Weekend roundup: snow, parties, runs

What a busy weekend!  Friday my team did an offsite to go wrap Christmas presents for 5-hours.  It's amazing how exhausting that is!  I got home late and we enjoyed a mellow night in, which was a good thing because the weekend was one of our busiest ever.

Saturday we rose early and made our way to Crystal Mountain for a ski outing.  We met up with some friends from the boys' preschool and we all took our kids skiing - for our boys it was the first time.  I think we're going to have some ski addicts on our hands - they picked it up amazingly quickly and then were begging to snowboard like "Uncle Gabe" and to ride the chairlift so they could do the "big hill" (aka double black).

After a hot cocoa break and a play in the snow, we made our way back to Seattle.

Quick showers and cleanup and we were out the door again Saturday evening for a holiday party at a friend from work's house.  The party was awesome - tons of kids everywhere and great holiday cheer.

Sunday Matt, the boys, and I all did the Jingle Bell run in downtown Seattle.  I pushed the boys in the stroller and I think this may have been one of their last stroller rides - they're getting giant!  The run was fun, but to be honest a 5K isn't my favorite distance and it was much too crowded to go fast.  The other racers were royals of walking 6-in-a-row.

After the race we made our way to other friends from work for a holiday brunch.  The boys and their "buddy" Sasha were going coocoo jumping on beds, playing dress up, and then just running wild.

After all the hubub from the weekend we were too tired to cook Sunday evening so we made our way to my new favorite sushi place downtown Seattle.  We caught the sushi happy hour so enjoyed some rolls for just $5.

Now we need a weekend to recover from our weekend!

They will be great men ...

We got one of the best compliments on Saturday - we were eating out (at our all-time favorite Mexican restaurant in Seattle - La Carta de Oaxaca) and the boys "struck up a conversation" with the family next to us. At the end of the meal, the man who seemed to be the father of the family looked at Matt and I and said, "they will be great men.  I can tell by watching how you are with them - you're doing a good job."  That felt good - especially since the entire dinner the boys were dancing and talking about their meals with full mouths to the family next to us.

The rest of the weekend was pretty rad too - we visited the zoo where the boys now know the layout, visited the aquarium, walked around Wallingford, and "hung" by the fire (which Wilson is mesmerized by).

Holiday Spirit

We had a rather mellow weekend ... Saturday we spent most of the day in Wallingford but zipped out to Madrona to "hang" at the playground when the boys were getting squirrly.  The playground happens to be right next to my favorite secondhand store, Driftwood, and I scored a Mulberry purse, Marc Jacobs dress, and Marc Jacobs sweater all for under $100 (woot - Merry Holidays to me!)  Today I ran the Jingle Bell 5K (and decided I am not a fan of 5Ks) with the Amazon run club - the race was a fundraiser for arthritis and the turnout of Santa's and people running for the cure was pretty awesome.  This evening we made our way to Nicole and Salil's for an amazing leftovers dinner (they had a big holiday party that only Matt could make it to last night due to the drought of babysitters in Seattle).

And now, I feel like the holidays are really beginning ... Matt just popped in White Christmas and it's true bliss.

Weekend roundup: go go go!

This past weekend was a SUPER busy one - I'm still recovering, hence the delayed post.  Here it is in a nutshell:

Friday after work we went to my bosses house for a BBQ.  We couldn't get a sitter, nor could one of my co-workers, so we brought all of the toddlers and let them run (kind of - my boss has a giant beautiful house with a grand piano, no kids, and many breakables).  The boys found the stairs the most entertaining for a game of lay on the steps:

Saturday our friends from Boston came over for brunch, and then we walked up to the zoo.

Saturday afternoon our friends whom we met at the playground (how Fresh Prince of Bellaire) came over to talk about their impending move to San Francisco (sad) and pick blackberries before a mellow dinner.

Sunday we met Lisa, Frank, and Lila, Andrew at Mars Hill Church in the morning, and then Lisa, Lila, Andrew, the boys and I hung out at Farmer's in Ballard while Frank and Matt climbed. 

After naptime, Sunday afternoon we made our way to Nicole and Salil's for a BBQ (and many games of ring around the rosy).

Sunday night Lisa and fam came over to watch a Baseball game.  I honestly have no idea who was playing, but it was fun to hang out.

Last night, our neighbors came over for a mellow dinner and catch up - they just returned from Copenhagen (awesome!) and shared travel stories ... which made me want to hit the road :).  The kids all decided to "go for a boat ride" in the living room before taking all the pillows off the couch and jumping all over the place. 

Now it's all about catch-up - cleaning, working all the hours I should have worked this weekend, and prepping for another busy weekend as we're off to Portland this coming weekend.  Thank goodness for all the great Seattle coffee!

Weekend roundup: a few of my favorite things

What a wonderful weekend!  We had a mellow-ish weekend at home.  Friday was Matt's birthday so we made our way to Carta Oaxaca - best Mexican food in town.  The staff now know us (or should I say, our boys) so well all the waiters and waitresses came by to say hola during the meal.

Saturday I had a race - the last in the Cougar Mt. series, a 13.7miler on trails.  My bad running trend continued and I ran my worst trail half ever ... somethings gotta give, and I think that something is me working runs back into my daily schedule. 

Sunday morning we went to the Amazon company picnic which was AWESOME!  The boys had a blast and skipped their nap ... that part, not so awesome.  Sunday evening Lloyd, Emily, and Louis came over to pick blackberries and then we all enjoyed an early dinner.

Weekend roundup: rainy in the summer

What a great weekend!  The weather was horrible, but one of our good friends, and Wilson's godmother, Ryan was in town and we had a lot of fun.  Ry got in on Friday and we enjoyed a mellow night with takeout. 

Saturday we were surprised by rain but made the best of it by heading to the zoo during a dry spell.  Saturday night Ryan, Lisa and I made our way to a wine bar for a girl night - it's been forever since we had a girl night!  We were all roommates in college so it's funny (and great) going out now vs. how we did then.

Sunday I decided to do the See Jane Run half marathon last minute (and did notsogood) and Ryan went to Church with Lisa and fam.  Mid-morning we met up at Farmer's Market and tried to dodge the rain.  Sunday evening was another grown up night, but this time with the husbands.

All in all, a ton of fun!  I think we exhausted Ryan with all the toddler time - and the boys are now going into the guest room asking for her... oh boy.

Weekend roundup

It was a busy weekend and an awesome one!  Saturday was the second race in the Cougar Mt. trail series - an 8.2 mile HILLY course.  I placed first female and 39th overall (out of 239) with a time of 1:07:25.

One cool thing is I got interviewed by a local paper and apparently am going to be in Wednesday's issue. Now if I could only work on my posture.

Matt brought the boys which was great.  They had a fuss when the race started (with Wilson yelling "mommy mommy mommy") but when I finished both boys were clapping full force.  Apparently they explored the area quite a bit, too ...

Saturday afternoon Matt's parents got here which was terrific.  They took off with the boys to Ballard for the afternoon and took in some boat sighting. 


Sunday we rose early (as usual) and made our way to Tiger Mt. for a hike around the lake.  Sunday afternoon brought a visit from Matt's aunt and uncle from SD.  The boys were super shy at first but quickly opened up ... a trip to the park helped.

All in all, a terrific weekend!  I'm ready for another :)

Weekend roundup: hot in Seattle!

The dark days of winter are gone (for now anyhow) and we just enjoyed an AWESOME weekend!  It was in the 70s both days, light at 5:30 (I know because the boys got us up) and dark at 9:30 and we loved every minute of it.  Matt's buddies from San Diego were here for a glass festival in Seattle (they're glass blowers) but because they were at workshops and events all day and most of the night it was as if it was just the 4 of us. 

Saturday I hit the road for an easy 5miler at 7am.  Then, we spent the morning at Gasworks Park - after hitting up Essential Baking Company we enjoyed our cinnamon rolls while watching the rowers train in the lake.  Saturday afternoon we made our way to Alki beach - it seems like half of WA did, too.  The beach was packed but the boys loved running from the tide.

Sunday I loaded the boys in the stroller for a quick 3miler (not so quick when pushing over 50lbs now + the stroller, but I'll chalk it up to weight lifting).  Then, we packed up and hit Farmer's with Nic and John.  The market was more crowded than ever as the sun was finally out, but we were able to stock up on some great local produce.  Sunday afternoon we made our way to a BBQ at some new friends just up the hill.  Kids really do put you in a new network of friends - we met Tanya, John, and their son at the park when Cole and Wilson took their son's toys and ate Tanya's snack.  Classy.

I'm hoping for more sun this weekend ... fingers crossed!

Weekend Roundup - social times

We've been in a bit of a social lull with colds and work ramps but this weekend we broke that.  Friday after work a bunch of co-workers and I went for a drink, then Matt and the boys picked me up at the wee hour of 5:30pm for a cozy night at home.

Saturday our friends Lloyd, Emily, and their adorable baby Louis came over for brunch.  The boys were in awe of little Louis and then jealous any time I held him.  Seems they can handle me giving attention to the "other" one of them, but when it comes to a non-twin in the brood, look out! 

Saturday afternoon we all napped and then Thomas and Sigrid came over for an early dinner, games, and mellow time.

Sunday we met up with Salil, Nicole, and RJ at Farmer's.  We didn't stay at the market long as it was overly crowded for some reason, so we trekked up to the Locks and let the boys run.  Sunday afternoon in an effort to calm the boys who were literally climbing walls and tables (somehow Cole managed to climb up the dining room table and seat himself in the high chair - we still can't figure out how), we went for a "drive-a-bout" to look at Seattle neighborhoods.  Right now we're loving Madison Park ... we'll just need to win the lotto first.

Oh what a weekend!

The weekends go much too fast - always, but this one seemed especially speedy.  Friday after getting ready for work ...

And after a very long day, we had no plans which was nice - we had a nice night in with the boys. 

Saturday my dad came over and brought the BEST greens from the garden and eggs from his chickens.

Initially, on Sunday I was going to do a 25k, but after a bad run on Thursday I decided to give racing a break.  Instead I met up with GGRC on Sunday for a much shorter run and an awesome brunch.  I'll admit, the brunch was the driver for the run - we went to El Preso's house where the GGRC babies crawled and played on the giant tramp (the newest baby at just 3 weeks slept), and we ate ... and ate ... and ate. 

Sunday night Rob and Emily came over for a mellow Mexican dinner and they regaled us with stories from the Black and White Ball. 

All in all, a great weekend!

Off to the zoo for the Taylors two (well, 4 if you count the rents)

Today was bbbuuuussssyyyy (notice the emphasis on busy - does repeating letters drive home that we did a ton?)  This morning we rose, fed the boys, coffee'd up, and then took off to explore Bernal Heights and Mission District (our desire to buy a home is coming back full force).

When the boys woke from their morning nap, we were off to the zoo!  This was the first time at the zoo with the boys and it was a ton of fun for two reasons:

1. The boys were in awe of the animals - occasionally just looking confused, and sometimes snubbing their noses at the monkey smell (now they know how we feel)
2. The zoo was packed with strollers!  A rarity in San Francisco.  The cafe had tons of high chairs (vs. the 1-2 we usually see in restaurants) and the bathrooms all had changing tables (no need to run to the car to change the boys in the semi-clean trunk)

After the zoo we made our way to Berma Superstar (hands down, best food in the city) for lunch, and then went to a friend from SF Parents of Muletiples' house to stock up on hand-me-downs. A quick stop at home to change and grab more bottles and we were off again - this time to Chrissy Field.

This afternoon Matt went climbing at the rock climbing gym, and I brought the boys to the beach - another first, sitting in sand.  They loved staring at the water, but then Wilson decided to snack ... on sand.  No bueno.

Another quick stop by home, a fresh change for the boys (no time for Matt and I) and we were off to meet some other friends from POM for an early dinner with the twins (theirs and ours) in North Beach.

Home again home again and we're all worked.  The boys are sleeping and we're taking in Sherlock Holmes.

Tomorrow is Easter and we're hoping to have a mellow day.  I was joking with Matt that after forcing the boys on Santa's lap at Christmas, I should try to get pics with a Priest ... but don't worry, I'm not that coocoo.

 p.s. check out Wilson's cool doo from bath time - we don't cut/comb his hair, this is from him getting his head in the tub and us pulling him out.  Radness.

Weekend Roundup

It's been quite a weekend!  Friday was a mellow(ish) night at home with the boys. Saturday I had a 30k trail race, then made it home to go walking with the boys and my mom while Matt went climbing off Chrissy Field.

Saturday night my mom and I went to see The Little Mermaid ballet with the San Francisco ballet.  We didn't get home until 11pm and I was BEAT! I didn't love the ballet ... I'm more a fan of the classics, then again I say that with my favorites being the Nutcracker and Tom Sawyer (which I was in as a kid) - not so classic I guess (not the Firebird).  I was expecting the ballet to be reminescent of the movie The Little Mermaid, but instead it was base on the old fairy tail - I didn't understand what was going on until reading the handout at intermission.

Sunday was a rather lazy day in the city.  Bright and early (like 8am) we went to Whole Foods and were headed to check out the JCC swim school until we realized it was too early.  Later in the morning I brought the boys for a long walk playing at Michaelangelo park and then on the swings in Washington Square. After that we hung out in the back yard of our house listening to the parrots of Telegraph Hill and "discovering" grass (the boys were, not us).

In the afternoon wet met up with the Russian Hill parents' group for some home-made treats and trips down the slide (the boys on our laps).  By dinner time we were thoroughly beat, but we still had bath time - today we let the boys take their bath in the "grown up tub" and they love love loved it!  Wilson kept scooting around the tub and Cole kept kicking his legs and splashing his arms.

Weekend Roundup: And there was sun!

The rain has finally taken a break and the city was filled with sun this weekend.  The weekend seemed to fly by, and daylight savings time didn't help much.

This weekend the boys decided they much preferred being naked ... except now they time their peeing for when the diaper is off and I'm right next to them.

The boys also started playing together more which is amazing to watch.

Saturday I met up with the LUNAChix for a kickoff meeting to plan the season and head off for a quick run.  Then my mom came in for a walk with the boys which was great.

Today we met up with another family from Parents of Multiples for brunch at Park Challet.  The brunch was good and the company was great!  Their boys are about the age of ours (one month younger) and one of them is already crawling - so many adventures to come.  After brunching inside we made our way to the lawn to "hang" with the babies.

After brunch we came home to blitz the house (baby stuff is taking over) and then we made it out for a short walk.  While walking around the park we met some other local parents and all got to talking about how we love living and playing in SF.  Back home for a quick dinner (beets and chicken for the boys, beets and black bean soup for us), some emails for work, another quick blitz on the house, and off to bed!

Weekend roundup: the holitwins have begun

The holidays are officially in full swing. This weekend we bought our first Xmas tree with the boys! We were also invited to five holiday parties - leaving us feeling oh so popular. Unfortunately, though, this weekend also brought a nasty cold for Cole and Wilson so we wound up bailing on 3 of the parties (which actually stunk, we don't want to completely lose our social life, but we also don't want to get everyone in a room sick or make our little men sicker/more miserable). The two attended, though, were pretty awesome.

First up - twin moms night out! A group of (exhausted) women met up at NOPA for our first twin moms night out. It was funny, a few of us had met before with our kids at coffee, but getting out for a "grownup" only night felt like we were in the dorms. Random statement, I know. Remember back in college days when you got dropped off at the dorms and you didn't know anyone, but everyone was in the same boat so you felt instantly bonded? Well, that's the twin moms feeling. We know what it's like not to sleep for months at a time. We know what it's like to try to carry two babies at the same time, feed two babies at the same time, tend to one crying baby only to have the other start crying ... you get my drift. We also know what it's like to have a laughing contest with 2 4-month olds at the same time, what it's like to have people stop constantly telling us how lucky we are, and what it's like to feel utter amazing undying love TWICE!Saturday brought brunch with Wilson's Godmother Ryan. Her poor sister Meghan hurt her knee, but that didn't stop Matt and I from plopping a baby in her lap. Ryan surprised the boys with some awesome stuffed animals that her mom bought them - the boys are already loving their new playmates.
Last night Matt and I made it out for another "grown up" night - my work holiday party. Paloma came (bringing total sanity to our little apartment - the boys light up whenever they hear her) and Matt and I hit the road shedding puke covered sweaters in lieu of "festive" wear. The holiday party was a blast, but I caught myself being "that mom" showing pics of the boys and then smiling to myself about when the pics were taken. Matt and I wound up leaving a little early so we could go to Target "just the two of us" for Pampers. Romantic.Rounding the weekend off, this morning I made it to GGRC for a good 7.3 miler; started at the Warming Hut, up to the bridge, down and back up Baker Beach stairs, over the planks and through the woods (literally), through the Presidio, and back to the Hut again. Now that's a way to wrap a weekend!