Twin mama survival guide

Monday, March 23, 2020

As a first time mom, you never really know what products you truly need. You end up buying way too many things and then routinely use a small handful of them. When I found out I was having twins I knew I'd need a few "extra" things that I didn't have with my first. Thankfully one of my best friends was already a twin mama and she recommended the twin essentials. 

Some of these products are twin specific and the others would be useful for a singleton. After 3 kids these are my tried and true products that I would choose over and over again. The only two things I did not add to this post were mamaroos and DocATots, neither of which we had with Vivian but were loaned them from a friend for the twins and they saved my life!

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This bouncy seat is only $32 and was my babies' absolute favorite. With Vivian we had a different bouncy seat but it did not have the activity bar right in front of her so she lost interest quickly. My babies were so content in this seat for long periods of time.

This Freshly Picked diaper bag is life changing. With Vivian I had a beautiful Tory Burch cross body diaper bag and it.was.awful. Every time I leaned forward the bag would swing in front of me and get all in the way. Lots of people recommended this bag and they were spot on. It is very specious and allows me to pack all the things for all 3 kids. Biggest mistake I made with my first was not having a backpack style diaper bag.

The Uppa Baby Vista stroller is worth every penny. Thankfully we got it with our first because we were hopeful that we would be adding more kiddos to our family in the future. I did not realize how quickly we would multiply and thankfully we already had this double stroller. We used the heck out of the bassinets and now we are using the rumble seats but you can also just clip their infant carseats directly into the stroller as well. It is so easy to fold and unfold, lightweight and pushes like a dream. Highly recommend.

The Twin Z pillow is the one twin product that is a nonnegotiable in my opinion. Can be used for breastfeeding, if you plan to go that route, or just to prop the babies on for bottles. My babies are 14 months old and we still use this pillow every day for every bottle. It is basically a boppy pillow for twins.

This sound machine is portable, gets super loud, and is the best sound machine I have found. A good sound machine is the key to a good sleeping baby.

I call this my "baby cage". Didn't have anything like this with Vivian because she never crawled but now that the twins are on the move it is so important that I have somewhere safe to contain them while I run to the bathroom or take 5 minutes to get ready. I also plan to use this all summer on the beach so they aren't crawling around on the sand.

This pack n' play was also recommended to me by my twin mama friend. We put this twin nursery center on top and this is what our babies slept in beside our bed for months. It also served as our downstairs changing station.

This Infant Optics monitor is 100x better than the Motorola one we had with our first. We bought an extra camera so that both babies have a camera on their crib and the screen can toggle between the two cameras.

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What are your favorite baby products? Were there any products you splurged on but in hindsight could have done without?

Five easy crockpot meals

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

I so appreciate all the feedback on my Instagram post this week about blogging! I really have missed it and I'd love to get back into the swing of things. I miss connecting with so many awesome women and reading about your favorite recipes, fashion steals, weekend activities, etc. Today's post is definitely not full of beautiful pictures but I am constantly on the hunt for easy dinner ideas so I'm hopeful this will help a few of you.

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Sitting down for dinner together is a non negotiable in our home. I grew up sitting at the dinner table as a family almost every week night and for me this is a priority to do for my kids. I believe the time spent sitting together for dinner is super important quality time and we strive to cook and eat dinner together 4-5 nights a week. With that being said, we don't have the time we used to have so our dinners need to be easy. The crockpot has saved my life since the twins were born but we have been rotating the same few meals weekly. So I figured I would share my go-tos and if you have any easy crockpot meals to share, leave them in the comments! Also, if you are a crockpot addict like me, these liners are absolutely life changing.


ONE 
Pork tenderloin in jerk sauce
(Recipe via Carolina Charm)

Ingredients:
-1 pork tenderloin (Plain, not marinated)
-1 bottle of Lawry's jerk sauce

Directions:
1. I always trim the fat off the pork tenderloin first
2. Pour about 3/4 of the bottle of jerk sauce over the pork tenderloin
3. Cook on low about 6 hours
4. Will shred easily. I like to serve with sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts.




TWO
Comfort meatballs

Ingredients:
-1 lb bag frozen meatballs
-1 cup ketchup
-3 tbsp distilled white vinegar
-2 tbsp sugar (I use a little less)
-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
1. Mix the sauce and pour over the frozen meatballs
2. Cook on low about 4 hours
3. I like to serve with jasmine rice and green beans or some other green veggie

(I usually double the recipe for leftovers during the week. I used to make the meatballs from scratch... no time for that anymore. Frozen meatballs work just the same and cut the work in half!)


THREE
Shredded chicken tacos

Ingredients:
-4 chicken breasts
-2 packets taco seasoning (low sodium)
-1 can Rotel

Directions:
1. Pour taco seasoning and Rotel over raw chicken breasts
2. Cook on low about 6 hours then shred
3. Serve on tacos or a taco salad with all the yummy Mexican toppings

(That is embarrassing it's so easy)



FOUR
Crockpot Ribs
(Recipe via JordAsh)

Ingredients:
-Rack of pork baby back ribs
-Salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
-1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

Directions:
1. Divide ribs into 3 or 4 pieces
2. Place ribs in crockpot and season to taste
3. Coat with 3/4 bottle of bbq sauce
4. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8
5. Once ribs are fully cooked, scoop them out and place on baking sheet
6. Coat each rib with the remaining bbq sauce
7. Place in oven and broil on high until the sauce starts to bubble (usually 3-4 minutes). This step give the "off the grill" taste



FIVE
Tomato Tortellini soup
(recipe via @katiehchalk)

Ingredients:
-1 lb sausage
-32oz chicken broth
-28oz diced tomatoes (Tuttorusso brand)
-2 10.75oz tomato soup
-2 8oz chive and onion cream cheese
-20oz refrigerated cheese tortellini uncooked

Directions:
1. Brown sausage; drain and remove excess fat
2. Add sausage, broth, tomato soup and diced tomatoes to crockpot
3. Cook on low 6-8 hours
4. Stir in cream cheese and tortellini and cook on high for 15-30 minutes until tortellini is cooked



Dinosaur lovers unite!

Monday, February 10, 2020

If you have been following along for any time, you know my Vivian is a total dino lover! I really don't know how it started but I love it. You always see cute dinosaur boy things but it can be tricky to find cute dinosaur girl things. I've rounded up all our favorite dinosaur things below for all you other mamas with dino loving littles!




1 \ Dinosaur dress. The perfect play dress! And only $15!

2 \ Vivian got this dinosaur ball toy when she was a baby. Now her little sisters love playing with it.

3 \ For Vivian's birthday party I am putting these dinosaur fossils in a sandbox to make a "fossil digging" activity

4 \ These eggs come with chiseling toys and inside each egg is a different dinosaur!

5 \ Dinosaur suckers. We used these for Vivian's Valentines. 

6 \ We have these dinosaur water beads in our water table and she loves playing in them and finding the dinosaurs.

7 \ The cutest smoked dinosaur Jon Jon for little boys!

8 \ Vivian got this dinosaur matching game in her stocking for Christmas. She loves playing and learning the names of the different dinos.

9 \ The cutest pink dino pjs!

10 \ What kid doesn't love a fun dinosaur straw?!

11 \ You can never go wrong with smocked dresses!

12 \ These dinosaur figurines have the name stamped on their bellies. Vivian carries them all over the house and they are perfect for the bath.

13 \ Another adorable play dress for cheap

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