Fun With Cheerios

– Oh, hi everyone! It's us! Is been a long time since we have chats.
– Oh yes, hi everyone. It has been a long time, but...

– 'Dis not really a good time. We is kind of busy. We is eating Cheerios.
– Mmmph. 

– Oh great. Now I is distracted and lose my Cheerio.
– Me too. But I find mine. 

– Is OK everyone! I find mine too.
– I is using my touching finger to check 'dis one out. Mommy says we talk more about my touching finger in 'nother post tho'. 

– Maybe everyone come back later when we is not eating. 'Dis sort of rude to be eating and conversating at the same time.
– I agrees. Is hard to concentrate on matter at hand. Or finger. I think I just lose my Cheerio again.

– Cheerios is a good thing though, just so you know.
 

– Oh yes. Very good. Om nom nom...

•   •   •   •   •

Mommy note: I had tried offering Nate and Seth Cheerios for the first time a little over a week ago, but I didn't get any takers. What a difference a week makes though – now they LOVE their Cheerios. I'm hoping this is the first step in getting them to eat small pieces of food since they really liked the idea of being able to feed themselves from their bowls.

*fingers crossed*

For awhile there I thought I'd be sending them off to college with a suitcase of pureés. Now I know I can at least send a box of cereal along with it.

If this post hasn't given you your fill of Cheerio fun just yet, head on over to our YouTube™ channel for some lessons on table etiquette with Nate and Seth. Hijinks included.

- L.

Charlie's Story

An update to A Sad Post: Charlie's mom Katy started a blog dedicated to her son. She has asked everyone to spread the word in order to raise awareness about meningitis.

Her blog, titled simply Charlie's Story recounts Charlie's all too brief life and documents his last days from the onset of his illness until his death. I recommend having a box of tissues handy.

- L.

If It Seems Like It's Been A Little Quiet Over Here...

Let me assure you, it has not been quiet. 

We are moving, standing, and attempting somersaults (no joke). I've been on a mission to get some nice shots of the boys and their new moves, but alas... my mission has been a fruitless one.

So you get what you get in other words. These really are the best pics I've gotten all week.

I hope you remember what Nate and Seth look like because I'm pretty sure future posts with photos will look something like this:

For the record, please note that everything around my two motion machines is in focus.

Also, for the record please note that if you are looking for a walker/wagon for your baby to practice his first steps with you don't need to shell out the big dollars like I did. An $8 bucket will do nicely.

Seth cruised his way across the room and over to PooBucket™ Corner hanging on to nothing more than his favorite bucket. Go Seth!

Oh, and in case you're wondering why the boys are wearing hats in the nursery, it's because I was eager to take some pics of them in their new pirate hats (they are getting quite the hat collection btw). They are also modeling their new fleece lined jeans, which have to be the most comfortable jeans ever. I wish I had a pair.

For what it's worth I wish you had a pair too, but I digress...

This is the best picture I got of Nate:

At least you're looking at something other than the back of his head. Also, it kind of looks like their pirate hats are fighting. Y'ar!!!

And the best picture of Seth:

Of course, I was only able to get a face shot because he was wondering where Nate went. Cute hats though, right?

And this photo pretty much sums up our week in pictures so it's sort of my favorite:

Also, now you know where Nate went. Hi Nate!

The video is at least a little more impressive, so head on over to our YouTube™ channel to check it out. Nate does a full stand, Seth exits with his marine-man crawling moves (and that's him you'll hear in the background making a little noise btw, but he's OK). I definitely had to put the camera down for good once Nate started doing his moves one-handed, but the little trembles for the first few seconds are adorable. Also scary.

Very, very scary.

It's the end times everyone – better lock your doors.

- L.

Thanks For The Laugh Blogger™ Stats

Last July, Blogger™ added a stats feature. It allows members to view their own blog's page hits, popular posts, referring sites/blogs, etc. 

It also allows you to see search keywords that have led people to your blog. I tend to check this feature fairly regularly because I like to keep an eye out for anything questionable (read: creeps looking for pictures of kids). I actually changed a post title a few months ago because a search phrase came up that made me raise an eyebrow.

Today, however I got a good laugh when "poobucket" came up under this week's keywords. I hope whoever was searching Google™ for "poobucket" got a good laugh too.

I feel kind of sorry for whoever was looking for tips on "establishing baby's bedtime" though since they sure wouldn't have found any advice here. ; )

- L.

Out & About: The Starbucks Edition

I've been wanting to get some pics of the boys in their pea coats for awhile now, but I kept forgetting to bring the camera along when we would head out. Or I'd remember to bring the camera and then forget to take the pictures. See: Mommy brain.

I finally got my act together a few days ago before heading out to Starbucks. Nate and Seth love it there by the way since they get coo-ed and clucked at by random strangers and regulars alike, and especially by the staff. One of the baristas is officially their "girlfriend" ever since she stocked coffee near our table a few weeks ago and they couldn't take their eyes off her.

Here are Nate and Seth upon arrival:

You can see from the semi-maniacal look in Nate's eyes that he's ready to get out of the stroller. Like, now. 

He didn't really calm down much upon release.

This slightly blurry shot above is the clearest one I could get since he was having such a good time he wouldn't stop moving and whipping his head around to look at everything. 

Seth on the other hand was more focused. Literally. Of course, they looked so cute when the coats came off I kept clicking.

Seth looking fetching in his new (slightly too big) red shirt: 

And Nate:

... who is perpetually teething so I couldn't manage a shot without hand/fingers in the mouth. 

Although I tried. 

But the best I could get him to do was switch hands. Even with the blur you can see how drooly those fingers are! 

- L.

Random Acts Of Domesticity

I recently came across a recipe online for a slow-cooker pot roast, although I'm not even sure I should call it a recipe since it was so simple. Really, it was a meal that cooked itself with less than 5 minutes of prep time. And it was not only delicious, it yielded two freezer meals for a lazy day (or two lazy days rather) plus a generous supply of homemade Baby Beef Stew after a run through the food processor. 

If you'd like to make this delicious feast yourself don't forget I already warned you that it may take up to 5 minutes to prepare.

Easy-Peasy Pot Roast:

• 3 lb. pot roast (I used a cross-rib)
• 10-12 little potatoes, halved (I pulled out all the stops and used both red and white potatoes)
• 1 bag of baby carrots

Rinse and place into slow cooker.

• Add 1 pkg. Club House pot roast seasoning (mixed with 1 cup water per package instructions).

• Pour over meat and veggies.

• Place lid on slow-cooker and set on low for 8 hours.

• Walk away and enjoy the rest of your day. : )

If you want to get fancy like I did, you can steam some peas and make a side-salad at the end, but this is purely optional.

Here was the end result:

Uninvited guests (unfortunately) may be included. Can't really blame poor Zed for trying though – and yes, I did (reluctantly) share.

All in all it turned out pretty well so I took a look around to see what I could get into next and noticed an entire bag of blueberries in my freezer – and you know what they say...

When life hands you babies that hate blueberries, better get baking!

So I whipped up a batch of blueberry muffins that have suddenly made breakfast for me a real thing around these parts again. These are straight from the Company's Coming cookbook series and very yummy. 

And last on my domestic endeavors for the week...

De-pilling the boys' Disana wool covers:

Oh, how I could go on and on about the awesomeness of these covers, but I will admit the extreme pilling caught me a little off guard this time around. However, 10 minutes with a razor and voilà:

BTW, I included the "leavings" in the pic so you all wouldn't think this was just a 10 minute Photoshop job instead of the real deal. 

Now if I could only find another 10 minutes to finish the other cover I'd really be in business. Ah well, there's always next week.

- L.

Operation Christmas Child: The Boxes Are Packed

As I mentioned in a previous post, we packed two boxes for Operation Christmas Child this year. It's our first time participating, but I had so much fun shopping I hope to make this an OP Christmas tradition. It was challenging to not only find things that would fit in a shoebox, but also taking into account language barriers, especially when it comes to toys. It was important to pick things that could be understood in any language. I thought I'd done a pretty good job on our first outing, but it turned out there was still room in the boxes, so back we went. And yet again for a few more things since there was still a few small spaces. Shoeboxes are roomier than they appear. Apparently.

Wrapping is optional, but really, I couldn't not wrap the boxes (lids separately of course). I hope OCC doesn't go broke paying extra freight because I got tape happy. : ) 

The boxes we packed were for 2 boys, ages 5–9. The contents are mostly identical so I just took a picture of everything that's going into one box. We scored some great deals (like 2-for-1 at Babies R Us plus a 50% off scratch card at the check-out!). Here's everything we managed to stuff into a regular shoebox: 

• Travel size Perfection game (pictures on the back are pretty self-explanatory so it shouldn't matter if the recipient can't read English. Also... no batteries required!)

• Lego Creator kit (all the pieces create 3 different vehicles. Again, pictures on the back are quite clear).

• Animal Planet dinosaurs (the other box has Animal Planet farm animals instead. There are approximately 15–20 different figures in each tube).

• Marvel Superheroes children's toothbrush (it has a cap for the brush and comes with a toothbrush "buddy". I got Spiderman for both boxes.)

• Art Supplies: 1 sketchbook, 24-pack of Crayola pencil crayons (with pencil sharpener).

• Sweets: Lifesavers was all I could come up with due to OCC regulations in Canada (individually wrapped hard candy is all we're permitted to send. Kind of a bummer.)

• School Supplies: 1 lined notebook, 12 HB pencils, a 12" ruler, 2 erasers and 1 highlighter pen.

• Clothing: 1 long sleeve shirt, 2 pairs of socks.

The only thing left to do is deliver the boxes this week. I hope the little boys who get these boxes have even half the fun that I had shopping for them.

Godspeed, shoeboxes. I hope you find your way to the little ones that need you the most.

- L.