Molly Piper

So remember when I asked you if car toppers or car backpacks were preferable? Well, turns out God had another answer. I should’ve known better than to just give two choices.

By the way… isn’t it just kinda like God to color outside the lines like that? Kinda like, “Uh-uh, Molly Piper, I will not be bound to just two options for getting you and your family to Colorado. Uh-uh.” (Sometimes God’s a little sassy like that with me. Trust me, he needs to be.)

Turns out God had a hitch mounted cargo rack in mind! I didn’t list that as one of the options on the previous post, because, well…

1. I forgot they existed.
2. We didn’t have a hitch on our Swagger Wagon.

But God had other plans for that too! Many of you reminded me that cargo racks did indeed exist and testified to how great they worked for all of your travels, so I started looking into getting one. But then, someone offered to loan one to us! SCORE! So all we needed now was a hitch on the van.

Our friend Andy had just put a hitch on his Sienna, so he had the tools and the know-how, so he offered to help mount it. Turns out what we thought would be a one-hour job turned into a 3.5 hour job…but… Andy (his ever-patient self) made it happen. Thanks, Andy. You rock. Hard.

I’m just so happy that we’ll be able to pack most of our gear on the outside of the van. There’s something severely claustrophobic to me about riding long distances with the car packed to the ceiling and all around my feet. I hate it. So here’s hoping I can breathe a little freer this trip.

I’m just so thankful for small (huge?) provisions like that. We had very little money to spend on a packing solution, and this was seriously awesome. Hopefully I’ll feel the same after 14+ hours of traveling. Hey, at least I’ll have leg room! And I’ll be sure to bring my ear plugs!

So obviously we’re gonna need some sort of packing solution for our minivan for our upcoming trips. 7 people and all our gear is not going to fit, no matter how much swagger is in our wagon.

We bought one of those old boxy car toppers at a thrift store (we even got it half-off), but I’m a little doubtful that we’ll have all the pieces and/or be able to figure out how they all go together without the manual. I’ve scoured the internet for any instructions for the darn thing, but can’t find anything.

In the course of researching that, I found this:

It’s called a saddlebag, but I prefer to think of it as a backpack for our van! So cute!

Why I think I might get it:

• better gas mileage without something on the top of the car.
• Stores in a very small space when you’re done with it because it’s collapsible.
• It’s much cheaper than most car toppers.

Do any of you have one of these? Do you think it’s a good purchase? HELP!

Is it just me, or is summer flying by?

[Photo: Katie Roche]

We’ve been having a really good summer so far, but man, is it going FAST!

Here’s the line-up for the coming weeks

• Insane as this sounds, I’m doing a yard sale this Saturday. I’ve never done one before! I’m doing the yard sale to pay for gas for our upcoming adventures!
• Insane as this sounds, we’re going to be spending a couple weeks in Denver in July. That means a 14-hour drive with four small children. Thankfully Miss Katie will come with us, and she & I will explore Colorado while Abraham works (the new company he works for is based out of Denver and he’d have to be there anyway, so we figured we’d all go)! God has totally hooked us up with a free house to stay in, so we’re really excited. I’ve never been to Colorado before!
• And then, if we weren’t insane enough from the Denver trip, we’re going to do a quick turnaround in Minneapolis, then drive 14 hours the other way to Pennsylvania to see my family and friends there. I’m just thrilled about this, because we haven’t been there since Christmas 2009 when I found out I was pregnant. A few months later we found out it was twins, and we haven’t gone anywhere since. Oh man, it’s gonna be so crazy and so fun! I love going to Erie, Pennsylvania.

Adventures abound as we fly through summer!

What are your adventurous summer plans?

Sssshhhhh! Sssshhhhhh! Do you hear that?

No? No?

That my friends, is the sound of SILENCE!

I survived week #1 of summer by getting copious amounts of library books for the boys! When we got back from the library earlier this week, I think they sat silently on the couch like that for at least 30 minutes. And in mom time, that’s like 3 hours. I’m not too sure about the conversion, but that seems about right.

So my second strategy for surviving summer is:

BOOKS! GLOOOORIOUS BOOKS!

• There’s really no need for a list here. I just like making them.
• Lots of books (I think we checked out 23 last time)!
• Go to the library often! Kids looooove new books!
• I’ll stop making lists now.

In the past I’ve sworn off of the library (for short amounts of time) because I would spend hours trying to locate that one last book that somehow got shoved into another book and then reshelved. Or stuck between the bedframe and the mattress. Gaaarrrr!

However! I’m trying to be better about keeping the kids’ library books in the library bag. Now there’s a concept! I’ve also been trying to get the boys into the habit of returning the book to the bag when they’re done with it. If this plan succeeds I might get a few hours of my life back. Okay, probably not, but I might save on gray hairs. I’ll take what I can get.

This week was Orison’s first full week of summer vacation. Even though I only have one school-aged child, and he was only in half-day school, it’s still an adjustment to have him home all day, every day.

I’m sure there are many of you with tons more experience under your belts for making summer a success, but here’s how I’m trying to make it work for me:

Jobs

I’m never very consistent about allowance or chores, but Orison’s very interested in earning money (& then counting it over and over and telling me the year that’s printed on every.single.coin). He does a few tasks for 10 cents each, with the earning potential for 50-60 cents per day. Cheap help! Of course these will be different for every household, but right now he does the following jobs:

• Emptying the silverware caddy from the dishwasher each morning.
• Running the bare-floor vacuum and cleaning off the high chairs after breakfast and lunch.
• Cleaning his room and/or the playroom.
• Putting away his clean laundry.

Of course Morrow (2.5) wants in the on the action, too. So he even gets some money for his jobs! Morrow gets 1 penny for the following jobs:

• Getting diapers for the babies.
• Throwing away diapers.
• Putting the bottles into the sink.

All of these things happen a lot throughout the day, so he might make about 10 cents a day. He’s thrilled to be like his big brother! I don’t think it’s that meaningful to him yet, but he thinks it’s fun, so I’m going with it.

There are a few ground rules for working:

• If you complain when asked to do your job, you will still have to do it, but you won’t get the money.
• You can say no politely from time to time, but just know that you’re passing up the cash.
• Money can be deducted from your wages if you are purposefully mean or unhelpful throughout the day.

Right now I’m just keeping a little tab on the counter of how much each boy earns per day. If I can get my act together soon, I’d like them to have a chart where we could mark it down. That way it would keep them more motivated and keep me accountable to bless them for their help.

Do your kids do household job? Which ones?

I think I might be a Brit trapped in an American’s body.

At least that’s what their television and movies make me feel.

Last week I devoured all 7 seven episodes of Downton Abbey.

[photo via The Adventures of Tartanscot]

I can’t believe I didn’t know this mini-series existed until now.

The story begins in 1912, right as the aristocratic British family (the Granthams) is receiving news that the Titanic has gone down. It follows their life and times as they live through uncertain family futures, scandal, and political unrest (as WWI approaches).

I’m not sure I’d love to be at either end of the spectrum of society dramatized in this series (aristocrats and servants), but there’s something so romantic about it 100 years later (and 100 years removed from the reality). But one thing I can tell you about without spoiling the plot is that they eventually get a telephone installed in the house and it’s super funny and cute!

You know you’ve been watching too much British television when you start doing your own inner monologue with a British accent. It was baaaad, friends. But I seriously want to watch it all over again! The costumes, the acting, the scenery, the accents…swoon.

I might have to buy the DVDs so if they ever take it off of Netflix streaming, I’m insured.

I’ve also been googling like a mad dog to find out when season 2 is set to come across the pond. The last thing I read was January 2012. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Oh you British people, you have no idea how good you have it, getting to watch it months before me!

What’s your favorite British TV show or movie?

[photos by Katie]

My lifesaver babysitter has been up to her old tricks again! Yesterday she got these pictures of our 10-month-old twins!

A little about Whit:

• He’s our needy baby. Which wouldn’t be a big deal if he were a singleton, but attention’s kind of at a premium with twins (and two other small kids). His neediest time is from supper time until bedtime, so I think if I just keep him on my hip in the Ergo then he’ll be fine. That’s my theory for now.
• Although he’s needy, he’s also very amiable when he’s happy. I think it’s just that he’s social and loves to be with people. When he’s happy and has people to entertain him, he’s probably my giggliest baby. Go figure.
• Whit is standing and cruising along furniture.
• He’s a super-fast crawler.
• He prefers pureed foods. Anything solid he’s not as big a fan, even if it’s something delicious. Silly kid.
• If you say “ET phone home” and stick out your finger, he’ll stick out his (see the bottom right picture).
• Seems to understand some simple words (play, no, jump, yay, his name, Cadence’s name, brothers’ names).
• Says “ma-ma-ma” a lot. I’m not sure if it’s 100% meaningful, but I’ll take it!

A little bit about Cadence:

• Such a happy girl! Very content to play with toys in the crib, in the play gate area (more about that later).
• She started crawling a couple weeks ago and is getting faster & faster by the day. She pulls up onto her knees but doesn’t really attempt standing (yet).
• Loves every food she’s ever been given. If I don’t spread the Cheerios out on her tray she’ll have a huge handful before I know it!
• Responds to “Pat-a-Cake” with big smiles and claps.
• When you sing a song, she starts singing “Aaaaahhhh” really softly. It’s soooo cute!
• Sometimes she’ll wave and say a word that sounds pretty darn close to “Hi!”
• Also seems to understand simple words (same as Whitsun).
• Mostly says “da-da-da.” Again, not sure about the meaning of it, but Dad’s happy to claim it as his own!

I’m really hoping to get back to sharing some more Twin Survival Tips soon, just to let you in on what life is like now that they’re a little older. I’m so busy actually surviving that I find little time to blog about the survival.

Also I’ve been having trouble with my blog feed. I’m working on getting it fixed. Some people are having trouble viewing my more recent posts and receiving my blog updates through Google Reader. I’ve found that Safari is not working right (not sure why yet). But at least for me, Firefox is working and you can see my more recent posts. I’m trying to get it all resolved so we can be a blog family again!

So I have this one friend…no, I guess I should say we have this one friend. No, I guess I should say we have these three friends…okay, this is already confusing and you probably don’t care.

But do you have one of those friends who’s an incredible gift giver?

Our friend Roger and his daughters Eden and Sierra are insanely good gift-givers. And I hesitate to name names because I don’t want them to get all self-conscious and feel like they might not be able to maintain their level of awesomeness now that Molly’s blog readers know about it! But I do want to name names because they’re amazing. They deserve some kudos/props/w00ts/whatever-the-cool-word-is-now.

For my birthday I got this:

From top to bottom you spy with your little eye:

• Row 1: a Bedazzler. Yeah, that’s right. I now own a BEDAZZLER!!! How did that take 32 years? And yes, it’s a stud setting machine. You know you’ve always wanted one.
• Row 2: A book called “Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys,” which is a peek into the real-life stars of the 1970′s TV series. Shaun Cassidy, baby! Then there’s a box of fettuccine (I’ve heard it’s tradition to give people fettuccine for a 32nd birthday). And then the Shower Floss, a device that can be attached to your shower head for in-the-shower flossing. I mean, why didn’t this take off?
• Row 3: A mystery book about the Partridge Family. Seems to me like this was a Sweet Valley Twins predecessor or something similar. I’m looking forward to reading that one. Then there’s a little jar of Bedazzler studs for my first project. And of course, a Quaker Chewy granola bar.
• Row 4: A brand-spankin’-new Wendy’s polo shirt. I have no idea how they scored that one, but I’m forever grateful. And inside the polo shirt, they had wrapped up a book I really wanted.

True confession: I’m not a very thoughtful person. Well, maybe it’s more that I think of things I want to do, and then I’m bad at the execution. So I’m always in awe of people who are good gift-givers. I want to be like them!

Who are the good gift-givers in your life? What was a thoughtful gift you received?

And if you don’t want to answer that question, then tell me what kind of item you’d bedazzle if you had (insert Oprah announcer voice) a BEDAZZLER!!!!!!