2009 Goals.....

Everyone makes New Year resolutions - and many of them go unanswered. I, too, am making a resolution. I am going to freecycle something every day! That's right, I am going to try to get rid of at least 365 things. That sounds like a lot - but we just have too much!! And, even if I fall short of every day, I hope to get rid of many things - and meanwhile help others make use of them.

I will be writing a new blog about this adventure. Feel free to view it - and pass along the link to anyone who might enjoy hearing about the highs and lows of freeclycling.

www.ifreecycle.blogspot.com

What is Freecycle you ask? Simply an e-mail club that allows you to electronically offer items you no longer need to other club members. They come pick the item up. Now, multiply that by 365 and you've got my 2009.

2008 in Review

2008 has been a busy year.

Yet, when you think about what happened, sometimes it is hard to think of much. So, I went through the family calendar and picked out some highlights to encapsulate the year.

January
- Closed on our "new house"
- Spent time in Marco Island, FL with family - so much fun!!!
- Nancy changed Real Estate companies

February
- Spent more time in Marco Island, FL - did not want to come home to cold and snow...

March
- Had the wallpaper in our bedroom and office stripped and the walls painted!
- The girls went on their first (and second) Easter Egg Hunts - at one they wore snowsuits!!
- Contemplated getting the driveway redone and widened

April
- Facilitated a Discovery Retreat for engaged couples
- Attended Nancy's cousin Julie's wedding!
- Painted the dining room RED!

May
- The birthday party circuit began...
- Got Buddy the dog.
- Attended Danny's (Dave's little brother) confirmation - Dave was his sponsor.
- Took a trip to Virginia to visit friends and act as Godparents to their 2 sons.
- Attended Danny's graduation!

June
- Went to a zillion birthday parties!!!
- Had a great time at the Justin Roberts concert at Ravinia with so many good friends.
- Spent countless hours at the local pools, parks and other outdoor venues.
- Had a HUGE party for Erin & Ev's 2nd birthday!!
- Had a HUGE family party - we got to see my brother Brian's family that moved to AZ.
- Had the girls taking swimming lessons - fun fun!

July
- More birthday parties!!!
- Went to lots of concerts in the park
- Had a great time at Andrea's graduation party
- Facilitated another Discovery Retreat for engaged couples
- Went on countless play dates with new and old friends
- Attended the girls 2nd variety show at their babysitters home - they did better than last year!

August
- Attended a fabulous "Jimmy Buffett" themed birthday party for Kent
- Attended Kayte & Chris's wedding celebration!
- Went to Lake Geneva with my mom and the girls - so much fun!
- Had a get-away birthday weekend with Dave in Lake Geneva
- Had a fabulous fancy dinner at Spiaggia - best gnocchi of my life!!
- Hit the zoo several times and had a blast!

September
- Went apple picking with Dave's family!
- Signed a contract to get the driveway refinished and widened!

October
- Had the driveway done!!!
- Went to a great party at Dave's work - petting zoo, pumpkins, hay ride, pony rides, what more could you want?
- Had our first real road trip with the girls to Eagle River, WI. We had so much fun on boat rides, playing with friends and just hanging out!
- Attended Dave's cousin, Lauren's wedding!

November
- Went on another road trip to Louisville - saw old college friends - great fun!
- Attended the Obama Rally Celebration - a once in a lifetime event!
- Attended/Hosted 3 (oh, wait ... 4) Thanksgiving celebrations

December
- Saw Santa about 5 times!
- Enjoyed feasting at 2 pancake breakfast events!
- Had a fun cookie party for the kiddies to decorate cookies and the parents to enjoy each others company.
- Celebrated 6 years of marriage and 11 years of love with my husband.

Erin and Evelyn (2008 in pictures)

Every year, we HOPE to capture the year in pictures for the girls to see them grow up. Here is a montage I made with a "Daddy-Daughters" perspective for this year. I love you very much E&E. I hope you enjoy this montage as much as I did making it for you.

Love, Dad

When do you open Stockings?

As Christmas comes to our house there are some critical items that we'll have to smooth out over the years as Nancy's and my family's traditions meet head to head.

For example, my family always opens gifts first and stockings last, where Nancy's family opens stockings before gifts. She says that stockings are appetizers that whet your appetite for the main course where I maintain that they are icing on the cake and a gentle let down back to reality after the euphoric highs of Christmas gifting bliss.

Help us settle this once and for all. Do you look in stockings before or after gifts under the tree and most importantly... Why is the other way "wrong"? Nancy and I look forward to your comments on this Christmas Spirit'ed debate.

Christmas comes to our house

For as long as I can remember, Christmas was all about waking up early, rushing down to get my presents and then traveling all day to visit extended family. Well this year will be similar but significantly different.

Nancy and I are not going out to my parents house in Harvard this year. The girls are getting older and it's time to cut the cord. I must admit it feels a bit strange but I guess this is part of really growing up. Now we have our own family and our own Christmas traditions which begin with waking up at our house.

Erin and Evelyn have quite a healthy dose of the holiday spirit this year. They LOVE seeing houses decorated in Christmas lights, they know not to touch tree ornaments because they are fragile, they know they are not to open any packages sitting under the tree, and they sing lots of Christmas songs including Frosty, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Rudolph, and Happy Birthday (to Baby Jesus).

They recognize Santa, but are nowhere near ready to sit on his lap. But, this has not stopped Nancy and me tormenting them by taking then to several of Santa's Helpers in malls and other events and getting lots of precious freaking out photos.

Just because our family won't be having a carbon copy Christmas like in years past, there are many traditions Nancy and I want to continue. My parents, Dan and Nickie will be coming over to our house in the morning to open presents. We will be eating a large breakfast of scrambled eggs, ham, and croissants with hollendase sauce and the girls got their annual pair of Christmas jammies.

Nancy and I have finished all our wrapping and are going to bed so grateful for the wonderful, happy, and healthy family we have. We are truly blessed both with friends and so many family members who love us and who we love. Here's to many many years of happy and appreciated holidays going forward.

Daddy, you get timeout!

For the past couple of week there has been a sign posted at our church's daycare saying that it would be closed on Dec. 14th. Since Nancy and I are not emotionally ready to sit with our two hooligans through a full service, we decided to grant ourselves dispensation and skip mass today - which meant we had more time in the morning to start our day.

After getting the girls up and dressed, Nancy and I had were sitting on our bed when Erin marched in and said, "Mommy, Daddy, you lay down go night-night." Nancy and I looked at each other and decided, ok we'll lay down.

Erin then put her finger up to her mouth and Shh'ed us, told us once again to go night-night and closed the door. Nancy and I decided to play this up and we started hooting and hollering just like the girls do when they don't want to nap. Erin yelled back at us.. "You go NIGHT-NIGHT!"

She came back into our room carrying some of her books to give to us to read and said, "Here your books. Go night-night". We asked if we could get a couple of stuffed animals and Erin went galloping off to fulfill the request. When she came back with Curious George, I asked if she would sing to us. Erin did her best at singing the ABC's and then said, "No more talking. Mommy, Daddy go night-night" and once again closed the door.

To complete this re-enactment of our going to bed ritual, I asked for some water to which Erin gladly went too to get. While she was gone fetching sippies for us, Nancy and I were discussing how in our extra morning playtime with the girls neither one of us had taken the dog out yet. So I got up from bed and went downstairs to let Buddy out in the back yard.

When I got back Erin was standing in the room and removing the folded clothes on the rocking chair and throwing them on the floor. When she saw that I came back she pointed to the now empty rocking chair and said "Daddy, you get timeout."

"What did I do?" I asked. "Daddy, you bad. No get out of bed at night-night." I was in fact, in violation of Rule #3 of Big Girl Beds (#1 is no jumping, and #2 is no playing with the window blinds).

This was all in good fun and Nancy and I just marvel at the level of sophistication the girls play has become. Their ability to imagine and recreate scenarios down to the minute detail is amazing. And the rules of these games are so intricate and consistent. It is really neat to see their little brains developing and staring to navigate social order.

Luckily my timeout only lasted a few seconds. But I respected the rules of Erin's game and I sat in the chair until I told her I was sorry and asked if I could get up. She said yes and with that we all went downstairs to get on our coats and shoes to leave for our parish's holiday pancake breakfast.

On the drive to the "pancake party" as the girls were calling it, Nancy and I were asking ourselves if we give the girls too many timeouts since it is making this much of an impression on them. But Nancy said that they hardly ever get any timeouts at home. We know they get them once in a while at our baby-sitters, but still not that often. We have heard Erin give her stuffed animals timeouts lately. It's usually after one of the animals has "bitten" or "grabbed a toy" from another one of the stuffed animals. Erin is certainly grasping the concept of consequences (more so than some adults I know). Nancy suspects it's more of a power trip than anything else. There is not that much Erin gets to be in charge of in her life, and she is asserting herself over her stuffed animals. It's so neat to watch.

What a sweet and amazing way to start a lovely day.

PS - they loved the pancakes! Erin had 4 pancakes and 3 sausages! Ev had 2 sausages and 1 pancake. And, they did not like Santa - we'll post photos soon!

What?

Erin is saying all kinds of funny things lately... Here is a sampling...

The girls slept over at my moms the other night. They went upstairs to begin terrorizing the house when Erin called down as I was walking out "Bye Bye Mom - see you next time!" Where the heck she got that phrase I can't even imagine! I got a good laugh out of it but think she should have been a teeny weeny bit sad I was leaving - maybe for just a second.

+++++++++++++++++

I called Erin to her room to help clean up her toys - she was busy tearing my room apart. She stuck her head out of my door and yelled back to me "Mom - what do ya need?" What do I need - I need you to get your little diaper bootie over here and help!

+++++++++++++++++

The other day we played at a friends home in the morning. My friend sent the girls home with baggies of Cheerios. When Erin finished her snack she asked for more. I told her we did not have any in the car and would need to wait until we got home. She said "Mommy have sex at home?" I said "I have treats and snacks at home - we'll have some soon." She then said "I have sex at home too!" I very quickly tried to change the conversation.

Big Girl Bed Update...

Well, Nap #1 yesterday was a total and complete failure. Ev was especially nutty and had a grand old time - doing everything but napping. With her being such a clown there was no chance Erin would sleep. They slept over at my moms house, so no night time routine.

Today was attempt #2 and it was a total and complete success! We put them down around 12:45 and by 1:20 they were out! They always take a while to sooth themselves to sleep, so this 25 or so minutes was completely acceptable. It is now 3:12 and they are still snoring away. Yeah!

We'll see what happens tonight, but for now I am pleasantly happy :-)

It's the end of the world as we know it...

and I don't feel fine.

The girls are 2 years, 5 months and 13 days old (or 897 days old). Every one of these nights they have slept in a highly confined space - and I think they enjoy it. But, we are closing in on a new era - one that includes big girl beds.

We have been talking about big girl beds for a long time - and the rules that go along with big girl beds - no jumping, no touching the blinds and don't get out until mom comes in the room.

Yesterday we went to buy blankies. Ev choose a bright pink super soft and cozy blanket. Erin went with a cozy white blankie with big bright colored polka dots! Seriously - if I had to pick out their blankets I would have picked these exact 2 blankets. But, they 100% made the choice. They love them!

Today Dave picked up the beds and we rearranged the room. Right now they are "sleeping" in their big girl beds - that's ri9ght, day 898. Maybe we should have held off until they are 900 days - or maybe 9000 days (that would make them over 25) ... that sounds better to me.

These photos and video are from their last night in cribs ;-(

No Night Night!

So, today was pretty hectic - the first day back to our normal routine. All morning the kids seemed a bit tired - still recovering from a few late nights. I put them in their cribs for a nap and went downstairs. Of course they did not drift off to sleep quickly - so I went back up and told them to go to sleep - and changed a diaper. Left the room and hoped for the best. I left the gate at the top of the stairs open because it makes noise opening and closing it.

A while later I was in the family room on the first floor talking with my friend Heather. All of a sudden I hear them running around upstairs screaming "No Night Night". They run down stairs and make loops around the first floor screaming "No Night Night". They are giddy with their accomplishment.

This is the first time either of them has climbed out of the crib! And, they both did it! What did I do over the holidays to deserve this punishment!!! Looks like our big girl beds will be put to use sooner than we had expected. I am really nervous and not very happy.

Gobble Gobble...

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! It is hard for me to believe we are almost in December. Our Thanksgiving was crazy busy - but that's how all the holidays are! We had a great feast on Thursday at Dave's aunts home. Friday, we had his family over for dinner and Saturday we had my family over (24 people!!).

Here are the highlights...

The girls are just wonderful and so go-with-the-flow. They just love parties so all of the hectic activities went over very well on them!

Both Erin & Ev had a wonderful time at Auntie Suzie's house. They seem to have a crush on Dave's cousins husband, Chris. Watching them play with him was so sweet. Not many young guys are all that into toddlers. But, he treats them so well and they just love him back.

It was so nice to have Dave home from work for 4 days. I was sad he had to go back to the office today.

I learned how to make a great lasagna and a tasty flan! Those were my 2 food experiments and they were both big hits!!

Our tree is up (we always do it the day after Thanksgiving). Now we need to decorate it and get out the rest of our decorations - yikes!!!

Again - Happy Thanksgiving!!

Smash and Grab Bummer

On Wednesday I got a call at work from my company's security office. They asked me if I had a red Acura and I told them yes. They told me I had better come down to the security office. At first I thought I was in trouble. Did I part in a handicapped space or was I blocking a driveway? When I got there everyone seemed rather uncomfortable and as it turns out it was because they had bad news for me.

Someone had scoped out the company's parking lot and decided my car was worth breaking into. They smashed my drivers side window and stole my GPS I had on top of the dashboard. In retrospect I guess I could/should have put the GPS in the glove box or something but I've clearly never had a problem before this.

So the security officers called the CPD who sent out a cop to take a statement and fill out a form (like that will ever do any good). The folks at WMS were really nice and helped put a piece of plastic up on my door so I wouldn't have to drive home in 29 degree weather with no window. It looked SO trashy though. But Nancy and I took the car into the shop and by the next day we had the window fixed. I don't think we'll be getting another GPS anytime soon, but word to the wise, we'll be taking the GPS in the other car off the dashboard when we leave the car for a good long while.

It's a bummer but what are you going to do? The whole thing reminds me of what I heard someone say once, "A liberal is just a conservative whose house hasn't been broken into yet." Well I'm not that cynical yet.

Time flies...

Funny that although this is probably my favorite time with the girls I find myself bloging less and less. The stories are a plenty - I am not sure if it is just too little time or what is causing me to be such a slacker. So, here are some funny stories.

- Tonight we had a bunch of kids over for play and dinner. About 6 kids were in the kitchen drinking from little open cups. Ev was holding a toy mustard container. She dropped a few dashes of "mustard" into her water and said "yummy". Erin asked for some and Ev gave her a few shakes. Soon enough every kid was asking for mustard in their water and telling her how yummy it tasted. Pretend play is fascinating.

-The girls are total social butterflies. They want to see their friends every day! Every day they ask me what friends they will see. They have gotten very good at recognizing faces and knowing which mommy goes with which kid - and even both mom/kid names. They are constantly asking me where everyone is. Where Daddy? Where GiGi? Where Eliot? Where Uncle Dan?

- Erin is especially good at ending nursery rhymes and songs. She knows most of them and if you start off the line she will finish it - even if it is somewhat uninterpretable. Funny how much they love their nursery rhymes.

- I try to work on the girls memories by both remembering things and looking forward to things. It is amazing that if I tell them before bed we will be going to a museum - that's the first thing they will talk about in the morning. Dave showed Erin his business card a few months ago. Yesterday Erin found one, picked it up and said "Daddy's business card". We had not talked about them or looked at them in months.

That's about it for now - I'll post photos from the museum tomorrow!

Halloween Debrief...

Dave and I could not find our battery camera charger - and the camera was dead. Therefore, we could not download any photos - and that led to no blogging. So, everything is back to normal... and here is our Halloween update...

So, the girls are nearly 2.5 and man do they love trick-or-treating. They walked their little hearts out and had an absolute blast getting all the candy their hearts could desire. Of course being the cruel parents we are they were not allowed to eat 99% of it - and that all went to Dave's work.

Erin was a ladybug and Evelyn was a bumble bee. Erin really wanted to be a butterfly, but I could not find a costumer. She seemed pretty content to be a ladybug. Ev would not wear her costume for a long time and then got into it. They both wore their antennas the entire time!!

In our neighborhood we get about 450 trick-or-treaters. Yes, 450 - they come from near and far. The street is blanketed with mini-vans and the kids are everywhere. It is a really fun holiday and we are so lucky to have this experience to share with our kids. The girls were lucky to play with our little neighbor Jack. We don't see him much lately because it got so cold! But, Halloween was close to 70 - which is unheard of in Chicago!

Another Family Wedding

Dave and I had another family wedding to attend! Dave's little cousin, Lauren, married a nice guy - Sebastian. We don't see them very often as they are living in Denver. Lauren is in school to be a pediatric surgeon - how crazy is that!

Anyhoo... The ceremony was at Saint John Brebuff in Niles - that's where Dave went to elementary school. Dave's little sister and brother were in the wedding which was fun to see. And, the reception was at the Shedd Aquarium. We had cocktails in the shark and stingray area - and tons of tasty appetizers! Dinner was on the main lever with all the tanks - we even saw a guy inside a tank feeding the fish. I had the beef tenderloin and it was excellent! Dave had chicken something and he loved it. It was a super cool place to celebrate a new life together.

Lauren & Sebastian - Best wishes for a long and happy life together!!

Why is Erin always sticky?

For some reason it seems that Erin is always sticky! Yes, Ev is also often sticky - just not as much as Erin. We were at a Halloween party decorating cookies and Erin could not have been messier! Ev was far less interested in getting messy and simply decorated the cookies.

How do kids communicate?

Sometimes it is tough to know what a child is saying or what the mean. This can be especially difficult when you have a child that has trouble using all of their words. Sometimes they speak clear as a bell - be it with words or actions.

Saturday Erin woke from her nap. She started making a ruckus and work Evie. Ev was not all to please to be woken by her sister. We gave Ev her milk and started playing with the kids. Ev then went into the guest bedroom and pointed at the pack-and-play that was on the floor. She pointed to it and said "open". Dave obliged and opened it up. Ev then went back to their room and got every animal/book/blanket Erin sleeps with and put them in the pack-and-play. She then said "Sissy go night-night"pointed at the pack-and-play and walked out of the room.

Ev officially kicked Erin out of her room.

Crystal Clear.

Too funny!

Jumping Jiggles

There is a fun place in the area called Jumping Jiggles. They have all kinds of fun kid things. We went a few weeks ago with Jen, Kate & Ally. Just a few months ago Erin would wig out if you moved the teeter totter when she was on it, but she has become much more adventurous and now likes to use it properly.

Autumn Festival...

A few weeks ago Dave's employer (WMS) held an Autumn Festival for all employees families. We had a great time - and the girls just loved it. They went all out with plenty of activities for big kids and little ones. They had a petting zoo, pony rides, games, lunch and tons of free pumpkins!!
There was a really cute little orange piglet and Erin really wanted to catch it. She kept chasing it all around the pen, but just could not get it! What a bummer.




Ev really enjoyed eating cinnamon apple donuts. Something possessed Dave into giving her a whole donut!! I think she might have even eaten the entire thing! She was not as big a fan of the petting zoo and preferred to be held most of the time we were in the pen. Ev is not the biggies animal lover.



We also got to take a fun hay ride and tour of the manufacturing plant where they make the slot machines. That was pretty cool! Since we have one at home the girls know just how to play. Some day we might regret having a slot machine in the house... But, all the kids LOVE it!

Don't you wish you had a sister?

Watching the relationship between Ev and Erin develop is really the coolest thing. For the most part, they love each other and protect each other so much! Sometimes they squabble or fight over a toy, but most of the time they just enjoy
each other.

A Dinner Party...

A few evenings ago, after the girls had dinner they were running around the house playing - pretty normal. I had a few things to take care of on the computer, so I was in our dining room and they were going back and forth from the living room to the family room. They were especially good - and particularly quiet - which is always a time for questioning what the heck is going on. After about 10 minutes of silence and scurrying, I heard Erin start yelling "I Party. I Party. Cheers!"

Of course, this made me get up and see what they were up to....

Erin had set up our glass cocktail table in the family room with all of our little chairs around it - like 6 chairs/stools. She then put a stuffed animal (Tiger, Pooh, Curious George, Elmo, another Elmo) on each chair and a bunch of plastic food, cups, plates and misc. items on the table. She made a party!

Evelyn proceeded to drag me upstairs so she could get Pinkie Pie (her pink pony). She ran it downstairs and included her in the party.

It really is amazing to think of how their brains work. They must see us entertain often and knew it is just something you do. But, really it was the cutest thing ever!!

Family Photos...

We spent Sunday morning at the local Botanical Gardens having photos snapped at us. Got some cute ones - enjoy!!

Seriously, the tallest slide??

Today I took E&E to the park and then we had a nice lunch with my parents who have been out of town for a few weeks.

Erin is always asking to go to the park, so it was nice to just play there for about 90 minutes. We went on swings, the teeter totter and did lots of climbing and playing in the sand box.

After a while Erin drifted off to the bigger kid jungle gym and climbed the stairs to the very top - about 15 feet up. She proceeded to slide down the twirly slide. This is so uncharacteristic of her! In this photo you can just barely see her - it is from my phone. The girls never cease to amaze me. I never though she'd do it, and she did it over and over. Ev climbed up and then climbed down - not taking on such a brave feat yet.

We had a fun lunch of hot dogs, mozzarella sticks and sips of grandpa's chocolate shake! Of course sweet tooth, Evie, gobbled it up. But, even Erin, the girl that does not drink milk, managed to chug down a good deal of it as well.

So funny!

What's Your Bedtime Routine?!?

The girls have been good sleepers since they were little - thank god! Sometimes our bedtime routine is a bit chaotic! Take a look...

New Hats!

Auntie Luci sent the girls great packages filled with sweatshirts, hats and hair bows all from Hayward, Wisconsin.

Check out how cute their hats are!!

Watch out Mary Lou Retton!

Erin and Evelyn are little gymnasts!! They just love our Tuesday morning gymnastics class. You might wonder what a 2 year old can do in terms of gymnastics, but they do surprise me.

Erin has learned how to do a somersault - all on her own! She started by sitting on a stool and just figured out the weight distribution and now she is an expert!

Here are a few videos. The sound is not great - some background noise, but they are funny to watch.

This is a great one that highlights their little relationship. Make sure you watch the entire video - it is not long.....


Jump Jump Jump...

Blog to Book - Part 2!

Since a few have also expressed interest in turning their blogs into books, I wanted to share a site I found. This is what I'll be using to get my blog on paper for the girls. It is a great site - very customizable and not to pricey. What a cool service!!

www.blurb.com

Check it out!

Another job for the resume...

I've had many jobs in my day - I worked at Subway making sandwiches and then managing the store - American Eagle and Bloomingdales gave me plenty of retail experience - at CNA I did everything imaginable - and now I am a Realtor. But, my newest line item for the resume is jukebox dj. That's right. I have a new gig!! Picture this...

I am driving my pretty little girls around town (to playgroup or the pool or whatever) and they scream out songs that I must play immediately! It is the funniest thing. They don't let it go - they will make their requests over and over until I can find the right song. I have even taken to having a post-it on the dash with their favorite hits and track numbers. Lately, their favorites include: Wheels on the Buss, Hokey Pokey, 5 Little Monkeys, Buzz Buzz and Choo Choo.

My life is so glamorous.

Another Great Trip to the Apple Orchard...

For the second year in a row we took the girls apple picking to send off summer and welcome in autumn. We went back to our usual haunt, Royal Oak orchard in Harvard, Illinois. In addition to the four of us, we joined up with Dave's family. Dan, Nickie, Irene, and Ed all joined us at orchard.



It was a very hot day and the sun was extraordinarily bright. We packed pairs of jeans and sweatshirts but never came close to needed them. It was a beautiful day. We went straight to the orchard and picked a bushel of courland, fiji, and senshu apples. It was a good thing we brought the stroller. Not because the girls needed it, in fact they walked the entire day, but it was a great way to carry all the apples we picked back to the car.



Erin and Evelyn had a ton of fun at the orchard. They were so cute crawling under the branches of the trees and reaching up to grab the biggest apples. Even though this is the second year they come apple picking, we're not sure if they are totally in on the concept. Instead of putting the apples in our bags, they kept reaching into our bag grabbing the apples out, taking a single bite out of them and then throwing them on the ground.



After picking our apples we ate at a restaurant located inside the orchard. The line was very long and the food was fine, but probably not worth the wait. When we finished lunch we went to a petting zoo where the girls got to see a sheep, chickens, turkeys, and geese. Erin and Evelyn were expertly naming all of the animals but there was no way they were going to get close enough to pet them. Perhaps next year.

Speaking of next year, we have to remember that next to the petting zoo is an area where you can buy brats and ears of corn. There was no line and the food looked really good. That's the place we have to go next year instead of the restaurant.

On the way home Erin passed out in her car seat almost instantly. Ev wouldn't go to sleep for her nap. Instead she was just singing and looking out the window. When we told her to close her eyes and take a nap she told us, "No sleep" and kept singing.

As we drove back to our house Nancy and I looked up recipes for apple pies on our cell phones and stopped at a grocery storey to pick up some ingredients we didn't have. We invited our friends Sean and Jen over to help us eat our apple pie and the pot roast we had stewing in the croc pot all day. Erin and Evelyn played with their daughter and then passed out asleep at about 7:15. What a terrific day - can't wait to go pickin next year!

Cinnamon Stewed Apples

Since it is apple picking season, I have shared this recipe with friends, and figured I would post it as well. Enjoy!!

Cinnamon Stewed Apples
6 cups granny smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I used a variety)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (you can use a little less)
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in large heavy sauce pan.

Cover and cook over medium/low heat 45 minutes or until apples are tender - stirring occasionally.

Let stand 5 minutes.

If you are serving with pork or something like that you can stop here. If you are making apple sauce, then just throw it in a blender or Cuisinart and it will be a finer consistency for applesauce. If you are making applesauce I let it stand until no longer hot - just so I don't burn myself or anything.

Past Posts...

For those of you who are bored to death... I have added many old posts - from before we even blogged. We started this whole journaling thing as e-mails to the girls, so you will notice they sound/feel different - more like letters. Anyhoo - in an effort to make the blog from the beginning, we have added them. If you are bored out of your gourd, you can check them out - just click on the calendar on the right and click 2006 and 2007 where they are several. I'll add more in a bit.....

Blog to Book?

A fellow blogger and I enjoyed a seminar on 2 year-olds last night and hit a local Mexican restaurant for some dinner. We talked about blogging - who we do it for, what it means to us and others. I told her how much I would like to turn my blog into a book - not something you can buy at the airport, but a legacy for the girls. Well, after a few minutes of googling this morning, I found a site that can turn your blog into a book - www.blog2print.com. Does not look pricey and seems to be super easy. I have no idea of the print quality or any real hard info on the site, but I think the service is terrific. So, I thought I'd share this. If you've already done this or have any thoughts, please share!!

What's new here...

It really seems like every day the girls are doing funny things - things that just make you laugh. I love this age! I love how everything is so new to them. I love the independence they have - if you tell them to get in the car they do it! I love how they love life and enjoy everything. Here are a few cute/funny/special stories we've had lately.

- Too Funny! The girls babysitter says everything is too funny. Well, guess who now says everything is too funny!! Erin is too funny - Ev is too funny - I am too funny - everything is too funny.

- We went to the beach on Friday and had a blast. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the sand. How you can enjoy a sandy pbj still amazes me. Well, as usual, they loved their little sandwiches. Erin put hers down and a seagull swiped it! Just like in her Curious George book. She was even able to communicate this to Dave when he got home from work. Her communication skills are ever growing and expanding!!

- I Did It! The girls love to profess when they do something. Well, at lunch the other day the girls were enjoying salami. Erin decided to put the whole piece of salami in her mouth and worked at chewing it for a long time - and finally swallowed it. She then proclaimed "I did it!" Well, darling, I am glad you managed to swallow your whole piece of salami without choking - good job!!

- Yesterday right after naps Erin was jumping on her bed and banged her tooth on the crib and hurt herself. The amazing thing was that she could tell us what happened. This is a very new skill - and really helps us know what the heck she is thinking!

- Tonight at dinner Erin very quickly ate her hot dog and wanted more. I told her there was no more - which made her a little sad. Ev then handed me her fork with a bite of hot dog on it - for Erin. So sweet.

- Evelyn loves cashews. She might be one of those people who picks them out of a mixed nut bowl.

- The girls are really enjoying listening to music - this weeks favorites include: Snuggle Puppy, 5 Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (2 different versions) and Wheels on the Bus. One day I listened to 5 Monkeys for about 2 hours straight and almost drove the car off a cliff.

That's my monkey!

My daughter (Evelyn) has hijacked my monkey.

I have always loved Curious George - since I was a little girl. Never had an interest in dolls - it was all about the monkey.

Well, my girls have fallen in love with my friend, and Evelyn has literally stolen my favorite monkey. This is the monkey I have slept with for the past 8 years - since Dave bought him for me. Most nights I can steal him away and still sleep with him, but some nights she holds on tight - I think knowing I'll come and take him. When I do take him then Erin goes to my bed in the morning to bring him back to her sister. She seems to be in on the whole charade.

Note - this photo was taken prior to her obsession with Bob the Builder. Back in the good old days when she looked like a girl while sleeping.

Every Mom's dream...

Most moms dream of dressing their little girls in pigtails, lace, bows, pink and all things girly. Now, I am not that frilly of a person, but I would prefer not to have my daughters sleep in Bob the Builder pajamas. They have become Evelyn's favorite pjs - though I can't imagine why. They are hand-me-downs from my nephew - shouldn't that be a clue they are not for girls who carry around a pink pony? There is nothing I can do - she is a sucker for them. And, tonight even Erin wore them to bed.

And - don't you love the HUGE mosquito bites on her forehead - so feminine.

The Best Apple Pie EVER!

I made a terrific apple pie tonight - after we got back from the orchard. It was very easy and tasted amazing! I have an old fashioned peeler/slicer/ corer which helps move things along.

Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie

Ingredients for the Pie

• 1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch (homemade or store-bought)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples ( fuji or cortland are great - I like to use a mix)
• 1 recipe crumb topping (see below)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup caramel topping

Ingredients for the Crumb Topping

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup butter

Directions for the Crumb Topping

1. Directions for Crumb Topping: 1. Stir together brown sugar, flour, rolled oats.

2. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until topping is like course crumbs. Set aside.

Directions for the Pie

1. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.

2. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated.

3. Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell (I remove the store-bought pie shell from the aluminum pie plate and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate of my own, but you do not have to.)

4. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.

5. Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into your oven.

6. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.

7. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. Then remove foil and put back in for another 25 to 30 minutes without foil.

8. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top.

9. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

10. Serve with a good vanilla ice cream - don't go cheap with generic ice cream!!

no posts lately...

Sorry there have not been many posts lately - things are so busy! But, I just hooked up a few - enjoy!!

Crazy Potluck...

Tonight we had a potluck dinner with several friends and their kids. It was a great time - but bedlam!! There were 12 adults and 8 kids and everyone had a blast!! Dinner consisted primarily of noodle dishes - the kids are all 2 and what does a 2 year old like better than noodles. Most of the kids enjoyed dinner around a cocktail table - check out the adorable photo!

We are so lucky to have such good friends to enjoy time with. I'll post photos as soon as I get them - I am sure they'll be adorable. SEND THEM TO ME FRAN!!!

Rain Rain Go AWAY!!!

Saturday was very hectic. I (Nancy) was the co-chair for my twins club resale - which has been a lot of work lately! But, yesterday all the work paid off. The only problem was it was the rainiest day in Chicago's history. That's right - it poured all day.

I got home around 2pm and could not park in our driveway - and barely got down the street. I parked a block away - everything was flooded. When the girls woke up from their nap they came downstairs and were flipped out by the water outside our door. We got their shoes on and they went splashing in our new "pool" for a quick couple of minutes. By dinnertime water was about 2 feet deep in the street and our driveway was totally flooded.

We were very lucky that we did not have any water in our basement. By morning the street was dry and though the gardens are still wet, normalcy is back on the horizon.

What a busy day!!!

Today was a blank slate!! And, boy did we fill it up!! Being Saturday we had an entire day with the whole family.

Our first big decision of the day was to decide on either vising Millennium Park or going to the Lincoln Park zoo. Since the summer is quickly turning into a cool autumn we decided to go to the zoo while we could still stand to walk around. We met up with some friends and their kids. In all there were 6 kids under 2 1/2, three double strollers, a packed picnic lunch and lots of animals to see. The girls just loved the primate house and pretty much every other animal they saw.

We must have walked several miles back and forth seeing bears, penguins, giraffes, lions, and many more critters that leaped off the pages of the picture books we read to the girls at night. After eating a lunch of PB&J the girls wanted a ride on a kiddie train. We knew Evelyn would be all over that, but much to our surprise Erin didn't freak out at all. We were very impressed and proud of her. It seems like a silly thing to be so proud of, but there would have been NO way she would have done that just a few months ago. The zoo also has an old fashioned carousel which the girls really enjoyed. Again we were amazed at how much Erin enjoyed it. She wanted to sit on every animal she saw.

Our last stop at the zoo was the petting farm and Evelyn was fascinated by the cows. Erin liked the bees we could watch in the bee hive. By this time we were all so very tired from the fresh air and all of the walking. It seemed like we were all about to collapse yet we had to walk all the way back across the zoo to get to the car. The girls zonked out in the car which is a bit unusual since they never sleep in their car seats.


After a short snooze in the car we went to a park and even more energy was burned!! The park we went to was near our last house so we decided to drop in on our previous neighboors. Some were home but others were not. I guess that's what you risk when you drop in unannounced.

After catching up with some old friends we were off to dinner with Dave's aunt, uncle and cousin. I told you this was a cramed packed day.

Dave's relatives had a great time hanging with the kids and catching up with how much they have grown and changed. Since it was the all you can eat noodle extravaganza at the restaurant the girls went absolutely nuts on breadsticks and noodles - loving every minute of it.

That bottomless pasta bowl at the Olive Garden is awesome!!