Twinspiration

Dear Mom,
We have discovered that moving chairs can not only allow us on the table, but also now we can reach light switches and door knobs. Nothing is safe!
Love, Annie and Maddie

Mothers Unite

I was feeling a little over worked this week. Between Monday and Tuesday the girls saw their dad about 30 minutes total. Wednesday brought the grand total to 2 hours. I really need that back up from Ryan in the evening time and it was lacking this week.
So, while I spent a little extra extra special quality time with my kids, I had this idea. I need to start up some kind of "mom union." The following are the demands for all moms:
1. Regular and private bathroom breaks. I don't want to realize at some point during the day that I needed to use the bathroom two hours ago. Somehow I always have one more thing to do before I can run to the bathroom for "just a sec."
2. Private showers every day. No banging on the door, no calling, "Mom!" repeatedly at the door, no dumping the tv remote in the shower while the water is on, and no comments about various parts of my anatomy (such as, "You have a wiggly chest"). And yes, a shower every day.
3. A full night's sleep. Bad dreams, midnight potty breaks, stuffy noses and coughs, and super early morning excitement are not reasons to interrupt my sleep.
4. No verbal abuse. Just because I insist you clean up some of your own messes does not qualify me for Mean Mother of the Year. Promise.
5. Appreciation. There is no laundry/cleaning fairy that inhabits the house while you are at school. And even when you think dinner is nasty because there is a random bit of onion/green pepper/stewed tomato in it, I still cooked you dinner. Most nights I even try to abstain from those bits of grossness for your sake.
6. Pay. As of right now, I pay you. All of your food, clothing, entertainment, medical and housing costs are my responsibility. And I can't remember the last time I bought shoes. Unless you count the $5 I spent on flip flops last spring.
7. Time with your dad. Before you came, I had your dad all to myself. I still like to cuddle with him, or sometimes even talk. Deal with it.
8. My "bubble." There are times I get over-stimulated, and I need to retreat into a no-touching-zone for a little while. That means brushing my hair over my face into a Cousin It-look is off limits.
9. My things to stay put. My keys, my make up, my shoes, and the tv remote all need to stay where I left them. I have a hard enough time remembering things as it is. Besides, the more you move things, the more I blame you for moving things when in fact I have just misplaced it.
10. "I love you"s, hugs and kisses. I can never get too many of those! They will make up for pretty much all of the above.

Ewww

Annie woke up from her nap like this:

I spent the day singing the Lady Gaga song, "Booger Face."

"Can't wipe my
Can't wipe my
No, you can't wipe my Booger Face....

b-b-b-Booger Face
b-b-b-Booger Face..."

Wait, those aren't the lyrics? It's "Poker Face"?

Oops. Sorry. Never mind.

Cherry Blossoms

We went for a drive Wednesday to find blossoms. Not too far out of town, we found some cherry tree orchards. Emma and Elizabeth broke out into song. They gave a very rousing rendition of "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." It must be spring!

I feel like I can let out a sigh of relief that winter is over.

Toothless

Emma came home from school yesterday with a tooth in a plastic Ziploc baggie. She has a very pronounced lisp and is having a difficult time biting food. It's a pretty cute phase.

I guess in her teacher gives stickers to the kids who lose teeth during class. The sticker was the giveaway, as Emma was playing coy and trying not to show her teeth when she got home.

Leprechaun Surprises

Emma and Elizabeth got up this morning expecting our chairs to be turned upside down. We talked a little about St. Patrick's Day last night and they were expecting a visit from the mischievous Little People. The girls were surprised, for instead of topsy turvey furniture, there were "gold" coins on the kitchen table. Next to the chocolates, there was a note from the leprechauns telling the girls to enjoy their milk. So we opened the refrigerator and found this:

The girls went to school still wondering how the leprechauns made our milk green. I'm sure their teachers will hear all about our morning.

Spring!

The first signs of spring are arriving! Yay! The happy, cheerfulness above almost makes up for the sad face below:

Annie had a fever yesterday and I held her all afternoon and evening. Today it is Maddie's turn for the fever and needing to be held. I'm telling you, we just cannot stay healthy. It's been a really rough winter.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Recently our Emma celebrated her 7th birthday. I played the "7 years ago today..." game with myself, reminiscing her birth and the start of parenthood. I was so unprepared! But who can really prepare themselves for a helpless little newborn turning lives upside down? The connection with that little person forms the moment the pregnancy test comes back positive, but really solidifies when you hold your little girl in your arms the first time. What an incredible moment! Emma doesn't know it, but her birthday especially is a time for me to celebrate the "for real" start of our family. I love my husband dearly, but our couplehood would be missing so much without our children. (Although we have days that we fantasize about it.... Can you imagine- naps on Sunday?)
Emma started out her day bright and early, and being so excited, she woke everyone else up in the process. Ryan had picked up a couple of donuts before heading to work and left them on the table for the girls. Then Ryan picked Emma up after school so she didn't have to wait the whole bus ride home before opening presents. She asked for blue frosting. Weird. But I guess we'd already had pink frosting when we had family over last weekend.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Emma is in the process of reading it now.

Annie borrowing the birthday girl's new crown.

After dinner of Pasta Roni Shells in White Cheddar sauce, corn and salad (Emma's choice of food), we had some friends over to help us eat these yummy cupcakes.

I hope you had a great birthday, Emma. We love you so much!

And Speaking of the Next Great Adventure....

On my way to the kitchen, I found a lone Ziploc baggie on the floor. Clue #1.


And then I found another.....

I came around the corner, and voila! The culprit:

Notice there is a child lock on the drawer. But when your hands are as small as Miss Annie's, child locks don't matter.

Where Does The Time Go?

This picture was taken just over a year ago.

I was noticing lately just how big my babies are getting. It is a little bittersweet as they accomplish new feats, like climbing up play structures at the park and coming down the slides alone. Now, I am there to make sure they don't topple off, or come down head first and to catch them at the end, but they are getting so self-sufficient. Where are my babies? Somehow they have transformed into independent toddlers. I want to gather them into my arms and give them a big enough squeeze to keep them this size. Unfortunately they just squirm off my lap in search of the Next Great Adventure.

Yogurt

Someone (this 4-year-old shall remain nameless) left a half eaten container of yogurt on the table. I found Maddie enjoying herself on the ONE 8x10 area of carpeting in the house. At least she wasn't being too messy.