Tis the Season!

Wow what a week it has been!  Last week started off with ANOTHER bout of what I think was the stomach flu!  That is TWICE in the last couple months.  Thank goodness I only threw up once this time and not every thirty minutes.  Then came Thanksgiving, our first in our new home!  It was so awesome having a house FULL of family!  The only bummer was that I didn't get ANY pictures of me and the boys.  I was cooking from 7-3 and then they napped.  It was crazy!  I did get this one picture of me and my 22 lb bird!  It was delicious... although I wasn't able to eat much that day since I was still recovering from the flu :-/

I made a giant plate of food and only was able to eat a 1/4 of it.  That is the bad news.  The goods news is that I was only to eat a 1/4 of a plate! I lost a pound over Thanksgiving.  Which brings me to more good/bad news...

Good news... When I was pregnant with my twins I gained 37 lbs. Since delivering, I breastfed, ran, started eating cleaner natural foods, and weight training three days a week I have now lost 47 pounds!!!  I am at an all time low (yes I am counting my flu weight loss, which I plan on maintaining!)!  My healthy weight which my body loves to stay at is 140.  That is a good healthy weight for a woman who is 5'6".  However I am getting leaner, more fit, stronger and so I am now at 136!  I am so happy about this!  I do not focus on scale weight generally and more on how my clothes fit, which my jeans are falling off of me now, but this is big!  I beat my 140!

The bad news... I'm CD36 with no period in sight! I'm sure I O'd somewhere in the 20's so I'm sure it will be hear soonish, but I don't really know.  Which means we are back to square one with the pregnitude.  I cannot believe I had a fluke normal 30 day cycle!  So random!  In the 2 1/2 years we were ttc I never had one!  I am just starting my third box, so technically we still have time for it to work. Anyways, here are my stats with Pregnitude...

Cycles post Breastfeeding

First- 35 days
Second- 44 days
Third- 48 days (started Pregnitude mid-cycle)

Fourth-30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fifth- 36 days and counting...

The boys are now 15 almost 16 months!  Its crazy!  They are so fun and getting busier by the minute!  They are both walking now, Maximus decided to show off and start walking on Thanksgiving day.  He knew he would have a lot of people cheering him on!  At their 15 month Check up Rocco weighed in at 25 lbs 12 oz and 31.5", Maximus was 24 lbs even and 32".  They have completely different builds.  They are both off of cows milk and are strictly drinking almond.  They love it... and so do their bums!  Rocco still has a little eczema spots which I am considering taking him to the dermatologist to get checked out.  I may try to see if it is wheat and take that out of his diet. 

They are in swim lessons once a week and have been for a few months.  They can now fall into the water from sitting on the side of the pool and roll over to float on their backs all by themselves!  The swim school is called water safe and it teaches babies survival if they fall into water.  It is so awesome, but hard to watch at the same time.  They cry, but they are learning important, life saving skills.  

As I was decorating the Christmas tree this year I was reflecting back to last year when I was decorating the tree wearing a baby in my ergo while one was in the bouncer asleep under the tree. This year the boys were tearing ornaments off the tree before I could put one on!  Lesson learned!  Our "toddler Christmas tree" is decorated  on the upper half!  My how they change in one year... its bitter/sweet!

ICLW

Hey everyone!  Happy ICLW... and Happy Thanksgiving!  A little about myself... I am a mother of 15 month old IVF miracle twins, literally they are miracles!  We were given a 1% chance of our IVF working after having ZERO fertilize.  I had 29 eggs retrieved and my husband had 100 million "great looking sperm" so they left them alone in the petri dishes.  The next morning I received a call from my RE... we had ZERO embryo's!  You have to imagine how devastated beyond words we were.  They preformed rescue ICSI right away (even though my eggs were now 24 hours old).  The odds were not in our favor.  We prayed and prayed.  God preformed the greatest miracle of all and blessed us with not one, but TWO babies!  Beyond all odds, we had our little miracles!

My pregnancy was amazing!  I loved being pregnant (and secretly wish I was again!).  I did yoga from week 6 to week 30 until I ended up on bed rest for a funneling cervix.  Again we prayed and prayed.  I kept my babies safe for 5 more weeks and delivered Rocco Gianni and Maximus Matteo on August 5 2011.

Life is crazy with twins... but I love it! I am a SAHM and Wife.  I breastfed them, made all of their baby food, and still refuse to give them sugar or anything processed.  I now experiment with more natural living and even make my own deodorant!  I may sound a little granola, but why alter what God has provided!

I hope you follow along!  Happy ICLW!

Amber Teething Necklaces

You may have been wondering what these necklaces are that my boys are wearing.  In most  of the pictures I post of my twinnies, you can see them!  They are Holistic Amber that helps with teething pain. The amber contains a chemical called Succinic Acid.  The Succinic Acid is released through the warmth of the skin and it is absorbed.  Amber is known for is anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties and has been used for hundreds of years, predominately in Europe, and comes from the Baltic.  The necklaces I bought were actually shipped from Lithuania and took about 3-4 weeks to get to my house.

The question is do they actually work?  It is hard to say.  Maximus is a terrible teether.  He was waking up crying at night for weeks and gets really fussy when cutting a tooth.  I do believe it has helped him, some.   Just like with anything, everyone is different.  What works for some may not work for others.  Rocco is a totally different teether.  You would never know he is cutting a tooth.  He just cut his first molar and I had no idea. Therefore, I figure, if it doesn't hurt them and it might help them, why not?  Plus, they look too cute with their "jewelry" on :)

Real SMART butter

I used to think I was being smart by using smart butter on my toast.  Boy was I wrong.  It is HIGHLY processed and full unnatural ingredients. Yes, it is convenient and easy to spread, but it is not smart!

I now make my own "Smart" Butter.  It has TWO ingredients, not 20.

Real Smart Butter
1 lb of butter softened
2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Let the butter sit out and soften for an hour or two

I always use Extra Virgin... much better flavor!

Measure out the Olive oil and pour in food processor or blender

Add the butter

Blend! I store mine in a Tupperware container :)

It is so easy to make and SO much healthier.  I used to be so worried about fat, but we NEED fat, especially healthy fat, that is natural!  With my twin pregnancy I gained 37 lbs.  Since delivering my twins and changing how I eat, I have lost 45 lbs!  Eating natural unprocessed foods is the way to go!  Why should we change what God has provided?

Walnut Kale Pesto

Here is a surprisingly DELICIOUS pesto recipe using Kale (obviously my new favorite vegetable)!  Now that the season is getting cooler, my cooking is getting heartier!  It is delicious and my boys love it too! We ate this for dinner last night with Ravioli, a side of grilled asparagus... and a glass of Merlot! :-)

1 bunch Kale, stems removed
1/3 cup walnuts toasted (6-8 min in oven) plus 2 TB
1/2 cup EVOO
1 cup Pecorino cheese grated
1 clove of garlic

Directions:
1. Steam chopped Kale until bright green and softened (about 4-5 min)
2. toast walnuts for 6-8 min in oven at 350
3. place steamed Kale in strainer, let drain and squeeze out all the water
4. put all ingredients in food processor or blender and puree
5. Cook your favorite pasta, preferably something whole grain, and reserve 1 c. of pasta water to thing sauce if needed.
6. strain pasta, put pesto in the kettle used to cook pasta and toss with pasta.  Add pasta water as needed to thin sauce.
7. Top with 2 TB. of toasted chopped walnuts and pecorino.  Enjoy!