Mac and Cheese

It’s the small victories – Luke has never liked pasta before, and I really wanted him to. It’s a great dish to sneak veggies into, and it’s a good filler. So, after trying all sorts of (mostly yucky) concoctions, I finally made a “cheese” sauce for their mac and cheese. Of course, it had to be all soy, which was fine, but making it taste good is the tougher part – I don’t want to have to taste-test it myself (soy milk, soy cream cheese, canola oil roux, yuck, yuck, yuck.) Well, I finally got it right. The boys gobbled it up and were asking for more.

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(Luke)

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Mac and cheese is such a kid staple, but it’s tough around our house. As we were sitting down to lunch, I realized that we were all eating three very different kinds of mac and cheese. Mine was leftover from dinner - whole wheat pasta with spinach, tomatoes and parmesan cheese, Joe’s was good old Kraft, and the babies’ was the above mentioned yuckiness. Such complications for such a simple dish.

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(Patrick)

Speaking of their allergy, we have another to add to the list: Strawberries. This allergy is different from the dairy in that it will never be potentially life-threatening and doesn’t necessarily get worse with more exposures. It’s just annoying. And, speaking of life-threatening, their doctor prescribed them an Epi-Pen. It was a little disconcerting to learn what could happen, but I’m glad we are prepared. I still believe that any major reactions would be VERY unlikely. The doctor still thinks that they will grow out of both allergies. Let’s hope sooner rather than later.

Tee Pee'd

Yes, my children are rolling in unrolled toilet paper. This mess took a matter of seconds, but I just shook my head and let them play in it for another half hour. It was causing so much joy. I couldn’t help myself.

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Luke is headed back in for more fun.

Bah - Nana

Patrick and Luke can now finish each other's words. They wanted a banana at breakfast this morning and Luke called out, "Bah! Bah!" while Patrick hollered, "nana! nana!"
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Joe still talks up a storm. In the bath yesterday, I heard him tell Luke (who has a bad habit of wanting to stand up in the tub), "Sit down, little fella!" He is also getting good at expressing his emotions: "I'm so sad" when he's in time out and my personal favorite, "I'm scary!" when he's scared.

Say, "Ahhhhh"

Joe went to the dentist this morning! He did okay, I suppose. He didn’t want to sit in the chair, so Daddy held him while Dr. Jim counted his teeth and did a little fluoride brush with his new Big Bird toothbrush.
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Dr. Jim assured us that he had seen it all with kids and to not be embarrassed no matter what they did. He even told us that his own little boy needed to be held down every day to get a good brush. This made me feel a lot better. I wasn’t sure if I should do that to Joe – I don’t want him to hate all matters of dental hygiene. I guess the reasonable (albeit noisy and seemingly harsh) means justify the end.

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Afterward, Joe showed off the not-exactly-well-deserved treats that he got. Overall, he left in a good mood and with NO cavities, and Mom and Dad are at least more prepared to “fight the good fight” in the battle over brushing.
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A little Saturday morning cartoon watching on Joe's new favorite spot - Mommy and Daddy's bed. Joe had a (very) minor boo boo on his forehead and was more than excited to have it covered with a cool Nemo bandaid.

Spring?

Can you see it? That little bit of brownish green around the edge of all of that snow? Could it be? Our yard??? Scott got out an old club and was practicing swinging by chipping snow all over. I had to admit it was pretty fun and the kids got a kick out of it.

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Yes, maybe it’s early spring time here in good old Milwaukee, or at the very least, late winter. It’s 60 today! We are all amazed. Yesterday, we got out and played in the lovely temperatures.

Luke (above) and Patrick loved scooting their ride-ons around the driveway. Patrick even made a run for it and got halfway to the street when we caught up with him (it will be a busy summer for me…)

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Our sump pump has been working overtime with all of the snow melt, but it unfortunately spills out onto our patio then down to our yard. Joe enjoyed running through the puddle it made (back and forth, over and over and over… such a boy.) The swampland is slowly drying out, just in time for some more rain.

Patrick decided he was done with all of the fresh air.

Joe: "Help me! I'm stuck!" Daddy had to come to the rescue.

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Luke and Daddy playing their first game of basketball.

March Madness, indeed!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Our kids LOVE imitating (as most kids do, I’m sure) Here are some of our favorites that keep us giggling:

Cooking – I took this shot of all of them after raiding my pots and pans cabinet. They use pretzels or cheerios and stir them around like mommy does to make a very tasty snack to feed mommy
Blowing my nose – when they find Kleenex around, they blow raspberries with their mouth to imitate my noisy nose blowing
Praying – This has to be one of the sweetest. Last week at Mass, Joe began “reciting” the Nicene Creed along with all of us. Of course he didn’t get the actual words right, but he was imitating most of the sounds and the rhythm. We were totally astonished.
Housework – They love to get their little hands on dishes as I try to unload the dishwasher. They also love to sweep, but I’ve had to keep that one to a minimum – the broom stick can really do some damage.
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Time Out – The babies have started heading to the corner every once in a while like their big brother Joe. I caught this picture of Joe wearing my shoes while in time out. He probably thought they were Scott’s – he loves pretending that he’s Daddy. We’ve used it to our advantage whenever possible (e.g. “You know Joe, sleeping helps you grow big and strong just like Daddy” “Daddy eats his vegetables. Yummy!”)
Changing diapers – more than once, I’ve had to wave off some extra “help” from a twin trying to get in on his brother’s diaper changing. They try to help with wipes and opening diapers. In the bath, they also try to wash each other’s backs. It’s not too helpful, but it’s very cute.
Media – They also love to dance and pretend to sing. Both of the babies know exactly what to do with Scott’s ipod earpieces, and they love playing with cell phones, remotes and TV buttons. Luke especially loves to “read” in mommy’s favorite rocking chair.
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Each Other - They really like imitating each other, especially when it comes to toys. Whatever one is playing with, the other just can't wait to get his hands on it. This causes lots of hollering and squealing at our house. The exchange of this measuring cup from Patrick (above) to Luke (below) was pretty vicious.

Anybody remember this exact picture from Joe's days as a 17-month-old?

And finally, from the mouth of Joe:
We hear a lot of things from Joe that we have said. His latest favorite: “I have a good idea!” he exclaims while holding up his index finger.

On the way into the rosary yesterday, he announced to the group of ladies: “Hello! I’m here!” By the time I got into the room, they were all chuckling pretty heartily.

In frustration, I said the babies were being little turkeys for throwing their food on the floor. Joe refuted, “No, they’re not turkeys. Turkey is here on my sandwich!”

Sara, Sweet and Tall

My friend Sara from Notre Dame came to visit us today! She’s a very impressive girl – she has a PhD and she works for NASA. Actually, all of my old roommates are very impressive – doctors and lawyers, scientists and even a cloistered nun. I’ve lost touch with a few of them, so who knows what else!

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Luke especially took to his new friend Sara. We all went out to lunch, played football and watched Larry Boy. Afterall, Sara was the one that first introduced me to the fun and silly adventures of Larry the Cucumber and all of the VeggieTales gang. It was so fun to catch up.

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We tried to get Joe to take a picture of all of us. This is what we got:

There’s a new weather phenomenon that I wasn’t too familiar with before moving to Wisconsin – blowing snow. Today, only an inch of snow fell but you can not tell the difference between our stoop and the sidewalk that is a step below it. The part of our driveway that is protected from the wind by our house is perfectly shoveled and clear. The rest of the driveway looks like it was never even touched. It’s depressing – especially for Scott who does most of the shoveling.