Grassy Knwoll

It was a nice cool day (In July - how odd, I know!) and we spent some time outside in the back yard on 'the grassy knowll.'

We haven't spent much time outside this summer because it has been raining so much - so a nice dry day begged to be taken advantage of! The yard has several terraces and is quite steep in some places. It was fun to see Gabe try and navigate the terrain. He saw the kitty and got so excited he took off after her and rolled sideways. We thought it was funny, but he wasn't so sure. We didn't get any good closeups of Grayson. He doesn't like the bright light and was all squinty in every picture.

The Little Gym and Tofu = Great Day!

Today I got to keep both boys with me all day - and not because one of them had a doctor's appointment or was sick. This is doesn't ever happen, so it was a pretty cool day for me. We started the day with our first ever attempt at a class at the Little Gym. All in all it went well. I will say, however, that despite them assuring me on the phone that they would have a helper for me so my boys would get to do everything everyone else got to do, that didn't happen. I felt very out of the loop when they did things that required spotters because only one of my kids would get to do it, which sucked. It is pretty pricey for twins, so I am torn about signing up for the rest of the summer given that they didn't help accommodate the boys. I'm still trying to figure it out. I have until next Wednesday, so I have some time.


Now, for the tofu part...I know it may seem like I am a bit obsessed with food these days, but you have to understand that Doug and I have eaten more gross frozen pizzas in the last 10 months than we had eaten in the previous 15 years. We have missed real food. We have missed cooking. We have missed eating like grownups. We are not the take-out type, we make most everything from scratch (hello -- cheaper and healthier!) including all our baby food, we compost, we recycle (even the toilet paper tubes), and yes, we use cloth diapers. We have missed being who we are!!! So yes, the fact that I had the time and energy to make one of our old 30 minutes or less standby dinners that required chopping and fed out compost pile makes me really, really, really happy.


Like I said, a great day :)

For those that care to try it:

For the sweet and sour sauce:

• 1/2 c. catsup
• 3 Tbs. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 2 Tbs. brown sugar
• juice from 1 20 oz can of pineapple chunks (in natural juice, not syrup)
• 1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce

Just mix it all together. Stir fry your favorite veggies and protein. (Tonight we used a zucchini, a red onion, two carrots, a head of broccoli, and a block of pressed tofu - because that was what was in our fridge.) Do the protein first, take it out of the pan - then do the veggies. When the veggies are ALMOST cooked like you want them, give the sauce a stir and pour it in along with the pineapple chunks. It will thicken pretty fast. Be warned - the sugar in the sauce and the pineapple almost always get screaming hot.


TIPS to make it all happen in <30 minutes:

Start a pot of rice before you do anything else.

While your protein sautes, chop your veggies. Separate your veggies into two piles, those that cook fast, and those that take longer.

For the veggies that take longer (like carrots and broccoli), put them in a microwave proof bowl with a little water and cover and cook for about 90 seconds to get them partially steamed. Then add them to the skillet.

Homemade Fish Sticks!

Today I once again ventured into the world of finger foods for babies with only two teeth. In an effort to give Pumpkin and Snugs some variety, I am still trying to come up with ways to give them foods I know they like but now refuse to eat off a spoon. We tried tuna last week and they really liked it, but it was very messy - as they are forever rubbing their nasty little hands all in their hair.

So I decided to try and make the canned tuna (in oil) that they liked so much into little baby fish sticks and hope for the best. I carefully made up a recipe (ie: used what we had already in the fridge) and cooked up a batch of my first ever tuna sticks. The verdict....a hit! They really liked them.

So for anyone that is interested, he is my version of fish sticks:


1 can of undrained albacore tuna in oil
big spoon (serving spoon size) of steamed peas
big spoon of pureed carrots (mine had some green and yellow squash in it, too)
1 egg yolk
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 slice of what bread ground into crumbs

Mix together every EXCEPT the bread crumbs. Add the bread crumbs slowly at the end little by little, stirring them in until you get a sticky consistency somewhat like cookie dough.

Spoon into skillet on medium/medium low heat. As soon as you put them in the pan, shape them into little sticks using two spoons. Cook until lightly browned on one side, then flip.

This made enough little sticks to serve my 10 month old twins two meals each.

Exciting Day and Busy Evening

I found out today that a new member of my twins club had her babies today - 2 boys! Add that to my two boys, Tracey's two boys, Stephanie's triplet boys, and Melissa's two boys and we have enough little boys to field a team of almost any sport! How odd that we are a club of so many boys. I've been trying to call her for about 45 minutes to set up a time to take her lunch at the hospital, but I keep getting an 'all circuits are busy' message. Very odd.

On the home front, we had a fun evening. Doug got the boys home before 6 and we all had dinner together. This is still a new and only moderately successful, but we are trying. The boys are getting more and more independent with their eating, so we can 'kind of' eat at the same time. The bonus to this is that it finds us an extra 45-60 minutes in the evening after they are in bed, because we usually make and eat dinner after they go to bed.

Since we were all fed before 7:00, and it was warm out, we decided to end the night with a dip in the pool. So we all suited up and spent some time floating with the babies. We are going to the lake later this summer and really want them to like the water, so we are trying it out ahead of time. They seen to have a good time. We spent about 40 minutes playing and then they got all snuggled up in warm towels, back inside with warm PJs and a bottle.

It was a great evening.

Captian Crabby Strikes Again

Today we had a lot planned. First, we were off to a birthday party of fraternal twin boys from our twin group (they turned 5 - hard to imagine we will make it that long!) The plan was to then go to the water park with all the little boys, but Grayson had other plans. This little boy refuses to sleep. This makes for one crabby little boy.

He only slept 40 minutes this morning, so that set the tone for a melt down around 1:30. We could barely get him to eat anything and he ended up falling asleep in the car after almost 30 minutes of crying :( Only to wake up when we brought him in the house (ugh!) Poor little guy refused to go back to sleep and played up a storm. He did get to eat dinner, but again, fell asleep while eating it. The only time we can get him to hold still is in the high chair! And then he falls asleep.

I hope he sleeps tonight, as we are just as tired as he must be.

Captain Crabby strikes again. Luckily it doesn't happen all the often, but it does - watch out!

Splashing on the Porch

We finally had a nice sunny weekend day that wasn't too hot or humid. This meant the boys could have their bath time outside, which they really love. There was more splashing than you could ever imagine, but they had a great time - and that is what matters. What always amuses us is that Gabe hates to have water in his face, yet he is the one that splashes the most. Grayson laughs and laughs at his brother while chewing on his starfish.

So we stripped them down to diapers, had a good and messy self-feeding lunch (of noodles, steamed peas, curried pancakes, yogurt, and meatballs), and then played on the porch. All in all, I would call it a really nice afternoon spent outside doing nothing but enjoying the boys.

Baby Wrestling....or As the Crow Flies

I'm not sure if what is happening here is the singularly minded dogged determination to get from point A to point B that we see from Gabe on a regular basis, OR if he is just trying to wrestle his brother to the ground. What you don't see is the fact that little Grayson launched him right off of him about 20 seconds later.

Strip Them Down and Feed Them Spaghetti-o's

The boys are getting more and more independent and we knew we had to do it at some point...give them their own pasta and let them just have at it. We've been eating outside on the porch since this Spring, so we figured 'no time like the present!'

Pumpkin here thought this was the most fun he had seen all day. He ate lots and lots of "O's" by stabbing his finger in the hole. Of course, as he got less and less hungry he got more and more entertained by the lovely red sauce...until it was all over his face.

We finished the event by splashing in the little baby tub on the porch.

[Snugs seems to be teething and wasn't really "in" to dinner tonight. He opted for a bottle and went to bed early. We'll try again this weekend with him.]

Creative Cooking...for 10 month olds

I have always fancied myself as quite the cook. Since having the twins, our overall culinary experience has declined. I must admit, we have eaten more frozen pizza than we had in the previous 15 years of our married life. The focus shifted to the babies. We have avoided that scary jarred food and made all our own. Our boys have eaten every vegetable we can get our hands on. They have enjoyed a wide range of herbs and spices. Alas, we have hit a wall...the boys have decided that they have no interest in anything that comes off a spoon. They MUST, MUST, MUST feed themselves.

So this has lead to efforts to get them to eat things other than toast and cherrios and little pieces of diced up fruit. Today we tried something new - vegetable pancakes!

They were easy to make (bonus!), easy to travel (double bonus!), and the hat trick...they like them.

So the recipe:

• 1/2 cup flour (AP or half and half AP/whole wheat)
• 1 tsp. oil
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4-1/2 c. of water
• 1/2 c. veggies (pureed, grated, etc.)

Mix together with the lesser amount of water. Add a bit more water to get the dough more like a thick pancake batter. Cook on griddle at a temp. a little lower than you would normally use.

The pancakes will be moist and it takes a little longer than a 'regular' pancake.

Why twins are great. [A list of musings to remind me about the good things at 3:00am when they are both screaming...]

Having twins is hard. Really, really, REALLY hard. Who knew? Well, apparently everyone in my twins group, that's who. But there a few things that are made easier or better by having twins...so here you go:

1- potty training only happens once (of course, we are very far from this lofty goal)

2- the babies never get our undivided attention, so if we decide to have more, they won't be upset by it like a singleton is

3-you have a ready point of reference. As in, do all babies spit their food out and laugh when it nails you in the forehead? Hmm....answers is...no. Only the evil twin thinks it is funny.

4-there is always a baby willing to finish off the last of the bottle/baby food/crumbs on the high chair tray. [Here you go Pumpkin....Snugs is full.]

5- you can always try and pick the 'easy twin' when dividing up duties. Of course, that changes on a daily basis, so pick at your own risk.

6- clothes last twice as long. In our house when PumpkinHead out grows it, SnuggleButt is just about to grow into it.

7- it helps keep the backseat of your car free of clutter, as there is only room for the carseats back there. You don't even try to get anything else in the back.

8- you always have a baby to hold.

Polenta with Mushrooms

In theory, this serves 8.  In my house it serves 5 as a dinner dish (not a side dish)


First, start the polenta.   

1.5 cups polenta
6-7 cups liquid  (I use about 4c water and then add milk)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter

Bring the water to a boil, then add the salt.  Carefully whisk in the polenta.  If you are using a mix of water and milk you don't want to boil the milk - so slowly stir it in after the polenta - make sure you incorporate it well.

Reduce the heat and let it barely bubble for about 20-30 minutes.  Add more liquid, if needed.  You want to cook it until it has a creamy texture and no bite to the grains.

When it is a texture you like, stir in the butter.

This can be used as is (serve in shallow bowl) or put into molds (like a ramkin) to cool and be used later in a more structured way.  (I like the rustic-in-a-bowl way.)

As the polenta bubbles on your back burner, make the mushrooms.

1/4 c. olive oil
1 Tbs butter
2 pounds mushrooms (any will do, but try and make it interesting), sliced
1/4 c. diced shallots  (or red onion and garlic)
3-4 sprigs thyme (or 1-2 Tbs dried)
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. white wine
1 Tbs finishing butter

Heat the oil and butter in a big, heavy pan.  Dump in the mushrooms and saute until almost cooked through (5-7 minutes).  Now add the shallots and thyme and cook another 2 minutes or so.  Add the liquids.

Simmer on medium-med high until the liquid is reduced by half (about 20 minutes)

Give the pan a good shake, remove the thyme springs, and then swirl in the butter to finish the sauce.


I serve the mushrooms over the soft polenta in a bowl and grate some parm on top.  If you are feeling fancy you could make the polenta ahead and cool it and then fry it in olive oil to make crispy polenta cakes to serve it on.

Beef and Gorgonzola Gnocchi

A very quick, very tasty, go to meal.   This makes enough to be three really nice sized bowls - or 4 smaller ones if you wanted to serve it with a salad.  It also makes for a great leftovers lunch.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 10 sage leaves, chopped
• 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 1 pound gnocchi
• A handful of parsley, finely chopped

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the gnocchi. 

While the water is coming up to a boil, place a medium size skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sirloin, then season it with salt and pepper and brown it until caramelized, 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into bite-size crumbles.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and soften for 5 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper, then add wine to the pan and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken stock and sage, then the gorgonzola. Reduce the heat to low.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes, until they float. Drain the gnocchi and toss with the beef and cheese mixture. Top with chopped parsley.

 

Failed Glucose Test :-(

What a bummer. This week (week 28 for those that are counting) I failed my one hour glucose test. Now I have to take a three hour test. What a great way to spend my first day of summer vacation.

I am continuously amazed at the ever expanding circumference of my midsection. I understand that that is what happens when you are pregnant. I really do. But it seems there should be some sort of upper limit.

As a person on the perpetual diet - always thinking about food and watching what food I actually eat, this "make sure you eat enough" mantra I keep getting because I am having twins is a bit new. But the real kicker...I'm so full of babies I am never hungry! What a cruel twist of fate.

This is 34 weeks. (Yes, 6 more weeks to go!)

Potato and Cabbage Soup

Minimal ingredients make for a pretty tasty soup!

2 cups chopped onions
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground caraway
olive oil

Start onions, salt, and caraway on med-low and cook until onions are translucent.  (about 10 min)

4 cups chopped green cabbage
1/2 tsp salt

Add the cabbage and salt and stir/cook until cabbage starts to wilt

2 cups sliced red or white potatoes
3 cups water or veggie stock

add potatoes and stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover and cook until potatoes are tender. 

When potatoes are tender, pull of heat and blend until smooth.  (I use an immersion blender.)

Stir in:


1 tsp. dried dill
4 oz cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

I topped the bowls with toasted croutons made with thyme and marjoram.  Very tasty!

No one loves you like your dog...

It's true. In the world of unconditional love, the dog wins every time. I've had a great dog for almost 17 years now. His name is PudgeDog - all one word. I got him in Jan 1991 from the animal shelter in Greenwood, SC. I was a sophomore in college.

He was the cutest, most stubborn puppy known to man. He lived on the farm where he romped through the woods, wallowed in the creek, chased various woodland creatures, and drug home the occasional dear carcass. (Only after rolling in the putrid thing first.)

Over the last 16 years, I have moved 4 times. PudegeDog has gone from a 200 acre farm to a tiny back yard, and now a only slightly larger back yard. (Half an acre isn't much if you are used to 200!) He went from running freely and riding in the back of a pickup through fields to having to learn he is supposed to stay INSIDE the fence.

He has been hit by a car once, happily he recovered after some hip surgery. He has jumped the fence at least five times, and came home on his own three of those times. Once he was caught by a neighbor who called us and once he got so far away from home he ended up in the next county in the animal shelter there! We got him back that time, too. Once he even got lost when we were in SC on vacation. Two weeks went by and an old farmer about 5 miles from the farm we were on called and said he was in his barn. Once again, recovered.

In each one of the instances, PudgeDog has been cold, or hungry, or more recently with out his old dog meds for days. And in every case he has been thrilled to see us when we went to get him. Never questioning - why did you leave me? Why did you let me get so hungry? Or why am I in pain? Instead - he always greets us with open, unabashed, unconditional love.

PudgeDog is getting pretty old. His hearing is not so great now. He can't see at night. His hip is really bothering him and he is a little wobbly on his feet at times. And he stands at the gate every morning and every night looking for the people he loves to come home or go to work. Sometimes he is so wanting to give you love you have to leave his line of sight so he will eat.

Nobody loves you like your dog. And I can't think I can love him back enough to do him justice.

Why exactly do I need to spend time doing this??

Why exactly do I need to spend time trying to explain to students and parents why Child X has done a horrid job in my class? Because I work in a school where students are allowed to be lazy and blame the teacher because their parents pay tuition. It sounds cynical, I know, but in all my years of teaching, which is in the double digits, this is the only place I have had to spend almost as much time getting ready for what happens AFTER a test as I do before it.

If the students had it their way, we would do ONE chapter all year, they would all get As and feel some sense of superiority to their local public school counter parts. It gets worse every year. We cover less and less, the grades get lower and lower, and the parents get more and more abusive towards the teacher (that would be me) when their child does poorly. If I hear "my child has never made a C before" again I might just drop dead. And it isn't even true 85% of the time! Or "I heard no one did well on that test." Again, I can honestly say this is NEVER true. There are ALWAYS kids that do well, in fact, I don't have a Bell Curve, I have a "U curve". Those that do - do well. Those that don't - well, don't. There is rarely much in between.

I spend hours and hours planning for my classes. I am always prepared. I try and have an activity or lab or demo every week to keep it interesting. I work very hard to make everything accesible and fair. I give hours and hours of my time to help students outside of class, which I don't have to do. I have a web page I update every single day with what we did in class, what the HW is, and self help tuorials and online acitvities, links to handouts, and even links to the videos we watch in class. In return I ask that students do their HW - which is limited to less than 22 minutes a night by school policy, study a bit - which is counted in the 22 minutes a night limit, and take responsibilty for themselves. Is this unreasonable? Is it something that is simply out of the question?

I have made it past the typical 3 year burn out. I made it past the 10 year mark, which is pretty darn amazing. I don't see 20 in my future. I might not even see next year. I don't know what else I would do, but I think I am clearly not doing much where I am. Other than taking crap from kids, parents, and adminstrators - all with a smile and never making the 'customer' upset. I could work a consumer complaint line. I would still take abuse, but I wouldn't be spending 10+ hours a week at home working on top of the 40+ I work on campus doing my job.

I think it is time to start looking for Plan B.

Diets may be evil, but tight pants are just plain unattractive.

Sadly, it has come to my attention, via my closet, that I partook of too many frosty summer beverages (and maybe cheese fries) and now none of my clothes for the fall appear to fit quite the way they did this time last year.

I am unpacking my boxes of fall and winter clothes (yes, unpacking - I live in an old house with no closet space) and remembering that, while I love summer, I like fall clothes. Sweaters, turtlenecks, boots, wool jackets (not unlike my wool shoes, and we know how I feel about them!), and even an occasional scarf. It's all good stuff.

Ahh...my favorite after work bum around the house sweater...my plaid skirts....happy times! In my excitement, I decide now would be a good time to decide what to wear tomorrow! Not something I would normally do, but the clothes look so inviting, so friendly, so very comfy! So I pick out a pair of slacks and a nice long sleeve shirt to give a turn. This is where it gets ugly. The pants don't fit right. They're too tight! Not good, not good! Abort the fall pants - it's still warm enough for the late summer pants - go for the shirt. It's a good transition piece. Oh no! It doesn't fit either!

This is not the pleasant experience I thought it would be. Distraught, I fish around under the bed and locate the scale...and step on...and eventually get the courage to open my eyes. The closet does not lie. My clothes were not somehow magically shrunk, it appears (quite literally) that my ass has not so magically expanded!

So the four letter word DIET has reemerged in my vocabulary. The little white kitchen scale is back on the counter. Meals are carefully planned, weighed, and crafted. And I am hungry.

I am a reasonable person, I won't let it go too far (after all, cheese fries are in season), but I must face the fact until I lose about 13 pounds, I will not fit properly into my clothes. And while diets may be evil, tights pants are just plain unattractive.

Crock Pot Lima Bean Soup

My mom had a gift for making really good food out of almost nothing.  This was one of her soup "recipes" that got made pretty often in our house growing up.  I have since adapted it to make it more suited to my needs, but it is the same basic recipe.

Over night soak: one bag of baby lima beans (I like the little ones, but big ones work, too)

The next morning, drain and rinse the beans and dump them in a crock pot.  Set the crock to LOW if you have an 8+ hour work day.  Addto the crock pot:

1-2 diced onions
1-2 diced carrots
1-2 diced potatoes
1 left over ham bone (or a packet of ham from the meat section along with a packet of smoked ham flavoring) or a couple meaty smoked ham hocks
salt and pepper
a healthy squeeze of catsup (I know, it's weird)

cover with water and cook until beans are tender

That's it!  When the beans are tender, pull out the hocks or ham bone if that is what you used.  Pull/pink/dice the meat and toss it back it in.  Adjust salt/pepper if needed.

I like to serve this with chunky cornbread.

Happy Day...the green shoes have been freed!

I love summer. I love hot, sweaty weather where you bake yourself in the sun and attempt to soak up 8 months worth of Vitamin D so you can make it through the long winter. So you would think it would make me sad when the weather turns to fall. But here is the weird part - there is one thing about the turn of the weather that I absolutely love. What could it be, you ask? My ugly woolly green clogs. I adore these shoes. They make me happy to the point of it being a bit unnatural.

I had a blue pair, but they eventually had to be put down. I glued the soles back on twice. The green ones I have now are still on their original soles, but they have cork...which has a limited life. I have decided that I have to be nice to the green shoes this season. That means no wet grass, very limited outside, and never, never wear them in the rain. It's a challenge, but it is worth it.