Making Rice Krispies Treats

Lately the boys have been very interested in cooking. Even though it is a little stressful and a major pain in the neck for ole Ma, I have been encouraging this newfound hobby. It doesn't hurt that they are ridiculously cute while cooking.

"Come on, Mom. Let's cook supper for dinner!"

"Welcome to the Julian and Jonas making show. Okay, now, today we're cooking rice krispies treats. We get the butter and the mushrooms and the cereal."

Note: In Julian and Jonas world, mushrooms are marshmallows.

A couple of cuties with "mushrooms" for rice krispies treats.

So proud to be chefs.

"Snap, crackle, pop!"

Just a little mess.

After their treats were done, they were very excited to take their Dad a piece, and to gobble a few of their own! You always have fun at the Julian and Jonas Making Show!!!

Chef Jules

Julian has lately become very independent. Everything is suddenly "my turn!" From throwing away trash to taking off his socks, he wants to do it all by himself.

Tonight, it was his turn to cook supper. So, equipped with his butter knife, he set out to cut all the grapes. Like any good cook, he snacked along the way, eating most what he cut. He was very proud of his handiwork and made sure to tell Jonas all about it when it was time to eat.

 

Hold it steady, Julesy! 

Watch for that thumb! 

Such concentration.

Feeling to see which side of the blade to use. 

Color Me Mine

Last Saturday, Kate and her brothers explored their artistic sides and painted some pottery.

Uncle Dacian and his Dad, Jim,  went along with us to help out and have some fun.  We had a fabulous time. Kate and I painted a snake. Jonas and Dacian painted a frog. Julian and Jim painted a lizard.

I've got to find a sweet spot in the house to display my lovely new pieces.

The finished works. 

All painted and ready to fire! 

Artists at work. 

Banana Bread

The dudes and I have a few different night-time routines. We like to tell each other stories. We like to sing songs, particularly, "Mommy, Julian, and Jonas," which is a song about all the cool stuff we do. Or, we read books. 

The book Julian most frequently requests is,  Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana. I think we all have this story memorized. Pete the Cat loves bananas, but one day, the poor ole feller gets a bad banana. It is brown. It is mushy. It is gross. So, Pete swears off bananas.

In an attempt to make him remember his love of bananas, Pete's Mom makes him banana bread. Hence, our latest baking adventure:

 

Julian's beautiful bundt.

Lots of banana smashing. 

Putting his all into it! 

Gray Poss

As you all know, Julian and his possums are inseparable, which is why for the past few days, Doug and I have torn our house apart. You see, we could not find Gray Poss. We searched everywhere: under beds, under radiators, in closets, in cabinets, in the van, on the playground. All to no avail.

I asked Julian, "Where's Gray Poss?" He said, "I don't know. He's gone!" Heart shattering. I could hear, "When She Loved Me" playing softly in my mind's soundtrack. I couldn't stop thinking of a sad, abandoned Gray Poss. What happened to him? Was he dropped along our walk when we were out in the wagon? Did we leave him at the aquarium? I couldn't imagine Julesy forgetting his buddy!

We had given up all hope. Doug ordered a new Gray Poss online. Julian still had Black Poss, but he's lived his whole life with 2 possums, so he needed another.

But! Just like Bori Cat returned home from being lost the very day a new cat (Flash Gordon) showed up, so too did Gray Poss!

All this time, GP was inside the seat of Kate Monster's musical motorcycle. The question is, did Monster know this whole time?

Boys Don't Cry

As a payback for not sending me emails, I dressed the boys alike.
You're welcome, Teachers!

Boys don't cry...unless you tell them they cannot eat a Swiss Roll until after dinner. But that's another story for another time.

Tonight, I am here to report that my boys don't cry anymore when their Dad drops them off for school. In fact, they are dang near jubilant in the mornings! Ready and raring to go! I'm not sure what switch was flipped to make it this way, but I am certainly grateful this day has come.

Unfortunately, the notes and pictures from the teachers only came for the first week. I think that is cruel, but I guess it doesn't matter what I think. At any rate, I have to rely on those boys to tell me about their days. Which, as you can imagine, does not get me far.

Me: Julian, what did you do at school today?

The Bear named Joe enjoying a Krispy Kreme.

Jules: A frog puzzle!

He tells me that every single day. He's got to being doing something other than that dadgum frog puzzle.

Me: Jonas, what did you do at school today?
Jonas: Played on the playground!

In addition to playing on the playground, Jonas informed Rachel today that he also, "Made a huge mess with cheerios."

Last week, both Doug and I got to go to school to join the boys for Donuts with Dad (or Mom). Doug had donuts with Jonas, and I had donuts with Jules.

The parents walked into the classroom to find the children all sitting politely in a circle. When Jonas spotted Doug, he hollered, "Dad! You're home!" He crawled into Doug's lap and a kindergarten student gave them each a donut. Jonas wolfed his down in record time (his first donut [excluding the "chocolate meatball" aka chocolate donut hole he lapped up a few weeks prior]) and wanted more. While the kids and Dads were eating donuts, the teacher read a nice book, "What Daddies do Best." Jonas waited until a pause in the story to scream, "I WANT MORE DONUTS!" My kid.

My crazy critters.

The following day, it was my turn to join Jules in his classroom for donuts. I was in the back of the line of parents entering the class, so I got to watch his little face search the crowd, trying to see if his Mommy or Daddy was among the group. When he spotted me, I tell you what, I wouldn't give anything for that feeling of seeing his little face light up with love and excitement! He rushed right over to me, and I had to usher him back to the circle. He gave me kisses and sat in my lap. Unlike Jonas, he wanted nothing to do with the donut. He wanted nothing to do with the story. He wanted nothing to do with school. Two or three times the boy got up from my lap and went over to his cubby and got his coat, backpack, and hat. "Time to go home, Mom. Let's go to Woolmart." "No, you have to stay here at school." "Let's go to Target!" "No. Not today." "Let's go to the aquarium." "No, you gotta stay here." "Where's my brother, Jonas?" Sigh...and then story time was over, and I had to leave him, and he cried. It was terrible in that moment. BUT. He doesn't cry anymore!

And through it all, one thing remains constant. Kate keeps chillin out maxin relaxin all cool.

Monster.

The Struggle is Real

It's exhausting being this cool.