All is calm...

Or so the song goes.

When I hear Silent Night, I think of immense quiet. That "you can actually hear the snow falling" quiet. Some of you southerners, sadly, won't know what I'm talking about, and for us notherners, it's getting hard to remember--what is up with 60 degrees in December?!

Anyway.

Even more "sadly" is that amidst that hustle and bustle, I find the words in those lyrics seeming so unrelateable.

The words calm and bright seem foggy.

Instead of resting. My soul is restless, discontent.

It's not that baby Jesus doesn't do it for me.

He does and did.

I feel like one of these women on the right:



I feel harried, frantic, insane, out of touch with what's important (sorry if you were one of those women on the right--grace to you, I'm sure you got one helluva deal).

Grace.

This morning I am counting my thanks, because last week was a pretty terrific week. In the midst of my counting, I'm breathing. Attempting to find that "calm and bright" feeling---it's around here somewhere.

What do you do around this time of year to get that calm and bright thing going on?

1079. Bundling the girls to go outside to see the full moon.

1080. A little mittened hand in mine.

1081. Letting the girls run around outside in their winter garb.

1082. A row of pigtails.

1083. Crafting at the Children's Museum--foam stickers and hats.



1084. More Children's Museum fun!

1085. The pure and utter joy and delight that comes from playing with a balloon.



1086. Celebrating second birthdays with friends.

1087. Pinterest!

...all is bright...

Mama Loves: Cheap Ways to Entertain Toddlers

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! So glad that you've stopped by!

Mama Loves is a linky party where mamas can share anything that has made your life easier as a mama.

Maybe you've found: 

• a toy or book that captivates your child(ren)
• gear you just can't live without
• a recipe your choosy toddler gobbles down
• a parenting book that you've found perspective changing
• an activity that wears your kid(s) out (these lead to good naps, which we all love)
• an outfit that flatters your post-baby body and makes you feel fabulous
• or anything else you're loving--creativity welcome!

Share it with us! Blogging has made me a better mama, because I've learned about all kinds of great things, like those listed above, from mamas just like you. Here's your chance to share it with all of us!

To link your post up, click on the linky tool at the bottom, and follow the directions, it's really easy. You can also add this beautiful button to your post. Just grab the code in the box, copy and paste it into your post. Easy.

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I'm done Christmas shopping.

Wanna know a secret?

I never set foot inside a store to get it done.

Truth? Shopping around the holidays makes me sweat (a lot). Add in two toddlers? Insanity!

I, like Katie, did all my Christmas shopping in yoga pants enjoying a tasty beverage.

Katie has a great list of websites you should check out to get great deals. Over the past months, I've gotten some killer deals on Christmas gifts for the girls by keeping tabs on those great bargain websites. You can "like" them all on facebook, or get daily email updates. Check out Katie's post, and don't miss an opportunity to get a great deal!

Did I mention there are some great deals to be had? Sheesh! I need to stop saying "deal"---there's gotta be another word for that. I'm too tired to come up with it right now. So--deal. Ha!
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I may have mentioned my obsession love for Pinterest. Yeah, okay, maybe more than one time this week.

Today will make it three. (Sorry if this is getting old for you).

When I find ideas on Pinterest, I think they're all great ideas. My girls are the ones that determine if they actually are great ideas.

This one proved to be a great idea. Mama and twin approved!

The best part? It cost exactly $2.

I got some sparkly pipe cleaners at Target for $2, and got out my colander (it was a wedding present, so it was free).

My girls will sit and work on putting each end of the pipe cleaner into the holes in the colander for a good 20 minutes.

This is the end result:

Easy, fun activity for toddlers on days when it's

Too wet to go out

And too cold to play ball.

It's much better than sitting in the house and doing nothing at all.

Yeah, okay. We love Dr. Seuss around here.

Happy Saturday everyone! Can't wait to see what you're loving!

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To Tree or Not to Tree

For those of you with toddlers, did you put up a tree this year?

It took us forever to make up our minds about it.

I toyed with just doing this:

(thank you, Pinterest!)

Our girls do a pretty good job of obeying us if we ask them not to do something, but sometimes they need reminding. My fear is that they'll need a "reminder" in the 2.3 minutes I'm in the bathroom, and our girls will pretend to be woodsmen woodswomen and "chop" down our tree.

For instance, yesterday when I went to the bathroom, the girls "forgot" that they weren't supposed to open the craft cabinet. They emptied the box of 64 crayons, the box of 24 crayons, and a package of 5 crayons all over the floor.

That was 93 crayons all over our wood floor. To say nothing about the marks on the floor. Washable crayons--genius!

Anyway.

We did decide to put up a tree for two reasons:

1. Family, with whom we'll be spending Christmas, has their tree up. We thought it best to desensitize them to the sensational nature of dangling shiny bobbles that they can reach.
2. It just wouldn't feel quite like Christmas without a tree.

So...the tree's up. Our fake, lightweight, ugly, cheap Christmas tree. Decorated with our non-breakable ornaments, just in case. These ornaments, subsequently, seem to all be coated in glitter. Who thought glitter was a good idea--ever? There is so much glitter in our house, despite my best cleaning efforts, I'm pretty sure I'll awkwardly spot glitter on the bottoms of visitors well into March.

Our toddler-proof ornaments also include the candy canes I made out of pipe cleaners and beads when I was in pre-school.

The girls are learning to touch the tree with just one finger.

Do you see what I mean about the glitter?!

And---this is our Christmas tree--in all its boxed-in, glitter-fied, toddler-proofed glory:

Joy to the World!

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In other, Joy to the World related news, my husband is guest blogging over at the lovely MaMe Musings today. Looking for some helpful tips to get you through the holiday? He's the man you want to listen to! Check out my husband's (ahem) serious and thought-provoking post.

Gettin' My Pinterest On

So, I might have mentioned just how much I love Pinterest. It'll change your life a little bit!

Through Pinterest browsing, I've learned a lot about learning. I've fallen in love with the whole Montessori approach to education, which is largely based on sensory stimuli--language, culture and anything that can inform from the five senses.

When I see my girls playing; it's evident that everything informs their learning. So--to limit how I teach them to flash cards or books seems very one-dimensional.

So, I've sought out some Montessori-type activities/crafts that I can use to engage the girls. There are so many of these on Pinterest!

Most of these require some crafting on my part to get them ready for the girls. This one was my first attempt.

This is what the original looks like, just in case you don't click over:



Here were my supplies:

• 4"x2" box with lid on it from a craft store (the ones I got were a dollar each, or something like that).
• Paint. I chose 15 colors.
• Clothes pins. I opted not to use the ones that you have to pinch, because I could see them as potentially injury-causing, and I wasn't sure if their hands are strong enough yet.

The best part of this, is that all the clothespins fit neatly in the box.

The lid goes, and they can be put away. Easy storage.

At 22 months of age, my girls can match up the colors, although sometimes you have to point them to which side the color is on.

They are learning to manipulate the clothespin to fit over the edge of the box. Most of the time they're able to get a few on without assistance. 

They really enjoy doing this. They sign "colors" and ask for the box. I made two boxes, with the colors in different places for our girls.

It took me one naptime to get everything painted. It was ready to be use that same evening.

Cheap, quick, easy.

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I'd love for you to join our Mama Loves community! Do you have great ideas that make your life easier as a mama? Share them! Mama-ing is a tough gig sometimes. I've learned so much from my fellow mama bloggers! We'd love to read about what you're loving!

Quick Mama Loves tip for you today. Many of us depend on enjoy a nice cup of coffee in the morning. Want to get a taste of Christmas each morning? Sprinkle a little cinnamon in your coffee grounds before you brew your coffee. Yum! 

*Bonus--just 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon can lower cholesterol and help regulate blood sugar. Just one more reason to enjoy that cup of coffee!

It Is Well

Yesterday morning I watched the girls play peacefully. Happily. (1070)

They're awfully dang cute "doctoring" each other!!

I smile. I love it. Moments like those are sometimes fleeting. I savor them. Nurture them, even. (1071).

Just 18 hours previous, I was holding Hadley, who was crying in pain. Real pain.

I wanted, as every mama does, to take it all away. To bear it for her.

I began to sing It Is Well With My Soul as I rocked her and paced the floor.

Every time I sing that song, my thoughts go to the man who wrote it, Horatio Spafford.

Mr. Spafford lost his only son in the Chicago fire of 1881. Two years later, he lost all four of his daughters as their boat sank, Titanic-style, in the Atlantic, on the voyage to Europe. Only his wife survived.

Five children. Dead.

Can you imagine such sadness? Such loss? I have no words....

As his ship, on the voyage back to America, passed over the spot where his daughters perished, he wrote these words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And:

...though trials should come...
...Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

I often wonder if I could say that if something happened to our girls or Brad.

Remember when I wrote about Anna, who lost her son, Jack? Anna is blogging about this journey of sorrow. And really? She might be the bravest woman I've ever read. It's all there--this honest mix of anguish, hope, grief, joy, thankfulness, anger and humor. One thing she knows for certain in all this---it is well with her soul.

I want to be like that. No matter what happens, to seek God in everything, and whether my daughter is hurt, or I'm enduring something much worse---I can say, It is well with my soul.

A few more places I found God this past week:

1072. Compliments on the girls' behavior at church.

1073. Opportunities to serve.

1074. Community group.

1075. Drinking wine with Brad.

1076. Good health and quick healing.

1077. A sister who answers her phone when I really need her to.

1078. New recipes to try and ingredients to try them with.

Linking up with Jen, Ann and Heather.

Mama Loves: Pinterest

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! So glad that you've stopped by!

Mama Loves is a linky party where mamas can share anything that has made your life easier as a mama.

Maybe you've found: 

• a toy or book that captivates your child(ren)
• gear you just can't live without
• a recipe your choosy toddler gobbles down
• a parenting book that you've found perspective changing
• an activity that wears your kid(s) out (these lead to good naps, which we all love)
• an outfit that flatters your post-baby body and makes you feel fabulous
• or anything else you're loving--creativity welcome!

Share it with us! Blogging has made me a better mama, because I've learned about all kinds of great things, like those listed above, from mamas just like you. Here's your chance to share it with all of us!

To link your post up, click on the linky tool at the bottom, and follow the directions, it's really easy. You can also add this beautiful button to your post. Just grab the code in the box, copy and paste it into your post. Easy.

<center><a href="http://pontificationsofatwinmom.blogspot.com/search/label/Mama%20Loves" target="_blank"><img alt="Manic Mother" src="http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv66/MaAldrich/MamaLovesButtoncopy.jpg"/></a></center>
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• Check out lots of great Christmas gift ideas over here at Melissa's!
• Outgrown pack n plays? Find the perfect travel bed at Olusola's place.
• Keep your wee ones warm this winter. Check out Mandy's mama-must-have!
• Looking for a new, healthy (and tasty) breakfast treat? Check out Melissa's muffin recipe.
• Need a fun new activity for your toddler? Try a bubble table! Lauren will tell you all about it.  
• In a rush? Katie will tell you a great way to keep your toddlers safe without using a stroller.
• Feel like you never get anything accomplished? Try Wendy's handy tip!

So, Katie, Olusola, Wendy---you guys were right! Food pouches = awesome! They were the perfect travel treat for our girls over the Thanksgiving holiday! Hands down, one if the handiest inventions ever! Taking your toddlers out to eat? You need to get you some of these!

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Are you guys on Pinterest?

Pinterest is the greatest black hole of time. If I'm not careful, I can get on there Monday afternoon, and not emerge till Wednesday morning.

But I love it. And the girls kinda keep me from the whole Monday to Wednesday without a break thing.

I've suddenly become obsessed with finding engaging, challenging activities for the girls. Pinterest is full of those! Just check out a few that I've pinned (a.k.a bookmarked for those of you not down with the Pinterest lingo--get it? Pinterest. Pinned?). I've made/attempted a couple of these already, which I can't wait to share with you!

Our CSA, has given us some vegetables in our basket that have posed challenges for me. But, I can go on Pinterest, and type in "turnip recipes" or "cabbage recipes" and get hundreds of great ideas! Then, I can Pin those recipes on my own page to save and share.

You can follow me on Pinterest. If you don't already have an account, leave me your email address, and I'd be happy to send you an invite. And, if you're already on Pinterest, give me your info, so I can follow you!

Please join this big, wide world of Pinterest. Just don't blame me if you're unable to account for hours of your life. You've been warned.

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The one where I talk about llamas and dragons

So, my blogging mojo seems to have plummeted along with the temperatures this week.

Instead of giving you a bunch of congruent thoughts tied together, I'll give you some random stuff from the past week and a half.

*It may or may not be a sign from God that you should just turn around and go home when your kid yacks all over herself and the carseat 10 minutes into a six hour car ride.

*We chose keep driving.

*The smell of yack on the carseat doesn't go away very easily.

*Since we spent Thanksgiving in Milwaukee, we brought our girls' snow suits, hats and mittens along in preparation for the cold temperatures.

*It was at least 50 degrees every day we were there.

*This mama's heart was so blessed that the girls' Masa and Masi baby-proofed the house before our arrival (1064).

*Eye infections in toddlers really suck (and keep coming back).

*Antibiotic drops really do work (1065). 

*I'd rather hug a porcupine than put drops in the girls' eyes. 

*Someone needs to invent a way to make that process easier. There's lots of money to be made there.

*The girls learned two really important signs from their Masi and Masa. 1) dragon 2) llama (1066)

*You just never know when you might run into a dragon or a llama. It's good to prepare your kids for this.

*Watching the girls play "doctor" with their new doctor kit is awesome! (1067)

*Did you know that 25% of toddlers know how to operate smart phones? I have no idea what they're talking about.

*Having someone else read the same books over and over and over (andoverandoverandoverandover) to the girls is good. (1068)



*You never realize just how long Dr. Seuss books are until you have to read the 50+ pages at least 12 times a day. (1069)