Nothing new here.  You know, another winter storm, a few minor holidays, the last of this winter's colds (knock on wood).  Do not let the presence of green in any of the above photographs mislead you into thinking that we celebrated Saint Patrick's Day.  There was nothing green.  No green food, no green clothing, as my children pointed out to me on this morning after Saint Patrick's Day.  Not that I have anything against the holiday, but it's just somehow never on my radar.  I was always that kid who forgot to wear green.  Besides, these days I'm too busy (unsuccessfully) willing spring into being.

The children have gotten really good at going out in the snow.  They get geared up and out the door without me having to do much more than zip up their coats, their mittened hands being too clumsy.  As long as they're well bundled, they stay outside for at least an hour, digging and eating snow and that sort of thing.  Popcorn and hot chocolate is the chosen snack of snow days, and I'm not naming any names, but I always find a few kernels of popcorn on the bottom of a certain small boy's cup of cocoa.

And speaking of cold things, we saw Frozen this weekend, and it was really good!  I haven't seen a Disney movie in ages, but I have had two little girls serenading me, one another, and any other sentient being with Frozen songs for many weeks now (they went to see the movie with our neighbors when the twins were teeny newborns).  After a full week of living my daily life to the soundtrack of Frozen, we moved the cd player into the girls' room so they could enjoy it in a more... quiet venue?  But seriously, it was a cute movie, and even my sensitive kiddos loved it.

I'm making guesses as to what type of shoe wear will be required for the next few days.  Snowboots, rain boots, and then please please please sandals by Saturday?  Yes?  Spring equinox, pleas work your magic.

This and That in Pictures

Did I ever show you guys the cardigans I knit for the girls?  I had hoped to make something for each family member before the babies came, and finished just in time.  Now, taking pictures, that's another story.  Two tiny tea leaves cardigans (one of my favorite patterns for little girls).

Windows are open, and curtains are dancing with the gusts of wind.

Hugo is my kitchen helper, entirely adept at peeling carrots or chopping vegetables.  Did you know that you can cut a cross in the base of a brussel sprout to make it cook more evenly?  They're one of my favorite vegetables.

A March nature study, gathered and labeled by Zosia.  Having her at home during the day is like being with a good friend.  She is such a calm and peaceful presence.

Some new cups on the cup shelf and a nursing friendly dress, courtesy of the thrift store, and what might possibly be the best blueberry cobbler I have ever made.  The problem with winging it in the kitchen is that it's nearly impossible to replicate something good!  

These babies are *so* lucky to have big siblings all around!  Above, Lily keeping Clara entertained during tummy time.  Nothing makes these babies smile like their big sisters.

Thaw

There is hardly any snow left on the ground.  What is left, the children stomp on victoriously, grinding that last little bit into the ground, which, truth be told, is sort of what I feel like doing, too.  We have had a few warm days, and there are a few colder days in the forecast, but I do believe that finally, spring is sneaking in.  Can you believe that in just nine days, spring will be here?  At long last.

I was just sitting down with Ben, and telling him that yesterday I felt sort of... bored?  I mean, it was incredibly fleeting, and then I found something necessary and useful to do, but still.  Boredom. What a novel luxury.  A few weeks ago, right in the middle of juggling newborn twins, I couldn't possibly fathom kicking my feet up in such a way, the babies soundly sleeping, the big kids happily playing outside, the house in order and the windows open.  There are still crazy moments, and some nights still leave us feeling totally exhausted (ahem, last night, I'm looking at you), but things are, on a practical level, getting easier and easier, and all of a sudden we are looking down at two babies, not two newborns.

And while it is such a relief to feel this reprieve, it really is, might I say it is also a challenge?  Because when you are literally spending every possible moment keeping things running, you don't have the time to feel tired, or grumpy.  And then when you're twiddling your thumbs, all of a sudden, you have this time and energy, and find yourself getting worked up about the silliest things, like clothes that have been muddied.  And I mean, it's spring, and the ground is covered in mud, and we have five children in the house.  Clothes will clearly get muddy.  Get over it, self.  Thank goodness for a season of repentance.

Last night, the big girls begged Ben to make a campfire for them.  They had made the stone ring and filled it with twigs, and even though it was pushing their bedtime, he went out to celebrate the warm  air, the longer days (oh, March 9, how I have waited for your sunshine!), and a new day.

::The pram is back, after a sojourn with friends!  Just the right size for two babies.

::A newspaper and a loaf of bread, my gift to Ben on a Saturday morning.  There's something about an unread newspaper that is so hopeful and wonderful and nascent.  Maybe this will be the best newspaper yet!  Probably not, but there's that possibility.

::Fabrics for a baby blanket for these two little ones.  They will share one for now, until I get around to making another one.

::A noisy spring wreath, which we hung up the day before the last storm.  Spring will come, by golly!  We are willing it into being.

::Braids and a campfire.

Pretzels, Smiles, Prayers

Have you ever noticed that one year you might happen to cook something, or do something on a particular day, and then just like that, it's a set-in-stone-indisputable-family-tradition?  And so every year now, we have pretzels on Ash Wednesday, because that is just what we do.  And pretzels are actually pretty delicious, as it so happens (it's all about the baking soda bath, guys!  Trust me on this one).  They actually happen to be Ben's very favorite food in the whole world.  Doesn't it seem kind of like it's missing the whole point of lent to look forward all year to the food you will consume on Ash Wednesday?  Hm.  Well, for what it's worth, pretzels were originally developed as a Lenten food, and we read all about it.  Does that help remedy the situation?

This year, we're not too concerned with fasting (which children and nursing women are exempt from).  Nor are we worrying too much about getting out in the community to give alms, because our alms are happening right here in this household (I wonder whether "alms" is derived from the word almus, which means kind, fostering, or nourishing.  Does this look familiar to any of the other young mothers out there?  I had a good laugh when I saw the painting Alma Parens, because, especially as a nursing mother of multiple, that sums up my life!).  

So prayer is the lenten practice that we're gravitating towards, which feels just perfect, because the life of a parent of small children is inherently a monastic one.  Rythmic, intentional, and some may say harsh.  There are calls to prayer.  Cries in the night for milk from nursing babies, requests for a book to be read, for a meal to be prepared, for an injury to be nursed.  They have a rhythm, these calls to prayer.  They are persistent and unceasing and unrelenting.  And yet they are also gentle and inviting and beautiful. A monastic life.

We are praying the Rosary together as a family, one decade at a time, which is something we've never done before.  We hope to journey through the stations of the cross weekly.  And we will be growing Easter grass, because, again, that is just how Lent is done around here!  A seed for every time we place someone else above ourselves, and a whole planter full of grass, with any luck, by Easter morning.  And so we begin this Lent!

::We had a salad with eggs and sardines (a favorite around here!).  I wonder if everyone will make me do this again next year now?

::There are smiles everywhere.  Can you tell that this is a spirited pair?  That picture of the two of them together just has so much personality.  I have a feeling we will be well entertained for many years to come with this dynamic duo. (Dorothy in white, Clara in hearts.  They still look totally different to me!)

::We have lost Zosia to books.  We go to the library every single week.  And she checks out as many books as we let her, and proceeds to sit down and read them, back to back, until she's done.  She seriously has no idea I'm taking her picture, above.  Of course it tickles us to the core.

Masks, Meatballs, and Rum

We just spent the morning making masks and bead necklaces for Mardi Gras.  I can't say we've ever celebrated Mardi Gras before, but then again, I don't know that I can say we've been snowed in in March before, either.  So Mardi Gras it is!  We have a panda, a lion, and a cat in the household, and big plans for a parade this afternoon.  It's not quite 32 degrees out, which is usually my cutoff for going out for a big long walk with all the kids, but this winter has toughened us up, so we'll take 29 degrees outside.  I'll double wrap the babies in bunting, and they should be good to go!  Good, strong European babies, those two.

And while I'm posting pictures of parties, feasting and debauchery, I've been making huge batches of meatballs with a blend of pork and beef and they've been a hit around here (which has not always been the case).  Both Ben and I have noticed that we've shifted from the mentality of feeding a small family (where you can make very special allocations for each member of the family) to the mentality of feeding a big family (where there's a single item for dinner, which hopefully everyone can enjoy).  The amazing thing is that the kids have more or less gone with the flow, and have become increasingly experimental in their eating, even if it means leaving behind a little of this or that.  Of course we still sometimes find ourselves making a peanut butter sandwich for someone for "dessert", but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.  There's something so satisfying about making a huge pot of something that feeds many hungry mouths.

And in the debauchery department, I've been enjoying a hot buttered rum just about every evening.  Think of it as a sweet, warming, spiked tea.  I make the batter from the recipe I've linked, and then put about a tablespoon in a mug, along with two tablespoons of rum, and fill with hot water (and this ends up lasting for much more than the four drinks approximated by the recipe).  The result is so tasty and soothing!  You should give it a try.

And now that we're getting all of this excitement out of our systems, it's time for Lent!  With any luck, I might be back here sharing a little bit about our hopes and plans for this penitential season.  I'm especially excited to be involving the big kids this year.

Before the Storm

Am I the only one that starts cooking food like a crazy person before a storm?  If you need to find me at 9 pm on the night before a storm, I will be in the kitchen.  Cooking up enough food to feed the majority of the neighborhood, just in case.  Last night: adobo chicken (thanks for the introducing us to it, Cara!), a huge pot of rice, and chocolate chip cookies.  I tripled all recipes, just in case.  Because, you know, you need that sort of thing when there is snow on the ground, right?  Ben looks at me with skeptical eyes, but knows better than to interfere, because this storm preparation is some sort of primal instinct, and you just can't stop that.

This morning we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow, and the kids wasted no time getting geared up to go outside and try it out.  The verdict?  Pretty powder snow which will need warmer temperatures to become snowman or snowball worthy.  I ventured out for a bit, but was content to enjoy a cookie and coffee next to the window: a definite perk of a snow day.

After a big lunch of french toast and hot chocolate, they're sitting next to me watching Cinderella (another perk of a snow day!).   Ben is all set up to work from home, and I must say, so far the kids and I are being *so* good and giving him a quiet house to work in.  I think that working from home was much easier (for him) when it was just me, Ben, and a dog.  Oh well, we still love having him around.

Can you believe how big those babies are getting?  Woohoo breastmilk, you're getting the job done!