The Carolina Moon's

Seeing Clearly

2009-06-04T21:00:00.003-04:00

I remember the exact moment when I looked up at the blackboard in senior year government and realized I needed glasses. I didn't think to much of having to wear glasses then, but after over 10 years later, I was done. I found out a few years later that I was unable to wear contacts due to dryness, so glasses was the only option for a visually sharp world...until....Lasik! Woohoo. I have now been glasses free for over a week now and loving it. It's very liberating not to have something permanently an inch from your eyes. It was super simple and very quick. I feel like a new woman. I highly recommend it. Devin is actually getting Lasik next month...he can't wait.

2009-05-20T21:39:00.005-04:00

The past few weeks has been super eventful for our little family. The four of us trekked out of South Carolina, through North Carolina, stopped in Virginia, past Maryland, into Pennsylvania and on to West Virginia. (Bryson wasn't as happy as Aiden about taking pictures next to the large trucks)

Devin's middle sister, Teisha, got married in a beautiful ceremony to her beau, Roger and his daughter, Lex. It was great to be with the family. As you can understand, with a family as large as ours it's hard to get us all together. The upside to being up north was seeing a lot of family that were able to meet our boys for the first time. Other than my father, no one on my side has had the pleasure. It was awesome to see them with the newest members of our crew.

Crazy now to think that our boys have been keeping us on our toes for over 9 months. They are so much bigger and packing away the food. Aiden is so aware and interested in everything going on and is going like the enegizer bunny. Our Bryson is calm and collected, a one eighty from the acid reflux days, and happy to just chill on the floor watch his brother. They are so handsome and aw inspiring. They are amazing!

I also celebrated my 27th birthday. I actually shared the day with Teisha and Roger's wedding. They were super sweet and had a cake made for me as well. All in all, I ate from 3 birthday cakes this year. Oh so sweet! It was a great birthday.

"Twilight" Unearthed...From a Dude

2009-04-14T09:41:00.003-04:00

So in some of my morning browsing of the Internet, I came across one of the funniest blogs I've ever read. It's titled "Normal Mormon Husbands". http://www.mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/. The post that sent me to this new find, is labeled "Midnight Sun: Edward Undone! ". For those husbands who have not been immersed into the whole world of Twilight as my husband has, Midnight Sun is the partial story of Twilight from Edward's perspective. Apparently, this blog is set up by mormon Twilight widowed husbands who are giving the us "the cold hard truth about Edward". Maybe this is funny to me because it's a group of husbands who have went against the odds and have read the series to find out what truly is going on behind all of our obsessiveness, but regardless, it's crazy funny. There are even other posts that had me rolling on the floor such as "Easter Bunny: Fun Tradition or Satan's Gopher Boy? and Mission Presidents + April Fools = Bad Idea. Seriously, check it out. Let me know what you think!!

http://www.mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/

Midnight Twilight

2009-03-21T14:24:00.003-04:00

Lured by all things "Twilight", my good , Jennifer, and I went against sterotype and crashed a couple of midnight Twilight release parties around us. Being in South Carolina, admittingly, there were few places to choose from but we settled for our local "Books A Million" first. Jennifer and I got there at 10 pm to find a couple dozen people already around the cafe area, awaiting the promised festivities. We then proceeded with "Twilight Trivia", which was presented by a 20 something man who admitted knowing nothing about the series. Surprise, surprise, I actually won and received a gift card, voucher for a beverage at the cafe and the first spot in line at midnight. Of course Devin makes funny of me about it since I am, sadly (his opinion) well versed in all things pretaining to the twilight universe. Anyway, the trivia was the only thing planned there and since we still had over an hour till it's midnight release we headed over to Wal-Mart to see what going-0n's they had a brewing there. The answer....absolutely nothing. What happened to all this hype of parties and midnight excitement? I have to say we, here in South Carolina, we sadly disappointed. At least Jennifer was able to get her midnight copy of Twilight regardless. As for myself, I trekked back out this morning to get the Blu-Ray edition.

Although, we were let down by the expectations, Jennifer and I had fun being out at all hours of the night with no kids or husbands...just girls.

Can't Keep Me Back

2009-03-17T17:58:00.004-04:00

Our little achiever, Aiden, has figured out how to keep his balance while being sat up and has applied his new development to all aspects of life now. He even insists on sitting completely straight even in his swing chair. You can see how devoted he is in the video below. (Beware of "Sports Center" noise if you have your volume on.)

Here are some cute semi naked pic's of the boys we took before bedtime tonight. "Open Sesame"

Moving Along

2009-03-11T21:25:00.007-04:00

Our babies are growing and advancing so much everyday. 7 months have gone by quickly. Aiden and Bryson are getting more and more comfortable with their veggies and sweet fruits. Much less of a mess without Bryson spitting his food everywhere, so that's nice. Aiden is always so helpful and opens his mouth widely.

The twins are moving so much more now. If you take your eyes off of Aiden for a few seconds, he usually across the room tring to get tangled into computer cords...such a no no. Bryson very much has the attitude..."I do what a wanna do" :-). He can roll over and all that but he usually prefers to chill on his back. With the rolling around on the floor comes rolling around in the crib. Aiden has discovered he can sleep on his side and belly now, which is adorable. Devin and I still get a little worried and end up flipping him over in the middle of the night but he has for sure found better sleeping positions. Can't say that I blame him. Bryson still prefers his back but without fail, when we check in on him, he has his bunny over his face. Every single night!! Amazingly cute. Big step for today, Aiden sat all by himself. He needed a bit of help getting that way, but once there, he was totally chill and steady.

Bryson has started to become super chatty to his toys. He has a Dragon that he likes to talk to most of the time. The dragon says "blah" and he imitates it. Aiden is not so much a talker as he is a laugher. He giggles are everything and has such a happy personality.

Overnight

2009-02-11T10:14:00.002-05:00

So the teething has begun! The boys haven't been to whinny lately but Aiden, who is usually our laid back one, has been a bit fussy. Last night while getting through with the boys dinner of pea's, I checked his mouth to see if anything might be the culprit to the new mood in my little tranquil guy, and sure enough two little milky buds were popping out. Poor little man. Bryson doesn't have any little appearances yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of days.

6 Months

2009-02-05T13:37:00.003-05:00

The boys are officially 6 months old today. Wow, It feels like I'll blink and they'll be a year old and walking soon. They are rolling over and talking more. Bryson sings and loves to grab his toes. Aiden is always happy and loves to put everything in his mouth. They are so cute and are changing everyday. It's amazing.

It's been...well...awhile

2009-01-20T20:37:00.003-05:00

So yeah, I've been a bit of slacker the last couple of weeks. I've seen the error of my ways so don't be to upset :-). Christmas and 2008 have come and gone and it still boggles my mind that here we are in 2009 with a new president and all.

Our little family spent a quite Christmas at home and my father came down from West Virginia to see us and spend time with our rapidly growing boys. Since the boys having been getting more aware and interactive, Santa brought them fun activity gear.

We were super excited with it being Aiden and Bryson's first Christmas but they kept their enthusiasm in check.

New years was pretty uneventful for the twins and I since we were all 3 in bed before midnight and hardly noticed the new year...Devin was differently disappointed with our, well my, lack of excitement but I guess that's a true sign of being a parent...not being able to stay up later than 10 pm.

Aiden and Bryson have been changing and learning at an amazing rate. They are both laughing and giggling all the time and have now started on "big boy food". Well, cereal at least but despite the mess they do very well. They are beginning to roll over and they are sleeping through the night. Horrahhhhhhh!!! They are so wonderful and I love that they look at us now and they are able to give love back with such ecstatic responses. I can hardly believe it's been almost 6 months since they've came home with us.

Gobble Gobble

2008-11-28T18:23:00.003-05:00

First off...Happy Thanksgiving! We, at the Moon house had a low key Thanksgiving with Grammy and Grandpa Moon filled with Turkey and green bean casserole. Unfortunately, the boys have been under the weather the last few days and we spent a good part of the day holding and cuddling the boys. They don't like taking naps during the day on normal days so when they are feeling sick and need to sleep even more it gets a little rough but thankfully Grandpa Moon was so dedicated to getting Aiden to sleep he feel asleep himself. It was adorable.

Thumb sucker

2008-11-17T11:51:00.002-05:00

Friday Aiden found his thumb and has not wanted to give it up since then. It's amazing how quickly he developed this habit. As cute as it is, we don't want him to be a thumb sucker for obvious reasons but this might take awhile to convince him to leave his thumb alone. Look how adorable he is...

Catch Up

2008-11-13T11:12:00.004-05:00

Well the boys are now 3 months old and getting much adorable and full of personality! Aiden has a TV obsession and Bryson likes to lick anything that comes near his mouth. The boys are growing so well...Aiden is 13 pounds and Bryson is almost 11. They are sleeping a bit better at night but still getting up a few times to eat. Devin and I can't wait to get back to a decent nights rest instead of naps at night.

Well also just celebrated Devin's 28th birthday this past Monday. Wow, can't believe we are getting that old. We had a quite day at home with some running of errands in between and then ventured out to dinner at a new restaurant...Tsunami. Over all it was a good dinner but I think we were the oldest people in the place. It's right next to the University of South Carolina campus so it was crawling with early 20 somethings who were drinkin' it up on a Monday night. Needless to say we looked a little out of place, especially with the boys.

"Do you ever watch that show..."

2008-11-01T13:32:00.005-04:00

As parents of multiples, we get asked all types of questions when out in the world. "Are those twins?", "Are they fraternal or identical?", "Are they both boys", "How do you do it?"...but one of the strangest questions we get a lot is "Do you ever watch that show, John and Kate plus eight?" It makes me laugh every time. I had a whole conversation with a grandma in Target today about how much she loves that show. Even though I do have twins, the bulk of John and Kate's eight are six. I think people in general are truly fascinated with twins, triplets and more so sextuplets. Even now, as twin births are at a record high and everyone knows someone who is a twin, or has twins, or has twins in their family, it's still a noticeable attraction. John and
Kate with their eight have truly put multiples in every one's homes, but I still think it's funny that now we are connected to their oversize family in peoples minds.
They actually have a book coming out this month about their family and I totally plan to check it out.

For the record, I love that show! It gives me true perspective as a mother of multiples. Devin on the other hand hates the show and and is even upset about this blog :-)

Boo at the Zoo

2008-10-30T21:16:00.003-04:00

Tonight we were invited to "Boo at the Zoo" with our friend Jennifer and her kids. We were a little sceptical about how much fun it would be to go to our local zoo to do some "trick or treating" but it was such a good time. We absolutely loved it. The whole zoo was lit up with spooky bats and scarecrows and other festive Halloween decor. We got there a little early so we even had a little bit of day light to catch some of the animals getting ready for bed. There were so many cute and inventive costumes there and I even have idea's for the boys Halloween costumes next year. Devin and I can't wait till we take Aiden and Bryson in next halloween.

A Bit of Fun

2008-10-27T11:50:00.002-04:00

It's getting colder here...not to cold seeing that it is South Carolina but being that it's colder outside, inside is getting colder as well. When I was pregnant and even before, Devin and I always kept the house cold and had blankets everywhere but now that we have the boys, I am super watchful to make sure they don't get cold. Devin thinks I'm nuts but it's a valid concern. We like it cold. He the boys are getting ready for bed in their night time getup. (They don't like hats to much so we usually have to take them off before they go to sleep)

This past Saturday our Ward had our annual "Trunk or Treat". Not that Aiden and Bryson are at the age of walking up to someone requesting candy but we had a blast. This was my first "Trunk or Treat" and had so much fun. We have a young Ward so there were tons of kids in all types of costumes. Our little men were pumpkins. The cutest little pumpkins you'd even seen. They weren't fans of the hood though, ah well, the price we pay for fashion. My good friend Jennifer was there with her twins and 2 older ones as well. In case you can't tell, her boys, Cale and Brady, are Giraffes.

It will make 3

2008-10-24T19:07:00.004-04:00

It's official. Were super excited about being approved for our 3rd Subway franchise today. Hopefully within the next few weeks we'll be able get a site located for the new store and get the process going. Since we've been married, our goal was 3 stores and then evaluate whether more is in our future or what other ventures we might want to get into. This is a huge step in the plan we developed a few years ago but the beginning of much more.

It All "Worked Out"

2008-10-20T12:26:00.003-04:00

After 2 1/2 months since the babies were born, I bucked up and went back to gym. I was a bit of a nervous wreck dropping the boys off at the day care..especially since I have yet to have let them with anyone but their daddy, but all went well. The boys slept and chilled out in the swings and were content to be in a new place. I missed them a bunch and will probably kiss them all day for lost time. I feel really good having gone but sitting here typing, I'm feeling ready for a nap. Hopefully, this will be a regular part of my day.

A Fun Thursday!

2008-10-17T14:51:00.003-04:00

Pretty much since the boys were born, we have a fun date with my friend Jennifer once a week who also has twin boys that were born 2 weeks before Aiden and Bryson were. It's such a great time for us and is a perfect release from the day to day of spending a lot of my day speaking in high tones and giberish. Yesterday Jennifer, her twin boys, Brady and Cale, along with Aiden, Bryson and I took a few hours to stroll the Sandhills shopping center and took the first pictures of the boys on one of many outings. Look how cute they all are...

As I talked about in a previous post, I find myself excited to come home to additional packages from companies for babies and children. Here is what we received yesterday...thank goodness for my stamps.

Last night was hilarious, being that it was the first time we had a night feeding that Bryson never really woke up. He completely ate, burped, ate again and then burped once more all while asleep. I couldn't help but laugh at midnight...if I could only feed and change them without really waking up. I'm a little jealous :-).

All for the cost of a stamp

2008-10-11T14:32:00.003-04:00

Gone are the days when parents of multiples received the generous help of car companies and diaper manufactures...at least in the case of twins anyway, but when I was pregnant, I found a few companies that still give discounts, coupons and little gifts to parents of multiples. Thankfully Babies R US still gives discounts to parents of Twins and we have used that help with quite a few things for the boys. I also did learn that a lot of companies that have infant and children's products have a "multiples" program and with the proof of birth and a short letter you can get sent things for FREE. Below is a picture of things we have received so far. The picture doesn't show our coupons and a book we received on twins but you get the gist. I'm so excited to see what's in the mail box next. I will happily take any help in this department that I can get. By the best money for a stamp we ever spent.

2 Months Old

2008-10-06T12:32:00.001-04:00

Our little guys are 2 months old! Crazy how time flies. We had our 2 month check up with the pediatrician today and the boys are doing great. Bryson is weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces and Aiden is weighing 11 pounds 6 ounces. They are only a part a half inch in height and they are both getting more and more handsome everyday. The hard part of today though was the 4 shots and 1 oral medication that they needed. I must admit it was hard to hold down arms and watch my boys cry in pain and in confusion but all in all once they were held and comforted they were all better.

Here they are this morning before our appt. Aiden is not a fan of the camera and most of the pictures he's crying in but this one will do. Bryson is for sure more photogenic than Aiden for right now but they both are much more cutie in person.

You've Been Mooned!

2008-10-05T09:22:00.001-04:00

My sister-in-law sent this to me as a forward and I think it's hilarious! It's perfect to get the excitment going for fall.

Passed Out

2008-10-03T14:13:00.000-04:00

The best bang for our buck so far is this bouncer that Bryson loves! It has saved us many nights from a fussy boy. It's wonderful when he's peaceful.

Aiden has a glider that we can talk him into when I need a shower in the mornings. It's not his favorite but he's content in it for a showers worth of time. If I'm lucky he'll fall asleep like he did here and even get to dry my hair :-).

Starting Off Early

2008-09-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

Here's Aiden and Daddy watching the Redskins today. If only he was big enouph for his Redskins jersey. Bryson was asleep in his bouncer.

Opening Day

2008-09-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

Wohoo!!! Opening day!!! We are so excited and a little stressed but mainly blessed at the beginning of our second Subway store. Things went smoothly except for the merchant service department at Bank of America getting our open date wrong. They thought we were opening OCTOBER 24th...so credit cards were obsolete today. Bit annoying! But all in all, we are happy with today. The babies and I spent a lot of time at the store just hanging out. We miss Daddy not being home more. Here is our Opening day shot. Wish us luck.

Party Time

2008-09-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

Tonight was an exciting night for the family! We had the grand opening party for our second Subway location. It's the eve of the grand opening where our employees invite their family and friends along with ours to enjoys a few hours of socializing and free food. We had a packed store for most of the 2 hours we were hosting. Everyone did a great job and the store looks perfect. The only problem now is that all our pristine beautiful equipment has to be used instead of being looked at. Ah well, a necessary evil!

Learning As We Go

2008-09-14T20:51:00.000-04:00

Your baby is about to arrive. You think about all the things you'll need the first couple of months of your babies life (who knows when you'll venture out in public again, especially with twins). Then with a list in hand you proceed to venture in the mammoth that is the baby section of your local stores or Babies 'R' Us and realize there are about a billion versions of the same product and what, about to be parent, knows which is the good, bad or just plain ugly.

Devin and I have had that situation in bath tubs. Before the twins were born we looked in the bath isle at Babies 'R' Us and found the extreme choices of bath tubs, ranging from a little mesh thing at $7 to a full blown spa at around $60. We opted for a reasonable plain $9.99 one. Our thinking was that the babies won't need toys, they can't even see to much! But after doing 2 baths in the no frills tub we learned that it's not just the toys but the structure of the tub that we needed to pay attention to. The back was way to high and the boys couldn't even sit with out almost face planting into the side. In case you didn't know, a naked wet baby is not an easy thing to hold and then to add soap to the mix is a recipe for disaster.

Needless to say, we returned the tub and approached the bath isle with more confidence of what our need was and found the perfect tub. We were able to do our baths with much grace and full support. It was great...except for the cold air of course. It was a little more than we would typically spend but in my opinion, ease of a slippery wet baby is very much worth the price! Just another case of experience goes a long way.

The before and after...

Sleepy Man

2008-09-14T10:37:00.000-04:00

Aiden loves to sleep with his daddy!

One Month Old

2008-09-06T11:35:00.000-04:00

For a whole month now, Devin and I have been the parents of these wonderful boys of ours. I can't even believe we've survived with the little sleep we've had. We are learning everyday more and more about the traits and personalities of our boys. Aiden is a laid back kinda soul. Most of the time just content to sit and chill. Bryson on the other hand is our high maintenance child. He always has to be held and is a very finicky eater, where as his brother is a formula guzzler. Poor Bryson not only has a bad case of baby acne but also a not so friendly rash of eczema that we had to take him to the doctors for. On the plus side they are gaining good weight with Aiden at 8 pound 10 ounces and Bryson at 6 pound 8 ounces. Here are some pictures of them at a month old.

Aiden

Bryson

Growing Again

2008-08-28T16:06:00.000-04:00

As if having twins wasn't enough for this month, we have been in the throws of construction for our new Subway store. We are scheduled to be up and running in a little over 2 weeks. Up until now, it's been a hurry up and wait situation. Waiting for permits and equipment has given Devin more time at home with the boys and I with only a few trips out to the new store. Excitingly, Devin and I drove out there today to get some applications and I was able, since the babies born,to see the changes that have happened in the last couple of weeks. The wall paper is going up and half walls are being constructed. We are so excited at this growth to our company, especially since we've been at the process of our second store for quite awhile now. Here are some pictures of the construction...It's really starting to look like a Subway now.

Father and Son

2008-08-25T15:46:00.000-04:00

Our First Lunch Date

2008-08-24T21:38:00.001-04:00

Devin and I took the boys on their first lunch date yesterday with Grammy and Grandpa Moon. We went to a late lunch at Longhorns and had a very enjoyable time. Of course the boys mainly slept through lunch...the car ride always puts them out. They did however wake-up at the end of lunch deciding that they wanted a bit themselves. All in all things went uneventful except for the strange lady in the restroom who wanted to touch Bryson after we came out of the Mommy stall after a diaper change. Crazy people!!! We were in the bathroom...I have no idea what she was thinking. Did I mention, we were in the bathroom. I thought so. I was for sure a WOW moment but we had a good time and therefore gained a little confidence for future outings.

Under the Weather

2008-08-22T15:23:00.001-04:00

Only 2 weeks and 3 days of life and already we caught what the Dr thinks is a stomach bug. Our poor little guys spent yesterday and last night feeling pretty crappy and therefore, mommy and daddy were about the same. Thankfully, the boys don't have a fever and their exams went well but they are defiantly not feeling themselves and are quite tired. After their appointment today Devin and I just rode them around in the car for a while, that always soothes them. They needed the rest. Thankfully, they have been keeping their formula down for the last little bit and that is an improvement. On the positive side, both boys have gained a few ounces since earlier this week even with having trouble keeping stuff down. Having 2 sick boys is just plain heartbreaking, but they seem to be doing better. Think "healthy" thoughts for us :-)!

Dr's Appt

2008-08-20T18:49:00.000-04:00

Today the boys had their 2 week wellness check up with the pediatrician and all went great. The boys are very healthy and looking wonderful. Aiden has surpassed his birth weight of 6 pounds 14 ounces and is a plump 7 pounds 7 ounces. Bryson is not as much of chub like his brother but is still in the good range weighing 5 pounds 10 ounces. Not quite to his birth weight but on his way. We go back in a week to do a weight check for our little "squirt". His jaudice is all gone and he is looking his normal shade of pink again. Bryson's eating is much improved and we expect him to follow his brother in chunkiness soon. Here are some pic's of them waiting in their car seats in the dr's office. They are so adorable!

2 Weeks

2008-08-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

Today marks the first 2 weeks our angels are here on earth. I still have a hard time thinking that they are here in our lives. Life has for sure changed but in the best way. Despite the close to sleepless nights, the endless diaper changes and many runs to fill the bottles for the hungry mouths, I feel so blessed. 2x everything is quite a lot but when they are sleeping soundly or just happy to be in your arms, it's just plain wonderful.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2008-08-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

Our little man, Aiden has reached his first milestone of life yesterday. He lost his umbilical cord! It's very exciting for us because now it signals the fun of bath time...not to mention how much that little black stub grossed Devin out. Bryson's cord is still holding strong but we hope it won't be to long before he looks more like the rest of the human race. Were hoping to do our first bath today so I'll have pic to follow.

Super Mom

2008-08-15T15:04:00.000-04:00

With Devin needing to run more errands and get things done for the new store, I am facing more and more mornings alone with 2 infants. This wouldn't be so difficult except for the times, like this morning, when both Aiden and Bryson wanted breakfast at the same time, and wanted it NOW. With Bryson screaming bloody murder, I carried both babies down stairs all by myself and proceeded to feed them at the same time...wuhooo! In the middle of errands, Devin came home for 20 minutes and I had him take a picture of my triumphant moment.

Snaps VS Zippers

2008-08-14T22:01:00.001-04:00

With all the new outfits for our little guys, Devin and I have found our favorites with zipper sleepers. We have plenty of outfits with snaps and we just don't understand why anyone would have infant outfits with snaps when you can have the ease and quickness of zippers. Yes, I do understand that zippers do present more of a watchful eye while dressing our little bundles so that they don't get caught but it's my opinion it's worth being careful for a quick zip and your off. Already, we've experienced with snaps that if your off on the alignment it can be a bit frustrating trying to see where you went wrong. Devin and I actually went to walmart the day after we arrived home from the hospital to seek more of our perfect little outfits but sadly they are not as popular as I believe they should be. These little onesies with zippers sure have made diaper changes that much easier x2.

Moon Twins

2008-08-13T09:42:00.000-04:00

On August 5, 2008, Devin and I welcomed the greatest and most precious members to our family, Aiden Joseph and Bryson Noah. Weighing in at a surprising 6 pounds 14 ounces was our chunker, Aiden, born at 7:34 am and still an impressive weight of 5 pounds 13 ounces was Bryson Noah, born a minute later. Both babies are very healthy and full of life. Already their little personalities are coming out. We feel so blessed to have them and we are treasuring every moment hoping it doesn't go by to fast.