Festive Fellas

Aunt L and the fellas overlook downtown Minneapolis

On Wednesday morning, Aunt L, the boys and I forsook all housework and ventured into Downtown Minneapolis to see the Macy's Holiday display on the 8th floor.  The fellas were quite festive and enjoyed watching the animated elves, the singing Christmas trees, and especially people-watching while strolling through the skyway - but they weren't really in the picture-taking mood! 

Baby N

Mrs. Claus, me, N, and a thoughtful M

Here we are visiting "Reindeer Flight School," trying to snap a pic with Mrs. Claus.  She was not received well, so we skipped Santa's visit at the end altogether.  Maybe the boys will be up to it when Daddy goes with us next time.

 Believe it or not, the boys were very well-behaved while we dined in the Skyroom on Macy's 12th floor.  Even though I brought them PBJ's, M ate a large portion of MY tortellini!

There was a Salvation Army bell-ringer at the Skyway entrance to Macy's, so I stopped the stroller and gave each boy a quarter to drop in the bucket.  They both laughed and giggled, the bell-ringer rang his bell and we all cheered when the coins dropped.  They had so much fun that I promised them we'd stop on our way out, and we did it all over again.  The bell-ringer was prepared for us the second time because he gave each of the boys a candy cane afterward.  It was the best buck I spent all day! 

And we didn't know it until we reached the elevator, but M busted his candy cane and was sucking on it all the way through the skyway!  How did he know it was candy? 

What's Up, Doc?

My boys are officially toddlers now.  They had their 18 month appointment yesterday.  (I learned that it becomes official at 18 months from my cousin Kristi at ...and Baby Makes Three!)

When it comes to doctor's appointments where they have to get shots, I call in the reinforcements, aka, Aunt L. This is what she was doing with one boy while I sat with the other and the doctor discussing developmental milestones and health issues:

That's my boot and N's leg on the left as I talk to the doctor.  He squirmed out of my arms and under the chair to retrieve a bulldozer.  Aunt L. was zooming the trucks into the opposite wall (see the red and yellow trucks behind him?) to keep M occupied.  They were happy as clams all naked and crawling on the tile with their trucks while we waited for her to show up - but don't worry, grandmas, I think the heat was set at 80 degrees - Aunt L and I were sweating by the end of this!

N weighed in at 25 lbs, 4oz, putting him in the 42nd percentile while my featherweight M made it up to 22 lbs, 12 oz, in the 12th percentile.  Watching his figure, I guess.  Doc says it's okay, though.  Whew!  They are a little on the short side right now: both are 31 inches, in the 15th percentile.  I think they'll sprout, though.  You won't be short forever, guys.

Best Buds

After receiving a clean bill of health, aside from run-of-the-mill colds, the fellas were ready for their shots.  Okay, they weren't all that ready, even though I did warn them they would be getting them on the drive there, reassuring them that, while it would hurt, it wouldn't hurt long, and they'd get treats for being good.

They were good as gold!  Okay, M didn't cooperate with the physical exam and needed to be bribed with a pre-shot treat, but it paid off because N saw that his brother got one afterward and he complied with ease to get a dum-dum  He's no dum-dum.  He'll do anything for a treat!

Did you say treat?

But then I had to follow through with the shot treats, so Aunt L pulled a second stash out of her monster purse. And guess what? N was so good, that HE DIDN'T EVEN CRY!  Even though he got poked TWICE! What a good boy! 

M did cry, but just for a minute because Aunt L's fruity juice gummy treats magically appeared and suddenly all was forgiven.  The fellas were so good (and we had time to spare before dinner) that we rewarded them with a trip to the library.  See, even though I bribe them with candy, I do provide healthy rewards: the library!  Do I seriously have the best kids in the world or what?  What kids think the library is a reward?  Mine, I'll tell you.  Mine.  Because there they have.....

CARTS!

Which sounds just like "cars" to M, his favorite thing in the world!  This suckers are the best invention ever, just ask my boys:

We should do ads for the library or something.  Guess what book M picked out?  Thomas the Train!  I actually think he loves trains more than cars right now.

Choo-choo!

All of that took place after we got up at 5am EST, flew from MI to MN, drove all over the Metro return E to her home and getting us home by 9am CST.  Whew!  And we still had to do dinner and baths afterward.  Just a day in the life of our little twin engines.

What is a Texas Sheetcake?

(This is a special entry for Bonnie)

I could just tell you it's a big chocolate cake made on a jelly roll pan.  But that's boring and doesn't really make it sound as delicious as it is.  So I decided to Google it and find you a better explanation.  And I did!  In the process, I stumbled across an incredible food/photography blog called Homesick Texan.

Click on her link and you'll go straight to her entry all about her family's Texas Sheetcake tradition, her mouth-watering photos of her own recipe, and of course, the recipe.  I was going to give you my Texas Sheetcake recipe but there's no way I'll do that now!  I'm going home and baking hers!

Best of all, I'm excited to have stumbled across a great new blog to add to my bloglist.  Anyone know of any good ones you don't see on my list?  Of course I love multiples moms' blogs, but what are your favorites, readers?

I don't have a photo of the kids eating Texas sheetcake, but I do have today's post-nap-Yo-Gabba-Gabba-Teddy-Grahams-at-Grandmas-house-pic.

It's not Texas sheetcake, but it's still good!

In other news, my grandma has successfully taught me the double-crochet stitch and how to crochet in the round, so I've finished my striped scarf, hubs' sushi-scarf, and I'm working on Santa hats for the boys.  Thanksgiving break is the perfect time to let everyone else change the babies and practice my stitches.  After I put the boys to bed at my mom's, I crochet while listening to my parents' nightly debate between the Hallmark and Discovery channels.  "I never pictured you as a CROTCH-et-er," my dad tells me.

"No?  What did you picture me as?" I ask.

"I don't know, but not a CROTCH-et-er.  Don't make me a scarf, I'm not a scarf guy."


"Okay, Dad," I say, not that I was entertaining that thought, anyhow.  "What would you like instead?" 


"How about some golf club covers?"

Uh, okay, Dad.  I'll see what I can do about that.  In the meantime, how about some Texas Sheetcake?

Turkey, Pie, and Other Things I Love

It's Saturday night and I've finally emerged from my pie-induced coma to report on our Butterball Turkeys' Thanksgiving.

Boy o boy, do we have fun at the holidays now that we have the boys!  Wednesday night was my grandfather's 81st birthday party.  I tried to get the boys to carry the gift bag to him, but they wound up taking each piece of "retro" candy out of the bag and running across the room to give them to him one at a time!  They gave him Zagnuts and old-fashioned root beer barrels, among others.  The best part was when Grandpa told me the next day, "Those candies the boys gave me I haven't seen in years!"  It made me smile because, yeah, Grandpa, that was the idea!

Thursday was the big day and we spent the morning getting ready at my mom's.  Okay, that's not exactly the truth.  The truth is, the big train table, two cozy coupes and car racing track in the basement took up most of the morning.  We carried them out the door to the cries of  "choo-choo! Choo-choo!"  Fortunately, there were more trains at my mother-in-laws!

 One of N's favorite things is to open and close the microwave or freezer door, and his Uncle A indulged his every whim. Knock yourself out!

 The boys just couldn't wait for everyone to get there, so Hubs and I fed them some sweet potatoes and green bean casserole before the meal.  For the second year in a row, they slept through the turkey, but I'm okay with that because it means they're napping.

M and Daddy read a noisy book between naptime and pietime.  Dessert is serious business at my in-laws'...very serious.  There were 5 peanut butter pies, 2 lemon merengue pies, 1 Texas sheetcake, 1 banana cake, and one spice bundt cake!  I was able to restrain myself somewhat because I knew what was waiting for me at my mom's; my grandma's pumpkin and custard pie. 

This reminds me of a song I heard on the kiddie music channel 930 on Charter.  I can't remember the artist, but I do remember the words:

I love pie
I love pie
I love pie
I love pie
Chocolate pie! 
Strawberry pie!
Pumpkin pie!

Thanksgiving is always a festive holiday for Hubs, myself, and now the boys because we are quite literally surrounded by the people we love the most...and turkey...and lots of pie.

Happy Thanksgiving To All

We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! May it be filled with love, food and time to reflect on how blessed we all have been and will be.

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

The Muffin Man

The Muffin Man

Do you know the muffin man

Who lives on Drury Lane?

The one doesn't actually live on Drury Lane, but he lives right here in my house!  N was not at all interested in baking the bread (wait a minute, that's a different story) muffins, but M loved it and wanted to help with every part.  He was unhappy that I did the "oven" part without him. 

Muffin-baking, couch cushion tumbling, "beach-party" home-movie themed evenings, and removing stuff from drawers is what we've been up to since the weather turned icky.  It's sunny today and looks beautiful but it's a finger-numbing 14 degrees out there right now. 

I wonder what the temp is on Drury Lane? 

Probably 350.

Good Omen

8 am Monday dentist appointments are a scary way to start the week, especially weeks that have air travel and snow in the forecast.  Especially after my dear sis started last week with a 9am root canal! 

However, God is gracious to me and, despite the insane teeth x-rays and slick roads, I have NO CAVITIES.