Our Life Right Now

Things are a little bit hectic in our world right now...

We {finally!} closed on our new house!

The first supper!

So, it's official..

(The boxes are empty, I promise!)

 Thank goodness GG has been here to help us with the girls!!!

We've even managed to squeeze in a little fun, too!

GG's introduction to the orchard!

Now if GG would just move in...she has her own bedroom at the new house!  :)

Life is crazy right now...but pretty darn good.

SUPER STUFF and LOTS of Pictures!

Things in our world are pretty busy.  We are {FINALLY!} closing on our new house this week, and getting ready for our big move.  I haven’t taken much time to sit down and write…but thankfully I have taken the time to record some of the SUPER in our world.

1)      My B was a little “froggy” for a few days, and I was trying to encourage her to clear her throat.  That’s one of those things we take for granted, not realizing it’s a learned skill.  She was too funny making this little humming noise, trying to imitate me!  She never did get it!

2)      I thought the girls got this from school, but when I asked them, they said they made it up.  They’ve been running around the den, singing, “When will I get there?  When will I get there?”  And then they’ll stop suddenly and exclaim, “My journey is over!”  Cue giggles.

3)      To their new run-around game, Daddy started throwing out synonyms for “journey”.  Now they’ll mix things up and say, “My expedition is over,” or, “My quest is over.”  Hee hee!

4)      On Tuesday morning I guess I wasn’t moving fast enough for my girlies.  B politely said to me, “Mommy, don’t forget we have school today!”

5)      And then A added to the list of school quotes the following day: “Mommy, when I’m at school and you’re home and don’t have anything to do…”  Oh, my!

6)      I feel like the girls have been in the “pre-reader” category for a long time now.  They’ve known all their letters and sounds for close to two years now, but they haven’t been consistently sounding out words.  I feel like we’re on the brink of something, though, and it’s exciting!  The girls have known that C-A-T spells cat for a long time, and they just learned that H-A-T spells hat.  They’ve been so excited to build off that with all the other possible letter combinations…bat, fat, mat, pat, sat…I hope this is the start of something B-I-G!!!

7)      The girls have continued their focus on numbers…they can consistently say numbers in the hundreds, and single-digit thousands.  They sometimes need a little prompting, but they’ve correctly identified numbers all the way up to the single-digit millions!

Thank goodness for Facebook, as I can always count on having recorded some gems there…

8)      "This is kinda hard, Mommy, but I can figure it out. I'm a big girl, and I'm smart, and I love to learn." Baby A, giving herself a little pep talk.

9)      The girls are playing in the tub, and I hear them singing "Happy Birthday" and clapping and shouting HOORAY! I am laughing...but cringing a bit to think how much splashing may be happening.

10)   Mommy Milestone today: I took my girls to Pier 1 for the first time, and nothing got broken! For the past 4 1/2 years, that's been a "me time" activity. Our trip today was not exactly "relaxing", and there was very little browsing, but we accomplished our errand. Woo hoo!

11)   My B just perked me up this afternoon, far more than any second cup of coffee could..."Mommy, you are so sweet! I just love you!"

12)   A just said to B: "Are you going to school with this behavior?" Hahaha! For the record, I didn't observe any "behavior", but I couldn't help but to laugh out loud.

13)   "Mommy, I love maps because they help me learn." The girls lost interest for a little while, but maps and globes are sources of fascination again at our house.

14)   I was trying politely to tell the girls I needed elbow room. "It's challenging for Mommy to do this when you're so close to me." Baby A came right back with a little pep talk, "But you can do challenging things! I know you can!" Hee hee!

15)   "Let me show you how I'd mow the grass if I were a sheep"...and she proceeded to crawl on the floor and pretend to eat. I never know what is next.

16)   Someone came to the door selling magazines. I declined, and Baby A added in her "you're a silly goose" tone, "We don't need any magazines! We have lots and lots in the living room!" Hope he at least appreciated the logic.

And combing through my pictures, I am reminded of all the other SUPER from the past couple of weeks…

Outside JOY!

This baby loves to skip!

B loves her pinwheel, even through the sun was too bright to look at it!

An unprompted hug...caught on film!

Enjoying the orchestra at the orchard...and Mommy and Daddy's chairs.

Running into friends!

Running into more friends and everyone looking at the camera together!

Team spirit!

Seriousness during Quiet Time.

This baby loves these books!

My A, trying to force B to look at the camera and smile!

A gorgeous afternoon spent downtown with Miss Jenny!

We love Miss Jenny!

 Whew!  That's what I get for missing a week of SUPER STUFF.  On the other hand, it's pretty neat to see what a huge long list I can compile when I just take the opportunity to sit down. 

Hard to Deny It...

...my BABIES are growing up!

We attended the Orchestra in the Orchard performance this morning, for the third year in a row.  I didn't get this picture in 2011...at that time, the girls 2 1/2, I'm guessing I was still very hesitant to let go of their hands...but here's the evidence from last year versus this...

2012

2013

Wow!!!

It was such a fun morning -- and GORGEOUS taste-of-fall weather -- which at least helped me deal with this realization.  :)

Prehistoric Fun!

On Sunday, we took advantage of our Mothers of Multiples group rate at Dinosaur World, a statue park about 30 miles north of our town.  The girls love reading about dinosaurs, and we made sure to brush up on our prehistoric reading before our visit.

While it seemed kinda hokey to those of us outside the preschool set, the girls had a fun time seeing all the many kinds of dinosaurs.  We read each of the informational signs in front of the displays, and by the midway point of the park, the girls were pretty good about guessing whether the dinosaurs were plant-eaters or meat-eaters, and whether they were fast or slow.

Obligatory "walking in" photo!

Ta da!

Stegosaurus, one of our faves!

Feigning horror at the T-Rex!

I can't reach him!

In addition to the dinosaurs, there were also some wooly mammoths.

Between the toes of a T-Rex!

This guy is pretty big!

Triceratops is another fave!

This guy seemed pretty ominous, leering over the pathway.

Baby A, pretending she has a horn on her nose...right before she charged her sister...

And of course we spent a little time on the playground before we left.

The girls loved this slide!

And of course they had to climb inside the T-Rex head...say aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!

It was a really hot day, but the vast majority of the park was very shady.  It was a really fun afternoon...and we topped it off with some ice cream before we headed home.

Super-sized fun, indeed!

I'm Just Not Ready to Tell My Girls about 9/11

Last September 11^th, my girls were 3 ½.  It was a Tuesday.  As we passed the fire station on the way to preschool, the girls asked about the enormous flag that was suspended from one of the ladder trucks – a tradition in our town on this day.

I told them something along the lines of, “This day is the anniversary of a really challenging day for our country.  There were a lot of very brave people, like firefighters, who were very courageous on that day.  So on September 11^th, we remember that day, and we honor the heroes who serve our country, like the firefighters.”

That satiated the girls, and they talked about “brave firefighters” for the next few weeks, whenever we passed the fire station.

Over the weekend, Hubby and I watched a documentary on 9/11.  Hubby did some additional reading yesterday, and last night at supper he was telling what he’d read.  He was talking in general terms about “the planes”.

The girls, of course, were curious.  I wasn’t thinking about the conversation we’d had last year, or about the big flag in front of the fire station.  If I’d been on my game, I might have referenced that.

I chose a vague route instead.

“Daddy is talking about something that happened in the history of our country.  It’s a big concept, one we’ll talk about more when you are older.”

I believe in answering my children’s questions as open and as honestly as possible.  We’ve had lots of discussion on religion.  We’ve had a frank discussion about guns.  And I’ve answered anatomical questions about why boys go potty standing up.

The topic of 9/11 is not one I’m ready to discuss, though.

This morning, completely coincidentally, the girls are pretending to take a trip to New York.  One day – in the not-so-distant future – I will tell them what happened there, and in Washington, and in a field in Pennsylvania, on 9/11/01.  Not today, though.

We’ll make a trip downtown to see the enormous flag.  I’ll reiterate our thankfulness for the bravery of so many who serve our country.  But I’m going to shield their innocence for just a little while longer.

Getting My Craft On...For the Girls' Room!

As part of a coping mechanism ahead of what I know will be an emotional transition...moving my BABIES to big-kid beds...I am diverting my attention onto something fun and therapeutic.

I originally had plans to involve the girls in decorating their bedroom at the new house.  They helped pick out their new furniture, and several months ago we browsed online for bedding.

Over the past few weeks, though, I've decided I'm going to surprise them by having everything pulled together as a grand reveal.  I can't imagine ever doing one of those middle-of-the-night bedroom makeovers for my sleeping beauties, so this is probably the best chance I'll have to wow them with room decor.

Their new beds are ready to be delivered as soon as we give the furniture store the green light.  I have their comforter sets -- different from what we'd originally looked at online -- ready and waiting, too.  I only need to buy lamps, and we'll be set.

I wanted to do a couple of little personal things to set off the room.  The girls LOVE wreaths, so I decided to make a ribbon wreath to hang on their door.

I bought a wire wreath form, which was surprisingly inexpensive.  I spent a couple of evenings tying on about $15 in ribbon.  I have a couple of light green ribbons, one wider and one more narrow...some wide white grosgrain and some wide pink grosgrain...one spool of fancy sheer pink ribbon...and a little bit of a slim brown ribbon to break things up a bit.  I cut my ribbon into approximately 7" strips and tied simple knots...easy-peasy!

I know the girls will be beyond excited to see this welcoming them to their new digs!

The other little touch I'm adding are these monogrammed frames for their nightstands.

Those are 5x5" wooden frames I got for about $5 each from the craft store.  I bought those script wooden letters and put on a couple of coats of white paint and then glued them to the front of the frames.  I chose some scrapbook paper to match the girls' bedding...and viola!

I cannot wait to see the girls' faces when I show them their room!

If I can swing it, I hope to turn my attention to their bathroom next...I have a huge bag of seashells I've collected over many years of beach trips.  I think I may finally put some of those to use!

I am having a blast pulling together these fun little details for my babies...and it is helping to keep my mind off what will surely be an emotional transition.  Sniff, sniff!

SUPER Stuff on a Sunday!

So much silly, SUPER stuff at our house this week!

1)      Baby A came running up to me: “Mommy!  ‘Gulp’ has four letters!”  The girls are on the verge of sounding out words, and I thought that was pretty awesome!

2)      One sweet little memory I don’t want to forget is how excited the girls get to watch the chickens cooking on the rotisserie when we go to Sam’s.  They’ll stand there and wave, “Hey, chickens!”  Hahaha!

3)      At Sam’s, they have most of their prices displayed in really big signs (at least in comparison to regular grocery stores).  Baby A read almost every sign to me…correctly!  “Mommy, that costs fifteen dollars and eighty-seven cents!  Mommy, that costs five dollars and twenty-four cents!”  She solicited quite a few laughs from people shopping near us.

4)      On Wednesday, we’d planned to meet a friend at the park.  She had to reschedule, but the girls and I went ahead with a hike, a little bit of play time, and then a picnic lunch.  It was so incredibly pleasant, and it just made this mama’s heart smile!  The girls were full of pep on the 1.25-mile hike, even up the hills!  They played nicely for a few minutes on the playground, and didn’t protest or drag their feet when it was time to leave the playground.  We found a nice picnic table for our lunch.  I opened their containers, and they ate every morsel, with no spills and no requests for help.  WOW!

5)      On Friday morning the girls and I went to Panera for a mid-morning snack.  We’d been in the habit of doing that last school year, before doing our weekly grocery shopping, but we haven’t done it much over the last few months.  It was so nice to be back in familiar surroundings with my babies!

6)      We hadn’t been out for breakfast in a while, either, so we hit our favorite country-cooking restaurant on Saturday.  The girls ate French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, and they didn’t leave a morsel on their plates!

7)      When we got home from breakfast, we decided on a family walk in the neighborhood.  The girls asked to go in their jogging stroller.  :)  Daddy and I took turns pushing them, and it was such a sweet throw-back to when they were smaller.  In fact, it was almost exactly four years ago we got that stroller…it’s served us well!

8)      On Saturday we needed to be at the new house to accept delivery on some appliances.  The house was cleaned a couple of days ago, so for the first time we got to relax a bit.  I took one of the girls’ storybooks, and we made official use of the reading room.  I loved seeing them lounging on the carpet, taking it all in!

My dream WINDOW SEAT is behind the girls!

9)      One morning I told B that she was a funny girl. "Yes," she said, "the funniest I've ever seen." She's humble, too.

10) And I overheard the girls playing…B said to A, "Sissy, do you want to go on a hunt for Christmas trees and dinosaur babies?" I love their imaginations (even if they do have their time periods a bit confused).

So thankful for this SUPER stuff!