Change In Plans

You've all seen the idea of four gifts floating around the interwebs. I've always liked it. We do small and simple for Christmas, so it's not all that different from our norm. This year I decided to embrace it. Easy enough, right?

We explained to the ladies the concept, and that it mimics what we were already doing. We also assured them that would be visiting family at Christmas too [read: you'll have plenty of craps]. Walking through each of the items the girls understood and were happy to offer an idea or two. That was until we reached need.

They didn't quite grasp the idea of need. Husband and I tried to explain it. He likened it to needing new pants, something that has happened recently thanks to growth spurts. They assured us they had all the clothes they needed, and that clothes fell under something you wear. Sigh.
We are fortunate, very fortunate, to not have our children know true need. They understand that other children aren't so lucky. They can list needs, and understand that theirs are met, but I'm still not sure they totally grasp the idea. I'm going to call that a win!

So to better fit our needs, we will scrap need. We are fortunate to be a family without need. Instead I am going to sub in something to share. Something we can share with our sister, family, or friends. Fits nicely with the season and with how I hope to raise these wonderful ladies.

So what are you Christmas plans?

It's now the end of November and I have only half a list complied for our Acts of Kindness calendar. Yikes!

A Way With Words

She silently slipped away, up to her room. I went about cleaning up the pieces. A few moments later her sister appears to announce that the offender is upstairs, crying.

I rather loudly announced that perhaps it would be a good idea for the teary-eyed child to come discuss her tears with me and continued to tidy. Her decision to hide behind the sofa hadn't been her wisest. An unfortunate consequence of this endeavor was the falling of the curtains. Had it only have been the curtain rod this would not have been such a hoopla, but in her stumble my little ballerina managed to bend the bracket that holds the rod AND rip it out of the 100 year old plaster wall. Of course these are details that only interest me and while I successfully held my tone, I'm sure my body language accurately reflected my true feelings. 

So the little person appears, wrapped in a blanket with red eyes. She says she's upset because she believes I'm mad. I gently inform her that she is correct. Then the tears start and out comes: 

I don't belong here because I make everything worse. 

I think my heart stopped. She certainly has a way with words! It was about that time that I got teary-eyed and we had ourselves a nice heart to heart. I built that sweet child up with every piece of wonderful she possesses. Mistakes help us grow and no one is immune. I believe she walked away knowing she was desperately wanted and truly belongs here and no where else. 

So as I sit here listening to the shower shenanigans of two little ladies I have this new hidden fear in the pit of my stomach. Do you really think I would disown you over a curtain rod ever?

Out of the mouths of babes. 

Daily Life

While stuck home with a sick little lady for the second day in as many weeks I started sorting through the ladies' bedroom. 

Wow!

It used to be an in-and-out process. Tidy, sort, and on to the next. Now they have So. Much. Stuff. It's not that they have all that many items, it's just that the items are so much more complex. The puzzles went from 24 to 250 pieces. We no longer have a few books, we have a few book series. We don't have a doll, we have a doll and care set. We don't have blocks, we have leg.os and magna tiles. Everything has pieces and parts. They have to be separated, sorted, and properly stored. 

So. Much. Stuff. 

So I was excited to come across the family books I made the ladies when they were 3-ish. It was a pleasant reminder of simpler times. 

But whoa! Who are those kids?! 

What happened to us??

On To The Next

Now that halloween is over...

Obligatory picture

Mother Nature and Merlin the wizard are already moving on to the upcoming holiday, and not thanksgiving. To be honest, so am I. It's hard not to when Christmas advertising and displays now roll out before halloween. Gah!

So here I am struggling with Christmas already. I like to keep things simple and small. I am also at a loss. The older they get the more we seem to stray from or rebel against the generally accepted and popular gifts kids this age get. 

Then this popped up.

Mother Nature's favorite instrument. 

It is a state of disrepair, and has been for some time. Both of the ends have come off. It is scratched up, wobbly, and has been beaten to death. But she loves it. So much so that she has asked for another!

A quick amazon search has turned up some better options, although less colorful, so I think I have bagged a smile for Christmas already! Now if only I could find out what to wow a wizard with!

Cookie Time!

I have been searching and patiently waiting for things to align. My old girl scout troop is always accepting members and as eager as I was to sign them up, we could never make it home for the meeting time. I looked up troops where the ladies attend school and it wasn't looking promising. I had pretty much given up thinking we would start a little later. My friend, who also runs troops, tried to have me start the girls in a home girl scout program and I just didn't see the point. Girl Scouts is about community and building things together.

Shameless plug

Then suddenly neighbor lady brought up a new troop not far from where the ladies go to school. JACKPOT! They meet once a month, even better since we won't be away from that much more! So now I find myself a mother of pink & purple loving, dancing, girl scouts. How on earth did this happen? My babies! I can't wait for lacrosse season, I need something a little more active! In two years I'm hoping I can slip them into a hockey team!! More dots for my calendar. But for now I will dutifully hock cookies and hope that the real-ballerinas-don't-wear-underwear rumor stays away from my house.

Lady E

This month was a lesson in celebrating and being supportive. Miss E was chosen as a Terrific Kid for exemplifying the value of the month. This was the first official instance in which one twin was chosen over another; that things weren't equal and fair. Since they share the same class, poor C was absolutely baffled. The left out party came home in tears, thinking less of herself. E came bounding into the car absolutely giddy. To make matters worse, E was to partake in a special assembly honoring the chosen children in which NO OTHER CHILDREN could attend. 

Yes, we will celebrate one child. Yes, that child will receive something special. Yes, the other child will learn to be supportive and accepting. 

So proud!

Thankfully, after the initial grumblings, all went well. We had a few discussions about being supportive and encouraging. I even pushed the envelope and purchased a dress for the honoree. C got nothing, and C is my dress wearer. She didn't bat an eye and complimented her sister, before asking if she could borrow it once it's washed! I just might be getting the hang of this parenting thing! 

I should tell you that the school required a short speech. What exactly is a short speech for a first grader? I am proud to say that with a few guiding questions that this little lady was able to pull one off by herself. I helped her in a few spots, mostly explaining the word surroundings and why it was a better choice than the word world. I also tried my best to keep her sister at bay because she was more than eager to help! 

Now we're on to carefully trying to misplace the giant yellow bumper sticker that she so desperately wants to put on the van! 

Please tell me I'm not the only one opposed to the crazy school bumper stickers?!

I drive a minivan, am I obligated?

In The Last Month [Bullet Style}

...life has changed tremendously!

• I have become a schedule fiend! Doctors, dentists, in-law appointments, school functions, volunteering, dance, girl scouts, birthday parties, car appointments, dog appointments, and husband's activities. Soooo many dots on my calendar!!
• I no longer have babies. I have accepted and moved [as gracefully as possible] into the realm of big kids. What does this mean? See above bullet.
• As a family we have accumulated many new things this month. New glasses and a new front door are of particular importance, second to that is the new dog we are picking up soon.
• I though our new car, of the almost-paid-off variety, was konking out. Thankfully it's just horribly abused and eager for more, hooray for warranties!
• I've been slowly meandering my way through the house KonMari style! 

Five bullets to say we are alive, well, and very busy!

By The Numbers: Clothes

28 tops

23 bottoms

8 sweaters & hoodies

3 dresses 

Too much? Too little?

This is the shake down of our fall wardrobe and the sum of this afternoon. There was an impromptu fashion show of trying on what remained of last season's wardrobe and gleefully parading around in the new picks for this year, sometimes half naked. Lots of conpliments were exchanged and a few nods of disapproval from this momma when it came to judging proper fit. Just how skinny are skinny jeans suppose to be for the elementary school crowd?! 

*appalled* 

Thankfully it was only one item that was  discarded before ever being worn. 

While I didn't mind this event taking three times as long with my models around, I still don't enjoy the tag and sticker removal process. I am glad to have gotten a head start this year and now everything is washed and ready to wear. I just need to keep the ladies out of it until fall decides to arrive! 

Do you slowly switch over your clothes or do it all in one fell swoop? If I didn't change out my clothes I would be in capris all year! 

My goal this year is to go all konmari on my clothes when I switch them over. There is entirely too much in my wardrobe that is not sparking joy into my life, as much as jeans and t-shirts are capable of doing so. So bring on the cooler weather! 

The Belated Gift

What warrants a thank you note?

Generally I would say that any birthday gift warrants a thank you. That thank you can be in the form of a note, text, video, cloud writing, or simple "Thanks" so long as it's delivered to the gifter. I'm lax on Christmas because that's a big family exchange and we generally don't have any other gifting occasions that I can think of. 

But lets say that someone gifts your children a belated birthday gift. Say it's 7 weeks past their birthday and this gifter would be considered immediate family. They also live very closer by but obviously didn't make time nor feel it important enough to deliver prior to the big group outing. 

What I am really asking here is what do you do with shitty grandparents?

Who sends a birthday text to a small child? Who can't make time to see their grandchildren or even inquire about them on a semi-regular basis? We live around the corner!

 

I had every intention of not accepting said gifts, of telling them their birthday had passed and I'm not raising children to expect gifts at every random outing with family. I'm also not bringing them up to expect gifts period so I certainly wasn't going to bring them over unannounced on their birthday. However these gifts were thrust into my childrens' hands quite literally behind my back. *grumble* 

More importantly, what do I say when these same sweet children ask why their grandparents don't see them anymore? I stumbled and told them they would have to ask, maybe write a letter. 

I'm choosing to revel in the fact that they have another set of wonderful grandparents who love and cherish them. Grandparents who know them and spend time with them. That is enough to sustain both them and me. I just need to find a way to distance myself from the bad ones. 

Does anyone else have bad grandparents? 

Maybe I'm focusing on this too much but I don't feel it's my job to cultivate this relationship. I'm trying not to steer it in any direction in particular, but I also want my ladies to know that it's ok to walk away from people who don't value you. Perhaps they're just kids and I should worry more about something more benign.

Back To School

I can't believe these ladies are starting their THIRD week of school! Where has the time gone? First grade?! Geeeze!

I will openly admit that I have now started each school year with reservations. I know all parents worry, but I seem to get jipped in the teacher department. Last year we had a chronically absent teacher. This year I was very nervous after my initial meeting with our teacher. I have come to accept that our school isn't very welcoming to parental involvement in the classroom. That is to say they call for volunteers, but limit them to the PTA. They want help with events, fundraising, and making school fun but the classroom is hands off. This bothers me but I am a one-woman army set to disrupt the school to make myself happy. Most parents I've spoken with are not in the least upset or even phased. This all feels very foreign. 

After meeting with their teacher on back-to-school night I was more settled. She is open to communications, is experienced, and seems to be on top of her game. She seems overwhelmed by the start of school and at having a classroom full of little people but I think she'll get them exactly where she wants them. I'm leery of them only have 20 minutes of recess, they're 6, and of that 20 minute recess being cut short. I'm again concerned that the girls will be bored and unchallenged; something their kindergarten teacher almost assured us of. I'm also not sure of how to address this. The last thing I want to do is to walk into a meeting with a laundry list of complaints and not have any solutions to offer. I'm struggling to find things I like about school, other than the socialization and my freedom to spends hours in target! I'm giving her a month before I start assaulting her inbox. My current complain, homework. It's just not necessary.  

Oh look, schools are closing early today for heat. Better go work on catching up on PL, I've given myself a week to catch up on the last 4 months! 

And a quick comparison before I go!

Back to School

Already!?

I am so not ready!

I do have a box of supplies sitting around, waiting to separate and organized. Lunch boxes and book bags are ready to be packed. I think we even have some clothes that will pass inspection for first day worthy.

It's the last weekend of summer and I am not ready to hand off my ladies on Monday morning. I want to continue our treks and adventures. Monday will be almost 90* and a perfect pool day! More pressing though is the issues I having with school. School shouldn't feel wrong and it does for me. But is it my feelings that should matter?

At our meet and greet yesterday I started chatting with the teacher and said I would like to volunteer in her class, 2-3 times a week, and inquired when we could work out the details. Apparently they shy away from parent volunteers in first grade, and she hasn't really used them in the past. If that were to change she would let me know. She brushed me off to the PTA. Color me shocked! A little sad and disappointed too. Most of all I am really unsettled by this whole interaction. So much so I pretty much shut down and we left. Maybe I am just not ready to let go and this is all my issue. I have no desire to run fundraisers and sort Market Day Teacher Lady, thats why I came to you to offer my assistance. I'm really unsure of how to proceed.

Either way, the show is continuing as planned for now. So as a nice distraction I put together menu plans for the ladies. They are now responsible for meal planning!

I'm sure we will have the same meals every week, so I will have to make a master list for them to reference. I also think I am putting to much faith in this little sheet of paper. It won't completely solve the daily dinner debacle, but it will hopefully help!

Although I guess I could handle it with all my free time now. :/

Hope everyone else's school year is off to a great start!

SIX YEARS And One Week

I can't believe the ladies have been 6 for over a week now! 

SIX!

I have so much to write about but today I'm happy be writing of success. Success in parenting, or torture had you come in on the end of this endeavor. 

Yes dear children, you will write a note to every. single. person. You will do it with a smile on your face. And because you are now SIX and capable of reading and thinking, you will be doing this independently! 

Bwhahaha! This is winning! This is raising gracious and grateful children. This is my personal attempt to make the world a better place. 

Yes Mom

No, you can't have a tree house. 

We don't have any trees!

Fear not! We can still build!!

You will help me build, but I will most definitely start those nails and spare my fingers! 

Awesome shapes!

Welcome to the land of the short mommy. 

Or at least this the end of 5 and the beginning of a new play space. You can hang out at all hours, taking cover from the sun or drying off from the pool. Thus far it's been a store, restaurant, tent, and house. I'm sad our solar lights didn't work, but I'm working with am.azon.  

Tonight they'd like to eat dinner out there.  I might actually get to speak to my husband, over dinner, about something meaningful! I love this little hut. It's open ended, not permanent, and was done on the cheap with little output. It had also motivated me to hack down the ivy [AGAIN] and paint the neighbor's garage. Yay for oops paint! $9 gallon to the rescue!! The back corner of the yard might not be to icky anymore! 

So hooray for sweat equity, using scrap material, and being a yes mom! 

July 4th, 2015

The fourth of July was rather low-key this year. Happy Independence Day! We made our way to the fair the day before, spending entirely too much money for a small town fair. The ladies had a great time on the rides and we added another fish to our tank, Oriole. The following morning was full of excitement waiting for the parade. One pup was thrilled to accompany us. 

K's first parade.

Thankfully it wasn't hot, although we did catch some drizzle at the end. 

Luckily the rain cleared out and we were able to go to the fireworks.

I'm a little in love with this picture. 

The ladies kept themselves busy waiting for sundown. They have a new fondness for batting and surprisingly have some eye-hand coordination! Softball next year anyone?? There were bubbles, snacks, and glow sticks to also help pass the time. The ladies were eager to remind us that chocolate covered treats are now expected for the fireworks. "It's a tradition!"

Sadly our evening ended with a fatality.

My shoes! My only shoes! 

The shoes that give me horrific tan lines every year.

The shoes that have been perfectly molded to my feet over these last 6 years.

The shoes that take me hiking and to the beach.

So after a few tears, and FOUR difference stores over two days I have found a suitable replacement. Fear not, the tan lines will remain. HA!

SBL: Hiking

I cannot stress how excited I am that there is no school. I love having these ladies home. Whether we are out and about or just playing in the pool out back, I absolutely love having them with us. I feel like school robs us! So to keep up with our SBL we finally found some nice weather to go for a hike. 

Crying pictures at every age. HA!

Despite this picture I assure you the trail was clear and easy, the weather not hot and humid, and the general mood was pretty awesome. Some of us just constantly clamor for food. Geeze!

We're fortunate to have many state parks near us to explore, and if I had my way we would explore them all. We can always count on coming to water, and water can encourage even the most obstinate child to soldier on. 

Waterfalls!

So worth hauling the big camera along! I even remember to slow it down and catch some magical falls.

Love these ladies!

SBL: The Zoo

Today was scratched the first thing off our summer bucket list. Yay! I'm sure it won't be our only visit to a zoo, but it was smooth start to summer. 

The ladies are quite familiar with our zoo, so we journaled for a bit this morning before we left. One of our ladies was adamant we see the new flamingos. 

Done. We also chatted with chimps:

Look! No screaming Bear! She has definitely become much more fearless and outgoing. I love it!

We had a nice time. For once it wasn't hot or crowded! Amazing! There was minimal whining and I don't think I heard any conplaints. Win!

I will say that I've noticed they're always hungry. Always! Is it the age? I don't know how we will feed them when they're teens!

On to our next adventure!

It's Finally Here

Hello summer time!! Welcome back!

We've missed you so!!

We ended last week with some:

And then we immediately move onto pool time. All pool, all the time!

This bad boy is posted in the kitchen to put my mind at ease. The days can be long and hot and full if whine without something planned. 

Soon we will be ticking some things off of here:

But for tonight we are journaling during the storm and drafting plans for a playhouse. 😳

Once again, welcome back summer!

Count Down

I. Am. Finished. 

I'm over this school year and it's only our first! Yikes! I'm sure everyone is slightly burnt out at the end of the school year but I didn't think I'd be dragging quite so much. It doesn't help that every other county in the free world has already called it a day. 

With four days left of the year, two of them being half days, I had prepared myself to bribe my children NOT to go to school. This week is merely free babysitting and I would rather be doing something fun (read: swimming). However their beloved teacher has scheduled their birthdays, separately, for the last two days of school. 

Oh. Mah. Gawd. 

My not-so-favorite teacher strikes again. Perhaps I should have mentioned how excited I was to never have to deal with school parties on account of the ladies having summer birthdays?! Separate days?! Double the fun?!

Nothing says good morning like icing cupcakes while making breakfast. Gah. Why I took the time to neatly icing them is beyond me, the icing was starting to melt walking from the car to the building. 

The second child has requested store bought "big" chocolate chip cookies. I might have a favorite child. 

All of this brings me to the end of the year. I feel obligated to send in a gift. I token of my appreciation for watching and nurturing and teaching my children. Emphasis on the feeling of obligation. She doesn't make my heart go pitter-patter and the ladies are of no help. I want to send the nurse a thank-you, one of my little ladies took complete and total advantage of her generosity with the band aids and ice packs this year. The teacher, whom my children just think the world of, has me stumped. So feel free to spam me with last minute ideas! 

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off I bemoan the delayed start of summer vacation some more. 

Last Monday

Kindergarten conferences were last Monday; hooray for no school!

We opted to skip conference time and head out into the world. Oh how I miss exploring with these precious babes! I value this much more than 15 minutes with the teacher.

The ladies had fun climbing the rocks and were happy to reach the bottom of the dam. Thing were getting dicey navigating horse poop and narrow pathways.

Someone recently discovered that she cannot walk on water! The horror! 

They would have swam if we weren't around to stop them. 

Despite being a relatively short trip, and giving them time to explore and play, they were still super whiney. School has soften them far more than I anticipated. The start of our summer will be rough as we work to toughen them back up. I've already purchased little packs for them to hike with. They can carry their own water and lunches! I have high hopes to spend lots of time outside this summer!!

The Weekend

What a splendid thing! A weekend!!

I took a week vacation to have a weekend to myself. Literally every plan we initially made has fallen through so we found ourself looking for a hike. Nature never disappoints!

The ladies brought some "explorer stuff" to help them out. 

Our first trail was a bust because covered bridge was naked and under repair. 

The ladies begged for a family picture! I certainly couldn't pass that up!!

Our second hike proved more entertaining for everyone.

Water babies.

"It's golden!"

Rainbow rocks. 

The picture I didn't take: the one where I ran down the river after a float-a-way shoe. 

Lastly, sometimes the timer isn't quite long enough. It's definitely good for a laugh though!

I think I need more weekend in my life.

:)

Mother's Day

A wonderful Mother's Day momento, I think if I continue this one more year it will officially be a tradition. If you lean in closely to your screens you can smell the sweaty, playground goodness emanating from the ladies! HA!

Beginning of the End

I've been dreading this day:

The first wiggly tooth 

How gross! I cringe with every bit of me. If my children never lost their sweet, perfectly aligned baby teeth I would be he happiest mother ever! After you pass the gross wiggling you're left with the awkward growing in phase. These nubby teeth erupt and will take the next 6 years to finish falling out and growing in. More wiggling and more holes. Ahhhhh. 

What's worse is that they now have expectations for this disgusting phenomenon! Thank you mother. She with her pillow, in addition to tales traded at school, have left the ladies eager for this nonsense. More than once I've had to talk down this tooth fairy business. I never wanted to go down this path but now that I'm here I refuse to keep up with the Joneses! We keep things simple here. 

So what is the going rate for teeth??

Hopeful dear Miss C doesn't spend her day wiggling and prying this tooth out. We have ballet pictures Saturday!! Save me this one last set of over priced pictures!!

Happy Mini Christmas

Errr, I mean Easter.

Easter, like all holidays, is typically not a big deal in our home. I am generally against the spoiling of the children and refuse to by crap for the sake of looking better. That being said, I started picking up a few things here and there last month. As I was piecing together the baskets last night, I realized I did a bit too much picking up. Sigh.

Mini-Christmas

To be fair, and justify my actions to myself, nearly everything they received are things they needed and were going to get anyhow. Dresses, pajamas, socks, and underwear. The candy they received will generally be placed in their lunches. While they didn't need new side walk chalk, Spring is here and last years been was left out in the snow all winter -- ew! That leaves a small craft and three actual gifts; a set of blank books and markers for the author/illustrator, a space book and planetarium kit, and a CD. 

I suspect this CD will cause squeals, and I might stab my ears if I'm forced to listen to it on repeat for days on end. It's the first popular CD they've asked for. They're developing, in my opinion not the most stellar, musical tastes. Thankfully anything goes in this house! Incase you're dying to know, it's Taylor Swift. *Cringe* I now know all the words to Blank Space, ugh. Thank you Mr. C! Who knew gym class offered so much musical exposure. 

The ladies are currently awake in the room, reading to each other. I'm waiting for husband to stir. Pancakes are planned for breakfast and then off to beach for the day! 

Hope everyone has a fantastic Easter!   

Tag!

Pllllllllease don't let me be it!

We're on day 11 of this game and I'm quite over it. Finished. KA-put! NO MORE PLEASE!

The ladies have been playing tag with a tummy virus. Reason #43785 I prefer to not interact with other people. I really was ok with the sickness, with them catching and bringing the yuk home. I didn't mind the clean up and I loved the extra snuggles. 

That love was a one time use coupon. Days upon days of the bodily fluid show really drains a person. Even the dog went down! I no longer care to hear about your belly hurting or the status of your scat. I want you better. I want you eating. I want a day without interruptions and I'd really like to not be on a first name basis with the school nurse. I've heard her joke about twins doing everything together and it wasn't funny either time. 

So please, whatever may be controlling life as we know it, enough already. Healthy children, 70 & sunny is all I'm asking for! I think I am making some headway on both fronts!