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!