'Like' My Picture

I have a friend who gave up social media for Lent.  Why?  Because she realized it was bringing her down and she honestly feels better about herself without it.  She gets her feelings hurt if not many people 'like' her pictures.  Even more when there's a private page that tells her who's viewed it...but not necessarily clicked 'like'.

Why do you decide not to 'like'?  Do you actually not like it OR is it something more?  And more importantly, why do we care?!?  GUILTY.

Challenge?  Scroll down your newsfeed and 'like' the hell out of your friends posts.  With the exception of political and religious posts...and cats...you don't have to like cats.  Did I just lose a few friends?  #sorrynotsorry

Something to think about.

One YEAR

Thank you, Mrs. Brittney!  We love you.

http://www.brittneydavisphotography.com/

Off the MAP+WAGON

So it's obvious...I'm terrible at {even thinking about} blogging. One of my goals this year, is to blog more than last year which isn't a huge feat at a mere 13 posts.  Bring it on, 2014!

Speaking of bringing it on (side note: I LOVE the movie Bring it On...just the first one...CLASSIC), I didn't so much bring it on last year.  I'm referring to my last post.  Not much has changed in the weight department.  I recently peeked at my Weight Watchers starting weight for 2013 and I'm 0.7 less.  Oh my.  I'm not going to get into the details {for now} but much like most every other overweight person in January, I'm back on track.  2014 has to be my year.  I have a family beach vacation in May and my 10-year anniversary in November.  This momma's got some work to do!

The kids? Amazing.  Simply amazing.  I shake my head in disbelief that I get to be their momma.  They're healthy, beautiful, feisty, hilarious, play hard and love hard.  I'm in awe of them.  A whole new world of joy and vulnerability opened up when I became their mom.  It's terrifying, really.  You mommas know what I mean.

Scott? He's hanging in there...learning to live with the ebb and flow of life without a thyroid and handling it like a champ.  It's January, which means it's time for his every 6 month cancer screening.  His sonogram and blood work will give us some insight and let us know where he's at and what step is next.  Please continue to pray for complete healing.

My new venture? Vine+Branches on Etsy.  After a {manageable} opening is August, I was slammed with a feature on Groopdealz, Christmas orders and a fabulous little pop-up shop called Gathered.  Though grateful for the business, I had definitely taken on more than I could handle.  Thankfully, my sweet husband helped me get it under control again and I was able to reopen my shop this month.  It's pretty empty for now, but I look forward to revealing some new items soon.  Thank you to all of the friends, family and complete {awesome} strangers that have supported Vine+Branches the past few months.

Well...that's The Burchett Bunch updates in a nutshell.  If there's anyone out there, thanks for reading and I want to wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2014!

Caroline

CHUBBY Talk

You can be chubby forever.  But I don't want to be...chubby is no longer welcome here.

Enough with the "but you just had TWO babies" business.  Just to be perfectly clear...the twins are coming up on 6 months.  SIX MONTHS.  HALF A YEAR.  I can't ride through my early 30s on the tail of the having babies excuse.  Enough is enough.

Yes.  In the beginning, I was motivated.  When you're losing 6lbs/day for a week, it's a breeze.  You may or may not remember seeing this a few months back...

So, what happened?  Maybe I thought if I put it out there, I'd hold myself more accountable.  No.  Such.  Luck.  Here I am, 4 months later at pretty much the same weight.  How have I justified it?  I've said that if I hadn't been sort-of going and kinda doing Weight Watchers, I'd be up 15 pounds due to new momma stress.  I whole-heartedly believe this to be true.  When the babies are having a tough day, I find myself looking for the closest box of Cheez-its.  And possibly chocolate.  Possibly.  And if cupcakes were in the house, cupcakes...DEFINITELY cupcakes!

The problem?  I'm SICK of clothes not fitting, I'm TIRED of thinking I'll never get this off and I'm SO OVER being chubby.  I DESERVE to be the best me and I DESIRE to be a fit momma and to model healthy behaviors for my kiddos.

A lot of people hope to get back to their high school weight.  Not me.  My high school weight isn't too far from where I am right now.  I was never small growing up.  It wasn't until pictures like these (fall 2007)...

{gasp} that I realized I had WAAAAY more weight to lose than I thought.  With Weight Watchers and TONS of running, several years later (summer 2010), I looked like this...

Yes.  It took almost 3 years BUT I promised myself I'd stick with it (even through gains) and I did.  My trend was to lose about 30lbs/year and then gain 10 back until I was down 76 overall.

So, my goal is to get within 10 pounds of the 2010 me.  I've done it before.  I don't have as much to lose.  I'm capable of doing it again.  I'm a mom this time...which is an interesting twist but I'm not going to let that change my goal.  I just have to make some adjustments to make time for me.  I'll call this my official "before" pic...

How do I get there?  Ummm...yeah.  If you find the easy way out, let me know.  But from my yo-yo/tried it all dieting experience, there isn't one.  Until then, I'm still going to Weight Watchers but am currently doing the Advocare 24-day Challenge (cleanse).  I'm on day 5 and I'm already down 4.7lbs!  As the success continues, I'll blog about the details.

I'm also S-L-O-W-L-Y getting back into running.  Going from marathons to walk/running 2 miles is humbling, to say the least.  It feels good to be back at it though.  I'd like to squeeze in some strength training as well.

So, that's where I'm at.  I am going to get 30lbs off.  It has to happen...for me and for my family.  I can't WAIT to walk past a mirror in a department store and see skinny me again!

TWINS at 21 Weeks

As a kindergarten teacher, I quickly learned that my students CRAVED consistency and how much more productive and happy they were when our day had a predictable order.  As a new momma, I try my best to provide the same daily routine and consistent schedule for my little ones...with room for flexibility here and there.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before...but Scott and I have used a bit of Babywise to keep Bennett and Clara on a PDF (parent-directed feeding) schedule.  There may be some twin mommas out there that feed on demand (impressive) but the NICU nurses started us on a 3-hour schedule and we stuck to it.

Our feedings are at 7, 10, 1 and 4.  We ALWAYS start the day at 7am and try to end it at 7pm.  But notice the flexibility built into the rest of the schedule.  If my babies are still sound asleep at 10am, I let them continue sleeping but not past 10:30am.  I then wake them for their feeding.  The same is true for feedings.  If Clara is STARVING (ha...she's quite the drama queen) at 6:30, I'll feed her.

We believe that it's important to follow the eat/play/sleep plan mentioned in Babywise.  We stick to that specific order when possible.  It just makes sense.  Full feedings make for more waketime energy which makes them super sleepy.  Proper rest opens the door to productive feedings and the cycle begins again.

Bennett and Clara have been sleeping {consistently} through the night (7:30/8pm-7am) since 16 weeks without a middle-of-the-night peep.  They arrived 6 weeks early, so the adjusted age would be 10 weeks.  Not too shabby!  We believe it's due to several factors but mainly their daytime schedule.

Please use books and blogs as tools and not the "end-all-and-be-all" (I'm speaking to myself here).  I looked and looked for sleep answers and my kids didn't meet the mold in any of it.  It just took time to get to know them and their needs.  And I'm still learning new things about them every day.  Keeping that in mind, here's what currently works for us...

Our Daily Schedule at 21 Weeks:

7am...wake/bottle #1

---WAKETIME---

8/8:30am...nap #1
(typically the longest nap of the day)
-------------------------------------------------------------

10/10:30am...bottle #2

---WAKETIME---

11:30/12pm...nap #2
-------------------------------------------------------------

1/1:30pm...bottle #3

---WAKETIME---

2:30/3pm...nap #3
-------------------------------------------------------------

4/4:30pm...bottle #4

---WAKETIME---

5:30/6pm...nap #4 

(This one is hit or miss...I'm thinking they're going to completely eliminate this nap soon. I commonly refer to this as their "GROUCHY" time of day.  Look out...not pretty!)

-------------------------------------------------------------
7pm...bath/bottle #5/bed

Right now, waketime activities include: tummy time, Bumbo time (with toys on the tray) and/or mommy reading books/singing songs, the jumparoo, and attempting to roll around on the floor.

A few randoms I've learned so far...

• SLEEP is just as important as FOOD for growth...during certain sleep cycles, the growth hormone is released.  WHAT?  True.
• Good, super long naps don't necessarily mean that my babies will sleep less during the night.  Actually, naps haven't affected my kiddos' nighttime sleep at all.
• If you have twins, they usually won't have the same waketime/nap lengths {gasp}.  It's a tough act to juggle, but again...listen to your babies.  They'll let you know what they need and when they need it.
• If they wake from a nap early, give them the opportunity to figure out how to get themselves back to sleep...even if they have to cry for a bit {double-gasp}.  Watch the clock.  I guarantee you it's not as long as it seems.  We do our children a disservice when we overly intervene.  Crying is harder on us than it is on them.  They're not going to die from crying.  That said, if they're escalating to the point of no return, it's time to step in.
• A swing can be a good place to finish a nap.  If they're awake and you've allowed them time to self-soothe (and it just isn't happening), the swing is a good tool to help them get back to sleep.  I just wouldn't allow it to become a habit (if possible).
• YOU might be more attached to swaddles than they are.  Try one arm out for a while, then both arms and then no swaddle at all.  Our kiddos weaned from them like champs.  We were terrified to try but they've successfully been swaddle-free for a couple weeks now!  Way to go, guys!

4 MONTHS

On March 30th, the twins were 4 months old.  After seeing a friend's post, I just had to copy!  Better late than never, right?  Though I gotta admit, I'm always a little late...in everything.

I can't wait to see what their 6 month stats are!  Scott and I adore our healthy, growing buddies!!

A RED WAGON Shower

I can't believe it.  My little sis is having a baby boy in May.  That makes 4 new grand-babies {for our parents} in 6 months!  Last Saturday, we celebrated Baby Boy Rodgers with a Red Wagon-themed shower...it was a BLAST!

Guests shared their best parenting advice by writing it in these red wagon picture books.  What a great keepsake for Sarah and Baby Rodgers!

We also asked guests to address their own 'thank you' notes to help out the soon-to-be momma.

The 'sweets' table took the cake.  LITERALLY.  It was filled with all sorts of sugary goodness.

The iced beverage station included: vintage Big Red {of course!}, blue Jones Soda, mimosas, punch, water with cucumber and bottled water.

The coffee station was the perfect place for one of our miniature Radio Flyer wagons!

We served breakfast burritos, artichoke cups, chicken-minis, mixed fruit salad, candied bacon and mini muffins {hello delicious calories}.  The diet started the following day.

I can't wait to meet my precious, new nephew!  I am one blessed auntie.

Invitations: PartySoPerfect on Etsy

Invitation Printing: catprint.com

Location: Mom and Dad's House {Garland, TX}

Number of Guests: 60

Cookies/Cakeballs/Mini Cupcakes: Daily Dose of Sweet

Favors: Blue and Red Candy Bar