Twins Friday: Over the River and through the Woods

The boys are very interested in Gramma's kitchen gadgets, so she bought them some of their own. She has a huge collection. The boys practice their kitchen skills on styrofoam peanuts. They're not messy if they spill.

The boys are becoming more interested in Gramma's kitchen tools. At least with all the extra soap, I have a very clean kitchen.

I look forward to our days cooking together. I remember my Grandmother's kitchen best. She lit her oven with a match. Because she had lost her sense of smell, she once lit the stove after the gas had been left on. It blew out the windows in her house. She also had her sewing rocker in the kitchen. It was her Uncle Pete's. It had a sliding drawer under the rocker to store buttons, needles and threads.

It takes a wildness to master the whisk. No wonder Gramma is really good at it.

It turns out, Grampa threw out all their old sleds. Hard to believe, since he packed and moved the mending, the donations for the poor and the boxes that had never been unpacked from our last move; sixteen years before.

So we made a trip to Target. Nathan asked where the cold room was. I finally realized he must be thinking of Costco. We found the sled selection and the boys agreed the green one was perfect.

Now, where do you put a sled with a cart full of boys?

Nathan kept asking why Andrew was in the back of the cart. The only response available was, "Because you are in the front of the cart."

Andrew loved the back of the cart. We found room for a pumpkin pie, a gallon of milk and a bag of cherry M&Ms. And we still had room for Andrew.

These boys love to shop! We couldn't find mittens to put over their gloves (for extra warmth), so Gramma improvised and bought ladies' slipper socks with sock monkeys on them.

Notice Nathan's hand in his pocket. He has five red beads in his pocket. He rattles them around like my father used to jingle his loose change. He even took them with him to nap, but they kept falling our of his pocket. I told him I put my beads under my pillow when I sleep. He tried that and checked a few times to see that they were there. Despite his reassurance they were still there he said he wanted to put them back in his pockets so he would know they were closer. I love the sense of peace that comes over him as he makes all things right before he can shut his eyes and sleep.

I knew it would be Christmas Story in real life, as we started to put our gear on for our Winterland Excursion. Grampa assisted with one of the boys and I attempted the task with the other. Grampa looked over to check my progress and warned, "Put the snowpants on before the boots." Good point! Then he asked, "Do the hats go on top or under the hoods?" He had his attired and said he would take Nathan outside, while Andrew and I finished up. Once Andrew was dressed, I realized Gramma had better hurry. I grabbed a sweatshirt (not realizing I would get very warm pulling two boys on their sleds), earmuffs and real mittens. Being older, I decided to make a final trip to the bathroom and then realized I had on sling-back shoes. Not very appropriate for snow. I own appopriate boots, but didn't have a lot of time to prepare my ensemble in advance. I'm glad I remembered before I hit the slopes.

All the monkeys are ready for a sleigh ride.

Dashing through the snow.

And away we go... over the river and through the woods. We need to redesign our sled. The boys lack the skill of leaning to avoid being dumped by Gramma as we go around the house. The screams behind me alert me, I've lost my passengers.