happy hallows eve!

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so long, old friend

i bought my first new car almost 6 years ago. a VW passat wagon i called tof pin, because my license was TO5 PNN, and my mind freakishly interpreted the 5 as an "f" for the sake of remembering. it was between a mini cooper and the wagon; fun and flirty vs. solid and practical. i was also 3 months into my long-distance relationship with jordan and i must have had a premonition of things to come, because not only did i go with the wagon, but i even got it in automatic (gasp!). all i can say is, thank god.

i have loved my passat. she's been a loyal friend and literally traveled with me through the many different phases of my life. driving to hot springs arkansas (the half-way point between st. louis and austin) every other month to meet up with jordan; moving me to chicago to be with my man; moving j and i, married, back to austin with a dog and two cats in tow; bringing our extremely precious cargo home from the hospital four days after they were born; soothing that precious cargo with her purring engine...countless times. when i think about it that way, my passat has been a life saver.


the proud new owner! yes, i am in a cemetery in hot springs AK. and yes, on the trip home mati christened the car properly and puked in my lap while we were stuck in traffic. worst. car. moment. ever.


moving to austin in 2005 with mati and sam keeping a close eye on the speedometer

parting is such sweet sorrow. we drove tof pin to the volvo dealer this past weekend to talk trade in. with nana in austin, it's been pretty silly having to take two cars every where when the five of us want to, say, go out to dinner. or drive an hour to the pumpkin patch. and it's super silly when we have one visitor, say lee-lee, and we have to take two cars to binge on salt lick bbq. to my complete dismay, we had 7-seater SUV territory written all over our faces (sorry, but a minivan just isn't happening here).

little did we know, but the dealer gave us what we felt tof pin was worth, and we negotiated the heck out of 'em to drive home a 2006 xc90. i'm still pinching myself. i LOVE this car. three beautiful rows (and the 3rd row is dang comfortable, even for a moderately sized adult!), spacious yet not looking like an obnoxiously-sized, gas guzzling behemoth, and just about the safest four wheels out there. and not that we were going for this, but we truly got the pick of the used car litter and scored a built-in DVD entertainment system for the second row. ROAD TRIPS HERE WE COME!

but the all important test was yet to come. how would the boys like their new ride? in general, they love being in the car, so i wasn't too worried. but little did i know. once they were in, they didn't want to get out! and now they go outside and beg me to go for a ride. and i swear i didn't even shown them the DVD capabilities!

so we have now officially entered SUV-land and i don't regret it one bit. maybe i will when gas prices go back up, but for now we're sitting on top of the volvo...i mean world.


our new family wheels!


the boys seriously pimp their ride!

let's make it a date!

i wanted to have another lunch date with the boys, but i didn't want to fall into the trap of doing the "same ol' thing." i honestly came this close to going to the children's museum and galaxy cafe again, but then stopped myself. it wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world, but i wanted to traverse new terrain.

ozzy's big toe has been getting calloused lately and i've suspected his shoes were getting too small. so i asked the boys if they wanted to go shoe shopping and then to lunch at nordstrom, and they both gleefully started saying, "mall! mall!" so our date was set.

shoe shopping was great! stride rite had new toys and the gal their has helped us twice before and knows the boys by name. she even remembers that oz is an XW (yes, that's our mallet-footed child) and abel is just a W. i was right, the boys grew a size, and i ended up shelling out the big bucks, minus 15%, for two new pairs of shoes. i always have terrible buyers' remorse, though, so i let the boys run around in the shoes in the mall to really try them out. then i took them off before going outside...just in case! i know, i'm really bad like that. i was on-line looking for deals as soon as we got home. i really think i need to stop wasting my time doing this, but it's this little frugal demon i constantly battle with.

it was getting pretty close to nap time, but i decided to take a risk and off we went to nordstrom's cafe. in all honesty, i was really jonesing for their thin cut fries. we had a lovely lunch, again. so lovely, in fact, that i want to make a weekly, or bi-monthly, lunch date with this dashing duo. i figure we can check out new restaurants in austin, since so many have opened since j and i have officially become homebodies with the birth of these boys. i may even add in some dining reviews to the blog for all you austin readers!

so here's my first on nordstrom's cafe:
the fries are divine and worth the trip in and of itself. thin cut, perfectly crispy with a little skin showing. sea salted with a generous coating of parsley. served with a kalamata olive aioli. completely finger lickin' good. mac and cheese was poorly made annie's from a box. not worth the $4.50. i will totally order chicken fingers for the boys next time because, guess what? it comes with more fries! everything else was inconsequential.

oh, and these photos totally don't relate to this post, but i didn't want to write something without giving you all something to look at, too!

pumpkin patch

we trekked to marble falls on sunday for the boys' first visit to a pumpkin patch. we had an amazing time, despite oz losing one of his shoes in the first 5 minutes of our arrival, and my dead SLR battery. the boys really love pumpkins and scarecrows, and we all had our first bite of the most fabulous homemade pumpkin ice cream.

thank god for cell phones with cameras!

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things that i love today

- how when the boys are happy, they run to each other for a big hug and kiss
- how they hate getting their hair wet in the bath, but love being in the rain and splashing in the puddles
- my new robe, which is as light and soft as spring air (thanks mama!)
- how the boys' eyes light up when they see their nana (promptly followed by a high-pitched scream!)
- costco's shrimp salad
- my husband's newly shaven face
- getting caught in the rain...twice!
- how the boys signal a toy/book exchange with the sweetest "hi!" (i think they may be saying "here" but i'm not sure...either way it's awesome)
- how instead of hitting or biting his brother, oskar now gives him a hug when he gets frustrated or angry (don't ask me how this developed)
- how oz calls abie "baby" and how abie calls oskar "cracker"- makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
- being able to squeeze in two posts during the boys' nap

more games

i know, i know. this is the second video of the boys playing games with each other in the past week. but i just can't help it. it just never ceases to amaze and delight me when i see my boys playing with each other, especially games like chase, hide and go seek, peek a boo, etc. things i've noticed about our twins and their game playing: they love to switch roles mid-game; they are totally into imitation (a game within a game?); they crack each other up to no end; and they are really good sports and show their appreciation with a great big hug at the end. it never fails.

i was able to sneak the camera on and capture this about 5 minutes into the game. i was just crossing my fingers they would keep it going, and they did not disappoint. sorry about it being so dark, but it was at 7 in the morning!

brave new world

i'm all about taking the kiddos everywhere. since they were 3 weeks old, i said screw it, i'm not going to be one of those folks who are paralyzed by the daunting nature of going out with two infants. i threw myself into it (or rather, out of it) and never looked back.

i know lots of other twin moms who are like this too. one of my fav quotes from a fellow twin blogger is "the shortest road to crazy is staying in the house."

here, here.

at 2 months, we joined a mama/baby group. loved it, especially because the teacher held one of the boys the entire time. this at a time when neither of them would sleep unless held was particularly useful. at 3 months i brought them for their first swim in a public pool, deep eddy, by myself. i was a wreck leading up to it, thinking of all the logistics and preparing, but it ended up being a breeze. and so it has gone. packing, loading them up, unloading, etc. is like second nature to us all.

that's why, when i met up with my neighbor with a 1 year old on the sidewalk yesterday, i was shaken to the core when she said, "isn't it crazy when you realize it's 5pm and you haven't been out of the house all day?" i couldn't disguise the look of utter flabbergastation on my face. she picked up on it immediately and said, "do you leave the house with your guys often?" every day, honey. and many days, multiple times.

going out with my boys is just part and parcel of our daily existence. they come with me to the dry cleaner, the grocery store, starbucks, and to just about any and every errand i ever have to do. and then of course, we do deliberately fun things as well, like play at gymboree, the playground, the children's museum (and adult-type museums for that matter), etc. granted, i've never taken them to get my nails done. but i hardly ever take myself there, these days.

the one thing i've never done with them alone is gone out for a meal, however. i've read about krissy taking her kiddos out alone, and i've admired her big time for it. i don't know why i've never done it. the boys are good eaters, they don't chuck food around, they mind themselves really well in public. so what was stopping me?

today, we entered new territory, and it was a massive success. i took the boys to the children's museum, which was mind-blowing amazing for them because they just put up all new exhibits on transportation. buses, trains, light rail, cars. what could be better! i timed it just right so we'd get to our favorite lunch spot just as they'd be starting to get hungry, but not so hungry that we'd be in cranky mode. the boys ran into galaxy cafe, we placed our order at the counter and got all settled in at the table. i honestly have never seen the boys eat like they did. they were perfect. let me repeat that. P-E-R-F-E-C-T. mac and cheese was forked perfectly into their mouths. sweet potato fries were munched on. fruit devoured. as i was cleaning up at the end, i noticed there was nary a crumb on the floor for me to pick up. amazing!

we left the restaurant and i had a renewed sense of accomplishment. we did it. we enjoyed a lovely lunch together, just the three of us. and i felt the warm sensation in my heart knowing that out of everyone at the restaurant, i had the cutest, smartest, most loving and fun dining companions you could ever ask for.

jabber mouths

i've written before about my concerns regarding the boys language development. as they approached 18 months, i grew more and more unsure if they were delayed. to say the boys are verbal is an understatement. verbal in english? now that's another matter. i even went so far as to call early childhood intervention for an assessment, in which they told me the boys were doing just fine (these folks were amazing, btw, and if you are ever concerned about a delay in your child under 3, they will come and do free assessments for you. they are in every county of every state!)

well, i'm happy to report that the language explosion i've been enviously hearing about has definitely happened in our house. over the course of the past month, the boys vocab has skyrocketed! at 20 months, they have mastered well over 50 words (i tried to count the other day, and i just gave up), and are constantly repeating what we say, no matter how complex.

some of my favorites so far...

ozzy: jiu jitsu (says it perfect!), teenager (hardly recognizable, but it's clear he is saying it), please (peese!), abie (baaaybee), lawn mower (mmmmmm-aaaaw), gross (gro)

abie: acorn (acka), oskar (ocka), brother (brada - kickin' it bronx style!), coal car (says perfect, because the kid is totally OCD about thomas the train)

the boys still use A LOT of signs every day and surprise me all the time by busting out new ones we practiced a long time ago. we started gymboree a few weeks ago and the boys are all about getting their hands, feet and belly ink-stamped at the end of class. they sit in a line in front of the teacher and wait their turn (to die for cute, btw). last week, after oz got his stamps, the teacher turned to me and said, "do you know the sign for your welcome?" i said, "no, why?" and she looked at me like the dumb-ass that i was and said, "well, oskar just signed thank you to me, and i'd like to sign your welcome!" they now sign thank you for everything, and it's gotten me on a whole new manners kick.

coinciding with their new-found words, is my new-found ability to decipher what they are saying. things are starting to sound really clear to me, as well as my ability to understand the nuances of their words. for instance, i am mama, and lots of time just ma. moa is more, which sounds a lot like ma, but is infinitely different. mmmmmmm-aaaaaw is lawn mower. which also sounds a lot like ma and more, but is infinitely-squared different. they use all three of these words about five thousand times every day, so you can imagine how relieved i am that i am able to finally comprehend.

here are our jabber mouths at 20 months old:

oz
abie

nanas in the HOUSE!

this past week has been two good to be true. both of the boys' nanas have been here, one (leelee) to visit, and one (nana) to stay! that's right folks, the boys' nana officially lives in austin, and we can walk to her house in less than 15 minutes. i keep pinching myself, because it just seems too good to be true.

leelee left yesterday much to everyone's dismay. it's really amazing to witness how much these guys love their grandmas. every other word out of there mouth is "nana" or "weewee." they completely light up when they see these ladies' faces.

there are lots more pictures and stories to share, but amidst the business of getting nana settled, there hasn't been much time. i'll be writing soon on the boys' language explosion (brother, acorn, please, etc. - so amazing!), fun at gymboree, and our obsession with feeding the ducks and turtles.

hope y'all have a great weekend!