A Busy Day

Sometimes when I don't blog it means that it's pretty dull around here. Other times it means it's so busy there is no time to really stop. Yesterday was one of those days!

8am Boys Up
9:15am Aunt Megan & Baby Alex arrive
9:30am Friend stops by to pick up a baby item
9:40am Mommy & Aunt Megan catch the bus downtown leaving Daddy alone with 3 boys until Uncle Nate drives over from the airport after flying all night from the West Coast
10am -2pm Mommy & Aunt Megan decorating for a CCO (non-profit) fundraiser downtown
2pm Mommy & Aunt Megan arrive back at the house to find that the boys handled the day quite well and the house was thankfully not destroyed
2pm Koen goes down for nap
2:30pm Uncle Nate, Aunt Megan and Alex leave
3pm Daddy takes Tavin to Trader Joe's for a quick errand, mommy quick-cleans house
3:15pm Tav goes down for his nap
Also at this time a neighbor stops by for some sawhorses Doug had borrowed
3:30pm college friend, Erin and her baby, Hudson, arrive for a visit
5pm our boys get up from their naps
6pm Erin & Hudson leave
The boys eat dinner
Bathtime, Bedtime
Daddy makes pizza and we watch a movie while I fold 4 loads of laundry that I somehow I managed to get through the washer/dryer during that crazy revolving-door day!

Here are 2 videos we managed to grab...

Doug and the 3 boys hanging out making noise in the AM:


Koen's Spinach Salad he made and enjoyed at lunch:

I Found A Little Bug In The Grass...

Tavin and I went out in the backyard after lunch today for a few minutes to pick up things the wind had blown around and water some plants. Tavin is still a little unnerved by the odd texture of grass, so often he just sits where you stick him and doesn't go anywhere. He just looked so cute in the green grass, I ran in for my camera and these are the pictures of my "little bug."

Happy Messy Man

Tavin attacked his pasta last night. Need I say more?

Another Beautiful Outdoor Morning Surprise

The weather has been so odd here with passing thunderstorms and rainstorms all around most days. Monday we made the last minute decision to chance the possible storms and wound up with a beautiful morning outside (in the pollen), well I did the same thing with the boys today and we ended up with a great day out in the sunshine (and lots of pollen again). Yay!

We met up with Deborah, Miles and Claire at Osceola. Koen was so excited to be out, chasing his friend and playing on the playground.
Tavin also just loved being outside crawling around. I wish he would learn to walk as I have to put him in long pants in order for him to be comfortable crawling on the hard surfaces, but he is ripping holes in all of his pants. This little guy really needs to just put in the extra effort and learn to walk! He's super cute speeding around on his knees though, I have to say!
Tavin is so amazing with his agility and his boldness. Today he totally found the slide himself, turned around to go feet first and slid down with glee. This video shows an example, but it was a pretty good one. =)

After the playground, the weather was still good so we decided to do a few errands on our walk home. That took about another hour and then a few blocks from home some friends were at a local playground and they called us over, so we ended up stopping there to say hi for about 15 minutes.

The boys were exhausted, sweaty and dirty when we arrived home. We had a quick snack of yogurt (they had enjoyed "snacky lunch" amidst our errands) and then I put them in the bath for a good wash and play before nap. Now they are both out cold. I hope they sleep awhile, because Mommy is tired from the great exercise and fresh air too (not to mention that my eyes are killing me from the allergies, so I feel like I should just go to bed!). I'm so glad we got another good morning to be out and about!

A Day With Alex

Today we had Alex with us. He was a great little buddy all day. He napped well, ate well and fit in very well with my little guys (I think he was just overwhelmed by the noise and activity!).

Koen went to nursery school in the morning, so Tavin and I enjoyed hanging out with Alex in the playroom with Alex for a few hours. Tavin was hilarious. He totally acted like a mini big brother and enjoyed being the older and wiser one for once. While I fed Alex his morning bottle, Tavin just roamed around the playroom playing with his toys and chatting to us. I tried to capture it on camera, but he was tuckered out at that point and just rolled around on the floor for most of this, but I'm including it anyways...

After Alex's bottle I got out the bumbo for him to sit in and be comfortable while I showed Tavin some attention. Alex wasn't super psyched about the bumbo after about 5 minutes, so I took him out of it. Tav was so excited to test it out. He was hilarious, just in and out over and over again.
After Koen got home it was a whirlwind through lunchtime and I caught this one funny video before Koen went down for nap. Tav was in fabulous spirits today despite an extra baby here vying for my attention. Koen is unphased by baby visitors, he's actually really sweet with them. Here's a glimpse of us keeping busy (laughing mostly) before naptime this afternoon.

The rest of the day flew by as I got the babies down for their naps and then I was able to get some work done and then prep for them all to wake up. Alex went home a little after 5:30pm and then I fed the boys and pretty soon it was bathtime and then bedtime. We'll see what tomorrow will bring?

Sneaky Raisin Thief

Tavin loves raisins. Usually I keep them out of eye shot (hidden in a high cupboard) because he gets so upset if I won't let him have them when he spots them in the pantry or on the counter (I'm not mean, it's just you can't let them eat too many or the explosive result is quite a mess to clean up if you know what I mean!). Anyways, this morning they were back in their normal spot in the pantry and I had forgotten to lock up the pantry doors. While I did the dishes, Tav snuck behind the pantry door and got right to work on getting his sweet little fingers into the box and then into the sticky bag. When I found him he looked so guilty, but also just kept going at it. There were only about 2o in there, so I just let him completely enjoy the guilty pleasure. =) Check out the video for yourself...

A Bike Adventure

Yesterday we seized the possibility that the rain would hold off until the afternoon and headed down to the North Shore with our bikes to go on a family bike ride/picnic. It was fantastic! The fresh air felt so good after being cooped up much of the last few days due to rain. Unfortunately I have pretty bad Spring allergies so although I enjoyed the fresh air, I paid for it in sneezing and itchy eyes to name a few of my symptoms. Tavin sits on the back of my bike and Koen rides on the back of Doug's. Koen pestered Doug with about 50 "why" questions for every mile we rode and Tavin kept me company by mimicing my sneezing and then later bobbing into sleepiness hitting his heavy helmet against my back. We took the Heritage Trail down the North Shore, crossed the river into Point State Park, detoured through the edge of downtown on the Blvd of the Allies and then onto the Eliza Furnace Trail to the SouthSide Works where we had our picnic. On our way home we took the quieter River Trail on the SouthSide back to the Smithfield St. Bridge and then our little detour through downtown and back to the North Shore. It was so great to be out in the sun, getting exercise and air with our boys. Thanks for the great idea, Doug!

We were definitely tired and sore from the long ride. I enjoyed the excuse to sit and do work yesterday afternoon, but Doug decided since the rain still held off he would mow the grass, then it still hadn't rained so he proceeded to do more yardwork. He didn't stop until 6pm for a shower. He was exhausted to say the least! Thanks, babe. The yard is looking so much better already!

Easter 2011

Since Doug and I had our cooking adventure date last night, the boys were laid down by our friend, Megan. Koen was fine with it (elated actually), but Tavin struggled with parts of the process (he cried a lot at bath and bedtime, poor guy). He must have been tired from the experience because he slept in this morning. I wish Koen had too. Koen is a little off, probably from our travels, and has been waking up before 7am. He's supposed to stay in his bed until the 7 appears on his clock, but he doesn't seem to quite get it. Anyways, by the time I get the boys at 8am, he is exhausted from playing for over an hour. So, today he was very moody this morning. After a big breakfast he was a little better. So at that point we "opened the tomb" and broke open our "empty tomb cookies" and they did work and were empty inside.He was excited, but not interested in eating one since they didn't have chocolate (they are like a meringue). He also enjoyed church, but showed his tiredness as we were leaving and snapped a quick family Easter photo or two...these pictures say it all!
When we got home he was back to his normal self and was really excited to help me set up for the "party" - here he is doing the dishes!
Koen's moodiness came back out and he was kind of a disaster during the lunch we hosted (we had the worship/production volunteers over since they give up so much of this special day to help us out in the services). He had a good nap and then played very contentedly in his room for almost an hour, so it was looking like his mood had improved.

Tavin was really social at the lunch which was so fun to see. He took a great afternoon nap too which was great because after he woke up, we headed to Miss Megan & Mr. Sky's for Easter dinner with friends.

The boys were fabulous hanging out with all the adults. They had appetizers (Tavin loved just hanging out by the crackers nibbling away and making eyes at everyone).
Koen did very well chatting with a few people, helping me sweep up after Tavin's cracker crumb mess, playing the piano (with headphones to spare us from the noise) and playing cars. Dinner was served at about the same time as Tav's normal bathtime, so they hung on pretty well through a quick meal and then I took Tavin home. Doug had arrived at just the right time that Koen got to stay as Doug grabbed a quick plate. It was fun sharing my boys with my friends. Often at these evening gatherings the boys are already asleep, so it was fun to see them socialize (and enjoy my friends saying how cute they are!).

What a great day with my little family, our great community at church and our friends. We have so much to be thankful for and the greatest blessing of all is what today is truly about...that we serve a living Savior!

Indian 101 Cooking Class

Last night Doug and I went to a cooking class at Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson with a bunch of his interns (a little thank you/bonding event for the group). It turned out to be a blast. When we got there the Chef Instructor (our friend, Luke) asked, "who doesn't like Indian food?" I knew I was in for it then (mine was the only hand that went up - a little disclaimer here, I like a few dishes, but generally it's just too spicy for me).

Actually we had a blast with Doug's co-worker, Kassi, and her husband, Joe, and all the interns learning to cook these dishes, tasting new food and laughing a lot!

Here's the menu we prepared...
Vengayan pakora (ok, kind of bland, didn't like the pepper chopped up in it)
Moong Dal & Green Beans (I liked this pretty well)
Chicken Vindaloo (my favorite, a tomato based curry (not too spicy) dish)
Masala Chai (this was yummy - the real Chai tea)
Curried Carrots/Cauliflower (too spicy for my taste)
Samosa Bites (too lemony for my taste)
Mango Lassi (smoothy drink that was pretty tasty)
I have proven my love to Douglas with going through with this date, being adventurous and trying something new. He owes me a big dish of pasta or an extra pizza night. =)

Simple Saturday

Again, there is a lot to accomplish in the naptime break this afternoon, so I'm going to keep this very brief.

We've had a simple, but meaningful day together. It's great to be back home tag-teaming with Doug. He missed his little guys so much (and me a little bit too). We are enjoying being a family again.

He got the boys up this morning (can you tell by Tav's outfit? the too small sweatpants, the oversized sneakers and the big smile).Then we had a nice pancake breakfast together before Koen and I dyed Easter eggs together in the backyard.
Then I headed to Target (I'm attempting to save like crazy with every trip, so it's hard to take the boys as I try to gain efficiency in shopping with about 30 coupons per trip) and Doug stayed here with the boys. They played mechanic shop...how cute!

When I got home, Koen (and Doug) had made us all lunch and the boys were happily stuffing their faces and I quickly joined them (saving money can stir up quite an appetite!).

Koen and I are making up for being away before Easter and trying to have some meaningful moments to chat about what Easter is really all about. I tried to bring it up while we were decorating the eggs and we chatted about it briefly then, but I came across this great activity to do with kids on one of the coupon blogs I follow. It's called Empty Tomb Cookies. It was a fantastic way to talk about the whole story of what Jesus did for us as we made the cookies. One of the final steps is taping the oven door shut = sealing the tomb. We are to leave the cookies in there until the morning (you actually turn the oven off and they rise on their own) and then we will check in the "tomb" in the AM. When we take the cookies out at that time, the middles of them are supposed to appear empty when you bite into them (I hope it works!). Anyways, as we went through the process today Koen actually made some really interesting comments that made me feel like he did understand and was thinking about some of what we were discussing. I look forward to celebrating with him in the morning that, "He is not here, He has risen!"

Here's a link to the activity if you are interested (I encourage a read-through, very thoughtful!).
http://faithfulprovisions.com/2010/03/29/empty-tomb-cookies-2/

Ok, back to work!

Final NH Trip Notes

We are home now in Pittsburgh (and I'm currently buried in work, cleaning and laundry...i.e. real life), so I will keep this short, but I wanted to post some fun pictures from our last day in NH and the trip home.

Since Grampa and Koen worked so hard to get the Jeep out of the garage on Wednesday, yesterday morning before our flight they went out on a journey in it with Gramma.

Grampa pulled into the woods a few times pretending to hide from "the enemy." Koen loved it! Later he and Gramma went on a walk to the creek in the same area and he pretended that they had to keep hiding from the enemy (as well as an imaginary family of bears).

Our flights home went very well (and yay, on time!). The boys did wonderfully as usual. I don't know what happens to them on an airplane, but they seem to almost always be on their best behavior. They must both just love the adventure of it. In Philly we had just enough time for a milkshake stop, bathroom break and walk and crawl time. These pictures are hilarious!
When we were almost home to Pittsburgh I grabbed my camera for a few in-flight candids.My little troopers. They are such good travelers. I was a very proud mommy on these flights. It's pretty rewarding traveling with two cute (and mostly well-behaved) boys!

Another Day At Gramma & Grampa's

We are having such a nice time just spending time with Gramma & Grampa and having a few days away from the norm of home. Today Koen was really into crafts. He spent about an hour doing various coloring, cutting and glueing projects this morning. Tavin wanted to be in on the fun too (of course, he pretty much screeches if he isn't doing/playing with/eating the same thing as brother).Koen's big outing today was a quick trip to the fire station with Grampa to see the fire trucks. The friendly Bow firemen gladly let Koen get in the trucks and explore. Koen, of course, loved it!
When they got home they got right to work in the garage. Every winter Grampa stores the Jeep in the back of the garage (under a bunch of boat equipment and other things that need to be stored in the winter). His job today was to get the Jeep out of it's hiding spot so it could enjoy the Spring/Summer months and to keep Koen busy! My Dad actually made a book for Koen two Christmases ago about this process, so Koen knew exactly what they had to do, just in reverse of the book. Koen proved to be quite helpful moving small items out from under the front of the Jeep and keeping Grampa company.
Koen called me out to watch him help Grampa push the Jeep out from the corner (so cute that he was really trying to pull it).Here's Koen keeping busy playing with the snowblower (don't worry, under a watchful eye, he just had lots of questions).
When the boys finished getting the Jeep out of the back of the garage, Koen and I got to ride with Grampa on a test ride and even did a tiny bit of off-roading. Koen loved it of course. For the first time he wasn't nervous about being up high in the open-door vehicle. He actually kept asking to go faster, but wise Grampa kept it quite slow to keep it super safe.

Koen was tired after all this hard work and took a great nap. Tavin was up a little after big brother went down for a nap and during that time he found brother's coat and water bottle. He "eh, eh, eh'd" until I put the coat on him and gave him brother's water. It's so cute. He wants everything to do with brother, even to wear his coat! How precious!
Tonight after nap Grampa was onto another project, burning some branches that came out of the trees over the winter. So we got to have a quick bonfire experience before dinner. Koen was so into it! Tavin enjoyed it too, quite mesmerized by the flames he was pretty happy hanging out in the backpack.

Ah, another great day at Gramma & Grampa's. Tomorrow we head home to Pittsburgh. It's time, we are all missing Daddy/Douglas pretty badly, but it's still hard to see these special visits come to an end.