Like Being Thrown Into Boot Camp (Ft. "The Two Nates")

When I've had a rough day with the boys and don't want to re-live it just yet via a blog post, I will often go digging in the archives to see if there's a happy thing to post about instead. Apparently this has been a rough week since I wasn't coming up with much.

And by that I mean it's been a rough week for me. The boys are having a great time without question:

Those smiles are 100% legit by the way since you all know what happens when I ask them to smile for the camera. This was earlier in the week when they discovered that they could stay up late and keep Mommy hopping if they said "Pee-pee! Potty now!".

We went through a lot of duct tape that night.

The really big kicker though was "at the same time" diaper changing – and in case there's any doubt this was their idea, not mine. After about the third pass I decided to get the camera out.

Unfortunately I erred on the side of error and the rest of the "Pee-pee! Potty now!" trips came with additional requests to "Take picture now!".

Whoops!

Bedtime (complete with sleeping toddlers) ended up being about an hour later than usual that night. By the time I took the pictures the boys were about ready to orbit the room. 

– I flying high on lack of sleep everyone!

Also, this is the look Nate gets on his face when he's about to cut loose with getting up to no-good in a way that he thinks is most hysterical: 

– Mommy say I not have good poker face. I not know what that mean
so I keep making 'dis face until I figures it out.

Of course all of this was before they managed to defeat the duct tape. From start to finish it lasted just over a week, so not such a great solution as it turned out despite my optimism. We are duct tape free once again. Perhaps the take-away here is that at least no one has made any impromptu art, except that there is no take-away really. You wouldn't believe the things they've been into and I'm grasping at straws. 

Like I said, it's been a rough week and we are missing Gamma Rita more than you know because clearly the kids saved it up until the ratio was back to two against one.

This is not good.

If there's anything to be salvaged here it's over this way in the form of a new video on our YouTube™ channel. The first part (and then some) is my boys after breakfast putting on a bit of a show yesterday morning. It took me awhile before I realized they were pretty serious about it and went to grab the camera.

As you all know, camera sometimes = Michigan J. Frog so I had to do a little prompting, but not much. They definitely ran with it, even with some fairly serious jam-face going on.

The good part though is around the 1:50 mark and it's why the video is called "The Two Nates". Don't worry, Seth isn't confused about his identity (check out his slip up at 2:57). It's just his way of driving his brother around the bend. "The Two Nates" act shows up quite a lot around here and tonight it's a comfort to see someone other than me going a little batty. 

Misery loves company after all. Enjoy!

- L.

Sunny Lemon Tinas

Although this post is ultimately about a new dessert favorite at the OP, it could have just as easily been about the end of our summer of hippy-hair love in the form of new haircuts:

– We is rockin' our new look everyone!

Alternatively it could have also been about the haircuts and what my boys get up to when I ask them to "smile for the camera", although I think we've covered this one before: 

– 'Dis IS my really big smile!
– Mine too!

Cute pics (and odd pics) aside, this post really is about a dessert. 

Of course, it's not just any dessert and it's certainly not every day (or any day?) that I've taken the time to come up with a custom order to suit an occasion. In this case however, a special dessert was warranted* and I wasn't able to find a recipe for "Sunny Lemon Tinas" anywhere.

I had a pretty good idea what a Sunny Lemon Tina would look like, but couldn't find a recipe that fit the bill so I cobbled a few things together, made a few changes here and there and voilà! 

In my opinion the cookie part of the recipe by itself is really very good, but in the opinion of my boys it's the sunny lemon part that makes this dessert worthwhile: 

– These some serious cookies everyone.

– Om, nom, nom. I maybe say more later but is too busy enjoying new dessert
right now to make official statement. I trust my "om, nom, nom" will suffice for now.

- L.

*The "No singing!" ban has been lifted of late and has been replaced with things like "More singing!" and even specific requests for songs. "Frère Jacques" is currently at the top of the charts at the OP – and whether it's en Français or in English, it's a bonafide hit.

And yes, of course there's some new OP video to back it up. It's not like I made up the phrase "Sunny Lemon Tinas" after all. Non-French speaking children everywhere have been extolling the virtues of those "sunny lemon tinas" ever since "Frère Jacques" first appeared on the scene.

• • • • • • •

PS. This post wouldn't be right without a recipe (especially after all the hype!) so here it is. As always, click to embiggen (and/or right click and open image in new window to print).

Oh Captain, My Captain(s)!

The laundry basket is not used so much these days for laundry as it is for setting sail. 

Unfortunately my boys don't fit in it quite as well as they once did. 

Which generally means someone ends up jumping ship (or in a less voluntary way is sometimes sent off to walk the plank). 

Looks like Captain Seth won this round.

- L.

PS. This post would not be complete without a video, so here it is. In keeping with our strict "no singing!" policy, there is no singing – but if you've ever yearned to hear "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" barked out in semi-army-sergeant-style fashion, then you're in luck. Enjoy!

I Teach Them Things

Mostly good things, but on occasion I've been known to help out with a shenanigan or at least look the other way when shenanigans are afoot.

Other times it's a rainy, miserable day and I decide to make bean soup for lunch – and on a such a day when we're all going a bit stir crazy in the house I get ideas. This one hasn't come back to haunt me yet, but I'm sure it will. 

Enjoy!

– Look on my face say what you all about to be thinking everyone.
I just don't know 'bout that Mommy sometimes!

- L.

Fore-Stains: The Video

It exists! My boys were a little short on declaring fore-stains last night, but I think it was mostly because they were busy doing fore-stains.

Our latest video presentation is brought to you by an impromptu cat-nap:

And a silly face: 

Both of which I'm sure were fuel for additional suppertime silliness in the form of fore-fore-fore-stains!

Enjoy!

- L.

PS. About the "teasing" business...

This one came about around the same time as the infamous "Fix the Nate!". Seth would often get into bed on the "wrong" side, Nate would get frustrated and Seth would end up asking me to "Fix the Nate!". Once I caught on I would say, "Stop teasing your brother - he doesn't like that".

When they get into bed now, Seth will still sometimes do a fake-out on stealing Nate's spot but then giggle and say "Teasing! Teasing brother!". Not sure how this one turned up in the video, but then again I'm still half in the dark over what a "fore-stain" is* aside from what I took a video of.

*Dipping one's toast in egg-yolk is also considered fore-stains. Really, I fully get Anasahnize and even though it took awhile to decode, I also know full well what a Tse-Tse is by now. Jury is still out on fore-stains if I were pressed to define it. At this point maybe it just implies something that covers something else?

*shrug*

Your guess is as good as mine.

The Great Tse-Tse Capers: Part I

Yesterday while I was making lunch and the boys were playing in the living room I couldn't help but notice things had gotten a little... quiet. 

And as you all know quiet + toddlers = trouble. Really it does, and very nearly every time.

I warily went to investigate and it's not so much that I was relieved at what I found, but in the big scheme of things a pillaged box of kleenex is pretty small potatoes.

And truth be told, I enjoy these moments. 

– It wasn't me, everyone!

– Oh, who I kidding? It totally me!

*stuff stuff stuff* *giggle*

Hey... 'dat look like fun, brother! I think I take some notes.

– So I can do 'dis.

– And whatever 'dis is.

• • • • • • •

"Whatever 'dis is" turned into 15 minutes of making clouds and snow and seagulls and just about anything else a 2 year old imagination could dream up to make out of Kleenex.

Watching them play with those ill-gotten tissues was a delight, but also a timely reminder of some posting that I've been meaning to get to – namely the often-mentioned-but-never-blogged-about "Great Tse-Tse Capers". 

Last December I never would have imagined that this humble box: 

Combined with this very hallway: 

... would be the impetus for not only the first of many "Great Tse-Tse Capers", but also the birthplace of my boys' first twin-speak word: "tse-tse"*.

And although I have referred to (and will continue to do so) incidences of tse-tse's as "The Great Tse-Tse Capers", not all tse-tse's are, in fact, capers. I was however already calling them that before I decoded what a "tse-tse" really is and truth be told 95% of the tse-tse's that happen at the OP are capers of one sort or another. I don't see that changing any time soon so the title stands, but truly a tse-tse is as follows:

Tse-tse 

– noun 

1. any mutual undertaking where hilarity is the end result. 

• • • • • • • 

– I is thinking 'bout making up a word right now.

– Funny you mention 'dat. I is thinking same thing.

– I think I call 'dis one "tse-tse".

– Is like you reading my mind brother. Oh wait... you is!

• • • • • • •

Of course, this post would be nearly meaningless without a video, so I posted one on our YouTube™ channel.

Special highlights include liberal use of the term "tse-tse!" (of course), as well as Seth sampling the flavors of this particular tse-tse at the 2:05 mark (at which point it's clear that intentional hilarity is not necessarily the exclusive domain of the tse-tse purveyors if you catch my drift). 

- L. 

*I hadn't a clue what was going on at the time, or that "tse-tse" would become such a big part of our vernacular at the OP. To be honest, I wasn't really even paying much attention to what they were saying at the time since it just sounded like toddler gibberish. It was only long after the fact that it became clear that "tse-tse" was a real (albeit made-up) word with meaning.

PS. This and this were likely the early iterations of this particular caper, but my boys were still working hard on saying "UP!" at the time (former) or things like "book", "apple" and "baby" (latter). In all fairness, they probably needed to get a few legit words under their belts before they branched out on their own.

Getting Your Kids To Eat Their Veggies The Easy Way

Alternate post title: A Dozen For You And One For Me!

Step 1: Have at least 2 children who appreciate the fine art of shenanigans at your disposal.

Step 2: Seat them within easy reaching distance of each other. 

Step 3: Serve veggies.

You can thank me later. In the meantime, there is a video should you require further instruction.

- L.

PS. My guys really are outdoing themselves this week. 

That's A Machine, Alright!

Long before "That's a tse-tse, alright!" appeared on the scene, the phrase "That's a machine, alright!" came into being. I'm guessing it's something I must have said once in response to a query about whether something in particular was, in fact, a machine.

Truth be told, it's hard sometimes when you're outnumbered and I needed a way to indicate to my boys that things like a VCR or the washing machine are not toys, despite all the fun buttons. Pointing out that these items are a "machine" has actually worked for the most part.

Of course, I've never claimed this strategy is foolproof.

Every time I hear "that's a machine, alright" it always cracks me up a little – partly because it's a funny thing to hear a toddler saying, but mostly because my toddlers actually enunciate it as: 

"'Dat's a MAH-sheen, awright!".

It's typically a one-time comment so I never imagined I'd get them saying it on video. In fact, the day I did manage to capture one of my favorite phrases for posterity I nearly missed the boat since I had to do a mad dash for the camera and by the time I got back Nate was mostly interested in pushing the buttons on the dishwasher (a popular MAH-sheen around here) and not much into talking anymore, which was really a shame since "that's an XYZ alright" is very much a Nate-ism. Fortunately Seth picked up the slack that particular day. I didn't dare turn the focus of the camera around though lest Michigan J. Frog appear.

- L.

PS. Even without one of my favorite catch-phrases, I'd still be laughing. Watching Nate press the dishwasher buttons with as much effort as he's putting into it is so very Nate and his expression whenever he's concentrating that much on a task always makes me giggle at least a little.

2 Years + 2 Months + 2 Weeks + 2 Days Old Today

The last time I made a post like this one was, well... 2 years ago and since the next occasion following won't occur for another 20 years I couldn't let it slip by unacknowledged. 

No silly face pictures from today, but it seemed like the right time to finally post the video where Nate discovered a baby in the camera – which unfortunately led to weeks of not being able to take much in the way of videos (or photos for that matter) since everyone wanted to get behind the camera to see the "baby". Mercifully, everyone has moved on since then and things are (mostly) back to normal (just in case you were wondering why all the posts with pics lately have been mainly centered around the kitchen table).

- L.

*In a previous post, I made reference to Nate's discovery of a "boy" in the camera, but after viewing the video I was surprised to discover he actually said "baby". Of course, I shouldn't have been since they will always be my babies after all.

PS. In case you're wondering what the "chewnits" are all about, these would be it:

Specifically, these would be "chewnit number 6" and "chewnit number 7". When the boys are counting using the numbers from this particular puzzle, they will actually sequence them as, "one, two, three, four, five, chewnit number six, chewnit number seven, eight", etc. In the video, they are clearly working on some new chewnits however.

Also chewnits:

Nate is the main perpetrator, but Seth has been known to enjoy a "chew" here and there. Mercifully, neither of my boys has ever been one to try to ingest non-food items. That said, if it can be chewed on, odds are good it's been "chewnits'd" around here.

Easter Morning Ft. "The Slow Boot Shuffle"

I commented in my previous post that "watching them walk from one end of the house to the other in those boots was absolutely priceless" – and thanks to the magic of YouTube, you no longer need to take my word for it. 

Enjoy!

- L.

S-H-E-E-E-R-I-O-S!

– Hey Seth, I has question. 

– OK, shoot.

– Why you always look so little and I look so big in the pics Mommy takes? We is more or less same size after all.
– 'Dis is good question Nate, and good question deserve good answer. Which I has of course. 

– Is fun to mess with Mommy sometimes, 'dat's why! 'Dis my little grin I like to make when I is pulling pranks. And I pull a few in new video that Mommy post today.
– 'Dat is good answer, Seth. Of course, I go with my Michigan J. Frog impression as usual*. I doesn't like to disappoint.

- L.

PS. Seth is reading letters off the Cheerios box, which both my boys do with great fervor every time we have Cheerios with our breakfast. For some reason when I decided to finally drag out the camera today to record this tried-and-true event, "C" got replaced with "S" and an extra "E" found its way in there somehow.

PPS. It's March and unseasonably warm, but nothing would do this morning other than their "Christmas shirts!". It was cool enough in the house at that point so it wasn't a problem per se. Still, I think they might be joining the infamous orange shirts in short order.

*Nate has been a bit of a Michigan J. Frog on camera of late, which is a bit of a surprise coming from a future theatre major. I think it has something to do with his recent discovery of a "boy" in the camera, but that's a post for another day.

A,B,C, F and G...

There's a story here, but I'm pooped, so you should probably just head over and watch our new video.

- L.

Happy Leap Year, Everyone!

It turns out February 29th was the day for some surprising new manners at lunch. There was a very brief exchange yesterday over saying "thank you" and "you're welcome" that didn't seem to register much at the time, but obviously made a bigger impression that I'd thought.

Today, my boys – Nate especially – couldn't get enough of finding things to hand to each other in order to elicit the "thank you/you're welcome" exchange.

And I thought we were doing well with "Exmoosey!".

Nicely done, boys. Nicely done.

- L.

PS. Of course there's a video of it all (and then some). You can check it out here.

Pretend You Are Two

Because there isn't anything quite like the imaginative properties of a toddler.

Despite my role as a parent to teach my children about the world around them, I find myself getting schooled more often than not.

On the surface, this looks like my boys have managed to climb into an ordinary laundry basket:

Except it's actually a boat!

Of course, that was kind of an easy one.

Want to guess what we're doing here? 

We're making hats ("AAATS!") out of ordinary cloth wipes*, of course.

Is because we still doesn't have enough hats, everyone.

And having a blast doing it:

AAATS!

Of course, nothing trumped the after-dinner special where ordinary raisins became airplanes:

Truth be told, I am loving this new phase of make-believe as much as my sons are.

- L.

*The ordinary cloth wipes are less ordinary than they would appear, since they are well known around these parts as "tse-tse cloths" and are liberally referred to as such in the video I just posted on our YouTube™ channel featuring our cloth AAATS! and raisins that are up high in the sky.

PS. The Great Tse-Tse Capers posts are coming. The caper involving the cloths was but one of them and early on at that. Still, the cloths have been known henceforce (and likely forevermore) as "tse-tse cloths". I thought I'd mention that in case you are wondering what all the "tse-tse" business in the video is about.

Slide!

There's a new video up on our YouTube™ channel, and I don't want to ruin the surprise ending so you'll just have to head over and check it out for yourself.

- L.

PS. While Gamma Rita was visiting, I had the opportunity to have a mom's-only dinner out with the twin moms from the prenatal class we all took together. Over appetizers I happened to mention something about the kinds of capers my boys get up to since they work so well (and by that I mean sometimes a little too well) together. At the time I didn't have a quick story at the ready – I barely managed to make a weak reference to the Penaten Capers – but this would be at least a fair-to-middling example of what I meant.

At least when they're using their super-twin powers for good, that is.

PPS. I have at least 5 videos in need of editing and a host of other pics and stories that have accumulated, including some unfinished birthday business. Tonight's video took precedence for reasons that will become clear at the end.

Really, go check it out.

Summer of Love: The Combat Baby Edition

"[It was...] kind of like a carnival. There was always something going on."

– Gamma Rita, when asked upon returning home about her visit here last summer.* 

• • • • • • •

A small preface: my boys broke their dresser tonight beyond a simple repair. As much as this will probably be a story in it's own right at some point, tonight I'm pretty unhappy about the whole thing and not in a mood to blog about it.

Instead I bring you pics and a video from destructive times past (AKA "The Summer of Love"), which I'll admit I found funny even then.

Pretty much my exact reaction when I saw the busted dresser tonight.

* Gamma Rita speaks the truth, although I must say unexpected trips down memory lane (carnival notwithstanding) are sometimes unexpectedly nice, especially on a lousy night.

- L.

PS. If destruction is your thing, our latest video is here. Our theme song (and by that I mean the one I hear in my head at times like this) is found separately here (apologies if there's an annoying ad first since I got one randomly – but if so, you can elect to skip it rather quickly).

Fun With Socks

As a Mommy there are times when you need to pull out the creative big guns, so to speak, and non-stop rainy days are definitely one of those times.

Hence today's post.

It started like this:

It ended like this: 

And in between there was some actual fun being had, which you can check out here.

- L.

I'm With The 21%*

*Or thereabouts. 

I revisited this post to see just how many of you voted for what I would consider an inappropriate use of food at mealtime. I was looking specifically at this chart since it broke things down into tidy percentages:

I can make charts with the best of them, but I work with the numbers provided. The Blogger poll widget provided the numbers by the way, and I certainly didn't stop to question or double check them. I guess no one else noticed either so I don't feel too bad, but indeed: 

47% + 36% + 21% = 104%.

Nice maths, Blogger™.

So while I blame 83% of you for what transpired tonight, I am going to buffer that with a margin of error of 4% because I am generous like that.

Either way, I suspect the majority of you will fully endorse tonight's happenings.

So, you know... enjoy!

It started like this: 

And ended up with things that looked like this: 

Yum.

I hope at least 32% of you are feeling pleased with yourselves right now and also that at least 43% of you are voluntarily using your leftovers in a similar fashion because you strongly feel it's the right thing to do.

And yes, I realize the poll was specifically about "Foodstuffs on Heads", but I don't believe for a moment you all didn't see this coming.

- L. 

PS. If you are still feeling militant about creative uses of leftovers and/or are a glutton for punishment and/or just like watching cute babies getting up to no good, there is a new video on our YouTube™ channel documenting the "creative uses of food" process.

*sigh*