March 2013

March was a pretty quiet month. The twins ended up getting sick again and were out of school a week in addition to the week they had for Spring break. Our house, which is usually pretty healthy had a very tough winter and the twins missed a lot of school. I even got a call from the school social workers wanting to know what was up. Luckily, after the pneumonia/pink eye event, they finally seemed to be healthy again.

Here is a picture from Easter Morning

December 2012

December always brings lots of fun and activities. Of course the biggest event in December is the Mook's birthday! I couldn't believe that my little baby turned three! He had a lot of fun and it was his first birthday where he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. He had his birthday at Chik-fil-A with several of his friends with a Spongebob theme.

Christmas was also exciting for the kids. This year instead of many smaller gifts, I went with one bigger gift for all of them. I was VERY tired of fighting for control of my iPhone and iPad so each of them received a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I would like to say that the gifts kept them from my devices, but sadly, it didn't :0(

October 2012

HALLOWEEN!

 

I know. I usually get really into Halloween with the match super cool costumes. I couldn't get excited this year so the kids just picked their own. Around this time was kind of the start of my introversion. I had a hard time getting excited about things, I felt tired all the time and I just didn't feel like doing anything social. More on that in a later post.

December Stuff

December around here is always busy. Of course Christmas always sends things into a tizzy, but now with the addition of a birthday party to plan, it's hard for my mind to settle down with one thought. I have found that in the last two years I have a hard time dealing with Christmas until M's birthday stuff is done. I need to get over that as once M's birthday is done, I only have a little over 2 weeks until Christmas.

Our first Christmas event was with the twin group. We had a great family holiday party. I was busy with kids, crafts, food and santa so I didn't need to worry about any weird or disconnected feelings I usually have with this group. The kids had a good time and even got to sit on Santa's lap. I don't have those pictures yet, as M fought Santa hard, so I had to help hold him down while a friend snapped a few shots. I look forward to seeing them.
The kids debuted their Christmas PJ's - and yes, my children are the only ones in PJ's but there is just something about a Santa picture with PJ's.
And just including this picture because, although blurry, shows K's beautiful blue eyes :)

Time for Pictures

Today was our yearly Christmas Photos. This is a very stressful time for me. It always is. I worry so much about outfits, picture quality and children cooperation. I really don't know why I put myself through so much. I either need to stop getting professional pictures and just take some candids, or I need to learn to let go and realize that they will turn out the way they will turn out.

Picture I took on the way out the door :) I love the way S is sitting.

I tried a new photographer who I wasn't really impressed with. I have seen some of her work which was really good, but in retrospect it was always with one child. Not three. She seemed to be lost with three subjects and didn't seem to know what to do with M's energy. I still haven't seen them, so I hope I have a few good ones in the batch.

Because I wasn't overly confident in her getting a good shot, I took some when we got home too. They started okay, but by the end we were all stressed out and done. Thank god these are done for another year.

Yep M, that's how we all feel

Trunk or Treat Number Two

Later in the afternoon we went to the local mom group's event. It had turned from a cold, but warm day, to a cold and windy day. Everyone was very cold, expect for M, and didn't have much stamina.

This time M was a seasoned expert. He threw on that costume, grabbed his bucket and went to work. He tried once again to hit up cars more than once but this time could contain his excitement enough to actually hand out candy to other children. K and M had much more stamina than S, who made a beeline for the car once he had all his loot.

Trunk or Treat Number One

Our first Halloween Event this year was with the twin group. The kids had a great time dressing up, playing games and going trunk to trunk getting candy and other goodies. Initially S was going to be some transformer, but decided to go as his favorite thing - a dinosaur. K went as a superhero girl and M was a super cute shark.

It was so cute to see M in his first 'real' Halloween. At first he didn't want to get the costume on. He fought and fussed and wanted nothing to do with the whole event. He was quite the grumpy gus. When we went out to trunk or treat he didn't want to hold his bucket or follow his brother or sister. But the most amazing thing happened after the second or third car dumped candy into his bucket...he turned into a trick or treat machine! He LOVED it. He ran from car to car saying "chickacheet". When he was done, he went back for more. It was hilarious to see the concept 'click' in his head and the resulting fun. This is what makes parenting an amazing experience. Seeing your child discover the simplicity of life and how wonderful walking from car to car getting sugared goodies can be.

I included this picture because it makes me giggle every time I see it. This is M's 'smile' for the camera. I have to catch him in natural poses, otherwise this is the face I get in every picture.

Slack A$$ Mom

I have been so slack lately and haven't gotten anything for Halloween done! Usually I am way more on the ball then this. I am the one with the moldy pumpkins on Halloween because we carved them October 1st!

Finally today we got to carving the pumpkin. The twins scooped out the 'guts' and helped with carving a little. S did great and had fun, but near the end K started to get whiny and was sent to her room, where she quickly fell asleep.

So...work the next two days and then a weekend full of Halloween fun! I will get the costumes tomorrow - a friend is making them - and then the only thing left to do is decorate the trunk of the van on Saturday morning.

Easter at Grandma's!

We spent today at Grandma & Grandpa's to celebrate Easter and Ya-ya's 20th birthday. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a great time playing outside in the yard, jumping on their inflatable and helping Grandma plant some flowers. We spent the whole day. Had a great lunch, leftovers for dinner and then a long drive home. It was a great day!

Merry Christmas!!

Today was a great day spent with family, including my three wonderful blessings. Although M decided to stay up for several hours during the night, and the twins woke up bright and early, the day went very well.

S received many Imaginext items with Dragons and Dinosaurs and LOVED them. Right now he is so into imaginary play and has already spent a few hours today playing with his new sets.

K got a Karaoke Machine and some pop CD's. She loved singing along to her favorite songs first thing this morning. She also got some Zhu Zhu pets and a Starter City which took all my energy and money to find, and while she enjoys them, they are definitely not the highlight of her day.

M spent the whole morning sleeping and barely making a peep. Since he is so little, a right now need absolutely nothing, I didn't get him anything for Christmas this year. He did get an outfit and an ornament from family though.

Tomorrow life with return to 'normal' and we can start to get into a better routine. My parents will be leaving soon and the four of us now need to figure out how to function day to day.

Day Four - Our Final Day

On our last day, I tried to spend as much time as I could with my grandma. She wanted to take the kids to a Children's Museum in the area. The kids had a good time. It is significantly smaller than the one here, but it's definitely cute. My grandma and N had fun chasing the twins around the museum and playing with them. After playing at the museum we had lunch at Applebees. By then the kids were getting cranky. We were able to squeeze in a nap before heading back to my grandparents for a spaghetti dinner. It was a wonderful way to end a good vacation.


I do have to add that by this day the twins I think had had enough. They were definitely more whiny and tired. Both kept asking to go home to mommy's house. As stressful as travel can be on adults, I imagine it's more difficult for toddlers. Staying up late, interrupted naps, eating out and meeting new people every day. Overall the twins did amazing and I really can't complain. Although I had a great time, it was very tiring and I was glad to be heading home, although not via the 12+ hours of driving I had in front of me.

Day Three

On the third day I snuck out before anyone, including the twins, woke up and did some after Christmas shopping. I didn't spend too much, except for in the Hallmark store with those drasted ornaments! Once we got home I took the kids to the beach. You can't go to Florida and not visit the beach!

S LOVED the beach. He thought the water was great and enjoyed getting dirty in the sand. He kept yelling at me to bring him further into the water, which I was not about to do. He had a blast playing along the shore letting the waves get him. K did not like the water at all. It was too loud and the water kept "trying to get her". Someone had dug a hole in the beach creating what looked like a little kiddie pool along the shore, so K decided that was her best bet. She sat in the hole playing in the water and sand. Since visiting the beach, S has asked non-stop when we will be going back.

We were able to get home in time for a nap and that night me, my sister, cousin K and aunt S went out to dinner while my grandma and N babysat. We went to Outback - which was my first time! I had a great time. On the way home we rented Wanted and House Bunny. Neither movie impressed me too much, but they were entertaining.

Day Two - Christmas

On Christmas Day we spent the morning low key. My sister and I went back to the pool with the twins in the morning. We then went to my Aunt L's to visit her. She is kinda the family misfit and doesn't come to any family events. It's kind of sad because she only lives a few miles from my grandparents and aunt, but never sees them. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from that visit.
That night was our big Christmas dinner with family. It was really nice to get together with so many cousins. My grandparents got the twins two small things that they could open and of course that made their day! We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, veggie dinner. K of course ate nothing but turkey and S sampled a little of everything.

Again that night we all went back to Aunt S and played games and hung out. We always went here because my grandparents have this thing about being in bed by 8:30 :). It was better though because the twins could definitely let loose at my aunts house while at my grandparents I was always telling them not to do stuff.