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!

Super Stuff on a Sunday

Despite the girls being sick the first part of the week, there were still so many glimpses that ultimately made our week super-fabulous.

1)      On Saturday before Sick Sunday, we took advantage of the beautiful, unseasonably warm weather and made an impromptu trip to Lost River Cave.  We hiked all the trails…although we were considerably slower than our usual pace.  The girls stopped to examine what seemed like every leaf.  It was lots of fun to see the forests almost bare, noticing new topography, and finding some pretty magnificent colors.  My favorite was finding these humongous leaves…about twice the size of my hand.  They were incredible!

2)      On Saturday afternoon, Baby B got to come with Mommy for a little date – a reward for napping so well – while Baby A stayed home with Daddy.  B and I headed to the bookstore.  She enjoyed a cookie (and I, a coffee), and then we shopped for a couple of Thanksgiving books.  It’s so neat to be out and about with only one baby from time to time…the exchanges are often so much more direct than when Mommy is on zone defense.

3)      The girls have been playing loads of hide-and-seek lately, and I love to listen to them.  They always count to 10 in Serbian (since their daddy taught them how to play), and then, “Ready or not, here I come!  Where’s my kite?”  The “kite” reference cracks me up.  They have a very basic board book where the text reads, “Ready or not, here I come!” and then the following (unrelated) text is, “Where’s my kite?”  Despite me telling them otherwise, the girls think those phrases are related.

4)      Baby A was heading upstairs with me, and she gave explicit directions to B for taking care of her doll, Abby.  “She likes to have somebody sitting with her.  Sometimes she gets thirsty.  If she does, let me know.”  HA!

5)      And that reminds me that one of their teachers told me how Baby A was playing with a doll in a stroller.  She had to leave it to go to the bathroom, and B automatically came over to babysit.  How sweet!!!

6)      The girls’ school organized a drive for Operation Christmas Child.  I showed the girls the website and a short video online, and they were so excited to go shopping.  One shopped for a younger girl (age 2 – 4), and one for an older girl (age 10 – 14).  I let them each carry a shopping basket at Target, and they were such troopers.  Once we got home, they had fun coloring a couple of pages to go into the boxes, and then packing everything.  I think it was such a great experience for them.

7)      I took the girls to the pediatrician on Friday since they started coughing.  (I wanted to make sure it wasn’t somehow connected to the mess we had on Sunday and Monday…thankfully, he said it was nothing to worry about.)  As he was checking out Baby A, B volunteered, “That’s an otoscope!”  (Credit again goes to the girls’ library of Usborne books for such vocabulary words.)

8)      While the girls were in school on Thursday, I went to our local ceramic studio and picked out a design for a Christmas platter.  I took the girls on Friday morning, and they were SO excited to get their feet painted and step on a plate.  (I cannot wait to see their “Mistletoes”!!!)  Then I let the girls pick out an ornament to paint.  They each chose a plain flat orb.  B picked red and green and made a circle design, while A got a little more “abstract” with yellow and turquoise.  The girls had so much fun…and so did I…it was almost an out-of-body experience for me, propped up in a painting studio with my baby girls.  Wow!!!

9)      We attended our MoMs group annual pancake breakfast on Saturday.  I loved seeing the girls playing with their friends and having fun.  And they were quite taken with the pancakes.  I think they each had FOUR, along with the equivalent number of servings of fruit.  It was definitely a treat!

10)   We took advantage of the sunshine on Saturday afternoon to visit the orchard one last time before they closed for the season.  The girls were so excited to see the resident kitty and two puppies, and to make many, many trips down the slides.  One slide in particular was running really fast.  The first few times, both girls landed on their bottoms (even though I tried to catch them!).  After that, they got the hang of landing on their feet.  It just reminded me how BIG they are!

11)   On the way home from the orchard, B spotted the moon.  “Mommy, there’s a crescent moon!”  We’d turn, and she’d lose sight of it.  “Hey, where did the moon go?  Moooooon…where are you?”  And then we’d turn again, “Oh, moon!  There you are!”

12)   And the quotes of the week, both from rides in the car…

B [seeing a pickup truck behind us with a little boy in the passenger seat]: “Mommy!  I see an adult driving that truck.  And there’s not an adult beside him!”  (I know she was confused why a little boy would be in the front seat!)

A [seeing a car beside us at a traffic light]: "Mommy!  Why is there only one car seat in that car?"  (Not everything comes in a set of two, dear...)

Tactile Scarecrow Craft...Welcome Fall!

A couple of weeks ago, our Mothers of Multiples group met one Saturday morning at our local orchard.  In addition to the petting zoo, the giant slides, the wooden tractors, the tractor wheel maze, the frog pond, the acres and acres of apples and pumpkins...oh, and the yummiest food...I set up a craft for the kiddos.

After spending just a little bit of time on Pinterest (who am I kidding...HA!), I decided on some type of scarecrow craft.  The orchard is peppered with scarecrows at every turn this time of year, so it definitely felt fitting.

I needed something that could adapt across age groups (roughly one year to seven years).  And I needed something as inexpensive as possible.

I played around a little bit with the girls, and came up with what turned out to be a pretty cute little guy.

A small paper plate for the face...rick-rack for the mouth...orange foam for the nose...buttons for the eyes (we used wiggly eyes for the group craft)...yellow yarn for the hair...a strip of scrap fabric for the tie...brown construction paper for the hat...and I cut a $1 strand of leaf garland to decorate the hat.

While it was mostly a "glue" project, I punched holes in the plates beforehand to allow the kiddos to "thread" the yarn and fabric.

For 25 craft kits, I was able to use bits and pieces of what I had.  In total, I spent about $2!  And the best part of all...everyone had fun. 

 

Our get-together was a great way to welcome fall...and we have two cute little scarecrows on our mantle to remind us of fun with family and friends.

I'm linking up with Charlene at Adventures-in-Mommy-Land for "Hey, Mom! Look What I Did!"  She features so much great crafting and educational inspiration every week.  And she's celebrating ONE YEAR of this fantastic link-up this month!  (Pssst...you should also check out her give-aways!)

Super Stuff (LATE) on a Monday!

 It's been a pretty super week here at A&B Enterprises.  Here are the highlights -- some big, some little -- that I just don't want to forget...

1)      Last Saturday we got together with our MoMs group at our local orchard.  I was so proud of the girls for helping me set up, and then playing so nicely for over two hours.  They were fine to be in and out of the pavilion (where I mostly was), and back and forth between their daddy and me. 

2)      On Tuesday night we went to our friends’ house for dinner, M&C’s parents.  I love-love-love seeing our kiddos play together, and I love-love-love having friends where we feel so at home in their house.

3)      The girls have been playing some of the funniest pretend games lately…of their own invention.  They’ve been rescuing all manner of babies and animals from atop the couch, as they yell, “Man overboard!”  And they take turns hiding behind a door…”Let’s play ‘Trapped’!” they’ll say.  Apparently one pretends to be a clown, coming to “goose” the other one.  It always results in squeals and fits of giggles.

4)      Thursday night we attended a potluck dinner at the girls’ school.  They were so excited to show their daddy their classroom, and to introduce him to their teacher.  And I was so proud of them...they ate so well and behaved like little ladies!

5)      As we were getting the girls ready for bed one night, I came around the corner to find my husband with the most horrified look on his face.  “WHAT did you say???” he was asking B.  “Bedtime SUCKS!” she repeated, and giggled.  I was astounded…until I figured out she was saying, “Bedtime SOCKS!”  Her little feet must have been cold.  Bwahahaha!

6)      Baby A loves to help me with laundry.  Her jobs are typically stacking up washcloths, putting socks together, and folding underwear.  She and I were spread out on the kitchen table one afternoon, while B was napping.  I had to call the cable company, and I decided that was a good a time as any.  Of course that was the one time they answered right away, as Baby A decided to narrate everything she was doing.  “Pink panties!!!  Yellow panties!!!  Panties with cupcakes!!!”  

7)      It was a gorgeous early-fall day on Saturday, so we made a quick decision to head to the zoo…we had such a great time!  The girls know the zoo so well, they can tell you which exhibit is coming next.  I love that they remembered the names of the giraffes!  And our favorite part of this trip was seeing three clouded leopard cubs playing so sweetly, like clumsy little toddlers.  We even saw one scale a tall tree, only to turn around immediately and head down – head first!  The girls are still talking about that.

8)      The girls have very big hearts for animals, coupled with vivid imaginations.  They often like to pretend they have some little animal in their pockets (maybe like an imaginary friend?), and they’ll often carry that game through the day.  At the zoo, one of the girls was pretending to have a lemur in her pocket, and the other, a meerkat.  The girls got quite a few giggles as they walked along, “talking” to their pretend pets. 

9)      The girls are doing so well with their scissors!  Every week they cut out pictures from magazines for their preschool alphabet activities.  Given that, I hadn’t asked them if they wanted to “practice” with their scissors for quite a while.  On Sunday afternoon, they asked me to draw some shapes for them to cut, and they kept busy (through three or four sets of shapes) for close to an hour!

10)   Baby A has been writing her name for about six months now, but B wasn’t showing much interest.  (In fairness, B’s name is twice as long as A’s, and has many more letters!)  In the last couple of weeks, B has been making a huge effort, and doing a great job!  I am certain she’s been motivated by the envelopes of pictures that they take to school each week.  B won’t let her sissy be the only one with her name written in crayon!

11)   I picked up several sets of wooden dominoes from the Target dollar section a couple of weeks ago.  The girls are IN LOVE.  Every night after supper, they ask to play.  It’s been great motivation for them to clean the den…”We can play as soon as you put your toys away!”  Instead of numbers, the set we’ve been playing with has letters.  It’s very straight-forward, but perfect for my girlies.

So thankful for this time with my girlies!

Pumpkin Patch Deja Vu

On Saturday we took the girls to our local orchard.  We kicked off the morning bright and early by getting together with our MoMs group.  We played, we crafted, and we ate.  Following that family fun, we meandered over to hear the orchestra, an annual fall event at the orchard.

While I was almost physically ill when my camera battery expired not even an hour into our morning, I am thankful to have gotten a handful of super-sweet shots.

Early morning...still waking it up, as the girls say.

Baby A and her goat!

Trying to figure out how tall they are!

Discerning shoppers know their gourds!

 And when I saw this picture, I was struck with a case of deja vu...

Shopping for pumpkins on Orchestra Day, September 2012

Shopping for pumpkins on Orchestra Day, September 2011

Yes, those are even the same jackets...what Mama won't do for a comparison picture, right?!!!

I'm linking up again today with Cheryl with Twinfatuation for "Way Back When-esday".  Thanks for the inspiration, Miss Cheryl!

"Multiple Mayhem" - or - "Fun with Friends"

...or perhaps a little of both!

Our MoMs group had our annual family potluck picnic on Sunday.  We had such an awesome time!

This is our third year for the club.  While we have over 40 families on our local roster, there are only about 8 or 10 families who attend the majority of our activities.  That makes for a pretty tight-knit group.  It's always so very sweet to see our families together...kids running around as friends, hubbies interacting, and moms catching up from our last get-together.

We had a beautiful shady field next to our picnic pavilion, where we all played before we sat down to eat.  We started with the soccer ball...followed by the blowing and chasing of bubbles...and we ended with many, many renditions of Ring Around the Rosey.

The latter activity resulted in what I think is perhaps The Cutest Picture Ever!

With this being a newer group, A and B are some of the older kids.  Most everyone is in the two- to three-year old range.  There was one set of 9-month old twins at the picnic, and one lone singleton older brother, who is five.  

All the kiddos played so well together...such a precious sight.

Here are another couple of pictures of my girlies...

I've been putting their hair in braided pigtails quite a bit lately.  It's manageable for me, and it keeps their hair out of the way when they're playing.  And I happen to think it's pretty stinkin' cute, too!

 

I was snapping some more pictures after we enjoyed our meal.  The kiddos were playing with sidewalk chalk, having a blast.  Baby A was standing beside our friend K, and I really wanted a picture of these little cuties.  K was all smiles, but A must have been tired of the camera.  I asked K, "Can you make A smile?"  She tried so hard...but to no avail.  ;)

As most of the mamas were cleaning up, the daddies took the kiddos to the playground to run off some of the sugar from our flight of desserts.  I got over just in time to snap this little jewel...

I have been trying to get a picture of the girls going down the slide together...finally got it!

Having not known anyone with multiples when our girls were born...to now having some of my closest friends among this group...I am very thankful for my multiple blessings.

A Very Sweet Look Ahead

Yesterday our MoMs group hosted a panel discussion. On the panel were 30-year old identical twin girls; and a mother and her 23-year old daughter whose twin brother wasn’t able to join us.

We covered a lot of your “standard” territory, like dressing alike, sharing rooms, and classroom dynamics. We hosted a similar discussion a couple of years ago, and it’s been so interesting to hear fellow MoMs ask questions, and to hear perspectives from the “grown-up” side of things.

I came away from the discussion yesterday with so much more than that, though. It was so incredibly heartwarming to hear the three adults talking about how special their twinship is, how much they cherish their unique blessings.

I read Abigail Pogrebin’s “One and the Same” a year or so ago. It was such a great exploration of the science and psychology of twins. One of my primary takeaways was, “Don’t over-romanticize the twinship.” Pogrebin presents several instances that, I think, ultimately caution families of multiples not to put undue pressure on them to have supernatural powers, to be joined at the hip, to be the bestest of best friends.

And one of the first things I remember our pediatrician saying is, “They’re just sisters, who happen to have been born on the same day.”

And there is so much written about encouraging individuality among multiples.

I had a realization yesterday that I may have been so concentrated on our girls’ individuality that I rarely stop to acknowledge that they are – in fact – twins. And that is pretty special.

I jotted down one phrase that really resonated with me, specifically with respect to competition. I know our girls will have their unique strengths, and this is something I think about quite a bit.

“…we were encouraged to be each other’s biggest fan…”

I know three grown-up twins does not a statistically significant pool make, but it was really encouraging to see them all talking about the [mostly] great things about being a twin…and not lamenting that they didn’t feel like individuals, or that they competed so vehemently against each other.

I know it’s a balance…certainly our girls need to develop as individuals and to be comfortable in their independence...but yesterday’s discussion reminded me also to encourage them to appreciate the wonderful blessings they are to each other.


…and I can only hope and pray that my girls will speak of their relationship so fondly in 25 years’ time.

Fab 5 Friday...and ME!!!

Our first full week of Daddy’s summer vacation was fabulous, indeed...such that this is really a Fab 6 list because I couldn't narrow it down any further!

1) The girls have been playing “restaurant” a lot lately. Last week they kept saying, “I’m taking my baby to Garcia’s” [our favorite Mexican restaurant]. Then they would detail what they were going to order…”She’s gonna eat rice…and beans…and cheese…and salsa…and chicken quesadilla!” On Friday night we surprised them with an actual trip to Garcia’s. We waited until late afternoon to tell them where we were going, and they were elated! They clapped and started dancing around. Baby B kept saying (as she was dancing), “I’m excited for my dinner!”

2) On Sunday, we attended our MoMs group picnic. The girls had a blast running around and kicking the soccer ball in a big open field, and I was so proud that they played so well with the other kiddos. On perhaps a not so fabulous note, they also ate Doritos for the first time. I think they’re in love.

3) Monday was THE BEST. The girls napped so well (hallelujah…it is possible!!!), and we decided to turn our downtown post office field trip into a family dinner date, as well. We took the girls to one of our favorite restaurants. It’s not what I would call kid-friendly (they seemed to have to search for high chairs!), but the girls did GREAT! They sat like little ladies and enjoyed our appetizer, a good portion of my salad, and then they scarfed down most of my half of our gourmet pizza. It was one of the most pleasant family outings to date!

4) The girls have continued to sing a lot this week. “Buffalo Gals” is one of their faves, along with “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt”…which I finally deciphered them as saying “John Jacob Jingle-on-the-Fence”! Close, girlies, so close!

5) Both girls have been running around the den this week at times, saying, “I’m imitating Sasha!” They mean they’re running really fast, like our cat does sometimes…which is cute…and just as cute is them saying “imitating”!

6) Both girls have been doing a great job at asking how our dinner is, and saying what they like about their food. Unprompted, Baby A said, "This squash is very good." It just melts my heart...that she was being so sweet...AND that she loves her veggies so passionately!

And what did I do for ME this week???

I L-O-V-E sushi. Before kiddos, the hubs and I ate it once a week, religiously. Since kiddos, it’s a rare treat.

While once upon a time I turned my nose up at the thought of buying sushi at the grocery store (even though they have a little sushi station with a little man in a big hat making it, it’s just not the same as our nice family-owned Japanese restaurant, where we have gone for years)…times have changed. I now treat myself to grocery store sushi about once a week. Whereas I do love me some raw fish, I stick with the veggie rolls…but slather on some wasabi, and whip out my beautiful new bamboo chopsticks I bought for myself, and it’s a fantastic break from my ham sandwiches.

And as a little bonus, I love that my girls can spot sushi from a mile away. They know what chopsticks are. They know what wasabi is, and that it’s hot. And they’re big friends with the little man in the big hat at the grocery store.

Thanks so much to the dollimama for hosting the 52 Weeks of ME! Challenge! I firmly believe that taking the time to think about ourselves each week...even splurging on some $4 sushi now and again...makes us better moms.

The dollimama will be hosting an awesome giveaway link-up the first week of July to celebrate being halfway through the challenge. There will be lots of us linking up with ~$10 giveaways...paying it forward to encourage our fellow mamas to enjoy a little "me" time. The link-up will be open to anyone...check it out for more details!