I've been tagged!

I have been tagged! Thanks to Darla for inviting me to play!

Here are the rules:


I always try to keep this blog centered around Katie and Maddie, since it is really my gift to them when they get older. (Umm, baby books? Sure - blank, collecting dust somewhere. Hey - I nursed twins for 3 months and pumped for another 6 - I was tired!) So I am posting 7 random things I love with regards to raising the girls.

At the bottom of this post you will see 7 bloggers that I have tagged, please join the fun! Post the rules and a link back to me, post 7 random or weird things about yourself, tag 7 other bloggers and leave a comment on their blog page to let them know they have been tagged.

1. My pregnancy test - and, no - I didn't save it (at least I don't think so - maybe I did!). We had a very difficult time getting pregnant. We tried for kids from the day we got married. After 6 months I was worried, after a year - I was convinced. I have PCOS and we needed fertility treatments. We tried clomid for 2 months (to help you ovulate) - nothing. We tried IUI (aka: artificial insemination) 3 times - nothing. Finally, insurance approved IVF and it worked first try! While I don't usually don't go shouting from the rooftops that we used IVF, I am not ashamed of it either. With the help of God and science together, we have our two beautiful little girls. I had to go to the practice to have my blood drawn, and that was how we found out we were pregnant - but darn it all if I wasn't going to take that test anyway! I needed the picture for their baby books that don't exist!

2. Their bedding - we both agreed that we wanted to find out the gender of the babies so that we could have everything painted and decorated and DONE. I picked out this bedding from Babies 'r' Us and Andy's mom gave it to us at my shower (thank you!). I loved it then - they are still in cribs (until they are 10 maybe? Kidding - but not really) and I still love it now! When Katie and Maddie were born we were in the townhouse still, with a long flight of stairs to the bedroom so we decided to move operations to the first floor for a while. We set one crib up in the dining room, and they bunked there together for the first 3 months or so. Andy slept on the floor and I slept on the love seat. It was a time in our life that we will look on and smile and shake our heads in disbelief that we ever survived it.

3. Their Boppies - my Aunt Audrey and my cousins gave me a bunch of wonderful gifts as group for my shower and these boppies were among them (thank you!). We used them at every stage of their life - we still use them now. Katie and Maddie love them - they even have their own spot in the playroom. I used them when I nursed, for them to take naps in (I know - not supposed to ... we got desperate), and when they were practicing sitting up we used them to prop them up. We used them for bottles at night and for "spots" for story time. These are just two of HUNDREDS of Boppy pictures.

4. Their "coming home" outfits - I thought the girls were going to be preemies and maybe would have to spend some time in the NICU. Hah! Katie was 6lbs, 7oz and Maddie was 5lbs, 12oz - healthy as could be! Hardly the fragile little twins I was expecting - and thankfully so. I saw these outfits in BRU when I was still pregnant and bought them immediately. They were soooo perfect - hats for their heads, matching but different, with "Mommy's Little Girl" on one and "Daddy's Little Girl" on the other. We dressed them in the hospital and they JUST fit the girls - and that was the only time the outfits were worn. I wanted to have professional pictures of Katie and Maddie taken in these outfits, but by the time the girls were four weeks old they had already outgrown them.

5. My Vera Bradley Diaper Bag - my friends are all chucking right now because they know of my obsession of everything Vera. (I have about 20 bags, all different - no two patterns alike. I just bought my newest this past Saturday - and I always sheepishly call Andy afterwards. He never makes a fuss - he's just happy I'm not a Coach or Louis Vuitton girl!) I received two of these bags at my shower, one from Andy's mom's friend (thank you!) and one from my cousin Fortunata's girls, Lauren and Michelle (thank you!). We exchanged one for a solid black VB diaper bag so that Andy could carry one, too. We use them both all the time - usually for changes of clothes for them or for extra food and snacks. They fit over the stroller bars so they hang perfectly and they have a ton of inside pockets (as most Vera's do) for all kinds of organizing pleasure. LOVE IT!

6. Their first Halloween costume - I wanted Katie and Maddie's first Halloween costume to be, more than anything, comfortable. I get claustrophobic when I see babies in little costumes where they are all bundled in and can't move. The girls were 6 months old and rolling all over the place, so I knew I needed something with movement. I found these awesome bunny outfits, and they consisted of a hat, a cape, and booties. Perfect! I could slip it all on and off in a matter of moments and they had great mobility in them. We put a cute pink outfit on underneath and we were set to go!

7. Their books - any book, all books - if it has words and pictures it will do. They have loved books from the moment they began to hold things. As they grew, they loved being read to - and we would do it for an hour straight sometimes (with them in their Boppies, of course)! They loved books so much they started eating them - yuck - but my doctor assured me they did not have pica. Hmmm ... ? Now a days they don't like me to read to them much anymore, they say "I reeeeeding!" and take the book from me - but, hey, that works too. I have always been a reader and I hope they inherit and cultivate that love. These pictures are from when they were just over one, in the summer of 2007.

Well, there you go. I hope you have enjoyed my walk back in time. Now it's time for me to tag some others. If you see your blog listed below - you're it! (OK - I only have 5, since Darla would have been my 6th, and I really don't have a 7th. If you are a new reader and want to join in - go for it!)

1. http://blogaudreylois.blogspot.com/

2. http://sweetsuesews.blogspot.com/

3. http://mabelshouse.blogspot.com/

4. http://eyesmindheart.blogspot.com/

5. http://bevmcgrath.blogspot.com/

It took me a while to do this post, ladies, so no rush. :)