We have been on a rollercoaster ride here in NJ with the weather.  I feel as though we are living through the winter that will NOT go away!  Hershey hasn’t been able to go fishing because it’s been so cold, the deer are back to eating our greenery for lack of food, and on the couple of warm days we had, we ran out and bought plants and planted a bunch of beautiful flowers, only to have FROST hit last week that killed off half of what the deer didn’t get.  BAH!

And then we had one weekend that it was 80 degrees outside.  We got up and it was 40, Hershey ran to the river with his dad and I had the girls outside from 8:30 in the morning until naptime.  So how do we DO it?  How do you swing with the weather when it’s so unpredictable, and so much of your SCHEDULE with littluns revolves around what good ole’ Mr. Morning Sun is doing that day?

For starters, every time I go to the store (ANY store), I visit the seasonal section.  You literally never know what you will find that will be a gold mine in a pinch.  I found this Minnie Mouse bubble blower thingie at Walgreens for $5.99.  LOOK AT THEIR FACES.

Emma’s Tank Top // Sweatpants (Last season, similar here)

Are you kidding me?

I also have had to learn to be flexible.  On this particular day, once it started to heat up, I broke out the hats and jean shorts, slapped on a couple of old t-shirts as smocks, and dragged out the art supplies.  It got REAL messy, but the girls were so excited just to be in a new environment with their old toys.

As you remember, the table and chairs was an ongoing battle for me, and the paper stand was SUPPOSED to be stained to match it, but as you can see, that hasn’t happened (yet!).  But Jane and Emma got the most out of it, with these Crayola Finger Paints.  I love how you can truly see their personalities, even in the way that they attack a painting.  And back up off their mullets.  Don’t be jealous.  

But let me tell you, it has not been easy.  Allergies and the up and down weather has kept us ankle-deep in Boogie Wipes and antibiotics, and Jane and Emma are literally into EVERYTHING now, including their terrible twos.  We’re getting geared up for their Cinco de Mayo themed Second Birthday party, and crossing our fingers and toes that they will not be sick by then!  We’re also battling some attachment andasleepyness backsliding, so then there’s that.  Hmph.

I hope that you have some great plans for this beautiful weather coming up.  We are home tonight with ear infections and two year molar pains and boogers, but I’m hoping that the warmth this weekend will dry all of that up!  Snot snot go away?  Is that a song?

Have a great week!

This post was written one week ago on the sunny beaches of Key Largo.  Unfortunately, due to spotty Internet connections I was unable to post from Florida.  

Aloha! I am writing to you from sunny Florida! We are on Spring Break (wooooo!) here in Groffland, and Hershey, the twins and I are spending our much-anticipated week off with Hershey’s parents at a beach club in Key Largo. It’s paradise.

Life with twin toddlers these last 2 months have been…well…LIFE. It’s been messy and horrifying and beautiful and amazing. We have had some highs and some seriously serious lows, but we are optimistic about the future.

Jane and Emma have continued to battle the dreaded Day Care Cough and Sniffle. They’ve been hacking up a lung for months now and have regressed big time in the sleep department. Janey is screaming “MAMAAAAA” in her crib as I type this, and it is way past her bedtime!

On top of the constant illness fight, Hershey got really sick 2 weeks ago and passed out in our kitchen while he was home from work alone one morning. After a multitude of tests “they” have determined that it “may have been a seizure” but there’s no way of knowing because the hospital screwed up and released him instead of holding him for tests and now there’s no way to know for sure.

My sister-in-law’s baby shower was last month and I had a lot of fun making a nautical-themed diaper cake and favors. I ordered salt water taffy from our fave candy spot in Stone Harbor and filled mason jars with the taffy for the guests. Heather’s aunt put together the coolest baby shower gift I’ve ever seen (similar here), and the girls had a blast re-gifting all of the shower gifts to their godmother when the shower was over. I also loved feeling my tiny nephew kick in his mommy’s belly. I’m so excited to have a little nephew!

The best news of all is that we finally got some nice weather in NJ. We brought out the swings and our chairs and the girls have actually gotten a couple of rides in their little pink cars. Warm temps mean open windows and less germs, so Hershey and I have been on a cleaning spree. We have also been busy trying to finish a few little projects around the house to get ready for..

Jane and Emma’s 2nd Birthday Extravaganza!!!! Since we never got to throw the girls a legit birthday party last year due to our closing circumstances, you can bet your booty that we will be celebrating this year big time!

Speaking of the twincesses, they are on a roll. With BUTTA! They have a huge bank of words, are speaking in simple sentences, know their ABCs, can count to 13, and are really interested in the potty. They also repeat EVERYTHING, which I can tell you is not so fun when you hear your beautiful innocent almost 2 year old blurt out “SHIT” in the backseat of the car, and start wondering where else she is saying it during the course of her day.

But they do say some things that crack me up. Emma says “LEEsard” (lizard) and Jane says “peppy RONI!” (pepperoni). And Jane walks around scolding Emma (“NO NO EMMA BAD GURL!” while wagging her finger at Emma) as Emma giggles and cocks her head to the side and says, “Janey funny!” I want to bottle it up and save it forever because I know that this time is so fleeting and when it’s over it will never be back!

There are some other big things coming up that I can’t wait to share with you. With Hershey being so sick the last few weeks and then wrapping up school before the break, I haven’t been able to get my head straight. I will hopefully be able to get back into the swing again soon.

What are you doing to help usher in the good weather? What are you looking forward to for spring?

Hope you’re hanging in there! I hear it’s icky back in Jersey, so I’m sending some sun rays and beautiful vitamin D your way!