RBF, NYC and Super Tuesday.

There are certainly 80 thousand thoughts (obvious hyperbole) running through my head at any given moment. I try to get them all out during the day- this explains the RBF and why I look lost most of the time, I usually am- I'm lost in thought.

The beauty of this whole thing Jesus and I have going is that in my thoughts, I can almost.. mostly..usually... focus them towards Him so it's almost like I pray ALL day. This is where I started using the term #prayerjunkie. I can't confirm if this term has already been copyrighted so...if so...They can insert their name here ______________________ as to not feel slighted. Back to the crazy.

Do you see what I'm up against here?


Politics. (gasP) Settle the crap down. Everyone is up in arms. Put your arms down and do some research. Put your research down and do some praying. Put your hands down and open your ears.
There is no man, woman or child that wouldn't be picked to pieces by the media when running for president and this election is no different. People hate Trump, people hate Hillary- but mostly people just hate people and that irritates me more than anything.

New York City. I just went there. Are you kidding me? Could that city absolutely define its cliches better than any other place? Could it BE more amaze balls? I am starting to see why Carrie wouldn't shut up about it for 10 seasons of Sex and the City. I don't care what kind of sex everyone was having, the CITY is SO....inclusive. Everyone is just different and speaking different languages and dressed different and annoying in their own way and they are all just in place, where they are supposed to be, smooshed together..and for the most part? Happy about it. My favorite smell filled the air, the smell of restaurant food. Does that made me a foodie or a fattie? Either way- every whiff down a different street was a cultural blend of something I had never heard of and couldn't wait to try. There wasn't enough space in my stomach or life in my legs to do all the doing I wanted to do while we were there- but fear not! NYC is not going anywhere and I am sure my family's adventures there have only just begun.

Jesus, Fam, Travel, Rinse, Repeat <===== AS long as I can I will do this and it will be boldly done and I will boldly go where few twin moms have gone before....but I am praying through it all. I am praying for the country and for the city. I am praying for relationships, friendships and most of all- I am praying for---- EVOLVING MINDS---seeing what we are given and turning it into a lesson, a sharing session or something else that God will make amazing.

Go and be love. and don't forget to V O T E

As a parting gift- beautiful, cherished and blessed babies on Valentine's Day.

Things you don't know until after the fact..

I'll take "Foot in my Mouth" for 200 please, Alex?? NO? How about "Apologies I should've made for 300, Alex.? NO?!

I had no idea what the things on my bucket list were until I started experiencing them!

Trey bought me a writing prompt book this past weekend. He knows my heart and the enjoyment I get in answering questions about my selfish self. The first question- What are the top 10 items on your bucket list? Crap. I have no idea what the rest of them are, but the few that I DO know- I have already experienced. -I feel like you should know that the ultimate best in my life is Jesus, all this stuff is only cool because He and I are tight- #thatisall

1. Swinging on the same rope as Indiana Jones in Hawaii on the trip of a lifetime with my family. (Thanks Dad)

2. Snorkeling in the middle of the ocean. (every time)

3. Studying abroad. (Scotland forever!)

4. Building two babies at once.

5. Snowmobiling to the Continental Divide at Sunset.

6. Watch Baby A start walking....  <---------------  ALL THE BIG EYED EMOJIS HERE!!!!!

Little Dru walked right out of Sunday School class yesterday like he'd been walking since birth. He held his daddy's hand and carefully took each step forward as we walked out of the church and toward the car. He would stop and look back, smile with pride and forge on. That sweet little grin.

He wanted to know I was right behind him watching him walk right out of babyhood.

I'll be right behind you buddy, all the way...Just then I mentally filled in, and immediately, checked off Bucket List item number 6.

Holidays in the States

Our family started the 2016 New Year in Denver, Colorado. We visit often to see my step-son, enjoy the local recreations and stare, with jaws dropped, at the incredible creation that God planted in the middle of our country. Leaving the country has appeal, but home, home is visceral. 

Traveling outside the country brings an exciting set of circumstances. Whether you're battling a language barrier, re-learning how to drive on the other side of the road or trying to constantly calculate a foreign money exchange- there's something so liberating about it. Here I am, World. I am a stranger in a strange land and I. LOVE. IT.  

Also, I'm the most awkward. I gawk and stare and will stop in the middle of the walkway to admire anything. I knock stuff over in almost every trinket store I have visited the world over- it's part of my charm. " I'm really sorry about that display shelf in the back. Did you see my beautiful babies?" Strolling them through any city store is worthy of an 'American Ninja Warrior' nod. IJS

So.. there they are at 12 months in all of their glory. Today we had their 15 month check up and it was as it has been- smooth sailing. I can be sure with the joy, and the source of it, in my life is enough to get me through any storm that may come my way. 

When Roxy sees a dog anywhere but home, where everything is as it should be, she points and she says "bay-bee". At home our 'puppy' is 160 lbs and 7 feet tall plus-on his hind legs. She sees one of our pups, points and says "dog" then proceeds to bark (usually). When she sees any other dog, she dubs it as a baby. 

No vicious, growling or intimidating breed of any kind will ever bother her. She will simply look at it and call it, "baby". No dog can scare her because at home she has a dog that is so big and massive and loud and stinky- everything else, any other mutt- just.can't.even.

I think about my joy like that. My joy is so big that when I face trials I just point them out and call them out.... babies. Get outta here you big babies!! My joy is so big and so massive and so loud that you don't get to hang out here! You literally.can't.even!!!!!!!!!

Trials come and go, but? The travel bug stays forever. 

In some weird automatic update at the end of last year my personal email was dubbed by Google under the name, "Holidays in the States" on my computer. <---- That is the only name I can pull up my address under on my apple products! I always loved how people in foreign countries go on "holiday" and stay for much longer than an american "vacation- so I will take it as a sign. I need to continue to holiday and I guess I should check out more of what "the states" have to offer! 

Next month, stay tuned for Valentine's pics with #dembabies and a trip to NYC. 

Big love, big joy. 

Quick ramblings in Dec

Every night when I climb into bed I think, "I have never been this tired in my life. There is no way I am going to rejuvenate by tomorrow. So done. Well done. Burnt even." and then.....if all goes well overnight I wake up in the morning with the sun or the rain and feel like I can go on one more day.

...said every mom, every day, ever.

I stay prayerful for peace in the world but know that with so many polarizing ideals- it's just not gonna. I focus on peace at home first, mostly- peace within. I find that in Jesus (obvi-). I'm a realist and a Jesus lover and a liberal and an optimist. and I'm super into labels. Sidenote: Labels don't put things in a box for me, it's just a good way of taking bullet points on life. It helps with the recall and it also helps that I never expect for someone to stay inside of their label box. Let it all hang out,Loves!

The troubling times are no surprise are they? Just keep looking out for those do-gooders like Mr. Rogers said and be one of them too. Help someone this holiday season. Adopt an angel, bless a family with a Christmas budget if you can- pay for the person behind you in line at the Drive Thru. These things give me hope. Amidst the chaos of violence and hate and crime and pain is something still so pure and good and righteous- it's love. 

Things are changing every day in the Scalf household- stay tuned for more vetted out shenanigans. 

Here's some hope and a smile. 

White Noise

There are two babies living in my house. I have managed to wrangle them for 12 whole months. I wouldn't trade the double diaper change, the double burp, the double carseats, the double stroller the double shift or the double duty for anything. I am the leader of this v. cool little gang and they look just like me and the person I love the most. They are my little pack. We're a clique. Or a crew- depending on which car we're in. #shoutout <---- only a select few will understand this joke, but it was worth it.

When I first came home from the hospital, the babies had beat me home. I was out of immediate danger but very weak. I wasn't allowed up the stairs because the trip to the mailbox was like a marathon and any activity took recovery time. Because that's how we're wired, my babies needed me. They needed me and when they did they would cry. I was so weak that it took much effort to get to them and tend to their need, and I would get there-slowly..but they needed their needs met with a quickness.

For the first 6 weeks it was necessary for us to have a night nanny. I had already hired a full time nanny to help me get in a rhythm for the first year or so. Every book I read (and there were several) suggested that paid help is the best buy when you have multiples. The other best buy? A white noise machine. <--I'll get back to that.

A family friend was available to help us out during that time and would work 10pm-6am Sun-Thursday nights. Trey had to go back to work and needed decent sleep and I was in full recovery mode- following doctor's orders and resting resting resting.

The weekends we were on our own and we got into a routine quickly. Bath, lotion, bottle/reading, music/rocking, bed. The wake ups were well orchestrated while I pulled the babies from the side sleeper to change their diapers Trey would heat up their bottles in the kitchen. We would feed, burp, feed, burp and back down they went. This went flawlessly, I must say. They would only wake two-three times a night and were never inconsolable. We created a healthy and strong night time routine and Jesus had mercy on our souls. the end.

The white noise was a life saver. I read endless articles about what it does for baby's brain waves and how it helps drown out outside noise. It also drowns out each cry from the other baby- this. was. love.  Before the babies were born we slept with the TV on. Trey has terrible tinnitus and while I was prego it worked because I was up much of the night anyway going to the bathroom, throwing up in my mouth and other fun pregnancy activities. I became accustomed to great 4am shows on Nick like Instant Mom and other goodies. #thanksobama Anyway, with the babies in the room leaving the TV on wasn't an option. Our poor little pudding cups already had to do a bunch of bells and whistles in the hospital so we wanted to give them the best opportunity for a night's sleep possible.

When I was a kid I spent half my time at my best friend's house. They were big on noise makers. I never knew why. Now I do. Loud life. #onelove

The white noise machine kept it so you couldn't hear every squeak and hiccup from the baby. If I did hear it, I would jolt awake like I was falling and my heart would race and I would sometimes panic. I felt like if my babies were in need I wouldn't be able to get to them fast enough because I was so weak.
The white noise helped keep my mind clear so I could sleep without panic.
The white noise helped create a background noise so Trey's ears weren't ringing all night and keeping him up. When the night nanny was there, the white noise machine stayed in my room (there were 2) and it kept me from hearing the babies up with the nanny so I could get that sleep I so desperately needed to heal my body.
The white noise kept us all from hearing the dogs snoring. After all- two adults, two infant and two great danes all sleeping in one room can get....loud!
After the night shift was dissolved the babies stayed in our room for about 3 weeks after they started sleeping through the night. After much prayer (and a little xanax) we decided to move the babies in to their own room- each in their own crib. This caused a whole new need for the white noise machine. I needed it in their room so their noises didn't wake the other and I needed it in my room because now it was far too quiet with the babies gone. After time- Trey's c-pap machine became my new white noise. The sound of it brings such a comfort to me. Sounds silly maybe. My husband is such a comfort to me and was during those very scary times. Hearing that white noise calms me. It settles me. I have 2 white noise machines that go with us out of town wherever we go. I have a white noise app on my phone that plays at night next to my bed. With the baby monitor and Trey's c-pap, the app on my phone and the fan in our bathroom it's like a symphony of white noise in our bedroom and I LOVE IT. I am at peace. Now go, find your white noise.

Solo 3:4 for my anniversary

When I met him I was working as an interpreter in an elementary school and he was a parent of a student. We were easy acquaintances and the conversation was effortless. He was married, I was in a relationship and time marched on. 

When I met him again he was a single man. He looked different and it felt different. He pursued and wooed. He showed up and shored up.

When we were dating Trey would show up at my house in the morning before work and wake me with a Starbucks drink-o-the-day. This happened on the reg. When we went out on dates he opened my car door, pulled out my chair and treated me like a queen. (He still does this. Chivalry is not dead...usually)

When he proposed on that stage in that foreign country I knew I had hit the jackpot. We have the best time together and everything was exactly as it should be. The faster we both ran toward God the easier the relationship became. In our ultimate decision to "elope" before the actual wedding we were blessed. We were blessed by taking an obedient step and went on to have an amazing wedding. 

I'm an optimist- never needed a fairy tale- but this prince of mine landed right in my lap when I least expected it. 

When biology, science, genetics and hormones came into play last year- I almost died. I was too sick to admire the incredible bouquet that my husband had sent for our 2 year anniversary. I made it once to the living room to admire them. I sat down and wept. I wasn't sure if I would see our 3 year anniversary. I didn't know what was happening at the time- but I knew it wasn't good. Still he found time in the middle of our chaos to bless me, honor me, cherish me and pray over me. 

When people told me I would fall more in love with him seeing him be a daddy, I balked. No way I could fall more in love with him. He's my person, my lobster, all the other sickening things that can't be taken apart, that's us. HOLY FLIPPIN WOW. You people were right. Seeing him be a daddy is the best gift that God gives me on the daily. I fall more in love with him every day and I see his sweet spirit in my children and that makes me love them even more- which is barely possible. 

When you have twins people are full of stories- about half horror. I walk in positivity and light and my feet are led by Jesus so it didn't affect me much. I got a lot of warnings and advice and more advice and warnings. What I didn't hear was how amazing it is being a twin mom because of the extra time spent with the hubs. Any decent twin dad isn't going to sit back and let the mom do double the work if he's available to help. Trey has come up beside me and gotten his hands dirty time and time again. I am honored to parent with him- not only to #dembabies but also to Sam and Max. 

Life has been so good to me. I have a wonderful family and I married the man that was made for me. Together we are unstoppable. We love each other so fiercely that our cups are so full and overflowing that it affects everyone we meet- and that's awesome. #alsoJesus

Happy Anniversary Trey.

Lovingly: Bombay

Bad behavingly: Terry

Not listeningly: Taylor

Inappropriately: Tory

Recently: Sugar

I love you the whole much.