A very special Monday..

Most Monday nights, we have a small group of very good friends come over for dinner. We all take turns cooking, which is a great break for me, but I love seeing what crazy things everyone makes. Anything from fondue to pork hocks, or coq au vin to spaetzle. It gets a little out of hand some nights. After consuming a ridiculous amount of food, we game. Like the geeks and nerds we are. 

But most of the time, the boys are already bathed and in bed and only hear of the stories of the dinners, or via leftovers. But on Labour Day, everyone came over early and got to hang out with H&W. They loooooooooooved it! And they loved the BBQ everyone pitched in for. 

Willem  trying on Aunty Jess' boots

And not everything had bacon! See!!

Aunty Jess having some boy-time.

Thanks guys for making our guys' day!
Love you all!!! xx

A Few New Rules for Interacting with a Twin Caregiver

I hear a lot from other (usually young) mums how they would love to have twins. I laugh. I snicker.

Because, I know what they're thinking... Two babies, how sweet! Two cute little bums, awwww! Dressing them alike, how adorable!

But, I know the reality... Two babies, crying in the night. Two little bums, that get bigger and smellier every day. Dressing them alike, umm no. I get them confused enough as it is!

So the next time you see someone with twins, think before approaching ...

• How is their day going? Looks bad? Then don't ask, just help.
• Do they look tired? Get them a coffee or a glass of wine. Take a kid.
• Have they had to run after one while leaving another with another mum and sprint across meters to just catch the other by the arm today? Be that other mum.
• How many tantrums has your kid had today?.. Double that.
• How many times have you told your child 'no' today? Well triple that. Chances are one child gets told no, the other sees the attention the first twin is getting and tries it to get a reaction by doing the same exact thing and gets told no, first child does it again to see if it's just a random occurrence, or if he can get three out of three. His odds are good.
• How many pairs of socks has the twin mum had to pick up this morning? How many raisins or pieces of popcorn has the dog eaten? Too many.
• Is mum wearing makeup? A normal amount, she may be approachable. None, or WAY too much to cover the bags and dark circles under her eyes, do not approach, I REPEAT, DO NOT APPROACH.
• Never, ever say (men, you are the worst offenders of this) "Looks like you've got your hands full!" Let me just answer in a way that my mother used to answer those puzzling but obvious questions by say... No Shit Sherlock. Seriously? Smile and nod, smile and nod.

Ok. Now that's done, let me apologise. It's been a long couple of weeks and sometimes I just need to rant. Any other twin or non-twin parent will probably understand. All of this always happens within moments of each other, within an hour of going shopping or having not enough sleep.

I guess the important lesson here is don't feel like you have to chat to everyone that makes comments about those amazing bundles of joy sitting in the pram. There will be those days when you can't be bothered, the day has gone to shit, dinner isn't cooked, one kid will not sit in the pram without screaming and you just realised you haven't brushed your teeth. But then, amazingly there will be the days when you can't help but chatting up the elderly neighbour about how awesome these beasts are! It does happen! And it's that little pat on the back that can keep you going.

So, if I smile and nod at you, don't take it personally. Some days we just need to keep moving on...

X

 

 

Life with twins..

 

A plastic-free life...

Is it possible?

It's something that I would love to achieve. Last week I realised how much our recycling had gone down. We recently started getting raw milk which is delivered in a 10L bucket that gets sent back to the farm every week. And we keep our milk in big glass 2.2L jugs in the fridge.

So that and getting the boys off formula recently (yaaayaayyyyy!) has cut down our fortnightly plastic/metal/paper recycling to one bag instead of two! That's pretty massive really.

But the question I have at the moment, plastic bags... The ones we do get from the shop are strictly used for rubbish. It seems sort of pointless to have my green bags with me everywhere if I'm still going to need a couple plastic shopping bags anyway! It's a stupid cycle that we need to break. It's the fact of the matter that they are STILL going into landfills. Frustrating!

We compost, we recycle, we try and avoid excess packaging, so that's all working. But we still have rubbish.

Then, I saw this image again recently and I started to wonder...

Yes, she is amazing. Always an idol, but the bin. A newspaper liner? This is what got me thinking. We don't need plastic bags at all... But what's the best way to go about this? Using newspaper and those pesky junk mail flyers to line a bin? A washable cotton liner? Or just go without all together?

What are your thoughts? How can we see an end to it?

X

 

Growing up..

Today was one of those days when you realise how fast it all goes. Today was filled with questions being asked and actually answered. It's so odd.

"What would you like?" "Snack."

"Would you like some water?" "No."

Hendrik especially has begun to become this very adventurous, curious, independent little man. During playgroup, he wanted to go off and see what was over "there", he came back holding a hand of another mum, looking above the tops of the heads of other kids sitting on the floor, sees me waving to him and smiles his big smile with dimple and all, and comes trotting over. He came over, flung his arms around me and gave me a huge cuddle. It almost made me cry..

Then in the afternoon we went to the Lyall Bay playground. It was a stunning day, so it was a no brainer. As soon as they saw the water, "OSHN!!" Yep. Ocean. Hendrik decided he was going to walk on his own to the playground, looks out over the wall to the beach and the waves, and decides that's where he wants to be. He keeps walking past the swings and slides and down to the beach.

After finding their footing on the sand and finding a couple of shells for Dad, Hendrik sits himself down in the sand. He sits, quiet and calm, watching the ocean, the waves and the surfers. Quiet and calm. The seagulls and the airplanes, taking it all in. Willem cuddles my shoulders asking about passing surfers and pointing to them in the waves.

It makes me so proud on days like these. Some days, I'm happy just to have survived. But these are the days that make this journey truly amazing.

Have a happy weekend!

X

 

This guy...

My son? Are you sure?

Ok, maybe.

Willem. A nutter just like his mum. 

Happy Friday! Have a safe and happy weekend!!

x

Pumpkin & Sage Gnocchi - Meatless Monday!

I have been wanting to make another pumpkin and sage pasta for Meatless Mondays again, but haven't had the chance. I completely intend to make pasta again someday soon. But it will take a lot of planning I suspect. In the meantime, I had this brainstorm...

Get that sage fix, with pre-made gnocchi! Woowoo! 

This goes back to the 'I will make pasta again' idea that parallels the 'I will make gnocchi again' idea. Hmm. Time. It was nice while I had it!

Anywho, here's the go....

Just because - they make me laugh...

They are getting so big! 14 months today!

Sorry in advance for a massive load of photos. Blame my family for living so far away... We don't, they do ;)

Hendrik has turned into the biggest sweetheart - and ladies man! Just yesterday he was sneakily getting cuddles from all the other mum's at our Multiples Playgroup... he's going to be a heartbreaker - just like his dad! 

And Hendrik officially has been given the title 'first to walk'! Last week at our family Waitangi Day BBQ, he took his first independent steps! So amazing! I don't know if I'm ready for it though! 

Gentle pats for Timmy.

And then there was Willem. Bit of a drama queen, but I can always rely on him for cuddles and first to get into trouble! 

Poor Timmy has lost his seat in the sun. 

And so the journey continues!
xx

Merry Merry Christmas one and all!

What a lovely holiday we have had here in Wellington! Christmas Eve day was spent waiting for Jacob to finish a short work day, listening to christmas songs, and reading The Night Before Christmas!

Christmas Eve was pretty icky weather, rainy most of the day, gusting winds, but Jacob being a brave cook, headed out to the BBQ for some tandoori chicken and an oven roasted terakihi for the fam. Odd combo, but so yummy!

Our first whole fish! Love it! And I think we'll be seeing more of them! The rest of the evening was getting ready for a lovely Christmas... Washing hand-me-down wooden blocks, decorating chalkboard toy boxes that Jacob built, drinking wine and snacking on mince pies.

So, the next morning...

Then off to Auntie Lisa's for an amazing day of feasting, beautiful weather, and warm family fuzzies...

Santa Etta

Silas opening a rather important gift from Opa

Monkeys all around!

Hendrik loves his monkey!

Timmy may be a bit over Christmas...

Cheese of the addictive variety

Etta's Adventures in Cheese Appreciation

Opa and Silas

Yes. Turducken.

Layer upon layer upon layer....

Thank you Lisa, Paul and Jeremy for an amazing meal!

And somehow I ended up on the wrong side of the camera. A rare sight.

A little playtime before...

... an beautiful Christmas dessert!

We hope everyone has had an amazing holiday filled with joy, love, family and the warmth of summer!

xo