Keep Clam

J: You don't want to sit in the trunk. That's very dangerous.
D: Yeah. That's why you put things other than humans in there. Like dead aliens. Or dead art.

D: JJ, is your name Wild Style?

D: The twins are just driving me crazy!

J: We need a baby and a baby room! And make sure it stays alive!

D: I don't like this.
Me: D, you need to tell your aunt and uncle thank you.
D (sighs): Thank you for the presents that I needed.

J: You're driving me beans and nuts!

D: These chocolate mints taste like chocolate and mint!

J: C'mon half noodle!
Wut?

J: Dad's gonna beat ya, cuz he has spearmint! (experience)

J: All we have to do is say please and Grandma gives us stuff!

(1/14) Today was a blast! My sister and brother (and their SOs, of course) were in town, so I took the kiddos over and we had another Christmas with everybody together. Grandma & Granddad host a "kids' dinner" every year, where they invite all the kids, and their friends from growing up/school, plus their expanding families.  They cook up a bazillion meatballs, ziti, and desserts, and have us all over for a feast.  It's so fun to see everybody, and to see how their kids have grown.

(1/15) Oma and Opa gave C & me their tickets to Finding Neverland at the Paramount this evening.  It was *amazing*!  I was moved to tears a number of times, and C said it was "probably the best play he's ever seen." High praise from the little mister.

(1/16) Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!  We were all off today, and got to attend a Silvertips game. The twins require popcorn and Skittles, and more or less watch the game. Tips won 5-4!


(1/17)  Work day for Dad & me, and school for the boys.  I had book club with my work peeps after work today, and we went to the Bonefish Grill.  I got home in time to read stories to the twins.  Nanan joined us this evening, and we watched a show on raising quints, and I was thankful we only have twins!


(1/18) Today, I'm thankful for Team Grandparent!  Nanan had a procedure this morning, and it ran longer than expected.  The grands swooped in and took care of the twins for me, brought homemade ziti for dinner, and even made a cake for Dad's birthday! The twins had a game this evening, and we had Dad blow out candles & sang to him after the game.

(1/19) Work day for Dad & me, and Sharon had the boys this morning.  They got to play at the park before heading to school.  C was picked up early today because he was not feeling well.  Hope he feels better soon.


(1/20) Work day for me, and Dad had the boys.  He kept C home from school today.  The whole house is snarfy right now, and we're going through gallons of OJ.


(1/21) Today I went to the Womxn's March in Seattle.  I went with Sarah, her mom, and another friend.  We went down early, hopped right on a shuttle which took us directly to the park.  We hit up Starbucks--because all big changes start with coffee--and then were ready to march.  The energy was amazing. Even though the actual march started at 11am, I don't think we got more than a block away before 2pm - there were just that many people!  We finally got to the Center, and back to our car by 4pm, which was exactly how long the organizers said the march would run. Dad had the boys today, and went to hockey with the twins this morning, and was a "good cook" this evening (read: he ordered pizza).


(1/22) The boys and I had a pretty lazy day today.  I took the pup out for a walk this evening, but that's the only reason I left the house today.


(1/23) Work from home day for me, and regular work day for Dad. C's day was really rough, and homework time was even rougher.  So rough, in fact, that it bled into hockey time.  Sigh.  Tomorrow will be better.


(1/24) Work day for Dad & me.  Sharon had the twinadoes, and they got to go to the park, and do art before school.

(1/25) Packed day for us all.  I had the day off today, and it was my day to work in the twins' class.  After school was over, I turned the boys over to a combination of Dad & Grandma for the next few days, so I could go on a ski trip with my dad to Leavenworth.  The twins had a game this evening.  Dad says J almost scored a goal tonight!  And D?  D got skated around by the head coach to keep him out of trouble.  Tomorrow, Grandma offered to come early to be with the boys before school and during C's hockey practice. Thank you, Grandma!!


(1/26) We woke up early, and hit Starbucks first thing for breakfast, and then headed to the mountain.  We got there early, and there was no line for anything today, so I was through the rental line and down to the ski school early.  I had a 2 hour lesson to refresh my memory on how to fall down the mountain. The instructor decided I was queen of the banked turn, but hey, I haven't been skiing in over 6 years, so I was impressed that I got down upright on all but one run.  By mid afternoon, my boots were killing my legs.  I think I put them on too tight this morning, and they were really barkin' at me.  We decided to call it a day, and to head back to our hotel, and go down for a beer.  We redeemed our tokens for a taster at the Dog Haus Brewery - Chow Chow Maple Stout for my dad & Alpha Dog Amber for me. We had our tasters converted into pints, and had a really lovely conversation with the owner of the hotel & brewery.  He suggested we go to Mozart's for an authentic German dinner.  After leaving there, I grabbed our wine tasting voucher, and we stopped by Bergdorf Cellars.  We sampled their *9* wines, and came home with a bottle of red and white Glühwein. Thankful we weren't driving, we walked down to dinner.  We chose Mozart's platter for two, and sampled way more than I would've ordered on my own.  It was so fun to just sit and chat with my dad for hours on end.  I don't get to do that often enough.


(1/27) I had another great day up skiing with my dad.  We stopped for breakfast at O'Grady's before heading to the slopes.  It was pretty foggy today, and we spent the day on Hogsback.  I'm a pretty novice skier, so this was more my speed.  We skied until around 3pm, and then got in line to come home.  The boys had a good day with their dad.  He took them to Play it Again Sports and sent me a picture of them all perusing snowboards.  He also took them out for sushi, and hallelujah, there was still some left for me!

(1/28) Hockey day for all the boys today.  The twins had practice, and C had a game this evening, followed by a birthday party for a couple of his teammates.  Dad took us to Ivar's for lunch this afternoon.  The boys have been bottomless pits lately, but we managed to order more food than they could eat for once.