Facelift Time

Hello readers, we have endured the long and painful process (and I didn't even help!) of switching over to WordPress. So please relocate yourself to:

barlowing.com

See ya there!

Flavor of the Day

One night Madelyn picked up a spoon and some green beans, to which we said--
knock yourself out!


Soon London joined in with a spoon and, why yes that is strawberry yogurt.



Together, they make strawberry green bean fusion. Green strawberry bean medley. Bean strawberry green...


Whatever it is, it's a hit.
Or is it the combination of L & M's attention that is so delicious? (Which strangely is similar to the above dinner concoction, delightful when separate but mischievously scrumptious when combined).

Love.

that.

beard.


And a bubble bath for all!

Baby Liv Turns One: a play by play

We started off the day with a little surprise, compliments of Dad.


There was some jumping around in the background; at one point Madelyn accused London of "turning into the green-eyed monster," and thank you Berenstein Bears for that handy catch phrase. After a long conversation it has been established that both twins would like a sock monkey in a shopping cart for Christmas.


Also, it was raining, so we scratched our Zilker Park train ride plans and headed to the Hoppin' Hippo with cousins Gwen and Harry.


This time the kids weren't so much about the hoppin' as the costuming and playing house.


Who put High School Musical outfits in the costume boxes?
One of Liv's few smiles of the day. With the discovery of three teeth coming in, Liv's birthday was a mixture of tears, drool, and burying her face in mom's shoulder. Not even a new sweater could cheer her up, though the above activities did make for a nice long nap.



A pizza party and marble fudge cupcakes, attempt #2; attempt #1 at cupcakes having failed miserably around 11 pm last night upon my leaving out the eggs. Ever helpful Ryan happily sent me back to Walmart, seeing as he was burning the midnight oil on this school project, and needing some eggnog of the Halloween variety.


It was worth the trip for this face.


This shot perfectly illustrates her wings...
Same haircut as her Daddy.




Aunt Heather comes bearing gifts for our fashionistas...Halloween cats, in the nick of time for show and tell tomorrow.


Perfect accessory for London's upcoming (what was it again?)
~Sleeping Beauty Princess Monster~
costume.

I can't believe Baby Liv is one.

Daddies and Daughters

Friday night Ryan and the girls went to the ward campout at Granger Lake. It sounded like fun beyond their wildest dreams, but then again I just got bits and pieces of the trip, mostly including what I can gather from pictures. As expected, there was a little bit of lake, always complete with collecting bugs, sticks, rocks and the like.


A lot of running around and playing with the older kids. Activity of choice? Playing Three Musketeers, among other makeshift night games. These girls got to stay up late!



The constant in and out and in and out and in and out that a tent has to offer.




A little bit of sister time.





Some quality daddy daughter time, and what is quality time without candy and silly faces? Hands down this was both twins' favorite part of the trip. And in case you were wondering, no remains of this stash came home.



I am told there was a little bit of sleeping between the hours of 2 am and 7 am. The twins were apparently out like a light at 10 and slept pretty well. They must be immune to the sound of snoring that kept Ryan awake, tricky thing since he is often the perpetrator of such snoring. :)
Finally when morning came around, the twins were well rested and enjoyed a pancake breakfast before dashing home to the soccer game. Liv and I, knowing when we're not wanted, spent the night with ice cream, Project Runway, and peace and quiet. Maybe we'll be invited next time!

(ps. I had three dads stop me in church today and tell me how funny the L & M were at the campout. My response: they would have moved there if we'd let them!)

Chocoholics

Ahhh, fall is in the air, at least the pretend version of fall here in Texas. This week we whipped out the mini pumpkins, spoooooky cat embroidered hand towels, not to mention our friend Figaro who is allowed to be our outdoor/not so outdoor pet but once a year. I could spend hours in the Halloween section, daydreaming about cheesy ways to deck out the porch.
L & M joined in the fun by means of a decorative headboard. Who knew a measly strand of orange lights could be so life altering, even making it to a record two-day streak for the favorite part of the day? Ryan and I chuckle at the poltergeist style glow which emits from the room every night, making its way into dreams of all things orange: pumpkins, scary monsters, Halloween.



I'm not sure which we're looking forward to more, Halloween or the upcoming Daddy Daughter Campout at Granger Lake. This weekend we geared up for the big event, even running through a practice campout in the living room! Love those cozy Sunday afternoons, complete with S'mores, or rather, according the two little voices in my kitchen, "More snores!"
ps. Liv and I-not so much invited to Friday's campout.

Speaking of Chocolate....
Based on past history, I don't often let Ryan make clothing decisions for the girls, but one little number made its way into our cart mommy approved:



Chocolate GOOOOOOOD!! says the monster on Liv's tee.
Which is totally fitting because today Liv charmed her way into a chocolatey snack via the back row of the Relief Society.



Slimed everything, and everyone, in her path. Came home totally smelling like chocolate. Who knew her Pterodactl squeal could elicit such goods?
I figured we'd enhance her mouth-watering, baby goodness and pull out the shirt, of which selling point conveniently includes the feature:


I smell like chocolate.

Three Little Stories*

One.
A few days ago, I arrived quite early to pick the girls up from preschool and witnessed one of those moments I can't stop chuckling about. All the kids had been outside for recess (which for L & M translates into a family reunion hug-fest). Suddenly, the teacher yelled 'Duck tails and bubbles!' and all the kids scrambled into a line and whipped out these poses. Apparently, the hands behind the back=duck tails and the mouths=bubbles keeps them busy enough that there is no shoving or talking. What a brilliant move, teachers! So comical to see twenty kids doing it, but you know the next time I am transporting large quantities of children I will be so ready.





Two.
Then today after setting another round of PB & J in front of the twins, they reminded me we forgot to say the lunch prayer. I was feeling guilty while I folded my arms and waited for them to say the prayer then all of a sudden two little voices start singing (to the tune of where is thumkin nonetheless):

Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus
For this food, for this food
And our many blessings, and our many blessings
We love you, we love you

Did I mention they were also holding hands around the table? It was all I could do to keep my composure long enough for them to finish the song. It looks we are reaping the benefits of sending our kids to a Bible-based Preschool!





Three.
The other moment worthy of note happened during Madelyn's show and tell. We were scrambling the night before to try to figure out what to bring and she finally settled on a family picture. She selected the one we had done at Christmas of the three girls and off she went. The next day I asked how show and tell went and Madelyn hesitantly said,
"Good...but we didn't know which one was me."
Oh Madelyn, I'm so sorry I said, kind of wondering if I should be laughing or crying. Apparently, the picture had Madelyn's entire class in a debate over which one was in fact Madelyn and--ultimately settled on London. I tell you this mother of twins thing gets me every time. I thought it was so obvious!
Note to self: when your fraternal twins look so identical they can't tell themselves apart in pictures, a label would not be a bad idea!

*This post may only be interesting to grandmas, and perhaps L & M circa age 16 looking through the hard copy of the blog, nevertheless it is my duty as family historian to record all Barlow vignettes.