The Week That Was…

Daddy time…

Beach time!

Oh, the cookies…

She really, really wanted root beer

After the kids are in bed, it’s time for some cribbage (I won! This time anyways…)

— the Jilb

It’s the Small Things

I find that it can be tough to slow down, to take those moments with my kids, to enjoy them. Instead, I get caught up in blogging, texting, emailing, and other social media. Those things aren’t bad, but I just need to remember to limit my time online.

So, this morning the Joker says to me, “Sit down next to me, Mommy.”

I do.

Then she says, “I love your hair, Mommy.”

I tell her I love her hair, too.

Then she touches my face very seriously, and says, “I love your face, Mommy.”

I expected her to say that she loves me, not my face, so I start laughing, and tell her I love her face, too.

One moment like that can make my morning. How blessed I am to be her Mommy.

The Week That Was…

This last week consisted mostly of wedding things. My sister-in-law got married on Saturday and that meant lots of wedding prep, visiting with friends from out of town, eating lots of yummy food, and no sleep. 🙂

The beautiful bride before the wedding

Some of the 500 hundred cupcakes we made.

Decorating…

Bridesmaids!

And now things get back to normal…

— the Jilb

What-We’ve-Been-Eating Thursday

Lots and lots of Strawberry Spinach Salad. It’s so good!

I ate a whole box of these Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins in 2 days.

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies. Almost like a chocolate-covered strawberry. Delish.

Cinnamon Sugar Scones. A new fav in this house.

Pizza! Lots and lots of pizza. I would eat it everyday if I could.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls. Mmm…

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

This girl loves dresses and jewelry.

Bike time!

Coffee, coffee, coffee

Cutest baby

The Baby enjoying her blueberry muffin

And then eating some of her sister’s.

Collision!

Beach time!

— the Jilb

Our Princess Has a Birthday

The Princess turns 5 today. Where did the time go? Seriously.

Only a few days old

The Princess was the easiest baby (something we didn’t realize until we had the twins). She was so easy-going, and hardly ever cried.

Me and my girl

First Birthday– begging like a puppy.

We have a very sweet, kind, and sensitive girl on our hands.

And she’s the best big sister. She loves to help out, and to boss them around. She sounds like a mini-me sometimes. Haha.

silly big sister

Happy Birthday to my Princess! We love you! 🙂

— Mommy

 

The Week That Was…

Tuckered out.

Play-doh!

Cheddar Crackers

“Cheese!”

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

Chocolate Cupcakes. (Yes, some of them are swimming in chocolate icing.)

Bubbles!

What I’m reading this week:

The Princess on her new bike.

A gallon of iced coffee. Perfect for the hot weather we’re going to have this week!

— the Jilb

A Birthday Day

So, this is what my yesterday was like.

First, the kids opened their presents from us.

And then the fun began. Besides the Batman Cookies I talked about yesterday, I also made cake push-up pops. I did a yellow cake with a blueberry cream cheese frosting in some, and a white frosting dyed blue in others. So tasty, fun, and cute!

I also made a Loaded Baked Potato Dip that was so fab. I’ll have that on the blog next week. And also a Sparkling Kids’ Sangria. Mmm…

And then it was time to start decorating.

I then tried to get a few pictures of the birthday kids. They don’t like to cooperate. It’s kind of funny.

And then more presents!

Then we ended our night with some cake.

— the Jilb

The Bear and The Joker Have a Birthday

Today, my sweet babies (okay, you’re not babies anymore) is your birthday. Three years ago you were born and our lives were forever changed. (For the better, I promise!) 😉

While things were mostly crazy that first year, and honestly, I don’t remember much of those first 6 months, I wouldn’t change anything.

You both are such a joy to us.

The Joker with her dancing, laughing, and running wild through the house, things are never dull around here.

The Bear with his goofiness, his wild pitches (that I blame Daddy for!), and also his love of running, our house is never boring.

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people! Love you both soooo much!

— Mommy

The Week That Was…

Because we’re nerds:

Can you say comfy?

The Princess got some paint-by-numbers for her birthday. She loved them!

Batman Cookies!

Watching the rain.

— the Jilb

The Week That Was: Cookie Edition

This past week all I did was bake cookies. And frost cookies. And eat cookies. Seriously. And I loved it.

With the help of a couple of girls, we made around 150 cookies for my sister-in-law’s bridal shower. We did cookies cut out in the shapes of flowers, the letter “J”, the letter “M”, and the letter “K.” It was a lot of work, but so worth it, and so fun!

The recipe I used was from The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle. This is now my go-to cut out sugar cookie recipe. I’ll be using it again next week because we have a couple birthdays coming up and there has been a request for a certain caped crusader in cookie form. So, more pictures of that to come in a week or two. If you’re interesting in exactly what recipe I used here’s the link to the sugar cookie, and then here’s the link to the royal icing. They were a lot easier to make than I thought they would be.

— the Jilb

The Baby Who Can Never Have Enough

I love her.

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

Brown Butter & Cinnamon Chip Cookies

The Joker picked out a new ball and they love it.

Hanging out on their really cute picnic table and reading Mommy’s magazine.

Feet on the table is the only way to eat.

Softball season started here and we love it!

Enjoying a little snack at the game.

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

Raspberry Yogurt Muffins: A Family Favorite!

Enjoying the beautiful weather!

Someone’s pretty excited about his book!

Read of the week:

Double Chocolate Walnut Brownies

— the Jilb

A New Trick

And it’s kind of ticking me off.

She thinks she’s so funny! (Which she is. Don’t get me wrong!)

I just wish I could find a way to keep her off the table…

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

It’s finally iced coffee season here in northern MN. (Although I wouldn’t be surprised if we got snow in the next few weeks).

Chillin’ outside.

The Princess tucked in the twins for their “nap.”

She just wants to do everything the big kids do:

She wore that crown for a week.

Me and my best friend, fried ice cream.

My new sandals…

The hotel the hubby and I splurged at this weekend. They had the best continental breakfast we’ve ever seen, that included a huge make your own waffle bar, yogurt parfaits, oatmeal, scrambled eggs and ham, and ton of other stuff. It was nice to get away for the night!

We’re like two old biddies sitting on our chairs at night. Love!

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

Birthday Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes!

The Joker enjoying her tabbouleh.

The Princess showing off her bear that she brought for teddy bear day at school.

Making tortilla pizzas:

Banana Walnut Muffins

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza… So good!

The Week That Was…

Block guns!

Glow sticks (or lightsabers as the kids call them)

My funny Bear

Oatmeal-Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies

Picture set-up for a cookie post

Someone needs to tell this Baby that dollhouses aren’t meant to be stood on! (Oh, right, that should be me.)

First sweet corn of the season! (And, oh, so yummy!!)

— the Jilb

Building a Blanket Fort

The kids love it when Grandma comes over and makes a fort.

They’re in and out of the thing like there’s no tomorrow.

Then the Baby has to take a break to give her favorite puppy a hug.

Then all the stuffed animals have to go in the fort.

And then their favorite part — Buzz comes to find them.

Oh, to be kids again!

— the Jilb

The Week That Was…

Sticker Fun!

Breaking up the concrete sidewalk in our backyard. Oops.

 

An Iced Black Thai Tea Latte with no syrup. Delish!

Loved this:

Whole Wheat Graham Crackers. Mmm…

This boy loves basketball. And turtles, apparently.

She also loves her turtle.

Mini Whole Wheat Pancake Muffins. So, so yummy!

Happy Easter!

We’re spending today visiting family, going to church to celebrate Jesus, and eating lots of yummy food!

Hope everyone has a fabulous Easter!

— the Jilb and family

The Week That Was…

Dancing

There may or may not have been pee in that potty chair…

Lots of running

Hugs when someone gets hurt:

Baking, baking, baking

Coffee and reading (when I have time!)

More Coffee (my favorite!)

A birthday…

The Baby Plays the Piano

Yep…

She’s pretty happy about it.

I don’t have a picture, but what happened next was this: The Joker came over, stole the piano, a huge fight ensued, which I won because I threw the piano back down the stairs to our toy room where it belongs.

The End.

— the Jilb

A Little Family Visit

My dad and family visited us this weekend. The weather was unbelievably warm, 60s and 70s everyday, so we spent as much time outside as we could. It was perfect!

— the Jilb

Is Summer Here?

Or maybe I should say Spring. We’ve been having crazy warm weather here in northern Minnesota. The day I took these pictures I think the high’s were in 50s, maybe even 60s. Crazy!

So, we’ve been taking the kids outside while we can because I’m sure we’ll get snow any day now…

Hope you all have been enjoying the weather as much as we have!
— the Jilb

Baby Fight Club: Silly Clothes Edition

We have funny kids.

Very funny.

They really like to fight.

As you already know.

Boy, do they make me laugh.

— the Jilb

A Boy and His Hat

The Bear loves hats.

But he doesn’t like getting his picture taken.

And once he notices you taking his picture, he won’t be happy.

He’ll take his hat off in disgust. (And he’ll get what we like to call his “turd face.”)

Then he’ll relax because, you know, the Bear needs his nap.

— the Jilb

Waterpark Weekend

We spent this past weekend at The Edge Resort and Waterpark in Duluth. Despite the kids getting sick, and a few other snafus, we had a great time hanging with the kids, each other, and family. 🙂

The Baby hanging with Daddy. She's always so smiley!

The Princess watching TV and getting comfy after a long day of swimming.

The Princess going across the ropes with a little help from the Grandparents.

Oh, the Joker. She LOVED these slides.

We got a little free time, so we played water hoops. Haha

Go Reinman! Hehe.

All the Bear could talk about all weekend was playing basketball. He makes his daddy proud. 🙂

Us and the kiddies. We're so blessed! 🙂

— the Jilb

Not Such a Baby Anymore

I mean, look at her!

When there’s something on TV she loves, she will not look away for anything.

Such a pretty girl.

— the Jilb

Artists

A couple months ago the Princess was given a really cute butterfly pen. Now, the Princess is really good at coloring. The Bear and the Joker? Not so much.

Okay, they are good at coloring, especially when it comes to coloring on the table. Somehow ink always ends up off the coloring books and onto our table. It’s really hard for me to get upset though because they LOVE to color.

So, what’s a mom to do? Take away the pens?

“Never!” As the Joker would say. It’s a good thing ink comes off of our table pretty easily because I really can’t resist these faces.

— the Jilb

Sick Kids and Movies

Our kids were sick for like a week, maybe even longer. I’m pretty sure we watched 2-3 movies a day, if not more.

I know, bad parenting. They all started out with colds, runny noses and the like. That’s not so bad, but then it turned to puking. (TMI. Sorry).

I could tell that they were getting antsy, wanting to burn off energy, but every time they would start running a coughing fit would ensue and then came the puking. Yuck. You would hear me yelling, “Stop running! You’re going to get sick! Sit down and watch a movie.” Never thought I would say those words.

They’re all feeling better now though. Thank God! The weather has been nice, which means days of running outside, and soon summer will be here. I can’t wait!

— the Jilb

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Saturday my Mom came over and spoiled the kids with some Valentine’s Day fun.

And then came the cookie decorating craziness began.

And then we made some crafts.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine’s Day!

— the Jilb

These Twins Crack Me Up

In a good way. Really.

All day long they want to wear their outside stuff: hats, mittens, and boots.

My favorite part though? Finding the Bear with a toy knife that he turns into a gun, or a sword, or a lightsaber.

Watch out ’cause he’ll get ya!

— the Jilb

A Super Bowl Party

Even with our kids being sick, we still managed to have a great Super Bowl party. We had tons of food and Reinman made up a game to where winners got prizes during every quarter and at the end. We all got a sheet of paper with a ton of questions to answer like who was the MVP, what team won, what songs Madonna sang, and many more questions that I can’t even remember now. I was so glad for this game because I really didn’t care who won, and this game gave me a reason to watch the Super Bowl and enjoy it.

Colonol Havoc had the most right answers at the end so he got the beloved trophy and a Target gift card.

The Joker had a great time eating lots and lots of watermelon.

The Princess and the Bear spent as much time as they could on the iPads. Silly kids.

And the rest of us ate delicious, delicious food that included French Dip sliders, Chicken Buffalo Dip, Hummus and Pita Bread, various Cupcakes, Homemade Rosemary Potato Chips, and veggies.

Hope everyone else had a great Super Bowl day! 🙂

— the Jilb

 

Baby Fight Club: Take 2

The kids have been at it again.

I think they’re bored.

Not that I blame them. There’s not a whole lot to do when it’s cold outside.

I suppose I should start thinking about other indoor activities besides fighting. Anyone have any ideas?

— the Jilb

America’s Next Top Baby!

Okay. She’s not really a baby anymore, even though she sometimes acts like it.

It’s nice to know she’s not always like this:

But can be like this:

And this:

She’s so cute!

— the Jilb

Daily Adventures with a Baby

This Baby of ours loves life. What she really loves in sitting on her big brother’s potty chair. At least this time she wasn’t trying to help us empty it.

And she also loves to stick things in her mouth.

Lately, her favorite game has been to go in our hutch and take all our food out.

If the doors won’t open (which rarely happens!), she is not a happy girl.

But, oh, the joy when she gets it open!

— the Jilb

Masking Tape Race Track

I saw this on Krazy Coupon Lady, and knew that I needed to do it for my kids.

So, I did.

The kids get so bored, and so riled up being stuck in the house, so anything to keep them happy and content is a must.

Please ignore my dirty carpet. Haha.

Their favorite part, I think, was pulling the tape off the carpet when they were done. Makes for an easy clean-up!

— the Jilb

The Two That Love Each Other

(Not that the kids don’t all love one another, but these two seem to really enjoy spending time together).

The Bear and the Princess love to play together.

When one has sunglasses, the other must too.

They are so cool. And too silly.

Especially the Bear. As soon as I try to pull his shirt down, he has to pull it up, and laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

And then the hugging starts.

I love watching them play together. It makes my heart happy. 🙂

I hope everyone has a fabulous day!

— the Jilb

Oh, Where Is My Hair Brush?

In the Joker’s hand. And she is not letting go.

She will brush your hair all day long…

… even if you don’t want it.

No matter where you go…

… she’ll be there waiting brush in hand.

Eventually, she’ll give up chasing after you, and brush her own hair.

— the Jilb

A New Years Eve and Some Little Dancers

We had an awesome New Years that involved lots of yummy food (ham and swiss slider recipe coming soon!), games, and some Nerf. We made it to midnight, but for whatever reason there was no countdown on our local TV stations. Bizarre. And kind of stupid.

I stayed up way too late, and the next day while I tried to nap on the couch while the Baby was napping, the kids danced.

And danced.

Still dancing…

— the Jilb

Cheddar and Garlic Drop Biscuits

These biscuits have become a staple in our house, especially when we’re having pasta. They are so easy to make, and are full of garlicky and cheesy goodness.

You probably already have everything in your kitchen to make these yummy biscuits. And they literally take 5 minutes to whip up!

So, go ahead and make these. You can thank me later.

adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsps. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 T sugar
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 T melted butter
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, sugar and 1/8- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder in a medium bowl. Add in shortening using a pastry blender, or a fork.
3. Mix in milk to the flour mixture, and then add cheese using a wooden spoon.
4. Drop large spoonfuls of biscuit dough onto baking sheet.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.
6. Then mix your melted butter and 1/8 tsp. garlic powder in a small bowl, and brush on tops of warm biscuits.
7. Enjoy!

— the Jilb

Potty Training Day 199

I realize that I already have a post about potty training. This seems to be the story of our lives.

Since Reinman has a few weeks off of work, we’ve decided to really hit the whole potty training thing with the twins hard again. Boo! We did something, I think, that is kind of drastic. We don’t have a bathroom on the main floor, only upstairs or in the basement, so we put their potty chairs in the dining room. Gross, I know.

The good thing is, is that now they can sit on their potties, read books, and not feel left out. And I love not having to run them upstairs every 10 minutes because they think they need to go potty. Note: So far, whenever they think they need to go potty, they don’t.

I’ve even got a jar of miscellaneous leftover Christmas candy ready and willing to be eaten as a prize for going in the potty. We’re just waiting.

I promise if you happen to be visiting our house, the potty chairs should be back in their bathrooms.

And then the Bear started bugging the Joker while she was trying to go potty. Hitting her with books. Screaming at her (in a nice way). Kicking her. All those things that boys seem to love to do, the Bear was doing them.

So, we separated them. One potty chair in one corner. One in the other.

The Bear was pretty pleased about the whole thing. Now, if they would only go potty in the potty. Then I’d be happy.

If someone wants to come over and potty train the twins, I will pay you… in cookies.

— the Jilb

Tent Craziness

So, the kids got 3 pop-up tents for Christmas. Three.

That’s all that needs to be said.

— the Jilb

A Few Pictures From Our Christmas Weekend

We had a very busy, and very fun Christmas this year! I love that the kids are old enough to get excited about opening presents, and we just love to be able to spend so much time with our families.

Crazy Christmas Morning

The Bear Picking His Nose. Ha!

The Princess Enjoying the Goodies in Her Jewelry Box

Grandma Showing the Kids Her New Umbrella.

The Bear Showing Off One of His New Trucks.

The Baby Making Herself at Home in the Joker's New Chair.

— the Jilb

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!

Girls Will Be Girls…

… And our boy will be a boy.

"Leave My Sister Alone!"

 

"Don't Get My Sister! She's My Friend!"

 

"Rawwwr!" (With the Bear giggling in the background)

 

"There's No Fighting Here. We're Having a Tea Party."

 

"Don't Hurt My Sister. Go Fight in the Living Room!"

Hope ya’ll are having a good week!

— the Jilb

A Little December Fun

Lattes!

Advent Calendar

Hot Chocolate

Smiley, Climber Baby

Nerf Wars!

Nerf Gun! (She is not afraid of anything.)

— the Jilb

Her Favorite Place

I started wrapping Christmas presents about a week ago, which means wrapping paper, bows, and name tags everywhere. I left our totes full of that stuff in the kitchen and somebody has claimed them as her own.

All day long I find her sitting on the totes, trying to open them up, and happy as can be.

— the Jilb

Joker Face

The Joker has many faces but this is the one we see the most:

— the Jilb

Mini Mint Brownie Cups

Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree. We decided to do it while our three youngest kids were napping. It was a smart decision!

We love those kids but boy they sure get into everything.

After we finished up decorating the tree, I decided to make some Mini Mint Brownie Cups. We needed something festive and I’ve been meaning to make this recipe since I found it on the back of a bag of Mint Truffle Hershey Kisses. I’m glad I did! They’re chocolatey, minty, and the perfect size for a little treat.

recipe from a bag of Mint Truffle Hershey Kisses

Ingredients:

• 48 Hershey’s Kisses Mint Truffle
• 2/3 cup butter; softened
• 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 T water
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 48 mini muffins cups with paper or foil baking cups. Remove wrappers from chocolate; set aside.
2. Beat butter, sugar, water and vanilla in large bowl on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, and mix again.
3. In another bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating on low speed until just combined.
4. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place in prepared muffins cups. Bake 11-13 minutes, until brownies are set. Brownies will appear soft and moist. Don’t overbake.
5. Cool about 5 minutes, and then press chocolate piece into surface of each brownie cup. Cool completely in pan in wire rack. Sprinkle each brownie cup with powdered sugar.
6. Enjoy!

— the Jilb

The Proper Way to Play Connect Four

Let the Joker show you the proper way to play the game Connect Four.

First, you must sit on the table because, you know, that’s the way it should be done:

Then you must throw a checker at the grid:

And be wildly happy about it:

And then you have to throw all the checkers on the floor (if you can do it when Daddy isn’t around that’s best):

Finally, you must be very, very annoyed when Daddy says it’s time to pick up the game:

— the Jilb

Star Wars

A few days ago I found the kids playing with all of Reinman’s old Star Wars action figures. I know he is just loving this.

And then I heard the Princess say, “You saved me from Flynn Rider.”

“I know I did. I love you. Flynn Rider is a mean guy.”

I love how the Princess uses her imagination. It makes me smile.

Then, since their favorite band was singing, it was time for a dance:

— the Jilb

First Snow

Yesterday, I woke up to an inch or so of snow. Boy was it pretty, and unexpected. Somehow I missed all those news reports saying that we were in for snow. Oh, well.

Once the Princess saw that it snowed she wanted to go out and play in it. That’s all she talked about all morning. So, after the Baby’s birthday lunch of McDonald’s and cupcakes, we bundled up the kids and took them outside.

Baby excited to go outside. 🙂

The Baby loved to put her mittened hands in the snow. I think she would have just sat there all day if I let her.

All the Bear wanted to do was play catch. Reinman obliged.

The Princess made snow angels.

My pretty girls.

Ride time!

And then time to give the Baby a ride! Haha.

Then time for the Joker to give the Princess a ride.

— the Jilb

First Cupcake…

… on her first birthday. Julia just had her first cupcake, and the pictures are too cute to not post. 🙂

— the Jilb

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Our little Baby turns 1 today. I can’t believe it!! We love you, not-so-little-baby!

Oh, for the Love of Football

Yesterday the Baby was obsessed with a little brown football. She crawled everywhere with that thing. It was so cute. (Sorry for the blurry pics. Stupid phone.)

And then it was nap time.

— the Jilb

Lady Bugs Past and Present

All 3 of our girls have at some point worn the same lady bug costume.

The Princess:

The Joker:

And the Baby:

They were just too cute not to share. Thanks for humoring me. 🙂

— the Jilb

Halloween

Last night was, obviously, Halloween. We don’t really celebrate it as a whole (as I went out and bought Halloween decorations, costumes, and candy), but I just like that the kids get a chance to dress up. And, honestly, I don’t need much of a reason to throw a party.

So, we had ourselves a Princess, Woody, Belle, and a Lady Bug.

Woody saying, “Cheese,” and Belle ready to get on with the show.

The Princess starting her own trend of wearing her crown upside down.

Woody not too happy.

And Coach and Tami Taylor showed up.

photo courtesy of Mike R.

— the Jilb

The Carrot Stick That She Loved

Last week for lunch I gave the baby a carrot stick. Seeing as how this was her first carrot, she had to inspect it.

Then she had to give it a little taste.

And then she spotted her sippy. She needed it at that moment, but she couldn’t let go of the carrot because it’s her favorite.

And then she needed a bite of her cheese quesadilla because, you know, we don’t just have carrots for lunch. And still she held onto that thing.

And then she held the carrot like a cigarette because she’s funny that way.

And, really, this story about the carrot she loved could go on and on, but I’ll just end it here.

She ate it.

— the Jilb

Don’t Fall Asleep…

… Or someone might come get you.

Or more like get your sock.

And she’ll be very, very happy to have that sock.

And then she’ll put it in her mouth because she’s a puppy.

And then the other one will come and say, “Mom, take a picture of me!” And, of course, I couldn’t resist.

And then you still don’t wake up. But when you do, you are not happy about that now missing, soggy nasty sock.

— the Jilb

What We’re Reading

Every night the kids each pick out a book to read before bed.

Last night this is what the Princess chose:

This is what the Bear chose:

And this is what the Joker chose:

— the Jilb

Introducing…

Baby Fight Club!

Okay, there aren’t really any babies involved, but I liked the name and it stuck.

It’s been chilly up here in northern MN, and the kids have been sick, which means they need a way to let off all that extra energy they seem to have. In comes Baby Fight Club. They like to fight. And really, they are babies. All of them.

I would love to tell you that no kids were hurt during this game, but you know that’s not true.

— the Jilb

“I Will Be Your Friend.”

I caught the Princess singing to her toys this morning. “I will be your friend. I will be your friend.” Too cute.

The Baby woke up from her morning nap with the cutest bed head. I just had to show you all a picture.

And more reading. Love my kids!

New House and the Kids That Live in It

This past Saturday we moved into our new house. Thanks to everyone who helped out. Having help is awesome. It sure made things go smoothly.

So, we moved in, and Saturday afternoon we showed the kids (who had been staying with my mom while we moved) their new house and rooms. The Bear and the Joker got new beds and bedding, and the Princess got new bedding also. They are in love with their new stuff!

The twin toddler beds. Aren’t they just too cute?

The Princess and the Bear looking at a bug on the window:

The Princess told me, “Mom, take a picture of me sleeping in my bed.” She is so sweet.

Hanging out in the Princess’ bed.

In our last house, the twins rarely had to venture going up or down stairs. At the new place they have to use stairs all the time, and so far they are doing good.

The Baby looking in the mirror on our bedroom door. She is so adorable, I can’t stand it.

The Princess reading books, and the Baby contemplating taking a few steps. No steps were taken after this photo, but I’ll be sure to let you know once it happens!

Hanging out and reading… Love that our kids love to read!

More reading. I think I see a theme here. Lovely.

And that’s it for today. Hope you all had an awesome weekend!

— the Jilb

I Love Watching My Kids Play Together

Especially when they’re not fighting.

Fall

As a bookend to the Jilb’s post about her favorite fall things, here’s a re-post from the (new) old Bee blog.

What do you think about when you hear the word “fall”? Sky-diving? Cliff-jumping? Tripping on your laptop cord? Those are all wrong.

We’re talking about the season. Autumn. Fall. Now what do you think about? A bountiful harvest? The leaves changing? No. You think about Gene Hackman driving through the Indiana countryside accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith’s sublime score.

Because that’s what fall is.

A lot of guys will tell you fall is football. They’re wrong, because I once saw a shirt that said “Football is Life.” Football can’t be two things.

Others will tell you that fall represents aging and death. They’re the sort of people who read books and have poetry blogs. Your best bet is to dangle a modifier in front of them. They’ll bat it around for awhile until they get sleepy. Once they’re out, turn on NPR at low volume, then go down to the basement and watch Hoosiers.

It’s a good movie

— Reinman

The Best Parts of Fall

I love Fall. I love everything about it. From the leaves changing, to the smell of home brewed lattes, to finally being able to wear sweatshirts — I am in love. Fall, I love you! I wish you’d stay around longer.

Mommy’s Little Helper

With all the packing going on in our house, I needed some help. Thankfully, the Joker was around to lend a hand.

She was very good at pushing totes back and forth.

And if you need someone to sit in a tote for you, The Joker is your girl!

You can get the Joker as your little helper too, if the price is right.

— the Jilb

An Almost Kid-Free Weekend, Packing, and a Movie Date

This weekend was a busy one for our little family. While the kids spent most of the weekend with my mom (thanks, Mom!), Reinman and I spent the weekend packing and moving. We found a nice little house to rent that’ll fit our family perfectly, so the packing started.

While we packed the kids’ toys (shh.. don’t tell them), and moved them to our new place, Grandma Sue had the pleasure of entertaining the kids with walks in the woods, popcorn and a movie, and baths in her whirlpool tub.

And then yesterday Reinman and I did something that we hardly ever do. We saw a movie. During the day. Crazy, I tell ya. We saw What’s Your Number? I don’t recommend it. It was kind of stupid. So, please, don’t go see it. In fact, I should probably lie and tell you we saw Dolphin Tale. Yep. That’s what we saw. Good movie, that one. I recommend it to everyone, especially if you like dolphins.

So, we packed. We moved some boxes. The Princess, the Bear, and the Joker spent Saturday night at my mom’s. The Baby stayed with us. We went to church on Sunday, and got McDonald’s for lunch because I am addicted to that Monopoly game. Stupid game. I did win a free McFlurry though. Yay! We did some more packing. And then the kids went out to Reinman’s grandparent’s house to pick some potatoes and carrots.

They came home all dirty and sandy, and loved every minute of it. I made some homemade olive oil pizza dough, and spent the rest of the night trying to convince the kids that my name is “mommy” and not “grandma.” They get confused every time they see their grandmas. Those funny kids.

— the Jilb

My Favorite Day: National Coffee Day!

Our cute, little Baby slept 13 hours without waking once last night. That’s right folks, 13 hours! This mama is feeling pretty good this morning. I just hope it wasn’t a fluke.

And for all you coffee lovers out there — Caribou Coffee is having a buy one, get one free today. You know where I’ll be. Just make sure you print out the coupon or have it on your phone ready to view.

Here’s one Baby who doesn’t need any coffee:

— the Jilb

A Baby or a Puppy?

You decide!

— the Jilb

Trouble

Don’t be fooled by the cute, smiling face. This little girl is trouble, with a capital T. She’s not called the Joker for nothin’.

Just yesterday I caught her dumping her apple juice all over the Baby. Not sure why she does the things she does, but she had the nerve to get mad at me when I took away her juice.

And then she thinks it’s so funny to continuously take off all her clothes. This is a new thing. She never really did it during the summer. But once it started to get cold out, off came the clothes.

It’s a good thing she’s so cute, and so funny, and so silly, or I might lose my mind.

— the Jilb

Potty Training Day 103

At least it feels that long. We started potty training the twins back in June. Okay, so maybe it has been that long. Our potty training efforts have been lax, at best.

We’d ask one or both kids if they wanted to sit on the potty.

Mistake Number 1. Never ask your kid if they want to sit on the potty. Of course they don’t.

Then we’d fight with them and I’d try to hold them down while saying, “Just pee already!” That’s not how it always goes, but sometimes.

It’s gotten to the point now though that the Joker will willingly sit on the potty chair for like 5 minutes. Yahoo! And yesterday and today she managed to pee a little bit. Yahoo! So, out came the Skittles. 10 for the Joker for being such a good pee-er, 5 for the Princess for being such a good helper, and 2 for the Bear for being such a good whiner.

The Bear hates the potty. He screams and fusses. I have a feeling that the Joker could be potty trained by next week, and the Bear will still be crying, and I’ll still be holding him down, and begging him to pee.

I guess we’ll see. In the meantime here’s a sweet picture of the Joker on the potty while the Princess and the Bear read her a book.

— the Jilb

Climber

The Baby isn’t walking yet, but boy can she climb. And she loves it! I’ve never seen her so happy.

We have a gate to block off some stairs that go to our bedroom. The Baby loves to climb to the gate and then swing on it like a little baby monkey.

And then just when the Baby gets up, the Joker has to come “play” with her. I’m always afraid the Joker will pull the Baby down causing her to fall, but so far that hasn’t happened.

— the Jilb

A Bear’s Obsession

The Bear’s latest movie obsession is with the Disney movie Tangled, which is basically the story of Rapunzel. It’s a cute movie, but I think I expected the Bear to like say, Cars, or Reinman’s favorite Pixar offering, The Incredibles, or any of the Toy Story movies. Nope. It’s Tangled.

Every day he’ll come up to me and tell me all about the movie that includes, “mean guys,” “Flynn Rider,” “funny horsey” and “Rapunzel.”

Here he is holding a Flynn Rider figurine and telling me something about Flynn Rider. Too cute.

So, if you happen to see the Bear and he says all in one breath, “Flynn Ride-er, and mean guys — horsey!” you’ll know what he’s talking about.

— the Jilb

A Messy One and Two Picky Ones

For lunch today we had some leftover yummy pizza hot dish that my mom made the other night while babysitting the kids.

The Joker loved it. She had three helpings and wanted more.

The other two though, as cute as they are, can be the pickiest eaters ever.

Don’t get me wrong. They like to eat. They’ll eat things like donuts. Mcdonald’s chicken nuggets. Popcorn. Chocolate. Looks like we’ve started something bad with these two.

Okay, actually the Princess ate some carrots during lunch and the Bear ate a handful of blueberries. That’s a start, I guess.

— the Jilb

A Hotel, a Bunch of Kids, and a Birthday

This past weekend we traveled with the kids to Eau Claire, WI to visit my Dad and family. We found a hotel with a kiddy pool, which was perfect for our little ones.

The kids love water and probably would have spent the whole weekend in the pool, but we also went to a park and spent some time at a McDonald’s play place, which the kids also love.

The kids had a great time and it was awesome to see my Dad, Boni, and Michael. 🙂

Then yesterday we packed up, came home, my mom watched the kids, and we went out for Reinman’s Dad’s birthday!

We took a party bus, which was awesome, went to Duluth, and ate at Little Angie’s. Yum!!

Thanks for a great weekend, everyone!!

— the Jilb

Three Kids in a Box

Last night the kids spent some much needed time in their sandbox. They needed to get messy. And sandy. And to just be kids and have fun. I think they’re cooped up in the house way too much.

The Joker used this time to dump as much of the sand as she could out of the sandbox. Why am I not surprised?

At least she was happy.

The Baby was just happy to be there. I love seeing those two teeth when she smiles.

The Bear played with his truck. He loves trucks.

And, sadly, I didn’t get a picture of the Princess. She pretended to be camera shy and that was the end of that.

— the Jilb

Adventures at the Library

Last week we took all the kids to the library. As this was new to the Joker and the Bear, the kids were pretty excited. They love books, and they love to get out of the house.

What they didn’t realize is that our local library has toys. And boy do our kids love toys, especially if they’re toys they haven’t played with before.

The Joker found and fell in love with one of those wooden toys that you push the shapes back and forth. I realized none of our kids have ever seen or played with one before. Sad.

The Bear loves trucks. At home he, along with the Princess, love to push trucks all around the house. So when he found a truck and an abandoned ledge you know what happened.

And again with one sister…

And again with another sister…

And then because she could, the Joker started pushing chairs around…

Then the fun ended. The Bear came up to me and told me he had a poop. So we cleaned up our mess (boy, can those kids make a huge mess in a short amount of time), and went home.

— the Jilb

Dead Flowers and Dogs

Yesterday, we had another school day. The Princess learned some more about the alphabet and the Bear helped.

And then we went outside to let the kids expel some energy.

The Joker kept bringing Reinman dried up, old flowers. After each flower she gave she would demand a kiss and a hug from each of us and then would run off to find more flowers.

While the Joker was picking flowers, the Bear and the Princess gathered sticks to feed to the dogs next door.

I told the Princess that she had to stop throwing sticks into the neighbors yard. She said okay and them ran off to get more sticks.

I then saw her put a stick through the fence and then she looked at me and yelled, “Mom, the dogs love the sticks. They want to eat them!”

I have to admit it was true. I saw the dogs eating the sticks. Even though it was funny, it probably was still not a good thing to put sticks in the neighbors’ yard. Or to let the dogs eat sticks, which is kind of weird, I think.

— the Jilb

First Day of School

Yesterday was Reinman’s first day of teaching, which means it’s back to the real world for us. No more sleeping in– oh, wait. That never happened.

No more running off to eat lunch wherever we wanted. No more taking the kids to the beach after naps.

Sigh. I love summer.

So, since Reinman is off teaching I figured I should probably find something to do with these kids during the day so they don’t drive me crazy. I stumbled across Confessions of a Homeschooler and found some fun activities that would teach the Princess things she should know (and she knows a lot already), while entertaining the Bear and the Joker.

This week we’re reviewing the ABC’s, which so far has been pretty easy. The Princess knows her stuff.

We started off matching magnetic alphabet letters to pictures, like “A is for apple,” sort of thing. This was almost too easy for the Princess. She had those letters on that paper in no time.

Next I wrote lowercase letters onto clothes pins. She would match those to their uppercase counterparts.

This was a little bit harder for our Princess, probably mostly due to my handwriting and a little bit due to the Joker and the Bear “helping” by taking all the clothes pins and hiding them in slippers. Silly kids.

She finished and then wanted to play some more, but only if I would do something with those kids. They got in her way and she did not like it. Ha!

More “school” tomorrow. Now I just have to find something else for the twins to do….

— the Jilb

“I Win!”

Every so often we let the kids play outside in the front yard. It kind of freaks me out because it’s not fenced in and you never know if the Joker will take off into the street. We tell them they can run to the yellow for sale sign that’s next door and that’s as far as they can go.

The Princess decides to run full speed back and forth from our steps to the sign.

She only stops when she gets distracted by something, like a tree.

Or when the Joker takes a tumble. (Which is every other minute).

And then when the Princess reaches the steps, she stops, gives a thumbs up, and yells at her reflection in the front door, “I win!”

P-A-R-K

There’s this park a few blocks from our house. It’s perfect for our kids. Big enough for them to run around and go down the slides but not too big that I have to follow them around everywhere. Most of the slides they can get up to themselves, which is awesome because the kids have really gotten independent lately. They don’t want us to help them with anything.

The Princess and the Bear love to play together, which includes going down the slides at the same time. The Princess has really turned into a mommy.

“Okay, you’re almost there, hunny.”

“Sit down next to me.”

“Okay, are you ready? Here we go!”

While the Bear and the Princess are playing together, the Joker is off doing her own thing.

She found this slide that she absolutely loves. I love her smile. It’s so sweet.

The Bear can be a scaredy boy sometimes. There’s a bridge that moves when you walk on it. The Bear takes approximately 10 minutes to get across it. And if someone goes running by him while he’s trying to slowly make his way? Forget about it!

Oh, to be a kid again!

— the Jilb

Yummy Homemade Mac and Cheese

This morning I was thinking about what to make the kiddies for lunch. I was getting sick of grilled cheese. We were out of frozen pizza. I sort of wanted macaroni and cheese, but not the boxed kind. So, naturally homemade mac and cheese came to mind. Yummy!

I used what I had on hand: leftover pizza cheese from last night (mozzarella and provolone), a half block of sharp cheddar, mustard, leftover heavy cream from this past weekend, and since I was out of butter (gasp!) I used Country Crock (whatever that is?). And it all worked out.

The kids loved it. The Princess kept telling me, “Mommy, this is num.” Then the Bear would copy her and say the same thing. And then he would say, “I love it!,” which lately has been his favorite thing to say. Those trucks he pushes around? “I love it!” McDonald’s? “I love it!” Any movie that happens to be on TV? “I love it!”

Homemade Mac and Cheese

recipe inspired by The Pioneer Woman

• 4 cups of uncooked pasta
• 1/4 cup of butter (or Country Crock like I used. haha)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 tsp mustard (PW used dry mustard, but I didn’t have it, so I used the fridge stuff)
• 3 cups shredded cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 375. Grease a 8×11 baking dish.
2. Cook pasta only for a few minutes. I did mine for 5. Drain, and set aside.
3. Beat egg in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add flour. Cook for 5 minutes stirring continuously.
5. Pour in milk, heavy cream, and mustard. Whisk until smooth. Cook for another 5 minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
6. Take 1/4 cup of sauce and add it to beaten egg. Whisk until smooth. Add egg mixture into sauce and mix until smooth.
7. Add in 2 cups of cheese (saving 1 cup for topping) and stir until smooth. Add salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix again.
8. Pour in cooked, drain pasta and stir until combined.
9. Pour into greased baking dish, add leftover cheese and bread crumbs on top, and bake 20 minutes until golden brown.

— the Jilb

The Joker Goes to Church

Reinman and I are sitting in church with the Baby and the Joker. The Bear, even though he’s grumpy at first, is down with other kids his age playing, having a snack and learning something. The Princess, perfect as usual, is also down in her class coloring and doing all those things the preschoolers do.

We probably could put the Baby with other kids her age, but she’s just too cute to leave. Plus, even though I know she’s super tired from lack of a morning nap she still sits on my lap and rocks to the church music. Very cute.

The Joker, on the other hand, is naughty. (Or just a normal two-year-old — I know that’s what someone would say). We’ve tried leaving her in the toddler class, but last time we did that she screamed bloody murder for 10 minutes straight. Seriously. She screamed and she wouldn’t let anyone pick her up. She stood in the corner and just screamed. I couldn’t do that to her again and she was disrupting the class so we figured it would be best for everyone if she sat with us in the service. And normally, Becky-Mom is around and the Joker clings to her like no other.

Well, this morning we were on our own. No Becky-Mom as she was out of town. No biggy. Reinman brings the Bear and the Princess down to their classes, and I take the Baby and the Joker with me into the church to find a seat. We sit and relax. Immediately the Joker finds a pen. Did I mention she’s wearing a pretty white dress that I really don’t want her to get dirty because I decided 10 minutes before we left that she’ll wear that when we get professional pics done?

So I’m holding the Baby with one hand, who’s chewing on my necklace and choking me, and I’m trying to keep the pen away from the Joker. She yells, “No!” many times at me and I hate to make a scene so I give her the pen while carefully watching her.

Reinman sits down and the service starts. Since the Joker will only let me hold her (I wish this was a phase — but she seems to dislike most people), Reinman holds the Baby. The music starts and then the Joker says, “Donut?” I tell her no and that we’ll have McDonald’s after church. This is not good enough for the Joker. She starts screaming, “Donut! Donut!” I laugh a little and know this is our fault because there have been times in the past when we’ve had to take the kids out of the service and we go downstairs and we’ll have a donut. The Joker keeps yelling about having a donut so Reinman takes her out of the service, and, yes, they get a donut. I suppose we should tell her no at some point.

I sit in the service for awhile until I can tell by the way the Baby is gnawing my necklace that she’s hungry. I take her out, feed her, and then head up to the foyer to sit with the other parents and their kids. I see Reinman in the corner holding the Joker. The Joker sees me and starts screaming, “Mommy,” right away. I hand the Baby to Uncle Mike who’s sitting behind Reinman and pick up the Joker. She sure is loud.

The Baby eventually crawls to me and whines for me to pick her up. Even though I know the Joker is going to freak out when I put her down, I do it anyways. Immediately, the Joker starts screaming for me. I look at Reinman who picks her up, screaming and kicking, and takes her outside.

I hold the Baby until the end of service, then round up the Princess and the Joker, who proudly show me the pictures they colored, and we head outside. Who do I see prancing around the field of grass next to the church, but the Joker (in her nice white dress, might I add). She’s very happy. She sees me, smiles and starts running at me. Reinman looks at me and shrugs. Anything to keep this girl happy. Boy, can she be a handful.

Project Runway Par-Tay!

The last couple of Thursday nights, I’ve been having my mother-in-law, who I like to call Becky-Mom, my brother-in-law, Mike, and sister-in-law, Penny, over to watch Project Runway.

We do what most people like to do while watching this show: make fun of the crazy people and their crazy clothes to match. The only thing is, we’re (or at least me) serious about it. I like to kick Reinman out of the house and make sure no other males (namely Reinman’s other male family) come over while the show is on.

The guys like to make fun of the show and talk while it’s on. I get annoyed but I don’t blame them. It’s not really a “guy” show. (In all honesty, no guys besides Mike have been over to watch the show, but this is how I imagine things would go if they were around). And since the show doesn’t interest them, they talk and their voices get louder and louder. Just thinking about this is annoying me. So, that’s why most boys are not allowed!

Anyways, we sit around and make fun of the show — we make fun of it in the “right” way though. And then my favorite part. We eat snacks. Cookies, cheese and crackers, fruit, little apple tartlets. Last night we had pudding with whipped cream and cookies.

And I have to say my favorite part of the show is Tim Gunn.

Every week they send someone home and Tim is the most compassionate person ever. He tells them he’ll miss them, he might get even teary-eyed, and then he gives them a hug on their way out. Love that man.

I don’t have much to say about last night’s show. It kind of bored me. Dressing models on stilts? Please! And while I like Fallene, it was probably her time to go home. Next week’s episode looks good though! Making PR judge Nina Garcia an outfit should be interesting.

— the Jilb

The Joker Goes Potty

I was very surprised that the Joker tinkled in the potty chair today. She’s been opposed to the whole process from the beginning.

Today though I was changing her diaper and she said, “Potty?” I thought, why not. So the Joker jumped up and sat on the potty. I went to throw her diaper away and heard the music that plays when there’s a tinkle being made. I ran to the bathroom and the Joker came running to me. She was scared. I looked in the potty chair and noticed a little bit of pee and turned and praised the Joker for like 10 minutes. Okay. More like 2. And then she got some candy!

I then tried to get the Bear to use the potty, but he wasn’t having any of it.

The Joker was nice enough to throw her m&m’s on the floor and to share them with her siblings.

I hope this is the beginning of the end of buying a million diapers a month for these kids.

— the Jilb

Pretty Pretty Princess and a Thunderstorm

We had a thunderstorm yesterday, which made Reinman a little sad because his softball game was cancelled due to the weather. It was one of those storms though that lasted for like 30 minutes and then the skies cleared up and turned blue. I image softball probably could have been played despite our quick storm.

The Joker hates storms. It doesn’t help either that the Princess goes around saying, “Here comes the thunder to get you!” while running at her younger sister.

Finally the thunder stopped, and the Joker got off my lap so I could take a couple of pictures.

Aunt Penny brought over the game Pretty Pretty Princess to play with the Princess the other day. Of course this immediately appealed to her seeing as how you get to wear jewelry, which is one of her favorite things to do. That and winning. Even after she’d already won a couple of games, the Princess was still none too pleased when Grandma Becky finally got to be the Prettiest Princess. Apparently, there’s only room for one princess in this house.

— the Jilb

Pizza Party!

I’ve been wanting to try out this honey pizza dough recipe. It makes a ton of dough so at first I planned on freezing most of it, but then we decided to have Reinman’s siblings over and that was the perfect excuse to have a pizza party and make a ton of individual pizzas!

The dough turned out perfect, and I am planning on making it again today. My favorite part of the dough is that it has honey. Yum!

I made the dough and let it rise like it says for 30 minutes, and let me tell you it rises in no time at all! I made it in the morning thinking that dough can takes hours to rise, which sometimes it does. But this dough did not — it really only took the 30 minutes and it was ready to go! Next time I make this I am going to make it an hour before dinner.

I baked the dough for a few minutes first and then it was time to put on some toppings! The Princess is very particular when it comes to food. All she put on her pizza was sauce, cheese, a few slices of pepperoni, and 3 pineapple chunks. I’m sad to say that she didn’t eat her pizza, but that’s nothing new. Anytime we have company the Princess is easily distracted and would rather be playing than eating.

The Joker put pretty much everything on her pizza: sauce, cheese, pepperoni, pineapple, green peppers, and sausage. And then she ate it all after she took off the peppers and pineapple and put them on my plate. Silly girl.

The Bear is more like the Princess. Only a few things on his pizza: sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and sausage. And also like his big sister, he would rather be playing than eating when people are over. And then he likes to tell me 10 minutes later how hungry he is. This is a daily spectacle in our house. Sigh.

I think I need to work on making my pizza crusts more circular. Ha!

Mike’s ginormous pizza, topped with everything:

The kids enjoying their pizza:

Honey Pizza Dough

Recipe from Simple Bites

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 5 cups bread flour (I didn’t have bread flour, so I used all-purpose and added some while I kneaded it and it worked out fine)
•  1 1/2 cups cool water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water and yeast until dissolved. Then let stand.
2. Add the flour, cool water, salt, olive oil, and honey into yeast mixture. Knead by hand for 7 minutes (or a dough hook for 5).
3. Place the dough in a well-greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
4. Punch down dough and divide into 16 portions (for individual pizzas) or 4 portions (for 4- 16′ pizzas). You can either use your dough right away or freeze it. If you freeze it, make sure you take it out 8-12 before you use it and let thaw in refrigerator. Let rise until doubled and punch down to size, then use.

— the Jilb

The Bear Who Wore Socks

The Bear must always wear socks, even when I try to explain to him that it’s 90 degrees outside and socks are not needed. Even when he’s naked except for a diaper, socks are a must. He’s a silly little (big) Bear.

And if the Bear doesn’t get his socks right away he throws a tantrum which includes screaming, kicking, and throwing himself on the floor. I generally don’t feel like dealing with it so I ask the Princess to help her brother with his socks The good Princess she is, she complies. And the world is right again.

— the Jilb

The Jilb’s Top 5 Things of Summer

I realized this morning that we only have a month or so left of summer. Am I sad about this? I don’t really know. Anyways, it got me thinking about what my favorite things of summer are. Here’s my top 5 in descending order.

5. Watching TV

I bet you’re thinking that watching TV during the summer is stupid. Well, you’re wrong. And here’s why. For us, we have more time at night during the summer than any other time to watch TV. We love to catch up or start a new TV series because our kids go to bed relatively early. We do still watch a lot of TV during the fall and winter, but it just seems like we get more TV watching done during the summer. Or maybe we just watch a lot of TV. That’s probably it. We just watch too much TV.

The summer is a great time to catch up on all those shows you might have wanted to watch during Fall and Winter but didn’t have time for because you were already watching too much TV to begin with. We’re catching up on our Smallville right now. We plowed through Parks and Rec and Firefly earlier this summer, which are both great shows by the way.

I have a feeling though that watching TV could make my top 5 any time of the year. That’s just how we roll. Plus, it’s fun to watch 2-3 episodes a night of some new show you just found. That and eating lots of snacks. My rule is you must have a new snack with each episode you watch. Think ice cream treats, popcorn, candy, or some sort of baked good.

It’s a wonder how I lost any weight at all.

4. Summer Cuisine

It took me forever to think of the top 5 summer things I loved. I could only think of 4 and then it hit me. What do I love? Food! The smell of burgers being grilled, the sight of yellow sweet corn, ice cream, watermelon, and pretty much any other summer food. I can’t believe I didn’t think of you sooner, Burger. I’m sorry.

3. Backyard Volleyball

photo courtesy of Mike R.

We started playing volleyball in our backyard last year and it’s become a favorite. (At least to me. I’m sure some people are sick of me calling and saying, “Doesn’t it look like a perfect day for volleyball?” “Isn’t the weather outside perfect for volleyball. There’s no wind!” ) I love the ginormous orange ball we use. I think it’s like 8 feet wide. Seriously.

And we have these wires that come dangerously close to the top of the net. If a ball hits a wire you never know what could happen. It could bounce all crazy and smash back at you or it could land just out of the reach of the person it was going to — it’s like plinko in the backyard. I know it annoys some of our players, but I love it!!

I love that backyard volleyball is a game anyone can play. I also love that I feel a little rebellious because we tend to play when our three youngest kids are in bed. We’re having fun and they’re sleeping. Haha, suckers! And then I hear the Bear yelling, “Mommy! Mommy!” because he can see us through the blinds in his room. Poor boy. Go to sleep already.

2. More Family Time

Reinman has summers off (sorta), which means there’s more time for family things, like going to the beach, playing outside, and if we want we can drive 20 miles away to the closest town that has a Target so I can get Starbucks and browse for clothes or good deals. And then the kids get McDonald’s. So everybody wins. Except maybe Reinman since he’s trying to contain four loud, squirmy kids while I walk around with my pile of coupons looking for sales.

1. Iced Coffee

Surprise. Surprise. Since I learned how to make this awesome drink a couple months ago I am slightly obsessed. Slightly.

Spending more time with family should probably be number one, right? Oh, well. I am, as always, honest. So someone bring me some coffee!

And that leaves me to ask: What are your favorite things of summer?

— the Jilb

Tattoo

I have a similar tattoo. It’s four dots — not six — one centered on my chest about an inch below my sternum and three running hip-to-hip below my belt-line. I was given the tattoo for a similar purpose.

I was told there would likely be side-effects — that I would feel nauseous and fatigued for a few months — but that, with the proper medication, it would be manageable.

At the end of six weeks, I was given a certificate, congratulating me on successfully completing the treatment

The thing is, it didn’t feel like I had “completed” anything. The certificate felt less like token of my achievement and more like a “participant” ribbon — you know, the kind every kid gets at the science fair, even the one who puts a slinky on a ramp and labels the display “Science.”

You see, there were no side-effects, at least none I noticed. They told me I was going to feel nauseous, and I remember having a little stomach trouble on a couple of occasions, but no more frequently than I normally suffered, given my suspect dietary habits.

They told me I was going to feel fatigued, and during that time, I remember feeling rather tired. But the Princess was also three months old at the time — and I think having a newborn baby in the house may have also played a minor role in the whole “being tired” thing.

They told me I was fortunate to have had a child before the diagnosis because who knew what kind of irreparable, reproductive damage the treatment might cause. Ha.

No side-effects. No suffering.

It was four years ago this month that I was diagnosed with cancer. But I was spared the Cancer Experience. Spared the poison. Spared the marathon treatments. Spared the roller-coaster of recovery and relapse. Of course, not everyone is so fortunate.

The Experience is supposed to become part of your life. The Fight is supposed to become part of your identity. But there was no Fight — just a single, preemptive, precision strike. Clean. Sterile. And above all, surreal. Like a dream, it all ended as quickly as it began. And in the four years since, the unthinkable has happened. I’ve forgotten.

There are occasional reminders. I’ll read, or watch, or hear something, and the memories will return.

Sitting in the waiting room, annoyed because the Jilb and I can’t get the Princess to stop crying, then being called in, getting the news, and returning to the waiting room, giving a thumbs-down to the Jilb, not certain if the Princess is still crying, not hearing a single thing.

Moving through Hagg Sauer hall, on my way to teach my first class of the semester two days after the surgery, playing up the limp that was there a day ago but left me in the night, making certain that the limp — real or not — is seen because how will people know I’m being Brave without it?

Playing basketball a few weeks later and being grateful that the Professor has the good sense to crack as many jokes as possible.

There will probably always be the sudden reminders — like the comic I stumbled upon this morning — but there is no longer any violence in them. They’ve become less a gut-punch than a faint and distant tingling.

— Reinman

Shark Week!

This week the Princess and I have been faithfully watching “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel.

Needless to say, we’re addicted. I can’t get the Princess away from the TV.

To celebrate our love of the show, we picked up some toy sharks.

We also had a Hammerhead shark but we lost it the same day we got it. Sigh.

Besides buying a couple of sharks, we also got some frogs, dinosaurs and lizards. Reinman couldn’t help himself.

As we watch “Shark Week,” the Princess continually asks if the sharks are okay. Leave it to her to worry about the man-eating sharks.

She seems to do this a lot. While watching “The Jungle Book,” she was concerned for the tiger and didn’t like that “mean boy.”

She loves her new shark and one of her favorite things to do with it is fly it around like an airplane.

And she also likes to have the shark fight a dinosaur. She tells me that the shark always wins!

And now the Princess must get back to doing princess-type things, like brushing her hair with a barbie-sized brush in front of our bathroom mirror.

— the Jilb

Battle of the Sippy Cup

Today the Baby was doing the usual, crawling around on the floor and eating Cheerios. I love how that one Cheerio is stuck on her lip.

Still eating… She looks up to do a cute pose for me. And, yes, that darn Cheerio is still there. Ha.

The Joker comes along and helps Baby out by taking the lonely Cheerio off her lip and eating it. What a helpful big sister. (Wish I could have gotten a picture.)

Baby returns the favor by noticing the Joker’s sippy, which is her favorite thing ever, and decides she needs it. Now.

I think Baby would say, “Mine. Mine. Mine,” if she could.

The Joker is not pleased. Not at all. But, boy, does she make the best faces.

To prove to Baby who’s boss she takes a drink…

… and another drink. “See baby. It’s all mine!”

And then in uncharacteristic fashion, the Joker gives Baby a sip. What a nice big sister! (And then Mom promptly takes it away).

The End

— the Jilb

 

Baby is Walking!

Not really… But that sure caught your attention, didn’t it?

Baby is growing up. She’s not even 9 months old and she’s figured out how to pull herself up on everything. Not to mention she’s a crawling machine.

You can see how happy she is. She loves it!

The only time she doesn’t seem to like pulling herself up is during nap time. I don’t blame her.

And now she can be even closer to the TV. Yay!

And a video of our baby, because she’s too cute!

— the Jilb

Family Vacation: Days Six and Seven

I promise this is the last of my vacation posts. Can you guess what I’ll talk about today? You’re right! Fishing and swimming. Haha.

First, here’s proof that I did indeed catch a fish. Don’t mind my stupid smile. That’s what happens when you finally catch a fish.

photo courtesy of Mike R.

The kids kept bringing me their “chocolate milk” to see. I asked the Bear, “Did you try your chocolate milk? Is it good?” And he replied, “No!” I was hoping he might take a drink because it would be funny.

The twins eating their cereal. It tasted much better with a little sand mixed in. And chocolate milk.

As I’ve mentioned, the Joker loves the water. And she loves mud almost as much as water, which makes an awesome combination.

The weather was perfect yesterday for fishing. We couldn’t have asked for a lovelier day.

Or a lovelier night.

photo courtesy of Captain Dum-Dum

— the Jilb

Family Vacation: Day Five

Today we spent the whole day fishing. And it was awesome! I haven’t fished in like 10 years and I realize how much I miss it. Now, I only caught a small perch, but that’s more than I can say for Reinman. Hehe. The Princess caught a small walleye. The Bear and the Joker caught nothing, but they seemed okay with that. They just wanted to eat suckers that the Grandparents gave them. Silly kids. Here’s a few photos from today:

The Princess checking out the water. She just stared and stared. Fishing is so relaxing.

The Bear finally got up from his seat to check out the water. That’s about as much fishing as he did.

I’m using the Bear’s kiddie fishing pole. Notice how serious I am. I mean business!

The Bear doing a little bit of fishing. Then he says, “Sucker?” And that’s all she wrote for fishing for the little man for the day.

Reinman hanging out with the Baby. What a stud!

The Princess and the Joker look a little worried about how fast Papa drives the boat.

And finally, Reinman with the Baby. Isn’t she the cutest in that hat?

— the Jilb

 

Family Vacation: Day Four

It rained all day today so we took it easy. To keep the kids busy, we gave them suckers, coloring books and Emma enjoyed playing on Grandma B’s iPad.

 

The weather cleared up for about 2 minutes.

And then it started to rain again.

So more games were needed. Trouble! Reinman was getting annoyed because the kids kept throwing the game pieces all over the floor. He can’t stand it if pieces of a game are missing. I find it funny so I hid a few pieces just to irk him. Shh… don’t tell him.

Then I gave Baby a bath. She couldn’t resist chewing on the faucet handle. Silly girl.

— the Jilb

Family Vacation: Day Three

The kids started the morning with lining up all the water bottles they could find on the window sill. I guess they were bored. Whatever keeps them happy and busy is okay with me.

Baby was very happy chasing whatever bottles she could find around. It seemed though that each time that she got her hands on a bottle there was an older sibling there that was say, “No, no,” and take her bottle away. At least she didn’t seem too bothered by it.

The kids spent a little time fishing. The Princess loved it, while the Joker had no patience to sit that long (surprise, surprise), and the Bear was content to sit with Grandma B.

Behind the wheel was the Joker’s favorite place to be. Doesn’t she look at home?

The kids swam all day but in the morning the water was still a little cold for the Joker. So, she just stood and stared and whined.

Reinman’s siblings took it upon themselves to swim out to the raft and play some water ball game. I didn’t stay out there long because there were horseflies everywhere and they wanted to get me. That and the raft was surrounded by weeds. No thank you.

The Princess found a little raft and spent the better part of the day on it. And the Baby spent some time in her stroller. What a couple of cuties!

I managed to get a picture of the Bear taking a nap, which is no easy feat considering the consequences if you wake a sleeping bear. I’m happy to be alive.

— the Jilb

Family Vacation: Day Two

Today was our second day of vacation. The day started out pretty relaxing. The kids started the morning by playing with their new coloring books and puzzles. A whole 10 minutes later, it was clear that they needed to burn off more energy, so we took a walk down to the resort’s playground. We came back, had lunch, and I put the kids down for their nap. The Joker woke up after her usual 45 minutes and came to lay with me.

Isn’t she a doll? We cuddled for a few minutes and then I couldn’t resist taking her picture. You can also see her Lamby Lamb in the upper left corner. She takes that thing everywhere. Before we left for the cabin I had to make sure she had it because I didn’t want to make the two hour trip home to get it. The Joker wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Next we took the the Princess and the Joker (the other kids were still napping) down to the nice little beach area the resort provided. It’s been so humid the last few days that we did anything we could to cool down.

Looking at this picture makes me laugh. I’m pretty sure the Joker, who’s wearing her life jacket, took a dive and is floating on the water. Looks like someone is running over to rescue her.

We took a 20 minute dip in the lake and then ran to our cabins before it rained. And boy did it rain. And thankfully the rain helped to cool everything off. Unfortunately, the power went out, which along with the thunder freaked the kids out. And then we started to wonder if the power would even come back on that night considering the resort is in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, it came back on 3 hours later, just in time for us to play Pictionary Man. Have you played it before? It’s pretty fun. Reinfam’s family is pretty competitive and for whatever reason we played boys vs. girls, which usually doesn’t bode well for the girls.

I mean, how can you compete with these crazies? Their concentration is through the roof. So, of course they won. But we won’t give up. There’s always tomorrow night!

— the Jilb

Family Vacation: Day One

This next week we’re staying with Reinman’s family in a cabin by a lake. I am so excited! A week of fishing, drinking iced coffee, relaxing (maybe — we’ll see how these kids behave. I might just let them run wild. They do have life jackets after all. Just kidding. About letting them run wild. They do really have life jackets.), playing games and maybe some volleyball sounds like the perfect vacation to me.

The day started out with a bang. The Joker puked up her dinner about 10 minutes away from the cabin. Poor girl. It didn’t seem to phase her though because as soon as she was out of the van and her icky clothes were off she started to run to the lake. And you probably don’t know this about the Joker, but she hates to be stopped. We had to bring her kicking and screaming into the cabin. That girl loves water.

Since she was freaking out I decided she needed something to do.

You can tell she’s real happy to be holding that broom right now. Nice, isn’t it? That’ll teach you to scream at me, Joker!

While the kids ate second dinner with their grandparents I took the Baby back to our cabin (we have our own cabin, did I mention that? Nice!) and put her down for the night. She was a tired girl.

There’s nothing better than a sleeping baby.

And to end my night I did what I thought was very, very crucial:

I made an extra large batch of iced coffee for tomorrow morning. I need my coffee. Seriously. Who doesn’t? Well, if you don’t drink coffee, that’s probably a good thing.

— the Jilb

A Princess Tale

The Princess tells me, “Mom, I have to go pee and poop.” Yes, in those exact words. Lovely.

“That’s great, hunny. Go ahead and go.” To which she gets up and runs to the bathroom. After about 30 seconds I hear, “Mom, I need help!”

I want to tell her that I can’t get up at that exact moment, that I’m too busy drinking iced coffee and surfing the net. But I’m not that kind of mom, so, instead, I tell our Baby Bear to go see what she wants. Just kidding. Really I got up and went to the Princess’s aid because I didn’t want to hear her whine and cry for me anymore. I get to the bathroom and find a few used pieces of toilet paper. Ick.

Princess says, “Mom, I can’t get any paper.” I laugh, hand her some tissue, and tell her to pick the dirty TP off the floor when she’s done. I didn’t want to return to the bathroom in 10 minutes and find dirty toilet paper on the floor. Who does?

Once she finished up she says, “I need to get new undies.” Before I utter a word, the Baby Bear speaks up, “That’s okay, hunny. You go potty.” What a stud!

After awhile, I went to inspect the bathroom and found no dirty toilet paper on the floor. That’s my girl!

However, a few minutes later I discovered a pair of poop-stained undies on the floor a foot away from the laundry basket.

Thank you, Princess.

— the Jilb