Happy Hilarious Easter!

From our family to yours!  We take time today to celebrate our Lord's sacrifice for us and reflect on the miracle of our salvation in Him.  Normally, Hubs and I would travel back to MI to spend time with both of our families and attend service with them, but this year I'm under strict no-traveling orders.

Good Friday morning, M got straight to work lining up his cars!

Saturday afternoon, dying yellow and blue eggs with Daddy

N and I dyed green and pink eggs

Cheese!

All finished!

Dyeing eggs was a big hit this year!  It was certainly one of the highlights of our weekend.  They were SO into dipping and checking, dipping and checking...and taking ownership of their colors.  If I'd have known that dying them was the trick to getting them to EATING them (duh!) I'd have dyed them months ago!  Dyeing eggs may be the new norm over here.

This morning, we attended and served at our new church, then hosted another toddler-parent family for an informal Easter lunch since taking our children out to eat - on a VERY expensive day to do so, at that - would have been a disaster.  (Or so I thought!)

I knew that we'd be getting family photos taken at church today, so I made a special effort to curl my hair and get the boys dressed in button down shirts, no small task at my stage in the game, not to mention Hubs was already at worship practice so I was flying solo.  I'll skip the part where dressing and pottying N was akin to dressing and pottying a wildcat, to tell you that M was a very good sport about it!  So everything started off great (snicker, snicker).

Here's where I would (and perhaps will) insert the family photo taken of us at church today.  I do so hope it turned out since the last photo we have of all four of us smiling at a camera was taken when the boys were 16 months old (October '10!).  Not to say we haven't tried....

Then I took the boys home only to discover my precooked ham....wasn't.  Yeah, I had less than an hour to cook my ham for 3 hours.  WHO KNEW that they even sold hams that aren't pre-cooked?  Me, I guess. 

Oh, and did I mention that in the "less than an hour" before Hubs and the company arrived that the boys backed up the toilet, had a potty accident, and I totally clogged the garbage disposal with a massive amount of potato peelings? And that when they walked in I was trying desperately to swiffer the week's yogurt off the dining room floor but that the batteries were dead so I was spraying cleaner in one hand and swiffering with the other? 

But the cavalry DID arrive and us four adults were able to tame the three toddlers and get dinner on the table at 1:00 as planned....HAMBURGERS with salad, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and King's Hawaiian rolls.  It was quite delicious, just not exactly  what I had in mind when I planned it.  They boys ate the rolls and the eggs, which is probably what they would have eaten even if my ham had turned out gloriously.

There was about an hour of peace as the boys napped, we finally got to actually talk  to our guests, watch the Master's and eat a dessert that I didn't screw up (okay, I did yesterday, but it turned out today!).  (Insert ham story)  Oh yeah, speaking of gloriously....I still cooked the ham according to its package directions and estimated a 3.5 hour cooking time based on its weight and the minutes directed for each pound, so that we could still eat ham for our evening meal and have leftovers.  I should have gone upstairs when our friend said, "I smell bacon," as that was yet another red flag that something not quite right is going on with this ham again.  But I waited another half hour until I heard the timer, only to discover...a ham carcass.

I gasped, then laughed, then brought my friend up to see the remains.  Normally I think I can hold my own in the kitchen but not today, not this holiday, not at 36+ weeks pregnant!  We all had a good laugh and the poor ham got unceremoniously trashed later in the evening, while I was waiting for the Liquid Plumr to work on the garbage disposal.

But that's not all, folks......................

We found our friends' son awake in the pack and play in our room, rifling through a dresser drawer he could reach.  At first it appeared he was only trying on my bracelets, but about an  hour after they left, Hubs discovered that the kid ate an ENTIRE tube of Chapstick!  I texted her just 30 minutes before she found out what that does to the diaper on the other end.

FINALLY, the Easter Bunny came for the boys!  Good thing he brought candy, because they didn't give a rip about anything else!  The eggs were scattered about and they had a good time finding them, scarfing the jellybeans, then repeating.  This year we tried to get them to at least put the eggs in their basket, despite the eggs being empty.  They sort of got it.  Here, take a look:

Candy!

Jelly beans!

Look, Easter Bunny brought you sunglasses, too.

I don't care!  More candy!

I found another one!

N puts all his eggs in one basket.

Theyr'e sharing!  Glad Hubs snapped a pic!

Taking a break in the hallway where they found a stash

Cleaning up the last of the eggs

It was a rather unusual, somewhat hilarious and definitely memorable Easter for us!  Hope you all had a good time where you were with good food, good company, and lots of laughs.  We did.

Sushi and Rodin: Typical Thursday

We're very high class here, making sushi rolls and enlightening our children with French artists.

Special thanks to Daddy's iphone and Google Images for today's pictures.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Too Big For Our Britches

Both literally and figuratively!

Two weeks ago, as I buckled the boys into their carseats - and it was 20 below zero outside - I saw four lily white legs sticking out from underneath the coats, hats, and mittens.  Their pants were too short!  Wayyyyy too short once the 5 point harness was buckled between their legs!  Those pants were retired immediately after our outing that day.  It's not that we don't have pants or can't afford pants...it's that nothing fits!

I know N has grown 1.5 inches in two months because he was measured for his pre-op physical last week.  I'm positive his brother has grown about two because he's a smidge taller when they're standing still.  (Snort, snort...standing still!!!)  Suddenly, everything that fit - doesn't!

So we went out and bought some brand-spankin' new 24 months size pants for the boys.  And guess what?  They were too big!  The waist is too big, so they slide down, the legs are a bit too long, so they need to be cuffed.  But their old pants, which fit in the waist, are highwaters on them!  What to do?

Break out the sweats.  My boys will be wearing sweats...um...until they either fit into their 24 mo sized pants or shorts!  Here they are sporting their fancy new fleece pants at ECFE last week.  Funny how I categorize sweats - these are the "fancy" ones for going out, the plain grey everyday ones are for wearing in!

N learns how to fill it up!

M is unsure about those pedals

Too bad our family can't just move into a pair of sweats because we're too big for our house, too.  I'm not complaining - I'm just stating a fact.  We are too big for our britches.

Kind of like the way I discovered the boys' pants were too small - in that I knew it would happen someday- we have finally admitted that this house, our beloved two-bedroom, first-place-we-bought-together,  where-we-brought-our-babies-home townhouse no longer fits us.

Like little legs growing, it's happened slowly and inevitably.  Suddenly, you notice that you've been trapped inside for three months, the kids are sick of their Christmas toys and they are racing their shopping cart and lawnmower around in circles - literally- CIRCLES! in your kitchen/dining/living area, once believed to be a "great room" or "open concept" and it hits you - WE. NEED. SPACE. 

So, we're beginning the house hunt and we need your help, friends.  If you know someone who would like to rent our fantastic townhouse- and it really IS fantastic - let me know!  It's perfect for someone who needs small-to-medium sized britches, like a really sweet newlywed couple.  Who would like a baby-bumblebee yellow second bedroom. And a two car garage.  And a great balcony on which to sit in the summer and watch the dragonflies migrate overhead.  With a beautiful view of the sun setting behind the church.

I'm praying for a nice big pair of britches for us this spring/summer.  The boys need space for being boys, hubs needs space to work from home, and we need space for family to stay.  Please let me know if you know where we can rent a place like that in the South of the River area.

I'll let you know how it goes.  And thanks.

Rainy Day Fun

N has discovered the cabinets.  He likes to unload the contents of the little cabinet next to the dishwasher, climb in, and giggle.  I say, "Where's N?" and he opens the door, sticks his head out, and giggles.

 Because he was spending so much time in there, and it's dark, I handed him the GlowWorm toy to keep him company.  Now when I'm working in the kitchen, I can't see my son, but I know where he is because I hear the GlowWorm's lullabyes and N's sweet giggling coming from down below.

M is fascinated with my iphone.  I try to keep it on the kitchen counter so he can't reach it, but occassionally he's able to find it.  He puts it up to his ear and asks, "Hi?  Hi?  Hi?"  Then he sees me see him and scurries away, looking for a place to hide with his treasure.

Now, when he hears it ring, he looks at me and says, "Hi?"  But when I try to let him "talk" to the person on the other end, he can't NOT press the big red button that says, "end call!"

It's been raining almost 20 hours now, but we'll have a good time today.  The cabinets and the iphone are in working order.

Loving Labor Day

We stayed at home over Labor Day weekend, having fun with the boys.  As you saw yesterday, we took them to the zoo, where we watched TWO bears swim back and forth in front of us, just inches from our faces.  N was not impressed, and seemed to be thinking, "I'd rather go home and play with my cozy coupes." 

We did spend some time outdoors playing with their cars, which the boys love more and more.  They're still not going forward, but they LOVE getting behind the car and pushing it, or scootching backward.  M will pitter patter his feet on the ground if you push his car forward.  Do you think they love these things or what?

This next picture doesn't look like much, so I have to explain.  M and N figured out how to go down the stairs at our house, backward on their bellies.  They're really getting good at it!  Apparently, M's depth perception isn't too great because when he was walking near this crack in the drive, he got down on his knees, scootched over it backward!, then got back up and kept walking!  I haven't laughed that hard since my Cake Wrecks entry!

The boys are becoming rather possessive as well.  I think the car in the above photo is the current favorite - it seems to be easier to get behind and push, I assume that's why.  Anyhow, when one boys gets tired of the other car, he'll try to push his brother out of this one.  Here, N jumped over the opposite side because M was guarding the door, and tried to take off on his brother.  M is complaining of N being a bully.  I'm beginning to see what my future holds.

Of course, we took a trip up the cities on a warm day to walk around their beautiful lakes and visit Punch Pizza.  See that little pizza in the upper left?  That's a "bambini," and the boys not only ate that themselves, they ate focaccia and a big bunch of grapes I'd brought.  I cannot imagine what it will be like trying to feed them in 13 years.

It was nice to have a long weekend at home with Hubs, and to get together with some old and new friends for a picnic - of which we have no pics!  Every now and then, we have so much fun, we completely forget to take shots.  I can just tell you that the boys played well in the pack and play with their girlfriend, G, but wanted out when they realized that people were having fun outside of it.  They loved walking through the park, picking up garbage, playing with other picnicker's toys, running away from us toward the water, and giving the parents-to-be in attendance a real scare!

Sunday Funday

Whew, we're having a heat wave!  Yesterday we celebrated a friend's birthday at a local park, and after lunch, the guys explored.  They were particularly interested in this golf-ball-tossing game:

It was still blazing hot in the evening, when we would have taken a walk together as a family.  Instead, we filled the baby pool and water table, stripped the boys, and ate watermelon on the deck.  This was the reddest, sweetest watermelon we've had all summer, and the boys knew it.  They were absolutely SOAKING in watermelon juice! 

All gone!

14 Month Olds' To-Do List

• ride in the shopping cart and buy lotsa diapers. 
• laugh at the little boy ahead of us in the Target checkout who hollers, "Whoa, that's a lotta diapers!" and reply, "Yeah, I have a lotta kids!" (Wait, that was me)
• WALK!
• climb up onto the furniture
• climb off the furniture, going down backward, and keep walking
• fall off the sides of the furniture headfirst (whaaa!)
• cut teeth: N has 14, M has 8, but he's working hard on those molars!
• push our toy trucks around the house making "rrrrrrrrrrr" sounds
• point at tiny airplanes flying far overhead
• dance to the "Veggietales" songs on DVD
• play by ourselves, but only occasionally, when we think Mom's not looking , and only for a few minutes until we see her looking

Lewis and Clark Explore the Cabinets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hip, Hip Hooray, it's Garbage Day!

One of the high points of our week, Friday morning at 8am.

There he is!  Wow...amazing.

Tasmanian Mom and Angel Babies

Have you thought of any more good blog names for me?  All my entries are listed right there on the right.  After 10pm tomorrow, there will be no more entries, so if you don't like the new blog name and you didn't submit an idea, then no complaining!  (You know, how you can't complain about politics if you don't vote...?)

In other news, I'VE LOST MY MIND!  Yeah, tell us something we didn't already know, right?  No, really.

Somehow, I got into my pretty little head than I can do anything if I set my mind to it.  And, since we are nearing the 6 year anniversary of purchasing our townhouse, I thought I should celebrate by...painting the bathroom!  Yes, you heard me.  I've lived here that long and never painted the dumb bathroom.

So, I decided, on the hottest day of the month yesterday, to start painting the bathroom BY MY SELF.  Mmmhmmm.  I know what you're thinking...

A little too much HGTV, there?

Let's just say, the primer got the best of me and, while I didn't swear, I would've sound less ridiculous in my cursing the primer, brush, roller, hose, etc. if I had.  I'm pretty sure I looked like the tasmanian devil washing out that stuff in my driveway as my sweet little angel babies snacked on goldfish crackers in their pack n play, watching the comedy unfold.

A dear friend came to rescue me from myself last night and got me away from here for a couple of hours, and, despite my being covered in primer, she said, "I'm not ashamed to be with you."  Is that love or what?

I don't remember the last time I soaked so long in my bathtub (because, duh, there's no shower curtain!).  It might have been relaxing if the bathroom didn't look like the DIY network.

I'm rambling now because....I still have to do the actual PAINTING and I'm procrastinating.

*Big Sigh* 

It was such a good idea on Monday night, though.

I'll leave you with totally unrelated and precious pics of my little angel babies.  They were up at 6:15 this morning.  I went in there, changed their diapers and told them it was still night-night time and that they could play with these soft toys if they didn't want to sleep.  I'd be back sometime after 7:00.

And guess what?  They were quiet!

So quiet, in fact, that I had to go wake them up at 8:20 to leave by 9!  Here's what they looked like - check out Nathan using the caterpillar as a pillow!

Ironically - or should I say, blessedly, we were going to my Bible study.  Now I'm feeling a little less devil-ish than yesterday and a little more confident that I actually CAN do all things through Christ who strenghthens me -

even finish painting the bathroom.

Do you work outside the home, or stay home with your kids?

Rather than do my laundry and clean my kitchen, I've decided to answer Multiples and More Blog Network's Question of the Week.  I haven't participated in awhile.

• Do you work outside the home or stay home with the kids?
• I'm staying at home with my 14 month old twin boys.
• How did you come to that decision?  Are you glad you made that decision?
• I was struggling mightily with the decision, when, at 26 weeks, I was told that my teaching position was going to be eliminated for the following school year.  So, it was easy to decide to stay at home.  And yes, I'm glad that it happened!
• What is your favorite aspect of staying at home?  Least favorite?
• I love being here to witness and record every "first," to be paid in hugs and kisses, to drink coffee and blog during morning nap!  My least favorite aspect is the late afternoon, when we are all on each other's nerves and Daddy is still and hour or two from coming home from work!
• If you stay at home, did you have to make adjustments to your lifestyle to make this work?
• Yes, we go shopping and out to eat far, far less.  Almost never.  That's why I post about it when we take the boys out for pizza - it's an event!  And I have become a coupon and rebate queen!  
• Do you plan to continue doing what you're doing now? Or make a change in the future?
• We've decided that I'll stay home with the boys for the next school year, as well.  It's working for us right now.  We're taking it one school year at a time, but I fully intend to go back to teaching sometime.
• What advice would you give to a mom who is pregnant and deciding whether to stay  home with her kids or go back to work?
• They'll only be babies once.  You've got the rest of your life to work.

This Week in Pictures

Monday: I took the boys to watch Daddy play softball.  Matthew didn't take his eyes off the game.  Nathan didn't take his eyes off the goldfish crackers.

Tuesday: I took the boys to see the Puppet Wagon at our favorite park.  It's cute and a good excuse for a picnic on a beautiful afternoon.

Wednesday: We introduced them to Veggie Tales this week, and it's getting easier to feed them vegetables!  I walked the boys down to the farmer's market and the man I bought veggies from gave each boy a cucumber.  I let them play with them on the way home, only to discover that Nathan ate half of the cucumber when he tossed it overboard and it got run over by the stroller!  Matthew had chewed a significant chunk off of his, too.  I didn't get photos of that, unfortunately, but I did get this.  After breakfast that morning, while I was cleaning in the kitchen, they somehow got this bowl of grapes off the dining room table and were eating them as fast as possible when I found them.  I guess they were still hungry!

Thursday: Daddy's working an evening shift today, so it was playtime with Daddy all morning!  Mommy got a chance to actually clean the boys' room while they played and discovered some forgotten trucks.

The End.