Purdue

We took a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana last week. Where!? Yes, my alma mater is tucked in the middle of corn fields in Indiana...I wanted to show Geoff and the boys where I went to school. It felt like I was home when I was there. I didn't realize how much I missed that place. There were a lot of changes in the past decade (lots of new cafes, yoga studios, new hotels, etc.) but everything was so familiar. Even the weather was the way I remembered fall to be...cool and windy with overcast skies. A big part of missing Purdue are the friends I met there. So many good friends and the BEST roommates ever. I couldn't have been more blessed with the people I met at school.....

We walked around the campus. The boys walked in front of the Memorial Union backwards. I don't know why...they just did...while they were busting up laughing. Then we had lunch at the Union and I had to go to a bookstore to get a new stash of Purdue gear.

W and I in front of the Memorial Union:

The boys and I sitting by the fountain in the Engineering mall:

The boys playing around the fountain:

Go Purdue!

Going Bananas....

A first!  The boys can hold a banana by themselves and (kind of) peel it as they go.  They were quite excited about this new found independence. 

J very proud:

W:

 

Another first...I gave them their first taste of chocolate milk.  They LOVED it....can you tell?

I don't think J took the glass away from his lips:

Mmmmmm good!

Playing in the Ocean...

...the fun way!  You know, fully dressed in really nice clothes, a normal diaper, socks and shoes. What could be better?  They loved it.  No, this really wasn't my intention.  I just wanted to walk down to the beach behind our house and one thing led to another....before I could even get their shoes off, they were in the bay.

You would think J has been carrying that net around his whole life...he just flung it over his shoulder and carried it around the beach:

 

I don't know if you can tell, but they have some wet drawers and check out W's feet:

W's bucket:

This is W VERY angry at mommy.  They both wanted me to carry them home-hard to carry two soaking wet 25-lb boys at the same time for a good distance (again, I didn't plan this through very well).  But I decided to just walk and see if he would follow me...and just stood there...fuming....and thinking hard about what he was going to do next.  He decided to take off further away from me.  So my plan backfired.  =)  

Things You May Not Know About Me....

I thought I would post a couple of fun facts about myself. I enjoy learning the little quirks that make someone who they are. For example, I recently learned that my father-in-law puts butter on his sandwiches. He said if there is bread, he needs butter. Or how Geoff likes to have cottage cheese and applesauce when he eats macaroni and cheese. Or how he only orders vanilla ice cream or cookies and cream or vanilla ice-cream with oreos on top when we go out for ice cream. Here are some of my *quirks*

-I love the sound of silence (now). Sometimes I even turn off the car radio when I am by myself to savor it.
-I like the word "barista". Those lucky baristas get to say "I am a barista" when someone asks what they do.
-I am a tracker....what am I tracking now? How many books I have read, how many miles I have run, how many Pampers reward points I have, etc.
-I dream of working at a Pottery Barn or Pottery Barn Kids just to get the discount. It is probably a good thing that we never live anywhere close to an actual store. BTW, is it just me, or have their prices gotten ridiculous in the past few years? I can't even afford a spoon in that store. Well, barely.
-I abhor certain fluffy foods: marshmallows, whipped cream, mayonnaise, cotton candy....all make me feel sick.
-I have had three cats named Tigger.
-I like to multi-task. The other day I was actually jogging with my double jogger...with a big dog on each side...and talking on the phone...OK, maybe that is taking multitasking too far!
-I get very happy when the weather cools down. I LOVE the fall.
-I can stand pretty much everything involving a cold...but a sore throat makes me pretty miserable.
-I love pictures of people.
-I am obsessed with house-hunting online. Even if we are not in the market for a house. I love looking at different homes, house plans, and how they are decorated.
-I wish I could sew so I could make my kid's Halloween costumes.
-I enjoy clothes shopping for the boys...just pick their size and I know it will look good on them. No need to try it on.
-I am a rule-follower. Sometime to a fault. Sometimes I wish I wasn't though.
-I don't love moving. But I do like the feeling of starting over. Cleaning a new house...making it a new home. It is fun to try new things.
-I have always liked my brown eyes...but now I LOVE them because I share them with my children.
-I can't eat honey or drink apple cider without thinking about my Grandpa. Or see Lincoln Logs without thinking of my grandparents.
-I love sweet and salty....like chocolate and nuts...or chocolate and pretzels.
-I wish I could live in a house with a mountain view and gigantic trees. The outside of Susan Sarandon's character in the movie Stepmom is unbelievable.
-I have flown in an F-16. And I have thrown up in an F-16. Three or four times.
-I have a tendency to get sick when I travel. Maybe my immune system can't take the excitement! We don't know why. I have been sick (and had to go to the ER) in Tennessee, Iowa, New Mexico, and Texas-I am sure there are more places but I can't think of them right now.
-I have had four broken bones. Three broken toes from playing soccer in high school. And a broken wrist - also from playing soccer.
-When I eat M&Ms, I like to eat them by color.
-I am no fan of swimming in the ocean. I can't relax. I am always looking around for sharks.
-I like to play the card game 500.
-I don't mind grocery shopping. What I don't like about it is carrying everything inside the house and putting it away.
-I have a very short-term memory. It is not an excuse. I really do...lately.
-I do not like the feeling of newspaper...or ice when it sticks to your finger....yikes!
-I still pray for more patience. I am not as patient as I hope to be.
-I love the smell of coffee. And bread baking. And citrus.

Well Baby Check

Today was the last of many strings of well baby checks. Not another until they are three years old. However, our nurse practioner wants to see them every six months for their eczema/allergies/asthma so I guess we aren't off the hook.

We have noticed W looking more hefty (and feeling more solid) than J lately. W tipped the scales at 25 lbs 15 ounces and J was 24 lbs 9 ounces. They both were 33 7/8 inches tall. It was a blessing their well-baby appointment was this morning since we were up all night with the guys.

They caught a type of virus that causes little blisters on their throat and fevers at night. It can last around 7 days. The blisters can be itchy and it is causing them to drool a lot and suck on their fingers...check, check...they are doing both.

Mirror Mirror....

Whenever W looks into a mirror, he points at his reflection and says "J!" I find that so interesting...that he doesn't yet see a difference between him and his brother. Here is an old picture from my favorite photographer Genya...but very appropriate to this post. =)

MOPS and MDO

What does MOPS and MDO stand for?! If you don't know, MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. A little bit of a misnomer because it is definitely not just mothers of preschoolers. The group includes pregnant-about-to-become-moms, moms with grade school-kids, moms with college kids, and yes, even one grandma. It is basically a gathering of moms who have a fun for a couple of hours a month. We share stories, listen to guest speakers, make crafts, and eat (of course).

I just attended the first MOPS meeting here yesterday. What a great (and very organized) group of ladies. The boys were in the nursery for the full 2 1/2 hour meeting. It was nice to see familiar faces when I dropped them off. One lady is their regular nursery worker during church and the other is one of their two teachers in the MDO program. So at least that was familiar.

At just my MOPS table I sat next to a twin, and the two ladies to the right of me each have a set of twins. In fact, I learned that out of 65 women, eight are moms of twins! I am very excited for this new year of MOPS.

MDO stands for Mom's Day Out. I finally bit the bullet and decided I needed to do this for myself. It is a program offered at many churches where you can send your kids once, twice, or three times a week. But it is FOUR and 1/2 hours each day!!! So I signed up for one day a week. It is nice to know I have a few hours a week to run errands, go to appts, go shopping or maybe cook without the boys. I think it will be good for the boys to have a break from me and our routine. They get to play with new toys, listen to someone else do story time and eat lunch with a group. I think it will be a good for them to see other kids actually SIT down to eat. I want them to meet new little people and observe what other little people do. They are the youngest in their room since they just turned two.

I thought we should start slow...4 1/2 hours is a lot for the guys who have only been without us for at most an hour a week during church. Heck, that is a lot for me to be away from them!!! So I took them for a little more than two hours last week and three hours today.

Every time I peek in on them J and W are never more than a foot away from each other. Interesting. Even when we see them before after church, they are pretty much right next to each other. They were in really good moods when I picked them up today. I even bought a little backpack that J started wearing proudly while W carries their lunch bag.

Here is a little clip of them while we were walking out of the building. They like looking at the paintings on the wall.

Unfortunately, not only doing they get to meet friends...they get to share their germs too. I am hoping this experience will build up their immune system...I was surprised they made it the first week without colds. But shortly after this video...they got the cold. VERY runny noses and VERY cranky boys right now. No fun.