Christmas

We had a happy Christmas, and got to spend time with both of our wonderful families.  I just love it when everyone can be together.  

Baby Names

My friend at work gave me this sweet little book. Looks like little Ivy has quite the life ahead of her. Let's hope it's the good kind of exciting. 

P.S. I tried something new with my hair this week.  I washed it with a baking soda paste and rinsed it with apple cider vinegar.  The idea came from my sister in law's blog, and I have to admit that I was skeptical before trying it.  My hair turned out fantastic however...smooth and silky, and it felt extremely healthy.  I think I will do this a few times a week like she does.  You must try it!

English Toffee

 

 

I made my mom's english toffee for the first time with out her help. I love the little side notes and emphasis on her recipe cards...very helpful (it also reminds me of my grandma). Because I was giving it as gifts, I was a bit nervous about how it would turn out.  But it wasn't too difficult really! Todd thought it was pretty yummy.  

(I made another batch today, but broke the candy thermometer as I was getting started.  The toffee did not turn out well.)



Two Years

Today is our two year wedding anniversary.  It feels like so much longer than that! (And I mean that in a good way.)  Last year Todd got me the pretty little gold pendant.  It's from the same era as the wedding ring he picked out...the most perfect ring ever.  I just love him.

Little Elves

My mom was going through stuff in their attic and was planning to get rid of these little guys, but I snagged them up.  I think they fit in perfectly with our random Christmas decor.  Very cottagey. 

Christmas Trees

We all went up to the mountains to cut Christmas trees this weekend.  Even little Claire came along for the fun.  It was Brandon's idea, and I have to say that all three of the guys were way more into the whole ordeal than the girls were.  It was cold (and exhausting for me), but fun!

It's a.....

One of each!  We are overjoyed!

Guilty Purchase

I know this is not the time of year to be shopping for yourself, but I ordered these two prints off etsy for our little nursery. I just couldn't help myself!  I honestly haven't been buying much of anything baby related. (This might change after we find out their genders this week!) 

Hollow Sweet Hollow

Since finding out we were having twins we had been debating about moving to a larger place with more space and conveniences.  Because interest rates and home prices are so low we decided buying would be smart, and actually made an offer and had the inspection and everything. 

After some new developments in our financial situation we have decided that staying where we are would be the wise choice. And honestly, we are kind of excited!  As we were going through the whole home buying process I had brief thoughts of "why do I think we need all of this (future) space, most people in the world live with much less....who are we to require three bedrooms and two baths?"  And the thought of leaving our little hollow was making me quite sad really.  I'm glad those thoughts and feelings crossed my mind beforehand, because it made the decision to stay much easier to make.

So it will be two adults, two small babies, and one large dog cozying up in our eight-hundred square foot cottage this spring.  We have already begun clearing out non essentials and re-thinking our organization, and plan to make a trip to Ikea for small space storage options. 

I'm excited to spend another winter with the lovely heat from our wood stove, to continue having peace and quite all around despite what noise babies bring, to decorate their sweet little room (currently our bedroom), and to take long walks with our little bundles in the spring sunshine.  We have loved living here, and have always felt that finding this place was such a gift. Now that we need to rely on it for awhile, we really couldn't be more thankful.

In about five more months life in the cottage will certainly be different!

Our New Niece

This is a bit belated, but Claire Noelle is here!  She is dainty and sweet, and just look at that chin dimple! (Kim may not want to be in this post, just having given birth and all. But I thought it was a sweet picture of the three of us...and she looks great.)

Mushrooms

We have funny little mushrooms coming up in the woods around our house. They are all so unique. I am amazed at how quickly they will pop up... in the strangest places too.  Makes me think of an episode of Jamie Oliver's cooking show where he foraged for edible wild mushrooms in the forest near his house.  It was kind of cool, although I would be too freaked out to ever eat wild mushrooms...even if I knew which ones were safe.  I'll settle for admiring them from afar.

Homemade Bread & Lentil Soup

I have been disgusted by chicken so far while I've been pregnant.  Since most of my recipes include chicken, I've been having to come up with healthy meals that involve other kinds of meat or no meat.  This meal turned out ok.
The recipe for the bread is from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" that I got from the library. Mine always seems to turn out kind of lopsided. 
The lentil soup recipe can be found here.  It was pretty tasty. I especially liked the flavor from the vinegar added at the end.

If you have any chicken-less dinner recipes that are good, feel free to send them my way.

We've Made It

Well, we haven't quite made it, but at least we're through the scary first trimester.  There is a risk with twins that something can go wrong with one of them in the first few months. I was prepared. But I got to see them this past week, and they were both measuring a week larger than they should be, and they had nice strong heartbeats (and they looked like real babies)!  Thank God, thank God, thank God.

I feel like I can go ahead and read the twin books, and buy two sets of things, and keep eating for three, because we really have two babies coming this spring! 

Here we all are at 13 weeks:

(sorry about the fuzzy-ness)

My Sister's Wedding Day

Toni was married last weekend in a beautiful ceremony in Boise, Idaho.  So that’s it, we are all happily married!  I think my parents are breathing a sigh of relief.   

We had busy and wonderful weekend, spending good time with family and catching up with some friends for a little bit.  I am pretty proud of my little sister and I think all of her lovely ideas for the wedding came together perfectly.

Garlic

Todd's grandpa gave us cloves of garlic to plant last winter.  He said to put them in the ground and they would turn into full bulbs by summertime.  Well, its fall, and they have turned into bulbs....but look how tiny they are! I'm going to blame it on the lack of sun around our house and bad soil. Todd only dug a couple bulbs up. We are hoping that if we leave them in the ground for a bit longer they might grow to a normal size.  We really have no idea though.  Any tips?