Molly Piper

Since all the major retailers are telling us what to buy for the Haaallllidayzzz, and giving us all kinds of crappy ideas for things we don’t really need…I figured I’d put my recommendation (which isn’t crappy) into the mix.

Ladies and gentlemen…

Wait! Wait! let me rephrase…

[Ahem]

Ladies and the people who buy for them…

May I present the Makita BCL180W!!!

 Now you might be thinking, “Really? a vacuum? for Christmas?”

Let me just counter that with, “No, really…a vacuum…for Christmas.” (See how easy that was?)

 I got mine 2 Christmases ago and still use it multiple times a day. If you have hardwood floors, it’s amazing! It’s seriously the best practical gift I’ve ever been given.

I haven’t actually done this yet, but every time we leave the house to go on a trip I consider packing it to take along, that’s how much it’s a part of my life. I’ve even thought, as I’m happily vacuuming along, “I’d like to be buried with this here vacuum.”

 Why I love this Makita Vacuum

• It recharges quickly. I just disconnect that black battery and slide it onto the teal battery charger thing, and it’s done in maybe 15 minutes, max (just enough time to clear the dishes, load the dishwasher, and deal with the leftovers).
• It holds a charge for awhile. I probably charge mine every couple days (more if I’m using it more heavily).
• Great swivel action. (And we all want a little swivel in our lives, ifyouknowhatImean).
• You can take that long part off and use it as a dust buster thingy. Or attach the pointed part for corners or couch cushions. Basically all the parts are interchangeable for whatever your vacuuming needs may be!
• The filter thing on the inside is washable, so therefore, reusable. BOOM!
• This thing is a Makita power tool, so it’s really tough. I think they market it for construction dudes, but I think it’s a miracle product for moms.

And if I didn’t convince you, let the good folks at Makita try (**SPOILER ALERT!** Rad metal music and awesome feats of vacuuming strength to follow!)

This vacuum sucks in all the right ways. (I’ve been waiting to use that line for the whole post! I know, total dork.)

(Now for the fine print: Makita has no idea who I am or that I’m insanely happy about this product. They have offered me absolutely no compensation for this post. So you might be wondering, “Why are you doing this, Molly?” Basically, I’m just a woman who can’t help recommending awesome things to her friends. I hope you get one for Christmas!!!)

Grateful tears this morning over my pile of potato peels while this song plays again and again:

Thank you for the way you make the flowers grow
Up through the cracks in my fractured soul…

Whispers of thankfulness today for so much.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Listen/watch the new Ben Kyle album (one of my favorite Minneapolis musicians).

I basically don’t even need to write this post, because you probably kinda get it after the title.

I’m making one of the Thanksgiving turkeys this year and I’ve never brined anything before, so I’m basically just curious if I should! I’m usually not very fussy, culinarily-speaking, so brining feels kinda fancy to me. But trying something new is also kind of appealing.

Whaddayathink? Should I brine the bird? 

I’m also kind of in love with this idea:

I probably won’t brine this one.

There are people who tell me, “Awww…I’ve always wanted twins!”

One thing I bet they’re not thinking about when they say that is illness. Yep… pretty sure they’re not thinking about illness!

Because when you have twins, they both get sick. (Now, I know that if you have multiple kids, this delightful phenomenon is also likely to occur as well, but not always.)

With twins, so far, we’ve had a 100% twin-to-twin transfer rate.

Yesterday the twins had to miss their first trick-or-treat because they came down with really horrible colds and fevers. They both looked like they’d been hit by a bus.

Two two-year-olds with colds means that there’s always someone (or both someones, as it were) needing a nose wipe. And they will often choose the closest target to wipe their disgusting noses on (which is usually me).

True confessions: Today I didn’t even bother to change out of my pajama pants and wore the same sweatshirt from yesterday, figuring I might as well not dirty another set of clothing. After all, I’m the one who’s going to be washing it all!

Another true confession while we’re at it: I’ve used my bare hands today to grab the flow from under Whitsun’s nose. And since I had no towel or tissue nearby, it went straight onto the already-nasty aforementioned PJ pants.

Needless to say, I’m a vision of loveliness today. And yes, I washed my hands.

Thanks for putting up with me, y’all. I’m so disgusting.

My Dad always loves to buy presents for the kids when they come to town. We all go to Target, and he makes sure everyone has something that they really want. It’s ridiculous and sweet and awesome.

When he was in town last spring, Orison must have been asking him to buy a movie. I have no idea how they arrived at this decision, but somehow it was decided that Papa was going to buy Shrek for the kids. Fine, whatever.

So we go to Target, we’re in the movies, and Dad pulls out this boxed set. I’d seen the original Shrek when it first came out, but somehow missed that there were…wait, what?…three others??? My kids didn’t even know there were four Shrek movies. But now they were the proud owners of all four Shrek movies.

“Well, now they can have all of them…” my overindulgent father happily explained.

Turns out, of all the children, Whit (one of our 2-year-olds) is most enamored with Shrek. He’s been known to approach random trees and holler into them for Fiona (which is from a scene in Shrek 4…AAHHH! How do I know this???). But it’s actually really hilarious when Whit does it.

They’re even getting some music education out of the experience! Now my twins know the song “Funkytown,” (which Whit excitedly calls “Talk About It”) from just the first few bars. And of course you can’t forget the timeless music of… The Baha Men.

So Dad, this is for you. They love this song by the Baha Men. It’s because of Shrek and you.

And at the end of the video you can hear how Cadence says “peanuts” (just wait for it).

Here we are–younger, thinner, more energetic–in the arrhythmia of our new love.

The slow, steady beat of time has seen laundry, labor, long nights, loss, laughter. You and me, babe.

You and me.

Nine random memories for nine years:

1. The “pub crawl” in London: I’m still so sad you didn’t earn your t-shirt. The elusive Dick Whittington…

2. On top of Pike’s Peak on the 4th of July, 2011. On top of the world!

3. That time we got stuck in the rainstorm in Cambridge and then we stopped to make out in that little gazebo thing.

4. When you wouldn’t make out with me at church that one time. You were “cold” or something.

5. One big blur of pregnancies, laying on the bed together late at night, freaking out about the alien-like movements across my abdomen. Now we see those kids every day (at least four of them).

6. Bringing our first baby home from the hospital, on that first night when he had his days and nights mixed up and I was crying with the delirium of new motherhood and you were just trying to figure out what to do with this weeping woman and screaming baby. “Babe, I really think he just wants to eat again.”

7. The California trip. There are almost no words. Thank you for taking me there. Changed my life!

8. Driving west on I-94, crying and blasting Fisherman’s Blues. You were wearing your orange sunglasses.

9. When you and Phil tilled up the old yard in the pouring rain so that we could have a yard, bumpy as it was. We had grass that year because of you.

You are the love of my life. I can’t imagine this without you. Thanks for loving me.

I’ve had no space to even ponder the change into another fall and school year. Just stepping forward, trusting the transition. It feels good.

This has been an exhausting, yet really fun, summer. These kids are worth every ounce I can eke out.

In other end-of-summer news, I was cutting up some jalapenos from our garden yesterday (our first garden effort, I might add!), and some of the juice shot up and hit me in the corner of my right eye. It didn’t go quite in, just dangerously close. So I washed my hands (thinking that would take the rest of the juice off my hands) and started washing my eye. Well, as you can guess, things went from bad to worse.

I was hollering to Abraham in the next room to hurry up and Google what I should do as the burnings sensation traveled across both of my eyelids, while totally convinced, “This is it. I’m going blind…I’ll never see anything ever again.” Thought I was gonna die. Gladly, after a few more good rinses and a little more time, things calmed down and I was able to open my eyes again. Hallelujah–was blind but now I see!

This was almost a month ago, but I’m just now looking at pictures from the twins’ birthday. Here’s one of me & Cay-Cay!

You all have certainly heard of yarn bombing, right?

Well in the spirit of the XXX Olympiad…

This actually happened months ago, but I still love it. Whoever did this, you’re amazing. I love you. The amount of time it must’ve taken…

One thing I love about art…and yes, I’m calling knitting art…is the need, the compulsion, to express. What was driving this person/people to do this? Certainly not the money! And they could’ve just said, “Nah…that’s gonna take too much time…” So glad they didn’t!

I love the spirit of the Olympics… competition, hard work, victory, defeat, and the togetherness of the world’s eye’s watching.

Perhaps these were some of the reasons they were driven to create.

At this point in the summer, I have a 7-year-old, a 3-year-old, and two 1-year-olds. Here’s the swimming skills breakdown:

7-year-old: Can dog paddle and keep head above water for short distances. Improving his skills, but not independent.
3-year-old: No swimming skills (but he keeps close to the shore anyway).
1-year-old boy: No swimming skills (and also prefers sand and shore in his nautical pursuits).
1-year-old girl: Thinks she has mad swimming skills, but in reality has none.

I’ve taken them swimming by myself a couple times now, and here are my observations:

Splash Pads

-Easy in and out.
-Don’t have to worry about anyone’s head going under.
-Might have to worry about running and therefore subsequent stitches (thankfully that hasn’t been our story this summer).
-No sand. (NO SAND!!!!)

Pools

-I can really only do them by myself if they’re those 0-depth-entry ones. I don’t have enough arms for 3-year-old and two 1-year-olds in a typical “shallow end.”
-Life jackets, life jackets, life jackets. Life jackets are awesome. Morrow still fits in the infant one (cuz he’s only 32 pounds) with the head pillow thing, and he LOOOVES to lay on his back and just kick around. That’s his version of “swimming.”
*Side note about life jackets: I’ve found great ones at thrift stores. Keep your eyes out for those!
-NO SAND!!!

And in Minnesota, of course (the land of 10,000 lakes)…

Lakes

-God’s version of 0-depth-entry, so I must give credit where credit is due.
-The downside, of course, is SAND!! Two diaper-wearers in sand is just the worst, especially if you have a dirty diaper situation.
-More options for keeping busy (trying to catch fish, digging in the sand, etc.)

General Observations

-Put sunscreen on everyone before you leave the house. (Mom included, because once I get to the water, taking care of myself no longer exists as a possibility.)
-Mom, don’t expect to relax. This will not be relaxing. I remind myself that while I’m exhausting myself at the beach or pool or splash pad, they’re not at home trashing the house!
-I prefer a smaller, less populated beach for lake swimming. Simpler for head-counting, and less surface area if I have to run after one (or two!)
-I’ve been bringing after-clothes for my 3 youngest (any who can’t dress completely independently when you get back home) and getting them all dressed before we leave for home. It’s a little chaotic in the van, but at least the van is a confined space. Waaaayy preferable to them running every which-way in their swimming stuff when we get in the house.
-Don’t bring a lot of crap. A couple buckets and shovels or cups or balls, but the less you bring, the less you have to remember to bring home!

That’s what I’ve learned so far.

Any other awesome swimming tips?