Dealing with the heat

During the summer heat in Vegas the only way to survive outside for longer than 2 minutes involves either water or shade. Or better yet- ice cream. The last week the temperatures have been 105+. I am NOT wanting to even walk down to the mailbox. We are not lucky enough right now to have a pool in our backyard. So we've found some ways to let the boys cool down with water right in our own backyard. This way I don't have to go anywhere, try to swim in a public pool on my own with twins, or sweat outside in the sun while the boys kind of play in the water at our nearby water park.

So instead I found some cheap containers at the store, fill them with water and let the boys play while I sit in the shade and read or enjoy watching them. It doesn't take much to entertain them- they love pouring the water from one container to another or on themselves or each other.

Another thing they love are spraying cheap water bottles- I found them for only $1 each- on themselves, me, each other, the ground, or pretty much anything. And this week I finally decided to pull out the little blow-up pool and let them have fun. They call it the "owie-pool" or "water pool." Their word for water is 'owie' which cane easily be mixed up with getting hurt. While they play and splash in sit in my chair in the shade, drink ice water, and try to relax. Now all they want to do in the backyard is play in the water pool.

One of these days it would be nice to have a real pool in our backyard but for now we are managing to survive-and have fun- in this deadly heat.

4th of July weekend

We were one of the few families who actually stayed home in Vegas for the July 4th holiday. One of our former neighbors invited us over for a neighborhood party and an afternoon potluck and to swim in their above ground pool. Our boys never made it to the pool. They had too much fun playing in the mountain of toys at the house. We stayed for a couple of hours and returned home in time to do a few sparklers under very close supervision. Andrew seemed a bit more scared of them than Aaron but was willing to hold one.

Looks much worse than it was- Andrew is actually standing far enough away that Aaron didn't touch him or get close. Maybe Aaron's thinking about getting him back for something.

Friday morning we drove to the temple, which is across town. They each have a picture of the temple in their room and have been noticing it in pictures and in books. But lately everything has become a temple- the church, "big" buildings around town, etc. In order to clarify what is a temple and what isn't we figured a drive out there couldn't hurt. We pretty much just walked around the temple grounds, pointed out things like Moroni at the top, let them touch the temple, and looked at the flowers and fountains. We walked in the foyer for a few minutes but their naming of the pictures sounded like yelling in such a quiet environment. So we quickly left. Since then they no longer call every building seen from the car a temple- sometimes it's a "house", "big house", "church", and once-in-a-while a "temple". Although we weren't there for a long we had a good time.

I LOVE this picture!!

Fewer food frustrations

Anyone who has a child, or has observed infants & toddlers, knows that mealtime isn't always fun. It might involve a mess (that's a given), throwing of food, utensils, or dishes, tantrums, and refusing to eat certain foods. Since Aaron and Andrew began eating table food we've witnessed all three.

Until last week one of my biggest frustrations was Aaron's refusal to eat most anything- and sometimes Andrew. Breakfast has never been a problem and lunch not too bad. But dinner was another issue. We've tried the "you eat what we give you or you starve" method. Worked well for Andrew. Aaron would starve and wake up the next morning a monster. Wasn't worth it to us. We tried the "eat this and then you can have this" method. Andrew got it; Aaron didn't care (until recently). We found that feeding him what he liked- a LOT of chicken fish, or rice-was easiest. He wouldn't eat anything with pasta in it, absolutely no vegetables (that hasn't changed), and anything that looked "different" in his eyes. He likes PBJ, chicken nuggets, yogurt, most fruits, rice, bread, anything dipped heavily in soy sauce (except pasta), and "sometimes" other things. "Sometimes" was the most frustrating part- one day he'd scarf it down, the next he'd refuse to eat it.

Last week all this changed. I dropped them off at co-op for a couple of hours while I ran some errands and got some things done. If you cover the 9-12 a.m. shift you are expected to feed the children under your care a snack (i.e. lunch) around 11 a.m. When I pick them up I usually ask how they ate because sometimes they both get so involved in playing, or because there's so many kids around, that they don't eat much. When I asked last week how they ate my friend said they ate "great! Each ate a big bowl of mac & cheese." Wait a minute!! They "each" ate a big bowl of it??? Did she get mixed up about Aaron? She confirmed that AARON ate a bowl of mac & cheese. Not that mac & cheese is the most nutritious food on the market but we have made NUMEROUS attempts to feed him that, all of which failed. It is a favorite of Andrew. If he'll eat that, then he'll mostly likely eat lasagna, spaghetti (which we've fed him with rice or quonia instead of pasta), and most any other pasta dish.

Since that day we have learned that it wasn't just a one day thing. He has eaten mac & cheese again, lasagna, a pasta salad/dessert, cantaloupe, potato salad, and some other "different" things that he never would have before. And he's also understood in the last week or two the concept of "you eat this and then you get this" method which has opened up several new possibilities and ended most frustrations.

To me, this is a miracle!

Backyard Fun

Our back yard went from this:

to this....

(Taken from an opposite angle as the 1st picture but shows the same part of the yard)

To finally this!!!

I LOVE having the backyard (half of it anyway) landscaped and a fun swing set/fort that Steve put a lot of love into. It took him 4 full days to complete- 2 of them in 105+ heat. He was lucky to have some relief for 2 of the days with 85 temps. The boys love their new fun and so do any kids who have come over to play. And it's saved my afternoons many times- I send them out back while I fix dinner, read on the back patio, etc.