this year;c) Hopefully you can all join us next year! GOBBLE GOBBLE!

I love you Cash and Bentley, equally and more than anything!

Dancing Monkeys!

C n B, in our new house we have a great stereo in the kitchen! Not to mention a giant island perfect for crafts you can't reach ;c) I think we get at least half of our skills by watching others... I'm not saying I have dancing skills but i'm sure you are learning to groove by watching me jam out ;c) Its almost impossible to get video since you lose focus and wonder what i'm doing haha

Here is a video I took today with the camera,its better quality and shows how much you interact with one another!

This is just too freaking cute! I love you Cash and Bentley, equally and more than anything!

Duct Tape Santa, Gifts, Poker and Tok...What A Wonderful Weekend!

Cash and Bentley, my super sweet best-friend-twins.... This weekend was quite productive and lots of fun! Your lucky mom won her fourth radio contest in a week! Breaking Dawn premier tickets, VV Brown(canceled and given rain check), Snow Patrol and the Candy Cane cruise with Gavin DeGraw... I will say that my entire life i've been pretty lucky with contests and raffles.... PLUS I got you two in one shot! Identical twin boys, how LUCKY am I?! 

Along with jamming out to the radio, I decorated the house with Christmas-ness and made duct tape creations!

 

Okay okay, I totally put your outfits on from last year to see how much you had grown... Honestly you looked like little elves ;c) I managed to create a duct tape Santa out of boxes, I was pretty impressed I came up with this entirely on my own haha

You guys loveeee hats, so I wasn't shocked you were both crazy about the collection of Xmas caps. I also made a few gifts with bows and a candy cane out of duct tape...

 

My favorite would have to the black and white with zebra bow!

Sunday Grandmother came to watch you while Dad and I went over to our old place to do some cleaning and get the last few miscellaneous items... I love that your Dad can tell when I am having one of my "moods" and does everything to make me happy...he met me back at the house with my favorite wine and purple flowers ;c)

 While you guys played hide-n-seek in the cupboards (weird word), Dad showed me how to play texas hold'em, we played with paper dots as chips ;c)

After I won on the "river" card, we put you to bed and looked up pictures of your Dad's home town of Tok, Alaska.... I'll be honest, I was still pretty clueless about Alaska...In my mind its always covered in snow, everyone has snowdogs, lives in igloos and its located somewhere near the Yukon territory, which is inhabited  ONLY by the abominable snowman...

 

In reality it is GORGEOUS and I can't wait to take a family trip! However Alaska is HUGE (maps are deceiving) and after our flight we would need to drive 500 miles! At the moment you both are a little young... Plus it gets SUPER cold, your Dad said he saw -82 degrees! I don't know how anyone could live! Apparently the cars have plug in heaters to warm up the engines... Also something called the Iditarod race, its over 1150 miles on dog sleds with real dogs! Below are a few pictures of Tok/Alaska, and yes it really looks like this, I asked about 20 times!

 

All of a sudden it was 2am and way past bed time! It was wonderful to learn more about Alaska and hear stories about your Dad's younger years... The weekend was wonderful and I look forward to the next month of holiday cheer, good food and most importantly family ;c)

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I love you both equally and more than anything!

Fall'n Around

We are definitely nearing the end of fall and the beginning of a chilly winter. Its been difficult to find time to take you outside to enjoy the leaves. In my mind you would see a pile of leaves and jump into them or throw a few up in the air... However; the two of you barely noticed all the wet leaves, it looked more like the yellow brick road with walnut pieces everywhere...haha....I swept the deck while you played...

It was just too cute to watch you explore and try to take your hats off...oh, and each others! Lucky for me they are velcro and it took longer than usual for you to figure them out ;c)

 Gosh, you two have the cutest little faces! So cute in fact it makes me want another baby! BUT no worries my little men, that will not be happening anytime soon! (Vegas Tullulahbelle will make her way to us one day) Cash and Bentley, you two are my life and I want to cherish every possible moment... Time seems to move faster the older you become...

I love you both equally and more than anything!

Duct Tape Christmas Trees

You give a OCD duct tape and she will want another roll! I am addicted to duct tape and trying to create anything I can... My next project in preparation for Christmas, was this Dr. Suess looking tree ;c)

 I used the same folding method as the zebra flowers and went up from the bottom on a cone a made from a recycled piece of scrapbook paper. They turned out nice in my opinion... I like anything unique I can add!

I am so excited to decorate our new house! I am waiting to pull out the rest of the decor until after Thanksgiving. Corn husks and pumpkins don't go well with snowglobes and stockings ;c)

What shall I make next with duct tape?!?!

ps- This is a cute sleeping picture I took the other day ;c)

 

I love you both equally and more than anything!!

Duct Tape Zebra Flowers

The other day Josh surprised me with ZEBRA duct tape and I just felt the urge to make something immediately! Initially I wanted to make a dress but that seemed a little advanced for a first time duct-taper. I found a fabulous website by Duck Tape full of craft ideas. I decided to start small and make a few flowers...

I think this is pretty self-explanatory...I used pens as stems and unknowingly made flower pens ;c)

DIY Turkey Handprints

I know this is not the creative project but it is special and I will forever cherish your little handprints ;c)

I am fully aware this looks simple, but trying to get you to open your hand and stay still was not as easy ;c) 

 These would be accurate representations of your little personalities....Cash always on the go, Bentley being very precise ;c)

 Note to self and anyone else trying this at home, use WASHABLE ink ;c) Your hands were a bit on the purple side (even though I used black ink... weirdddd)

 

While you played in the kitchen cabinets I cut out feathers and tiny turkey bits.

 

I think they turned out pretty well if I do say so myself... I know they do not look like real turkeys, but hey, they are handprints ;c) 

 

I love you both equally and more than anything! 

GOBBLE GOBBLE!

Holiday Cookies

I LOVE this time of year... I want to make every  DIY craft I come upon! I am working on a cute turkey project I hope to have done before Thanksgiving.... Below is the last picture of you in the old place and super-duper adorable! I just love you in little skinny jeans!

Last night we made some sugar cookies and decorated them ;c) It is always so much fun to dance around the kitchen in PJs, rocking out to the radio and enjoying time together as a family  <3

Turkeys and leaves ;c)

**Thanks Pink for the seasonal cookie cutters**

I tried my best to make a JBCB 2011 cookie, but that was hard with a toothpick... And I'm fully aware I should have bought more colors, but oh well ;c)

 Meanwhile we made chicken fajitas for dinner.. DELICIOUS!

I love my boys equally and more than anything!

Happy Holidays!

First House Guests

The other night we had a couple of friends over to see our new place (they just bought a house and helped us move). We watched a fight which lasted two seconds and had a few drinks. Cash and Bentley, let me introduce you to your "pseudo" parents... Jeff and Christy..

 

Christy literally tried to carry you away in a basket! HAHA!

 

 It was great to have a nice relaxing evening and have a few... okay MANY laughs....

 Jeff or V, whichever you would like to call him... Decided it would be a GOOD idea to eat some Bhut Jolokia ( Ghost chili pepper=hottest pepper in the world)....

Lets just say he found out the hard way.... (Josh was taking pictures apparently lol)

Thanks to Jeff and Kristy for coming over, we had a wonderful evening and look forward to the next get together! 

Cash and Bentley, I love you both equally and more than anything!