A Little Bit from Friday and a Happy Newy Ear**

Veronica had trouble napping yesterday. While Clarissa slept, Veronica clung to Steve. He read her Giant John, which is one of Auntie Cathy's favorite books from when she was little. 

Veronica is never so interested in books when I read to her, but that's okay. It was delightful to watch her sit in Steve's lap and I loved listening to him read. Giant John is a great story. 

Veronica was in good spirits for most of the day. I think it was her colorful fleece.

Clarissa was not big on having her picture taken yesterday.

Our last Friday of the year was lovely, if not eventful. There was lots of playing, laughing, and crying (maybe if Veronica had napped longer...). We had a tasty supper and the gals ate like champs. I am finally feeling better after my stomach bug, so I actually enjoyed the meal, too. I even made cocktails for Steve and me:

Pineapple-cranberry vodka cocktail

Tonight we'll be munching on vegan nachos, playing games, and ringing in the new year with my family at Bubba's house. Tomorrow we'll try to ensure a little luck in 2012 by eating pigs in a blanket with a side of peas (cabbage and peas are supposed to bring luck and good fortune if eaten on new years day).

Happy Newy Ear! I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of the festivities. 

**Wondering about happy newy ear? My sister, Karen, bought a banner for a new year's eve party. You know the kind with individually cut out letters that are held together with grommets so they fold up? It turned out the letters were spaced wrong and it said Happy Newy Ear instead of Happy New Year. It's been almost a decade now (or maybe longer) and we still wish each other happy newy ear each January 1st. 

Weekend Eats V.13

Weekend Eats is finally back, now that the holidays are winding down. For the month of January, I'll be sharing lots of warm, hearty, healthful, and veggie-filled supper recipes and this menu is the starting point. I'll be making:

• lasagne
• potato and kidney bean toss
• Gardein BBQ Pulled Shreds sandwiches and roasted sweet potatoes
• baked burritos with squash, black beans, zucchini and rice
• split pea soup 

Throughout the week, I'll post recipes for the lasagne, kidney bean toss, burritos and more.

Last night I made this casserole, using all the tidbits of things I found when I cleaned out the fridge, freezer, and cupboards yesterday. The crunchy topping is full of nuts, seeds, and breadcrumbs from Steve's homemade whole wheat bread. It was super yummy.

Sisters

All I have to say is that posing the girls for a photo is impossible. This was all their doing.

Christmas Part 2

Christmas was quite lovely this year. The photos I got aren't so great and don't really show all the fun and laughter at my mom's on Christmas Day or at Steve's parents' house the following day. As I have been putting this post together it has felt a little bit anti-climactic, but I've decided I'd share what I have. It doesn't help that it was while we were at Steve's parents house that I started to feel sick. The bug was really hitting me by the time we were opening presents. I ended up not getting gift opening presents and I missed out on taking photos of the girls with their great uncle Les and great aunt Janelle, who were visiting from Alaska. Boo.

Here are some of the pictures I did get:

This isn't the best picture of Veronica,
but take note of the amazing pants,
which my mom made. I love them!

Clarissa and Veronica were enthralled with
something Grandpa was showing them.
Too bad I don't remember what it was.

Veronica and Clarissa helped decorate the tree
(never mind that it was decorated when we got there).

It was the day of wonky faces for Clarissa.
Here is just one of them.

Veronica's not pouting;
her mouth is packed full of pretzels.

Clarissa, Grandpa, and Veronica

Veronica made plenty of silly faces, too

Checking out the giraffe with Uncle Mike.
My mom made Clarissa's pants, too.

Clarissa took off her boots and socks...

So Veronica enlisted Uncle Mike's
help to take off her boots, too.

My Snap of the Week

It's been a while since I've joined the Look Whoooo's Snapping link up, so I thought I ought to get my act together and find a great shot to share this week. This is my favorite non-holiday picture from this week:

Sponsor Vegan Mother Hubbard in January

Interested in advertising on Vegan Mother Hubbard? Here's why you should join the fun:

In December I had 640 unique visitors, 1150 unique visits, and 2225 pageviews. In January I'll be sharing a vegan comfort food recipe series, more vegan baking recipes, and of course plenty of pictures and stories of my adventures with twin toddlers.

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If you'd like to advertise your blog, etsy shop, or other business, send me an email at sandra.kohlmann@gmail.com. All payment transactions will be handled through PayPal.

I'm also open to swapping ad space or guest blog posts, just email if you're interested in that option.

Veronica thinks you'd be crazy not
to sponsor Vegan Mother Hubbard!

Just Some Random Things

Veronica in the amazing overalls
that Bubba made for Christmas

Since I'm still feeling crummy from this stomach bug, I've decided to wait to tackle the next installment of our Christmas excitement. Instead I'll give you this compilation of the many blog posts I've started, but not completed, recently. For good measure, I'll throw in some snaps of the girls from yesterday.

Why yes, Clarissa is wearing a sun hat.
In December. In Bubba's kitchen.

I have settled on a new year's resolution. It's not really fair to claim it as my own, since Clarissa, Veronica, and Steve will all be very involved. I have set a goal to have the gals potty trained by their second birthday (May 17th).  Having been born 6 1/2 weeks early and being as small as they are for their age, I know it's quite possible that Veronica and Clarissa may not be 100 percent physically ready to be completely potty trained by their birthday, so I'm trying to be realistic. I know they may still have accidents, but if the training part of things can be done by then, I'll consider it a success.

Veronica, on the other hand, opted for a turtleneck,
two sweaters, a winter coat and a knit hat

We had made some unexpected progress back in November. Both of the girls successfully went number one using the potty chair and Veronica went number two. Then came the fun, excitement, and chaos of the holidays. Along with baking, and eating, Christmas cookies, lots of visits to Bubba's house, and lots of playing with family came inconsistent eating and sleeping schedules, a cold, and much laziness on my part. But after January 1st comes a return to balanced meals, normal naps and with a little luck, good health, and that means that regular practice using the potty will be much easier to fit into the day. Four and a half months of practice should be long enough, right?

My other resolution is much more typical. You know the one about eating better? Yes, I'd like to lose some weight. Yes, I'd like to get back into running. But mostly I'd like to have a healthier diet, so I can be a better example for my cookie gobbling twins. And I know that starting by eating better will give me more energy, which will (fingers crossed) lead to more exercise. The word on the street is that a healthy diet and exercise tends to be the path to a healthy weight.

My second resolution is where all of you come in. I'm thinking about another recipe series for the month of January. My thought is that I would share healthful, vegan versions of favorite comfort foods. Is there a meal that you love and want a vegan recipe for? Just to get a little holiday break, I'm going to post these recipes on even days of the month, so you can find the first recipe here next Monday.

Now on to that envy thing I mentioned. I read many blogs. Lately, it feels like the bloggers I love most are trying to torture me. Two of my regular reads are currently featuring new four-legged family members. Steve and I have firmly decided to wait until the girls are in school, before we get a dog. That said, Kerry and Danielle better be generous with the puppy pictures! 

Veronica and me

My other envy comes from all the  bloggers I love who are pregnant right now. I counted. I follow five blogs written by women who will be giving birth between April and June of 2012. Don't get me wrong, I will not be having any more babies. I hope our family will grow, with the help of adoption. This will not be in the near future. We have much research to do and so much more money to save before adoption will be something we pursue. It's hard for me, though. I have felt a little cheated out of the magical pregnancy experience I imagined. For me, pregnancy was a whole lot of vomit and feeling miserable. I couldn't wait for the days when I would waddle, when I'd be big as a house. When pregnancy would be happiness rather than constant nausea. Then seven and a half months rolled around, the puking had just stopped, and there I was with two little pumpkins in the NICU. There was no waddling, no crazy-huge belly. I wouldn't change anything, of course, because the trade off was two healthy babies, but that doesn't mean that I don't have pregnancy envy. So for now I will try hard to live vicariously through my blogger friends, rather than feeling jealous. And I will look at pictures or my sweet girls, sleeping contentedly in Bubba's arms and I will be happy.

Bubba and Veronica

Christmas Part 1

The Kohlmann-types had a great Christmas, which was followed by a wonderful morning and afternoon of the 26th. The night of the 26th and the 27th were another story, as Steve and I were plagued by some kind of stomach bug. There was much vomit, including all over myself in the car on the way home from Milwaukee (is that too much information). There were fevers and shivering. There were headaches that seemed to be a combination of the bug and lack of caffeine. 

Many, many thanks to Bubba and Auntie Cathy, who came over to our house yesterday to watch our gals, while we rested. Since I have many tasks to tackle today (anyone want to help with the mess in the car that we still haven't cleaned up), and I'm still not feeling 100%, here a quick glimpse into our Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day. I hope to be back no later than tomorrow to share the rest of the holiday story. 

Two presents with gold ribbon for Veronica and
two presents with silver ribbon for Clarissa

Veronica couldn't be stopped. She got started with her presents as soon as she could get her hands on them.

Mom and Clarissa, with Clarissa's
vintage copy of One Kitten for Kim

Clarissa opening her present from Santa

Clarissa loves her new teddy bear

Mom, Clarissa and Teddy

Santa brought Veronica a super-soft
raccoon puppet. She was smitten!

Fresh from the bath and wearing new Christmas jammies,
Clarissa promptly crawled around under the tree.

Twinkies in their matching Christmas jammies

Clarissa didn't want to wake up on Christmas
morning. This is the closest to a smile that I could get before we left for church.

After opening presents at Bubbas, Clarissa and
Veronica zonked out by the Christmas tree.

I'm pretty sure that Clarissa was
dreaming about her new shopping cart.

Veronica didn't think it was necessary to stay
asleep in the living room, so she got up and came into the kitchen to finish napping.

I hope all of you had a joyful Christmas.

A Dream Come True

Every morning since we put up the Christmas tree, I have gotten up and sat in my living room to drink my morning coffee. Each of those mornings, I open the blinds on our big front picture window and wished for snow. Our tree looks so much more beautiful with a blanket of snow behind it. And snow makes me feel so much more Christmasy. I have loved snow since I was little and I still do, even if it means lots of back-breaking shoveling and scary driving. 

Each of those mornings I watched my favorite local news and the weather guy would tell me that there was little or no hope of a white Christmas and I would feel a little sad. Well, my fave weather guy was wrong. Two days ago, we got a little bit of snow. You could still see the grass, but the snow stuck around. Then yesterday evening, the snow came again. Light, fluffy snow came down, all sparkly and lovely. My hope for a white Christmas wasn't lost. I think that my heart grew three sizes, just like the Grinch, when he hears the Whos singing on Christmas morning. 

Clarissa (foreground) and Veronica
exploring the snow at Bubba's

When we were leaving my mom's house after supper yesterday, it took longer than expected to make it to the car. Veronica and Clarissa got their first chance to play in the snow. They scooped up snow from Mom's front hill. They laughed and squealed. And the best part is that they got to ride in their new sled from Auntie Sarah. She pulled them up and down the block and even down the front hill. The gals were not pleased with Mom and Dad when they had to get in the car to go home. They wanted to stay and play. To make it up to them, we let them walk around on the snowy driveway when we got home.

                       

Clarissa (foreground) and Veronica
trudging through the snow in the driveway

Veronica

Veronica

Drinking coffee out of a Santa mug

Merry Christmas everyone! I'll be back sometime next week to share the festivities. I hope everyone has a joyful and blessed weekend!

Veronica Kate

Veronica has the same cold Clarissa had. She has been miserable for two days. It's really upsetting her sleep, which I think is hardest on her. She normally goes to bed between 7:00 and 7:30; last night she went to sleep at about 10:00. She was up from 2:00-3:00, screaming at the top of her lungs. Then she woke up at 4:00, came to our bed and was up again at 5:30 and she's been up since. 

The upside to my poor little girl feeling sick is that I've gotten lots of snuggle time with her. We've had one-on-one time, too. She's been sitting next to me on the couch this morning, talking in her stuffed up nose voice. Veronica's been cuddling under a pile of blankets and crawling on my lap while I've been stuffing the diapers. And now she's working her favorite puzzle. 

Steve and I are exhausted. Neither of the gals have slept well over the last three nights. Last night was the worst, though. Steve's trying to catch a few extra minutes of sleep this morning. I'm hopeful that he'll work from home, just so he can sleep longer. Today I'll take Clarissa and Veronica to my mom's house, so we can play and bake the very last batch of Christmas cookies. Having extra hands to help is a blessing anytime, when you have twins. Today it will be extra special. My girls love Bubba and Auntie Cathy, so not only will I have extra help, but the girls will get lots of hugs, kisses, and cuddles--just what they need when they're not feeling well. 

I hope your family has been having an easier time. Take care and merry Christmas!

Christmas Gifts

Last year Steve and I made the decision to always keep Christmas gifts for Veronica and Clarissa simple. Each year, we'll give the girls a book (in plentiful years, possibly two books). Santa will bring each girl a toy. When St. Nick comes in early December, he'll bring the girls an ornament for the tree. This year, we also decided that the girls will get new jammies on Christmas Eve, too (mostly because they need them).

One of the vintage bird ornaments that
Clarissa and Veronica got from St. Nick

We are a lucky, blessed family. My mom, brother, and sisters go out of their way for our daughters. Throughout the year, they give Clarissa and Veronica gifts often. Auntie Sarah just got them new boots and snow pants last weekend. Thanks Auntie! The girls do not come close to going without. They have more than they need, which I give thanks for each day, especially when I get to dress the girls in super-cute outfits provided by my family.

Steve and I certainly don't expect anyone to give C and V presents, at Christmas or otherwise. If they got no gifts from anyone but us, we would still stick to our simple gift plan. In years when we have extra to give, we intend to involve the girls in giving to others. We'll buy toys for Toys for Tots, get basic supplies for our local homeless shelters, and put extra cash in Salvation Army red kettles. I'm not trying to brag or toot my own horn. Nor to I condemn those who get their children more for Christmas than we do. I grew up being showered with Christmas presents, even when times were hard. My mom and siblings always made Christmas special and magical. But since we have the chance to celebrate a bountiful Christmas with my family, we will make Christmas at our house smaller. I want Clarissa and Veronica to be excited and appreciative of all that their family does for them. And I want the gifts we give them to feel special, too. I think making the two experiences different is a good way to accomplish that.

Veronica wearing her seasonally appropriate
Sasquatch Summer Camp t-shirt 

I've posted this picture of Clarissa before,
but I love it so much I'm sharing it again

What is your take on giving at Christmas? Do you have gift traditions?