In Case You Were Wondering About That Biscotti.

Here is the recipe I used from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 cup shortening
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Sift flour and measure. Resift with sugar and baking powder onto a flat surface. Cut shortening into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
2. Make a well in flour and break eggs into it. Add vanilla, and knead dough well for about 5 minutes until it is smooth, adding a little more flour if dough seems to soft and sticky.
3. Pinch off bits of dough about the size of an apricot, and form into desired shapes. Cookies may be baked as rings, strips, or in letters, such as S.
4. Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheet and bake in hot 450 degree F (230 degrees C) oven for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Watch carefully, because they burn easily.

The reason I chose this recipe was because it was very basic, so I could do with it what ever I wanted. I added 1/2 cup of chopped almonds, used almond and vanilla extract and then dipped them in chocolate at the end!

Winner of the 'Grossest little kid story' contest (ok, so I was the only contestant)

This was on Facebook about 6 months ago, so some of you have already read this.

This morning we had a play date at a park/petting zoo place. Lots of fun. We fed animals, played at the play ground, rode tractor bikes and played in the water. The drive home in our NOT airconditioned van was considerably longer than it should have been because I got terrible lost on my way home.

I tell you all this to explain why when we got home at lunch time we were hot, sweaty and really hungry. Quentin (the wonderful man that he is) had gotten lunch ready for us and turned the AC on to cool us off. So, we stripped the twins down to nothing. (<- and there is the phrase that introduces my doom) We ate lunch, and I got on the Facebook to talk to all of you lovely people. In the middle of this, however, I got the twins down from the table. They happily stood in front of the box fan in the kitchen, so I thought, "they're in the kitchen...it won' t be that big of a deal if one of them pees, that will be easy to clean up...I'll just let them stay naked." Back to Facebook.

Then suddenly I hear Silas cry and I turn to see not one, but two babies with piles of poop behind them! I gasp, "Oh no!" I pick up Silas and carry him to the mound of clean diapers and wipes in the living room. Meanwhile forgetting, that there is a whole other baby in the kitchen with poop surrounding him. Suddenly, Gideon is right beside me and before I can inspect the little dots of poop that he tracked all the way from the other side of the kitchen and across the carpet with his chubby little feet, he makes a terrible face, spits something out and hands me a piece of poop.

In due time, everything got cleaned up...The butts, the feet, the carpet, the kitchen floor, my shirt and shorts, and yes, I brushed Gideons teeth.

10 Things I Never Thought I'd Say, That I Have, In Fact, Said More Than Once

My initial thought was to just list the comments on their own, but I decided to save you all a call to CPS and provide some explanation.

1. Don't sing about your penis! When he was about 2 1/2, Oliver was always making up little songs. I loved it! It was so cute, until one day, he started singing about his penis. I was not about to let that happen, so before he could even finish the first line of his little ditty, I hollered this phrase across the room. My next thought was, 'I'm going to have to put that on a list of things I never thought I'd say! Almost two years later, here it is.
2. No, you may not swing from the cord of the mini blinds. This one comes with story. After receiving this as the answer to his question, Oliver decided to try it anyway. It did not go as he planned. He jumped from the bed with the cord in his hands, luckly he didn't pull the blinds down! And he did land with his feet on the floor... mostly. His pinky toe landed just inside the slit of the laundry basket, shaving the skin clean off the inside of his toe. He hasn't tried it since then.
3. Don't bit your bother's butt. What can I say, they'll bit whatever is most convenient to chomp onto.
4. Just go eat the food off the floor. In my defense, I only say this when I know the floor is clean...which isn't often, but also...they throw perfectly good food on the floor...seriously, we could probably feed another small family with what I sweep up and throw in the trash can some days. So occasionally, when they are begging for food as I'm getting dinner ready, I just point them toward the perfectly good snack that they dejected just an hour ago.
5. No, don't hit Mommy; go hit your brother All three of my boys own swords. Sometimes they have good spirited, friendly sword fights (other times its not so friendly) Occasionally, I get added into the sword fight, except I don't have a sword, so I just get hit! Hence, this comment. I promise I don't normally encourage my sons to hit each other. But when this phrase came out of my mouth, I thought...That's got to go on the list!
6. Yes, Mommy pees out her butt. By the time Oliver was 2 1/2, he knew that boys have penises and girls do not. He also knew that mommy is a girl and that she sits down to pee (like he does when he poops). He drew some of his own conclusions and would occasionally remind me, "Mommy, your a girl, so you don't have a penis, so you pee out your butt." I do not feel the need to clarify to him further, so Yes, Mommy pees out her butt.
7. No, you can not help me with the dishes! Sometimes I do let them help, sometimes I even put some water in the sink with some dirty bowls and spoons from breakfast and let them go crazy while I enjoy some quiet time with a book, but sometimes...I want to just do the dished without turning the kitchen into a swamp.
8. Because I said so! I hate it that I say this. I never thought I would...but with a very logical 4 year old asking why...a lot...sometime this frazzled Mommy can only come up with: Because I said so!
9. How did you get the potato masher tangled in the blinds? OK, this one I've only said once, but come on...I'll bet none of you have said it!
10. Why are there dirt socks on the book shelf every time I walk by it? I'm serious...every time!!

My apologies for the P**** word so often in my blog...we teach out boys to call it what it is, and not come up with some funny little name for it. I don't really intend for it to come up so often, but with three little boys...it just does.

Twins - What a Ride!

Yesterday evening, the boys were playing with blocks. Silas started screaming at Gideon. When I turned around to see why, Silas indicated that he wanted the block that Gideon had. It is quite possible that Gideon had taken said block from Silas, but since I didn't see it happen and there were 39 other blocks on the floor, I simply picked up another block and handed it to Silas. He arched his back and threw himself on the floor. He did not want the block I offered him or any block that remained on the floor. He wanted the block in Gideon's hand.

Today, in the middle of making lunch, Silas started screaming and we repeated the scenario from last night. I left him on the floor to throw a fit while I turned down the pot of pasta that was boiling over. When I returned to the living room just a few seconds later, Gideon was face down on the floor and Silas was on top of him bitting him on the back.

Yikes. What is wrong with my children?

Let me clarify...while Gideon seems innocent enough in these two stories, I wouldn't be too quick to label him a victim. He does his fair share of bitting, pushing and taking.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer 17:9

On the other hand, these little twins of mine often baffle me with how sweet and loving towards each other they can be. Sometimes, Gideon will be trying to get up on the couch and Silas will give him a little boost. When I serve them applesauce, Silas always finishes first, and then Gideon will share the last of his own; spoon feeding his brother the last of his snack. Earlier this week, Silas went to the bathroom to get a tissue, brought it back and wiped Gideon's runny nose. And of course, there is the ever hilarious,

tackle Oliver for the sake of team twinners!

It is such a privilege to watch twin boys grow up. I'm sure I'll never really understand the relationship between the two of them. I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy the crazy, loud ride.