Our Two Feisty Fellas

The boys aren't even here yet and we can already tell they have some very, very strong personalities.  There have been many a doctor appointment where it’s exclaimed “My you sure do have some movers!  I can’t get a good measurement until they quiet down.”  So we would wait and watch and I chuckled as little arms and legs flailed everywhere thinking nothing of it. But last week our 8 day stay at the hospital shed a bit of a new light on what our future may hold.

When expecting moms are in the hospital (or at least in our case), the baby’s heart rate is monitored continuously or at least very frequently.  In a typical patient, the heart rate is found and then a monitor is strapped to mom to keep an eye on baby.  For us, that lasted about 10 minutes.  The first go round took the nurse about 20 minutes to track down both boys.  Once found, she strapped on the monitors and left the room only to come racing back in about 5 minutes later.  The boys, with their hatred of the monitors, had kicked and squirmed their way away from getting tracked and were setting off alarms left and right at the nurses’ station.  Whoops. I assured her both were fine since I could feel them having a grand ol’ time.  But that put an end to continuous monitoring.

The following night around 3:30am, the nurses were having yet another difficult time tracking our munchkins.  Nick was asleep and I was about ¾ out of it because of the cocktail of meds I was on to stop the contractions.  But at one point, and I made sure to confirm the next morning, there were four nurses and a resident trying to get our fellas to cooperate.  They even had to bring in a sonogram machine!    

There has also been one thing consistent.  Almost every friend, nurse or doctor that hears or sees our active guys tells us “You know, their personalities before birth carry over.”  Mind you that is still to be determined but I have a feeling we won’t get bored with our two.  And I guess it’s a good thing I have my sister Ellen to talk to about parenting a spirited child.  Our nephew Jackson is the kind of kid you have to remind to walk instead of run.  Everywhere.  But we sure do love that little guy.  I can already hear a common phrase in our house being “BOYS! What was that crash???” followed by some mischievous giggles.

I'm Being Stalked

You know how when you buy a new car you notice just how many cars exactly like yours are on the roads? Or when you think you are being trendy with a new fashion and it seems as though everyone else is all of a sudden wearing the exact same thing?  Well, that’s my life right now.  Except that I’m being stalked. By twins.

Before we knew we were expecting our little guys, I swear we knew maybe two or three sets of twins.  I never saw them in public and if I did, I silently thought to myself “Good lord that double stroller is huge.  Can’t they downsize to something that doesn't take up the entire aisle at Target?”  Oh karma, you really think you’re clever.  Well now, I swear twins are everywhere.  I mean EV-ER-Y-WH-ER-E!!! We see them when we’re out at breakfast, during tv commercials and plastered all over Facebook.

In fact, last weekend while we were waiting to check out at the grocery store I turned around to see twin boys in the cart behind us with their mom.  I mentioned how darling they were and asked their age.  She said “Twenty months.  Though they came two months early because this one had a mind of his own and was kicking so hard that he broke my water.”  Wait…whaaaat!?  That can actually happen?  (Side note: I’m screwed.  I have two little soccer players.)

I will say though, meeting other twin parents has actually been kind of nice.  I had heard that parents of multiples kind of stick together and boy were they right.  Every single person we've met has offered us tips and words of wisdom.  They've also told us we will lose our minds for the first year but after that, it’s really great.  Ok maybe not the most helpful thing to say to new parents.  But, we've also been told of great play groups, consignment sales and one person even offered to give us the name of her night nurse.  Really, it’s incredible.

I will be curious to see what it’s like when the kiddos actually arrive.  Will we get more unsolicited advice from strangers?  Will we be able to pick out those young couples who just wish we would get out of their way with our massive stroller? Will even more twins come out of the woodwork?  Who knows.  I guess we will wait and see.  And as their arrival time draws nearer, I think about this stuff more and more. 

Oh and for those who have asked, I still haven’t had a random person ask or try to touch my belly.  I’m guessing that is also just a matter of time. 

My Complete and Utter Distain for Chocolate Chip Cookies

It should be no surprise to anyone that has read my blog that I love to bake.  Give me an excuse, or no excuse at all, and I will be more than happy to whip up a tasty treat. With one exception.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am here today to profess my complete and utter distain for an American favorite: the chocolate chip cookie.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  “Nestle Tollhouse commercials show the perfect family making cookies together with a smile on their faces and enjoying every second.” Well, I’m here to set the record straight. 

This afternoon I received a text from Nick saying one of the firefighters he mentored passed a big test.  Fantastic news!  Nick had told him the day before that if he passed, I would bake his favorite dessert.  Nick’s station is no stranger to my culinary skills.  I love baking for them and it’s always appreciated. So when I got the text bearing the good news I asked what I was making.  He said the unthinkable…chocolate chip cookies.  I asked Nick if his fellow firefighter would change his mind and rattled off a list of other baked goods I had perfected.  But alas, chocolate chip cookies it was.

I got home and went straight to the kitchen. The dough turned out fantastic and the cookies became a lovely golden brown.  They looked picture perfect. Well, that is until I had to take them off the cookie sheet.  For some reason or another, every.single.time. I make these freaking cookies they fall apart from the center out.

I am the first to admit that I have slight OCD when baking because in my mind, if the end result looks like a crumpled mess, no one is going to eat it. (I secretly blame my 4-H days).  I ended up getting so frustrated with the half dozen destroyed cookies that I tossed spatula into the sink, grabbed the bowl of cookie dough and a spoon and sat down at the table to drown my sorrows.  Nick and his patience were able to successfully get the cookies off the sheet without doing too terribly much damage.  That’s why we make a good pair.  BUT I don’t get it!  Why don’t these stupid cookies just come out in one piece just like every other cookie I make?  Why do these have to be so difficult? And WHY do these have to be the favorite of not one, but TWO firefighters at Nick’s station.  Ugh…

In the end about three dozen decently looking cookies were packed up to be brought in to the station in the morning. Yes I survived but that doesn’t mean I like these cookies any better.  In fact, I may hate them even more as I lay curled up in a ball on our couch simultaneously wanting to get sick from eating about 5 cookies worth of dough and craving a little more.  Damn these cookies anyway. 

Cantaloupe Conundrum

For as long as I can remember I’ve hated cantaloupe.  I hated the smell, the taste, the scratchy outside rind and I especially hated when it tainted the rest of the delicious items in my fruit salad.  That is, until last summer. 

As you probably know, Nick and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon last October.  That meant months of training, including the entire summer which was the hottest on record.  Somewhere in the midst I read cantaloupe was a great post-run refuel snack.  I whined and griped but bought one anyway.  I was getting sick of our normal routine of fruit snacks, bananas and Gatorade.  The best way to describe the first round would be ‘ok’.

Over Labor Day weekend Nick and I finally took a vacation and headed out to the west coast.  We spent time with family in San Francisco and toured the area.  While vacationing we had an 18 mile run scheduled.  We got up before dawn, put on layers (it’s cold in California in the morning!) and headed out.  Fast forward about three hours when we drug ourselves through the front door.  As we stretched my aunt cut up a cantaloupe, brewed me a fantastic cup of tea and started making us banana pancakes from scratch.  I got up to the counter and as soon as I saw the fruit, I dug in.  The pancakes were amazing too. But that’s a given.

To this day I have no idea why but something inside me craved it and I still can’t get enough of that odd orange fruit I once hated.  We now keep, or at least attempt to, a large Tupperware container full of cut up pieces waiting for me to arrive.  I can easily eat half a melon in one sitting and yet still want more.  Nick thinks it’s humorous to watch me sit on our counters devouring a big bowl while we’re cooking dinner.

So until I decide I no longer enjoy this fruit, I’ll keep on eating it.  And until that day comes, a common statement in our house is “I don’t know why I’m eating this stuff.  I used to hate it!  Oh hey, I finished this one off.  Do we have any more?”

A Tolley Family Winter Staple

Of the many things Midwesterners do well, making a hearty soup is one of them. My Mom’s recipes are up there with the best of them. I have a few that I make often but her vegetable beef has always been my favorite. I used to request it for my birthday dinner and remember sitting in the kitchen on many cold, blustery days waiting for it to be ready.

Today Nick and I finally made it and my mind kept going back to the farm as the soup simmered all day. Since we love the soup so much, I thought I’d share. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Note: This recipe used to feed a family of six so plan to invite some friends over for dinner or have plenty of leftovers.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs steak (we use chuck)
3 cups tomato juice
1/3 cup chopped onion
4 tsp salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
1 1lb can diced tomatoes
1 cup diced celery
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can peas (optional but we like the addition)
1 cup sliced carrots
1-2 cups cubed potatoes

Combine meat, tomato juice, onions, seasonings and six cups water in large pot. Cover and simmer for two hours.





Remove meat and bay leaves from pot.





Cut meat from bone, remove any fat and cube. Add meat and vegetables to large pot. Cover and simmer for one hour.



And enjoy!



Thanks Mom!! And yes...I know I need to finish my milk.

Plenty to Be Thankful For

As our year draws to a close, I’ve spent some time looking back over the past 12 months wondering how it went by so quickly. I remember adults telling me when I was younger that years fly by faster as you age. Well, a truer statement has never been said.
But thinking about this year in particular seems we couldn’t fit more in much more to be thankful for. Here is our year in review:

•My sister Ellen and brother-in-law Chad welcomed their first child Jackson last December

•My sister Rachel and brother-in-law Paul welcomed their first child Connor in May

•My brother Dan and now sister-in-law were married in August to round out the Tolley weddings

•Nick and I completed our own race circuit of the D.C. area with the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in March, Marine Corps Half Marathon in May, the 9/11 10th Anniversary Remembrance 5k in September and the Marine Corps Marathon in October

•We celebrated many of our friends’ engagements, weddings and births of first children

•Nick and I made spent a long weekend exploring San Francisco and Napa with family

•Nick received a well deserved promotion in November

•My Grandpa celebrated his 90th birthday at the end of November

We are now preparing to head back to Illinois for a week with family for Christmas. It’s hard to believe that soon we will be turning the calendar over to 2012. I often wonder what the new year will bring but I hope it is close to as fantastic as 2011.