7 Quick Takes, Vol. 23: Babies, Football, and Christmas Music

--- 1 ---

Whew! It's been quite a week around here. I really can't think of why - I guess life is just catching up with us? At some point, I suppose it was bound to. We're all still doing well - just really, really, really tired. Tired is the name of the game, it seems. As my dad loves to say, "tell the truth and shame the devil". If you know someone who's always well-rested, don't you wonder why? It seems like they should be doing more, trying harder. It can't possibly be that they just have things so well managed that they happen to get 8 hours of sleep consistently. Nah, that couldn't possibly be it! Right? Anyway. We're tired. All four of us. Well, I can't speak for Emily and Erin per se, but since they're snoozing away at the moment, I'd feel fairly safe saying they're tired too.

--- 2 ---

I had a moment today where I could feel my childless self staring at me in indignation. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could feel everyone in the store staring at me today as we walked through WinCo. I don't know what was so different about today. We waited until a bit later than normal to head to the store, and we don't normally go on Thursdays, but since Emily and Erin have no idea about the days of the week, that last bit shouldn't matter. Plus, they nap well in their carseats, so it didn't seem like too much of a gamble to expect them to sleep in the cart. Fast forward 45 minutes, however, and I was balancing a fussing Erin on my hip while pushing Emily and the groceries with my other hand. I got the bright idea to put her in the sling. We couldn't get it to work, but she seemed happy with me holding her, so I just kept on shopping. Fast forward another ten minutes, and I was that mom with two wailing kiddos, unloading her cart one-handed and picking up toys as Emily chucked them on the floor in protest. "You always said you'd leave the store if the kids started crying," Pre-child Self sniffed righteously. "Do you have any idea how stupid that would be at this point?" I snapped back. "There are only so many hours in the day. It'd take longer to bail than to just keep going!" Predictably, as soon as we left the store, both girls stopped fussing/crying and were calm and happy on the way home. I guess maybe the part Pre-child Self missed is that we mamas know when something's actually wrong and when the wee ones are just expressing what I like to call GLD (General Life Dissatisfaction). I maintain, however, that there's a big difference between a misbehaving toddler and a fussy baby. Watch for me to eat those words here in another year!

--- 3 ---

I'm getting really excited for Advent. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I'm going to be running a series of ideas for "Advent Acts of Kindness". Since the idea of Advent is to prepare the way for Jesus, what better way to do this than to deliberately and consciously act each day as He wants us to act? I want to start this as a tradition while Emily and Erin are still young, so that they can learn to appreciate Advent rather than just look forward to Christmas. My fellow #CathSorority bloggers have helped me come up with some awesome ideas, and I'm really excited to share them with you! We're also going to do an Advent wreath (I ordered this kid-friendly one) which I'm pretty excited about as well. I know Emily and Erin are way too young to really understand what we're doing, but I figure we can have pictures of everything (plus a year of practice!).

--- 4 ---

My Ducks won't be going to the National Championship. In fact, they're not even going to the Rose Bowl, because they didn't make it to the Pac-12 Championship game tomorrow. I'm disappointed, sure. But here's the thing. I'm not disappointed in them. They played well. They did their best. It's easy to look at what could have been and say that this season was a failure, but that belies the fact that the Ducks won all but one of their games this season, most by incredibly huge margins. So there you have it. I love my Ducks, and you're not a failure. I'm proud to be a Duck fan!

--- 5 ---

While my Ducks didn't finish the season undefeated, it just so happens that Notre Dame did! I'm pretty excited about this. Catholic schools represent! It doesn't hurt that I happened to attend Notre Dame's West Coast sister, University of Portland, also a Holy Cross institution, for my freshman year of college. I think I need to get a Notre Dame sweatshirt to go with my well-loved UP hoodie. Is it weird that I still love college sweatshirts? I say no, given that we wear sweatshirts 9 months out of the year here. What do you think?

--- 6 ---

Other than our noisy trip to the grocery store, Emily and Erin are doing great! They are both rolling over easily now. Emily has been rolling for at least a month now, and Erin just got good at it this week. Both girls are very vocal, and they will have little "conversations" sometimes where they take turns cooing and squealing. So cute! They love to smile at people and will even smile at new faces if they're in the right mood. Emily has two teeth now, and while I haven't felt it yet, I can see a white spot in the middle of Erin's bottom gum, so I think she'll have one soon too. She doesn't seem nearly as perturbed by this as Emily - I guess this is one of the ways they're different! Emily's hair is starting to come in all of a sudden, and Erin's just keeps getting longer. I really can't believe how much older they look than they did this summer. It's incredible how much they've changed and grown - and how much we've ALL learned!

Look how big they are!

--- 7 ---

Finally, I need suggestions. I'm in a bit of an identity crisis - in terms of Christmas music, of all things. In case I haven't repeated myself enough over the last few weeks, I love vintage Christmas, pretty much anything from the 1940s up to the early 1960s. I also love more modern things, though, and I like a lot of modern music. Here's the issue: I just can't find any modern Christmas music to love. I can't handle sad songs (there are a few Christmas songs that leave me weeping every time, even when I'm driving. I pray they never play them at work!) and I don't really appreciate covers of classic Christmas songs. Is there anything worth listening to? Some of my earliest and fondest memories of Christmas are listening to my mom's favorite Christmas albums while preparing for the season, and I want Emily and Erin to grow up with similar cozy memories. Anything I'm missing that I should be loving?


Well, that's all for this week! I hope you all have a great weekend, filled with Advent activities, football, Christmas prep, and a little relaxation too! For all of you taking final exams this week, prayers for your success!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Finding beauty in the midst of chaos

Hey everyone! I'm back. I took an unannounced, unplanned, holiday hiatus from blogging. This week has been a bit on the . . . crazy side. Since we're really just gearing up for the holidays, I suppose it's a taste of things to come. I'm really hoping to put the brakes on over the next few days, however, so that we can actually enjoy Advent and the Christmas season.
As I've said before, I have a thing for the vintage, midcentury-style Christmas. To me, this means a fun, memorable celebration with family and friends, with a focus on Jesus - the reason for the season. Plenty of photo-worthy moments, lovely Christmas cards, and an overall warm, cozy glow. It also means that the meaning is found in the memories made, rather than the gifts received or the amount of money spent. You can't have it all or do it all. It's just not possible.
Or maybe it is. If you pick and choose what's important to you and make a plan, you can focus on crafting a season of wonderful memories to cherish for a lifetime. You won't be left wishing that you'd watched your favorite Christmas movie as a family or reached out to the less fortunate in a meaningful way. But unless you talk over what's important beforehand, this can be difficult to pull off.
I wish I could say I came up with the idea of planning out the holidays myself, but I first read about this idea over at Simple Mom. I highly recommend checking out all her posts on preparing your holiday season! It can be overwhelming to think about the holidays as a whole, to say the least, but just like anything else, a little forethought and planning can go a long way. Planning doesn't have to ruin the spontaneity, either - if it seems like the perfect night to pop popcorn, drink cocoa, and listen to Christmas music, it probably is. Just go with it. (Planning may, however, ruin the "tradition" of frantically wrapping gifts while watching midnight Mass from the Vatican - or am I the only one who does that and wishes they were just enjoying the Mass?!)
I have to be honest and say that we don't really have a lot of holiday traditions. We've talked about starting some this year, now that we are a family of four. Up until now, we've mostly just spent time with our families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We have breakfast with my parents and dinner with Dan's family. This year, however, my brother and his new wife will be coming for Christmas, so things will be a little different. I'm not sure exactly how yet. We usually go to Mass on Christmas Eve, but this year that's past Emily and Erin's bedtime, so we will only go if there's a children's Mass earlier in the afternoon.
We also plan to start a tradition of having St. Nicholas pay a visit to our house on his feast day, Dec. 6th. I'm sure he can add another stop! Around the same time, we set up our tree and decorate it, and we make a trip upriver to a store that sells nothing but Christmas items.
We're also planning on commemorating the Advent season with some "Advent Acts of Kindness". While I'm not planning to blog specifically about our experiences, I will be sharing a different idea with all of you each day in December up until Christmas Day. My fellow #CathSorority bloggers came up with a ton of great ideas for ways to remember the less fortunate during this time of reflection and preparation, and I'm really excited to start sharing them with you the end of this week! I'd love to hear any ideas you have as well - comment below or email me (andtwinsmakefour@gmail.com)!
So while it might sound strange, I'm gearing up to slow down for the next few weeks, and getting ready to make a few great memories instead of a gazillion blurry ones. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
What are your Christmas traditions? Do you plan your holiday season, or just take things as they come?

What I Wore Sunday, Vol. 4: Never underestimate jeans and a tee!

Tee, Target; jeans, 7 For All Mankind; boots (not shown), Target, earrings, Old Navy
Erin (left) and Emily's pajamas, Okie Dokie

After working through the weekend (and doing a little shopping on Friday morning) I didn't have a ton of energy to put together a gorgeous outfit for this morning. I planned to accessorize a little more than this, but that just wasn't how the morning worked out. As it turned out, I spent half of Mass in the restroom cleaning up and changing poor Emily anyway, so it's probably a good thing I wasn't wearing anything else to get in the way! I decided to post this anyway, because I think it's easy to dismiss jeans and a tee as weekend wear, and they can very easily turn into a pulled-together ensemble! So as a bonus for What I Wore Sunday, here's how:

As far as tees go, I have learned that styling is everything. If you're going to pull off the jeans-and-tee look successfully, four things have to happen. First, the tee has to fit well. It's taken some looking, but I've found a few that fit without looking too workout-ish or too sausage-y. Yep, I'm making up words again, but I know you all know what I mean!

Second, it's rare to find a plain crew-neck tee that can stand on its own. Sure, you can wear a scarf over it or pair it with a cute sweater, but if you want to just wear the tee, it has to have something special. V-necks are great with a tank top underneath for contrast and coverage, and scoopneck tees (like the one I'm wearing here) can either be paired with a tank top or left on their own. I am wearing a tank top under this one, but the neck is high enough that you can't see it. As a bonus, the neck of this tee is gathered, so it looks even more put together, no pun intended!

Third, the jeans have to be a darker wash so they look a little dressier. Mine here are starting to fade out, at least in the part you see in the top picture, but overall they are still on the dark side. In jeans, that's a good thing!

Number four. It probably goes without saying, but if you're wanting to look pulled together, don't finish your outfit with running shoes! I love running shoes, don't get me wrong, and I definitely wear them with jeans, but not to church. Unless that's the look you're going for, try cute flats or boots with your jeans and tee. I was wearing my boots from last week's post today because it was cold - I even had red boot socks to match my tee - but I also have some flats that would have worked in warmer weather.

If you've followed these four rules, you can confidently wear jeans and a tee as an outfit! You can add some earrings (be bold - this is where those "statement" earrings come in handy!) or a scarf that complements the color of the tee, and you can definitely wear cute shoes, though very dressy shoes will look odd. You can also have fun with different hairstyles, since your outfit will be relatively simple. Above all, it's better to cover your body with clothing and get where you're going than to stay home because you're worried about how you look - especially when we're talking Sunday Mass!

Head on over to Fine Linen and Purple to see what the other ladies wore to church this week!

I had to add this one, since Emily finally decided to look at the camera! 

Make it Count Monday: Week 4

Hey everybody! Happy Monday! I really can't believe it's Thanksgiving already, but I'm excited. I love food and being thankful, so Thanksgiving and I are a good match.

This past week was... difficult. It started with a very fussy day for Emily, the first time all my soothing tricks had failed in months. The next morning, I was feeling inside Emily's mouth and noticed a tooth! She was much happier as soon as I found it, so I decided that was why she'd been so fussy. Both girls were in something of a sleep regression for the rest of the week, however, and I'm not sure if I can blame that on teething or just periodic sleep disturbances. On Saturday, I found out that our dog, Rufus, who lived with my parents because of the girls, was very ill, and on Sunday evening, he died in his sleep. All of this combined, I feel like surviving last week was an achievement, never mind meeting any specific goals. Reading over my post from last week, though, I think I may have done better than I remember.

Motivation:

I did go to the grocery store this past week, and I tried to stick to my list and not buy anything too impulsive. I picked out a few different types of meat for various meals we like, and planned some meatless meals to add into the mix. I tried to buy enough of the things we tend to run out of (milk, bread, coffee creamer) that I didn't have to run to the store during the week, since that always seems to mean buying more than just the thing or two we're out of. I also came up with a plan for the inevitable midweek grocery store runs, since I don't ever seem to be able to get through the week without one.

I also sat down and searched for homemade Christmas gift ideas on Pinterest, and I made a list of gift recipients and then wrote down some ideas above the list so I can try and match up names with gifts. I found a few things that can be made in bulk, like aftershave, vanilla extract, infused vodka, bath salts, and hot cocoa mix. These strike me as good gifts because all you need is the ingredients and some sort of packaging. There is a store here that sells glass jars, and the Dollar Tree can be a great source for inexpensive containers. Best of all, after tweeting a request for homemade gift ideas for men, I found a list of links that had all sorts of ideas. I really think some of them could work, though I need to go back and read through the components to make sure they won't break the budget (homemade does not always equal affordable, unfortunately!)

Direction:

This week, I'm going to focus on the budget and try to get something down on paper with all of our expenses. In one of my vintage home economics textbooks, I found a great description of a budget as being "telling your money where to go". The money is going to be spent anyway, so I just need to figure out how much and to whom. Then we can look for places to cut back. I need to get a Christmas budget figured out soon so I can get supplies for making gifts before I run out of time! We're also toying with the idea of using cash for expenses so we don't overspend in the "gray" areas, like food and entertainment.

As a secondary goal, we're both going to work on eating more fruit and vegetables throughout the day this week. I came up with an idea for a race to see who can eat 5 servings first, Dan or me. I think it'd be fun to have a game board of sorts to track our progress. This could be a cool app - if only I knew more about programming! I do love veggies and fruit, but they aren't always the easiest snack to grab, so I miss opportunities throughout the day to eat more. I do usually get at least three, but five or more would be better. Last night, I had frozen yogurt with mango and kiwi and it was awesome. Two servings of fruit, and the whole half gallon cost less than a trip to the fro-yo shop! I figure since we both eat at home the majority of the time, it should be easy to keep track, and by the time the girls notice what we eat, we should both be eating five servings or more a day without a problem.

One last goal for the week is to make sure I get some blogging in with the holidays and all! I did pretty well last week, and I have to say I am extremely flattered that my Thursday link-up made it into Megan's goals for this week! Thanks, Megan!

Accountability:

I have a form for the budget already printed out, so I just need to set aside some time to figure out all the amounts for the blanks on the forms. I will try to get that done while the girls are napping tomorrow. I am going to fill out the Christmas budget form I talked about last week, and probably get some of the supplies this week before the craft store gets really busy. Having Dan in on the fruits and vegetables aspect will be helpful, because we can keep each other accountable. Ten points for marriage!

I'm linking up with Megan at Positively (Im)perfect for Make it Count Mondays! Head on over and read her goals for the week, and then check out the other posts! Don't forget to leave an encouraging comment!

What I Wore Sunday, Vol. 3: Boots, babes and layers!

Cardigan, Target; scarf, gift shop in Sunriver; top, Style & Co. (thrifted); jeans, Hudson (thrifted); boots, Target

Dressing up in the Oregon winter can be a challenge! While it doesn't get as cold here as it does in some parts of the country, it is wet enough that you still need to dress warmly to be comfortable outside. Then, once you arrive at your destination, you need to be able to adapt to the (almost always) overheated interior. My outfit today fits the bill perfectly! I have an orange short-sleeved top with a  dark teal cardigan layered over it (and a plain white cami under the top), some dressy jeans, one of my favorite scarves, and my new cowboy boots. My dad got me the cardigan last year when I was pregnant so I would have something dressy to accommodate my growing belly. I got a fair amount of mileage out of it as a "maternity" top (it's just a regular sweater) and I love that I can still wear it postpartum and be comfy and cute! 

The shirt I picked up at St. Vincent de Paul (along with this sweater and a few other steals!), and it would be cute standing on its own, but it works really well under the cardigan. It's a couple of sizes larger than I'd normally buy, but I tried it on because I loved the color and style. It fits well in the shoulders while having a flowy look to it that I really like. The jeans are some of my favorites. Hudson does a great job of styling petite jeans, so if you can get your hands on some at a thrift shop (or you want to splurge) and you're on the shorter side, these are worth trying! Dark jeans can definitely be dressed up, and for rainy weather, they are a very practical choice. The scarf is one I picked up a couple of years ago on a trip to Sunriver, a resort town in central Oregon, while we were browsing in an import shop. I bought it because it literally goes with everything - there are so many colors you can always find a match! It seems to work particularly well with this cardigan and top, though, so I think this might be a lasting combo.

Last but not least, the boots! I really love these. Dan bought them for me a few weeks ago when we were out doing some shopping. I've become a bit boot-obsessed over the last few months, but I haven't had much luck finding any that were cute and comfy while still being within our budget. These, from Target, definitely fit the bill! They are tall, but not too tall, and they have the traditional styling without going overboard. I'm not quite bold enough to wear the boots with my jeans tucked in - maybe next week - but they work with the jeans over the top too.

Can you tell I love these?!

For fun, I thought I'd throw in a picture of what we all wore this week - Emily and Erin are wearing matching sleepers from Carter's with little elephants all over and one big elephant and "I (heart) Mommy" on the left. Love, love, love! I can't believe how tall they are getting. They are hugging each other spontaneously - I swear I didn't orchestrate that! These little loves will be 5 months old tomorrow...where does the time go??

I'm linking up with Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday. Don't forget to head over and check out the other ladies' lovely outfits when you're done reading!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 22: Teeth, sleep, and other such things

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As you may have gathered from the title, Emily has her first tooth! Well, it's just poking through the surface, but it's definitely there. She is much happier now that it's finally showing. I can relate. It's just like pregnancy - you feel so much better by the time you finally start showing!

--- 2 ---

As a result of the teething, we haven't gotten a whole lot of sleep this week. I'm not sure the teething is entirely to blame, however, since Dan and I haven't done such a good job of making sure that we keep a consistent routine in the evenings. We really need to work on this if we ever want to be less tired, I'm thinking!

--- 3 ---

One year ago yesterday, we saw our baby girls for the very first time! On the screen, they looked like fuzzy gray gummy bears. I wrote a retrospective on our experience here.

--- 4 ---

Thanksgiving is next week, which means it's naturally time to start thinking about Christmas presents. Hey, they may not be the reason for the season, but they certainly have a way of making it hard to remember the reason when it comes to the last minute! My strategy this year is to make a list of what I'm making, a list of what to buy, and a list of when to get it done. As soon as it's ready, I'll snap a picture and wrap it up. We'll see how that goes in reality, but it sure sounds nice in theory, doesn't it?

--- 5 ---

Speaking of presents, I'm thinking Pinterest will either make or break this year. And by this, I mean there are so many fabulous ideas to choose from that I might still be trying to choose my favorites on December 20th. So many fabulous ideas...
I really need to start setting a timer when I get on Pinterest. Just sayin'.
Speaking of Pinterest - did you know there's a search function? Obviously I didn't, because I wouldn't be blogging about it otherwise. Finally, I understand how people actually use the site to find what they were looking for, instead of sifting through pages upon pages of cute outfits and witty quotes juxtaposed with smiling midcentury housewives.

--- 6 ---

Emily and Erin will be 5 months old on Monday! Can you believe it? I sure can't! I can't believe how big they are getting...

Erin (L) and Emily (R), about 4 weeks old

Emily (L) and Erin (R), 21.5 weeks old

--- 7 ---

My baby girls are so adorable. Did I mention I love, love, love them? Here they are chatting with each other while I eat my cereal and drink my coffee:

That's all for this week - I hope you all have a fun and fantastic weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Thoroughly Thankful Thursday, Week 7: It's the Holiday Season

Happy Thursday, all! In case you've been hiding under a rock, perhaps deliberately, for the past few weeks, the holidays are upon us. Thanksgiving is next week, and while some stick firmly to the old tradition of waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to start Christmas preparations - well, let's just say I'm not one of those people.

My taste in Christmas is like my taste in cookbooks - comfortably vintage. I love the images of 1940s and 1950s families kneeling reverently together in church pews, gathered around tastefully decorated Christmas trees in front of the fireplace, and eating Christmas dinner. To me, these idealized pictures represent the perfect marriage of secular and religious traditions. I've heard it said that the 1950s were the golden age of Catholicism in America, and though I'd like to think we're headed towards another, even better one, I can't really argue there. Religion was just an accepted part of day-to-day life, and being Catholic was becoming a more acceptable part of that. Christmas, therefore, was still undeniably a religious holiday, even as the secular elements were becoming more well-defined.

Wondering what all this has to do with thankfulness? Well, this week, I am first and foremost grateful for the opportunity to build Christmas traditions as a family. As Catholic Americans, we have a wide variety of traditions to incorporate and cultivate into our holiday season. While some of these might seem better saved until the girls are old enough to understand, I figure that we can take pictures of them now (and practice to get them just right!) to preserve the memories for years to come. Remembering the true reason for Christmas is foremost in our celebration, and we attend Mass on Christmas Eve and sometimes on Christmas morning as well. We also mark the tradition of Advent as preparation for the celebration of Christ's birth, and the Twelve Days of Christmas leading up to Epiphany, when the three wise men reached the manger where the infant Christ lay. I won't go into more detail about Christmas traditions today, because I am planning a longer post for later, but feel free to share your traditions in the comments along with what you're thankful for!

I'm also very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. I am at a loss as to why the need to shop has so overtaken Thanksgiving day itself. Stores are opening for Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving Day now, leaving employees just a few hours to celebrate with their families. While there will always be those who need to work on holidays (doctors, nurses, firemen, police officers), the majority of establishments could be closed to observe most or all of the holiday. Dan has worked on Thanksgiving Day in the past, and I am very thankful that both of us have the day to spend with Emily and Erin and our families this year. Let's pray that this is the case for more families next year, and we can look back on this as a foolish phase!

Other things I am thankful for this week:

1. God's love, mercy, and all the blessings in our lives, including food, shelter, and warm clothes that fit.

2. The love, support, and companionship of marriage, and the ability to grow continually within marriage to better meet each other's needs.

3. My loving husband.

4. Our beautiful baby daughters, who continue to amaze each day as they grow and learn.

5. The loving support of our family and friends.

6. Those who have served and those who are serving our country, especially those who sacrificed life and limb for the freedoms we so often take for granted.

7. Nice, hot cups of coffee with yummy vanilla creamer.

8. Gainful employment for both Dan and me.

9. A few last sunny fall days.

10. Hot showers (even if I don't get one every day!)

That's my list - what are you thankful for this week? Share below in the comments or write a post of your own for the link-up!