3 in a Tub

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I've been a busy little bee for the last week and a half.  My parents came to visit and I had a to-do list a mile long.  The primary task was to paint my kitchen and dining room... so I was highly focused on that for a few days (yes, days, these things take a while when you can only work while your children sleep).  I still have a little bit to do, but my parents are gone now, no more live-in babysitters, it will take some planning.  Thanks for your help, mom and dad!

We have a new nightly ritual.  Now that the girls can sit up, bath time has become much easier... and I can do 2 at a time.

Oh wait, make that 3:

 

They seem to really enjoy it and it makes things easier (for now).  Sorry for the naked pictures.

Here's a picture of our house:

And here's one thankful happy mama:

A quick update on Simon's job.  He has passed the Series 7 (yay!), and has another test this week.  He has been busy studying and preparing for the work ahead (going door to door to find clients).  He will be working out of an office in Hagerstown during this time, and will open his own office within a year or two.  He's about to enter the toughest part of the job (building a client base), but we have to remember that it is only for a time and God is in control.  Your prayers for his success and my sanity (being alone a lot with the kids) are always appreciated.  

In closing, Selah discovered the act of clapping this morning.  Once we got to church, she was clapping when the music started.  Totally made my day.  

Blessings!

Prep for the Holidays!

My parents arrive tomorrow from Indiana.  Got me thinking about cleaning up around the house... here is a helpful read from Simple Mom if you plan to have guests this holiday season!

Preparing for Guests

What about you?  Planning on visitors anytime soon?

Look What I Won!

I'm subscribed to almost 50 blogs on Google Reader...keeps me busy for a few evenings of the week.  They are blogs of friends, interior design, sewing, and mom stuff.  Anyway, those "professional" bloggers have pretty good giveaways, and like, a million people comment to win.  But guess what, I finally won a giveaway!!!  I couldn't believe it when I saw my name!  Looky what I won...

 This super wonderful pillow from Alice Lane Home.  And the best part: the price tag.  My jaw literally fell open when I saw it.  I won't tell you how much the $123 tag was for.(!)  I think this pillow just became a family heirloom.  Anyway, hope you get to win a giveaway sometime too!

Reader Opinion: Drinking Glasses

Here's the situation:  I was given these glasses (someone just getting rid of them), and I'm not sure if I should keep them or not.  I definitely don't need them, and don't necessarily know when I would use them, but if you all think they are FABULOUS, then I might rethink that. :)  Let me know what you would do with them!

Reader Opinion: Early Mornings

I've decided to add a new genre of blog posts entitled "Reader Opinion."  I'll use these whenever I want your advice or thoughts on something. 

My first plea: any ideas on how to get kids to sleep in later in the morning?  Before the time change, they all got up at 7, but obviously now that is 6.  Christian wakes up because he has to go to the bathroom and the girls each mess their diapers.  I don't know if there is a way to get those "bodily cycles" to delay?  It seems like they still wake up at the same time even when we put them to bed a little later at night.  Thoughts?

Ordering Online

I just sent an email to someone about ordering items online, and thought I'd share it with you all too!  If you have young kids (or if you have internet), check these out!

These are websites where I've purchased household items and diapers.  I'll try to fill you in on what I've learned, and you can go from there!
But first, just a few general tips:
-I ALWAYS buy the biggest box of diapers available... and I use them all up, even if they start to get small.  You get a better price per diaper this way.  Also, the bigger the diaper, the more you pay per diaper.  So right now, my twins could probably fit in size 4, but I am going to keep buying size 3 as long as possible because I get about 20 more diapers in a box with the smaller size. 
-Always buy wipes in bulk, and use them to refill your plastic containers.
-I like buying big things online, like toilet paper, bulk paper towels, and detergent.  These things take up a lot of room in a cart at the store, so why not have it brought right to your door? :)
Anyway---

The first place I started ordering diapers is diapers.com.   The nice thing here is that if you use this code:  SIMX7667    ... you will save 15% on your first order (and I will get $10 off my next order! yay!).   With this site, you have to spend $49 to get free shipping.  So I'd usually buy 1 or 2 boxes of diapers, or a box of diapers and some wipes or a sippy cup, etc (something random that I might need).   Diapers.com now has a sister site called Soap.com!  I have only ordered from them once, but it works the same way but it has household items.  Nifty!--- you can get everything at one site!

Second, I have used Alice.com for a few things.  They have free shipping as long as you have 6 items in your cart.  Nothing extremely special about their prices, but they do have online coupons for certain items.  I haven't used alice as much recently.  When I do use it, it's usually for toilet paper, paper towels, or kitchen stuff (foil, seran wrap, etc).  Now that there is Soap.com, I don't know if I'll use alice.

Lastly, and most recently, I've been using Amazon.com/diapers.  I don't know if it is still going on, but they had a special deal that if I signed up to have diapers sent automatically (I choose 1 box every 2months), then I got like, 40% off every order of diapers!  Amazing!  So take a look at their site and see if you can find a similar deal.  It is called "Subscribe and Save".   So the box of diapers that normally costs me $37 has been costing me $29.  That's a good deal. :)  It also has free 2 day shipping on diapers.

Well I hope that helps you out!  I love getting these items dropped off at my house.  Especially when I realize I'm going to run out of diapers soon, but I cant' get to the store!--- order on a Wednesday, and you usually get diapers on Friday!