Library Cards

Yesterday, I took the twins to our local library. They both got their very own library card. Sydney Frances was the most excited about this event. I told her the night before that we would be going to the library the next day. The next morning when she woke up she said, "Mama, I dreamed about my library card last night. I love cards!" Sweet baby! Rush was less enthusiastic about the actual card, but he loves books, so he was happy to be able to pick out more that he was interested in. He has really been enjoying Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. I remember lots of his books from my childhood, so it is fun to see Rush reading those. I also love listening to SF "read" her library books. She is very creative when she makes up the stories to match what she sees in the pictures. :-) We are heading back to the library on Thursday morning. Yesterday was just to check out books. We are going to attempt "Preschool Time". We tried "Toddler Time" last summer, and it was more than my nerves could handle. I have my fingers crossed that Toddler Time is going to be better because the kids are a little older. Stay tuned...




Some funnies...

Last night, Rush and Phil were being the sick patients while Fran was being the doctor with her doctor's kit. Phil began to moan and groan because he was so "sick" and needed immediate attention. Frannie ran over to the book shelf and grabbed a book and said, "Let me quickly check my book of home remedies to see if I can help you." Just for the record, we don't have a book of home remedies, and I have NO IDEA where she might have heard that! She may be an actress!

On Monday, it rained and thundered here in the morning. We have been working on Rush's speeech to help him form some of the sounds he isn't hearing yet. He came into the room and said, "Mom, I think it's going to be bad wedder!" So, I said, "I think so, too. Try saying 'weather', Buddy." He tried, but it still came out wedder. I continued a few more times with instructions on how to put his tongue between his teeth, etc. I am sure I was being super annoying because he finally turned his little head to the side and said, "It's a STORM, OK, MOOOOOM!"

Being sneaky

A few weeks ago, Phil and I were watching TV one evening. I got up to go into the kitchen, and found this little guy lying in the hall. He was all propped up watching TV with us. His little legs were just kicking around. He was having a big time.

Never mind the fact that he was supposed to have been asleep for about an hour. I couldn't help it. I laughed. He just looked funny... and cute. We got him back into his bed. I asked him why he was up. He said, "Sometimes at night, I am sneaky." Huh? Wonder what else he is up to while we are all sleeping?

Summer is here!

Summer is here!! I love the freedom that summer days offer. Yes, it is one of the perks of being a teacher. One of the really good perks. I love getting to stay home with my kiddos and live the life of a stay at home Mama for a few months. We have already been up to some fun things. We had a fun water day with Kate at Gigi and Papa's this past weekend. I have been working on getting the kids' bedrooms into shape. I know... this is the longest project ever. We transitioned them into their own rooms months ago, and they are STILL not completely finished. My Mama hung curtains in Rush's room. She also found the perfect navy quilt for his bed at Target. It was one of those fun finds that was just sitting all alone on a shelf... not in its proper place, but it was just the right size for Rush's new red bed. I almost have his room (old guest room) cleaned out. I know that sounds like it shouldn't take that long, but I basically had a room full of stuff with nowhere for it to go. Slowly, I have found new homes for many of the things in that room. It is my priority to get both rooms completely furnished and decorated by the end of June. It WILL happen. Since we are redoing those rooms, we got new mattresses for both of their beds this week. The mattress that Rush has been sleeping on was really old. We were going to throw that mattress away, so I decided before it was thrown out, it would make an excellent trampoline. We moved it into the backyard for some good jumping time. Fun stuff! Another thing that I love about summer is that we don't have a schedule. Staying outside a little later for some fun time is no big deal!! Today was a day filled with impromptu fun. My favorite kind! This morning, we went over to a fitness trail that is near our house. The kids and I walked/ran/strolled for three miles. (We had the stroller with us, too, so I did some pushing.) It was fun. We saw cardinals, squirrels, old dead logs (who knew they could be so entertaining), a bridge, and some fish in a creek. It was lots of fun. We decided on our walk back to the car to zip back home and pack up a picnic lunch. We went back to the state park that is literally about two miles from our house. We drove through and found a picnic table near a big slide. The slide was a huge highlight. Rush would, of course, try to dive off the end of it. There was sand at the bottom, and he would just roll around in it. Such a boy!! I am having to get used to this dirtiness that comes with little boys. The germaphobe, hand wiper in me struggles with letting him enjoy himself if it means getting filthy. I am getting better with it. (And, I had my Wet Ones Antibacterial wipes in the picnic basket.) Between bug spray, sunscreen, and the big slide, a bath was necessary before nap time today. I think I only dumped about two cups of sand out of Rush's tennnis shoes. :-) When we were driving back home, Rush said, "Dat was so much fun, Mooooom! I wuv you so much." My heart melts. From Frannie: "We had a fun day, Mama. I love fun days!" Me too, sweet girl!!! Days like today make the ones (like yesterday) where they both pretty much whine/complain all day turn into a distant memory. Here's to looking forward to the fun days ahead. Last year, I felt like the summer zipped by us and was gone before I realized what was going on. When this summer is over, I am going to be sure we can say that we packed all of the fun and good times in that we could. These sweet days of their young childhood are flying by. Gotta hang on for the fun ride!!

Springtime Fun!!

It has been a while since I have posted!! We have been busy around here lately with lots of fun things. At the end of April, we took all of the kiddos (Rush, Frannie, and Kate) to Disney on Ice. It was a hit! It was lots of fun. Oddly enough, I think Rush was the most enthralled with the whole thing, and he is the least likely to pay attention and sit still. We purchased seven tickets for the parents and kids, but we only used four of them. The kids had to sit in a lap to be able to see, so Frannie and Kate crawled all over everyone's laps. Rush found a nice, quiet spot on Uncle Tony's lap and settled in. I didn't get many good pictures at all, but it is virtually impossible to get all three kids looking at the camera with all of the action that was going on at that place. There was way too much to look at to be worried about Mama's camera.

I love this one because Kate has her arm linked through Fran's arm. So sweet! Sydney Frances feels it is her purpose in life to take care of Kate. And yes, they have on matching dresses... on purpose. We decided they would love it now and hate us at their rehearsal dinners in about 25 years. :-) Could someone please provide a boy cousin for Rush? He doesn't seem to mind, though. I had a shirt that would have "blended" with the girls' dresses, but he opted to go with his favorite "gween one".

The crew

Tiny dancer also had her final performance of the year. She loved ballet this year, so we will probably stick with this same program next year. It is a good fit for us.

The kids enjoyed lunch outside in a little summer preview day. The weather was PERFECT!! Can't wait! Just this past weekend, we went to an event called Touch a Truck... also known as Rush's idea of heaven. In the downtown area of my cool hometown, they have tons of different trucks and cars that kids are allowed to sit in, climb on, and explore. Rush absolutely loved it. Syd was a little more hesitant. She saw the Chick-fil-a Cow after about two minutes of being there, and that really kind of put a damper on her day. If you remember the experience with the Easter Bunny, you know she doesn't enjoy animals in costume. Period. Meanwhile, Rush was snuggling with the cow and giving her high fives. So funny how different they are! Fran finally relaxed enough to get on a truck or two, but she always had one eye looking for the cow. :-)

P.S. Sydney Frances did get to fulfill a dream at Touch a Truck. She has ALWAYS wanted to see inside a school bus. They had one there. Putting a check sister's wish list at the same time we put a grin that lasted all morning on Rush's face--- well worth it!

Spring Break Fun 2012

Oh my! They have changed Blogger! We'll see how this post goes. It looks pretty self-explanatory. I was off work last week, and we got to enjoy some time at home. Little Frannie was sick at the beginning of the week, but after a few days, she was feeling better. We used some time at the end of our week to go to Callaway Gardens with Mama. Then, Phil took the day off and went to the zoo with us the next day. I thought the weather wasn't going to cooperate on either day, but we were able to deal with some cooler temps and a little rain to still have a great time! Mama and I really loved the butterfly house at Callaway Gardens. It was kind of funny because the first question out of Rush's mouth was, "When are we going to eat lunch?" In his defense, it was lunch time, but we thought they would be so mesmerized by the butterflies that it wouldn't matter. Apparently, when you are three, peanut butter sandwiches, using the potty, and seeing hundreds of exotic butterflies fluttering around your head are all equally important. We went back afer our picnic, though, and they were a little more entertained.

The butterflies finally started to land on us as you can see in the last couple of pictures. There was a beautiful blue one that was my favorite. I never caught a great picture that captured his blueness, but the butterflies were so much fun to me! Next day... the ZOO! Hightlights for the kids were feeding the giraffes and riding the train. It was a rainy day, and the zoo was a little crowded. There were many field trips there, and I felt the need to use my teacher voice a few times. :-) The animals seemed to want to get out of the drizzly weather because several of the animals were so snuggled into their habitats that it was hard for us to see them. The giraffes were happy to come and eat the alfalfa out of the kids' cups, though, so that was definitely worth the trip. P.S. Giraffes have long tongues and extremely large faces when you are nostril to nostril with one.

The day ended with new stuffed animals from the gift shop. Just what we needed!!! :-) Spring Break was a nice little taste of what we having coming this summer! I am ready!!

Neighborhood Egg Hunt 2012

Fun day!! We always look forward to our neighborhood egg hunt. It is very laid back and lots of fun for the kids. Well... for the most part. We will get to that in just a minute. We waited a few minutes for everyone to get there so we could start filling up those baskets.

This was the first year the twins could really do the egg hunt on their own. When they gave the signal, they both took off to find their eggs. On the younger kids' side of the street, they don't really "hide" the eggs. It is really more of an Easter Egg Race. As in race to fill your basket with the eggs that are obviously lying right in front of you. It works, though. The kids love it, and they get lots of little prizes and junk that they find completely thrilling.






And everything was all smiles, good cheer, and treats... until this guy showed up.

If you notice, there is a twin missing. Once again, Rush snuggled up with his long lost pal, ole E.B. Fran?


Not a fan of the Easter Bunny... This brought sweet Frannie's time at the egg hunt to an end. So, she headed back home with her Daddy. Rush and I decided to stick around for a while. He and I enjoyed a bag of popcorn and one more visit with the Easter Bunny. He was giving out lollipops after all.

We had a fun lunch after we got home. (Thanks for the idea, Pinterest.) I put the kids' standard fare (pb and j, goldfish, and grapes) inside Easter eggs, and then served them in two egg cartons I had saved for the occasion. They LOVED it!! I threw some fruit snacks in a couple of eggs to make it even more exciting. We don't usually eat those for lunch. :-)





We also did our first (of many) egg decorating sessions today. I boiled 18 eggs this morning, so after nap, we headed outside to dye some eggs. The kids did great with it. They were able to put them down into the dye themselves, and they LOVED picking out the colors. We made lots of different colors, and then at the end, I let them mix all of the colors together... thrilling..in case you were wondering. They had a ball with that part. I love how excited they get about the little things! I know it probably won't always be that way, so I try to soak those times in. I was pretty proud of myself for not getting too stressed out. I think being outside helped. The day was beautiful, and the cleanup was basically non-existent. It was a fun activity! I hope it will become a fun tradition for them in the years to come.





Looking forward to a beautiful Easter tomorrow! More celebrations to come!