Red, white & blue

Awesomest. Weekend. Ever.

And very patriotic, no less.

We kicked off the weekend with a good old American barbecue with the family of Bean's future wife girlfriend friend from preschool, Em. I got out of cooking anything I provided breastmilk for the twins, and everyone else provided burgers, fruit salad, broccoli salad, red-white-and-blue layered jello, cake, cookies, and some beer for good measure. The food was great and the company even better, although after observing their second daughter who is two weeks younger than the twins, I left feeling even more bitter about this "easy baby" phenomenon that some of my friends seem to be enjoying. Humph.

Then taking our country's colors individually, we begin with the blue. As a thank-you to my Mom for caring for all of us during my 11-week bedrest ordeal, one of the things we got her was a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure at a nice salon down the street. And to match her sacrifice, knowing she wouldn't want to go solo, I selflessly set aside money from my 30th birthday to go with her. *ahem* So on Saturday morning, we waved goodbye to all five boys (five! gah!) and started the day by using a coupon for two free drinks at my favorite coffee chain. And a gift from God, they recently began selling the infamous maple bars, so we naturally had to partake.

Yum yum yum yum YUM.

Then we indulged in some serious girlie pampering, of the nail variety. Being the fabulously chic chicks that we are, we shunned the boring usual polish colors for our toes. I am sporting a shimmery blue mermaid-inspired hue (OPI color "Catch me in your net") and my Mom was talked into selected a green shade from the new Shrek line (OPI color "Who the Shrek are you?"). Taking care of three kids under three hasn't hampered our style, thank you very much. Although a comment by one of the nail techs did leave me scratching my head. As we admired our glistening nails, she leaned in and laughed, "You know, I have to admit. When I first met you two, I wondered how you were related. I thought maybe you were lesbians!"

Yeah, I'm trying not to think too much about that one.

Anyway, the red. I had dared hope that my newest baby carrier would arrive in the mail on Saturday, and after quickly flashing my mani and pedi for DH to pretend to admire, I ran to the mailbox, and...

OH HAPPY DAY, IT WAS THERE!!!!

A red adjustable fleece sling from Kangaroo Korner. When I decided I wanted to get one, I put two other of my carriers (our untouched Bjorn and one of my two awesome Slinglings) and some business-casual maternity clothes on craigslist to fund the purchase. Well, unfortunately they haven't sold yet... but I was so excited about the carrier that DH said I could order it immediately while waiting for the other items to go. His quote: "You work hard and you deserve it." A keeper. Totally a keeper.

And speaking of a keeper... I absolutely *love* this new sling, way more than I even anticipated. It is so comfy and snuggly and convenient! The boys love it too, which is almost as important as how cute it is. If I work even harder, do you think DH would get me a new Beco Butterfly 2? They are pricey at $140 and I don't technically need one... but man, the new patterns are to die for!

No, I didn't think so.

Moving on, today was the white. DH and I took Bean to see his first movie in the theater: Toy Story 3, featuring his very favorite character, "Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!" It was the perfect choice to introduce him into the wonderful world of sticky floors and $5 candy bars, as we've watched the first two movies in the trilogy over 2,000 times each in the past couple of months.

He absolutely loved the movie, but the plot obviously went over his head. During some of the more frightening scenes (frightening for the younger crowd of course -- I certainly wasn't grasping DH's arm tightly and whispering "I'm scared!"), he was entirely unmoved and instead continued his happy exclamations of "Woody!" and "Buzz Lightyear!" whenever they appeared on the screen. The movie ended right as naptime usually begins, so the credits were met with his sobbing, "Want to watch new Buzz Lightyear movie again!" With grins on our faces, we carried our little man back to the car, and we barely managed to pull into the driveway before he fell asleep. He is now snoozing contentedly in his bed as I type this.

And then tomorrow? OUR CARPETS ARE BEING CLEANED. By, like, professionals. This is how much fun life in the suburbs with young kids can be, folks. A steam cleaner and some carpet shampoo.

Other things we've been up to lately...

Because his brothers are both perpetual fountains of baby barf, Bean is diligent about using a burp cloth with his doll. You can never be too careful.

Sibling rivalry begins early, as the twins take sides in our family's MSU-vs-U of M feud.


But Peanut knows who the real school is.


Grandma hides her disgust of smelly sheep to encourage Bean to participate at the petting zoo.


Bean enjoys his first freeze pop with Em.


Watching Toy Story 2 with Bumpa for the 1,826th time.


Both twins sleeping at the same time: the eighth wonder of the world.


The twins pose for their individual shots.


Bean helped make and decorate a cake for his daddy's 30th birthday. Yep, now DH is officially old like me.


Our summer weather has been ridiculously horrible so far, but we still find evidence of fun in the sand that washes off Bean in the bathtub.


It's amazing how much cuteness one couch can hold.


Not only is he patriotic, but Twin A rocks the baby jeans, too.


HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!