I'm doing the best that I can.

My mom told me that when I was little I used to rock my Cabbage Patch doll named "Nicholas" (because my mom had a baby named, "Nicholas" I too must have one).  I would rock him, as she did, burp him, as she did, and say, "I'm doing the best that I can," as she did.  I now feel my mom's pain.  I too feel like some days "I'm doing the best that I can." And just as she must have said those words on repeat, I have my own set of phrases that I say.  All day.  Every day.  Forever.

Most of these phrases happen when I'm cooking, or working.  Which is most of my day.

Finny don't touch
Kona stop barking
Why are you crying?
Did you poop?
Hi baby.
No hitting.
No stairs.
Patty cake, patty cake, baker man. .
Stop barking.
Lets read a book.
Are you hungry?
Kona, no barking!
I'm gonna get you.  Tickle!
Finny don't put that cord around your neck. (I'm serious.  All.  day.  long)
Who pooped?
Itzy bitzy spider. .
No, Audrey you can't have my phone.
Kona, I will murder you.  Stop barking!
Are you hungry?
Want some bunnies?
Why are you crying?
Are you serious?  Poop again?
No hitting!
Finny, no cords!
That's it Kona you are dead.


Sums up my life.  Saving my kids from danger, poop, and killing the dog.


What my kids say all day:
giggle
cry
mama
giggle
cry

Not thrilled about sharing.

Sometimes when I'm feeling "Smoother than a fresh jar of skippy" 

I'll listen to this song and dance like a crazy person smile

Uno

So it's been 2 months since the kids turned 1
Don't judge, it's been busy over here.

The party went off without a hitch.  Aside from the fact that it was an outdoor party and Oct 4 was one of the hottest days of the year here in California.  We huddled under the shade, and at one point all 50 people squished in our living room, which was packed with presents, because of the AC.

We ate tacos, opened the insane amount of gifts, and stuffed our faces with cake.  These kids really liked their cake that my mom made.  They each had their own, and they each ate almost all of it.  Most kids just play with it, squish it in their chubby fingers, but not my kids.  Nope.  Fist fulls of cake in their mouth.  (insert Wes joke here about how they get it from their mama)

Their uno fiesta was perfect!
I've vowed to never throw a big party again.  Well until next year that is. .

Cupcakes courtesy of my mom.  She's for hire people/

It's also been Halloween.
The kids dressed as a shark and an octopus, while I was a lifeguard and Wes was a surfer.  It was a Bedford beachy Halloween.
We walked around the neighborhood admiring all the other costumes.  The "big kids" even got to be creeped out by a haunted house.  It was legit and creepy.

We are all great over here.  Finny is walking and Audrey is close.  Let the madness continue.

Southeast Asia

It's been a few weeks since we've been back, but Wes and I were able to escape to Southeast Asia for a week!

My parent's watched the kids, I cried as I boarded the plane(s), and off we were on an Asian adventure.
Wes was working in Cambodia for a week and I met him there.
I flew about 24 hours all the way to Penom Penh, Cambodia.  I was the only American on the flight, and they double/triple checked my boarding pass to make sure I was on the right flight.

First stop, Cambodia.
Wes had been staying at a very nice hotel that week that DEA set him up in.  So nice that a Thai pop star, and the Prime Minister of Cambodia were staying there as well.  We were spoiled with our super nice pool, steam room and sauna, and not to mention the extravagant breakfast every morning.
There wasn't too much to do there.  We went to a market where the shopping was cheap.  We got lots of shady/cheap massages.  We visited the Killing Fields.  That about sums it up.  It was hot and dirty, and the food was blah.

At our luxury hotel

We were provided these lovely masks due to the dirtiness of the city.

A temple

Our main mode of transportation.  A tuk tuk

 From there we flew to Bankok, Thailand for the night, and the next morning we caught a morning flight to Chaing Rai (northern) Thailand.

Chaing Rai, Thailand.
It was beautiful there.  It was green and full of lush jungle.  Wes' co-worker that he went to Cambodia with has in-laws that live in Chaing Rai.  His wife is Thai and grew up there.  Her family was nice enough to allow us to stay in their home, and her cousin is a tour guide and took us around in his van.  Needless to say, we got a very authentic view of Thailand.  Their house was a traditional Thai home in that the kitchen was separate from the house.  They eat chicken and rice for every meal, had 9 Husky dogs on the property that eat just as well as they do, and have no AC in the house.  They were very kind to us, even though we weren't able to communicate with them.

We went to the Golden Triangle which is where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet.  It is separated by the MeKong River and was one of the drug capitals of the world.  Oddly enough, DEA donated benches a while back.  Thanks for providing seating for us DEA. We took a speed boat tour of the MeKong, stopped in Laos for a bit, and then made our way to Myanmar.  We walked across the boarder and headed in for some major shopping.  Myanmar is the Tijuana of Southeast Asia.  It is dirty, filled with poor people who like to bargain, and knock-off central.

The rest of our time in Chaing Rai was spent visiting temples, eating amazing food, getting real Thai massages (which is painful yet enjoyable at the same time) and walking around the night bazaar.  Oh and did I mention we rode elephants?  Our elephant was 50 years old!  It is not a comfortable ride as you sway from side to side, but it was a beautiful ride through the jungle. After our visit with the elephants, we stopped to see a waterfall.  Our tour guide said it wasn't that long of a hike, so we made our way.  He was wrong.   It was far, tough, and hot.   My limbs were constantly moving and swatting at the mosquitoes.  The Thai native woman we were with turned around because she was afraid of getting Malaria.  Malaria people!  We kept going until a giant snake came full speed toward us down the mountain.  I, leading the pack and being closest to the snake, noticed it first and screamed like a little little girl.  The big strong men behind me jumped, yelled, and cursed.  We turned around after that never seeing the waterfall, but not before I slipped and landed in the stream.  I've never run during a hike, but I could not get out of that Malaria and snake infested jungle fast enough.

Buddha watching over Golden Triangle

At the Golden Triangle

Boat ride on the MeKong River

In Laos

In Myanmar (Burma)

Give me food yo!

Our final stop was Bangkok.  We visited the Grand Palace, which contains a giant reclining Buddha.  We took our pictures next to monks, and Buddhas, visited MBK mall which is a giant mall filled with anything you'd ever need in life, rode the Skytrain like a Thai, and visited a night bazaar that happened to be in a more risque part of town.  We were ready to head back home.

At the Grand Palace w/ some monks

ready to go home.

We shopped til we dropped.
Ate the best Thai food imaginable.
Risked getting Malaria.
Missed our babies like crazy.
Crossed 4 countries off our list.

It was a great trip.  Til we meet again Adventure. . .

Shout out to my parents for watching our little crazies, and to the McQuiston's for staying at our house and watching our mutts. <3

This time last year.

This time last year I was a beast.

I had 2 weeks to go before these babies ran out of room and my skin stretched so much I swear you could poke a hole through it.

My belly itched constantly.  I had to buy special soap they only sell at Whole Foods that smells like bonfire.  It worked wonders, but I smelt smokey, which Wes is allergic to.

I had to hold my belly as I walked.  No joke.

The pool was my saving grace.  I felt light as a feather in there, and then stomped around like an elephant as soon as I got out.

People's mouths dropped, and they pointed at me as I waddled by. This literally happened everywhere I went.

I wanted lemonade all day, every day. It was my only craving and I couldn't get enough.

I had to sleep on my left side with pillows propped up all around me.  Don't even think about flipping to the other side. It took all night to get comfortable.

I had about 4 dr. appointments a week.  Two for fetal hear-monitoring at the hospital, one ultrasound with my dr. and one ultrasound with the "high-risk" dr. They all checked for the same things.

I was tired, and hot, and laid on the couch and slept after work.  Yes, I was still working.

I couldn't walk up the stairs anymore, and would get winded just walking from the couch to the bathroom.

The nursery was done.  I had been baby showered twice.  Everything was ready.  My nerves were calm, and my weight was high.

My and all my giant-ness

Would I do it all again for these sweet faces?   In a heartbeat.


Stay tuned for my next post when I completely lose it because my babies are turning one.
Entitled: Blubbering sob-fest.

Hey remember when we were supposed to go to Kentucky?

We packed our bags.
Woke up early.
Fumbled through security.
Pushed a baby and pulled a suitcase strapped with a car seat to the gate.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Flight was delayed, and delayed, and delayed.
Babies crawled around, snacked, took a nap, ate lunch and was just about ready for another nap when. .
our flight was so delayed we wouldn't make our connecting flight.
So we went home.
We spent a lovely day looking at airplanes, cheesing it up with upset passengers, and chasing the lady who empties the trash.
A perfect 6 hours spent at the airport. Not.

We went home and played in the curtains instead.

What's up Bedfords?

Here's what the Bedfords have been up to lately:

- We HATE diaper changes.  Everyone involved hates them.  They arch their backs, twist and contort their bodies, all with their legs held in the air.  You'd think we were physically harming them the way they scream and try to get away.  Once one is done, the other is booking it out the door and down the hall.  It is constant.

-Wes is training for a marathon.  His goal is to run 7 marathons on 7 continents.  Yes, that means he will have to run a marathon on Antarctica.  I, on the other hand, am only training for a measly half marathon.

-We've ditched all baby food.  Yup, my little babes are eating full fledged meals.  Well meals that are soft because they still have no teeth.  Okay, they have 1 little nubbin of a tooth each.

- Our kitchen is getting redone!  So starting today we will be kitchen-less for 2 weeks. But it will be so worth it. #bestlandlordsever

- Speaking of awesome landlords, my dad got us two portable AC units!  This sweltering hot house has been a cool 72 lately.  Goodbye sweaty/stickiness, hello cool breeze.  #seriouslybestlandlordsever

-Finny got a haircut.  It was long overdue.  His little shag was turning into a mop covering his ears and creating a rat-tail.  He now looks like a little boy. . no more baby.  wahhhh

-On a serious note, the babes and I (along with my parents) are heading to Kentucky for the weekend to attend a funeral.  Our close family friend for over 20 years lost his battle with cancer last week.  So with heavy hearts and misty eyes, we will hop on 4 planes, jump 3 hours ahead to pay our respects to a wonderful man.  Here's to hoping all runs smoothly.

Date night

at the fair!

Gettin hair did.

Chopped Ninja Warrior

Wes and I are really into cooking competition shows.  Chopped is our favorite.

That being said, I oftentimes feel like I'm in my own version of a cooking competition when it comes to making dinner.  Except I'm not given certain wacky ingredients that I need to use in my cooking, but rather certain obstacles.  So imagine Chopped mixed with American Ninja Warrior.  Yup.  Sums it up.

I am the competitor. My overall goal is to make an edible meal.  Nothing fancy, just edible.

It starts out easy enough.  Two babies paying with measuring cups on the floor, two defrosted chicken breasts.  I turn on the oven, which instantly heats the kitchen to 100 degrees.

I then chop the onion which instantly makes me tear up. . and the dogs come running.  I now have two giant dogs sniffing and wagging and all up in my space.  Following me from stove top to refrigerator, to stove top, to refrigerator.  Chop chop chop.  The dog's noses are inches from my cutting board.  One dog, the fat fluffy one, goes and lays down next to the hot oven.  This then draws Finny attention. He squeals and laughs as he army crawls his way over to the dog.  Midas is not fond of Finny and the tuft of hair he pulls out, so he moves, and moves, and moves, creating a fun little game for Finn.

Next obstacle, Audrey.  She decides she'd really like to stand up now. On me.  She crawls over, grabs my leg, and pulls herself up on my legs. I'm stuck. If I move, she will fall.  I try to do as much as I can without moving my legs.

I now have one dog following my every move, just in case I drop something, one baby chasing around the other dog all around the kitchen, and the other baby holding on to my legs.

Beep.  Beep. Beep.  My chicken is done baking, but there is a wobbly baby on my leg, a dog blocking the oven, another baby crying because said dog keeps running from him, and another dog I'm convinced will jump on this counter and eat anything she finds.

I am sweating profusely.
I will NOT cook dinner tomorrow.
I'm convinced you have to be a Ninja Warrior to make dinner.
The end.




Then they ate dinner. . . Man vs. Food

Recipe for a headache

First you have one 9 month old baby.

Then give that baby a fever.

Sprinkle a rash all over that baby's tiny body

Add a few blisters to that baby's hands, feet, and mouth

Then, add more blisters to the inside of baby's mouth and down their throat

Final touch. . add a second baby, who is naturally more needy, and can now pull herself up on anything.  The table, the couch, the dog. You name it, she's determined to conquer it.

the rash in all its glory.

the conqueror in all her glory. 

What's that you say?  You still don't have a headache?  

Try feeding said babies lunch.  Be sure to not use the same spoon/bowl otherwise second baby will contract this lovely virus.  The feverish baby won't eat, pushes the food away, and makes a grim-us.  His poor little throat hurts, so he cries.  Hard.  Meanwhile second baby has successfully pulled the entire banana out of your hand and has attempted to eat the peel.  Oh and did I mention there are two famished dogs who haven't eaten since breakfast, and whose noses are centimeters away from the trays.  Welp, one dog has successfully eaten a dropped banana peel whole. 

Now you have two crying babies.  You feel a headache coming on yet?  Still no?

Try putting these crazies  babies down for a nap.
You put the second baby in her crib.  She cries, then immediately flips over and pulls herself up in her crib.
Now, try putting feverish baby in his crib.  He cries.
Try putting a binkie in his mouth.  He cries because his mouth hurts.
Try holding him, and rocking him.  He cries, arches his back and tries to climb out of your arms.
Try giving him some Tylenol.  He cries, spits it out, and cries even harder.
Try nursing him.  Nope.
Try laying with him in your bed.  He cries.
All the while the other baby is crying in her crib because she can't get down from standing.
Finally, since all else has failed, lay both babies in their cribs, and let them cry themselves to sleep.

Headache accomplished.  Along with sweat and tears.

I don't know how Finny got hand, foot, and mouth, but it might be the saddest thing I've  he's ever experienced. 
I also don't know how Audrey hasn't gotten it yet.  Stay tuned for my next post about how to deal with two babies that have this lovely virus because it is only a matter of time.

Throwback to the Fourth when everyone was happy and virus-free.  

Best buds

Anyone who has ever had twins, or is a twin, has told me how great it is to grow up a twin.

They always have a best friend.  

It is true.  I'm excited that they will (eventually) become best friends, then hate each other, then be best friends again. 

As of right now. . I see signs of them acknowledging each other.  They will smile and laugh at each other, and then push the other's face into the ground.  Okay, mostly Audrey.  She's a bully.  

The three of us (four of us when Wes is around) are the best of friends.  

Yup, I can say that these tiny humans I've created are my best friends.  Honestly.  We do everything together. 

We eat meals together.  

Run errands together.

Bathe together.  Okay I bathe them, and they sit in the bathroom while I take a shower.  I should really combine those. . 

Make dinner together.  They sit in the kitchen wooden spoon and measuring cups in hand.

Exercise together. They either sit in the jogger while I run, or sit in the living room while I do yoga.  Audrey is close to mastering "Downward Dog," and Finny has "Happy Baby" down.

We read books, and sing songs.

They help me work by waving and gnawing on my highlighters.

We nap together.

They've even gone in the dressing room with me to make sure I was buying the right outfit.  They're so fashion forward. 

They listen to my problems, and I listen to theirs.  

We laugh and cry together.  

I love them unconditionally, and I'm sure that's returned.  If that isn't true friendship, I don't know what is.

Basically, I'm hilarious. 

Two on two, traveling with twins

In short, we survived.  Barely.

The twins had their first airplane ride to Utah.

It took months to plan, prepare, and psyche myself up for.

We bought tickets, rented a car, and booked a hotel.  There was no turning back.

First hurdle: figuring out how to get through the airport with two suitcases, two car seats, two back packs, two strollers, and two babies.  We didn't want to check anything due to the lame fees for bags, so we decided to drag it all with us.  I'm bummed we didn't get a picture because we were a sight.  Each pushed a baby in an umbrella stroller.  Each dragged a rollie suitcase with a car seat attached to the back.  We turned heads not once, but twice.  Jaws straight hit the floor.

We didn't actually carry them through the airport like this, but just imagine this all while pushing a stroller. 

The kids did great on the plane.  No crying.  No fussing.  Audrey slept during take off, and woke for landing, and Finny was awake (and laughing) during take off, and fell asleep during landing.

Once we picked up our car, after having to upgrade to a bigger car because apparently we weren't going to fit in a Fiat, we headed to our hotel.

Second hurdle: kids got sick.  Awesome.
The twins had a slight runny nose, that eventually turned into a  full-fledged snot attack.  There were a few sleepless nights in the hotel, and I feel bad for the people around us who were probably up with us every couple hours.

The rest of the trip went pretty smoothly.  We had to drive two and a half hours for the wedding on Friday, which seemed to fit perfectly on schedule with nap times.

I was worried about the plane ride home since they were sick, and already cranky. . but they fell asleep as soon as we boarded and slept the entire ride home.  The flight attendants even moved us to the two back rows so we could spread out.  Audrey and I napped, while Finny napped and Wes played Candy Crush.

Things that helped:

1) Umbrella strollers.  I bought 2 $15 strollers from Walmart and they were so convenient to travel with.  We used them through the airport, when we walked through the mall, at the temple, or just when I couldn't carry 20 lbs of baby anymore.

2) Food pouches= awesome.  I stocked up months before we left.  Usually I make the kids food myself, but I didn't think I would be able to travel with all that food, so the pouches were perfect.

3) Bulb snot sucker.  Seriously.  Poor babies couldn't breathe, or had snot running down their face, so we would literally pin them down and suck that crap out.  It was nasty, and the babies cry like you're cutting off a limb, but they can breathe so much better after.

4) Having family around to help.  It was so nice to have someone to help carry/feed/pickup/bathe a baby.  They would always seem to step in right at the point when I was looking frazzled to help.

It was a great weekend filled with family, gushy love, and belly laughs.

Tiredness filled our eyes, snot filled our noses, and love filled our hearts.

Dancing with daddy

Breakfast at our hotel

Yes, that's Finny in the overhead bin.  #parentsoftheyear

They were right

They said to get as much sleep as possible before the baby/babies come.

They said you'll never get to sleep in again.

They said your life will revolve around bedtimes and nap times.

Whomever these "they" are were stinking right.  And I hate them.

Bedfords have been struggling in the sleep department lately to say the very least.
 We have done everything possible to get and get some sleep.  I mean everything.

Take 3 naps instead of 2.

Fan on.

Fan off.

Sound machine up loud.  Sound machine turned down soft.

Extra large amounts of food during the day. (which could be why Finny is a 20 lb. chunk)

Rocking back to sleep when they wake up.

Teething tablets (which Wes thinks I am straight drugging my children to sleep.  Nope.  Homeopathic homey)

Window open.  Window closed.

Swaddling them again.

Letting them cry themselves to sleep.

Sleeping on the floor with them in their room til they fall asleep.

Bringing them to our bed.  (seriously last resort.  I swear as soon as their tiny, little, crying, fussy head hits our mattress, they are asleep)

I haven't gone to Tylenol quite yet, but there's no telling what I'll do in a zombie induced state.

After talking it over with a couple of mommy buddies, praying like it's my job, and having nice, long talks with the babies about the importance of sleep, this is what has been working for us the past week:

1) Sleep train yo!  Sleep train. This infamous "they" told me about this a while back. I read books on it, and was fully prepared to train these little rascals.  I thought that they were because they were sleeping through the night, however we were rocking them to sleep.  It was working up until they were about 7 months.  Then things changed and they started waking up.  3 times a night.  Each.

So at nap time and bed time, I set them in their cribs and let them soothe themselves to sleep.  That way if they wake up in the middle of the night, they know how to fall back to sleep by themselves.  This of course was rough at first, but they got the hang of it real quick.  For the past week they've been falling asleep by themselves.

2) Amber necklace.  Audrey was the main culprit of these 3 am parties, and was fussy almost constantly.  So I decided to get her an Amber necklace.  People swear by these, but I was skeptical.  She has been wearing it for about a week, and is rested and happy again.  Coincidence?  I think not.  She is, however, the only one in our family to have about 5 mosquito bites. . the hippie ju-ju-bees might be making her especially tasty.

Fingers crossed these things continue to work and I don't have to resort to drugging my babies to sleep.  I won't, at least not consciously.

So in short, they were right.
They were also right when they say that it is all worth it.  Even when they've kept you up all night and you want to pull your hair out, they are so worth it.

Finny in a basket

 PS Audrey is on the move.  Help!

It is blazin'

It is hot here.
Really hot.
Hotter than Phoenix hot.
However, the difference here is we don't have AC.
(Dad/landlord, I'm not complaining, just stating the facts.  It is not like you are in the AC line of work or anything.  I kid.  But really he is.)

Since it has been hot, we have been trying our best to keep cool.  Luckily I can go to my parent's house that does have AC.  And a pool!

Otherwise we have fans running, and are taking cold showers.  I gave the babies a cooler than normal bath yesterday because they woke up really sweaty from their nap.  I thought it might feel nice, however it did not go over well.  Finny didn't make much fuss, but he did have little goose-bumps on his legs as he splashed around.  Audrey cried like it was a bath filled with snow.  It was not.

We have a giant tube-like floor fan in our living room that Finny keeps eye-balling.  I think he thinks it is that giant back foam roller from my previous post that can oscillate on its own.  He's got one eye on that thing at all times.

Audrey has been pretty needy lately and wants to be on me.  Squirming around, sweaty, and bobbing her head.  It is hot, but she is cute.

The upside is that it is too hot to make dinner.  So I don't.
Nothing like hanging out in a diaper eating popsicles for dinner.

Our mother's day celebration at the beach.

Word on the Bedford street

So word on the Bedford street is:

All about Finn's hair:  His hair is crazy.  Completely out of control.  

He always had some crazy hair. . It was long and dark when he was born, then it grew into a "shark fin" then it became an "old man comb over", and now it is light, fuzzy, and all over the place. 

He had a bit of cradle cap so we have been washing his fuzzy locks with baby oil.  It seemed to be working, and then Wes forgot to wash it out and he had greasy, crunchy, wet looking hair for a day.   Not his best look.

All about sleep, or lack there of:  Audrey. won't. sleep. ever.  Okay, not ever.  Both kids were sleeping about 9 hours a night.  It was pretty nice for us.  They would wake at like 4:30 or 5, I'd nurse them, and then they'd sleep for another couple hours.  Now, Audrey wakes up.  A lot.  She wakes, and then wakes Finn up.  He goes back to sleep quickly, but Audrey thinks that there's a party at her crib at 2am.  She starts by singing high pitched as she rolls from side to side.  Then she starts chatting, "da da da da da" as she rolls to her tummy.  Then she doesn't want to be on her tummy so she cries.  And cries.  We've tried to not go in there, hoping she would just fall back asleep because as soon as she saw one of us she would cry more wanting us to pick her up.  So we let her cry it out.  For almost an hour.  I cried with her until her wimpering stopped and she fell asleep.  Meanwhile, Finny was straight sawing logs.

Finny doesn't always nap during the day though. .

Caught him creeping on me. 

All about the black roller: My parents got a foam roller for your back.  It is awesome, but Finny DOES NOT like it.  Every time he sees it he cries with his little bottom lip all pouty.  I love it, and want to bring it out all the time and "torture" him with it because I just love that little pouty lip #momfail.   One night he had a nightmare, and I'm sure he was having a dream about this black foam roller coming to get him.  There's a video below, but I'm pretty sure you have to use a computer (not iphone, or ipad) to watch it.  Also it's sideways because I can't figure out how to change it.  Remember walking zombie over here.

All about running: I'm trying to run 100 miles in May.  That is about 3.25 miles a day, which isn't a lot, it is just trying to find the time to run on my own.  Otherwise I have to pack the kids up in the double-jogger and take them with me.  Also it has been 100 degrees here. Also I'm making all kinds of excuses to not run.

All about Wes trying to fit in every sport in a week: Wes plays basketball every Tuesday night. (side note, I think he broke his nose.  It is definitely crooked.) He also plays soccer every Sat. in a small league, and now softball Sat. nights.  Calling all football teams.  Pretty much covers every sport.

All about crawling: The babies want to crawl so bad.  All they do is roll to their tummies, stick their butts in the air, and get up on their tippy toes.  They even get their knees under them as if they are going to start crawling, but then face plant with their booties in the air.  As soon as they figure out how to get their upper bodies up too, we are in big trouble.

That's about it. Crazy hair, sleep deprived, killer roller, well-rounded Wes, and mobility.

Off to bed because I'm sure I'll be up at 2am for the Audrey party at her crib.