Best. Week. Ever.

I'm being slightly generous with defining the past week...it's actually closing in on about 10 days now...but I'm going to give myself a pass on that little transgression.

What a glorious last few days!!!

It started with the girls' 9th BIRTHDAY last Friday.  WOW!!!  We had all our traditional birthday fun...

...French toast with homemade strawberry syrup.
...lunch with the girls at school.
...goodies (ice cream cups this year) with their classmates.
...Mommy picking them up after school.
...shrimp scampi and MOLTEN LAVA PUDDING CAKE.
...and fun presents, oh, my!

Traditional first-thing-in-the-morning birthday picture!

Saturday, I surprised the girls with "tickets" I mocked up to the indoor climbing gym.  We had an absolute blast!!!

Even Mommy got in on the climbing action!

Sunday, we had a productive day at home, and then a productive few days at school/work.  Of particular note, the girls both made 100% on their timed math tests, even after the holiday break.  Baby A is only one test away from earning the title of MULTIPLICATION GRAND MASTER.  She is excited!!!  B is doing great, too, tracking a couple of weeks behind her.  Those titles will be cause for major celebration!

On Friday, we all got a huge surprise.  School was preemptively cancelled late Thursday due to impending snow.  The shock was that Mommy's work closed early Friday morning, too!  What a glorious family day we had together.  We mostly snuggled by the fireplace, and the girls built an obligatory snow-day blanket fort.  AND Mommy and Daddy got most of the holiday stuff packed away (FINALLY).

Saturday morning, the girls were up EARLY in anticipation of snow play.  And PLAY in the SNOW we did!!!  We had great snow for sledding, and it's wasn't unbearably cold, either.

Snow Bunny B!

Snow Bunny A!

Wipe out hugs!

Getting ready!

Winter perfection!!!

Yep.  Best week ever.  We're loving it!!!

Larger Than Life

Baby A came home a few weeks ago with a paper to let us know that her art teacher had selected a piece of her artwork to display at a pop-up gallery at a local ad agency.  The teacher could only select four pieces from the entire school...and our A was among them!  What a great honor!

Baby A was super excited, counting down the days until the "gallery opening" and reception.  (Baby B was tolerant of A's excitement...but she didn't quite share the same level of glee.)

The big day finally arrived.  I left work a few minutes early, and we made our way downtown to the agency.  There were quite a few people there (as each school in our district -- elementary, middle, and high school -- was represented).  A's art teacher was standing close to the door and intercepted us before we walked in.   She told A, there's a BIG surprise for you.

And a BIG surprise, it was!  We were floored to see that A's artwork had been enlarged to cover the wall inside the entrance!!!

I'm not sure that A knew what to think.  She was very focused on *how* they enlarged her art.  What was it made of?  How did it stick to the wall?  Would it come down?

She eventually warmed up to the idea and posed for pictures.

We enjoyed seeing all the art on display, and we spent plenty of time admiring the Baby A Wall.

When we left, we planned to eat somewhere downtown to celebrate our fun family evening.  Baby B had one suggestion, and A had another.  Then Baby B, of her own accord, popped out with, "Sissy, it's your special day.  You choose."

Wow.

That was a brilliant display of another kind.

December to Remember

Wow...I knew it had been a long time since I blogged.  I winced to see it's been THREE MONTHS.  Wowza.  I missed it, for sure...and I know I'm going to kick myself one day, too.

I guess there's no time like the present to try to catch up a bit...so I'm going with a few snapshots to try to recapture some of what I missed.

December was, of course, full of holiday cheer.  And woven in and around the festivities, we had our usual fun, too...

Easy Bake Oven fun!  Watching anxiously!

Baby B...give her a book and a warm fire...she's set!

Baby A made herself at home on a blanket...and Miki was quick to join her!

Black cats are hard to photograph, I'm often reminded...but I got a good one of Miki in the sunlight.  Meow!

We had some fun school adventures, too...

The girls did "money posters" for their math class...Susan B. Anthony and the two-dollar bill.  They did a great job!

Roller skating field trip!  Thankfully, no casualties this time!

And then there's our countdown calendar, which held many fun activities...

Decorating the tree!

Making gingerbread houses (thanks to my most amazing friend for hosting!!!)!

New fuzzy Christmas pajamas!

Painting a canvas...Baby A chose a reindeer!

Baby B painted a snowman!

This holiday will stand out for me in a few sweet ways...ones that I hope I always remember...

The girls were so helpful in the kitchen this year!  In particular, they did a great job of making sand tarts and sugar cookies...rolling the dough into little balls.  Be still my heart...it was so much fun for all of us.

The girls surprised me with a countdown calendar of my own!  Each day had a treat of some sort, usually a chocolate they'd pack in my lunch bag.  What precious little hearts these girls have!

And the girls' countdown calendar ended with their very favorite activity, one they look forward to all year, it seems!  The now-famous candy cane hunt!

They did a great job taking turns with the clues, too!

It was a whirlwind month, packed full of fun!

Thanks for the Memories, August!

August has been a whirlwind!  I CANNOT believe that the girls have been in school THREE WEEKS today.  (I guess that explains where the time has gone!)

So...before the month ends, here is {one} first-day-of-school picture.  The girls posed like this on their own...look at those long legs!!!

Despite the back-to-school busyness, we've packed in a lot of fun, too...

...several trips to the library to keep these girls entertained...

...a mommy-and-me trip to the trampoline park, where these girls gave me a run (er, jump) for my money...whew!

...a family trip to the yogurt shop (during which Daddy agreed to a selfie!)...

...and the kickoff of the soccer season...

I'm supremely thankful, among all this BUSY, that the girls still made time for play at home.  Here they are, having "built a TV", putting on a show for Mommy and Daddy before bedtime.

~ Thanks for the memories, August 2016! ~

School-Day Morning Sweetness

Not all aspects of our school-day mornings are “sweet”. 

Nope. 

There’s the half-paying-attention syndrome that sometime plagues us, prompting Mommy to offer up more “reminders” than ideal.  There are the “you-fixed-her-hair-first-yesterday…it’s-my-turn-to-go-first-today” grumblings.  And there are the “why-didn’t-you-pack-my-backpack” accusations, one sister of the other.

Sigh.

But…

I’ve had some of the sweetest sleepyheads to greet me in the mornings.  Our girls are usually up early, and it’s a supreme treat to get to wake them on occasion.  “Good morning, Mommy,” they’ll mumble.  “I love you.”

Melt.

I get warm belly kisses from still-snuggled girls, one of my favorite things in the world.

And the sweet little voices who often read to me aloud as I’m getting ready.

And to end the morning, I sometimes get an over-the-shoulder look and wave as the girls enter their school.

That morning sweetness doesn’t begin to rival our weekend family time, nor does it touch the lazy mornings we spent together the girls’ first five and a half years of life…but it buoys my day, for sure.

Way Back When-esday: The First Day of School

I've been feeling somewhat overwhelmed as of late at how BIG my BABIES are.  My A is getting pretty close to my shoulder!  And my B, while not as tall, is looking so grown-up with her shorter hair.

After snapping this adorable picture of the girls holding hands walking into school a couple of weeks ago...

Heading off to second grade!

...I knew I had a "match" from a few years ago.  Honestly, though, I couldn't bring myself to dig it up right away.

I finally braved the file of older pictures, and -- sure enough -- I gasped at what BABIES my baby girls were.  It seems like just a couple of years ago that they marched bravely into preschool.  Surely it couldn't have been FOUR YEARS.

Heading off to preschool!

Wowza!  Pigtails and all!

It surely tugs at my heartstrings...but I'm thankful for this little walk down Memory Lane...hand in hand.

And I'm thankful to Cheryl at Twinfatuation for prompting this Way Back When-esday post!

{Now pardon me while I grab a tissue.  I seem to have something in my eye.}

Sister(s) Golden Hair

I was hanging out with the girls at their open house, two days before school started.  It was around the golden hour of photography, and I was snapping pictures as the girls enjoyed a popsicle before we headed home.

B finished her treat first, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of her braids as she watched some kids across the way...

...and then of A as she enjoyed a few more licks...

How I love those precious golden-haired sisters.

My heart!!!

When They Need Each Other...

I think of our girls as so independent.

Sure, they're usually together.  And they often dress in coordinating clothes ('cause it's easier for me!)...and they'll occasionally want to match.

But developmentally?  Psychologically?  They seem to be very confident in themselves.  They're two little people, orbiting in close proximity, but usually very much doing their own things.

I guess that's why it feels extra sweet to nab the occasional picture of my girls, clearly comforted by being together.

I took this at their open house, two days before school started.  Hubby couldn't come with us (as he was at his own open house across town).  While I waited in line to get our car tags for the pickup line, I told the girls to wait in the line to get their tickets for the popsicle stand.  I could see them at all times...in their school gym...but they were still apprehensive to wait in a line themselves and ask for something of an adult, without me being right there.

I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures as they inched closer to the front of the line, clearly a bit nervous at the prospect ahead of them.

My sweet girls!!!  I am so incredibly grateful for them...and for the fact that they have each other!!!

The Perfect Vacation Day

I took the day off on Tuesday to spend the day with the girls…the day before school starts…which is now our cool little tradition.  We’d all been looking forward to it for weeks.  And the day didn’t disappoint.

The girls had breakfast in traditional day-before-school fashion, with a candle in their cinnamon roll to make a wish for a great school year.

Make a wish!

We spent the morning playing at home.  We read together, we worked on a canvas, and we had plenty of pretend time.  

Here, the girls made a “beach”.  All was well until Mommy pretended to be a shark!

We headed downtown for lunch, to a new seafood restaurant none of us had tried.  It was so cool to enjoy something new, together, for the first time!

After lunch the girls slipped into their swimsuits (and Mommy, into shorts and a top) and we headed to the dancing fountains.  What fun we all had, running around and squealing!

Here, pretending to be flamingos!

After we had our fill of the hot sun, we dried off as best we could and headed for ice cream.

Sharing a bite!

What a wonderful afternoon it was!!!

We came home and scrubbed up and down in preparation for the start of school.

The rest of the day somehow disappeared into reading and snuggles, with a little needlepoint slipped in before supper.

We didn’t take a trip…we didn’t live it up at the spa…but it was the most perfect vacation day I could imagine…logging some wonderful one-on-one time with my baby girls and celebrating the eve of yet another milestone.

Girls' Night Out!

We finally got the girls’ school supply list last week, and I’d been looking forward all week to our “date” on Thursday night to go shopping.  Hubby had open house at his school, so he dropped the girls off to me at precisely 4:30.  (Summer hours…woo hoo!)

The girls were all skippy across the parking lot, and I would have been, too, if I didn’t have on heels!

We decided to get our shopping done first.  We headed to Target and got everything we needed in just a few minutes.  Their list this year wasn’t very long, and everything on it was understandable.  The girls chose the colors of binders and notebooks they needed, and we were set.

From Target, we headed to our once-favorite Mexican restaurant, one we hadn’t visited as a family in several months now.  We enjoyed a yummy meal and some snuggle time.

After supper, I surprised the girls with a trip to the library.  You’d have thought they won the lottery!  We missed the library last week, and they’d been clamoring to go.

They picked out their books pretty quickly, and we had a lovely chat with the librarian.  She asked the girls about books they’d read.  I thought it was pretty impressive how many books / book series they said “yes” to!

When we got to the car, I told them how proud I was that they love to read, and how they should be proud of the many books they’ve read.  “It just comes natural!” Baby A responded.

I had one more surprise up my sleeve that evening…ice cream!  The girls really would have loved a cone, but the two places close by with cones have outside seating that I feared would still be wet after a late-afternoon rain.  We headed to the yogurt shop instead.  The girls chose their yogurt flavors and we sat on the indoor/outdoor side.  We had that entire part of the shop to ourselves, and we were all grooving to the music they were playing. 

“What kind of music is this, Mommy?” B asked.  I told her I would classify it as hip-hop.  “Well it has a very lively beat!” she said.  Hahaha!  And when my A finished her yogurt, she couldn’t resist dancing a bit.  That’s uncharacteristic, to see her so uninhibited in public, but I guess she felt comfortable since we had the place to herself.  She was busting a move, for sure!

(From a June trip to the yogurt shop...the same sweet smiles!)

We packed a lot into three hours (pushing out bedtime to accommodate), but we had so much simple fun, just the three of us.  

L.O.V.E.  

The GIFT of New Shoes!!!

We’ve been incredibly pleased with the girls’ PE curriculum.  Especially in elementary school, I just remember playing on the playground during PE, with the occasional game of dodge ball awarded us now and again.

In contrast, PE these days is a serious subject!  Their PE teacher is simply amazing with how she incorporates learning about the human body in ways that are so much fun.  And our always-active girls are even more inspired to move and groove, as evidenced by the “exercise videos” they like to make at home.  HA!

The girls don’t participate in the running club, but still they have opportunities to log running time each week.  For every 5 cumulative miles they run, they get a little token.  Baby A logged over 30 miles this year, and Baby B, over 20!

I had a hunch something different was up a couple of Thursdays ago, based on the invitation to parents to attend the morning meeting for a special announcement.  I could not have imagined what happened, though.

The girls’ PE teacher had entered their school in a contest from New Balance, touting their curriculum and how running and being active is a part of every day for their students.  Of all the schools in the COUNTRY, the girls’ school WON! 

AND…the unbelievable part is that New Balance gifted NEW SHOES to EVERY student, EVERY teacher, and EVERY staff member…even the bus drivers got new shoes!!!

The girls still don’t quite realize what a huge deal this is, but they do love their new shoes!

The kiddos didn’t have a choice of colors, though, and the girls’ shoes are identical.  Baby B came up with the idea to get different colored laces.  Viola!

When life gives you identical shoes, add some different laces!

And even more special is that these shoes are the girls’ first TIE shoes.  They’ve been able to tie a bow for the past couple of years now…but [frankly] this mama never wanted to give up the speed that Velcro provides in getting in the car each morning.

So far, the girls are tying their own shoes, and doing a pretty decent job of it!  They’re still working to get their knots good and tight.  (I thought it was so cute that A told me proudly after a recent outing, “I didn’t have to re-tie my shoes once!”)

This is such a special treat for our girls and ALL the kiddos at their school.  I know one day they’ll realize how incredibly cool it is – even beyond their first pair of TIE shoes.

SURPRISE!

The girls and I each had a couple of surprises up our sleeves recently.  It made for a fun week, for sure!

I had a huge meeting at work on Monday, so the week prior, I’d been working later than average, pushing out our suppertime, and the girls were waking up to my work papers all over the kitchen table.  Tuesday, my meeting behind me, I decided to surprise the girls for lunch.  I’d never surprised them before…and they were shocked to see me!

Baby A had just taken her seat in the lunchroom when I slipped up beside her.  The entire time I was there, she could not keep her sweet little hands off me.  I was showered with nuzzles and hugs and kisses.  And when B got to the lunchroom, I slipped up on her.  She was just as excited.  Since A was almost finished with her lunch, we all went to sit with B’s class.  After A’s class left, B asked if she could sit in my lap.

I know the girls’ public affection probably won’t always be so voracious.  I’m definitely eating it up as long as I can.

And then Wednesday when I got home from work, the girls had a surprise for me.  They love all things “scavenger hunt”, and they’d hidden clues all around the house…upstairs and downstairs…for me to find.  They could hardly wait until after supper to kick things off.

I had the hugest laugh when I saw what was at the end of the hunt…a page-long letter the girls worked together to write.  They each took a turn writing and sentence!  I was majorly impressed with their effort, and their subject matter cracked me up, too.

Apparently the girls witnessed the paper delivery service that afternoon, and the deliveryman was smoking.  A very strong response ensued.

The paper man smokes.  We know that because we saw a smoking pipe in his mouth.  We did not touch the paper because it smelled like smoke.  Daddy put it in the recycling bin.  He did not even take the paper inside because it had the remains of smoke on it. 

Daddy called the paper people because the man who gives us our paper smokes.  We told Daddy right away that the paper man smokes.  We were very surprised that the paper man smoked. 

We love you and we hope you had a wonderful day.  We just wanted to tell you the paper man smokes.

Love,

A and B

Hee hee!  I am thankful the girls were appropriately offended!

STOP READING

For the last few months, nothing makes the girls happier than a new book.  Or a book they haven’t read in a while.  Or even a book they recently enjoyed and want to read again.

The girls each got a book series for Christmas, and I think they devoured it within two days (switching off books so they could read what the other got).  And then, less than two weeks later, they got two more series for their birthday.  And again, it was read within days.

The girls have gotten a few new books here and there – for Valentine’s Day, for Easter, spending a gift card to the bookstore they got as a present – augmented with very frequent trips to the library at school.

This week was the book fair at school, and the girls could hardly wait to make their selections.  I joined them for lunch, and then we went to shop.  

We decided on a total of seven books…two of them were compilations of three stories each…in the neighborhood of 360 pages each.

We’re four days out from the book fair, and the girls have read all their new stories.  Seriously.

While all this still and quiet is really nice in many ways, I have found myself at times directing the girls to STOP READING.  (And that feels a little crazy to say!)

Let’s PLAY something, I'll encourage them.  A game…a puzzle…some blocks…a Lego set.  They’ve been happy enough to oblige, but it’s clear that reading takes first place in their hearts.  Or sometimes they’ll agree to have me to read to them, which is a nice compromise...and I’m happy to oblige that little “blast from the past”.

If readers are leaders, then look out, World!

Super Stuff on a Saturday!

My sweet Baby A was sick last Friday, and she was nothing short of devastated that she couldn’t go to school.  Her spirits perked up, though, when we went downstairs to spend some time with the furry babies.  She covered up on the couch, and Miki and Alex immediately jumped to her rescue.  I snapped some pictures of them “taking care of her”.  That made her smile for the first time all day…and she was so excited to share the picture with her sissy when she got home from school.

The girls won ribbons in the display board contest!!!  Baby B got 2^nd place (for kindergarten and 1^st grade), and Baby A got 3^rd place.  They were so excited!!!  And I thought it was so sweet that, from Day 1, they talked about how they would share their gift certificates ($10 and $5, respectively) at the book fair.

By Sunday, Baby A was feeling better, and Mother Nature was giving us a beautiful taste of spring.  We had discussed going to the park, but we decided to play at home instead.  The girls rode their bikes and scooters, and Mommy and Daddy broke out the Frisbee.  It was such great fun to all be doing our thing!!!

Spring soccer season kicked off this week!  I surprised the girls with that on Monday morning, and they were stoked.  How great it was to see them running around on the field!

Baby A cracked us up with an extraordinary display of manners one night.  At the table: “I’m sorry to ask this, but could I please have some more guacamole?”  And when she played a wild card in UNO, she said, “I would like some green, if possible.”  HA!!!

The girls went out to supper with Daddy on Thursday night.  It’s sometimes hard to pull details from them, but Baby B came home and proclaimed, “We had the black and blue pizza.  It was so delicious!”  Her enthusiasm cracked me up!

And some previously-shared-on-FB-quotes that I couldn’t resist including here:

One of the kitties was eyeing the table tonight at supper. B said, "He thinks he wants to be human." And then she added, "He must not understand the things an average human has to go through." Ack! I didn't realize her seven years here as a human had been so tough so as to shape her views as such. Hahaha!

Baby B came up to me as I was getting this morning. She was holding two pictures, and she said, "Mommy, can you compare and contrast these?" I did not even know what to make of that, but it sure cracked me up out of the blue. HA!

Sharing a little bit of "awwwww" that my baby girl (A) randomly gave me as I tucked her in. "I'm always proud of you, because you're the best mommy in the world." I needed that today!

So thankful for this Super Stuff!