Holiday recap, part one.

So, this past Sunday at church Erik blessed our two babies. I've never seen twins blessed before and it was pretty cute. The bishop announced that Dane would go first and then Alec, but when Erik went up he was carrying Alec and I had Dane, so up on the stand we swapped and that got a few laughs. Erik gave the boys beautiful blessings and I felt so proud of my little family. I was also glad that Mom, Dad, and Annie were in town for the blessings. Hey, when we walked into church, a lady from my ward stopped Annie and asked her, "How are you feeling?" She was like, "I'm fine. I'm the sister." Some people seem to think that we're nearly twins. To that Annie and I say, "I'm not listening to you, you're crazy." (another Nacho Libre quote, which to my surprise...is a movie that my dad liked...a lot! I was astounded.)

The Olsen crew.

You just never know which gifts will be hits and which ones will be just okay (like giving Erik socks, for example). This gift that he's opening is a DVD of the Foo Fighters in concert. We're big Foo Fighters fans. We've even gone to Canada to see them perform. So you might say we're obsessed, or you might say we're awesome. Either way, Erik liked his DVD.

A funny outtake when we were trying to get a picture for Christmas (or after-Christmas, rather) cards. We should have just made this one the official picture because this is officially how our little Reid is most of the time.

We tried to get some pictures of the three boys, but Reid was like, "okay, when can I get these babies off of me?" and the babies were like, "We're pretty sure that this guy doesn't know what he's doing and I would feel more comfortable if an adult was holding me right now. Besides, I just pooped my pants and I feel some spit-up coming on."

So that's some of the latest. Coming up: the marshmallow adventure, the cookie house creation, more Christmas pictures, and more pictures of babies snuggled next to each other. It's going to be good.

Experiencing technical difficulties.

For the past four months we have been reaping the benefits of a nearby, unsecured wireless internet network. We were going to set up internet when we got into the home we're renting, but since we could access it wireless-ly anyway, so we just didn't worry about it. Annie said that it was stealing, and I'll have to do some soul searching about that. I replied, "hey, if they don't bother to secure it and my computer is able to access it, then it's fair game." But then I figured, how different is that from saying, "hey, if they don't want to lock up their bike, then it's fair game."? Like I said, still thinking about this one. What do you think?

I guess it's a moot point anyway, because the other day the wireless network we've been using just disappeared. So, now we have to decide if we're going to set up internet at our rental house for the last month or so that we're there before we move to the new house. (I'm writing this from a computer station on base.)

Thus explaining the lack of posts. Too bad, too. Because these babies are crazy cute. Hopefully we'll get it all resolved soon and we'll be back to our regular programming.

Life with baby angels.

So that big pile of sleepers is the amount of clothes it takes just to get through the night. The boys seem to spit up all over their outfits after every meal. They are very vigorous eaters, which is good, but it's got to go somewhere when their stomach informs them that there's not enough room. So it goes all over their outfits. But, it's hard to get too frustrated when your little angels are this sweet. I mean, could you just die?

This was a few days ago, their faces are already filling out a bit more. They love to be swaddled and laid right next to each other. So sweet.

So during the night I'm feeding, changing clothes, and changing diapers...with a small amount of sleep thrown in the mix. But during the day, I just sit and stare at my little angel babies. Reid loves giving them kisses on the head (the only place he's allowed to touch them at this point) and it just melts me. He's adjusting remarkably well. The babies just make him giggle, like their tiny hands and faces just crack him up. Thank goodness for that. So, besides laundry and not enough sleep, I would say that things are going perfectly. I'm very nervous, however, about how it will all shake out when my parents and sister leave at the end of the week. Very nervous. Any one want to come hang out with us and three sweet little boys? We'd love to have you.

Dane Patrick and Alec Brent join the gang

Erik is writing tonight, and a miracle has occurred. Dane and Alec (formerly known as Rod and Todd) were born yesterday, December 12, at 1331, and 1332 PST. They were born in Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, CA. Dane was pulled out first and weighed a good 6 lbs 1 oz. Alec came in second weighing 5 lbs 6 oz. They are both healthy and doing well. Some of our lead up doctor appointments lead us to believe that Alec may have some heart problems, but so far so good. They want to do one more echocardiogram before we leave to take a look at his heart. Right now they think he's fine and chances are he'll stay that way. They certainly are little dudes, and look pretty similar. But seriously, how different do 1-day-old babies look? I'll keep my eye on them. They seem pretty happy and are catching on to eating and sleeping, their two main jobs for the foreseeable future.

Emily is recovering really well. She had a spinal tap type of anesthesia and loved it. I told her to bring some home. (just kidding.) She got out of bed this afternoon and may do some walking tomorrow. She looks great.

Emily is in the hospital with the babies, and her mom Sally came and swapped spots with me. I came home with Reid tonight and Sally will spend the night there, and I will sleep here. Notice I didn't say Sally will sleep there, most likely she won't sleep much.

So we are really happy, things are going great. We have been very blessed this Christmas season. Our family is alive and well, we have food and shelter, and access to great doctors for delivering new kids. Merry Christmas! Our stockings are full! -Erik

Pic 1= the Olsens

Pic 2= Dane on the left and Alec on the right. How can I tell? That's for me to know...

Pic 3 & 4= Alec, then Dane, birth plus 5 minutes.

Pic 5= Alec was very peaceful right away.

2nd attempt.

Last night I wrote an especially unfascinating post about my love of electric blue eyeliner. It was so bad that at some point in the evening, when I couldn't sleep because Rod and Todd were tap dancing on my innards, I got up and deleted the whole thing. Seriously, it was a new level of "Emily talking about nonsense"-ness. I'll save you the rambling and sum up what I wrote last night. Once these babies are born, I'm afraid I'm going to start looking like this guy (image from this major rad blog). But imagine him in Erik's ginormous BYU sweatshirt...yep, that will be me. (Except hopefully no beard/mustache - but the hairloss will, I'm afraid, occur. I lost SO much hair after having Reid. I hope it's not twice as bad with twice the babies, or else I would have to cut my hair like this dude. Not good.)

Nevertheless, I think I'm going to order this (from Sephora) for Erik to put in my stocking. I love a crazy cool eyeliner. I thought that I might be the only one (well, maybe me and some "women of the night" - see Lynn's comment from last post. I'm afraid she just might be right).

But then yesterday I saw this on instyle.com (a favorite place to go waste some time and look at pretty clothes and fun makeup). See? Eva Mendes thinks it's cool, too. So, hopefully I'll get to a point in the upcoming months where I look more towards the Eva end of the spectrum. Although I have a feeling it will take quite a few months at least.

So that's it, that's my best 2nd attempt. Riveting, huh?

In case you were wondering...It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Well hot dang. It was fun to read everyone's comments and fun to feel like we were all having a little movie party even though we live in many different places. Here are my boys, picking out the winner.

Reid picked a name out of the bowl.

Then here's Erik telling him he needs to open it up and Reid is blurry because I'm a horrible photographer and because he's trying to shake Erik off from helping him open up the name.

When he finally opened it...we saw the winner was...the Earle family! Yay! Amy, I hope they aren't hard as rocks by the time they reach Alaska. Email me with your address and with Marilee's. I think your entry counts for two winners.

Here's the goal, but no promises as to how they'll turn out. I'll let you all know if they are, in fact, TDF. I'm going to start talking like the girl on "Sleepless in Seattle."

On the baby front, things are going pretty well. I'm 37 weeks plus a couple days, and I think these boys are too comfortable in there. My mom got here on Thursday, so I'm feeling a lot more calm. I feel ready now. Thank goodness for my mom. Last week when we saw the perinatologist, the bigger boy measured at 6 lbs. and the smaller boy at 5 and a 1/2 lbs. So, they are regular sized babies, not just good-for-twins sized babies. Erik and I both contribute big baby genes, so it was inevitable. I hit 38 weeks on Saturday, and they won't let me go past that (or so they tell me)...so we are officially in the final stretch. Stay tuned to the blog for updates, and for my thoughts on makeup. I think I'll talk about that one tomorrow. It's fun to talk about. Is 27 too old for bright blue eyeliner?

SO lame (and a game!)

Okay, so it's been like two weeks since the last post. The lame reason being that this is my hundredth post, and I got this bright (and very Emily-ish ridiculous) idea to write about 100 things that I love, things that make me happy, and things that are blessings in my life. While it's very easy to think of 100 things to write about, I most definitely do not have the focus necessary to type out that many things. Most definitely. So for the past two weeks I've been puttering around, trying to add things to the list when I can find time (or remember to do it), and it's still a sad, sad post. So, I'm posting this instead. So lame.
Anyways, (think of Nacho Libre) this is my 100th post on my little blog and I am pretty excited about it. I don't have very much of the stick-to-it-ness in me (as my school record would attest to) and so I'm a bit proud of myself that I've gotten this far.

Want to celebrate with me?

My plan is to send someone some peppermint marshmallows and some delicious Ghiradelli hot chocolate. Homemade peppermint marshmallows at that. I'm actually not sure if that's going to be a good prize or not, since I haven't ever made them before. But at least the hot chocolate will be good.

So leave a comment about your favorite Christmas movie (and why) and on Monday the 8th I'll draw a winner. Believe me, your chances will be good. I think only 3 people read this blog.
I hope this sounds fun to you, it sounds pretty good to me. Movies, hot chocolate, and me getting to 100 posts before I turned 100. Maybe not so lame after all.

One or the other.

Reid has two sleeping positions. It's always one or the other. I would love to show you actual pictures of how adorable he is when he's sleeping, but that would require me taking a picture of my sleeping son...risking waking him up. Not worth it. Sleep position number one: The totem pole. He's on his back, arms out and at 90 degree angles, legs out to the sides, almost at 90 degree angles. It's hilarious.

Sleep position number two: The stink bug. This one is just too precious for words, and I wish that I could put the Reid cuteness into liquid form, bottle it up, and people around the world could get a vaccine of it to ward off unhappiness. It could be like an unhappiness inoculation. A little overboard? No way. You haven't seen the stink bug.

He sleeps on his stomach, but tucks his legs underneath himself (usually crossed at the ankles) and his arms are tucked close to his sides. His head is turned to the side which makes his mouth all drooly and smooshed on the mattress. The cutest part is that his little sleeper-covered bum goes straight up into the air. It's just too much. Seriously, I think Reid could change the world with just the cuteness of the stink bug.

In case you were wondering...what ginormous looks like.

This picture has nothing to do with being ginormous, it just makes me laugh.

This picture DOES have to do with being ginormous, and it makes me laugh. This was taken a week ago (at almost 34 weeks) and while for the split second of the picture I look almost put together, here's what's going on behind the scenes:

(second shot of me trying to look decent whilst looking frighteningly similar to Violet Beauregarde)

-This is my end of pregnancy hair-do - pulled back in a low bun. Very chic, right?

-I'm wearing hoop earrings to try and look like I'm somewhat hip. (Think Emily, think. What else did J. Lo do to look hip while she was carrying twins?)

-I probably had to pull up my maternity pants about 450 times that day.

-The two babies are both in my belly area. I know it looks like there's a third one hiding in my rear area, but nope. Just two. Both in the belly area.

-One baby likes to stay head down, nice and comfortable on his side. The other baby likes to do somersaults on his half and show up in a different position every time we have an ultrasound. On Tuesday he was sideways.

-The rough measurements on Tuesday (34 weeks, 2 days) showed that baby A is measuring at 34 weeks/3 days and that baby B is at 34 weeks/0 days. So, that means that I have two full-sized babies in me. That's very good news, it's just a little uncomfortable. I set two goals with this pregnancy: 1. to get past 36 weeks and deliver in December, and 2. deliver both boys at 6+ lbs. each. I think we may just make both goals. The only hitch left is deciding when and where we deliver. There are about 6 doctors involved in this decision, and it's still up for debate amongst them as to whether we deliver in Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo. (it all has to do with the Pediatric Cardio services available and the odds of us needing them) Today I'm about 3 weeks away from the decided "born no later than" date, so Erik and I would appreciate a game plan sooner rather than later. I still have to go to Santa Barbara to see a Pediatric Cardiosurgeon. Hopefully he'll make the official call and we can start planning.

So, there's the update.

T minus 3 weeks.

The music of your life.

Nice. I like that title.

In college I had a roommate Shannon (who is the coolest combination of hippy/cowgirl/social activist I've ever seen) who had an idea that it would be fun to make a soundtrack to the events of your day. Then, somehow as you went about your day the music would play in the background, like in a movie. I don't remember many of the songs she would have put in her playlist, but I do remember that she would wake up to Edvard Grieg's "Morning." Appropriately enough.
(if you click on the link and scroll down a bit you can find the song and listen to it. If you scroll down a bit more you'll see "Nocturno" which is my show-off song on the piano. I'm not really as good as this song might make you think, but I try to keep it brushed up and ready to play for times like after I'm practicing new songs and I feel like I'm the world's worst pianist. When I'm all done I play Nocturno and then say to myself, "Check me out! I'm awesome!")

So what would be some songs in your soundtrack? Songs for big moments would be interesting, too, but I'm mostly curious about what would play while you're doing the dishes, or laundry. Or brushing your teeth. Or changing a poopy diaper.

Have you seen the really dumb movie "Maid in Manhattan"? You know that very contrived scene where all of a sudden J. Lo and her co-workers start dancing to the song that goes, "I'm coming out. I want the world to know-oh, got to let it show-oh..." I think that would be a good song for while I'm getting dressed. Besides that, I'm going to need some time to think, but I'd love to hear your ideas.

Never say never.

Are there things that you assumed you would NEVER do, but time passes...you get a little wiser (maybe), or you just plain change your mind? I've had a lot of those lately. Most of the time I don't feel that different from the Emily at 20 years old - footloose and fancy free away at "school". I actually didn't get much school done in those days (or any other day, for that matter), but I sure did have fun deciding what my life would be. Now, I'm a married 27 year old mother of 3 (almost, within a few weeks!) and I've realized that while the core Emily is still the same, some of the details have changed. Here's some proof:

This one shouldn't be that much of a surprise, it was only a matter of time, anyway. I always said that I didn't want to be the "kind of parent" (such judgement...) that would use the TV as a babysitter. Well, here I am, 34 weeks along with babies sucking the life right out of me. My feet and legs are so swollen that yesterday at church I wore my fanciest flip-flops because nothing else would fit. Before the first speaker was even finished, I looked down and saw that my sandals had left deep, DEEP impressions in my chubby, swollen feet. I nudged to Erik and we both got a good laugh, in the middle of church. The doctors want me to stay off my feet, modified bedrest-ish, and so in the mornings Reid and I watch a movie together. He's had as much TV in the past couple weeks as I used to think he'd have his whole toddlerhood. Oh well.

This one will probably surprise you. But I have finally succumbed to my inner granola, and am making the switch to vegetarianism. Well, actually, to "eat-meat-VERY-sparingly-atarianism." For years I've thought about it, about how much I wouldn't really miss eating meat that much. But my hesitancy was because I've grown up in a very "meat and potatoes" family, and married a manly "meat and potatoes" man. I would think of the dinners that I knew how to make, and I just couldn't really figure out how to accomplish my wifely duties without meat. Plus, I don't like that many vegetables. Okay, so maybe that was the real concern. Then, I got pregnant with Reid, then nursed Reid, then got pregnant with twins (with no lapse in between)...and figured that even though I was ready, it just probably wasn't the time. "The babies need the meat!" (do you remember that Friends episode, when Phoebe is pregnant with the triplets and Joey offers to stop eating meat so that she can eat the meat that he would have eaten, and thereby not feel guilty in animals dying for her consumption?)

Now is the time. I'm ready. I don't really have ethical objections to eating meat, I just don't really want to eat it anymore. I've always had meat issues:

-I can't eat meat off a bone. I feel like a rabid dog, or like we're back in Medieval times. Have you been to the Renaissance festival, and everyone's walking around eating turkey legs? I can't handle it.

-I can't handle big slabs of meat. I could only eat meat when I just saw it as another piece of food. A steak or big roast just made it impossible to imagine it as anything other than a big slab of animal. Oh, and those illustrations that show where different cuts of meat come from on an an animal? Torture.

-I get the heebs touching raw meat. Everytime I see raw chicken, I imagine the dancing chickens in that claymation Peter Gabriel video. Not good.

So, there it is, I am now an "eat-meat-VERY-sparingly-atarian." I've got some things to figure out, like how to get enough protein to nurse 2 babies. But I'm sure someone has done it before. It'll work out.

Lastly, and probably the most surprising, is that I'm ready to be a gun owner. Not a crazy huge gun like this chick is holding, but a small handgun. I have always been vehemently anti-guns. But now I have this mama bear thing going on, and I've come to the conclusion that if I'm ever in an "it's either him or me" situation, you better believe that it's going to be him. We read the Book of Mormon as a family each night, and this time around is the first time that I've really seen (or allowed myself to see) that we need to be brave enough to stand up for ourselves. I've never been good at that. But some things are too important to not defend them, at whatever cost. My family being one. So, sometime after these babies are born, I'm going to train on a small handgun (Erik is already very Jason Bourne. For work he has to be current on an M-9, whatever that is, and he's always tested at the expert level.) We'll proceed from there. The tide started turning this way a year or two ago when Erik and I watched the movie "Red Eye." Not the world's best movie, but I was really inspired to be braver. I kept thinking during that movie that if I had been her, I would have just fallen into a puddle and cried. That's no longer an option, I've got little baby bears to protect. So, I don't think I'll be out hunting anytime soon (although living in Alaska did change my perspective on that, as well) but I may soon be a gun-owner. Bad guys beware.

Get your tar and feathers ready.

I know that to some this will be blasphemy. But I just haven't been able to bring myself to read the Twilight books, and the promotions for this movie aren't getting me any closer to it. It's one thing to be brooding (Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy) and it's quite another to try WAY too hard to look brooding (see above). I just don't like jumping on bandwagons, so I haven't joined the "I love Edward" club yet. But for those who are mega-fans, while I don't share your passion for this particular series, I do get it. I get it big time. When I really love a book, I take it very personally. I was pretty angry after seeing the Keira Knightley P&P. Now I can enjoy it as a lovely movie, but I have to pretend it's a different story than my beloved P&P. I was even outraged when the Winona Ryder "Little Women" came out. Something about it just wasn't right and I was ticked that people would go and ruin a perfectly wonderful story like that. And how old was I when that came out? 12? Anywho, just saying that while I shame you for being so engrossed in a vampire series (save it, I've heard "but it's so much more than vampires!" a hundred times),
where was I?
Right, while I shame you...I very sincerely hope that this movie is everything you hoped it would be. Erik and I will be at Quantum of Solace.

Reid, the magician

I have debated posting about this, but then I figured that my readership is awfully small, and those who read this little Olsen blog surely know about the less lovely parts of our life. ("and don't call me Shirley", that was for you, mom.)

Things like how I really like to say the word "crap" but I try not to on the blog because my mom says it's unladylike.
Things how I have babies invading my insides from my chin down to my knees (and last night had the most unbelievable, otherworldly heartburn. Seriously, I think hell must be: 1. fire, 2. brimstone, I don't know what that is actually, and 3. twins pregnancy heartburn).

Things like how ants have decided that this house is big enough for the three of us and the millions of them.

This blog was getting a little syrupy sweet with all my daydreamy posts, and I don't think that shows the whole picture. This next bit of amusing information will help to even things out.

Reid is a poop magician. Actually, master farter might be a better description. Just about every Sunday (the picture above is him in his ready for Church adorableness) he fakes out the Nursery leaders with his master farting skills. When the Nursery leaders smell something foul, they sniff around for the culprit, and judging by how often he's brought to us for a diaper change - they usually come to the conclusion that Reid is the offender. So they bring him to us so that we can change his poopy pants. One of us grabs the diaper bag and heads to the bathroom to change him. But when we get him all undressed and ready for a new diaper we see that...there's no poop! Where did the poop go? The answer is that there was no poop. Reid just farts so convincingly that he fools us all into thinking he needs a change. Seriously, nearly every Sunday this happens (and a few times during the week, just for mama and daddy). Oh, and as the cherry on top of this delightful sundae of Reidness, he giggles after he farts. He's barely 18 mos. and he already knows that farts are funny. We should give that hint to the Nursery leaders, if he's stinky but he's giggling about it, he's just faking you out. It was only a fart.

Seriously?

I saw this ad online, and I just couldn't handle it. I'll admit, I'm pretty sexist in that I like feminine women and masculine men. But, are there really women out there that find this appealing? Like, "oooh, I love his fitted sweater with the horse embroidered on it! And those purple gloves!"

Christmas to-do list

Lest you think that I will somehow manage to get all (or any) of this done, this list is mostly just what I'm thinking about doing. What happens in my head and what happens in real life are two totally different things. This idea would be cute, but it would require going to yard sales to find old teacups first. That's probably not going to happen, but it sure would be fun.

Right, and these don't really have anything to do with Christmas. But aren't they beautiful? I'm sort of obsessed with peonies, and these look almost as wonderful as the real thing. You can get the instructions (which look very labor intensive) here. But, that's how I roll: maximum effort for minimum results, as with the birthday cake. Maybe this will be my New Year's project to decorate my craft area in the new house (more on that soon).
p.s. my brother Brian decided that my blog was finally worth his time, and his one comment was, "Emily, I feel for Erik. That's not right that he had to decorate that cake with pink frosting ruffles. A man shouldn't have to do that. He can make a cake, put some frosting on it, and even try to make it level...but ruffles?" I actually agree, and I'm looking forward to next year's Rainbow Chip perfection.

I have some neices and nephews on my Christmas list, and when I saw this I thought it was just about perfect. If I got a roll of quarters when I was a little kid, I think I would have flipped out. Perfect for a child, their own money for the rip-off candy/sticker/fake gold jewelry machines outside of grocery stores that parents never give them quarters for. Or, money to go to a dollar store with and let loose. Perfect.

This one is a must-do. I have two babies arriving before Christmas, and they're going to need some stockings. I think I'm going to make a new one for Reid, too. Last year (his first Christmas) the stocking that my mom and I whipped up turned out really cute, and really big. He fit inside of it last year as an 8 mos. old, and he may even this year, too. So, 3 stockings...coming up!

I think this is going to be my gift idea for local friends. I'll make some kind of drink concentrate and give it with a bottle of Pellegrino. Drinking a fancy drink in a pretty glass = Emily heaven.

This one is also a must-do. I've been wanting to make my own marshmallows for years, just because it looks so dang fancy. And, can you imagine one of these beauties melting in your cup of hot chocolate? Heaven. Annie is coming here for Christmas and she's up for making these with me. I'm so jazzed.
p.s. If you click on "Annie" it will take you to her blog, but don't bother, because she never updates it. Yeah, that's right Annie, I just called you out.

I just thought this picture was pretty.

Other than that, I need to:

1. make a tree skirt, finally

2. have my mom help me make a quilt for Reid's big boy bed (which he'll move to when we move to the new house. It depressed me to think of owning 3 cribs, so when the babies each go to their own bed, Reid goes to a big boy bed. Which, of course, requires a new quilt from mom (and grandma. Thank goodness for grandma or I'd never get anything done!)

3. Annie and I have plans to try and perfect Grannie's gingersnap recipe. It was her signature, and I think we need to learn how to make them just like her. They were too good for their legacy to die away.

4. Annie and I want to make some of these. Could you just die? Too bad I don't have any girl babies yet. But I have lots of adorable neices!

If I actually accomplish any of this nonsense, I'll let you know.

In my dreams.

Things are going well with our new (new to us, new to the world in 1962) house. We should be closing at the end of the month. We won't move until the new year because our lease here goes through February, plus it's crazy talk to even think about moving around the arrival of our little boys. Anyways, (imagine I said that like Nacho Libre, I can't say it any other way now) as I think about the move I am once again deep into purge mode. I always feel this electric pulse inside me to simplify, simplify, simplify. I'm excited to get rid of stuff that has been figuratively weighing me down. (The babies are taking care of the "weighing me down" business in the literal sense.) It is, however, hard to get rid of books. Between Erik and I, we have boxes and boxes of books that we'll never need or want to read...ever...again. But books seem to have a lot more intrinsic value than a dress I've never really liked but have had since I was in Jr. High. Right? Plus, there's the problem of my daydreams of rooms like this one:


And just look at that big ladder, like in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, or Music Man, or...one of those places that has lots and lots of books. What are those called?
Very lovely. Oh, my daydreams are powerful things. They're not to be discounted, though. Have you read "the Secret"? It's pretty quacky. My friend Julie describes it as 70% common sense, 20% doctrine, and 10% lies. Something like that. I think she's right. However, whilst trying to stay in the healthy 90% of the secret, I think I have a pretty powerful transmission tower. I try to put a lot of positive vibes out there in the form of wishful thinking. It works, too. I'm pretty sure that that's how I got Erik, our sweet little Reid, and these two boys coming our way. That, or the fact that I'm blessed beyond what I deserve. Yeah, probably that.
I'm still going to use my powers of the law of attraction to try and get a room like that, though.
Couldn't hurt.
Just maybe not in California. When an earthquake breaks us off into the ocean, those books could be pretty dangerous.

Show the Sista some love.

To all readers of this blog (all 3 of you) who are creative/crafty/DIY/foodie types:
You need to check out my Aunt Peg's new blog ask the booth.
Imagine a place where you could go to get cute ideas of things to make, wonderful (and easy) food ideas, and a place to ask all your crafty questions AND get them answered. Can you picture such a wonderful place? It's the BOOTH. So, check it out, and if you have questions...ask the booth!
p.s. a little info on my aunt: my mom is one of 10 children, 5 of which are of the female persuasion. These five are...the Sistas. The kind of sistas that get together to have sista camp and all make their own version of the same quilt. The kind of sistas that when they get together, it's a little like "Pick a little, Talk a little" but in a nice way, and MUCH funnier. The kind of sistas where if my mom sees a housedress that is "so cute" she'll get one for herself and buy one for each sista, as well. They would do the same.
Sooo...my aunt Peg, of "ask the booth" fame, has more creativity in her pinky nail than I do in my entire being. If I thought it would work (and if it wasn't gross) I think I'd ask her to save her nail clippings, I'm sure there's creative genius to be attained through them somehow.

even more stocking ideas

I know, could you believe it? You get to hear more about stuff that I want to make. How exciting for you!
But in case you thought the stocking idea was as fantastic as I did, then here are some more ideas:
an easier (no sewing necessary) but still crazy cute version
a whole lot of ideas of things to put in the stockings

I like to make stuff.

I tried to post some pictures of the cutest holiday project ever...but it didn't work. Hear me know and believe me later, that if you like to make stuff, you have to check this out. I've got three weeks left to get these made so they're ready for next month. Well, and a decent fabric shop needs to move into town.

This is from Stephanie of 3191 fame, for those who know what I'm talking about (probably only you, Jill). If you want to see some very lovely pictures of very ordinary things, check out her book. It's sweet and kind of soothing. I don't quite understand how, but it is. (Great Christmas idea, Erik...)
Along that line, does anyone subscribe to this magazine? (perhaps another idea, Erik...)

I like pretty things.

I saw these pictures on this rad blog and have been daydreaming about them ever since. These are tulip fields in Holland, and couldn't you just die? I imagine running through these to Erik and my boys, in a slow motion run-into-a-hug-then-spin-around moment.

Take a moment to have a lovely daydream of your own.

We looked awesome.

If you guessed like our neighbor did, you would say, "Hey! It's the Oscar Meyer wiener guy! (for Reid's costume) and Hey! Super Dave!" (for Erik's costume).

What?

This is what our Halloween evening looked like, and it was perfect. Erik carved a pumpkin while kids came sporadically, and Reid stayed close to the gate - flipping out when a group of kids came. He loved it, he would wave at them through the gate and then when we opened it he would give them handfuls of candy. The rest of the time he spent driving his little car around the courtyard.As you can see, he is not the Oscar Meyer wiener guy (again...what?...). He's...Pinocchio! I saw the costume idea in a really cool online magazine for children's clothes and thought it just couldn't be beat. I even thought it was better than my original idea, Hulk Hogan (the 80's look, although he doesn't look that different now).

We had a church party on Wednesday night and Reid's costume was the only one that got finished in time, but he made it VERY clear that he did NOT want to wear the costume. He kind of went berserk as we tried to put it on him. Friday was a different story, however. Once Erik and I put on our costumes, he started to see the fun in dressing up in embarrassing outfits.

Getting him to wear the hat and suspenders was still difficult, but besides that he had a great night hanging out as Pinocchio.

It's pretty obvious who I went as. Shrek. Seriously though, I knew I needed a costume that was either centered around the ginormous belly (my only ideas were Nacho Libre or Homer Simpson) or a costume that concealed the belly. So I went with the Statue of Liberty, in a costume that had enough fabric to sail a ship. Mission Accomplished.

And now, the star of the show, Erik as Evil Knievel. He looked fantastic. Holla to my mom for sending me two boxes full of stuff to make all these costumes with. I talked to her the Saturday before Halloween and told her what my ideas were, and she was like, "well, let me see what I've got." Then she rounded up all of this stuff and mailed it off to me. Seriously, who has yards and yards of shiny blue and red fabric and a white jumpsuit just lying around? Awesome people like my mom, that's who. We got a wig with the intent to cut it into a 70's shag, like the dude is wearing in the costume I posted earlier. But once Erik put it on, his inner Dave Grohl came out and he just couldn't bear to cut it. I can imagine that we'll see this wig in future costumes, he loved it. You may not know this, but pre-mission and pre-working for the man, Erik had long hair, wore Doc Marten's and flannel shirts, and listened to punk and garage bands. Now he has to be clean-shaven 6 days out of the week and wear a uniform (that he's dang hot in, so I certainly don't complain), but the inner Dave Grohl still lives. I love it when it comes up to the surface.

So there it is. We looked suh-weet. I can't wait until next year.

Cream cheese frosting for President

I have two recipes that are just too good to keep to myself, both of which involve cream cheese frosting...which, as we know, is the best thing that ever happened to desserts.

Recipe Gem #1
Pumpkin Spice cake (disturbingly easy)

1 box Spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin (meaning...not the bigger can that is pumpkin pie mix)

Mix the two together, spread in a greased bundt pan, bake as directed on cake mix box.
Seriously, it's that easy. I usually add an egg, because I don't understand how it will turn out without some sort of leavening ingredient, but it will work out just the same, sans-egg.

Recipe Gem #2
Monkey Bread (I remember having this as a kid. Do other families eat this too?)

4 rolls of regular size biscuits
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cinnamon

sauce: 1 1/2 sticks margarine (melted), 1 c. sugar, 4 tsp. cinnamon - mix together

Cut the biscuits into quarters and toss with cinnamon and sugar. Put half the biscuit mixture in a greased bundt pan and pour half the sauce mixture over. Repeat with second half of biscuit mixture and second half of sauce mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
(I made this tonight and I think I'd like the sauce part better if it was something like 1 stick margarine with only a 1/2 c. of sugar and the 4 tsp. cinnamon. I don't think you can really go wrong, though.)

and...
the cream cheese frosting that makes the magic happen...

1 package of cream cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 bag of powdered sugar (the bag is 2 lbs. and you only need half...so in other words...1 lb.)
1 T. vanilla
3-4 T. milk

Mix together with an electric mixer until smooth. Use to smother over your slice of pumpkin spice cake, or to dip your monkey bread in. And...you're welcome.

Halloween inspiration

What do these pictures have in common? They all served as inspiration for our respective Halloween costumes. Check back in a day or two for the results. It'll be worth it.