Candy-striped Christmas

These 2010 Martha Stewart Living images struck a cord with me so I've been saving them to share for almost an entire year! Already a fan of a turquoise-Christmas (don't turn up your nose unless you've actually seen it), I love the easy mix of a turquoise and candy-stripes. 

Mis-matched stockings + simple hearth = too cute

Wreath with some fabric instead of a bow and a hook.

How easy is this centerpiece?

This combo manages to still look warm. 

Simple red & white ticking looks seasonal and classic.

How cool was your dad?

I was just reading Tina Fey's Bossypants because a book club I belong to, but have yet to attend, read it last month (I never finished it).  In it she refers to her dad as "bad ass" which I got a big kick from.  She also described his cool style sense (so stylish even black guys thought he looked cool). While I wouldn't call my own dad a "bad ass", I do think he was, and still is, pretty cool. 

Certainly very few folks can rock a moustache for decades and still look suave.

Eleazar "Chiqui" Romero's always had a keen sense of style, and pretty much always dresses to impress, and I love seeing 1970s photos of dad with friends, me, my mom, and his dogs.


Dad and his dogs Poco & Che in Honduras, early 70s.

Present day, Dad at Boston's Exchange Center sitting in front of a MassPort photo of himself.



Mamma Mia! & Red Riding Hood

I'm sure I've mentioned that my twins have a little obsession with the musical Mamma Mia!  I think it started in utero:  the movie was released when I was on bed rest while pregnant and my doctor vetoed my plan for an outing to see it in the theatre.  I really like ABBA.

Anyway, the girls watch the DVD and listen to real ABBA tirelessly.  They also do reenactments of the main character, Sophie (played by the lovely Amanda Seyfried) and her friends reuniting and singing "Honey, Honey" (this is very amusing). 

The girls also adore fairy tales particularly Little Red Riding Hood.  We've read at least a dozen versions (their favorite is my mom's from the 40s which has adorable illustrations, a particularly cute Red, and best of all shows the dead wolf at the end because three-year-olds are a little morbid).

Somehow they saw a trailer of their favorite actress in a red riding hood, and now all they want is for me to let them watch the movie.  This simply can't happen since the film Red Riding Hood looks too scary even for me, but they still ask regularly thanks to Verizon Fios on demand ads that play on a loop while I'm looking for episodes of Caillou.

This is 3-years-old

Old lady to my mom:  "Are they coming from dance class?"
My mom: "Oh no, they always dress like this."
Old lady to her friends:  "Those twins always dress like that, can you believe it?!"

If you have a preschool-age girl, than I'm sure this has happened to you too.  What a difference a generation makes.  I know that I never had a store-bought costume (the horror!). Were there even such things as Disney Princess costumes?  Disney quite possibly owns my children, since I recently witnessed Sophie and Sienna mesmerized by a classmate in a Little Mermaid costume, who they now refer to as Ariel.   They seem to love all things feminine, which made me a little worried until another mom explained that she was going to let her daughter dress as girly as she wanted since she's probably only a few years away from a goth phase.

So here's what three-years-old looks like for us: 

Sienna(l) and Sophie dressed up on a typical afternoon.

Sophie on a pony, with a stranger, and being very brave.

Temper, temper.......

Yes, certain people seem to be getting even more bothered about NOTHING, while other little people are losing their fears and becoming quite brave.

The costumes haven't stopped, and wearing summer clothes and inappropriate footwear seems to be an obsession. 

Since my twins are in preschool, I've gotten to see them separate from each other a bit.  They play with different children, at different things in school.  However, Sienna is still Sophie's defender, and when Sienna does something to get in trouble, her sister seems to try and smooth it over.  They still seem to switch personalities with each other almost instantaneously, which is clearly a twin-thing.

They're learning to do real puzzles and will sit for nearly an hour doing crafts with me.  They love books, especially fairy tales, and want to hear us tell stories for hours on end.  They finally enjoy taking baths, and had their first real sleepover at their grandparents without a bit of crying.  I believe the key to a successful overnight is Disney Princess suitcases on wheels.  They practiced for weeks prior to the actual overnight.

Despite the warnings that age three is worse than two,  I've seen some improvement.

Sanity

How do you stay sane?  Is it going to the gym?  Yoga?  Music?  Maybe it's having a nanny, or having a real job?  Therapy?  Since I don't work (or shall I say, I don't work outside the home), and I don't really have hobbies, I blog.  It's a little creative, and makes me feel like I'm producing something besides babies and meals.  Of course, I'm mostly posting about babies or meals, but that's what I'm living, and putting it into perspective might be keeping me sane.

I'm a stay at home mom, which has its ups and down as I'm sure being a working mom does. In either case I'm sure you never truly feel like you're doing the right thing for your children, career, and marriage, but I don't believe in over analyzing such things.

Sometimes I feel like my head is spinning so fast that it actually might come whizzing right off my neck. That's when I feel like I'm getting nutty. Being a mother is sometimes a monotonous series of preparing meals and snacks, cleaning up those meals and snacks, laundry, housekeeping, and refereeing. Frankly it's the refereeing and whining that really gets to me, I rather enjoy the cooking and cleaning. If you think about it too much it could drive you nuts. Fortunately, it's also filled with endearing baby kisses and cuddles, otherwise I'm certain no one would do it.

Some may think my posts are trivial or silly, but then it's not really for them is it?  It's for my sanity.  How is everyone else not losing it?

Try this: Chicken Souvlaki with Cilantro

(image from foodies-magazine.com)

This is a hit in my house, and seems to get better each time I make it.  We love cilantro and just received a few bunches from my Aunt Susie, so I think it's time again for this dish.  I found the recipe in a spring edition of House Beautiful.

Sarah Raven's Chicken Souvlaki with Cilantro

Serves 8

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts - cut into cubes
8 warmed pita breads

Marinade:
Small bunch of mint chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 red chili finely chopped
Juice + zest of 1 lemon
1 TBS crushed coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
salt + pepper

Combine and toss with chicken, cover, refrigerate overnight

Dressing
In food processor combine the following:
Large bunch cilantro, chopped
1 cup plain yogurt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 TBS olive oil
Salt

Skewer chicken and grill until cooked

Serve with extra cilantro + dressing in warm Pita

Hooray for preschool!

There were once two little girls who rarely left their mom and dad's sides.  Their parents worried that the little girls might have a hard time adjusting to school since they'd never stayed with anyone other than family.  Then one day their mother took them to preschool, and without tears they stayed, played with other children (only occasionally maiming them), and were filled with glee.

The first day of preschool.

The fairy tale ending is true, but the road to get there was a little more complicated.  Sophie and Sienna have come a long way!  They're three-years-old and are behaving like big girls.  Their behavior began changing rapidly about three weeks before their actual birthday.  They became more independent from their mom and started playing together for extended periods of time without a referee (me).  Re-enacting stories and movies makes up most of the play, along with playing house, dress-up, singing and dancing, painting, and playing with Barbies (some new and lots of hand me downs).  The week of their birthday the girls even agreed to two unaccompanied play dates at neighbors houses.  I knew we were heading in a positive direction.

Before the independent playing began, I'd had my doubts how they would handle school.  When we chose a preschool, we carefully made sure to seek out one that would ease them into separating from us (home visits from their teacher before school started and a modified first two weeks made a big difference).  We found one of the few co-ops in our area and it was a perfect fit for the girls.  Hooray for them!  They're already acting more mature and learning a lot (about playing).  Hooray for me!  I have some new found freedom.

Sudbury Cooperative Preschool is located in Sudbury, MA.

be·spoke adj \bi-ˈspōk, bē-\

If you've seen the word bespoke lately you're not alone.  It seems to be popping up everywhere.  I first saw it relating to furniture, but then read it describing men's suits, and have since heard it regarding technology, cars, cupcakes, bikes, and kitchen cabinets.

Definition of BESPOKE
a : custom-made b : dealing in or producing custom-made articles

How can a word that I hadn't heard or read before this past winter now be everywhere?  Was the word custom just not enough for truly special things?  Initially, I thought it was a little pretentious, but I was probably being too cynical, and as I thought about it further the word conjured images of artisans.... I'm picturing Sturbridge Village-style artisans working for months, maybe years, on a gorgeous candlestick or headboard (which I love).
 
Be warned, you'll be seeing this fashionable vocabulary word soon.  Try using it in a sentence.

FLOR for the Nursery

Savvy parents have used FLOR carpet tiles for years,  knowing that it's easy to clean, and ultimately swap out if, for example,  something truly gross like poop gets on the rug.  Now the floor covering company has fully embraced nursery style with Project Nursery, an album of truly adorable nursery and playroom looks.

Dynamic Duo Rug Set

Toy Poodle

Look, assembly is so easy even a pregnant woman can do it!

FLOR squares assemble quickly and use non-toxic adhesive, and the tiles have low VOCs and no off-gassing chemicals.

http://www.flor.com/

Sophie & Sienna's 3rd birthday fiesta

Who would have thought that planning a three-year-old birthday party could be so fun? So fun in fact that it's kept me too busy to blog! Labor Day weekend marked three years since the birth of our twins, and what started out as a little party, became a full blown fiesta!

All the girls cared about was having their favorite people, a purple cake, and a bounce house.  This is all fairly standard, but I like a theme, so my task as mother of the birthday girls was to figure out what makes a fiesta different from a typical birthday party. So here it is:


Birthday girls and friends

Goody bags, loot, and the pinata

Craft table: decorate your own maracas

Remember making tissue paper flowers in elementary school art class?  My favorite detail: religious candles of La Guadalupe!

Grownup fun

Post party: tired girls

My girls and their boys

I'd like to borrow a three-and-a-half year-old or four-year-old boy to play with my girls five days a week (okay, maybe three days).  After a couple of really successful play dates where I witnessed my girls having rambunctious fun, I realized that my husband and I coddle them quite a bit, and I love the outrageous play they experience with their boyfriends.

How we coddled them:  We slowed them down on steps and slides.  We followed them to the top of climbers.  We didn't let them run around swinging plastic bats or sticks. 

These are all things they love doing with their boyfriends, and I now let them, and they LOVE it!

Sienna and Aidan goofing around.



Sophie, Sienna, and Joe going for a ride.

 It looks like we're guilty of being a little sexist.  When I told my husband how delightful (meaning they're busy, interested, and not getting into trouble) the play dates are with their slightly older, very physical friends, have been, he admitted to worrying about their safety a bit more since they're little girls.  According to him boys are supposed to get bumped and bruised and his little girls are aren't.  Subconsciously, I guess I had agreed, but not anymore.  Now Sophie and Sienna have the well-deserved scabs on their knees to prove that they can keep up with the big(ger) boys.

Never a bridesmaid

I'm finally going to be a bridesmaid!  I've been invited by my friend Polly to be in her October Virginia wedding.  Polly and I have been friends for many years, and bless her heart (very Southern) she's the epitome of being type-A, and it's serving her well in planning her wedding.  I won't spill the surprise details, but so far everything from the save-the-date to the location (a vineyard in rural Virginia) has been ideal.

Polly and her groom, Theo, both hail from Virginia, and it was love at first sight when they met a little over a year ago in NYC.  Polly had held on to a "Virginia is for lovers" postcard all these years, and they used the design for their save-the-dates.  Polly created a website http://www.pollyandtheo.com/ that tells their story.



Polly's done all her work down to the last detail, but now I have a big decision to make: which dress do I wear? The bride had the good sense to choose bridesmaids dresses from J Crew, and now I get to choose!  She's sent me two dresses that were available in my size.  All the dresses (there are a couple more styles that the other ladies will be wearing) are champagne, so do I go with Bow Monde or Mika?

Bow Monde




Mika



 Feedback would be greatly appreciated.





Potty training

We're doing it!  Dare I say, a bit half-assed, but at least we're trying.  We have potties everywhere, but the only place (other than their diapers) the girls consistently "go" is outside on the lawn, standing straight up, the way all their little boy friends do it!

Our other small successes have come thanks to the Potette Plus (toysrus.com, $14.44) that I bought months ago at the advice of a friend.  It's a portable potty that folds down to fit in my diaper bag, with absorbent baggies that you can toss in the trash.  My girls use it just about everywhere: you can spot them peeing along the side of the trail at Drumlin Farm, in the parking lot at Walgreens, or in the car in the Nordstroms parking garage (below).

It's also come in pretty handy for their mom who always has to "go" and seems to never be near a bathroom.  I should have bought a Potette Plus and a mini van with tinted windows years ago!



The right decision

Sometimes it's so hard to know if you made the right decision, but other times it's so clear.  When I see my girls playing with our new neighbors, making friends, and trying new things, I'm so positive that the house and location we chose were the right ones.


Playing with our 7-year-old neighbor and her friend.  Sophie & Sienna love big girls!



Sienna going for a ride with her new friend Gracen.



The girls at a nearby playground.



Boring works for me

Deciding on an exterior paint color isn't as simple as looks.  I did everything right: visited the paint store multiple times, bought samples, painted blocks of my house, looked at them at all different times of the day, asked the opinion of anyone and everyone who would listen, however when the painter started priming with tinted primer my husband and I knew it was a big uh-oh.  Deep Silver was actually kind of purple. 

The wrong color: Benjamin Moore Deep Silver

After many, many arguments and agreeing that we'd get marriage counseling, my husband and I decided to change it before the real painting commenced.  It took my husband saying, "I just don't want to live in the whimsical house" that actually made sense.  I think I might have wanted to live in the "whimsical house" but for how long?

The right color: Benjamin Moore Platinum Gray



My house (not quite finished with plastic over the windows and doors) in Platinum Gray

Platinum Gray has brought peace back to our little house (for an additional fee, of course).  It's a little boring and safe but I really like it anyway.

The dogs days aren't quite over

When one of the twins turned 2.5 I thought there must be something physically wrong with her.  She had begun crying (and excessively drooling) for long periods of time, sometimes for up to 45 minutes, refusing to get dressed and brush her hair, or taking over an hour to do so, and generally making me nuts.  So I made an appointment with the pediatrician under the guise of a weight check.  He looked her over thoroughly, and explained to me that her only problem was that she was 2.5.  He warned that around every six month I might see a major personality change.  Great.

Recently, the other twin has started the same cuckoo behavior.  Now I've started yelling.  I had quasi-patience with one child behaving like a lunatic, I mean, 2.5-year-old, but two at once means there's very little peaceful time.

Waiting for the train on my birthday.  Busy girls are pleasant girls.

I keep reminding myself that they'll be starting school in September, but it doesn't seem soon enough so  I started looking for jobs, so that I would have a reason to send them to daycare full time.  I've heard there's a good one just down the street.



Sometimes, just sometimes, they make their own fun, and no one gets hurt.
 Is this an ad for Calypso for Target?


I understand why someone would act nutty when they're tired or hungry, but I can't understand flipping out for no reason (the twins refer to it as flipping out too).  If they're totally occupied with things they want to do they're pretty great, but the second it's not about them having fun, all hell breaks loose. 

I realize it's hard to tell from these pictures.

Summer fun: Essex

With the help of my mum, we were able to take a mid-week trip to a Gloucester beach (the twins max out at 2 hours on the beach so it was more like a jaunt) and made a stop at J.T. Farnham's in adorable Essex for fried clams. 

The view from Farnham's.



Fried clam plate & Sam Adams Summer - the perfect combo.

 The staff at Farnham's couldn't have been sweeter, and the cashier made the phenomenal Sam Adams recommendation. 

J.T. Farnham's, 88 Eastern Ave Essex, MA (978) 768-6643

House Colors

We're still mid-renovation on our new/century old house.  Walls (most) have been painted, floors installed or refinished, heating upgrade and central A/C is nearly complete, kitchen cabinets are in, but the punch list is huge!  The latest project is painting the house, and it's been quite the challenge choosing a color.  Initially I thought "cottage" colors, pale yellows, blues, or grays, but after turning the front-side of our house into a giant patchwork quilt, we've decided to go darker (ooooooh scaaaary).

From left, down and across: Marlboro Blue, Platinum Gray, Dior Gray, Wolf Gray, Galveston Gray, Deep Silver, Buff, Ozark Gray, and Weston Flax.  All by Benjamin Moore.

The color samples on the front of the house solicited a lot of interest, comments & curiosity, from neighbors and passers-by.  What we eventually realized is we just wanted to see the difference in color....we wanted a change.  Additionally, there are already two yellow houses on our street.

Inspiration came from this house which is also in our town. 

Finally, I saw a house of about the same age as ours (late 1800s) that I loved.  I chased down the owner, and he offered to let me come and try and match the color, and I think we've come close.  The painter has started, and the color we chose is Deep Silver.  Now to tackle that door, the garage, roof,shed, etc. The list never ends!

Happy Birthday America!

Photos from the pre-July 4th Parade organized by our local library. 

Sienna (left) and Sophie (right) making friends.

Since these pics are from a library event, I  should note that we have the sweetest children's room librarians in America!  They remember every child,  plan story hours + craft three days a week during the school year, host musicians and various other events, not to mention have the patience of saints.  Many thanks to them and to children's room librarians everywhere.

Today we are not at the library, we're grilling, playing, swimming, and enjoying our independence.  Have a safe and happy holiday!