Toga Boy Strikes Again

Pants? I left them awhile ago. Lovely stylish
turtleneck? I really tried, but it wouldn't part
with me.

Welcome to the Tower, Sam!

Sam is now an official tower-climber...we might just need
another one of these contraptions. They are awesome.

No Parkay Here

Just butter. If you look closely you can see at least four finger channels. I then noticed a buttery trail from the countertop to the cabinets and down the floor (was that why my sock felt odd?) Apparently, Sam had a hard time getting it off his fingers so he spent some time painting it off. Below is an approximate re-creation of events:

Twins decide they deserve a 'reward' m&m, but Mom is upstairs with Sam folding clothes

Patrick and Isaac move double-step stool to kitchen

Patrick and Isaac get down m&m bag and carry to closet

Mom and Sam go downstairs to check out squealing and giggling

Mom finds twins in closet downstairs with door shut

Mom finds immediately apologetic twins with their mouths full of chocolate sitting in the closet in a pool of m&m's

Mom leaves Sam to usher twins to bed for mandated early nap

Sam crawls up chair to tabletop to have crayon-eating contest with Biscuit the Cat

Mom comes downstairs to find Sam in middle of kitchen table eating crayons

Sam put on floor, Mom pushes in all chairs and heads upstairs

Mom has a 'talk' with twins upstairs

Sam finds cool double-step stool left handily by kitchen counter

Sam has butter tasting/smearing in kitchen

Mom comes downstairs and notices butter looks...well, odd

And for the award for best rapidly-disintigrating situation, the winning moral of the story is...

don't leave baby Sam alone for a second? don't leave Patrick and Isaac alone for a second? Sam needs more fat in his diet? Mom shouldn't be using a cop-out food-based reward system? Everything's better with blue baby bonnet on it? Butter all over the Land o Lakes? I can't believe it's all buttery?

Lunchtime at our house

Sam crawls into a box, gets stuck, bounces and yells to get out. Mom heats up leftovers from Bucca takeout (yum!). Sam crawls up 2-step stool in the bathroom and tries on the towel. Mom says a quick prayer for lunch and starts to shovel in food. I always feel like I have a 30 second window to eat and I'm hungry. "We forgot bounty!" yells Patrick. "Bounty! We forgot bounty Mommy!" Isaac chimes in. What is this, a pirate ship? Sam crawls to Patrick and tries to pull his plate off the table. "Bounty, we forgot bounty!" They speak clearly enough I shouldn't be having this problem. I scoop up Sam so he can join us in his high chair, Issac gives him some spaghetti. "Pounty? Boaty? What?" I offer, still trying to slurp down spaghetti. "Bown-tee!" they both correct me. Ah. "Bless us, oh Lord, for these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord." Much crossing latter, everyone is content to eat. "Bucca guy makes good chicken!" states Isaac.

All I want for Christmas..

Is my TWO FRONT TEETH!!

Mystery Object of the Day: Pulsar

This is a great picture of a pulsar. Look at the sunspots and the complex inner structure. You can actually see the radiation pouring off in waves from the burning hot center sun.

Ok, maybe not. But the pot is almost clean! This is what happens to me when I try to cook elaborate birthday dinners while 'watching' two toddlers and a baby. Hmmm...to be fair.... This is what happens more often now that I have to watch two toddlers and a baby. And why one of the first things we vow that will be installed in the kitchen in the "New Minnesota House" is a good hood over the stove that vents to the outside. Whoever decided that a dinky, greasy fan under the microwave with a carbon filter in it would be great for mitigating billowing smoke obviously didn't try it. And didn't have two two year olds running around with their hands over their ears in the midst of the fire alarm yelling, "Too Loud! Too Loud! Too Loud!"

The chicken stew that I made for the birthday pot pie was one of the most well-balanced, complex, delicate flavored stews I had ever made. That is, before I turned up the heat slightly to thicken it for a minute. I may have forgotten the stew a little between entertaining the twins, Sam crawling at my feet, drying meringue cake layers, rolling out the pot pie dough, baking cake, whipping butter for icing, and melting various mint candies and chocolates. After emergency chicken stew first aid (for extreme burnt overtones), it was a very hardy, robust, richer stew but with a lot less of that complex flavor. Luckily the birthday guy didn't notice...

Biscuit the Cat vs. Fire Engine