We are Irish (kinda)

On this day last year, things were different.

This year we're having corned beef and cabbage for dinner. We're ALL dressed in green (at least Alex was - the first two times I got him dressed.)

We even have a green shamrock (painted by Robert) hanging on the fridge!

This year we ARE Irish.

Ironically, I really did have steak and potatoes on the menu again tonight... before I decided that we'll be Irish instead.

New recipes

I have fallen behind on my new year's resolution of trying 2 new recipes each month... I'm 2 months behind, but catching up slowly.
We tried THREE new recipes just this week. Okay, so one wasn't really a recipe, but more of a concoction.

On Sunday, Bobby made Stuffed Chicken Parmesan. It was fantastic! I got the recipe from a booklet that I got in the mail with coupons in it. I was leafing through it and realized I had all the the ingredients that it listed. We made some elbow noodles on the side and it was a hit!

On Wednesday I planned to have pork. I went online and found this recipe that called for ingredients that I already had. I was excited because I had an apple that had been in my fridge forever and some cheddar cheese that would have been on its way out too.
I needed to improvise a bit because when I looked at the pork chops after defrosting them, I realized they were bone-in. oops. No problem. They were thin enough that I was able to stuff them 'taco style' and they came out great!

Tonight, I decided to make baked mac and cheese. I have childhood memories of baked mac and cheese - visiting my dad's deli when they would make it for a lunch special. They'd use up all the cheese ends from the deli and it would be so gooey and delicious. I had a bunch of different types of cheese in the fridge, so I mixed them with some half and half and some milk and butter. I used up 2 types of pasta and crushed some ritz crackers to put on top. It was just like I had remembered. Not such a big hit with the kids - of course they had just eaten their weight in gold fish crackers an hour before.

I'm not a chef, nor do I play one on this blog, but I was impressed with our break from the norm. I am also so happy that I was able ti use up some stuff that would have otherwise been thrown away!

The writing is on the couch.

A few weeks ago, Robert got hold of a pen and decided to scribble on the sofa. Yes, Robert. Not Alex.
That day, he was punished by losing his computer privileges. Later, Mommy realized she was only punishing herself because the computer is Robert's baby sitter while she runs on the treadmill and A&A nap.

I never cleaned the scribbles off of the sofa. It's only on one cushion and frankly, I don't have the desire to clean something that is only going to get more filthy. eh, whatever.

So today, while I was re-assembling the sofa -something I do several dozen times each day since Robert is into making forts these days, I decided that I am going to leave the scribbles there. The cushions are an odd shape since our sofa is 'theater style' and putting the cushions back on is almost like putting a puzzle together.
Now, at least I know that the cushion with the scribbles belongs in the middle, on the right. (right next to the one with dried snot) See how that works. (kidding)

I feel bad for punishing him. He told me he was 'only trying to help.'

And he did!

Good Boy. Now, go pick up your toys.

Park it!

I have to vent. It's been awhile since I have done that, right?

This very scenario has happened more than twice which makes it worth blogging about.

This morning, I packed up the kids and we headed to Walmart. I was running later that I would have liked due to the time change, so we got there around 10am. I found a decent parking spot, packed A&A in the stroller and headed in. We didn't buy anything on this trip - it was purely to price check a few things.
When we finished and headed back to the car, there was an SUV already waiting for me to leave so he could have my parking spot. I hadn't even unlocked the doors yet!

Dude! I have THREE KIDS to strap safely their into car seats and a double stroller to collapse and get back into my trunk before I can even think about leaving my spot. It's going to take a minimum of 3-5 minutes for me to do so.

The guy was clearly annoyed with me as he made hand gestures and was inaudibly yelling through his windshield. My cell phone rang and it was my parents calling from Florida, where they were vacationing. I had to take the call. Mr. SUV was even more pissed. He got tired of waiting and he sped away.
Right behind him was Mr. and Mrs. MiniVan. They were next in line for my spot. I still had not collapsed the stroller and I needed to climb in the back to belt in Robert. Mrs. MiniVan huffed at me. I rolled my eyes at her and began to vent to my dad on the phone about the ordeal. The couple waited until I was finished and then took my spot as soon as I vacated.

It's not like the parking lot was full. It was 11am on a Monday morning and there were a TON of empty spots. The Walmart parking lot is enormous and I have never seen it filled - not even during the holidays.
But that would mean Mr. SUV and Ms. MiniVan would have to park further away and (gasp) WALK an extra 20 feet. I suppose they'd rather spend that extra 2-5 minutes (and then some) sitting in their vehicle waiting for me to leave - and rushing me in the mean time.

Come on people, don't be lazy. Really, my spot was not exactly the best spot in the entire lot, anyway.

thats all. vent over.

2 year stats and a blip about Robert

Ava and Alex had their 2 year well check with Dr. Novak last week. Both are growing great and everything checked out okay. They were just getting over colds and still had snotty noses, but they were okay to get their last immunization in the Hepatitis series. Now, they will not need any more shots until they are 4. They were champs for the shots - hardly crying at all. I'm so proud of them.
Ava weighed in at 24lbs 12 oz and Alex was an even 24lbs. Ave is an entire 2 inches taller than Alex. She remains in the upper half of the percetiles, while Alex is staying steady between the 10th and 25th. (Alex is wearing clothes that Robert was wearing when he had just turned ONE!)

Doctor Novak was impressed by Alex's 50+ word vocabulary. Ava isn't far behind and has really started to say more words over the past few weeks. Now on the list are "boots, moon, sock, tea, baby among others. She likes to call her daddy "Bobby" instead of Daddy.

*********

Robert will be losing his first tooth very very soon. Last summer, he banged his front teeth while playing outside. They loosened up, but stayed put. When he saw the dentist a few months later, she took x-rays that determined that the roots of both front teeth were damaged. She said it is likely they will fall out sooner than they should - usually 5 1/2 - 6 for boys. I've encouraged him not to play with it and even tried to tell him "the toothfairy doesn't visit until you are 5 years old." I want that tooth to stay put as long as possible.
Over the past week, one of Robert's front teeth has become considerbly looser and has changed in color. It won't be long before it's gone.
As a mom, this is my little boy growing up before my eyes.

The truth:
Ugh, I hate that 'new tooth coming in stage... kids look so awkward!

Happy Birthday to my babies!

Happy Birthday to my babies.

Two years ago, on this day,
my life was changed forever.
I became the mother of Twins.


Ava and Alex are such blessings.
And proof that I can handle anything!

God Bless you both on your 2nd Birthday.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mommy, Daddy and Robert

Backwards: the new black.

Robert has been doing a great job dressing himself. Sometimes backwards and sometimes inside out, as long as it's on, it's all good. It's all all about independence here.

Last week when I dropped him off at child care at the gym, I removed his coat and noticed his shirt was on backwards. I mentioned it out loud and then looked down to see that his pants were backwards too. Anxious to play, he ran away from me and I shrugged my shoulders at the women who worked there with a 'Whatever."
When I picked him up, his clothes had been turned around. I suddenly felt like "That bad Mom." But only for a second. You see, once you have 3 kids (and 2 at once!), you just don't care about things the way you used to.

On Saturday, I took Robert to a birthday party at ChuckECheese, aka Hell. (deserves a separate blog post) As we were getting acquainted, I took notice of one of Robert's friends standing next to his dad. His corduroys were not only backwards, but unzipped and unbuttoned! I cant be positive, but I think his shoes might have been on the wrong feet, too!

Phew. Glad to know we're normal. Well, maybe not, but at least we've come a long way from this.

Bad kid or Bad mom?

Every family has a 'bad kid,' right? Please tell me it's true. Alex is my 'bad one' and I am already filled with excitement for the days when he's grown and I get to tell him just how bad he was.
Alex will be two on Saturday. I know boys can be curious and tend to look for trouble at this age, but really, this kid gives new meaning to the phrase "Terrible Twos." Let me explain:

We must now keep ALL doors locked - both upstairs and downstairs, bedrooms and bathrooms. This is because once Alex enters a room, there is no way of knowing what he will destroy.

He has recently become obsessed with water and will do anything to get some. This includes scooping it from the toilet. So, the bathroom doors will remain locked until further notice.(which has birthed a new problem - Robert, who often waits too long until he decides he has to go potty, now has to wait an extra minute until the door is unlocked.)

Along the line of water and locking things, Alex watches us when we use the water dispenser on the refrigerator in hopes that we might forget to lock it and he'll have an opportunity to score more of the wet stuff. Even better, he can get it in ice form, which he considers the perfect snack.

Last week, both Alex and Ava were stricken with a terrible stomach virus. Ava had it first. Alex was enamored by Ava's "spitting" in a bucket, and decided it would be fun to take a swig and then spit the contents of his sippy cup into any vessel he could find. We found juice in many places last week, including the kitchen sink of the play kitchen, which he managed to fill completely. That must have been hard work!

All dishes must now be washed by hand. Alex has learned to unlock and remove all dishes from the dishwasher. He uses said dishes to collect water. He also favors silverware and tupperware.

All remote controls and toys which contain batteries must be out of reach. Alex likes to open the backs, remove the batteries and then break the clips that allow the back to stay on. Most of our remotes are taped up now.

Last week, Alex unplugged a laptop computer that sat on the kitchen island. He tried to plug it back in, and electrocuted himself in the process. All outlets are covered (they usually are anyway, but we have to take special care to make sure we re-cover any that we remove) Also, this is another good reason to wash all silverware by hand.

Alex has always been a climber. He pushes chairs across the room to get stuff from the cabinets or to climb on to the counters (to reach the high cabinets) He will stack toy bins or other toys to reach whatever it is that he wants.
He used the "Grabby Grab Game" to reach Robert's flashlight which sat high on a bookshelf in his room. He then disassembled the flashlight and ate the light bulb. I am still frightened about it. He will eat anything that is small enough to fit in his mouth and will bite you - hard - when you try to scoop it out.
If you remember, he tends to pass things rather easily, so I'm not sure why I am so bothered by this.

I'm not sure what else he will manage to get himself into, as everyday is a new surprise for us. But I've learned that he is capable of anything... and we probably should sign him up to be a tester for child safety products.

Wordless Wednesday

Robert

Robert is a tiny version of his dad.
He has just discovered the computer and the magic that is noggin.com. He taught himself how to navigate the site (with the mouse-r) and it keeps him entertained for hours.
Robert can dress himself - often inside out and backwards, but that's okay.

At least 50 times each day he says "Mommy, I love you." I want to save them all up for when he is a teenager and tells me that hates me.

Robert eats 4 things. Cereal (Life or Rice Krispies), Peanut Butter and Jelly, Grilled Cheese and chicken nuggets. He will eat pasta, but it must have just the right amount of red gravy. Spaghetti is not pasta, it's spaghetti. And Pasta must be straight lines (Penne) PB&J must be cut in Square or rectangles (no crust) and Grilled Cheese is cut in triangles.
His most favorite drink is Orange Juice. He drinks it all day long. He never gets sick.

Robert's best friends at school at Mikey and TJ. His teachers call them the 3 musketeers. To me, the three of them together are trouble.
Most school days, Robert brings home drawings on green construction paper. One day, he brought home a drawing on yellow paper - they ran out of green. For months, I thought his school only provided green paper for the children to draw on. I was wrong. Robert loves all things green. And the number 3 - "because I'm 3 years old."

For Christmas, Santa brought Robert a bike, but he hasn't figured out how to pedal yet. We're working on it.
He just figured out how to work the remote control, which has been a time saver for us!

Robert loves his brother and sister. He corrects you if you call them "the babies" and politely says "they're toddlers." He and Ava are always hugging and the three of them play together so nicely.

He's the big brother that any kids would want.
And I couldn't have asked for a better kid either.

Ava

Ava is sassy these days. I find myself not knowing which Ava will wake up from nap - the sassy diva or the sweet innocent little girl. I love them both.
She is tough with her brothers. She totally stands her ground and will always get what she wants. (hmm, wonder where she gets that from) Still, she is, and always will be, Daddy's girl.

Ava is saying more words, but mostly she just points and says "Eh." She knows the color purple and thinks every color is purple. She plays nicely alone - loves her kitchen set and her baby dolls - oh and her dress ups, too. She has been known to wear 2 tu-tus at once, while sporting her pink barbie high heels. She loves shoes and wears her pink mammoth crocs to bed whenever she can get away with it. Last night at Grandmom's she saw all the shoeboxes in her closet and simply said "Wow." She's way more girly than I ever was. But she can still beat up her brothers.

She loves Blues Clues and Little Bear. She likes to eat salad and drink chocolate milk. She will claim to be finished eating and upon leaving the table, she'll grab a fist full of food 'for the road.'

She gives the best hugs - and taps her fingers on my neck as she pulls me close. She'll blow you away with the kisses she throws. She does it to me every night.

She is a monster outside of the house - hates the shopping cart and loves to make a scene. She absolutely hates when anyone sings and will scream at the top of her lungs until it ceases. Happy Birthday will be fun this year.

A Sasssy Diva indeed - no matter how much I deny it.

Alex

Alex has a word he uses when he doesn't know what something is called. The word is "CatPee." Yes, Catpee.

He is talking more and more. He can make a few sentences and says "Robert" as clear as day. He even says "I'm a mess." which is very appropriate about 90% of the time.

Alex goes through an average of 3 outfits each day. He always managing to spill something, sit on something or step on something. He really should just wear a smock. Or better yet, just a diaper. Although when he does not have a onesie on, he has been known to strip down completely.

Alex has started a new habit. He puts the silverware back in the drawer when he is finished eating. For days I have been finding dirty silverware thrown randomly into the drawer. He is shorter than the drawer so he must toss it over his head.
The reason I haven't been able to prevent this from happening? Alex is ALWAYS the last one left at the table at dinner. He finishes off what is on everyone else's plate while the rest of us have moved on, playing, or in my case cleaning up the dinner mess. I suppose putting the silverware "away" is his contribution to cleaning the kitchen.

He is my domestic boy. He loves the vacuum cleaner and once took a nap with a few of the attachments. He likes to use the swiffer and the dust buster too. And if he gets his hands on some wipes, hell start cleaning anything he can find.

He is still my Momma's Boy. I love to take him out - just me and him. I can let him walk and he won't stray too far. He says "hi" to anyone who walks by and he is such a pleasure to be around.

Meanwhile, at home he is a different creature...

New found space...

We bit the bullet and bought a new TV. We had talked about hanging a TV on the wall of our family room long before this house was even built. We even deviated from the builder's position of the windows in the family room to accommodate our plan.
For years Bobby has scoured the sales each week to find the best price for a 46-50 inch 1080p HDTV. We finally got a deal at BJs last weekend.

This meant we got to move our old bulky rear projection TV to the basement (in front of my treadmill!) thus creating tons of extra space on the family room floor.
But don't be fooled... its just more space for toys breed. (I swear they multiply overnight!)

Bobby knows how much I hate wires, and he did an awesome job of hiding them...

Doesn't it look sexy?

I don't know what Bobby will do with all his free time now that he doesn't have to scour the ads anymore.

This day in history...

Today is January 28th, 2009. Ava and Alex are 23 months old today.

Ava and Alex were born on Robert's 23 month birthday - February 28th, 2006.

Robert at 23 months (his last day as the only child)

I never thought I'd say it, but I love that my kids are 23 months apart!

Holiday Treats

To most, this is a Rice Krispies Treat.

To Robert, it is an "Ice Christmas Tree."

Delish.

knock knock...

Lately, Robert has been very into telling jokes. The jokes, themselves, are old hat to us, but the funniest part of all is listening to him butcher them:

The real Joke:
Why was 6 afraid of 7?
A: Because 7 ate 9 and 10.

Roberts version:
Why was six afraid of eight?
A: Because one and two and ten weren't there anymore.

The real Joke:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To get to the other side

Robert's Version:
Why did the chicken go across the park?
A: Because... to get to the other side. Hah Hah Hah. I'm funny.


I'm gonna miss it when he's not this cute anymore.

Pass the oatmeal, please.

Today, Alex stood at the pantry pointing to a box of oatmeal. He said "Pap-pe, Papp-pe."

Apparently, The Quaker man resembles Pape (my dad).

I think he's right.

Smarty Pants

Yesterday, at nap time Robert asked/told me 4 things in a row.

"Mommy, What time is it? I'm hungry. Can I have a drink? I'm tired." (pause. he had to stop and think "did I just say that?")

I stopped what I was doing (dusting the blinds - not that anyone ever notices) and said to him "I think you are bored. B-O-R-E-D."

He said, "No, I'm R-O-B-E-R-T." (emphasis on the B.)

I hope some day he wins a spelling bee so I can tell him this story again.

New Recipe Tuesday

Last night I made Dorito Chicken Casserole. It was the first recipe that appeared in my Google search at 4pm yesterday afternoon. It's a combination I have heard about for years and have always wanted to try. I had no ideas for dinner and happened to have some fresh chicken in the fridge, so I whipped it up.

The verdict: Not bad. Not terribly good either. Alex ate a decent amount. Ava picked at it. Bobby said it was 'a waste of his perfectly good doritos' and my thoughts were similar: a waste of perfectly good chicken.

On the positive side, it was pretty easy to make. If you like doritos, you can't miss their taste in this one. Of course, Bobby would much rather have them alongside his sandwich at lunch than in a casserole at dinner.
And that, my friends, is a perfect example of the kind of cook I am! (and probably why I hate to cook!)
THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me recipes to try. I trust that you have tried them so they must be reputable. I am anxious to plan for them! And you'll be reading about them - I promise!

new toys my kids have already broken/destroyed

Am I the only mom out there who loves when I toy breaks? It gives me a reason to get rid of it without feeling guilty! Here is a list of new toys my kids have broken/destroyed since Christmas:

silverware from kitchen set
toy cardboard 'food boxes' (they were destined for the trash before we even opened them!)
race track
needle from doctor kit
baby bottle

here's a picture of some of the said broken objects: