Cleaning!

I hate it!  I love how things look once it's done, but I HATE CLEANING!  My husband and i just had a discussion about my less than average ability to get organized and clean things as I cook.  I tend to just do what needs to be done and plan to clean after.  I guess at that point, I get too tired and tend to leave things too long.  I really need to get better at cleaning as I go along.  It will certainly make things easier and less stressful for everyone involved!  I need to do this with all the different chores in my daily life.  For example, laundry.  I tend to wash and dry and put the clean laundry in a basket and then leave it for later (usually because some thing comes up).  I just need to get better at getting back to that laundry basket and actually put things away before I let things pile up!

Hopefully this is not too disturbing, that with 3 kids, I don't have a totally picked up house.  I need to make sure that I don't let things get too far out of line, because then I just get too stressed and over whelmed.  If anyone has suggestions on ways to make cleaning easier or dare I even say fun, please comment!!!!

Amy

Cookies!

A while  ago, I bought a book called "Cooking For The Whole Family" cooking with whole foods.  I had totally gotten that I bought it til recently.  I decided that I wanted to make cookies for the kids and looked for a good easy recipe.  I found an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe that looked easy.  It was amazingly simple and left out a few of the ingredients that I am used to.  It replaced sugar with maple syrup, but I used agave nectar (first time I have used it), no eggs, and no baking powder or baking soda.  I wasn't sure how it was going to come out, but they are not that bad.  Actually, they are good.  The best part is that the kids love them!  I love that I can make a cookie at home and have it be healthy for a cookie and that the kids will eat them!  I definitely have to try more recipes from this book.  Also, on my other blog, http://thehandmadeandnaturallife.blogspot.com, I asked for good cookbook suggestions.  So far "The Joy of Cooking" has won.  Ok, so only 2 people have responded but they both suggested the same book.  I have it put aside for me at B&N and just need to pick it up!  I'm hoping to get more creative in my meals and snacks!

Amy

Trying To Raise Healthy Kids

I have another blog (http://thehandmadeandnaturallife.blogspot.com) where I write about the lifestyle that I wish to lead vs this blog where I wrote about the kids.  While writing on my other blog, I got an idea to write on this one.I have been struggling to get myself to a good place health wise.  The last few years have been pretty crazy.  Spring of 2006 I applied for grad school and was accepted.  A couple of days after my acceptance, my grandmother who I had been living with died.  A couple of months later I started grad school full time and planned to be done in 1 year.  Christmas that year, I got engaged and we planned a wedding for June 2007, with my graduation being May 2007.  I was pregnant 1 month after we got married, and we were thrilled and my MIL ded just after I found out I was pregnant.  3 months after I delivered my son, I found out I was pregnant again.  This was not a surprise as we had hoped to have our children close in age.  Oh, and with my first pregnancy I got pre-eclampsia, was on bed rest for 6 weeks, and continued on blood pressure meds through my next pregnancy.  11 weeks into my 2nd pregnancy, I had a little scare and we found out I was pregnant with twins.  I then went on bed rest at 23 weeks with the twins, til I delivered them via c-section after my blood pressure went up to 188/111, yes on meds.  Then the twins got RSV at 2 1/2 weeks and 3 1/2 weeks (Son and daughter respectively).  Then I had to get used to 3 kids.  Now, life is just crazy, but in an absolutely fabulous way!

Why am I writing all that?  Life has been crazy for the last 4 years, but now it has settled and I need to get myself back on track.  I need to lose weight, start exercising on a regular basis, and start eating healthier.  There have been lots of things that have spurred me on to this.
Some of them are:
1.) I have 3 children and want to ensure that I am healthy for them
2.) I am married to a fabulous man that I want to share my life with for a very long time.
3.) I am getting closer to 40 and my mother's brother died at 42 from a heart attack (given my past BP issues I feel like I need to really get on track with my health, never mind that I have big time heart disease and cancer in my family)
4.) I have been watching Losing It with Jillian and it is totally motivating me to make big changes in my life.
5.) I just want to feel good about myself, how I look and how I feel!

I'm sure there are many more reasons, but these are the biggest ones right now.  My biggest goal is to not buy food items that will get me into trouble.  I may need to look to others for help with finding tasty foods to create so that I can keep on track with out wanting all those foods that are bad for me.  I am going to the MD for my annual physical in a couple of weeks.  I want to be able to tell her that I am moving in the right direction even though I may not be exactly where I want to be.  So if any of you reading this blog want to share any good healthy recipes or cookbooks or any other resources, send them on!  I know that a few of my followers are really good healthy eaters and I know that they will be a great resource for me!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and send forward any resources!
Amy

Pictures!

I feel like I haven't put many pictures up lately, so I figured I would just post a bunch of pictures that we recently took!

Waiting for ice cream

Michael enjoying his ice cream cone!

The kids' new lawn chairs that they absolutely love!

Thomas sitting at the Basin Franconia Notch NH

Eva Rose sitting at the Basin Franconia Notch NH

Michael sitting at the Basin Franconia Notch NH

Mom with her 3 babies at the Basin Franconia Notch NH

Just a few of our pictures from our recent summer outings!

Amy

Parenting Styles

I belong to a great group of twin moms that have been really helpful in dealing with different ways of parenting kids.  There are those with just twins and those like me with twins plus one.  There is even a mom with 2 sets of twins under 2, crazy I know!  There was a recent question posted to the group with an answer that made me think about my parenting styles.  As I have often written, I have had difficulty with getting my older son to sleep well.  I did a combination of CIO (cry it out), sitting and rubbing his back, changing his diaper, and finally giving him some milk.  The CIO worked great for getting him to fall asleep, and even then it was modified where I would let him cry, but after some time I would go in and rub his back and help him fall asleep.  So far he has been going to sleep without trouble, but has recently been waking in the middle of the night.  I started letting him cry, and my husband said "I thought we weren't just going to let him cry.  I thought we were doing the middle of the road".  I have to admit that at that point, I wasn't sure what we were doing with regards to his sleep.

So now I am thinking about my parenting styles in general.  Am I a believer in attachment parenting like I originally believed?  Do I just go with whatever anyone suggests?  Do I believe in the whole positive disciplining?  ETC!

When I think about the answer to what my parenting style is, I think about my social work class that wanted to know what my theoretical practice was.  The answer I came up with for the class and also for my parenting style is, I am eclectic on how I practice for my professional life and my job as a parent.  I believe that there are more than one way to deal with clients and also with children.  I also believe that within practicing one theory, you can also practice another.  I am learning by trial and error that each situation and each child may need a different approach.

I am not one that rushes to my child unless there is a serious need.  I try to let them figure things out for themselves.  When they go to bed or cry out in the middle of the night, I give them some time to soothe themselves and figure out how to calm down without my intervention.  I have found that with sleep sometimes they can get themselves back to sleep, but sometimes they need a diaper, some water, and a little TLC from mom.  They are only little for such a short time that if they need me to help them feel better, I want to be there for them.  If they are fighting with each other, I don't rush in and try to fix things, I try to let them figure things out, while I observe from the sidelines and intervene if needed.  If they are dong something that is a little scary for me, I try to let them do it with me keeping an eye on them to keep them safe.

I have plenty of times that I feel guilty about my parenting, feel like I am not a good parent, question my beliefs, and more, but then when I watch my children and think about how they act and what they can do, I get more confident in my skills as a parent.  I guess these are normal feelings.  At least I hope that they are.  I have great kids that are growing and gaining skills every day.  I love watching them change and learn new things.  I love that I am the type of parent that allows my children to learn and explore.  But what I love most is that I have a support system of other twins moms and most importantly the support of my husband to help me through the most difficult, yet the most amazing job that I have ever had and will ever have!