Happy Easter

With all of the sickies we had this week, Easter was going to be a game-time decision for us. The kids woke up pretty normal Sunday morning and actually ventured OUT of the living room for the first time in a week. I didn't see them play on their own at all before this. So I figured they were feeling more like themselves. But the true test comes after waking up, so we were going to make the absolute decision after naptime.

They woke up "okay" and they had spent a lot of time indoors last week so I wanted them to be able to get out. Drew actually climbed into the stroller Sunday morning, asked for his coat, and asked to "go out". So, knowing it would be a quick visit, (by the time they got up and we drove up there we would only be spending about 2 hours with other people) we packed things up while the kids finished napping. It all started out fine but I don't know if I said the trigger word "home" or they were just done with Easter but they were in tears by the time we left.

They are in much better spirits today; back to their goofy selves with a lot less coughing, snot, and crabbiness!

Sweet baby Etta, trying to figure out all these kids!

Drew had no trouble jumping in and playing with the toys.

"I did it!"

I don't know about that face

Movie star...diva...top dog. just a few words come to mind when we
see her like this!

Classic Uncle Derek pose - point at nothing and ponder it.

Stealing hugs from a shy, squirmy Kelsey

Birthday Recipes

We had lots of compliments/questions on a couple of goodies from the birthday party last week. So I thought I would post the recipes for anyone interested in trying them! And don't worry: the cream cheese cinnamon goodness that my grandma made comes calorie/fat/sugar/guilt FREE ;) Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Stix

Ingredients:
2 packages (8 ounce size) cream cheese, softened
2  egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2-3 loaves white sandwich bread
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon mixed w/
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, melted

Directions:
In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg yolk, and 1/2 cup of sugar until smooth; set aside.

Cut the crust off each slice of bread then roll out each slice with a rolling pin. Spread the cheese mixture over one end of the bread,,roll up tightly. Dip rolls into melted butter, then into sugar-cinnamon mixture.

 Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Cover with foil and freeze for at least 8 hrs. Bake frozen, uncovered, at 400 for 15 to 20 min, until brown.

Hawaiian Bun Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ingredients

1 12 pack of King's Hawaiian Original Rolls

1 lb. deli ham, shaved (I used black forest ham)

1 lb. Swiss cheese or Havarti, thinly sliced

1 1/2 sticks butter

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

3 teaspoons of poppy seeds (optional)

1 onion, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350. Melt butter and mix in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion and poppy seed. Simmer for several minutes.

2. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, horizontally (keeping all top and bottom halves in tact).

3. In a tin foil lined 9x13 pan, place bottom half of rolls and spread 1/3 of the onion mixture over the bottom of the rolls followed by the ham and cheese.

4. Replace the tops of the rolls and spread the remaining onion mixture over top.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. When finished, cut along "bun" lines for serving.

The Sickies

Well, we had a good go of winter. The kids managed to get 1 minor cold back in December. Then Saturday night after the birthday party, Kelsey threw up 4 times. I attributed it to all the frosting she ate - because that's all she ate off of her cake! (and the color of the puke, but I'll spare you the details). Drew was kinda out of it Sunday afternoon and crabby Monday. They both  had low fevers Monday and Kelsey was starting this crunchy cough. Oh h*ll no, I thought - we have PICTURES Tuesday! It would be par for the course; last year we didn't plan accordingly and it was daylight savings, so we were an hour off which caused Drew to skip a nap. And that kid NEEDS to nap! Of course I was a little worried he would be uncooperative and I left the session thinking, "I know Christy is talented but can she create happy, beautiful pics when my kids just weren't into it?"

So this year, same song and dance. Drew had melt-down after melt-down for the first hour of the session, like wanted to LEAVE the building. Kelsey's nose was dripping something fierce but she was overall happy. Then "trying" to get all of us together, in the same general area for an actual family photo was next to impossible. One saving grace was that the Chicago 'L' passed by the window about every 10 minutes to distract Drew from his crabbiness. We also hopped over to Montrose Beach to get some outdoor pics but the breeze coming off the lake was unbearable. Drew was just loving being outdoors and I so wished it would have been a tad warmer for the kids.

There is already a sneak peak on Christy's blog and hopefully we will have ALL of the pictures in a couple weeks. Have a great Easter holiday - we are praying the kids feel better so we can attend an Easter egg hunt at my aunt's (who dresses up like the Easter bunny too!).

2 Two-Year Olds!

Officially today the kids have turned 2! We had such a great "train" party, celebrating with our families. They have grown into such different little people. They are fairly independent of each other; Kelsey is polite, quieter, and shy. Drew is silly, loud, a show-off, and still learning his manners. We aren't even talking about moving them OUT of their cribs.There is only a little talk of using the "potty". Drew actually talks about pee a lot lately and will tell you when he stinks. They eat and sleep well, although we are working on liking our vegetables more! Drew's been waking up at night for about 15 min, I rock him back to sleep, put him back to bed and there is not a peep out of him after - hope it's just a phase he's in;) Kelsey plays with her fake food and pots; always stirring/mixing/pouring some goodies into our cups and bowls. Drew has been obsessed with balls and swinging a fake bat, then asking us "where'd it go?" (as if he hit some grand slam bomb). Lots of talk also about "BIG CARS", even when I tell them it's a truck and try to get to say truck, they look at me funny. The sitter's grandson has "monster" trucks that the kids love playing with and I suspect the Easter Bunny might put one in their basket:)

We can't WAIT for Spring - bring on the warmer weather and fresh air, trips to the park and playgrounds. The kids are so much fun at this age and we are enjoying watching them grow.

A little pre-party stretch

A pre-party snack

Drew not only blew out his OWN candle multiple times, but Kelsey's too!

Blue frosting overload - it didn't agree with her tummy later :(

"Refurbished" Powerwheels truck, courtesy of Uncle Derek

Sometimes the party girl needs a nap!

Seeyater!

We made our first "furniture fort" this weekend. I was wadding my way through laundry and had been folding sheets in the living room. Kelsey thought this was the bees knees, so she quickly crawled under, between the couch and coffee table. So I thought why not secure it down and let them play. They took their "buddys" and  drinks under the tent and just giggled away! That is until Drew thought it was funner to jump ON the sheet, destroying my fort. The whole experience was short lived but it was different, silly fun :)

Kelsey has been talking our ears off; sometimes we don't know exactly what she's saying (although she looks at us like we should respond). Her big phrase right not now is "Buuuhhh bye, seeyater." And she says it to EVERYONE we pass on our way out. She's getting to be such a little lady, being so polite, carrying her purse around, and going shopping with mom.

Drew's on a kick of asking where everyone is...repeatedly...even if I answer him...even if I give him a bizarre answer. From the back seat of the car, Drew will say, "Momma, Momma, were's da? Were's da?" I say, "At work." "Were's Doe? (Joe,the sitter's husband) "At his house." "Were's Benny? (the sitter's grandson) "At his grandma Arlene's house." (So I said the buzz word grandma, which they won't say but LOVE saying grandpa) Kelsey says, "Oh I wan Pahpa".

We spent a significant portion of our weekend working on the basement. It's been a looooonnnnngggg process since the flood in May but the hard work Craig has put in on the floor and walls is amazing; you'd never know there was 8 in of water flowing through to the drain on the opposite end side of the house. The electronics that were sitting in front of the window "waterfall" is another story:( So far we've lost a dvd player, surround sound, and possibly the Wii. Boo. It's always something, right??

Confession

So I've come to realize how much better I feel going into the kids' 2nd birthday. And I know "better" is a vague term but I guess it means I feel better than last year this time. I was worried or stressed all of the time last year and the first year of their life. I thought, "what did I get myself into?" a lot that first year. I was never "comfortable", wondering if I could be doing it better. I was exhausted, feeling that I was just floating through life and not experiencing it. There were things I wanted to do with the kids (and Craig), some "firsts" for the family but would quickly decide against it or not even make it an option when my anxiety about it would overwhelm me: what if the kids cried through the whole thing, what if it wasn't "fun", what if it's more work than it should be. REALLY what it was, was that I couldn't relax enough to just LET GO and let life be. Which is hard when you feel like if you aren't 'on' all. of. the. time. you might forget something, 'someone', and it was YOU that dropped the ball. I never shared the responsibility. Sure Craig helped but I felt like why should both of us worry or be exhausted. I took the brunt of child-rearing that first year and felt worked-over by their first birthday. I was ready to run away.

And then the kids started "doing" stuff on their own and there wasn't a baby hanging on you every second of the day. And you start to figure out how to "do" life incorporating babies, who are turning out not to be such babies anymore. And then you realize in order to "live", it's okay to step back and take an hour for yourself, or 5 more minutes in the shower to actually wash the conditioner out, or go to some of the restaurants you enjoyed pre-kids (just maybe at an earlier time so you can be seated away from others). We are growing and learning together. And right now it feels like these are the LONGEST days of my life but in reality we will be sending these kids off to college soon and we'll be wondering just 'where' did the time/days/years go?

And as we plan their 2nd birthday party, life feels just a little more figured out. I always like to have a plan and I like to anticipate but kids do not let you do that! With everything the last year has taught me about living in the moment and not worrying about the things you can't change - I'm still learning to figure that out and to realize it's okay NOT to have everything planned, to decide on a whim to go ANYWHERE.
Which reminds me of...

"You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
in any direction you choose
You're on your way
And you know what you know
And YOU are the one
who'll decide where to go...

So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that
Life's a Great Balancing Act."

~Dr. Seuss

There's A Theme

Drew's been plugging his ears

Silly kids

He's a "whistle-blower"

This is where the themes start...last post she was wearing the "block bag"
on her head, this time the beer box.

Maybe she's gonna be a hat person!

Another recurring event in the playroom...Drew getting stuck
in the cozy coup, mostly because he sticks a leg UP

He also likes to tip the cozy coup on its side and tries to drive it or just sits in it.

Then he runs to the kitchen to make a call :)