vacation or bust!

So I am off to Virginia in the morning with Ang and my Mom! Can't wait, it's going to be fun! A million, bazillion, quadrillion, thanks to Kirk for being so great about taking off work to be Mr. Mom for 5 days!!!!!!!! He's going to LOVE IT!!!!

Twin Tornadoes

Bennett and John have turned into little mess-makers! (I'm sure they probably inherited this from me because, well, I'll be honest, I can make an AWESOME mess). Anyway, the latest day of mess happened this morning. They had just woken up and they were playing in the front room, so I thought, "Great the perfect opportunity to use the bathroom!" So I'm doing my business enjoying my potty break-(as a side note I want to confess that occasionally my potty breaks tend to run a little long because the bathroom becomes a bit of a sanctuary for me...I can lock the door and just be by myself-kid free-no guilt, but I can still hear what the kiddos are up to). Anyway as I was saying I was doing my business enjoying the quiet and then I thought, "Oh crap it's quiet!" So I finished up and opened the door to discover the entire container of wipes (which had just been refilled) was strewn all over the front room! So much for the convenience of 'pop-up' wipes. The sad thing is this isn't the first time I have had to clean up hundreds of wipes...you would think I would learn to put the wipes up higher! EESH!
The next messy moment happened when I was showering. This time I wasn't able to hear that it was unnaturally quiet, I was just enjoying my shower. I thought I had made sure that all the proper drawers were closed and boy-proofed. Well apparently I missed the bottom drawer in the kitchen. So after my shower Taylor walks in to my room with the dreaded sentence, "Mom come look what the boys did," which by the way is becoming quite a popular phrase at our house. So I went in the kitchen and found the contents of the entire bottom drawer on the floor. They didn't choose just any random drawer either, they chose the drawer that would make the most AWESOME mess possible, the bottom drawer is where we keep our Ziploc baggies and such. So they not only emptied the drawer but they also emptied each of the 4 boxes of baggies and somehow managed to get the saran wrap and wax paper unrolled. I don't know how they managed to do that kind of destruction in only a few minutes. I was hoping I had the camera to document the mess, but I couldn't find it. Go figure. I won't soon be leaving that drawer 'un-boy-proofed'.
Right now they are napping so I think it is safe to say that no mess is currently being made...unless of course John has once again taken off his diaper before falling asleep!

3 year old or teenager?

Last Night on the way home from Grandpa and Grandma's Taylor was singing along with the radio. I tried talking to her and she said "Dad, don't instruct me!"
D: What does that mean?
T: It means don't talk to me!!
D: Why can't I talk to you?
T: Because I am singing!
D: Daddy can still talk to you when you sing.
T: Daddy Don't instruct me!!
D: You mean interrupt me?
T: Yeah.
D: Well sing a little louder then. I can't hear you.
T: Then turn it up.

AMAZING MAN

I have an AMAZING husband. Here is how the day of greatness went down. Friday afternoon Kirk came home early from work to start things off, then he went down and got a Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner (he knows how I hate to cook on Friday nights-for some reason I don't know why). So he came home with not only 1 pizza and breadsticks but 2 pizzas, one to put in the freezer for another night! He also stopped and got a movie, but not just any movie....a chic flick...the most chickiest of chick flicks...The Women. And he watched it with me and kept his 'man' comments to himself. He also bought me one of my favorite snacks...crab salad with club crackers....and cookies and cream ice cream (I LOVE FOOD-which is reason number 1 I still haven't lost twin baby weight)!!! AND he cleaned up after dinner...actually that one isn't unusual...Kirk does the dishes most nights after dinner and most of the time that involves emptying the dishwasher first. Yes it's true...I have an AMAZING husband.

But she did it anyway

Taylor had her second dance performance today. She performed her group number first and then she got to perform her solo dance that she and her teacher Shantel have been working on for a couple of months. I have been lucky enough to be the parental unit chosen lately to accompany Taylor to dance practice on Tuesday nights. It gives us some daddy/daughter time and I quite enjoy watching her in her class. She is about a head shorter than the next smallest in her class. That is actually how she identifies herself in the videos of her group dance.

Her dances were during the halftimes of boys rec basketball games at Fremont. Every time the whistle blew of the buzzer went off, the boys harmoniously began crying together. It was awesome. A couple of babies if you ask me.

As a summary of Taylor's solo, which is the video above, her march from the side was a bit longer than she practiced. But she did it anyway. Her skip around the practice room was quite a bit larger in a gym. But she did it anyway. We are quite surprised that she performs the solo because she is always incredibly shy around strangers. But she did it anyway. She was about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Awesome job sweetheart!

Yay for twins!

Two faces to wash, and four dirty hands
Two insistent voices, making demands
Twice as much crying, when things go wrong
The four eyes closing, with slumber song
Twice as many garments, blowing on the line
Two cherubs in the wagon, soaking up sunshine
Work I do for twins, naturally comes double
But four arms to hug me, repay all my trouble.
(Nope I didn't write it, just found it and liked it...the only thing is, I think the work is more than double most days.)

Gear Heads

The Best Subscription Ever! Vroom.

Laughing Kids

I never thought I'd see my old Hotwheels bring such joy.

I'm just Crazy 'bout Taylor and Taylor's crazy 'bout Trains.

Carin and I are reading the Five Love Languages book. We were talking last night that Taylor's love language is most definitely "Quality Time". Taylor is such a good little girl and has really become a great help to us as parents. Sometimes she has to take the back seat for a while as we take care of the boys. I forget sometimes that this brilliant girl is only 3. She converses and reasons with you like an 8 year old. Many times we catch ourselves overlooking her needs for quality time even though she pleads, Will you play with me now?" She asked Carin last night, "Mommy, when I am older, much older, and I am getting married in the temple, can I wear your wedding dress you wore when you got married to daddy please?"


So last night, Carin and I decided that because I had today off, that I should spend the day with Taylor and give her some much needed, and well deserved quality time. I told her this morning that we were going on a Daddy-Taylor date. She got super excited. She got her hair all done and was dressed long before I was. We boarded the Front Runner in Ogden and took off for Salt Lake. As the train started moving, the look was priceless. She's never been on a real train before and you'd have thought she was in the space shuttle. The whole ride down was filled with questions about who drives the train, how he drives the train, how the tracks work, where we were, how long until the next stop, will there be more people at the next stop, what happens when it snows on the tracks, etc etc. She was simply fascinated with the whole experience.

We got off at the Gateway and started looking for a place to eat. We decided on McGrath's Fishhouse. She was sold when she saw the live Lobsters. She immediately named them and told me the one climbing on top of the mommy one was the "daddy lobster". Don't ask how she figured that out! She knew she wanted a cheeseburger. She ordered warm water and a side of ranch with her cheeseburger. The waiter just chuckled. She devoured a loaf of sourdough bread before her meal even came. We visited the restroom a few times while we were there. As we were washing her hands she said, "You know something Daddy, this is a nice bathroom! I thought for a minute that it was a magic bathroom!" I asked her what a magic bathroom was. She said," Well, you see, sometimes you go to the bathroom and when you're done, you stand up and the toilet flushes all by itself! And the faucets and the towels!" She wasn't at all disappointed that it wasn't a magic bathroom, just surprised that one so nice wasn't magic.

I don't think Taylor stepped on a crack all day. She constantly leaped and skipped over the cracks all around the Gateway. She was awed by the "spitting floor" at the Gateway. She experienced an escalator, which she thought was fantastic and we may or may not have played on them a little more than was necessary and we had fun. We went to the Planetarium and had a good time there. She looked up at me and said, "Daddy, we had better get back on the train to go somewhere." I asked her why and she said,"Well, here's the thing, you see, I haven't had a quiet time today and I probably better have one." I told her she didn't need to have a quiet time but realized that this was Taylor's polite little way of telling her daddy that she was beat and needed to rest. So we headed back to the station. Again, the questions flowed. She figured out that on the way down, the engine of the train was in the back. She said, "Were we in reverse the whole way down?" I told her no but she insisted that we had to get out and go inspect the engine and see where the conductor sat. So we did and she got to meet the guy that drives the train and he explained the whole thing to her which she accepted, as it came from the conductor himself.

She crashed for most of the way home and insisted that I tickle her back while she rested. I gladly indulged her. Once back in Ogden, I told her we would go climb on some trains at the Union Station. This was the highlight of her day. The pictures I posted here are shear and utter excitement. No posing her or telling her to smile, just plain old jump-out-of-your-pants excitement. It brought me much joy.

While climbing on the last train, we realized she had lost her little teddy bear that Carin had crocheted for her for Valentines Day. She adored the thing, ate with it, slept with it and carried it with her. Her little eyes filled up with tears and she came over and hugged my neck like she's just seen her dog die. I felt so bad. I told her that we would figure something out and that maybe mommy could make her a new one. In between her sobs she said, "Well, I guess we'd better call mommy." So I handed Taylor the phone as it was ringing and she broke down into tears about the Teddy Bear. I told her to wait for Carin to pick up before she talked. Carin picked up and asked Taylor how she was doing and where we were. Before crying about her bear, the sweet little girl answered her mom's questions and said, "I'm having lots of fun. We are just coming home from Salt Lake and I will be home after I climb on this last train......but mom, guess what? I lost my bear you made me....will you make me another one please?" She got off the phone and said, "Mommy's going to make me another one just like it tonight while I am sleeping!" And the party continued.

Taylor and I rode in my truck home and told stories and asked each other the same knock-knock joke 10 times each and laughed our heads off every time. Taylor's was Knock Knock...who's there...Taylor....Taylor who.....Taylor Dawn Chugg silly goose! After a bad daddy attempt at an "Orange you glad I didn't say banana" knock-knock joke, Taylor asked if her new name could be Orange Glatitude. I agreed. It would be a great name for someone like Taylor. She has a great little attitude and is just glad to be here. I am so grateful for the good girl that she is and thank God everyday that I get to be her daddy. We got home tonight and got dressed in her princess clothes and came out to ask me if I would like to dance-explaining that she is the princess and I would be her prince. Getting worried today, I explained to her that boys are not to be kissed until she's married. She said, "Oh daddy, don't worry you're the only boy I kiss ....and my boys of course (pointing to her brothers)."

Below, the conversation that ensued after passing some farm animals on the train. Pardon the nose picking....but it was part of the conversation.

Disney Villains Uncovered

After the many, many, many disney movies we have watched at our house lately, Taylor has figured out how to tell who the bad guy is. We were watching Little Mermaid yesterday and here's our discussion:
Taylor: "Mom are those people cleaning bad guys?"
Mommy: "No I don't think so."
Taylor: "But they have BIG noses!"
Mommy: "Do all bad guys have BIG noses?"
Taylor: "They sure do."
So when confronted with a potential villain.....look to the nose.

Little Window Washers

Carin decided to have the kids help wash the windows that they grubby up every day. It's okay with me because there's nothing I like better than seeing the kids plastered to the window when I leave for or get home from work. They seemed to like this form of manual labor. Turn up the volume to hear their excited little breathing.

By the way, Bennett's new favorite stories are none of than Motor Trend and Motorcyclist magazines. He sits there and "vrooms" as he excitedly turns the pages. A father can be proud can't he?

Eatin Snow...

We came outside the other day and the kids were like three little sirens going off simultaneously they were so excited. Bennett figured out that it's fun to eat the snow, and foolish to take off your gloves. I've just posted a bunch of pictures here because, well, it's been a while since we've posted any pictures of the kids


Bennett

Precursor to a motorcycle.

Beautiful taylor and her long hair.

Happy John.

Clapping for the chance to be outside!

Johnny and Taylor.

Little Nebraska fan Johnny.

Bennett.

Time to clean house

Apparently I have been lacking in the house cleaning department lately because yesterday Taylor came to me in the kitchen and said, "Mom the front room is REALLY dusty....would you like me to dust it for you?" Once I got over the shock that my 3 year old daughter even noticed the dust, I promptly got out the swiffer and let her go to town. For a minute I felt a little guilty that I had let it get that bad but then I thought..who cares...that's great that she is so excited about helping and I'll just take advantage of this moment!!! I may just let it get that bad again!!!

Conspiracy to Commit Theft and Murder

Our boys are starting to get quite clever. Bennett got picked on for a long time while John stole his toys. Now the tables have turned. John has become the victim now.

Bennett had a noisy toy that John wanted but he knew he couldn't just go take it, so he eyed it for a minute then walked over to the toys, pulled out a ball, walked over to the tile and let it bounce (knowing that Bennett would drop his current project and come chasing the ball) What John didn't count on was before Bennett took off after the ball, he ditched the noisy toy in a big pile of books so John couldn't find it. After Bennett inherited the ball and john got tired of looking for the toy in the books, they both moved on.

Let the competition begin.

This morning my tender wife also confessed she had hit a big cat on the way home from the gym. Instead of being sad about killing a family's pet, she felt bad about not feeling bad. I love this woman!!! Explains why we don't have a cat.

Mommy when are ya gonna play with me?

Yesterday I just had the strangest day. I'm not even sure why it was so strange...it just was. We didn't do anything weird or go on any adventures it just felt weird. I had a large realization yesterday that the Mommy job is HARD! And I'm not sure why it hit so hard yesterday but it did. All day I was continually having this battle within myself: Am I being a good mother? Am I spending enough time with my kids just playing? Am I teaching them the things they need to know? Am I too task oriented? What do I do all day that I can't seem to get stuff done somedays? Do my kids know how much I love them? Do I show affection enough? Am I patient enough? Am I taking the time and opportunity to really live and enjoy my family? Am I really paying attention to these moments?-they are only this little so long. and on and on and on. I think one of the hardest things for me is finding a good balance. There is so much that makes up a day and before I know it the day is done and it is time for bed and I often ask myself..what did I do today? And the answer comes...today you were MOM. What a big name that is.

Taylorism

Taylor: "I'm Certainly."
Daddy: "You're certainly what?"
Taylor: "Well, I'm certainly not crazy."
Taylor: "What's certainly mean?"
Mommy: "Absolutely"
Daddy: "Or Surely"
Taylor: "Shirley? I'm not Shirley..I'm Taylor Dawn Chugg!"

And we thought the ornaments were safe...

Since we have 2 little crazy boys running around our house this year we only decorated the top half of the tree foolishly thinking that this would be a great solution to keeping the boys away from the ornaments. Well, we were wrong. The other morning I was cleaning up the kitchen and it suddenly got very quiet in the front room (all you mothers out there know this usually is a bad sign). So I finished up what I was doing and peeked around the corner. John had pushed Taylor's little rocking chair over to the tree. There he was standing up on the chair handing ornaments down to Bennett. Bennett had an ornament in each hand and John was in the process of handing him another. Little stinkers! Fortunately nothing got broken and the only casualty was that when John saw me come in it startled him and he fell backwards off the chair. Needless to say I haven't caught them doing it again. I have been told by various people that little boys and twins in particular will work together to get into stuff, I just wasn't prepared for it to start already....ready or not here we go!

Taylor Dance

Here's little miss Taylor at her very first dance recital.

The Fun Never Ends

Taylor and the boys were in the tub tonight I had this funny exchange with her as she held a bowl of water in a bath tub.

Taylor: Daddy, I am going to dump my fish out so it can die

Dad: I didn't know you had a fish

Taylor: It's just a pretend one silly

Dad: Why are you going to dump it out and kill it?

Taylor: It's just pretend!

Dad: Would it go to fish heaven?

Taylor: No. He would just go home.

Dad: Where's that?

Taylor: Farkelton

Dad: What's Farkelton?

Taylor: A silly city...where people get married....kind of like a temple

(Farkelton may be an imaginative invention of Taylor Brain due the overload of Doctor Suess in the form of "Horton hears a Who" and "The Grinch") I think at least 40% of Carin's sense of humor is derived directly from Jim Carrey's version of the Grinch. It is a Christmas classic that never gets old.

And one more Taylorism as I sit hear and type with Taylor at my shoulder...

D:Do you stink?

T:No. I don't smell anything.

D:Then what stinks?

T:It was the boys.

D:The boys are in bed.

T:Well, just listen...you can hear them stinking.

Little Devil

Today is Tuesday so I got to watch the boys while Taylor and Mommy went to dance class. Usually we take a really long bath and then play play play until mommy and Taylor get home.

Tonight I went in to turn on the water for their bath and left the door open behind me. I heard a quick pitter-patter of little feet follow me into the bathroom and turned around to find Johnny standing over the toilet smiling. I looked in the toilet and saw two Mr. Potatohead ears sitting at the bottom of an unflushed pee-pee toilet. After my good 15 second thinking processes was complete on what I should do, I decided to quit being a pansy and just reach in and get them. Johnny just laughed. Oh how I love being a dad of little boys! We are going to have a lot of fun with these girls in our house!

Fancy John

I was having another brave/'I need to get out of the house' moment and went shopping with the kids the other day. Before I get into my story I just have to say though...based on the amount of people on the roads and in the stores no way are we in a recession....seriously...it doesn't look to me like people are scaling back on anything...just a thought. Anyway back to my original thought. So our vanigan of kiddos headed to Walmart. We headed back to the toy section because I needed to get some toys for some cousins. So we went up and down all the boy toy aisles and the boys didn't make a peep, they weren't all that interested with what was going on. Then I started walking up the girl toy aisle and oh my goodness you would have thought there were fireworks going off...Bennett and John got so excited when they saw all the dolls and stuffed animals..they just started laughing and squealing and talking...it was hilarious!! I told Kirk the story and he was a little concerned I think...so much so that he didn't want Bennett playing with My Little Pony tonight. I tell you what...they are funny boys. To go along with this issue, Taylor has this blue flowery lei and lately John's favorite thing is to put it on and walk around the house. He loves it when you tell him how fancy he looks! Boys are funny!!!

Taylor aka Dancing Princess!

So last night was Taylor's very first dance performance. She got to perform on a STAGE and everything! She was totally excited! Ever since dance started she has been asking when it will be her turn to dance on a stage and it finally happened. The dance was at the Ogden amphitheater amidst all the Christmas lights (they are really pretty this year by the way). So despite the fact that it was pretty cold last night we all had a great time. Even the boys didn't mind the cold, however when we got home and took their shoes off to get ready for bed their little toes were bright red icicles...poor little guys. Anyway back to the dancing princess. She got up on stage in her line without the least bit of hesitation. For the first dance when she walked to her spot she did her kicks across the stage rather than just walking, apparently she wanted to show off her new skills. She even remembered to smile for a good portion of the dances! She did so great we are so proud of her! It was fun to have Grandmas and Grandpas there and Josh, Michelle, and Anna. It made everything even more great for Taylor. Taylor's dance teacher wants her to learn a solo dance for the next performance and Taylor is all for it. So that could be exciting. It was a very fun night! Thanks to everyone for coming and supporting Taylor! We love you all! Oh hopefully I will post some pics soon!

$30 Cinnamon Rolls

I was welcomed home tonight with a big cookie sheet full of homemade cinnamon rolls. They are seriously the best Cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. And I have tasted my share of cinnamon rolls believe me! I have given them the name $30 cinnamon rolls because if anyone knew how good they were, that's what you'd pay for one. At least I would. If you know how frugal I usually am, that speaks volumes of these cinnamon rolls. I canceled the German Chocolate Cake for my Birthday on Wednesday and ordered another batch of these........Can a woman make her man any happier? I don't think so! I LOVE MY WIFE!!!!! ......and not just for her cinnamon roll skills.......enjoy the pic and don't drool on your keyboard....

Little Men in Puffy Coats

Tonight the Chugg family attended the annual Christmas lights and Santa Visit at the North Ogden Centennial Park. It was a bit chilly today so they kids got to wear their puffy coats. Taylor calls hers a bum coat because it covers up her bum. The boys took a page right out of a Seinfeld script with their puffy coats. I think they are Gortex. See the pants Bennett is wearing? I asked Taylor to try them on tonight and sure enough, they look like a little pair of Capris. The waist is perfect. They are 6-12 months.

This is our favorite thing to Grill. We discovered VeriVeri Teriyaki Sauce at Costco and came up with a homemade recipe for Teriyaki burgers. Follow the directions to Culinary Bliss.

1. 1lb Hamburger Extra Lean

2. One half of a Sarah Lee Hamburger bun broken up in the hamburger

3. A half handful of dehydrated Onions

4. One 1/4 cup Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce (mix in with your hands)

4. Make the patties and grill them on the top rack slowly on the grill

5. On the third rack on the grill, set pineapple rings and butter coated red onions

6. Flip the burgers once and then coat with a thin layer of teriyaki sauce and set pineapples and onions on the cooked side of the burger (you can also add a piece of ham or bacon at this point if desired)

7. When the burgers are almost done, butter Sara Lee hamburger buns and coat with another thin layer of sauce, and set either a piece of cheddar or Swiss cheese or shredded cheese in the pineapple ring hole and let melt.

8. When the buns are toasted and the cheese is melted, make the burgers out there by the grill.

You won't need ketchup I promise. These are the best burgers we've ever eaten. Let us know if you try it and like it. If you don't like it, then we don't want to hear from you because you are obviously insane.

Bennett and Johnny are avid fans of all things with four wheels. I have about 50 old matchbox cars hat I played with as a kids that Grandma and Grandpa Chugg kindly saved an brought over. It was obvious that whoever helped me pick these toys out was a hot rod fan. Thanks Dad! The boys will entertain themselves for hours with these things.

A couple weekends ago we jumped in the van and drove up to Evanston to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Welling. It was so nice to see them and visit for a while. The kids loved all the fun new toys up there. Especially Taylor. She discovered the playroom upstairs with so many fun dress up trunks and kitchen sets. I think she thought she'd found the holy grail of play rooms.

Before all the leaves fell, Taylor and I went outside and did some raking. It turned into a photo shoot.

Here's a picture of our little Taylor. These were fun for me to see because I've not been to dance with Taylor. She's the smallest one in her class by a head but she listens the best. The teacher even said so! We are getting ready for Christmas and have a half-decorated Christmas tree in the front room and it is the year of the Advent calendar. We have three this year and Taylor loves them. Mommy had a great idea last year. We decided that we needed to do something that would focus our Christmas season more on the Savior and his birth. She did an advent calendar that has a thought, scripture and a song to sing with it every morning. It's been really fun. Carin is the most creative and proactive mom. I appreciate her very very much.

What's in your glass?

We had a glass of cold mug root beer for dinner. Taylor rarely drinks anything but warm water. She's recently started drinking cold water intermittently. In between the 45th and 46th time of telling her to eat her dinner she decided to make a joke.

Taylor: Daddy, what's in these glasses?
Daddy: Root Beer
Taylor: Root Beer? Your glass has coke'n it! Mommy's glass has coke'n it. My glass has coke'n it. ----pause..smile......But I don't like "coconut".

A three year old that can make a play on words to make a joke=trouble