Group Photo

Thanks for "coming" everyone. Check back at the end of April for a baby announcement!

Thanks from Jenny

It has been fun reading everyone's comments, advice, recipes, videos, and stories.  This shower was a lot of fun.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been seeing everyone in person.  Thank you for participating and the shower gifts! 

                                                   Here are a few pictures of the nursery. 

It is still a work in progress but getting close to being ready for our babies.  

I have been feeling well, and we are ready to meet our girls!  We are looking forward to seeing everyone in June.

Thanks again!

Love,

Jenny and Aaron

Twin Videos from Cousin Cheri

These are Cheri's two favorite “twins” YouTube videos. She thought it would get people smiling and excited about twins!

Game Time: The Big One

This is the one we've all been waiting for.  

This shower is drawing to a close at the end of this week, 
but not before we guess when 

Baby Girls Vargas will make their debut!

Post a comment down below, and be sure to include: 

The date and a weight for each girl.  

And for a tie-breaker, guess the length, too.  Don't forget your name!

FYI, Jenny's official due date was May 13, 2013, but I believe the new date she and her doctor are shooting for is April 29 (38 weeks).

The winner gets....bragging rights :)

"April Fool" Recipes from Grandma Marci

Here are some "April Fool" recipes that some Moms may enjoy using on their kids for an April Fool's Day surprise.  Tell the kids you will have a backwards dinner and start with "dessert" first. ;-)

"Spaghetti with Meatballs"

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 can vanilla frosting

1/2 can chocolate frosting

1/2 tsp cocoa powder

3 drops yellow food coloring

3/4 cup strawberry jam

grated white chocolate (optional)

Mix cake mix according to package directions. Bake at 350 degrees in two 8x8 square pans for 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then take one of the cakes and crumble it in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/4 to 1/2 can of chocolate frosting and mix until well blended (using your hands is the most effective mixing method for this). Form doughy mixture into 1-inch balls (should make about 12-15 depending on the size of the balls). Place cake balls into the refrigerator. Allow the other cake to cool completely in the pan.

Mix cocoa and food coloring with the tub of vanilla frosting. Apply a thin layer of frosting to the cooled cake. Spoon remaining frosting into a gallon size heavy duty Ziploc freezer bag. Snip a small corner off the bag (be sure not to cut the hole too large). Pipe frosting over the cake in random swirly patterns to create the pile of noodles, covering as much as the surface as possible. Coat cake balls in the strawberry jam and place on the frosting "noodles". Spoon remaining jam over the cake. Top with grated white chocolate (to mimic parmesan cheese) if desired.

"Bundt Cake"

1 14 oz jar pizza sauce

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled

1 pkg (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni

3 cups biscuit baking mix

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

2 T butter, melted

1 tsp garlic salt 5-6 slices mozzarella cheese

In a bowl, combine the pizza sauce, sausage and pepperoni; set aside. In another bowl, combine the biscuit mix, milk, eggs, butter and garlic salt. Spread half of the batter on the bottom and up the sides of a greased 10-in bundt cake pan. Spoon meat mixture over batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Invert onto a baking sheet. Arrange cheese over cake. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Transfer cake to a serving platter and serve immediately.

"Red Punch"

Red Jello made in clear cups with straws went nicely with the dinner. It didn't take the older kids long to catch on, but the quints were hilarious to watch---they could not figure out why they couldn't drink the "punch"!

"Cupcakes"

If dinner is really dessert, it follows that dessert should really be dinner. These "cupcakes" were actually mini-meatloaves topped with garlic mashed potatoes.

Meatloaf:

1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef

1/2 cup crushed buttery round crackers

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 pkg onion soup mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup ketchup

2 T steak sauce

15 foil cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour onion soup mix through a strainer to sift out most of the powdery part (otherwise the meatloaf will be on the salty side) Stir the ground beef, crushed crackers, cheddar cheese and onion soup mix until well combined. Whisk the eggs, ketchup and steak sauce in a separate bowl until smooth. Mix the eggs into the meat until evenly combined. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Do not overcook.



Garlic Mashed Potatoes

5 lb potatoes, peeled, diced & boiled

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 large clove of garlic finely diced

1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup butter

milk (as needed)

salt & pepper to taste
In a large bowl, combine everything EXCEPT milk. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth. Add a little milk (don't overdo it--mixture needs to be thicker than normal to hold it's shape) to create a creamy "frosting" like consistency. Spoon potatoes into a large gallon-size heavy duty plastic Ziploc bag. Cut off one corner and pipe potatoes on top of the meatloaves. Top with finely chopped red pepper "sprinkles" if desired.

These recipes were found at wokthedogpassthegravy.blogspot.com

A Glimpse into Life with Twins

Now for a little video sent in by Jenny's cousin, Cheri.  It's a little glimpse into life with two little ones, narrated by Cheri's 4-year-old daughter, Mariah.

Warning: No real twins were used in the filming.  Only Cheri's 1-year-old and 3-year-old.  (But they weigh the same amount, that counts for something, right?!)

Enjoy!

 

Recipes from Jenny's Cousin Nichole

Here are a few more recipe options for the shower…I haven’t tried any of them, but I hear they are all crowd-pleasers!

Simple Foil Wrapped Lamb

8 oz (1 cup) boneless lamb, trimmed
1 zucchini/courgette, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 ripe tomato, chopped
pinch basil

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F, 180 deg C.
Wrap all ingredients tightly in foil and seal.
Bake for about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. 

Vegetable Cous Cous With Chicken Stock

8 oz (1 cup) pumpkin, diced, with skin and seeds removed
5 oz (2/3 cup) sweet potato, peeled and diced
5 oz (2/3 cup) carrots, peeled and sliced
2 oz (1/4 cup) fresh, shelled peas
4 oz (1/2 cup) courgette/zucchini, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 fl oz (1/2 cup) homemade chicken stock
4 fl oz (1/2 cup) water
2 tbsp cous cous
1 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley

Place all the vegetables into a saucepan.
Pour in the stock and water, cover and cook until vegetables are tender.
Remove from the heat and add the cous cous, stirring well.
Cover again and set the pan aside for a few minutes. This allows the cous cous to swell.
Finally, add the parsley.

Tropical Chicken Salad

2 oz (1/4 cup) cooked boneless chicken, chopped
2 tbsp cottage cheese
1 oz (1/8 cup) pineapple (you could use fresh or tinned, but try to look for fruit tinned in its' own juice, rather than in syrup)
1 oz (1/8 cup) ripe avocado
1 slice cucumber

Combine all ingredients.

Don’t they sound delicious!?! 

Of course, I’ve left off the last step of each one of the recipes where it says to mash or puree all of the ingredients.  You guessed it…they’re baby food recipes.  Is it wrong that reading through a bunch of baby food recipes made me hungry?  :-)

Raising Twins - Memorable Moments from Jenny’s Grandma Strutt (Gma Great)

Starting off, when one baby would wake up to eat in the middle of the night, I’d wake the other one up too.  It was the only way that Grandpa and I could get some sleep!

As babies, they were in the same crib and they liked to jump up and down. We had plastic mattresses and they would crack the plastic, rip out the stuffing, and throw it all over the place.  By the time they were six months old we had gone through three mattresses.  When they moved to beds, they use to come up with all sorts of things to do while they were supposed to be sleeping.    Once, I had to turn their dresser drawers to the wall because they’d climb up on top. 

Whatever they did, they did it together.   When they got sick, they got sick together.  They had mumps together, measles together, and whooping cough together.  But, they were also each other’s best friend.

Twins in bed with the mumps in 1967

                                                    Christmas card picture from 1956

                                       Twins outside our house in McGregor in 1954

Game Time: Attendance

Okay, this one's not really a game.  But we want to see who is celebrating along with us.  

Send a picture of yourself to our blog administrator, Katie at stickgrl@hotmail.com.  

It can be any picture you like, just make sure we 

can see your smiling face :)

We will compile a "group shot" so Jenny can see everyone who participated in the shower.  

Even if you've just been a passive reader up to this point - send a picture anyway!

The Story of Jenny's Birth

I must confess that I am not the best at recording the highlights of my kids' childhood, or of keeping things organized.  I also did not take as many pictures as others do today, but I have a few and will try to recall as much of the occasion as I can.

I got pregnant during David's last semester of law school in the spring of 1979.  David's parents took us to Hawaii to celebrate his graduation that summer.  What I mostly remember is that I could not stand to snorkel.  The salt water made me gag!

Here is a picture of the nursery and a very pregnant Mama around 7 ½ to 8 months.  We lived in a rented duplex so our décor consisted of Sesame Street bedding and curtains along with matching vinyl crib bumpers and a thin changing pad on a low dresser that her Dad had refinished.  The girls later used the dresser to store their clothes.  Sister Becca is using the same dresser as her changing table today.

I think I was due on December 4^th, but naturally went longer.  I remember going in for a Dr’s appointment on the morning of December 11^th.  The Dr. told me that I was 3 cm dilated and that I should go home to get a bag and head to the hospital.  Once I arrived at the hospital, the nurses gave me the impression that I really did not need to be there yet, but they let me stay.  I think we walked around some and eventually things began to happen.

This is me in labor.  I believe I am gritting my teeth here.  I did not have an epidural, as they were not as prevalent as they are now and I opted to go natural.  Since I was in the hospital so long, they did insert an IV to give me some lactose to keep my strength up.

Soon enough, it was 1 A.M. on December 12^th and Jennifer Lynn was here!  Pictured at right with the proud Papa at 1 hour old.

 

Here is Jennifer at 1 day old.  I think the website that melded Jenny and Aaron’s pictures got the hair about right.

Grandpa and Grandma Strutt could not wait to see her so they flew down to Des Moines when she was just 35 hours old and took these Polaroids to take back to McGregor.  No instant digital or iPhones then.

   

 

I don’t have a picture of Jennifer coming home, but this one is of her at 3 days old in the hospital and I am pretty sure this was about the time we took her home.

At five days old, we invited Chuck and Janet over to attempt pictures for a Christmas card.  She was a little under whelmed.  Notice the lovely plastic infant seat.  We did get a nice family picture while she slept.

  

We did finally get a picture that we could use for a card.  The last thing I want to mention is that we were anxious to take her to McGregor to visit our families for Christmas.  As new parents, we wanted to make sure she was warm enough so we bundled her up in a sweater and matching hat and placed her in her car seat under a warm blanket.  Poor thing was a sweaty mess by the time we uncovered her in McGregor.

Great story. Thanks Gma Marci!

My Favorite Things

Calling all 'experienced' mamas (or aunties...or anyone with baby know-how) - especially those of you with TWINS experience (ahem, Grandma Great and Alyssa...anyone else?).  What are your most can't-live-without baby products, favorite books, most used gadgets and gear?  Since this is a virtual shower, we miss out on the advice and stories and general chatty-ness that happens where ever women gather.

So take a moment to post a little note in the comments with your advice to the mother-to-be!

Let's SHOWER Jenny with unsolicited advice :)

Jenny with nephew, Daniel, in 2008