{exhaustion}

around here...

we. are. EXHAUSTED.

sleep comes in increments of no more than 2 hours

tantrums come in increments of 15 minutes

never in our lives have we been more tired

and it is really starting to catch up with us

the babies are going to be 6 months old in a few weeks 

i really thought we would be doing better by this time

but, with the lack of sleep, things are 

pretty shabby around here.

...

::on a good day::

the babies wake up to nurse at the same time(s):

3am & 5am instead of every other hour

through the night.

judah sleeps in his own bed until 5am

we all get to sleep until 7am

judah gets dressed

andrew or i gets to take a shower

judah does not escape from the house

we eat

andrew & i get some work done

andrew & i have a conversation

{unrelated to kids}

everyone {under 2} is in bed before 10pm

...

on most days none of those things happen :)

...

most days andrew and i look at each other from across the room

and say, "are you freakin' kidding me?"

 this whole experience has definitely brought us closer together

raising 3 under 3 is the hardest thing we have ever done

and we are doing it together.

if we all come out of this year alive, it will

be one of the greatest achievements of our lives.

no lie.

for all the other parents of twins out there:

I. LOVE. YOU.

&

someday we will all look back on

this time and smile...and

probably laugh

.hysterically.

and now i am going to try & steal some sleep.

goodnight!

{Babies First Bites}

We started feeding our mini duo some homemade purees this past week

They are still nursing full time, but

have recently started to be  very  interested in 

what everyone else is eating :)

The first thing they tried was some

sweet, ice cold watermelon that Andrew, Judah

and I were enjoying on a hot day.

They LOVED sucking on a piece of it

and lots of screaming resulted when the

piece was taken away.

I got to work making some simple, single

food purees : bananas, carrots, yellow squash

avocado and sweet potatoes

Ryder loves bananas

Will adores carrots

Once they are a little over 6 months I will start

trying some mixes and fun baby food recipes,

which I will share on here for anyone that might

 be starting their own adventure in homemade

baby food making :)

I have been doing lots of research on baby foods and
what are the best,most nutritious choices.

Avocado has been by far the most highly recommended.
Avocados are one of natures perfect foods--
filled with vitamins, minerals and rich in good fats!

Judah had some food allergies early on, so we are being

cautious in what we introduce--holding off on grains

until 9 months of age, as well as any kind of dairy.

When we do introduce grains we will start with Quinoa

{I could go on and on about Quinoa, but I will save it for another day :) }

And now for the cute part of this post---the babies eating

some carrots for the first time:

{Will wondering what I am about to feed them}

 {Trying to decide how he feels about the carrots!} 

{Notice his 1 blue eye & one 1/2 blue 1/2 brown eye!}

{Ryder was very happy with the carrots!}

{Judah had just burst into the room & Ryder was immediately captivated by his big bro's

crazy antics and done eating...}

{My Number One}

::Judah Jay Jacmel::

My first baby

My oldest son

The one who made me "mom"

2.5 years old at the end of this month

Full of curiosity

Full of spirit

Lives life boldly

LOVES: 

.anything with wheels.

.his baby brothers.

.being just like daddy.

.looking for king fishers.

.being outside every minute of the day.

.helping mama make breakfast.

.going to the farm.

.doing puzzles.

.reading with daddy.

.playing his guitar.

Wants to be a cowboy when he grows up..."my gonna be a cowboy, mama!"

Thinks his auntie Heidi lives in an airplane & flies by every day.

Asks for pancakes every morning.

Looks for king fishers wherever he goes.

Escapes from the house to look at the Subarau 10X a day.

Melts my heart when he says, "my love you too."

Makes our life full of adventure.

{Judah means "praise"... & this little boy loves life so deeply and tastes it so fully that his name could not be more perfect for him}

We are so thankful for the sweet little blessing that he is in our life. Although the past 5 months have been some of the most difficult for him and the tantrums have been plentiful, his sweet little spirit always shines through and makes life so very sweet.

We love you, Judah Jay!

{these are the days}

These are the days of...

Sleepless nights.

Sweet Snuggles.

An eternally messy house.

Fuzzy baby heads.

Feeling overwhelmed.

Mountains of laundry.

Lots of giggles.

Many tantrums.

Finger painting at 8am.

Missing our freedom.

Being a family.

Being broke.

Being thankful.

Dreaming about our future...


These are days I don't want to forget. These are the days I want to soak up and live in every moment.


I have had the lyrics of a song stuck in my head this week, " this is your life are you who you want to be?" and I have been (in my constant state of grogginess) trying to answer that question.


There are so many days right now that I MISS the simpleness of just Andrew and I. I remember having quite dinners (before 9pm) and being able to spend time with friends and travel whenever we wanted. I also remember how badly I wanted kids. I remember wishing that the day I would become a mama would come quickly, I wished those {just the 2 of us} years away so often.


It is so sad to me that so much our lives is about wanting what we don't have and then looking back and wishing we had what we did  have. I want to truly enjoy my life NOW. I want to be thankful for my sassy toddler and his constant curiosity...and for my two sweet babes who want to be held constantly. I know I will look back on this stage of my life and long for it. When that happens I want to feel confident that I soaked it all in and LIVED in those moments. I know that there are so many ways I can grow and learn in the years to come, but right now I want to be satisfied with who I am and where I am in life.


Maybe most people already realize this, maybe they don't. I can only speak for myself and encourage others to stop and evaluate.


In many ways I am not who I want to be. I get down on myself so often and wish I could be a better mom, wife, friend, daughter, sister, ect. All I know for sure though, is that I am where I am supposed to be right now giving it my all.... and that should be enough.


Life is short. We don't know how many days we have left or what the future will bring. So, be who you want to be today. Love your life now.


{these are the days}

{A tale of three wee bums}

I never imagined that we would have 3 in diapers.

Three little booties needing coverage.

But, here we are.

The past 5 months we have changed many a diaper,

25-30 a day to be exact.

That's about 900 diapers a month, yo.

But, thank the heavens, magical things have been happening around here:

Judah has been going sans diaper (other than nap & nighttime) for one week!

and...

I have unburied my stash of cloth diapers for the doubles.

We have gone from 900 disposable diapers to none.

Sweet relief!

I hate disposables.

To me, they are inconvenient, gross, harmful to babies & the environment 

and so dang expensive.

I don't want to debate the pros and cons, but simply share why I love them

and encourage anyone who might be interested in the switch.

I know it is not possible for some people to do cloth & I have

gone through periods of not being able to because of having shared laundry and a landlord 

who would not allow us to wash them...so lame. One of many examples of

peoples misunderstanding of cloth diapers.

But, we have our own washer & dryer now and we are back in business :)

With Judah I was a devoted user of Best Bottoms Diapers--a locally made

brand designed by a Madison mom!

I still love them, but had to increase my "diaper stash" now that 

we have two baby booties to cover.

The stash now includes:

12 Best Bottom Covers

24  BB Hemp inserts

8 Bum Genius AIO (all-in-one)

3 Thirsties AIO

1 Bumpkins AIO

4 GroVia AIO

1 Imagine AIO

24 Organic Indian Prefolds

2 Bumkins Covers

4 Kawaii Covers

2 Imagine Covers

3 Flip Covers

2 Imagine Fitted Bamboo Diapers

We are awaiting most of our stash to still arrive, but are full fledged cloth diapering for one week now.

I will blog later about the different kinds and how they are working for us.

Best Bottoms are GREAT. The only issue I have had is some leaking overnight. So, I have done lots of research and I am going to experiment with some different options.

I made sure to stock up on plenty of All-In-One diapers to make it easier for grandparents or anyone watching the babies to change them. AIO's are just as quick as a disposable. The only disadvantage is that they are a little more expensive and take longer to dry after washing.

I estimated that using cloth for the next 2 years will save us (diapering twins) close to $2000!

Besides the money $aving some other things I love about cloth diapers are:

They are stinking CUTE--they come in

so many colors and patterns!

(photos some day)

It is EASY--these are not your grandma's

cloth diapers! it is just as easy as

slapping on a disposable.

It makes the earth HAPPY :)

(yes, you use water & electricity to wash them,

but I wash COLD and line dry so it is

very minimal. Much gentler on the planet than

a disposable that takes 500 years to decompose).

They are NON-TOXIC--disposables

contain 60+ toxins, including some

known human carcinogens. 

I PROMISE...it is not gross! Not any worse than changing a disposable

and having to smell the stench in the diaper genie for days...and

with either option your going to end up with a little

poo on your hands every know and then :/ yuck.

It is relaxing...maybe it is just me (most likely) but

there is just something about a clean mound

of cloth diapers that need to be folded,

stuffed and put away...

I have more cloth thoughts, but I'll save them for another day :)

{Life: Back on ::a:: track}

It has been over 2 months since I posted.

Life has been crazy, to say the least.

I'd like to say we are "back on track," but...

not so much.

We are on a track.

Which one, I am not sure of, but at least we are all back together again.

A quick review of the past few months:

Moved out of our apartment of two years and a neighborhood that we loved.

The kids and I moved up to Green Bay for the month of May as we waited to close on our house

and Andrew moved in with our friends to finish up the school year in Madison.

It was a very long month apart with many struggles and many many tantrums.

It was especially hard on Judah being away from Andrew, we are still

"recovering" from the stress of that separation.

We spent Mother's Day weekend in Madison. It was great. We stayed at a beautiful hotel in downtown Madison, overlooking the capital or "castle" as Judah calls it.

I photographed a beautiful wedding in Wausau and was apart from the babies for the very first time for more than a few hours. 

On May 31st we closed on our first house.

It has been such a great blessing to have our own home.

We are s-l-o-w-l-y unpacking and trying to find a new routine.

Andrew wrapped up the school year at the beginning of June and said goodbye to a great group of teachers and coworkers at Cherokee.

He has been full fledged farming since. 

And that is the short story :)

I have had SO many thoughts and ideas going through my head lately and wishing I could just get them down. I am excited to be back on my blog and get back to sharing those ideas :)

Here are a few that I am planning for the near future:

**Creating a non-toxic home on a budget**

**homemade baby food**

**updates on the babies and Judah**

**the farm**

**thoughts on faith**

I know most blogs have a "theme" but my brain is too bonkers to focus on one, so I am going to just keep on adding to the beauty with my miss mosh of thoughts, ideas and dreams.