Tuesdays Thoughts: Good Eats & Miscellany

Random updates on what we’ve been up to (and eating)! Hoping that next week will be the week I finally get back into the grove of blogging. So many half written drafts currently saved just begging to be finished and shared with the interwebs. 😉

• I’ve been eating these for breakfast everyday the past couple weeks and they are delicious and filing. I can usually make it to lunch time without any snacks, which is saying something! I must admit that I am lazy though and have just been throwing whatever fruit we have lying around in it – but I’m sure the tropical version is wonderful!
• I made this herbed summer squash pasta bake earlier this week and it was fantastic! Surprisingly, our CSA has been very reasonable with the amount of squash we’ve received so far, which was almost starting to disappoint me. But then Handyman Husband brought home two large zucchinis from a co-worker and I see post-bedtime this weekend being spent making lots and lots of zucchini bread. Good thing we have a chest freezer!
• And lastly in the good eats department (but certainly not least!) – I’m planning to make this delicious cheesecake for my dad’s birthday this coming week.
• Ever since we found out we were going to have twins, Handyman husband and I have been having the should we/shouldn’t we buy a minivan discussion. This discussion has become more earnest as of late and I had the good luck/misfortune (depending on which side of the minivan debate you fall on) of stumbling upon this article a couple days ago. Ever since I read “Loathsome and infectiously uncool these vehicles are like caskets on wheels, a perpetual reminder that your youth and its associated fun are dead and buried.” I haven’t been able to stop referring to them as a ‘casket on wheels.’ I don’t think we can ever get a minivan now, haha.
• We’ve been keeping the bathroom doors closed to keep the girls out because they are still in the “put everything in my mouth” phase and they’ve noticed the screw covers on the base of the toilets and so…closed doors it is. Anyway, apparently the door to one of the bathrooms wasn’t closed completely and they got into the bathroom – this is what they were doing when I went looking for them:  
• We just registered Monster for soccer this fall. Currently, he is really excited about it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it goes better than swim classes did last fall. And I am kicking myself for signing him up for another commitment. Preschool + soccer = 4 days of activities for him a week. I’m already tired just thinking about getting the kids in and out of the car 8 more times a week than I currently do. 🙂

One Model?

Initially after the girls were born there was speculation as to whether they were fraternal or identical (during the ultrasounds they were about 98% certain they were fraternal). The OBs that delivered them were actually uncertain as to which they were (the placenta was sent out for testing and we later got confirmation they are indeed fraternal).

Suffice it to say, in those first couple weeks we had trouble telling the girls apart. I recently pulled up some baby pictures of Monster and it looks like we just make babies that look a lot alike (put another way – we only make one model, haha)!

What do you think (if you can ignore the fact that Monster had way more hair than the girls)? Monster has my eye shape and the girls have Handyman Husband’s eye shape – but aside from that I think they look pretty similar!

Throwback to 2011 – baby Monster!

Miss A

Miss J

Big Brother Says – Vol 2

And we’re back with another addition of ‘Big Brother Says.’
________________________________________________

Life With Three

Where do I even start in trying to describe life right now? Perhaps with a short story? Once upon a time my parents had neighbors with four children whose birth order was girl, twin boys, and another boy. Their youngest boy was about 6 months or a year older than Monster. Monster and this boy had very similar personalities or characteristics, if you will, as babies. They used to joke that if they’d had their youngest first they wouldn’t have had anymore. And remember – they had twins before him! Unfortunately these neighbors moved away when Monster was about six months old – they moved to another state for work and my parents didn’t stay I touch with them. I find myself thinking of them frequently these days though because I think we’d relate well.

Anyway – what was the point of that story? It’s that Monster was really good prep for having twins. Which sounds crazy and I don’t expect many people (except for the couple In the story above) to believe me when I say that – but it’s the truth, none the less.

The hardest part of each day is trying to keep Monster occupied without letting him rot
his brain on TV all day. He’s a very active boy and the weather has been horrible lately which means we’ve been spending lots of time indoors. Which is driving us both crazy – I find myself yearning for spring already. Not a good sign since December has only just begun!

The majority of my days are spent nursing one or both of the girls. It feels like I am almost always nursing. I think my buttock is going to wear a permanent indent into the couch! I remember now how I managed to watch so many shows when Monster was a baby. This time around I’m watching considerably less television, but it’s still a lot. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime!

And if I’m not nursing it’s likely that I’m changing diapers. Boy do these ladies go through them! At this point with Monster I was starting the transition to cloth diapers but I’m not ready to take that particular task on yet this time around. Hopefully after the holidays i’ll find the courage to try. I feel guilty about the huge mother load of increased garbage we are currently adding to our ecosystem right now by using disposables. At the same time I also feel a huge sense of relief at NOT needing to wash diapers everyday.

The most common question I get from everyone is about sleep. These little ladies sleep pretty well – they each wake up a couple times a night to nurse but they typically fall back to sleep. Once or twice a week one of them (sometimes both) will wake up and stay awake for an hour or two. But until very recently that’s about how well Monster slept – so there hasn’t been too much change in the sleep department.

Like their brother these girls prefer to be held while they sleep. If I’m lucky I’m able to put them both down for an hour or so each day. The past week though they’ve been having none of it, which has been rough. On the bright side my arms are getting quite tone. 🙂

That about sums up life right now. Any bets on how long until Monster and I take up mall walking with the girls to survive the winter?

7 Weeks

Well, I’ve got “one month” and “6 weeks” drafts saved but I didn’t manage to publish either of those in an appropriate amount of time so here’s hoping the third attempt is lucky. 😉

The little ladies are growing well – they were almost 9 lbs at their one month check up and roughly 21.5 inches long. They’re basically the same size.

They’ve recently started smiling at us which is awesome! They love watching the big brother and lately he’s started showering them with kisses and hugs. I can’t wait for them to start crawling – it’s going to be fun watching all three of them interact together.

These little ladies are great sleepers compared to big brother although like him they don’t sleep well unless they are being held. Here’s hoping they grow out of it sooner rather than later.

The biggest challenge so far is burning off all of Monster’s energy. The weather has been too cold lately to take the babies outside…so this winter will be interesting. I’m open to suggestions. 😀

Big Brother Says

Monster and Miss A

Since this blog has been a little light on the Monster man lately, it’s time to correct that and what better way to do that than by sharing some astute observations from the boy this blog is named for…

When visiting us for the first time in the hospital after the girls were born:
Monster: looks at my stomachMommy, is there still a baby growing in your belly?
Me: no, it’s just going to take some time to get smaller.
Upon arriving home from the hospital:
Monster: Is that as small as your belly is going to get?

While holding his sister for the first time.
Monster: Why are her feet so small?

While playing firefighter
Monster: I used to be a junior firefighter but now I’m the chief. The girls can be my junior firefighters now. (He then proceeds to place his firefighter hat on one of the girls, causing her to cry.) Don’t cry baby – you’re a junior firefighter now.

when asked why he put a pine cone and one very crumpled dry leaf in Aunt H’s bed
Monster: Well I had to put it somewhere.

Yelled out the front door at 9:30am on a Saturday
Monster: I’m thirsty for a beer!

Talking With Tots (Vol. 1)

Linking up with Silica this week at The Adventures of McBaby – so if you enjoy hearing how little minds work, hop over for some more toddler gems. 🙂

 

While eating dinner one night this week:

Monster: Mommy, how many kids do you have?
Me: Three.
Monster: Who are your kids?
Me: You and the twins that are still growing in my belly.
Monster: You forgot to count Daddy.

While pausing for breath while he was talking to Daddy:

Daddy: One day you’re going to need to learn to stop and think before you start talking.
Monster: Why? So I can think of more things to talk about?

While eating this for dinner earlier this week:

Monster: I only like dinner when it has beans in it. (The boy does love beans.)

7QTs: Preschool at Home, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Nesting

So I started this on Friday and now here it is Sunday and I’m finally finishing this. Oh well  – better late than never, right?

— 1 —

We started “preschool at home” last week. I wish I could say it’s been fantastic so far, but unfortunately Monster and I have been taking turns being grumpy this past week, so neither of us has been super excited about it. BUT I’ve slept well the last couple nights (so I’m not so grumpy – yay!) and we made a trip to the library today to pick up some more books for preschool today – so I’m feeling better about next week’s lessons. We are loosely following “26 Letters to Heaven” by Sarah Parks. The mommy blogosphere I follow has raved about it, so I bought it last summer when it was on sale.

I’m still forming an opinion on it – so far I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it either.

With the twins making their debut in less than a month, I have low expectations for “preschool” this year. My goals are just for Monster to be able to recognize all the letters of the alphabet (both upper and lowercase), count to 20 or 30 and be able to recognize all the numbers up to that point, and learn the “Our Father”.

I’d also like to introduce him to some logic games as well, which might be a bit ambitious since he’s only 3…but if you got any suggestions for age appropriate logic games I’m all ears! 🙂

He couldn’t start “preschool” until his pocket was full of pens

— 2 —

This past week I went to the dermatologist to get a sore looked at on my hand. Based on my internet research I diagnosed myself with skin cancer. The doctor concurred with my self diagnosis, so he did a quick biopsy and rushed my results (not because it’s an emergency but because it’s way easier to get taken care of while the twins are still in utero). The results came back positive today for squamous cell carcinoma. Which means I got to go have it removed at zero dark thirty on Tuesday morning. All of this is really no big deal (I am fair-skinned and it runs in my family) because honestly most skin cancers are very easily treatable when caught early BUT what is a big deal that depending on how much skin they have to remove I may need to wear a splint for 2 weeks. Did I mention it’s on my right hand? And that I’m right-handed. That won’t be inconvenient at all…

— 3 —

While the nurse was explaining the does and don’ts of splint wearing during my initial appointment, she said “You won’t be able to play the piano, ride a bike, get it wet, or pick up anything heavier than 10 lbs for 2 weeks.”

Those were her initial instructions to me. In her defense, she did tell me that she doesn’t like children and I could tell Monster’s presence was ruffling her (Monster was actually being really well-behaved during my appointment and the doctor got a kick out of talking to him).

After receiving those instructions I chuckled to myself. I told her none of those things would be a problem (although the not getting it wet will obviously be a bit of an inconvenience). So I asked, “will I be able to type?”, knowing the answer would probably be no (which it was). Total bummer. I currently work part-time outside of the house and was planning to continue doing so for two more weeks (assuming the twins stay in that long) – but I’m not sure how much value I’ll be providing if I can only type with one hand. I still get a chuckle out of those instructions – I probably would have started out with the “no typing, good luck cooking dinner….” and gone from there.

Anyway – we’ll definitely be keeping our fingers crossed and sending up a few prayers over here so that I don’t have to wear a splint. Because the list of things I can do while hugely pregnant with twins is pretty minimal already and in my opinion I really don’t need it reduced down even farther! 🙂

— 4 —

 I started “Cutting for Stone” this week from my 2014 Reading List. It was recommended by several people – I knew it was about twin brothers in Ethiopia who become doctors. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but I will say I probably should have waited to start reading it until after I have the twins.

— 5 —

I’ve been trying to “plan ahead” for Christmas this year, since I’m not sure what my sanity will be in those first few months after the twins arrive. I think I’m almost done shopping for Monster – which is definitely a new personal record for me! Santa doesn’t go crazy and bring lots of gifts, so that makes it easy too. Also, Target is currently clearancing “big boy” bicycles with training wheels and I saw one I think Monster will love (and he’ll definitely need one for next summer because he’s sort of too big for his Radio Flyer trike), so that helped too!

— 6 —

I still have a list of things that should be done already that aren’t, which includes (but is not limited to): packing my hospital bag, having the house in some semblance of order, finalizing the twin’s names, and installing the carseats. Clearly, these babies NEED to stay in the womb at least a couple more weeks. 😉

— 7 —

We are also still finalizing our names for these babies. One of my favorite suggestions that other people have given me is that we should let Monster pick a name/help decide on names. I don’t know if these people haven’t been around a 3-year-old in a long time or if Monster is just a goofball, but that suggestion is just not happening. When asked what he thinks the twin’s names should be he says “Garbage Taker Outer” and “Sawwer” (as in someone who saws things). Here’s hoping he doesn’t insist on calling them that once they’re born!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7QTs: Hiking, Home Improvement Projects and More

— 1 —

This morning, Monster and I went to a local nature preserve to “hike”. Monster had a great time and we ended up spending almost 2 hours there! He kept asking if we could bring Daddy the next time we go – so sweet!

I asked him to smile and this is the face he made

On the trail

— 2 —

Monster is very outgoing and talkative. I’m pretty sure he’s still too young to call him an extrovert, but he really loves to talk. He regularly tries to strike up conversations with strangers where ever we are, but he especially loves talking to kids a few years older than him.

There was a 5-year-old girl at the nature preserve this morning who loved talking as much as Monster. Needless to say, they were instant friends.

— 3 —

We decided back in February/March that we weren’t going to send Monster to “preschool” this fall. I’m starting to think about doing something at home with him this fall (feel free to start laughing now)…anyone have any preschool “curriculum” you would recommend? I bought “26 Letters to Heaven” last summer, but it’s not quite what I was looking for.

— 4 —

Earlier this week, I attended a “Mom’s Night Out” with a local Catholic Mom’s group. It was really nice to get out and spend time with some other like-minded moms! One mom asked me if we were going to have enough space once the twins arrives and I explained that we had a three bedroom house so we should be good for a while. Her reply was something along that lines that we’d be fine – she just asked because she didn’t know if we had a house or a one bedroom apartment. Which is actually the nicest conversation I’ve had regarding living space and  the twins. Most people who ask me that want to know when we’re going to sell our house and buy a bigger one so “everyone has their own bedroom and of course you’ll need a playroom for all the toys too” which really annoys me for multiple reasons and always makes me want to give a snarky reply. I grew up sharing a bedroom with my sister so I really don’t see what the big deal is – technically the twins are already sharing a room now so they’re used to it. 😉

Anyway – I really need to make more of an effort to attend events with this group because I think it’d be really nice!

— 5 —

We had an ultrasound about two weeks ago to check on the growth of the twins. I went in intending to ask the genders, but the ultrasound technician kept saying how impressed she was that we weren’t finding out so I chickened out of asking. We did however, find out that they’re the same gender.

— 6 —

Handyman Husband has been hard at work re-doing our basement (thanks to a water issue that is now fixed). He has all the drywall up and has been working on plastering and sanding. We were hoping to be ready to paint by the end of this weekend BUT the motor died last night on the sander/vacuum he’s using. Total bummer. Not sure how long this will delay it.. but it definitely feels like a never-ending project.

— 7 —

Speaking of never-ending projects – I had high hopes of crocheting two baby blankets for the twins before they arrive. I started on the first one right after we found out we were expecting twins…10 weeks later it’s still not done. I am still going to make two, but now it looks like I’ll be lucky if I finish one before these babies get here!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

TWINS!

It’s no coincidence that the last time I wrote a post was back in February. I fully intended to blog regularly, but other things just took precedence.

In February we found out we were expecting baby #2 in October! When I was pregnant with Monster, I had morning sickness every morning for pretty much the full nine months. It wasn’t ideal, but I was really grateful it was only in the morning and usually went away within an hour of waking up. This time around I was hoping I wouldn’t get it at all, but I ended up with worse morning sickness the first trimester this time around. On top of that P was working full-time and going to school full-time – so the end of February-beginning of May was interesting, to say the least. We all survived, but blogging just wasn’t at the top of my “to do” list. 🙂

Things were just settling into a more normal routine and I was starting to think I’d be able to get back to posting more regularly when we found out at our 19 week ultrasound that we are having TWINS! We opted not to find out the gender (we didn’t find out with Monster either) – so all we know at this point is that there are two babies and they are probably fraternal, although the ultrasound couldn’t 100% confirm it (they couldn’t get a good look at the placenta because it is attached in the back and the babies were blocking the view).

Anyway – now that the shock has mostly worn off, I’m hoping to get back into a more regular blogging routine, at least until the twins arrive. 😉

Monster is excited to be a big brother and is hoping he gets “a little brother and a little sister” but he’s said he’ll be happy with any combination.

And if any of you happen to be a parent of twins – I’ll gladly take any advice you have to offer! 🙂