Mommy!!!

WHAT DID YOU DO!!!

That is what Aubrey said to me when Edie and I came out of the bathroom. I had had enough of pinning her down to put her hair pretties in. Then she would take them out and she would cock her head trying to peek through the hair that hung in her face. I sat her on the sink and clip, clip, clip. As you can see she wiggled the whole time and it's very uneven but Dang it, she is still so darn cute now that her hair isn't in her face!

Prototype

What are your thoughts?

'Early' Three Year Check Up

Here is the thing with the twins they have always, ALWAYS been together, since their day of creation they have shared their space. They were in the same clear, plexi bassinet at the hospital, same crib/ room once we got home. At every doctors appointment they have been in the room together, watching each other, sharing the same piece of tissue paper. When they were babies they would lay side by side looking AT EACH OTHER.

Today they again sat side by side on the edge of the examining table, sharing the same piece of crinkly tissue paper. Aubrey moved Rays hair behind her ear so the doctor could look in her ear. Reagan rubbed Aubrey's leg as the doctor listened to her heart. It was beautiful, but I knew the 'fun stuff' would soon be over and there would be tears (times 2).

This was the first time we have separated the twins for any inoculation.

I was in 'no-witness mode'.

I had talked to them about how they would get a special medicine in their arm, (with a little pinch I added. I would hold up my thumb and index finger like I was doing a pinch of salt and talk in a munchkin voice). I told them it would make them strong and certain germs wouldn't get them sick. I told them to be brave. We touched on this topic several times throughout the day, I didn't want to lead them blindly into something I knew would cause them pain.
We always say 'Who's first?' With two someone always has to go first, and usually they say in unison 'Edie first', or they point to each other. Reagan actually volunteered to go first, thinking she would get some sweet oral medicine. I reminded her of the 'special medicine'.

Aubrey was entertained in the lobby with Daddy and Reagan went first.

She sat on the tissue paper...alone.

Reagan: She went into shy mode while we were there, hiding her true colors. Aubrey's vitals were done first, so Reagan watched then followed what Aubrey did. Once she was down to her undershirt and underpants sitting next to her sister she showed everyone her band aid on her knee, and her true colors began to shine through. They bumped shoulders and giggled with each other.

Reagan came in at:

• 38 inches tall
• 32lbs
• 64th%ILE

She had her head down her hair blocking her peripherals. She had a nurse on each side and on the count, 1, 2, 3...

She certainly earned her 'braveness' badge today. Not a flinch or a peep when she got her shots. She just looked up me exhaling asking me in whisper 'can I have my reward now?' Victor stepped back and said, 'that,..that was amazing!' I quickly scooped her up and changed the subject we went into the lobby and got her jumbo stickers, and swap out the sisters. Todd went in with Aubrey, which was also a first, I usually go or hold each/ALL of them for their shots.

Aubrey: Of course, she chatted it up with the nurse (Victor) that was doing her vitals. She hopped right onto the scale and stood tall when he measured her height. She kept referring to the stethoscope as a telescope she couldn't quiet marry the st-th transition.
Aubrey came in at:

37 1/4 inches tall
30 lbs
59th%ILE

She earned her braveness badge today, it wasn't the 'pinch' from the needles going into each arm on the count of 3, it was the pinching of skin where the shot was going to be administered that scared her. Hardly a fuss, she was ready for the jumbo stickers in the lobby. She came out and said 'he (Victor) scared me.' That was the end of it.

They are both consistent with their Development Phase (I think the ADVANCED column should of been checked:)
They of course both passed with flying colors when it came to eyes, ears, speech, spine, teeth, gums, heart, lungs. The speech part was funny. The doctor asks, 'are they speaking in two word sentences?'. Those of you who know these two know they can communicate and creatively think in great detail, they use full sentences...all day...from the time they get up...all day.

Once we rode back to MeMe and Grampy's in the car the 'milking it' factor came out. They would be running and laughing in circles, having their usual afternoon goofiness, but as soon as we mentioned the medicine at the doctors they BOTH put on a somber face and held their shoulders. Their eyes turned sad and their eyebrows dropped into frowns, I got a super bad pinch Reagan would say.

As I cooked dinner I overheard them talking. They were sitting face to face on the couch lifting each others shirt sleeve. 'I got a bad pinch, did you get a bad pinch?' They observed and compared notes, then ran off to play baby dolls.

How Bout' Them Molars?

Molars!!!

Here they are coming in, you can see how her gums are all white and swollen as they are push their way through. She is a trooper, gotta love those frozen peas!



















She soon realized we were talking teeth and she showed me where her boo-boos were again.

Scarecrows

The girls and I had a fun time making these scarecrow kids. We had a pumpkin mishap so Edie has a butternut squash head. She was also un-stuffing as we were stuffing, so it took longer than expected. She likes to go over to them and squat down and lean in and say 'Hi' as she raises one hand waving it frantically. I tried to get a picture but as usual it was mayhem.

The Perfect One.....

...is in here somewhere.

Reagan kept picking up leaves and saying..

'Oh mommy, they are soooo beautiful!'

Sing-a-Lot-a-Song-a

Those of you well versed in Wiggles will get that one.

We have music on most of the day, we tune in out, there are a couple of songs the kids like (that are not Laurie Berkner or Dan Zanes, They'll look at me strangely when I switch over to 'Mommy music' and I know ALL the words to a Bon Jovi, or Skid Row tune from the early 90's

Edie enjoyed her 5 minutes of being in charge of the mic.

(Please note the ruby red slippers on Reagan's feet, she would sleep in these if I let her!)

Edie, Where Is Your Boo-Boo

As you all know Edie is having a hard time teething, she is just getting her molars, they are in on the left and coming in painfully slow on the right. Literally Painfully slow! Poor thing, every time we are in the car, or I'm out of her sight she has a melt down. I asked her, 'Edie, where is your boo-boo?'












She winced and said teeeee-teeeeee. Then had a melt down (because I was a bonehead and reminded her of her pain) she then led me by the hand all the way to the house, and pointed to the medicine cubbord, sobbing and rubbing her swollen jowls. Even without a whole lot of words she can communicate what her needs are.

Autumn Splendor

Mom your going to love these!!!

A child (one of mine) broke the digital display of my camera, so I can only take pictures looking through the eye. Surprisingly I had some really good shots I spent less time aiming and aligning. I didn't know what I got until I downloaded all...
100!
I do miss the display, but check out these beautiful pictures!!

The girls helped Daddy do some yard work, their breathing was good, and they/WE needed to get out and enjoy this fresh air. Tomorrow are going to make some scarecrows with all the leaves we blew into a heap.

Here is the dialog that was going on as I sat and watched the girls.

Mama I can't reach this!
Edie, come help me!
Aubrey comes to Reagan's aide, I'll help you she says.
Reagan starts organizing her mischief, 'I'll climb up, you grab the branch, and hold it, then I'll come down and pick the leaves'. 'OK,' Aubrey says.

'You got it Ray?'

'Yes' , she says with delight, looking for the perfect leaf.

Witches Fingers

I saw these in a Pillsbury Halloween cookbook and had to make them. Not to bad, the girls and I made savory witches fingers with blood sauce (marinara) for my club meeting on Wednesday night.

A Glimpse Into The Future

I think they look adaorbale, but it stirred something inside of me!

I said 'Put your cheeks together'. They were to busy watching Dora in the background.

Edie did not want to put hers on, she did however want to be in the picture and show her belly!

Puppy!!!!

Shredded rolls of toilet paper and towels scattered around the house. I left the room for 3 minutes to help the girls in the potty and I came out to find THIS MESS. This is just a sample of the severity of the mess. It spreads from kitchen to living room with no end in sight.

We did not get a puppy! How ever we do have an Edie!

She used her sweet little teeth to shred it all. She did it in a matter of OH I'd say 3 minutes. This is her trying to have a time out. I'm just starting to use them on. I fear my sweet happy Edie baby has learned some stubbornness from her sisters. UGH!

THE REAL 'PUPPY' ADVENTURE.

Actually is was a bunny adventure for Taggie. For those of you who have not met her yet, I'd like to introduce you to Taggie.

Yes, she has an applied gender of female, lovingly referred to as 'she' or 'her'.

The girls and I went on an adventure last week. There was a pet store in the plaza we were shopping . My girls can't get enough animals lately and I saw there was a sign for puppies. We decided to go check them out. Not only were there puppies, but kittens, bunnies, Guinea pigs, and birds. We spent a good long time talking to the animals. Aubrey was delighted with the birds that fluttered and peeped at her. Reagan was absolutely in love with a lop eared bunny. She was camel colored and moved toward Ray knowing she would have some attention given to her by this little girl. Edie ooohed and ahhhed at all the creatures. Reagan was getting ready to pick up the bunny when I stopped her and we held it together. I have to admit it was a sweet little thing. Not like my sisters mean 'Thumper' we had when we were kids;) .

Bye animals!, we called out as we walked back to the car.

After we had been on the road for a good half hour,

'Mama, where is Taggie?' Reagan asked with curiosity.

'I don't know honey? She was supposed to stay in the car, did you take her out when we went shopping?' (We went to about 5 stores)

'yes', she said quietly, 'I gave her to the puppies to play with'.

UGH I thought to myself, it's either shredded, or contaminated.

'I'll have to call around when we get home and see if I can find her.'

Here is what you need to understand. There is no substitute for Taggie. She has 2 that Meme made out of pink mink fleece, and she has 'fuzzy' taggie made out of a different material. ONLY the mink fleece ones will do, and she needs BOTH.

We talked about Taggie after I had called around and found her AT the pet store IN THE BUNNY HUTCH!!

She made it with only one and the next morning we headed out to the pet store to rescue Taggie. I quarantined her into a zippy bag until she could be thoroughly washed.

'Silly Taggie!'

was said to a warm and mountain breeze scented Taggie when she came out of the dryer. Reagan then kissed her and squeezed her tight, eyes squinty with a huge smile on her face. They have not been apart since.

Natural Sugars

We all know the special vitamins that citrus can posses, therefore I bought a big bag of oranges at the grocery store.

My girls have been battling a bug for over a week now and what a great treat! Fresh Oranges.

We learned something else.

It also causes excitability!

We all know Edie is renowned for her title as worlds happiest child, (except for the teething thing.)

Edie Jane was all hopped up on the natural sugars in this fresh fruit.

She literally ran circles around the house with her arms outstretched, mouth gaping bouncing off her sisters, and Daddy. She had uncontrollable laughing, laughing, laughing.

After about an hour she crashed and slept heavily all night. It was nice to see her active and laughing, but holy smokes I was exhausted just watching her!!

Upon Request

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderalla

First of all Reagan is not that tall and Edie is not that short it's just the camera angle.

We decided to skip the Three Stooges costumes until next year. The girls wanted to be princesses and is certainly what they will be. We will be in twins Keene Pumpkin Festival next weekend. We will be marching as part of the Twins Club. Hope to see you there, if not, I'll post some pictures. I'm sure it will be pure chaos.

Out-takes

Edie was not thrilled with this idea. She tried to get out of her costume, and finally ran into the other room crying and yelling for 'Da-Da-Da!' The twins danced, played and had a great time. I'll have to get some leotards to put under their dresses when we are outside. I'm not sure if Edie will be into it, if not we'll bring some comfy Halloween Jammies and she can just be cute.

Three Sleeping Babies

'I'll be right back' Todd said to me.

Within the 10 minutes he was gone all three climbed on me found a warm spot and fell fast asleep. I could not move to put anyone in their beds. I was trapped. What's a mom to do?

I enjoyed it :)

Pumpkin Patch

Happy Halloween to all of you!!
This is as good as it gets for the three of them to sit still for a picture. None of them are looking in the same direction! Here are some out takes.

Today was the day

Like I had mentioned in the last post...

I earned another 'mom badge' this weekend. It was a long weekend. The kids have been sick and someone was itching to get out and DO something. We had allot of old buggy wood that needed to be taken care of, stuff from the basement that had been damaged from the floods of 04' and just a whole bunch of burnable junk that had been cluttering up the yard for a while now. Since it was cold and rainy it was the perfect day to burn it.

Badge-Post

I remember being a Brownie in the Girls Scouts and being so excited to earn badges that we would iron onto a sash. A visual reward of accomplishment. Recognizable to other scouts, family and friends, worn with pride.

Now as an adult and no longer a scout I still seek my reward. My badge. Where is that 'badge of motherhood' I earned anyway? Of course my children are my reward for all things.

I dug this out of the hope chest and since it did not fit me I used these two as stand ins.

As most of you know the wardrobe of choice for my girls has always been a utilitarian pair of denim overalls. These feelings of Brownie nostalgia were brought on by a second repair I did on a pair of overalls for the twins today. The first repair was about a month ago I had to sew a button back on to the bib part of the overalls. I examined the article of clothing as I folded the laundry and I knew this particular pair of overalls were well loved and well worn. They have always grown so fast that they never really wore a pair out.

I got them over a year ago and they have been on their little bodies at least once or twice a week since then, gradually I reduced the size of the cuff that I needed to roll at the bottom, then I needed to increase the length of the shoulder straps to make them longer.

Well the knees have become thread bare and tiny holes have started to appear all over the garment.

I let out a heavy sigh.

The time has come to, fix, discard or leave 'as is' and deal with it when Edie is ready to fit into them, (which could be next week).

I chose: fix.

I took out the box of iron-on patches given to me by Aunt Suzie a long time ago. I found the perfect one. The twins were playing quietly and Edie was fast asleep so I hurried upstairs to take out the iron and ironing board. I positioned the patch, put a rag on top if, and applied heat and pressure. I removed the iron and waved away the puff of lingering steam. I examined my work and it brought back memories of being a girl scout and the patches/ badges we used to iron on to our sash and display with honor.

Here is where my five minutes of quiet thinking brought me:

I think Moms should be issued badges. Not ones to wear on a sash, but badges to have as a visual accomplishment, a reward patch if you will. Keep them in a box, frame them on the wall. This is no charm bracelet ladies, this is your BADGE! We work so hard to have a warm home and healthy kids, lets take a few moments and recognize these accomplishments.

I went through a lengthy list of job descriptions and this is what we can earn badges for:

MOM- job description:

chauffeur, chef, childcare specialist, circus clown (you know what I mean:), correctional officer, courier, counselor, Drill Sargent, entertainer, event planner, fingerprint technician (who smeared jelly on the TV??), fire Marshall, (Not for my kids!), gardener, hazardous waste specialist, housekeeper, interior decorator, interpreter, librarian, lifeguard, locksmith (we've all done it, locked our selves out, or someone locked themselves in...in the bathroom), motivational speaker, negotiator, nurse, nutritionist, outdoor recreation specialist, personal shopper, pharmacist, receptionist, referee, risk management analyst, sanitary engineer, seamstress, stylist, teacher, television specialist, victims rights advocate (this applies to the twins!) weightlifter, wildlife educator.

Feel free to add to the list of potential badges you can earn. You can display them as you choose. Mine will be in the form of a tiny post on this blog. A picture a drawing something to express what the 'badge' would look like. My kids are all about the reward center and how they earn their reward and the pay out for it...a piece of paper in the shape of a cupcake or a happy face. I'd like a reward for a job well done, therefore let the give yourself a pat on the back begin!

Today I'm implementing a Badge-Post for me. You'll find it in the margin of this blog. I'll keep you up to date on 'patches' I earn. Feel free to issue a 'patch' if you see fit, and I'll be sure to add it to my Badge-Post. Some times good ol' mom needs a pat on the back and if has to come down to me patting myself on the back ...so be it. Hey it's adding a little fun to MY JOB;)

Boo-boo Baby

Edie took a tumble in the drive way :( She was running to catch up with her sisters and did a face plant. This is also a good picture of one of the molars getting ready to cut.