it's a boy!

this little face and cute little crossed feet belong to our third boy.  three boys.  three and under.  after that initial shock wore off (and the tears stopped quickly), we saw image after image of a pretty perfect babe.  measuring exactly where he should, wiggling all around (maybe due to the peppermint hot chocolate i'd drunk earlier), and showing us that there wasn't any question that he was a boy.  i had told bryan before the ultrasound that if it was a boy, it'd be a lot easier naming him because our list for boys was 1, maybe 2 long.  our girl list, on the other hand, seemed to only be growing.  so now we'll (most likely) wait until he's born to name him and have a couple to choose from.  to me, certain names go with certain personalities, and that's definitely been the case with liam and finn.  in a way that i can't really explain.  so we'll probably wait to see what he looks like.  i say probably because it's hard for me not to call him something now that we know he's a boy.  we'll see.  this pregnancy has thrown me for a few loops, so i'm not setting anything in stone.

a little announcement!

because i don't ever want to be normal not creative with whatever i have to say, i decided to spice up the usual "we're having another baby!"  the boys were more interested in pointing out which letters and numbers they knew on the boards, which made it a bit difficult to get them to hold them the right way.  so i snapped away and managed to get a few cute ones.  i also never want to have the children who put on a fake, cheesy smile as soon as they see a camera, although the smile on liam's face in the first picture may suggest i already have one.  cute, nonetheless.

we're due may 8, which i think sounds like a perfect time to have a baby.  i've wanted nothing but junk food and sweets (i.e. donuts, doesn't matter what kind, as long as they're chocolate), so i'm convinced it's a girl.  only a girl could do that to you, right?  however, if it is a boy, i think it'd be exciting to see if he looked like one of his brothers, or someone else altogether, and what his personality would be like.  obviously, things that would be exciting for a boy or a girl -- and i'm not going to lie and say i'll be happy with either.  i mean, i will, but i would love a little girl!  preferably one with red hair, since apparently we're a dying breed.

exciting times in the stork house!!

drummer of tomorrow

Contest details

doing my part in spreading this to as many people as i can.  my brother pat, drummer extraordinaire, is in a contest to win the title of the drummer of tomorrow.  of course, in my opinion he's it, but it is a contest in which people need to vote.  so go and watch, be amazed by his amazing-ness, and VOTE!!

update.

not on that... as all of you know, hormonal swings go both ways, so we're currently on an up-swing.  happy to say i've gotten back to a pretty zen place and am 'letting it be'.  so i thought i'd finally get some pics uploaded and posted since i've obviously been slacking in that department.  my only excuse is pinterest.  oh, you haven't heard of it?  be warned, it's the biggest time suck- but in a good way.  a good, creative way.  

so i uploaded all the pics and picked out a few highlights of the summer...

 an impromptu trip to see our new niece in san fran!!

 on the sky safari at the zoo (or high in the sky, as the boys call it)

 notice the death grip i have on him because he refused to sit back.

 fun at mimi and poppy's farm

 this one really doesn't like when 'sumfin in my sssseewww'

 liam

finn

 i'm sorry, did i actually get both of them, sitting still and smiling??

can i get an award for that?

just my opinion...

a mother with 2 1/2 year old twin boys shouldn't have to go through infertility treatments again to have more babies.  she shouldn't have to go twice a week for a year to a chinese acupuncturist, get her first natural cycle since she started her period, only to have it stop again once they switched the treatment plan to trying to get pregnant.  she shouldn't have to give herself injections every night for the first two weeks of her cycle, go in 3 or 4 times for labs and an ultrasound to monitor her follicles.  she shouldn't have to subject her husband and sweet boys to her awful mood swings, wondering why she's doing all of this in the first place.  but she does.  because when it's all said and done, all of this is nothing compared to how good those babies are.  in the words of her husband -- there isn't anything i see us doing or going through that isn't worth those boys.  and even though she had a really, really rough day, she knows he's right.

holy butter, batman.

image courtesy of smittenkitchen

i don't even know where to start with these... espresso-chocolate shortbread cookies.  seriously easy, seriously packed with butter, and before you know it, you've eaten 14 of them.  and you don't feel guilty about it.  deb, of smitten kitchen, adapted it from dorie greenspan, a baker extraodinaire.   the change that i would make is using salted butter instead of unsalted.  i know, i know, blasphemy in the baking world, but i need the little bit of salt to enhance the rest of the flavors.  look at me, acting like i know what i'm talking about.  i do know cookies, though.  plus, i usually hate rolling out cookies (because i'm no good at it), but in this recipe, she suggests putting the dough in a gallon ziplock, pressing it out until it's 1/4 inch thick, refrigerating it for a couple hours, then cut off the plastic and cut them into squares.  that's the seriously easy part.  i even used a ruler- anytime i can have that much control over how the cookies turn out looking, i'm happy.  enjoy :).

Makes 42 cookies


1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)


1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.
3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.
4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

blanca gomez

i have to give an appropriate shout-out to the lovely jane for introducing me to this artist/website.  i've never really decorated a room from scratch, so i had a great time starting from square one and having a whole "look" in my head for our new room.  i haven't really deviated from that original look, except for the wall color.  logic won out in the battle of pink vs. yellow; i decided most people would probably rather see a yellow room rather than pink room when looking to buy.  not that we're selling anytime soon, just saving a step in the long run.  and, i was the only one who wanted pink. boo.  these prints were the inspiration for the whole color scheme, mostly the one on the left.  i love, love, love them and wish it would look ok to fill the whole room with her stuff.  and like jane said, it's always great to find affordable art!!

oh, for those wondering, the black and white painting in the background was done by my best friend, jen stirling.  yes, she's amazing.

a little catch-up

we've been in full-on summer mode at the stork house and it hasn't left much time for the blog.  plus, then that inevitable stretch of time in which nothing's been posted goes on and on and on and then nothing feels important enough to post.  but i know there are a few (2) people who do check in on a normal basis, so i'm going to try and oblige.  yes, i know this should just be for me, but sometimes i care what other people think.  sue me.  so as not to make this too long, a few pictures will do...

 our new room is finally finished and almost decorated!

(we are loving loving loving it)

 benbo and kate came to visit

 and we all wished we lived just a bit closer together...

 but, of course, couldn't be bothered to ever look at the camera at the same time

 this is the best we got :)

 one of the guys' favorite places- poppy's lap at the piano

 out to dinner

 missing sean

and back to the normal routine of wearing mama's shoes around the house.

woop woop!

it's for real.  it's actually happening.  so exciting!

let the countdown begin!

image via tumblr

one week from now, we will be en route to rome via philadelphia and boston.  i'm so overwhelmed as to how much needs to get done in the next week that i've resorted to blogging about it and looking at pretty pictures online of the places we get to visit.  and not to mention how much of a change it will be to be away from the guys for 10 days. and so far away!  i go back and forth between needing a break so badly to breaking down at how much we're going to miss them.  bryan's parents get the first shift over the weekend, my parents get the week, his again the next weekend, then mine to finish the last leg before we get home on tuesday.  they're all moving in, and i'm so grateful the boys don't have to be uprooted - they don't do well with that sort of thing.  

will try to update as we near the big day, but most likely my next post will be after we've returned and i have 487 pictures to post!

missing/almost finished!

sorry to be such an absentee blogger, but life has been hectic, to say the least.  in our last stage of closing in our screened-in porch, we decided to get our whole first floor re-finished.  they're amazing!! moving out for a loooong weekend to my parents, cramming all of the furniture into the kitchen, bathroom, garage and everywhere else that wasn't being worked on, not so amazing.  but the floors. beautiful!  we haven't let the dogs in because their nails need clipped, i want to sweep after every single meal, i love them.  

and we have reached our final stage of adding on: the built-ins.  yippee!!  a storage bench will line the back wall and the windows will be framed by bookshelves.  i took a few pictures just now because i had the time, but will definitely post the finished product (which hopefully will be done by tonight!).  our contractor is doing these himself and surprisingly, we let him kind of do what he thought would look the best.  turns out, he knows what he's doing.  enjoy!! we are... 

blush and bashful

 we have trim and windows!

(did we have windows in my last post about this?)

 view from the room into our dining/living rooms- look at all the space!!

(and the front end of bryan's new mini countryman- don't get him started, he LOVES it)

the last three pictures are there to demonstrate my inability to keep the house clean choose a wall color.  as i mentioned before, i was inspired by a color board on 100 layer cake, and also by nicole for having almost every wall in her chicago bungalow pink without it looking like a cotton candy machine.  so we ventured to lowe's, home depot, and our local benjamin moore store, zeke's.  i could write a whole post about how ridiculously overpriced their paint is, but i won't.  i'm sure it's good paint.  after buying four (4!) different shades of pink, and after bryan telling me "i think it's starting to grow on me...", it was time to move on from my vision.  i said good-bye to shelby and her weddin' colors, bluhsh and baysh-ful, and we went with martha stewart's tahini.  it's the top yellow and it reminds me of butter.  always a good thing.  i was happy to discover that the same colors that i had wanted to put with the pink are going to look just as good with the yellow.  i'm pretty sure this is what the color scheme will be:

and just in case there isn't enough, i may throw a little fuchsia in there...  who knows?

tin and lee-yum

which is what these guys are calling each other these days.  we're working on the F, and the closest we've gotten so far is "fffffttttrin."  (and it's smart to not stand too close to liam's mouth when he's attempting the sound).  eh, we'll get there.

i'm a little peeved at myself for not keeping better track of their goings-on and development on here, but c'est la vie.  there isn't enough time in the day.  plus, i can't keep up with them!  it seems that after they turned 2, the vocab switch turned on and it hasn't slowed down.  as per usual, liam leads and finn follows when it comes to pronunciation.  and with liam, the talking doesn't really stop.  ever.  every day, i continue to be amazed at everything that they're saying, phrases they're repeating, and words we've said that we don't even realize they've heard!  playing in the basement the other day, liam just randomly said "7, 8, 9, 10."  bryan and i just looked at each other like- what?  

they still love music, going to kindermusik, and especially when dad plays the piano.  they even have requests for him: old macdonald, twinkle twinkle, and yo-yuh boat.  oh, you don't know that one?  it goes gently down the stream.  and although we've only watched sound of music once on the way to omaha, they're pretty good at do-a-deer.  it's pretty awesome how it has such an impact on them, even this early.

they're more and more curious every day, and i have to keep reminding myself it's just curiousity.  nothing personal, there's just too much to see.  probably something that moms o' multiples are more familiar with, having to chase two babes that are usually really going in opposite directions.  they are also getting better at listening, thank goodness.  and with that has come the understanding of what time out is.  this has been huge- and i will say we've only had to use it with liam.  i didn't even think we would be parents who did time out (how naive), but they had to do it at the gym and at school (shrinking down in my seat), and it works.  definitely works.

the picky eating is probably our biggest issue right now, but as i try to do with everything, i just let it go and accept that sometimes, they don't eat anything for a meal.  they survive!  a couple of nights ago, we had some naan and needed a quick dinner- we did the sauce, the boys did the cheese, bryan did the salad, and they actually ate it.  i know, i know, pizza is supposed to be on the safe list of foods all kids eat.  oo, try again... not mine, but we're getting there.  i'm hoping, with our new room getting close to being finished (that's my next post), it'll give us the opportunity to be in the kitchen more, and maybe this will encourage them to eat more!!

they are sweet, sweet, sweet, and i'm sorry i don't have more pictures.  see first paragraph re: no time.

florida!

eight adults, six kids, one house, four days.  weeeeee!!!  our group from nursing/med school has stayed good friends, and one of us ended up in florida.  beautiful house, beautiful weather, and all things considered, it went amazingly well.  it was obviously crazy, but i think the pool saved us.  the boys would have spent all day every day in it, jumping from the edge into our arms.  by the second day, they were both going under, not being ok with the jump if they didn't!  we went to an easter egg hunt on saturday, but that was our only major thing.  not planning a bunch of activities (and not having to because of the pool) was definitely the way to go.  didn't get a chance to get that many pictures because we were too busy chasing, but a good time was had by all!

 fun at the fountains!

 hadley, aubrey, finn, liam, and noah

 and eli!

super excited for the easter egg hunt.

we have a floor!

 

and we're really excited about it! 

cotton candy insulation / where the can lights will go 

and a door.

moving right along...  we're going out of town right in time for the drywall to be put in this weekend.  yippee!