More fall fun

I'm playing catch-up from last week. I had a craving last week for something apple-y and custard-y, and apple clafouti fit the bill perfectly!! (Of course, I forgot to sprinkle on the powdered sugar before I took this picture!!) It was a delicious warm treat, kind of a cross between a custard and a bread pudding.

With so much of my attention focused on sick babies last week, Anthony was doing his share of attention-seeking (read: annoying and at times, downright dangerous!) behaviors. So I made sure to work in some fun one-on-one time during rare twin naps. I found this great site where we were able to print off pumpkins and all the assorted decorations to cut out and glue together, which he really enjoyed. Then, the next day, we did some wax-resist painting - where you draw a picture in white crayon, then use watercolor paints over it. We both actually had fun doing that...I forgot how much fun that can be!!

Keeping me busy...

I owe everyone an apology!! I'm so sorry I disappeared for a week...ack! Two sick babies and a sick preschooler make for a very busy mommy. I think we're finally coming out from the green cloud that has been hovering over our place for the last couple weeks, though. Mackenzie does still have an ear infection, but yesterday the doctor switched her to a new ear drop that is a combo antibiotic/steroid, so hopefully she's on the mend. Makayla's first two teeth finally made their appearance, and the green snot is clearing. Anthony still has a runny nose, but seems otherwise okay. And somehow, Darrell and I have managed (knocking on wood and saying a prayer) to not get sick! Other than the almost daily migraines I've been having for the past week or so, thanks to wacky hormones, but that's another post for another day....

I have managed to squeeze in a little fun while the kids sleep. I made another gratitude wrap - this one for my grandmother's 81st birthday. I just love these fabrics...great fall colors, don't you think?!

I also FINALLY made my apron!!! I don't know why, but I had been a bit intimidated by the idea of sewing my apron. I've had the pattern and the fabric for a while now, but hadn't had the guts to actually cut the fabric. I finally made up my mind Thursday night that on Friday, I was just going to DO IT, and I did. By Friday afternoon, it was finished, and I LOVE it!! The main fabric is from the Ginger Blossom line by Sandi Henderson, and the accent fabric is a Moda fabric. I decided to forego the ric-rac on this one, because I didn't really think it needed it, and I wasn't sure I could find ric-rac in the exact color to match.

As a side note, I am in love with the entire Ginger Blossom line, and was thrilled to discover that some of the fabrics in this line are also available in flannel (think: adorable grown-up pajama pants!) and corduroy (how cute would a little jumper be?!). I can't wait to get my hands on some of them!! Maybe for my birthday...:)

On Sunday, after church, I went to Joann's to pick up some fabric for some baby gifts I need to make, and I found this fleece on sale 50% off. It matches our paint colors perfectly. I had been wanting a blanket/throw for the family room, and hadn't found anything in the right price range. A couple yards of this were perfect! I didn't even bind the edges...since fleece doesn't fray, I just used my rotary cutter to make sure they were nice and straight, and left them alone! It's so nice and cozy...perfect for the chilly weather we had over the weekend.

Mulled cider and spiced wine...oh my!

Mmm...this is me, sipping my warm, spiced wine...a perfect ending to a crazy, stressful day! Have you ever tried it? It's easy to make and warms you right up! (Perfect for those of you who live in the cooler parts of the world, unlike here, where our cool weather was somewhat short-lived.)

Spiced Wine
1 bottle (750 mL) cheap red wine (seriously - $1.99 will do!)
1 orange
1 lemon
4 cinnamon sticks
8-10 whole allspice
8-10 whole cloves
4 T. honey

Slice the orange and lemon, then combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and reduce to low; simmer for 20-30 minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the more the alcohol will burn off and the wine will condense, leaving you less liquid, but the richer the spices will get too.

Serve with a shot of brandy and a cinnamon stick in it. Enjoy!!


Mulled Cider
1/2 gallon apple cider
1 orange
5 cinnamon sticks
8-10 whole cloves

Slice the orange, then combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30-60 minutes. Serve warm with a cinnamon stick. You can also add whipped cream and caramel syrup for a real treat, or for a grown-up treat, add a shot of butterscotch schnapps for a caramel apple cider. Yum!!

Goodies and smarties, odds and ends.

Darrell brought in the mail on Friday, and to my delight, there was a package for ME, one that I hadn't ordered from anywhere and wasn't expecting from anyone - the best kind, right? My dear friend Sally, from Illinois, knitted me (or crocheted??? Do I know the difference?? I think they're knitted.) two potholders and a dish rag!! How sweet is she?! Thank you Sally!!!

Yesterday, I was sitting here at my desk, and I just happened to glance over at Anthony's art easel. Do you see what I saw??? The little smartie pants had written his name, all by himself!!

Both of the girls still have colds, but Makayla's is much worse than Mackenzie's. Ah...green snot. And today Anthony's nose is running too. Gotta love it.

So, I recently discovered something that makes my life easier, and I'm all about anything that makes my life easier! Did you know that the post office will send you priority mail packing supplies FREE OF CHARGE??? Yep - last week, I went on their website, and ordered 10 flat rate envelopes and 10 flat rate boxes, which were shipped to me at no cost. I had made a birthday gift for my grandma, who lives in Illinois, whose birthday is this week. I wanted it there in time for her birthday. I have sick kids. Do I want to drag them out to take the package to the post office? Not a chance!! So...I printed off a shipping label online - on regular paper - and ran it through my Xyron machine to put adhesive on the back (I could have just taped it or used some other adhesive just as easily). Since it's a flat-rate envelope, it doesn't matter how much it weighs, eliminating the need to worry about weight and proper postage. (Plus, you get a $.05 discount by paying online as opposed to at the post office!) Then, I arranged, online, to have a mail carrier come to my home today and pick up the package - again, at no charge. I just left it on the table at my front door, and when the mail carrier picked it up, she left me a slip indicating she got it. How simple is that?! Love it!!

Something that did NOT make my life easier, was believing that my 3 and a half-year old son was mature enough to be trusted to use markers unsupervised. I've let him use crayons and markers with no concerns for quite a while now, but this morning, he showed me that perhaps I was being too hasty with this. I was busy attending to the sick girlies, whilst he was redecorating the tile floors, the girls' toys, and his entire body, particularly the bottoms of his feet - which were SOLID BLUE. Fortunately, it was a dry-erase marker, and a bit of my vinegar cleaning solution cleaned it all up fairly easily (although the grout did take a bit of scrubbing). He was concerned when his feet were still somewhat blue after a soak in the tub...um, so what have we learned here??? He was also a bit disconcerted when I told him I would be letting daddy in on the news of his artistic efforts. File this in the "what WERE you thinking???" category.

The perfect fall day

Yesterday, we awoke to a fabulously chilly, cloudy fall day!! Friday - nearly 100 degrees. Yesterday - nearly 70 degrees! What a splendid relief! And the perfect weather for a trip to the pumpkin patch!! We loaded everyone up, and off we went...the girls' first opportunity to actually wear jackets!!

They had so many fun things to do and to look at. We stopped at the entrance to take some photos by the old tractor.

Next, we got some tickets and headed off to the petting zoo. I wasn't sure how Anthony would do, since the last time we visited a petting zoo, he was TERRIFIED of all the animals!! But this time, he did remarkably well, and even got up the courage to feed a baby goat.

After a thorough hand-washing, we headed towards the "rides" and bouncers. They had quite a large selection...pumpkin bouncers, inflatable slides, a circus train inflatable thing, a couple inflatable obstacle courses...lots of fun.

After a couple trips down the big slide, and a round of jumping in the pumpkin bouncer, Anthony decided to drive the little John Deere. They were very cute - not on a track or anything - just very slow, but it allowed the kids to totally use the accelorator and the steering wheel. Anyway - Anthony drove his around for a while, and then, out of no where, hops out of his, and runs and hops in the passenger side of a little girl's. No one he knew, no one we knew...just some cute little girl driving her little John Deere around. What a flirt!!!

Next, Anthony wanted to ride the "race cars," which were 3 cars attached together, pulled by a quad kind of thing. I went on it with him - what a bumpy ride!!

Meanwhile, Mackenzie was the only one who had any sense and actually got some sleep. Makayla - not so much.

After that, we got some warm, fresh-from-the-kettle, kettle-corn - YUM!! And a mediocre burrito. I was really hoping for some pumpkin donuts - I have these wonderful memories of visiting the Apple Barn while growing up, and they always had freshly cooked pumpkin donuts which were splendid. Anyway, they had no pumpkin donuts...might have to drum up a recipe and try those myself!!

The next activity was the most surprising to me. I couldn't believe Anthony was SO brave!! They had this very cool Euro-Bungy jumping thing, which flies you very high in the sky if they pull you down hard enough (and they did!!). He was totally on board! Unfortunately, I had already put my camera away by the time they flung him REALLY high at the end of his turn!! Suffice it to say that he was AT or above the top of the poles on either side of him!!! And I only turned a couple shades of white watching my baby fly through the air!!

Finally, he used up the last of his tickets on the Spiderman inflatable obstacle course (which he needed help in getting through). Afterwards, he posed for some pics with Spidee himself...

We ended the trip by picking out a couple of pumpkins - a big one for carving, and a small one for Anthony (he wanted one he could hold and carry). They had the option of picking your own from the patch...but we figured...they already have these ones all nice and washed and ready to take home...and the kids were tired and ready for naps. So we went for the pre-picked ones. I'm such a tactile and sense-oriented person, I was in heaven just looking at basket after basket of gourds and mini-pumpkins and indian corn. I could've taken basketfuls home with me!

We came home and enjoyed the rest of the chilly day with some mulled apple cider and the first big pot of homemade chili of the season. Mmm... And if it weren't for getting woken up half a dozen times by a snotty-nosed sick baby, I would have slept so well in the chilly air. Let's hope fall sticks around!!

9 month check-up

On Friday, we took the twins for their 9-month check-up with the neonatologist at Kaiser in Fontana.

Makayla is 27 inches long, which is the 25th percentile, but she weighed in at only 16 lbs, 3 oz (the same as her 6-month appointment!), which is only about the 7th percentile on the growth chart. I was completely shocked that she hasn't gained any weight in 3 months!! I actually think she must have lost some weight when she started crawling, because she feels like she's gained some in the last couple weeks. The doctor said she wouldn't call it "failure to thrive, YET," but is concerned that perhaps it is related to her continuing reflux. Which brings me to the next concern. The doctor is surprised she has not yet outgrown her reflux (Anthony did by this age/stage). I had thought that she'd outgrown her medication doses, but since she hasn't gained any weight, that's clearly not the problem. The doctor added a THIRD medicine to the regimen - so she's now on Prilosec in the morning, Tagament before bed, and Reglan 4 times a day. (And I've already noticed an improvement just in the couple days on the new regimen.) The doctor has also ordered an Upper GI series (x-rays where she has to drink the barium while they take pictures, to see what's going on in there), and is referring her to an allergy specialist (because she has profuse vomiting several hours after eating sweet potatoes, squash, and pumpkin). Two pieces of good news...her head circumference was fine this time, though it is in the 90th percentile, (last time it had jumped a bit too much and the doc had mentioned a possible concern), and we no longer have to use the apnea monitor!!! Yay!!

Mackenzie measures in at 25.5 inches long, which is still not quite on the growth chart, but getting closer. If you adjust for prematurity, however, her length would be at around the 7th percentile! (In the past, even adjusting for prematurity didn't land her on the chart!) She weighs 12 lbs, 12 oz, which is no where near being on the growth chart, adjusted or not. She's just sticking to her own growth curve, that's for sure. Her head circumference is just slightly below the 5th percentile (on the regular growth chart - not adjusted). Her ears looked clear, thankfully - yay for tubes!! The doctor is putting in a referral for feeding therapy, since we are still not consistently getting her to eat solids; the longer it takes her to get it down, the worse of a problem it can become with oral aversions.

Both girls now have a cold - snotty noses...oh the fun!!

Sanctuary

Welcome, company girls!! Grab a cup and have a seat! We don't have any big plans for the weekend...whew! After a tiring couple weeks, maybe some down-time is what we need around here!!

This week, Rachel Anne had us thinking about a mission statement for our homes. I still haven't written it out...(you can read my last post for an overview of my week), but I have pondered it a lot. I want our home to be a true sanctuary, a place of safety and refuge for our family; a place where our children will always know love and acceptance, discipline and forgiveness; a place where friends can come to find fellowship, a shoulder, a smile, good food, laughter, kleenex...whatever they need. I want our home to not be a museum, untouchable, but to be organized and functional, comforting, welcoming, and lived-in. I want it to be a place where creativity is nurtured and encouraged, where learning is fun, and where contentment is found in the simple things. I want the joy of the Lord to not be stifled by the things in our house. I want our home to be a true sanctuary.

If you would like more ideas about creating sanctuary, head on over to Home Sanctuary and check out Rachel Anne's wonderful ideas.

Having it all together...the myth.

Or "1-800-222-1222" (that's the phone number for California Poison Control, in case you ever need it).

Or "Juggling 101."

Or "Man, I'm tired."

I couldn't decide what to title this post. It's been a challenging week, and we've only left the house once (and that was the easy part!). Both girls are teething, they've been on opposite schedules sleep-wise (and I just don't believe in waking a sleeping baby to try to get them back on the same schedule), and Anthony hasn't been napping well. Makayla woke up 5 times the night before last, and Anthony's been waking up with nightmares.

Remember the fun blue slime I made for Anthony? Well...we had a fun playdate here yesterday, with LOTS of kiddos (seriously - 4 moms, 10 kids). When everything got cleaned up, unbeknownst to me, Anthony put his bag of slime, open, on a low shelf in the craft room. Later in the day, I left the room to fill up my cup of water in the kitchen and get my phone - and when I returned, darling Makayla was sitting in the midst of a pile of blue slime, with blue drool dripping from her chin. Yum!! A quick call to Poison Control (mind you - Anthony is 3.5 years old and I've NEVER had to call Poison Control before!!) reassured me that she would be fine and that I should just give her some water. In sharing the story with a friend, I learned that, according to Poison Control, your kiddo can also eat up to 10 adult-strength ibuprofen and still be okay. Hopefully I won't ever need that information, but all the same, good to know.

My friends say I inspire them. My friends say they don't know how I do what I do. My friends say I'm supermom. Know what? It's all a juggling act. See, some weeks, the housework gets done, and there's no time for crafting or playdates. And some weeks mom gets lots of craft time, and the kids spend too much time entertaining themselves. And some weeks, we go to lots of playdates, but no housework gets done. And some nights, dinner just doesn't get made, and Darrell goes back out after he gets home from work and gets take-out. And some weeks, I try to do it all, and then I'm dog-tired, and I yell at Anthony too much and I don't have enough patience with the babies, and I'm not very nice to my husband. And my brain doesn't work quite right, because I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep. Really, does that sound like the picture of someone who "has it all together???"

I, like every other mama out there, am doing the best that I can. Some days are better than others, and some days I'd like to have a "do over" button. But I'm okay with my imperfection, because I know that He is who greater than me is stronger when I am weaker. We're making memories and we're living life. This is a journey, and I'm not focusing on trying to achieve some unachievable end, but rather, I want to focus on enjoying the daily travels.

So, join me, won't you? Let go of the myth and the mommy guilt, and enjoy the imperfect journey.

Steak & Blue Cheese Salad

Mmm...I'm still licking my lips from dinner tonight. It was so tasty!! I grilled a couple boneless ribeyes, just drizzling a little EVOO over them with salt and pepper before grilling. I added a few sprigs of rosemary and some mesquite wood chips to the charcoal while they were grilling...what a heavenly aroma that was!

The salad is simple:

romaine lettuce
tomatoes
red onion
avocado
walnut pieces
crumbled blue cheese
blue cheese dressing

After grilling the steaks, let them sit for about 10 minutes, then slice against the grain, pile them on top of the salad, and serve. Yum!!

Gratitude Wrap...gift for a friend

One of my friends has been going through some really tough times lately, and I've been feeling pretty helpless in not being able to do much for her, especially as we now live an hour apart. She was going to be coming by this morning anyway, so I decided that one thing I COULD do was make something for her to try to bring her a bit of cheer and remind her how much I love her!!

This is a gratitude wrap, which has three pockets in it - one for a small notebook or address book, one for notecards, and one for stamps...to make it easy for you to send thank you notes to all those people in your life whom you need to thank. I used Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market fabric again, and some random natural cotton fabric I had in my stash. The instructions and pattern for the gratitude wrap came from Amanda at SouleMama - which is an awesome blog, by the way, with lots of wonderful ideas. Her book, The Creative Family, is a favorite of mine, too.

I will say that, having never worked with bias tape before, I didn't really much care for the stuff!! It was NOT all that easy to use. Maybe that's just because I'm a beginner, and maybe it gets easier after you've done it a few times. But I had a really hard time going around the curves, in particular.

Other than that, I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and I think my friend really liked the gift. I have a feeling I'll be giving these as gifts a few more times!!