Tales From Car Circle

Baking Day

2012-01-27T17:05:00.011-05:00

We celebrated the last of the MacFam's birthdays yesterday. Dan has a regular poker night and wanted to go, so we didn't do much in the way of celebrating. We had dinner with the kids, gave him his birthday gifts and sent him on his way with a birthday pie to eat with his friends. Incidently, he returned home with no leftovers. I think it was a hit!

When I asked him a few days ago what kind of cake he wanted, he replied with, "I haven't had a French Silk Pie or Lemon Meringue Pie in years. Maybe one of those.". I know I've never made a Lemon Meringue Pie and I was pretty sure I hadn't ever made a French Silk Pie either. I didn't know where to begin to find a recipe for either, so I turned to Google for help.

I quickly eliminated any pie that required unsweetened chocolate or uncooked eggs and finally stumbled upon one that I adapted here. It was easy enough to make and I had enough ingredients left over that I was able to make a second one for an After Christmas Party that we are attending this evening.

Since I didn't think one pie would be enough for the party we're going to tonight, Zachary and I set out to make a Lemon Meringue Pie this morning while the big boys were in school. I followed the recipe from Joanne Fluke's cookbook that I got for my birthday. It was super easy to make, the filling tastes good and it turned out pretty! I'm not a fan of Lemon Meringue, so I will rely on Dan to tell me if it tastes good.

Back!

2012-01-26T14:14:00.003-05:00

Yeah, yeah. It's been a while. Or a year. But who's counting??

Here's a quick update on the MacFam.

~Zachary turned TWO just shy of a month ago. Where did my little monkey go? He has grown so fast. I can hardly believe it.

~Matthew & Nicholas turned "a whole hand" last week. We always referred to them as little puppy dogs because they were born in the year of the dog. So it's fitting to ask, "When did our little puppies grow up?"

~Zachary goes to preschool one day a week and loves it! He used to cry when I dropped him off in the mornings, and now he cries on the days I don't drop him off!

~Matthew & Nicholas are in VPK and are having a blast. I have no doubt in my mind that they won't be ready for kindergarten next school year. They also attend our home elementary school for speech twice a week and are doing great. Now, if only we could find their homework folders...

~Dan took a new position with a company in town. After almost nine years of telecommuting from home and 50% travel, the only travel he does now is the daily commute to and from the office!

~I joined the board again for the local twins club and now co-chairs the Clothing Exchange (thing big children's consignment sale) as well as holds the office of Parlimentarian.

~Dan and I both serve in different areas of our church on a weekly basis.

~Our family Christmas/Birthday gift this year was Disney passes. We have been twice as a family in the last week, and the kids and I made a trip out there mid week to celebrate MLK Day and a day off from school.

I think that's all the big news from our family. Stay tuned. I might get inspired to write again one day. Maybe.

Happy Birthday Zachary

2011-01-01T17:07:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been a year since this sweet face was born.
A year! Seriously, I can't comprehend it.

Our family has had quite the adventure in 2010. As my mom pointed out today, I haven't written a thing since May. There are no promises that blogging will be more regular, but with the ringing in of 2011 you never know. With the new year brings new possibilities. :-)
We have had a great January 1, 2011. I personally got to "sleep in" for the first time since 2009. It was lovely, even if it only happened until 8:50am. We spent a few hours with some friends enjoying lunch, watching out children play and chatting. We love Jenn and Daniel and their kiddos, and I hate watching them get in the car and head back to Ohio after every visit. Dan and I are finally going to see the latest Harry Potter movie this evening...a bit of a spontaneous date night. I'm excited to see the movie! Tomorrow we will spend our morning at church, the afternoon preparing for a party and the evening celebrating Zachary turning ONE with family and his two best buds.

Blueberries!

2010-05-26T21:12:00.008-04:00

My mom and I loaded up the kiddos and headed out to a blueberry farm today. I'm not a fan of blueberries myself, but Matthew and Nicholas LOVE them! I knew they would have a fun time picking them off the bushes, and as a bonus, the farmer encouraged eating them straight from the bush. He uses no pesticides, which is awesome. It meant we didn't have to wash a single berry before popping in in our mouths and eating them. And, yes, I ate a few. I have to say they were the best blueberries I've ever eaten. I don't know if it was the act of picking it myself, the sun warmed berry, or that they were just that good. I guess it doesn't matter too much.

Hard at work.

Nicholas showing me his bucket.

Counting the berries he picked?

Matthew showing me how many he had. Taken moments before he dumped them on the ground and started over.

After you pick your bucket of berries, you place them on this shaker tray thingie. (I have no idea what it's called.) You then shake out your berries and pick through to get all the bad ones out. You can also pull off all the stems from your berries. And if you're 3ft. tall, then you get on your tip toes and eat them by the handful. For reference, that tray is holding a gallon of blueberries. Our refrigerator is now full of blueberries. Anyone need a few?

Benny, the farmer, let me take the boys out for a ride on his four wheeler. It was so fun. Matthew and Nicholas laughed in delight the entire time we were moving. When we came back to the farm, they begged to go out again. Maybe next time!

Zachary came along on our adventure, too. I think he had a pretty good time, even if he wasn't allowed to eat any berries off the bush. Maybe next year!

PS: This is the info on the blueberry farm...
BMB Farms - blueberries, restrooms
4277 Old Eagle Lake Road, Bartow, FL 33830. Phone: 863-698-0239.
Open: U-Pick is now open 7 days a week 8:30 am to 7:00 pm. Directions: Highway 98 S into Bartow. Take Old Bartow/Eagle Lake Road 2.5 miles to Farm (will be marked by signs.) Highway 17 to Spirit Lake Road. Spirit Lake Road 1/4 mile to Old Bartow/Eagle Lake Road. Old Bartow/Eagle Lake Road 1/4 mile to Farm (will be marked by signs.).Payment: Cash, only.

Three Reasons

2010-03-10T20:49:00.005-05:00

...there haven't been any new posts lately.

Nicholas

Matthew

Zachary

Hopefully I will have a chance to write a real update soon.

New pictures

2010-01-08T21:45:00.006-05:00

Caught up on Zachary photos for the time being. As before, they are at http://pix.tazman.net/v/Zachary/

Here's one of my favorites:

Busy week

2010-01-07T17:07:00.003-05:00

This week has been filled with doctor's appointments and hospital visits. Two of my favorite appointments were when we went to see my regular ob on Monday and my high risk ob ("Dr. Risky") today. We snapped a couple of pictures in the offices and I just have to share them here. These doctors are just two of the many people who helped bring Zachary through the pregnancy safely.

Dr. Moore, my regular ob

Dr. Al-Malt (aka "Dr. Risky")

Life has been quite the whirlwind in the last few days. We were discharged from the hospital Saturday evening and hit the ground running and not sleeping. Life with a newborn is quite different than life with 5 month old twins was two and a half years ago. Rest assured that Dan has taken lots of pictures in the days since we've been home, but his free time (and alert time) has been greatly diminished by the needs of one little 6 pound person. One day soon I hope he will get some of them off the camera and online for all to see.

A glimpse of Zachary David

2010-01-05T16:34:00.003-05:00

This was taken while Zachary was still in the NICU. We have several new pictures to share, but sleep, Zachary and Matthew & Nicholas are our first priorities right now. We'll get them up soon! For now, a picture of our sweet new baby sleeping peacefully.

Zachary David - 1 day old (12/31/09)

Welcome "Home" Zachary

2010-01-02T01:13:00.002-05:00

Well, they finally got all the right people to talk to each other and Zachary has been moved into the room. PTL! He spent about four hours here and we had our first real shot at bonding and being parents for him without all the inhibitions of the NICU. He just left for that night (a little after 1AM) since he needs two medications and two lab tests over the next couple hours; we decided it was just better for all if we sent him back and got a few hours sleep rather than getting interrupted constantly. He will be back for his 6AM feeding.

I'm continuing to post new pictures at least daily. See the previous post for the link to the album, which will automatically show new pictures at the top.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I know there are a bunch of you that want to visit, and we have to carefully manage it tho for both Zachary and Shannon's sake. So if you want to come, please call first to see how things are going. (Also, if you have kids under 12, they will not be allowed past the waiting room - hospital rules.)

Welcome Zachary!

2009-12-30T23:55:00.006-05:00

Please join us in welcoming to the world Zachary David MacDonald!

What everyone really wants to see (first pictures) are available at http://pix.tazman.net/v/Zachary/.

Please continue to pray for us, as Zachary was admitted to the NICU this evening with respiratory distress, likely due to fluid in the lungs that was not cleared at birth. If so, this is not uncommon with C-Section deliveries and should clear up in a day or so with close monitoring. As a precaution they are also running panels for various infections and lung underdevelopment, however. In any case, we are told it shouldn't be a big deal, other than the fact that he isn't staying with us, but please pray for a speedy resolution and our mental state since this pregnancy has been a long road that never seems to end.

Dan

A picture to strike fear into the heart of any parent of twins! :)

2009-12-13T22:12:00.008-05:00

Shot at night under less than ideal circumstances, so it may take a closer look to notice that there are TWO car seats on the other side of the infant carrier. Amazingly they all fit! Of course, Baby Mac may not have any ears left after whichever brother is in the middle yanks at them, and in our test drive the boys were already quibbling over who gets to sit in the middle. It's great fun to watch the boys climb up to (my) chest height to get into their car seats.

A peek inside

2009-11-25T17:06:00.004-05:00

One of the coolest things about seeing the high risk doctor (2x a week!) is getting to have 4-D ultrasounds at no additional cost. Our sonographers have been trying for weeks to get a shot of the face of our baby, with no luck. We have good ones of the boys parts, a few pictures of the top of his head, and even a 4-D image of his foot from last week. But today, we got lucky! Baby No-Name graced us with a quick shot of his face. No, not his whole face, and yes, there is a hand and a leg in the way...but we didn't care! Take a look for yourself.

31 weeks, 4 days
38 days until full term
59 days until my due date

Our First Drum

2009-11-10T16:56:00.004-05:00

The boys got a new drum last night. I don't think I need to say anything else.

Blog Carnival III: Adoption Photos

2009-10-30T15:22:00.007-04:00

The writer's over at Grown In My Heart are hosting another adoption carnival this week and I decided to play along! Here's what we're supposed to do:

Carnival III: Photos of Adoption. What is your most treasured adoption photo (or two)? Block out faces if you have to, find a scanner, or simply tell us about it if you can’t post it. We do understand that. Adversely, if you don’t have one, tell us why you don’t.

Yeah, I couldn't decide on just one picture, so you get to see a few! I think all of these are on our Adoption Blog, but I don't think they were ever shared here. It was fun to go back over all the pictures we took when we were in Vietnam in 2007, but I knew even before looking at the photos which ones were my favorites.

This is one of several photos we received as part of our referral. I love it because it was the first tangible thing we had to link us to our children. I love that one shirt has the word "boys" on it, just in case you didn't know they were boys (and trust me, we knew!) and that the other shirt is pink. What you don't know about this photo is I had to crop it to make it acceptable for public viewing. I guess everyone wanted to make sure we knew 100% that Matthew and Nicholas were boys. :-)

Referral Picture: Matthew-left, Nicholas-right.

The next photo is one we took when we walked into their room at the orphanage. Their caretakers had dressed them the same, and put them in the same cradle so we would be able to see them together as soon as we walked in the door. Those outfits are one of two things we have from their time at the orphange. Although they never wore the hats or the onesies after this day, I have saved them to give to them when they become adults.

I honestly have no idea who's who in this photo.

The next two photos were taken just a few minutes after we arrived at our hotel. Dan took a ton of pictures the whole time we were in Vietnam, but the two below remain two of my favorites.

Nicholas

Matthew

The last image was made by our dear friend Aimee while we were still in Vietnam. The three pictures above (not including the referral picture) were the ones we sent via e-mail to friends and family. Aimee took those three photos and created a baby announcement for us. Although we never sent announcements in the mail to anyone (who has time with twins???), it is also a favorite of mine, and one we shared via the internet.

(Click to enlarge)

You've Been Boo'd!

2009-10-21T11:25:00.000-04:00

The air is cool the season fall
Soon Halloween will come to all
The spooks are after things to do
In fact, a spook brought this to you
"BOO" is a shield from the witching hour
Just hang it up and watch its power
On your front door is where it works
It wards off spooks and scary jerks
The treats that came with crypted note
Are yours to keep, enjoy them both
The power comes when friends like you
Will copy this and make it two
Then others here among our friends
Will give warm fuzzies that do not end
We'll all have smiles upon our face
No one will know who "BOO'ed" whose place
Just two short days to work your spell
Or a big zap will strike your tail
And don't forget a nifty treat,
Like something cute or something sweet
Please join the fun, let's really hear it
And spread some "BOO's" and Halloween spirit.

Happy Almost Halloweeen to you! I hope you get Boo'd, too! And if you haven't, start the tradition in your own neighborhood, just like someone did in ours. Click here to find out how to do it!

Happy Anniversary

2009-10-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

All of my life Ihave dreamed that somehow love would find me
Now I can't believe you're standing here
If beauty is all in the eye of the beholder then I
Wish you could see the love for you that lives in me

And you would know you have my heart
If you could see what I see
That a treasure is what you are
If you could see what I see
Created to be the only one for me
If you could see what I see

It's all of the light and the grace
your belief in me drives me to say
that I promise you
A faithful love, forever true

If you could see...
Then you'd understand
Why I fall down to my knees
And I pray my love will be worthy of
The One who gave His life so our love could be

If you could see what I see

You're created to be
The perfect one for me
If you could see what i see

If beauty is all in the eye
of the beholder then I am beholding...
true beauty

Happy EIGHT Years, Dan. I love you!

Blog Carnival: What No One Told Me About Adoption

2009-10-01T13:01:00.000-04:00

The writers over at Grown In My Heart wrote an article with the same title as above, and invited everyone to add their own thoughts. I've been thinking about this article for a while now, not knowing exactly what to say. The first several months of our lives as adoptive parents are such a blur to me...it was all we could do to keep up with two babies, even with all the help we had.

I believe our adoption agency did a great job preparing us to be adoptive parents. We were required to take several parenting classes before we could submit our dossier to Vietnam. We had several meetings with our social worker, who was an adoptive mom herself, and she was a wealth of information. Our agency responded quickly with answers to any questions we had. All in all, they provided us with a great support system, which left us feeling prepared. But even with that great support system from our agency, our family and our friends, there were still some things I was not prepared for. Here are just a few thoughts...

1. No one told me I would have a full on panic attack in the middle of Babies-R-Us while trying to work on our baby registry. We're talking chest pains, tingling left arm, I thought I was having a heart attack panic attack. When this happened, I had no idea I was stressed! I thought I was going with the flow and pretty at ease. Obviously not!

2. No one told me that my children would not sleep through the night until they were 15 months old. Although sleep routines were formed easily, we fed them every three hours all night long for months.

3. To piggy back on the previous one, no one told me to expect my children to be malnourished.

4. No one told me about eczema.

5. No one told me how much support I would need. Even though I did a lot of things on my own with the boys, I had no idea I would need and want help at night. (Thanks for all the months of taking the night shift, Mom!)

6. No one told me how quickly my children would be accepted into our family and circle of friends. I knew people would love them because they were ours, but even now when I overhear someone talking about the boys, I know they are loved because of who they are, not just who their parents are.

7. No one told me how much I would crave adult interaction. Just two months after our adoption was complete, I joined a Bible study and became a board member of the local twins club. I loved my boys, but I missed my old life. These two groups helped me find a little balance in my life, and I think have made me a better mom.

8. No one told me there were actually cute boy clothes out there, and how long my children would stay in one size! And no one told me how much fun I would have shopping for said clothes.

9. No one told me how much I would love each stage of their lives, and how much I wouldn't miss the newborn stage. I always thought I would be saddened to miss out on those first few weeks of a baby's life, but I didn't. I have loved watching them grow and change and learn. It has been an amazing experience, and I learn right along with them.

**10. No one told me how difficult it would be to get social security cards for our children.

**11. No one told me what a pain health insurance would be.

12. No one told me how adorable footed pajamas are!

13. No one told me how much I would love making baby food.

14. No one told me how much deeper in love I would fall with Dan as I watch him be a dad.

15. In short, no one told me how amazing life would be with two sweet little boys from Vietnam.

**Please note, our issues with SSA and health insurance have more to do with the fact that we adopted twins and less to do with the fact that they are adopted. :-)

Recipes!

2009-09-27T12:39:00.001-04:00

I decided last month to get all of my recipes organized and in one place. I haven't added much to it since September, mostly because I don't do any cooking/baking these days. But I think the collection has a pretty good start. Feel free to check it out. Hopefully I will begin updating it a little more often in the coming months... :-)

http://macdonaldrecipes.blogspot.com

Drum Roll....

2009-09-24T13:21:00.002-04:00

Every where I go (not that I go many places these days) I get asked about the baby. You know the question I'm talking about, because you've been asked, done the asking or both!

"What are you having?"

I knew the question was coming three weeks ago when Dan and I went in for what most people refer to as "the big ultrasound". "The big ultrasound" is what those people who have normal, uncomplicated pregnancies have around the 20 week mark to have measurements done on the baby (a growth scan). This is often the only ultrasound women have, and it's usually where you find out what the gender of your baby is. Anyway, "the big ultrasound" for me is just part of the monthly routine. I have a growth scan done once every four weeks, so the ultrasound is really no "big" deal to me.

When we went in three weeks ago, our ultrasound techs were pretty sure they knew the gender, but since no one was 100%, we had Dr. Risky do a quick check. He was able to get some very clear images of our baby's private parts, and when we asked him if he was 100% sure, he said, "If this baby is a girl, I will give you your money back." (And trust me, if he's wrong, we will be RICH people!)

So, the consensus is in. And even though when people really started hounding me what the question, "What are you having?", and I slyly answered "A baby!" instead of telling them what they wanted to know, the time has come to tell everyone...

IT'S A BOY!

Yes, it appears that Dan and I will be parents to three wild and crazy boys. Whee!!

I'm so embarrased

2009-09-16T13:33:00.003-04:00

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I finally got the pictures from the boys' birthday party processed and uploaded. Their birthday was only 8 months ago... :(

Anyway, you can find them (and other pictures as I get caught up) at http://pix.tazman.net/.

...and we have a winner!

2009-09-04T20:33:00.003-04:00

So, I'm totally lame and didn't realize that I would need to create an account and pay to use random.org's generator, which would give me to cool looking winner. If you've been participating on other blogs with giveaways, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Since I wasn't in a position to pay to use random.org's paid features (I must be the last person on the planet without a paypal account!), I had to do the next best thing.

So, without further ado, here are pictures (yes, taken by my digital camera and then uploaded to my computer) of the winning number. The fantastic bibs, blankets & coffee cozy go to...

Congratulations Mary Kate of Our Journey!

You're my winner! Please e-mail me at twins@tazman.net with your contact information and your winnings will be shipped right out!

Thanks to everyone who has played along with me, and huge thanks to Andrea for donating such a wonderful prize. Don't forget to check out her blog and shop at her Etsy shop. :-)

Picture Time!

2009-09-03T15:15:00.004-04:00

I know some people come to read our family blog just to see pictures. And after more ultrasounds than I can count for this baby, we finally have a half way decent picture to share. :-) Unfortunately the scanner is attached to a server that isn't working right now, so the best I can offer is a photograph of our latest ultrasound. But that's better than nothing, right?

This little one moved around so much today (a complete opposite of the last appointment, where s/he was sleeping) that our tech had a hard time getting any pictures. We were thankful she was able to get most of the measurements done, and happy she was able to capture even this picture. This baby likes to turn over and lay on its belly, with only its back showing. Silly baby.

One day I'll post a little more about this pregnancy, and what we are doing for prenatal care. You won't believe it.

It's Giveaway Day!

2009-09-03T10:04:00.003-04:00

Just a couple of days ago I gave everyone a sneak peek at my first giveaway, but today I am unveiling the whole thing! Without further ado, here are pictures of the giveaway!

Above you see two pairs of beautifully made baby blankets and bibs.

The blankets are called "Bye Bye Baby Retro Giraffe Blanky" and are approximately 31''x30''. They have a cotton woven giraffe front with super, SUPER soft maroon minky on the back, and an edging of a yellow and brown cotton woven. The bibs are made with Alexander Henry's Bangle Dot fabric and backed with either brown or yellow cotton woven fabric. An inner layer has been added for additional stability and absorbency. The bibs have adjustable poly resins snaps, suitable for infants all the way through the toddler years. Check out the next photo for a little treat especially for Mom!

See the awesome coffee cozy? It's just for you, Mom!

The coffee cozy is made with Alexander Henry's Bangle Dot fabric, backed with a brown cotton woven fabric and has a inner layer of a specialty material specifically made to prevent heat/cold from move through it. The cozy closes by poly resin snaps, and is adjustable, suitable for use with Starbucks Grande, Venti, Iced Grande, and Iced Venti cups.

I might be a little biased, but I think this is a pretty amazing giveaway! Andrea does beautiful work, and you can check out her Etsy shop here: Little Lollipoptree.

And now, how the giveaway works...

1. Start by leaving a comment here and that will get you one entry!
2. If you Tweet the link to the giveaway, you can get another entry. Just comment again with a link to the Tweet.
3. Why don't you jump over the Andrea's Etsy shop and take a quick look. Comment here and tell me what your favorite item is for one more entry.

The contest will run until tomorrow, September 4th, at 8pm Eastern Time. I will use random.org to tell me wins this amazing giveaway, and will be in touch to get your information to mail you your prize.

Have fun playing along with all the bloggers at the End of Summer Blog Party!

My First Giveaway-A Sneak Peek

2009-08-31T10:08:00.003-04:00

On September 3-4, 2009, I will be participating in the End Of The Summer Blog Party
over at the Multiples and More Blog Network. I'm super excited about it, and have been working hard to have my own giveaway at the party!

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I have had the chance to reconnect with my old high school friend Andrea, and she had graciously offered an amazing package of goodies to the lucky winner. On top of making beautiful bibs, blankets, and even clothing, she is a mom of two adorable girls and is going to school to become a doctor! For now, Andrea has re-opened her store, this time on Etsy, and you can take a look at some of her handiwork. Check it out here.

Below is a sneak peek of what will be in my giveaway later this week. Included in the giveaway will be two gorgeous blankets, two adorable bibs, and a surprise for Mom (you will see it when you come back on September 3 &4 to participate in the giveaway).

Don't you just love the colors? If my boys weren't too big for blankets and bibs, I would want this for myself! Oh, and for you mom's of twins (or even two kiddos), each blanket has a different color border and each bib has a different color backing, to help you know which one belongs to which kid!

Come back Thursday and Friday this week and play along both here on my blog, and at the Multiples And More blog! You might just win something amazing!

First Day of School

2009-08-20T20:09:00.004-04:00

Tuesday, August 18, was Nicholas and Matthew's first day of preschool. They were so excited to go, and talked about school for weeks before starting. On Monday, they went to meet their teacher, Ms. Poteat, and after meeting their teacher they were off to the store to buy backpacks and lunch boxes.

They will go to preschool two days a week, on Mondays and Tuesdays. They scored the teacher who is a little wild and crazy and likes to do lots of arts & crafts and generally get messy. I think they will be in heaven as the year progresses! Their school day lasts from 9am-1pm, and they get a snack and lunch.

Below are a few pictures we took before they headed off for their first day.

Matthew - left, Nicholas - right

New backpacks!

Showing off their new lunchboxes.

Getting ready to walk out the door for their first day of school.

They can't wait until next Monday, when they can return to "cool", as they call it. :-)

Surprise!

2009-08-20T12:30:00.004-04:00

Dan and I have a little news to share, and I've found a couple of pictures that will help us.

We found out in May that Matthew and Nicholas
will be Big Brothers, because I'm...
I'm due in...

In other words,

So now you know!

Chess Cake - A recipe

2009-07-31T08:50:00.005-04:00

Did you know yesterday was National Cheesecake Day? If you did, then you might have known you could go to The Cheesecake Factory and get any slice of cheesecake for half the regular price. If I'd been feeling a little better, I might have taken advantage of the great deal, and gotten myself a slice of Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake. But alas, I was in bed much of the day getting over a stomach bug. What does this have to do with a recipe for Chess Cake? Keep reading...

Prior to knowing I was going to spend Wednesday and Thursday sick with a bug, my Thursday girls were coming to my house for Bible study. My mom made a dessert for me to share with the group, and brought it over last night. By the time she arrived, I had already canceled with the girls in an effort to keep them well. But my mom gave me the dessert anyway, so I could enjoy it when I felt a little better. Imagine my surprise when I cut myself a small square of it and took a couple of bites, and immediately started feeling better! The theory is the sugar in Chess Cake helped me feel better, but whatever it was, I'll take it.

I had a conversation with one of my Thursday girls via Instant Messanger yesterday and we were talking about Chess Cake. She asked me if I was mispelling Cheesecake, and I said, "Nope!". She wanted to know what it was, so I started Googling it and came up with a couple of recipes that were close to the one our family uses and even a picture. She declared it good enough to come over and try, even though she had to brave possibly getting sick from me. After the long conversation I had with Anne about this cake, and a couple of inquiries from others about what exactly it is, I felt like I just had to share the recipe (and a picture from the Internet) with you.

Chess Cake

Crust:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Grease 9x13 pan. Mix together cake mix, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup melted butter. Pat the crust down into pan. (This will not be runny like cake batter, and even stiffer than brownie batter.) In another bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add butter, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Blend in powdered sugar. Pour over crust mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes. Refrigerate.

Photo Credit

If you make this, please share a piece with me! :-)

Safe Start/Transition Swimming Lessons

2009-07-23T18:06:00.004-04:00

Last month the boys finished up another refresher course at the YMCA with SafeStart. We have been so blessed to have such an amazing instructor these last two refreshers, and the boys have grown by leaps and bounds in their swimming ability. They did so well, in fact, that their instructor recommended that we go ahead and start with transition lessons, taught by one of the swim team coaches at the YMCA. As a bonus, their SafeStart instructor taught them how to wear a mask and snorkel. She said they did so well we could take them our snorkeling! Who knew a two year old could learn how to snorkel. It's very cool.

SafeStart is all about a baby or young child surviving if he or she were to fall into a body of water. It teaches a child how to turn on to their back, get their breath, and turn over to get to the side of a pool. The most important part of the lesson is teaching the child not to freak out when falling in, but to get oriented, get on their back and wait for help. The boys have mastered this skill, and while we reinforce what they have learned at SafeStart, we will most likely have one more refresher course before Christmas.

Their transition class is really neat. It's two-three kids with one instructor and she works with each child individually, teaching them basic swimming strokes. They are also learning how to power down to the bottom of the pool to get a toy and then push off the bottom to resurface for air. The boys are having a blast. Last week, their instructor said they were doing so well on their backs that she was going to teach them elementary backstroke. If they can do it, she will ahve taught them the basics of two strokes: freestyle and elementary backstroke. I think what I like most about their transition lessons is they get to swim with a skilled instructor twice a week and while she is teaching them new skills all the time, she is still reinforcing all of the necessary survival skills they learned in SafeStart.

Matthew with a mask and snorkel!

Matthew swimming

Nicholas with a mask and snorkel!

Nicholas swimming

Happy Second Familiversary!

2009-06-19T09:45:00.003-04:00

Today marks the second anniversary of Matthew and Nicholas' adoption day. Yep, two years ago today we were in Vung Tau meeting our children for the first time. Although it's only been two years, it feels like we've been a family forever!

If you're new to the blog, please feel free to check out posts from our adoption blog here. The link will take you the archive for June 2007, and chronicles day to day life from Dan's perspective while we were in Vietnam. If you want to read the whole thing from start to finish, feel free to do so. We had an amazing time with our adoption process. The blog can be found at http://vn-and-back.blogspot.com

We managed to get a couple of pictures this afternoon, so here you go! Oh, and one quick note about their shirts. We bought these while we were in Vietnam. I bought them a little big, so they'd have them to wear a couple of years down the road. They are large enough that hopefully they will get to wear them again next year! :-) The dragon on the shirt is embroidered, and while I don't remember what I paid for them, I promise you it wasn't more than $5 at the most, and the design is beautiful.

Happy to celebrate our Familiversary!

Starting to calm down a little bit...

Matthew (Vinh) - Left, Nicholas (Thanh) - Right

Chopsticks!

2009-06-03T22:30:00.005-04:00

Two videos of the boys using chopsticks for the first time. I bet they are better at using them than most people! :-)

Matthew

Nicholas

Swimming Lessons, Spring 2009

2009-06-03T20:23:00.004-04:00

Below are a few videos (just 5-7 seconds each) of Matthew at his swimming lessons last week.

2009-05-18T23:06:00.000-04:00

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;
They don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
Are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
And get their answer when a little
Voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth
Is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

Who's Who Revealed!

2009-05-14T20:22:00.004-04:00

Thanks to all who played the guessing game from our Easter picture below! Some of you were right and some of you were wrong. :-) So...who's who?

Nicholas - Left, Matthew - Right

So, were you right or wrong?

Multiples and More - Giveaway

2009-05-13T10:56:00.002-04:00

A couple of the girls from my twins club have started a networking group/blog called Multiples and More. It's pretty fun read and they are always doing fun things like reviews of products and giveaways. And who doesn't like a giveaway? I've seen several giveaways that would have been super fun to win, but this one is by far my favorite! You can check out their giveaway for a new Bondi Band here.

A Bondi Band looks like a pretty versatile headband that you can wear different ways. I'd love to get my hands on one and check it out. These days I spend most of my time trying to keep my hair out of my face and eyes, and with summer coming and getting back into a regular gym routine, the quickest, easiest way to keep my hair back the better!

Here's to hoping I win the giveaway. But even if I don't, I think I'll buy myself a couple of these!

Easter 2009

2009-05-04T22:00:00.006-04:00

Last year at Easter I took the boys to The Picture People and had their very first professional photo session. We got some pretty decent pictures out of the session, and even bought some of them. The one below is what I considered to be our "Easter Photo".

Matthew - Left, Nicholas - Right

I had every intention of taking them back to The Picture People, maybe even recreating the shot above, and getting an Easter Photo for 2009. Yeah, that did not happen. Dan and I have both gotten very involved in our church especially over the last year. I found myself spending a lot of time working on various tasks for our church's Easter service/outreach event, and I just couldn't seem to make the time to get it done. Between Dan's travel schedule, meetings at church, shopping for the Easter service, and volunteering at the food bank, I was happy just getting to take the boys to the park! I had no interest in carving out space in our very tight schedule to drive across town for photos.

Thankfully my dad was able to get a few shots of the boys in their Easter outfits, and he even got them on Easter Sunday. Here are just a few of the pictures of our sweet boys.

Nicholas

Matthew

Not back to back, but side by side. And smiling to boot! There's
not much more that you can ask from two year olds!

Can you guess which one is which? I'll tell you another day! :-)

Happy Easter 2009. Yes, a bit late, but I don't mind. I'm getting used to being late.

Tips for Mom's and Dad's

2009-05-04T20:34:00.004-04:00

I read an article on one of the Orlando Sentinel blogs today, Moms at Work, that I found quite interesting. I wanted to take a moment and share it with anyone who reads our family blog.

Dr. Laura's top five things to make you a successful stay-at-home-mom (SAHM):

1. Work with husband to create a team spirit that doesn't pit you against each other.
2. Get support from like-minded women, and stay away from those who would try to diminish your choice to stay home.
3. Don't focus on chores, errands, etc. Allow fluidity in the day to enjoy your children and other aspects of your home life.
4. Even on the most annoying day, count your blessings. Think of the joys and pleasures of that day, and resist complaining to your husband when he comes home.
5. Be sure to tell your husband everyday that you appreciate his hard work to support your family.

Dr. Laura gave some tips to Dads so they can be supportive of their wives:

1. Work hard for your family, without fishing for compliments or complaining.
2. Find something to compliment your wife on every night, even if you are tired from the day. Don't complain over small things like dishes in the sink -- nothing is more important than the love your wife is giving to you and your children by being at home.
3. Treat your wife as "your woman," not just the mother of your children. Rub her feet, cuddle with her.. and yes, find time for sex.
4. Take every public opportunity to brag about your wife and kids. Show her how proud you are of her efforts at home.
5. Give her a break from being a SAHM. Make sure she gets "girl time" and "alone time." Just like you need to recharge from work, she needs a break from her role as full-time homemaker.

I'm still digesting the tips, so I am going to refrain from writing any more tonight. But I will share my thoughts on them in the next couple of days. What do YOU think about what Dr. Laura has to say?

Edited to add: This, in no way, is an endorsement of Dr. Laura. Just so we're clear. :-)

Butterflies

2009-04-22T17:15:00.006-04:00

The MacDonald house has a pretty pathetic butterfly garden, but it has been a huge hit this spring. When I say pathetic, I mean we have a bunch of milkweed (still in pots because it gets eaten so quickly we have to replace it all the time), and a few penta plants in our garden area.

Since we are considering an addition to our house in the near future (square footage, people, not two little feet), we haven't ripped out the existing plants and gone full steam ahead with our plan to turn the garden outside our living room into a full blown butterfly smorgasbord. However, we definitely wanted to encourage the butterflies to come to our house, and come they have!

Two weeks ago I counted over 36 monarch caterpillars on our six little milkweed plants. I made an emergency food run during nap time one day to replinish the stash, because we didn't want to lose any caterpillars. I even had the guy at Palmer's take off the hitchiker caterpillars because we didn't want any more mouths to feed. They've all gone to chrysalis and since come out and flown away, but apparently they have decided to have babies. See?

The little white things on the leaves above are just three of the many, many eggs I counted earlier today when we were out playing with the butterflies. It appears that a run to Palmer's will be in order again in just a few days.

At the top of the most prominent leaf in this picture is a very tiny monarch caterpillar. It's just about a centimeter long. This photo makes him look huge! Earlier today he was still an egg, and after naps today I checked again, and there was this little guy. He will quickly eat me out of house and home.

This is what the flowers of Milkweed look like. We don't get to see them too often, especially when we have 36 very hungry caterpillars to feed. Seriously, Monarch caterpillars will eat every part of a Milkweed plant, including the flowers (which the Monarch butterfly drinks necter from) to the seed pods (necessary for producing more Milkweed). One would think that caterpillars would be a little less agressive with the plant that nourishes them as butterflies and tries to repopulate the earth so it can grow new plants for its offspring.

So, yes, a trip to Palmer's is in our near future. Although we can't offer much for the butterflies as far as variety because we are constrained by space, they seem very happy to live in our garden. We have spent hours out there with the caterpillars, holding them and watching them eat, grow, turn to chrysalis and then butterfly. The boys have learned so much about butterflies this spring. It's been a great experience!

Faith Restored

2009-04-17T21:05:00.004-04:00

I received an e-mail last Monday from the pastor's wife at our church. She asked if Dan and I would be willing to share a little bit of our story on Easter Sunday in the form of a cardboard testimony. I had just seen this kind of thing done the weekend before when I went to Tres Dias. I responded pretty quickly and said we would be happy to participate. E-mails between Kelly and I happened, Dan came in and offered his opinion, and our wording was set.

We've never been particularly reserved when it comes to sharing about our journey to parenthood, and how we endured much tragedy before we were blessed with the adoption of Nicholas and Matthew in 2007. Since our pregnancy losses have been the "big deal" in our lives, and the one obstacle in our faith walk, it probably won't be a surprise to anyone that our cardboard testimony reflected that.

Honestly, once I sent Kelly the verbiage of our sign(s), I didn't think about it again. I went about the rest of the week, keeping busy with the boys, preparing for my other roles at church on Easter weekend, and generally going out my daily life. It wasn't until Saturday, when Dan and I were handed our signs, and we stood backstage that I even remembered what we were doing in the service tomorrow. Even in that moment it didn't seem like a big deal.

And then we did our first run-through.

Really, I was good with that. It was no big deal. Hold a sign, walk across the stage, attach sign to velcro. But the second run-through wasn't easy. That's the one that got to me. I admit, I started crying. Dan started crying. We stood off stage, looked at the picture we helped create, hugged one another and sang along with the final words of the song..."O Praise the one who paid my debt, and raised this life up from the dead". In that moment, everything was just as it should be.

Yes, we still have four babies in heaven.

No, that's not what we wanted.

But we have been blessed beyond measure before, during and since those sad, sad days. And in moments like Saturday evening, I am reminded again of the deep love of our Savior, our parents, our friends and most of all, our children...the precious ones we are privileged to parent on earth, and the beautiful ones who are waiting for us in heaven.

Yes, our faith was shattered, and yes, our faith has been restored. Sharing our story on Sunday morning allowed us to take another step toward healing.

The signs we held on Easter Sunday, 2009.

Video to follow in another post. :-)

Makes my heart melt...

2009-04-05T09:04:00.003-04:00

Seriously, is there anything sweeter than kids holding hands?

Magic Kingdom with Stellan

2009-04-03T17:45:00.006-04:00

My last blog entry was all about taking time to just be with my kids, knowing that each moment is precious. MckMama has learned that lesson, and taught it not only to me, but to so many others all over the world. When Stellan was first diagnosed with heart problems, she was only 20 weeks pregnant. In an effort to get his name out there so people would know him and be able to pray for him, she started something called Stellan's Gallery. In the gallery are pictures from all over the world with his name in them. MckMama wanted Stellan to see the world. Since he's been sick these last few weeks, she has resurrected his gallery and asked people to take Stellan with them. So....

Nicholas, Matthew and I took Stellan to Magic Kingdom with us. Here's what Stellan looked like today.

Nicholas and Matthew wanted their picture taken with Stellan, so I obliged, and had it shot in front of the castle.

Mary Poppins wanted in on the Stellan action.

So did Chip & Dale. I wish I'd had a video recorder with me because Chip communicated with me in sign language that he loves Stellan.

Pluto got a shot in, too!

One last shot with a statue of Mickey before leaving.

Tomorrow the whole family is going back to Disney (not sure which park we'll go to yet) and we're taking Stellan for an encore visit. One of my twin mama friends from GOMOTT took Stellan with her to Animal Kingdom. He did a quick clothing change before heading over, but it looks like he had a pretty amazing time with Amanda, Lani and all the kids. You can check out their pictures at Amanda's blog here.

Rocking Chairs and I Love You's

2009-03-25T22:02:00.004-04:00

Matthew and Nicholas have a new favorite thing to do before going down for a nap and going to bed at night. They wanted to be rocked in the rocking chair. It's only been a couple of days, but I'm loving these quiet moments with each boy.

These are children who never wanted much to do with rocking, even at 5 months old. Yes, they would tolerate it, but it wasn't something they particularly wanted or needed. They've always been affectionate kids, and we have always held them close and shared many snuggles and cuddles, but the rocking thing is new.

I think what makes this time so special is directly related to reading about another mom whose son is very, very ill. I've been reading the blog of MckMama, a mom who I haven't met personally, but whose journey with her youngest son is one I have followed since before he was born. Her son, Stellan, was diagnosed with multiple heart problems in utero, and was not expected to live through childbirth. He defeated the odds, and was not only born alive, but born full term and seemingly healthy. Sunday night (also the day the boys first asked to be rocked), Stellan's parents took him to the hospital because he was struggling to breathe as a result of a cold going through the family. After two treatments with a nebulizer, he went into SVT (Supra Ventricular Tachycardia). He's been flipping between SVT, V-Tach, and "normal" heartrate since being admitted to the hospital. The doctors are trying everything they know to do for this baby, trying to slow his heartrate down, fighting to keep him alive. (Just a quick note, MckMama's blog is heartbreaking and encouraging at the same time. She is quick to give thanks to God in all things, and yet she is transparent in her fear and struggle with the unknown.)

Everyone refers to Stellan as a miracle, and I believe it to be true as well. Whether he lives through this and into old age or not, his struggle for life and his mother's story about faith, has forced me to slow down. Had I not known about Stellan before Nicholas asked to be rocked on Sunday night, I might have done it half-heartedly, wanting to get it done because it was past his bedtime and we had people coming to our house, and I sitll have a list of things to do. But Stellan got sick, and I happened to read an update from his mom right before bedtime. I picked Nicholas up and held him tight, rocking him for just a minute, but taking that minute to let him know how much I love him. Then I picked Matthew up, rocked him for a minute and told him how much I love him. This has quickly become the routine, and one that I am thrilled to embrace. I know they won't want to be rocked for long, but I am going to do it when they ask, hold on tight, and let them know how much they are loved. And I have Stellan to thank for that.

If you read this blog, and you pray, please pray for Stellan, his parents, and his older brothers and sister. If you want to keep up with their story, you can go to their blog at http://www.mycharmingkids.net

And don't forget to hug your kids and tell them you love them. You don't know what tomorrow brings...

Hug Mickey. No Hug Mickey

2009-03-18T22:12:00.004-04:00

"Hug Mickey." - Nicholas
"No hug Mickey." - Matthew

These are the sentences I hear all day, every day.

Last week the boys and I drove out to meet Dan after he attended a conference on Disney property. The boys had literally been begging to go see Mickey the entire day. I promise you, there was no prompting on my part!! At nap time I told them if they took good naps we would go see Mickey (and Donald Duck!). They did, so off we went.

We waited about 30 minutes to see Mickey, and we a bonus character to say hi to because Minnie was there, too!

Nicholas - Left, Matthew - Right

Along with waiting in line to see Mickey and Minnie, we rode the train, Winnie The Pooh, the carosel, and Dumbo. We grabbed dinner just as the fireworks started, and we got to see bits and pieces of the show. After fireworks we changed the boys into their pajamas, gave them cups of milk and by the time we hit the exit of the park, they were fast asleep. We had a great time. Looking forward to our next adventure at Disney...hopefully Friday afternoon/evening.

New photos!

2009-01-23T01:12:00.003-05:00

New (and some not so new) photos are posted on our digital photo album. I'm almost caught up with the new stuff, and am hoping to work backwards on some of the "nostalgic" photo sets I came across. Keep an eye on pix.tazman.net !

Bridal Shower

2009-01-10T20:35:00.001-05:00

I spent much of the first full week of the new year preparing for a bridal shower for my friend Jen. It was such fun to run all around town ordering the cake, buying and preparing all the food, and decorating my mom's house with the balloons and flowers. It had been about six months since I'd hosted a shower, so I was really looking forward to seeing how everything pulled together.

We had originally planned to have the shower at my house, but changed it to my parent's place, mostly to accommodate Matthew and Nicholas' nap schedule. Since we had to do it at 2pm, and that's in the middle of nap time, a change of venue was necessary! It worked out beautifully to go there, because my parent's house lends itself so well to a party.

I'm trying to get better about taking pictures, especially at important events like bridal showers, and I was successful at capturing a few images this afternoon. I'm particularly proud of the food table, especially after all of the compliments I received on how wonderful everything tasted. I was even asked by more than one person about whether or not I wanted to go into the party business/catering business. What a boost to the ego! :-)

Cake and Cupcake Table

Baked Brie (home made!) - left, and Sunshine Punch - Right

Handmade Fruit Kabobs

Pillsbury Savorings - a Godsend!

All of the shower guests

Jen, our blushing bride

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T23:59:00.001-05:00

Dan and I had the privilege to hang out with Anne and Jason on New Year's Eve. The four of us decided that rather than go out and spend a ton of money on fondue, we'd just stay in and enjoy it at our house.

Both couples had plans after the dinner hour, so I did a little mix & match with the place settings. Yes, we used paper plates and napkins (easy clean up, since we were having ooey, gooey cheese!), mixed with glasses and real silverware (easy clean up-straight into the dishwasher!), and added a splash a crystal (handwash only) to round out the table.

Our dinner was amazing. Anne made the cheese portion of the meal, and we dunked bread, apples and sausage in it. I took care of the chocolate portion of dinner, and we dunked fruit, marshmallows, graham crackers and cheesecake. I'm surprised to say that we had leftovers of the chocolate!

New Year's Eve starting out with Anne and Jason was a wonderful way to end 2008. What more can you ask for than to have good friends over, sharing a good meal in our new home. We toasted to that with a little Martinelli's (thanks to Grace) and then headed out to our repsective parties.

I pray that your 2008 was a filled with many friends, many happy memories, family to love and cherish, and hope for the coming year. May your 2009 be blessed beyond measure.

Happy New Year!

Osbourne Family Lights

2008-12-27T21:46:00.001-05:00

Dan, Matthew, Nicholas and I went with my parents to take in the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights over the Christmas holiday. The boys absolutely loved all the lights, and especially loved the music.

Herding Cats?

2008-12-26T21:39:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder what it's like taking a picture of twins? What about taking a picture of many, many twins (& some triplets too!)? Your picture will probably turn out a bit like this...

GOMOTT Christmas Party 2008

On second thought, this picture isn't too bad! Maybe I should post the other one, taken just seconds prior to this one. :-)

2008-12-25T23:13:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Two years!

2008-12-21T23:56:00.002-05:00

Two years ago today, Dan and I took the plunge and decided to adopt!

I can't believe it's been two years already! Wow!!!

Love Thursday - My Thursdays...

2008-12-19T18:18:00.004-05:00

I read the blog of a woman named Angie Smith. She calls her readers her "Sundays" and she leans on them for prayer and support. Ever since she started calling her readers "Sundays", I have referred to my own group of friends that I turn to for prayer and support my "Thursdays". Ironically enough, they have no idea that I do this, or they didn't until now. :-)

So this edition of Love Thursday arrives a day late, because I didn't get the picture below until 5 minutes ago. In my life, Love is having the group of amazing women below (minus one who was on a cruise) to surround me with love, prayer, friendship, accountability, and support. For this and much, much more, I am so thankful...and so loved.

Presenting...My Thursdays
L-R (Top) Anne, Maggie, Tiffany
L-R (Bottom) Shannon, Maruxa, Kim
Missing - Loni

Oreo Truffles

2008-12-11T17:44:00.005-05:00

Probably over a year ago, my dear friend Anne introduced me to this really cool website, Bakerella. I follow Bakerella pretty religiously, and the woman is always posting really cute sweet treats she's made. Personally, I think Bakerella has too much time on her hands, considering the tedious treats she creates, but I still love reading her blog.

In January Bakerella took a recipe from the Kraft Food & Family magazine and modified it slightly and created what looked to be these yummy Oreo Truffles. I bookmarked the site, promising myself that I would make them one day soon. 11 months later the promise came true! I made these today while the boys were napping. Start to finish, I'd say it took about 45 minutes. The recipe (Bakerella's version, not Kraft's version) is super easy.

Based on a conversation I had with Katie after she made them yesterday, I made a couple of modifications to the process. Katie suggested that I chill the truffles before dipping. I didn't do it with the first half (the white half), but I did with the second half (the green ones), and I could definitely see a difference in how the bark set up.

Here's a picture of my creation, with the recipe and my modifications to follow.

White Oreo Truffles - Regular Oreo Flavor. Green Oreo Truffles - Mint Oreo Flavor.

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreo cookies (divided)
1 8oz. package Regular Cream Cheese (softened)
Chocolate Bark, White or Chocolate flavored

1. Open package of Oreo cookies and reserve 7 from the package. With your food processor, finely crush remaining cookies.

2. Mix softened cream cheese with the crushed cookies.
2a. If flavoring truffles to be minty, add a few drops of peppermint extract in this step.

3. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on a plate.

4. Get out a cookie sheet and cover with parchment paper. This is important. If you don't use parchment paper (or wax paper) your truffles will stick to the cookie sheet and not come off easily.

5. Crush the 7 reserved Oreos, if you desire, so you can use them to dust the tops of the truffles. I crushed all seven of mine and used about the equivilent of 1 Oreo on 16 truffles. If I were doing it again, I'd crush two and give the rest to Dan to eat. :-)

6. Melt bark as directed on the packaging and then dip balls into chocolate bark. I used a fork and a spoon to accomplish this step. I rolled the balls in the melted bark, let the excess drip through the tines of the fork and used the spoon to transfer to the cookie sheet.
6a. If you are adding color to the white chocolate bark, this is the time to do it. For the mint Oreo truffles I also added a little bit of peppermint extract.

7. Refrigerate any leftovers. (You want to do this because of the cream cheese in the truffle.)

Makes about 36 truffles.

I made these to take to my Thursday night Bible study. I'll let you know how they were received.

Something to ponder...

2008-12-07T23:30:00.005-05:00

I read the following blog post below in my friend Jason's blog just a couple days ago. It really struck a chord with me, and I asked his permission to share it here in this blog with all of you.

Jason's words, in italics: Street cred is the amount to which you have a right to speak into someone's life. You have people who have a ton of street cred with you, and others don't have as much. There may be a correlation between a person's integrity and the amount of street cred he has with people. There is a correlation between a person's street cred and their closeness to Christ.

Who do you allow to speak into your life? Do you allow people to challenge you? Or do you just get people that agree with you all the time? With whom do you have street cred--does anyone look to you to speak truth and wisdom into their life?

I've pondered the words above since I first read them late last week. Often they come back to me at the most random of moments, and I have to think...who do I let speak into my life? Who do I let challenge me? I do believe as we grow and change with each passing year the answers to his questions change with us, just as God would have it to be.

As I consider my own answers to those questions I can't help but think about my children. Right now Nicholas and Matthew look to me (and to Dan) to speak truth and wisdom in their lives in everything they do. They look to me for comfort, safety, warmth, food, clothing, shelter and entertainment. They depend on me to meet all of their needs. It's a lot of responsibility. Responsibility I am not always sure I'm ready to handle! But really, what parent is fully ready to take on all of that responsibility at one time?

I am thankful, so very thankful, that I am surrounded by people who speak truth, love and wisdom into my life. I find it in my parents, in my husband, in the women I share my heart with on Thursday nights. I find it in relationships I am building in my local Twins Club...friendships created with women who understand what it's like to raise twins! I am blessed to even find it in old friends from elementary school and college. I could not be more thankful for each and every one of those relationships.

And yet I find myself turning my thoughts back to my children. I want them to form relationships with people who will challenge each of them as individuals. I want them to have relationships that are encouraging to their spirit. Relationships that will push them to one day become men of God, to stand for what they believe in and fight for what is right, and pure, and holy. It is my prayer that while Matthew and Nicholas are young, that Dan and I have "street cred" with them. And as they grow older, I pray that they find and form those all important relationships with other kids, teenagers, young adults and finally adults.

And as Jason asked me in his blog, I now ask you. Who do you allow to speak into your life? Who challenges you? Does anyone look to you to speak truth and wisdom into their life?" What does this look like in your relationships with your children?

Thankful...

2008-12-02T14:32:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, five days late, from the MacDonald family.

Review: The First Years Hands Free Gate

2008-12-02T13:32:00.004-05:00

Originally submitted at Toys R Us

Improved product features a newly designed foot pedal and a newly designed hinge, both developed to make the gate stronger and longer lasting. (Launch date was 2/1/01.) Also improved were the pressure-mount pads for increased durability. (Launch date was 6/02.)

Watch out for smart kids!

By TwinMama from Winter Park, FL on 12/2/2008

Pros: Easy To Use

Cons: Less than 35 lbs pressure, Poor Construction

Best Uses: Infants, Crawlers

Describe Yourself: Parent of Multiples (Twins etc)

We have three of these gates in our home, set in strategic locations to protect our twins from the home office, as well as keep the dog contained in the kitchen when we are away from home.

This was a great gate until just a few days ago. We used them all with no issues for 17 months. However, now that our twins are 22 months, they have figured out how to open the gate, thereby rendering them useless for most of our purposes.

You see, the gates are rated for 35 pounds and our twins weight less than 24 pounds each! We assumed that with a gate that needed 35 pounds of pressure/force put on it, that these gates would last us until that point. Sadly, we were wrong.

On Friday, one of our twins stood with one foot on each side of the foot pedal and jumped/bounced until he freed the pin that keeps the gate locked. The first time he did it, it took him a good 30 seconds to get it undone. Now? He can walk up to the gate, place one foot on each side, jump once and the gate springs open. Before you go and say that we need to tighten the pressure mounts, please know that we did that just to rule that out as the reason he could open the gate.

With this product and all other safety products, remember to use them with caution. Just as a pool float comes with a caution of "Not a lifesaving device", baby safety equipment should say the same thing. Baby gates are a deterrent for while, but will not make your child stay put forever.

(legalese)

My Gingerbread House!

2008-12-01T00:26:00.003-05:00

Frosted Cranberries

2008-11-30T10:11:00.004-05:00

I have been asked for this recipe so many times that I've lost count. So, without further ado, here it is.

Frosted Cranberries

1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup sugar
1 bag FRESH cranberries
2 cups confectioners sugar (or more)

1) Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and heat until all the sugar has melted. Remove from burner and cool completely. (This can be done by putting your saucepan in the freezer for five minutes or so.)

2. Wash and pat dry fresh cranberries. Pull out any that are soft and squishy and discard those.

3. Now you will need one or two dinner plates (last time I made these I needed a fresh one halfway through) and one or two clean, dry cookie sheets. Assemble your line. Cranberries, sugar water, dinner plate and cookie sheet all in a row.

4. On your dinner plate, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar. (You will do this repeatedly throughout the process.)

5. Place a handful of cranberries in the sugar water. Scoop out the handful of cranberries with one hand (this is your wet hand) and drop them gently in the confectioners sugar. With your dry hand (which will get really gross!), gently roll the wet cranberries in the confectioners sugar, coating them completely. With your DRY hand, scoop them up and put them on a cookie sheet. Repeat this process until all cranberries are frosted.

6. These are better made the day before you plan to serve them. Also, the longer they sit out on the cookies sheets without being covered, the better they are.

These are super easy to make, and I've never actually sat down and typed out the recipe until just now. One year when Dan and I traveled to Minnesota for the holidays his mother was making these. I followed her lead and helped out that year. We've had them in Minnesota every Thanksgiving since! Dan and I brought the "recipe" home to Orlando and have been making them for holidays, parties and even gifts for years. The "recipe" has been given out at countless events. I hope you find them as easy to make and as good to eat as our family does! :-)

Giving Up

2008-11-23T23:29:00.002-05:00

As I suspected, November has turned out to be a very busy month! With guests in from out of town twice, a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, three baby showers to attend, Dan traveling, all coupled with being super busy working on GOMOTT stuff and taking on a leadership role at church with our Christmas Eve service, something has had to take a back seat.

Yes, it's been a busy month, and we still have another week of it! This has been a good month though, even with all of its craziness. We've managed to get out to Disney three or four times, spend lots of time with the boys, get some time for just the two of us, and spend a lot of time with family.

On another note, it appears that Matthew has caught the Grace Fellowship Plague of 2008. Something has been going around for weeks at church, and it's finally affected our house. Dan's been sick for a week, Nicholas and I had a couple of days of not feeling well, but Matthew seems to be doing the worst (or at least he sounds the worst!). So we'll take a trip to the doctor tomorrow morning and see what he says.

That's all the news from around the MacDonald home. I'll catch up with you again soon. :-)

Love Thursday - Sharing

2008-11-20T18:28:00.001-05:00

Love is sharing a bowl of cereal with your kids.

It's the simple things around here that mean the most, and hit me the hardest. Today I was sitting in the play room with the boys. They were eating a snack of graham crackers and apple juice. I was popping Cheerios Crunch into my mouth by the handful. I'm not a big fan of the "Crunch" part of Cherrios Crunch, so I offered one of the nuggets to Matthew. Not to be left out of the mix, Nicholas came trotting over for his own nugget.

We spent the the rest of snack time digging through my bowl of Cheerios. Me eating the Cheerios, them eating all the crunchy nuggets. Every time they put one in their mouths they signed and said "Thank You". It was a constant dialog of "Thank You" and "You're Welcome" for at least 10 minutes straight.

I love the age that the boys are at now. I keep reminding myself not to blink. If I do, I'll miss it.

Target Revisited

2008-11-17T21:36:00.002-05:00

I'd hoped our order from Target for the two car seats was in the clear. I checked on our order before heading out for the day and it was intact. However, when I checked it again at 5pm our order was gone. Canceled without any notice. We figured that would happen, especially given all of the rumors surrounding the debacle.

After realizing that our order was gone, I sent a quick e-mail to Target sharing my displeasure at their decision to cancel my order and not inform me they were doing so. When I got a canned response from them, I started to get angry. Then I started hearing from several friends who had tried to take advantage of the great deal Target was offering. Seems like everyone who ordered a car seat, except those who ordered the one with the cowprint cover, had their order canceled.

This fact had me a little annoyed. So I took about 20 minutes this evening and expressed my annoyance to Target via their website. Then I filed a complaint with the FTC and the BBB. I doubt anything will come of it, but the fact remains that if a pricing error (what Target is claiming happened) had occured in their store they would have had to honor it. Target seems to be hiding behind a generic policy listed in their FAQ about online purchases.

It's too bad. I was looking forward to the idea of Dan having a really safe car seat in his car. It would have given us the chance to split up sometimes and have one-on-one dates with the boys.

Drama on the Internet!

2008-11-16T23:17:00.003-05:00

The Internet was all aflutter this evening when the website BabyCheapskate put out the 411 on getting Britax Marathon car seats for $42.99, instead of the regularly price of $279.99. We didn't really need any more carseats, but I made sure to send the link to Anne, whose son will outgrow his baby carrier soon enough. Then Dan and I talked about it and we ordered them as well, so we'd have them on hand for his car and for the occasional plane trips that we hope to take over the next several years.

Not long after I saw the posting, news of this deal spread like wildfire. I received e-mails and Twitter's left and right for a good three hours about the great price on the car seats. I read details of it in blog after blog. It was a Britax invasion!

But just now the invasion has come to a halt. Something happened on the target.com website, and the car seats are no longer available. (Oh, the humanity!) You should read the rumors going around now. There's talk of Target not honoring the purchases that people made. Discussions are happening about how this price was an error! I don't know what happened, but when I clicked the link to see for myself, target.com just said they were sold out.

We'll see what happens with our order. I hope they honor our purchase, and the purchases that all the other people made on their site. But it is Target, so who knows. But for now, the story has made an otherwise mundane Sunday evening quite interesting. I'll let you know the outcome when our order arrives, sometime between 12/16/08-1/6/09, which is what my receipt lists. :-)

Kristin's Adoption Day!

2008-11-15T22:09:00.001-05:00

Dan and I were so honored to be invited to Kristin's adoption yesterday, which happened to take place on National Adoption Day. Here's a picture from her big day!

Welcome to your forever home and into your forever family. You don't just have wonderful parents, but you will always be surrounded by friends and family who love you. We are thankful that you shared your day with us.

Friday Five-Vocabulary Time

2008-11-14T13:47:00.000-05:00

Five words my children say on a daily basis:

1. Milk
2. Basketball
3. More
4. Book
5. Done

Their language skills are just exploding. It's so neat to watch them learn new words and try so hard to say new things. And to think, in August I was concerned that they had a language delay...

Oh, and they say a lot more than five words on a daily basis. Those are just the first five that came to mind. :-)

Love Thursday - Hug!

2008-11-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

Matthew and Nicholas are so fun. They've been giving Dan and me hugs for months now, but lately the hugs have been more intense. Now, instead of coming up and receiving a hug from someone, they will throw their arms wide open and ask (beg!) for a hug. When you pick one of them up for a hug, he will wrap his little arms as far around you as he can get them and give you a bear hug. It's one of the best feelings!

In the picture below, I asked them to give one another a hug. I recognize that it looks like Nicholas might not be participating in this hugfest willingly, but trust me when I tell you that he was very excited to be hugging his brother. They just recently started saying "Cheese" when a camera is pointed in their direction. Nicholas' face is a result of him saying cheese. On my honor, I promise.

Love is witnessing the relationship brothers share. If we could all be so lucky to have a relationship like this...

Wordless Wednesday - Christmastime is Here.

2008-11-12T22:55:00.001-05:00

Gingerbread House 2008 - by Anne Murray & Anne Bradford

Cheating again!

2008-11-11T23:11:00.002-05:00

Just got back from another great night at Epcot. We're all exhausted. We had so much fun though. The boys love riding Spaceship Earth and asked to ride it over and over again. We also rode the rides in Mexico and Norway. We watched Illuminations, a showed filled with music and fireworks. For the boys I think it's a toss up as to which is their favorite...Spaceship Earth or fireworks.

They are so sweet. When the fireworks ended tonight they both waved and said "Night, night" and then held their arms open wide to give the fireworks big hugs. It's enough to melt your heart...

2008-11-10T22:57:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Nathaniel, Emma & Samantha. We love you, and miss you.

EPCOT

2008-11-09T22:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry about this post.

We spent the evening at EPCOT with the boys and Dan's parents. Pictures forthcoming, as soon as I can find them on my hard drive...

I will say one thing about the night. It was so much fun! :-)

A Recipe - Taco Soup

2008-11-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

Yes, I think it's kind of cheating to post a recipe during NaBloPoMo, but it's late and I'm not inspired to post anything else tonight. :-)

Taco Soup

2 pounds browned ground beef (one pound was not enough last night!)
1 onion, chopped and sauteed with the beef
1 beer
1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can dark red kidney beans
2 cans Rotel (hot or mild)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 pack ranch dressing mix
1 pack taco seasoning

Directions:

Dump all ingredients in a big ol' crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh chopped onions, broken up tortilla chips and beer bread.

Friday Five - Five Things I Love About Our New House

2008-11-07T18:53:00.003-05:00

Five Things I Love About Our New House:

1. The patio
2. Our neighbors
3. Having a living room and a family room
4. The washer/dryer that came with the house
5. The view of the golf course

Love Thursday - United

2008-11-06T23:19:00.002-05:00

Love is having the opportunity to take 28 hours out of my life as a mom and drive to Ft. Lauderdale to go to an amazing concert.

Thank you's go out to Dan, for giving the okay for me to spend far too much money on this concert (nevermind the gas money to get to and from Ft. Lauderdale), to my parents for keeping the boys for me because Dan was out of town, and to Katie for giving me a bed to sleep in, dinner to eat, and Wii! Oh, and also for even finding out about the concert and getting the tickets. :-)

The chance to see Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith was nothing short of incredible. I could probably gush about the experience for days. In fact, as I was driving home today, I was listening to the radio and one of MWS's new songs came on the radio. As the DJ was saying that the two men were going to be making two last stops in Florida (and ending the tour), I called the station. The DJ, Melanie, let me gush and gush on the phone with her. Oh, and she even played my rave review on the air!

Seriously though, it was an amazing concert. Worthy of its own post, and most importantly, worthy of a spot in Love Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T00:25:00.003-05:00

(Michael W. Smith & Steven Curtis Chapman, on tour for the first time. I'll be watching them live tonight in Ft. Lauderdale. Can't wait!) Oh, sorry...that's not very wordless.

No matter who wins...

2008-11-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

God is STILL in control. Of this, I am sure.

Voting To-Do List

2008-11-03T23:34:00.002-05:00

Tasks completed:
1. Borrow (amazing) double stroller from a friend.
2. Arrange childcare should the line be longer than an hour.
3. Sync and charge iPod.
4. Grab my copy of Twilight to read.
5. Figure out where I'm supposed to vote.
6. Charge camera battery!

To-Do:
1. Pack lots of snacks and drinks to bribe kids with, should the line take a while.
2. Pack toys and books for kids so I can entertain them in line.
3. Don't forget to restock diaper stash.

I know some of you are probably wondering why I didn't just take advantage of early voting. Well, I decided that since I waited over FOUR hours voting in early voting with the 2004 election that I'd just take my chances on election day.

Plus, I really want to wear my "I Voted" sticker on election day. :-) I've heard there are lots of goodies waiting for those people who vote tomorrow. Ben & Jerry's is giving away ice cream, Starbucks is giving away coffee. But you need that darn sticker to get the yummy stuff. (Too bad the only convenient B&J's has closed down, and I don't drink coffee.)

All that to say, get out there and vote!

CAMERA!

2008-11-02T19:07:00.002-05:00

Tonight I picked up the second of my two anniversary gifts! Here it is.

It's still in the packaging, but as soon as the kids are safely tucked into bed I'll be learning all the ins and outs of it. We picked this one because it has video/sound capability, and also because it's so small it'll fit in my pocket. Very important feature when captures moments with twin toddlers. We will still heavily rely on Dan's awesome SLR for the really good stuff, but day to day life pictures will be snapped with this.

Yay!

It's that time of year!

2008-11-01T23:32:00.003-04:00

For the last week or so, I’ve been gearing up for 2008’s edition of NaBloPoMo. It happens every year in November. Why the powers that be choose the busiest time of the year is beyond me, but I’m making the commitment to write every day for a month. Although the rules of NaBloPoMo don’t say anything other than to write every day for a month, I felt like I needed a little more direction than that, so I’ve decided to take a few different approaches to this month. Lots of bloggers have certain days of the week that they write about something specific. I’ve chosen the three listed below.

1) Wordless Wednesday. I have several blogging friends who do this, and I think it’s pretty cool. I know some of my readers only come to check out the pictures I post, so I want to at least try to get one picture up each week.

2) Love Thursday. I miss taking the time to celebrate something good during the week, so I’m reinstating Love Thursday. In the past, this helped me focus on the little things that are good in each day.

3)Friday Five. I enjoy reading blogs with Friday Five’s in them, and each person has a different approach. Some people answer a series of five questions, while others make a list of five things that have something in common.

There are some other topics in the works, but you'll have to tune in to see what mysteries await in November! I’ve considered for a while taking a little bit more serious tone with the blog, and this may be the perfect time to do that. We’ll see.

Another recipe!

2008-10-27T23:02:00.004-04:00

By popular demand, my take on Muddy Buddies. (Also called Puppy Chow or Reindeer Droppings, depending on what part of the country you're from.)

MacDonald Buddies

Ingredients:

6 cups Crispix
3 cups Cheerios
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, measure your cereal; set aside.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High for one minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer, or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour half of the mixture into a 1 gallon ziploc. Add 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on wax paper to cool. Repeat with the remaining half of the cereal and powdered sugar.

Store in an airtight container, should any remain at the end of the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I should mention that I made the above recipe after my coveted caramel brownies committed suicide by falling out of the pan and onto the floor 30 minutes after coming out of the oven. Muddy Buddies were my consolation dessert. Apparently it was as well received as the caramel brownies would have been. Who would have thought it?

...and a recipe

2008-10-27T15:13:00.002-04:00

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 pound ground chicken, browned
1/2 cup wing sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Dump all the ingredients above into a small crockpot, and cook for two hours, taking a moment every thirty minutes to stir.

Serve with Multigrain Tortilla chips or another, far more inferior tortilla chip if you can't find those.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Oh my goodness, this is an amazing dip. I made it for the party on Saturday night, and after less than an hour, I was making it again because the first batch was gone! No, I can't take any real credit for the recipe, because I took the ingredients from two different recipes in the same style and made up one that sounded the best. Plus, I really wanted to use my little crock pot!

It is my intention to bring this to the next several parties that I have to attend, so if you plan to be at the same party as me, don't steal my recipe and bring it yourself. Or maybe you should, because it's so good, it will be gone in a flash!

My only regret? People ate it so quickly, that I didn't take a picture.

Lessons learned

2008-10-27T14:41:00.003-04:00

Dan and I had our first party in our new house on Saturday night. It was the first time 99.9% of the people we know had the chance to see it, so we worked hard to get all the boxes unpacked, get everything into its new home, and have the place look great.

When we first set the date for the party, which was thrown only because our dear friends Shane and Mikka were going to be in town, we had some serious goals in mind.

1. Get all the boxes unpacked.
2. Go through all the stuff we moved from one house to another and decide what to keep, what to sell, what to give away and what to toss out.
3. Have a garage sale and sell all the old stuff we didn't want, and the stuff that was too big for the new space.

We accomplished #2, and most of #3 with the help of Craigslist. I guess I could give myself a little credit here and say that we've even accomplished most of #1, with the exception of three boxes of my stuff that is now homeless since I lost my loft space (and my desk). Things were moving right along inside the house, and then bam! Dan went out of town.

Normally I like it when Dan travels the week before a party. I get to take my time, do lots of cleaning and prep work, arrange and re-arrange furniture and dishes. Then when he comes home on Friday night, I have a to-do list of things I couldn't do, and/or that I needed his help to accomplish.

However, this party is the first REAL party we've had since having children. Yeah, we've had friends over to hang out for the night, and even shipped the kids off to the grandparent's house so they could sleep in peace and we could tend to our friends. But this event was the first party we've had in over 17 months.

On Monday I found myself with a big to-do list. Grocery shopping for food to make. A trip to Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy new drapes and other house accessories. Carpets to vacuum. The last few boxes to unpack. Laundry. Floors to mop. Furniture to dust. And that's just part of the list of things to do on the inside of the house. So that first day of Dan's business trip, I started working on my list. Tuesday, I worked even harder to check things off. By Wednesday, even though so much was done, my attempts seemed futile.

It was Wednesday afternoon that I said to myself, "Screw it. These friends who are coming over to our house on Saturday have known me for 15 years. They know what my house can look like at its best, and they all seen it at its worst. Who am I trying to impress?" I decided that while my friends were important, and I did want them to have clean surfaces to sit, eat and walk on, my children were the MOST important. I'd been letting them fend for themselves a lot early last week. They play together well most of the time, but that wasn't the point.

In that moment, I got up and walked away from the vacuum cleaner and the boxes, and I played with my boys. We went on walks, and we played on patio. We stacked blocks, and read toys. We had a great time, just the three of us. Now, don't let yourself think that I didn't go back to the vacuum, the dust cloth, and the boxes while they slept, because I did. I just took some time to enjoy my kids.

Thanks to my dad, who came over and took care of all of the outside chores, Dan was able to get home Friday afternoon and give me a hand with the finishing touches on the inside. And because in the end we were able to accomplish so much together Friday and Saturday morning, we managed to sneak away as a family and go to a birthday party. And then Dan was able to attend a surprise party for a new friend at church. And when 6pm rolled around and there were still a few things that needed to be put away, we opened the door to the laundry room and used that to hide the last of the stuff.

Back to the beginning for a second. Remember that I said this was the first visit for 99.9% of the people coming to the party? Yes, the majority of those people wanted the Grand Tour of our home. As I walked our friends around our new home, pointing out the improvements we made (we being Dan, my mom and my dad), I even showed our friends the laundry room. The room that had three boxes still needing to be unpacked, baby gates with no home, and a couple of empty boxes that we hadn't broken down and thrown away. It was with great pride that I showed off this room. I had learned two lessons that week leading up to the party...

1. My children are my priority, not what my house looks like, or what people think about me.

2. My friends who have known me for 15 years, love me for who I am, and not what my house looks like on the night of a party.

Technically, I learned one more lesson...

3. I have amazing parents. I already knew that, of course, but it has started to sink in a little more. They pitched in around our house last week, even though they were both sick with colds their grandchildren had given them the week before. They babysat on Saturday night for our party, even though the boys had very little nap and had the potential to be quite cranky. They made sure our needs were met, just so we could have a good time with an old group of friends. Thanks, Mom & Pop.

Thoughts on Halloween

2008-10-21T23:33:00.002-04:00

I remember watching a debate happen amongst friends at a church event years ago. Of all the things that could have been debated, the topic at hand was Halloween. Some parents were "pro-Halloween" and others were "anti-Halloween". It was an interesting conversation indeed, and one that I couldn't speak to, because I didn't have children of my own. Who was I to have much of an opinion about what parents should or shouldn't do with their kids when it comes to Halloween?

Not long after that event, and e-mail was sent out to the old MYAM group from one of the leaders. Even though the article featured in that e-mail was not geared towards me (after all, I had no kids), I saved it, because I just knew that people would have strong opinions one way or another on being a Christian and allowing my children to Trick or Treat on Halloween.

I'd forgotten about that article until five minutes ago, when I was reading the blog of our pastor's wife, Kelly. Apparently someone has said to her that she "shouldn't let her children trick or treat" or some such thing. It dawned on me that I'd read an article, written from a Christian perspective, that allowing children to celebrate Halloween can be a good thing. I forwarded the article to her, and I'll share it here too.

Trick-or-Treating with Purpose

Kim Wier, Contributing Writer

You may think it is impossible for God to redeem Halloween in its present state, but that is all the better, for when He accomplishes it -- He alone will receive the glory. We have discovered that in the case of Halloween, the truth really can set you free -- free to celebrate the power and goodness of God as you do so in the spirit of remembrance for which it was first established

One simple but meaningful way to begin redeeming the season is to embrace the fun of trick-or-treating by changing the focus. The early faith heroes died because they wanted others to have the opportunity to hear the life-giving message that Jesus is the Son of God. Begin planting seeds of eagerness to share the gospel in the hearts of your children through the fun of going door to door.

First, help them think of different kinds of people who need to hear about Jesus. Let them dress up like one of those groups of people. Children are so creative. They may dress like a sea creature as they remember how sailors need Jesus. It could be a ninja as they consider those on the Asian continent. Football players, cowboys and policemen need to hear the good news. Depending on your child's age, you can make this a more significant event.

* Talk about how people who have not accepted Jesus have been "tricked" into believing they don't need Him, but that God wants them to receive the greatest "treat," salvation through Jesus and eternal life in heaven.

* Make a list of some specific ways that your children could pray for that group of people to be prepared to hear the gospel. Include asking God to send workers into that harvest field.

* Each night for a week before or after Halloween, pray with your children for those people.

* Look together at Jesus' commission given to us in Matthew 28:18-20. Explain to your children that we should go and make disciples everywhere in the world. Take some time to talk about how each of us can obey that command right now and in the future.

* On the night of Halloween, as you prepare to send your children out to trick-or-treat, be sure to go over safety rules and accompany them from house to house.

* It is always a good idea to remind them to say thank you at each place you visit. Have a great time enjoying a fun experience with your children that will result in spiritual training as well.

* After you arrive home and admire the abundance of candy, finish the night with a Scripture verse that promises sweet rewards for those who do God's work on earth. "It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing [good things] when he returns" (Luke 12:43). And, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:15).

* Help your children see that while trick-or-treating can be a fun time one night a year, following God and sharing the good news of Jesus is an adventure that lasts a whole lifetime.

* Finish your trick-or-treat night with prayer as you tuck them into bed. Thank God that someone told you about Jesus, and ask Him to use your family to do the same for others.

God has not given us a spirit of fear. He has given us a sound mind and the gift of love. Halloween, originally a church holiday, should not have Christians running scared. Instead, we can celebrate without selling out when we "remember those who have gone before us" and follow in their footsteps.

This article was adapted from "Redeeming Halloween: Celebrating without Selling Out" (Focus on the Family and Tyndale House). Copyright 2004 by Kim Wier and Pam McCune.

In case you haven't figured it out, we're allowing our children to Trick or Treat. After all, who wants to buy all that candy when our kids can get it by knocking on our neighbor's doors? :-)

Yeah, yeah. It's been a while.

2008-10-12T20:26:00.004-04:00

Life has been busy at that MacDonald home. Seems like we've had some kind of activity going on every weekend for the last several months! Between activities with GOMOTT, church related things or working on our new house, something has taken up all of our time.

A few weeks ago the boys had a photo shoot with a local photographer who is looking to build her portfolio. Here's a glimpse of some of the proofs...

Close-up of Nicholas

Matthew

This is one of the last pictures taken that day. Nicholas is just about to burst into tears, and Matthew had a fit when we tried to take his stick away.

I was amazed at how good the boys were through the whole photo shoot. We were outside with them for almost two hours. They had three change of clothes, and had to endure a stroller ride from Park Avenue all the way to the lake at Rollins. Not necessarily a long trip, but when you're 20 months old, it seemed like it too forever!

Dan holding Nicholas

I think this is my favorite picture ever, save for the first pictures we got of the boys when we received their referral, and the pictures Dan took when we were at the orphanage.

You can go to the photographer's weblog here: http://www.connierphotography.typepad.com/ This is a link to her blog, where she puts sneak peaks of her sessions for everyone to see. You'll be able to see the pictures above, plus another one if you check out her site. You can also go to her main website here: http://www.connierphotography.com/ If you check out that site, you can see the boys in some of her portfolio pages. :-)

GOMOTT

2008-09-09T15:27:00.002-04:00

Last May I joined the local twins club chapter, better known as GOMOTT (Greater Orlando Mother's of Twins & Triplets). It's a pretty large organization, and if I'm not mistaken, we're the largest club in the state. We're part of a bigger organization, FOMOTC (Florida Organization of Mother's of Twins Club) and our parent group is the NOMOTC (National Organization of Mother's of Twins Club). Phew! That's a lot of letters and a lot of acronyms. :-) Now that all of that is in the way, I'll tell you a little bit about GOMOTT and what all of this means to our family...

Over the last 17 months I have become heavily involved in the club. It started off slowly, just attending the once monthly general meeting, and progressing to clubwide playdates and "Class of 2012-2013" playdates (the year the boys will start Kindergarten!), and eventually working up to joining with women for Mom's Night Out. I started meeting and connecting with some of the other mom's in the group, which has been such a saving grace for this mom of twins! I have many friends with children, and I love spending time with them, but there is something about the camaraderie that comes from another mother of multiples that you can't find with a mom of singletons (even if she has more than one singleton).

This past May I talked to a couple of people on the board about becoming more directly involved with the club, and found myself nominated for the position of 3rd VP. Dan and I talked it over, and came to the decision that I would take the job, if voted in, but only if I dropped something else from my plate. At that point I started attending our monthly board meetings, and found them to be at least as much fun as our general meetings. We have a lot of fun together, but still manage to get great things accomplished during our monthly gatherings. When I was told that this would be the case (by someone who was almost begging me to take the job) I thought she was lying to me, but really, she wasn't. :-)

In July I was officially voted in to my position and took over in August. Essentially my job entails four things: 1) taking care of membership, 2) keeping a database of all members, their spouses & children, along with other pertinent information, 3) putting together a directory for each member, and 4) working on the meetup.com site. It's quite a bit of work, but I love all of it! Of every job on the board, this is the one I am best suited to do. I have the computer skills and the writing skills to tackle 1, 2, & 4 and hopefully I will learn the skills to do number 3 before November!

The new job and its responsibilities means an extra night away from home each month and a little bet less "free time" during nap time or the evenings, but I know it helps make GOMOTT a better club, one filled with great mom's and awesome kids for my children to befriend.

House News!

2008-08-25T23:58:00.003-04:00

In other news, we are officially home owners of only one house! We closed on the house on Cullowhee Ct. this afternoon around 5pm. We're happy to have only one house payment, but I'll be honest and say that I shed a few tears at the closing table. I'm not sure where they come from, and they were short lived.

I hope the guy who bought our house loves it as much as we did. We had so many good times there, and I hope he does too. I also hope he does things like keep up with the butterfly garden. I also hope he doesn't change the nursery, but one day gets married and has his own children in the nursery we loved so much. I hope he's a good neighbor to our neighbors and friends.

And that's the big news around here. :-)

What a difference four years can make

2008-08-25T23:44:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was Alex's birthday. He would have been four years old, had life been different. Our lives are so different now, more so than I ever thought possible. We didn't have much time to even reflect on life since having him, but as I watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, I remembered watching and Olympic game of soccer in the hospital. And then I remembered the strange medications they gave me to help me sleep, which made me dream of kangaroos playing soccer and honeycomb cereal. But I digress...

Most people know that after we had Alex, we attended a grief counseling group run through Florida Hospital called HEAL. It's an amazing support, and we were so blessed to meet so many wonderful people through the group. In particular, we still stay in close touch with the Brantley's and the Dullmeyer's. I wish I could find the one picture we all have of just the three couples just for comparison, but I don't. So you'll have to imagine us, three couples, brought together by the mutual losses of our children, Alex, EJ, and Julie, learning how to live again, how to be happy and how to go on. We spent a lot of time that first year with them, and we grew into great friends. Ones that some people look a lifetime to find.

And now our lives have gone from three couples mourning the loss of our children, to three couples with six children! Life is surely different. And one of the things that is so neat about our little group is that from the oldest-Josiah, to the youngest-Adelyne, there's only 20 months difference. Our group managed to give birth and/or adopt 6 children in just over a year's time. Crazy! You can't see it in this picture, but Laurie and Ed have baby number 7 on the way.

(L - R) Dan, Nicholas, Shannon & Matthew MacDonald, Scooter, Adelyne, Cathy & Colton Brantley and Jesse, Ed, Laurie, (baby) & Josiah Dullmeyer

Why are you using Skribit?

2008-08-03T15:03:00.004-04:00

Look a little to the right on this page...

See it? A little thing called Skribit? I put that there for you, dear reader.

While I would like to continue writing about the mundane lives we lead, I know it might not be exactly what you're hoping to read about when you come here. So participate in the little widget to the right, and tell me what you wish I'd write about.

Yes, I'll continue to write about our boring lives. But maybe, just maybe, you will find it interesting because you've helped shape the blog to be a little more interesting. :-)

July has been a little bit busy!

2008-07-29T14:22:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's been over three weeks since I've last written anything. Since I get long winded at times, and have been bitten by the writing bug the last couple of days, I'll do what I can to organize this and keep it concise.

July 8th: I come down with a stomach virus, that we think is a 24 hour thing. Bounce back very quickly the same day.
July 9th: The boys and I pack up and hit the splash park for the greater part of the morning to hang out with the Alich's, who were in town for the week. We have a blast playing with all of the kids. There were 11 kids between 4 families. It was a little crazy, but definitely fun. Dan's parents arrive late that afternoon, and babysit for Dan and me, as we head in different directions.
July 10th: Stomach virus is apparently NOT over, and I end up in bed the whole morning and part of the afternoon. It appears that Matthew has a touch of it as well. Not the best way to start out a weeklong trip with the grandparents.
July 11th: Everyone seems okay, but we decide to take it easy and hang around at home all day.
July 12th: Nicholas comes down with the bug, and I get my first experience with a kid who is throwing up. Not fun at all.
July 13th: Matthew and Nicholas are both sick. I'm finally better.
July 14th: Everyone seems better, but we still stick close to home...just in case.
July 15th: The day the grandparents go home. This happens to be the only day everyone seemed well enough to go out for a while. So the boys and I took the grandparents to the bowling alley. It was the boys second trip to the bowling alley, and they seemed to have a good time. They definitely had a better grasp of what was going on this time, and insisted on carrying the ball. So funny.
Somehow manage to pass the bug on to my mom and dad! Sorry! :-(
July 18th: MOVING DAY!
July 19th-today: Unpack boxes, try to arrange the house, try to corral kids in rooms that are safe for them to play in.

There's a quick glimpse into what life has been like these last three weeks. Here's to hoping life has settled down a bit...

Airport Food...

2008-07-07T21:55:00.004-04:00

Since the topic of the month is food, I feel it only appropriate to write a bit about what I had for dinner in the Newark airport last night.

Last night I was dropped off at the airport after a quick weekend trip to visit my dear friend Jenn and her amazing husband Daniel. I elected not to pack a snack to take, knowing I would be at the airport two hours before my flight and would have the opportunity to get something there. Plane travel and me eating don't usually work well, hence the reason I said no. Although my flight wasn't leaving until 8:50pm and I would be arriving quite late (Midnight), I had planned to just deal with being hungry, should that happen. That is, until I saw that my flight had been delayed by 40 minutes. And then delayed again by another 33 minutes, putting me at a projected departure time of 10:03pm.

It was then that I began scouring the airport for a little dinner. Now, for some perspective on the time, keep in mind that it's 6:45pm, which gave me plenty of time to eat and digest my dinner so as not to have an upset stomach on the way home. I passed a Caio Bella, which was seriously calling my name. Boy did the gelato look good. But I ignored the cries from the stand (and my tummy) and looked for something more substantial. I looked and looked. And looked some more. The airport had your standard fare. Starbucks. Miami Subs. Manchu Wok. McDonald's. Nathan's Hot Dogs. The Grove. It even had two different diners. Nothing, and I mean nothing, sounded appealing.

I had given up hope of finding something appealing, and then I spotted the Ben & Jerry's. I jumped in line thinking that if nothing else, I can get a smoothie. So I waited. It seemed like forever that I stood there in line, watching everyone drool over the Phish Food and the Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch. Eventually I gave up the wait and settled on McDonald's. Shocked? Yes, so was I. I haven't liked (or even eaten at) a McDonald's since I was 4 years old and they tricked me by putting minced up onion on my burger and letting me think it was rice! But I remembered their trickery and ordered my cheeseburger with no onion. I also got the smalled fry and drink possible. (In retrospect, I could have ordered a kid's meal for less money and I would have gotten a prize!)

It wasn't the worst meal I've ever eaten, although I did only eat 3/4 of the burger and 2/3 of the fries. Based on some of the food coming out of other restaurants (Ben & Jerry's and Caio Bella excluded) it wasn't even the worst looking food. It probably wasn't even the worst for me food. And when my flight finally took off (at 11:30pm!!!!), I was definitely glad I decided to bite the bullet and try Mickey D's again. After all, who wants to eat dinner at 2:30am, when their flight finally arrives at their destination? Not me!

My awesome twin mama friends!

2008-07-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

The real icing on the cake for this weekend was getting to meet in person some amazing women; Nisha and Kristin. Nisha and Kristin are friends of Jenn's, both women she initially met online years ago. They both have twin boys who are older than Matthew and Nicholas, and have been such a blessing to me in the last year. In particular, Kristin has sent me two huge boxes of clothes for the boys, with another one coming soon it sounds like! They are both such neat girls, and it was so fun to put voices with names, faces and lives. We sat together during the shower, sharing twin stories about the various gifts Jenn was opening. Although Jenn and Daniel are going to leave the greater NYC area soon after the birth of her babies, I am so thankful she has such great women so close to her.

Here we are, four great moms of twins! :-) Thank God for the Internet, because it brought us all together!
(Left to Right): Kristin, Nisha, Jenn and Shannon :-)

My second baby shower in as many weeks!

2008-07-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

Just a few pictures below of the event today. Jenn's mom (Linda) bought all of the decorations and made all of the favors. My part in the day was helping prepare all of the food (and boy was there food!), helping with the decorating and keeping track of the gifts.

A long view of the table that some of the guests sat at. In the background is the amazing cake we were served!

Another view of the table with the second on in the background. (Jenn and Daniel live in a great 1 bedroom apartment on the Hudson river with a neat view of Manhattan! For the size of this place, we were able to fit a lot of people in here!)

A close up on one of the place settings. Linda went all out for the decorations, including fresh flowers and flower garland, several shower favors, place cards and confetti. For an added touch, Daniel made giraffe and elephant chocolate candies for everyone, which were placed in a flower pot filled with Double Bubble bubble gum.

One view of the amazing cake. It was a giant cupcake, made with a mold from Williams Sonoma. The cake was a lemon bundt cake, complete with chunks of crystalized lemon peel. It was frosted with buttercream icing, and was so delicious!

Off to another land...

2008-07-04T06:03:00.000-04:00

I've said to several people that I am "off to another land", as the title says. Most people think I'm flying off to Europe or some other far away place. Let me set the record straight and say that I am off to Newark, New Jersey. And on purpose!

My friend Jenn, who currently lives in West New York, NJ with her husband Daniel is having a baby shower tomorrow. I am so excited to be a part of her shower, and part of her special day. I will be helping her mom pull the event off, and am hoping for a great day for them both. Jenn is just under 25 weeks pregnant with twins after quite a rough road to pregnancy. Her pregnancy went amazingly well until 19 weeks, when she found herself on strict (only get up to go to the bathroom) bedrest. She's been in and out of the hospital since bedrest began, and endured a cerclage two weeks ago. But the babies are doing great, and growing like crazy.

So, say a little prayer that the flight goes well, and the event goes smoothly. More from NJ!

Give me a little credit...

2008-07-01T23:51:00.002-04:00

So June has 30 days in it. I'm happy to say that while I didn't blog every single day in the month of June like I had hoped, I did post 23 times. Pretty good, if you ask me, especially considering how crazy the month turned out to be.

July's theme is "Food", and I haven't decided what that looks like for this blog. Maybe I'll post recipes. Maybe I'll come up with witty stories to share about feeding 18 month old twins. Or maybe I'll be satisfied with just writing something every day. Who knows! :-)

But for today, here's a picture that my friend Kim took of the boys on Sunday. It captures their love of food and their love of Snack Traps, and it's a pretty cute picture to boot!

Fun Day

2008-06-29T22:19:00.002-04:00

I have come to realize that I am not creative with my titles. Oh well...

We were able to spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool with friends. It was most definitely a low-key event, but fun all the same. We were given the privilege to meet the girl that our friends are in the process of adopting. She seemed to have a good time here, after warming up (haha) to the cool water in the pool. Her parents-to-be were naturals with her, balancing fun and learning throughout the afternoon. The little girl loved the boys, and played very well with them while they were in the pool. She also took to Jack quickly, and showered him with lots of attention and affection.

We also got the chance to hang with Kim Tres, someone who is dear to my heart, even though I haven't had much opportunity to spend time with over the years. She was moving out of the UCF group as I was moving in, but we have many mutual friends, so I have the privilege of seeing her when she's in town. And really, she's not here too often, since until this year, she spend the last six years in Russia teaching. Lucky for all of us, she made a quick visit to Orlando, before she heads off to Qatar to teach for the next two years!

Tyger came over as well, not wanting to miss a chance to hang out with her "little men", as she likes to call Nicholas and Matthew. Having Kim here was an added bonus, but meeting J & T's soon-to-be daughter was the main draw, I'm sure.

All in all, it was a great day around here. It felt like what Sunday's should feel like...an opportunity for a great church service, combined with a lazy afternoon filled with good friends and family. Here's to hoping for many more Sundays like this one, both here and at our new home.

(Did you notice that I threw in the theme for this month, Home? :-))

Baby Shower!

2008-06-28T21:58:00.001-04:00

I've thrown quite a few parties for friend's over the years. Mostly wedding showers, with a small mixture of birthday parties thrown in for variety. But today I helped throw my second baby shower! It was quite an experience, and came off without a hitch.

One might say I was the primary point of contact for the event. I guess that's because I asked Anne if I could throw her a shower first. Then a connection was made with her friend Rachel, who also wanted to throw a shower. From there I sent e-mails to a few of the girls from church and a little shower team was created. Let me say that although I am not one who typically likes doing things by "committee", this event has softened my view on group projects. 99% of the planning for this event was done via e-mail. I tried to be as thorough as possible in my initial contact, hoping to get all of the big things assigned early on. Getting everyone to pick and choose a responsibility seemed to work pretty well, and each person was off and running. I touched base with the girls every week or two, getting opinions on invitations and dates/times for the event, but pretty much tried to stay out of the way.

Those who know me well might say that I'm a bit of a control freak. I've softened that image over the years (or at least tried to), and I hope that anyone who witnessed Anne's baby shower can testify that I wasn't trying to control anything. (Although I did desperately want to win something during game time, because let's face it, I'm a little bit competative!)

All that is to say that I worked with some wonderful women. Kelly, Katie, Hilary and Rachel were a dream team. Each person stepped up and took on a major task for the day, and for that I am so grateful. And while my own mom doesn't even know Anne, she came through in a major way. She lent me the plates, punch bowl and cups, and vases. She arranged flowers, helped met set up the room, and generally made the room look beautiful. Oh, and the bonus was that she and my dad kept the boys all weekend so I could concentrate on making the baby shower a success. (Thanks!)

My Wednesday Night Girls, (my Bible study) came through in a huge way. Maruxa offered some supplies, which was wonderful. Maggie stuffed favors and wrapped silverware. Loni did the shopping for our gift. Kim (and others) stuck around and helped with clean up. I love those girls!

But the best thing about yesterday was being able to sit back and watch the event come together, with no snafu's (other than forgetting a can opener!). Watching Anne get showered with love and prayers and gifts for her baby boy was simply amazing. I must say that there is no one more deserving of such a special day than Anne, and I am so thrilled that I was able to play a small role in it.

Impromtu Showing

2008-06-24T23:36:00.000-04:00

Until last Saturday, it had been weeks since we'd had a showing on the Cullowhee house. Yes, there's been some interest in it, based on how few fliers are left in the tube, but no one has been inside to see it. Unfortunately, the fact that no one has been here for a showing since last month means that the house had slipped a little bit in the "you must keep the house show worthy at all times" state.

Of course, this meant that the phone rang Friday night at 6:00pm, complete with a call from our realtor saying someone was going to come see the place the next day. Thankfully my parents were here to babysit, and they were willing to do some of the straightening up necessary for the house to be show worthy. The house was seen on Saturday, as always, we're hopeful that it went well and the people are really interested.

All that to say, thank goodness that we had the showing on Saturday. Because of the showing on Saturday, when a realtor came knocking on our door at 3:30pm this afternoon, it meant that Dan (who was home alone) only needed about 15 minutes to run around and put dishes in the dishwasher, pick up the few toys on the floor and make the bed.

I really do wish this house would sell. Yes, there are obvious reasons why we want that to happen...1) not having to pay two mortgages, 2) freeing up a little money so we can buy a stove that was made in the 21st century, 3) kicking our butts into high gear to move. But I want this house to sell, because it really is a great house. It's in a nice neighborhood with good people surrounding it. I don't want it to sit empty and alone. I want people to come here and love it, and make it their own home. It's ready for new people and new memories, and I hope it can have that very soon.

Busy times ahead...

2008-06-23T22:42:00.002-04:00

So it seems that our relatively low key summer thus far is quickly coming to an end. In the next three weeks we have the following things on our calendar:

Anne's baby shower in Orlando (June 28)
Kate, Dan's sister visiting before starting her new job (Sometime between June 30-July 5)
A quick trip for me to New Jersey for the weekend (July 4-6)
Jenn's baby shower in New Jersey (July 5)
Dan travels (July 7-11)
Dan's parents in town (July 9-15)

To say that things will be a little busy around here is quite the understatement. Add into that working like crazy on the new house (well, Dan and my parents are working on the new house) and it's quite a whirlwind around here.

Family Day is finally here!

2008-06-19T23:49:00.004-04:00

Back in January, Dan and I started talking about what we were going to do to celebrate the first anniversary of our adoption. Visions of a huge blowout party, something similar to what our friend's Laurie and Ed did for their son Josiah when he turned one, danced in our heads. We talked about inviting everyone we knew, and even made sure that we told enough people to save the date that we would be sure family would be in town. Rest assured, dear reader, this party did not happen. You didn't miss an invitation to a huge MacDonald party.

Since those first discussions of Huge Blowout Party, things have happened. Well, one major thing has happened. The house on Burning Tree Lane came into our lives and has sucked up all of our "free time". But it's all good. Yes, I'm a little bummed that we're not having the big party we talked about, but we had a great time celebrating, just the four of us.

If you know me at all, you know that I love Disney. Disney has connected to it so many great memories, so it is no surprise that we spent our first Family Day at Magic Kingdom. The boys really seemed to enjoy the park today, probably more than ever before. I suppose this will continue to be so, as they get a little bigger and can comprehend a little more of what their little eyes and ears are taking in. They danced in their strollers twice, once each way when we passed the show at Cinderella's Castle. They rode rides. They pointed out every balloon they saw. They put on bathing suits and played in the water. They had french fries for the first time! (Can you believe it?) Not one tear was shed the entire day, except by the Mom, who so desperately wanted their pictures taken with Chip & Dale (twins) or Tweedledee & Tweedledum (more twins). They went peacefully to sleep in strollers as we were leaving. (Note, not the best time for them to go to sleep, but we'll take it.) Best part of the day at Disney? Realizing it really is a "Small World". See?

After we got home from Disney, the boys got to have a snack on the special Elmo blanket and watch Elmo on TV. (Yes, Elmo is their favorite thing right now.) Once that was was over, everyone changed clothes and we were off to Lac Viet to have a Vietnamese dinner in honor of today. While I don't know that Disney will be a tradition every year (although one can dream!), I do think going to Vietnamese food will be. The boys loved their meal, and Dan and I enjoyed ours as well.

It's been a wonderful year. I can't believe it's over, and we're on to a new one. It feels like Nicholas and Matthew have been with us forever, and yet, it feels like just yesterday that they were given to us.

Deep but not profound

2008-06-18T19:52:00.003-04:00

On the eve that marks the one year anniversary of the adoption of Nicholas and Matthew, I feel like I should have these deep, profound thoughts to write about. Instead, I look around my house, filled with toys, sippy cups, bibs, laundry, and so many other things that were foreign to this space a year ago, I can't think of anything much to say.

So tonight, instead of reflecting on that last night we had as just the two of us, I will clean the living room and kitchen, do a couple of loads of laundry, pack the diaper bag, and get to bed early. Tonight I'm confident I will get more sleep than I did this night one year ago.

PSA

2008-06-18T19:51:00.001-04:00

Yes, I know. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday posts are missing. Rest assured they will be posted soon enough. :-)

Family Day

2008-06-17T23:39:00.001-04:00

Dan and I had several discussions about what we should call June 19th. Should it be "Gotcha Day", "Family Day", "Adoption Day", etc. We even went so far as to poll the internet and find out what other people called their adoption day. A little background...

In Vietnam, what makes your adoption official is a ceremony called the "Giving and Receiving". I have no idea why it's called that, but it is what it is. When I'm on the various Yahoo groups centered around Vietnam adoptions, I also talk about the g&r. I honestly have no idea what other countries call it, but as the years of international adoption have gone by, the term "Gotcha Day" has been coined to refer to the day a family adopted, or "got", their baby. Generally speaking, I hear that term in the China communities.

We decided that for our family, we didn't want to use the phrase "Gotcha Day". Although it has no negative connotations for us when we say it, or even when we hear it, it does leave a bad taste in the mouths of many in the adoption community. For some, the phrase can be construed as you "got" your child and ran away, never to return. Or, maybe that you "got" them from the depths of poverty. Or, you "got" them in your grasp. (I guess I should really research how the prhase was coined, because I really have no idea.)

Anyway, I did a poll on several of the groups I frequent. I had a little bit of feedback to my question, which was what we should call June 19th. "Family Day", "Adoption Day", "Gotcha Day" were the most frequent replies. I had wanted something a little more personal than those phrases and I really liked the one my friend Shana and her family use, which is "Familyversary", the anniversary of when they became a family. Very cute. I had a couple of other suggestions, but for the life of me I couldn't remember them...

But in the end, we decided to call it "Family Day", because it's the day that our family of two merged with the boys' family of two, and became one complete family.

...but so is my heart

2008-06-16T19:56:00.000-04:00

I don't write much about the stupid things people say to me when I'm out with the boys. Yes, I get the occasional comment like I did back at Easter, but generally speaking the things I hear are benign. However, benign does not mean not stupid. I hear the dumbest things on a daily basis. Here's a sample:

1. Are they twins?
2. Are they boys?
3. Double trouble!
4. Wow, you must be busy!
5. Which one is older?
6. How do you tell them apart?
7. Do you ever dress them alike?
8. Are they the same/Which one is friendlier/Do they have the same personality/etc.?
9. You have your hands full!
10. Better you than me!

And more. After doing a quick search online to see what questions other mom's have been asked, I think the questions/comments above are the top 10 that I hear on a very regular basis.

Generally speaking, if someone asks if Matthew and Nicholas are twins, I just smile and say yes. Actually, for a lot of the comments, I just smile and nod. Typically I don't have the time to stand around in the grocery store/Target/Costco and have an entire conversation based around one comment. Also, I like to consider myself a little bit witty (read: sarcastic) at times, and can often come up with quick one-liners, especially during movies, long sermons, lectures, etc. But I just don't seem to have the same skill when it comes to answering the questions/statements above.

So here's a quick try...

1. Are they twins? "Well, Duh!" (This phrase spoken in front of my parents when they were out with the boys for lunch. Apparently the waitress asked if the boys were twins and her friend answered with that little gem. I wish I could have witnessed that. I might have wet my pants from laughter.)

2. Are they boys? "According to the referral picture we have of them where they are naked from the waist down." (Yes, it's true. One of the pictures we received of Nicholas and Matthew shows them with shirts on and nothing else. We have edited that picture for public view.)

3. Double Trouble! "No, double the love, double the kisses, double the hugs, double the happiness." (One day I'll say this, because it runs through my head each time someone says that phrase to me.)

4. Wow, you must be busy! "Well, duh. But I'm not any busier than any other mom."

5. Which one is older? "Nicholas." (Yes, that's the answer to the question of which one is older. At least, that's the answer as best as we know it, because, hello! We weren't there for the birth!)

6. How do you tell them apart? "Matthew wears blue and Nicholas wears green." (Okay, this one is legitimate under a couple of circumstances. a) When it's a child care employee at the YMCA, church, etc. b) When you are actually going to spend time with my children and not just be a passerby in the grocery store/Target/Costco."

7. Do you ever dress them alike? To borrow a phrase from earlier, "Well, duh!" (Yes, I get asked this question when they are dressed alike. And for those wondering, it's probably 60/40 dressed alike. It's too cute not to do it!)

8. Are they the same, etc.? "It varies from week to week." (Because, really, it does.)

9. Your hands are full. "Yes, but so is heart." (I have yet to use that phrase. I'm not sure why.)

10. Better you than me! "Yes, I think so too!" (Again, haven't had much opportunity to say that either.)

Deep down, I know why people say the things they do. Really, I do. I know, because even as a mother of twins, I find myself asking the same question, "Are they twins?" when I'm out in public and see children who look like they could be twins. I know people ask the question because they are trying to strike up a conversation, or they want me to know that they are admiring my children and not stalking me/us in the store. I get it. And that's why, when I get asked the more benign questions, I just smile and answer politely, and leave the snarky comments to swirl in my head. But really, I'd much rather someone tell my that my twins are cute and wish me well.

Yes, my hands are full, but so is my heart. If only everyone could be this blessed.

Lowe's

2008-06-14T22:47:00.000-04:00

We made our first trip to Lowe's as a family to buy things for the new house. Most notably, I was able to pick out my own cabinets for my awesome new laundry room. (Now, please note that I currently have an awesome laundry room. This one is just awesome because it's in my new house!) That was super fun!

We also got lots of boring stuff...primer, outlet covers and new outlets, light switches, a doorbell, drywall mud. But the other cool thing we bought was some new lighting. We don't know if we'll use them yet, since they're recessed lights, but we couldn't beat the price. They were on clearance, and the guy working the lighting section, Joshua, said that if we wanted them he'd sell them to us for $2.00 each. So $16 later and we had lots of new lights. Now we just need a place to put them! :-)

It's too bad we weren't in the market for a new wall sconces, because Joshua had a particularly special sconce that he was willing to part with for only a nickel.