Typical Morning

Almost Crawling

Here's a video of Bethany trying to crawl today. She's getting so close! I also got a really good picture of Zachary, and you can see his two bottom teeth. He's got a new girly scream too, but I won't share the video because it's very LOUD!

Monday Meal: Mexican

I've loved trying everyone's recipes, so please keep sharing! Our Monday Meal theme is mexican food because it's my favorite. I'll give an easy recipe for taco salad:

1 lb. hamburger meat
chopped onion
1 jar taco sauce
1 bag lettuce
1 lb. grated cheese
1 medium bag of tortilla chips, crushed

Combine hamburger and onion in large skillet...I use the chopped onion found on the spice aisle. Brown meat, add taco sauce, and simmer. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Just before serving, add the meat and chips to the tossed salad. My mom changes the recipe up by using Ranch Style Beans, rinsed (instead of the meat), Catalina salad dressing (instead of the taco sauce), and small Fritos, crushed (instead of the tortilla chips). They're both good salads!

8 Months

So, I think I messed up last time on their measurements. I left their clothes on when I weighed them last month, and this month I took them off. Bethany's about 17 pounds and 28.5 inches long. Zachary's about 18.4 pounds and 28 inches long. Next month we'll have our 9 month appointment, which means I'll get more accurate calculations...but they're definitely growing!!

The Birthday Boy

We've been celebrating for the past couple of weekends, but today is Aaron's actual birthday. Happy 29th birthday to my husband and best friend. I love you!!

Botanical Gardens

We met my parents at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens last week to try getting pictures of all four of their grandkids together. Although Bethany and Zachary didn't really smile, I still have so many favorites. My mom's friend, Michelle, did a GREAT job! Katie's 4 in these pictures, and Randal's 2. I also bought them matching outfits to show our American pride!

Monday Meal: Italian

I use a lot of ground beef when cooking because it's super easy! For my Monday Meal recipe, I thought I'd go Italian. One of my favorites is to use 1 package of cheese frozen ravioli, 1 pound ground beef, 1 jar pasta sauce (whatever you like), and 1-2 cups shredded mozarella cheese. It's kind of like a lasagna. You brown the ground beef, and then begin layering in an 11 x 7 x 2 inch pan. Layer 1 cup pasta sauce, half of the frozen ravioli, half of the ground beef, and half of the cheese. Repeat the layering with 1 cup sauce, remaining pasta, and ground beef. Top with the rest of the pasta sauce. Bake uncovered in 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Top wtih cheese, and cook until it's melted. What are some of your favorite Italian dishes?

Happy Father's Day!

Aaron is such a good dad to Bethany and Zachary! I tried to get a picture of him with the kids, but Zach wasn't cooperating. O-well :)

I also want to wish MY dad a happy father's day. He's a wonderful Grandpa too!

One last sweet picture of Daddy's little girl.

Sharing

My friend Kim brought her little boy over to play today. Jake's about 21 months old (almost 2)! It was so cute to see them "share" the toys, but Bethany seems to be ignoring the boys.

Bows

I think we have every color of the rainbow!

Bethany's latest trick is to pull up in her bouncy chair. She'll also take all the toys off that are hanging down. Zach just chews on his pacifier and watches his shows! We think it's so funny to see him smile when Mickey Mouse or the moose on Nick Jr. comes on. I guess we're letting him watch too much tv!?

Cutie Patooties

Something New

Over on "The Frugal Novice" my friend plans her menu every week. Well, I'm lucky if I plan one night and then we can have leftovers. So here's my idea...I thought I could try to do a Monday Meal, and then we could all share recipes and maybe come up with some new favorites. Today's theme is chicken (specifically canned chicken). I like to use the Tyson white chicken for sandwiches and casseroles, but one quick recipe I got from my mom goes in the crock pot! It's easy because you can throw everything in and forget about it for a couple of hours. All you need is:

1 can Swanson Chicken Broth (about 2 cups)

6 oz. box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice (Original Recipe) uncooked

1 large can cooked chicken

1/2 cup margarine, melted

Combine all of the ingredients in the crock pot, including the rice seasoning packet. Cover and cook on High 2 hours or until rice is tender. Sometimes I don't add as much butter, and I usually season with salt and pepper. Now it's your turn! If you have a yummy chicken recipe, please share so I can try it.

Water Babies

Another fun day in the sun :)

Friendly Friday

I'm not the smartest when it comes to the blogging world, but I can figure most things out. My friend Christi on the other hand is super smart! Check out her blog, and you'll be able to jump around to other people's blogs. I basically started my blog when things were changing in my life (new job AND trying to get pregnant). That was about 2 1/2 years ago, and A LOT has changed since then. I used to write about some of the tv shows I watched, which now is pretty much cartoons. It's fun to look back at how far we've come, and I enjoy getting comments of encouragement from all my readers! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope I can continue to amuse you with "My life with twins."

We love our Daddy

It's been a loooooong week because Aaron's been doing a training class, and I know he's super tired! I love that Bethany and Zachary can sit up and play together. One of their favorite things for me to do is build a tower so they can knock it down. Here they are playing the other day!

And here's how excited we all were to see Daddy:

Birthday Bash

We celebrated birthdays this past weekend! Saturday evening we got to spend time with friends from church and see some animals. Then on Sunday we had a party for my niece and nephew. Katie's 4 and Randal's 2! I had cakes made by Elixir Bakery, which is owned by the wife of a guy Aaron works with...she did a great job!

Randal liked his chocolate cake!Mom and Bethany

We got Katie some princess dress-up clothes. I think she had a good birthday :)

Silly Daddy

I didn't get any pictures at our swimming lesson today since both of us were in the pool, but the twins did GREAT! We've got 12 more lessons, and their teacher seems like she really knows what she's doing. We'll get some pictures in the next few weeks. Here's Aaron with Bethany last night making her laugh!

Wordless Wednesday: Sweet Smiles