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I knew it was time to sweep and mop when Lucas and Brodie were picking debris up from the floor and handing it to me.  I usually try to clean when they're both napping, but they don't always nap at the same time.  So, I decided now was a good time to clean. 
Sweeping and mopping with the help of my twin boys takes twice as long, but it's much more fun than doing it alone.  Brodie insisted on holding on to the broom handle the entire time I swept the kitchen.  Once I started mopping, Lucas layed down on his belly, swooshing his hands and feet across the wet floor, as if he was swimming.  Brodie thought it was great fun to stomp around the wet floor as it he were splashing in puddles of water.  We eventually got the floors clean, and had great fun doing it. 

The challenges of having 16 month old twin boys...

They both want to be picked up at the same time.
They want Mommy all to themselves.
They share, then change their mind at the last second, and decide not to.
They play together, then suddenly they don't want to play together anymore.
They want to feed themselves.  They don't want to feed themselves. 
They want to hold their own cup, and then they throw the cup. 
They want Mommy to help, then they don't want her help.
They pretend cry.  They copy their brother who is crying for real.
They compete for attention. 
They both talk at the same time, while banging toys together and pushing buttons on noisy toys. 
They open doors, cupboards, gates, drawers, and anything else they can get open. Then they slam them shut without concern of the location of their brother, resulting in smashed fingers, toes, arms, and entire bodies.  Result: crying, screaming twin boys
They want to hold Mommy's hand.  Then they refuse to hold her hand. 
They walk/run the opposite direction when Mommy is trying to buckle them into their stroller.
When its time to go bye-bye, they say bye-bye, over and over and over and over and over...again.
They try to walk outside whenever the front door opens.
They run out of the garage, as soon as the door opens. 
So when faced with the day-to-day challenges I say, "This too shall pass."  I am constantly amazed at how fast Lucas and Brodie grow and change.  I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom.  I know someday I'll look back at the challenges I faced along the way and laugh.  I love being a mom of twin boys.  I wouldn't want it to be any other way. 
 

Lucas and Brodie got their first bike this Christmas from Grammy and Grandpa.  It's a tandem tricycle, and they absolutely LOVE IT!  They can't reach the pedals yet, but they'll grow into it soon enough.  They both love climbing on to the tricycle, sitting in the seats, and holding on, while we push them along.  It won't be long before they are pedaling the tricycle on their own.

The Traveling Potato Chip

It went for a ride in the car and the tandem stroller, before it visited the post office.  Then it rode along in the running stroller for over an hour. Finally, after it went running around the house, I discovered the traveling potato chip in the bottom of Brodie's onesie when I changed his diaper. 
As soon as he saw it, he put it into his mouth, and took off running.  I haven't seen that potato chip since. 

Side note:  The potato chip is a plastic toy that belongs to the Little Tikes kitchen in their playroom.

We were out of whole milk for Lucas.
My husband wasn't home to help with the bedtime routine.
Lucas was more interested in playing with toys than going to bed.
Lucas always goes to bed first, but I chose to put Brodie to bed first.
 
As soon as we walked down the hall toward their bedroom, Lucas followed us, now upset because he wasn't the one going to bed first.  Lucas whined the entire time Brodie sat on my lap drinking his milk.  Brodie took forever to drink his milk because Lucas kept opening and closing the bedroom door.  Finally it clicked shut, the room was dark, except for the hall light shining through under the door.

I kept thinking, this is never going to work.  I shouldn't have changed the bedtime routine.  Brodie is too distracted, he'll never go to sleep.  Lucas isn't going to like nonfat milk.  I'm going to have two crying kids, who won't go to sleep.

Amazingly, once the door shut, and the room was dark, Lucas was silent.  Brodie was no longer distracted, and finished his milk. Within a few minutes, he was asleep in his crib.  I picked up Lucas, offered him his milk, and he drank it down, without a care in the world.  Once his milk was gone, he happily went to sleep in his crib. 
 

For lunch today I made vegan macaroni using soy cheese, soy milk, and whole wheat penne pasta.  Brodie took one look and swatted at it.  Lucas took one bite.  He ate the cheese sauce off, and spit out the pasta.

If Lucas and Brodie had it their way, they would eat the same thing day after day.  But they need variety.  So I try to offer them something new 2-3 times a week.  I usually have a 50/50 chance that at least one of them will like it.  Since Lucas liked the cheese sauce, I knew there had to be a way to get them to eat it.  So for dinner, I put the macaroni in the cuisinart and chopped it up into small pieces.  Surprise!  Lucas and Brodie loved it!  Apparently, size matters when it comes to eating macaroni.

Did you know that "macaroni is technically any pasta made without eggs. While generally thought of as just the elbow tube shape, macaroni can be any shape, including shells, twists, ribbons, ditalini (very short tubes), mostaccioli (large, 2-inch long tubes), rigatoni (short grooved tubes), and ziti (long, thin tubes)."  Quoted from www.recipezaar.com. 

I learn something new everyday. 

Lucas and Brodie are quite the artists.  Today they had their first experience at drawing.  I taped white paper to the table they were standing next to playing with their blocks, modeled how to hold the crayon and how to draw.  I handed each of them a crayon, and they started drawing with vigor.  They drew (scribbled) for a few seconds, then each of them put the crayon in their mouth, and took a bite.  Lucas made a yucky face, but this didn't stop him from continuing to eat the tip of the crayon.  Brodie copied Lucas.  So instead of drawing, they were eating crayola snacks.  I kept telling them to stop eating the crayons, and reminded them that crayons are for drawing.  I helped them take the crayons out of their mouths, and redirected them to the paper.  This just frustrated them.  Every time I said the word "eat", Brodie signed eat.  Then they both started signing: eat, more, milk, over and over again, and I knew I was in trouble.  I started grabbing crayons, trying to get them out of their reach, as both of them kept grabbing more crayons to eat.  I finally got the crayons put away, and we all headed into the kitchen for some real food to eat.

Around 12 Noon today, while eating lunch, preparing lunch for my kids, entertaining the kids, and cleaning the high chair trays from the previous meal, my Mom called.  She asked how and what I was doing.  So I told her.  Almost 45 minutes later, just as I was getting ready to buckle the kids into their high chairs, my Mom called again.  She asked what I was doing, and I told her I was doing just about the same thing as I was doing last time she called.  She said she would like to help out more with Lucas and Brodie.  I told her I would love that, and that she is welcome to come over any day, any time.  When she asked if we had put our Christmas Tree up yet, I said no.  We just haven't had the time.  It has been in the garage, sitting in the tree stand, in water for almost 2 weeks now.  It's wearing two decorations the kids made last week.  We see it several times a day, as it is right in our way as we walk into and out of the garage.  So we are still enjoying it, just not in the traditional way.  Even Lucas and Brodie are enjoying having the Christmas tree in the garage.  Whenever I'm loading them into or out of the car, running stroller, or bike trailer, they go up to the tree and point, touch, pull, and tug on its branches.
After my second phone conversation with my Mom, I realized that I never really get any one thing done.  I end up doing a little bit of this and that, but never finish anything.  Afternoon nap time arrived, and I decided if I could accomplish one thing, it was going to be the Christmas tree. 
The tree is officially inside the house, wearing a tree skirt, twinkle lights, and now has 5 ornaments.  It fell over 4 times while I typed this blog.  Now that its staying up right in the tree stand, I'm not going to touch it again.          
 

Tonight for dinner I made black bean pancakes.  Lucas ate them.  Brodie threw them.  I tasted them and thought they were delicious.  Weelicious ™ is the best website I have found that offers "Fast, Easy & Fresh Home Made Baby Food Recipes, Toddler Food (and now for big kids too!)."

Recipe:

1 can black beans (rinsed, drained)
1 cup frozen corn (I used frozen mixed vegetables defrosted)
1/2 cup cheese (I used soy cheese)
1/4 cup cilantro (I used frozen cubed cilantro from Trader Joe's defrosted)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 TBSP bread crumbs
1 egg

Puree in food processor.
Using 1 tablespoon of mixture make into a patty.
Cook in skillet 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
(I used medium heat.  It took longer than 2-3 minutes on each side.)

Earlier this week while taking a quick moment to check my e-mail, the house fell silent.  Silence can only mean one thing: trouble. 
Lucas and Brodie weren't in the playroom.  I realized I had accidentally left the gate to the hall open.  As I walked down the hall, I noticed they had closed the doors to the bedrooms.  In the distance I could hear little kid voices from inside Lucas and Brodie's room.  Upon opening their door, I encountered a hilarious sight.  Lucas and Brodie were surrounded by piles of baby wipes.  They were taking turns pulling wipes out of the container one at a time and tossing them aside.  They were both so upset when I took the baby wipe package away.  They started grabbing wipes by the fist fulls.  As I collected the wipes off the floor and put them into a large zip-lock bag, I randomly took wipes out of each of their hands, until all the wipes were picked up.  Once the wipes were safely out of reach, I coaxed Lucas and Brodie back into the playroom.
  

 

4:30 AM arrived to quickly.  Waking up to my alarm instead of to Brodie wasn't my idea of a good morning wake up call.  I thought I would have a kid free hour while I got ready to leave for the start of the California International Marathon (CIM), but I was wrong.  Brodie heard me moving about the house, and that was his cue to wake up screaming at 5 AM.  I ate a fast breakfast, while my husband loaded Brodie into the car.  I woke Lucas up and loaded him into the car and we were off to Folsom to meet my Uncle, who was running the CIM.  As soon as my husband dropped me off near the start of the race, our roles changed.  I was a kid free runner, and he took over as Mr. Mom.  He did great.  The kids were happy all morning.
My morning did not go as planned.  I could not find my Uncle at the start line.  (The shuttle bus didn't get him to the start line until after the race had begun.)  The race started, and I ended up running 13.2 miles before finding him.  We ran together for about 5 minutes before I reached the end of my relay.  At the relay exchange, I was suppose to meet my friend from Lake Tahoe.  My husband had dropped her off to meet me, except she was no where to be found.  I told my Uncle to keep running, and my friend would catch up to him.  5 minutes passed.  I didn't have a cell phone.  I frantically asked someone if I could borrow their phone.  My husband answered.  Now 10 minutes had passed.  My friend and I found each other, exchanged the relay chip, and I decided to run with her, in hopes of helping her find my Uncle.  (They had never met each other before.)  We took off at a sprint.  My legs were already tired from running half the marathon in the freezing cold fog, all on pavement.  (I prefer to run long distance on the dirt.) About 1 1/2 miles later, I started fading, my legs couldn't keep up the pace.  So I sent my friend sprinting on ahead with a description of what my Uncle looks like, and I slowed to a jog in search of another person that would let me borrow their cell phone.  (Next time I'm bringing my own cell phone.)  I ended up running over 16 miles.  My husband picked me up, we headed home, fed the kids, I changed into dry clothes, and we drove down to the marathon finish at the Capitol.  The entire time we waiting at the finish line, I wondered if my friend ever found my Uncle, and hoped we would be able to find each of them as they crossed the finish line.  Everything worked out great in the end.  My friend found my Uncle, but it took her 3 miles to catch him running at a sprint.  They were able to run the last 10 miles of the race together.  My Uncle qualified to run the Boston marathon in 2009!  The most amazing thing, is my Uncle started the marathon 20 minutes late, he's vision impaired, runs without a guide, and is a young 62 years old. 

For those of you who love Old Fair Oaks and have kids, you've probably already has this experience.  Don't get me wrong, I love Old Fair Oaks, and I love the chickens, but I hate the poo.  I never realized there was so much chicken poo there until I visited the children's playground at the park.  My friend and I brought our kids there this afternoon to play.  The local chickens were also at the playground, hanging around in groups under the play structure, next to the slide, and a variety of other places close by.  I'm sure its a great place to find food, since kids in general are messy eaters.

Lucas, Brodie, and their friend had lots of fun.  They climbed up the stairs and slide down the slide time and time again.  They even went down the BIG triple slide, which is very fast!  They climbed the climbing wall, walked under and around the play structure, and swung in the swings.  Brodie even checked out the sandbox a few times, mostly falling over in it rather than playing in it. 

Every where they walked, there was chicken poo, ooey, gooey, sticky chicken poo.  It got on the bottoms of their shoes, on their pants, on their hands, and once anything gets on my kids hands, it goes into their mouths, onto their faces, and usually into their hair. 

Our friend's son kept picking up soft, white chicken feathers and handing them to his mom and to myself.  Most of the feathers had chicken poo stick to them.  So now we had chicken poo residue on our hands. 

Okay, maybe I am just being a clean freak all of a sudden.  Usually I don't get grossed out easily, but this just put me over the edge.  Playing at a public playground has its own germs, then add in the chicken poo factor, and yuck!

Needless to say, before we left the playground, I used baby wipes to wash my kids hands.  Then we we returned to the car, I disinfected their hands,and took their shoes off before buckling them into their car seats.  When we got home, I changed their clothes. 

Since we visit Old Fair Oaks often, we will more than likely go back to the chicken poo park to play again, but if I can avoid it I will.

  
 


 

 

Sunday afternoon we went shopping for our Christmas tree.  We returned to the same lot on Folsom Blvd. as last year.  When you find a great tree, sold by friendly and courteous people, its worth returning year after year.  The trees arrived fresh cut the Saturday after Thanksgiving from Lyons, Oregon.  We were happy to meet up with a fellow twin Dad, who leaves his wife and kids at home in OR for two weeks each year to sell Christmas trees in CA.  Our twins are a month apart in age, and he was quite entertained watching us chase Lucas and Brodie through the Christmas trees. 
Picking out the tree was quick.  It had to be as Lucas and Brodie were on the go.  Brodie was running left, while Lucas was walking right.  Brodie disappeared behind one tree, while Lucas disappeared around another.  Out of sight, meant only one thing, trouble.  Brodie found every puddle and either stopped in it, or squatted down and splashed in it.  Lucas was entertained by cautiously touching all the different Christmas tree branches.  Brodie moved fast, and once he had seen enough Christmas trees, moved into the lot in search of that next object of desire which included a snow shovel, running hose, chain saw, bucket full of water, twine, empty tree stands,  and anything else that he could either pick up or knock over.  While Steve loaded the tree onto our car, I chased Lucas and Brodie around the tree lot, keeping them out of harms way.  Once it was time to go home, neither of them would come when I called them.  Neither of them would let me hold their hand and walk with me toward the car.  I finally picked both of them up, one under each arm, and carried them as they kicked and screamed all the way to the car.  They were having so much fun, they did not want to leave.  We finally got them buckled into their car seats, after much protest.  We arrived home with our beautiful Christmas tree, fun memories, a few cute pictures, and a couple tired and filthy, dirty kids.