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.