Purebred Animal Rescue

Before I had Nadia and Nicole, I worked at a retail pet store that did not sell animals.  Often we had customers coming in looking for cats and dogs.  As a big supporter of animal rescue, I always suggest rescues first.  Many people would state they wanted a purebred animals so they would go to a puppy store.

The majority of puppy stores get their animals from puppy mills.  Puppy mills are in the business for money and the conditions are deplorable. Besides being extremely expensive, most animals from mills are sickly, malnourished, and poorly bred.  Many of the animals have chronic health conditions and do not live long lives. 

Fiona, purebred White Persian

Jazz on left, Atrus (ours) on right, purebred Rottweiler

All of our animals have been rescues, coming from shelters and local adoption agencies.  A few of them have also been purebreds.  Petfinder is a search engine for adoption agencies.  You can search by breed, age, area or gender.  For those looking for a specific breed this is a great way to find local adoptable animals. 

Mr. Jinx, Blue Point Himalayan

The ASPCA is another great resource for locating adoptable animals.  Each state has its own chapter of the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

Most breeds also have breed specific rescues.  With a little hard work and patience, it is very possible to find purebred animals looking for a home.


Besides saving an animal's life by adopting, adoption is also cheaper than pet stores.  Most adoption agencies charge small fees (under $200 for dogs, around $100 for cats) for their animals.  These animals have already been spayed/neutered, had their shots, and often come with a free vet visit.  So next time you are looking for an animals, think adoption first.

Nalley Chili

One of my all time favorite foods is chili.  My Grandpa made the best chili I have ever had.  I have his recipe but I can't make it quite as great as his.  In a pinch I love a good canned chili.  Growing up in Washington I took Nalley Chili for granted.

When we moved to Las Vegas in 2007 I was shocked when I went to the grocery store and there was no Nalley Chili.  I tried many different brands but none could stand up to Nalleys.  On the few trips to Seattle I have made in the past couple years I have always bought a few cans of Nalley Chili.

Our friends in Phoenix are also from the Seattle/Tacoma area and recently returned from Washington.  They also are Nalley Chili fanatics and were upset to find no Nalley Chili in Arizona.  They brought back a few cans of chili with them and today for lunch we will be having wonderful Nalley Chili Dogs.

Phoenix or Bust

When Nadia and Nicole were a few months old, we took two trips to Seattle to visit family.  They were driving trips and we didn't stay very long.  Charles had used most of his vacation while the girls were still in the NICU.

Today we are loading up the van with all the trappings 19 month old twins need to survive a weekend away from home and setting out to Phoenix.  We have old family friends who live there and we are taking a much needed vacation.  There are plans to visit a pumpkin patch, go to the zoo, and smoke an amazing pork roast

The thought of two young children strapped in car seats for a 6 hour drive is bad enough, but we are also on the verge of a potty training breakthrough (Nadia used the potty on her own yesterday).  There will be many pit stops, lots of crying (Mom and daughters I am sure), but a great time.  Wish us luck and thank you to my friend for staying at our house to care for all of our assorted animals.

Good Day

Some days it is hard to tell if my daughters like each other.  They fight over toys, fight over me, fight over Dad.  It seems I am constantly telling them to be nice, don't hit, and to share the toys.  These days make me wonder if all twins dislike each other.

Then a day like today comes along and I am reminded that no matter how crabby they have been to each other, my girls really do love the other twin.

This morning Nadia was placed in time out for repeatedly climbing into the dishwasher, yes into it.  When Nadia was placed in time out, Nicole decided to sit quietly next to Nadia.  Every time we tried to distract Nicole away, she went right back to Nadia.  We gave up and let Nicole sit in time out with Nadia.  For the whole day, any time one of them cried the other one went to check on them.

There were still a few skirmishes between the two, but not nearly as many as usual.  When it was time to get ready for bed, we told the girls it was time to pick up their toys.  Nadia rushed over and started putting toys away.  Nicole was sad that it was bed time and sat to cry.  After some consoling we asked her if she wanted to put her blocks away.  She got up and put one in the toy box.  Nadia started clapping.

Waffles

Raising twins on a single income takes some creativity.  I am always looking for ways to save money and time.  One of our largest expenses is food.  I am always happy when I can find a way to save both money and time on food.

Mornings are always semirushed in my house.  Nadia and Nicole are hungry when they wake up and I dislike giving them cereal all the time.  We purchase a 10 pound bag of pancake mix for under $8.00 at the warehouse store.  The bag makes 80 servings.
We pre-make waffles when we have free time and freeze them.  When it is time to feed the girls, we stick their waffles in the toaster.  To make the waffles a little healthier, we mix in quick oats for insoluble fiber and either grated carrots or zucchini for some veggies into the batter.  We have also considered adding in grated sweet potatoes patted dry, but have not done this yet. We do not use syrup in the house to cut back on refined sugar.

The other trick is to keep the waffles interesting.  There are many things you can add to the batter to liven things up.  I typically add vanilla extract, cinnamon, or other yummy flavors.  We have tried powdered chai mix and cardamon.  I also add water based food colorings to make them more fun.  Charles loves to take his waffles and use them to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that he eats on his way to work.

Depending on what you add into the waffles, they come to about $0.09 per serving.

Crib Bumpers

While I was pregnant, I read every book about babies and baby care I could get my hands on.  As a first time mother I was very safety conscience and worried a lot. We put locks on all the drawers and as an extra precaution placed all the cleaners way out of baby reach.

When I set up the nursery I read all I could about safety and SIDS.  I made sure there were no pillows in the crib, no blankets, no toys and no windows nearby.  However, I thought that it was odd that crib bumpers seemed to be deemed safe. It seems to me that they are just another suffocation hazard that should be kept from children.  My girls did not have bumpers on their cribs.  We had no instances of them getting limbs stuck between railings and they slept just fine.

Today I read that the American Association of Pediatrics has declared crib bumpers to be unsafe.  They have stated they increase a child's risk of SIDS.  I am very pleased they have done this. 


Below is a link to the AAP about crib safety and bedding.
http://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Choosing-a-Crib.aspx

Play Time

While Charles and I were slowly drinking our morning cup of coffee today, Nicole informed us she had other plans.  She brought our shoes to us and then tried putting on her own shoes.  After we all had shoes on, she tried to open the front door.  Obviously she wanted an outing.

After finishing breakfast, we all piled in the car and went to the neighborhood park.  The nice part of living in the desert is you can spend a lot of the year outdoors.  It is the middle of October and in the mid 80's here.

Both girls ran for the slides when we arrived.  They recently discovered the joys of sliding.

After a bout of sliding, Nadia decided to examine the local flora.  She discovered that some bushes have bees flying around them.

The park is fairly large and has lots of grass.  After the bees the girls decided to run around the grass.  This was tons of fun until it was time to water the grass.  Nadia had a very stern talk with one of the sprinklers.