Mama Monday...{Christine}!!!

Hello there! My name is Christine and I am the lucky gal to be featured on mama Monday! I am a new blogger so bear with me.

Since you all already read Katy's blog, you know how amazing she is. But let me just give you a little insider info on Katy. You learn a lot about your friends during a crisis. And I was in crisis mode ( you can read more about that down below) you see, before this I would have called Katy a friend of a friend. Well this "friend of a friend" stepped up during my crisis more than some of my best friends did. Katy texted me, checked in, cooked meals, and most importantly prayed, prayed hard for my family. Katy is a example of Jesus' love. She hardly knew me but she was right there supporting me. Okay, okay enough about how wonderful Katy is, I'll get back to my assignment.

Tell us about yourself...
I am a new mom of miracle twin boys. I am blessed to be able to stay at home with my little guys. Before these little nuggets came along I was an elementary school teacher who loves running and spending time with friends and family.

Husband love...
I married my best friend on march 13, 2010 and we just celebrated our three year anniversary. This past year has been the hardest year of our lives and it has strengthened our marriage more than I could have ever imagined. My hubs is the best dad in the world (I may be a little biased) nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than watching him interact with our sons.

Mama love...
I gave birth to my miracle boys by emergency c-section on May 25th at only 28 weeks pregnant. Luke was born at 2 pounds 14 ounces and Jacob weighed in at a whopping 1 pound 11 ounces. My tiny preemies aren't so tiny any more, as of today Luke is 23 pounds and Jake is 20 pounds.

 

Challengs you have faced on this mama journey...
Pregnancy is supposed to be a fun and joyful time, I can say mine was sad and stress ridden most days. When I was 20 weeks pregnant I was diagnosed with twin to twin transfusion syndrome which in short means that one of my twins was hogging all of the blood supply and nutrients. I had to have in utero surgery to save my boys. The doctor prepared me to lose one or both of my babies. After a long stint of hospital bed rest my boys were anxious to meet the world. At 28 weeks I went into preterm labor. My placenta ruptured and an emergency c- section was done. Both of my boys had to be resuscitated. Jake was right near the rupture and had lost a lot of blood, he was given a blood transfusion within minutes of life. Luke swallowed a ton of blood and wasn't breathing. On June 4th I was given devastating news that Luke had a severe bleed in his brain. I was asked to consider ending care and letting my days old son die. I can feel my heart re-breaking as I write these words. Fast foreword to today, Luke and Jake are the happiest, sweetest, cutest little boys I know and on a daily basis continue to do all the things the doctors told me they wouldn't.

Mama advice for surviving the tough days...
Perspective , there were days when I was told neither of my boys were going to survive. So those days when you feel like the screaming baby is making you looney just remember there is a mama out there who had the joy of changing a dirty diaper or the joy of hearing a baby cry stolen from her. I almost didn't get the chance to change a blowout or get puked on at 4am so when things get tough I get thankful.

Simple pleasures...
Enjoying each and every moment with my boys because this whole experience has taught me that today isn't a guarantee and you aren't promised tomorrow.

 On a more light hearted note, my guilty pleasure is watching The Real Housewives of wherever. It is tacky and terrible but I love it, there I said it.

Money saving tip...
For the mamas out there my tip is breast feed. Formula is out of control expensive. Unfortunately I could not keep up with the insatiable appetite of my boys and eventually had to supplement and then switch to formula.

Health and fitness...
Oh goodness, I shouldn't be allowed to comment on this.... Does cereal count as dinner?

Good read...
While on bed rest I got to read a lot but lately I haven't done much reading for pleasure. I read The Host by Stephanie Meyer which I loved ( the movie however was another story, save the ten bucks and skip the movie) A great mama book is Baby 411, it is easy to read and look up exactly what you're trying to find.

Beauty secret...
Sleep, would do wonders for the bags under my eyes, but that's not going to happen any time soon. Since showering has been a luxury these days dry shampoo has been a life saver. I like the cheap suave brand, it smells like a vacation to Hawaii.

Recipe...
Another thing that doesn't happen very often. The crock pot has become my best friend. I can wake up and throw some ingredients together and then viola! Dinner is ready whenever we are. My favorite recipe doesn't have a name so we call it 'that chicken'

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup reduced fat sour cream

Add chicken to slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Add salsa and soup. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Serve over rice.

Dessert...
I pretty much have a sweet tooth all the time which doesn't help out the baby weight situation. So thanks to Pinterest I discovered the most delicious treat. Baked bananas.

1 banana
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Honey

Preheat oven to 400* on a foil lined baking sheet place the peeled banana. Cut the banana down the center but not all the way through. Add the sugar and cinnamon to the slit. Bake for 8 min. Drizzle with honey. Yummy!

Closing words...
Big thanks to Katy for the shout out and to all the readers for bearing with me! I know that having a preemie can be an isolating experience, if anyone out there is going through this and needs someone to lean on, feel free to contact me at livingthedoublelife.com

Xox
Christine