Bassyland

Cousins!

2010-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

What makes the 7-hour drive and 2-hour ferry worth it?!? Getting to see the family and hang out with the cousins! In the midst of visiting, we potty-trained Sloan & Lincoln... So included (to commemorate the occasion) is a picture of the kids in the bathroom. We spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom... more than we anticipated. Gratefully, we were able to borrow a small potty because who thought through them going at the same time?! I didn't (for which I have a picture of both Sloan & Lincoln sitting on the potty at the same time. Mind you, Lincoln in front.... I didn't post it for fear of getting turned into child services! lol).

The twins get baptized

2010-01-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, July 5th, Sloan & Lincoln were baptized. It was special for Chris & I as it was in the same church as Tiernan's baptism. The same pastor that officiated Tiernan's also did the twins so that was neat. He's known us & the family. The church even got the kids cake for after the service. The kids were (obviously) thrilled at eating cake before lunch! We had brunch at the house to continue to celebrate the Sloan & Lincoln.

July 4, 2009

2010-01-16T06:49:00.000-08:00

Happy 4th of July! We've celebrated our 4th on Beaver Island for the last 10 years... Each year has brought changes with cousins getting together, missing the ones that couldn't be there and the meeting of new cousins. It's been fun to watch the changes over the years. Next year's picture will have "quatro" in it! We told "Nina", "Poppa" and the rest of family that we were expecting #4 (aka quatro) with a poem (First came number 1, then 2 and 3, now we'll see what number 4 will be!) and a mixed bag of blue M&Ms (with almonds inside) and pink M&Ms.

Headin' North

2009-09-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

We left for MI Thursday, July 2nd after Chris got home from work. We decided to do a late night drive in hopes that the kids would sleep the whole way...

It was funny to realize that 10 years ago, Chris & I did the same drive at the same time but it was just the 2 of us & we were in a soft-top Jeep with no radio & Snickers panting in my lap the whole way. This year, we were in a mini-van with 3 kids asleep, 1 on the way & Snickers was still panting in the backseat! The more things change, the more they stay the same.

At any rate, these pictures are our 1st ferry ride to Beaver Island since we've had the twins (we've opted for the 15-minute flight instead of 2-hour boat ride). For some reason, the pictures loaded backwards. Sloan, upon arrival, picked some daisies for "Nina". The rest of the pictures are from the mainland & while on the water. One is waiting in line to get on the boat while Chris parked the car. Another is the kids thanking Aunt Carol for leaving donut holes for the ride as they waived them in the air. They also waved their hands in the air & yelled to Nina & Poppa as we approached the Island.

Lake Coldwater

2009-09-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

In June we went to Lake Coldwater, Michigan to spend some time with great friends. Having a house on a lake kind of dictates having a boat with some toys... Needless to say, we spent most of the time on the boat and on the toys. We even took the equivalent of an evening stroll on the boat to watch the sun set. Tiernan & Jarin are sharing the heater that usually helps warm skiers or tubers warm up after a run. They just "needed" it to stay warm that night. Sloan was thrilled to spend time with Lexi, although she wouldn't spend any time with her on the tube. Lexi is a tube champ. She could spend hours on the water. Sloan wouldn't leave the boat. Tiernan was in Lexi's camp and spent hours on the tube. It was to the point of jelly arms for him! He had a blast on the water. Lincoln was in Sloan's camp. The only place he was comfortable was driving the boat. If he wasn't driving, he wasn't happy that Momma or Da were out in the water.

June 22nd - Chuck E Cheese with Nana

2009-09-26T20:29:00.001-07:00

Nana came in for a quick visit in June to see the kids... which resulted in a visit to Chuck E Cheese! Oh yeah! What fun for us adults! The kids of course had a blast. Tiernan was a whiz at Skee Ball which I suspect is a result from practicing on friends' and families' Wii Bowling. Sloan and Lincoln gravitated to the Nascar driving game. I don't remember what Sloan placed but Lincoln's face says it all. He was making the driving noises as he whipped the wheel around. Both kids actually drove while I did the gas... The picture of the kids with Nana was the last of the day - their prizes from all the tickets were these fantastic microphones. Only a prize that a Nana would pick. No sane parent would ever get 3 kids microphones. Needless to say, the microphones strangely can't be found today. Huh. I wonder what happened to them? Darn shame.

Berry Fairy Berry?!

2009-08-16T12:53:00.001-07:00

So the picture of Jonathan & Chris is a year ago in Japan. We went for "31 flavors" & the details are a little fuzzy but somehow JK ended up with this triple grand slam of an ice cream cone complete with chocolate and waffle cone. Chris went for some berry sorbet, that albeit was cleansing of the palate, was well... fairy berry. So I guess what goes around... comes around the following year. When the Kohl's were visiting with us this June, we wanted them to enjoy lots of fresh berries that are not readily available in Japan. So now here is JK with a huge bowl of berries! I was left wondering is there only 1 fairy berry?

Tea Time

2009-08-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate enough to have a visit with our friends, the Kohl's, in June. These are our friends that we visited in Japan last summer. We always relish the time together, and were able to sneak away for some tea sans kiddos! There were 4 of us girls (me, Sonja, Kendra & Julie - who took this picture) that visited over tea for 2 hours! I know - I was so selfishly delighted to have the time and company that I had to post this picture.

The start!

2009-08-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

This was our 1st radish crop! The start of the garden for the summer. Tiernan planted everything with Mrs. Saunders. The kids didn't really eat the radishes, they saved them for us :)

Visit with the Neal's!

2009-08-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

June 13th we were fortunate to have a day with the Neal family. They had a family vacation here in Indiana and carved out some time for us. The guys got to play golf in the morning - something that's rare these days. We then met up for some pool time and a cookout. We enjoyed lots of laughs and the kids did really well together. We were happy to meet the newest Neal addition, Lucas. Here are some pictures from the day. The kids enjoyed picnic-ing in the playroom for dinner, jumping on the trampoline and playing at the pool. The one of Sloan is at the pool. We brought the tent for Lucas to nap in but Sloan climbed in and took over!

Ode to Mormor

2009-08-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'm out of chronological order in adding this one but I just couldn't help myself. Mormor (mother's mother in Swedish) was my grandmother. If she were still with us, she would have been 100 this past July 16th. So I find myself reflective of her and her life this summer.

She was that grandma that baked M&M cookies every time she was going to see us. Sometimes she would even send them (in Planter's cheese ball containers - I always wanted to the cheese balls too.) so we would get a care package. She played the piano and the organ for us. Even if she had played it countless times, she would keep playing "The Entertainer" over and over if we asked. She was just a special special lady. At any rate, as Sloan grows older I find myself reminded of Mormor with her. Her nose has always been Morm's, but occasionally from the side her upper lip is too. Sloan often has a song she's singing, but it's her own song... which anyone that knew Mormor knows she definitely marched to her own beat. She loves to get dressed up as Mormor was always so put together.

I'm sure there are countless more similarities (eating off my plate, being stubborn, etc...) but the purse, the purse just cracks me up every time I look at it. Mormor was notorious for always having her purse with her. She carried it all the time regardless of where she was. For the longest time, I never quite knew what she carried in there and I certainly wasn't going to ask what was so important to move around the house with her room by room. As we both grew older she needed a little more help and I was more capable of giving it. So one night out to dinner I snuck a peek. I can't be very specific as to the contents, but there were Sweet n' Low packets, Saltines, tissues, all sorts of random things. So now I watch Sloan slink her purse on her arm, at the crook of her elbow and truck it around the house from room to room. So to commemorate Mormor's 100th birthday, I took a picture of Sloan's purse. There are playing cards, princess doll dresses, princess DVD inserts, again all sorts of random things!

Legoland!

2009-06-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

A few more snapshots of the B5 with Mimmi & Poppa at Legoland. We were so impressed with it. The attention to detail was great. There were lots of rides for the kids, playgrounds to run in and of course, ice cream! We ended the day in the building area. There were buckets and buckets of legos for the kids to build cars with. After they got their cars done, they raced them on tracks. Needless to say that prompted a stop in the shop afterwards...

Legoland!

2009-06-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

We spent a day at Legoland with Mimi & Poppa. We all had a fantastic day. The rides were size appropriate for the kids. I think there were only 2 or 3 that Sloan couldn't ride because she's the shortest.

Ah...

2009-06-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

SD - Day 1 Detox

2009-06-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

We spent our 1st day in SD just relaxing. The kids had a blast playing with bubbles as well as playing in the hot tub. Not to mention taking turns scratching each other's backs. At least they're learning the importance of team work...

San Diego - Our way there

2009-06-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to San Diego at the end of January to the beginning of February - about 10 days. The timing was perfect as we were ready to get out of snowy dodge. In fact, our flight was 1 of 6 flights that flew that day - the others were all cancelled because of the snow. So here are a few of our snapshots from the airport. We were delayed as the anti-freeze truck for airplanes slide off the road on the way down from Chicago.

1) Thankfully, Sloan & Lincoln fit into the carry on luggage bin... what would we have done if they hadn't?

2) Obviously, Sloan was ready for sunny California!

3) Getting a little antsy during the delay - Lincoln just wanted to get on "the big airplane". Melt snow, melt!

4) Yeah... we travel light.

We're back!!

2009-06-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Yes yes, we're back after a little sabbatical! I thought I'd share a handful of pictures from before our camera broke and then some now that we're gratefully back in the child photog business ;)

This is from January 23rd. I was on the phone while putting groceries away. Apparently since the refrigerator door was opening and closing, Sloan and Lincoln decided to swipe some guacamole and some straws... This is them in the living room trying to suck the guac threw the straws. They were so proud of themselves. I think I would have been okay with it if it wasn't in the living room.

I bopped it!

2009-01-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

Lincoln likes to "bop" things lately. He'll bop just about anything & then tell you "I bopped it". So the other day when I made tandoori chicken, he needed to bop the chicken. And here he is bopping...

Risky Business

2009-01-20T13:12:00.001-08:00

The kids did exceptionally well with dinner one night so got ice cream for dessert. They were messy afterwards so I stripped them down to skivvies. We had some music on in the background so it got turned up & we ended up with our version of Dick Clark's American Bandstand or Risky Business... whichever way you want to look at it.

He's crafty...

2009-01-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

Lincoln is our crafty kid. We often find him into things he shouldn't be into... These 2 pictures show him sneaking frozen peas before dinner. The peas were waiting to get added to dinner, but apparently Lincoln couldn't wait. And then the other night, I was in the kitchen on the computer. I heard the television go on upstairs in our bedroom. So I start thinking... Chris is out of town, I'm downstairs so that leaves a crafty kid awake at 9:50pm. I head up stairs with camera in-hand to find this. He turned the TV on with 1 remote, the Dish with a 2nd remote & the over head light with a 3rd remote.

file:///Users/kristinbass/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Modified/2009/Jan%2015,%202009/DSC03376.JPG

Another Batman?

2009-01-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

This just cracks me up. If you know our kids, you know that for the most part Lincoln is our 1 that doesn't like to dress up. The other 2 are constantly changing identities. So this touches my heart. He is so enamored with Ba-Ba, that he put his Bat Wings on so they could play Super Heroes. For this all to work out, the Super Heroes have to play with the trains or cars & then everyone's happy.

New Year's Eve & Day

2009-01-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

We were grateful to spend some time with our buds from Ft. Wayne over the New Year holiday. They brought their Wii & we had a non-stop marathon that even Sloan & Lincoln wanted to get in on. It's amazing (to me) how a child who has never played a game before picks up the controller & hits a few buttons & viola, is off! I feel like I pick up the controller & am still bumbling over it when the game is already over! (Needless to say, I wasn't the greatest competition but apparently just a workout for whomever I played against.) But I suppose this is how others felt when Atari 1st came out.... Am I showing my age to mention Atari? At any rate, the B5 had a great time with the H4 & here are some pictures from those couple of days. I've included the picture of Sloan & Alexis eating pepperoni because up until this night, Sloan would peel her peps from her pizza & hand them over to Tiernan (aka Ba-ba aka Pepperoni Monster). But since Alexis, who had done her hair, made her a door hanger, & played with her, was eating peps Sloan is now eating them!

Jumpin' in December!

2009-01-10T05:33:00.000-08:00

On December 29th, we had crazy warm temps (48) AND it was sunny! A perfect time to bundle up & jump on the trampoline. Everyone blew off some of the pent up steam. Lots of laughs & giggles were had as the kids remembered just how much fun they have jumping. The sweet end to the deal was everyone got hot coco when we all came back inside. It was Sloan & Lincoln's 1st time to have hot coco. So imagine their surprise & delight!

That's my girl!

2009-01-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

This is how my girl rolls... If she's in the "Pin-cess" frame of mind, that's just how the day will go. So here's my take on these:

1) Princess Hulk - can hang with the boys but is also a girly girl

2) Headband with tiara on the phone - real estate agent

3) Tiara with sunglasses - Sporty Spice or Posh Spice?

4) Tiara with boa in the car - just Sloan!

5) Double tiara with "purse" - my Mormor! Who LOVED jewelry & was known, at times, to stash food in her purse (which is what was in Sloan's - chock full of play food from her kitchen). My grandmother I could cut some slack since she lived through the Depression. However, Sloan doesn't want for a thing so what's she doing stashin' plastic food?!?

The Tu-Tu

2009-01-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I need to explain much on this segment... The girl just has her own way of doing things... This focus here is the many ways Sloan wears her tu-tu. She wears it just about everywhere. She's learned that she can't eat in the tu-tu & she can't sleep in the tu-tu but she tries to do just about everything else in it... Seriously, the pictures without pants are her doing. She will be mortified when she's 16. "Moooowhooohaahaa" laughs the evil momma.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

Oops, I managed to load Christmas morning before this so have to backtrack here. We have developed a family tradition over the years to such: I make a shrimp cocktail that was my great-grandmother's (handed down by word of mouth) that we eat before we go to church (the picture of the 3 at the table). After we get home from church, we fondue. Chris makes a homemade Caesar salad (handed down from his dad), & then we have some other stuff (changes yearly - no tradition here just yet). So yes... 2 2-year-old's & a 5-year-old fondue-ing... Needless there was some chaos involved. Sloan didn't eat a thing except the cranberry pecan salad although here she's pictured serving herself some Caesar. Lincoln took to eating shrimp since we were cooking steak & shrimp (uh-huh - we might need to watch this potentially expensive habit). Tiernan had a blast as he's old enough to do this all on his own. Actually, it was Christmas Eve 3 years ago that got T eating salad because he tried "Da's" & he's been eating salad ever since. What's not to like about a homemade Caesar? Sloan got to sit next to Nana (my mom in the red) so they had themselves quite the time back & forth. Sloan really liked Nana's rocks with the occasional "mine" coming out as she tried to pull them off her fingers. The Bass Boys enjoyed their time at the pots, with Chris finally commenting that he thinks he benefited sitting in between Tiernan & Lincoln because he was always helping 1 of them but by the time they petered out, he had 6 forks to dunk! The kids ended their night with a cookie (1 for me, 1 for Santa...) which has Lincoln pondering in the top picture.

Christmas Morning

2009-01-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Of course the kids were up at the crack of dawn... Or at least it felt that way to us! It was probably sometime in the 7 o'clock hour. The kids ran downstairs to see what Santa had brought. Tiernan specifically asked for a Flash costume so here he is wearing it with Fargo giving him a kiss. He also got his 1st Webkinz (yes, we've managed to hold off that long) so he has been taking care of "Lappy" his new Black Bear. Lincoln was all over his trains and football. While this picture of Sloan totally sums her up right now - ponies & princesses. We had a great day with Nana & Grandpa Bob who were able to join us for a few days.

HO HO HO

2009-01-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

On Monday the 22nd, we were suppose to meet Santa at our playgroup. One of our friends graciously set up the meet & greet for all the kids so that we would have a great photo-op without suffering through the mall, park, etc. Unfortunately, Tiernan woke up that morning with Pink Eye! What a bummer! The kid was so excited & he was completely disappointed not to be able to go. Well, this great friend called Santa (because she has connections) & ta-da, we have our own personal meet & greet with Santa at our house! It was fantastic. Tiernan was thrilled that Santa knew their names & that he got to ask for what he wanted. Sloan & Lincoln kept saying "HO HO HO Momma - look it's HO HO HO!" And of course, all 3 certainly enjoyed the candy canes that Santa left. So a side note here from "Momma" - I was trying to get all 3 to match & look festive but this just goes to show the dynamically different personalities we have here... I start with Tiernan because up until lately, he's the one that has to be talked into certain outfits. Tiernan just had to wear a super hero so that Santa would know that he loved super heroes... (because he doesn't already know whether you've been naughty or nice?!?) He was easy to convince to wear Spiderman because his Spidey shirt is red & that's Santa's favorite color. Going with the red theme, Lincoln was easy to get into red because his Lightening McQueen sweatshirt is red. He ran around prior to Santa's arrival yelling, "I Lightening Momma!" Sloan on the other hand... wanted to be "Pin-cess Pink" & wanted nothing to do with the cute red outfit I had selected. Really, it's the crazy metallic pink headband that started the whole thing. She calls it her pin-cess headband & got it in her head to wear it that day. So scraping the original outfit, I had to find pink to match the headband... pink's in the same family as red so I had to roll with it. Either scrap the whole photo because she's upset with what she's wearing or tell myself that pink's in the same family as red & it really doesn't matter anyway....

She's not listening...

2008-12-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

If you've started at the bottom & read up, you would have read "I Pin-cess" & learned about my quest to teach Sloan the concept of less is more. She's not listening. She's in the more is more camp as pictured here. I didn't think she could add another accessory until she put on the mask....

I'm now caught up! This picture was this morning so I'll be back after we meet Santa on Monday. Bets on who is going to embrace & who is going to cry?!?

Friday Night Movie Night

2008-12-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

So last night was Friday Night Movie Night. Normally I wouldn't feel the need to document this, however it was pretty monumental in our house. Lincoln actually dressed up as Hulk! Lincoln has been our only 1 of the 3 that has consistently not wanted to dress up, while the other 2 are forever in some sort of costume. Because Lincoln willingly put on Hulk & then stayed in Hulk for the movie was pretty big (especially in Tiernan's eyes - which in this picture are suppose to be in conjunction with his Batman face). I think this donning of the costume is because Lincoln moved in with Tiernan this week. We haven't done the full move yet, but he's sleeping in "Ba Ba's" room at night now. There's no going back because he thinks he is all that & a Happy Meal. He struts right in & climbs into the bottom bunk like he just belongs there. He seems to be doing more & more of the things T does (& therefore the costume...). Sloan was the princess to be saved by our heroes! In the picture of the 3, she's telling us that she's 2 & not a loser :) And for the record, I so didn't mean to add this nasty picture of me but since I'm this far into the post I can't delete it or I'd delete the whole thing! Nuts. Oh well, now you know what I looked like yesterday - a little strung out.

And now I know....

2008-12-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

...what to get the kids for Christmas! Seriously, they had tons of fun with a box insert. Santa's going back to Toys R Us for some returns :)

Joining in the Reindeer Fun

2008-12-20T07:25:00.001-08:00

Tiernan made reindeer hats at his Christmas party this Thursday, the 18th. (Yes, I'm actually posting in the SAME week as the picture!) So when we got home from the party everyone had to join in the reindeer fun!

Tiernan's 1st Play

2008-12-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, December 14th, we had Tiernan's 1st play at school. It was the story of Mary & Joseph so Tiernan was the 1st King (some of us are thinking how appropriate....). His friend, Ben, was Joseph who is in the blue. It was fun to watch the kids & their excitement. They knew what to do & when so it was well executed. I was amazed that T knew everyone's lines. When we talked about the play at home (leading up to the actual performance), he would recite all the lines before him & after him. I guess he was really paying attention during practice. And yes, we were the total 1st time parents - we video-taped the play!

"I Pin-cess"

2008-12-20T06:51:00.000-08:00

Sloan has taken to saying "I Pin-cess". Several times a week, I find her jewel-laden, ready for the day. When she's in this mood, she ends up wanting to wear pink. It can be a pink sweatsuit for all she cares, but if she's in the "pin-cess" mood she's very specific about what she's wearing that day. We're working on the less is more... as I often find her with several necklaces, 3 big rings, & 1 of her tiara's. At least she's content being a "pin-cess" that does house chores!

Happy Birthday Tiernan!

2008-12-20T05:27:00.000-08:00

On December 6th, we celebrated Tiernan's 5th birthday with a party at our church. Thankfully, we were able to rent the gym so 13 of his friends (plus him made 14 kids - what was I thinking?!?) could come "Hulk Out" with us. With the theme as Hulk, Spiderman & Iron Man, Tiernan started off in his Hulk costume but it didn't last too long - he was back into the favorite, Batman, before long. The kids played "Web Spidey" aka "Pin the tail on the donkey". I had Chris draw a Spiderman on a poster board & I made webs with their names on them that we used for the game. We played "Hulk Stomp the Bad Guys" where we blew up balloons, drew bad guy faces on them, tied string to them and then tied them around the kids' ankles. They had to stomp the bad guys! That was pretty funny. Some kids totally got after it. Others were nervous about the balloons popping. The last game was the Iron Man pull. The kids were split into 2 teams, given a blanket & then they had to pull Sloan & Lincoln across the gym floor. We finished up with Hulk & Spiderman cupcakes, ice cream, juice & Sprite. The drink request cracked me up. I was totally going with juice pouches (a kids favorite & easy) but T had been to a party recently where Sprite was offered. He just thought that was the coolest.

We celebrated T's actual birthday on the 8th with Birthday Tostadas... The kid loves Mexican, especially tostadas. So pictured here is Tiernan with Birthday Tostada & candle. Can't believe my baby's 5! Sniff Sniff.

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

So after getting back from OH on Saturday, we all slept in on Sunday. See Sloan... That's how my girl rolls with her footie pjs & almost all her jewels. She spent most of the day like this, or at least until lunch. She then changed into her "pik pri-cess" dress & spent from nap on in it. Decorating a tree with 2 2-year-olds was challenging to say the least. But we laughed (after a while it was all we could do). The kids had fun so that's all that matters. Lincoln spent the 1st few days trying to blow the lights out. I so wish we got it on video, but we didn't. He'd just stand there and puff at the tree. Too cute.

Thanksgiving!

2008-12-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

We have SO much to be thankful for these days. Yes, this is the season for remembering all of our blessings but even throughout the year I can't help but be grateful for all that we have. We have our family. Not just the Bass 5 but our parents, siblings, cousins, and our friends. Even though some, okay most, are not in town we think of them so often and pray for continued blessings on them throughout the year. We're just grateful for all of our family & friends. We have our health, our freedom, our home, food, clothes.... At any rate, I'm in a grateful state of mind.

After STL, we headed to OH to celebrate Thanksgiving with Nana & Grandpa Bob, Aunt Jeannie & Uncle Barry, cousins Brian & Angela & some family friends. Chris & I took off Thursday morning on a Turkey Trot. This 4-mile-run (I use the word "run" here loosely) was to help shelter the homeless. It was a crazy run as it went up hills, down hills, through a cemetary, through a business district & ended at a Krispy Kreme Donut. We met up with a family friend afterwards for coffee - at the KK. It was fun for us to get out & do this. We've never run together like that before. We've done the mini & other stuff but I don't think we've stayed side-by-side before. Later that day, we celebrated with the usual turkey & trimmings. It was fun to enjoy family & friends & food! We also celebrated Sloan & Lincoln's birthday. Yes, this is one of the longest celebrations, but so fun to watch Sloan & Lincoln with their cake & candles. Lincoln obviously enjoyed his cake as seen here...We also pre-celebrated Tiernan's birthday on Friday. Nana & Grandpa Bob got him these Bat Wings which wear like a backpack. He pulls a cord & these wings flip out. I'll have to take a picture with T in full garb for you to truly understand these things. They are hilarious, but honestly got a little worrisome each time he whipped them out around Nana's Waterford... Everything survived, & we had several happy campers!

More Birthday Celebration!

2008-12-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

We were in STL, came home for 1 day & then headed out to celebrate Thanksgiving in Ohio. During our 1 day home, a package arrived for the kids from Mimi & Poppa. More birthday celebration for Sloan & Lincoln, & early celebration for Tiernan! You can see he's sporting his new utility belt that fires the foam gizmos straight from the belt. Let me tell you how fun it is to keep track of those babies... Sloan is showing off her "pik pri-cess" dress. Her 2nd picture details the tiara and jewels that accompany the dress. I totally love this picture, not because she's eating tomato soup & grilled cheese, but if you look closely enough you will see that her ring is just as big as her finger! It cracks me up. Lincoln loved his Play-Doh, which he openly shared with "Ba-Ba" & "Shishta".

Da Bears

2008-12-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

We went to St. Louis not only to celebrate the twins turning 2, but Chris & I went to the Bears/Rams game on the 23rd. It was so much fun - we had 8 adults! NO kids! Left them home with a sitter! Mike made chili n' chowder for us to tailgate with... we forgot the spoons, bowls, crackers... pretty much everything but the soups & the beer. Go figure. We had a saviour that stopped & got spoons & bowls. Good stuff!

Craziness

2008-12-10T07:18:00.001-08:00

Craziness isn't that the twins turned 2, it's that it's been almost a month since I've been on here! Yikes! But a lot has happened in this time. So... here we go... Pictures here are from Sloan & Lincoln's 2nd birthday on November 22nd. We celebrated in St. Louis with cousins. So they spent most of their actual birthday in the car. That's not as bad as it might seem when they got juice pouches, Lunchables, lolly pops - all treats for them! Momma made ice cream cone cupcakes to bring with to STL so that's what they are holding here.

Lincoln has totally been into cars; more specifically Lightening McQueen. So his presents were Cars-related. He opened them Friday night before we left. When he went to bed that night, he brought his Lightenings up to his bed, put them in the pocket on his bed rail, climbed into bed, opened the pocket back up & said "Night Night Lightening" then laid his little precious head down to go to sleep!

Sloan has been starting down the princess road. She's not specific but certainly enjoys dressing up. She has also been in an imitate Momma mode lately. She got "baby" who had clothes to change in & out of, as well as a stroller (which goes so much faster around the corners than I thought it could!). She also received a vacuum, much to my mother's chagrin. Even though technically it's Sloan's, both kids have enjoyed helping Momma vacuum the carpets.... if only it worked!

After Breakfast...

2008-11-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

While I took the boys, Sloan & Lincoln stayed with my friend Sonja because Chris had a board meeting at the same time as the breakfast. It was so helpful! Just fun to do something for T. At any rate, we all arrived home about the same time. Sloan & Lincoln haven't had too much time to play with the hands as they've been too new for Tiernan to share yet. (Once the newness wears off, he's more apt to share the toys but until then....). So the kids were yelling "Huk Mash" for us all morning.

Breakfast with the Hulk!

2008-11-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the 15th, I was able to take Tiernan & 3 of his friends for breakfast at the Children's Museum. I won tickets for this meet & greet in an on-line contest last weekend. We headed out early to be downtown by 8:30am. The guys were so ready to go! We ate breakfast & then the Hulk came out so we got in line to meet him & take pictures. Jackson brought paper Hulk masks for everyone so the boys were quite the show with their t-shirts & masks. T was the only one in full Hulk costume. I brought our "Hulk Smash" hands because they're so fun & they make the outfit :) After meeting the Hulk, we were able to go to the Super Hero exhibit & play around for a while. The morning was great. The kids were so polite & not super crazy hyper. Don't get me wrong, they were so excited but they still did a great job listening. We left CM by 10am (which is when it opens) & the lines were amazingly long. The Hulk was going to be there from 10am-3pm, but no special meet & greet for the general public. I was so grateful that we were in & out before the crowds!

Man I've been slacking!

2008-11-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's been since November 4th that I've been on here. Not too much has been going on - just life in the fast lane with the kids and Chris working. Here are a couple of recipes that were HUGE hits here.

Pasta with Bread Crumbs

Salt for cooking pasta

8 ounces short pasta, such as penne

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1 cup coarse soft bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, oregano or basil

1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1) Cook pasta according to package.

2) Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive & and the garlic. Cook about 1 minute. The add bread crumbs, seasonings & salt - stir to coat the crumbs with the butter mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the crumbs are crisp & golden brown - about 6-10 minutes.

3) Drain pasta well & pour into serving bowl. Drizzle remaining oil over pasta. Add cheese & toss well. Just before serving, add bread crumbs & toss well. Serve immediately.

Notes:

1) I used 1-1lb box of penne, so I didn't measure the rest of my ingredients.

2) I used rosemary, basil, oregano for my seasonings.

3) I threw some bread ends into the food processor to make the bread crumbs. It was super fast & they were good!

4) Could totally add tomatoes, chicken, whatever. The kids ate 2-3 servings at least. There were no left-overs!

Granola

I know, I know - you can buy it at the store & it's pretty good. But this stuff has my kids & Chris snacking on it!

Cooking spray

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey

1 1/2 cups lightly packed light brown sugar

6 cups oats (quick cooking or old-fashioned)

2 cups chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans

1 cups wheat germ

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup raisins

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries or cherries

1) Place oven racks in center positions & preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 11x17 jelly-roll pans with cooking spray.

2) Combine oil, maple syrup or honey & brown sugar in 1-quart bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on high power until the sugar starts to melt, about 3 minutes. Remove the bowl & whisk until any lumps dissolve.

3) Combine the oats, nuts, wheat germ & coconut in big bowl. Toss to mix well. Pour the syrup mixture over oat mixture & stir until well mixed. Spread evenly onto jelly pans.

4) Place a pan on each oven rack & bake for 10 minutes. Remove, stir & switch the pans so the 1 that was on the bottom is now on top. Bake for another 8-10 minutes, taking care not to let the granola get too brown.

5) Cool in pans for about an hour. Sprinkle with raisins, etc., over each pan. Stir to mix well. Store in air-tight containers, preferably glass jars or tins, for up to 2 weeks.

Notes:

1) I used honey.

2) Instead of cranberries, etc., I used 1 cup raisins & 1 cup dates.

3) I used both chopped walnuts & pecans to make the 2 cups.

4) Browns really fast in a dark pan - if you have silver ones - use those.

5) I skipped the wheat germ & coconut but did add 1/2 cup of ground flax seed.

Anyone know...

2008-11-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

... about child labor laws in Indiana?

Are they trying to tell me something?

2008-11-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

If this is how we start our morning - with helmets - what am I in for?

Sweet & Sour Chicken AND Mini Ravioli Soup

2008-11-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Grown-Up Sweet & Sour Chicken

Salt for cooking rice

1 1/3 cups long-grain rice

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon oil

3 medium-size carrots (about 1 1/2 cups sliced)

1 large onion (about 1 cup sliced)

1 clove minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 large green bell pepper (about 1 1/2 cups sliced)

1 can (15 1/4 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice

2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons cold water

1) Bring 2 2/3 cups lightly salted water to a boil. Add rice, stir & reduce heat. Cover pan & simmer until rice is tender - about 20 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, peel carrots & slice at 45 degree angle into 1/2-inch thick slices. Add carrots to skillet with oil over medium heat. Cut onion into 1/2-inch wide crescent-shaped slices, adding to skillet as you slice. Stir to mix well. Cook about 2 minutes until carrots soften.

3) Cut chicken into bite-size pieces, adding to skillet as you cut. Add garlic & ginger & stir well. Cook about 5-6 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.

4) While chicken cooks, stem, seed & cut pepper into 1/2-inch strips, adding to skillet as you cut. Drain pineapple juice from can into a 1-cup or larger measure, reserving the chunks. Add enough water to the juice to make 1-cup liquid.

5) As soon as chicken is done, add juice mixture to skillet & bring to boil. Then add vinegar, soy sauce & brown sugar. Stir well.

6) Mix cornstarch with cold water in small container w/tight lid. Shake well until lumps dissolve. Add mixture to skillet a little at a time, stirring constantly. Stir in about 1/2 pineapple chunks. Save rest for another use. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens - about 2 minutes. Remove from heat & serve at once with additional soy to pass.

Notes;

1) Instead of rice, we've served over chinese noodles.

2) It's good with pork as well.

3) I increased garlic & ginger to 2 teaspoons.

Mini Ravioli Soup

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 large onion (about 1 cup chopped)

8 ounces fresh mushrooms

1 clove minced garlic

2 (14 ounce) cans fat-free chicken broth

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic & onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 cups mini ravioli

shredded or grated parmesan for serving

1) Heat oil in 4 1/2-quart soup pot over medium heat. While oil is heating, peel & chop onion, adding to pot as you go. Cook about 3 minutes.

2) Rinse, pat & slice mushrooms, add to pot. Cook until they begin to release liquid, about 2 minutes.

3) Add garlic, broth, tomatoes w/juice, worcestershire & basil. Raise heat to high , cover pot & bring to boil.

4) When at rolling boil, add ravioli. When returns to boil, cook about 3-4 minutes until ravioli is tender. Serve at once, with parm.

Notes:

1) I added more worcestershire - maybe 2 teaspoons.

2) I also added extra garlic.

3) I used frozen tortellini & was fine, but increased chicken broth to 6 cups.

The morning after...

2008-11-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

Well, costumes were still abound Saturday morning here. The kids were being silly with dressing up. Sloan loved being the Hulk (no picture with the Hulk Smash hands though). She quickly switched to Super Girl (once Tiernan realized she was playing with his stuff). Notice her doing her hair & talking on the phone - apparently Super Girls can do that sort of thing! Tiernan graciously loaned his Batman costume to a bud for Halloween so was unable to turn from Bruce to Bat. He purchased Batman gloves on Friday (with allowance money!) so he's been wearing the mask & gloves all over the place. He will be very excited to put it all together when the costume comes home. Good ol' Lincoln even got a little into the mix with glasses & beads. That's big time for him. He rarely joins in any of the reindeer games involving costumes around here.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

Last night was fun! I'm not a huge fan of Halloween (why do we glorify spooky, scary, gory stuff?) but it was a beautiful night & our Super Heroes were ready to go! Here are a handful of shots. Sloan just wanted Da last night. She had to hold his hand as we walked down the street so I thought this a sweet picture. Tiernan & his bud, Ben, raced ahead of us as fast as they could but we all met up on our front steps. The individual shots were of the kids on the porch steps while waiting for Da to get home from work. Chris really has been a champ the last few days with balancing work & doing "holiday" stuff with the kids. He didn't even go into the house when he got home - just grabbed the kids & started "tick teeting" as Sloan or Lincoln were saying. The twins were in it for the long haul. I bet they lasted almost 2 hours. Their buckets weighed as much as they do, but they wouldn't let go of them to save their lives. In regards to costumes, Tiernan & Sloan could barely wait to get theirs on. They were SO excited. Lincoln, on the other hand, cried. He would not put his Superman costume on. He totally got the whole not getting candy if he wasn't dressed up. Instead we ended up in Superman pjs. It worked - we've had Super Heroes 2 years in a row now.

Just 1 more pumpkin

2008-11-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Tiernan & Da wanted to carve the "big" pumpkin together. However, Chris has worked a lot this week & it never quite meshed with carving. So Thursday night was the night. And of course, we needed the Bat Signal. So that's what we have. It turned out really well. Could even see it on the ceiling, & the porch when we moved it outside.

Have I asked you lately?

2008-10-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

To pray for me? Or rather my children. It is certainly my hope that they live through toddlerhood... This was how nap time ended today. Mind you, the door to the 100-year-old dry sink came off last week during a different nap time. I'm thinking a couple of things here. 1) The dry sink is no longer a viable changing table option, 2) They will go back to napping separately, & 3) I am SO very thankful that I took the talcum powder out of the room a long time ago.

Our first Haunted House!

2008-10-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

We went to our 1st Haunted House today! It was the "Friendly Hours" at the Children's Museum's Haunted House so all the lights were on. It was a surprise for the kids. The bigger surprise was that Chris blocked off the morning & went with. They didn't know he was coming until he pulled into the parking spot next to us! Needless to say, that just made the morning. We all enjoyed the House. It was really well done. I kinda wanted to go back during the "Frightening Hours"....

Pumpkin carving

2008-10-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

This was our 1st year to carve. Maybe it's our last (considering Momma had to finish the pumpkins after everyone lost interest). Actually, Tiernan did a great job. He helped Sloan & Lincoln get their lids cut so they could scoop. I think the pictures loaded out of order but the 1 with Lincoln on the couch... That's what happened after he lost interest. At 1 point, they were actually putting the scooped out seeds backed into the pumpkins! It was fun for all the kids so that's what's important - thanks for sending them home with us Nana!

A day at the zoo...

2008-10-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

On the 20th, we met some buds at the zoo. It was beautiful. And of course, we had to stop at the playground. These are just some "OH the kids are getting so BIG!" pictures. If you're wondering what Sloan & Lincoln are wearing - they're in leashes. Yes. I said I would never leash a child & then we had these 2. How do you contain 2 2-year-olds? You work with what you can get your hands on... Hence, the leashes.

Sunday Morning

2008-10-19T17:54:00.001-07:00

I guess with Lincoln kicking off the day with the camera, I was in a snappy mood. The twins just looked so "little kid" & not "baby-ish" to me today that I just had to take pictures. I think it was Sloan in the tights & her little jacket? Last year when she wore tights, she was crawling. This year, she's running yelling "ready, set, go!" Tiernan has been having a blast with a Batman mask that he got on Friday. He has made several on his own so that everyone can have a Batman mask... Unfortunately, Momma doesn't have elastic to make them like T's mask so we're forced to hold them up to our faces. (Darn the luck.) That's what Sloan is doing in the picture - holding up her mask while talking with Lincoln.

Lincoln's Sunday morning photographic debut

2008-10-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Lincoln decided this morning that he's big boy enough to head downstairs without Momma or Da... He got ahold of the camera, turned it on & took pictures of his feet. I'm not really stuck on what he took pictures of (even though he has cute feet)... it's more the fact that he knows how to turn it on & take pictures. Maybe next month he'll teach me how to program in speed dial numbers into my cell phone.

A little Mexican anyone?

2008-10-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we had some friends over for some Mexican. I just love the sight of 10 kids around our table. Yeah, don't read into this that I want 10 of my own kids around the table. I don't. I just love having all these kids sitting, eating & talking, then they go home with their parents! It looked like Katie had a good time with Dora & the different Elmos. I just thought it sweet that she's totally content hanging on her own with her peeps. This picture of Lincoln so doesn't do the situation justice. He asked for dessert so he received some (delicious) pumpkin dump cake. Well, that just wasn't enough. He wanted the peanut butter brownies. He got after it as depicted. Poor kid was deprived a nice cold glass of milk to go with the brownie as Momma was too busy laughing at him. Of course Sloan realized quickly that she was missing out & bellied right up next to brother. Save the best for last, right? The great company of gals - Beth, Stacey & Emily. The ladies managed to find a table in another room away from the kids eating... Hmmm... happenstance? Or planned? The guys will never know.

Don't try this at home...

2008-10-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Tiernan & Chris were out on the trampoline. They spend a lot of time out there these days... At any rate, I looked out the window & the man is doing flips! He's closer to 40 these days than 30... I was totally impressed so I had to snap a photo. Tiernan isn't flipping (yet) but he has fun doing somersaults.

Friday Night Movie Night

2008-10-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Chris had to work late with a client dinner Friday night. So Momma decided that an early dinner, early movie night & early bedtime would be a good plan (we all know how Momma likes a good plan). Because of all the earliness going on, Sloan & Lincoln were able to participate in some of the movie night. They had a couple of Skittles in their popcorn bowls... Every time Lincoln found 1, he'd look at me & say "Ah Ha!" Snickers was thrilled with the twins' addition to movie night since it meant more popcorn for her.

Yes, I know the kids totally need haircuts but my gal's on maternity leave & I'm so trying not to break down & take them to Clubhouse... it's never a good cut & it's 'spensive! Just a few more days till she's back in business! Whew because Sloan's feeling the pain. Poor girl.

Each kid has that moment...

2008-10-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

...where he or she discovers the valuable lesson of suction. Lincoln was the first to discover it during lunch today. Sloan couldn't quite get it & T, did it but was a little shaky. I'm sure he'll pick it up quickly. He also had the biggest cup so maybe that's got something to do with it.

What happens...?

2008-10-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

When Sloan & Lincoln aren't quite ready to fall asleep? They play in the dark & land where they must.

Tiernan's first allowance purchase

2008-10-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tiernan has been working around the house to earn allowance. He feeds Snickers breakfast & dinner, feeds Chloe when she needs food & he waters the plants. He is learning to give 10% to God, saves 20% and then has the rest to spend. So he has (finally) earned enough to go shopping. And he bought a Batman grappling hook. The neat thing (for me) was that he didn't spend all of his money! So he might actually be learning restraint? Hmmm....

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-10-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've all been there. Watching your kids grow up so fast before your very eyes. And each time you watch them doing something, you're amazed at how cute they are. Well, each of my kiddos has a body part that I think is just so cute. Makes me wanna squeeze 'em so tight. Lincoln has the sweetest cheeks. Sloan has the cutest fingers. So does Tiernan. They are so different - Sloan's are short whereas Tiernan's are long. He has a "tricky finger" that is double jointed. Ah... the sweet joys of our kids.

Thursday the 9th at the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today Tiernan's class went to Russell Farm in Noblesville. I left Sloan & Lincoln at home (with a sitter, c'mon now!) & enjoyed the morning with T. The Farm did a great job as the kids had different stations that they worked through. They listened to a story, made a magnet, learned about & petted farm animals, took a hayride, picked a pumpkin, worked the farm, learned about corn & silos, ate lunch & played! All before noon. Yeah, I was exhausted! I thought the working the farm was neat. The pictures are Tiernan & me, T's pumpkin, T working the farm by bailing hail, roping a steer & finally, T & Ben pet a miniature pony. Naps anyone? Actually, now that I'm caught up on our on-goings, I'm going myself. To bed. G'night!

Tuesday the 7th

2008-10-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

So Tuesday while Tiernan was at school, I needed to make several batches of Mexican Spaghetti. The twins have watched T help me enough to start scooting the chair over to the counters when they think they can get involved. Since we were working over the hot stove, I thought the kids could "do water" like Tiernan used to do. Yeah, not so much. T used to stand at a sink and just pour water from cup to cup forever. Lincoln spilled a little water & thoughtfully tried to clean it up. What you see here is the entire drawer of dish towels that got nice & soggy & then put back into the drawer. Notice just how wet Lincoln & his chair are. But hey, at least he tried to clean up. Which leads me to #3 - Sloan & Lincoln managed to pull the bag of animal crackers off the island. This was their little snack break. It was really kind of funny to watch them jam the crackers into their mouths just as fast as I was cleaning them up. Why wouldn't they? They were chocolate animal crackers.

Some fun in the sun

2008-10-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so not really sun like what you're thinking. Think fall sun. Beautiful 70's sun that will soon disappear into gray... yeah, that's uplifting. At any rate, we totally had a blast in the tramp the other afternoon. It's been great for the in between nap and dinner time that is typically referred to as the "witching hours". You know, the hours that any normal healthy child turns into a raving lunatic that makes a mom question why having kids was such a good idea in the 1st place. Sloan & Lincoln have been racing lately (b/c I need more competition going on?!?). They like to say "Ready Set Go" & then they run. They run down the hall, they run around the circle in the kitchen & now they run in the tramp.

Finally...! We got to sing!

2008-10-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!" to Sloan, Lincoln & Tiernan. The tramp is their combo present from Mimi & Poppa. Tiernan got the 1st jump (the 1 w/no net) because he just couldn't stand it. Lincoln got up 1st from nap so he & T got some time to bounce around. Once Sloan woke, we all climbed in. I was surprised when Lincoln started crying (could've been close to dinner) but through the tears he's saying "Jump Momma. Jump." So there Momma was, bouncing with 30 lbs in arms. Talk about a workout!

The Process....

2008-10-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

I jumped the gun on posting Sunday before Saturday the 4th. This was the process last Saturday... Chris is the most amazingly patient & kind father. He spent something like 8 hours on Saturday putting together a trampoline for the kids after a crazy week at work. And of course, they all had to help. I'm not so sure I would have had the patience with the "help" but Chris was great. It's probably why it took so long but they all totally felt a part of it. Like they were really helping and not hindering. Tiernan actually spent the entire time with Chris. The twins had to take a break for naps...

Representin' on Sunday

2008-10-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

Chris wore Chicago, Sloan Colts and Lincoln in San Diego's LT jersey. It's funnier to us that the Colts and Diego stuff was on Tiernan just a short while ago... Man, time flies. We need to find T some Chicago stuff. He's the only one in the fam that can't hang ;) Do they make a Batman Bears Jersey?

Can we do it?

2008-10-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, we can! For some reason I think of Bob the Builder when I see these. It's probably the picture of Lincoln with the tool belt on with the hat slung low. It would have been even more perfect if he was bent over working on something & we saw the diaper "crack" shot. Sloan had been wearing it a good portion of the day but gave it up for the Elmo hat - backwards. At any rate, this was Thursday for us. Tiernan stayed home from school. With the change of season, he was coughing so much. I think we did 4 or 5 neb treatments. The coughing totally exhausts him partially since he doesn't sleep through the night. The kids had fun playing with the Gator & 4-wheeler. I love the one of Tiernan & Lincoln riding off into the sunset. It was cute to listen to T instructing Lincoln on driving! This was a low-key day ;) BTW, it's not a For Sale sign in the yard! It's a Holiday Mart sign!

Hurricane...

2008-10-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

The other day I mention I got smart & split the kids up during nap time... This is why... This is where Hurricane Slink came in...

Weekend in Auburn

2008-10-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Auburn for the weekend. I would say "Ft. Wayne" but Tiernan corrects me every time with "No Momma, J lives in Auburn. Not Ft. Wayne." At any rate, here are some fun pictures from the weekend. The boys slept together in Jarin's bed. Funny thing is that it's a bunk bed... Neither slept on top. We went to the DeKalb County Parade Saturday morning. Lexi was in the parade with the Brownies. The kids had fun waving & collecting candy. Sloan spent much of the parade content in Kelly's lap. Afterwards, we played on the trampoline. Tiernan loves jumping, but the twins have been hesitant to get on with other kids. Chris did a great job getting them used to being on it. As you can see with Lincoln diving over Chris - got comfy fast, eh? Last picture isn't great but I think it's hilarious. The boys are playing the Wii. They aren't quite 5 yet & here they are totally engrossed! I think they were boxing in this picture. They played golf, bowling, tennis... you name it. Then they napped & their dads took their spots! I didn't snap any pix of the dads though... The remotes weren't even cold & Chris & Nate were going at it. I'm not so innocent either. Kelly & I had a few rounds of bowling & some golf in there. I have to admit, it's a fun system. Maybe we'll ask Santa for one.... Had a great weekend. The 4 adults even got to go out for dinner! Good food that we didn't have to hear "bite?" with & good uninterrupted conversation with great friends, what more could we ask for? We were definitely thankful to carve out some time with the Heffelfingers.

Buffet anyone?

2008-10-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Lincoln has figured out how to open the door to the pantry. And apparently was hungry upon this discovery! And so was Snickers! I don't think she got much though.

Nights 1 & 2...

2008-10-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

So our 1st nights in the "big bed" looked like this... Naps don't go so well, but since they don't the kids are exhausted by bedtime. Today, I got a little smarter & separated them during nap time. That way Hurricane SLINK couldn't attack their room. Which is how it looks after they play in there together... And no, your eyes don't deceive you. There are Batman & Superman pillows on their bed. Big Brother wanted to share the wealth. It's about the only thing he'll share so we went with it. Not necessarily the decor I had in mind, but it'll work.

We're done

2008-09-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

After a couple of bad nights & naps, we decided to break down the cribs. Short of ankle bracelets we were out of options. Of course, the kids had to help. And of course, Tiernan wanted to share in the big night. He didn't stay in long, but the twins are still in! At least as of right now. The big tell will be tomorrow for naps. Pray for us!

The never ending saga

2008-09-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

The morning of the 22nd, Chris found Lincoln in Sloan's crib. He also found that she pulled her shirt over her head to play with her belly. The last picture is Lincoln sleeping under his crib. This was the night of the 22nd. We put the mattresses back into cribs when nap time was a haze. They didn't sleep. They're not sleeping! They're just playing all the time! So we tried to go back to the original. Yeah, working really well for us huh?

Classic lines from Tiernan

2008-09-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last night at dinner:

"What do you like eat Nina?"

"Green beans" answered Nina.

"Do you like green beans Poppa?"

"I do when they're on someone else's plate" answered Poppa.

"Well, here you can have my plate then."

During a wresting match with Da:

Da acting like the Hulk says "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry."

Tiernan replies, "Don't make me orange-y. You won't like me when I'm orange-y."

On the way to Michigan with Nina & Poppa this summer:

An exit was missed so Nina & Poppa were discussing where it happened. Tiernan says, "Don't worry. I have my X-Ray Vision Glasses."

A couple of months ago we were discussing Snickers' age & that she would eventually die. Tiernan says, "Well when she dies, maybe we can get that crazy dog Fargo back!"

Any suggestions?

2008-09-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

As you've heard, Lincoln's been boosting himself out of his crib for a little while now. Well, earlier this week I found him literally hanging from the crib post because his shirt got caught. Obviously, we were worried that he would really hurt himself so we moved his mattress to the floor. He slept great there at night. The next day, during nap time wasn't so great. He was up the whole time playing. And then we found Sloan out of her crib! We don't know if Lincoln helped her out or if she figured it out herself. Either way... this was the sleeping arrangement last night. Fortunately, they were so exhausted they slept through the night. Until Sloan crawled onto Lincoln's mattress & kicked him to the floor. So now what?!?

Recent Recipes

2008-09-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

Chicken Lo Mein

1/2 lb spaghetti

1/4 cup Asian toasted sesame dressing

1 lb boneless chicken cut into strips

2 cloves minced garlic

1 pkg (16 oz) frozen pepper & onion strips, thawed (I just used fresh)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

1. Cook spaghetti as directed. I broke it in 1/2 so it was easier for the kids.

2. Heat dressing in large skillet. Add chicken & garlic; stir-fry until chicken no longer pink. Add peppers, onions, broth & peanut butter. Cook about 5 minutes longer until chicken is cooked through.

3. Drain spaghetti, return to pan. Add chicken mixture & soy sauce; mix well. Spoon onto serving platter; sprinkle with cilantro & peanuts.

Taco Bowls

Quantities will vary for you, but I think I made:

12 small flour tortillas

Muffin tin

Cooking spray

1 lb ground turkey

Salsa

Refried beans

Lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, etc for topping

1. Spray muffin tin. Microwave tortillas for about 30 seconds to soften. Press into muffin cups & bake about 10 minutes on 350.

2. Meanwhile, cook meat & drain it. Add salsa to it.

3. Heat refried beans.

4. Spoon beans into bowls, top with meat & whatever toppings you like.

The kids & I each ate 2! I think Chris ate 3 or 4, but I was surprised how much the kids liked them. Something different from regular soft or hard shells.

It's 1am on a Saturday...

2008-09-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

Or Sunday depending on how you look at it... Do you know where your children are? We didn't. Chris went to check on the kids before we went to bed & this is what we found. Instead of fighting it, we gave him an extra blankie & let him sleep there last night. We switched cribs & moved them around so they don't touch each other for nap today to see if that would keep Lincoln in. It worked for nap time today so we're praying that it will work tonight.

Houdini Houdini Houdini

2008-09-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday I came out of the restroom to find an empty house. Tiernan was at school. And I kept thinking to myself... I was only in there 2 seconds. I ran up the stairs, I ran down the stairs. I looked out the sliding glass door to see Sloan & Lincoln are playing in the yard. Fortunately, our yard is fenced in. But Lincoln's now figured out how to open & close the screen & slider. And of course, monkey see monkey do. I'm about to investigate door chimes & surveillance cameras.

Sundaes on Saturday?

2008-09-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

That's right, Nana treated us to a sundae bar Saturday night. We have never done a build-your-own-sundae bar! I know, such deprived children. Tiernan built his with everything, I mean every option available, on it. And then some. I think the only thing he didn't eat was his cherry. Which cracked me up. He wouldn't try it. He built Sloan & Lincoln's sundaes. They've had ice cream before but not like this. He was almost as generous with theirs' as his. And the cherry was the 1st thing they both ate! They were drinking the melted ice cream/chocolate/whip cream soup straight from the bowls like drinking milk after cereal. We certainly had lots of laughs with these 3 & their sundaes. Little do they know, we waited until they went to bed to break out the Ben & Jerry's. You didn't think that we gave all the Magic Shell to the kids, did you?

Dante's 6th circle of....

2008-09-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

Most of you already know what I'm talking about when I mention the 6th circle of... Yes, Chuck E. Cheese's. Nana came into town & treated the kids to pizza & games last Friday afternoon. In all reality, it wasn't THAT bad. I imagine going in the evenings or on the weekends would definitely put it on Dante's list. However, for Sloan & Lincoln's 1st time, it was actually kinda fun (those words might come back to haunt me - kinda like "I'll never drive a minivan..." & here we are).

Murphy is settling in...

2008-09-10T03:56:00.000-07:00

Murphy? Who's Murphy? Ah... Murphy's Law. According to Wikipedia, Murphy's Law is the western adage that if anything can go wrong, it will. So why has Murphy moved into our house? Who knows. All I know is he needs to move out! About the end of July, we were very excited to be 1 payment away from no car payments. So after the realization that we would be debt-free (except for the house), the following has happened between July & now:

1) Snickers (the dog) has an emergency visit to the vet; 2) Gas leak - silver lining is we didn't turn any lights on in the basement; 3) 2006 tax bill - somewhere in the midst of having twins & moving, we missed paperwork on our taxes which resulted in the unexpected bill - no silver lining here; 4) Snickers is back to the vet for annual, so not cheap, shots; 5) Jeep needs work - silver lining (for Kristin) is we traded the Jeep in & got a minivan. I think there's a silver lining for Chris here too in that he now drives the Magnum (read air conditioning & radio) but downside is we're back to a car payment; 6) Water leak in the basement - turns out to actually be a hole in a pipe in the 1/2 bath that results in water dripping down the pipe & leaking through the floor into the basement. So here you get to see what our 1/2 bath looks like without a wall since Chris ripped it out last night. Why do a crazy thing like that? Well... water leak brings mold which now brings a new piece of drywall & a new sink since the vanity also molded. Silver lining is that Chris is handy & can do this all himself :)

Houdini strikes again...

2008-09-04T18:20:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention that over the weekend Houdini managed to boost himself out of a pack n' play!!! I know it - it came up to his chin. No pictures. Just Lincoln wandering around during nap time... Pray for me.

First day at school!

2008-09-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

Tuesday the 2nd was Tiernan's 1st day in Pre-K. He's going to the same school as last spring, so the transition was relatively painless. He's excited that his buddy Ben is in his class with Mrs. Kathy. He's also excited that he's eating lunch at school. And you guessed it, 1st lunch at school was 2 hot dogs, spicy cheese & tomatoes with a juice pouch.

My favorite picks from the weekend

2008-09-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite pictures from the long weekend. Tiernan had a blast (pun intended) with "the cousins" - Brenden, Chrissy & Olivia (8-yr-old triplets). I know what you're thinking... between our twins & their triplets, very few drink the water at the family reunions :) At any rate, Sloan loved the water. She spent almost all of her time in it. Lincoln wasn't so fond of it. We tried to get him out a couple of times but he was more content on the sidelines. Sunday was Chris's birthday so he was greeted with chocolate chocolate chip pancakes in bed. After dinner, he was greeted with a cherry pie! Both times complete with candle & singing. Thanks Mike & Judy! You can see Sloan & Lincoln were enjoying the pie! The last picture is of all 6 kids together.

We all came home with ribbons

2008-09-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we participated in several beach events with "the cousins'" at their country house. The day started with my agreement to do a "fun walk" of about 3 miles at 8am. (What was I thinking?) Little did I know, or plan for, that we were walking over the hills & through the woods (as seen here). Even in my old age, I managed to come in 3rd overall & 1st female so that blue ribbon made it worth it. Tiernan & Brenden did the "sand creation" event & built the Bat Cave complete with spray painted sand & all. They came in 2nd! Tiernan also swam in a race so received an honorable mention for that. We were so proud of him for participating in the swimming. Even Sloan & Lincoln got in on the action & made their 1st "sand creation". Sloan packed the plastic fish full of sand & Lincoln flipped it over. They even got ribbons for their participation. It was a blast to watch "the cousins" all working & playing together.

Labor Day Weekend!

2008-09-03T19:47:00.001-07:00

Because we like drinking water through a fire hose.... We planned a trip to St. Louis a while back not knowing that we would be going through a very busy time. However crazy the last few weeks may have been, by the grace of God, it has all worked out. And here we are, in the new Mini - no, not Cooper. Mini Van. Yes, the inevitable has happened in Bassyland! But how great was it to load everyone & still have room! So here you see our 1st trip. It would have been nice to not have food in my new car... yeah, that lasted all of 2 days! It's either feed them in the car or stop for 45 minutes. And then we had the sweet sound of sleep. None of the "She's touching my seat" "He's hitting me". Amazing!

Houdini in the House

2008-08-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today was a good & bad day.... Good because our friends, the Griffen's, came from Ft. Wayne to visit. Joey & Tiernan haven't seen each other in a while so it was fun for them to play together. Not so good, because I discovered that I have a Houdini. While I was folding laundry this morning upstairs I left the twins gated in their room. Next thing I know, Lincoln is watching daytime television in the guest room... I took a picture of how I found out how he boosted himself out only because if you haven't seen the setup, it's hard to imagine. When I discovered this, Sloan was actually sitting in the rocker reading a book. And then... after nap today, I found Lincoln playing in his room... Yes, he got himself out of his crib. What's scary is that I didn't hear the thump... Houdini.

Raspberry Picking!

2008-08-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday the 22nd, we went raspberry picking with Sonja & Ben Greiwe & Asli. Sloan & Lincoln probably ate more than they contributed to the baskets (I know big surprise). I think each picture here they have berries in their mouths... We all had a great time & came away with some deeelicious berries to boot! So my titles for the following pictures are:

1) (Sloan) Hmm... thanks for the picture Asli but how many berries you have in there? Can I get some over here?

2) (Lincoln) Sweet! No one's looking!

3) (Sloan) Great, thanks for the picture Momma & Asli but there are a couple hundred of berries calling my little hands.

4) (Sloan) No one's gonna miss this one!

5) (Tiernan) She's got more berries than me. Maybe I can take some of hers so I'll have more than Ben.

Hmmm...

2008-08-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Wonder why we're cleaning the kitchen floor? Because Lincoln decided to pour out the dog's water... He & Sloan then preceded to tap dance in it (realize I'm singing "he's a maniac, maniac for sure.... dancing like he's never danced before...." - remember what movie?). The next day I got a water slide in the playroom as Lincoln poured entire bottle of water down the play slide... I also got swampy carpet that day too... Didn't take any pictures of the water slide - a little too cranky to break out the camera. No, no we're not quite ready to get rid of sippy cups just yet.

A Morning at the Children's Museum

2008-08-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 18th, we headed to the Children's Museum. This was a new concept for Asli, as Turkey doesn't have anything like it. Sloan worked her 1st excavation in the Dino Dig (replicated dig site). She really enjoyed it. Maybe it was because she had to wear goggles (that are so like sunglasses)? Asli took her 1st carousel ride. She said she was a little nervous but ended up liking it. She played with Sloan & Lincoln in Playscape - the area specifically for children 5 & under. Lots of water, lots of sand, lots of exploration. Think maybe we came home with sand in our diapers? Lastly, we did a quick stop at the Super Hero exhibit. Although this picture doesn't show it, Tiernan was thrilled to find a Green Lantern costume (1 we don't have). However, he was not so happy at not driving the taxi. Katie's daughter, Ella, got to drive since she will be returning to Turkey soon & not have the CM.

Turkish Delight!

2008-08-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

On Sunday the 17th, we had black olives with dinner. Who knew that everyone would have so much fun with olives? Lincoln especially loved to eat them off his fingers. Asli brought us Turkish Delight. It's a sweet from Turkey that comes in different flavors. Ours was coconut flavor. Other than Lincoln eating olives, these are pictures from the kids with their first Delight. Tiernan didn't care for the flavor of cocnut. Sloan & Lincoln both liked it! Remember Chronicles of Narnia & Turkish Delight?

Big Feast Marinade

2008-08-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

I used this marinade on the chicken from the big feast. Thought it was good enough to pass along:

10-12 medium garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

chicken

Combine everything in food processor. Puree until smooth. If using whole chicken, rub all over outside & inside. Place in bag & put in fridge for 8-24 hours. If using breasts, skip the rubbing & toss all inside a zip lock. Of course, put in fridge.

"The Big Feast"

2008-08-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Asli (pronounced Aas-la) is staying with us from August 15th through 24th. She is pictured with Lincoln who crawled into her lap while she was eating breakfast on Saturday. She was so touched. I had to come clean & told her that he's a "mooch" & probably wanted her food & that she didn't have to share with him if she didn't want to. It was fun to teach her a little English slang - mooch. She's going to learn a lot with this crowd :)

A little background: She is here to work on her English. She lives in Turkey & has been our friend's language teacher for the last few years that they have lived there. In the interest of keeping this relatively short, a while ago we realized that the Peters family (that we go to church with) know the Brian Greiwe family. The Brian Greiwe's are the cousins of our dear friends the David Greiwe's (which is how we met Brian's family - getting the connection yet?).

We needed a good excuse to try the new rotisserie so had Asli, the Brian
Greiwe's, 1/2 the David Greiwe's & the Peters for what Tiernan called "The Big Feast". Which he was so right. Katie (Brian's wife & Asli's student) & Asli both made some Turkish food (delicious!), we had sweet corn, chicken from the grill (notice the guys drooling over the grill) & lots of other stuff. It was a great afternoon - we got to swim together & then feast together. There were 8 adults & 11 kids. Chaos but great! I was thankful that everyone was so open to participating in it with us & had the ability of going with the flow. The flow of 11 kids dictated quite a bit. As T was praying before going to sleep, he said "Dear God, Thank you for the big feast. Amen."

Some funnies from this week

2008-08-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

These were from Thursday & Friday (the 14th & 15th):

Tiernan & I found Sloan tossing Lincoln bath toys, however there was no water in the tub for him...I do need to note that the step stool Lincoln used to get into the tub, he found in my closet. Problem solving - I like it!
My daughter, the bag lady. When she is tired she likes to rub her blanket (aka ba-be) on her cheek. Hmm... sounds vaguely familiar to my family I'm sure. Notice that in her stroller, she's taking Tigger Baby, Doggie & 2 waters for a stroll. Everyone's taken care of in case they get thirsty. Lastly, Lincoln found Sloan sitting cozily in a basket & decided to join her. From there, they sat & chatted for a good 10 minutes. Hey, I'll take it! I got some dinner prepped!

Headin' North

2008-08-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday the 13th, we headed to Auburn for a day visit with the Heffelfinger's. For the trip up, all I heard was "Are we there yet?" "Momma, where's Auburn? Are we close?" (Mom & Dad, I'm so sorry for any of the times I've done that to you! It's no wonder someone invented the DVD player for cars... Probably a parent that drove kids around a lot.) Tiernan & Jarin took off & were joined at the hip the entire time. It was great to watch them pick up right where they left off. Of course, Lincoln wanted to run with the big dogs. He managed the ladder to the fort pretty well. Kelly & I were fairly nervous when he tried it for the 1st time. He also tried to take Jarin down. J held his own, but it still makes me laugh that Lincoln's so willing to take anyone on when wrestling. Sloan took solace in Kelly's arms when it got close to leaving time. I don't blame her. The time was too short but I'm still glad we had the time. Better to have gotten a little than none at all!

It's never ending...

2008-08-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Batman this & Batman that... Batman Batman Batman! These pictures are for Mimi & Poppa especially since they so graciously gifted the kids with their masks. I don't think they're on straight in any of the pictures!

Batman!

2008-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh, but it's not who you think it is.... It's Miss Dress-up Queen. Yes, Tiernan was totally preoccupied or this never would have taken place. However, since I love a good picture & knew that he wasn't looking I totally let it happen. I love the one with Lincoln talking to her. I only wish I could understand what he was saying. So... how long do you think it took for T to figure out what happened?

Now that's a fire!

2008-08-16T20:09:00.001-07:00

Saturday the 9th, we were invited to cook-out at our friends the Greinke's. There were 10 adults & 11 kids - 8 boys & 3 girls. It was a great chance to catch up, eat lots of food, play outside & start a fire. Tiernan roasted his own marshmallow for his s'more, however was unimpressed with it. It's the marshmallow - not a fan. However, Sloan LOVED her 1st s'more (surprise surprise). As you can see Josie was looking at her like "who is this kid & why is she grunting like that?" The boys had a blast pushing the big ball around the backyard. When Lincoln wasn't running with the big dogs, he was sneaking cookies. I think I watched him shovel in 3... Hey, it's a cookout & his cheeks are just so darn cute (especially jammed full of chocolate chip cookies).