Is there a red neck in the house????

So I have moved almost 650 miles further north than I ever would have imagined I would have to -- and while VA is under the impression they are still "the South", they are sadly mistaken. How do I know? Well, let's make a quick 'for example' kind of list...

• Most restaurants do not serve sweet tea
  
• Even less people know how to MAKE sweet tea (no, it does not come in a Snapple or Lipton bottle)
  
• Grits anyone? Not here.
• If you can't tell me the ratio of water to grits RIGHT NOW while you are reading this, you need to stop calling yourself southern
  
• Manners are few and far between. No one says Ma'am or Sir, please or thank you, and very few will even hold the door for you - and they certainly won't wave you in to traffic when you are trying to get out.
  
• Did you see the pictures of the snow? Yeah, in the south snow=freezing rain.

There are many, many other examples - but listing them all is not the point of this post. THIS post is about the fact that I am NOT in the South; HOWEVER, that does not mean that we don't have your quintessential red neck population. I have been driving past this on my way to work since Thanksgiving.

Take a look - a close look. Do you see it???

Breaking in the new Crock Pot : Espresso Braised Beef Tips

It is official - we are swamped and it is a ridiculous thing to try and have two adults that work full time (plus) try and raise twins without help. It is kicking our butts. We need the two incomes ; can't really do anything about the lack of help; and we have to figure out something to make life a little easier/healthier/less hectic. So to that end, I have purchased a larger crock pot (my old one is too small to do a medium size roast) and I am trying to make a realistic goal of using it at least once every two weeks. We are also trying to do a better job of managing the grocery bill and trips. I bought two beef roasts on sale ($1.99!) and boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale ($1.79 pound!) this past weekend and now I am working on using them wisely AND easily. (Because cereal, I have been told, is not really dinner fare.)

This week we are trying Espresso Braised Beef Tips.

3 pounds beef stew meat (I used a tip roast) - chopped into 1.5 in chunks, blotted dry
2-4 Tbs flour w/ salt and pepper mixed in - all in a big ziplock
3 Tbs olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped large
3-5 carrots chopped into 2 in. pieces
4 new or red potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 small turnips, peeled and quartered
1 cup strong coffee
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup red wine

• Use the ziplock bag to shake and coat the chunks of beef. In a larger skillet over med-high heat, heat half the oil. Add half the beef and brown on all sides. When browned transferred to the crock pot. (Don;t crowd the skillet!)
• Add the onions to the skillet and cook until just starting to soften and brown a little. Transfer to the slow cooker.
• Add the other veggies to the cooker, then add in the thyme and coffee.
• Pour the red wine into the skillet and use to de-glaze the pan. Make sure you scrap up all the little brown bits.
• Pour this liquid into the cooker, give it all a good stir, and cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours.

The Verdict: This was very easy and very tasty. It did need salt - I think it would have benefited from some salt during cooking. Also, we did not have turnips - so I just left them out and added extra carrots. I actually ran out of fresh carrots and added a bag of frozen baby carrots. You couldn't even tell the difference
I took about 2 cups of the liquid out of the crock, stirred in a little cornstarch to thicken it up, and mixed it all back in and then served with old fashioned home-made biscuits.

If you are feeling brave, I think something that would really make this an over the top dish would be a different treatment for thickening the cooking liquid. I would suggest crumbling a few gingersnap cookies into the broth while stirring in a small pot. It will thicken it nicely and add a hint of sweetness. Add the crumbs a little at a time or it will get to thick. I know it sounds weird, but trust me -- it works like magic.

BONUS: The kiddos like it and it is tender enough that they can manage to chew it up. Yummy!

Golden Yellow Corn Bread

Golden Yellow Corn Bread/Muffins

We make both versions of this in our house - usually in muffins form for ease of serving to three small children.  We use the sweeter version when pairing with something spicier.  This is such a great recipe (from the package) because it is so forgiving.  Sometimes we throw in some leftover corn, shredded or diced pepper jack cheese, and/or a big spoon of salsa.  It always turns out great.  You just can't mess it up.

1 cup Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup oil
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten

Corn Bread:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix oil, egg, and milk together and add to dry ingredients, mixing until batter is uniform. Bake in a greased 9”x9”x2” pan for 20-25 minutes.

Corn Muffins:
Pour corn meal batter into greased or line muffin tins, filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Recipe Variation:
**For a sweeter, moister corn bread or muffin, make these changes to the recipe above: use 2/3 cup milk, ½ cup sugar, ½ cup oil and 2 eggs. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Snow Days : Dec. 2009

We got the twins first 'big snow' a few days before Christmas. Luckily we had bought them little snow suits, hats and mittens in hope that they would be ready to play in the snow if we actually had some - which hasn't happened in several years. Doug and the boys played outside pretty much everyday and they (that would be all the boys) seemed to really like it. I think Doug plans on having them both on skis next winter :)

Grayson the farmer.JPG

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Mmmnn... gate.JPG

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What happened to the last month!??!

I know, I know -- I am missing a complete month of posting! Well, life has been really busy and this got pushed to the side, and now that I look at my old posts, I feel bad about it! So I am going to go through my photos from the last few week (OK, months...) and try and recreate something of a time line.

Things to look forward to once I get it done:
Gabe is now walking
Grayson now has 8 (yes, 8!!) teeth
Little Gym is over
Babies have a new nanny (Ms. Patti) that they love
No more bottles, we are a sippy only family now
Pacifers are on the way out - they only live in the cribs now for naps and bed time.
Gabe is signing FAN and MORE
Grayson has mastered clap, clap, clap (so now we shake and clap!)
Both boys are loving their books and can point to pictures you ask about
and more that I will remember once I look through the pictures.

Happy Birthday Gabe and Grayson

Well, it's official - the boys are now one. I wonder how much longer we are allowed to call them babies?? It is hard to believe that a year ago today they were calling me back to go to the hospital and have these guys at 37 weeks.

They were soooo tiny! Gabe was the "big" one at 6 pounds 4 oz. and Grayson was our little peanut at only 4 pounds 13 oz. The whole first few months were a blur - but especially the first few weeks. Grayson spent two weeks in the NICU and Gabe came home - but we had to shuffle back and forth between the house and the hospital - but only on of us could go back at a time because somebody had to stay with Gabe....what a nightmare!

Now here we are a year later - Gabe is walking, Grayson is only wearing his brace at night - they both have amazingly different personalities and are funny, funny, funny. We survived the first year with twins. There were times when we didn't think we were going to make it. Anyone who thinks they are tired with just one baby gets NO sympathy from this end. Zip, zero, NADA.

The babies were amazingly well behaved today - both ate cake (Grayson tried to shove the whole thing in his mouth at once!), played, took quick baths, opened presents and went up for a nap without fussing -- all while people were over. Amazing.

We got a few good pictures, but no video :( I wish we had gotten a picture with the two of them together, but all the pictures taken from a distance ended up with Carson in them stealing cake from their trays. I guess I will have to decide to be happy that at least we have some close up shots of just them.

Cobbettes!

Tonight we decided to try something new with the boys - corn on the cob! We made some corn and then I sliced the cob into 3-4 inch pieces. Once they cooled off we handed them over and sat back to watch what would happen...


As you can see, it was quite the success. They LOVED it and really enjoyed chewing away on them. We have been trying to get our meals under better control so we can all eat at the same time...the cobbettes helped with this so much that we might be having a lot of corn in their future.

Crazy Days

I have been really bad about posting the last few weeks, but that certainly doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about it. In the past few weeks we have 1- returned from SC, 2- survived two babies with croup and 2 adults with subsequent head rot from being around said babies, 3- spent a week in Radford working on the ACS exam and ChemEd, 4- started moving things into my new classroom at my new school, 5- tried to pretend this is summer and I am not still crazy tired, stressed, and not feeling well rested at all.

Things of particular interest from the past few weeks - well, first of all I think it is that Gabe is walking...like standing up in the middle of the room, letting go, and taking 3..4..5+ steps before he gets so happy he falls over in his excitement.

I signed Doug up to take a 4 hour pyrotechnics course at chemed. He seemed really happy with it, so while it is not your 'typical' vacation activity, it went over well. He got a big book, a lesson on safety, and a lab opportunity...and lots of excited chatter from him afterward.


I decided to be the assistance VB coach at my new school. I really like the sport (and they don't have swimming), they make coaching easy (kids don't miss class, I don't miss class), and it is always kind of a nice way to start the year in a new school.

We are also working on planning a little get together for the boys first birthday. We aren't doing a big party like a lot of people on my twins board. I wish I had the time and energy to plan a cute themes party like they are, but the truth is that I can;t pull it off this year. Not with all that has happened this summer and my new school starting just a few days before their birthday. I feel like I have plenty of birthdays in the future to make grand gestures, so I hope others will understand why we aren't going all out.

Old Friends

One of life's little 'treasures' is hidden away in the friends ones makes in college. We were so lucky to be able to connect with a few old friends this week. Of course, we are talking with a lot of old friends again because of Face Book, but sitting down together while your kids play together - having met for the very first time but seeming like old friends themselves - is a treasure that cannot be replicated over the internet.

We enjoyed catching up with Carol and Chris and their beautiful children. (See Silas holding Grayson in the photo.) I think we quickly forget how enriched these connections make our lives.

Sick Baby!

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. The positive take on it - we made it to 11 months old before we had any illnesses. On the negative side - it occurred right when we decided to take our first ever trip with the babies! On the way down to the lake we noticed little Snugs coughing a bit, but we didn't think too much about it because he is cutting 4 teeth right now and we figured he was drooling sooo much and trapped in a car seat that it was probably just that. Well...we were so wrong!

We decided to call his doctor first thing in the morning. She told us to take him to an urgent care place. So I packed him up and left Doug and Pumpkin at the lake house and figured I would get my Rx and be back in an hour or so. Instead, we ended up with two breathing treatments, chest x-rays, blood work, and a take home nebulizer! Then we were told to bring him back if he wasn't better in 2-3 days.

We were back the NEXT day. Snugs could not keep anything down, couldn't breath, and had become lethargic. More breathing treatments, an IV, more meds, and back to the lake house we go. Poor Snugs...he spent all but the last day of our vacation doing this:We never even got in the lake! And after packing all their suits and floaties, too.

Feeling a Bit Down...

I think we can chalk it up to some serious lack of sleep over the last 11 months (really more like 15-16 months, if you've ever been pregnant with twins you know how unpleasant it is to try and sleep!) or the changing of the hormone balance in my person as I I have dropped down to only 4 pumps a day (from 6+). I am feeling pretty down, in a diffuse sort of way.

I do have pictures of the boys to put up, but the camera won the battle during the pool visit this weekend, so 75% of the pictures I thought I was taking ended up not being on the camera. Which bites. I am going to load up pictures tomorrow when I can sit at the computer without little hands pulling at me the entire time.

So this coming week will be hectic - planning and packing for SC, going to the Little Gym, trying to take more 'stuff' to my new school, cleaning house, planning food, and who knows what else. I am sure this is only a tiny tip of the underlying iceberg. I'm just to out of sorts to focus on it right now. So rather than bring everyone else down, I am going to brush my teeth, pump, and go to bed!

The PeaPod arrived!

Today Gabe and Grayson stayed at home with mom so Doug could try and get some work done. Of course, it didn't help that Doug threw his back out this morning and spent the better part of an hour on the kitchen floor lamenting his back and his age.

We had a lot of fun today - especially when the boys PeaPod arrived. I am trying to figure out what we are going to do about sleeping at the lake - and people on my twins board suggested this little PeaPod portable sleep crib. It set up super easy - just open it and it pops up. I set it up in the foyer and let them have at it. I didn't get the camera fast enough to get a shot of both of them in it bouncing on the little air mattress - but I think it is obvious just how fun it is by the look in Grayson's face.

The other item that is worth mentioning is that Gabe only took one nap today. He slept from 11:30-almost 1:30 and then would not take an afternoon nap. He stayed up until almost his regular bedtime. Shocking! I think he was really enjoying his "one-baby" time when Grayson was sleeping this afternoon. He was really practicing standing up and balancing. I can't believe he is already do it.

Big Day!

Today was a big day, which in retrospect seems odd, as we spent many, many hours of it in the car coming and going to Ashburn for Grayson's eye appointment. So the big things for today were:

• Grayson's eye seems to be getting better. The doctor wants us to continue doing the patching 3-4 hours a day for another 2 months and then come back. This is GREAT news, as the first doctor we saw offered us no help except to tell us we needed to schedule surgery. We may be able to avoid the surgery all together - and if not, at least make it a much less drastic one. We are going to get that stupid patch on him if it kills us!

• We had lunch at California Tortilla - with no baby seats, no car seats, and no baby food. Yep. We each held a baby on our laps up to the table and they split a cheese quesadilla right off the menu and Gabe decided he really like tomatoes and he ate a bunch of salsa. We survived it, made very little mess, and the boys seemed thrilled. Cool.

• Once we were home we watched Gabe test his balance over and over again - standing up and letting go of his support. This went on for over an hour, then he started letting go and thinking he could just point himself towards whatever he wanted and go! Of course, he always fell as soon as he picked up a foot, but still - the boy is thinking about walking. I thought we had MONTHS before this was going to be an issue.

• And lastly, Grayson has been drooling up a storm for several weeks and tonight I had him on the floor tickling him - so I got a big gummy grin from him. And what do I see in that big grin? I see a little white bump of his top left front tooth! He is cutting his top teeth!!! He will be so happy to be able to bite into things, I know.
  

So there you have it - no baby seats, table food, balancing and trying to walk, and cutting more teeth...and they aren't even 11 months old yet. Somehow we thought they would be little "babies"a lot longer than it appears is the reality. They are growing up too fast!

Just another day...

at the Bowen house! Today was our crazy Wednesday schedule where I try to pack in way too much in one day. We started with breakfast on the porch - I don't know what we are going to do when we can't feed the boys outside this winter!

After a quick breakfast we packed up into the car and headed for the Little Gym class. What really sucks is that I am now paying for a young lady to come with me to help me so both boys can enjoy the classes that I am paying through the nose for. The good thin is that they clearly had a good time - more fun than last time because they got to do more since there was one grown up per baby. Grayson has really taken to the "shake, shake, shake your bells" song. He LOVES to shake them and make lots of noise. They both have some Madi Gras beads I brought home from school that they will get going on the hardwood floors in out foyer and shake them until you can barely hear anything. They think it is riot.

Gabe really liked climbing the stairs (no shock here, it is new favorite thing to do) and hanging and bouncing on the rings. The class wipes them out and they fell asleep in the car before we were even out of the parking lot!


We had a nice lunch, outside again, and then CB got to the house and watched them for almost 3 hours so I could go to Talbot's (big sale + birthday discount - woo hoo!!) and the grocery store. This was nice - but again, it pains me that I pay someone to sit in my house while they sleep! Oh well... After she left I had another interview for help when school starts. I really liked the lady so I hope it works out. I know Doug needs to get some work done and I also know that we can't keep the kids at the store every day. They need to be playing, being played with, and learning new things. It would be a disservice to let them just stay in the office everyday.



We were already having dinner when Doug got home tonight. After the boys finished eating Doug played with them before they totally crashed. It was a jam packed day - but it was tons of fun for them - and that is what matters.

First Steps (for the Mommy!)

Today I took the first steps to settling in to my new job at Skyline. It is bitter sweet, as I really did want my boys to go to WS, but they made me go out and look for a job - and I found several. Of course, they posted my job (which didn't exist when I needed to make a decision about what to do) late last week. I have to move forward, though.....

So today I went and got fingerprinted (for the 5th time!), got my TB test, and started moving boxes into my new classroom. Room 135. If I do what I do, it will soon simply be known as 'the chem lab' like it was at WS. I saw my class schedule - I have 1st block planning then 3 chem classes - 2 regular, one honors first semester. Then next semester my planning period shifts to 3rd block, but still 2 regular and 1 honors chem.

It looks like it is official. Paperwork is almost complete, boxes have started to move, and my name is up on "the big board" for scheduling.

Now I am off to my Twins club meeting. I am really hoping it gets MUCH better now that we have a new president. I was about to quit at the end of the spring - it really needs work. I'm going to give it a few more months to see a change.

Another One Baby Day!

Today was a another "one baby" day. I had a nice day with Grayson today, but somehow I didn't manage to take any pictures! We went over to the red house to show it to some possible renters. Grayson had never been there - and the house was empty - so he had a great time shouting and babbling the entire time we were there because it was loud and echoed a bit. The family thought it was funny, too.

By the time we got home Doug and Gabe had already left for work. We played on the fllow a bunch and then had lunch. It was really nice to get to give all my attention to one baby - I always worry that one is feeling left out - so this was really nice. Grayson decided it was time for a nap after lunch. He was so sweet and snuggly. It was really hard to put him down. I wanted soooo much to just snug up with him in the bed and take a nap, too.

Grayson had PT in the afternoon - and he had a good time playing with Jen. He is coming along nicely and is always so happy to do whatever we want him to do. I feel so lucky that he is so good natured and happy almost all the time. What a sweet little boy.....

Happy 4th of July!

Today was a big day for the babies. (How much longer do I get to call them babies? They will be a year old in only 5.5 weeks - oh my!) We spent the morning at home playing with the boys - they were all over the place! Now that they are cruising around any vertical surface they can use as a balance point, they are really moving. In fact, at one point the cat got cornered and ran for the stairs. When the boys saw it, they bee lined after her and in a matter of seconds Grayson was going up the stairs. So now we need a baby gate for the stairs.

We went to FR in the afternoon to run errands and they were really good the whole time. We stopped by a little consignment shop and picked up another little table like the LeapFrog one we have at home. We took it to the store so they could have one to play with their when they go to work with their Daddy. We picked up some BBQ (OK, not great) and had ice cream, too :) Since it was time for their nap, we spent about an hour driving around town looking at some houses that we have been talking about maybe buying.

When we got home we made burgers for the grill and the IL came over. Doug and Lee took the babies into the pool. They LOVE the water. It was a little cool, so it was a short dip, but they kicked and laughed. After the swam they were worn out and went to bed and we all ate dinner. Doug then shot off his first attempt at home made fireworks and fountains.



It was a busy, busy day - but good.

A Week in Still Life

I thought it would be nice to make Fridays a review day of sorts. So on Fridays I am going to try and make a quick little slide show of photos from the week. Sometimes all you need are a few good photos to make you smile :)