Linguistics.

These two.

I have heard of twin language, but it just doesn't happen around here.  They may talk nonsensically, but it's nonsensical to the other as well!

But goodness, do they say some funny stuff...a few I never want to forget:

Kate:

ToLittleBit

ToLater

These took me a long time to decipher.  Like a LONG time.  ToLater started first.  She would put a toy aside and say, "I play tolater".  I would ask if she needed a drink, "No, maybe tolater."  Then, soon thereafter, I picked up on 'tolittlebit'.  Kate, is it naptime?  'No, let's wait a tolittlebit.'  I finally asked, 'Momma, like tomorrow...tolittlebit.'  I die.  All forms of time have a to- in front...

Tonight

Tomorrow

Today

Tolittlebit

Tolater

Goodness.

Lauren:

E'er'where

Too

E'er'where - everywhere, is like punctuation to this one.  'I go to school tomorrow, e'er'where.'  'I like tomatoes e'er'where.'  I have no idea where this came from.  I bet she says e'er'where 42 times a day.  Totes adorbs.

Too - This one breaks my heart.  Lauren is my Baby B.  She is less animated than Kate.  She is quieter than Kate.  She is #2.  She is the ', too'.  Kate: 'I love to swing!'  Lauren: 'I love to swing, too!'  This is good, this is normal.  BUT, my baby girl says too even when there's not an agreement.  Kate doesn't like tomatoes, Lauren knows Kate doesn't like tomatoes.  No one said Kate likes tomatoes...but when Lauren says she likes tomatoes, she says, "I like tomatoes, too."  So sad.  So stinkin' cute.  But kinda so sad...

Just so I don't forget...tolater.

Momma

Staycation.

I love my babies.  Like big time.

All I ever really wanted was to be a wife and mother...and I love that I get to be - every single day.

I love the noise, and the snuggles, and the dutchy language that we speak.

I love the smells and messes and kisses.

But, I also used to love silence.

I used to love a clean house.

I used to love a marked off to-do list.

I used to love a solid 8 hours of sleep.

Dodie and Pop rolled out in the minivan with ALL THREE a little before 8:00 this morning.

Dan leaves after work to go to Laverne to see patients tomorrow.

I AM ALL ALONE....for like 36 hours.

I'm coffee'd up.  My list is long, and serious, and long overdue.

Have fun, punks.

Have fun, Dodie and Pop.

"I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be left alone.' There is all the difference." 

- Greta Garbo

Easter.

'Easter is when Jesus loves us sooo much and made us friends with God and there's a bunny.' - Lauren

Ah, commercialized holidays, I love you.  It's amazing how little I pondered the combination of Jesus' resurrection and Easter bunnies before we had children.  But wow, when you try to incorporate both - the fun of Easter morning and hiding eggs and candy and pastels...with the BIGNESS of God's love and Jesus' sacrifice and the resurrection and new life.  Well, it's a strange combo.

But, I love it.  I want them to have both.  I want them to have the excitement of the holiday way before their sweet little minds can grasp the hugeness of it.

So, Easter bunny - eat your heart out....

He Lives!!

-Momma

SupperTime.

We eat at home almost exclusively.  Some of the reasons are to save money, to eat more healthily, and the biggest - because it's a nightmare to eat out with three kids, two and under.

I enjoy cooking.  I am blessed with a houseful of non picky, good eaters, and that makes me fearless to try new things.  (That, and if it's terrible, there's always cereal.)  I also very much prefer cooking to baking because it affords me the option to 'wing' it.  I like having a few basic techniques and principles under my belt and then just going with what's in the house or what looks best at the store.  My cooking style will drive many crazy, but in case there are some out there like me who like to throw together something unique and call it dinner, I thought I'd share.

Greek Meatloaf:

(inspired by a recipe Amanda told me about)

(all amounts are approximate, I do not get out a measuring cup!)

1 lb hamburger

1 egg

6 oz feta

1/4 c kalamata olives, chopped

1/4 c roasted red peppers, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c frozen spinach

dried oregano

dried parsley

salt 

pepper

Mix together everything with your hands.  Turn out into a baking dish and form into a loaf (this gives three crispy, browned sides not achieved by an actual loaf pan).  Bake 35-45 minutes at 375.

I was not a fan of meatloaf growing up.  I still don't care for the traditional ketchup-y version.  But, we all love this one and it has inspired me to try other add ins.

Mexican - Sub feta for pepper jack, olives and peppers for corn and beans.  Add green chile, omit oregano.

Italian - Sub feta for mozarella and parmesan.  Sub kalamata and peppers for black olives and mushrooms.

I serve the Greek with taboule salad (boxed from Near East on the beans and rice aisle) and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce

1 c Greek yogurt

1/4 c chopped cucumber

1/4 c fresh dill

lemon juice

garlic powder

salt

Mix together.

A recipe author, I am not!  In fact, I had a little flash back to Kindergarten!!  We made a 'cookbook' by dictating our favorite recipes to the teacher - there were things like bake at 600 degrees for 3 hours, add 7 cups of chocolate chips, etc.  Sorry that sharing these recipes felt a little like that!  If nothing else, I hope you are encouraged to try something new - and to cook at home!

Jack Sprat

Jack Sprat could eat no fat.

His wife could eat no lean.

And so between them both, you see,

They licked the platter clean.

These girls.

Want some proof that food preferences/tastes are hard wired, not totally learned.  Watch these two eat.

They were introduced to the same foods at the same time at the start of life.  They have been encouraged in the same way.  They eat every meal side by side.  I fill their plates with the EXACT same things, in the exact same arrangements.

BUT.

One could just eat bread.

The other could just eat greens.

And so between them both, you see,

They licked the platter clean.

 Kate just 'shared' her salad with her sister.  'Cause she no like saaaaalad.

k-k-k-krazy

K is for Kate

K is for Tiss (kiss)

K is for k-k-k-krazy.

An education professional I am not.  Why is this evident, you ask?  Well, because, I LOVE that little exchange up there.  I make them repeat it because it's k-k-k-kute.  I would never even THINK to correct them!

Krazy.

Krazy is taking three babies to the zoo on Spring Break Friday by yourself to meet a (hopeful) new friend and try to make a good impression.

Krazy.

"Lauren, wanna make out?" "No, Momma." "Fine, I'll make out with Daddy." "Ummmm, that would be so krazy!"

Krazy.  

Kate's krazy hair.  "Momma, I have so many rectangles...rectangles hurt so bad when you brush them."

Krazy.

Taking the girls to see Sesame Street Live and literally running into Cookie Monster and Ernie before the show!  I seriously thought Lauren might have a stroke.

Krazy.

How big is this guy!!!??!  Almost one, you know!?  Army crawling everywhere, pulling up, eating table food, growing teeth, saying 'Momma'....big boy.

Krazy.

How much faster weeds grow!  I'm a little nervous about the thick, tall brush that is our backyard, but the girls are fearless - until there's a bug sighting!

Krazy how much fun I'm having...

E

An Acquired Taste

It turns out that I might be an acquired taste.  Bummer.

Part of my Super-Fun-All-The-Time-2013-Year-Of-Thrival plan is to make new friends.  New town, new job, new season of life...new friends!

I've become almost obsessed with this. I look at every passerby and run them through the 'could she be my come over with her kids while my house is a mess have coffee and watch them play' friend?  Could she be my 'Bible study' friend? Could she be my 'shopping, ladies who lunch' friend?

After the obsession of recognizing these people to fill my needs, then there's the dilemma of how to convince them to be my friend...this is where, I'm afraid, I have found that I'm an acquired taste.  I have friends.  I know I can make friends.  But, well, maybe, sometimes....I may come on a little too strong, a little too fast.  Oh, my bad, new girl I met in the park 4 minutes ago...you mean you're not quite ready to go on a double date and share a babysitter at my house.  Silly me.  You mean you don't like it when I ask very direct and personal questions in our casual, first time, chance meeting.  Oops.

I'm afraid my crazy 'too much too fast' style has been reinforced in the past, giving me an erred sense of appropriateness.  Well, except for that still painful memory when it didn't work out for me!

First meeting with Dan in Albuquerque 100 years ago.  'So, ever been married?  Kids?  Plan to get married someday?  Christian?'  Sweet, now man of mine, simply chuckled, said, 'Wow, you get to the point, huh?'  And answered my questions.  Then said, 'What was your name, again?'.  Behavior reinforced.

Albuquerque bestie.  Then a patient I had seen maybe twice, but was hoping to convert to a friend.  I was pregnant.  'So, is labor just horrible?  Did you poop when you pushed out the baby?  Are your boobs always that big or is it just because you're breast feeding?'  Sweet, now ABQ bestie of mine, simply snickered, said, 'You have no idea...want to go have lunch sometime?'.  Crazy behavior reinforced.

I have been wallowing in my realization that maybe this making of friends thing is going to take longer than I thought.  I have a very ain't nobody got time for that  attitude about it.  I am anxious to make some friends.  I think it will help me to feel more settled.  Dan meets new people everyday, and doesn't really get it.  But somehow spending most days in our rent house that I can't really make a home ('cause who paints someone else's walls!?) with three kidlets two and under, makes me oh so anxious to meet a kindred spirit.

As I have been wallowing, though, I have come to realize that while they can't drop in on a random Tuesday morning and physically have coffee, I have all these roles filled in my life.  They live in California instead of Edmond, or work a 40 hour work week, or are in a different (and so fun!) stage of life...

Being reminded of that recurring lesson - patience is a virtue.

-Erin