i'm not dead

hey. yes- i live. barely. dear God.

we're finally coming out on the other side of 2 very sick toddlers (ear infections, a virus, throwing up, the craps, diaper rash...etc etc) + a sick me (virus courtesy of my offspring & ANOTHER inner ear infection. it's been over a week & i'm still dizzy & lightheaded....help me universe.)

i should also mention that we've been potty training. it's going amazingly well. as in, i'm actually shocked that alex has only crapped on the floor once & had a number of pee pee accidents that i can count on 1 hand. bravo child.

we're in underwear all day (minus naps, bedtime & car rides) & we go through a lot of M&M's (you go pee/poop you get an m&m. freaking sweet.) i'm still scared to stick her in undies for trips to the store so i haven't ventured there yet. the thought of herding both of them into the bathroom & making sure they don't contract....something, is terrifying.

regardless, high five to my first born. & congrats for owning more pairs of underwear than i.

other than keeping my head above water, life is life. nothing new or exciting.
- i'm working on getting pictures of all the girl's clothing so the shop should be up within the next week.
- i completed 2 Pinterest crafts. i literally shook my own hand. i'll post pics later.
- the husband & i got a random date night squeezed in this past weekend. a date night that included 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a king sized bed...for free. holymotherofGod.
- snow white & the huntsman- dudes, go see it. right now.
- i wore these leggings & got mixed reviews on instagram:

what say you blog readers? (i love them so hard. i can't help myself.)
- i mentioned i was dizzy as hell right? omg. it sucks. do people live like this?!
- i really want to give myself bangs but i chicken out every time. no balls.

& now i'll spam you with a bunch of old pictures that i finally uploaded. time management- i have none.

happy monday.

what we've been up to via instagram

as much as i'd love to drag my camera everywhere, my hands are usually full of juice cups, dirty diapers & stuffed animals that simply HAD TO COME WITH US ON THIS TRIP TO TARGET!!!
so my phone wins. instagram forever. (if you want to follow me i'm @lookatthebirds) even you androiders can now get in on the action.

this past weekend alex resumed swim classes & i decided to make it a morning of just her & i. i sent brynn off with the husband to do their own thing.
we started at the pool & then hit up the mall for some Gap & frozen yogurt action:



by the way- i am now obsessed with tutti frutti. i'm trying to figure out how to justify going on a daily basis.

on the way home she informed me that "mommy. i had fun today." damn straight. ::huge mom smile::

sunday was a chill day- the weather was insanely awesome so after church we ran them ragged outside so they'd nap royally (brynn complied, alex resisted). then we indulged in fish tacos, french fries & chicken strips at a local eatery. we topped it off with ice cream & headed home to bath the 2 stickiest girls in existence.



after the household minors were tucked into bed we high fived ourselves for an awesome weekend & i happily ignored Jillian calling to me from the dvd player. sunday is a day of rest people.

back to the weekly grind yesterday, along with 90+ degree weather. i so badly wanted to skip Jillian once again- but i didn't.
this diet thing isn't half bad. i feel better & i'm still crazy shocked over the amount of food that i can fill up on.
i'm by no means free from temptation- warm bread & chocolate both still whisper downright filthy things in my ear- but i tune them out.

one of the best things i've discoverd is no cook refrigerator oatmeal:



you make it the night before by mixing greek yogurt, milk, rolled oats, chia seeds & various fruits. you give it a stir & pop it in the fridge.
the next morning it's nice & thick & delish. i top it with a bit more fruit or shredded coconut & you've got a healthy breakfast that literally fills you up.

i've been playing around with different yogurt & fruit flavors & i think my fav so far has been Cocnut Mango. insaaaane.

& that about wraps it up.
random weather, daily life, watching my girls turn into little persons, upcoming photoshoots (score), planning for summer- the ususal:



so you. what have you been up to?

& would anyone be interested in a Link Up? if so- any ideas? we could do a "this week in instagram" link up or a "my kids are awesome" link up or etc etc. let me know!

our weekend

this past weekend was pretty kick ass. mainly because we finally had the opp to take our children out to play in the snow.

that's right. it's March in New England & this was, what? the 2nd snowfall? 3rd? if that?
insane.

i'm not complaining- per say- but come on. kids love snow. almost as much as kids love peeing on the floor & smearing cream cheese on the couch.

...or maybe that's just my kids. but whatever.

fun was had by all. the husband & i made a sick snow slide that we gleefully helped shoved our children down. face first. butt first. sideways. all ways.

bad ass parenting right here.

thanks to my iPhone- the outside playtime was documented for your viewing pleasure.






what'd i tell you? fun!

we topped off the weekend with church on Sunday & a trip to Starbucks for "yoyyypops".
i attempted to explain cakepops , but to no avail.

"yoyyypops!"
"actually these are cake pops. like lollipops, but cake- you know?
"...pupcakes?" (kid can't say cup cakes yet)
"sort of- like cupcakes ona stick...but round. get it?"
"...YOYYYPOPS!"

you got it kid.



how was your weekend?

because you care

here are a list of things i/we accomplished this past week/end:

- rented out our condo. this is big. paying 2 mortgages + paying for childcare is so very painful.
- got our taxes done. when our tax guy gave us our return amount we literally couldn't speak. & then we started grinning like fools. we made out like bandits. apparently paying said 2 mortgages & working 60 & 45 hours per week pays off.
- went to Wahlburgers. yeah that's right- the burger joint created by the Wahlberg brothers. we met up with friends & i was introduced to sweet potato tater tots & i am now trying to figure out how to justify driving an hour for more. it was way better than i expected. however Mark was not in attendance. pity.
- tried my hand at some Canon gear. i know, terrible right? i'm a Nikon lover- i've made it no secret. but said friends (ment'd above) shoot Canon & they have enough gear to make any Canon fan green with envy. so i tried it out...& it was so weird. awkward. all of those things i was expecting. i had a hard time wrapping my head (& hands) around how things worked. so i'm pretty sure i'll be sticking with Nikon forever. and ever.
- used the Shark Steam Mop for the 1st time. dear Lord- it's rather life changing. my floors...they sparkle with clean. & the only thing my floors usually sparkle with is glitter- so this is a big deal. i had so much fun steaming that i did the floors twice. 2 times. as in, i did work more than once. what is wrong with me?
- we bought a new couch. finally. after 7+ years. ours has come in contact with enough vomit, poop, pee, spills, crumbs...everything you can think of, that it's just not ok. plus, it's a huge sectional & we live in a tiny house with 2 toddlers. see? very needed. fare thee well old couch, you've served us well.
- i made enough cookie dough to feed a small army. it's true. 2 double batches of both chocolate chip & lofthouse style sugar cookies. all of the dough is currently sitting in my fridge because apparently it needs to "age" or what not. but tonight it's on. because some poor woman in another state is waiting, with baited breath no doubt, on cookies that i promised to send her via a cookie exchange. i still haven't got the cookies i was promised either, but i'm going to assume my sender procrastinated much like myself.
- i took lots of pictures. no i didn't. in fact, i haven't picked up my camera for personal use in forever. i feel uninspired & tired & guilty & blah. i think it's a combination of this wedding i'm editing & the crappy weather. perhaps if this was the only thing i had to do...but alas.
- realized i desperately need to update this blog header. but didn't. but i will. eventually.

i'm sure there's more- but things are already fuzzy because, hello- it's monday.
but i aim to get back to my almost daily posting with some pictures soon. because i like that better & you probably do too.

oh this weekend

one of my dearest friends is getting married in sept.

so what comes before a wedding? a bridal shower. this weekend. in NY. 7 hours from where we reside.

ah! i'm stoked to go- but let me mention that i'm dragging the family along & i'm baking her cake, cupcakes & various other dessert.

i am COUNTING on the husband to handle the girls for me. straight up take them off my hands for 2 days. i'm going to be covered in sugar, flour & butter. they cannot be near me. as much as i love them.

i'm packing like a mad woman & checking off my list to make sure i have everything.

diapers
wipes
sugar
piping bags
kithen scale
eggs
extra clothing
toothpaste
etc etc etc.

see how random?
we'll be driving through the night (to allow for sleeping bebes) and arriving bright & early. like 2am early.

after i get eveyone back to sleep & i'll be headed into the kitchen to start heating up the house.
in the middle of a heat wave.
i suck.
but people like cake.
so that's it then.

i'm off. i have to work. leave early from said work. go to an appt. go home. pack. double check my list. load people in the car. beg the husband to stop at McDonald's. sleep. drool. tell the husband to slow down.

i'm tired already. but super stoked.
have a fabulous weekend!

p.s. and because posts are boring without photos- here's a few macros from last weekend:







ok- NOW have a great weekend!

whirlwind weekend

what. a. weekend.

it was jam packed with awesome.
from a saturday at home (just the girls & i), to father's day @ the Roger William's Zoo, to Rita's, to an awesome GTG in Boston on Monday- so much fun.

i'll break it down for you though- let's focus on the GTG from Monday (which'll give me another day to finish editing the Zoo pics)

thanks to the internet i've met some pretty awesome people in my lifetime.

back in the day, i also met some less than stellar peeps guys who probably had my parents praying that they wouldn't have to put my face on a "Have You Seen This Girl?" poster (p.s. not every guy in a band is hot. and most of them don't have jobs or cars.
but that's neither here not there. )


anyway- back to the awesome people part. 4 years ago, while struggling to get pregnant i found myself relating to a group of women on thebump.com.

all of us barren. all of us bitter. all of us in need of something to take our minds off of what we could not have. so we banded together & became fast friends.

since that time the majority of us have had the babies we craved & then some. also, instead of drifting apart we've become even closer. i think it has to do with the fact that we're all very, very real.

real. honest. blunt. logical. loyal. loving. bitchy. snarky. hilarious. ridiculously good looking. good at making cute babies. obsessed with bacon.

to sum it up: all of the above qualities put together = super powers. and to have super powers you have to be a super hero woman. and to be a super woman you have to be really hot. and have great boobs.

so yeah. we kick ass. and 1x per year we get together for an epic B-town time.
this year we dragged our lovely littles (and one husband) to the Children's Museum in Boston.

one of us had twin girls & a hand out of commision. another had a toddler melting down + a squirmy bebe (um, that would be me). another, a child hell bent on escaping. and etc etc,

but being awesome, we made it work.
- while i toted alex back & forth to the bathroom (amidst her melt down), my ladies swooped in & took care of brynn.
- i changed several poopy diapers- and some of them didn't belong to my girls.
- noses were wipes. faces were washed.
- snacks were shared & fights over grapes & goldfish ensued.
- homemade french macarons with nutella filling induced comas were had (you're welcome)
- lunch @ Flour was purchase & consumed & shared.
- pictures were taken (mamarazzi style).
- little girls shrieked, played, hit, hugged, giggled, fell, cried, helped, shared, stole- the works.

it was amazing. and tiring. and a little sticky- but mostly amazing.
and we have forever proof & memories in the way of pictures.
enjoy:



this was the best group shot.





perhaps the children..?



FAIL! (lol @ brynn)






mamma love time.



the one brave dad (he thinks we're all "weirdos" because we're interwebz friends. psha)








this cup made it's rounds. it holds the spit of pretty much every little girl in attendance.



nemo goes everywhere








tis' not a cage...but i can dream. wait, what?!



alex did not want to leave the bathroom. kid level sinks = euphoria.




the mamarazzis.

fin. (you can see all the fun on my flickr page)

seriously the best day ever. the count down begins for next year's epic gathering. so. much. estrogen. ha!

oh, you want to see those french macarons i mentioned? (the recipe'll be up in my food blog pronto)




get in my bellah.


via Instagram

what a way to end the day.