Flax Banana Nut Muffins // going, going, gone...

i've developed a new appreciation of efficiency since having twins

i'm sure one day, i'll get back to enjoying taking things slow now and then, but for now - efficiency is key if i want to get anything done

enter fabulous banana muffin recipe  

actually, to be honest, i didn't make these myself

my mom had a bunch of bananas that needed using up, so i dug this recipe up from my pre-baby "to try one day" pile and before we knew it - fabulous banana muffins! 

(and a better breakfast option than a cup of black coffee - double bonus!!!)

seriously, this recipe is literally a matter of mixing your dry and wet ingredients - can it get any easier?!

i think not!  

so go ahead, whip up a batch - you know you want to!

flax banana nut muffins

wet ingredients:

2 ripe bananas (mashed well)

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/3 cup of vegetable oil (we used corn oil)

1 egg

3 tbsp milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

dry ingredients:

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp of baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup of unbleached bread flour

1/2 cup of unbleached white whole wheat flour1/4 cup walnuts

- preheat your oven to 350* F

- combine all the wet ingredients in a large bowl

- in a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except for the walnuts

- slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones until well mixed, then stir the walnuts into the batter

- pour into muffin tin (about 1/2 cup batter per muffin) and bake for about 25 minutes

catching up...

my girlies are getting a bit more manageable.

maybe it's because they're older now so there's less stuff to worry about.

maybe it's because i'm learning how to do this mom thing.

maybe it's because i've learned not to sweat the small stuff.

maybe it's because i've learned to trust the Lord with the big stuff.

maybe it's because i'm getting used to the insanity.

who knows - all i know is that i found a few minutes during naptime yesterday to actually begin culling and editing some maternity photos i'd taken for my dear sister and her husband back in April.  April!  you know you have kind, patient, understanding family when they are willing to wait almost three months before you even look at photos you took of them and their now out of the womb, kicking and screaming baby boy.  

anyway, i was going to wait till i went through them all to share my favorites, but who knows how long this naptime bliss will last and i want to show you what i've been working on.  i'm excited about it.  probably more so than any of you, but maybe not as much as my patient family.  :)  anyway, here are a couple of yesterday's edits - enjoy!

Daddy Day Pt. II

yesterday was our first daddy day

we were pretty excited about it...excited enough that we did a little photoshoot to commemorate it

the girlies weren't exactly in the mood for a photoshoot, so it was short lived, but still fun.

here's a sneak peak of my loves on our first father's day

 

  

Three Cheers!

To my father,

To my father-in-law,

And to my amazing hubs - the best daddy our girlies could have asked for! We love you SO much and are thrilled to celebrate you and all that you do for us today. You're the best! 

*Note #1:  I started this post at 6:30 in the morning and am just posting it now (at nearly 11pm), after picking at it all day...Father's day is almost over, but better late than never - gotta celebrate the small victories!  ;) 


*Note #2: top two photos by James Moes

pardon us...

...we've been under the weather lately.  immunizations, teething, growth spurts - these things have a funny way of happening at the same time!  so life has been a bit crazier than usual, but nothing we can't survive!  

i figured now would be a good time to do our first official "flashback" post.

these are naptime pictures from four and a half months ago - at just two weeks old!

figured it was sort of relevant, since we've done a lot of napping lately.

i can't believe how teeny tiny my babies were!  

i can't believe how big they already are!

i can't believe i get to keep them!

another weekend down

I used to really like weekends.  They were a chance to relax, hang out with friends, hang out with Daniel, catch up on housework or homework or whatever... Now that we have kids I adore weekends - its all of the above (minus that catching up thing!) plus family time.  And with Daniel around to help with the girls, I get to actually spend time with them, not just meet their eating / changing / sleeping needs.  

This weekend, we...

...laid in bed (nothing like an extra lazy Saturday morning)

...discovered toys

...dressed up in our Sunday best

...cooperated while mum played with her new camera (thanks, daddy - you're the best!)

 

looking back...

photo credit:  green ginger photography


our girlies don't really sleep through the night yet... it's not bad though - I usually feed them right around midnight then again at 6ish (5ish during a growth spurt)
but we're usually up at least once in between then to soothe one or both of them back to sleep...usually by putting them in bed with us (terrible habit, I know, but we're all so tired and that's the quickest way for everybody to get back to sleep)

and despite our still not-so-great sleep, I've spent the past couple of evenings staying up past bedtime unloading months of pictures off of my camera, sorting through and filing them away  based on when they were taken.  It made me realize how big my girlies have gotten in just a few months...  how did the nurses let me take home such little people? how on earth is it already June? will the next 20 years with my babies fly by like the first {almost} half year?  

I still remember those first nights like they were yesterday, but at the same time they feel like they were a lifetime ago.  I've loved getting to know my littles from that newborny stage up till now - every stage goes by so  quick!  And it's so hard to enjoy each moment for what it is - because it's busy or they're screaming or I have no idea what to do / where to start with the situation at hand; but it's also so important to remember that I will never get these moments back...I keep telling myself that - good or bad, I will never have today back so I should try my best to soak it up for what it's worth, knowing that I will likely mess up, and that's ok because I can trust that the Lord is in control and as long as I do what I can then leave the rest in His hands, I'm doing exactly what needs to be done...even if that is sitting outside their room shedding a tear of frustration while they howl away! 

and since this blog has missed the last 4 months of their lives, I thought it might be nice if I started doing a "flashback" post every now and then - with photos from the last 4 months that I haven't posted so you can see how far they've come!  I'm so thankful for my babies and for God's provision both for our physical needs and our need for support these first few months with the girls.  I know I've said it a thousand times and you're probably sick of hearing it, but He is so good.  k, I'll get off my soapbox and leave you with another one of their newborn photos - you'll probably see a few of these, because like the crazy mama that I am, I love every last photo of my babies, especially these ones that green ginger photography took when they were only a week old!