Mesmerized by "twiblings"

Forgive me if you're already bored to death of hearing about this story.  I may be a little late to the party with this, but I am still mesmerized by the December 29th New York Times Magazine article Meet The Twiblings. I read that the magazine received more than 500 comments prompting the author to respond to some of the more thoughtful questions, so I'm obviously not the only one who's mesmerized.

If you haven't read the piece, it's about a couple who couldn't get pregnant.  The wife was a little older than her husband and after years of IVF, they were told she probably wasn't ever going to conceive.  They felt adoption seemed too long a process with no guarantees, especially because the wife was older and had a chronic pain disease, so they decided on using a surrogate with donor eggs, and the husband's sperm.  However, they really wanted twins but were told by their (responsible) doctor that there was too much risk with multiple births.  Next they decided that they'd find a second surrogate, and implant the two surrogates at the same time.  This resulted in babies being born 5 days apart: twiblings. 

The egg donor was the only one in the story who isn't involved in the babies lives, and the only one whose identity was not revealed.  Melanie Thernstrom, the wife/mother/author of the story is extremely confident in her position, even allowing one of the surrogates to occasionally breastfeed the baby she carried. 

I applaud this woman for sharing her story, that many people might find controversial.  It brought the surrogacy process, shall I say, out of the the closet. It's pretty clear that surrogacy is so expensive that it's cost prohibitive to most folks, while simultaneous surrogates, is surely only possible for the very wealthy, which seems kind of unfair, since I'm sure there's many gay and infertile couples who would also love to have this option.  They were also very fortunate to find seemingly level-headed surrogates who didn't change their minds halfway through, or do any of the other possible horrifying things a stranger could do while they're carrying your baby. 

At any rate, it made me think of how far I would have gone if I weren't able to conceive.  Maybe we all start out the same: telling ourselves "if it happens, it happens."  I remember that one day my husband and I were saying "maybe we'll start trying" and the next day having sex and then lying with my legs in the air for 15 minutes after.  Was that over sharing?  I guess what I'm saying is, it's so easy to let baby-making become all encompassing.  A friend said that having children isn't what makes you a woman, and you can certainly have a magnificent life without kids.  I think that if I hadn't been able than it would have been quite okay with me, but I haven't had to struggle with this dilemma.  What would you do?

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/magazine/02babymaking-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

Why i get dressed

Since I've had kids there are only a few scenarios that I actually need to get dressed for.  Admittedly, I don't get out of my bathrobe until 5pm some days, if at all,  so I began to assess my clothing situation and there are only three different things for which I need to get dressed this coming spring, and only a couple of  items I'll need to make it work.

Scenario 1 Days with Kids: this includes going to the library, museums, play dates, and shopping. 

Scenario 2 Date Night with Husband: Most often dinner, and sometimes a movie (The Fighter was fantastic).

Scenario 3 The Gym: Self explanatory

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd have nothing to wear if it weren't for my JBrand Skinny Jeans and I'm grateful for JBrand for introducing me to their miraculous jeans which I've completely embraced in multiple washes, so I won't be giving these up. However, this spring I'm going to add/invest in their version of my forever fave style: the flare (actually bell-bottom).

JBrand Lovestory, $179 at shopbop.com

As images of Alli McGraw and a non-bloated Ryan O'Neil running around Cambridge dance through my head, I'll wear these with fitted button-downs and tiny cashmere sweaters during the day, and blouses and heals at night.  This takes care of two different dressing scenarios! Now all I need to do is lose 8lbs so I can buy them in the size I want.  
http://www.shopbop.com/lightweight-lovestory-jean-j-brand/vp/v=1/845524441813043.htm?folderID=2534374302031296&fm=browse-brand-shopbysize


Joie Campbell Dress, $258 shopbop.com

 This is the BEST dress for anything!  The style is so forgiving, and it looks great with tights for cool days and nights or bare legs for this spring.  I bought this in a gray paisley and I want to own it every print (it's that great).  This is my date night go-to dress.   
http://www.shopbop.com/campbell-dress-joie/vp/v=1/845524441885647.htm?folderID=2534374302023777&fm=browse-brand-shopbysize

Hopefully with these couple of things I'll be motivated to lose the bathrobe a little more often.

Thanks for 2010, on to 2011

As 2010 is coming to an end, I was thinking of the things that made this year better.  Of course there's the obvious three people, my family, and friends, but it's the little things that make the day-to-day living good. 

Sophie & Sienna, what I'm most thankful.



Like my JBRAND SKINNY JEANS.  Without these, I'd be walking around in lounge wear all day.

Thank goodness for my LA friends who insisted that I buy these.

RED WINE I'm thankful that this a healthful choice, at least for now.

CAFFEINE I love you coffee, espresso, Diet Coke, tea (basically all drinks that will give my teeth a lovely yellow tinge).



Francis! Francis! Adds a nice kick to my morning coffee.



A GOOD LAWYER  Although it would be nice not to need one, if you do (as I do) it helps if he's also the dad of a dear friend.

A REGULAR BABYSITTER  Date night became a reality this year, and it's a bonus that she's family.

I'm also looking forward to some self- improvement in 2011.  I'm planning to:

1. Talk on the phone less.

2. Allow less TV watching by my children.

3. Get straight hair.  I'm in a quandary over Brazilian hair straightening or Japanese. Decisions, decisions.....

4. Be healthier (i.e. go to the gym more often, consume fewer carbs, lose a few pounds).

5. Have more private time with my husband (wink, wink).

Even if I accomplish some of my list, I'll be happy and grateful for the things I do have, hoping for world peace and equality for all in 2011.



Easy Brunch Recipe: Baked eggs with artichokes & parmesan

I found the easiest breakfast recipe in my (I mean Larry's) new Bon Appetit cookbook.  It takes just minutes to prepare, and can be prepared the night before and popped in the oven and served to two as easily as twenty.  I made them amidst the pleasant chaos of Christmas morning, and thought it would be perfect for a New Year's Day brunch with Bon Appetit's recommended toasted sliced ciabatta, grilled Italian sweet sausages, and Bellinis. 

2 Servings

Ingredients

1 Tb unsalted butter

2 tsp chopped fresh chives

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

8 frozen artichoke quarters, thawed

2 large eggs

2 Tb (packed0 freshly grated Parmesan cheese

RUB butter over bottom and sides of two 6-oz souffle dished or custard cups, dividing equally.  Sprinkle with herbs, dividing equally.  Place 4 artichoke pieces in each dish.  Crack 1 egg into each dish, being careful not to break yolk.  Sprinkle eggs with salt and pepper, and cheese.  (Can be prepared one day ahead.  Cover and chill.)

PREHEAT oven to 400.  Bake until eggs are softly set and cheese is golden, about 9 mins.  Serve immediately.

I usually attempt recipes based on their simplicity and the ability to substitute ingredients, since I'm almost always out of something.  This recipe wasn't an exception.  I had Pecorino Romano instead of Parmesan, so I ended up baking it for more like 15 mins since the cheese wasn't browning.  Also, I prepared the twins their own, but chopped the artichokes further and allowed the dish to cool before I gave it to them.  They each may have had one bite, and then requested grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast, and of course I complied.

Holiday Cocktail: The Poinsettia

I love a cocktail, especially one with a theme.  Let's face it, besides meaning abundant, plentiful, and pleasing to the senses, the adjective "lush" also has a slang meaning of something else entirely.  I made a drink called the Poinsettia for tree trimming with the family.  The tree trimming was a bit of a flop because I was missing half of my Xmas lights and decorations, but the company, food, and drink were very successful.

The Poinsettia
1/4oz Grand Marnier
3oz Cranberry Juice
Champagne

Add Grand Marnier and chilled Cranberry juice to a champagne flute.  Top with Champagne. 

Grand Marnier can be substituted for Cointreu OR Triple Sec, and Champagne can be substituted for any sparkling wine (I used Prosecco).

Happiness is......

Nothing could make me happier than watching my husband brush our daughter's hair,

except maybe following up the hair brushing with feeding our other daughter spoonfuls of Nutella, to her delight.  The Nutella eating will also appear in a future post titled something like "Things I Swore We'd Never Do As Parents."

And yes, Sophie is almost always wearing a hand-me-down Christmas dress, and Sienna is often wearing a seasonally inappropriate summer dress with pearls.

Gifts, Gifts, and More Gifts

So Thanksgiving is under our belts both literally and figuratively.  It was a great day for our entire little family.  The girls had big kids to play with, we had lots of good food and conversation, thanks to an incredibly well organized dinner by our hosts.  The girls were even in bed at a normal time thanks to all the excitement and lack of nap.

A sure sign they're feeling better: costumes, Icecream sandwiches & Popsicles

The remainder of the weekend was surprisingly low key due to little cold our entire family picked up, but it kept us close to home on what could have been a jam-packed weekend so in the end, I'm grateful that we got some good family time.

IRC Jump Start Trampoline $79 Target.com

Not one to stand in line for door busters, I'd never planned on venturing out for Black Friday shopping, but I was motivated by all the "big girl" toys the girls played with on Thanksgiving.  First thing in the morning, I placed some big gift orders which include a gigantic dollhouse and a small indoor trampoline for the house.  I've already picked up some books, magnetic paper dolls, and sparkly Keds, so I think all Santa needs to bring is some fantastic stocking stuffers, and that should make for a perfect 2-year old Christmas.   I mean, a mom could really get carried away so I'm going to practice restraint.

Now that the major Santa appreciators (I think this will be the year they start to "get" Santa, but I could be wrong) are taken care of, it's time to think of everyone else.  I think I'll start with myself, and a pre-holiday gift of a gym membership, so I can get my own jump start.