Sweaters

Today I'm showing you some of the sweaters we received as gifts. The first two, the aqua-colored ones, were made by my mom. You'll notice that they're the same color, but in different patterns.

These next two were made by a friend of my mom's whom I've not met. DDA is in the first picture. I love this little sweater, as it is a pullover and wears like a sweatshirt. It feels soft and comfortable and well broken in.

Here's DDL wearing the second sweater made by the same person.

These pictures of the girls were taken in September. They're now much bigger.

Hand-knit gifts

I have received many gifts for the girls that were hand-made. They're all lovely. I thought I'd showcase some of them here, since I'm not crafting these days. My friend Kim from college made today's selection. The first is a pair of socks made from scrap yarn. Very cute.

She also knit two blankets in a spiral pattern with washable wool.

These are the perfect size to use as lap blankets in the car seats, as modelled by DDA (white hat) and DDL (pink) here.

Thanksgiving Meme

Started by Lee and added to by me.

Favorite part of the Thanksgiving Meal: Stuffing. Not too moist, not too dry. Hubby makes it with chestnuts and stuffing. Very yummy.

Least favorite part of the meal: Pumpkin pie. Hate the stuff. I'm not into any of the winter squashes nor the yams or sweet potatoes.

Anything new in the meal this year: No. We're very traditional.

Dishes that we don't make anymore, but I'll always miss them: The only things that are different from my childhood are fancy stuffing instead of plain and wheat rolls instead of Wonderbread rolls. I can't say that either of these changes are bad.

Things I am thankful for this year: my new daughters, my great hubby, the fact that my parents and siblings will be here for Thanksgiving. It's the first T-day that I will spend with the entire family of origin in about 5 years.

Things I will miss this year: My grandparents, especially Grandma A.; my sister's kids (who will be with their father for T-day); being able to sleep all day.

How would you answer?

In other news, my MIL is here this weekend (she has to go back home before T-day), and we are trying something new. We're having Turducken tomorrow night as a prelude to T-day. It should be interesting.

Favorites

And now for something a little different. Stolen from Geggie and Anna.

1. Political show - Ick. None.
2. Picnic food - Cole slaw
3. Mixed drink – Malibu and pineapple
4. U.S. President – Bill Clinton
5. Kind of student to teach – middle schoolers
6. Hobby you do or wish you still did - I wish I still made baskets.
7. Sports commentator – Diana Nyad
8. Sport to watch on TV – baseball
9. Animal to have as a pet - cat
10. Halloween costume you have worn – Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Box
11. Kind of dessert - chocolate
12. Comic strip - Foxtrot
13. Style or make of footwear - Joseph Siebel
14. Ice cream flavor - mint chocolate chip
15. College or university president – I can't answer this without telling you too much about me for this blog. It's definitely not the person who was president of my alma mater while I was there.
16. Internet news source – washingtonpost.com
17. Vacation spot - Crete
18. Wine – Pinot grigio
19. Way to waste time instead of working – reading blogs
20. Student excuse for late work – Received: My car broke down; Given: My sister's getting married
21. Reality show – Amazing Race (although I just started watching Chase and I'm amused)
22. Jewelry on a man – Cuff links
23. Pizza topping – Pepperoni
24. Children's movie - Beauty and the Beast
25. Celebrity you wish would retire - Ted Danson

Pretty Pink Princesses

I'm still not stitching or doing any other crafting. I'm just trying to keep my head above water with caring for the girls and keeping up with the house. Fortunately, the girls are thriving at 14 weeks, and our au pair has arrived. I'm starting to get some regular sleep. Yeah!

This post has been in my head since August. I knew when I found out in April that I was having girls that I was in for a world of pink. I very actively told my friends and family that I hate pink to limit the amount of pink stuff I received. It worked pretty well - I have enough clothing to dress the girls so that one is in pink and one is in not-pink. Why is it that our society feels compelled to dress little girls so extensively in pink? There's a whole spectrum of colors out there that should be explored and embraced. I'm amused when we go out that nearly everyone asks if the babies are boys unless I've dressed them almost totally in pink. A friend of mine thinks it's the short hair that triggers this question as much of the clothing.

The other thing I didn't notice until I had girls of my own is the cute sayings that are imprinted on children's clothes. Do we have to label our children as cute from day one? Anyway, I find it a little disturbing that the girls' phrases tend to focus on beauty - pretty this, cute that. I'm not sure what to think about the professional labels. I can live with "pretty ballerina". The one I find truly upsetting is "future princess". Think about this for a minute. How does one become a princess? One is either born to it or one marries the prince. So from birth, we as a society have decided it's OK to tell our girls that the only thing they need to aspire to is capturing the prince. Scary!

Community Property

When you have twins, your life is no longer quite your own. I've heard this is true for all new moms, but I can only relay my own experiences.

I officially became a person of community interest at the beginning of my third trimester. Almost overnight -- and with the help of the onset of DC's sweltering humidity -- I went from being "slightly" pregnant in appearance to "ready to pop". People I'd never seen before would ask me all sorts of questions. While some of the questions were rather personal, at least no one tried to touch the belly. Most of the time the question was, "When are you due?" I received a lot of strange looks when I said, "Labor Day," until I explained that I was carrying twins.

I think I dealt with this invasion of my personal space fairly well and with good humor. It was good practice for what was to come.

Once the girls arrived, we became a bit of a spectacle. Now there was even more interest in us -- well, them really. The double stroller definitely attracts attention. No where do we draw more attention than in medical facilities.

For example, we've had a couple of routine appointments at the Washington Hospital Center. WHC in particular serves an elderly crowd. We discovered on these visits that older people adore babies and are particularly fascinated with twins. I think that the elderly have an appreciation for new life that those of us who are younger haven't developed yet. Anyway, it takes us 10 minutes to walk a normally 2 minute distance because we are asked to stop so people can admire the babies.

All of this makes me half curious and half fearful. What's going to happen if and when the girls begin looking more noticeably like the identical twins they are?

TV is back!

O Happy Day!

You know, since I complained about it, that I was distraught over the lack of TV last spring. Fortunately, baseball started and began to occupy my time. Too bad the Nationals weren't so hot this year. After the girls were born, it was the Olympics and America's Got Talent for the summer. I am quite relieved that regular TV is back on track, since I spend most of my time these days holding and feeding babies. Unlike Martha Sears, I can't entertain myself for hours on end gazing adoringly at the little ones or appreciate the retreat-like aspects of feeding time. My girls are wonderful, but I need something more stimulating than staring at a feeding baby. It's too bad that I can't type or surf and feed babies at the same time. I need an extra arm or four.

Time to run - DDA needs feeding and DDL is about to wake up.