dry roasted edamame

Leaving 7-year olds in charge of the toddler while I take a shower can work out pretty well. Or not.

Technically, they didn't break any rules.

Technically.

Some days, all you can do is laugh, take a picture, and move on.

Today is turning into one of those days.






When I asked the toddler what he was doing, he told me he was making a pie for his aunt. Such a thoughtful boy.

first snow

Monday morning we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow. Oh the excitement! We pulled out all our snow gear (no small feat) and did a happy dance while we walked to school. And after school, being the fun Mom that I am, I suggested we go sledding.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

We had snacks and bundled up and headed for our favorite snow hill. The big one. And that’s where my plan began to unravel.
The hill itself was great. The noisy boys enthusiastically grabbed their sleds and ran to the top while I walked with the toddler. Very, very slowly.

By the time we got to the top, I wondered if maybe I should have taken the boys to a smaller hill, since sledding was a new thing for our toddler.

I climbed onto the red sled with him and off we went down the hill. He loved it. “Fast! Fast! More fast?” he said when we got to the bottom. Of the really big hill.

We started the long climb up and were about a quarter of the way there when his boot slipped off the first time. The snow was deep and his hand-me-down boots weren’t a perfect fit. So I put boot back on, letting go of the sled in the process. Great. Back down the hill I went, to get the sled. Then up the hill again, with the toddler and his retarded boots. We were about halfway up when the toddler sweetly asked, “Mommy carry you?” He was tired.

So I carried the toddler and the sled up the very big hill.

It was a long afternoon.

Thankfully, the promise of hot cocoa lured everyone off the hill.

trying to be fancy

A few years ago, missionary friends were coming to visit, and I really wanted to make something special for dinner. My husband suggested grilling steaks or ordering pizza, but no, I wanted to make something fancy.

At the time, my twins were toddlers, and I didn’t have time for fancy.

Never mind that, I went to the market and picked up some beautiful halibut steaks, salad, and a loaf of fresh bread. Pulling out a recipe for peppered halibut, I rushed through the recipe, opened a bottle of wine, and warmed the bread.

We gathered around the table to enjoy our meal, and our friends dug in enthusiastically. And then Maria’s face turned bright red and she reached for her water.

Oh no.

I took a bite of fish and the pepper was beyond overpowering. I may as well have served a plate of black pepper to eat with a spoon. It was really that bad.

I immediately apologized and suggested we eat something else, but our missionary friends soldiered on. “Oh no,” Maria said politely, “it’s good!”

But she couldn’t breathe.

I learned an important lesson that day: there is a time for fancy and a time to order a pizza or make sloppy joes. A simple meal prepared well is much more enjoyable than a fancy meal you don’t have time to make. I also learned that the little box of black pepper in my cupboard is not a substitute for freshly ground pepper. Not even close.

For more tips on what doesn’t work, head over to Shannon’s for this week’s special edition of What Doesn’t Work for me Wednesday.

slowing down

Basking in the afterglow of creativity that followed me home from the festival, I jumped out of bed at 4:30 this morning, eager to spend a few hours writing before the children got up. I wrote furiously as stories bubbled up for what felt like minutes, but glancing at the clock, two hours had gone by.

Darn.

Time to unload the dishwasher, shower, and ease myself back into the reality of mothering three little boys.

As I showered, I determined to hold onto this creative energy. Move slower through this day, I told myself.

A lot of good that did me.



















































Apparently, things move fast around here.

Parenting tip for today: If your toddler comes to you looking for water to brush his teeth or soak a paper towel, give it to him. Or at the very least, close the bathroom door.

maybe I should have asked the question first

“Can we go through the car wash?” Twin A. asks.

“Please?” Twin B. agrees.

“Sure!” I respond, grabbing an old apple from the backseat of the minivan while the gas tank fills up.

As we pull into the car wash, I ask, “Has baby b. ever been in one of these before?”

“Yeah,” Twin A. responds, “he HATES it.”

Sure enough, there’s baby b. in the backseat shaking his head vigorously, his eyes wide.

“Look! Bubbles!” I try to sound cheerful.

Baby b. will have none of it. Screaming, he continues to shake his head. “No bubble, no bubble!”

Poor kid probably needs therapy. Maybe I should have asked the question before driving into the car wash.

I’m off to the Festival of Faith and Writing early tomorrow morning, so will be offline for awhile. I would covet your prayers as I consider my next step in this writing journey.

Because I'm clever that way

The noisy boys love crafts. Love them. Save bits of garbage for a few weeks (milk bottle caps, paper towel tubes, OJ lids), give them to my boys, and watch their eyes light up. Seriously.

Last night was Open House at the boys’ school. We visited each of their classrooms, took a picture with their teachers, and saw more of what they’re doing in class. One of the projects they were most proud of were these marshmallow sculptures made out of miniature marshmallows and toothpicks.

“Hey! I could do that!” I thought, always looking for a constructive way to keep the noisy boys occupied that doesn’t involve the computer, wii, or television.

So this morning they set to work on their marshmallow structures. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Never mind the eighteen month old who roams the house all day long looking for things to eat or destroy.

Right. Next time, we’ll save this craft for naptime.

And as a side note, people ask all the time, “Are the twins different from eachother?” Um. Yes. Take a look at the two structures for a visual illustration of their differences. Twin A.’s is on the right, Twin B.’s is on the left. For the record, Twin A.’s sculpture had another set of cubes attached on the side before baby b. got a hold of it.