i heart orange

seattle and portland and less than 48 hours

That might be my favorite pumpkin ever. And *almost* every year I attend a pumpkin carving contest with some of the most talented and original pumpkin carvers I have ever seen! How can you not love a pumpkin who reads?

Sadly, that was the only picture (snapped with my phone at a bagel place, don't even remember the name) I took while I was in Seattle and Portland over the weekend. I flew to Seattle on Friday to stay with one of my best friends in her cozy little house near the university. We had a great dinner and stayed up too late talking before getting up on Saturday and driving (well, in my case, riding) to Portland where I attended the baby shower of a close friend due in December. It was a surprise to her and one that I am so glad I was able to pull off!

After the lovely shower, my friend and I headed to our hotel in Portland where we spent more time catching up before dinner and drinks. I managed to stay up until 11:00 p.m. and fell asleep (with my glasses on) during the beginning of the movie. And then it was time to drive back to Seattle and head home on the plane. It was too brief a visit, but so good to catch up with my friends!! I made it home in time for a few trick-or-treaters on Sunday night...Hope your Halloween was a good one, and that it was candy filled. Cannot eat enough Kit Kats, but more on that later.

 
Again, a few weeks have passed me by without posting. We've had a good couple of weeks - life has been challenging and engaging. Dearheart and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary on Wednesday and had the chance to go out to dinner. It was delicious and it was a nice break. This weekend started with an anniversary gift of champagne on Friday night. I was very far behind in reading this month's book club selection  so I spent as much time as I could yesterday and today reading! We did, however, have a chance to meet some friends for dinner on Satuday for a few hours and today we had lots of visitors - cousins and aunts and and uncle! Now I'm back from bookclub and a crying baby signals it is time to eat!!

return

And, just like that, it is almost time to return to work. I can't believe maternity leave went by so quickly! Just when we were getting into a pattern! The last few months have been full of busy and sometimes, what felt like, never-ending days but alas they have passed. The babies have gotten bigger and stronger and I have never felt so happy..or tired! Their smiles make it all worth it! We couldn't have made it through these past months without the help of our parents and support of our other (sometimes too far away) relatives and friends. And, in particular, the magical help of a longtime family friend who comes over once a week (from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) to hold and feed babies...and do laundry and clean...and leaves a fully prepared meal in our refrigerator. (Yes, I know how INCREDIBLY amazing she is and how INCREDIBLY lucky we are to know her and be the recipient of her on-going kindness!)

We've been lucky enough to go to a few weddings and baby showers and I've actually made it to the occasional girls night and book clubs. We've also started our own Friday night date night in! For the last few Friday nights we've been able to eat dinner and settle into a movie between feedings. Tonight we are going to finish the rest of the delicious mac and cheese that our little elf left for us yesterday and watch The Blind Side. 

On Monday I go back to the busyness of work. It is sure to be a long week and a definite change of pace. I know I'll miss my little twinkies!

favorites

Yesterday was my first day alone with the twins and dearheart brought me some hydrangeas as a surprise. They are gorgeous. Things are continuing much the same, I feel a bit blurry around the edges as one day fades to the next. The twins internal clock between day and night still has not been set, so we are up a lot at night. It's tiring, but I know it will get better.

Otherwise, we have had a few meals out...two in one week at my new favorite restaurant: Steve's Snappin' Dogs. I know, it's a strange choice for a vegetarian, but it has lots of vegetarian options (Gardenburger, veggie hot dog, grilled cheese, etc.) and it has delicious shakes and root beer floats (I can't wait to try their homemade limeaid!) I only regret we didn't try it sooner...I think the name made me a bit nervous though the VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY sign out front should have tipped me off that there would be some choices. So, go, have a hot dog or a veggie dog...

new arrivals

It has been a long time. So long that I’ve probably lost my three loyal readers…I have an excuse, actually make that two, but I regret not being here for the last six months. As I’ve said, I’ve been working on a couple of projects…twins which arrived (a week before schedule) in mid-July.  This was a very happy reason to be absent, but my days seemed unusually busy at work (a lot to try to finish up before maternity leave) and I was sidelined by morning sickness for way too long. Unfortunately, I was not one of those women who ‘barely even know they are pregnant’ – I was reminded constantly and this caused me to spend most of my time at home when I was not at work. I missed book club meetings and monthly girls nights; canceled dinners at the last minute; missed parties and many other events. It was a long nine months. To be completely honest, the morning sickness did slow down a lot in the last few months – only once or twice a week – and I was able to show up to some of my commitments! Including celebrations for our babies on the way thrown for us by good friends and attended by other good friends (including two who came out from California for the occasion)!

 

Looking back it was, of course, all worth it. Dearheart and I waited 37 long weeks to find out the genders of the babies and were surprised with a BOY and a GIRL. Though they were born early, they were healthy and we left the hospital as scheduled. We have been home for just over a month and it has been a blur of feedings, diaper changes, clothing changes, sleeping, soothing, and fun. Fortunately my parents (who have plenty of twin experience as I, too, have a twin brother) have been staying with us and helping with everything from feeding hungry babies and hungry parents , to vacuuming, keeping up with the laundry, making sure there are supplies (for everyone), and just about anything else you can think of. We’ve also had help (and, also, lots of supplies) from Dearheart’s Mama and we’ve had lots of visitors that like to feed and hold (sometimes fussy) babies.

My parents have also made sure that we get out of the house –not just for doctor’s appointments. We’ve had breakfasts, lunches, and dinners at local restaurants (that we can walk to) and visited the botanic gardens, farmer’s market and made a trip or two to Babies R Us.  All in all, we are tired and sometimes a bit overwhelmed, but mostly enjoying every moment with our very sweet, very cute baby girl and baby boy.

 

(Hope to post a bit more frequently in upcoming weeks. I’ve missed you.)

check out these lovelies

 

A very good friend of mine is a very good knitter (and crocheter, quilter, baker, photographer, crafter, etc. etc. etc.) and for my birthday this year she sent me the above mittens. Unfortunately, the photo does not do them justice. They are gorgeous and I love them. I know that my friend is not only a very good knitter, but a very good friend, because she took the time to make them and send them at a moment when I really needed something to keep me warm and to brighten my day. And because I promised her a hand knitted scarf for Christmas like four years ago and I still haven't delivered...to be honest, I haven't picked up a pair of knitting needles for a LONG time and my skills were never that developed even when I was knitting more...

More than two months have passed since I have checked in - it's been a busy two months filled with holidays and busyness and, somehow I feel like I've gotten a little behind in day-to-day life. Christmas cards and gifts went out late, holiday baking was brushed off, and countless other things feel neglected. (Thankfully I have dearheart who put the Christmas tree up, hung the stockings, bought supplies for dinner with his family, and made me breakfast every morning.) The house needs a deep cleaning, my closet needs organizing, and the pile of laundry needs to get done.

My birthday - 35 - was last week and the day came and went. I was suffering some sort of cold and not feeling my best. Though I didn't feel up to eating any cupcakes, one of my favorite sister-in-laws sent shared some virtual cupcakes. Dearheart and I plan on celebrating in upcoming weeks as he has a big exam looming on Monday and is devoting most of his free time studying.

I leave you with a new favorite picture of Bismarck with his new winter shoes. Happy 2010.

 

and, just like that, it's gone

 

We thought we might have Bismarck model for our holiday cards this year. Lots of photos later, it seems like this was an ill-advised idea. Turns out, he's no Chuck.  It was hard to get him to stand still and there are lots of pictures with closed eyes. Thought I would post a few mid-candy cane. And you never know, one might show up in your mailbox this holiday season...

I had such a great weekend! Went out to dinner with friends on Friday night (ate the most delicious vegetarian rice and beans) and continued to a going-away party for a friend moving to Michigan. On Saturday we left Bizzy with my parents and went to an annual get together with friends from elementary through high school. It was great to see them, catch up, and watch everyone's little kids run around with one another. Sunday morning brought another visit with another longtime friend to meet her daughter (the SWEETEST little almost-one year old), and see her parents.

Yesterday, after we drove back home, I read a bit, ate some Vietnamese food while watching The Amazing Race with dearheart, and watched a movie. It was a perfect, relaxing Sunday. Today is the start of a three-day work week and I am looking forward to dinner with a friend I haven't seen in awhile.

And, for good measure, here's one more shot of Santa's unknown reindeer.

party shoes

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve updated the blog – October was kind of a blur: bread baking classes, a baby shower, a few dinners out, a pumpkin carving party and then…I got sick. I’m blaming my Mom who I saw two days before I got sick and who had something similar. I missed one of my bread baking classes (pizza dough!!), handing out candy on Halloween and a few days of work (though one was a snow day) and have spent the last week and a half catching up. I’m feeling much, much better.

A friend from elementary school got married over the weekend; us bridesmaids wore gold shoes. It turns out that gold shoes were harder to find than I thought they would be – all of the ones I liked on zappos were sold out in my size. So, I went to Nordstrom and I asked a guy in the shoe department for a recommendation. Of the five pairs, I liked the ones above the most. I never would have picked them, but I think they have some holiday party potential…we’ll see. The wedding ceremony was great, the reception fun (caught up with another favorite friend from elementary school, re-connected with a friend I haven’t seen since she moved to California in seventh grade, and talked  with old neighbors who hadn’t seen me since I was 18), and the bride and groom happy. They even convinced us to take a few photos in the snow after the reception. Brrrrrr.

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week and that Christmas and New Year’s are just around the corner – I’m already looking forward to holiday parties, drinking hot chocolate, and taking a stroll among the lights. Hope to see you hear more often.

visits and apples and happy occasions

Last week I flew up to Boston for a few days of work. Deaheart caught a red-eye on Friday and we traveled up to New Hampshire together. We went for the wedding of one of my very favorite friends from college. It was a brief forty-eight hours filled with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner; a long-over due visit with another of my favorite college friends and her family where we went apple picking (dearheart's first time!); the wedding and festivities; and a brief meeting with one of deaheart's colleagues.

I wish we could have spent a few days leaf-peeping and headed up north, though the trees were gorgeous in Southern New Hampshire we mostly enjoyed them from the car.  I am looking forward to my first bread-baking class this weekend and to the prospect of preparing slow cooked meals and soups and, hopefully, bread. Hope your fall is off to a good start!

Yesterday I hosted a bridal shower for a long-time friend getting married in November. It was a small affair, perfect for getting to know her friends that were new to me and to catch up with the bride-to-be and her mother. It was also the perfect excuse to clean the house, break out the seldomly used "fancy" plates, and enjoy a mimosa for breakfast. After everyone left, I poured myself the last glass of prosecco and cleaned up.

Bizzy stayed with his grandparents and so we headed to their house after the party and stayed the night. They spoiled the dog with cookies and people food, dearheart with steak, and me with freshly-made pesto. We are now preparing for the week, putting away dishes and doing laundry..not the most fun way to spend a Sunday night, but we have plenty of leftovers to choose from for dinner and Amazing Race starts tonight!