Dubble Bubble Birthday Party for the Twins!

So, back last year...like 7 months before their February birthday, I was hunting for a fun and unique theme for their party. They are currently too young to pick their own theme or have an opinion on the matter at all. I LOVE hosting parties and LOVE crafting, so I really enjoy having themes and kind of going all out. I know, I know, they are just little kids and won't remember their party...so why go big on their party?! Well, because they will have pictures to remember their early birthday parties, they enjoy the decorations, our friends and family take the time out of their day to come celebrate with us, and ...why not make it fun for all?

When searching for twin birthday party themes, the most overdone one of all that comes up in the search is "Thing 1 and Thing 2"...I am NOT doing that one...Ever. Another common one is Noah's Ark. Nope to that one too. I really wanted something unique...something not overdone.
And then I stumbled upon this one blog (only one I could find) with the Dubble Bubble theme: Designer Girl 007.

It was clear very quickly that I was going to do the Dubble Bubble theme. Two main reasons: one being it's entirely unique. In fact, the only idea for it that I could find was the one blog listed above. Two, being since there's no pre-made party stuff in existence, I could craft everything on my own. Winner!

I found inspiration on Pinterest, but also had many of my own ideas.

 This was their cake. Everyone loved it! How cool! And it was delicious! We did a pink lemonade cake and a vanilla cake. It was designed and made by Dianna Keesler.@ Love of Cakes.

And here is the entire cake table. We used red/pink starbursts (they actually sell these in a bag with only the red ones!), Strawberry Whoppers, animal crackers, Dubble Bubble Gum, Cake Pops (also made by Love of Cakes), and butter mints in pink and blue wrappers to go with the theme.

 For our party-area decor (which happened to be our kitchen/dining area) we used crepe paper ($.97 per roll) to hang in streamers on the wall in the colors of the party (no, that is NOT wallpaper, lol). We also used $.97 plastic table cloths from Wal-Mart for the solid blue chair rail to cover up our rose wallpaper border. It really added to the dramatic effect!
Here are the recipes for the food we served: Meatballs with cubed cheese,  Greek Dip (and I did homemade hummus) with pita chips,  and the Raspberry Lemonade punch. I kept the sweet treats and the appetizers on separate tables (left table is appetizers and right is sweet treats).

I made these from white poster board ($.99 per sheet and I used 2 total sheets) and just cut them out. For the blue letters (their initials) I wrapped them with blue crepe paper. For the number 2, I scrunched up small square pieces of tissue paper and hot glued them onto the poster board (tissue paper was $.97 per pack at Wal-Mart and I used 2 packs).

This was a table decoration piece. I made the banner on my computer with Power Point and then just added the bubblegum to the vase. Easy enough!

This was a Dubble Bubblegum tree. I used a plastic cup turned upside down as a base, wrapped some white paper around it to make a tee-pee shape, hot glued it together...and then hot glued on the bubblegum pieces. I let my 3year old son help me with this and he had a lot of fun!

Here's our beverage and supply station. Super easy and cheap to do. We did a raspberry lemonade punch in the dispenser (recipe is above) and I set the table up a little nicer for the actual party than what is pictured here. The paper plates, napkins, cups, and plastic wear were all in the $.97 section of the party supplies at Wal-Mart. For the plastic wear, I placed them in mason jars that had Dubble Bubble gum in the bottoms for a little added detail.

This was the set up for our photo booth area and extra seating. We used the $.97 plastic table cloths to cover all of the tables and I printed off the little bubblegum machines and pieces of bubblegum to pin up the yellow table cloth (just to add a little detail). I took the pictures the night before so all of the chairs and the camera were not yet set up. We placed the camera on the table with a tri-pod and it worked perfectly.

I wrapped up a diaper box with bubblegum pink paper and typed up a Photo Booth instructions sheet...and then filled it with some stuff I made on the computer and other fun photo booth props! This was such a fun activity for a birthday party!

For our fireplace mantle I wanted something abstract, so we blew up a bunch of balloons and just piled them on there in a random arrangement (used masking tape to secure them). We also hid a bubble machine in there to turn on to entertain the kids when they all started acting crazy...and it worked like a charm!

On top of our entertainment stand is where we kept the party favors; which were candy filled balloons with the card pictured above attached to it (I made using PowerPoint)..and then a toothpick taped to the homemade card so they could pop the balloon; I advised all of the parents to supervise their children while popping the balloon and suggested doing it outside. I also added some 'gumball' balloon decor as well (which was a pink balloon wrapped in iridescent cellophane and tied on the ends with ribbon).
Not pictured is a kid table I had set up with home-made coloring pages and crayons for everyone to color so that I could add the pages to the Twins' scrapbook. I am also adding the photo booth pictures that were taken to their scrap book as well. Many fun memories were made with this uniquely themed party!!!


All in all, this was party was so FUN! Everyone really had a good time. I was able to decorate for this party for less than $20 (including the table decor and photo booth) and the food cost me around $60. My Mom purchased the cake, so I did not include that in my cost. I'm sure anyone could pull this same party off for less than $200, everything included.

Happy 2nd Birthday to my Twincesses!!

Change, the real kind.

So this post will be a bit heavy of a topic. Maybe even a bit annoying to some. But it's one that I need to write about to let it out.

The topic is about change; and the specific changing of oneself for the betterment, and legacy of your name.

A close friend pointed out to me very recently that my family likes to poke fun at me (the much younger me, mostly) and does so often. She asked why they do it and I replied "because I'm an easy target", which is true. I also know that the teasing she was referring to was all done in fun and had no ill intention. So I'm game. Bring it. I poke fun at myself too!

But this also reminded me of how I used to be back years ago and how I have CHANGED since then. In fact, I've really changed a lot.

As a child I've been told numerous times that I was quite the Academy Award winning drama Queen. That I hated crowds. That I was mean to my brother. That I was a speed talker. That I was bossy. That I was strong willed. That I was mouthy. That I was spoiled. That it was all about ME.  And my Mom refers to me in a phrase that I was the child who thought I was god. And my first grade teacher wrote on my report card that I was "the mother" and "doesn't play well with others".

Any of that sound like things you'd like to be referred to for the rest of your life?              I didn't think so.

I don't want to be remembered that way for the rest of my life. And those of you that know me now may be shocked to read the above references to me because I’m not like that anymore (well, for the most part...I did retain some qualities as they are the personality that God gave me).

I won't describe how I am now in my own words, because that would be my own perception which usually isn’t entirely accurate. But I would like to think that how I feel about who I am now is how others view me.

I will, however, describe what I've been aiming for in this change.

I aim to live for God and to please HIM. To make Him proud of me and my actions. And to raise my kids to live for God and obey Him.

I aim to forgive and move forward. This is a tough one but one we all must strive for. Just because you forgive someone doesn't mean you're okay with the issue, but that you've accepted that's its happened and we are all human and if God can forgive, then we can too. Following this I have been able to quickly move on from arguments, from hurt, and from anger.

I aim to think before I speak; another tough one for me because I grew up being brutally honest about everything. I am still honest but I now try to think about how others will receive what I have to say. I also realize that there's a time and place for everything, and maybe the time I feel I must say something is really a bad time. I then try very hard to keep my mouth shut until a later time...or maybe even forever. But, like all humans, I slip up sometimes and speak before I think and may cause hurt to people unintentionally. I NEVER intend to hurt someone's feelings (and if I say something that you think sounds hurtful, then please as for clarification because you most likely misunderstood or I didn’t have the right approach in saying what I said). I only believe in being honest because I do not believe in lying or sugar coating things. We live in a world of sugar coated everything and all that has done is made people delusional, spoiled, and self righteous. Snap back to reality with a dose of truth and if you don't like the truth then WORK to change it. **Only exception here is when what you have to say is something that cannot ever be changed and will only cause hurt. For instance would be how someone looks. I will never ever stand for bullying. And I think this is where some people forget to draw the line on being brutally honest. Let the truth be constructive in some way and have good intentions, or don't say it at all.

I aim to be helpful and raise my kids to be helpful. Everyone needs help sometimes. And I'd love to be the person people can turn to for that help. I may not have the resources available, but I'm willing to help you seek out those resources. There have been many times when my family has been in dire need of help and we are so blessed to have a great amount of people be there for us to step in when we need it. Thank you to those people!

I aim to be more relaxed. Something I wasn't really ever good at. I used to be called high-strung because I was always anxious. This is something I got help with while in college. I went to a psychologist for a year who taught me how to calm down and handle situations differently. I credit this man with changing me for the better and helping me become the person I had always wanted to be. I feel more at peace with myself than I had ever been prior to age 21. I truly feel like I handle things entirely differently and much more calmly.  I usually only have one to two moments a year that I don't feel I've handled to the best of my ability. But again, I'm human and am allowed those moments because I am NOT perfect, and never will be. Those are the moments I ask God for forgiveness and ask that people forgive me for them as well.


I aim to be fun. This hasn't really ever been hard for me, but there are times I feel like I'm being a bump-on-a-log and grumpy. I also feel like I get stuck in a rut and become no fun at all. So I strive to find fun in everything I do and find enjoyment in it all. I always look for the positives in EVERYTHING, which is why I'm able to poke fun at myself and situations. It's always best to look on the brighter side =) As a younger adult I would take the fun out of everything by only seeing the negatives. That's not the way to live life. I want to LIVE life to the fullest and to do that there isn't room for Negative Nancy. So I put on my Positive Polly pants every morning and have FUN!

I aim to be a good, caring, loving, compassionate Mother to my children and Wife to my husband. Far too often do I see examples of those that I do not want to be like. I try to remember those examples when I'm feeling down about a rough day at home and that helps me pick myself back up and get back on the path that I want. I am certainly far from perfect is this area, but I know my heart is in the right place and that I am trying to do what is right.

I aim to be conscious in life; to be aware of what's going on around me and not be naive about it all. I believe a lot of people choose to ignore this world and the problems it faces. I want to be aware of it and do my duty on Earth by trying to make it a better place. I want to teach my kids about evil but show them that positive far outweighs the evil.

I aim to make a positive impact on people's lives. There's a saying that goes around that really irritates me, and that's because it's a lie. I hear "don't worry about what people think because it doesn't matter."  That is absolutely untrue. Why wouldn’t it matter?! Why even be nice to people or do good things if it doesn't matter anyways? Exactly, people. It DOES matter. God's opinion of me matters, my loved ones' opinions matter, the strangers I meet opinion's matter, etc. Why does it matter? Because I know I am a good person and I want that to shine brightly so that other people can see it too and hope that it will brighten their lives. Our legacy on this Earth is all we have left after we pass on to Heaven. I would prefer that it's a positive legacy and not a negative one. I want people to come to my funeral one day (very long from now) and have happy, positive, fun memories to share.
So, people, please stop telling yourself that you don't care what people think of you. It's not true. Deep down inside we ALL care how we are viewed. You are depriving yourself of honesty if you tell yourself otherwise.
I remember a while back I heard somewhere (possibly Oprah?) that ‘All mankind wants is to be heard and to know that someone cares’. It's very true.


And to close this out, I will end with the words that the three closest people to me, at this point in my life, have used to describe me right now at age 27 (all three were honest as I asked them to be, so thanks to you guys!):   a very loving mother, a wonderful wife, theatrically dramatic (i.e. I become a ninja when I see a spider and could be recast as the leading role in the Arachnophobia movie; not meaning in a negative "likes drama and causes drama" way, says this person), Controlling, Passionate, Straight forward (honest; bluntly and brutally sometimes), Head strong, and  Creative.

I am happy with their descriptions and believe it proves I HAVE changed for the better. Those are much more positive than the descriptions I used to be given that were listed above. I'll take them in stride and continue to work on myself and all of my goals.

The Twins Turning TWO! Are we done having kids?!

This might be the year I really DO cry on my girls' birthday :'( They are turning TWO! And there are a few good reasons I will be crying...

When David and I met we had discussed kids pretty quickly. We always knew we'd want a good sized family as we both adore children. He said he'd want just two kids and I said I wanted four. So we compromised and settled on three. (To which I had expected three pregnancies to enjoy for those three kids).
After Sawyer's (planned...for those who question us all the time! Not that it's any of your business, but I'll clear that up real quick since it happened right as soon as we got married) pregnancy and the rough start to it (I had hyperemesis; which is the extreme version of 'morning sickness' and it caused multiple hospitalizations; and also had SI joint instability, making it very hard to walk), we had questioned having those three kids. Pregnancy had its rough start, but once we got over that initial sickness, it got much better! And then came that sweet prize at the end, our precious baby boy!!! However, his delivery was quite the scary situation and led me to have an urgent c-section (which you'll see later on that it changes some things for us).
Right as I'm holding SB for the first time, I look at David and say "I really want another one like RIGHT now! I could totally hold two babies!". He said I was nuts, as did the nurses. And they blamed it on my hormonal dump.
When Sawyer was 9 months old we decided to try for another baby. I got pregnant right away, but that pregnancy sadly ended in miscarriage about a week after we got that positive test. We were sad but remained positive and we would try again as soon as the doctor gave us the go. We didn't think it would take us three months to get the go-ahead, but it did (Sawyer was just turning 1).  And within two weeks of getting that go-ahead we once again quickly got pregnant. Odd thing was that I got a positive VERY early...and a very dark positive!

I called my doctor right away and she ordered a blood test to confirm.
That same night that I got the positive tests and had the first blood test, I had this really intense realistic crazy dream. I was having an ultrasound and on the screen were two baby girls who said their names were Annabelle and Charlotte. They were identical twin girls. (You get goosebumps yet?! LOL).
So I had the idea in my head that I was having those twin girls.
They did two tests 48hrs apart (with a healthy pregnancy the numbers should double in those 48hrs). My numbers more than tripled. I asked if that meant twins, and they said not necessarily. But they ordered an ultrasound for 5w3d along. That ultrasound showed one gestational sac and a faint yolk sac. Nothing else. So my doctor told me to come back in two weeks to look for a heartbeat. Then at 7w3d we went back to look for a heartbeat. NEVER did we think we'd see this:

And both tadpoles had strong heartbeats!!!! I was in shock and David was jumping up and down while holding SB.
That crazy intense realistic dream JUST about made me faint and I know I got major goosebumps and chills. But there was a problem. Both tadpoles resided in the same sac. I was taken to a room and the doctor explained that there was reason to be concerned and she showed me pictures of what she thought may be going on (Mo-Mo twins was their worry). She was referring me to a high-risk doctor who had a better ultrasound machine to hopefully detect a division in the sac. But I had to wait two weeks until that appointment and during that time we had already booked a vacation with some awesome friends down in Gatlinburg. I knew I was going to be too stressed to have a good time, plus I had morning sickness. BUT I still had a decent time. I was just cranky, moody, sick, and bloated. LoL. Sorry to the Suddarth family for being such a pain on the trip!!!

At that high-risk appointment we were beyond nervous. I turned to God and prayed an incredible amount and told Him that I put all my faith in Him that all would go well...I took some deep breaths and stayed positive. The doctor seemed nervous but within a few minutes of looking, she found that super teeny tiny division we were hoping for!

Picture from 9 weeks along....can barely see the cell membrane division, but it's there!!

 Here's at 10w2d...the cell membrane is easier to see :)

What a relief!! I remember letting out a HUGE breath and sigh of relief. I also started crying. But I knew all was going to be just fine. The doctor said it was still a high risk pregnancy as the twins shared a placenta, but I had zero worries about that. I just had a very internal peace that I know was a God thing. They monitored me weekly for twin-to-twin transfusion (one baby stealing the other baby's nutrition which can be fatal) but never had any issues.
Here's where Sawyer's birth plays a role in the twins' birth. I got big. I got REALLY big. And since this was not my first pregnancy, I got big FAST.

Here's a timeline example from just 12 weeks to 24 weeks...

And because I had a rough c-section 12 months before I got pregnant with these twins, there was a very serious risk, though it was a tiny small percentage risk, is was still a serious risk. It was uterine rupture. Had I just been carrying a singleton I would've been fine. But I was growing rapidly and measured 6-10 weeks ahead the entire pregnancy. Also a complication was pre-term labor; which for me, started at 28 weeks. I was put on strict bed rest and was hospitalized numerous times thinking I would deliver because my contractions were THAT intense and regular. (Picture below is one of the many hospital stays...I was huge and miserable...so yea, go ahead and make fun of me ;-) )

However, I made it to 34 weeks (6 weeks in labor, yeehaw).  At that point I measured 45cm....which is 45 weeks pregnant.

Yea I was a giant. A beached whale. A miserable cranky over-this pregnant lady who wanted these humans who battered me from the inside OUT of my dang body. I even joked frequently that my husband needed to press battery and domestic charges on these babies as soon as they came out. LoL.
On February 8th I was discharged from the hospital (for the umpteenth time) and told I made it to my goal of 34 weeks with two rounds of steroid shots for their lungs. I was safe to deliver any time and to just take it easy (no more strict bed rest). So on the 9th we went to the museum where I parked my behind on benches the whole time. Barely walking. But I needed to get out of the house. (And the museum was just blocks away from my hospital). I had been 3.5-4cm dilated for weeks now and my doctors were just waiting for my water to break at this point. 
That evening I began feeling a very strange bruised feeling on my old c-section scar. It was weird. I told David and he convinced me to get to the hospital (again) to get checked out. I was (and still am) stubborn and decided to drive myself because I just KNEW I'd be sent back home once again. So I drove the 3 minutes from our house to the nearest hospital. Waddled in there with a look of misery on my face. Expecting to go to Triage room A as usual. But this time they put me in a real room. That was odd. Then in comes my nurse Amanda. She said my OB would be in shorty and I was likely going to be kept. Ummmmm, what?!
In comes my doctor with a look of concern on her face. She asks me to very detailed describe what I was feeling. So I did. I told her that when twin A's head moved that it felt very bruised on my scar...so bad that it hurt me to move (I couldn't even lift my leg). After 30minuted of us talking, she decided I HAD to be delivered ASAP because my uterus was likely going to rupture any minute (this was at exactly 9pm). This hospital was only equipped for 34 weekers and greater, and I literally had just turned 34 weeks. They were nervous and alerted everyone on staff there plus extra pediatrician's and I heard them call a helicopter. I asked to be transferred to my high-risk hospital downtown Indy but I was told they couldn't because I could rupture on the way there (rupture meaning I would literally burst at the seams of my old scar).
I started crying. Freaked out. Had to call my husband and told him he had to RUSH over or else he'd miss the birth. I also called my Mom and my close friend Aaron. Those were the only calls I made and I just cried until I was taken to the OR. David got there right as they were taking me back. (It took him a little bit because he had to call our babysitter).
I was taken back, given the awesome spinal (I seriously loved it....pain no more!) and got prepped for surgery. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember feeling the tension in the room so I began to make light of the situation and cracking jokes. Just trying to lighten the mood a little!! Haha!
At 10:04pm I hear the first LOUD cry and also at 10:04pm heard the second LOUD cry. All was well =)

 Each girl had their own doctor and they quickly got checked over. They brought each girl over for me to quickly see (and David got to hold one) and then they wheeled them off to NICU. It wasn't until  the next afternoon that I got to see them again. That was rough. But I had two beautiful healthy little girls (who weren't really that little for twin 34 weekers...each was 5lbs4oz!!). After a one week stay for all of us, we got to go home!!

Six weeks later at my follow-up appointment I asked my doctor if another baby was out of the question for me or not. She said I'd need to wait years for my uterus to heal and even then, uterine rupture would be a real risk again. I took that news hard but prayed about it. David and I really did consider a 4th baby (or knowing our luck,  a 4th and 5th!) but with weighing the risks we decided we can't do that again. The risk wasn't worth it. So we are officially DONE. That's a hard sentence to write. It's hard to say and even harder to swallow. (Or maybe that means we really AREN'T done?!?!.....Hmmmmm...)
I wonder if every woman has a hard time being done having babies? We were put on this planet to be mothers and knowing we won't be having anymore just feels strange. It took me a good solid year before I began to accept it. I REALLY wanted three pregnancies to enjoy and really had my mind set to that. But we got our three kids in two pregnancies (the miscarriage was so short lived that I don't count it). I just need to accept our blessings :)

So, all of that to say I will cry as my LAST babies turn 2 tomorrow. They are officially toddlers and NOT babies. It's hard for me. Yes I am very happy and blessed I have my three awesome kids, but never to have another little bitty baby to rock, nurse, or cuddle with is just a hard reality!
So I'm going to enjoy this last day of them being 1 year olds and embrace them turning 2 tomorrow and officially becoming crazy toddlers!!

Happy Birthday to my Twincesses!!!