Sunday morning...

Some Sunday mornings are super busy, others pretty lazy. The kids were up early this morning and doing what they do -- that would be getting into everything, playing, laughing, running around, while stopping by every so often so crawl up in a lap for a hug or a big smile. I was cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast when I noticed it had gotten pretty quiet around the corner, so I tiptoed around the edge to see what was going on. (Quiet in a house with three boys is usually something to be concerned about, trust me.)

When I got to the living room I saw Gabe asleep in the chair on Doug - and Doug asleep, too. Grayson working all the latches on the coffee table. (No worries, Reece was accounted for - he was upstairs taking a nap.) So this was one of those GOOD quiet days. Well, at least the morning...the rest of the day remains to be seen!

Happy 3rd Birthday to the Twins!

OK, this time I mean it. I am so glad the boys have a summer birthday. It makes parties so much easier than when the weather is colder - and since our kiddos love, love, love being outside anyway - well, it is a perfect match. Of course, this year we are celebrating a little late because of Grayson's eye surgery two days before their birthday...which led to this year's party being the same weekend we had a hurricane all the way up the East Coast! Luckily, the rain held off until the very end of the party and didn't start until literally the last guests were leaving.

We set up the tents, blew up the bug bouncy house, left up the trampoline, and had a great time. This year the boys had some friends and their parents come from their preschool class, so there were more kids and little people for them to play with. It was just a bunch of backyard fun with food and cake and lots of little boys.

There were kids and parents on the trampoline at all times, the swings were almost always full (see Reece loving it?), and we managed to make it almost 3 hours with no fighting, pushing, shoving, etc.

When the last of the guests left and the rain backed off for a few minutes we too their presents inside and opened them. Lots of cars and car related toys were to be had, along with books (Mama Lama is now a new favorite) and a piano (favorite present of the day.)

As we cleaned up all the wrapping paper and leftover food we realized that now we need to start planning Reece's party - his birthday is in about 8 weeks!

Jiffy Pop

Tonight the boys got to experience Jiffy Pop for the first time. I couldn't help myself when I saw it in the store. I hate that they thing so much stuff comes out of the microwave! So we sat them up on the counter, started the stove, and shook that thing silly. It was just as cute as I thought it would be. They were so excited and kept telling me - look Mommy! It's POPPING!

Even funnier, they really didn't "get" that there was going to be popcorn inside it until we tore it open. Then it was exciting all over again :)

Simple things.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

OK, almost. Because Grayson had surgery scheduled for Friday, 8/12, we decided to postpone the celebration for two weeks.

Grayson's Eye Surgery

So the time has come for us to make a decision about Grayson's eyes. We patched for the better part of two years, but as of late he had become totally unwilling to keep the patch on. He had even taken to squeezing his other eye shut and laying on the floor crying the whole time he was patched while trying to rip it off. Very upsetting for everyone in the house. He has never been willing to wear his glasses - as every time he puts them on his weak eye (the left one) pulls and pulses to the center so hard you can tell it must be hard to see/focus on anything.

So the doctor said it was time to do the surgery to align his eyes better. He was starting to favor his right eye so much he was afraid he was telling his brain to ignore the left one. This is so scary for me (being that I am going progressively more blind every year), but it seems like this is the best chance he has for getting his vision to cooperate.

This photo was taken in the prep room as we got him in the gown and little hat. He loved the hat - thought it was the best thing ever. He was in great spirits and cooperated the whole time. They let me walk him back and hold him while they put him to sleep. I was really impressed with the anesthesiologist. He started telling Grayson a story and incorporated the gas mask into the story so when he put it on his face he wasn't scared at all.

Since he has been asleep for surgery's before we knew it would not be as nice when we woke up. He is prone to night terrors - and the 'twilight' sleep state is not good for this little boy. Our recovery room nurse was not so great - she actually raised her voice at him and told him to stop crying! (Hello lady, he's two!!!)

He eventually pulled it together and we headed home. By the time we got home he was starting to be himself again - and within a few hours he was on the trampoline with Gabe like nothing happened.

I continue to be amazed at how easy going this little man can be. He takes all these challenges in stride and just keeps on plugging along.

Day 2 of Potty Training Grayson : Take 2

Today is day 2 of the second try for potty training Grayson. We tried a few weeks ago and he just wasn't ready. We thought he was, but not quite. This time, however, I am thinking may be the 'for real' time! Yesterday we had one potty hit -- well, he came over and stood next to the potty and started peeing and we sat him on it and he finished. This was a huge success. Then later he announced he was going to pee on the potty but instead I caught him peeing on his daddy's diaper bag!

This morning he came running to me when he needed to potty and started peeing a little. We 'hurry, hurried' to the potty and he finished in the potty. Then about an hour later he needed to pee again and he announced it, didn't pee on anything, we hurried to the potty and ALL the pee ended up on the potty!

We have our fingers and toes crossed that this is the time!!!

We are not alcoholics...

This morning there was a lot of 'clinking' and back and forth from the boys in the living room. It sounded pretty harmless, so I let it go. Then I remembered, I have twins. They are almost 3. Very little in this world is harmless these days. So after about 5 minutes I decided maybe I should peek around the corner and see what on earth was going on. This is what I saw.

Gabe explained - One for Daddy, one for Mommy, one for PopPop, one for Patti, etc.....he ran down the list of just about every adult he knows. He had unloaded the little mini wine fridge. Again.

Mango and Coconut Muffins

1 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar

2 eggs at room temp
3/4 c. coconut milk
3 Tbs oil

1 c. mango chopped 1/4 inch
1 c. shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In another bowl mix together wet ingredients. Pour into dry and mix to combine (don't over mix.) Fold in mango and coconut.

Pour into greased muffin tins. (should make 12-14.) Bake 20-25 minutes.

(Mine took closer to 25 minutes. They are a pale muffin, so don't over bake.)

All the Boys

All the boys in my house...
they are all characters on their own. Put them together and you have -- Reece thinking he should be walking....not!

Grayson reading....

Gabe making fishy faces....

Guess...

Anyone want to guess which one is actually "in" time out??

In the Pool!

Everyone in the pool! Today was Reece's first time in the pool (he's 8months now - how did that happen?) We pulled out the floaty, loaded him in and crossed our fingers. It appears to have been a success!
We also have new life jackets for the boys that we are using. Since they are so skinny it has been hard to find ones for them, but these seem to be OK. We are just working on being comfortable in the water, rolling on our backs, and getting our faces wet. It is coming along pretty well. Gabe is still a little uneasy about it all, but he doesn't like getting his face wet in the bath tub, so it was no big surprise that this would be a challenge for him.


Grayson loves the water. Can you tell?

Reece helping in the kitchen

Reece found the tupperware drawer...

And he is standing...

It was quiet upstairs this morning and I thought Reece was asleep, so I tiptoed up the stairs. What I found was NOT Reece sleeping in his crib, but Reece STANDING in his crib - grinning ear to ear, clearly very pleased with himself.

I quickly got the camera and got a few pictures (not great ones, but pictures none the less) before he let go and toppled over. He was then promptly removed from the crib so Doug could lower the mattress a few notches so he wouldn't end up going over the top.

I can't believe he is already pulling up - he isn't quite crawling yet, but he is so ready to be completely upright! He is growing up so fast.

And we all wear night-night shoes

Gabe is feeling pretty needy these days, and apparently the extra 3 minutes of attention Grayson gets at night as we put on his 'night-night shoes' was just too much for him last night. He had to had some, too! So we put them on him (as we have done in the past) and he promptly fell asleep with them on!

Gabe at the Big School

Gabe has been a bit jealous lately of the attention the baby gets - and it is making him quite the annoying little handful. First we had to get him to stop biting Grayson, but now he is "squeezing" him. I decided what he really needs is not another time out, but some 'just Gabe' time. So since I only had 3 kids in my first period class, and it is not looking like I will have many more today - I think a visit to the big school is in order.

First, we had lunch. He was a bit distracted by all the kids running around, but liked it. Then back to my room where we did a Lucky Charms counting and sorting (and then eating) worksheet. Followed by a little marker, glue, pencil, tissue paper art. When that got old we wandered down the hall to the preschool room. Jackpot! They had a neat little wooden train set and some foamy blocks.

With only minimal help in showing him how to put the tracks together, Gabe proceeded to build a train track, pull out the little trees and signage, and push his train around and around and around the track while saying "chugga chugga chugga" the entire time.

It's that time again...SOL

Yep, SOL time. And either my kids do a good job or we are all S-O-L! I have a few I am pretty concerned about passing this time around, and the test looks harder than it has in the past. I have my fingers crossed! Results should be in by the end of the day.

OK - the results are in! 100% pass. Woo Hoo! Even better : 57% pass advance. Double Woo Hoo!

Of course, I can't possibly keep this up - so at some point my scores will drop and people will be disappointed. Hum bug. Oh well, for now it is all good. Looks like I have to go order a SOL Cake for the kiddos.

Red Lentil Soup with a Spicy Sizzle

Red Lentil Soup with a Spicy Sizzle

Making this for dinner tonight - as penance for the HUGE taco salad we had for dinner last night. It was super fast to get in the pot (15 minutes - including time to locate the bulgur on the top shelf in the pantry.) It smells pretty good bubbling away on the stove. I'll check it in about 25 minutes and see what we have!

It was very yummy - the 'sizzle' topping is quite spicy - and this is coming from someone who loves spicy food. This is NOT a pretty soup - but it is tasty (s0 not pretty I didn't even take a picture to post.) I think that maybe a swirl of yogurt might be a nice contrast to the spice of the oil. It was just as good for lunch the next day.

3 Little Boys, All in a Row

Reece is growing up so fast! Watching the boys play and interact with him is really entertaining. I tried to get a video of the green bean snatch, but apparently I messed it up because it seems to be missing from the phone, which is a bummer. It was really funny.

Today I gave Reece green beans for the first time. As in whole, not smushed up, green beans. It was a huge mess - but a great time was had. He has been trying to steal food off of his brothers trays for a few weeks now, so I figured it was time to let him play with his food. So when it was time for dinner we lined up all three little boys and dished out the goods. This kept Reece entertained for about 35-4o minutes! He would pick up the beans and mash them to his face (where most of them then rolled down his face onto his lap!) A few actually made it in (and stayed in) his mouth. He was thrilled.

The boys were so cute. They would watch Reece and talk to him while they all sat there eating. I think it is time to go get another booster seat for Reece. He is getting big/strong enough to toppled the bumbo to reach things on the floor. I can't believe he is growing so fast.

Memorial Day Weekend

Lots of fun was had this weekend! There was sooo much to do for little boys.

The weekend started with The Great Train Raid re-enactment. There were horses, a replica steam engine, and mounted civil war soldiers marching right past 'the big house' as they reenacted Stonewall Jackson's heist of a train.



Then there was lots of fun to be had at Jen's house, where hoards of little kids played on the swings, went down the water slide, splashed in the pool, and bounced in the bounce house.



And then to cool off (since our A/C was on the fritz all freaking week it was 90-100 degrees) there was a new sprinkler to run in. This was a BIG weekend for all the little boys in the Bowen House!

Do my eyes look funny?

Gabe's new trick.

Doesn't every little boy need a camel?

This weekend was the Montessori School's annual Spring Fling. The boys had a good time running around on the playground, eating, playing at the bubble station, Grayson got his face painted, seeing the animals at the petting zoo, AND....the big exciting thing :



Yep, that is Grayson. Riding on a camel. By himself. Waaayyyyy up high (his words). He did not even hesitate and wanted to ride it all by himself. He such a brave little kid. You could tell he was a little unsure at first, but he was not about to NOT ride it.

It took Gabe a few hours to get up the nerve to ride it - and Doug had to ride with him. We kept going back to it and you could tell Gabe really wanted to ride, but was scared. It was fun to watch him work up the nerve to do it with Doug.

Rainy Days

The boys have gotten old enough to appreciate the fun to be had on a warm rainy day. We have had quite a lot of rain recently, so we decided it was time to break of the new umbrellas I bought during the winter on sale. They are so stinking cute! Once they figured out having it over their heads was NOT scary - it became lots of fun. We snapped a few pictures - but they wouldn't hold still for long - it was too much fun to knock the water off the trees onto each other.

They have also been taught the fine art of 'puddle stomping' by Patti - so summer rain is going to be something to look forward to in our house.

Playing the Yard

Yeah for nice weather! This week has been so nice - low 70s and low humidity. I got home as fast I could this week so we could play outside before dinner. Right now 'mowing the grass' has become THE thing to do in our back yard. The boys took turns pushing the mower around and making mower noises.

The early irises are also in full bloom right now - so they look great. Doug is trying to tag them by color so we can divide and move them at the end of the summer. We are running out of places to put them in THIS yard - so it is a good thing we have another 4 acres of yard on the other side of town. We have moved irises from Granny's in SC, to Orchard St, to Washington St, and now they are headed to Massanutten -- not to mention the thinnings we have done and just given away. We are populating a large portion of Strasburg with Granny's flowers. Pretty neat.

Gabe and his nose...

Just hanging out in the yard and checking out the flowers.

Sweet Baby Reece

Painting at School

One of the fun things about the boys going to school is that they have complete access to messy things - like painting - whenever they want. We just can't do this at home.

We get lots of paintings sent home every week from both boys. We have even framed a bunch of them to use as art in their room.

This was the first time the artwork was also annotated.

Reece 4.5 months

Reece is growing up soooo fast! I don't understand why time has to be in fast forward this time around. These little boys are so much fun - wish I wasn't too old (and too broke) to have more!

How Twins Sleep And Reece Found His Toes

Yes, this is how the twins sleep. Back in late December they started to sleep together all on their own. We don;t know why, but Gabe decided he wanted to sleep with Grayson - so he moved out of his bed and onto Grayson's. This is now how we often find them. Seriously.



And only related to this post by the fact the pictures were taken on the same day -- it seems Reece has officially found his toes. He has come across them before by accident - but now he appears to be able to find them at will. And yes, they fit in his mouth. (EEwwwww......)

Reece's First Cereal

Well, it happened a lot sooner than I was ready for, but Reece clearly had gotten to the point where he wanted/needed more than just a liquid diet. He was so excited about the cereal. Lots of big opens and serious num num num mouthing. I am sure if he could talk he would say, 'what took you so long??'

Grayson's Big Smile

Grayson might be the sweetest little boy I've ever come across. He has a smile that holds nothing back - and he gives it so freely. (And he gives the best hugs, too!) Doug snapped this in the morning as they were finishing up eating breakfast and just being goofy in the kitchen - which happens a lot these days!

Reece is All Smiles

Not much to say here - just loving every second of this little boy!

Reece's First Roll Over

Marking the calendar - Reece rolled all the way over on his own today.   He's 3 months, 2.5 weeks old.

Apparently the secret is getting out...

So we tried to keep it a secret. WE didn't tell anyone. HOWEVER, we live in a small town. A small, nosey, gossipy town. Apparently, quite a few people know - or think they know. They are asking. Hell, the freaking newspaper called and said...'so we hear you bought [a certain property]....can we talk?'

Well, since people know - and those that don't aren't reading my blog, I'll say it. We bought a house. At auction. For a steal. Yep. We did it.

Chatterbox

We have been waiting to hear what Grayson has to say for over two years. He is always watching, watching, watching - but never talking. (Gabe tends to steam roll his efforts and speak for them both.) But it would seem that we are having a bit of a speech explosion in our house! Grayson has started really making an effort to talk.

Last night as we were putting away toys he counted them for me 1-10! And he is naming everything he sees - purple dinosaur, white police car, Baby Reece, Daddy's home!, new Babby Babble, my blocks, pee-pee potty, baby's seat, mommy's chair, yellow banana....

I can't wait to hear more of what he is thinking.

Helping Make Muffins

Rare moments when only one little boy is awake are always fun. This morning Gabe got to help make muffins. This meant he ate raisins, wore a lot of flour, and made sure adequate amounts of batter were stirred onto the counter. All and all - a good time.

There's the REAL Recipe, and then there is the way you ACTUALLY make it...

As I was making dinner tonight it struck me as amusing the difference between the way the recipe I was using was written and the way it was actually unfolding in the moment. So here I offer insight into our home at dinner time.

I have set out to make a tuna noodle casserole (don't laugh, everyone in this house loves it) that I wanted to be ready when Doug got home with the twins. So I grab my recipe and ingredients, bring Reece into the kitchen with me and set out to make dinner. So, the recipe is my Mimi's Tuna Noodle Casserole - the only recipe my Papa wanted out of her recipe box when she died.

You will need (according to recipe card):

1.5 cups of cooked egg noodles
4 oz condensed milk
7 oz can tuna, drained
1/3 c. chopped onion, sauteed in butter
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can of cream of something soup

All of this gets mixed together and dumped in a 1.5 qt (or 8x8) baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with more cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly - which is about 30 minutes.

Now what makes this funny is how it actually happened....

1.5 cups of cooked egg noodles .....or the half a bag of noodles way back in the cabinet that I found. I have no idea how many cups it was. What I do know is that it was way more than fit in the pot I had water boiling in. So I had to transfer said noodles - now hot and wet- to a bigger pot.
4 oz condensed milk...hmmm..this is now sold in 5 oz. cans. Dumped it all in a big bowl.
7 oz can tuna, drained...again, tuna is now sold in 5.5 oz cans. Better use two - I have a lot of noodles boiling!
Right as the noodles were finishing cooking, Reece decided he was starving and could not wait one second more for his bottle, so I drained the noodles and dumped them in the big bowl I was going to mix everything in and went and fed him.

20 minutes later - I'm back! Noodles are now one solid mass. Hhmmm...should have stirred them into the soup and milk before I left. Crap.
1/3 c. chopped onion, sauteed in butter ...1/3 cup? How about the half an onion I saw wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Good enough - right? Oh, and while I was fishing around for the onion I knew I had seen earlier I found a pack of mushrooms. Grabbed a half dozen of those to add to the pot, too. Done, and in the same pan I made the noodles - woo hoo! Dumped that in the bowl, too.
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese ...monster bag of preshredded cheddar from Costco. Check. Dumped it in until it looked like about a cup. Or two. Again - lots of noodles were made.
1 can of cream of something soup ...I had Cream of Celery. Store Brand. In it went (actually first.)

So I start stirring it and realize the masses of noodles are not giving up on their own and I am going to have to go in. Sleeves pulled up, word of warning to Reece that I will be otherwise occupied for the next few minutes, I stick my hands in the whole mess and start peeling apart the clumps of noodles.

While peeling apart noodles I realize I am going to have to make some veggies for the boys...OR ....to the freezer I go! I dump about 2 cups of frozen peas straight into the bowl.

Once that is basically mixed up I called it done and poured it into - well, not the 8x8 pan I got out - it was clearly not going to fit - but the larger 2 qt oval pan I found.

Top with additional cheese (ugh. I already put that away - get it out again.) and bread crumbs. Yeah - we don't by bread crumbs, we make them from stale loaves of bread. Check the cabinet for some - nope we're out. I COULD use my Mimi's standby of crushed potato chips, but we don't have any of those either. And then I remember... when I came in the house yesterday my FIL was standing in the foyer holding a sleeve of mashed up crumby crackers that he had apparently taken away from Grayson. Mind you, not before the child had chewed (?) through the sleeve and left a trail of crumbs all of the foyer. Looked all over and FOUND said crackers, further smashed them up on top of the casserole and sprinkled more cheese. Popped it in the oven. Where it bubbled away for at least 40 minutes.
Thank goodness this is an incredibly forgiving recipe. It might actually be impossible to mess it up. It was gobbled up for both lunch and dinner.

Things we hear...

The boys are talking more and more and it is always interesting to listen in on the conversations they are having with each other and without us. They clearly love each other and find one another absolutely hilarious. Here are some recently over heard conversation snipettes and random replies from the boys:

As they were playing side by side at the coffee table:
Gabe: "Grayson, do you have stinkies in your pants?"
Grayson: "Yeah."

Gabe and Doug talking after a bath:
Gabe: "I think I have something in my ear."
Doug: "Is it dirt?"
Gabe: "Umm, no. I think it's a cow."

The boys were up in their room playing nicely after bath time, winding down and we hear:
Gabe: "I'M NAKED!!!!"
Grayson: Laughs uncontrollably.

Baby Snuggles

Doug is the chief baby snuggler in our house. I wish I was, but I can't ignore all the things that have to get done and when the boys are asleep is pretty much the best time to get certain things accomplished. When I snapped the picture of Doug with Reece I knew right away when I saw it that we had another picture of him that was almost exactly the same of him with Grayson - and I found it. SO here you have it - two photos taken almost exactly 2 years apart.