Happy late Birthday, Brooklyn and Hannah!!

I can't believe my girls are already three years old! They are such a joy in our lives. I LOVE these little girls so much!!

I often have people ask me if they have similar personalities. Um, not really. Sure, they both love everything princess and like the same movies, but they are definitely their own little people. If you've ever wondered how your own children can be so different being raised in the same house by the same parents can be so different, it's amazing to see how it happens with twins. Brooklyn loves to please people, and is a little on the sensitive side. She loves to give hugs and kisses and cuddle. She also has a flair for the dramatic. Hannah is a little more stubborn, but she is hilarious. She has to narrate her day and tell me everything that she's doing and why. (Funny thing is, Greg tells me that I do the same thing.) She's a little harder to get a hug and kiss from, but she is very loving. She's just a little too busy to be giving out hugs and kisses all the time.

Despite their very different personalities, Hannah and Brooklyn are each other's BEST FRIENDS. Wherever one goes, the other is sure to follow. I think that having twins is definitely the way to go since they always have a built-in buddy. I love to see the interaction between the two of them. They truly do care for each other. It's really sweet.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, girls!! We love you!!

My sleepy Hannah

Hannah is so sweet. When she's tired, she'll just fall asleep wherever she is. She's been known to fall asleep on the floor, on an uncomfortable little wooden bench the girls have, at the counter, and many times in the car.

Well, the other day she was watching me while I was doing something in the kitchen. Apparently, she just couldn't take it anymore and fell sound asleep at the counter. Here are a couple pictures of her sleeping. ** And, yes, that's a Gospel Art Kit she is resting her head on. **

Lipstick, anyone?

Brooklyn is OBSESSED with putting on "lips," as she calls it. She loves Lip Smackers, Chap Stick, and (unfortunately) lipstick. She can't get enough of the stuff. She'll come up to me and say, "Mom, I want some lips."

Well, this is how she came in to me the other day after getting into some of my lipstick. I think she did a rather good job putting it on, especially for a two, almost three year-old.

I have a couple of singers on my hands

That's right. They may not be ready for Broadway just yet, but Hannah and Brooklyn are well on their way to their musical careers, if they so choose. (LOL)

Hannah and Brooklyn sing all the time. They sing just about any song they hear. Here are a few of their favorites:

"I Am a Child of God" (They actually know all the right words, and they sound adorable singing it)
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
"Mamma Mia" (That's right. They are ABBA fans now. :))
"Honey, Honey" (Yet another ABBA jingle)
"Connected" (From 'Barbie and the Diamond Castle.' - Yes, my eyes start twitching after hearing this song too many times.)
"Strangers Like Me" (From 'Tarzan')
"Rock Star" (by Pink - This one is WAY cute to hear them sing)
"I'm Yours" (by Jason Mraz)

As you can see, they have quite the array of songs they like. Any show they watch that has music in it, they seem to learn the songs really quickly. They love singing, and I hope it's something they will love forever. I love hearing them sing because it's such a happy sound. It's pretty amazing, too, because they actually sing on key, which is pretty good for 2 year-olds.

Oh, and Greg jokes that when Hannah and Brooklyn go to school they are going to be disappointed that life isn't a musical. They'll probably go to school expecting their teachers to sing the lessons to them, and they'll be pretty sad when it doesn't happen. Oh well, they can live in a musical for now. :)

WANTED:

Someone to potty train my twin girls. They will be 3 in February. Must be enthusiastic, energetic, and self-motivated. Must like children. Experience preferred. Payment will be made upon completion of the potty training process. Very sweet girls. Must meet them before saying, "No." :)

So, of course, I'm talking about my girls. If I really knew of someone who could help potty train my girls in about a week, I really would be tempted to pay them to do it. Unfortunately, I'm not joking. :(

Hannah and Brooklyn will be turning 3 in about a month, and they have NO desire to be potty trained. They are totally fine wearing their diapers. If they have a wet or dirty diaper, they just let me know they want to be changed. Greg and I ask them if they want to go on the potty quite a bit, but they always tell us no. We made a major potty training attempt about a month ago, but it was a disaster. After a full day, the girls were crying and screaming when we went to put them on the potty. It was a total nightmare, so we decided to give them a break.

The most frustrating part is that I KNOW that they are smart enough to do it, but they're very headstrong and fighting them on the issue does absolutely no good. I guess that they're just not emotionally ready yet, but that doesn't quite take away all my frustration. :(

So, what do we do from here? We have been told by numerous people that when a kid is ready, potty training is super easy. The bad thing is that I don't see them being "ready" anytime in the near future. They just don't care.

So, I'm asking for your help. Please let me know whether I should wait, or if I should just try "forcing" them again. I just don't know what to do. I've never done the potty training thing before because Abbey went to transplant before we could get potty training really under way. And, of course, this time is totally different because I have two to potty train. (LOL) Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

How to save money grocery shopping

I don't know about you, but over the holidays, I got really lax and didn't cook all that much. But, we ate though. How on Earth did we manage that one? Well, between all the holiday parties and eating out, I probably only averaged cooking about 1 or 2 nights a week for a couple weeks straight. Did I mention it was heavenly? Ah, the memories.

But, alas, we all know that it's way too expensive to eat out all the time. Heck, it's almost getting too expensive to eat all together! So, I've been researching online and trying to find some ideas on how to save on groceries and get better at meal planning. Here is a bit of a summary of my findings:

1. Don't go shopping hungry. (We all know that, right?)
2. Go alone. (Taking kids and husbands only adds to the grocery bill. Trust me, it's true.)
3. Make lists and stick to them.
4. Plan out your meals for the week before you go. This way, you will avoid any unnecessary trips to the store, thus costing you more money in the long run.
5. Try to avoid buying processed foods. (We all know they're not good for us, but the more processing a food goes through, the more expensive it will end up being.)
6. Only buy food at the grocery store. Save paper products, cleaning supplies, toiletry items, and medicines for stores like Wal-Mart.
7. Try sticking to the outside perimeter of the store where most of the essentials are located: dairy, bread, milk, meat, produce, etc.
8. Buy store brands whenever possible.
9. Stock up on price loss leaders. (These are the items that the stores put WAY on sale to bring you in.)

So, these are a few of the things I came across while researching. If you have any other tips, ideas, or advice, please feel free to share with the rest of us.

Visiting with Santa

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. I am pretty bad at uploading pictures to my computer, so that's why I'm so behind. Sorry. :(

Anywho, on Greg's side of the family, we always have a Christmas party, and this year was no exception. We had a delicious Dutch oven dinner and dessert, crafts for the kids, and a special visitor. I betcha can't guess who. (lol)

Brooklyn has really become quite the Santa Claus fan. She will go up to him, talk to him, and even sit on his lap. Hannah, on the other hand, is still pretty leery of Santa. Oh, she'll go over and talk to him, but she won't get too close. She would only sit on Santa's lap with Grandma. Here are some pics.

Hannah and Brooklyn with their crafts

Hannah and Grandma with Santa

Brooklyn and Santa