Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Jericho and Justus look a lot alike but they are very different individuals. Justus is much more outgoing, warms up faster to strangers, loves to blab your ear off and loves wrestling with Caleb. He and Caleb actually get along really well. Jericho, on the other hand is shy, sticks very close to me whenever a stranger "threatens his peace to destroy", talks just as well as Justus but is usually more silent, and often gets cornered by Caleb and Justus when they're in the wrestling mood. I love them both terribly.
Anyway, in the past month or so we've had a lot of pooping going on in our bathtub. The warm water is relaxing, you know. The way the twins handle the situation is quite funny so I thought I'd share. The first incident took place in Colorado while we were on vacation. We threw the twins in the tub after dinner one night and gave them some plastic cups and hairspray lids to pour with. Kathy and I were hanging out in the bathroom, chatting and not paying much attention to the twins. After awhile we noticed that Justus was trying to climb out of the tub, almost desperately, and we asked him what was wrong. He matter-of-factly pointed to a log floating in the water and said, "A poop." Jericho was happily playing with the faucet and didn't seem phased by the floating poopie drifting closer and closer to his brother's ankles. We immediately snatched Justus out of the tub and scooped the poopie out too and then just sat there laughing at poor traumatized Justus.
The second incident happened the second night we were in Colorado. I brought the boys back to the hotel after Elitches while Mark went with the guys to see "Dark Night." I threw the icky-sticky babies in the tub and then busied myself with pajamafying the other kids. Kathy came in and once again, we started laughing and chatting with each other. A few minutes later, Justus started calling for Kak-Kak and I ignored him for a moment while I finished dressing Jericho. When I finally got to the bathroom there he was, sitting in the tub, swatting poopies away from himself, calling for someone to please come and save him. Poor little poop-a-phobic guy.
And last night, while Jericho and Justus were happily playing in the tub, I sent
Caleb to go climb in with his brothers. I didn't know he was poopie and he didn't tell me he was poopie, which he usually does. So I had no idea he was about to contaminate the entire tub of water and further traumatize his brother. I was in the room next door, helping the big boys tidy their room for the evening when I heard Justus start crying and saying something about Caleb. Last week while Mark was away, Caleb bit Jericho several times while they were in the bath and left huge purple bruises all over poor little Jericho's back. So, I immediately thought the same thing was happening and I went running. Everything looked okay except that Justus was hanging on the edge of the bath, crying like his life was about to end. One glance into the tub and I knew exactly what the matter was. Once again, Jericho was merrily playing like nothing had happened and Caleb didn't seem to care that he still had a poopie stuck to his rear. But Justus couldn't flee the scene fast enough and hung to the edge of the tub the entire time it took me to drain the bath, hose down Caleb and fill the tub again so I could wash all three babies vigorously.
Now you might be thinking that you don't blame Justus for being so freaked out. Neither do I. In fact, it kind of wigs me out everytime I have to scoop a log out of the tub or wash a hiney that has a poopie stuck to it. I totally get his phobia. And maybe you think it's kind of gross that Jericho doesn't wig out. But I don't. Nope. It just goes to show how laid back he is. He really is a calm, relaxed little guy and not a lot phases him, except for scary strangers that might take him away from me. And so this story about poop has a very important lesson to be learned: twins might be the same but when it comes to poop they are sometimes different. The end.
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Monday, August 25, 2008
Caleb cut his thumb last night while playing with a tape measure. I wrapped it up in a bandaid, kissed it better and didn't think twice about it. Later in the evening, Caleb was sitting in his bedroom with his silkie, seriously distressed. He was talking about his "owie" and something about how it burned and in the morning we'd take the bandaid off. That's when I noticed the hurt thumb was the one he sucks on like 99% of the day. "Oh, poor Caleb," I said. "You hurt the thumb that you suck on, huh?" He gave his thumb a pathetic look and I suggested he suck the other thumb. He looked at me like I was a complete idiot and then said, "No Mommy, that one's upside down."
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Sunday, August 24, 2008
Most people that know Denver describe him as a little Tonka Truck. So, it's fitting that for his first "real" birthday party he would want a construction party. Thanks to a little help from Family Fun Mark and I were able to throw one of the best birthday parties. . . ever! It was really simple and fun--all of the kids had a good time and even the adults couldn't help joining in here and there. I made the invitations almost exactly like Family Fun's only I didn't have the fancy wood stuff. Instead I just used cardstock. For games Family Fun suggested a pinata and a wrecking ball game. I skipped the pinata just because I wanted to skip the whole candy thing and keep things relatively healthy. Instead we went with a Construction Worker Bootcamp Theme and had three challenges the kids had to complete in order to receive their toolbelt and tools. I liked the wrecking ball game idea but made a few adjustments. First, instead of cardboard blocks I used our own wooden blocks and had Chris and Meg help me build a giant tower. Then, with black water balloons attatched to some clothesline (attatched to a tree branch), the kids swung the wrecking ball and tried to knock down the tower. If the water balloon sprung a leak it was an added bonus and we let the kids squirt each other with them.   For the second challenge we had the kids load one of Denver's dump trucks with more wooden blocks, race through some cones, and dump the blocks at the other end. We gave them a time to beat and most of them did it. For the kids who were struggling, we just counted a little slower.  And for the third challenge, the kids had to work together as a team to build a tower taller than the tallest kid there and it had to stand on its own for 10 seconds. This proved to be the most challenging and in the end I held the very tippy top for the ten second countdown. It would have been much easier if we'd had a flat surface for them to build on. To keep with the boot camp part of the party, we lined them up a lot and made them say things like "Yes Sir!" and "Yes M'am" and had them run laps around the yard and do lots of pushups, well okay. . . ten pushups only. But the boys seemed to like being treated like soldiers and they took their tasks almost very seriously.  Once the challenges were complete we lined the boys up and awarded them with tattoos and toolbelts. We had a "tool bar" set up on the table and the kids stuffed their toolbelts with keychain tools (Oriental Trading Company), keychain tape measures (Home Depot/Walmart), paintbrushes, tool stickers, gummi tools (OTC), and mini flashlights.  Most of the kids needed a drink by then so we let them eat for a few minutes while I poured the paint into the paint trays. For snacks I did animal crackers, goldfish, watermelon, grapes and Capri Suns and Water. I used Family Fun's idea of using toolboxes for the drinks and the fruit, which ended up being totally cute. I cut up the fruit about 45 minutes before the party started, stuck the entire toolbox in the freezer and by the time the party began we had icy cold watermelon and grapes. For the crackers I used Denver's dumptruck and loader--they made great, inexpensive table decorations and handy snack holders too.   When they were ready we set them loose with their paintbrushes and the cardboard castle Mark and Denver had constructed the night before. They painted and played and used their tools and shined their flashlights until their hearts were content.    Last but not least, we cut the cake and Denver opened his presents. I didn't make their cute truck cake because Denver wanted Cream Cheese Poundcake. To make it fit into the construction theme I tried to turn it into a tire but instead got a chocolate covered gear-looking thing. Doesn't matter though--it tasted really good.  And that was it. The entire party took less than two hours, was relatively inexpensive, was easy to clean up, and best of all was a great success! Hurray for us! And most importantly. . . Happy First Birthday Party, Denver! |
Thursday, August 21, 2008
This is the last week before school starts and I'm sort of hating that summer is almost over. I still have things I was hoping to do with the kids. I mean, it's good that the summer has gone by so fast. And we have done lots of fun things. But I'm not sure I'm ready for it to be over yet. I still have film canister rockets to make and a yarn treasure hunt to do. And I'm wondering if we snuggled enough in the hammock and if we ate enough popsicles and read enough books. And I'm not sure I'm done with the beach and the sunshine and the lazy mornings and lightning bugs. And I know I'm not ready for raking leaves and homework and the short days and long nights here in CT. The days are already getting shorter and the nights are definitely chillier than before.
Anyway, we went Letterboxing again yesterday with the McCurdy's. There's one at a Birdcraft Museum not far from us and it looked relatively easy. Here's the kids in the Osgood Chimney at the beginning of the trail.
And here's Rhodric and Justus. The McCurdy boys love babies just as much, if not more than any girl I've known. The first thing Jarrett and Rhodric do when they walk through my door is ask where their babies are and demand a hug. Rhodric is fond of Justus and Jarrett loves Jericho.
And here's the hollow log and part of the trail behind Hunter. It was really pretty in there. Too bad we had the kids with us. They were anxious to get back home and get back to playing.
 
And last but not least, here's Caleb and his other mother, Allison. He insists she's his real mom and refuses to let me touch him whenever she's around, unless of course he's sleepy and I know just the right way to snuggle him and tickle his back and legs. But he insisted she carry him through the entire hike and poor Allison couldn't tell him "no." He loves her so much we've started calling him Caleb McHenricurdyson--a combination of our last names. On the really bad days, I'm tempted to let her have him. Afterall, she's mastered Jarrett (her holy terror). She could definitely handle Caleb and I'm pretty sure she would do a much better job. There's no one quite as patient and long-suffering and kind as Allison. And I'm fresh out of ideas for Mr. Holy Terror himself.
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Sunday, August 17, 2008
That's what Noah said last night as we were lighting my birthday candles. And Caleb got so worried about the chocolatey inferno that he hid under the kitchen table and then cried, of course, when he didn't get to help blow them out. Yeah. . . I'm getting old. I keep trying to tell myself that thirty is the new twenty and according to Oprah my best years are yet to come, like when I'm in my forties but it doesn't help. It's kind of weird though, the older I get, the younger my parents seem to be--sort of like I'm catching up with them.
So I didn't do anything super-duper for my birthday. Mark's with my Dad in Mexico purchasing pottery and I'm glad. I miss him, a lot. But I'm glad he gets to go away for a little while without six kids climbing all over him and a whiney wife. And he doesn't have to work either. Hopefully they'll have fun together and find the pottery my Dad's looking for.
Anyway, that's like the 5th birthday in a row that's Mark been gone for my birthday. It used to make me sad but I got over it a long time ago and sort of enjoy the lack of attention. I cleaned the bathrooms, mowed the lawn, took the kids grocery shopping, made my own birthday cake, hit Blockbuster for some movies, watched "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" with the kids and called it a day. My sisters and my best friend were all going to come over but Denver threw up (see "My Husband Is Out Of Town: Handbook and Rulebook") and scared them all away. But I think my sisters are going to come today and spoil me a bit. And Mark did get me a really good birthday present before he left--a digital camera that actually fits in my pocket so I can take cute pictures like these:
 
No more holding batteries in or having the camera shut off halfway through a picture. And it fits easily in my pocket or my diaper bag. I really love it. Anyway, I successfully made it to 33 and it didn't hurt too much. Now I think I'll go have myself some chocolate cake for breakfast which, according to Bill Cosby, is a perfectly healthy and well-rounded breakfast for kids (and Moms.) Want some?
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Friday, August 15, 2008
Here's another simple recipe for summer time. We love Greek Gyros (sounds like year-o's) out here. They are super yummy. This is nothing like them. But. . . they are sort of similar and even the kids thought they were tasty.
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1-3/4 tsp minced garlic, divided
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pork tenderloin
1 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dill weed
8 flour tortillas (or pitas would be good too)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lemon juice, oil, mustard, 1-1/4 tsp garlic and oregano; add the pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2 hours.
In a bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, salt, dill and remaining garlic; cover and refrigerate until serving.
Drain and discard marinade. Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill for indirect medium-hot heat. Grill tenderloin, uncovered, over direct-heated area for 5 minutes, turning once. Move to indirect-heated area; cover and cook 10-15 minutes longer or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil; place on grill for 2-3 minutes or until warmed, turning once. Slice tenderloin into strips; place on tortillas. Top with yogurt sauce and green onions. 4 servings.
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
Came across this recipe a few weeks ago and Mark and I have fallen in love with it. It's very easy to make and it's fresh and light for hot summer days. We use the leftover chicken and salsa to make quesadillas for lunch later in the week.
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Tomato-Pineapple Salsa:
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup cubed fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup lime juice
3 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first eight ingredients; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate four hours. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine salsa ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Serve with salsa.
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