So Ryan has spent the last four eventful days at a trade show in Chicago. On Tuesday, day two to be exact, I was reminded of the time when upon coming home to our closet-sized apartment in Logan, I was hit directly in the face with a moose. Attached to the ceiling, the moose must have been calculated exactly at Leslie Barlow’s eye level. The sentiment was simple: I miss, make that moose you. I kept the moose and this week the sentiment of missing, or moosing, has hit me in the face as though -again- stapled to the ceiling with pupils parallel to mine.
Our conversations this week have been totally mundane. I have been assured, make that guaranteed I will be coming out to the windy city next year, recovering from spinal taps or not. We’ve even discussed taking the twins out to the trade show, dressed like Kangaroos, to act as makeshift mascots and hand out fliers. At any rate, I’m sort of jealous that every time I talk to Ryan he’s like–
“I’m on my way to grab some Thai food.”
“I’ll call you after I’m done sight seeing downtown-man, you would love it here.”
“Sorry I can’t hear you, I’m at a Jazz Club.”
(From which I have been promised a souvenir.)
and every time he asks what I’m doing.
You know the drill, it’s wiping, feeding, cleaning, carpooling, refereeing, punishing, something, someone, three little someones. Luckily with the help of “who’s your favorite aunt?” (some people nickname themselves) Jocelyn. Honestly, what has the windy city got on Jocelyn?
In the midst of a rainstorm and a couple of really bad migraines and two four-year old temper tantrums that were inevitable this week we set out to conquer the world by way of the kitchen. Who knew we could concoct our own recipe for organic Beef Stew? Chicken Stir-fry? Oven-bake homemade french fries to compliment a rotisserie chicken? And finally in a crowning event for which we are still patting ourselves on the back, Magelby’s carrot raisin muffins with secret caramel nut topping, equally as satisfying as finding the perfect Halloween costume.
I’ll bet you can’t guess what it was.
Experimenting in the kitchen has trickled into other areas, like what would happen with a little hair gel and this girl?
Don’t you think pigtails should come with some kind of warning? After careful thought I have devised it: do not attempt pigtails unless you are fully prepared to see your baby turn into a toddler before your very eyes. This day was a doozey because I put her in this outfit the twins wore, like yesterday.
A pigtail silhouette.
And a whole bunch of other Ryan-proof things: Gilmore Girls marathons, shopping expeditions, cozy afternoons with Little Women, chatty chatty nights with no mention of technology, and, finally, circa 9 pm tonight, the realization that why yes, we could in fact put nuts in the muffins without suffering the wrath of our test group. Even more ironic, while consuming said muffins and watching said Gilmore Girls, the following phrase entered our muffin-numbed minds:
“All I’m saying is, sometimes eating a walnut is preferable to getting hacked to death or set on fire during dinner.”
I think I will commit that one to memory.
See you tomorrow Tiger.
Eighth Month and Year
So Ryan and I decided to celebrate our 8-year anniversary in Houston, of which event we thought we could kill two birds with one stone and declare it a family vacation. Ultimately, the event was classified more as ‘trip’ than ‘vacation,’ but ah, the memories.
Upon first getting to the hotel, these three were bouncing around the hotel room like pinballs, even in pitch black at 11:30 at night, which was to be expected. Only after a little dose of Blues Clues did they settle down enough to sleep, of which Olivia, the non-cuddliest child we have would only sleep on mom’s left shoulder. (Turns out she snores AND talks in her sleep…something about cheese?) Two babies kicking me all night!
Ryan has been dying to go to the NASA Space Center ever since we moved here. With the girls’ recent interest in space, it seemed like a great idea. Here we are touring a little mock up of what it is like to be an astronaut.
We were able to go on a little tour and see one of the control centers.
Family picture. At this point I was not so much interested in the exhibits as getting out of the heat.
We played ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with Olivia the whole time. I loved that she brought her baby with us everywhere….Keep in mind this baby is only one of the five in her entourage!
The kicker for me was walking into what we thought would be several exhibits in this warehouse–
and seeing this! This shuttle was so huge it took my breath away. We walked around staring at it for over an hour and still were blown away.
We have shots from every angle.
Another family pic. I was impressed that random strangers kept offering to take our picture, not only that but they also knew how to work the camera.
These Asians had been working up the courage the whole tour to ask if they could grab a shot of L & M….I had to document the moment!
Can you believe we did NASA and the beach in the same day? Here we are at Galveston, my favorite part of the trip.
Liv and I lounged from these chairs while the twins built sandcastles and jumped over waves with Ryan. I love the smell of the ocean and how relaxing it is to listen to the waves. After awhile, Livvy thought it would be fun to chase Seagulls and make friends with other families, charming her way into many a beach setup. I guess she follows in the twins’ and my dad’s footsteps, always on the lookout for new friends.
Our last stop Saturday morning was at the Kemah boardwalk, which turned out to be my lesson in recognizing signs of heatstroke in pregnancy!
The girls did eventually find a brilliant way to cool off…
Even Olivia, and baby #4.
Here’s our sweet London on the carousel, undoubtedly the only one who came out of the Kemah boardwalk happy! I’m certain the place would be a blast under different circumstances. Funny enough, the girls’ favorite part of the trip was swimming in the hotel pool and eating at Panda Express, two things we enjoy quite frequently at home. I guess everything’s just better on vacation. And the .2 minutes I got to spend with Ryan weren’t so bad either. Here’s to another eight-infinity years!