Pseudo Campers

We are enjoying spending time with L and K this week and learned that we have something in common: we all like psedo-camping.  I'm totally making that word up (I think) but I define it to mean: doing only the very funnest camping things and omitting all mosquitoes, humidity, nasty campground bathrooms and leaky tents, among other un-fun camping things.  Yesterday turned out to be a lovely afternoon, so the 6.5 of us went pesudo-camping.

First, we drove to Nerstrand Big Woods state park and went for a "hike."  It's just a path through the woods to a little waterfall (where we took our family photos for the Christmas card), but it's certainly a hike for a pregnant lady and two toddlers.  For the other 3 able bodied adults, it was just a stroll.  It was total BOY HEAVEN!  They could have spent the entire afternoon "rock climbing" up the side of the waterfall.  Don't worry, the men were spotting, L was photographing, and I was catching my breath on a bench, imagining it was 80 degrees and I was lounging with an ice cold beverage whilst my family frolicked in the falls. 

My favorite pic, N cresting the ridge

There is no denying that mug!

Look at that tongue!  "Should I do it again? YES!"

Long ways up!

He did it! 

This one's just to show you I still have a bit of a waist at 35 weeks this time!

Here's where we went home and ate chili, a total camping dish, which even the boys ate, so home run for my meal planning!  Of course, M and N think the kidney beans are "baby hot dogs," so we go with it...had to make sure K understood I do NOT cook chili with hot dogs.  Although that would be kind of like chili dogs, so I guess I could...

Moving into the backyard, we scrounged up a cord of wood, a bag of mallows, an old Hershey bar and the last of the graham crackers to round out our evening campfire with s'mores. 

Aunt L teaches N how to toast his mallow

Oops!  She burnt M's mallow!  Gotta start over!

Our manly men tending the fire (while L roasts a new mallow)

Our first campfire...awe, isn't that sweet?

Our first campfire of the season - no skeeters!  Hooray!

Funny mommy shot of me assembling s'mores for everyone and M lounging.

We all went inside when it got cold, I enjoyed a hot shower in my marvelous bathroom, (not to mention got a pedi from Aunt L!) and then we all passed out in our bug-free warm beds.  You can't beat that!  And it cost us $5.  Psuedo camping is the way to go.

Surprise Staycation

We are having a fun week by surprise!  Auntie L and her special man, K, have come for a last minute visit and since Daddy had vacation days to use up too, we are having an impromptu staycation right here at home, complete with fun, food, and MOA (so far!)

(All of these pics are from iphones, so I apologize for the quality.  We have an outdoor adventure lined up for this afternoon and I'll remember to take the Nikon (finally) and try to get some better shots.)  But you get the idea of how fun it is to have company we love so much and time at home with Daddy.  The boys are making fast friends with K, who is wonderful with them, but has decided that maybe he doesn't want twins of his own someday, after all!  It's exactly what I've always wished for - someone who SAYS he'd love to have twins than actually BORROW mine for a couple of hours! Bwahahahahahaha!

Yesterday was "Superhero Day" at Toddler Tuesday at the MOA, so we convinced the boys to wear their adorable matching Superman T's and we headed out. 

Watching "Super Why" on the Jumbotron at the MOA...cool...and loud!

Daddy and M snackin' and relaxin' with Super Why.

Earlier that day, making pancakes together on "vacation"

Gentlemanly K pushing the Superkids into the mall...me and Hubs waddling behind.

Bedtime stories with K...we've all been replaced.

Mall walkers with Aunt L and K

"Big Rigs" was the  highlight of the day - their favorite ride at the amusement park.

M tickling K got tickled right back!

L and K :)

 P.S. K is the perfect houseguest, telling me how great a cook I am and playing with my kids.  Hubs bathes them and tucks them, and with Aunt L cleaning my kitchen too...I don't want this vacation to end. 

Turn, turn, turn...

I thought I was in for a good night's sleep based on:
1. I was up half last night with insomnia. I normally sleep well the night after.
2. Boys went to bed well tonight, praise the Lord! I've had a peaceful evening.
3. The windows are open for perfect sleeping weather.
4. We received excellent news that there is an offer on our townhouse tonight! Peace of mind should allow me to sleep but excitement and happiness are keeping me up.

Or it's baby boy, whom, I've been convinced for about 10 days was head down, is suddenly head up again! How do I know? 2 things: his hiccups are at the top of my belly and I can actually feel his hard melon! Feels just like N's big old' head did 3 years ago!
So I'm doing what any other crazy pregnant insomniac lady would do: I'm lying in the dark with a package of frozen peas on my belly, his head, to freeze him out of there and a flashlight down low. And Im tapping out this message on my iphone for you dear reader. See the light at the end of the tunnel, baby? Go check it out!

Octopus boy isn't digging the peas, which is the point, but he doesn't seem to be getting the hint either! Oh heavens, do I have another stubborn hardheaded kid on my hands? Sure feels like it! But that's not getting me down tonight because we have an offer on the townhouse after just 7 days on the market!

Hallelujah! If that miracle can happen, so can this one. Turn, baby turn!

Backyard Bliss

I've mentioned in previous posts that we've been spending a lot of time outside recently, so I uploaded the iphone pics I've snapped of the boys enjoying our backyard.  It's such a wonderful blessing to have SPACE for the kids to play! 

M says "cheese!" on a rare occasion I got him to slow down for the camera

Yesterday was so warm we wore shorts and went barefoot in the sand!

M is proud of his newly acquired pedaling skills

Pedaling practice on the flat surface - it works best back here due to our graded driveway.

Here they're singing "teetertotterteetertotter" over and over.

 The toys we had for them last summer - the trikes and teetertotter and sandbox - were fun at age 2, but now that they actually have skills, I think they will enjoy them all the more this summer when they turn 3!  It's amazing how much stronger and more agile they've become in the six months we've spent indoors.

The forecast for this week is rain and 60's, which I suppose is normal for this time of year, so I'll take it because it sure beats snow!, but it's been just heavenly to have the windows open and the kids outside.  Loving spring - in fact, I've been loving Minnesota for the past 12 months!  Normal summer, warm fall, mild winter, early spring...really, you should live here!

Baby/potty update

Baby: 33 weeks now, but I think he turned! Hubs took pics of my crazy old wives' tales efforts, which I will OBVIOUSLY not share with you, but will be a good laugh for us someday! Beginning Tuesday, I've been feeling Baby's hiccups down low near my left hip, which I'm taking as a good sign. Last week his hiccups were at the top of belly. I won't know for sure until my next appointment on the 29th. We are praying he stays put so I can attempt a successful VBAC, and avoid another c section. Otherwise, he's making me tired, hungry, grouchy, sleepy....wait a minute, aren't those the seven dwarves? Well, I've been every one at least once this week!

Potty: what shall I say? Since my potty meltdown on Monday, I've been trying to take a more laid back approach, keeping N in pull-ups. But it's backfiring a bit because N is still having accidents and today M, who was staying dry for days at a time, wet 4 times. Perhaps it's because we've been outside so much he's not thinking about it? I asked Hubs to show him how to pee on a tree we dubbed the "pee pee tree," and while it seemed to work momentarily, it also backfired. He refused to use the potty when we were inside, insisting on the tree, then of course having an accident when we wouldn't take him outside to pee. (sigh)

While I hoped the boys would be further along 2+ months into potty training, I guess it's to be expected. I take solace in knowing that many of my two year old twin mom friends are experiencing similar challenges. These are things I wish I could tell the random strangers at Target when they say, "I always wanted twins!" But I don't because I know they were sincerely complimenting us.

That's it. Baby's getting big and strong, boys are wonderful, and even though the accidents are maddening, somehow it seems a small price to have a week of sunshine and 70 degrees in the middle of March in MN.

Scone Snack

I snapped a few pics of the boys eating their snack outside on the deck yesterday afternoon - it was a leftover Caribou Coffee blueberry scone from our visitors earlier in the day.  They asked what it was, and deciding not to make up words, I told them, "a scone."  They snacked for a couple of minutes, but spotted their cozy coupes and were no longer interested.  We were outside for a while, playing nearby Hubs' open office window, when M cried out, "I need to go eat my scone!  Bye!"  and scurried back up the deck to his drying-out snack. 
I heard Hubs' laughing out loud from inside, asking, "WHAT did he just say?"
"He's going to eat his scone," I repeated.
"SCONE?"  he asked, incredulously, as if M were suddenly British, taking tea with scones and clotted cream.
"Well, I told him what it was.  It's not a doughnut or cookie....what would you call it?"
He paused, then said, "A scone....are there more?"

Snacks in the sunshine from here on out!

Gotta eat my scone!

It's good.

Welcome Spring!

More like, welcome summer!  Today was about 70 degrees, simply glorious for Minnesota in March.  Grandpa A is visiting, so we put him to work helping move the outdoor furniture to the deck, walking to the playground and pushing kids on the swings.  Then after our THIRD, yes, THIRD meal on the grill this week and our first outside, Grandpa treated us to the recently-reopened-for-the-season Dairy Queen! 

N's pre-DQ swinging smiles

I love you, DQ!

Ice cream cone refresher course for M

Curly Q

Thanks, Grandpa!

P.S. See those girls in the background?  They were running around shortly after this pic (and a bit too close to the road for my comfort) and N was watching them intently, desperately wanting to run with them.  Then they all piled into a minivan and took off.  We hadn't spoken to the family at all, but as they drove away, N called out, waving, "Bye, bye, pink one!  Bye, bye green one!"  So funny that he's already watching the girls! 

New Every Morning

Today, all is well.  The sun is shining, the boys are napping, and I am showered, dressed and in my right mind. 

I guess I'd have to back up a little bit to explain that one.  The best analogy that comes to mind is that Bible story about the demon-possessed man whom Jesus healed - he sent the demons into the pigs who then jumped off the cliff and drowned.  Remember that one?  Mark 5:15 says, "When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind" (emphasis mine).

Okay, maybe I wasn't QUITE as crazed as the Madman possessed by demons (gosh I hope not), but today I am definitely feeling like I've been healed, dressed and in my right mind!  My husband will testify that he's never quite come upon the scene that greeted him at 5:30 last night:

N sobbing, sitting on his white potty, M crying in his room, afraid of me,  who was yelling, hollering, and overall just being EXTREMELY unpleasant about the 7th potty accident of the day...in underpants...with sticky tar poop...and urine all over the carpet.  So much so that I had to change MY clothes and scrub out the laundry sink.  That's all I'll tell you about that.

I will tell you that my Hubs is an angel, sent by God to be the yin to my yang (if that can even make sense.)  He took over for the rest of the night while I decompressed, showered, and basically went to bed early. 

I'm going to blame it on pregnancy hormones. But I will also do as Jesus told the man: "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has shown mercy on you." Mark 5:19.

Thank you God that your mercies are new every morning.  Great is they faithfulness. Lamentations 3: 22-23.

32 Weeks Baby Update

Good News: blood pressure good, baby heartbeat good, weight good (resist urge to hug doc)!

Bad News: baby is still breech

Good News: doc says there is still time, twin mom friends say there is still time, I have 3 weeks to keep up my silly home remedies to convince him to turn

Bad News: I'm a worrywart because my last stubborn breech son who never turned (even once!) is why I had a C section last time.

Good News: my doctor makes lovely stitches? No....I love lying with my head on the floor and my tushie up on the couch? No....i like the frozen peas on my belly encouraging him to scootch down, away from the cold? No....hm... I think the good news is that Aunt L was a great help this week and I'm glad she was here and even happier that Hubs is flying home from Down Under as I peck out this blog:)

Gymnastics

Yesterday a twin mom friend organized a playdate for all of us with two year old twins at a gymnastics center, so the boys and I, along with Aunt L, played hooky from school and went to the gym!  The fellas have done this a half dozen or so times the last year, and they LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  They are still struggling with the concept of waiting for their turn on the trampolines, but they're getting there! (Some of the pics are blurry b/c I was messing with the settings.  Unfortunately, neither of my photographer twin moms were there to help me out with my fancy camera!) 

Thank you for visiting Aunt L!  We love you and will see you again soon!

Wordless Wednesday: First Day at the Park!