Great Turkey Day!

This year we had a great turkey day at my aunt and uncle's house about 2 1/2 hours away. The boys were a little restless on the car ride there, but were very good the whole day, it went rather smoothly!



In our family the men usually sit in the living room snacking or just talking as the women prepare the meal...

Here's my aunt and mom...

And cousin...

A little wine was served. Whoa! Cut her off, she's a lightweight :)

Lm is very curious and wanted to explore every room.

My aunt and uncle have a lot of grandkids, so they have a lot of toys that were new to L&L. They had a great time and were never bored.

My aunt and uncle...

Dad and my cousin's wife chat as we get ready to fill our plates...

L&L are no longer the "babies" of the family, since my cousin and his wife had a baby boy 7 months ago...

"He drooled on me," my cousin said after he put the baby down for a nap. Hence, the water mark...

Thanksgiving was a major breakthrough, because it was the first holiday since my guys were born that they let me eat my entire meal in peace. I actually got a little misty-eyed on the last couple of bites, upon realizing they were going to let me eat my meal without needing me to fix some crisis du jour. I even got to eat a piece of pie afterward, no kidding!

It was pretty cool outside but they had a lot of energy and cousins to play with, so they went outside and rode around on trikes for awhile.

Lk's cousin follows him to make sure he doesn't ride out into the street...

"Don't worry, I'm a good driver!" their cousin said as he drove them around in the wagon.

I didn't even attempt to have them take their normal naps, as I knew they would not sleep in another environment, plus they wouldn' t want to miss out on any fun.

The newest family member...

Always as we're leaving my aunt wants to start taking the group pics, and so we attempted a few here...

Lm tried to pluck off the leaves of my aunt's plants.

They ran around so much that I hoped they'd sleep the whole ride home, but alas, they only gave us 20 minutes of peace.

They were totally wiped out!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!

Some Parenting Tips

Some Gift Ideas Pour Moi

Oftentimes we buy gifts for people that they will never use. It's just hard to guess what other people want, even if they're close family. So I thought I would throw my list out there of some practical items I know I would be able to put to use immediately and would not have to regift later:

• A couple of size 2T straight jackets
• Padlock for my fridge door
• Gift certificate to find-a-therapist.com
• Some wall padding to make the spare room into a padded cell
• A sign that says "No Diving" to be hung above my couch
• Thorazine

See? Now you don't have try to guess what I want for Christmas; I've laid it all out there for you...

Rub-a-dub-dub, L&L in the tub!

Here are my guys last night in the tub. They love the water, especially splashing me and each other. The bathroom is a flood afterward.

Lk has gotten over his fear more and more. After his little scare this summer when Heather had to rescue him at the cost of her camera from the pool, he's been terribly afraid of the water. Only in the past month has he gotten to a point where he doesn't cling to me for dear life while I give him a bath. Now he's starting to splash and play around with the bubbles more.

Biker Dudes

I was planning to get trikes for the boys for Christmas, but then one day my mom called me at work and said she was standing in a thrift shop near two trikes for sale at $3.50 each, should she get them? "Of course!" I said. Now I'll get them an Elmo doll instead and maybe a play kitchen.

Lm likes to wear Grandpa's cap...

Lk on his trike, he rides it all over the house at high speed, and through Grandma's house, around the table, down hallways at full throttle. He doesn't seem to care if he runs over our toes either...

People often say Lk is "all boy." He and his brother both are fascinated by cars and wheels, diving off the couch, and roaring like lions. Here's Lk hammering away.

My little bird on his "new" trike...

I remember when I was pregnant and I found out for sure I was having two boys. Shortly afterward I was in the local grocery store to pick up a few items and two boys around the age of 4 flew past me running down the aisles and creating a little havoc. What with the hormonal changes and all, I started crying because I could see my future right there. I never thought I would have the constitution to raise two boys as I've always been more of a sensitive, feminine type. In short, if people were cars, I would be a VW bug trying to raise two Hummers.

Now of course I love it, and my guys are so loyal to their mom. They obey me most of the time when I tell them to do stuff. Lk will even pick up all his books at the end of the night and put them away without me having to tell him, isn't that sweet? I sure love being their mom.

Messy Munchkins & Paci Wars

I think it's safe to say that my two little guys are the messiest eaters around. They are like tapeworms, too, and always want more snacks on top of their own meals. If they hear me open the fridge, they come running. If I crinkle a package, they assume it's food. I can't eat around them or they climb on me to get it. In short, I weigh 10 lbs less than I did before I got pregnant!


While I fix their food, they eagerly await...

Lm chews on a paper label until I prepare his highness his evening sup.

"Hey, where's my order?" Lk shouts.

"Mmmm, ravioli!"

"I think I'll dip my hands in it and wear half my dinner..."

"Yumm! Cottage cheese and applesauce, oh my!"

Obviously baths are taken after dinner!

"Cookie!" Lm shouts as soon as he's done. He knows he gets a vanilla cookie or graham cracker.

Fortunately they are too young to know that fresh fruit is good for them and potentially something I want them to have. So I pretend it is "dessert" and say they can't have it until they've eaten their dinner. So they are clamoring for fruit; Lk's favorite is "gapes."

From some of the pictures it's obvious that Lk's face is chapped around his lips. With the weather being cold and less humid, his use of the paci at nights and naptime are causing this. I have put lots of moisturizers and Vaseline on him (which he hates) and taking the paci away, but he does not want to give up the paci at all.

I tried last night to put him to sleep without it, but he had a hard time with that so I decided to sneak it out of his mouth when I went to bed later. But at 11pm, he was still sucking away on that thing to beat the band. In the dark, I popped it out, tiptoed out of his room and hid in the hallway. He was half asleep and I could hear him rolling around in the crib. "Oh, paci, oh!" he cried. I heard sniffling. I went back in and he was sitting up rubbing his eyes, sniffing and looked on the verge of tears. So I let him have it back.

Meanwhile I've been trying to kick my Lunesta habit and have failed at that, so I thought it hypocritical to take Lk's paci when I can't give up my own "paci," the Lunesta. I did manage to go 2 nights without it this week, and had the best of intentions last night. I went to bed and just lay there awhile with thoughts spinning through my mind and then I thought I heard Lk crying a couple of times, but when I got up, he was fast asleep. This happened a couple more times until I admitted defeat and took a Lunesta and called it a night.