A tale of Woe and the Best Lemon Bars ever (don't worry, there is a happy ending)

The absolute best lemon bars in the world, in fact, the best bars in the world, even surpassing my mother's buttermilk brownies are the lemon bars made by Methodists food services.  When I had Thor, the night I had him there was one on my tray. Before I could finish it they took it away and for years I sought to find one as good.  Never did and I became convinced that it wasn't really as good as I thought but had become magnified by time and the fact that I hadn't eaten it in 2 days when they brought it to me.  Well, when I had the little boys I ordered one and was shocked to discover that they were better than I remembered.  I ordered several at every meal and saved them and took them home.  They were that good.  But alas, they are long gone and Dave says that I can't have another baby just to get more lemon bars.  They were that good.  Have another baby good.

In recent weeks, knowing that having another baby was off the table I began contemplating what other things I could do to stay at the hospital so that I could get these Lemon Bars again.  They are not in the cafeteria.  That I have tried.  No, they are food service delivery only.

I tried calling the hospital for the recipe (yeah, try that sometime.  that will really trip them up) I visited the cafeteria.  I talked to other people who were pregnant about delivering at Methodist and scoring me some Lemon Bars only to come back crumb free each time.

They have a wonderful shortbread bottom and a brown baked top (not powdered sugary) and they are Lemony and tart.  They are a little piece of citrus heaven and worth every Weight Watcher point.

And then today, glorious today, like manna from heaven a friend who works in a different building but is part of the Methodist family found out, THEY COME FROM A MIX!!!  She is getting me an industrial size box.  Dave is off the hook, no more Lemon Bar babies.  I figure from the box I can figure out either what they are and make my own from scratch (reverse Sandra Lee it) or find a similar mix on the market, or find them on the web.

I am in Lemon Bar heaven.

Stay tuned for the arrival of the mix and if I can scale down the recipe for a normal pan size.

Huzzah!!

Back in the Saddle Again

 

Time is a funny thing.  There is so much of it and yet, so terribly little.

My Nana Thomas once said that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.

Yep. It has been 12 weeks and my maternity leave has run out.  I am heading back to work and while I keep telling people that it will be great to talk to grown ups again, no one believes it.  Least of all me.  I will miss my mid day baby snuggles and having the little boys all to myself.  I will miss the afternoons running errands with them and singing with them in the car.  I will miss going to day care early and sitting on the deck, watching Thor play with the other kids.

I am instead getting conference calls and project plans and all too soon, airports and hotels away from my family.  I am not trading up here.

I will be OK and after a while will be glad that I am back.  After that first overnight away from the boys, it probably won't be so bad.

Until then I may pick up a lottery ticket or two.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Monday was Dave's Birthday so Thor helped make a cake. I don't think that Dave could have enjoyed it anymore than Thor enjoyed making it.

To celebrate, everyone slept in their own room.

Huzzah!!

Big Boy's Big Bed

The time had come. Thor is two and still in the crib. Never has there been a child who loves his crib as much as Thor loves his. He would play in there for ever. But alas, all good things must end and on occassion he had begun trying to get out. So finally I convenced Dave to make the conversion. I go back to work soon and I wanted him sleeping well in the toddler bed and me not sleeping on the floor before I go back. So Tuesday was the day. Thor helped Daddy convert his crib to a toddler bed and then took a bath and hopped in. He loved it. Until 3 AM when he woke up and didn't have a clue where he was.

It took Dave and I both an hour to get him calmed down. He was so distraught. Once we got him calmed down I took him back in his room, put him back in bed and laid on the floor. He was off. He didn't leave the room. I told him he couldn't but he ran laps in his room until after 6 AM, finally laying on the floor beside me and passing out. Dave came and got us up at 8 and I was ready to change the thing back to a crib.

Thor took a good 3 hour nap at daycare while I spent the day wrestling with the twins. Dave came home exhausted from the whole thing as well.

I am happy to report that since Tuesday night we have had no issues with the bed and Thor loves the independence but doesn't try getting out of his room.

The boys seem to have recovered well from the entire event and Thor is happy. I have long since come to accept that I will be perpetually tired the rest of my life.

Third Time is a Charm

Yep, Tyr made it a third night through the night. Over 8 hours.

Wolf made it 6 1/2 and probably would have made it through the night but he got interrupted in the middle of the nigh and I think it screwed him up.

I know they will both make it tonight. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks like a night light.

As soon as the extra cameras come in they are moving to their own room.

Huzzah!!

Big Boy's Big Day

Thor has had a great weekend.

Last night he got to stay late at Miss Pam's house for date night. His best friend Isaac stayed too, as did his buddy Kaleb. His little brothers joined them about 5. They played in the sandbox, got dirty, got cleaned up, but on jammies, ate supper, watched movies, ate popcorn and played and squealed and just generally were little boys. We picked the three boys up about 9:30 but didn't get out until 10 as the little boys were being cuddled and Thor and Isaac couldn't be separated.

This morning we got up and all 5 of us went to the kick off of West Des Moines EMS week. We parked at the swimming pool and got picked up and drove to the station house in an ambulance. Thor LOVED it.

Once we got there there was a fire truck to crawl all over, police cars and 2 helicopters. He didn't get a chance to sit in the helicopters as we were a little late and they took off but he did get to see them and watch them take off.

Then we got to take a tour of the station house and one of the dispatchers pulled up our house on the map and showed us a satellite image. We skipped the hot dogs but as a family then all went to Thor's favorite restaurant, Taco John's.

Once we got home he took a nap and when he got up he had a surprise visitor. Aunt Andrea was here! He had plenty to tell her and show off.

Pasta for supper, Thor loves Pasta, and a bath, Thor loves baths.

He collapsed into bed a happy little camper.

Wait until he finds out that police week is next month.

Until next time...

50% Success means someone is doing it right!

Second night report:

Tyr slept until 8 this morning had a snack and then slept until I woke him up.

Wolf was up at 4 for a little snack and then passed back out until I woke him.

If Tyr sleeps through the night tonight I am going to call it a trend.

We Are Sleeping Through the Night!!

Yes, it is true. The alarm went off this morning, Dave jumped out of bed and said, "write it down." That is when I realized. We put the boys down last night and here it is 6:45 and not a peep. I put Wolf down at 12:30 ish last night and when he heard Dave he stirred. I gave him 2 ounces and he is still sleeping at 9:30. 12:30-6:45.

And because we have worked so hard to keep the boys on the same schedule, just as I was finishing up feeding Wolf, Tyr stirred. Dave put him down about 12:40 last night and he roused up about 6:50. He took 1 ounce and fell back asleep until 9:15.

Sweet Sleep.

I have ordered the extra camera monitors and they should be in today or tomorrow. Once they are now that the little boys are sleeping through the night, they can start sleeping in their own room. Dave is a little reluctant to make that move, but I am ready. Dave says once we move them out of our room we will never have babies in our room again. Having recently shared a bed with Thor twice, I assured him that they will be back. Waking up cheek to cheek with Thor (my upper, his lower) I am ready to not have babies in our room.

Now, for our little whirlwind. Thor is moving to the big boy bed this weekend. I figure I will be sleeping on the floor in his room or the little boys room. Depending on who is having the rougher night in their new digs. But I have 2 weeks until I return to work and I have to get everyone sleeping in their new beds before I go back.

Thor had a rough morning this morning and screamed like he was being abused when I tried to dress him. It broke my heart. He ran to the corner in the little boys room and balled up with his head in the corner and sobbed and pleaded with me not to put clothes on him. I am extremely hormonal and all I could think of was there are little children in the world who cry like this for good reason. So I started sobbing. Dave got out of the shower thinking we would all be dressed and Thor would be ready to go and instead we are both on the floor crying.

I will be glad when the hormones are a little better under control.

Dave was able to get Thor's shirt on him (I had wrestled him down with the rest) and as they were leaving Thor ran backand gave me a hug and kiss and said "I love you Mommy." Which made things a lot better since recently he has taken to calling me Jennifer.

Miss Pam and her family are keeping all three of the boys tonight so Dave and I are going to go out to eat to celebrate sleeping through the night and the return of Mommy to Thor's vocabulary.

Until next time...

What's in a name (or a Tyr by any other name is still a Tyr.)

 

We keep getting asked about the names, how to pronounce them, what they mean, and where they came from.  So to answer your questions.

 

I have loved the name Wolfgang since I was a little girl and Dave has always liked it.  We call him Wolf. It is the reason I have taught Thor that doggies say Arf Arf and not Woof Woof.  Might be too confusing.  I finally realized the reason that I liked the name Wolfgang so much a few weeks ago.  Wolfgang Reitherman was one of Walt Disney's original 9 animators and was with Disney until his death. He would have been involved in all the Disney movies that I saw growing up. (Rescuers that I saw while my mom was having my brother, 101 Dalmatians, Aristicats, etc. etc)   I must have seen the name in the credits a million times and it stuck.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Reitherman for more information on him.  It is pretty cool.

 

Tyr is pronounced Tier.  It is Both Scandinavian and German.  Here is more information here on who Tyr was:

http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/aesir.html#Tyr

He is both the younger brother of Thor and the keeper of the wolf.  Kinda ties all the names together. Tuesday was originally called Tyr's day as it was the day to worship Tyr just as Thursday's were originally called Thor's day.

 

That and he was a character in the last series that Gene Roddenberry's developed, Andromeda,  and I am a huge Roddenberry fan.  Dave hasn't put that part together yet.

 

Heinrich (Wolf's middle name) is my Great Grandpa Baier's middle name and Arnold (Tyr's middle name) was my Grandfather's brother, who was killed in WWII, and is my uncle Arnie, my Dad's brother.  It is a good family name to carry on.

 

 

 

It's Only a Scratch (or Do you Know the Words to the "I Told You So" Song)

I have a huge scratch on my passangers side door. Or shall we say a series of scratches about a foot tall and 8-10 inches long. There is no buffing this out. I have lost a lot of sleep over these scratches which is surprising as I knew I was going to get them for a full week before it happened.

Dave has a dump trailer. He bought it about a year or so ago on Craig's list because, in Dave's words, we needed a dump trailer. This thing was modified by it's previous owner and is old and beat up but from what I understand, "Was a great deal!"

Part of the modifications is that the back part instead of flipping up or down is now on a hinge and swings out. A big long hinge. About a foot long. It also sticks out from the trailer about 10 inches.

The trailer lives in Cedar Falls most of the time but has made a trip to our driveway so that Dave can work on it, find someone to "undo" the modifications and so we can use it for the long anticipated backyard-under-the-deck clean up that started 2 summers ago.

I told Dave when I saw it in the driveway it was just a matter of time. I can't see the hinge in my mirror backing out and when pulling in. He assured me that I knew it was there and wouldn't hit it.

And so a week later I have this giant scratch. Luckily no dent but there is no buffing this sucker out.

I am sick about it, but I knew it was only a matter of time before that sucker jumped out and got me. Sometimes doing the "I told you so dance" isn't very satisfying.

Little Lord Skid Mark (Happy Mother's Day)

Happy Mother's Day!

May all you Moms have a restful day with your families and all you non-Moms be working to make a restful day for a Mom.

My guys decided to take me out to Lupper today (Lunch/supper) at Ohana. You know how I do love Ohana. So all the boys are wearing what Dave calls, "pro Mom wear", shirts that say I love Mommy or some sort. Except Thor has out grown his and I have not gotten out stuff the next size up. So I dug through a box to find the least too small pro mom shirt that Thor has, luckly I had just cleaned out his drawers last week and could remember what I put in each box. Well Dave gets it on Thor and announces that hence forth and forever more he should be called Little Lord Skid Mark. Sure enough there was a small stain right above the diaper line that I didn't get out. Dave thought this was a hoot. Thor kept trying to see what was on his backside that Daddy was laughing at. I felt the need to interviene on my sons behalf and tell Dave that if thor was Little Lord that would make Dave Large Lord Skid Mark. After all I do all the laundry. Dave quickly informed me that was sweat from mowing the yard.

Make your own decisions.

Over all a good day. Lots of snuggles with the boys and Thor presented me with a pot he painted and purple flower he planted in it. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever owned.

I will post pictures from Mother's Day once I figure out how to post pictures here. Right now it is not a priority.

Take Care.

The Things Strangers Say (or "Pardon me, Do I know you?")

People are always asking me if twins run in my family. I tell them "no, they run in my doctor's office." Not many people get it.

I often then find myself having to explain genetics to complete strangers in line at the grocery store. The other mom's in my multiple club say hold on because it never stops and some people get adamant about stuff. Their advice is to smile and nod and keep moving. Something I need to do.

The other day in line at the store was a time when I should have heeded that advice. An older couple behind me in line where quiet taken with the boys as was the cashier and asked lots of questions.

"How can you tell them apart?"

"Well, I look at them. They don't look alike."

"Are they identical?"

"No, because they don't look alike."

"Do twins run in your family or your husbands?"

And here is when the wheels fell off.

Identical twins are not genetic. They are a fluke of nature. There is no gene that can make an embryo split.

Fraternal twins can happen for a number of reasons:

The older the mother the higher the likelihood
The more pregnancies the better the chances
If you have had multiples before you are more likely to have them again.
If there are fraternal twins that run through the maternal line of the family (Dad has nothing to do with it, He produces the same amount no matter what, you need a the mom to produce 2 eggs at a time)
And, as is our case, certain medications or procedures will increase your chances.

And so the lady said, "If they don't run in your family, it's not fair if you get them."

So I said as kindly as I could when told I don't deserve my children, "Nor is it fair the amount of money that my husband and I had to spend, the amount of drugs I had to take that long term will do God only knows to my body, or the procedures that we both had to go through to get pregnant."

"After all that, we deserved a little 'gift with purchase'"

She didn't agree but the cashier about wet her pants laughing.

I just keep praying for grace.

I will keep you posted on how that is going and the other fun questions I get asked.

Babies 2 Months

May 4, 2010 (Originally sent )

We went for our two month check up today and everything went well.

Wolf came in at 9 lbs and 11 oz and 22 ¼ inches long. Very healthy and growing like a weed.

Tyr weighed in at an even 11 lbs and 23 inches long. The doctor agreed with Dave that he is a little chunk-a-lunk.

Neither tipping the scales or measurement chart like Thor did but they were preemies and they are doing a great job catching up. Tyr has grown 3 inches and Wolf almost 4.

They are sleeping about 6 hours straight at night. Both are starting to enjoy the bath and because they are taking their milk with such gusto are needing them a lot more often. We have also been enjoying long walks in the afternoon which they love. Cooing and chattering until they fall asleep.

Thor is still loving being a big brother and we have to watch closely as he has started trying to pick them up. He drags his little stool all over to peek in their cribs and help on the changing table. He loves pushing the stroller and fetching and holding bottles, but has announced that the dirty diapers are “icky”. We talk about it a lot and he and I have gone shopping for pull-ups and big boy underwear. He is getting more interested and asking and sitting on the potty more. Dave and I will make the big push in June/July. He will also be moving to the big boy bed this month. I have been pushing for a while and Dave is finally on board. Then the only challenge left will be the paci. That may take a bit more work. Thor loves his paci.

Dave and I are hanging in there. Dave had a bug this weekend but is finally on the mend. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t at least a little bit tired. Someday I will get a nap in. We are still looking for a nanny for June and July. Thanks to everyone who has thought of someone and please keep those names coming. We will start interviewing Friday if everything goes well.