Mmmmmm...Cookies

This morning Eli and I made delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies.  It was incredibly easy, fast, and a fun cooking project with my three year old. 

The Ingredients:

2 cups of sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt to a rapid boil for 1 minute.
2. Add quick cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.
3. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

How to include your pre-schooler:

I premeasured all of the ingredients and then let Eli poor them into the saucepan and then I did the stirring while they were cooking.  Then, while I was dropping the hot cookie batter onto the wax paper, Eli licked clean the rubber spatula that I used to scoop the peanut butter out of the measuring cup.

We both had a great time!  And, needless to say, I have been eating cookies all day long.  But I decided this morning that today I was going to be fancy free and eat cookies.  Tomorrow I will worry about my waistline!

Some Firsts

The girls had their first bites of real solid food.  Last night, I smashed up some fresh avocado and gave them each a few tastes.  Both seemed surprised to have something in their mouths with a different texture and a different flavor.  At first they seemed a bit interested, but their interest quickly faded and the experiment ended.  In a few days we will try a different new food.

Iris With an Avocado Mustache

Esme says, "this flavor is a bit surprising!"

Iris rolled over for the first time last week.  She rolled from her belly to her back.  Esme is right behind her.  She can get her arm underneath her and start to push up, but she just hasn't been able to push quite hard enough to flip her body.

Iris Trying to Roll Over

Esme Trying to Roll Over

The girls have started using the jumperoo and the exersaucer. They do well in both. They have not quite figured out the rhythm to the jumper yet, but Esme has started bending her knees and bouncing around a bit. Not long and she will be jumping up and down.

Iris

Esme

The girls are both trying to help us hold their bottles.  When we feed them they grab hold of the sides and really push on the bottles.

It is truly amazing how fast these girls are growing and learning to do things on their own.  Their personalities are really starting to come out.  Here are some cute pics:

Iris and Esme Chillin on the Back Porch

Holding Hands

Esme

Iris

Esme Showing Off Her Belly

Freecycle Makes Summer Fun!

Our latest Freecycle find!  A "new" tricycle for Eli.

I am really looking forward to the day that Eli can ride a bicycle.  I dream about going for walks while he pedals alongside us and then later on the family bicycle rides.  But, alas, he is a bit on the shorter side, so I think it will be another year before a bicycle is a practical buy.  But, he is now big enough to comfortably ride a tricycle.  He hasn't quite figured out the pedaling yet, but he is starting to get it.

I find myself very impatient for these milestones.  I just want him (and the girls for that matter) to hurry up and start being able to do things.  But at the same time, I want time to slow down.  My first baby is such a big boy.  It seems like yesterday a nurse placed him on my chest.

Eli is such a cool kid.  For the most part, he is well-mannered, very sweet, and very kind.  He is good at sharing his toys.  He loves to show his bedroom to everyone who stops by.  And, he has recently really started to interact and play with other children.  It is hilarious to listen to the conversations he has with his friends.  His most frequent topic of conversation these days is his "two baby sisters."  I feel so lucky to be his mom!

Happy Birthday Connor

The Birthday Boy

Connor

Last weekend was my nephew Connor's 5th birthday.  We went up to Bangor to celebrate with him, and the rest of the family.  Eli loves birthday parties.  We went shopping for the present and Eli picked out Connor's gifts all on his own, a Scoobie Doo puzzel and an Alien game. 

Here are some pics from the trip.

Eli

Eli

My Niece Dalaney

My Nephew Tyler and Dalaney

Potato Sack Race

Connor, Dalaney, Kaylee, and Eli

Proud Grandparents

Papa and Minnie with Iris and Esme

Papa and Minnie with Iris, Eli, and Esme

My Nephew Ben

My Sister's Family

Dan, Crystal, Connor, Ben, and Tyler

Me Comforting a Sad Iris

Farmer's Market Morning

It is very important to both Jesse and I that our children understand where food comes from. We want them to understand that milk comes from cows, that eggs come from chickens, and that vegetables are grown on farms. When asked where a certain food product comes from, we don't want the response to be "the supermarket." To help us achieve this goal we try, to the extent possible, to eat mostly real food, whole food. Although we do eat a variety of bread and pasta products, we do not eat a significant amount of processed foods at home. (I wish I could say the same about when we eat out, but, that would be a lie.) Also, we have started a family tradition of going to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. Portland is a farmer friendly city. We have a farmer's market three times a week, twice during the week in Monument Square, and Saturday mornings at Deering Oaks Park. Eli really loves it. There is so much to look at. So much for him to take in. We typically let him pick out one product. This morning he chose dill pickles. I can't wait to give those a try!

Here are some pics from our trip this morning.

Mmmmm...Radishes

Listening to the Band

Eli Trying Out the Hula Hoop

 

Iris and Esme

Iris decided she'd had enough of the market.

Twin Fascination

Being a Mother of Multiples requires a good sense of humor and a great deal of patience.  And I am not talking about dealing with my children.  Whenever we go out in public we are bombarded with questions, comments, people approaching, etc.  I think I have heard more than a thousand times, "boy, you have your hands full..."  Like I hadn't noticed.  I usually just smile and agree.  It is true.  I DO have my hands full.  The second most popular comment is "God bless you."  I often respond to this that "I believe, that God thinks he already has."  I am also surprised how many people ask me "are they twins?"  This always makes me laugh a bit.  Unless those who ask are thinking I am carting around someone else's baby along with my other two children, I wonder, what else they think the girls could be.  Sometimes I consider saying no, just to see what response I get.

Most of the time I don't mind the attention we get.  I love showing off the girls.  Sometimes, however, I wish we could get in and out of places without being noticed.  Last week, I tried to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart.  I had a very finite amount of time.  I was stopped no less than five times in the half hour I was in the store.  A few people even stopped me while I was walking so that their baby or child could look at my TWO babies.  Today, I was at Target to get diapers.  I was stopped by an older couple who told me their whole life stories with their involvement with multiples.  The husband was a triplet who had twin older brothers.  The wife told me about how she thought she was pregnant with twins but believes she lost one of the babies.  Very personal stuff.  They asked me question upon question about my pregnancy and my babies.  I tried to be polite and accommodating, but twenty minutes later I still hadn't gotten my diapers.  I finally had to wish them well and be on my way.  I need to find a polite way to acknowledge people's interest without having to get so involved in conversation.

I guess I am a bit surprised at how much attention we attract when we go out.  I mean, they are really cute babies, so I guess I understand why.  And most people are very nice when they approach me and genuinely seem curious.  I know twins are special (as all children are) but honestly, twins don't seem so uncommon to me.  But then, this is my life.  Plus, I have been meeting a lot of other families with mulitples lately, so it has become a  normal family dynamic to me.

I think/hope that the questions and the interruptions will subside a bit as the girls get older and errands will be interrupted only by the normal and frequent needs of our children.  Perhaps less people will notice that the girls are the same age as they start to grow into their own looks and their own personalities.  They are not identical, so they could develop very differently.  But for now, I will just try to enjoy the extra attention.  No one is going to ask us to make a show about our family life, but there is usually someone willing to open a door for me or help me get things off of shelves or take stuff out to my car and that is nice.  Because, while sometimes I wish I could remain a little more invisible, the truth is, I often really need and appreciate the help.  

Stenbak Updates

It has been a busy few weeks around the Stenbak household.  Esme and Iris had their 4 month check up (a little late).  Both girls are doing so well!  Iris was 16 lbs 8.5 oz and Esme was 16 lbs 1.5 oz.  Both girls are above the 90th percentiles for their weight and in the 50th percentiles for their height.  A little short and stout...the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree.  It's hard to believe they were ever premies.  Tomorrow they will be 5 months old.  WOW, how quickly the time has passed.

The girls are doing all kinds of things now.  They love to look at each other.  It is fun to watch them interact.  They will coo back and forth like they are having a conversation.  Iris rolled over today from her belly to her back!  What a big girl.  And both girls can belly laugh.  I love it when they giggle.  It is so funny.  No matter how I am feeling at the time, I can't help it but start laughing myself!

Look How Much We Have Grown!

The Census job is going well.  I was promoted in my first week from Enumerator (a census taker) to a Crew Leader Assistant.  I still do some enumerating (counting people) but mostly I organize people and paperwork.  It is a pretty good job and I can do most of it from home.  But it will not last long.  We have a deadline to complete Non Response Follow Up (knocking on doors of those who didn't mail in the form), which is the phase of the census I am working for, by June 27th.  So I am on the search for a new part-time opportunity for the summer.

I am really enjoying being home with the kids during the day.  Honestly, I wasn't sure how this was going to go.  I never thought I would make a very good stay-at-home mom.  I thought I would be going crazy by the end of the week.  While there are some weeks like that, most are pretty good.  I am really starting to get a routine.  Like any job, there is a learning curve, and we are definitely on the upswing!  I think it is going to be a really fun summer!

I joined the Greater Portland Mother's of Multiples Club.  Just before Mother's Day we had a Spa Night.  It was really very fun.  Our meeting was held at Cherry Pie in Portland.  We got the choice of a few different mini spa treatments.  I chose a parafin treatment for my feet.  It was wonderful.  It was also nice to connect with other moms who have a similar family situation.  And the icing on the cake, there was a door prize, and I won.  A free Mani/Pedi!  Now I just have to find time to schedule it!

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day.  We went to Candia to celebrate with Jesse's parents, but first we stopped into the Prenatal Care Unit at Maine Medical Center where I lived all last fall to drop off some flowers for the current patients.  I know how much it sucks to be in the hospital on a holiday and I know what a wonderful thing all of these women are doing for their babies even before they are born!

Flowers for Prenatal Patients

Esme

Iris

Look at Iris Checking Esme Out.

The Proud Grandparents

Iris Covering Eli's Yawn

A Happy Mother's Day

I have beautiful amazing children and I am humbled to be my children's mother.  On this day I feel so lucky to have my handsome son and my beautiful daughters.  Eli picked out my Mother's Day gift this year.  A potted flower and a honey bear from a local farmer.  So wonderful to have a gift that he chose!

I am also blessed to have such a wonderful mother!  I believe firmly it is because of her guidance, her caring, her perseverance, and her example that I am a good mother.  Mom, I missed you today and I hope that you had a great day!

I HATE Automatic Locks

As I have mentioned previously before, we are now a minivan family.  One of the "lovely" features of my minivan is automatic door locking.  Specifically, when we go to get into the car, all of the doors automatically lock when the last door is shut.  This sounds harmless enough, right?  This morning, I put all of the kids in the car to bring Eli to his preschool program.  I had already locked up the house as we were pretty much ready to leave.  I placed my keys and my cell phone on the passenger seat and proceeded to get all the kids in the car.  After placing Iris in, without thinking about it, I closed the door before opening the door to the driver's seat.  Just as the doors closed, I heard it, that familiar click, the doors locked shut.  I was locked out of my house, out of my car, with no phone, and all three kids were locked inside the van.  I started to panic.  It is warm today, and this morning at 9:00 it had already reached 70 degrees.  I tried to talk Eli through unlocking his car seat buckle, but that was to no avail.  I had to run to a neighbor's house to use a phone and call Jesse.  He left immediately from work to come home and let me in to the car.  I was so afraid that the kids would get too hot.  I started to fear that I was about to become one of those mommies who bakes their children in the car.  I know this is an overreaction, but it was terrifying to not be able to help my kids.  Of course, if it had gotten much warmer, I would have just broken the window.

Just as I thought I could not stand it any longer, Jesse drove into the driveway and saved us all.  These automatic door locks seem like a real hazard to me.

Our Tulips

The first signs that spring has officially arrived at our home are the beautiful tulips in the front of our house.  These flowers were such a nice surprise when we first moved into this house.  We went under contract in the winter, so it was nice to see flowers in bloom when we moved in in May.  This is now our 5th spring in this house and they are still blooming.