Author: sweetestmami

I’m a romantic at heart, married to a foodie who shares my love of new wave music and different cultures. I'm a sweet mama to twin girls and a silly boy, who light up my life and keep me on my toes! I love brunches and spa days with my besties and jet-setting around the world - my fave travel spots are Paris and Italy! I love making things pretty while keeping it simple, and finding excuses to gather and entertain at home. I love to share inspiration for a beautiful life and support other sweet mamas and bosses struggling to do it all while maintaining their identity and sanity. xoxo Haydee (iDay, like Friday!)

Registering is neither easy, nor fun…but it’s done now!

September 28, 2009

Getting ready for the babies is exciting, except that registering for all their baby gear was not as fun as we had hoped it would be. There are so many choices and decisions to make and, as we are finding out, it wasn’t easy as we thought to find the perfect items for twins. We have finally managed to get our registry lists put together though, after extensive research on the internet and kind advice from in-store salespeople.
The most challenging decisions have been the ones dealing with selecting the stroller, playpen, and whether to register for one or two sets of their daily items — such as onesies, bibs, etc. Another frustrating detail is that many items are only available online at certain retailers, so we actually ended up creating two registries to maximize the selections available in stores.
So, we are happy to announce that the first big step in preparing for our babies is behind us. We can now focus on getting their nursery ready…

You can find our registries online at: BuyBuyBaby and Babies R Us.

Featured Recipe: Nutty Carrot Cake

September 28, 2009

I made this cake for Victor’s recent birthday. It took a while to make (mostly due to my current pregnant state) but was a huge hit with everyone! I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Nutty Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Serves 8 to 10
Carrot Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups corn oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrot, about 2 large carrots
2 jars (4 ounces each) carrot puree (baby food)
2 cups toasted pecans, chopped (reserve 1 cup for decorating)
Cream Cheese Icing
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
12 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles, and butter and flour each pan.
Toast the whole pecans for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Chop once cooled, for use in the recipe.
To make the cake:
Sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the grated carrot, carrot puree, and chopped pecans and mix until just incorporated.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating halfway through the process for even baking. [Note: Mine were done in exactly 40 minutes, so set your timers accordingly to avoid overcooking.] Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool completely. Invert onto the wire rack after 15 – 20 minutes, and peel the parchment paper off once cakes are completely cooled.
Note: If you would like to save the cakes for frosting later, wrap each cake tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to frost them.
To make the icing:
Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together at medium speed the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and kosher salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once, until the mixture is smooth, with no lumps, about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until light, fluffy, and well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
To assemble, place one cake, flat-side up, on a platter. Spread part of the icing over the top of the cake. Top with the second cake, flat-side up, and spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with the remaining 1 cup of chopped pecans, as desired.

Baby A and Baby B

September 21, 2009


Here is the proof, in case you were wondering if we were pulling your leg or joking (as many do, when we share the news)! Have I mentioned that we don’t want to know the sex of the babies? We both think it will be a lot more fun to be surprised when they are born. So, in this case especially it was really nice to find out that the way the doctors keep track of both babies during my checkups is by calling them ‘Baby A’ and ‘Baby B’ — and they will be tracked like that throughout my entire pregnancy, so they will be able to monitor each baby’s growth and progress separately.

The pictures above were really fun. It was really the first time I could see them so clearly, instead of just looking at two little fuzzballs on the screen. I was shocked to see them positioned with their feet towards each other, but my doctor says they will do a whole lot more moving around before I deliver them. Although both of them wriggled around a lot during the ultrasound, Baby B was especially active–kicking and stretching its arms. So cute!

I hope you enjoyed your first glimpse at my little bundles of joy. I am bracing myself for a lot of kicking in the future. These days I just feel a few flutters here and there, so I can imagine how active they’ll both be as they grow bigger in my tummy.

The First Trimester

September 21, 2009


Here I am, at 12 weeks on August 23, 2009. Thankfully, this is not a maternity dress. I still managed to squeeze into regular clothes, as long it’s a dress…
Let me brief you on what my first trimester was like, by enlightening you on my symptoms.
Weeks 1 – 8: Extreme fatigue, sore breasts, heightened sense of smell
Weeks 9 – 12: Fatigue continued, soreness continued, sense of smell even stronger, and all these joined by extreme nausea and vomiting
I couldn’t wait to get ‘out of the woods’, as some say, so I was patiently coping with these symptoms and gaining optimism with every prenatal doctor’s visit I had. “Usually, women start to feel a lot better as they enter the second trimester,” I was reassured often. Having said that, there was also the caveat, “Well, you are carrying twins, so many symptoms will be heightened in your case.” Gee, thanks, Doc.
To put things in perspective, let me share some of my misery with you. The week of August 10th must have been the worst week ever. I was between 9 and 10 weeks, and could not keep any food or liquids down. Everything I ate or drank, from crackers to apple juice, inevitably came right back up within minutes. I was miserable. It was Friday afternoon by the time I decided to call my doctor for advice. I didn’t want to call too soon because, again, this is what I thought was ‘normal’. My doctor was not in, so I was transferred to one of the on-call doctors. I was prescribed medication for my nausea, which was called in for me and I took the first dose that night. The nausea continued…despite the medicine…but, again, it was probably too soon to take effect.
The next morning, I took another dose of medicine and waited over an hour before trying to eat, but as soon as my breakfast went down, it came right back up! At this point, I felt helpless and thought the best thing to do was go to the Emergency Room, because the on-call doctor had warned me that I could become dehydrated if my vomiting continued. My husband, Victor, took me in immediately, and sure enough I was dehydrated and put on an IV to replenish my fluids. They also gave me more medication (stronger, this time) to stop my nausea and vomiting. This one seemed to work!
Well, six weeks later and I’m still on the same medication. Without it, I can’t seem to shake off the terrible nauseous feeling I get even when I am on an empty stomach. My doctor reassures me saying it might all disappear around the 16th or 17th week. Well, I’m already on week 16, so let’s just wait and see…