Wordless Wednesday

Santa

Santa came to visit the neighborhood kids last weekend. Robert was so excited to see him - he gave him a big hug when he walked through the door!

ps is that not the best looking Santa? I found him at the grocery store in October. He was in the produce dept - NOT the bakery as some might think. He even smelled pretty nasty like a good Santa should!

Christmas Portraits from Hell

Just a glimpse of what our portrait session was like this year:



It was NOT fun. And for those of you who get cards from us, please know how embarrassed I am that I am sending such awful picture cards this year!
And the worst part of all: I actually purchased $150 of these god awful photos!

Christmas Spirit

This year, I am unable to hang garland from the staircase, stockings from the fireplace or put candles in the windows. I am also unable to display my Nativity.

No, we have not converted.

We have toddlers. 2 of them. and they have already decapitated a wise man, broke the ear of a sheep and yanked the candles off the window sills.

The Christmas Tree is quarantined in the Living Room. We can't see it. We can't enjoy it. It really doesn't look much like Christmas here at all.

Bah Humbug.

Oh Christmas Tree!

We bundled up he kids on Saturday and trekked into the wilderness (okay, not really) to find the perfect Christmas Tree. I love this tree. The size is perfect and it fits perfectly in the corner in the Living Room. And it smells so good, too!

Unlike last year's tree... it was HUGE and took up the entire Living room. (see below) The kids had a blast running around the forest (again, not really) and being freezing - runny, snotty noses and all.
After the tree cutting, we went out to eat. This was a first for us... Bobby and me, alone with all three kids in a restaurant (it was really a diner). It was great! The kids were so well behaved and ate so well. It helped that the diner was full of old people who were just enamored by the kids, not to mention the ladies who worked there. Bobby and I high-fived each other as we concluded our mission. And all three kids passed out on the way home.

Eye Candy

Alex is talking up a storm... this week he started with colors - Blue, Red, Green, Yellow and Purple. We are working on recognition since he thinks everything is 'Bwoo." He has also added "Thank you", "please", "excuse me", "Touchdown" (with arms up), "football" and "not nice" to his vocabulary.
His fascination with the toilet has returned. He feels it is his duty to flush every time anyone uses the potty. He is very pleased with himself when he does 'his job.' Perhaps this could lead to some easier potty training?
Alex loves the bread drawer and I have (more than once) gone to make lunch and found a slice with a bite taken from it. (Must start using twistie ties)



Ava has been gracing everyone with her kisses and hugs. She is obsessed with shoes and tries on whoever's shoes are left by the door. She can put on her own shoes as well. She puts her dishes in the sink when she is finished eating (and boy does she love to eat!) Ava also loves to draw and color. She is not as vocal as her brother, but she uses sign language more than he does.

Did you know....

You know the footsie sleepers that most kids wear to bed until they are about 3? The ones that zip from the foot all the way to the neck?

Well did you know that on boy's sleepers the zipper starts on the Left foot and on the girls it starts on the Right foot?

Betcha didn't know that... Another amazing discovery from a mom of boy/girl twins.

Something about Ava...

You've seen "Something About Mary"

Well, today, There's just Something About Ava, too...

A Lesson in Genetics

There are some things in a marriage that need to be overlooked. I've learned to pick and chose my battles.

That said, two things in particular frustrate me: when Bobby 'forgets' to put a trash bag in the kitchen trash can (which is every time he takes the trash out) and when he leaves an empty toilet paper roll hanging in the bathroom (which is often, and usually I am the one who gets 'stuck on the potty.)

This weekend, however, I discovered that these 'trademarks' are actually no fault of his own and I can no longer blame him for his ignorance. Read on...

Bobby's mother came on Saturday to watch the kids while we went to a friend's wedding. We were gone for most of the day and returned late at night.
Early Sunday morning, I went to throw something away. There was no bag in the trashcan. The bag of garbage that Bobby's mom had taken out was double bagged in the garage, so maybe that second bag was supposed to go in the can?
Later that day, I was summoned to the bathroom upstairs by Robert to help him (aka 'wipe his hiney'), and Alas, there hung the toilet paper roll - as empty as can be.

My apologies, dear husband. We all know I come down on you pretty hard too many times. But this time, we can place the blame on your own genetics. I can only hope this defect did not get inherited by our own children. And remind me to ask at Thanksgiving which side of the family Mom got this trait from. Something tells me it wasn't Grandmom.

(disclaimer: Mom, if you are reading this, it is really meant to be funny. Please don't be offended and know that we appreciate everything you do for us and for our kids. This was nothing but an observation turned good blog topic.)

Laundry rant

The following is a long overdue rant on laundry. If you are the type who really enjoys washing, drying and folding laundry (only to watch it pile up again before your eyes) you may not want to read any further.

Rant #1 My husband has a habit of taking off the clothes he wears and draping them over the hamper. I call this Laundry Purgatory. What is the deal? Is it clean or is it dirty? You left the belt on your pants, do you plan on wearing them again? Or are you just too lazy to put your clothes all the way into the hamper? Please let me know. I don't like smelling the armpits of your shirts and inspecting your pants for dirty spots.

Rant #2 WHY do you insist on taking off your clothes inside out? New rule: if it goes into the laundry pile inside out, you will get it back inside out. The same goes for the kids' clothing. I am always careful to make sure their clothes are right side out. (Hubby is not so good at this) I have spent too many hours turning clothes right side out again. That ship has sailed.

Rant #3 Is it just me or am I doing laundry more often as the kids get older? My kids (usually) only wear one outfit each day- unlike the infancy days when they'd dirty multiple outfits/bibs throughout a single day. My guess is that their clothes are getting bigger and so I am able to 'fill the washer' easier than before. Lord knows I am not washing bibs and blankets the way I used to, and that brings me to my next rant...

Rant #4 Socks and Onesies. Yes, they are back. You may remember my post from earlier this year about the evil socks and onesies. Well, we had a break over the summer. The kids hardly wore onesies OR socks throughout the summer, but now that fall is here, I have started to hate 'doing whites' again. Matching socks and folding onesies is tedious work, and I have already had to send Bobby to the laundry basket in search of clean undershirts - more than once.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

When Ava and Alex nap, I put their 'sleeptime music' on repeat. When they wake up, I tend to turn it off with my big toe since I usually have a child clinging to my hip. (The radio is close to the floor).
Yesterday, I told Alex to "turn off the music." He swung his foot up and turned it off with his chubby little Barney Rubble toes - just like Mommy!

Unfit Mother

Two weeks ago, Robert swallowed my wedding ring. It was my fault. I left it on the counter. He swallowed it, and I had to do the Heimlich on him until he threw it up. True Story.

Yesterday I looked into the family room and there was Alex, with a gallon sized plastic bag over his head. He must have thought it made a good hat (it was a perfect fit) and he was just ready to pull it over his nose. I got it away from him before he suffocated himself.
How he got a gallon size plastic bag, I don't even know.

This morning, A&A were playing in my room as I got dressed. They pulled out my 'little glass jars' - one filled with safety pins and one with buttons. Alex got them both open and even though I was right there, he still managed to swallow a button while I cleaned them up. He bit me pretty hard when I tried to fish it out of his mouth.
Today my MIL had to pry a fully wrapped hershey kiss from his mouth.

I never said my kids were good eaters.

Robert's Class Trip

Today, Robert's preschool class at Holy Family took a trip to Graver Farms. They rode on a tractor out into the pumpkin patch and picked their own pumpkins. Robert had a blast. He totally loves his friends from school and I learned that they love him back just as much.
It was quite interesting to see him 'in action' with his friends and just so cute when he realized his teachers were there too and he threw his arms around Mrs. Fulmer waist to give her hug. (Mrs. Fulmer is a twin mom too!) He even interacted with the "Farmer" as he explained how pumpkins grow.
I learned who Robert's best buddies are (TJ, Mikey and Matthew) and witnessed that Robert is a born leader and the kids just seem to want to be around him. It was really a neat experience and it makes me so proud to know how independent and social he can be- Such a dramatic change from the library incident this past summer!
I guess we are doing okay at this parent thing after all.

Who's your Daddy?

Alex (left) and Bobby (right) both at 19 months old.

Do you see a resemblance?

Little Minds

My kids are creative.

Ava has very few 'girl toys.' She improvises the best she can - she'll put a hair tie on her wrist and pretend it's a bracelet. She loves to make anything into a hat and she will carry around any thing she can that may resemble a purse.
But this... this may send me to the toy store much earlier than anticipated (we were waiting for Santa)Ava pushes her favorite doll around in this dump truck (backwards) pretending it's a stroller. How sad is that? We need to get her some girly toys asap.

This is Alex's new favorite toy of choice:

To him, it's a phone. He carries it around and repeatedly yells "Hawoah."
In real life... it's an old powder compact that he found in my bathroom.


Robert is very much into Time lately. He asks me many times a day "What time is it? What day is it? and How much longer? (To which I respond "until what?") Of course, it means nothing to him when I reply with the time and day, but it's interesting that he even cares.

How does your meat loaf?

When I was growing up, my mom made meatloaf into a, well, 'loaf.' She'd make it into the shape of a football and bake it in the same black roasting pan everytime. Her meatloaf was always good no matter how she made it. She'd sometimes put rice or stewed tomatoes in it, and she's always use canned tomato soup on top. My dad always enjoyed an 'end piece' and would rave to my mom that "This is the best meatloaf you've ever made" - every time.

As I grew older, I learned there were other recipes for meatloaf. I learned a recipe from a family for whom I used nanny. Theirs called for milk and dry onion soup mix - a recipe I adapted as my own.

When Bobby and I got together, he hated my meatloaf. He hates onion soup mix. He wanted his meatloaf dry and flavorless - just meat in a pan. A pan? Yes, a pan.

Bobby grew up eating meatloaf pressed into a flat pan and then cut into squares like brownies. This was odd to me. But I sometimes make it this way for him - for nostalgia's sake. No onion soup mix - just salt, pepper, bread crumb, Locatelli cheese, and egg and occasionally some ketchup or dry onion flakes. He seems to like it.

So, now when meatloaf comes up in conversation, I ask people "How do you make your meatloaf? In a 'loaf' or in a 'pan'?" The answer is almost always 'in a loaf'. See, I knew the pan thing was odd.
But it all tastes the same no matter how you shape it, I guess.

More tidbits

Alex says uh huh when you ask him a question. It's more like 'uh huh' (his voice goes up on the huh part) - not just uh huh. Hmm, you probably have to hear that one to get it, huh? It's very cute nonetheless.

Today I took the kids to the Halloween Store. Robert tried on a few hats. He said "Mommy, how do I look?" Before I had a chance to answer, he told me "I look very distinguished." I almost peed my pants. That darn Max and Ruby got him again! (I mean, I am guessing that's where he got it from anyway!)

Tonight Bobby and I were sitting on the couch. I leaned in to give him a kiss and Ava caught us. She ran over and climbed onto Bobby's lap. She pushed outr faces together and made a kissing sound. It really made us laugh, so of course she did it over and over. Too cute.

Sorry, wrong number...

When Bobby is away, I sometimes let Robert 'give him a call.' I supervise as he dials the digits to Bobby's cell phone - saying each number and watching him find and press each number with such precision. Then he gets to push "the green button" to turn the phone on and 'make the call.'

Tonight I watched him until the very end. Well, almost. I walked away as I announced the last digit - 7. I looked back and saw the he did in fact push the green button to connect the call and I reached over and pressed speaker phone. This is what I heard:

Man: "Hello?"
Robert: (very enthusiastically) Hi Daddy!
Man: Hi! How are you? (Me: hmm, that doesn't sound like Bobby.)
Robert: I miss you. When are you coming home?
Man: Who is this? (Me: its kind of sounds like our BIL Eddie. Bobby was out to dinner with him tonight - it must be Eddie)
Robert: It's me Daddy - Robert.
Man: Who? (Me: hmm, maybe we dialed the wrong number)
Robert: (proudly) Robert Trifiletti!
Silence.
Robert: Daddy? Why aren't you talking, Daddy? (me: okay we definitely dialed wrong)
Silence.

I took the phone and turned it off and looked back at the last number dialed. Sure enough, he had dialed a 4 instead of a 7.

Oops.

Trif Kids update

Alex says shoes, juice, cheese, fishy, upstairs, go, down and outside. He is always talking, but we never know what he is saying, He loves to turn off the television while Robert and Ava are watching. And he is always looking for trouble. My mom says he has 'mischievous eyes.'

Ava says Stop and cheese fishy among other things. She will point to her body parts if asked. She knows, hair, ears, eyes, mouth, teeth, tongue, and belly button. She uses anything she can find to use as a necklace, bracelet or purse. She is very maternal and loves her baby dolls. She is in desperate need of 'girly toys' but Santa will deliver this year, no doubt. She just started giving real kisses and there is a little boy in particular at the gym that she loves to kiss.

Both kids have a crazy appetite and will eat anything you give to them. Alex especially loves fruit of any kind. He will take whatever he is chewing out of his mouth when fruit is placed in front of him. Ava once ate a 4oz steak. Need I say more?

Robert knocked his front tooth loose a few weeks ago. He had compromised this same tooth last year and the dentist didn't seem concerned at that time. Now, it's very loose and discolored and I fear it won't 'hang around' much longer. We have an annual appointment with the dentist in a few weeks. She said she'll check it then, but if it falls out, there is not much that can be done.

Robert knows all of his upper case letters and most lower case, but he gets confused with b,p,q and d. He can spell his name with ease and is loving his new school already. He knows all of his colors and can count to 20. Is it too early to be counting on that Penn State scholarship?

Handsome Robert

About a month ago I taught Robert that "Boys are handsome" and "Girls are pretty." He caught on rather quickly.

Today over lunch, I explained that Grown up boys are called 'men' and Grown up girls are called 'women.'

After I explained, he said "Yes Mommy. And me and Alex are hamsters."