Muffle Muffle Moo

I have been trying to assess the little twins verbal skills. This is difficult, because they are on the move, and I have the echo in the house. The "Echo" is named Matilda. She either is repeating what I say very loudly and in dumbed down tones to the little twins and Lucas, or, she answers the questions I ask before anyone else has an opportunity.

For instance, yesterday I was sitting with an open book of animals. Rowan seems to know most of his animals, and earlier that morning I thought I heard him say "cockle doo" for rooster. I held out the book and said "Rowan, what does a rooster say?"

Rowan opens his mouth to reply, but then Tilly blurts out "cock a doodle doo".

"Tilly, I was asking ROWAN what a rooster says. Rowan, what does a rooster say?"

Rowan opens his mouth, but, Tilly blurts out "COCK A DOODLE DOO."

"Tilly, are you listening? Mommy wants to hear if Rowan knows what a rooster says. OK?"

"OK" (I am glad toddlers reply to redundant questions).

I make strong eye contact with Rowan and ask "Rowan, what does a rooster say".

Rowan doesn't attempt to reply. Tilly screams "COCK A DOODLE DOO!!!"

I then clasp my hand over her mouth. Regain eye contact with Rowan and ask, "Rowan, what does a rooster say?"

Rowan opens his mouth, but, before he can reply beneath my hand Tilly says "Muffle, Muffle, MOO!!!"

I give up.

Here is Tilly first thing in the morning, and Lucas with his 7 pacis.

At the Blue Willow Inn

While my sister was visiting we made the long drive to the Blue Willow Inn. This was the first time I have not put Lucas and Tilly in high chairs at a restaurant. I think this probably won't be attempted again for a loooong time. Tilly kept twisting around and squirming and climbing out of her chair, and Lucas wanted to stand up in his. Lucas probably ate an entire chicken, and Tilly ate only raw tomatoes and sweet potatoes. She is so picky when it comes to food- she prefers vegetables and fruits.

Lucas is now a "cat". He went two days last week without uttering a single word. He meows when he wants something, shakes his butt like he has a tail at the end of it, growls when he is angry, and swats you with his "paw" when he is mad at you. The only way to get him to come to me when I want him is to say "Here, Kitty, Kitty". One day I meowed back at him and Tilly laughed and said "Silly mommy. You are not a cat, you are a mommy!".

I have now made those pumpkin scones three times and Duane has "placed an order" for himself and his coworkers next week. They are so good, and to keep them fresh, I freeze small batches. Scones- like most biscuits- are the best the day you bake them unless you freeze some back to have on following days (The pumpkins scones are the best the first two days you have baked them).

I am baking a blackberry cake for Thanksgiving. We are going to my sil's home. My sister is traveling down to spend the holiday with us and we will be cooking a few things together to take with us. Is anyone else working on their Thanksgiving menu? I am going to bake a Blackberry Cake (from my aunt and grandma's recipe), make a Broccoli Casserole (not your "broccoli cuts and sticky rice" one- I use only the fresh broccoli florets, fresh mushrooms, add celery and onions and its very good), and my sister is going to make Deviled Eggs I think. I am still tinkering with this. I am also tempted to try a few new recipes I have come across recently that use steamed veggies.

And I received a wonderful crock pot in the mail! It is "Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookbook" revised addition from 1995. This has some interesting recipes in it that I can't wait to try! There is a recipe for crockpot caponata. A recipe for Beef Stroganoff, a recipe for cabbage rolls that you basically "fix and forget" ("Fix it and Forget it" is also on my crockpot cooking wishlist), a recipe for rice pudding. Reynolds Wrap also has crockpot recipes on their website. Right now the crockpot is the ONLY way we have a homemade meal in the evenings. I just can't find the time to cook anymore. All the twins are in the "witching hour" and I can't cook with meowing and whining in the background.

Here are some recent pictures of everyone- I have Lucas and Tilly in the blue and yellow again. I love them in those colors for Autumn!

Rowan likes to make faces and roar like a lion:




Ewan walking around with gladware on his head, and later jumping on the bed.




Lucas and Matilda at the Blue Willow Inn:

Halloween pictures

My sister came to spend Halloween with us and the kids, and we took the kids in their Halloween costumes to the center of town where they were hosting a local "Trick or Treat" by the merchants.

Ewan was the local favorite in his "Dumbo" outfit, loaned to him from my friend Melanie's son Xander.

Lucas- dressed as "Captain Hook"- got the best candy, because he stared at each merchant all ga ga (they were dressed up as well) and I think they thought he was hinting for more candy. He was completely fascinated that people dressed up as goth witches and pooh bear were putting little wrappers of candy into his Elmo Pail. Also into his Elmo pail were added a GI Joe found along the way, and a lovely rock of a shade of gray that Lucas found irresistible.

Matilda - as one of many "Tinker Belles"-did not do so well. She glared at the merchants and stomped along on her way, a little repulsed by the audacity of STRANGERS to put forth their hand into her lovely Princess pail. They had to fling their dum dum suckers into her pail as quickly as possible. To which she snarled. She wound up giving me the pail to carry.

Rowan - as "Tigger"- still has some stranger anxiety, and didn't enjoy Trick or Treating very much. He and Ewan stayed in their twin stroller and were photographed often.

Then, the candy was forgotten, so its now in mommy and daddys care for safe eating..ahem, I mean KEEPING.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I had the best scones at Starbuck's and decided to see if there was a "Copy cat" recipe online. I think this one pretty well duplicated the scrumptious scones I had Sunday!

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones Recipe #214051
These are great for the holidays...or any other time of the year.

30 min | 15 min prep

6 scones (Lizzie's notes: I made 8 with this recipe)

Scones

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 7 tablespoons sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 6 tablespoons cold butter
* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
* 3 tablespoons half-and-half
* 1 large egg

Powdered Sugar Glaze

* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
* 2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze (Lizzie's notes: I omitted the regular glaze and just used this one)

* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
* 2 tablespoons whole milk
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 pinch ginger
* 1 pinch ground cloves

1. TO MAKE THE SCONES:

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball. (Lizzie's notes: I refrigerated the ball of dough for thirty minutes before patting out and cutting)

5. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

7. TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.

8. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.

9. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

10. AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.

11. Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

These were very tastey, and I hope those of you who like autumny flavors get a chance to bake them!

Here they are beside the vase of flowers Duane brought home for me over the weekend.

Yellow and Blue!

I love to coordinate the kids clothing. It serves two purposes.

1. I think matching is cute! *snort*
2. I can easily identify my kids in a crowd if they are color coordinated.

How sad is that? Well, we were invited to a birthday party for a set of twin girls turning 1 over the weekend, and I figured there would be plenty of kids there, and with it just being Duane and I attending, the easier to spot our kids the better. It turned out that Ewan and Rowan were the easiest to watch this time. they mainly sat, just as you see here, Ewan in a G.Q. pose, and Rowan looking slightly nervous beside him, looking at blades of grass (and occasionally tasting), and playing with party favors (PPPST, take note of Rowan's bangs. He has had three haircuts since he was born, and he throws his head, screams, and tries to push the scissors away. The outcome of this is slightly jaggedly and crooked bangs. Hmpfh).




Lucas and Tilly are now impossible to photograph together. It is as if they are murmuring "Will you stop touching me!!!". They will sit together of their own accord when there isn't a photo opportunity, sure, but if I want to pose them. FORGET ABOUT IT. Hee, hee.





Lucas has a mouth full of ice in this last picture. Its a shame I didn't notice it before and get him to "spit" which he would of no doubt enjoyed and began doing at home for fun. Ugh. So, the picture with a mouth full of ice is probably preferable.



Not much new here, but wanted to share these lovely pictures with you.

Botanical Gardens

We spent the gorgeous autumn weather weekend at the Botanical Gardens. We went both Saturday and Sunday, and all the kids had such a lovely day!

We began the day Saturday with "Carrot cake pancakes" with a buttercream drizzle and maple syrup, then after some play and a nap, went to the gardens.

Here is Lucas and Tilly enjoying the Orchid Centers flowers- pssst, its my favorite place, too!



Here is Ewan and Rowan as "scarecrows". Right now they have over 100 scarecrows decorated throughout the center for children of all ages to enjoy!



Here is Matilda and Lucas as scarecrows- Tilly is trying to see Lucas as one instead of posing for us!



In the childrens garden, they have some pretty sculptures the kids can pose on.



Here is Rowan on a chicken:



Ewan on the same chicken:



At the end of the garden there are some sprinklers that children can play in on warm days. We just stripped Lucas and Tilly down to their diapers, and brought a towel to dry them off with. They had so much fun!!!




Lucas loves water and immediately took to playing in the sprinklers.



Matilda was hesitant at first, but by the time she had a few minutes of skirting them and getting used to the water, she was ready to play.





We were all exhausted by Sunday evening, and crashed early. :-)

Spelling and innocent looks

Our playroom is a "catch all". Probably the saddest addition to this room is a 100 year old antique sleigh bed that is propped behind the sofa. Its a full size, we will never use it again because it can't withstand children jumping on it, and I have no illusions about being able to prevent four toddlers from jumping on beds.

Case in point:



Beside a Chippendale ball and claw sofa (that has seen better days) that for now is the playroom sofa, are the mattresses that were once on said sleigh bed. I was trying to photograph Lucas looking all innocent sitting on the bed, when Matilda flipped off the sofa to the mattresses to join us. I should sale the sleigh bed, but I don't want to have people calling about it, don't want to deal with bargain hunters trying to lower the price, and don't have the truck to haul it away. Hence the room being our "catch all". In the spring of next year we hope to finish the remodel of this room and do away with the sleigh bed, the aging sofa, and a few other things. Perhaps by then we can have a nicer sofa, and not worry so much about washing sweet potato off of it, of fishing gold fish crackers out of the cushions.

Matilda's hair is finally long enough for pig tails. Here is both of us sporting them.



She is spelling up a storm. My aunt gave Lucas and Tilly a drawing board that has large alphabet letters on it, and when you press them it says what the letter is and what sound it makes. I gave it to them last week. Its for a 4-5 year old, as you can also practice writing the letters beneath them. Well, Tilly played with it a week solid, and now she asks me constantly how to spell words, and when she sees one of her alphabet blocks she will point to it, accurately identify what letter it is, then tell me what sound it makes "K. K is for "kah". And on top of that, she can spell hers and Lucas' name. She recites as if preparing for a spelling bee. "Tilly. T-i-l-l-y. Tilly". She was asking me today how to spell "Cat", "Dog", "Elvis" (one of our outdoor cats names), "mommy" and "Dada". She can spell "Cat", too.

I asked Lucas how to spell his name, and he stared at me for a moment and then said "Cake". :-) A boy after my own heart!

Jammie Days

We spend alot of time in Jammies in this house. My jammies tend to be a bit more fashionable- though they look very much like regular p.j.'s- they have trendy names like "Yoga Suits" and "Loungewear Sets". We are usually dressed after everyone's big nap. Somedays though, not! In our own little nest, does it matter? All those buttons, metal zippers, awkwardly placed clips and pretty ruffles just don't look comfortable to me. However, if we are going somewhere...

Well, I have had this idea... the one thing thats really difficult for me in taking all the kids to those little fast food places with indoor playgrounds is trying to get everyone dressed and out the door in a timely manor by myself. Some days I end up changing them twice as it seems like as soon as I mention "Go!" two of them (who shall remain nameless in case they would rather I not disclose intimate details about their potty habits) seem to want to go poopie... in fact, this happened last night when I said "Want to GO for a walk?" ARGH! But, lets veer away from diaper detail and back to "I had this idea"... With two sets of twins, I am always on the lookout for time saving approaches to what should be pretty routine and normal activities with only one or two toddlers. But we have four toddlers. My current time saving idea being that once autumn came around, I would dress them all AT BEDTIME. There are some nice looking children's "Loungewear" out there now, and we have purchased a few sets. The girl sets are leggings with a cotton top, and the boys sets are fashioned like fleece sweatsuits, but minus the hoods and elastic pant cuffs. They are perfect for sleeping, or playing! So, I told this novel time saving idea to Duane, and he stared at me for sometime (I thought I was "brilliant" as they would say at Guinness Beer) then said "You would change their diapers, right?".

This made me question how absurd the whole idea must be if he thought I was wanting to also cut corners by not changing nappies. :-\

And of course, now that Lucas and Tilly are two, we are being attacked by the early potty training mothers. The ones whose babies began using a potty before they were 5 months old. "Little Rodney would roll over to the potty all by himself". We have been given pottys, we have been given books on pottys, and even underpants. *furrows brow*. I am not getting any indication they are ready to use a potty. Not from Lucas *at all*, and only vaguely is Tilly aware. Some days she will come to me and say "I stinky poo poo nasty" (lovely!), but like last night when I asked her if she had "potty" she said "I no stinky poo poo, yet". Hmpfh. She was quite "stinky poo poo" Thank You!

What is the reply to the early potty training moms? I have been sticking with "They aren't ready yet" which is the truth. But, that seems to only satisfy half of them. The other half say "YOU are the one whose not ready!" or "They will never be 'ready' if you aren't training them". *scrunches nose*

And if anyone has figured it out, why are moms so interested in when we potty train? Is there a competition I forgot to enter? :-P

P.S.- if anyone knows how to get spaghetti sauce stains off of light purple fleece sleepers without bleach, please inform.

My secretary

This is my new secretary.



My secretary now makes all my phone calls for me. I hand her the phone and tell her what numbers to dial, and at only 2 years of age, she does. !!! And, she takes dictation. In the form of repeating what Lucas says and does. I know some of you would call this *tattling* (ahem), but, for the sake of peace in my home, we are going to call it *informing*.

The phone dialing thing was pretty shocking. I didn't know she knew her numbers. Maybe if I gave her a typewriter, she could also take letters for me.

Pumpkin Bread

I know its a wee bit early for autumn baking, but I have been looking for the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks since mid August. :-) I finally decided to research pumpkin bread recipes, and come up with one with good fall flavor. Here is what I ended up with.



Its more than the flavor... its really what Autumn represents for me. Its a time of introspection. A time to reflect on the seasons prior, and to contemplate winter. To contemplate growth and change. To take things a little more slowly, *coolly* and savour the seasons passing and the seasons to come. Of Life. Of Nature. The colors, the textures and the very air out of doors seem to all encourage this solitude within me. And I suppose I am craving that, as well. I have taken up journaling to the babies on the weekends, and its been the nicest way to connect myself with their milestones and "big events". The nicest way to celebrate what they have been, and the little independent children they are becoming.

I served my slice of pumpkin bread with a light caramel sauce and whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon. Yum!



Here is the recipe I used (I never use anyone's recipe "as is", I take one and change four of five things and end up with my own):

Lizzie's Pumpkin Bread

* 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 3 extra large eggs
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 2/3 cup milk
* 1.5 cups white sugar
* 1.5 cups packed brown sugar
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Mix wet ingredients, sift together dry, then combine slowly. Bake in a bundt pan at 350 degrees until a toothpick in the center comes out clean- for me this was 1 hour and ten minutes.

This is heavy on the cinnamon. I may have even used *three* teaspoons of cinnamon. I really like a nice cinnamon flavor, so if you don't, start with one teaspoon in the batter and sample.

I know its not Low Fat. This is my weakness my dear readers. I can not go without a sweet cake in this house. Its my only fault. I can't have caffeine, we aren't drinkers, we aren't smokers. BUT I MUST HAVE CAKE!!! :-)

I hope everyone gets to enjoy some "autumn" in their home soon, too.

My dad and Lucas

***

Isn't this adorable? My dad playing with Lucas in early July.

birthdays

So, its been an entire year since I first "met" Ewan and Rowan. They turned 1 years old this month, and Lucas and Tilly turned 2. I took a couple pictures- the one of Duane and Ewan and Rowan was at their kiddie party. The one of Lucas and Tilly was taken at home before we went to their party. We rented one of those "inflatable play centers" and invited toddler and pre-school friends to share in our day. There were ten children there! We had a strawberry cake with "Winnie The Pooh" decor, and it had buttercream frosting with a piped chocolate buttercream on the edge as I wanted a taste of chocolate! :-)




Ewan and Rowan are walking... barely. They take 3-4 steps, then decide to crawl, stand up, take 3-4 more steps, then decide again that crawling is faster. Ewan is walking more than Rowan- who still feels safer cruising with one hand. I think by the end of the month Ewan will be going all over the place, and by mid-September Rowan will, too. They say a few words, but not predictably. They say "Hi", "Bye, Bye", "Mama" and "Dada". The other day Rowan was saying "Eat". I couldn't decide if he was parroting me or actually asking for a meal. Rowan LOVES mealtimes and takes them very seriously. He curls forward over his food tray and concentrates very hard on what bites he chooses. His favorite is macaroni and cheese. Ewan would prefer to be fed from a jar, but he will eat crackers and some macaroni and cheese... I so want the freedom of finger foods, but we are still primarily feeding from a jar.

Here is Rowan's birthday picture:



Here is Ewan's birthday picture:



Lucas is now talking up a storm. He is very sensitive and asks where I am, or where Dada is, or Tilly, anytime we start out of the room. He is fascinated with airplanes and speaks of them all the time! Matilda talks in full sentences now, but they are baby sentences. For instance, last night when we passed Ewan and Rowans nursery, she said "Little babies go night night with puppies and pacis!". Cute! Her hair is getting so long, too!

This isn't from Lucas and Tilly's party, but it illustrates how much Lucas enjoys parties in general:



Matilda twirling in her new dress from her aunt Pat. I love this picture! Matilda is such a "girlie girl":



We received a ton of packages from my family for the kids birthdays- so many that we have reserved a few (Like the Little People villages) for a rainy day. We have a stack in our closet from my parents, aunt and from my sister that we will let them open over time. The "Little People" villages are so cute! We have a Thanksgiving one and a Christmas one put back, too. I ordered those from the Fisher Price website.

I am going through books like crazy. I haven't watched television in about a... year! Ha, ha. At the end of the evening once everyone is down for the night, I just want quiet. So, I have been reading "cozy mysteries". The one I am working on now is by Susan Witting Albert and features the sleuth of... Beatrix Potter! Assisted by her animal friends, too. This is the first of her books I have read, and the first in the Beatrix Potter series. I am also enjoying Maggie Sefton's knitting mysteries, and Emily Brightwell's "Mrs. Jeffries" mysteries about a Victorian housekeeper who helps her Scotland Yard Inspector employer solve murders. These are such a lovely light escape for me at the end of the day... reading about Victorian England, or a homecraft I would enjoy learning set in the midwest, etc. Its so peaceful! Reading definitely keeps me feeling as if I am still active, even if its only my imagination.

I had a terrible computer crash and its taken me a few weeks to get back into the swing of posting. Also, I posted a few months back about how I needed to find a way to deal with friends and family who insist on telling me negative and hurtful things? I finally took care of that after hearing a particularly hurtful piece of information from the primary person who was relaying that stuff. It had the effect I was worried and previously journaled about. The weekly calls about ugly information have stopped and I feel ten times better. I hate that I may have lost that friendship, but if it was rooted in gossip, it wasn't a healthy friendship for either of us. Having removed myself from that situation... I am sleeping better, I am happier, and I feel like I lost ten pounds- all of which were anger, frustration, and bitterness. I do not know if any of you are struggling with this sort of problem, but I recommend telling the person that you don't want to participate as a listener or share negative gossip any longer.

Matilda can be vain

I bought this little playschool vanity at a yard sale last year for 2.00. It is Lucas and Matilda's favorite piece of kiddie "furniture" although Tilly appreciates it the most. She visits it and practices her facial expressions, has conversations with herself, pretends to be "momma" and barks orders at her brother, and grooms in front of it. I thought I would share these pictures I took in sequences a couple weeks ago.







Of course Lucas can be a ham, too- but he is usually darting from the camera. Here is Lucas wearing his monkey beads.



And sometimes Matilda can be serious. She has such a pretty little face!



Everything with us and the kids is wonderful. They are all good children, and even when they are cranky they are easily soothed and quickly return to joy. They certainly have some limitations that other children don't have, and their patience through this has been astounding. While we make an effort to take them places every weekend and be sure they get to socialize and be out of doors, during the week this is very difficult for me and we still spend most of our time in the playroom. I just don't know how to juggle four children so close in age with such different needs by myself. Lucas and Matilda are very independent and they run, climb and play. Ewan and Rowan are cruising and crawling. We were invited to a party of a friends twins two weeks ago, and the only way I could manage it was the moms of older kids there helped me. Two of them were holding Ewan and Rowan at all times, and I chased after Lucas and Tilly- following them in and out of "bounce houses" and carrying them up the slide. Matilda in particular was shy and wouldn't investigate the play area at first without me holding her hand. Eventually she was more comfortable which was just in time for me to save a friend from Rowan's screams. He was having social anxiety and missing his momma who he could see ut not reach from someone elses arms. The kids all had a good time, but I felt completely wiped out. So worth it to see them have such fun, and so worth it to get a good nights rest for all of us that evening, but without any help, it leaves me at a loss to regularly let them have adventures like this. We have invited my husbands mother to the park with us several weekends and she has refused to go. The last time we went to the park, we went to one with a fence and I chased Lucas and Tilly and tried to get them to stay together, and Duane sat on a blanket and entertained Ewan and Rowan.

All the women I know in situations like we are either have an au pair, a mothers helper, or good quality family help. We live 7 hours from my family. I won't go into my husbands family just yet... I just grieve a bit for my kids... I know that as they age they will love having siblings in such close proximity and our holidays will be fun. But I think their memories of their early childhood will be the playroom walls. At least it won't be television. We do limit their television viewing!

I am sorry if I am being a little down today. We just canceled a vacation we had been looking forward to for months. I am very sad about it, but more sad about the state of my husbands relationships as well as mine with his family. To be honest, there isn't a relationship. We live inside a hornets nest.

The only safe way to be inside a hornets nest is to lay perfectly still while the bees buzz around you and try to keep even your breath slow and methodical. I haven't done a very good job at this. I find I hold my breath as long as I can, and then I sigh loudly, or inhale sharply and am stung again.

All I can do is my best. I am tired of bee stings. From now on, we are going to be on our own. We've been on our own for sometime anyhow, but now this is a declaration of it.

I hope the rest of you are well and happy and enjoying summer!

Keep a good thought for us!