McTwins & Co.

thanksgiving in new england

2009-12-23T08:37:00.005-06:00

We headed East to spend Thanksgiving with the Massachusetts McMahon's (as we like to call them). Steve had a few extra days off, so we spent over a week with Bill, Karen and Emily, and T, Di and Taylor. We got in just in time to watch the Patriots beat the Jets on Sunday- it's always to fun to watch the local team, especially when they win! On Monday, the girls got to spend a couple hours out on the golf course...hard to believe that we got out there long before the guys did! We had a great time, even though it was a bit wet and chilly. I can no longer refer to myself as a "fair weather golfer", as I braved the elements TWICE IN ONE WEEK!

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent preparing for the holiday meal on Thursday. We were joined by Karen's mom, Chris, and her friend Polly, as well as Karen's sister, Suzanne. The food was wonderful, and the company was fabulous. I experienced a first on Thanksgiving Day, 2009...oysters on the half shell! One of Bill & Karen's friends was kind enough to share some of his harvest so we had them as an appetizer. I absolutely LOVED them! You can bet I'll be finding a fresh seafood restaurant somewhere around here! (The guys did finally get a round of golf in on Thursday, phew!)

On Friday night, Emily watched her cousins so that the adults could go out for a couple hours. We had an excellent dinner at Amari's in Sandwich. On Saturday morning, we golfed in the String Scrambler at the local par 3 course...Karen, Di, Eileen and I were the only women on the course, as the temps were in the 40's. I firmly believe that we had more fun than any other group out there though, so it made no difference that we came in "Not First Place", as they so kindly call it.

Sunday brought more football fun with the Vikings beating up on the Bears. We spent most of the day at T & Di's, and the kids had tons of fun exploring all of Taylor's great toys. The three of them had a great week together getting reacquainted, with just a few 3-4 year old moments. Emily was a huge help all week entertaining and caring for the kids. She's a great big cousin!

Thanks, MA Mc's for a great week. We look forward to the next time we're all together again...

An early morning departure from MSP

Some fun in the play area at BOS

Golf Self-Portrait #1

A couple extra cute ladies in the family photo

Mozart?

Happy Thanksgiving from the McMen

The Kitchen Crew

Dressed for dinner

We clean up pretty well!

Golf Self Portrait #2

drake's 1st birthday

2009-12-23T07:55:00.004-06:00

My nephew, Drake, turned one on November 5th, and his mom and dad decided that they would throw him a family bash somewhere between Colorado and Minnesota so that his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins could all be there to celebrate with him. We all met in Grand Island, Nebraska the first weekend in November for a few days of family fun. We had such a great time swimming, playing, eating, drinking and just spending time together. Drake is such a sweet, smart, funny and loving little boy...thanks to Cody and Jill for sharing him and his birthday celebration with our family!!

tricks and treats

2009-11-02T14:29:00.005-06:00

Halloween night was the coldest we've had in a couple years, so we all had to bundle up before we headed out trick-or-treating. We stayed in our own neighborhood this year, and the kids had fun seeing neighbors that they know. We were out and about for about 40 minutes, and of course the kids made a haul. When we got home, we turned our lights on for the kids that were still out...Olivia loved handing out candy almost as much as collecting it herself!

Sleeping Beauty and Tuck the Turtle ready to head out

Our first stop

A quick stop for a picture in front of the crazy "Halloween House"

Sorting through their loot after we got home

harvest party at school

2009-11-02T14:04:00.004-06:00

Jackson and Olivia had their Harvest Party at preschool on Thursday. They got to wear their costumes, bring treats to pass out to their classmates, and play lots of fun games...and I got to attend the party, too! It's always so much fun to see them interact with their friends in school- much different from watching them with friends at home. They're growing up so fast!

So for Halloween this year, Jackson decided that he wanted to be Tuck the Turtle from The WonderPets (a Nick Jr. show that he absolutely loves). He often pretends to be Tuck, so it wasn't really much of a stretch. Olivia decided on November 1st LAST YEAR that she wanted to be a princess this year...she just needed some time to figure out which princess suited her best. She ended up going as Sleeping Beauty, and loved every minute of it. And since she spends much of her time at home dressed up as various princesses, it wasn't much of a stretch for her either!

Tuck the Turtle and Sleeping Beauty

I had to get a picture of the back of Jackson's cape...too cute!

The class posing before the party started

A classic face...reacting to the story of all the gross things

that were going into the witches brew

Taking his turn adding ingredients and stirring the brew

fall fun

2009-11-02T13:06:00.009-06:00

We've been having lots of fun over the last few weeks with various activities from birthday celebrations to field trips and Halloween preparation. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

Out for lunch to celebrate Steve's birthday
Steve's birthday cake...Boston Cream Pie, made by yours truly (the non-baker). It turned out really GOOD!

Hanging out with Mr. Scarecrow

The kids went on a field trip to a local apple orchard for school. I got to chaperon, which was lots of fun. The best part may have been the ride on the school bus...it was a first for both Jackson and Olivia! The next couple pictures are also from the field trip.

Steve and I celebrating our friend Mike's 40th birthday at a great bash hosted by his wife. We had a fantastic time!

Jackson was the best at cleaning the seeds out of the pumpkins...we called him "The Seed Guy" for the rest of the day and he was so proud!

Olivia got into it, too, but she wasn't as enthusiastic about getting in up to her elbows!

Jackson was telling her that he would take care of cleaning the guts and seeds out because he was the best seed guy...he was right. He did not leave a single seed in either of the two pumpkins we carved!

girls weekend

2009-11-02T12:36:00.005-06:00

Every fall three of my college roomies and I try to get together for a weekend, and this year we went on a little adventure to a vacation rental near Tomah, Wisconsin. The log cabin is literally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by corn fields, gravel roads, farm houses, and apparently a working vineyard (we didn't see a ton of evidence of this, however!). We've determined that spending a ton of money to head to a destination is really a waste since all we really want to do is sit around and talk, eat, and drink and this place worked out great for all of those things. We did venture into the metropolis of Tomah on Saturday afternoon to check out the shops, and wound up spending several hours entertaining ourselves and some of the locals at a little hole in the wall bar (Wisconsin truly has the best to offer in this department!). But to be honest, I think the four of us can have fun ANYWHERE, and that's one of the reasons I love these ladies so much! It doesn't matter how long it's been since we've been together- we can just pick right back up like no time has passed at all. Thanks to Lezlie, Carrie and Heather for being such fabulous friends...my life wouldn't be the same without each of you in it!!

lil' vikings fans

2009-10-19T21:13:00.004-05:00

Steve was gone the last weekend in September, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to dress BOTH kids in purple and gold instead of having to put one in red, white and blue gear (which I really don't mind doing, just for the record- I'm a Patriots fan, too!). I absolutely love football season...Sundays are probably my favorite day of the week from September through December (longer, if things go well!). It doesn't hurt that the Vikings are 6-0...

pickin' apples with grandpa and grandma

2009-10-19T20:36:00.005-05:00

We were able to squeeze a quick trip to the apple orchard in when Grandpa and Grandma were here a few weeks ago. We went to the same place as last year, and were excited to find that the Honeycrisps were ready to pick, and the trees were absolutely loaded with beautiful apples. We were able to fill our baskets to the top in no time at all. The kids also got to play on the big pile of hay bales and go for a hayride around the orchard, all of which is so much more fun when Grandpa and Grandma are there- we're so glad they were able to join us this year, and hope we can make it an annual event!

Grandpa helping to select just the right apples

Proud of their harvest

Mom finally got in on a picture just to prove she was there!

Happy apple pickers!

We love Grandpa and Grandma!

jolink/hammink/vanderstoep weekend

2009-10-17T16:33:00.010-05:00

Every year my dad's side of the family (at least as many as we can convince to join us) gets together in the Minneapolis area for a weekend of fun, which typically revolves around a Twins game and a get-together at someones house for some good drinks, great food, and fantastic conversation. This year we gathered at Cousin Sue's house on Friday night, and then met again for the game on Saturday afternoon. Jackson and Olivia even got to go to the game, and they had a great time. I look forward to this weekend each year because it gives me an opportunity to catch up with some special people that I don't get to see as often as I'd like...I always vow to do a better job of keeping in touch, but somehow time just gets away from me, and before I know it, we're planning another September get-together! Regardless, I truly treasure these family relationships and the fun times we get to spend together- thanks to everyone who helps to pull this together ever year!

Aunt Sandy, Great Aunt Alice and Jackson

having some fun with the cards at Sue's house

Terry, Alice and Dad

A first for Jackson and Olivia...TAILGATING! (Olivia loved the grilled corn!)

Olivia hitching a ride into the Dome with Grandma

Jackson helping out at the after-game tailgating bash

Luck and Karen and the girls were at the same

game so they joined us afterwards for some fun

Sue and Lori

Tailgating entertainment for the younger crowd...yes,

we were the last ones in the parking lot!

fun at the park

2009-09-27T16:10:00.003-05:00

We've had such a warm fall- warmer than most of the month of August- so we've been trying to get out and enjoy it as much as possible. These are some pictures from early September when we hit one of the local parks before the Vikings (and the Patriots) opened their season (note the kids in their #1 team's colors!). We've got several parks within walking distance of our house...the kids have wisely named this one the "Red Park".

Olivia is FEARLESS on the playground equipment...she will climb up anything, slide down everything, and leap across any expanse of open space. And she's pretty good at all of the above, so I don't have to hold my breath while she's at it. Jackson is getting MUCH better at navigating the equipment- he's really good at going UP, OK at getting down, and has no concept of the "10 foot drop", so I do find myself hovering around those open spaces to make sure he doesn't plant himself unknowingly into the dirt! He's normally pretty cautious so it's not a huge concern, but he is a boy and you just never know when curiosity will get the best of him!

back to school

2009-09-27T14:31:00.004-05:00

Jackson and Olivia are back in preschool this year- two afternoons a week for Olivia and three afternoons for Jackson. They're at the same school as last year, and have one of the same teachers and the same aide, which we're all really happy about. Not only do we really like Miss Margie and Miss Sarah, I think it made for a painless "re-entry" into the school routine. Familiar faces make everything better! And their new teacher, Miss Deb, seems like she's going to be great. We're looking forward to a fun year!

Ready to go!

Daddy was home for the big day this year!

Couldn't wait to get in the door...

...and down the hall!

Finally a pic with mom after a fun first day!

back at it

2009-09-27T14:25:00.003-05:00

So after taking nearly the equivalent of a full term pregnancy off, I am getting back on the blog-wagon. I would love to go back and post about all of the fun stuff we've done since January, but I'm just going to skip ahead to September. It seems like a good place to start again...new school year, new football season...new blogging habits. Here we go.

cousin emily

2009-01-09T16:20:00.007-06:00

Jackson and Olivia's cousin Emily from Cape Cod visited us the week after Christmas, and we had a TON of fun! We only get to see her a few times a year, so when we're together, it's really special for all of us. Here are some of the fun things we did while she was here...

We decided to stay home for New Year's Eve, so Emily and I spent some time looking through cookbooks to find recipes that we could make together for our "party". She picked out a couple and I picked out a couple, and we got to work that afternoon. Of course Princess Chef Olivia had to get in on the action, so here's a picture of the two of them together. We had a lot of fun making Tortilla Rollups, Fiesta Black Bean Dip, Marinated Tortellini, and best of all...Homemade Chicken Nuggets and Peanut Butter Pie! The food turned out great, and Emily, Steve and I all made it to midnight to toast with our champagne and sparkling cider. Steve and I also taught Em how to play cribbage, and she went to bed UNDEFEATED. Our cribbage games carried on over the next few days, and it wasn't until her last night here that she finally lost a game (she must have had a great teacher!).

Chef Princess Olivia and Chef Emily, ready to cook.

We had a couple of nice(ish) days while she was here, so we bundled up and went sledding in the backyard. I was more than happy to loan her my snow pants so that I had a good reason to stay off the hill and off the sleds! She was great with the kids, helping them up the hill and then taking care of them on the way down. I'm starting to think that having a 12 year old around would be really nice!

The 3 McMousketeers...ready for some hot chocolate!

On Friday afternoon, we braved the crowds and headed to the Mall of America for some fun. Olivia had received an American Girl Store gift card for Christmas from Emily and her parents, so we wanted her to help pick out the treasure for Bitty Baby Bella. Plus, Emily and I REALLY like to go on rides together. We had lunch first, and then stood in line for about 20 minutes per ride...good to let the stomach settle, I guess! We went on the 2 craziest rides we could find, and I'm proud to say we thoroughly enjoyed both. Steve and Em also took the kids on a couple of rides- this was actually the first time they've gone on any rides there. We've been there many times, but we always just walk around the park and look at everything- they've been perfectly content to do so. I'm guessing my inexpensive trips to Nick Universe are over!

Jackson and Olivia loved sharing their favorite MOA spots with Emily.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, Jackson and Olivia absolutely adore their cousin Emily (as do Steve and I, of course!). We talked about another visit this summer, and we're going to try to convince her mom and dad to come along this time! Thanks for all of your help while you were here, Emily- we had so much fun and we can't wait to do it again!

christmas fun

2009-01-09T15:22:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas season this year, from our own family celebration to spending time with my family, to having our niece Emily visit. Since we went down to Edgerton on the Monday before Christmas, we decided to celebrate at home the weekend before. The kids are finally old enough to really get into the spirit, so it was fun to start some new traditions with them, as well as continue some of the old ones. Then we were off to my parents to spend some time with my family. Jill, Cody and Drake made the drive from Colorado, and Niki and Rob flew in from Oregon. As always, it was great for all of us to be in the same place at the same time- wish we could do it more often! Here are some highlights from the week...

The whole VanClan...not bad for a timer photo!

A Thomas sweatshirt...cool! Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!

Olivia loves Baby Drake!

Lotsa love between these two...most of the time.

Playing Cootie with Uncle Rob...and loving it!

i don't want to watch sleeping beauty

2009-01-09T13:52:00.004-06:00

As you may have noticed, Jackson joined the world of the bespeckled last fall. I was really worried about having a 3 year old with glasses, but to my surprise, he adjusted relatively well. The first week or so was kind of rough, but from then on, he's been really good about keeping them on. Sure, he takes them off now and then, but all in all, he's been great. I think it's helpful that his glasses are "Thomas the Train" blue, and he gets lots of compliments on his cool specs. Plus, I do believe he sees better- what a bonus!

So, anyway...you may be wondering what the title of this post has to do with Jackson and his glasses. Here's a little story about a headstrong 3 year old.

The kids, the dog, and I packed up the car on the Monday before Christmas to head down to my parents for the week (Steve had to work, so he was going to drive down later in the week). Now the way we travel is a bit humorous, in and of itself. We're in the Durango- the back end is so full of suitcases, gifts, food, winter gear, and various other stuff that I can barely see out the rear window. The kids are in their seats with stuff packed on the floor in front of them and on the seat in between. I'm driving (of course), and Cooper is riding shotgun, which is the part that gets some looks, smiles, and laughs as we roll down the highway. He's a good sized dog, so it's like there's a person sitting there. Kinda funny, but that's not what this story is about.

When we first leave home, one of the kids gets to choose the DVD that they will watch for the first leg of the trip. We've got dual screens, but the same DVD plays on both at the same time. Often, it's the squeakiest wheel that gets the first choice, and on that day, it was Jackson. He chose his new Thomas video- big shocker. Olivia is a trooper- she doesn't complain, she just sits and watches the video, and occasionally double checks with me to make sure she gets to choose next. Once Thomas is done, Olivia announces that she would like to watch Sleeping Beauty, which she had just gotten for Christmas. Jackson defiantly announces that he doesn't want to watch Sleeping Beauty...over, and over again. After what feels like an eternity, he gives it up, and I assume he has settled in to watch the new flick. We're tooling down the road- I'm listening to my new Christmas mix CD, the kids are watching their movie, and Coop is wishing I'd agree to a minivan so that he could lay down on the floor instead of having to sit up in the seat.

And then I hear Jackson say "I can't do it", and I'm wondering what it is that he can't do. I adjust my mirror to see him, and I notice that he's got his glasses in his hand. I keep watching as he tries to put them back on his face. And then I look a little closer at the glasses, and realize that they barely resemble glasses anymore. It appears that he has completely destroyed them. I demanded that he give me the glasses immediately, and ask him what he did to them. The rest of the exchange went something like this:

He mumbled "I broke my glasses."

I said "WHAT?"

"I broke my glasses."

"Why?!?"

"I don't want to watch Sleeping Beauty. I want to watch Thomas."

"So you broke your glasses?"

"Yeah...I broke my glasses. I sorry mommy."

So now I've got the glasses in my hand, and they look a bit more like a ball of scrap metal. One bow is bent in half into a 90 degree angle, and the other is hanging limply from it's point of attachment. I did the best I could to straighten everything as I was driving down the road, expecting pieces to snap in two as I did so. But amazingly, everything held together, and once we got to my parents, I did a little more tweaking, and put the reconfigured metal back on Jackson's face with strict instructions to never, ever, EVER take them off unless he's going to give them to me.

His glasses are still in a state of slight disrepair- I haven't had the gumption to go back to the place we got them since this will be the SECOND time in 3 1/2 months that we will need to take advantage of their full replacement warranty.

I guess now I know why they offer you a second pair for $100 when you first get your glasses. Next time.

happy birthday, drake!

2009-01-06T16:36:00.004-06:00

My sister Jill and her husband Cody had this precious baby boy on November 5th, which means he hit the ripe old age of two months yesterday! I was lucky enough to head out to Colorado Springs in early December to meet my nephew, and to spend some time with their family (and away from mine!). He's just about the sweetest thing on the planet- I can't even believe that Jackson and Olivia used to be so little. Jill and Cody are FABULOUS parents- they're total naturals, and Baby Drake (as we call him at our house) is very lucky to have landed in their laps. The above picture was taken at Jill & Cody's house after I earned the distinctive honor of being Drake's first babysitter. He and I had a great time hanging out while his mom and dad ran some errands and finished up their Christmas shopping. Thanks Jill and Cody for letting me visit, and for sharing this handsome little guy with me!

grandpa's "pool"

2009-01-06T16:04:00.007-06:00

Hot tub...jacuzzi...call it what you want, but the kiddos call it grandpa's "pool", and they absolutely LOVE it! When my mom and dad know that the kids will be visiting, and the weather promises to be at least bearable for the children (and the adults), they drop the temp in the hot tub by a few degrees, and the kids get to go "swimming". It's really more of a splash party than anything, which isn't so bad in September, but much less desirable in November!

These pictures were taken Thanksgiving weekend...as you can see, Steve and my dad drew the short straws and had to chaperone from the water, while my mom and I stayed (mostly) dry and handled camera and towel duty. Thanks for making your house so much fun to visit, Grandpa and Grandma!!

working my way back to the blog

2009-01-06T15:08:00.007-06:00

OK...so I've been MIA for a while. We've had a fantastic holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving, and going all the way up through New Year's. It's going to take some time for me to organize my pictures and my thoughts in order to start posting about all the good times. All that thought requires some inspiration...something to get me going. I remembered that couple weeks ago my friend Heather tagged me...the game is to take the sixth folder from the pictures file on your computer and pull up the sixth picture and post it. How hard can that be? So here it is...

This is a picture of the Mini McTwins when they were a few weeks old. My sister Niki was visiting us in Massachusetts, so she did a "photo shoot" with her fancy schmancy camera. This picture turned out a little bit blurry, but we ended up using one very similar (only in black and white) for the birth announcement. It's hard to believe it was 3 1/2 years ago! Thanks for tagging me, Heather! It was fun to look back through my old picture folders, but I must say, I REALLY need to organize them better!

And so to keep the game going, I'll tag Tami and Alicia...play if you want to!

turkey cookies

2008-12-08T17:12:00.007-06:00

It's been so long since I posted an update, I'm not even sure where to start! I had to go back through my pictures to see what we've been doing for the last month...crazy! I'll do my best to get caught up over the next few days.

The kids didn't have school Thanksgiving week, so I thought it might be fun to do a little baking project to pass the time. I'd seen the recipe for these cute turkey cookies online a few weeks before and thought they would get a kick out of decorating them. I made the first one to look just like the picture on the recipe, and gave the kids all of the pieces to do the same. Olivia worked really hard to make hers look just like mom's, but Jackson used his creative genius to create something a little more like...well...a cookie with candy corn stuck to it. The Type A part of my personality had a really hard time allowing either of them to stray from the pattern, but after gently reminding myself that they're only 3, and that the fun part is making the cookies and the mess, I let them go to town!

kinky

2008-11-12T19:35:00.003-06:00

One day last week, Olivia came home from school talking about her friend Morgan's "kinky" hair. Now, I've seen Morgan, and her hair has about as much "kink" as a ruler, so I wasn't really sure what she was talking about. But she continued obsessing about how she wanted kinky hair. Today I finally decided to see what I could do with a bottle of water, a few hair elastics, and my rusty braiding technique. Here's what we came up with...

...good thing tonight was bath night! Do you think she knows her mom had that hair about 20 years ago?

(She LOVED it, by the way, so I have a feeling I'll be doing it again!)

what a blast!

2008-11-12T18:52:00.010-06:00

We had a blast at The Blast!

Last week, the kids and I met Nikki and Jaci at The Blast in Eagan for a long overdue playdate (for both the moms and the kids!). For those of you who aren't familiar with The Blast, it's a space-themed indoor play area with slides, tubes, and tunnels that provide tons of entertainment in addition to completely wiping the kids out. It's totally enclosed, and on a weekday afternoon, completely EMPTY. It was like we had rented it for a private party for 3 kids and 2 moms! Olivia is really good at maneuvering, manipulating and mastering the equipment, and Jackson is getting there. I did have to climb up to rescue him once or twice, and Nikki was gracious enough to do the same. Thanks for a fun afternoon, Nik & Jaci- we can't wait to do it again soon!

halloween

2008-11-03T15:36:00.008-06:00

Choosing Halloween costumes for your young children is kind of a high pressure responsibility. You may think that sounds silly, but last year I chose a monkey for Jackson and a ladybug for Olivia. They were adorable, but Olivia had numerous meltdowns in the days before Halloween because SHE wanted to be the monkey. Well, I couldn't very well put Jackson in the ladybug costume, so I went back to Old Navy to exchange the ladybug for another monkey. Bummer...no more monkeys. She wore the ladybug, and she ended up being OK with it, but she still preferred the monkey costume. I vowed to buy two of the same costumes for them this year (and every year going forward, until they could be trusted to choose their own).

Then I saw a cow costume at a garage sale this summer. It was cute, cheap, and in perfect condition, so I bought it. My plan was to find a second cow costume for child #2. The one from the garage sale seemed to fit Jackson better, so it was his. Once that decision was made, Olivia insisted on being a pig. I don't know why, but there was no way she was going to be anything else (so much for my "everybody's going to be a cow" plan). Maybe she was stuck on the farm animal theme...maybe she likes pink...or maybe, as my sister Cole suggested, she thought of her favorite books about Olivia the pig (Ian Falconer), and wouldn't dream of being anything else. No matter what, once she's made up her mind, good luck changing it (wonder where that comes from?). Anyway, I had to bite the bullet and order a pig costume online (why couldn't Target just stock it so I could pick it up instead of having UPS deliver it to me?). And $36.57 later, we had a pig costume, and she was absolutely thrilled! We'll see what happens next year...Olivia has already announced that she is going to be a princess, and Jackson has every intention of being Thomas the Train. Halloween costumes are a racket, let me tell you.

For the 3rd year in a row, we spent Halloween with Jamie, Wendy, Josh and Julia. We were lucky enough to have Nik and Rod, and Connor and Jaci join us this year, too! We got together early to have pizza (and drinks, of course!), and then went out trick-or-treating as a group. It was such a beautiful night- no need for winter coats or mittens this year! We pulled the wagon along for Jackson, so that he could make it for the whole trip- he's still building up to marathon distances (but is well on his way!). Olivia took off with the big kids, and Jackson stayed with mom and dad so that he wouldn't get run over...kids on a candy mission don't often stop for a wee one who topples easily (not even his sister). They had so much fun running from house to house, squealing at the scary decorations and checking their candy buckets to see what they got.

When we got back to the house, there was the fully anticipated feeding frenzy- Jackson and Olivia tried Milk Duds for the first time, which was really funny. I think it took each of them about 10 minutes to get one down. The kids played for awhile, and when the sugar crash started, we put the girls to bed in Julia's room, and the boys in Josh's room...a segregated sleepover of sorts. Jackson was out within minutes, but the girls giggled and talked for quite awhile. Once they were all down, the adults busted out the Wii. We bowled, boxed, and played tennis. Nikki was the boxing champ, but I'd like a rematch once I can move my arms again! It was a great time, and we're so lucky to have such good friends to create memories with!

harvest party at preschool

2008-11-03T11:53:00.010-06:00

Jackson and Olivia have been attending preschool 2 days a week since school started in September. They both absolutely love it! They've got fantastic teachers, and they've really enjoyed getting to know the other kids in their class. When I pick them up, it's like a contest to see who's first to tell me about what they did and who their new best friend is (as it changes daily!). Since I stay home with them, they haven't had a ton of exposure to structured activities- we did some ECFE classes last year, and we do lots of playdates with friends, but this is their first true school experience without me by their side. I'm so proud of how well they've adapted!

Last Thursday was their Harvest Party, and I volunteered to help out with the festivities. It was so much fun to see them in their school environment. They got to put their costumes on at the beginning of the party, and we went trick-or-treating to a few rooms in the school. Jackson was more than happy to walk with his dear old mom, but Olivia preferred to hang with her teacher, Miss Mary. Perhaps that's a sign of a future "brown noser"...she is my daughter, after all, and I was a teacher's pet from my first day of preschool on! (Maybe I shouldn't admit that?!?) Anyway, after trick-or treating, the kids got to listen to a story, sing some songs, and make a few different Halloween related art projects. They were definitely the cutest cow and pig I've ever seen, and they had such a fun time...as did their mom!

the leaves are good for something

2008-11-03T10:21:00.005-06:00

The kids and I hit the backyard last week to have some fun in the leaves- had I known it would be so entertaining, I would have done it as soon as they started falling! As I mentioned in my last post, we don't actually have any trees of our own in the backyard. But we do live at the bottom of a little hill, so we seem to collect plenty of leaves from the high ground...and we stole a few more from our neighbors Jim and Sandy to make some good piles to jump in, fall in, lay in, cover ourselves with... and track in the house! These are just a few photos from our fun leaf (or "weaf", as Jackson puts it) adventure!

neighbors, please retrieve your leaves

2008-10-27T16:15:00.005-05:00

For a yard with no trees, we sure have a lot of leaves. Go figure.

Thank you, North Wind.

fall fun

2008-10-27T15:38:00.007-05:00

The McFamily had a full weekend...here's just a sampling of the things we did.

Saturday was our Fabulous Fun Fall Cleanup Day- well, maybe it wasn't fabulous, and it really wasn't all that fun, but it is fall and we did clean up, so I guess that's half right. We set out early to clean the garage and get all of the summer gear stored before the snow flies (which incidentally was Sunday...good timing!). We managed to accumulate a lot of stuff since last spring, so it took Steve and I some creative rearranging to get things put away, all with the little mess makers underfoot. Projects seem to take twice as long when you've got that kind of help!

Sunday morning we brought the very cold pumpkins in off the front step and turned them into Jack-o-Lanterns. As you can probably tell from the pictures, O wasn't all that interested in digging the "guts" out, but J was more than happy to get in up to his armpits. The Pair-o-Jacks are currently sitting in the kitchen window so that they can stay warm, even though both kids seem to be a bit frightened of them!

We also made some Halloween cupcakes on Sunday...nothing like a little orange frosting to put a smile on your face!

pickin' apples

2008-10-27T13:13:00.014-05:00

Last weekend, we took advantage of a beautiful day and took the kids to a local apple orchard. When we got there, there were signs posted explaining that the orchard had been the victim of a hail storm, but that there were still lots of good apples to be picked- some of them just had "dents". I wasn't really sure what to expect...I know what hail can do to a car, but hadn't ever thought about what would happen to a juicy piece of fruit during a good old fashioned hail storm. Now I know.

Now maybe this is normal for mid-October, and maybe it's the result of the hail storm, but there were TONS of apples on the ground, and most of the apples still clinging to the branches had gaping holes in them. After 15 minutes of telling the kids to leave the rotten apples on the ground, and searching for good apples still on the trees, we had 4- yes, F-O-U-R apples in our basket. There were lots of other families experiencing the same dilemma- lots of kids, not so many good apples. But we eventually found a tree that had been overlooked by the masses and spared from the storm, and we wound up with about 10 pounds of tasty Honeycrisp apples to take home.

As part of the orchard experience, we also went for a hayride, and the kids had a blast playing in/on a huge pile of hay and wandering through the mini-maze. We all had a great time, and the kids are looking forward to inviting Grandpa and Grandma to join us next year!

goodbye cribs- it's been a good 3 years!

2008-10-23T14:20:00.012-05:00

After nearly 39 months of relative confinement, J & O have finally made the transition to big beds...err...BED. We've been putting it off due to what I like to call "floorplan issues" in our house, but finally found a solution that seems to work, at least for now. For those who haven't been to our house, we've got a split entry with 2 bedrooms on the upper level, and 2 bedrooms on the lower level. The master bedroom is upstairs, so naturally we put the kids in the other room on the same level- an arrangement that served us well, since we do most of our living on the upper floor.

Now, Little Miss O has been vaulting out of her crib for well over a year now- I think we've got a future gymnast on our hands- and about the time she started, I dug out the instructions for the cribs to figure out how to convert them to toddler beds. Imagine my surprise to find that they are not 3 in 1 cribs, rather 2 in 1, and they will only convert to full size beds. CRAP. There's no way 2 full size beds were going to fit in that room, and I just couldn't move my precious little ones to the lower level to fend for themselves. Buying single beds to get them through a year or two until they could move into their own rooms seemed like a colossal waste of money. So in the cribs they stayed, O climbing in and out like she was stepping over a crack in the sidewalk, and J yelling for help when he was ready to get in our out.

Until last Friday.

Steve and I disassembled the cribs, and swapped them for a queen size bed from one of the spare rooms. Our solution was/is to have them sleep together...after all, they weigh a whopping 54 lbs combined, and a queen size bed provides PLENTY of space for them. Plus, they're twins. They like to be close, right? And it's not a lifetime commitment- they'll move downstairs in a year or so when they're ready.

Friday night was pretty rough, but we expected that it would be. Bedtime normally takes, ummm...2 minutes, and it took about an hour for them to settle down and go to sleep. Saturday night was a breeze, but I was out with some friends, so Daddy got to enjoy that victory. Sunday night was a NIGHTMARE. Perhaps it seemed worse because the adults in the house were trying to watch the Red Sox/Rays game (bummer, Sox), but it was like the kids had injected pure sugar straight into their veins. They were wild. J actually laughed at me when I told him he was being naughty and that I was getting mad. Nothing like that to send mom into orbit. But they eventually settled down and went to sleep, and they've been doing great ever since. I check on them before I go to bed every night, and I usually have to spin J around so that he's got his head on the pillow instead of his feet, but he'll get it figured out. And in the meantime, he's got O as a "bumper" to keep him from falling out all together. Kinda like being in the womb again?!?

everybody's doin' It...

2008-10-23T13:49:00.008-05:00

...so why not join them! I've been following the blogs of several of my friends for awhile now, and I've found it entertaining...and a little bit addicting, I must admit! So what the heck- I've decided that it's my turn to take a stab at it. We've got friends and family in nearly every corner of the country, so if nothing else, this will be a way for everyone to keep up on what's going on in our neck of the woods. So without further adieu, here we go!