Friday, August 12, 2011

Christmas Came Early

My grocery shopping trips have evolved since I've been married. When Tyler and I were first married I would go to Walmart once a week to grocery shop. Then on my way home, I would stop at our local grocer to pick up produce and meat. Sometimes I would even stop at the Farmer's Market.

I continued to do this even after Lily was born. The trip began to get a little too long to keep Lily busy, so I decided I would go to Walmart one day and the grocery on a different day and that worked out pretty well.

Then our dear Bridget came along. Toting two was definitely more difficult. I came up with a plan! I figured out our dinner menu for two weeks and then only went to Walmart once every two weeks. I still went to our local grocery every week for meat, produce, and anything we may have run out of. This new plan worked out wonderful for our growing family.

This was working great until I got pregnant with the twins. The pregnancy was definitely more difficult and many times I was too tired and too big to bring the girls, so I began going on the weekends or even before Tyler left for work. This seemed to work out pretty well. But then I began thinking...how the heck do I grocery shop with four?
How will I fit two carseats in the cart?
Will I push one cart and pull the other?
How will I keep Lily and Bridget close, busy, and away from the candy aisle?
Will I have to pack snacks, buckle the girls in then load up the twins, drive, get there, unload the twins, unload the girls, and then load everyone into the carts? (Seemed exhausting!)
How many people will stop, stare, and want to talk about the twins?

This last question I hadn't thought about until I actually had the twins and went out in public with them. EVERYONE wants to come talk and see the twins. Now this is usually ok, but sometimes I'm in sort of a hurry. It's twice as likely that someone will puke on themselves, poop through their clothes, become fussy, want to be held, or want to eat. So I try to keep it to a brisk pace. Not to mention, when I have the girls too, I'm juggling quite a bit. People will stop and say, "Wow! You're busy," and want to chat and look at the babies. And I'm thinking, "Yes, I am busy and I need to keep moving or someone is going to get grumpy, throw a fit, or (heaven forbit) walk away and I won't know where she is." So while I'm trying not to be rude, I gotta keep moving people!

I did think about only going to the grocery with three, because Lily would be at school sometimes, but even that didn't seem feasible. Two carseats and and almost two-year-old still seemed too crazy for me.

Then I discovered PEAPOD! They deliver groceries to your home. Well, if you know me, you may say I'm on the frugal side. So my first thought was that Peapod would be too expensive for me! I don't like to spend an extra dime if I don't have to. I looked online and their prices were higher, but really not that much higher. I could use my coupons and I found lots of coupon codes online.

So again I refigured my grocery shopping game plan. I will continue to do my big Walmart shop on Saturday morning (most likely) every two weeks with either one or two kids in tow. But then I will use Peapod!

So last night as I was paying bills and listening to Wheel of Fortune in the background, the doorbell rang. It was "SANTA!" He brought in all the groceries I had ordered online and put them on my counter. I didn't have to load any kids, maneuver through any crowded aisles, say no to buying candy in the check out lane....my groceries were just there! Amazing!!!!! The slight increase in price and delivery fee are well worth my sanity! A special thanks to Jennifer Rea who gave us a gift card to try it out. Now I must go cut up some cucumbers (that I didn't have to shop for) for dinner!

Monday, August 08, 2011

2 Months Old

BOILER UP! Thanks Brandy, for the adorable onesies. It says "Boiler Up" on their tushies. ha! They are giving lots of coos and lots of smiles! They love being in the swing and both love their baths. Thomas is quite our eater and gets up more than Lucy during the night. Both of their eyelashes are getting really long. I can't imagine life without these two. But holy cow, do we go through a lot of diapers and wipes! :)

Lucy will eventually kill me for putting this pictures up, but the crossed eyes make me laugh!





Sunday, August 07, 2011

Baptism!

Below are the proud Godparents. Thomas-Fr. Steve and Aunt CeCe and Lucy-Aunt Katie and Uncle G!










Lucy and Thomas were baptized on July 30th! They were lucky enough to have 3 priests present...Fr. Steve, Fr. Hollowell, and Fr. Meyer!




Thomas and his Godmother, Aunt CeCe.






Happy Baptism Day!








There we are!











Getting baptized!








It was a perfect day. We had a little brunch at our house afterward. I just love the smell of the oil they put on their heads.











Saturday, August 06, 2011

Our Summer Happenings

What an amazing summer this has been! Tyler has been home so much, so we've really been able to enjoy each (HOT!) summer day. Tyler officially starts back on Monday. Lily will go to school with him 3 days a week. She is so excited to go back to Trojan Tots. Even though our family doubled, we still tried to do as many activities possible. We had lots of people saying, "Are you crazy?" But hey, this is our life. We have 4 under 4 and we still want to do fun stuff with the girls. It just takes planning, organization, and lots of energy. I'm definitely sad that our summer is coming to close, but I'm ready for the challenge of being home by myself with 4. I know I can do it...even if it does involve a glass of wine at 5PM! Below are some pictures of our summer happenings.

Hanging out with Uncle Bubba.



Playing at the water park!










Holding babies.









Being naked!










And of course swimming at Nana's...or Nina's as Bridget tells us.




We also took the twins to their first Indians game and we joined the YMCA. I think it may be my savior. They had a "Child Watch." I can drop off all 4 kids off for TWO WHOLE HOURS and workout and actually shower without anyone screaming. They will feed the babies and have little art activities for the girls. My first time I was paged over the loud speaker to come and get Bridget (she was so sad), but surely it will get better!