Bag Ladies

So the new thing for the girls now, is meandering from floor to floor of our home carrying around many many bags filled with toys, books, dolls, and pretty much any tchotchke that happens to be in their path (I have found remotes, hair binders, brushes, cotton balls, plastic dinosaurs and coasters).  Usually it is 3 bags, sometimes 4, and many times it includes carrying additional items like a large plastic car or a stroller, or in this case a small crib and baby. They will follow me around the house and if I am doing chores I may only be on a floor for a few minutes, so really, its quite smart if their intention is to be in the same room as me, lol.

Stella on her way to floor 2 with her belongings.

Ah, summer

Why does it feels like summer is almost over by the time the Fourth of July arrives? I mean, we still have 66% of it left don't we? We aren't supposed to be on the downward trajectory to fall yet, right? Maybe its because all the swimsuits are on clearance and the back-to-school sales are starting... Maybe its because June is now over and I hardly remember it... Maybe its because the weather has been funky this year and it just started getting really hot and balmy... Well, one good thing about it "feeling" like summer is over, is that it motivates me to get my summer on, and fast.

So in the spirit of this independence day weekend, I am freeing myself to stop worrying about the impending fall colors and get to work. I mean, there is still plenty of time for sweaty bike rides, gloppy sunblock applications, sand stuck in uncomfortable places, mosquito bites, sticky ice cream fingers, dirty inflatable pool water, and voluptuous air conditioning bills! On the flip side, there is still plenty of time for slow meandering bicycle trips with fam and friends, beautiful sunny days, build towering sand castles and listen to the ocean's waves, getting bit by a bug or two... but while enjoying an outdoor concert or meal, delicious ice cream, refreshing cold wading pools, and while the AC bills aren't so appreciated, the AC itself is, so...
 In the last week we have accomplished many of these summer pleasures, so I really shouldn't be complaining. And next weekend we will be hitting the beach to make some of those sand castles and play in those ocean waves!

Bier, Wurst, & Trampolines

We took a mini vacation last weekend to our great neighbor state of Pennsylvania. We drove first to Philly and got a free hotel room (courtesy of credit card points, so maybe not really 'free', but...) right on the river by the Ben Franklin bridge. We stopped at a beer distributor and grabbed a case of Summit Red Ale (which is unavailable in Maryland) and to date we only have a few left after sharing (and drinking) the beloved MN brew.

We ate dinner at one of our fave spots right on South St, Brauhaus Schmitz, an authentic German watering hole (and eatery). I think this was the 3rd time we went and while I am sure there are many great restaurants in Philly, we can't pull ourselves away from this Wurst and Bier oasis. We ordered sauerkraut fritters and homemade leberwurst (liverwurst) to start, and continued on with the massive Butcher's Plate that included pork shank, a huge pork chop, a bratwurst and spicy sausage, some more leberwurst, all on top of a mountain of sauerkraut and a huge potato dumpling. In addition, we couldn't resist ordering a couple sides of spaetzle and cucumber salad. Naturally, we sipped a few beers with this feast after having to select from a massive beer list. Then we topped it all off with an Apfel Strudel and Apfel Schnapps. The only downside is that we couldn't really save our leftovers since we were traveling! We were STUFFED so the 30 minute walk back to our hotel helped:)

Post eating, on our 'balcony' table at Brauhaus

The next day we hit the road to Coates, PA to visit Shelly (my mom's cousin, so second cousin??) who I haven't seen in what we think is 20 years!!! She has a great place in the country with a nice spread of land, beautiful gardens, and it was great to see she is a solar panel user!! She made us a wonderful lunch and we got to play with her 3 energetic dogs, who would squeal with anticipation until the ball was thrown:) She also has a huge trampoline that the girls got the hang of pretty quickly and spent a good chunk of time jumping and rolling around on. There was a really neat and intriguing cemetery (very small) next to her house with old grave stones dating from the early 1800s (maybe earlier), but really cool to explore.

The trampoline electrified their red hair as they were jumping- cute!

We look forward to heading out to her place again, it doesn't hurt that we found out that Victory Brewing Company is just minutes from her house as well! Thanks again Shelly!

"Where are your Manners??"

I usually think of this phrase being spout out by an adult (usually a parent) when their child burps really loud in public, among other things. While it''s embarrassing, it's not exactly harmful.

Yesterday, Dave was playing outside with our girls. There were two 3-year old girls in the neighborhood that were outside as well. One of the girls hit the other one and the girl began to cry. She ran back to her mom and her mom said "Don't cry, hit her back!"

I was floored on a couple different levels. First, that the mom actually said this to her child (did she actually think that was the 'right' thing to do?); second, that our kids will be influenced by their peers more and more as they grow.

There has been a lot of literature that argues kids are really influenced more by their peers than their own parents (what???? AAAH!). Judith Harris wrote a popular book in the late 90's called the "Nurture Assumption". She argues that "besides passing on genes, parents' nurturing probably has less impact over the long-term than other aspects of children's environment - such as their peers." (pbs.org) When you think about it, it makes sense. In order for a child to survive socially in their environment they tend to take on their peers accents, attitudes, and gestures. This is why a child raised in the US with foreign parents will talk like their peers (American accent) as opposed to their parents. Hmmm... do I want Lucy and Stella to take on the Baltimore accent? :) Is the Minnesota one any better? :)

This does not mean that we as parents don't still have a tremendous responsibility. We may not have total control over their peer situation, but we have some power to place them in a peer environment where they will hopefully learn the things we want them to. So, our neighbor thinks its OK for her toddler to hit back... we will try to keep the girls at a distance (at least while we can).

So back to "Where are your Manners??" and the non-harmful things our kids may do?

While I am guilty of the burp or two (just ask my mom) sans excusing myself- I am proud to say that our little 2 year olds say"please" and "thank you" (frequently 'thank you' for both) "excuse me" (or scuuuuseeee) when they toot, and I sneezed today, and for the first time I heard Lucy respond "bless you"!

Northern Minnesota... finally!!!

It had been almost 2 years since we were able to stay at good ol' Twin Pines. Whenever we would travel back to Minny, the stay would be too short to be able to go... there were already too many things to do and people to see in the cities.

I was elated that it worked out this time. We were able to enjoy it up there (and the great 70-80 degree weather) for 10 days! Dave worked remotely from the cabin and various coffee shops, so unfortunately he did not have as much time to enjoy, but on the flip side, the fact that he even could work remotely was in our favor.

We stopped in Mooselake on the way up to celebrate the fourth of July and then continued on to the "Little House". Here are a few shots of our trip!

Stella, Avery, & Lucy on July 4th

Stella checking out the bug collection jar

Its hard to stop running after coming down the driveway!

Master teepee builders

Luna, Lucy, Nico, Stella

That's where the boys are!!

Don't bother Mom!

Stella peeking through the stairs

Reading before bed... we've have those cabbage patch sheets since I was their age!

Brave Penny

Missy and Gus with a gaggle of assertive visitors!

Storyville

After we went to the Please Touch Museum in Philly, Dave was talking about it to someone at work and they let us know about a place called Storyville. There are 2 Storyvilles, each in a different Baltimore suburb. They are affiliated with the Baltimore County public library system. I decided to bring the girls to one today (partly because I wasn't motivated for  the extensive sunblock application required of playing outside).

It was a 20 minute journey and when we arrived I was very impressed. First, it was a lot larger and more detailed than I expected; and second, it was free! There was a stroller station by the family bathroom so I didn't have to lug around our double-wide. There were a variety of different sections that the kids could explore: a marine play area with a lighthouse and stuffed marine creatures; a grocery store where they could collect food in a basket and 'pay' for it, a post office to sort mail, a puppet theater, a mini-library, a kitchen where you could 'cook' and 'eat' food, a backyard with a grill and a garden, a costume room, a tree house and a construction zone where they could build cool stuff. We spent a good part of our afternoon there and had a blast!

Going over their plans for a new skyscraper

Lucy brings her food to the checkout at the grocery store

The girls awaiting their meal which was being prepped by a 3 year old chef

Summer in March

Its just about 80 degrees outside right now... and wonderfully sunny to boot! It's still officially winter right?
I spent some quality time finally cleaning up the garden. Surprisingly, the girls stayed relatively stationary and content under the umbrella transferring dirt from one pot to another; now when I tried to corral them inside for lunch that was a different story:)

XOXO

Hug and Kisses... it was Valentine's Day last week and were able to time it just right so we had napping kids for the first half of our early dinner! We were able to have the appetizer and champagne while the ladies were still sleeping and then they joined us for dinner. We had a "love apple" appetizer... corny term for stuffed cherry tomatoes; then a chicken scallopine and chocolate mousse for dessert.. all courtesy of our lovely paper, the Baltimore Sun. It was deliciouso!

There also happened to be a very appropriate "first" for the girls this week. They learned to love one another (particularly one's sister) with a hug and kiss. We have been trying to promote peaceful playing, but who are we kidding, we have 19 month old twins:) Nevertheless, if one is upset.. her sister will wander over and give a big hug along with a slightly drool-laden kiss.

And a couple more bonus shots that illustrate that great things can indeed come in a 'little' box and while we all may have an 'outer' beast... its the inner beauty that shines through!