Granny Eells

My Granny would have been 105 today!  She passed away five years ago, shy of her 100th!  And she was awesome!

Granny lived about 15 miles from town, on a sweet little farm.  She never drove.  She gardened and went for walks, watched TV and visited with anyone who stopped by, she cooked and canned, and generally sat around and was cool.  You remember learning to make farting noises by pumping your armpit???  My granny taught me how to do that behind my knee.  Picture it.  She was old the entire time I knew her, but she laid down on the floor, legs up, grabbed behind her knees and kicked and kicked.  Darin and I about died!

We had Sunday dinner at Granny's house almost every week.  Darin and I would take bets during church and, as I remember it, we were freakishly accurate at naming the meal.  A few of her staples were fried chicken, roast, spaghetti, wilted lettuce, canned pickles, homemade jelly, rolls, and so many different kinds of desserts - my favorite...cinnamon rolls.

Granny read the Harper County Journal.  She made new recipes found it, and at the first comment of approval from anyone at her table, she would recite the recipe.  The unique part, though, was that she ALWAYS made some substitution.  "It called for frozen corn, but I didn't have any, so I used some canned hominy."  Awesome.  I owe my fearlessness in the kitchen to her - it doesn't always serve me, but I'm fearless, nonetheless!

I made Granny's chicken and noodles today.  Perfection.  I wish I was a food photographer...I'm just not.  But, here's the recipe for her noodles:

1 whole egg
3 egg yolks
1/4 c water or milk or half and half or cream (Granny's recipe, remember!!  Use something wet, whatever you have on hand!)
Whisk together.
Add in:
1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 c flour

Turn out onto a floured surface, knead in more dough then roll to the desired thickness.

Let dry, then drop into boiling broth.

I like my carbs over carbs, so I eat my chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes.  Tasty.  Granny showed she loved you by cooking for you, and you showed her you loved her back by cleaning your plate...twice.  She would feel loved in this house tonight.

I think about what she would think of the babes.  How she'd get a kick out of them, teach them funny things, love to just watch them explore.  I think she'd love them best when they are silly and dirty and tired from a big day of play...like this:

I wanna be like her when I grow up,

Erin

Blog

I have read quite of few other blogs lately that have devoted some time to explaining why they blog.  This had never crossed my mind, but I loved reading theirs, let it cross my mind a few hundred times, and decided to tell you my reasons.

I began to blog because I had found myself with some extra time in my day.  Within six months, I had gone from being employed, to being up for weeks at a time with two newborn little extra super duper needy human beings, to settling into a season of semi-calm.  Also, and mainly, I started reading Pioneer Woman and wanted to be just like her...

I found my voice talking about my adventures with the babes.  It became a place to share their stories...with family that live too far away to see the day to day, with girlfriends going through similar things, with strangers...

When I read Jami's blog over at From the Nato's, her words reminded me of the real reason that I do this.  I don't scrapbook, I don't journal, and....if I'm not VERY careful...I get into auto-pilot mode, and I don't make note to REMEMBER!  I loved that she said so eloquently and plainly: Mothers are the Memory Keepers.  We are.  Mine is...she remembers weird stuff, she wrote down things that I'm so glad that she wrote down.  And I come from a whole long line of memory keepers...around the dinner table the grown ups often traveled down memory lane to 'the good ol' days'. 

If I'm not careful, I forget.  I forget who did what when. 

So, I am reminding myself that I don't write blogs for the sweet comments (although I heart comments), and I don't write to be something I'm not.  I write so that my babes have a record, a picture of what our days were like.  I write so that I don't have to stress out about the fact that all the pictures are in a box and their baby books are stuffed full of post-its.

I write to remember, when I remember to write.

Love you all...
Erin

Diaper Genie

So, first of all, I'm sorry I've been neglecting you.  There was travel, then recovery, then laundry, and you KNOW I'm still milking all kinds of attention and sympathy about the shiner.....so, I'm sorry.  And I'm back.

I had 'do a blog' on my to-do list today.  It HAD to happen, but I was feeling very with-out material.  And then my Kate delivered.

We had a busy day today.  I cut their morning nap short to run an errand and then go to Bible study.  Their lunch was later than usual - and messier than usual - lasagna, a favorite mess.  They didn't get their daily dose of schoolin' (Baby Einstein) until after lunch.  It was just off.

Because of the giant mess that was their lunch, they were sporting just their diaper for naptime.  We went up, and all was usual: two diapered babies, two pacifiers, two top-offs from Momma, two little girls down in their beds.  AND THEN.  They gently beckoned for me: (in an English accent, because that's how I have fun some days) "Mummy, dear Mummy, we're done napping for now.  While it was lovely, would you please, pretty please come get us now."  Ha!  Mayhem...screaming mayhem alerted me that they were done with their nap.  So, I scurried on up there, opened the door, and reached down to pick up Kate, as she was the most persistent in her need to get out of bed.  AND THE CHILD WAS NAKED!!!!!  Like-smooth-as-a-baby's-bottom-sitting-on-my-arm-naked. 

Here's the order of thoughts through my head:
1) Ah, squishy, snuggly little baby, you really do have the softest skin.
2) Why did I put her to bed without a diaper on?
3) Wait, I didn't...where is her diaper, and what's in it!?

Lights on.  Search party.  First, I looked in the most logical place - her crib.  Nothing.  So I looked on the floor around the crib.  Nothing.  Then, scared, I looked in Lauren's crib.  BINGO.  Naked Kate in crib A, diapered Lauren and empty, if damp, diaper in crib B.

It's never boring, folks!  If only I could have seen the whole thing unfold.

Love.
Momma

Shiner

The Momma got a shiner.

Yesterday, the four of us girls (Roxie as #4) went on a walk.  It was very blue and had been sprinkling on and off for the afternoon so we just lapped the loop.  As we passed the house the second time, I decided to run up to my car and get the mail key.  I left the stroller with Roxie tethered to it in the gutter/street.

Remember last post when I was bragging about the Spidey Sense that motherhood had afforded me??  Lie.  As I was opening the car door, I felt a bug on my leg.  I simultaneously opened the car door and looked down to make sure it wasn't a dreaded spider.  I opened the car door into my face.  Hard.

I had to take a knee it was so severe.  I saw stars and opened my eye to dripping blood.  And then I was tormented by the two most important questions while in that situation:

1) Did anyone see that?

2) Why have a never trained Roxie to pull the stroller sled-dog-style so that I don't have to walk back down there and get the family?

It scared Kate.  It hurts when I chew.  We're flying with the girls again today...to a wedding.  Awesome. Good thing not too many people will see it!

Sonofa....
E

Random Thoughts...

I love weekends!!!  It seems that already (before the soccer and ballet and volleyball and skeet shooting that is sure to come) we don't have many weekends that aren't full of plans.  Good plans, mind you, but plans.  This one ended up being wide open.  We went for walks, we played on the floor, we did a few chores, made a few meals, watched a few mindless movies...it was awesome!

What is it about the change of season that acts as an excuse for "sprucing up" a bit?  The weather was cooler this weekend...crisper.  So I NEEDED a few changes.  First up, changing my pale pink toes and fingernails to more beige/taupe/mauve.  Then, I changed my house frangances (plug-ins, candles, etc) from tropical, fruity smells to apple spice/cinnamon.  Finally, the coconut creamer I've been living on this summer got booted for hazelnut and pumpkin spice.  Ahhhh, fall is near!

Can we talk about music for a second?  Two things.  One, I recently downloaded all my old CDs onto my iTunes.  I was embarrassed by some of my library...ok, most of it.  I'm so not cool.  I am so far from cool in the music department, that I wouldn't even know what to buy to make me less not cool.  I've always known that my taste in music should never be part of the conversation if the person on the listening end hadn't made up their mind about me yet.  Example:  I really like Bonnie Raitt...like since 1998.  I don't think that even my mom liked Bonnie Raitt in 1998.  Embarrassing.  And now, after that confession, I'm not even going to tell you number two.  It's just too much!

My computer is at the doctor (no pictures today).  I feel like I'm missing my left foot.  So sad.  It was probably all those embarrassing songs I loaded onto it...even my computer knows...

Being a mom has afforded me Spidey Sense.  Supper was over, I was holding Kate walking toward the sink to hose her off.  The door of the dishwasher was open, and right in my way, and I had forgotten.  I busted my shin so hard (still, the memory makes me hurt somewhere behind my bellybutton) that I tripped/missed my next step.  Before babies, I would have definitely stepped on the dishwasher door, broken it, and then hit the floor.  With babies, I do some sweet hop/hurdle thing, land on my feet, with the baby still in my arms, and only say fake swear words.  It was awesome!!

The babes are awesome!  There's a great bathtime story I need to tell, but I am bound and determined to get it on video.  You'll love it!

Hope you can feel Fall in the air!!
E dot P dot

Big Girls

My goodness, it seems like they just grew up in the last month.  All of a sudden they are little girls instead of babies.  They have likes and dislikes, tricks and personalities, and those change daily!  Parts of momming twins is easier with each passing month, and yet, each stage brings it unique challenges.  We have fun, we laugh every day, and they get more and more delicious with each sweet potato they smear all over their little faces.

Kate is now the little one!!  Since birth, Kate has weighed a few ounces more than Lauren (freakishly, 6 ounces, to be exact, for the first four months).  Well, since mastering solid food, Lauren has passed Kate!  At their nine month check-up, which happened on their 10th month birthday Kate weighed 10 ounces less!!  Kate is the best nodder I've ever seen.  Sometimes it works out perfectly to be the "yes" answer to whatever question I'm asking her...or, my favorite, when Lauren is throwing a fit, and I flash that, "What's a girl to do" look to Kate and she emphatically gives me about 44 nods.  Presh!

Kate loves sweet potatoes, and roasted chicken, and all beans.  She can put away more goldfish and cheerios than I would admit to you that I give her.  She loves all fruit.  She has mastered pushing the power button on the DVD player and then is so sad, as she loves her Baby Einstein movies.  She loves the water - bathtime, puddles on the sidewalk, etc.  She loves her sister - she mimics her, and follows her, and learns new tricks by watching her.  They are both standing all the time now, but not actually walking - sooooo close!

Lauren, the big one!  Lauren keeps her pointer finger at attention at all times, just in case.  She points at people, she points at toys, she points at nothing.  She's an excellent pointer.  She's also the best gurglerer I've ever know.  She tips back her little sippy cup with such enthusiasm, fills up her mouth, and gurgles.  It's gross, and funny.  She gets such a kick out of it, and so does Sis. 

She loves tomatoes and nectarines, sweet potatoes, chicken, and raisins.  She fills her little mouth and sticks that pointer finger in there to make sure everything is ok.  She loves to drink out of a straw.  She still loves her Roxie.  Lately, we are learning that she is pretty sensitive.  When she gets in trouble she cries like her feelers are so hurt.  And she cries like that when Sis gets in trouble, and when Roxie gets in trouble.  This comes as a deviation from how we had her "pegged" as she is such a little live wire.  I'm sure my days of being made a liar out of are only just beginning.

They need haircuts, I'm not ready.  They need to be around other kids more often, I'm not ready.  They need to not nurse quite so frequently, I'm not ready.  Just putting it out there....just to show that I know.

We are just smitten with you, little B's.
Muah!
Momma

A Lub Letter

My sweet hub,

I can't believe that three years ago we were just starting this awesome adventure!  In some respects it seems like way longer than three years - we have two babies, have made a house a home, have traveled, have bought a new car (with flames on the side, I love you, thrifty man), so much stuff.  On the other hand it seems like nothin'!  Three years on the map of forrrrevvvvverrrr doesn't seem like very many.

This is what I know.  Your forgiveness for my ball of imperfections has been quick and complete.  Your patience with my impatience has been steady and sure.  Your provision for this family we have created has filled me with peace and trust.  Your imperfections are tolerable and consistent (and I'm learning (slowly but surely) to tolerate them better, with less need for pointing out how consistent they are).  Your love for our babes makes me so happy for them - that they will have been loved well before anyone else gets to try. 

I would have done some things differently, but if I had to choose again, I'd choose you.

(by James Photography)

I lub ju.
E

Away

We spent the night away from the babes Friday night!!  Dan has been away a few times this year - classes, continuing ed, and such.  I have never been away.  I was nervous.  The girls stayed at home with Dodie and Pop.  I was not nervous about the caregivers, I was not nervous that the girls wouldn't be just fine without me...I was nervous that I might not be ok without them! 

I left them at noon to go pick up Dan and head to the airport.  I was sad.  They didn't cry when I left, or seem nervous about the 15 hugs they had to endure before I made it to the door.  I picked up Dan and we went out for lunch.  I was still sad.  Then we made it to the airport and had a drink and a few laughs.  I was still a little sad.  Then we got on the airplane and flew to Phoenix.  We flew Southwest and got there late, so we sat a row apart...in the middle chair.  I was sad (50% because of the girls, 50% because of the chair).  Then we landed in Phoenix and headed to the hotel.  I was over it.

We napped, and I primped, and then we went out on the town!  We had dinner, and met some nice people to chat with, then we went to the John Legend and Sade concert!!  It was awesome! 

We learned a few things: 1) We're old.  The concert was loud, the fools around us wouldn't sit down and quietly enjoy the show, we didn't get back to the hotel 'til after midnight!!!  2)  Time away is good.  The girls were fine, Dodie and Pop handled it as well as we knew they would, the days of being them being weaned from me is getting less sad, and I still really, kinda like Dan. 

Reunited!!

Love,

The Wifey