I realize it’s around three months early, but we’ve been waiting for this moment since last halloween.
Costco sells these superhero costumes for $15 a pop. The ones we bought last year the kids wear all the time at home, I was kicking myself I didn’t get more!
Sam thinks it hilarious to get a push from Superman.
Superheros know you must hold hands to cross the street.
This weekend I was invited to attend a wedding shower. It was almost 2 hours drive away, in Williams Bay, WI.
When I first received the invited, the thought of driving 2 hours with kids was daunting. And the thought of leaving Adam for 7 or 8 hours with 4 kids so I could attend was even worse.
I was invited to this shower because the groom is Adam’s good friend. After almost convincing myself it would be too hard, we received a very thoughtful note from Brian, the groom, letting us know how much he wanted us there but how much he understood if we couldn’t make it.
Which made me realize that we just HAD to go. That we were ending the season in our lives when we attended weddings of our friends. They are some of the happiest, most important times in your friends lives and if you really consider yourself a friend, you do whatever you can to witness it.
We started to research where to stay. There is no way the twins could handle 2 two hour drives in one day. We found out they have a kid friendly place in the Grand Geneva, Timber Ridge Resort. We could rent a room that fit six and get free water passes. We were sold.
It was time to test out our touring mini van for its first road trip!
It was very nice. The ride. Extra cup holders and the DVD player were key. It wasn’t perfect, there was about 45 minutes of crying between three out of our four kids, with no one kid crying at the same time as another.
As Adam was dropping me off at the shower and about to watch all four kids by himself, he did mention how he would definitely need a drink that evening. That was BEFORE he was saddled with all four out of the safety of our own home for 3 hours.
I, on the other hand, enjoyed a lovely afternoon of yummy food and great conversation. Here is Virginia with all the swag…
Brian came back to open presents. I love this picture of them because it really shows what they are all about. They are so in tuned to each other. Very considerate and kind with their words and actions. They are always chatting, and the connection between them is like a strong magnet. It’s beautiful to watch.
The shower was held at Brian’s Dad and Stepmother’s house. For a city girl, this sort of al fresco lunch was a real treat.
Afterwards we skipped the invite for Italian Beef and hit the water park.
It was seriously hard watching all four kids. Sam played nicely in one place, but Aaron was all over the place, running straight into the water with no fear of drowning. I spent a lot of time with both kids in my arms. It was quite a workout. We got a lot of comments like, “Wow you have your hands full”. Literally!
And to add to the stress, Adam took turns taking the older boys down the big slide. When it was Ben’s turn, Jack was quite helpful. When it was Jack’s turn, Ben would pull a runner every time. Running after him in a slippery water park with a twin under each arm, yelling his name while he completely ignored me was crazy. The things we do for our kids!
Still it was a lot of fun, and watching the joy on the kids faces was all worth it. I especially liked the part of the vacation where the kids went to bed and Adam and I were finally able to have that drink.
I’d definitely go back, and for longer. They had a ton of other kids activities that we didn’t try like lego building, t-shirt painting, and movies. They also had an arcade and board game rentals.
Pin ItI’ve been holding off on this blog post.
Because I was so hoping that Aaron would be the first to speak.
He showed such promise, babbling first and more often. I really wanted Aaron to do something, anything before Sam.
One day I started saying “Hi” to the babies. Not just any “Hi”. It was a high pitched, long and drawn out, “Hiiiiiieeee”
Sam repeated it. I rationalized he was not actually talking, he didn’t know what he was saying and sometimes he answered us and sometimes he didn’t but he never said “Hi” on his own so it wasn’t really a word, just mimicking.
Then there was more mimicking from Sam. I waited, hoping I could distort reality and hear Aaron speak first.
But this week, something that could not be construed as mimicking popped out of Sam’s mouth.
Every day he tries on any shoes that are around the house. I’ve seen him in Jack’s shoes, Ben’s shoes, Adam’s shoes and my shoes. It is quite clear that he can say the word shoe and identify what a shoe is.
So it is with big joy, and also big unease for Aaron’s ego, that I announce Sam’s first word, “Shoes”. His pronunciation, “Shz”.
It was with great sadness that I dropped my mother at the airport today.
When I hugged her goodbye, there were tears in my eyes.
When you have your own family, it makes you think about the family you came from a whole lot more. And I’m ashamed to write that it’s taken me this long to realize my mother and I are more similar than we are different.
Things I used to think were controlling I now realize are well intentioned ways of trying to help. I may not always agree with them, but at least now I can see they come from the heart.
The entire time she was here she spent all her time helping. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, baby sitting. At 75 she was able to juggle the twins on her own while I took the older kids out. When music from one of the toys turned on, Aaron would do a little shuffle back and forth on each leg while Sam did a tap dance, and Mom would join in, swaying her hips to “The Wheels on the Bus”. She and Sam even had their own inside jokes, like roaring at godzilla together.
She also stayed at home most night while Adam and I went for drinks, or a run, or even just a walk around the neighborhood. It was an hour or more of pure freedom and romance with my husband I will miss.
However, at the airport, in her eyes I didn’t see sadness. I saw fear.
“How long will you be by yourself before Brandy comes?” She asked anxiously.
Brandy is my niece. Her mother, my sister, has offered her up for a week’s free help. I think my sister Lara thinks it will be nice for her to spend some time with her cousins. I hope she feels that way too when she arrives. But she could just be in shock about all the poop, tantrums, and fighting she is about to be inundated with.
I think the perfect example of my Mom’s good intentions that can be misconstrued is this dress below. She actually brought it up here a few years ago thinking I would wear it to one of these fancy affairs that Adam and I sometimes attend. She saved it for 20 years for me! Then lugged it in her suitcase from Florida so I could have it! So thoughtful. It is a dress I wore to homecoming one year. I feel bad I never wore it after such an effort, but perhaps when you see it, you’ll understand why. Anyway, she took it back with her to Florida today. She plans on taking to a consignment shop in Boca to sell on. I hope she gets some cash for it. Eventually everything comes back in style, right?
This week we received golden zucchini, lettuce, broccoli, amaranth, snap peas and green beans.
I think I figured something out this week. These veggies are very fresh and it really makes a difference to cook them right away.
I steamed the green beans that evening. They were so sweet I had to check to see if they were a special kind. No, just farm fresh green beans.
I also grilled the yellow zucchini that evening with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Delicious. Tasted like a mix between squash and zucchini.
Brocolli was steamed and fed to all the kids next to mac and cheese. Again, it was so fresh it didn’t need anything extra.
Lettuce was used in a greek salad – tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, olives, feta, dried oregano dressed in lemon and olive oil. I grilled chicken marinated in garlic, lemon, olive oil, oregano, a dash of sugar, salt and pepper and paired it with the salad. Finally, we toasted pita and spread hummus on top for a meal.
Snaps peas were sautéed with garlic and olive oil until soft.
I really wanted to work with the amaranth, it looked so interesting and I wanted to try something new. I saw it in some Indian dishes. Unfortunately it did not end well for the poor leafy purple. It ended up wilted before I could cook it.
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