Enjoying the Harvest Take 2

Another Friday night at the lab filled with pizza and blogging! Yep, my job is that tough. Actually I just finished a work up on a newborn with severe jaundice and 2 cardiac patients in the ER. Contrary to what my mom will tell you, I do work at work, it just so happens that I can do other things while the tests are running and I do often have quite a bit of down time. Anywho--so we are enjoying the peach harvest at our house this week. We have 2 trees that were planted by the folks before us (Thank you! almost makes up for the basement flooding issue they didn't mention . . .) and this is the first year we have had a real harvest. Last year we had a handful from one tree and the other I thought was an apricot because they were so small. This year I have been jamming away and have 15 cup portions and 18 1/2 cup portions of freezer jam. If you are local and want some, let me know! The different sizes are because they sold out of jars at WalMart so I got some cheapie tupperware containers so I could give them away and not worry about getting them back. Always more fun to share. I am also freezing peach slices, making a peach tart this weekend, and of course eating as many of the juicy, sweet fruits as I can before they all go bad. We are still getting a couple of zucchinis and yellow squashes but not like in the heat of the summer. The butternut are still finishing up and I am still hoping for a few of the cantaloupes to ripen. Who knows on the tomatoes, they have been disappointing all year, but there are some on the plants waiting to ripen as well, we'll see. So . . .here's some shots I missed the other day, the boys trying pop rocks for the first time :).

Carter, he wasn't so sure, but of course loved it in the end.
Davis dove right in and then tried to trade with Carter, his empty pack for his full one. Carter is no dummy, no trade!

So the other new thing this week is that my boys all of a sudden can play on their own. It's like they just don't need me any more. We have our breakfast snuggle time, I have them use the potty and then they just take off on their own adventures. Once in a while they want me to join but for the most part (this week anyway) they are doing their own things and mommy is just in the way. I think pretending together is really taking off and that is part of it. They have pretended for a long time, but not in active play together. This week was all about being babies, dogs, and sleeping--on the floor of Davey's room (nakey of course, we potty train nakey).

They set the beds up like this and then pretty well told me to go away. The best part is that they are laughing the whole time. They like to make each other laugh all of a sudden. Last week they couldn't go more than 15 minutes without fighting, this week playing and laughing--who knows? Lowell says they have been doing this with him for a while, but it's new to me. Some of their little jokes make me laugh, but not like they laugh, just because I am so out of the loop. They definitely have their inside jokes that make no sense to me. Just like they have their own language. Maybe having twins is starting to pay off? At first I felt a little left out, you know Mommy is supposed to be the coolest friend ever (Carter says no, Dadis is my best friend--how freaking cute is that!) but they still accept snuggles from me and are always generous in doling out the loves to everyone, the girls at the gym just love that. The first day I just sat back and watched waiting to be invited in, the next day I cleaned the fridge and have since moved onto the peaches. Whole new horizons of cleaning are opening to me . . .well, we'll see.

Then today I was so proud of them because they were good friends at the park. Lately they have been possessive and pretty mean to other kids so when we got to the park and 2 little girls were already playing I sat down and talked to them about being nice and being a friend. Davis walked right over to one of the cutie girls and said, Hi Friend! and took her hand. What a flirt! They played nicely with both girls and even took turns. They got them into their boo at the bottom of the slide game and everyone was having a good time. I am just so proud of the little monkeys, maybe 3 is going to be good. I rewarded them by taking them out to lunch (okay maybe I rewarded myself as I didn't feel like cooking, though it was quite late to get started as well).

So that's the good news at my house. I am also enjoying the music player I stole from some of your sites. I used to open up Scott or Jillian's blog and just play the music the whole day while I worked, but now I graduated to my own music. It is fun as my taste in music is so eclectic and I have thrown in some of the kids' favorite stuff as well. Simon and Garfunkel are making me smile right now as I write this. Music has such a positive effect on the soul. So plans for this weekend include: haircuts for the bubs, a day at Liberty Land whilst they are still free, a drive up the canyon with *hopefully* some good pics in the fall foliage, and trying church again on Sunday. My dad will be out for church so we may find a way to go say hi to him too, we'll have to see. He was out briefly today as well to meet with his boss but time was too short for us to join him. I was actually pretty blue about that for a while, but there are many more opportunities on the horizon. This half-way house thing has been frustrating but it is slowly getting better as he gets more privileges. Thanks for all the well-wishes to my dad, I have passed them along.

Well, pizza and another ER patient awaits, loves to all!