Cindy Cinders' First Year

Our little Cinders is a year old. She is so sweet and the perfect calm puppy to match Bruno's craziness. She's a troublemaker through and through, but also the sweetest puppy anyone could ask for.

The puppy experience was so much different than with Bruno, because we didn't get to meet him until he was 8/9 weeks. We got to meet the puppies days after they were born. I fell in love with Cinders (Lulu) right away. I remember after our first visit, I told Cam that I wanted her so bad. These pictures are of her first year and in no particular order. Also, my friend Natalie (the puppies, mamma's mama) took a lot of these photos. Hope you enjoy!

She was the most precious puppy!

Smile!

Like I said, troublemaker!

She always wanted to rest her paw or her head on my belly.

This was shortly after we first brought her home. Bruno was not amused.

She's always saying hello to the babies.

They are best friends. Bruno has come around the Cinders' spooning ways...as long as he can be the little spoon.

Cinders loves hanging out with daddy in his office. She rests her head on his desk when she feels like he's not giving her enough attention.

She was blending in to her surroundings.

She has always been a cuddle bug, we had nap times together all the time...Naps?? What are those?

We could take her to the farmer's market. Bruno? Not so much.

Am I going crazy or falling in love? Maybe both??

Having twins is a tough gig. My hair is falling out and depending on how I wear it, you can actually see bald spots. I'm producing about 3 oz of breast milk a day, I keep telling myself to give up already, but I'm a weirdo and I keep at it. It's quite ridiculous, honestly.

I'll admit that there are moments, although few and far between, that I break down and cry wondering if I've failed as a parent. I think it just comes with the job. When I've had the worst day where getting them to eat and nap has seemed like the biggest struggle, I find solace in the fact that tomorrow is a new day and I can start over. Plus, the world helps me realize that there's a ginormous barrier between me and the world's worst mother.

Not every day is a struggle though. In fact, for every frustrating moment, I have 100 wonderful, rewarding moments. More often than not, the babies are so happy and their smiles are contagious! We waited a long time for these babies and even though I wanted them so badly, I spent a lot of time worrying about what kind of mother I would be and whether they would love me.

When my babies are crying and I can just pick them up and make things all better (most always ;)) it's like some sort of super power. I understand why people have so many children, even on my worst days I can easily see myself doing this so many more times. Sometimes I will risk waking them up just so I can sneak into their room and watch them while they sleep. That sounded creepier than I wanted it to, but I swear it's out of love.

The babies will be 5 months in a couple weeks. One of the many great things about having twins is that you get two babies with two very different, very fun personalities. You experience the best of everything. Plus, while most people get to experience newborns for a month, maybe two - I got to experience mine for a couple months longer. It really has been the best and I'm a little sad it's ending, but excited for this new stage.

Ollie

He is such a ham!! I love it! His smiles are so big and so constant. When he sleeps, his lips pout and his cheeks are so squishy. He loves to play and spends a lot of time on his play mat. He'll snuggle his head under my chin while I'm holding him, which is the most precious thing and there's not a lot that he won't laugh at. Sometimes I'll set him down on the changing table to change him, and while I'm wiping his bum he'll just start laughing hysterically.  I think he'll have an awesome sense of humor when he grows up.

We just went to a follow-up screening with Sacred Heart. They checked their development and said that he is so smart and ahead of other babies his age.

He's so strong and he's growing so fast! He's been turning over for a month now from his back to his front to his back again.  He can lift himself up on his belly and looks around the room at everything - then freaks out that he's on his belly and wants you to correct it. 

His favorite toy right now is a giraffe noise maker I got at my baby shower.

 Madelyn

Little Millie is a doll!! Everyone calls her Maddie, but to me she's either Miss Madelyn or Little Millie. She is so precious, a sweetie, and such a cuddle bug. When she smiles, she scrunches up her nose and smiles with her whole face. It seriously melts my heart. 

She is a talker, and a loud one at that! She will talk to herself (and I swear sometimes to her toys) while kicking her legs in the bouncer. It's been somewhat of a struggle to get her to nap longer than 15 minutes throughout the day, but she'll sleep so well at night. She loves being on the play mat with her brother and they'll hold hands. 

Lately when she sleeps, she'll always turn her head to the right. She loves her pacifiers and can't fall asleep without being swaddled. 

Her favorite toy right now is an octopus that hangs from the play mat. She's been grabbing at it and sometimes I'll unhook it and put it in the bouncer with her to suck on.

Every day I wonder how I got so lucky... I'm seriously so in love. 

How to Store Produce

It seems like it takes me a lifetime to get anything done these days and blogposts have been near impossible to do. The babies are keeping me busy as you can imagine. When I do get free time, I always have this inner argument where I ask myself if I want to sleep, get some time to myself to read, catch up on tv, or take a bubble bath, or get chores or stuff like blog-posts done. The bubble bath usually wins this battle as sleep isn't too much fun in short doses.

So a couple months ago, we came to the conclusion that we weren't eating enough produce. For fear of contracting scurvy, we decided to try Full Circle. Full Circle is this local business that delivers fresh, organic produce to your door once a week.

I was really skeptical about it and worried that they'd deliver things that we didn't like or that I wouldn't be able to use all the produce and it would go bad. However that hasn't been the case. We've been able to customize our orders and it's given me the opportunity to try things I haven't had before and to plan my meals around the produce that I have. We've actually spent less on our monthly grocery bill since starting it.

I promise this isn't a sales pitch for Full Circle, but the service has inspired me to find out the best ways to store my produce. Gone are the days where I throw everything into the crisper bin in my fridge or into a bowl on my kitchen counter. I was confused as to why so many things were going bad so quickly and the answer was that I was storing them incorrectly. I'll cover the produce that our family goes through most often, if I miss something, comment below and I'll let you know how to store it.

Greens

Examples: Romaine, Arugula, Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinach, leeks, broccoli, green beans, brussels sprouts.

1. Cut off the bottom stems or the root (head) of the the greens (for broccoli, you can leave as is until you're ready to use it).
2. Separate the leaves and rinse them thoroughly getting rid of all the dirt and mud. 
3. Shake off the excess water. 
4. Wet a paper towel and wring it to get all the excess water out - you want it damp, not soaked.
5. Wrap the produce in the paper towel and place them in a ziplock bag and seal (make sure to get all the excess air out of the bag while sealing - air causes dryness).

Tip: You could also place a damp towel at the bottom of the bag, put the produce in and then place another one on top.

Carrots & Celery

If the carrots still have their stems attached, cut them off. The stems will drain the moisture from the root itself and leave you with dry, brittle carrots. 

- Rinse the carrots thoroughly and wrap them in a damp paper towel and store in an air-tight ziplock bag.
- Cut the head of the celery off and rinse each stem getting rid of all the dirt and mud. Wrap in a damp paper towel and store in an air-tight ziplock.

Tomatoes & Avocados

I use to just throw these in the fridge and call it good, but tomatoes are actually supposed to be stored at room temperature for maximum flavor. Storing them in the fridge compromises their texture and dulls their flavor. 

If you buy avocados fully ripe, you could put them in the fridge, but to help them ripen, leave them on the kitchen counter with the tomatoes. Either way, I always leave them out as I eat them way too fast for them to go bad. 

Apples

These are another fruit that I was getting all wrong. Sometimes I'd put them in the fridge, but most of the time I'd leave them out on the counter. For apples to remain crisp, they need to be refrigerated. This process is good for apples that you plan to snack on.

Sometimes you have apples in bulk (especially when fall comes around) and it's not very practical to put them in the fridge. This is just fine as they're usually used for canning or pies - I'd put those apples in a dry, well ventilated space like the bottom shelf or floor of your pantry. 

Citrus

Whether you have Oranges, Lemons, or grapefruit, there are a couple ways you can store these. 

First of all, if they're fully ripe and you're not sure you can polish them off in the next several days, store them in the fridge. 

I think they taste better at room temperature and therefore like them better that way. If they're under-ripe, then definitely leave them at room temp.

Bananas

1. You can store bananas at room temperature on your kitchen counter. 
2. If  your bananas are ripe and you want them to stay that way longer, you can place them in the fridge or peel them and put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them for smoothies.
3. If they go brown, don't worry, use them for bread, muffins, or smoothies.

*CAUTION - Store them away from other fruits and vegetables as they'll speed the oxidation process.

Grapes

1. Don't wash your grapes until you're ready to eat them as washing them will compromise their texture and will speed the ripening process. 
2. If buying in bulk, separate the clusters (keep them attached to the vine) and place them spread out on a plate or in a bowl.
3. Place in the back of your fridge where it's coldest or in the temperature controlled crisper bin.

Potatoes, Onions, Garlic

All of these vegetables have the same storing process.

1. You will need brown paper lunch bags and a hole punch.
2. Fold the lunch bags in half lengthwise and punch holes in a row down the middle. When you unfold you'll have 4 rows of holes.
3. Place the potatoes in one bag, onions in another, and garlic in another (you may need multiple bags if you have multiple items).
4. fold over the top of the bag to close, label,  and store in your pantry where it's cool and dry. The holes in the bag will keep the produce ventilated. 

* If you bought in bulk, just store in the original bags in your pantry on the bottom shelf or on the floor. Just make sure it's dry in there and that they aren't stored by any air vents. 

Mushrooms

I LOVE mushrooms and I always have them in stock. mushrooms need a cool, dry, space to hang out. When fresh, mushrooms have as much moisture that they'll need for storage, no need to add more to them. If you store them in an air tight container like a ziplock or wrapped in Saran wrap, the moisture from the mushrooms will condescend and they'll turn slimy. If too much air gets to them, they'll turn dry and useless.  

The best way that I've found to store these guys is to put them in a brown paper lunch bag and store them in the fridge. If you bought them at the store in a container of their own, leave them in that container until you're about to use them. 

CAUTION - Don't wash until you're about to use them as the water will make them turn slimy if you store afterwards.

I hope that was helpful! Again, these are the things I most often have in stock (I'm sure I forgot a few),  let me know if there's anything else you have on hand that you're not sure how to store.

Scone Vs Frybread

On the scale of things that matter and things that don't, this is pretty low on the scale of things that matter... However, I'll admit that it still drives me crazy. I think people tried to mesh the two, but either way, fry bread is still fry bread whether you sprinkle cinnamon sugar on it or not.

So here's what a scone looks like:

Photo cred: www.cookingwithmykid.com

It's a pastry that's often baked with berries or fruit and has sugar baked on top - kind of like a crust.

And this is fry bread (aka: Navajo/Indian fry bread)

Photo cred: www.cookingclassy.com

Fry bread is traditionally used as a taco base. 

I can't keep people from misrepresenting scones and fry bread, but consider this my own little PSA =)