A lesson in manners...

Tonight at dinner I was trying to teach the girls a lesson about the right and wrong ways to chew their food, as dinner is often a serenade of loud chomping and a show of half chewed food in open mouths. So I decided to ask them to decide which looked nicer as I demonstrated both the correct and incorrect way to chew your food like a lady. As I was demonstrating, Sarah looked over at me and said, "Well Mommy, we can't do that because we're not adults, and besides, you shouldn't be talking to us with your mouth full." I guess I stand corrected. I'll try harder next time, honey.

Cold #2 (or is it the flu?)

Caleb and Hannah have come down with a cold, or I think that's what it is, though they're both running pretty decent fevers. I've got them quarantined to the room over the garage, but Sarah and I probably aren't far behind as I can't isolate us from them. At least hopefully Ryan wont get it. He's been battling pretty bad foot pain as he renovates, so illness would not be welcomed now. Keep us in your prayers please that we'd get this illness out of our family quickly. And we'll be keeping all those who've come down with this new swine flu in our prayers, as I'm sure we're feeling only a fraction of the worry and sleeplessness that their families are feeling right now. Outbreaks always terrify me and challenge my faith... something I need to pray on, I guess.

The Birthday

The kids' birthday was a real blast. On Friday we spent the day spoiling them rotten. I took the kids to the craft store in the morning, and they picked out some sun catchers and bubble whistles. Then they played outside in the gorgeous sunshine for a while before being swept away to the mall with Nonnie to ride the carosel and eat large quantities of junk food. They got to skip naps in favor of watching a movie of their choice that afternoon, followed by a gigantic crash in energy levels leaving them conked out for the night. On Saturday we had a bug-themed party at a local park, complete with a caterpillar cupcake cake made by Daddy and bug-themed games. After the party we opened presents, and then all of us crashed and burned for the night. I think we're still all trying to recover from all the junk food, so Ryan and I are doing our party by slowly phasing out the calorie levels. This was accomplished by eating the rest of the leftover chips and dips and a couple or few cupcakes every so often thru the day. We'll need to work on it some more tomorrow, I think. The picture of Caleb smiling had nothing to do with any of this but was just thrown in for extra cuteness.

Yippee, we're gonna be THREE!!!

Just in case you were wondering what it looks like burping twinfants, or what my belly looked like after they were born, here you go!

Aren't they sweet?

So now that they're turning three tomorrow let's talk about what the next year will look like...

I'm three:

*Each time we wake up, it's "tomorrow"; doesn't matter if we were just napping, whatever we had penciled in for "tomorrow" must occur now. Right now.

*All public restrooms must be inspected by us. And just so you can't pull the wool over our eyes, we'll perform snap inspections at the times you least expect it, like while you're in the checkout line or on the phone.

*All free time will heretofore be considered playtime. If you need a coffee break that bad, you can do it after we go to bed tonight.

* I can now button my shirt and zip my jacket, so any attempt on your part to do it for me will result in a (loud) verbal warning.

* Stickers are a fashion statement.

* The grass IS really greener on the other side... all things belonging to someone else must be better than mine and are, therefore, subject to my whims.

* Whereever you take us better have toys. If there aren't toys there, we will find some way to make your stuff our toys.

* If where you are taking us involves shopping, it better have a pet store. And Nonnie better be there. She buys us stuff. Can we have a puppy Nonnie?

* Nonnie and Papaw hung the moon. Any attempts to discredit this information will be summarily dismissed.

* A fork CAN double as a comb, and a cheerio on the floor is still fair game as long as it's not mushy.
* It is ALWAYS my turn.

* Mickey Mouse should win a grammy this year. If not, he was robbed.

* All mail and newspapers are subject to our inspection.

* Heretofore, all walking shall be suspended in favor of bouncing. When bouncing is not acceptable, jumping shall be the alternative.

I can't believe the time as flown by so quickly!! I love you my little princesses!

the one where I blog about tooting and boogers...

The kids seem just fascinated with bodily functions lately, and I've been getting some good comments that I just had to save for posterity...
Yesterday Ryan tooted while putting the kids to bed, and Hannah says, "Daddy, that made my nose hurt!"
Sarah today told me, "That one was a really stinky one, Mommy" (she's been listening to Daddy too much).
Yesterday, Sarah called me upstairs with a nose bleed. Then she points to the wall behind her bed and says, "Look, I saved the boogers on the wall, though"... oh goody, so glad they were safely stored. Wouldn't want to have lost those.
Sorry, I just can't get over how funny they can be about the grosser parts of life.

Fun with Nonnie & Papaw

We've been busy this week. Ryan has been renovating the kitchen with Dad and it's finally 75% finished. We still need countertops and decorator touches, but the floors are done and the cabinets are up. There's even a memorial behind the microwave with two bloody thumbprints where both Dad and Ryan apparantly (accidentally) shed their blood for the sake of the house. Now the cleaning begins. The girls and I have been staying with Mom at Mom and Dad's house, and they've been LOVING it. We have been playing dress-up in Nonnie's closet (myself included; Mom's a much snappier dresser than I am), eating junk food, and playing on their new swing set. On Saturday we went to the farmer's market to their 33rd birthday celebration. There were pony rides, bounce houses, a hayride, and cake to be had, and the girls had a blast. Caleb just thought it was too sunny and windy and wanted to go back for a nap, but that's ok, he'll grow into this stuff. Caleb has been sleeping a bit better, waking only 2 or 3 times a night instead of 4, which is a huge help for my mental well being. Mom and I have established a nice routine for feeding, bathing, and dealing with the kids all day, and I have to say I'll miss it. It takes another woman to really know how to step in and help with childcare. No disrespect to the husbands of the world, esp. mine who is an awesome Dad and hubby, but we girls just know how to deal and don't have to be told when and how to take care of the home. It's just instinct, ya know? And it helps that Mom doesn't work the schedule Ryan does, as he often gets home long after baths, dinner preparations, etc. We've really missed Ryan this week, though, and I know the girls and I can't wait to spend time with him once we move back to the house!

I'll give instructions where to fine Dad's body in the backyard later.

Ok, this boy has to sleep thru the night sometime. Seriously. Every freakin' 2 hours he woke up last night to eat. 2 HOURS! And this is after a week of terrible sleep, and waking every two hours night-before-last, too. And now I gotta drag my butt around to chase after the girls all day! There's not enough Starbucks in the world for this kind of tired. Then Dad walks in the kitchen this morning, yawns, and says, "Mmm, Gosh, I overslept." If looks could kill, Dad would be 6 feet under in the backyard by now.