Thoughts of Snow

Everyone,

Today it seemed that I just couldn't get warm. I took a nice hot shower so long that the hot water ran out. Then I was back to shivering and cold because when the hot water is gone. It's GONE. No warning. Hot to cold in a flash.

(Side note. While I was in the shower I got a message from my friend Lolli. It was a very short message and I thought it was because my message machine was full. I had 12 messages on it...I figured I better do something about that. But when I called Lolli back, she said that she had a great conversation with one of my boys. Possibly both. Apparently they are big enough to get the phone, hit talk, and then, actually talk. I'm just glad it was Lolli and not 9-1-1.)

I finally warmed up after a few glasses of hot chocolate and going out in the sun to stand for awhile. While I was standing there, I got to thinking how I used to not mind the cold so much.

Did you know that I used to camp in the winter all the time? Did you know that I've actually spent a few nights in a tent when it was snowing?

The summer I was 18 turning 19, I worked at a Girl Scout camp as one of their horseback riding instructors. That was 10 weeks I lived in a tent. I didn't love every minute of it. The squirrels were bad and used to eat our stuff. The work was hard, the ticks were bad that year, but I loved it. I loved riding every day. I loved being outside all the time. I wish I could have done it the next year too but I got married instead.

Once the summer program was done and the horses were sent to their pasture for the winter, I stayed on as a regular camp councilor. This meant I spent weekends up at the camp helping various troops do various badges. I did a little of everything that year. I cooked, I counseled, I signed books, I sang songs, I made fires. One thing that I did all the time (probably because no one else wanted to) was do the winter camps. I loved these things. We stayed in the lodge one night, cross country skied and sledded down the stable hill the next day, set up a big tent and tried to sleep in it the next night. There was only one weekend that we didn't make it. The wind was so bad that the tent kept blowing down. We went back to the lodge and slept by the fire place in all of our clothes trying to get warm. I think it snowed over a foot that night and we had to be dug out by the maintenance guy and then make it down the canyon in one piece.

I think I've got the time line wrong but I did go winter camping with a bunch of my camp friends while I was in Idaho. There were 8 of us just going out for the weekend to camp and get away from school. We had 3 tents between us and had a great time diving to the Tetons. We stopped in some little tiny campsite next to a small river. It was not snowing when we got there. It started sometime in the night while we were hanging around the campfire. We went into our tents to get out of the wet. I was in a tent with my friend Hobbs (her camp name, I can't remember her real name) and we were laughing so hard we were crying. Then we were laughing about the fact that our tears were freezing. One of the other tents fell down so we invited the girls to come in to our tent. About 2am I heard the 4 girls in the other tent talking about how cold it was and they decided to come and join us too. This was a 4 man tent, at best. In the morning, we had all 8 of us in the tent and it was pretty warm. Until we opened the door to the tent and realized that we had been iced on. The wall to the tent had frozen solid and fell to the ground like a draw bridge. One of the girls had a thermometer that read -15 degrees. We all did jumping jacks and danced around in the morning to get warm, and the decided to ditch the rest of the camping weekend and go home. That was an adventure!

The last time I've been camping in the snow was here. We were waiting in line for Easter Egg Roll tickets and it snowed on us. In April. By the White House. It was crazy.

Apparently I had a little more tolerance for the snow a few years ago. Still, I love the stuff and wish we lived in a place where is snowed more. We did have some freezing rain last night that turned to slush around midnight and melted all the snow we got last weekend. Maybe we'll get another batch before Christmas?

Safire

Snippits Today

Everyone,

We ran to the post office and the store this morning.  Out of town Christmases are almost taken care of.  Just 2 more presents to send by Friday and I should be done!

I sent Butterfly outside to chip away at mound of snow the plow left in our front yard.  She thinks it's great fun and I get her out of the house for awhile.  One negative thing: she won't wear her coat so she keeps complaining of being cold.

We went to see Santa at the mall today for school.  What a fine education she is getting let me tell you!  :)  She refused to sit with him.  She was hanging on my legs so much that I couldn't move.  She made me sit with her.  Both boys did not scream but looked very very worried.  We also had lunch there.  Yum!

I discovered upon returning from the mall that the house was uncomfortably hot.  Someone *coughjuicecough* turned up the heat.  No wonder it's been hard to sleep the past few nights.

Speaking of Juice, he just came home and is now thwarting my plan to get Butterfly tired by breaking up the snow pile and throwing it really far for her to see.  I guess the snow would be gone tomorrow with the ice we're supposed to get tonight.

Both boys are now wandering out the house in their mittens and hats.  I guess I shouldn't send them outside too considering it's dark and they have no shoes on.

Safire

Dance Class Recital

Everyone,

Butterfly's little dance class had it's last class today. The year long classes have a big recital at the end of the year but Butterfly's class doesn't. The teacher invited the parents in to watch the class. It was TONS of fun. I loved watching Butterfly listening to the teacher and seeing her interact with her friends. She is, by far, the biggest kid in there. Poor awkward dear, she also has a lot of leg to deal with. Still, I think she has a great time and she looks so cute in her leotard.

They start out with some stretching and a little bit of warm up. Some jumping, some spinning, some skipping. Then they go into a few songs (called the can-can songs) that say things like jump up and down and turn around! Then they danced with their bean bags. Butterfly got a blue one (of course) and here she is! (She is the one with the dark pink tights and the braid.)



After the bean bag dance, they had a train that they did which was really cute. Then they did some ballet stuff, including twirling and first position.



They did some leaping after that. The teacher split the class in two and had each of the sections take turns to dance and watch. I thought they way she put it, "Learn to be a good audience!" was great. She even had them clap. The dancers had to bow. So cute.

Butterfly requested some freeze dance time and the teacher let them. Basically they ran around like crazy and tried to stop when the music stops. Her friend, Lou, is the blond girl with the pony tail and skirt. They make sure they are next to each other for everything!



I think she had so much fun with this class that we are probably going to sign up for the next round. Lou's parents were so sweet and brought Lou and Butterfly some flowers for their "recital". They will be in the next round of classes together too. It's fun to have a friend!

Safire

Sunday Pictures, take 13

Everyone,

So yesterday when we went out to play in the snow I couldn't find my little underwater camera.  I didn't want to take my big camera out because I didn't want to get it wet.  And there was some wet snow!  Plus I wanted a video of the kids sledding.  Didn't even get Butterfly sledding this year.  I hope there will be another opportunity.

When I finally found the cord and downloaded the pictures from yesterday, I got a few surprises!  Including a lovely video.  This is from when Pirate had his cast.  It was the night before we took it off (and then took him sledding for the first time!) and Juice is narrating.  I would show it to you but upon further review, I realize that he uses all of our real names on it.  I can't figure out how to edit it so sorry.  I'll leave you with this cute picture instead.

It's someone's very chocolatey hand.  Maybe from around my birthday?

This afternoon we spent making truffles.  They are so good and I've had way too many already.  Butterfly helped me roll the middles and then spent 20 minutes trying to lick the chocolate off her hands.  The boys begged for it so much and I'm afraid they were cross and cranky after they ate so much.  Oh well...it's only Christmas time once, right?

Safire

PS- The author of that twin book I'd like to read actually left a comment on my blog!  Or someone who is pretending to be her did.  Cool!!

So Much Fun!

Everyone,

Today was our first snowfall of the year. And we had some great snow too! Big, wet flakes and 3-4 inches total. This (sadly) is a major snow storm for Maryland. We took full advantage of it! It took me half an hour to find everyone's gloves, hats, coats, and boots. And then another 20 minutes or so to put everyone in their equipment. It reminds me of a book I've read several times called Mrs. Mike. In it, she bundles her kids to play outside in northern Canada. She does one at a time and then puts them outside so they won't get overheated. That's just what we did today and I thought of the book.

Butterfly was itching to get out and build a snowman. First, everyone was interested in helping Juice shovel the walk. That meant I actually had time to throw my boots and coat on too! Then we went right up to build a snowman. Juice made it so big we could barely get the snowballs on top of each other. Once our Frosty was up, we went looking for our sleds (and our friends who had just arrived to join us in the winter wonderland) and the older boys in the neighborhood had knocked down Frosty. Seriously, why?!

Good thing Butterfly didn't mind. Her BFF Vinny was there and anxious to sled. They went down a few times, the boys went down once and then it was time to go inside. We had been out for over an hour and I think the boys were cold. Butterfly did not want to go inside so she stayed out and helped Juice shovel the walk again. They apparently fixed the snowman during that time as well.

It takes a lot shorter time to take everything off the boys than it did to put on.

We had hot chocolate and spent the rest of the afternoon with friends. What a great day!

Safire

Book Interview

Everyone,

There has been a lot of talk in the twin world (and in the real world) about this book called, One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned About Everyone's Struggle to Be Singular by Abigail Pogrebin. I've read several articles on the book the past few days and heard her interviewed on the radio a few times. I really enjoyed this interview of her and her insights on being a twin. The first question really got me. Basically, we all know that twins want to be seen as individuals and their own separate person. The interviewer (who is a twin mom herself) asked HOW to do that.

I was fascinated by the response. Ms. Pogrebin gave a list of ideas to do that. 1- Have alone time with each twin. 2- Have separate gifts, birthdays, cakes, etc. 3- Don't buy into the twin gimmick all the time. 4- Listen to each twin, really listen. 5- Don't try to keep it the same all the time. Life is not fair and full of inequalities.

She goes on, in the interview, to talk about how she felt as if her parents had no idea who she was, or her sister. They were always together as kids. And because of that, they had a really hard time as they got older separating. But they also had a hard time being alone with their parents. I guess that makes sense. If you never are without the other, of course you learn to rely on that person.

I admit, I really do like the "twin gimmick" as she calls it. I love that my boys are twins. I love that they have each other and that we have them. I think cute matchy clothes are awesome. Even dressing them alike is fun. I don't know why...it's just a thing. However, I do realize that as they get older, this will not always be the case. I will not BE ABLE TO dress them the same. They will have their own opinions and their own wardrobes since their body types are nothing alike. However, while they are little and are letting me, I am going to enjoy it.

Everything else in her list? Let's look at them. I do insist on them having a separate birthday cake and singing to each boy. I guess we'll look at separate parties as they get older. Even if that is going to be harder. Having twins is harder than having a singleton. I know, I've done both. And just because they happen to share the same birthday and the same parents, doesn't mean they are the same person. They deserve their own present/seat/punishment/shirt, etc. There are clothes that only Pirate wears and ones that only Professor wears. They have their own shoes. They have their own coats. Their own car seats. And they definitely have their own personalities. They are unique.

The time alone with each twin is a tough one for me. It's hard for Butterfly to get alone time with one of us. I figure this will become easier as they get older. (Most things will become easier...right?!) This afternoon, however, Juice and I were able to spend almost 2 whole hours with Professor while his siblings were sleeping. I don't know why he didn't sleep as long, but it was fun to sit with him on the couch and eat crackers. He is one industrious little boy. He motors around to every thing and always brings me things to see and exclaim over. He is happy. He is sunny. With everyone else, however, he is often cross and sensitive. After dinner tonight, I was noticing that Professor will go find himself something to do and be quite happy with it. Pirate looks at Professor and takes whatever he has. No wonder the poor boy (Professor) is cross! He gets his toys taken away a lot.

Being a parent of anyone brings challenges, but I think being a parent of twins brings it's own special needs and challenges. I hope Juice and I are up for it. I think we're doing okay so far.

Safire

Yay He's Home!

Everyone,

Juice is back as of this evening. I'd love to say it's been all roses and flitting fairies, but sadly...no. After a very late dinner (we waited to eat with Daddy), he took the kids upstairs to start the bedtime process. Or so I thought. About 5 minutes later, I heard a thump, a wail, and lots of yelling from Juice. I wisely stayed out of it. There was a lot more sobbing because he apparently got Butterfly crying too.

Once he announced at the top of the stairs that it was bed time, I figured that was my cue to come up. He told me that Butterfly had turned off all the lights upstairs and Professor had walked off of our bed. That would explain the thump and the wailing.

Still, we are all happy to have him home once more.

Safire

Twitch Twitch

Everyone,

I am tired. Not, tired of doing everything, just really really tired. How do I know this? My eye lids twitch when I get really tired. Not only are my lids twitching, my cheeks and my eyebrows are too. I'm that tired.

Why so tired you ask? Today I took the kids to the PRC after a few short hours of sleep. Pirate has a cold and can't seem to lay down and suck his thumb. He does fine sucking it sitting up so I spent half the night propped up in my bed snuggled up to him. He was very happy in the morning to find himself in bed with me. It was also VERY early...about 6am. I kind of muddled through the morning and got to the PRC in time for some play. Of course, Pirate fell asleep before we got there and then only really wanted to be held. Or eat play dough. Still, we had a nice time and they all had great naps.

I did not nap (I should have) but I watched a movie.

After naps, I loaded everyone in the car to run some errands before my evening at the church. We stopped and got dinner (Butterfly's choice...chicken nuggets!) and made it too the church on time. Tonight my girls that I'm in charge of (8-11 year olds) had to pass of some memorization that we'd been doing all year. Depending on what they knew, they got to build a big ice cream sundae. They had a great time and so did I. Butterfly helped with the sprinkles. The boys cried every single time I even got close to leaving them. I don't think they are enjoying nursery. Poor guys.

Everyone was finally in bed by 9:30pm tonight and I should be there too. Good night!

Safire

Frazzled!

Everyone,

I love Juice's job. I just hate it when they send him away. Sure he's working and earning money and all that jazz but he's not up until almost midnight picking things up, then up with small children for HOURS in the night, then back up with them for the day and expected to function! He sleeps in a hotel. By himself. He eats every single meal out. He speaks to adults all day long and looks at cool toys. He comes home with swag. He gets to read his book for hours uninterrupted in the airplane.

Can I please have a business trip?!

Seriously, today was fine. We had school over here today so Butterfly had someone to play with. It's F week and Butterfly and AJ played "Go Fish" for over an hour. Awesome education they are getting, let me tell you! ;) They also colored firetrucks and fish. We read 3 F books, including one on Father Christmas. Then we had a very long question and answer session about Father Christmas and what he does and how parents are involved. Mostly I told them that parents are able to talk to Santa and let them know what the kids want. Butterfly really wanted to know if we stayed up to help Santa eat the doughnuts we leave him. I told her if we're not tired, we might. By the end of the talk, they were both wide eyed and talking about the toys they want. Butterfly informed me today that she wants a Rainbow Bright doll. Do they even make those anymore?

I have 2 more presents to buy for Christmas and then I am done. Things are traveling to people as we speak. There is no Rainbow Bright doll in there though. I think she'll hopefully be so happy with her presents that she won't remember. I can dream, right?!

Tonight's takeout for us was pizza. I could not convince Butterfly that we should have Chinese food. I was sad! I was also sad that Professor pulled the box off the table and dumped half the pizza on the floor. Soot pounced on some of it and ended up with 2 whole pieces...lucky dog.

I did have one crazy thing I did today. I'm enjoying getting some free rentals out of the DVD rental place here in town. I decided that I needed another movie to watch and took all 3 kids to the store at dinner time to get one. Mommy needs some pampering too. If it's a free movie that she can only keep for a day, so be it!

I ended up talking to my Mom for the evening which was nice! She has to pick out her vacations for next year by next week so I've got some deciding to do. Plus, I'm going to be an aunt again! Cappy is going to be a big brother! Yay!

Safire

Day 30...End of NaBloPoMo!

Everyone,

So how did everyone like my 30 days of posting? Do remember that I challenged myself to write every day of December too so you won't stop hearing from me yet!

Juice is in Chicago this week for his annual trip for some trade show. I get to get take out for a week while he's gone. Tonight was Mexican food. Yum! Of course, I seemed to be the only one that ate it...the boys and Butterfly only ate apple sauce and then threw the rest around the kitchen. Not my idea of fun!

I ran about 10 errands today. Some early in the morning after I dropped Juice off at the train station. Some during Butterfly's dance class. Some even after! It just seemed like I had a ton of little tiny things to do. Things that would have been easier without 3 little tag-a-longs. But we made it work. With a lot of bribing. My kids LOVE chocolate. I can get them to do anything with a promise of that stuff. Professor even knows how to say it.

Speaking of Professor, he is my little talker! He says several things now.
Shoes
Cracker
Mama
Chocolate
What's that?
Noodles
Socks
Snowman
Tree
Lights
Pretty
Dog
Woof
Kitty
Meow
Roar
oh no!
No
Block
Baby

Pirate, on the other hand, is still stuck with "uh-oh". He does now say, "uh-uh" when he wants to say no. But other than the few times he's said Daddy, nothing else. I think we always knew at first that Professor would be the talker and Pirate the thinker. For a long time I wondered if I had named them correctly. I wonder if other mothers of twins worry about that. Sometimes I think of how their lives might be different with different names. I don't regret the names they got, it's just something I think about.

Safire

Sunday Pictures, take 12---Proof!

Everyone,

Proof that my mom and I are suckers for these clothes. Who could not be though?! They are simply adorable!

Wish you were here to see them Mom. Butterfly wore her dress ALL DAY LONG and REFUSED to take it off. It was the neatest she's ever eaten anything in her entire life. She cried when she had to take it off for bed. The tears didn't last long because she was putting on her Christmas pajamas from my Mom! :) "Nana clothes are the best," she says. Having gotten a skirt from MY Nana this week, I'd have to agree.

Safire

Merry Christmas To You!

Everyone,

A virtual Christmas card.

Hope your Christmas is as happy and bright as ours!

Pirate, age 1. Butterfly, age 4. Professor, age 1.

For those of you who would like a real in the mail kind of Christmas card, (different picture included!) please leave a comment or email me.

Safire

Decorations!

Everyone,

Today was the day we pulled out the Christmas decorations! There aren't a lot, but it's enough to get me in the Christmas spirit. We didn't get everything all up but we'll do some more tomorrow. What we've put up: lights in the windows, the stockings, the Christmas card holder (with 2 cards from friends! Man they are on top of things.), and the tree. Still to put up: the little tree and the ornaments.

Juice was very good and pulled everything out of the attic, hurt and all. His hand was very swollen this morning. He went to bed early with a seized up neck. Poor guy.

We had the big tree unveiling with Butterfly this afternoon. She said, "Hello there! I missed you!" Juice and both laughed and she said, " I wasn't talking to you, Father. I was talking to the tree." This coming from the girl who used to say good night to the tree every day and prayed for it for months later.

Juice didn't want to pull all the branches down this year. I told him fine. We are not putting any ornaments on it so why bother making it look full? Now it looks like we have a really tall topiary in our living room though.

The boys were enchanted with it. Professor learned a few new words, "Lights! Tree! What's that?" (sounding more like "liiii! Teee! Wasat?" Pirate knew exactly where it was and kept breaking out into a fit of pointing and giggling every time he thought of it. He even played peekaboo with it around the corner. What can I say, we have an awesome tree.

Hopefully we'll finish up this weekend.

Safire

Thanksgiving 2009

Everyone,

A list of 20 things I am thankful for in no particular order:

1. A healthy body. These kids keep me running full tilt and I'm grateful I can keep up with them.

2. A healthy husband. Juice is my right hand, my partner in life, family, and love. Can't do anything without him! Plus, he spent this morning playing football with the guys in the ward and is limping around and I kind of miss having a big physical helper around. :)

3. Brown boxes from home! My parents sent (well, they left it with us) some things to start off our Christmas season. And my Nana, great lady that she is, sent us a box of fun little things.

4. Web cams and Internet. I was able to talk to my family this morning, and Juice is talking to his family now. I love being able to see the person and show them the kids and how big they've gotten! Although, Juice's family won't see the kids because they are sleeping.

5. Friends. We were able to spend the afternoon/evening with my good friend Lolli and her family. We had such a good time and such good food. Thanks Lolli!

6. Music. I love turning on music to suit my moods. I also really miss being able to play my instruments and think I should get out my violin more often.

7. Unlimited long distance. I love being able to call anyone I want any time I want. Awesome!

8. Juice's job. They have been very good to him and I'm so grateful he has stability in it.

9. Soot the puppy. What a cute dog we have. She does great with picking up all the spills and is very gentle with the kids. She plays with me, sits on my lap, has cute puppy dreams, and obeys me. It's great!

10. Family. We have the greatest kids. Our extended family is pretty great too! I love being an aunt, a sister, a daughter, a sister-in-law, a niece, and a granddaughter. I love how all these different titles tie me to different people.

11. Our house. It's tiny. It's often dirty. There are crayons and markers on the walls (thanks Professor) and we don't have a yard or a play room. Or a basement. But it's ours and it keeps us warm.

12. My church. I love knowing where I came from, who I am, and where my life is going. I love the peace that the gospel brings. I love having a relationship with my Heavenly Father.

13. Internet shopping. I really love to Internet shop. In fact, most of my Christmas is from my Internet shopping. I love that I get different points for shopping online and can get free stuff from it. Also, I love not having to take my kids into the store because that's a pain.

14. Cameras. I really like taking pictures. Even though I haven't taken a whole lot lately because my computer crashing because of my 12,000 plus pictures kind of killed my desire to put ANY more pictures on my computer. I still really like taking them. I love looking back on them and remembering how small the kids were, or how small I was!

15. Books. I love to read. I think it's the best kind of entertainment. I don't nearly have enough time to do it.

16. Movies. Sometimes it's nice to just veg out and watch something.

17. Bob the stroller. Seriously, I think I am doing so well with the whole twin thing because of this stroller. What an awesome piece of equipment. It hauls kids and stuff, is warm, easy to turn, and goes through sand amazingly well.

18. Chocolate covered raisins. Yum!

19. Hot hot showers and no water bill. Our HOA pays our water bill. I can take as long of showers and I have time/hot water. This is probably why the kids get into so much trouble while I shower.

20. Diapers. Enough said.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Safire

Check List

Everyone,

I stayed up late talking to my mom tonight for our weekly chat (hi mom! Great to talk to you!) so tonight's entry will be things I did today.

All four of us up, dressed, fed, and exercised. The kids love to do my exercises with me (and get in the way sometimes) and it's very cute. You should see them try and do push ups!

All four of us out at the mall exchanging too small pajamas for not too small pajamas. And seriously, for a children's store, the Ch*ildren's Pl*ace is really NOT stroller friendly.

All four of us out at Ikea on an errand for Daddy. He needed a new lamp. I go there to get the $8 lamp and leave minus $50. Why is that? Butterfly had a grand old time in the kid's play area and then we had lunch there. Yum!

All four of us drive home in horrible rush hour traffic. The kids napped...I did not. The kids were awake when we got home. I was tired. They refused to come inside. We ended up playing outside for over an hour. In this hour the following happened: Pirate made himself a mud puddle and promptly sat in it. I spent at least half of the time trying to wrangle both boys down the street to get the mail while Butterfly fought the remaining leaves off the tree out front. I finally managed to get everyone inside when the sun started to set. It was not without some tears.

All four of us rejoiced when Daddy came home. We had dinner, the kids had baths and then to bed. I braved the store for a few things for tomorrow and a free redbox movie rental. Now to find time to watch it!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!
Safire

What to Do?

Everyone,

Today Pirate had a rough time napping. I would hear him talking, then crying, then muffled crying (with his fingers in his mouth I'm assuming) and then silence. Then it would start all over again. I chalked it up to the fact that he is missing his blanket. It was in the wash. This is a blanket that his Auntie Lisa made him. I have a great picture of her with the blanket but it's lost in The Great Photo Disaster of 2009.

Both Butterfly and Professor also have blankets made by Auntie Lisa (who actually happens to be MY aunt, so the kids' great aunt) and they love them. Butterfly and Pirate especially. The blankets were hanging around my kitchen tonight to dry and Butterfly said, "That's my favorite blanket. The one I got in Utah. I really like that blanket. *sigh* It needs to be washed." Then she walked away dejected. I have tried for 3 days to wash these blankets. Every time I put them on the floor, I find them back in their beds courtesy of Pirate. Today he was laying on his blanket in the middle of the floor sucking his thumb and crying every time I tried to move him off of it. Then he sat next to the washer once it was in there. Tonight he kept pointing at the drying blanket and trying to take it up to his bed. Then when I put him in the bed, he kept pointing at his mattress and saying "uh-oh! uh-oh!" Poor kid.

Anyway, back to nap time. I chalked up his lack of sleeping to his blanket. But he shoved his hand in my face after nap and said, "uh-oh!" So I looked it over to see what he wanted. Did I mention that he sucks his thumb? A lot?

When I got to looking over his thumb it was all cracked and very tender. Poor kid!

Do you know anything I can do for a chapped thumb on a thumb sucker?

I don't want to put moisturizer on it because he puts it in his mouth. I don't want him to ingest anything bad. I don't want to stop him from sucking. But it looks painful. I don't want it to crack open and bleed. Maybe some oil or something?

Safire

Thrifty Shopping

Everyone,

Where else can I go with my good friend Lolli on a rainy Monday morning and come home with 2 horses, 2 electrical outlet covers, one book and 7 movies (2 of which haven't even been opened yet!) and spend less than 20 dollars?  Our favorite thrift store Unique of course!

Pretty basic day for me.  Seriously, I'm at a loss of what to write about today.  Juice's input is that I should make a list of some kind.  Of how many times I said no.  Okay...

I tried...I just can't get ALL of them down.  It's too many to say.  Butterfly had a rough morning, and Pirate had a rough evening.  Professor has been my sunshine for awhile now.  He's so cute with his big dimple and happy face.  Butterfly this morning didn't want to go to the store and Pirate had a fascination with the dog food this evening.  And the dog water.  And shoes.  Yeah...  He also go a time out for whipping Butterfly with a toy, and then another time out for getting out of the time out spot.  Poor kid.

Anyone have one of those cool meme things that were floating around last year?  Anyone?

Safire

Sunday...Different Plans

Everyone,

Today I had plans to share with you a picture off of my camera for Sunday Pictures.  I got out my camera, started to download the pictures and then started to tear my hair out.  My computer crashed AGAIN.  Seriously, I have crashed this mac twice in 3 ro 4 months.  NOT COOL.

So, no pictures for you today.  Sorry! 

All evening I spent trying to empty my trash, throw away all my downloaded stuff, and get the computer actually doing anything.  After taking 3 hours to get that done, I got the back up disk to start running.  So it's currently backing up over 1 million things on my computer.  That's right...my computer is full.  I now have the lovely task of deleting all my duplicate pictures (yes, still doing that!) and organizing them into months/years and putting them on my external hard drive.  If I have any room left after the over 1 million things.  Once I get them on that hard drive, I'm erasing them from my computer all together.  This makes me nervous because I don't want to loose them but I have to have the computer running!  (Currently I'm using Juice's computer to type this.  I am delaying some online game play with his family BUT he is doing the dishes so I call it a win/win situation.  :) )

So instead of pictures, I give you a question and answer:




The Multiples and More blog asks a question of the week and I thought I'd answer it this week.  The question is:

What do you do with your Thanksgiving leftovers?

It was an easy answer for me: make turkey puffs!  Now what are Turkey Puffs you ask?  They are Juice's favorite dinner.  This is the one we only have this time of year and he looks forward to it starting right after my birthday in September.  Want the recipe?  Okay!

Turkey Puffs
2 cups cooked and cut up turkey
1 block cream cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 green onions, chopped
2-3 packages of frozen cresent rolls
milk
dry stuffing

Prehead oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the cream cheese, the turkey, peper, and green onions.  (We leave the green onions out for a few for Butterfly.)  Open the cresent rolls and put a small spoonful on the roll.  Seal it up so it looks like a pillow.  Roll in milk then roll it in the stuffing.  (Again, we leave that part our for Butterfly).  Place on cookie sheet and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with leftover turkey gravy or cranberry sauce.  We prefer the cranberry sauce.

Last year I also made soup out of the turkey carcass in my crock pot.  It didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would.  I found it was bitter.  I may use the first part of the recipe here to make broth and then just use it in place of chicken broth in my regular cooking.

Otherwise the plan is for some turkey sandwiches and mini turkey dinners for Juice's lunch. 

This year, I got smart(er) and I am not making a big turkey for the 5 of us on Thanksgiving.  Juice leaves the Monday after Thanksgiving for a week and I'm always left with a huge pile of leftover food that I just won't eat throughout the week.  So we are saving our big turkey for sometime near Christmas and just making a turkey breast this year.  Besides, then I can make the Turkey Puffs for Juice!

Safire 

On Saturday...

Everyone,

I seem to always be really busy huh? And I don't know why the past few weeks have been really busy but they have. Next week I have nothing but Thanksgiving (more on that later) and it should be a quiet week.

But today was really busy. It started off this morning with my trip to the "share church" where I helped bag over 100 bags of meat and over 100 bags of veggies. This is so much fun for me. I look forward to doing it every month. This month I came home with a turkey, a bag of meat and a bag of veggies, and all the stuff to make a turkey dinner (green beans, stuffing, pies, etc) for only $45. Nice!

Juice and I spent the next half hour or so reorganizing our freezer so we could put all the food in. We are desperate for a big chest freezer I think since I keep jam packing the little one above our fridge. I am on a no freezer items ban until we can see light in our freezer again. Okay.

I spent about half an hour in the attic today looking for blanket sleepers for the boys. I know when Butterfly was little I used to buy her blue and yellow and green sleepers so I could hand them down to the next kid. Butterfly had some pretty cute clothes! I found all her newborn stuff and it's hard to imagine her being that small. I did also find the blanket sleepers and that is what the boys are wearing tonight for bed. Professor looks so cute and cuddly in his bright blue sleeper tonight. However, Pirate looks a little stretched. Could it be that he is TALLER than Butterfly was at this age?! It's late or I'd go look in my archives and find out. Either way, I'm going to have to go get more sleepers in a bigger size so he will actually be able to wear them all winter long. Sigh...I have twins that can't share clothes!!

While I was in the attic I did a quick look over of my Christmas pile and realized I'm going to have to spend time up there organizing it and figuring out exactly what I have. This is the problem of buying all year long...I forget what I buy! During this time the boys were sobbing at the ceiling because I was up there without them. Poor kids.

We also went to the store (no freezer stuff) and I got a free knife and a free juicer for answering questions at one of those sales tables in the $200 store. I am also a sucker and bought what he was selling. I'm excited about it too!

After a nice lunch of hot dogs, we ran to another store to get a few last minute things for Thanksgiving. Mostly I needed dried cherries and this store is the only place I know where to get them in town. I just happened to buy a few more things while I was there. Like sparkling blueberry juice. How tasty does that sound?!

Once everything was put away, naps were needed. Me included. I slept for almost 3 hours. So did the kids. I woke up with a splitting headache and it hasn't gone away all evening. Dinner, bath, bed. Then, silence. Ahhh...sleeping children!

I have just spent the evening going over my Christmas list and buying online the rest of what I know I needed to buy. I am almost all done. My goal is to finish this up coming week and get everything sent to Utah by the 10th of December. That should get it there on time for Christmas. Right Mom and her UPS friends?

Yet another busy and full day!

Safire

What Happened Today

Everyone,

We all had one DRY night. Last night, I told Butterfly that she could get a book at the used book store today if she was dry last night. This morning, she was so put out and grumpy that she declared she did not want to get a new book. EVER. Never ever ever!

Okay then. No book today.

How much do you want to bet that she will remember it in a few days at the most inconvenient time and demand that we go get the promised book that second. And then there will be another fit because I won't be able to.

Good times in my house let me tell you!

On a totally unrelated note, I do feel rather accomplished today. I cleaned my living room and vacuumed with my new vacuum! (Yay for early Christmas presents) I did two loads of dishes. I went to a doctor's appointment with just my book for company. (Thanks Juice! That's an awkward appointment to take kids to.) I even went out and saw a movie with my friend Lolli! I haven't seen a movie in about 6 months, and then we only go to the kid movies. Although this movie may as well have been a kid's movie. It was okay, but not great.

And now, I'm exhausted. Time for an early bed!

Safire

Title Goes Here

Everyone,

I am at a loss of what to say today. It was our normal crazy run around day. My van has been in the shop for minor things and so I spent the morning helping Juice move the car seats from his car back to my van. It's exciting to move those things, let me tell you!

We had a great time at the PRC with friends. The kids did paper hand turkeys (so so cute!) and Butterfly was great in circle time. The teacher even told me it was nice to have her during circle time because she felt like she was reaching one kid and that made her feel good. Butterfly is such a cute girl.

They all had super long naps today (3 hours for the boys and a hour for Butterfly). I also took a nap. I hate being sick.

Butterfly helped me make dinner tonight. We made creps. They were okay. I ran out of regular flour so we had to use my whole wheat flour and they were very dense. But good. She ate a ton.

Tonight, we will see if Butterfly will keep her bed dry in just panties! Wish us luck!

Safire

Christmas is Coming!

Everyone,

I've had a rash of bad luck with the boys lately. Monday, while I was taking my shower, they decided that all of my clothes in my drawers needed to be pulled out. Six big drawers were emptied of everything. When I opened my bathroom door to see what they were doing (after the shower, I am blissfully unaware in the shower) they were rolling in the clothes and laughing. It took me an hour to resort, fold and put away all those clothes.

Tuesday they decided that they were going to turn on all the electronics in my room. My tiny TV that I use to do my exercise videos on, my cd player, etc. They actually got a cd out of the player and have lost it. I've looked everywhere for it in all the normal places; drawers, boxes, bathtub. This prompted me to put the electronics on a power strip out of their sight so if I want to use those things, I just have to flip the switch. Plus, it might also save us a tiny bit on our electricity bill.

This morning they found Butterfly's markers and drew all along the bottom of my bed. My bed is in a big wooden box so they just drew on the wood. I was able to wipe it all off (thank goodness for magic erasers) but still!

To make it even worse, I did try to lock them in our extra room while I was in the shower but they somehow managed to get that door open before I even got into the tub. And then they wouldn't go near it after that. It's like they remember or something.

All of this daily destruction has really got me thinking. Christmas is coming. Christmas = tree. Tree = disaster! My house is tiny. I can't put it in the main room and block it off. There's not enough room TO block it off. And with what would I block it off with?! The couches they climb over, the chairs they get on, they are even starting to scale the toy cube thing I have.

I have ornaments from when I was a baby. We add to our ornament collection every year. You can't replace some of these! I would be heartbroken if my old ones broke. Juice and I and my Mom (who was on the phone at the time for our weekly call) had a good time brainstorming some ideas.

- different rooms to put the gated tree in...not very practical
- not putting up the tree at all this year...sad!
- putting up the tree but putting no ornaments on it...feasible.
- hanging the ornaments/lights from the ceiling
- making a cardboard tree
- putting the tree in another room
- renting a house and putting the tree there so we could visit it daily
- cutting down a tree limb and putting it in a bucket in our living room like poor sad Charlie Brown's tree
- doing an outside tree this year and not hanging up our yearly ornaments...still kind of sad.
- having a table top tree to hang this year's ornaments on and putting it up out of the boys' reach, hmm...best one yet!

I think what we finally decided on was to get a tiny tree to hang this year's ornaments on, and set up our big tree with lights and tinsel and nothing else. Also, I intend to tie it down somewhere. Bolt it to the wall or something. I love our tree. I can't imagine not having it out since it's older than I am. This will be it's 30th year.

I think it might be nice NOT to have to retire the tree this year because of certain someones in our house.

The ornaments will not have changed since last year. They will be the same next year. They are just going to get a year off. I think I'll either get a tiny wire tree or a potted tree for this year's ornaments. I'll probably have to put it on top of the refrigerator to keep it away from curious fingers. At least, hopefully, this will let me keep my sanity!

Safire

Haze is Coming

Everyone,

Today started off as a good day. We had school with AJ and Lolli, I made gingerbread cookies (it's G week around here) and we read a bunch of stories. We had lunch and naps for everyone and then...it hit. A cold. For me. Ugh. I hate being sick. I also hate knowing that soon everyone will be sporting this cold and I will have to deal with it.

I hate runny noses.

I hate how bad my kids feel.

I hate knowing that only time will make them feel better.

I hate the lack of sleep for them and me.

I hate not being able to breathe.

I hate colds. Period.

And since I have one, I'm going to go up to bed early in hopes that I might get some sleep tonight. I'm not feeling that hopeful.

Safire

Today's Conversation

Everyone,

In the car on the way to dance class:

"Mama, I don't like it when you call me that name."

"Uhhh....what name honey?!" I could not figure out what she was talking about. This declaration came after about 2 minutes of silence in the car while she was eating a snack.

"I know I am one but I don't want you or Daddy to call me that anymore."

"What honey? What are we calling you that you don't like."

"I don't like to say it but I will," big dramatic sigh, "a person." She said it in that toddler whisper that's not a whisper but more of a breathy way of saying something.

"You don't want me to call you a person?"

"Yeah, I don't like it. I know I am one, but I don't like it. I don't, I don't! I just don't!"

"Okay okay honey. Don't get so worked up about it. I won't call you that if you don't want me too. What can I call you?"

"Um...honey. Butterfly. Bolt." I thought of Flower and how she had to deal with watching Bolt the movie over and over and over the month she was here. (Miss you Flower! Come back and watch Mulan over and over with us!)

"What about a young lady. Can I call you that?"

"Nope."

"What about a little girl. Can I call you that?"

"Yeah, that's okay. And when I'm me, you can call me a human. But when I'm Bolt you can't call me a human because Bolt is a dog."

"How about Young Sister Maryland (insertlastnamehere)? They called you that at church on Sunday."

"Nah, that's just my Sunday name. But today is not Sunday! It's dance day!"

"What about my sweetheart, can I call you that?"

She got a very pleased smile on her face. "Yeah, that's the best name."

She really is the sweetest girl.

Safire

Super Star!

Everyone,

Today was Butterfly's talk in church.  She did so good!  She got nervous right before and started crying.  A few minutes out in the hall, a promise of an ice cream sandwich at home, and she walked right up there like a champ.  I think she was expecting to say her talk right away.  When she didn't, she kind of broke down again on stage.  Poor thing.  Stage fright is real!  But she calmed down, was able to sing with all the other kids and then did her talk.  Because I've had several people ask me, I'll write it down here.

My Daddy fixes things that break.  Sometimes he uses glue to stick two things together.  After he uses the glue, things stay together.  Going to the temple is like glue for familes.  This temple glue helps keep our families together forever.  The Bible says, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven (Matthew 16:19).  Being bound means sticking together like glue.  When my parents were married in the temple, they were stuck together by being sealed.  That special sealing means that my brothers and I are sealed to them too.  I am so glad I am sealed to my family.

While the take itself is very basic and easy (she's 4, it had to be!) her inflection was so good.  The primary president told me that she was the crowning jewel in their program and she seriously was.  She had it all memorized and only needed help with the bible verse.  She was clear, easy to understand, and had cute little ups and downs in her voice that really caught everyone's attention.  Seriously, everyone was quiet through her talk.  (Except for the boys...they could care less!  They were only mad that Juice left to go help her and wanted to go up there too!)

Everyone told her she did such a good job and talked about it in the other classes.  We had a visiting leader of our church there and she mentioned how wonderful her talk was and how special the little children are.  And they are.  Of course, it's hard to remember that when she's throwing a tantrum on the way home because she didn't want to go to church in the first place, but still.  She is wonderful.

Since she turned 4 and a half the other day, I thought I'd do a small update on her.  Like last year, it's in letter form.

Dear Butterfly,

You are changing so fast!  I love it and hate it at the same time.  I love that you are becoming a great little kid.  I love that you can climb all over the playground equipment at the park and I never worry about you.  I love that you recognize our street, Vinny's house, and a few other places by sight.  I love that you tell me that I have to go the speed limit in the car "Because it's good for you!"  But I hate leaving that baby behind.  Oh you still ask to be rocked in the rocking chair sometimes and you still are a great crier for every little tiny bump.  I just remember the first time you really smiled and I was so thrilled to see your deep dimples.  I'm so glad they have stayed since they will remind me of that moment every day.

You are so interested in friends these days.  Today at church, you sat in the hall with a friend from church who had an old cell phone to play with.  You sat next to him on the couch as close as you could, and laid your head on his shoulder to get a better look.  The two of you were giggling up a storm.  You turned and looked at me and told me he was your friend.  I'm so glad you have friends and that you want to have friends!

Your imagination has not slowed down.  In fact, I think it's picked up speed.  A few weeks ago, I showed you how I used to make a horse out of my hand to play with.  I remember riding in the car with the window down and my hand out pretending I had a pegasus on my hand.  I see you playing with the hand horse now whenever you are bored.  You play by yourself great but still can't stand to play with your brothers sometimes.  I think it's because they want to be independent right now.

I can't wait for you to start school.  I think you are going to have a ball being with friends all day and learning all sorts of cool stuff.  I'm sad that it is all day kindergarten here and that you will be away from me for 6 whole hours every day.  But I'm excited for you to do it!  You've loved being able to do your "homework" for our little preschool and are starting to get the concept of math.  You are doing great in your dance class and your teacher tells me you are always good to have around.

You love your daddy so so much that sometimes I feel a little left out of your secret circle.  But when I was gone for a few nights last month, you were very happy to see me.  You told me, "I had no one to talk to but Daddy, and he doesn't talk that much."  At least I know that you do love me for somethings!  You like your brothers sometimes but ask me several times a day if it's time for their naps.  It's hard to share all the time with them, I know.  They don't play how you want them to and tend to knock things over that you have made.  But be patient with them and you guys will be great friends in the future I hope.

Today in church, you gave your first talk in scarament meeting, in front of everyone!  I am so proud of you for doing that.  What a brave girl you are.  You even had your talk memorized and wowed everyone.  You looked so sure of yourself up on that stage.  I hope you always remember who you are.  You are a child of God, loved and adored by your family, and have a bright future ahead of you.  You can do anything you want and you will do great at it.

Thanks for being such a great daughter.  I love you tons.

Your Mommy 

Juice's Contributions to the Blog

Everyone,

With writing every day, I've been asking Juice what I should write about. Here are his suggestions:

Rain. This was yesterday's suggestion. It had been raining off and on for 3 days here. It rains a lot here. The grass is still very green and the leaves are soaked. No crunching leaves for us lately! It also means that the leaves will be wet for days. Butterfly slipped and fell in the mud because of all the rain. The rain also brings free scoops of ice cream at our favorite place. We didn't get any this time around but I'm not worried. I'm sure it will rain again. Soon.

Shaun the Sheep. Has anyone seen this? It's hysterical. I won it off of a blog and we've been enjoying it at least once a week. I really like the little lamb with the pacifier. It reminds me of Professor. Too cute. I also get the theme song stuck in my head.

He refrains from saying anything else at the moment. I think I scared him off!

Safire

Pirate Sees a Lot of Doctors

Everyone,

He doesn't see as many as his cousin, cute little girl! But between all the well baby visits and his broken leg, I feel like we see a lot of doctors.

Today's doctor visit was a visit to the urologist at the children's hospital. Our regular pediatrician thought he might have a hernia in his testicles so off to the specialist! Today was the day we got to see what was going on.

First off, a fight with the pediatrician's office and the hospital office. I have a love/hate relationship with paperwork right now. I got it all worked out (after several calls) and into an exam room we go. Butterfly and Professor got to play at a friend's house this morning. Much more fun than the doctor's. PLUS, no one under the age of 12 is allowed into the hospital unless they are a patient. Hello flu!

Anyway, a med student was able to exam Pirate first. No hernia. I was happy about that. But he does have something called a hydrocele.

If you don't want to click the link, a hydrocele is basically fluid from the abdominal cavity that is draining into his testicle area. This is happening because as the testes drop in development, they make a hole in the abdominal wall to get to where they are supposed to be. Most of the time this opening seals up by the age of one and there is no problem. Pirate's did not. His is very slight. I think his doctor called it a "non-communicating hydrocele" which means that there is not a lot of fluid passing back and forth through this opening.

It's not painful. It's not harmful. It may or may not go away at this point. It will only go away for sure with surgery. To do the surgery or not is up to us. The doctor is willing to do it but it probably won't alter his quality of life if he doesn't have it. I'm glad it's not life threatening but being faced with this decision is a little daunting.

Juice and I talked about it a lot. I talked to my parents about it. (Juice's parents are in the MTC for their mission or he probably would have talked to them about it.) I think talking to my dad made my decision though. He had a double hernia when he was a teenager probably due to a hydrocele left untreated.

Pirate is getting the surgery.

It's a fast surgery. The doctor said it would only take an hour or so. He would do it in the surgical suites they have at his office. They would not give him any pain medication after the surgery and he would only have 3 or 4 stitches in two areas. My thought is it's better to fix this now while he is little. Before he ends up with a double hernia. Before he gets teased in the locker room because he looks different (and it does). Before he's old enough to really get the whole surgery aspect. It's a good idea.

The doctor will probably schedule it in March or April.

It was a big morning for Pirate and me. We celebrated with doughnuts. Yum!

Safire

What to Say...

Everyone,

Normal craziness was had by all today. We went to the PRC and Butterfly fell in the mud running to the door. That girl has some serious enthusiasm. It's great! The boys painted for the first time and wiped their paint covered hands on their clothes because they REFUSED to wear smocks. Luckily the paint came out. The mud, not yet.

They all took a 4 hour nap today (I know!) and I took an hour one. I vacuumed, did laundry, finished a library book, earned a few swagbucks. (BTW, I have earned enough for yet another amazon gift card. That makes $20 I've earned this month alone. Sign up, you won't be sorry!)

Juice came home, we had dinner (which I almost burned but saved just in time) and we played. The boys have discovered that Daddy makes a good horse and Mommy also makes one. They went around tonight pushing us over so they could climb on our backs. Man they are cute!

Butterfly almost has her talk memorized for Sunday and I'm really excited to see how she does with it. We also have a visiting young women's leader on Sunday. All the young women will be attending for 2nd and 3rd hours. This means I don't have to teach Sunday school because my class is all girls. I like having weeks off sometimes! And with the boys in nursery now, I might actually be able to sit next to Juice in church and just sit. It's going to be so different but so needed.

Speaking of being needed, my bed is calling me from the other room.

Safire

Date Night!

Everyone,

Butterfly's BFF Vinny's mom and I are pretty good friends. Lala and I were lamenting the fact that we could not get out often enough with little kids. So we put our heads together and decided we should trade babysitting. Last week I watched her kids for an evening and tonight, she watched mine.

Why didn't we start this sooner? I spend a night at their house and get a night alone with my darling. It was fun last week to have a night away from my house, too. I took my computer and talked to my mom for a bit. Easy easy.

Tonight we did a dance thing with the 8-11 year old girls in my church and their dads. It was our "glad you're my dad hoe down" and we had a great time. After the hoe down, we went out to dinner at a cute little Indian place. I went there last week with my moms group and loved it. I couldn't wait to take Juice.

What a fun date. We haven't been out in ages it seems. I'm really looking forward to being able to get out more!

Safire

When I Grow Up

Everyone,

Butterfly asked me today what I was going to do when I had no more kids. I thought about it for a second and figured I'd probably miss these days with the kids always with me. (But not yesterday!) I told her that I would probably be a grandma.

"No, you'd be a Nana," she replied.

"Yes, I will be a Nana."

"You can be the Nana in Maryland!"

"We may not live in Maryland by then honey," I answered.

"Well, I am going to marry Vinny (her best friend) and we are going to go live near Nana (my mom) because I love Nana and she loves me. We will live in Utah! You can't have two Nana's that live in Utah. So you will be the Maryland Nana and Nana will be Utah Nana."

"Okay then."

Seriously, what do you say to that? Besides, I think it's cute that she is planning her future. It will be fun to see how it turns out.

I guess it's made me think on what I will do when the kids are all out of the house. There will be no toys all over. Books will stay in bookcases. Buttons will not be pushed. Food will stay on plates. Shoes will always be put away. Boxes will not be played with. Book castles will not be built. Trains will not be formed on the slide. Hand mixers will not turn into cars and then into puppy dogs to be walked around the house by their cords.

Wait...they are growing up too fast!

Safire

It's Before 7pm

Everyone,

And ALL the kids are in bed.  Why so early you ask?  We just couldn't take it anymore.  There was crying.  There was whining.  There was yelling.  There was a broom.  It was not pretty.

It all started earlier today when I was trying to shower.  Normally the boys are very good when I shower and just kind of play in my room and pound on the door.  Not today.  By the time I came downstairs all clean and refreshed, they had scattered the dog food and the dog water across the kitchen.  Professor was stuffing as much into his mouth as he could get and Pirate was splashing in the puddles. 

This has been an on going battle for us the past week or so.  I kind of flipped out on them and snatched up Professor and took him to the sink.  I rinsed his mouth out with water and dug at least 5 pieces of kibble out of his cheeks.  He was NOT happy.  Then I stripped off his wet clothes and child gated him out of the kitchen.  I turned on Pirate.  I stripped off his wet clothes and put him crying next to his brother on the other side of the gate. 

Then I swept up soggy kibble from the far reaches of the kitchen and dining room area.  I also did some dishes, laundry, and put dinner in the crock pot.  The whole time the boys are screaming on the other side of the gate.  By now Butterfly is yelling at me because she can't hear her movie.  Mommy needed a time out.  Since I'm almost 30, does that mean I can hang out in my room for half and hour?  Please?!

Lunch time and nap time came early today because I just couldn't take it.  I did some internet research on Christmas presents and then it was all too soon to go to dance class.  Butterfly burst into tears when I came into my room (where she naps because they are all sharing a room right now) and yelled at me because she hasn't had time to sleep!  She had 2 hours of time to sleep.  She just chose to play instead.  So now she's sobbing while getting her dance clothes on.  And the boys are sobbing because they are stuck in their cribs. 

On the way out to the car (we did eventually get outside), I met up with a neighbor.  This neirghbor is old and nice but she talks.  A lot.  And very slowly.  And not all in English.  Any other time and I would have taken some time to say hello but not today.  We were late and I was flustered.  I shoved screaming kids into their car seats while she stood next to the car.  I said goodbye (nicely) and got in and pulled away.  We made it to class on time.  Whew.

I took the boys to the library where we got a ton of M books (it's M week here!) and a book for me to read as well.  By the time dance class was over, the boys had had it.  They wanted out of the their stroller, they wanted to walk.  But when I let them out, they ran in two different directions.  I had now had it.  Back into the stroller they go, screaming.  Butterfly came right out of class and asked for a milkshake.  Uh, no.

Pirate screamed all the way home because he ripped a library book and Butterfly took it away from him.  No one but Juice and I ate dinner tonight because it was "yucky".  If they don't eat, they go right to bed.  I can not deal with tired AND hungry kids.  It is an unspoken rule in our house.  Well, not anymore I guess.

Anyway, I think I'm off to bed myself.  What a long and arduous day.

Safire

Sunday Themed Videos

Everyone,

Two Sunday themed videos for you. First off: the boys folding their arms. I find this utterly adorable and just can't get enough of them doing it. Plus, I love Professor's laugh at the end. I think he got a kick out of the camera. Or it could be that he did not nap today (joy) and is a bit slap happy.



Next up is Butterfly and her Daddy giving her talk for church. Every year, my church does a program for all the little kids to talk about what they learned that year and sing the songs they learned as well. The primary presidency thought Butterfly's talk was so cute that they asked if she would mind talking in front of the whole congregation. I am nervous for her. But she's very excited about it! Yay for not having any stage fright! She has most of it memorized (as you can see in the video) and Juice will help her with the rest.



Apparently they had a practice in church today and she was helped by one of the leaders. Everyone in the room kept coming up to me and saying how cute she was with this talk. Hopefully she will do just as good next week! (Mom wish you were here to see this!)

My kids are so cute lately.

Safire

PS- Week two in nursery went okay. Professor leaned out of my arms into the nursery leader's arms and I turned and ran. Pirate was home with Juice (after a major diaper accident and no extra clothes in the diaper bag). Professor was just fine with nursery until Juice came to drop off Pirate. Juice ended up staying most of the time in there with them and I taught my class and went to the women's meeting by myself. It was awesome.

PPS- What kind of accident are you wondering? Juice took him to change his diaper. He took off the dirty diaper and then decided it was a good idea to rummage through the bag for some diaper cream. By the time he turned back to Pirate (with no diaper cream, my bag apparently needs to be restocked), Pirate had peed all over himself and ALL of his clothes. Great. He also came back to church in pants that looked like Capri's. Daddies are so great! ;) (Love you Juice.)

Three Things

Everyone,

Here is a list of three things I loved about today.

1- Being able to be a good friend and do some serious listening on the phone without screaming kids around. Juice took them outside to play in their pjs and they LOVED it. Butterfly most of all.

2- Looking at the bottom of my receipt from that bulls eye place and seeing, "You've saved $58.97!" on it. Sweet!!

3- Finding Cheddar and Sour Cream ruffles at the '200 dollar store'. I rarely see these in the normal grocery store and I was happy to pick up a bag today! Yum yum!

What things have you loved about today?

Safire

Busy But Not...

Everyone,

Today was a crazy day at home for me. I don't know why but staying home seems easier and harder at the same time. I typically don't schedule things on Fridays because Juice often has the afternoons off and I like to spend time with him. So today we had nothing going on and enjoyed our lazy morning at home.

I didn't get going with my exercising until almost 10:30am today. I didn't get dressed until after 11:30. And by the time I was ready and all the kids were dressed and ready, it was time for lunch and naps!

Lunch was crazy. Lots of crying from the boys. Butterfly has started repeating anything you say to her and I have to say that is SO annoying. She also repeats what the boys say and when they cry. So both boys cried at lunch (it was taking to long to make!) and Butterfly was fake crying along with them. I had to step outside. I felt like my head was going to explode and everyone was going to get a spanking if I didn't take a few minutes.

Luckily they had stopped by the time I came back in and everyone was able to eat well and went right down for naps no fussing. Juice walked in as I was just settling into my computer time and Halloween candy to make me feel just a little bit better.

He polished the numbers on our house (they matched the side of the house and no one could see them) and I talked to my cousin L for a long time. I also called our insurance and got referrals for Pirate's appointment next week to look at his hernia. I'm hoping we can have this done by the end of the year before Juice's insurance changes.

I also got two new cook books I've been excited about. I've been reading this blog and this one for a long time now. Both put out cookbooks this year and I used my birthday money plus some extra from swagbucks (yay free money!) and got them both. I am SO excited to start using them. I guess I was a little over excited about them because before I knew it, I planned out a month of meals and a grocery list a mile long. I was feeling in a cooking rut and frustrated with dinner. I guess all I needed was a few more cookbooks to get me motivated!

Now I'm making apple sauce and getting ready for my movie date with Juice. Hope everyone's had a great Friday!

Safire

Wow They Really Do See!

Everyone,

The other day we had both boys in their high chairs getting ready for dinner. Butterfly had set out the plates and given the boys their forks (her chore) and we were just bringing the food to the table. Butterfly called out, "Let's pray!" Both the boys folded their arms with big happy grins on their faces.

It was so adorable.

Butterfly said the prayer with Professor muttering along with her. She mentioned in her prayer that he was saying it with her and how happy she was that he learned to pray.

That was also so adorable!

Once she said "amen" both boys yelled out, "men!"

The fun thing about this is that we haven't taught them prayers. With Butterfly we folded her arms for her and taught her how to do this. We didn't do it with the boys. Mostly because they out number us now and mostly because we are too tired/hungry/frustrated to make them fold their arms.

Apparently we're doing something right because now any time anyone says, "Prayer time!" they fold their arms.

Seriously it's so stinking cute I'm going to have to record it.

Safire

Road Trip!

Everyone,

Alternate title: I have enough Billy Joel on my ipod to last me from Ohio to the Maryland border.

A week ago yesterday I talked to my good friend and cousin in law who lives in Ohio. Her family came to see us in August and we had the best time! Her girls are 5 and 3 and got along smashingly with Butterfly.

Since then, life has changed drastically for them. No details here but my cousin and cousin in law are getting a divorce and she is moving to Colorado. I'm sad for them because it's a rough time. I'm also sad that I will be loosing my closest family! Ohio is 6 hours away from here.

So, during my talk with L, my cousin in law, she mentioned that she was feeling overwhelmed and not prepared for her move, etc. She didn't think she had enough time to get everything done before the truck came to pick up her stuff. I heard, "You need to go help her." clear as a bell in my head. Once I was off the phone with her, I turned to Juice (who was still home from work) and talked it all over. The next afternoon I was headed to Ohio without the kids and Juice. Let me tell you, I was ecstatic about having 6 whole hours in the car by myself. Juice was awesome and stayed home with the kids.

So, off I go in the car through Maryland and into West Virginia. By now it is getting dark and raining. I started climbing the little hills that they call mountains here and it got foggy. And dark. Wow is West Virginia ever dark at night! Around 7pm I got hungry and decided I wanted a salad and a sit down restaurant. I haven't been to one of those by myself in awhile! The signs on the side of the road lied though. I took the exit headed for some Cracker Barrel thinking of my last road trip to Utah. This exit was the University of West Virginia exit. I drove around for about 20 minutes looking for that stupid restaurant and couldn't find it at all. I found a lot of pizza joints and the stadium but nothing else. I went back to the freeway and kept an eye out for something to eat.

West Virginia is a lot like Wyoming with nothing much going on in the state. Plus it was super dark and I didn't feel like stopping in any old tiny town. I entered Pennsylvania. It got lighter for some reason and I kept going. By this time I was tired of the candy I had brought to munch on and I wanted actual food. Anything would do but there was nothing besides McD's. Yuck.

Then it got darker and I was back in West Virginia. Wow. This time in West Virginia I found a Cracker Barrel and had my salad.

Straight on to Ohio and my cousin's house from there. They did close the freeway right in front of me. Thank goodness for my GPS and it's little "recalculating" voice. Otherwise I'd still be driving around Columbus trying to figure out where to go.

I got in around 11pm and went right to bed. Someone stole a car in the middle of the night (car alarm driving off in the distance) and I wondered if it was mine but not enough to get out of bed and check.

In the morning I was able to help get two cute girls ready for school and talk to L about what she wanted to do that day. She had to take her older girl to the dentist for a filling so I spent the morning sorting through her papers on her kitchen table and boxing up the rest of her china. Only a few minutes back from the dentist and the school called. Apparently the Novocain hadn't worn off and she bit through her tongue big time. Off to the hospital for L and back to boxes for me. I moved furniture around, cleaned under and around things and kind of ran out of things to do.

No stitches needed for the little girl but she did stay home from school the rest of the day and we boxed up the toys and the craft stuff. I guess Columbus does trick or treating a few days before Halloween so we spent the evening doing that. It was so much fun to be with these girls and their mom! They all had a great time and I practiced my french braiding skills on their beautiful hair.

After a fun filled night of candy, we took the girls home and packed a few things up. We told ourselves we would go to be early but ended up talking until midnight or so. Good thing too because her youngest daughter threw up about that time. I helped get the dirty stuff off the bed while she washed her off. I know how stressful it can be to deal with this as the only parent and I wanted to be as helpful as I could.

We didn't get up as early as we wanted to on Friday but up in time to get her youngest daughter off to preschool. Her oldest one was staying home because of her tongue and she watched tv while we packed up everything else and moved some furniture down from upstairs. I had to leave by 11am that day to make it home for our trunk or treat but I think what L had left to do was manageable.

I'm excited for if and when we end up in Colorado to be close to this family again. I'm sad that they are having such a hard time and I wish only the best for them.

On the way home, I put on my road trip music of Billy Joel and listened to it from Columbus to the Maryland border. Who knew I had so much?! Also, I had fun taking some random pictures in the car while driving (bad driver, I know, but I just turned the camera on and pointed it in the general direction of what I wanted to see) and enjoyed being by myself for another 6 hours.

I missed my family but it was such a great break from them for me. I'm not sure who was happier to see me, the kids or Juice when I walked in. They survived with a lot of screaming and crying and mac and cheese to eat. But they did it!

I hope the move goes well L and love you guys!

Safire

Halloween Blast from the Past!

Everyone,

Take a look at this sweet picture of Butterfly.

This costume of Butterfly's is something my mom made for me when I was 5. See?

Isn't it fun to recycle costumes?! :) I remember being so proud of that papoose on my back. It was my favorite part of the costume. I think it was Butterfly's favorite part too. She said the moccasins made her feet hot but I made her wear it with shoes since we were at the pumpkin patch and it rained on Halloween night.

Just for kicks here is me from the front and with my brother, MusicMan.
He was a masked bandit this year (I think?) so I get my themed costume ideas from my mom.
This is the only picture I have of all 3 of them together this year. As the boys get older it gets crazier!

Safire

In Which...

Everyone,

Today is a day in which I over scheduled myself beautifully. For your perusal:

The day started later than I had hoped, 7:30am. I had hoped to rise by 6am with Juice. Juice did not get up at 6am; therefore, neither did I. Butterfly, however, did get up at 7:30am and so we started our day.

Playgroup for Butterfly this morning was great. We played outside. The boys went down Ms. K's really big slide by themselves. Shocked looks and a few shy smiles followed. Also, lots of giggling girls and eating mummy hot dogs and home made doughnuts. It was great. I miss weekly playgroup with these girls.

A prompt departure at 12:45pm in order to make it to the boys' 18 month old doctor visits. No matter that they are almost 19 months old. And no matter that this is the 4th time I've had to schedule this visit (first few times we were sick, then I was out of town). Arrival was prompt. Waiting room was full. The boys were charming. The rest of the visit as follows:

In which I was able to strip both boys to their diapers in less than 1 minute. The nurse timed me. He (the nurse) got a kick out of it and kept mentioning it.

In which Pirate weighs 24 lbs 1.5 oz, 33.5 inches long and has a nice 19 inch head. This puts him at 50th for weight, 95th for height!, and 75th for head.

In which Professor weighs 21 lbs, 5.5 oz, 32 3/8 inches long and another nice round 19 inch head. 5th percent for weight (yay we're back on the charts), 50th for height and 75th for head.

In which both boys had two shots, hib and flu. Pirate did not cry in the slightest. Professor screamed during the second shot but was mollified by his binky and sticker.

In which Butterfly also received a shot in the arm for the flu. She threw a hissy fit. A sucker and a sticker did not placate her. I finally had to yell at her and put her in time out in the doctor's office. Good times.

In which Pirate is probably going to have surgery!! He has a hernia that has not gone away. Off to Children's Hospital we go!

In which we spent almost 2 hours at the doctor's office.

In which I was grateful to have thrown Butterfly's dance clothes in the car on the way out. We got to dance class in time to have a milk shake (the boys drank most of mine) and go to class.

In which I came home to dinner done in the crock pot. I love my crock pot.

In which I am now pooped and need to sleep. Night!

Safire

All Hallow's Day

Everyone,

Today we did all the fun stuff I meant to do in the week leading up to Halloween.  I didn't get to that because of my awesome adventure out of state (without kids or a hubby!) but I will talk about that later on this week.  (Remember, a month of writing starts today!)

Yesterday we were able to go to a pumpkin patch and Butterfly went trick or treating with her dance friend.  Today after church and naps we carved our pumpkin, made homemade doughnuts (yes I did!  They are tasty!) and drank cider.  It's been a good Halloween this year. 

Today was the boys' first day in nursery.  Yay!  Guess where I spent most of my church time?  Yep, in nursery.  Professor was a champ.  He walked right in and played great all 2 hours.  Pirate, on the other hand, was upset.  He cried and cried and cried until I couldn't take it anymore.  Poor thing.  He sat on my lap sucking his thumb doing the after sobbing breathing.  This transition is going to be fun.  Ugh.  Juice came in a little later and we switched off.  I really hope the boys learn to like nursery because I could use the break.

Pictures to brighten your day!

Safire