Monday, January 31, 2011

Did I mention our new nephew?

We were able to spend some time with baby Michael over the weekend.  He is such a good baby.  



Andy pushed me into taking a sick day today... which is such a gift.  I have not been feeling well for a few days, so today he insisted that I stay home from work and he dropped the kids off to the sitter's.  It was so nice to just relax.  He even came home for lunch and cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast, etc.  I really appreciate those kinds of gifts.

Monday, January 24, 2011

A little sewing project

 So, I dusted off the sewing machine to try my hand at sewing once again.  That machine has been so neglected in the past 18 months.  When the kids went to bed, I put together a couple of bibs.  The underside is terry cloth so it doubles as a wash cloth. They are not perfect by any means... a little lopsided... the top stitching is a bit crooked; however, I still think they are pretty cute.  I made them for my new nephew Michael.  I hope he likes them.


Sunday, January 23, 2011

Tent Extravaganza

Look at what Andy brought home today.  Great fun for a very frigid Saturday inside. 


Saturday, January 22, 2011

It's frigid outside

It is about 10 degrees here.  On Friday we only took one quick outing to our little grocery store for some dinner items.  One shopper even commented, "Wow. You have your hands full getting your twins out in this weather."  It sounded like a backhanded complement. But anyways, I just smiled like I always do when someone comments on the twins.
The kids were a bit whiny on this day.  Is it the age?  Does anyone else go through this?  Elinor seemed to walk around crying all day long.  John took his turn for a bit too.  They both wanted to be held at the same time.  That's when mommy wants to cry too.

We did a bit of painting with water in chairs. 

John nonchalantly steals Ellie's goldfish. 

Then I took the crib mattress out and put it in the living room as a sort of trampoline. John loved it. 


Elinor only wanted to jump if John wasn't around, which is getting to be quite an issue.  John was jumping and tackling her... it was hilarious. She was not amused.  Elinor screams "no" if John just looks at her. Uugh! Can't we all just get along!
So, the trampoline was fun for about 15 minutes.  They moved on.  Someone else thought that mattress was just for him......

Lloyd

Andy came home and rescued me at 6:30.  He did baths, and jammies and I swooped in and we both sat with them for milk time.  Oh, it was so time for them to go to dreamland.  And that is where they went.  
Is it wrong to love bedtime so much?!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Weekend Visit

We spent the long weekend visiting with family back in Western New York.  My sister Pat has been under the weather, so it was nice to spend an afternoon at her house.  The kids went non-stop and without an afternoon nap.  We stayed with Mimi and Grandpa, which is always nice.  Elinor mastered the word 'no' and also "uh-oh".  John had a rough night on Saturday.  He was throwing tantrums galore in the middle of the night.  I finally had had enough and put him in bed with his father... and that was all he needed.  He went right to sleep.
I am thinking that the kiddos need a bit of hair maintenance.  What do you think?



And, congratulations to Hilary and Brian - new parents to baby Michael Jeffrey Lepa.  Baby Michael was born on Friday January 14th.  We are so proud of Hilary! 

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Caution! This may cause laughter

Dance parties are pretty common at our house.  See for yourself. Stellar moves!









I'm not sure what adds to my enjoyment more: 
 that he needs a coffee table to dance on or that my 17 month old digs the Kings of Leon. 
He definitely gets his dance moves from Daddy and a bit of Uncle Peter. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

1-11-11

The snow started coming down around noon today.  We didn't get out of the house at all.  The kids stayed in the jammies for most of the day.  They are definitely giving up their morning nap when they are home with me.  I struggle with that, because I don't know how to shower and get dressed for the day if they are not napping.
We did not get to the grocery store today. The minivan is in the shop getting repaired from a fender bender. Oops!  So I made do with what I had.  This is a really great dish filled with lots of vitamins.  The kids think it is macaroni and cheese, I'm sure.  You should definitely try it. I didn't have any onions on hand, so I made it without.  Plus, I added some peas to add a bit more veggie for the kiddos.  They really love squash.
After they went to bed tonight, I put my ski pants and coat on (the only time I get to wear them anymore) and shoveled the driveway.  Andy had a council meeting this evening.
Who knows how much more snow we are supposed to get!



Saturday, January 8, 2011

Back in service

Well, well, well... I am finally back in service.  Yes, I have the new computer. But the camera stopped working.  Sometimes that's the way this house rolls... not everything is in working order at the same time.  But we make do.  And sometimes, we have to stop blogging in the meantime.
Hello and Happy New Year!
The kiddos are so much fun these days.  However, they get into so much trouble as well.  The house usually looks like a bomb went off.  The kids love to just take things out of drawers. So at any given time, I may have pots and pans and tupperware; books and toys; and clean clothes and dirty clothes littering the house.  Then I pick it all up and we start all over again.  Some days I have more patience for it than others. Some days I say to myself, "Wow! God chose me for these kids!" Other days I say to myself, "Why did God choose me?"
Elinor is quite the talker. I don't know what she is saying, but we can carry on very long drawn out conversations.  John is obsessed with figuring things out.  He watched my open cans of crushed tomatoes and then he marched over to get a can opener and a can from the cupboard and sat on the floor attempting to open the can.  That is just one of the many examples. Elinor loves her books and reads out loud with such expression! John likes to fiddle with the vacuum.  John is also my helper.  He puts things away, closes doors and wipes up their mini table.  Tonight when I asked Elinor where her milk was, John dropped to the floor and began looking under the table. I told him not to worry, that I would take care of finding it.  So funny.


I dressed them up in snowsuits today and we did a bit of sledding and playing in the bit of snow we have. I think we spent more time getting dressed than we did outdoors.