Lisa's House

THE house.


One of THE trees.


THE swing...and Asher holding a toy gun.



Ahhh, Lisa's house. My sister-in-law, and her husband and children of course, live in a wonderful ante-bellum home on five acres in Bristol. Apple orchard, massive maples, and a stream running through the back are just a few details that make her home so magical. Adding to the charm of her home is the pick-your-own strawberry farm that they are going to start next year. HOW awesome is that? I can't wait to take the boys to their aunt's farm for delicious, warm, and fresh strawberries.

Show and Tell

Baby Bs: Wyatt and Soren. The bigger twins.




A slight variation on a photo I posted a few days ago...I just love these guys together.

Gage and Wyatt received permission from their principal to bring Asher and Soren for show and tell. Due to the distance between us and the impossibility of just dropping by, Gage and Wyatt settled on bringing a photo of their twin cousins instead. HOW CUTE are Gage and Wyatt? I love that they think having baby boy twin cousins is so exciting and I love how much Asher and Soren love their older twin cousins.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

I got this recipe from my sister and I love it because the cookies are soft and chewy. I don't like hard sugar cookies. Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Chill 2 hours (overnight is best). Roll to 1/3 inch thick on a well floured surface. Use large round glass to cut into circles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes. Do not over bake. Cookies should be sponge-like when touched fresh out of oven. Frost and decorate as desired.

October Bits

Soren and Asher were absolutely enthused about new toothbrushes so they made it into the photo shoot. This photo really doesn't do justice to the beauty of our Halloween quilt but it sure shows the fun that Asher and Soren have together.



Cany corn: the cookie version.





My Aunt Gaye sent us a beautiful Halloween quilt to thank us for letting her stay with us but really, she is the one who deserves a handmade and heart felt thank you for being so generous with her love and talents. Halloween is fast approaching and I am going to be sad to retire our festive quilt but bringing it out next year will make the holiday even more wonderful.

I made candy corn looking sugar cookies tonight and they turned out really cute! I love the trio of colors on the cookies--a new October tradition has been established.

Jamie has been home TWO nights in a row before 6:30 pm. Heaven! I love having him home in the evenings and so do Asher and Soren. Dinner at the table together? It's my fave.

Asher and Soren are excited to be train drivers for Halloween and have been practicing both "All Aboard!" and "Trick or treat!" They are super awesome.

Thanks!

Hugs and kisses from Asher and Soren!

Friends,

Thank you for all of your kind comments and words of encouragement! I did the giveaway post for fun and was really humbled by not only the volume of responses but by the kindness in what was said. Thank you for reading and for being the best audience in the whole wide web world.

The winner of my giveaway is:

K A T Y of the stunning and inspiring blog: No Big Dill. She just returned from an epic trip to Asia with her hubs and their three oldest daughters--check out her amazing photos and honestly, the amazement that is her life.

Lucky for Katy, my parents are coming into town and I am headed to Trader Joes to stock up on goodies. Katy, let me know what you love from Trader Joes and I'll HOOK you up.

I love all of you my friendly readers and would love to send you all some Deuce sweetness. Come visit and I will HOOK you up too.

Big Deuce kisses,

Jessica

Deuce Squared

Baby B's next to Baby A's: Wyatt, Soren, Asher, and Gage.


Nothing to say other than--SO CUTE!



Asher surrounded by great cousins.



Gage teaching Asher the ways of the hot wheels.


Gage was thrilled to hold a sleepy Asher.


Asher and Soren are fortunate to have not one but TWO sets of twin cousins. My sister provided a set of girl twin cousins and Jamie's older sister gave us a set of boy twins. Amazing.

This past weekend we drove to Bristol to spend time with family, especially since Jamie wont be home for Thanksgiving. Our visit was perfectly timed because it allowed us to attend Gage and Wyatt's 8th birthday party. Woo hoo! Gage and Wyatt are remarkable cousins to Asher and Soren. They love the shared twinness between the four of them. Gage is eager to point out several similarities between Asher and himself:

1. He and Asher were born first and they are smaller than their brothers.
2. Asher has curly hair like Gage had when he was a baby.
3. Asher likes to read and Gage likes to read!
4. Asher likes to draw and Gage likes to draw!

I am impressed that an energetic eight-year-old would care so much about a two-year-old cousin! Gage and Wyatt are thoughtful, kind, and caring cousins. Asher and Soren received a plethora of hugs and kisses from their sweet cousins.

We are so happy that they are back in Bristol and we can't wait to see them ALL the time!

Suh-moke

Asher and Soren love steam trains and well, anything the produces smoke because it is one of their favorite things. Here is Asher demonstrating his awesome ability to both identify smoke and make a triangle. Genius.

1,000s of Posts AND a Give Away

Dear friends,

Two days ago I published my 1,000th post! How did that happen? This blog began over five years ago in response to several of my friends from grad school having blogs. Having recently completed graduate school, my mind was still thinking like a life long student I wanted to add my quasi academic voice to the mix of internet musings. At the time I started my blog I had no idea that it would also turn into a memorial of sorts because my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the birth of my blog. He lived only a few weeks after the diagnosis so I scribbled my thoughts online. I'm grateful I attempted to capture those raw emotions because reading through those first posts I realized how much I had forgotten about that sad time.

I enjoyed the blog until I became a victim of cyber bullying. Some random woman thought she was hilarious in leaving cruel and harassing comments on each of my posts. I was so sensitive (STILL am) and the abuse stung so much that I halted my entries. I still shiver over the experience.

My blog came to life again as the result of three things:

1. Comment moderation. Hello, genius!
2. Getting pregnant with TWINS and wanting to document the experience.
3. The proliferation of blogs. There are so many blogs online that the chances of a mean-spirited person choosing my blog to attack seemed unlikely.

My blog has thrived because of three things:

1. Asher Banister
   
2. Soren Carlton
3. Friendly, kind, supportive, and loving readers.

Blogging is exciting for me because my children make life exciting and joyful and I want my family and friends to share in that joy.

Dear readers, I would like to celebrate my 1,002 posts with a little giveaway. I am not a craftsy craftsman so my giveaway is going to be an assortment of goodies representing a few of my loves: music, stationary, food, and a signed glossy 8X10 of The Deuce (j/k).

Please post a comment and if you are feeling especially generous, please mention your favorite J in the VA post! I'll announce a winner on Tuesday, October 27th. One comment per person (all five of you readers).

Thank you for reading and for all of your kind comments.

Love you!
Jessica

Party Times

Hey!

Ho!

Who you calling a ho?

Instinctive Introductions

Soren and the praying mantis check each other out.

Asher and Soren saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" repeatedly.

Asher attempting to tickle the praying mantis.

Asher and Soren encountered their first praying mantis a few weeks ago and they were fascinated by the new creature. They got right up into its face and gave a stream of very friendly salutations. I had to pull Soren away before he was eye to eye with it and I had to pull Asher away before he tried to tickle the creature. I love that Asher and Soren delight in nature and the many forms it introduces to them.

Soren wasn't afraid of this creature but Halloween decorations that are even slightly freaky deak, especially the ones that make noises or attempt to startle with sudden moves (think of mechanical hands in treat bowls), terrify him. He gets the shakes just looking at the decorations a few townhomes down from our home. He tells me that the lights are 'scary' and I am amazed that he understands that concept!

Willing and Growing

I am not happy that Jamie will be gone for five weeks but I am pleased already that certain blessings have arisen from his trip--namely visits from my sister and my mom and I have been surprised by generous invitations from friends to join them for Thanksgiving dinners.

As soon as I told my mom Jamie would be leaving for a long time, she asked when would be the best time for her to come. She didn't hesitate and her immediate ability to succor me and my little ones is a testament to her wonderful skills as a mother. She is coming for the first NINE days of December and will be my partner in finding and chopping down a rural Virginia Christmas tree, she will help me display Christmas decorations, and she will help me feel the seasonal joys that would otherwise have been missing, along with my husband. Oh yeah, she will also fill Asher and Soren with that special love that only a grandma can provide. Asher and Soren have been reading their 'Grandma is Coming to Visit!' book (gifted from Aunt Gaye--thanks again!) several times a day in anticipation of my mom and dad visiting NEXT week. I am blessed.

My sister will be coming for a long weekend and that too will be extraordinarily wonderful and festive. We will most likely hang out, spend as much time at Wegmans as the Deuce will allow, and stroll through the District, which are a few of our favorite things.

While I happily await their visit, this is what my mom and sister can happily anticipate about their visit to me (read The Deuce):

1. Asher and Soren are quick to break into song--sun, sun, sunny day! Twinkle, twinkle, little star, and at their most joyful, they will throw in some air drums too.
2. A&S are obsessed with whether or not someone or something (like pumpkins or trains) are happy or sad. When driving around the neighborhood I will often hear, "Mama, happy pumpkin!" and I will see a jack-o-lantern with a toothy grin on someone's porch.
3. A&S know their names. Amazing!
4. A&S know their age. Amazing!
5. ASher can count from 2-10 about four times out of five.
6. Asher can draw fancy fans with four blades and if we draw a train for him, he will add passengers with hats.
7. Soren can jump down the front porch without falling on his face.
8. Soren gives wonderful nose kisses.
9. A&S love to say 'so fun' and 'so cute.' When we were driving to a friend's house on Sunday Asher kept repeating, "So fun mommy." We saw some Christmas trees at Macys over the weekend and Asher and Soren would gently touch the decorations and say, "So cute." How cute and how fun are they???

Fun, fun, FUN!

Halloween Aesthetics

My first carved pumpkin...in decades?!

I had a very interested audience.

I love Soren's bubble wand.

Asher being shy.

I love babies and pumpkins.

The mommy bat with her babies.

The Halloween mobile.

Blurry brownie bites with candy corn.

As a kid I always loved Halloween and I looked forward to the decorations my mom would put up, which were usually paper pumpkins and ghosts taped to the window. Sometimes my mom would also paint festive images on our front window.

This year I cut out a bunch of bat and owl silhouettes and put them on a blank wall in the living room. I loved seeing Soren and Asher's initial reaction to them, which was to 'hold it' and to tell me that there was a mommy bat and baby bats. I also made a Halloween mobile of little bats, pumpkins, and cats that I drew and cut out. I like it.

Carving pumpkins was super fun and scooping out the guts of the pumpkins produced immediate nostalgia--the smell of fresh pumpkin is so dearly connected to the Octobers of my youth. I loved having Asher on my lap and Soren over my shoulder as I carved away. Added to our nightly routine is the lighting of the pumpkin candles--I'm not sure who loves it more, me or them.

Alexandria is beautiful right now and peppered with deep reds, oranges, and yellows. Bliss. Jamie only has two grave yards left. Bliss. Asher and Soren sing songs to each other. Bliss. October. Bliss.

Baby Planks

In an effort to strengthen my core and therefore my back, I have been doing a lot of planks. Being master observers and performers, Asher and Soren have also been doing planks. I love the exercise company and wish my planks were as easy to do as their planks. Oh, and I wish I looked as cute as them too.

Halloween Preview

This guy is a pro at yelling, "All aboard!"



Notice that Asher is pointing to the train that Soren is clutching. The Deuce are serious trainophiles.

Get ready for a whole lot of baby train drivers!

An ALL Day Date with Jamie

Our date began at the King Street station. We have lived in Alexandria for 6.5 years and so much of our experiences have started at the King street station so it was actually quite thrilling and romantic to be on the platform together, just the two of us.

We took the blue line to Rosslyn then walked across the Key bridge into Georgetown. I love the walk and I love the bridges of DC. I also loved the cool and overcast weather. The clouds enhanced the color and drama of a beautiful day in DC with my HUBS.

I love the canal in Georgetown!

Cady's Alley--feels so European.

Halloween heaven at Dean and Deluca, aka, "The food museum" (coined by our friend Corey Dyckman).

Snack heaven at D&D!

We had breakfast at D&D: buttery, heavenly cheese, perfect baguette, and superlative hot chocolate.

The outdoor cafe--notice the two little birds.

Loving breakfast with my hubs! Wearing my date jewelry, Brazilian blue topaz.

The canal again.

Patagucci!

We went to a matinee viewing of "The Invention of Lying" (I heart Ricky Gervais). Not only were the tickets only $6 each, we had the place to ourselves and there was no line for free refills on our bev.

Georgetown (and of course, Old Town) energetically embodies all that is wonderful about fall--color, festivity, history, and seasonal decorations.

Taking the 'tro home.


Hubs and I can't wait to date you again DC!

News is that Jamie will indeed be leaving Asher, Soren, and me for the demands of work in South America. L o n g p a u s e for my devastation...and Jamie's too. Because he hasn't left yet, I tell myself that it will be sufferable and that I'll survive and perhaps even have a good time too as I continue holiday traditions with Asher and Soren. But it will be difficult and to remedy the toughness of it, I will seek out seasonal activities, such as Christmas tree lighting events and museum visits and concerts. You know how things, even fun things, aren't quite the same without your most loved one around? It will be like that without Jamie but in the spirit of the season, I know we will be edified and that Asher, Soren, and I will have great joy in the things we see and do together.

My mom has already graciously agree to visit and I am thrilled to spend that precious time with her. She is such a source of strength and love that to be with her during the holidays will be a gift that I can attribute to Jamie.

Friends, Jamie and I needed time together and our all day date fest in DC was absolutely perfect. From the moment we left the house to the moment we returned and actually, the entire day, we felt completely bolstered and I would argue that we even went to bed as BETTER persons after that day. The weather was perfect, the fall colors, the city, the food, the walking, the scenery, and the chance to be alone as a couple was beautiful. I have a good husband and he is generous with his affections. I am fortunate that we are bound, forever.