Butter makes it better!

The cinnamon rolls are out of the oven and are now being devoured by m&m.  I already had mine and it was delish!  The only thing that would have made it better was some warm butter on top, but because these rolls already have enough butter in them, I decided to eat my roll naked.  Butter makes everything better though and really, how often does a person make home-made cinnamon rolls?  Not very often.  I think because it is such a rare occurance, I need to have another roll with a side of butter.

Cinnamon Rolls

My mother-in-law is in town and I wanted to bake something yummy for her.  She usually insists on going out to eat so I have to catch her at breakfast time if I want to get her to eat my cooking.  I have been wanting to try out this recipe for cinnamon rolls provided by Aulds World (times two) .  I just finished making them and I can't wait to taste them tomorrow morning.  The only thing I did differently was proofing my yeast with warm water for 10 minutes and then adding the sugar and letting it bubble for another 10 minutes before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.  Salt can sometimes kill yeast so it is best to proof your yeast before adding any salt to it.  I also spread 1/3c of softened butter on the dough after rolling it out and then sprinkled it with a mixture of 1c brown sugar and 1.5 Tbsps cinnamon.  They are now sitting in their little muffin tins in the fridge and I plan on taking them out to rise when I get up to pump at 5am so they will be ready to bake when the rest of the family rolls out of bed around 8:30am. 

I Checked Out of Life

  When times get tough for me, I go and hide.  I disengage from the world to try to regain some focus and control in my life.  I am trying to step back in, one keystroke at a time, so here is a little boobie related post to keep things light.

About a week ago I sustained my first exclusively pumping nipple injury, the all-dreaded nipple crack.  Then another and another all on the same nipple.  Nothing had changed in my pumping routine so I am not sure what caused it, especially since my other boob was actually doing much better than it ever had, but there it was, a big bloody cracked nipple.

I really had no idea what to do about it.  How are you supposed to heal your nipple when you put it in a pump six times a day that pulls it and squishes it continuously?  I tried to use a larger horn size, that didn't work.  I tried to use some lanolin again, that didn't work.  I tried a vinegar and water soak, that didn't work.  I then resorted to pumping my right while hand expressing the left, and that left me even more sore.  I ended up with a cracked nipple and giant bruised boob. I also only got about half the volume when hand expressing and I am pretty sure I also got a giant plugged duct.  I cried, I rubbed, I aired it out, I hoped that I wouldn't get an infection and I contemplated quitting altogether. 

Since I am not a quitter and am usually quite resourceful when it comes to figuring things out, I hit google in search of a solution to my bleeding, oozing nipple.    I found a recipe for a prescription all-purpose nipple ointment that I could bring in to my doctor in hopes that she would prescribe it, but I also found one that I could mix up on my own.  I decided to give it a try.

The all-purpose nipple ointment (apno) called for triple antibiotic ointment with pain relief, such as neosporin; Lotrimin A.F., and hydrocortisone ointment (not cream).  You mix equal amounts together and apply after each pumping session.  I was skeptical that this would work, but I had to give it a try.  It has been almost 24 hours and my freakin nipple is almost back to normal!  Who would have thought it would work that quickly?  I didn't.  I might just slathering this stuff on everything from now on. 

A happy, healthy nipple makes for a happy, healthy Mama!

Here is a link that talks about different options when dealing with nipple trauma:
http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/allaboutcreams.html

The Big Guy Hates Me

It could be Buddha, Jesus, Allah, or the High Priestess of the local Wiccan Coven that I have offended, but someone is making things not very fun around here. 

My wonderful, thoughtful and awesome Sister-in-Law had sent us a gift card for Let's Dish right after we had the twins.  It was supposed to be for pre-made meals that we could have delivered or we could pick them up, but being the broke lot we are, we decided to stretch the gift card and go in and make the meals ourselves.  We finally had some time to do it and I also received a code for $20 off your first Let's Dish session so we booked a time.  Peter went and did the dirty work and brought home our bounty of food.  I went downstairs to put it away in our deep freeze and noticed a pile of sawdust looking stuff in the doorway of our storage area.  Peter had cleared the breast milk out of the deep freeze that morning so I could take it down to my Dad's and store it in his giant freezer, so I thought that Peter had possibly spilled something while doing this and was going to ask him about it later.  I forgot.  Well, until this morning that is.  I was up at the 5am (pumping again) and noticed a little pile of 'dirt' in the doorway from our kitchen to our dining room.  I thought it was from one of the girls because we have been planting seeds and I have found spilled dirt from time to time.  I was too tired to really think about it too much and it was dark and I hadn't had my coffee yet.  When my darling daughter finally awoke and were sitting down to eat breakfast, Melanie asked me why we had an ant hill in our house!  So I took a little looky-look over in the direction of the 'dirt' and saw that it did look just like an ant mound.  My mood was all of the sudden not so chipper and I became downright crabby.  M&M kept asking me about it but I didn't want to think about it or investigate it any further until Peter got up.    Then it all hit me.  Ant mound.  Pile of 'sawdust'.  Crap. Shit. F%*k!!  The pile of 'sawdust' in our basement doorway was almost directly below the little ant mound in our kitchen/dining room.  Great!  Just great!  Is it carpenter ants?  Is it termites?  Peter came downstairs and took one look at me and asked "are you okay? you look crabby".  I said I was crabby and then verbally spewed everything at him.  Peter cleaned up the little mound and we high-tailed it out of the house.  We had some things to do and didn't have time to investigate right then.

When we got home Peter looked up some information on termites and carpenter ants and went and looked at the evidence in the basement.  He asked if I had seen any ants and I said I had seen one little ant while sweeping, but with the weather warming up, it isn't unusual to find a little stray ant.  I told him that the girls said they had seen an ant or two and then Mia says "we didn't just see an ant or two, we saw a TON of them!"  Well what the hell girls?  You see a ton of ants in our house and you didn't tell anyone???  Mia proceeds to tell Peter that they are coming from under the rug in the dining room.  I just vacuumed under there a few days ago and didn't see any little ants, but then again I wasn't really looking that closely.  I was most likely cursing out my family for leaving such a mess in the dining room and not paying attention.

So here I am now.  Pumping, blogging and wondering if my house is going to fall down around me or if I am going to take a step tomorrow and fall through the floor.  Our house is already needing more repairs than I care to think of, we are without money, I am tired, I am stressed , we are dealing with family issues and now this?  Is this a big test to see how much I can take?  To see when I will crack?  I already feel like some ghetto, white-trash, redneck family because of the state of chaos my house is in.  Even our cars are chaotic.  This morning when we dropped m&m off at school they could barely get out of our piece of crap jalopy on wheels minivan because we still had the Bumbo's and Easter basket's from Grandma's in there.  I had visions of garbage flowing out of the door and that we would leave a trail of cloudy dust just like Pig-pen from Peanuts.

I think I need to get thee to a new-age store and by me a smudge stick.  I need to clean out this negative energy.  Yeah, I'm crazy like that.

Writer's Block Due to Anger

I haven't been able to write for a few days now because of my anger.  Some things were said to my husband that has just caused more stress in our lives.  Normally, I would write about it because it helps me to work it out and get it out of my mind, but because I don't know who reads this (i.e. family members) I can't.  Well, I could, but I am pretty certain my husband would not be okay with me venting on here.  Let's just say that I am angry, so very angry and hurt.  I grew up in a family where family means everything.  Sure, we fight, we yell, and there have been numerous stressful holiday's with people walking out and slamming doors, but in the end we come together again.  Someone may have to re-heat a plate of food due to the walking out, but it doesn't matter.

I am trying so hard to let this go, to take the 'high-road', to focus on my life and all the good in it, but it is so very difficult.  I'm having a hard time working through this and just feel myself buzzing with anger. 

You Know You are a Mom When......

You find these photos on your camera and instead of getting mad at the little shits for taking your camera, you just smile and giggle.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MY FELLOW MOM'S OUT THERE!

All Alone in the Moonlight

I wish I would have written down the stories of my births.  I wish I would have recorded the dates of their "firsts", but I never thought I would actually forget.  It is funny how memories change and fade away.  Sometimes I feel like they are just within my grasp and if my brain could just reach a little bit more, I could capture that memory again.  It is kind of like when your child let's go of a balloon and it floats up to the ceiling.  You can see, you know it is there, but you reach up and realize you can just touch the balloons ribbon with your fingertips.  You stand on tip toe and you will your finger to stretch just a little bit more.  You touch the ribbon, you can move the ribbon, but it is just out of reach, you cannot grasp it and yank it down.  That is how I feel about my memories of my children's births and milestones.  I just can't get my brain-fingers around them and yank them out so I can enjoy them and play with them and share them with others.

Women, in general, love to share their birth stories.  They are akin to men's 'war stories'.  I can remember sharing the story of my first born's arrival with friends and strangers.  I know I would share the tiny details, the actual numbers of my blood pressure readings, my nurses names, what room I was in, the medication I was on.  Now, my clearest memory is of eating a hospital cheeseburger after giving birth and how great I thought it tasted.  I wasn't able to eat for quite some time due to the severe pre-eclampsia I had.

The same was true with my second babies birth.  I remembered it all and I could retell it a thousand times over, but the memories have floated too high above me to reach.  I do remember that my bed was on the right side of the room and I was amazingly happy and that the nurses would bring extra jell-o cups for my daughter Mia.

The birth of my two peanut butter cups was just over 4-months-ago and I already don't remember the details.  This one has seemed hazy from the get-go.  I wish I would have spent the time in my hospital bed writing everything down.  I know that isn't a very realistic thought since I was so tired and stressed and sick.  I spent most of my time sleeping and then crying and then crying some more, but I wish I would have written something down.  The days, the times I spent in the NICU with them, the milestones they reached, when they were taken off of their IV's, when they first drank from a bottle, when they first nursed, when they were taken out of their little plastic homes.

I love my little peanuts and I wish I could put all the memories together in a quilt and wrap myself in them, to curl up and spend time with them.  I will have to make do with the real life arms and real life legs, warm little bodies and rosy-hued cheeks, all curled up with me instead.  :)

4-Month-Check-up and Super Woman.

The babes had their 4-month check-up today and passed with flying colors!  I couldn't be more happy.  The babes are growing so well that they are plotting on the regular growth charts and are catching up with amazing speed.  I was happy to see that they were growing so well, but I didn't realize just how well they were doing.  Their pediatrician was so excited that she actually plotted their last weight on the same chart so she could see it for herself and then showed us.  She went on and on about how great it was.  It was so nice to see a doctor so excited for your children. 

She went through the normal questions and started with how much/often they were eating and how if they were able to get just breast milk.  I told her I make enough for them both and also have about 2000oz in the freezer.  It was then that she called me, or rather my boobs, Super Woman.  At least that is what I remember.  Peter says she used some other words with that that were even better.  I think I was imagining my boobs being red, white and blue with their own capes at that point, so that may be why I don't remember the rest of her words of praise for my boobies.  I'm serious.  That is what I was picturing in my head.   I asked about formula for the future, if that is what we decide.  I try to to make short-term goals with pumping to get me by and my next goal is to make it to the 6-month mark and then re-assess.  She said she understood how hard it was to pump/breastfeed twins and even if I quit today that I would have already given them an amazing start at life.  She, of course, encouraged me to keep on going because of the benefits to the babes and because how expensive formula is.  She said breast milk is amazing and it is amazing that they don't even know everything that it is in it or how to replicate it.  I liked that she was encouraging without being pushy and let me know that if I do decide to stop that they will still be healthy little babies.

We did discuss their flat and misshapen heads and she didn't seem to be quite as worried as I have been.  She started with Avery and said hers was becoming flat, but she didn't necessarily think she needed a helmet or aggressive treatment.  She said just to get her on her tummy as often as we can.  I explained what we had been doing to get them off their backs and she agreed that it was good but that nothing was as good as getting them on their bellies on a firm surface.  The other good news was that she didn't notice any torticollis in Avery and said she had good range-of-motion in her neck.

We then took a look at Phoebe and the Doctor agreed that Phoebe's was worse, but again, not as horrible as I thought.  She did think Phoebe would benefit from a helmet.  She also said she was surprised that Phoebe had such great neck movement as well.  She said torticollis and plagiocephaly usually go hand-in-hand and she would say that they may have very mild torticollis, but didn't think it required any treatment at all. 

She gave us a referral to a cranial-facial specialist at Gillette Children's Hospital and said she wanted both babes to be seen.  She said that she wasn't 100%  sure that Avery needed to be seen but since we were already going to make the trip for Phoebe we may as well have Avery examined as well. 

I have been so worried and so upset over their little heads for quite some time now and it was such a relief to see the Doctor and hear what she had to say.  I had been thinking I was a "bad Mom" and worried I wasn't doing enough to prevent their little heads from flattening.  I am actually hesitant to take them out of their carseats when we are out at the store because I don't want people to see their little misshapen heads.  The Doctor said she knew how hard it was to make sure your babies get on their tummies and with twins (or any set of multiples) it becomes almost impossible to do it enough.  She said she knew we were doing the best we could and she knew that them having reflux makes it even harder to get them on their tummies.  I am so glad we have been fortunate enough to have had such great Doctors.  Doctor's that listen and encourage.

We also had a great laugh over the babes because Phoebe has found her hand.  She stares at her hand almost constantly now and when we laid her on the exam table, up went the hand.  The doctor was amused by it, but then we laid Avery down next to Phoebe and Avery started staring at Phoebe's hand and started laughing.  And she just kept on laughing!  All 3 of us just stood there watching this fiasco and laughing to ourselves.  Phoebe started to get tired and her hand would start to go down and when this happened Avery would get upset.  Phoebe would put her hand back up and Avery would laugh.  Peter got some video of it on his phone, but I am not blog-savvy enough to put it on here.  If I figure it out I will.  The Doctor was actually so tickled by this whole hand-staring-laughing-ordeal that we heard her in the hallway telling some other nurses or doctor's about it and what a hoot it was. 

Ah, I feel so refreshed after today's appointment and so happy.  I love my girls, all of my girls, so much and feel so blessed to have all of them be so happy and healthy.

Wordless Wednesday.

Photos courtesy of my darling 6-year-old daughter Melanie

Spaghetti Taco's

If you have young girls you might know what spaghetti taco's are.  M&M loved to watch iCarly on the Nickelodeon channel, and so did I, but don't tell.  Well, on iCarly Spencer (the big brother) would make his famous spaghetti taco's for dinner quite often.  It is nothing special and exactly what it sounds like, spaghetti in a taco shell.  We haven't had cable in quite some time and m&m had been talking about iCarly and the infamous spaghetti taco's a lot recently.  I decided to surprise them and make them for dinner.  I even googled it to make sure I was going to make them right, in case there was something I didn't know about spaghetti taco's.  I even went on icarly's website and it said to make spaghetti with meat sauce and put in a taco shell.  Okay then.

Peter took the girls on a walk to go hunting for rocks and I cooked up some spaghetti and heated some taco shells in the oven.  And this is what we ended up with.

Melanie filling her taco shell

Mia filling up her taco shell

Doesn't it just look delish?!

I think they were afraid to try them because they were eating the cheese bread first and they never do that.

I finally had to tell them to "take a bite already"!

I don't think we will be having them again anytime soon, but it is a memory that we won't forget.

My Stroller Quest Continued

Because the City Select was so expensive I decided to try and find a different option.  I test drove the Graco Quattro Duo 

And then I tried the Kolcraft Contours.  I was actually fairly impressed with both of the strollers.  The Graco seems to have improved a lot in the last 5 years.  It was very easy to push one-handed and was smaller than most doubles.  As for the Kolcraft Contours, I think I would have purchased this stroller but it was a beast to lift.  It had most of the same features that I loved about the City Select plus it offered a parent console, toddler handles and a huge basket.  The stroller was very heave though and I knew it would be hard for me to deal with loading and unloading it.  It was also very long, but maneuvered quite well.  I think I would have purchased this stroller if it wasn't for the weight, but I kept in mind as a reasonable option.

I still couldn't decide what to do about this whole stroller decision.  Mostly it was because I couldn't decide between a tandem and a side by side.  I loved both for different reasons and if I were wealthy I would just by both options.  I would have a tandem to keep in the car for trips to the mall and stores.  I would then keep a side-by-side at home for walks around town and trips to the park.  I actually thought I would do that and looked closer at side-by-side's.  This is what brought me to the Baby Jogger City Mini.

I really don't have anything negative to say about this stroller.  It is lightweight, pushes like a dream and folds in a snap.  Peter and I went to USA Baby to try it out and loved it.  It fit the babes well and neither one of us could find anything we didn't like.  The only problem was that no stores in the area carried it in the colors we liked.  My options were grey and green or grey and orange, yuck.  I wanted the black or red and both of those options would have to be ordered and the red was out 2-months for availability.  Darn it!

I should mention that while we were at USA Baby we test drove the new Chicco Cortina Together.

and the Zooper Tango (it was on clearance)

I had been eyeing the Chicco for some time now as it seemed like a great stroller and a good option for us.  The price was reasonable and it would take both of our Chicco Keyfit Carseats.  I was so excited to see that the store actually had two in store to try out.  I plopped our babes in while in the carseats and took it for a stroll around the store.  I liked it and was thinking of buying it and forgetting all about the City Mini, but then I decided to test it out without the carseats in it and didn't like it much at all.  Basically, I was comparing it to the Graco because it was close in price and I would choose the Graco over the Chicco and this is why: 

• 
  
  The Chicco's fabric was not very plush and the fabric on the seats looked thin.
• 
  
  The fold on the Chicco seemed awkward and a little more difficult than the Graco's
• 
  
  The second seat hood on both options were pathetic and I wasn't even sure why they were even on there since they weren't going to do anything to block out the sun.  The main hoods on both were decent.

I really wanted to like the Zooper Tango as well.  To say I loved my Zooper Boogie is an understatement, but this Zooper was not so super.  It was on clearance and so I thought I could try to love it, but even at the clearance price it wasn't worth the money.  It seemed rickety and things were already breaking and coming off of it in the store.  I did like that it came with accessories like the rain cover and UV cover, but those weren't going to do me any good once the hood fell off, and it was close to falling off already.

I went home empty handed, but I was coming closer to a decision.  Once at home I checked online stores to see if anyone had the mini in stock in the color I liked and I checked Ebay to see what deals I could find on there.  I did see that there were several Baby Jogger City Elite's on Ebay for around the same price as the City Mini and thought of getting that.  I forgot to mention above that the only thing that I didn't like about the Mini is that it didn't have an adjustable handle bar and it felt a little high for me.  The City Elite did have an adjustable handle bar, a parent console, forever-air wheels and a hand brake like the City Select.  Of course, to my disappointment I realized that the 2009 City Elite's that I was looking at on Ebay did not have the hand brake or the forever-air tires.  Poo! 

In the middle of this all I purchased a Maclaren Twin Rally from someone on Craigslist for $40 and was so excited to get it.  Like I said previously, I loved my Maclaren Volo and so I thought I would be happy with the twin rally.  Not so much.  I got it home and cleaned it up and washed the reversible seat liners in the wash.  Everything was ready to go.

I put the babes in and quickly realized that this stroller was not going to work for us.  It says that the stroller is suitable for birth and up, but I don't agree with that at all.  I had the seats fully reclined, the harness and straps adjusted correctly and my babes looked like they were going to fall right off the end of the seat.  The harness straps couldn't be height adjusted either so they ran down the sides of their faces, very uncomfortable for them.  I walked to the bus stop to pick up M&M from school with the babes in the Maclaren since I already had them ready to go and I started to hate it even more.  I know this is not an all-terrain stroller, but it couldn't even handle the bumps in the sidewalk.  My babes were feeling every bump along the way and with the way they fit in the stroller they were about ready to bounce right out of there.  I gave it a few more tries with the seats at different angles and using blankets to try and support them better, but I just wasn't happy with it.  I am sure it would be a great stroller for toddlers over 1, but not any younger than that.  I sold it on craigslist last week.  In fact, I have sold all my strollers to try and save up for whatever I decide to get. 

p.s.  I think it will be the City Select

My Name is Amy and I am a Baby Gear Whore

I think they should have a support group for women addicted to baby gear.  I can't be the only one that obsessively reads up on everything for their babies and children before buying, can I?  It's not that I am a snob, well maybe a little, but that if I am going to pay for something (baby gear isn't cheap) then I want to make darn sure that I am buying something I will love and won't regret down the road.  I read about the product on the manufacturers website, I then read opinions on as many different sites that I can find, I will look it up in consumer reports, check in with all of my fellow Moms and then I head to the store to get a feel for it in person.  Sometimes I will go back to the store quite a few times.

Ever since I found out we were having twins I have been searching for the perfect stroller.  I love strollers in a way you cannot imagine.  I have owned a Graco travel system, Graco DuoGlider, Graco Citilite, Maclaren Volo, Zooper Boogie, Peg Perego Triplette (2 of them), Burly D'Lite (2 of them), a full-sized Combi, and a Peg Perego Pliko.  I may have missed a few but you get the picture.  I started my search of the perfect double stroller with the Bumbleride Indie Twin, Maclaren Twin Techno and the Zooper Tango.   I was going to go with the Maclaren without testing it because I loved the Volo so much and because it would be more affordable for us, but I had to go into the store and try it out.  That is when my best laid plans went down the tube.

I went to Baby On Grand in St. Paul with the intention of trying out the Bumbleride Indie Twin and the Maclaren Twin Techno and there in the corner was this beautiful white stroller I had never seen before.  I took a look at the Bumbleride and quickly decided that it was not going to be coming home with me.  I loved the Bumbleride Flyer, but the indie was heave and bulky when folded.  I must explain that I am short, lack arm muscles and have had 2 back surgeries, so I need something I can lift without requiring a 3rd back surgery.  I then grabbed the Maclaren for a quick look and decided it just wasn't doing it for me.  The colors it came in this year were blah and for the money it just wasn't that great.  I finally asked the saleswoman what that "neat" looking stroller in the corner was. (yep, I used the word neat).  She brought it over and said it was a great stroller and I would love it.  She didn't know how right she was.  It was gorgeous for starters, in its brilliant diamond white color and it was a tandem that wasn't as heavy as a bus.  It had a simple fold and could be easily taken apart to make it much easier to load and unload from the car.  I asked her what it was and she said it was the Baby Jogger City Select.  How had I never heard of this brand before?  How did I miss this stroller in my endless searches?  And how can I get it?  I was in love with it and was going to have to convince my husband that THIS was the stroller for us.

I was told it was in a high demand and I would have to order it if I wanted it and may have to wait to get the color I wanted.  Well, I was going to have to wait a long time regardless because that stroller was expensive.

I came home and told Peter all about it and his eyes started to glaze over.  I explained all the reasons that this was the ultimate stroller:

1. It is a tandem which makes it much easier to navigate in stores.  Sure, you can get through doorways with a side by side, but you can't always navigate around the clothing racks once you get through those doors. 

2.  It didn't take a muscle man to turn this tandem stroller.

3.  Everything on the stroller is adjustable.  The hood can move up to give additional room.  The foot rests also expand down a bit for when they are older. 

4.  The seats can sit every which way, both forward, both rear, towards each other, etc.

5.  Hand operated brake so you don't have to reach under with your toe and scuff the top of your shoes unlocking the brake.

6.  Huge "bubble" hoods to keep those babes safe from the sun.

7.  Magnetic closures on the hood windows.  You won't startle your baby with the ripping sound of Velcro.

8.  Telescoping handle that is perfect when dealing with a shorty like me and super tall husband.

9.  The fold.  You can fold it with the seats on in one simple step or you can quickly remove the seats and fold the chassis to make it more manageable and lighter for someone like me who isn't supposed to lift a lot of weight.

10.  Forever air tires that don't need to be filled and you don't have to worry about leaks or punctures.

I know there are a lot more features and accessories, but the above 10 are my favorites.

and to be fair these are the things I am not so fond of:

1.  The hood seems to come detached quite easily

2.  Baby Jogger makes you buy the second seat kit before you can add a second car seat attachment or bassinet.  The company can't even keep up with the demand that is out there right now so I think it would be safe to offer the brackets without the second seat.  I think they will still make a profit.

A Great Sunday Morning

I was up at 6am to pump as usual, had my cup of coffee and then went upstairs to help feed the babes.  I really enjoy the weekend morning when Peter and I can sit in bed and hang out with the twins.  It is so wonderful to be able to give them our undivided attention and just about the time the twins have had enough, the big girls wake-up and come join us in bed.

This morning Phoebe really noticed Avery and was smiling, cooing and giggling at her sister.  I was a glimpse of the future, of them being friends and playing with each other.  I am so excited to see this more and more in the days to come.

After the babes had their fill of playtime with us we came downstairs and wreaked havoc on the kitchen.  Peter made omelette's for the girls and himself (I am allergic to eggs).  The girls and I made banana muffins.  The girls each mushed up some bananas and took turns pouring in ingredients and stirring the batter.  Then they used the cookie scoop to fill the muffin pan.  (someday I will blog about how much I love cookie scoops and how versatile they are).  Peter is checking on the muffins as we speak.  I hope they will be good!

I hope the rest of the day will be just as wonderful as our morning!