We hosted a lovely brunch Sunday with family, in part to celebrate Adria’s birthday (I won’t tell you her age, but she’s in her 65’s). These first three photos were taken by Dick and his new fancy Nikon camera (thanks, Dick!).

Mmm, poblano quiche (recipe from epicurious):

We all walked to the ‘egret’s next’, a beautiful pond (rather, drainage ditch) a couple blocks from our house.

Zach with Art and Lew.

Last night Lewis was calling out every few minutes from about 11pm to maybe 2am or so.  His eyes would still be closed, he didn't need anything and he wasn't soothed by having his covers or gackoo or bear rearranged.  He was just dreaming, I guess. Lewis wasn't waking up, but he was just waking us up.  At one point Ben got in bed with Lewis and that helped a bit but Ben must have pet Lewis the wrong way or something because he said, "No do that, Papa!"  Eventually Ben got back in our bed hoping the distress calls were over.  A little later we heard Lewis again, "No do that, Papa!" to which Ben replied from his spot next to me, "Ok, Lewis!  I won't do that!" 

So, of course I have already done a lot of reading about healthy twin pregnancy and managing/surviving that difficult first year and one source recommended getting all your preparations at home done by the time you are 30 weeks.  After that point you will not only be at increasing risk for early labor but you will be getting larger and more uncomfortable and tired.  You will be glad you got everything in order before then.  Now I'm feeling the pressure.

Here’s a photo of the new swing set we just bought for $25(!) on craigslist (we’ll be moving it later this week). On the way there to give it a test ride we explained to Arthur that a family is selling it because their kids’ bodies grew too big. He asked if they would be sad that someone else was going to take it. Which is a good question in my opinion. And in fact the little girl was a apparently bummed to see her beloved swing set go. But after watching Art and Lew play on it her mother said she was lots happier that others kids would be playing on it. so that’s good. On the way home Arthur said, “I think that’s a good swing set.”

We got bunk beds a couple months ago, which has been a huge hit with the kids. Here’s a horrible photo with my cell phone:

The whole family, along with Art’s good friend Si, took the light-rail train downtown to the fancy Central  Library to get some books.

They watch the train go away before a quick stop at Dream Girls.

Art and Si have this weird tendency to lock hands or arms and start yelling and flailing about. It’s inspired and fun to watch.

I can’t quite remember who gave me this little book, but I just rediscovered it and found some of my favorites. From Haiku Mama by Kari Anne Roy:

Sniffing newborn’s head,
a primal urge takes over –
try not to eat him.

Red leaves on trees,
glitter poop in the diaper –
it’s the holidays!

Ben's schedule of late has been all nights, all the time.  So that means that five nights a week it is just me and the boys for dinner, which has completely relaxed my cooking expectations.  I was still trolling recipes for the grocery list or cooking up a batch of this or that, but after getting burned by "I don't like it" so many times or just have so many leftovers even after we all had eaten our fill I have decided to most often to slap something together.  We have a lot of salads with balsamic vinegar for our veggie, we some kind of pasta probably twice a week, which is more often than Ben would tolerate, and occasionally we just have chick-patties with veggies and toast.  But tonight Ben did an early morning assignment so he would be home for dinner.