Food, Hooligans, Shenanigans, and MORE FOOD

Hey guys. You probably were starting to think I was dead, weren't you? Well, I'm not. Not yet, at least. And boy howdy do I have a lot of things to blog about. Also, this is probably going to contain about a billion pictures. Give or take. Be brave, my friends.

Let's start with PIEVEMBER, shall we? See, I love pie way too much to limit how many pies I make, but there are only so many people to eat pie at my house on one day, and not that much fridge space. Thus, PIEVEMBER WAS BORN! I decided at the beginning of November that I was just going to spread out my pie making. All month long. Oh yeah. So we got started right away. We ended up making banana cream, Swedish apple, caramel apple crumble, chocolate satin (twice) and pumpkin (more than twice). You probably saw all the pictures of Katie modelling pies for me if you follow me on instagram. Except for the last one, which we didn't make until it was technically December. And Katie said, "I don't like caramel! I don't want a picture with the pie!" So Joshy got in on that action.

As a result of all this, my children love pie. Admittedly, none of them were super keen on the apple pies (more for me, hooligans!), but all of the other kinds of pie got cheered for quite enthusiastically. My kids can sure put away pumpkin pie. And cool whip is probably their actual new favorite food. Because Mike taught them that the proper way to eat pumpkin pie is to cover it in whipped cream so much that you can't see the pie until you cut a bite out. And they're fans of that, apparently.

Of course, we did eat more than just pie. As you can probably guess, we did not travel for Thanksgiving. So I cooked it. It wasn't elaborate or huge or complicated, but it was still Thanksgiving. And it was delicious. I made pies on Wednesday, so all I had to do Thursday morning was put the turkey in the oven and start bread dough, and potatoes and gravy and stuffing are super easy (hello, Stovetop!). Tada! Thanksgiving! I almost feel like a responsible adult when I do this.

"PIE!"

What makes me feel even older is that Mike went Thursday morning to go play football with the priesthood (Elders' Quorum vs. Aaronic Priesthood). And he was sore for, like, a week. Because we're old. And out of shape, but we're not talking about that part. I'm trying to keep up the illusion that I'm an amazing supermodel who also eats baked goods constantly. I have a miracle metabolism. (HA! No.)

After we ate, we all just collapsed and played, and when the kids were in bed, Mike did all the dishes (I technically helped dry, but I feel like that's not really helping all that much). He's the best husband ever. Seriously.

But BEFORE that, he was home for two whole weeks for Thanksgiving break, because the quarter ended right before that. So he worked his buns off for finals' week, then got to only vaguely worry about his next microbiology test for two weeks while sleeping in (not really) and playing with his kids (or getting trampled by them).

"More pie?!?!"

When the break was starting, I had all these plans to go into the city and do big things as a family while I had Mike to help me. As soon as the break actually started, though, it was pretty obvious that what we really needed was to hunker down and be together as a family. Especially because Mike's last break was . . . 14 weeks ago. So we did. There were multiple days when we didn't get dressed until afternoon, because why would you wear clothes if you're not going anywhere? It was awesome.

Of course, we did end up leaving the house a few times, and we did have fun together as a family. We even tried to go to the mall to see Santa, but it turns out they won't let you take your own pictures. You only get to see Santa if you pay $30 for 2 4x6s.

Sticking scarves and fuzzies into the wind tube.

But we did spend one day going to the DuPage Children's Museum (not in the city, here in Naperville). It was really cool! We only saw part of what was there because our kids got tired, but we got a membership so we have a place to go all winter when it's too freezing to be alive. Also because we have enough kids that going once was almost the same price as a membership. But the hooligans LOVED it. They had rooms for playing with light, sound, shapes, shadows, and giant puzzles, rooms full of build-your-own machines with marbles and ramps and gears and such, giant bubble pools, a wind tunnel to stand in with pinwheels, and a whole waterfall thing to float rubber ducks on. I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for certain children still being of an age to need a nap to function, we would have stayed all day. It was that awesome.

Joshy and his friend Emily

We didn't get to while Mike was still on break, but this last weekend (Saturday, to be specific), we went out to see the lights and things at Brookfield Zoo! It was so fun. Katie got a kick out of being allowed to go places when it was already night time (we didn't bother reminding her that the sun sets just after 4 these days). They had lights EVERYWHERE, music and magicians, people dressed up in Christmas costumes, people dressed up as animals, and dancing trees (you know, lights set to music). They even had Santa, but the line to see him was about three miles long, and we were already freezing. It was a good time. We went with some friends, and it made me laugh a little when we stopped to see something and there were six little blond heads lined up in a row (only at the indoor exhibits when they got to take their hats off, of course).


And I only started hyperventilating after we left the costumed characters. I managed to keep it together for the sake of the kiddos. I'm quite proud of myself.

So now Mike only has two more weeks of class before it's CHRISTMAS BREAK!!! Wahoo!!! And now he's wondering why they don't always have classes and breaks in two and three week intervals. Unfortunately, he has a whole bunch more weeks of class after new year's. So the kids and I are brainstorming new hobbies to keep ourselves sane while Mike is studying during the coldest months. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Since I've just had a lot of time to hang out with my family recently, I've notice a couple of things. One is that Peter is really, really confused about something that I thought was pretty clear. See, he calls me Mommy, but he calls Mike both Daddy and Mommy. So he'll be sad, and start crying for "Mommy," but he won't be talking about me. He just loves his dad so much, he gave him both of the important titles. We'll keep working on that.

Watching the garbage truck

Luckily, Joshy is the king of all momma's boys, so I don't have to worry about him getting confused. And he's strong enough that I can't escape his death grip on my legs if he wants me to hold him.

Mainly, I've noticed that my boys are turning into humans. Peter has been saying a lot of words for a while now, and said his first complete sentence ("I want a treat!") a few weeks ago. But the last couple of weeks, both boys have really taken off linguistically. It's kind of freaking me out.

This is Peter's "I'm a hooligan" face.

Peter basically speaks English. Obviously he's still working on his articulation, but he'll walk up to me while I'm making dinner, grab my legs, and say, "I want to hold you." There are even a few words he says that sound completely clear, like "Katie." And I think it's because he's just like a little parrot. He absorbs and copies everything I say, then uses it later when I least expect it. He's like a little sponge for language. For example, just this afternoon I was on the floor with the kids, and Josh came over and tooted right in my face. I made a face and said, "Whoa, buddy!" Peter immediately started waving his arms in the air saying, "Whoa, buddy! Whoa, buddy!"


Josh, on the other hand, is still monosyllabic, but his list of monosyllables is getting quite expansive. A few weeks ago, he called his siblings "Kuh" and "Puh". (The "uh" was silent.) Now they are "Kay" and "Pete." He says things like "treat", "truck", "milk", "candle", "night night", "bear", "cow", and "buckle." And those are just his favorites. It's like he realized all of a sudden that when he uses his real words he can get me to understand and respond a lot faster, so he's really trying to use language. I love it.

But even more than that, while they've been growing and learning so much, I've realized something. Being a twin mom, I get to see a lot of amazing and adorable things that most parents don't get to see. Like this.

"Okay guys, come over here so you can get daytime clothes on." 

But seriously, it's one thing to have a bunch of naked kids running around, and another to see two brothers growing and learning parallel to each other. They even teach each other. Josh has learned a lot of words from Peter, and Peter has learned a lot of his physical skills from Josh. And when they play together, it's hilarious. They know all of each other's best ticklish spots, and neither is afraid to get the other back.

They were feeding each other Cheerios.

And that whole special twin bond you hear about but can't really imagine? They already have that. I'm almost jealous. The other day they were sitting on the couch eating a snack (also because Peter is really into getting under a blanket to go "night night"), and Peter just leaned over and snuggled on Josh's shoulder. I almost died. Of course, then Katie jumped up with them and Josh face-palmed Peter, and it was all over, but still. It was an amazing moment while it lasted.

Or when one of them is sad or hurt or offended that he needs his diaper changed, I'll say, "Josh, can you find a story for Peter?" Or "Peter, can you give Joshy a love?" and they totally take care of each other. When they hug it usually ends up in a huge wrestling match because they always knock each other over, but they do it even when I'm not prompting them. Occasionally I'll look over and see Peter give Josh a kiss on the head. You know, right before he snatches the train Josh was holding and runs away with his brother screaming and chasing him.

It's his own fault for lying on the floor.

Speaking of trains, both boys now officially LOVE trains more than just about anything. (Well, except popcorn. Nothing can ever dethrone popcorn.) They both call them both trains and "choo choos". It's really adorable. They love to build tracks and they take turns fighting Katie off (she likes to destroy it just to mess with them; you know, to get back at them for being her little brothers). And they LOVE LOVE LOVE Thomas the Train. Remember how I used to use Curious George to have a few minutes to shower? Well, George has been deposed. Thomas reigns supreme.


Katie's cool with it. She likes Thomas. But you know what she likes even more? Primary!!! This last week, they had all the "pre-sunbeams" come into primary just for singing time, to get them used to primary before they're officially sunbeams in January. Which means Katie got to come play and sing with me!! (Did I mention I got called as the Primary Chorister? I think I did.) We played a game where I had one of the older kids be my Christmas tree and we decorated him with paper ornaments while we sang fun songs. They loved it. And Katie was actually surprisingly obedient and reverent, but I think it was just because we got back late the night before from the zoo. She was just a wee bit tired. Just a little.

I almost missed you there, kid.

She is also really growing up. Every time we sit at the table and I just watch her tell stories I'm amazed at this girl who's so smart and funny and witty and clever and I think, "wasn't she just barely a baby?" Now she's stylish and opinionated and the boys at preschool have crushes on her. The other day I was flipping through radio stations in the car and she made me go back to a song that she liked that I had skipped. If I pick out her clothes, I risk her having to go switch an article of clothing for one that "matches" better. She even occasionally tells a clever joke that makes sense and is funny. It's disconcerting.

Sorry, I'm waxing all sentimental. I can't believe how much my kids are changing and learning. They're supposed to stay my little babies. I just have to take advantage of the cold weather and make them all snuggle me under blankets as much as I can. If I sit in the rocking chair, both boys will run over to me. Peter will be saying, "Snuggle night night!" and Josh will be saying, "rock!" Joshy's definitely more into the thrill-seeking.

She really likes to turn people into statues.

And Katie will just be ignoring me completely because she's telling me a story about a unicorn that saves the planet from an evil octopus alien that turns everyone into potatoes. She doesn't have time to breathe, let alone hear me ask if anyone wants to snuggle. The only time she snuggles me is when she comes into my room in the middle of the night saying she had a dream that daddy was an alien who cut off her hair. Then she'll climb in bed with me and stick her freezing little popsicle feet on me and I'll try not to inhale her fuzzy little hair or get kicked in the spleen. And it usually doesn't last long before I can't take it and I have to take her back to bed.

Besides all of that, I took advantage of an extra pair of hands and took pictures for our Christmas cards!!!! I'm only sending out physical ones to, like, immediate family and such, (on account of they're expensive!) but the week of Christmas I'll probably post the results of our photo shoot. It was really hard to decide which one to put on the card, because my hooligans are . . . well, hooligans. There were no pictures where all three kids were happy and smiling and not blurry. But there were plenty of cute ones. And you'll all just have to wait and see what we decided. And now, since you've been so patient through this whole post, here's a sneak preview:

Aren't you all just dying with the suspense right now? I bet. Now here are the rest of the pictures that I couldn't decide to get rid of but couldn't work into the body of the text. If you don't care, you don't have to see them. But I thought they were cute. 

Of the whole family, Josh takes the best selfies.

"Mom, I'm going to the Gallopy Gala!"

At the Children's Museum

Pre-Thanksgiving Pie-Making is serious business

All my men walkin' into church together, holding hands.

Banana Cream! This one was probably the prettiest.

Ain't nothin' can get in between Peter and his trains.

Mike thinks this "accurately portrays my personality". Crazy boy.

This is Joshy's "I'm a hooligan" face.

Mike found him this way, and like a good parent, took a picture before rescuing him. (I think he followed Josh, but hasn't learned to climb down like Josh has.)

The Three Bears is Josh's favorite. Bet you can't guess his favorite animal.

I found this racecar shirt in the 2T box, so the Lightning McQueen shirt (which shows Josh's belly) can quietly disappear without any screaming tantrums. Phew!

Merry Christmas!