Life Laws in Twindom

We may have to suspend a few of our lifeskill activities, that I thought were such a great idea.  We usually do laundry, because Andrew and I needed something to do while Nathan washes his hands for 15 minutes. We were working on using a dust pan and broom, scooping up dead leaves from an orange tree.  Andrew loved the activity and would often return the leaves to the floor, so he could repeat the process again and again. This week he decided to add harvesting the oranges to our list of duties.  I can see how this would make sense to him.  While I tried to explain to Andrew that we shouldn't pick the oranges, Nathan was busy beginning his own harvest.

What do you mean, these aren't for picking?

I cannot tell a lie; I did it, too.

I'm learning how to be an attorney in Twindom, where possession isn't 9/10ths of the law; it's the whole law.  Nathan wasn't even aware his brother covetted the toy he was playing with, when his brother came up and shoved him.  He turned around and looked at Andrew thinking he had simply fallen against him and went back to his toy.  At that point, Andrew's hands were raised and heading for the head of curls that stands out like a target.  Gramma's arms scooped Nathan up before he lost handfuls of hair.  Nathan, was still oblivious to the peril he had been in.  Andrew was not pleased with this and threw himself onto the floor.  I had to walk away before I started laughing at the drama before me.  When Grampa came to see why Andrew was upset, he joined him on the floor.  Living with Gramma, he could commiserate with Andrew.  In seconds, Andrew and Grampa were into a new game.  Seconds after that, Nathan was checking out what the two of them were up to.  All was forgiven and the sun came out to dry up all the rain.

Life is just not fair!

Been there, done that.  I know just what you mean.

Well us guys just have to stick together.

Grampa, you bring out the sun!

Auntie Rebecca came from Chicago to visit the boys and have a headlight fixed.  They were thrilled to have her take them on their first wagon ride of the new year and came back with cold noses and fingers.  Andrew, always the helper, assisted  Grampa in fixing her car.

Just a few more pushes and it will be out of the garage.

We've got our own red car just like Auntie Becca's!  The gas mileage is pretty good, too.

Pillsbury Dough Boys

It was time to pull out the Marimeko Playdoh mats that I've had since Ryan Joseph was the twins' age. I couldn't bear to part with them, because I can't bear to part with anything.  Now, I'm feeling nostalgic and smug that I can even find them.  Ryan Joseph recognized them.  Ahhh!   Terry told me that you can buy playdoh; the same comment he made 30 years ago.  I was going to modernize my playdoh recipe, by making it in the Vita-mix.  I learned some things are just better not upgraded.  The directions seemed easy enough.  Put ingredients in the Vita-mix and turn on for five minutes.  With a minute left to go, I panicked.  The top wasn't moving and the motor was changing pitch.  So, I shut it off and tried to remove the dough, which was sticky and gooey on the top and pretty solid on the bottom.  It was also very hot!  The boys were all eyes, as I called for Terry's help.  I had dough up to my elbows and my hands were burning.  I put the rescued dough in a pan and cooked it the old-fashioned way until it was the right consistency.  Then we dyed it with food coloring.  It only took five bottles to find two that weren't dried up.  It must have been quite some time since I've made colored frosting.  That's right, I bought a membership to Costco for the cakes.  I knew I would be judging a piano competition the next day, so I didn't want to go with blue or green hands.  It's not the professional image I like to project.  I got out latex gloves, which Nathan found very amusing.  He stayed free of the dye, while I managed to develop a green thumb.  The dough was much better than anything you could have bought.  I'm sure eventually my thumb will return to normal.  And the fun the boys had, made it truly worthwhile.  Nathan prefers using the dough to build things and Andrew prefers cutting it into pieces with a blunt knife. Construction and destruction.  Ryan Joseph sighed when he saw the boys playing.  "I've been working for weeks to teach them not to play with knives." 

This is much harder than mittens.

When I went into the pantry to get the oil for the playdoh, the boys moved quickly to seize the moment.  That door doesn't open very often.  We keep Kitty's food in the pantry, to curb Nathan's appetite for dry cat food.  By the time I returned to put the oil back they were helping themselves to their favorite snacks.  You would not believe how fast those boys can move.

Snack Sneakers!

A big favorite of Fridays is Grampa's fresh baked cookies.  Even Rebecca, Ryan Joseph and Marco enjoy his culinary treats.  He makes just a few at a time so they're always warm when he and the boys get to enjoy them.  Nathan and Andrew have grown into holding their own cookies and taking bites from them.  The bite size for cookies is a bit larger than most other things.  And you have to eat quickly or someone may get yours.  There are never any left.

Daddy, get your own.

Life doesn't get better than Twins' Friday.