Christmas 2011

Christmas is finally here.  I am just like a kid, cannot wait to wake up and see "how good I was this year"

Last year the girls did not get the concept of racing down to the christmas tree to delight in thier good behaviour.....and this year was not any different.

Christmas Eve, Darcy and I set the reindeer food out while the girls watched us.  Emily suggested the reindeer might need a drink, so okay, we put a dish of water out too.  Before we went to bed, Darcy did the traditional kick of the dishes and off to dreamland we went...with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Morning arrived and nothing.....we hinted around about Santa and reindeers....still nothing, then Emily say the mess on the front porch.  We told them that the reindeer had come and maybe Santa stopped by too.  Then they clued in and raced down stairs....

We had a great morning with all the delights that Christmas brings.  We had a great day with family at my parents. 
I am so thankful for the joys that surround me.

Merry Christmas All!

When I am bigger

"When I am a big girl I can ride a school bus right mommy?" 

Growing up.....what does that exactly mean?  A physical change?, mental change? For toddlers this is not just a growth spurt, it means gaining confidence to be independent.  Emmy is all over this stage now.  She wants to do a lot of things, and if I take the time to let her, she actually can do it.  The praise she gets for a job well done tickles her pink!  She seems to craves this attention.

Sophia, is not quite like that.  She is more than happy to have someone else do things for her...actually she had made it into her own art form...and we usually respond like a trained monkey. 

Emily seems to ask us every day what can she do when she is bigger or tells us what she is going to do when she gets bigger.

The list is long but I have short listed to the top few:

• "When I am a big girl, I can ride a big girl bike (or a scooter, they are interchangeable) right?"
• "When I get bigger I can take the garbage to the garbage man right?"
• "When I get bigger can I ride on the moon?  Mommy can I?  I really want to, up I do?"
• "When I am bigger I can go skating right?  Daddy will take me right?"

"Mommy I am a little girl right? But I will get big some day right?"  I hope so princess, just not on fast forward please!

Toddler Moments

We have had some monster toddler moments lately…..Yup...the girls have discovered they can have alot of fun being toddlers.....

• like when they breathe on windows and leave their hand and foot prints in the fog...so when you come to my house, there are messy windows at the 3 foot level!. 
• Emmy has also discovered that Sophia will let her marker each of her toes in a different colour while sits and watches. 
• They both have decided that if they want to climb the outside of the staircase, the safest way is to climb one at a time while the other spots (or holds them up by the bum). 
• Gone are the days of putting anything up high.  They seem to have these mini chairs and step stools attached to their backs so they can deploy them when they need to….and to boot, they have put the stool on the chair to gain just enough to get what they want.
• We have also entered the era of picking out our own clothes (esp unddies and socks), deciding which clothing items are whom’s even though they are the same shirt

But they have also started to roll play with their imaginations…..

• like when they play “going to school” They line up 2 chairs, sit on them and pretend that they are driving to school, one is always the driver and the other stands in the hall and waits for the driver to say “time to go to school, get on the bus” 
• They also will pretend to shop together...they get their babies, put them in their shopping carts, pushing them around, mimicking me! “baby just sit down and keep your hands in the cart” “Just a minute mommy need to look at this” “stop foolin around” “there is no potty in the store, so don’t ask” I seriously did not think I said half the stuff they do…but they have had to get it from somewhere! 
• Cover up baby is a fan fav…..Sometimes the baby cries and needs a bum change (watching them pretend to change a diaper is hilarious). I must admit, this one takes a bit longer to roll play and I have been known to suggest” let’s play cover up” to get some peace, but only for about ½ hour…..

There are times I see babies randomly sitting against a wall….to which Sophia tell me that "the baby is on time away for not listening" and she has to sit there until I give her a hug and kiss and she says sorry. 

WOW….they really do listen and notice when I am talking. If I would not have seen it, I would not have believe it.

Then there are the toddlers prefer to party nekkid moments.....In fact, they prefer to do most things nekkid.  You know that toddlers have to take off all their clothes to use the potty...in the middle of the kitchen! 

Never in a million years would you think that you would have to remind them to at least put underwear on to eat dinner.  I seriously cannot believe how often Darcy and I have these converstaions with them.  

Ahh..toddlers have the life and can be awe struck in wonderment!



Cheers
R-ox

Fall Family Fun

In my childhood, my family would attend all the fall fairs they could, taking in the cool crisp breezes as we whizzed around on ride after ride after ride under the bright ball park lights.  Sometimes grandparents or other family friends would attend and we usually spent the entire day walking through buildings full of food vendors, perusing 4-H winning displays, petting hoards of animals and taking in a smash up derby, a horse show or some country singers performance.  I had such fond memories of these trips which usually ended with all of us kids passed out in the back seat for the ride home.

To this day I still enjoy a good ride on the scrambler or the snow express with the screaming music and would like Pookie and Munchie to have the opportunity to experience these too. 

The first event I went to (Darcy was working) was Mighty Machines.  I was so looking forward to seeing the girls get excited about pretending to drive all the trucks, diggers, dozers and tractors, (played it up in my mind pretty good) that when we got there and Sophia tried to walk on air to get back to the car and go home, I started to cry - the disappointment was too overwhelming.  The horn honking was too loud and scared them both.  Emmy did not want to get out of the stroller, let alone climb into a combine.  I walked around for an hour trying to calm their fears and eventually they warmed up to taking their turn driving the garbage truck.  The day ended up being not a total bust and Grandpa enjoyed the rollover demonstration. 

Fun on the surf

Enjoying the Parade, well not Sophia

is that a smile I see?

Going on a turtle hunt

 Apple Fest in Brighton, was where we went next.  We actually were visiting friends (long overdue visit) and while we were there spent a wonderful weekend taking in the local fare.  The Callahan's were perfect hosts and we had so much fun.  The girls played with their girls and for the most part were out of our hair which was a nice change.  The local parade was neat to see but this is where we figured out that Sophia was not going to enjoy anything that she considered loud, and the local parade down main street, with the bands, floats and antique tractors all making noise had her with her fingers in her ears the entire time.  The girls did enjoy partaking in a ducks in the pond game, where they had to pick a duck as it floated by and if they picked a winning duck, they got a prise - their first Carney game.....and they both won stuffed ducks.  How fitting!  the next day, after the adults had enough coffee....we went to the surf and wetlands boardwalk tour.  The girls chased geese up the beach, splashed in the water, getting totally soaked and went on a frog and turtle hunt.  We did see frogs, but no turtles to Emmy's disappointment. 

We packed in a lot on this visit, just the way we roll!

MG is 3

This fiery red headed princess was just that, all fluffy in her tutu as we all headed to church.  It was a funny, cute sight to see all 5 girls in there tutus holding hands in a line walking into church.  After a mini crisis was looked after, Sophia broke out in hives at church and I took her to see Darcy at work to verify - to this day I am still not sure what caused it and it cleared up as the day went on, it was off to the princess tea-party. 

  

MG's birthday has special meaning to us as during her very emotional and unexpected birth, God must have thought we needed some joys in our lives and this is when the twins started their lives.  The are true comrades and friends - best est cousins!

"Can we wear our underwears today mommy?"

Our morning routine has changed a bit in the last month.  Instead of the girls picking out their own diapers....they are picking out their own underwear.  I am happy to say the girls are potty trained!

I am a bit amazed, as this milestone just seemed to happen right under my nose...kinda like one day I was changing 6-8 diapers a day to changing a few sets of clothes to only changing them morning and night.    Now I do need to add that visitors...do not be alarmed if there is a naked toddler be-lining it for the bathroom - as they both strip off all clothes, on the spot when they need to go.  Kinda weird as Darcy and I do not do that.  But as Emmy says - she does not want to have an accident on her shirt.  Valid reason!!?

I had read that when potty training twins, the chances that they both will be potty training at the same time are  well.....slim. Most mom’s of multiples have to go through the process separately with each child, so I was mentally preparing for a long potty training haul.....but we lucked out.  Both of them wanted to sit on the potty at the same time - which sprang a shopping spree one night to get a bunch of potties....I'm sure the check out lady thought I was a neurotic mom who has a potty in every room.  Not quite, but we do have one in the garage and in the back of my truck which have been great "mess-savers" 

Potty training the girls was one of my fears and so far it hasn’t been as bad as I had imagined. I think the key is to just wait until they show that interest enough to stay with it. And, if accidents happen, they happen – I fully expect a few more accidents...unless you are Sophia and just wipe down your pants and pee on the grass, "mommy I have to go, I have to pee on the grass - go away!" something she has done at gramma and grandpa's as well as the neighbours....hum mm must of been on daddy's watch!

It actually warms my heart to see them both go through this milestone together – I never thought going potty would be a mommy-heart warming moment, girls mommy is super proud of you.  So, these days we spend a ton of time in our bathrooms or policing who gets the potty and who gets the potty seat! 

Cheers

R-xo

August Family Vacation

We decided, and thanks to the Ogies! for letting us camp with them, to go on a camping vacation just like we used to in the days before kiddies.  There were lots of campsite of friends, including the typical crew which I was totally thrilled about.  Now I was not that naive to think that it would be just like the good ol' days....but I was not totally prepared for what this 4 day trip was to bring.

We had a great drive to Parry Sound, Killbear Park, set up the site, had dinner and a campfire.  The girls were making adjustments to their new...totally dirty home.  To add a bit more to this trip, we were potty training the girls and they were almost fully trained, so this meant 2 potties propped up against a tree waiting to be used at will...and they were. 

It rained through the night, and as morning was breaking, crash - the lid of the cooler was opened by a raccoon - or so we thought.  About 1/2 hr later I could hear heavy foot prints and heavy breathing.....it was a bear.  The darn thing climbed up the back of our pick-up truck looking to see if he could get in.  When he could not, he moved on to the neighbouring campsite and shook the car until the car alarm went off - waking up a ton of people, but not my husband....he was awake, so he says, but did not move a muscle.  I told him there was a bear on our truck, but he brushed it off until the next morning when the evidence was clear - paw prints on the back of the truck and tunnel cover.

Big group dinner extravaganza!

Daddy n the girls

Campfire snacks

The rest of the trip was not that exciting, but not that relaxing either.  I spent most of my time, with the girls as they explored the outdoors, nursed Fia through her first bee sting, defied afternoon sleep time and were not that keen on the beach.  The one thing they did like was the nightly campfires with their bowls of cheezies!
On our final day we packed everything up and decided to have a beach day.  I like the beach and on this trip so far I had virtually none, so dear hubby went along with the idea and we spent the day at the beach.  It was a great decision - the girls really like it and were not "needy" almost the entire time.  We had a lot of snacks, so that might of helped!     A highlight for me was a wonderful smoked meat dinner at the Sharps's campsite.  They had all the camping toys you could imagine.  Doug smoked the beef the entire day...to perfection!  truly a camping treat!

Over all the trip was a great experience for the girls and a learning experience for their mother and father.  This is not going to detour us from making these types of memories...I will just be better prepared!

Farm girl at heart

"Emmy, where are you going?"  "I am going outside mommy to sit on the wheat"  it took me a minute to figure it out...she was talking about sitting on the giant straw bales in our back yard. 

Last night I took the girls out to the field in our backyard to play with the straw.  Emily loved it, in fact she even picked up the straw, throwing it into the air and then picked up a long piece and put it in her mouth.  We have not been on a farm where she would have seen that, so that kinda made me wonder. 
Sophia just cried and wanted to be held....she heard the tractor reeve up as it was picking up the bales and stacking them on a wagon - from the other side of the field...She cried like a tiger was about to eat her...poor little duckie.   I tried to snap a few pics with her in them, but she was so scared, it was hard to leave her there when she was so upset.

Emily on the other hand loved it.  At one point she thought the bale might move while sitting on it - "common, give me my ride"  she said as she jumped up and down.

When it was time for bed, Sophia could not run fast enough to the deck.  Emily stood in the field looking out over the horizon like she was contemplating what crop to plant in the field.  When she was done we went in the house and off to bed.  Since we are potty training the girls, potty time had to happen before bed.  When I helped her out of her undies....a pile of straw fell on the floor and a bunch was still stuck to her belly.  It was cute as she picked off the straw and then she put one piece in her mouth, just like a farmer.  Sophia was more concerned there was a mess on the floor and "Emmy did it" 

She is a farm girl at heart!

cheers
R-xo

The sucky is gone!

For the past few nights, Emily has drifted off to sleep without that annoying, plastic sucking sound oozing out of her mouth – the sucky is a thing of the past. I told her about a week ago (I flush it mommy) that in a few nights there would be no more sucky, she is a big girl. She hummed and hawed about it and then the other night she told me she was a big girl and did not need a sucky. We immediately took them away and she has not cried about it since. She will ask if she can have one, but we tell her she is a big girl and does not need it. That seems to okay with her.   

Sophia never really took to the sucky, so breaking her of that habit was a breeze. Now if potty training would be that cut and DRY!

I know that the sucky is a comfort item, and I would not have survived this past virus season, I mean winter season without it. But I felt is was time to go. She does have several snuggle blankets, which she carries around and buries her face in laughing. So a comfort item is still there. Sophia has her “fuzzy” blanket which in the heat must be soooo hot.  It is a homemade blanket with ties she plays with while falling asleep. That too comes into our bed in the mornings…some mornings there are so many snuggle blankets and fuzzy blankets we have to fight our way out of bed. Oh well….those are the moments I was waiting for…the snuggles in bed and if a few blankets come along, so be it.

 

Cheers

R-xo

Mini family vacation

We had a mini family vacation this past weekend. Not just with the 4 of us, but with my parents, sisters and their families. We were all at Aunt Jessie and Uncle Jason’s family trailer. It was one of the rare occasions where we were all together…not for a traditional holiday gathering. Their trailer is near Chesley, on Aaron Lake. It is a nice spot for families and boy there are a lot of them. The beach was packed every day and Jessie said that the park doubled the size of if last season. WOW it would have been a tight squeeze had they not done that.

It was chaotic and at times challenging to get through some moments, but the girls had a great time with their Aunts, uncles and cousins and have some great memories to hold on to - hopefully!

The beach was a hit..(finally!) and so was the time we spent at a near by farm. Since there was not enough room for all of us to stay at my sister’s trailer, my parents and us decided to stay at a B&B close by. A quaint rustic home, that we had a fabulous stay at. Breakfast was wonderful and the mule rides were a hoot. Literally…my dad, who has a comment or smart remark for everything did not hold back as we were chauffeured around the farm on a mule drawn wagon ride.   The girls were able to pet chickens and ride a mule.  They were sooo thrilled, they still ask us "can I ride a horse today mommy?"      

We did achieve one of "mommy’s milestones" ….swinging on the big girl swings. It was nice to see their little buts wrapped up in the cloth sling, swinging away…while their cousins pushed them.    

I have a few "mommy milestones" that I would like to knock off the list, this being one of them, getting rid of Emily’s sucky being another, putting away the high chairs in favour of booster seats (we need a new table for that), drinking/eating anything without dripping or spilling, colouring on the paper and asking if they can have a treat, not just going to the cupboard and getting them.

One of the first things we did when we got home was install the big girl swings…no more pushing them in the buckets. Now they can swing themselves, take turns pushing each other and the most fun…laying down on their bellies and flying like an airplane. Sophia likes to hold on, lean back so far that her hair drags on the grass…..ahhh what a moment. 

I shed a few tears thinking they are getting bigger, more independent but on the other hand there is no more pushing a swing for hours on end. My husband scolds me every time I wish them to be more independent or complain about something. I know that he is right and I do not want them to grow up, but at the same time I want them too.

Cheers

R-xo

"I flush it mommy"

"I flush it down the toilet mommy"  That kind of news makes one jump out of bed and race to the flushing toilet to see if I can still retrieve whatever it was.  This morning we had a suckie emergency - Emily dropped it in the toilet while in full flush.  I've been waiting for the day that something would be flushed, just hopin it was not something of mine!

She was pretty upset and wanted us to get it for her.  It was a hard lesson for her to experience, the little look of devastation on her face was making me sad that I could not get it for her.

She still uses it for sleep time and can get upset if she does not have it.  Sophia does not need a suckie and that can be a good thing.  She does need her "fuzzy blanket"  which in this heat, looks really uncomfortable, but whatever works...I'm okay with.

I will take this opportunity to try and stop the sucky usage, but we do have spares if needed.

Cheers
R

Happy Canada Day

The girls had a party for Canada day while at daycare.

Cheers to you and we hope you have a terrific long weekend.

Just like they hear it

The last 6 months the girls have really stepped it up with their vocabulary.  I was remarking to my husband the other day about how the girls can express themselves verbally, very clearly their wants (and "not want it" its).  So just like a song you thought you new the words to - the girls have made up some of there own words, just like they hear it.

• Swings are called "wee, wees"
• the love seat swing is called a "rocky rock"
• the robes they wear after bath, they call their "robots"  
• my jewellery is called "mommy's pretties"
• the mother Robin that squawks when we are close to her nest is called "the mamma bear"
• a kite is called a "diamond" or "daddy fly a diamond" cause he flew a kite for them one day
• when they want out of their car seats or highchairs where they have been strapped in - they ask us to "open gate"
• Toothbrush is called a "teefee" and toilet paper is called " a nosey"  
• and when they see writing such as in the newspaper they call it "A,B,C,D's"
• blueberries or peas are called "balls"

I kinda wonder what they see....now I know. There will be many more as they continue to develop and learn.

Cheers
R-xo

Repeat after me...

Well the time has come…they girls are picking up on my habits and repeating what I say. I never realized it before, but boy oh boy do I say “crap, crappy or oh crap” a lot. Sophia has really picked up on this and when I am having difficulty putting on their sandals or doing up a zipper, she says “oh crap” in her best Barry White voice. At first I was like…did she really say that?? No it just sounded like that. But after a time or two I realized that she was repeating me…Oh crap!

Emily picks up on my body language or tries to repeat what I do. I caught her looking at me and playing with her hair….twirling her fingers and concentrating on how I was doing it, like Aunt Anne, gramma and I do. She also likes to get a hold of my makeup blush brush and apply it in the same manner as me...a couple strokes on the left and then the right and a bit down the middle. One day I looked at her and thought man she is hot maybe I will take off her sweater – her cheeks looked reddish like she was hot. Then I saw a bit of shimmer and realized she had my blush on.

I guess it is time for mommy to straighten up!

Ciao R-xo

We are 2! Party, Party, Party!

Our babies are 2 – a milestone I could not image getting to when they were born, but I am so glad we are here!

“I have a party today mommy?” “Yes Sophia we have your birthday party today, after night-nights” “ Okay I go night –nights now?” It was 10am……She was so excited for her party. If you ask the girls how old they are, they will tell you “2” and then hold there pointer fingers up side by side to show you the number of years – 2. Sometimes Emily will continue counting and then say she is “eleventeen or twelveteen” she cannot decide!

The day was action packed, we started out by going to a community garage sale and then off to the grocery store to get a few things – chips in particular for the party!

Family and friends joined us as we celebrated this precious milestone in our lives.  

This year they really got the concept of blowing out candles – although they were a bit shell shocked to have everyone sing and cheer as we sang a birthday song for each of them and mommy too!

“I have a party today mommy?” “No not today Sophia, we had your party yesterday, now go back to sleep” it was 5:30am on Sunday morning….she really likes to party!

On the actual day of their birthday, dressed them in their princesses dresses and sent them to MM's.  She had a party for them too.

Big girl beds are a hit!

The girls have taken really well to their toddler beds. It was like the cribs did not exist. We decided to make the leap in just about the opposite way you might hear or read about – making the switch… we did it kinda like rippin a bandage…fast and no looking back. I did read some articles about making the switch, but they all read like a 1960’s homemakers guide. 

•       Talk with them about what is happening, greet them at the door with a fruit smoothie and let them enjoy it in their new bed, give them a sense of joy and good feelings, cause they had a busy day, let them know their new surrounding are warm and inviting……..blah, blah, blah – ripe the bandage!

We did it on a Sunday afternoon, after their nap.(should have been on a sat and at nap time to give them some time to warm up to the idea and a few nights for mom and dad to enjoy the chaos and not have to work the next day) We disassembled the cribs and set up the big girl beds. They girls played in their new beds for about 20 minutes and then we packed them up and went to Gramma/Poppa’s for supper. By the time we got home it was late so jammies and bed…..no fuss, they climbed right in and were excited to be surrounded by new things. Of course there was a lot of bed hopping and movement but after a few …”get into bed it is night-night times” mostly from Daddy…they were off to dreamland. It was pretty comical listening to a grown man get all stern when saying night-night! In the morning Sophia was kinda stunned that she could get out and come to our room. She stood in the doorway until I said come over and climb into bed. I wonder how long she would have stood there?

The first few nights the girls ravaged their bookshelf after the lights went out, but within a few nights that stopped. Sophia still has a bit of a time when going to bed. She want to “snuggle mommy” until she goes to sleep. A habit I am NOT willing to part-take in at this time, but she does get lots of snuggles.

We did change one night time routine. We now will lay down beside them and recap the day, chat about all the fun times we had, who we saw, the misbehaved moments and how they will be better behaved next time. We also say some prayers. It is kinda nice to think about what went on in the day, putting it into perspective seems to provide clarity around all the things that got done, or are still to do.

When they wake up, they were coming into our room to see us.  Now they wake each other up and read books or chat back and forth. I went in to check on them and found them both sitting in Emily’s bed.  It looked like Emily was reading Sophia a story. Those moments are precious and comforting, as I know they really do love and care for each other.

I did wake up one morning to the sound of the toilet flushing..thinkin that's weird as Darcy was still in bed, then I got wide eyed!  The girls were on the loose!

We have had a few “duckies down” both girls have fallen out and kept right on sleeping. One night, Emily had slipped out the side and looked like she was saying her night time prayers, kneeling beside her bed, sound asleep. 

Now if we could just get them to sleep in until 7am and not want to be up at 5:30….

Cheers
R-xo

A day full of Firsts!

The first year of the girls life was full of firsts....and some of the most exciting were the milestones ones like rolling over, crawling, first words, first foods, walking and so many more.  Today was another "first" milestone for me....Sophia played in the sandbox and liked it!  The bonus phrase of the day was..."we go swimmin' today mommy at Aunt Anne's?"  It kinda makes me want to break out in song...and I captured some of this joy.

Sophia smiling while looking at the pool!

  
I cannot help but remember last summer when the girls were not fans of just about anything related to swimming, sand or fun in the sun.  This is a post form last summer..what-beach-did-i-do?.do I need to say more?

We also had another first....ice cream cones!  They both held their cones, licking like pros.  I was most impressed with the fact that they did not drip and we were even in public!

So far....things are looking up!
Cheers
R-xo

Toddlers or Tornadoes?

I have a hard time telling them apart...toddlers or tornadoes....twinadoes!  Twirling, swirling bursts of energy that seem to spin in their own worlds, and who are oblivious to the destruction they leave...especially when mommy talks.  I know at birth they both passed their hearing tests, but why is there not another test once they reach say...oh about 22 months or so??

We are trying to teach them that the road, rivers, streams or any body of water is "danger do not to go near them unless there is a mommy or daddy to help you."  They seem to get this concept.  When we are driving near rivers, they tell us "that is danger mommy" but getting them to listen when they are playing in the driveway is another story.

Yesterday I took the girls outside to play..in the rain..cause daddy lets them jump in puddles. (so they told me)  Okay, kids like to get mucky and wet...all in the name of fun.  Emmy decided that she wanted to jump in the puddle that was closes to the road.  She told me the road was danger, yet proceeded to walk one step out on the road and jump in the puddle.  Then she made eye contact with me and stepped out even further.  I asked her to get of the road, it is danger...no movement.  Now I have to discipline.  Well you would have thought I banned her for life from jumping in puddles by the reaction I got when I told her to sit in the garage on time away for not listening to mommy.  AND in our world, when there is one...there is two.  When I turned back to see where Sophia was...she was doing the exact same thing, in the exact same spot.  Now I had 2 crying toddlers, who had kicked their rain boots off, getting more and more upset because their toes were cold.

My sister says..it gets better, give is about 7 months or so.  She has seen a change in MG on this front.

I may go insane in 7 months, or send the girls to toddler boot camp....is there such a thing?  (no I actually will not as I will miss them)  I wonder what the neighbour's thought watching this display of mommy vs the toddlers?
Cheers
R - xo

"Mommy, my tummy hurts"

Today I have seen it all...well all that the girls have put in their mouths.  I have been puked on all day...no joke.  I have changed my clothes 4 times, showered twice, have done 5 loads of gooey laundry and have changed the cribs 7 times. Last night at about 4am.  I heard Emily call out for me and thinking it was a sucky issue, I took my time getting to her....4am is not a pleasant time to be up, especially when you only got to bed after 1am.

On the way to her bed I heard the glubbing.....OH NO was all I could think of, I knew exactly what was about to happen.  Before I got to her bed she had done the deed, rolled around and gunked her hair all up in it.  For the next few hours, she would continue to puke, call out for me and I would change her entire bed...then I got smart and started to put a towel down, so as to only change the towel.....By 7am I had her in the tub.

Sophia was not long behind her...there I was, with both girls sick and my husband at work.  This seems to be the Metzgers Law (modeled after Murphy's law)  when Darcy is working something happens, either the girls are sick or fevered, I am sick or a combo of the two.  This year has not been pleasant and I am so hopin for spring flowers soon.

This constant stream of puking in random places continued for 4 days.  My house has not been so clean.  The walls, floors, sliding glass door, windows in our bedroom, cribs and at least a dozen times on me.  Darcy had a few incidents too including one in his truck.

Today it all seemed to have come to an end.  Here's to hopin' Darcy or I do not follow suit!  Next week, a whole new handfull.....MM is on vacation...Yikes!
Cheers
R-xo

Girls First Hair Cut

I have been dreading this day....I know that the girls need their hair cut...hec Darcy has threatened to do it himself, so you know that it must be bad....his words were "you can come along and be a part of it..or you can miss their first hair cuts...you choose"  I do not like ultimatums, especially from my husband, but I knew their hair needed to be cut.  So today was the day.  I talked a bit about getting your hair cut with the girls, but it don't think it sunk in until we got there.

Sophia's eyes were glued to the guy getting his hair cut while we waited.  I told her she was getting her hair cut and it was going to be fun.  She said "no mommy, no want to"  I knew there were going to be no smiles.  Here are her before and after pics:  She looked so cute with the cape on.

Sophia Before

Sophia After

Emily arrived with Darcy a few minutes into Sophia's cut.  She could care less about the hair cutting she wanted to get down and "run and run and run"  I thought , okay this might go fairly well, so far there was no crying and more cooperation than I expected.  Boy was I wrong....I should have held my thoughts until Emily's haircut was over.  She could not keep still, very fidgety and she kept pushing Sarah's hand away from around her face when she tried to cut her bangs.  she tried to jump off the chair and at one point I had to restrain her so Sarah could finish.  Here are Emily's pics:

Emily Before

Emily After

The experience overall was a good one.  I was very glad that Aunt Julie popped by.  She had her hands full watching one fiery toddler while the other was getting their haircut.  Oh, in case  you were wondering, Darcy was there...he decided to go for coffee and by the time he got back we were ready to go.

I must say that their hair looks wonderful....a lot better than when Aunt Anne and Gramma tag-teamed my babies and cut their bangs while Darcy and I were packing up our house to move....I was not impressed......here is a pic of that artistry!

We ended the day with a great meal made by Mark and Julie.....Italian....it was such a welcomed treat and delicious meal and the wine was fantastic!  Thanks, Thanks, Thanks!

Next on the list....ears pierced...Darcy is also threatening to do that...but I know he will not do that without me.!
Cheers
R-xo

A Mommy Morning Moment

Sometimes my husband shakes his head over some of the things that happen between me and the girls while he is at work....his comment always is "that never happens to me."......Now this is how our Friday morning went….the girls spent 5 minutes or more watching the garbage truck out their window, do its business while they were standing on the rocking chair in their room….Then when they were dressed they insisted on reading books…when I got cross and told them to "get down stairs, mommy was not foolin’ around anymore", they took off, with books in hand down the stairs. Okay…so Emily got her coat and shoes on first…and Sophia decided to run off so I would chase her . While she was running away I was getting the bags at the front door. I finally corralled Sophia to get her coat and shoes on.  In the meantime, Emily had gotten into my purse and shook my wallet, contents and all...all over the floor. While I am getting that straighten up, Emily took off with my purse….I asked her to come back and she didn’t so I went hunting for them…Sophia had ran off too. Then I heard Emily say “oh no, a mess… mommy” I thought oh great…here she got a hold of a glass of water and dumped it in my purse! I caught the tail end of her pouring it in….She had gotten up on the kitchen chair, got the glass of water down and poured it in my purse. I got cross and told her that was bad behavior and she was on time away….all this before 7:20am!

When we were driving away Sophia has a fit cause she did not have her monkey book…she saw that Emily had Mickey’s Nap (I did not know that she grabbed it)…So I went back (thinking of my dear husband doing this...cause he does) and got the monkey book for her. Then we were blocked in the driveway by the recycling truck…who took its sweet time, dumping the sorting bin into the back of the truck…so we waited….The girls liked it...they were waving to the guy. I was not so jovial! I am sure I looked at the guy like Mrs. Hennigan in sunglasses!

The whole ride to Michelle’s I told them that the books stay in the car. When we got to Michelle’s, Emily was okay with that rule, but not Sophia. She hit me with the book…left a bit of a scratch on my face, then threw it into the front driver’s seat. I tell ya…patience was thin at this point. Then Emily had a fit that I was leaving…she was crying and reaching for me. I held her a bit but trying to pry her off was like Velcro. I e-mailed MM to see if she settled and this is what she had to say.

• She settled in quick. She ate and went to play and has been fine. They both were excited to go for a walk today. When we got back Emily says to me "nice walk". I think we're all excited for some nice weather!!

 SO……that was the morning….The evening shaped up to be a little more mommy style...Christine and her daughter Allie popped by to soothe my soul with some great wine while Allie watched the girls in the bath.....it was a nice finish to a hectic start to the day.

Cheers!
R-xo

It was a Mardi party!

We are so thankful to have such a great home daycare. MM runs her ship like toddler boot camp..well maybe not quite like that, but some days I am amazed at what she can accomplish and not lose control.  Like painting projects, getting them all dressed and outside for some fun or baking and havin all the kiddies take a turn at stirring the batter.  Each week there is a theme or focus of learning and this week is Mardi Gras.  So in true MM style.....there was a Mardi party.  I love getting pics at work from her.  The girls always look like they are having a ton of fun and that makes me feel better for working full-time.  Enjoy the party!

Sophia

Emily

MG