game day, cold, and smitten

Mr. Marvelous. He leaves me smitten as a kitten.

Even in this picture--that my camera's timer caught of us while it sat on a green electrical box that we found on our walk to the big football game this morning--I'm smitten. Even though it's only 32 degrees out, we're standing on a wet, snowy, slippery slope, my nose is bright red from the frigid 6 block walk, and my eyes are dripping from the extremely snappy air...


... I'm still smitten.


Speaking of our state college football game today, it started out a bit nerve-racking. We were behind. And cold. We're not used to outdoor games, being that we've played indoors for the past 20 years. It was just this season that our state's brand new outdoor stadium opened. And I'll tell ya, Mr. Marvelous and I are a little excited about the whole deal.

We finally scored a touchdown and got a little wild and crazy. We spent a lot of time jumping up and down, to both show spirit and keep warm.

Then we scored another touchdown. And then intercepted and scored a third touchdown, just minutes from the second. We got a bit more crazy.

Then, we got out our suckers and goofed around while we basked in our comfortable lead.

Then we won. We screamed and high fived eachother. And I admittedly proclaimed to Mr. Marvelous that the thought of a hot bubble bath had been dancing in my head for most of the game.

The End.

laughter therapy list

I laughed today. A bunch of times, in fact.

Which got me thinking. What is it about laughing that seems to put me on top of the world? And what is it about something, that makes someone laugh? And why do I find Snow Monkeys downright hi-larious and others don't even bat an eye at them? And why is it that when the most irritating fly is flying laps around my head, the fly swatter goes missing? Sorry, wrong post.

I digress.

So, since I'm sure you already know the bundle of benefits your body undergoes by merely taking part in a good rib tickler, I'll just share with you what cracks me the heck up.

[Ahem]

When people lip sync to songs, but don't know the words.


When this is what I get:

when I ask this little girl to please smile and say, "cheese."


When people use the word "crud."


This video from Youtube.


The scene from Along Came Polly when the guys are playing a pickup game of basketball, and Philip Seymour Hoffman keeps yelling "Let it rain" while throwing nothing but bricks at the hoop.


How Hazel started calling her twin sister "YaYa." And now Norah calls Hazel the same thing.


Just looking at this picture--that my camera's timer caught while we were trying for a group photo--of my friend the other night during Girls Night Out:


When I hit a bump while driving, and Norah calls from the 3rd row, "Whoa Mom."


When Luke insists on pushing his dumptruck in the doll stroller when we go on walks.


When I compliment myself out loud--as I begin to clean up the savory supper meal that I'd just prepared for our family--saying, "No kidding! [Self] you did a darn dippity job on that there meal. Well done!" And, Mr. Marvelous embraces me and replies with, "Hold on there little lady. Be careful you don't throw your shoulder out while patting yourself on the back."


And looking at pictures of people laughing, while they sit in parking lots way past most people's bedtime:



Ha ha hahahaha. See? [Sigh]


Anyways. What gets you giggling?

where I talk about the twins. and stuff.

Hazel. Sweet, smiley sister who's snacking on a sandwich while sitting in the sun.



Norah. Serious, sunkissed sister who's slurping a sticky 'sicle.




Mommy and the little girls. Setting out to splash in our suits on the sandbar

Some things are simply scrumptious.

(Some other things are: Simply's Raspberry Lemonade, college football season tickets, Asian Zing boneless wings, MM's ears, our vacuum's dirt sensor light, and the transition from flipflops and skirts to fuzzy boots and puffy vests.)

So? You want to share some of your scrumptious stuff?

My Husband. And Rocks.

Husband. Rocks.

You didn't actually think I was the type that compares my husband to rocks, did you? Come on now.

And, I bet you didn't guess me as the type to wear, rewear and re-rewear new favorite t-shirts for days in a row, withholding sudsy water from them, did you?

Well, well. There is a lot to learn yet.

It must be global warming, or something.

The weather finally warmed up a bit, here in our neck o' the woods.

Then cooled way down. Then rained. And rained some more. It must be global warming or something.

But, then it got pretty hot for an entire week. So, we've been spending as much time as possible at the lake house, going on as many bike rides as we can fit in, petting as many dogs--belonging to strangers--as we can find, and enjoying our new boat.

During my short little computer sabatical--ok, not so short computer sabatical. Fine! Over a month long computer sabatical, geez--we've been training our young brood to take life by the tube handles, relax and enjoy the ride. And, so far so good.

Rest assured, we're still around, despite our attendance on this edge of the blogosphere.

And believe me, in a couple shorts months when that water back there:

...will have turned to ice, we have 6 foot snow drifts out our front door and fantasy football is in full swing, we'll be ready and rearin' to share our Pear Plum Crisp recipe, the pictures of what my bed looks like on laundry day, and what 2 year old twins look like when they shove half of a banana in their mouths.

You can't wait, I know.

copycats

While I:

...wait for this book--recommended by this friend--to become available for me at our local library

...take in deep breaths of the breeze streaming in my bedroom window

...think of my 4under3 who are currently working on their 2nd hour of naps

...hum the bluesy jazz songs that are dancing in my head

...anticipate tomorrow's fun, family activity that Mr. Marvelous plugged us into



I'll leave you with two of my favorite little copycats.

Park Biology 101

Today, after playing at the park, this little guy came home with us:



No, I'm not talking about the friendly, young, lad who's holding the little guy. Not the boy who quickly made friends with my children then proceeded to lead them along the wooded area of our favorite park while teaching them about Queen Ants, their wings and the fascinating fact that some reproduce without mating.

I'm talking about the froglet that the budding entomologist is holding:

After the children scooped up a whole slew of them--I'm sure from the safety of their own backlog--they named him Froggy, of course. Then the others: Frogarella, Frog White, Frogman, and Spiderfrog. In which I validated as very appropriate names. However, if they were my froglets; Mulligan, Croquet, Thabeet and Oreo would be among the top names that I'd delegate.

I digress.

And not only did that one, sweet, little, scared lilypadless, froglet come home with us, all 4 of his friends did too. Safely in our daughter's pocket*.

Unbeknownst to me.

*For all the Frog Advocates out there, we did transfer them to the Bug Catcher Container before naps.

Nut Butter Balls

If you're like me and you:

a. love a punch of protein once in awhile, throughout the day
b. insist on following the rule of ingesting protein within the 30 minutes after you swim laps
c. enjoy bite sized treats but are out of dried cherries and oreos
or
d. feel good when you feed your children quality snacks instead of nutritionally void ones

...then you've got to try this quick and easy Nut Butter Ball recipe.


My friend Lindsey introduced me to these pieces of paradise that fit right in your palm, and I'd like to introduce you to them, too.

So bloggy friends, meet Nut Butter Balls:




In a medium bowl mix together:

2 c of nut butters (any combination of almond, sunflower, peanut, cashew, hazelnut, etc. I recommend getting that in bulk at your local whole food store. I used all almond, but would have used another if I had some on hand.)

1/3-1/2 c honey or agave nectar (I used mostly honey with a dallop of agave.)

1/4-1/2 c flax (optional but highly recommended for nutritional purposes)

Then add in 1/2-3/4 c flour (Enough so that the mixture resembles playdough. It shouldn't stick to your fingers. I was fine with 1/2 c whole wheat flour.)

Form mixture into 1 1/2-2 in balls and roll in unsweetened coconut flakes. Or wheat germ.

And there you go.

At that point, feel free to pat yourself on the back and hollar, BAM! Or grab one of your children (or pets) and spin around in the kitchen singing, "We are the Champions."

Or, just eat one, smile and thank me later.

Grease Monkeys

What to do, when your mom informs you that while you were away, running errands, and while your 2 year old twins were supposedly napping soundly, they were really emptying a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub and a tube of Butt Paste into their tiny, little, 2 year old hands and smearing the mixture into their hair.


And what to do, when you attempt to wash their hair not once, not twice, but three times in hopes of cleansing each strand of greasy goo, but you fail miserably?


And what to do, when the next morning you need to run errands with your grease monkey girls in tow, but when they awake their hair looks like a bad attempt to replicate John Travolta's 'do in Grease?


What you do is ride the wave out and roll with it.

...After placing as many pigtails in their hair as deems possible.

And then you pretend that you meant it to look like that.

Then during naps you try it on your own hair. Just to see if it turns out as cute.*

*No you don't.

Camping and Coons.

Mr. Marvelous and I are big quality timers.

Like the other day, when we loaded up our bikes, the bike trailer, and Julia and Luke's bikes, then drove downtown to the river to ride together, it was like it was Christmas. Christmas without 6 feet of snow and subzero weather.


And, I heard those jingle bells a ringin' again this weekend when we loaded up the oldest two and headed to the camp ground.

Creek hiking won first prize for the escapade that was most fun.

Along the way we found flipping fish and rock hideouts that solidified just how creative God's juices are.

It's no secret, our two oldest are as adventurous as we hoped they'd be.

We did things like eat Doritos when we'd normally be having supper. We allowed the children to potty in the bushes, we stayed up way past our bedtimes, and we had a great time doing it.

Then, it started raining just before Mr. Marvelous and I were ready to hit the hard ground our sleeping bags were resting on. Because of that, we missed putting this bag in the truck:

...and a couple hours after I finally fell asleep, I woke to some pesky 'coons who thought we left it out for them. But, laying there, listening to the rustle of bags, then them climbing the tree next to our tent totally freaked me out nearly lulled me back to sleep.

Ah, the sound of pure nature.

And definitely a trip of pure fun.

two

Two little girls,

dressed in two little, number 2 shirts,

who love to push two baby strollers around on the pavement of our driveway.

Two little honeys,

with two noses too cute not to nibble on,

have brought their two parents' hearts to overflowing.

Two little girls who are now two.

Why the motion?

UPDATED: Well, the actual update is at the end.


ORIGINAL POST:

Any ideas why, on a cloudy day at the lake, I loaded up our 4under3 and navigated down the river to the nearest town to take this picture yesterday morning?

Any thoughts on why in the world I would pull all four children out onto the cement--for approximately 3 teeny little minutes and for passerbyers to see--and make this parking lot our first stop in a journey that later included a podunk park that appeared older than the trees over it's head? A park whose rocks entertained the children more than anything.

You got any notions?

About our motion?

Here's the answer:

So, our reasoning behind stopping here is not that it was their first visit out of state. Nor was it that it was their first time purchasing fireworks. (However, we did visit one of those the next afternoon. I never thought to snap a picture of that.) But, Lori, you were right on. Slippery's restaurant was the 'Slippery's' in Grumpy Old Men. The actual movie was filmed in that very town. The children, however, could have cared less. They really just wanted more of those Sour Patch Kids I bribed them with before we got out of the car.

It was windy. Did I say that already?

As you might know, we're up at the lake this week.

After the girls' Polka Dot Bash guests cleared out Sunday night, Mr. Marvelous and I packed up my car so the children and I could drive up to the lake the next morning. (The "lake" is actually part of the Mississippi River and is a quick 45 minutes away.)

Mr. Marvelous, on the other hand, is commuting to and from work this week. So, the children and I are keeping busy playing in the pool exploring the nearby parks and trails while the weather straightens itself out and while Mr. Marvelous is gone.

If you've already heard, today we drove to a historic, neighboring town--with a packed lunch in tow--in hopes to find something to distract us from the 60 and not-so-sunny weather.

And if you remember right, it was chilly:

But, thank goodness I brought coats for everyone. But me.

And windy:

But our picnic--in the middle of the playground and under a plastic rock wall--on a cozy blanket made it extra fun.

The skies were gray:

But the "super duper, as big as Superman" barge that floated by was cool.

And it was...windy:

But the kids didn't mind. And I didn't either. Thank goodness for heated car seats for the drive back.

Norah and Hazel's Polka Dot Bash

Today we celebrated these two little girls' 2nd Birthday. Polka Dot Style. (Remember them last year? And here, here, here, here, and here.) :

(Hazel: L Norah: R)

Family and friends joined us--in their suits--in our front yard for lots of water fun. They plowed down slip-n-slides, dove down blow up, yellow, water slides, and splashed in their pool of choice.

After we all took a break to eat dinner together, we enjoyed this cake that great grandma made and decorated, per my specifications:

Yes. It tasted as good as it looks. And, yes, we have lots of leftover M&M's sitting in our cupboard. And, yes, their posh bibs are from these guys.

Then we all witnessed what organized chaos looks like while the twins opened their presents:

And, thanks to the blue skies, balloons, and buddies, our bash was a big hit.