The Kids Are Taking Over!

It's been a long time!

2011-02-02T15:02:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been a really long time since I last posted. We have been so busy with work, school, activities, trips, and just having fun that blogging has been on the back burner. With our second snow day in a row, I thought I'd take a few minutes to write a little about what we've been up to.

Disney

In December we visited Disney World and had a blast. Reese and Will were tall enough to ride some new rides, including Tower of Terror, Test Track, and Soarin'. The weather was nice and we even were able to swim a couple of days.

Olivia looses two teeth!

She finally looses her first two teeth within two days of each other. She was so excited.

Will joins a hockey team

Will has joined the IYHA hockey league and is on the mini-mite squad! It is for ages 4-5 year olds and is so much fun to watch. They have 3 games this winter and practices twice a week.

Snow day

We just went through a pretty bad ice storm the last two days and the kids were out of school. This morning when we went to play for an hour or so outside (on the ice), the kids decided that they wanted to put their ice skates on to ice skate in the yard and in the cul-de-sac. They had so much fun!

Those are just a few of the things we've been up to lately! Hopefully, I'll be back on posting again soon. Stay posted.

We're off to preschool!

2010-09-04T16:21:00.000-04:00

Reese and Will started preschool about a month ago and absolutely love it! They are making new friends and learning so much already. Here they are on their first day. The backpacks were a hit and they feel pretty special wearing them.

Happy Easter

2010-04-09T16:31:00.000-04:00

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post!!

I am now finished teaching for the time being... I loved being at Olivia's school and I ended up really liking special education. It did feel good to finally do something with my master's degree! I'm back home and back to my old routine so hopefully I'll be back to blogging. I am still pretty busy with my last online class to renew my teaching license, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the kids on Easter - if you look real close you can see Kula in the left window peeking out!

Here the kids are with their Alvin and Brittany beanie babies (from the Squeakquel movie)!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter!

My own little hiatus!

2010-01-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

As the title indicates, I am taking a break from blogging. I have been back to work for about a month teaching at Olivia's school and have come to the realization that time is something I don't have a lot of right now. I have decided that blogging will have to be put on the back burner so I can focus on "everything" else! I will try to stay in touch with family and friends through email - let's cross our fingers I remember. **wink, wink**

Have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Picture

2009-12-31T08:16:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, we actually got a pretty good picture of all 3 kids for our Christmas card this year! We had them wear the traditional Santa hats and crossed our fingers that when they sat next to each other we would have smiles and not grumpy faces! It only took 5 shots and this is what we have.......

Thanks to Renee at Busy Bee Paperie for the wonderful selection of Christmas cards! I loved ours this year and will definitely be ordering again next year.

Crib Free!!!!!

2009-12-04T15:48:00.001-05:00

After a little over 5 years, (long pause) I am proud to say our house is CRIB FREE! Reese and Will's new "big kid" furniture arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more excited. They seem to love their beds, and knock on wood, haven't dared to get out of them! Here are a couple of pictures from their rooms.

Reese doesn't have a theme yet for her room and Will's room has a pirate theme. Decorating their rooms will now be easier since they have permanent furniture. Hopefully soon I can share pictures of their completed bedrooms!

Elfie's not for everyone!

2009-12-01T14:21:00.001-05:00

So this is Elfie our house Elf! He is one of Santa's elves who will be calling our house home for the month of December. Santa sent him to watch over the kids and report back every night on if they have been naughty or nice. Elfie has strict orders not to talk to us but we can talk to him. Also, we cannot touch him or else he'll loose his Christmas magic and won't be able to return to the North Pole every night to talk to Santa.

All of the kids love Elfie. They love finding his new hiding spot every morning and Olivia especially loves talking to Elfie - telling him all the things Reese and Will have done wrong! It's nice too because I talk to Elfie telling him bits of information to take back to Santa. I tell him good things the kids have done but also he hears when they aren't being very good! You better believe Olivia and Will shape up if I tell Elfie of their "naughty" behavior!!

Reese on the other hand is a different story. She loves the idea of having Elfie around the house. She loves finding him in the morning and talks about him occasionally throughout the day. The problem is, she isn't fazed by the fact that he is telling Santa how she has acted for the day! She'll be talking mean to Will or not playing nice with Olivia and I'll say in a most dramatic voice, "Oh, boy Elfie, I would hate for Santa to find out that Reese isn't sharing with her sister." Reese will just look at me like I'm the crazy one and continue on with what she was doing! I give up!

I guess Elfie's not for everyone!

No No No!

2009-11-23T15:18:00.002-05:00

Walked up the stairs and saw this!

In case you can't read this it says,
"No Reese
and Will
No tuch
No No No"!

My kindergartner is learning to write her brother and sister notes!

My little Cherub Singers

2009-11-12T09:12:00.002-05:00

Last year Olivia was in the Cherub Choir at church. It was the cutest thing EVER seeing her belt out her church songs as loud as she could. I couldn't wait for this year to come so Reese and Will could join Olivia up on stage to sing their little hearts out too.

They've been practicing the same two songs for 2 months now every Wednesday night. I have been lucky enough to sit out in the hall to listen to them practicing and everything was going great. We sang our songs at home and to everyone we knew. I thought, "Yes - they are ready!"

This past Sunday was the moment of truth - Olivia, being the old pro she was, had no problem getting her robe on and ran right in to get ready. Reese and Will seemed a little hesitant and really wanted nothing to do with their robes. The one thing that was working was their "bribe"!

Let me back up - before we left for church we told the kids that if they were really good listeners and sang really well in church, they could pick out 2 pieces of candy from their trick-or-treat bags!! We even brought their candy bags in the car so they could pick something out as soon as church was over. :)

Anyways, we dropped them off after trying to take a few pictures and waited for them to enter the sanctuary. To our surprise, in they walked as quiet as could be and stood perfectly in their rows. They all three sang great and looked so adorable! I was so proud of them. Of course the first thing they said when we picked them up was, "Do we get our candy now?!".

I blocked out all of the faces except Olivia, Reese, and Will. Olivia and Reese are in the top row right in the middle and Will is in the bottom row, far right!

Not your typical Disney pictures!

2009-11-09T15:39:00.006-05:00

I would like to start off by saying we had a FANTASTIC time at Disney World!

I mean, who wouldn't??

It is the most magical place in the world! Am I right?

I am finding myself already planning our next trip in my head and we've only been home a couple of weeks! Going through all of our pictures I found the traditional "character" pictures - which are great this time since Reese wasn't scared and is actually smiling! But I also had many other great moment pictures. I have decided to post some of those off-hand pictures so you can see what else we were up to - besides hanging out with Mickey and the gang.

Dessert always tastes better when it is shaped like a mouse!

We love hanging out at the Beach Club. Playing in the sand is so much fun.

I love this picture not only for Cinderella's Castle, but wow - it really isn't that crowded! Olivia is dressed up as Mulan!

Since we took it easy on this trip, we had plenty of time for the carousel!

The highlight of the trip was finding out that Olivia was tall enough to ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster! She loved it and rode it twice. (That's my girl!)

Reese and Olivia LOVED dressing up together at the parks.

Every time we visit Disney, Olivia gets her hair wrapped! Reese wanted to as well but I think I saw that you had to be 5! *wink*

We were so lucky for warm weather. Not only were we able to go to the water park one day, we were able to have fun at the hotel pool as well!

Who doesn't like eating chocolate covered ice cream on a hot day!

I love this picture! Will looks like he was caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing! He was watching a lady make funnel cakes at the Boardwalk!

OK, so I had to put one character picture in the bunch! Here is Olivia with Mulan.

SHARK!!!!!

The teacups were a favorite of all 3! We went super fast every time.

Even waiting for a parade to start the kids had games to play! Everyone's always happy at Disney.

Well, until next trip........

Halloween Fun

2009-11-03T08:42:00.007-05:00

We had so much fun this Halloween with several opportunities to dress up in our favorite costumes. The first was the annual twins club Halloween party which is always a hit. There were many fun crafts, a cookie decorating table (which was Will's FAVORITE!), a snack table, and some awesome goody bags. We met up with our friends Michael, Logan, and Aiden who looked smashing in their costumes. For this party Will choose to be a football player and for everything else he was Buzz Light Year.

Olivia's school had a Kindergarten party where the kids were able to dress up, play games, do crafts, and watch an animal show put on by Silly Safaris. Again, another fun evening had by the kids!

And the night we were all waiting for, Halloween. Tonight, Olivia wanted her face painted like Mulan does in the movie and she looked stunning! We walked around with our friends and my niece came over to walk around with us as well. She looked adorable as a ladybug and guarded her bag like it was worth a million dollars! All of the kids did great Trick-or-Treating despite the chilly weather and came home with a TON of candy. Luckily the demand for candy is dropping more and more each day just as I am sneaking candy out of their bags to make it look like they have eaten it! (Ok, so maybe I've been eating a little here and there!!)

We're 3!

2009-11-02T14:10:00.008-05:00

"Hey everyone, We're 3!"

Reese and Will had a great 3rd birthday with 2 fantastic parties. (Yes, I know I am a little more than a month behind in posting this!!) The first one was a carnival themed party with their friends during lunch. We had it in the basement since it was rainy and the backyard was wet. All the kids had a blast eating popcorn, bouncing in the bounce house, playing carnival games and just hanging out together. After they were done playing it was time to go upstairs and eat lunch. We had hot dogs from the grill and afterwards, it was time to sing Happy Birthday and eat cupcakes! They loved opening their presents and playing for a little while longer before it was time for their friends to leave. Luckily for me, when everyone left, it was nap time!!

After nap, it was time for party number 2! This was a fun cookout with all of our family. Reese and Will loved having cake and ice cream and opening even more presents. The weather turned out to be a little bit better so they were able to play outside with their cousins. :)

I'm a football player!

2009-10-14T08:01:00.004-04:00

For a month now Will has been saying that he wants to be a football player for Halloween. No amount of persuading towards costumes he already has in our closet (Buzz Lightyear, skeleton pirate, Mickey Jedi) did the trick.

"I'm a football player!" he says.

Well, thanks to Grandma Debbi - who found a cool football outfit (ehh, uniform/outfit/costume? insert manly/boyish title)- Will is in football heaven! He won't take his outfit off and when I do pry it off of him, he carries it around!

Now all I need are some burly shoulder pads and some wicked black paint for under his eyes and he's set! **insert Tim the Toolman Taylor's manly grunt here!**

Soccer anyone?

2009-10-13T20:24:00.004-04:00

I guess it's fitting that I write my soccer post after Olivia is finished with her fall season! She really had a great time playing on her co-ed Kindergarten team. It was nice that she had someone on her team from her class and that she knew at least one person from every other team she played. After her last game, all of the kids received a trophy. Boy was she excited!! We are displaying it proudly on our mantle.

Shortly after Olivia started playing, we signed Will up to play as well. He wasn't quite old enough to play on his own so he is in a parent - toddler class with Greg. He ABSOLUTELY loves playing. The uniforms that they gave the kids are adorable too! Luckily with his soccer he can continue to play through the winter since it is indoors.

Just realized as I was about to upload pictures of Will that I really don't have any good pictures to share! Hmmm, that makes for a good blog post! Here he is from the back! He is number 2.

Reese and Will's first day of preschool!

2009-09-09T15:10:00.005-04:00

Reese and Will started preschool today! I can't tell you how excited they were. I'm not sure if it was that they were starting school or if it was their backpacks. :) Here they were before we left this morning.

Will's backpack is as big as he is!

No tears here!

At this point they were tired of me taking pictures!

Here is a picture of their classroom. They were one of the first ones there this morning so they had free reign of all the toys. It was cute that they played with each other - unfortunately that only lasted a few minutes. Will wanted to play with trucks!

After school was over, they were able to put their papers in their backpacks all by themselves.

When I went to pick them up, I think over 1/2 the class was crying! Will even said on the way home that his friends were crying. Luckily Reese and Will just sat there like big kids. :) They can't wait to go back on Friday.

New School Vocabulary Part 2

2009-09-03T20:13:00.002-04:00

Last night while giving Olivia a bath, I heard her saying over and over, "Dude - No Way!" Every time she said it, she did it with a different expression - like she was testing what the best way was to say that phrase!!

Kula's new hiding spot!

2009-08-29T11:07:00.005-04:00

After reading McMommy's post about front loading washing machines, I have been real diligent on keeping the door open when I am finished with the laundry. (Ewww - and I spent 1/2 hour cleaning and cleaning the inside of the machine!)

**Caution - her blog post will make you gag if you have a front loading washing machine!**

Yesterday I happened to walk by and see this -

Kula decided to take a peek inside! After getting her out of the washer (I was pretty afraid Reese or Will would close the door on her), I left her alone for a while.

A little bit later, I saw this -

I think she has found a good hiding place from the kids!

Let's play soccer!

2009-08-25T08:06:00.005-04:00

Soccer started this past weekend. This is the first time Olivia has played in an organized league. In the past, she has played with church or just taken lessons at a local indoor soccer place. This time she has a uniform, a team name, and real "games" with other teams. Her team name is The Stingrays! Despite the 15 minutes or so of rain, I think she had a good time.

Her team has 8 players and they play 3 on 3 between 2 fields. Here she is taking her turn sitting out.

Back in the game, she decides to get aggressive to get the ball! I did hear the coach say several times during the game, "No Pushing"! Surly he wasn't talking to Olivia!!!

After scoring 2 goals (1 goal still in question), she is looking forward to the coming weekend. It's team picture day and she has games on Saturday and Sunday!

New School Vocabulary

2009-08-18T09:20:00.004-04:00

Apparently Olivia learned how to appropriately say "sweet" in a sentence today - as in really cool.

She wanted to play Mario Cart and as she was picking the pink car for the princess she says, "That is so sweet!" Then, as she is playing, she says again how the game is so sweet!

Yeah, Greg and I just looked at each other and smiled! We do have one cool rock daughter.

Smooth Sailing

2009-08-17T08:08:00.003-04:00

School rocks! Olivia loves everything about school. (I feel like I'm starting to read Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse! If only she had movie star sunglasses, boots that went clickety clack on the floor, shiny quarters, and a new purple plastic purse!)

She had a great first week even though she was pretty tired by Friday. This morning she decided to take her lunch for the first time. Again - she felt very cool!! I was informed that she had to bring a drink because the milk cartons at school were little and she didn't get that much to drink.

Only 3 more weeks until Reese and Will start their "school". Reese talks about it all the time (because she wants to be just like her older sister)! Will just wants a new backpack. Hopefully their first day will go off without a hitch and school will be a hit with everyone.

Hmmm, then what will I do?? Watch soaps and eat Bon Bons??

Today's the BIG day!

2009-08-11T08:23:00.007-04:00

This morning, my oldest daughter started kindergarten.

As I am sitting here typing this post, I still can't believe she is a kindergartner.

We have talked it up all summer about how she'd be riding the school bus with the big kids and how she'll go to school all day everyday. We told her she'd be able to bring her lunch to school, meet new friends, and learn how to read. We read a bunch of books about Kindergarten and even looked up online different games that Kindergartners play. She couldn't wait for school to start.

She was so excited when I woke her up this morning. She jumped right out of bed and started to get dressed. After breakfast and a mini photo session in the living room, we went outside to the bus stop.

I took her picture about 100 more times and got a few pics of her with some of her friends.

Then the moment came where all of the kids saw the school bus. Olivia was grinning from ear to ear. She turned around at the last minute and gave me a huge smile. My heart just melted. She's officially a "big" kid!

I will say, it was hard for me not to get on the bus with her! To make sure she was able to get a good seat, to remind her of the bus rules, and to remind her to tell the bus driver "thank you" when she gets off the bus. To make sure she remembered what her lunch choice was for today, to see if she remembered where her cubby was, and if she remembered her teacher's name.

I have to remember, she's growing up and can do these things by herself. She'll be fine and will have a great first day of school. I'll be waiting at the bus stop for her this afternoon where she'll tell me all about her day and how she'll be excited to go back tomorrow!

Way Back When-esday!

2009-07-29T08:22:00.004-04:00

Soon I will be posting pictures from our recent vacation to Hilton Head. Every year while on the beach, I try my hardest to get a great "beach" picture of the kids. You can only guess how well that endeavor goes! Anyway, I wanted to post a couple of those pictures from our first trip for your enjoyment!!

Date: June 2007

Twins' Age: 8 months

Stop by Twinfatuation for more Way Back When-esday posts!

Young Chef's Academy

2009-07-11T08:45:00.008-04:00

We had Olivia's birthday party with her friends at Young Chef's Academy. The kids were able to make and decorate cupcakes while having a great time hanging out together.

After her friends all went home, we had the family party at our house. She wanted a Luau themed party so we all dressed up in our Hawaiian outfits! She had a great party despite the rainy weather and had fun playing with her cousins.

Happy 5th Birthday Olivia!

2009-07-07T08:23:00.001-04:00

My baby is 5 years old! Wow, how the time has gone by so fast. She had a great birthday going to Monkey Joe's with some friends to bounce all morning. In the afternoon we made strawberry cupcakes and for dinner we went to Don Pablo's with her grandparents. Here are a few pictures from the day.

I couldn't leave out pictures of Reese and Will eating their dessert! You better believe they are going to get every last drop of ice cream.

Family Pictures

2009-07-05T16:43:00.003-04:00

We recently had our pictures taken with Greg's family for his parents' 40th wedding anniversary. The pictures turned out nice and I love that I finally have a family picture with Greg and the kids! Here are just a few of the pictures from the day.

4th of July fun

2009-07-04T09:05:00.006-04:00

The kids and I had a good time with some 4th of July activities that I found around town. The first one was a drop in craft at our local library. There were tables set up with supplies to make a fun star to carry around. They had a good time making it and carried it around for a couple of days before it eventually ended up in the trash! (shhh - don't tell!)

A visit to Conner Prairie proved to be even more fun than the library. We danced to patriotic songs, ate a great snack, made a super cool hat and pinwheel, danced some more and played a bunch of fun games.

Finally, we watched our towns 4th of July parade. This year was similar to last year with the cooler temps and off and on rain. The kids still had a great time - esp. Olivia. She was on a mission to collect as much candy as she possibly could!

Double Trouble

2009-07-02T17:30:00.006-04:00

Here comes double trouble! Notice Reese's shirt?? She loves having a shirt with her name on it!

Wow it's been a long time!

2009-06-08T21:03:00.009-04:00

I have no excuses - it has been almost 2 months since my last post. I'm really embarrassed. All I can say is that I have been really busy. Not with anything overly exciting, just normal day to day stuff. Here is a sample of what's been going on at our house.

*My brother visited us from Florida and we ran a 1/2 marathon! I ran it in 2 hours and 11 minutes. That is a personal record for me. I worked real hard and stuck with my training schedule. Next year I am going to try to finish in under 2 hours!

*Reese is obsessed with flip flops! I bought her a pair that had the strap in the back to help her walk in them, but really, what was I thinking! The second we got home, I had to cut the back strap off because they weren't like Olivia's flip flops! Also, she was really excited when I bought her jammies with flip flops all over them. Yes, the girl loves her flip flops.

*Mother's Day was a ton of fun. The kids gave me a really pretty necklace from Hawaii (my favorite place) and we had a cookout in the afternoon. Greg blackened Mahi Mahi on the grill and it tasted wonderful.

*Movie Night!! We had our first movie night in the basement with Reese and Will. I wasn't sure how they would do sitting through the entire thing, but with popcorn as an incentive, they did pretty good! Olivia choose the movie Bolt and all of the kids liked it. Since movie night was a success, this past weekend we took all of them to a real movie theater. Olivia is a pro, but Reese and Will had to leave last summer in the middle of Surf's Up and had never been back. We went to see the movie Up. (What a great movie!) Reese didn't move a muscle the entire time. Will did get fidgety towards the end, but managed to make it. They all had a really good time and are still talking about the movie.

*We took the kids to qualifications at the track. Despite the unseasonably cold weather, I think they all really enjoyed it. Olivia's favorite driver is Danica Patrick. Will really liked seeing the race cars go by super fast. He talked about it for weeks after we saw them. I was a little nervous with how loud the cars were, but they did a great job keeping their headphones on.

*Reese is POTTY TRAINED! Yes you read it right - she is potty trained. The best part about the whole thing is that I didn't have to lift a finger. She just decided one day that she was not going to wear "baby diapers" anymore! If only Will was that determined. :)

*The twins club had a playgroup to pick strawberries last week. I couldn't believe how much fun we all had! Olivia and Reese were really into picking the strawberries and Will had fun finding rocks to put in his pockets and pulling up the little flags that were being used as markers! I will say though, Will did like eating the strawberries!

*Olivia's last day of preschool was last week. She is growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. I've been putting together photo albums of our vacations with the kids and seeing some of the pictures made me a little teary eyed! 5 years have gone by so fast!

That is a little bit of what we've been up to! Please check back often - I will do much better with my updates. :)

A future teacher maybe??

2009-04-30T14:19:00.005-04:00

Hmmm, will she follow in my footsteps? Unfortunately Will isn't paying a bit of attention to the story!

Will loves to play basketball

2009-04-28T13:15:00.005-04:00

Will's new favorite thing to do is play basketball. Every time we are outside, he grabs a ball and practices dribbling and shooting. He really is starting to get pretty good. I think I am seeing the NBA in his future! (Although he does need to grow several more feet!) **Check out Will's new haircut**

Check out the perfect hand positions!

So I had to throw in a picture of Reese and Olivia since it has been forever since my last blog post!

This picture of Olivia was over the weekend when we had the kite out. It was extremely windy - I am surprised that Olivia didn't fly away with the kite!

Say Cheese.........or not!

2009-04-12T19:47:00.005-04:00

Do you know how hard it is to get a good Easter picture of 3 children? Yeah, let me tell you that it is not easy. Olivia did a good job for the most part (unless she was getting frustrated with her brother and sister)! Reese wanted to cry or pout and Will didn't want to look at the camera. Below are some of the winners of today's pictures!

Good Pictures

(Unfortunately none of Will!)

Not so good pictures!

Don't you just love the look on Reese's face? Well, I guess there is always next year! Happy Easter everyone.

Bunny House

2009-04-11T21:21:00.009-04:00

You know bunny house don't you?

What, you mean to tell me you have no idea what I am talking about?

Well, all day long Will would say over and over, "Bunny House?". I'd ask him if he thought we were going to the Easter Bunny's house or if the bunnies were outside in our backyard (we have 2 resident bunnies that seem to love our backyard). The answer would always be no with a huff and puff because I didn't know what he was talking about. We had talked to the kids about going to an Easter egg hunt this afternoon and so I thought he was talking about that, but still no dice. I have since given up even though he still talked all evening about bunny house.

I'm clueless!!

Anyway, we did go to an egg hunt at Olivia's school this afternoon. It was a fun 30 minutes of kids running around crazy trying to get as many eggs as possible. (Then seeing how much candy they could sneak into their mouth before getting caught!) I stuck around with Reese and Will's age group (2 and under) which was very entertaining. I would say 90% of the kids would pick an egg, open it, try to eat the candy without taking the paper off, then go find another egg. It was cute how they were all about quality over quantity. This was especially true for Will. He was so intent on eating every piece as soon as he got it that he ended up with only a few eggs. It was the extreme opposite for Olivia's age group! They were all about trying to get as many eggs as possible. Then uncovering the loot.

Loved the horsey ride!

2009-04-10T12:08:00.005-04:00

One of Olivia's Christmas presents this year was a certificate to go on a carriage ride. She has been very patient for the weather to become warmer, so we would be able to enjoy it without the canopy up. Last night proved to be the perfect night.

We went downtown early enough to eat dinner at the Spaghetti Factory (which the kids love) and then head on over to the carriage rides. Reese and Will talked all through dinner about going on the "horsey ride".

Our horse's name was Cheyenne. After the carriage ride was over, all of the kids were able to pet her and scratch her neck. We had such a great time and they are still talking about it today!

I am a slacker

2009-04-06T21:34:00.007-04:00

Yes, you saw it here first - I am a slacker.

I have totally neglected my blog and I feel rotten.

I tried to come up with some great excuses, but I. have. none. *sigh*

I was especially bummed when McMommy had a POW and I missed it!

So I've decided to do a quick potpourri of random thoughts so I can pull this blog back into shape!

**I am training for a half marathon and it is kicking me in the behind. I've done every single run, but I am exhausted by 8:00. This week my long run is at it's highest (12 miles) and then it is downhill until the race. There are only 3 1/2 weeks left and I am feeling pretty confident that I can reach my personal goal of finishing in under 2 hours and 15 minutes. :)

**All kids really need, to have a great hour (or more) of fun, is a big box!

**I'm really getting tired of this wishy washy weather. One day the kids are playing in shorts and t-shirts and the next day it is snowing. It is so annoying trying to uncover winter coats after I just unpacked spring clothes. Seriously, pick a temperature and stay with it.

**Reese has gotten attached to one of Olivia's baby dolls. This can be a problem since all of a sudden, it is Olivia's favorite baby doll. We are trying to convince Olivia to pick out a new baby doll at the store and give Reese the old baby doll. So far, she can't find one good enough to replace the old one! Here she is holding the infamous baby doll! (Will decided to get into the picture with her as well!)

**Last week we went to the zoo and I captured this great shot of Olivia. She loved wearing the flower in her hair - even though it wasn't supposed to be picked!

**I just found out that I won a second giveaway at McMommy and Me! Dare I say I'm feeling pretty lucky right now!!

**So I signed up on twitter. Not exactly sure why since I have no idea what I am doing!

I think that is enough for now. It is time for me to call it a night. I have to get up early tomorrow morning to run! Night all.

Our visit with the Easter Bunny

2009-03-29T14:07:00.004-04:00

This afternoon we took the kids to the mall to see the Easter Bunny. I was a little nervous with Reese considering how scared she was of the characters at Disney World. To my surprise though, she went right up to him and sat on his lap. Then when we were done taking pictures, she gave him a hug! I think she still looks a little frightened in the pictures. Her smile isn't too convincing!

We are rollin' with bike stories!

2009-03-28T13:36:00.003-04:00

Last night Olivia informed us that she can ride a bike without training wheels.

Earlier in the day, a neighbor friend was over playing and Olivia decided to try out her bike (that didn't have training wheels). I caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of my eye and thought to myself, "Wow, is she really riding that bike?". When I turned completely around to watch she had decided that she was done and went on playing with something else. I didn't think much more of it until dinner when she announced that she could do it.

When we got home from dinner, we decided to bite the bullet and just take the training wheels off. I couldn't believe my eyes, but she did a pretty good job! Turning corners still needs more practice, but riding in a straight line was pretty good.

I really think what helped her was Reese and Will's balance bike. They received this as a gift for their birthday and we had put it away because they were still a touch too small. Since the weather has been getting better, we brought it out for Olivia to practice on. She has gotten pretty good at balancing on it. Here she is on the balance bike.

Unfortunately my pictures turned out a little blurry - Here are the two best ones of her on her bike.

She's a natural

2009-03-23T13:38:00.007-04:00

Last week we decided to get Olivia's old Dora bike down to see if Reese would be interested in riding on it. Little did we know that not only did she want to - she was really good. It was like she had been riding for years. She absolutely loved riding so we decided to get her a good bike for the summer. Here are a couple of pictures and a video of Reese and her new "Purple Flower" bike!

Wow, 6 months already??

2009-03-19T14:23:00.005-04:00

Brrrrring..... Brrrrring.....

Hello-

This call is to confirm your children's dentist appointments in 2 days.....

Oh, wow, already?? (I guess I forgot to write that one down in my calendar!) Sure, ummm, we'll be there.

Today was the day for the dentist. The last time we went to the dentist was the first visit for Reese and Will. They didn't do so hot. I had to sit in there with them while they screamed and cried. Luckily I had reinforcements in the waiting room to watch the other kids! Today though, I went in with great confidence (OK, really I woke up at 3:00am worrying about how I was going to handle the meltdowns, in which order they would go, whether they would tell me never to come back again - the list really does go on!).

I had Will go in first. I followed a few steps behind and he seemed to do great. I went back into the waiting room and a few minutes later I was summoned in to help with him. He was not having any part of getting his teeth cleaned. I thought he was going to choke he was crying so hard. It was so sad. Luckily as I was helping him, Olivia was sent back and they let Reese sit in a chair next to her. Reese was able to help them with Olivia's exam by holding a very important mirror! When Will was finally finished I peeked in on the girls and they were doing fantastic. Will and I went back into the waiting room and before I knew it, Olivia and Reese were done with no tears.

So I think I can say that the trip was almost a complete success! No cavities and only one meltdown. **sigh**

It's a done deal!

2009-03-17T14:26:00.005-04:00

Yes, Olivia is officially signed up for Kindergarten. I feel like she just hit a major milestone! We went into her "new" school and turned in all of the paperwork to start her up this fall. I think she felt really big today walking in and seeing some of the school. She was especially excited to see that there was a library inside! She does love books.

I am glad that tomorrow she'll be back to preschool. (At least for a little while longer.)

(I wonder if fairy attire would be appropriate for Kindergarten?)

Oh, she did NOT just do that!

2009-03-03T13:14:00.005-05:00

After music class on Tuesdays, we always go to lunch with our friends. Nothing fancy, just a great sandwich shop with the most fabulous sweet tea. As we were walking along the sidewalk towards the door Reese finds a half eaten sucker on the ground. I turn around to tell her to walk a little faster and what do I see? That half eaten sucker in. her. mouth! I about gagged right there on the spot. I pulled it out of her mouth and threw it back down on the ground.

On the way out of the restaurant to the car, she spotted it on the ground and ran to try and pick it up again! Ewww so disgusting.

My Handsome Little Man!

2009-03-01T21:32:00.005-05:00

Just a month ago, you might remember my post about Reese and Will's first haircuts. You remember, how fun it was having it cut at the Magic Kingdom Barber Shop in Disney World??? (Fantastic time - wouldn't change the experience for anything!) Well, I haven't exactly been thrilled with the cut. It wasn't horrible, but it just didn't look right. So Saturday Will and Daddy had some man time together and went to our local barber shop. I was quite surprised with how not worried I was about how it would turn out. **I can be a little obsessive about things!** Wow, was I blown away when I saw his haircut! I. LOVED. IT! Here is my handsome little man.

The best part was the great story Greg had about the outing. Will finished his haircut first and, like a big boy, went to the chairs against the wall to sit down to wait for Greg to finish. On the table next to him were some magazines. Will, who loves to read books and look at magazines, picked up a magazine and began to stare at the pictures. One guess as to which magazine Will was looking at??? Yep, Maxim! Such a big boy at only 2 years of age. *smile*

The perfect winter toy

2009-02-20T13:51:00.003-05:00

This past week we decided to order a second life vest for when we go to the beach this summer. (This way I won't have to worry so much when Reese and Will are in the water.) Little did I know that when it arrived, the vests would be the perfect toys to play with right now! Reese and Will (and mommy) are in life vest heaven!

First Haircuts - Disney Style!

2009-02-17T15:26:00.008-05:00

While we were in Disney, Reese and Will had their first haircuts! They were 2 years 4 months, and probably could have went another year before having their hair cut! (It just doesn't grow like Olivia's hair does!) The last day of our trip we spent at the Magic Kingdom and tucked back beside the barn, is the barber shop. We were lucky to get in before our breakfast at Cinderella's Castle.

Will went first and sat right up in the big boy seat. He loved having the cape around him and everyone watching. He did so good!! I didn't have a clue how to have his hair cut - the barber did a pretty good job. Will looked like such a big boy after he was done! I loved the Mickey ears they received - on the back it said "First Haircut"! Here are some pictures of Will.

Olivia didn't have her hair done, but the barber sprinkled confetti all over her hair. She really liked that. (Although it took several washings to get it all out!)

Reese wasn't real sure of the whole hair cut procedure. I thought she was going to freak out! The barber gave her a bunch of Mickey Mouse stickers and started putting them on her shirt. That helped to keep her occupied so he could do his work. Since she was only getting a tiny trim, it didn't take long at all. Here she is getting her hair cut.

She was so proud of all the stickers on her outfit. She had them on all day long!

Disney, Part 2

2009-02-06T12:48:00.006-05:00

Hollywood Studios was our next stop on our Disney trip. Olivia's favorite ride, The Tower of Terror, is there so she was super excited. Reese and Will had a good day too, esp. watching the Playhouse Disney show. There they could see The Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Pooh, and Handy Manny. We have been watching the movie Cars at home and were happy to see that we could meet Lightning McQueen and Mater.

Poor Will didn't bring anything to dress up in so we found a Jedi robe by the Star Wars ride that we bought for him. Unfortunately it is a little big, so he isn't wearing it that much!

We finished up the day having dinner at the Boardwalk and walking around Epcot while watching the fireworks. The next morning we had breakfast with the Princesses in Norway (in Epcot). Will loved meeting Mary Poppins - she even kissed his forehead and left red smooch marks!

Olivia loved hanging out with grandma as we waited for our table.

At breakfast, we saw Belle, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, and Mulan. I had to include the following picture for two reasons. 1. Poor Will is picking his nose! (Sorry Will) 2. The look Reese is giving Princess Aurora! She was not happy to be that close. :)

Here are a few more pics from Epcot.

The last day of our trip we spent at the Magic Kingdom. After Reese and Will had their first haircuts (that post to come soon), we had breakfast at Cinderella's Castle.

Reese really enjoyed the goofy roller coaster saying "that was fun!" when it was over. We couldn't resist buying Will a Buzz Lightyear costume and having his picture taken with Buzz.

We really did have the perfect vacation. The kids had a blast and really was blown away from it all. I can't wait until we visit Disney again!

Have a Magical Day!

2009-02-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

Reese and Will's first trip to Disney World was a complete success. Besides having the best weather (80's and sunny), we had the best time. Olivia was a great big sister the entire trip telling Reese and Will all about the airplane, characters, our Disney home, rides, and much more! Here are the kids getting ready to go on the airplane.

We had a morning flight so we could maximize our first day at the park. I was a little nervous about skipping Reese and Will's nap, but they were in the best of moods! After we checked in, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Grandma and PapPap met us there and after a quick picture of Cinderella's castle, we headed for some rides.

Reese and Olivia had so much fun dressing up in the evenings. Reese was Cinderella and Olivia was Sleeping Beauty. Here they are doing their princess pose!

For dinner that night, we went to The Crystal Palace to eat with Pooh and friends. I thought this would be perfect since Reese and Will LOVE Tigger and Pooh. We learned real fast though that Reese was terrified of the characters. Unfortunately she will not be in many of those pictures! Will, on the other hand, loved them and always hugged and kissed them. :)

The next day, we headed over to the Animal Kingdom after eating breakfast at our Disney home.

When we went to the Bug's Life show, Reese again wanted nothing to do with the 3-D glasses. But during the show - it was Will who got scared. Thankfully the safari ride was a hit with everyone.

After a nap in the afternoon, we had dinner at Chef Mickeys. Minnie Mouse was sly and was able to slide in to get a picture with Reese!

After dinner, we rode the monorail to Epcot so that we could walk back to our Disney home. Even though Reese and Will were tired, Reese and Olivia still dressed up again to walk through the park and catch the fireworks.

Until tomorrow (with another Disney post), have a magical day!

What a Night!

2009-01-22T09:21:00.004-05:00

The long awaited season premiere of Lost was last night and it. was. FANTASTIC!!! I tell you this is the best show on TV. I had a few friends over last night to watch and we had a great time. I made popcorn and we watched on the big screen with the lights dimmed! I felt like we were in the movie theater! I am already downloading my favorite Lost podcast to listen to at the gym today. I hope all of you Lost fans out there enjoyed it as much as I did. :)

Guess this song...

2009-01-21T09:11:00.012-05:00

The other day Olivia came home from playing at a friends house when she started singing a song. She really only sang one line over and over again dancing around the living room. It took me several times listening to her to figure out what she was singing. Greg and I were laughing so hard! Unfortunately I did not think to video tape it, but here are the words she sang:

I am sixty for my mom... sixty for my mom...

Need a hint??

According to Olivia, this song is on one of the Shrek movies.

Another hint??

Think 90's song.

You guessed it, "I'm too sexy" by Right Said Fred!

************************

When I dropped Olivia off at school today, I started looking at some of their artwork on the walls. There were clouds with an "I Have A Dream" caption on top. I read Olivia's cloud and her dream was:

I have a dream to be as old as my mom!

Tonight was Will's turn!

2009-01-10T20:30:00.005-05:00

A few posts back I was so excited to report Reese's victories on the potty. Poor Will though had nothing. Since then, they both sit on the potty everyday for 2.2 seconds saying "all done" and laughing. Every time though, nothing. Last night Reese went again resulting in M & M's for her and Olivia. (Yes, Olivia gets rewarded for their successes too!)

Tonight was Will's turn to shine! How excited we all were when he went to the potty! Olivia brought him his M & M's and then proceeded to help herself to a whole handful (2-3 is the limit). Reese on the other hand was not happy when she was left out of the rewards. Maybe that will be a great incentive for her to really try every time!!

Hours of Fun

2009-01-08T14:17:00.006-05:00

I have absolutely no idea what song Reese is singing, but she sure sounds cute!

I finally did it

2009-01-05T16:51:00.005-05:00

Over the weekend...

I committed myself...

to a fitness center!

Yes, for a whole year, I do NOT have an excuse not to exercise. The great part about it is that they have a nice kid area that Reese and Will can go play at for a while. When I dropped them off this morning, Will ran to play while Reese screamed my name for what seemed like an eternity! Luckily my pager didn't go off for me to pick her up.

My legs and knees are hurting at the moment - I guess that is a sign that I worked hard! (or that I am just getting old!)

Will's a sneaky little boy!

2008-12-31T10:54:00.004-05:00

So lately Will has been climbing on everything that he should not be climbing on. Here are a few of the places that I have caught him when I've had the camera close at hand.

These do not include the few times that I have not had the camera close by to snap a few shots. For example, climbing on the window sill in the playroom and onto the dining room table to swing the chandelier back and forth with Reese! Do I dare say, "Boys will be boys?"

Christmas '08

2008-12-30T13:49:00.010-05:00

Olivia sang in her very first Christmas Eve service at church this year. She is in the Cherub Choir and they sang 2 songs at the family service. She did such a good job. She sang real loud and almost had all the words right! Here she is in her Christmas dress before going to church.

The kids had a fantastic Christmas spending time with family and opening presents! (Reese loved the idea of opening gifts and said all day long, "More presents peas!". They were able to spend the day with both sets of grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It really was a fantastic day.

Santa brought Reese a trampoline since she is obsessed with jumping. She LOVES it! Eventually it will go in the basement, but for now it is still upstairs so she can jump anytime she wants. (The picture is a little blurry - will try to post a video soon.)

Santa brought Will several Geo Trax sets. He loves playing with the trains and using the remote controls. It was perfect for him since we took down our train under the tree - he'll still have his own train to play with.

Santa brought Olivia her own digital camera! She loved taking her very own pictures all day. Unfortunately I forgot to put in the memory card and she could only take a couple of pictures on the internal memory!! Oh well. She's already looking forward to taking pictures and putting them in her very own photo album. Santa also brought her an Easy Bake Oven. She received lots of mixes for cakes, cookies, and brownies-all of which she is making for daddy!

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your families!

Reese Did It!

2008-12-28T22:15:00.005-05:00

Hmmm, what did she do you ask??

She went to the potty for the FIRST time tonight!

Oh, how excited I was when she said, "I go potty mom mom" (yes for some strange reason she calls me mom mom!) and proceeded to walk into the bathroom like a big girl.

This is not all though. After she went, I began to put on her diaper and she informed me that she had to go number 2 as well. And low and behold, we went back to the potty and she did!

I have no idea where this all came from. Lately she has been dry at naps and I have asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty, but she always said no. After going through potty training already with Olivia, I am not about to push it with Reese and Will. Deep down I also know that this is probably a fluke and she won't go on the potty again for a while.

Oh, but did we do the potty dance afterwards. We also celebrated with M & M's!! I was such a proud mommy! **smile**

Waaay Back When-esday!

2008-12-17T12:36:00.007-05:00

As Christmas draws near I try to think back at Olivia, Reese, and Will's first Christmases. It's funny how most of Reese and Will's first months are blocked out of my mind, until I see a picture! Enjoy these blasts from the past.

Date: December 2004

Olivia's age: 5 months

(For some reason, Reese is in the blue seat and Will is in the purple seat!)

Date: December 2006

Olivia's age: 2 years 5 months

Reese and Will's age: 2 months

Head on over to Twinfatuation to check out more Way Back When-esday posts!

Creating the perfect Gingerbread House

2008-12-16T14:18:00.005-05:00

2 great friends + lots of icing and candy = the creation of the perfect Gingerbread house!

Tis the season for parties

2008-12-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

2 Christmas parties in one week!

The first was the Twins Club annual Christmas party. It was such a fun evening hanging out, eating great food, and having a "Yankee swap" gift exchange. It was crazy with gifts being stolen left and right. I lucked out and ended up with a Starbucks gift card. How perfect for me! :) Here I am with my good friend Renee.

The second was the hubby's work Christmas party. Again, we had great food and drinks! Here we are before leaving the house.

The Polar Express

2008-12-12T13:42:00.003-05:00

My friend and I took our kids to the local train station for a Polar Express train ride. To prepare Olivia for the event, we watched the movie and read the book. She was very much in to the story and couldn't wait for us to go to the train station. When we arrived, we went into the program room and listened to the story. After the story a special guest appeared in the middle of singing Jingle Bells. It was Santa and Mrs. Claus. He lead us to the train outside where we listened to the conductor yell, "All Aboard", and we boarded the train. On the train we had snacks and took a ride - almost all the way to the North Pole. Mrs. Claus let us know that we couldn't go all the way because the elves were getting our presents ready and if we saw them, we wouldn't be able to get them on Christmas. Good thing we didn't see anything!! Olivia really had a good time and thought the train ride was super cool. :)

Bumper Car Fun

2008-12-12T12:50:00.001-05:00

We really have found the perfect toy for the winter to keep in our basement. When Olivia was little, we bought her a bumper car. She LOVED it. Her favorite thing to do in it was to spin around in circles until she was dizzy. When Reese and Will were old enough to understand how to navigate the bumper car, we bought another one so they would each have one. The funny thing is, they also love to spin around until they are completely dizzy. (It must be a kid thing!) Here is a short video of them in the bumper cars.

Who's that girl?

2008-12-12T08:40:00.000-05:00

Olivia loves to dress up Reese. Today's outfit was cute because Olivia wanted Reese to wear her Fancy Nancy outfit to match her Fancy Nancy doll. Here they are together.

Noooo, Not Santa

2008-12-11T14:11:00.004-05:00

This morning we decided to take the kids to see Santa at the Children's Museum. I was preparing for the absolute worst scenario with Reese kicking and screaming with complete fear paralyzing her face. But to be honest, it wasn't that bad. Olivia and I worked on her letter to Santa yesterday. She told me the majority of what to write and she wrote in the items that she wanted. I didn't sway her decisions with what she might want from Santa, I let her come up with ideas on her own. She put the following on her list:

1. toy dog

2. games

3. toy horse

4. dolls

5. picture frame (no idea where this came from??)

6. rocking chair

7. camera

When we got there, all of the kids were really excited. They all had smiles on their faces and were jumping up and down. As we got closer and closer though, Reese seemed to be getting a little stressed out. When it was our turn, we put Olivia on a stool in front of Santa and Will on one leg. When Reese saw what was happening she started saying real loud, "NOOOO" as she turned her body into rubber. I couldn't pick her up off the floor to save my life! I told her that I was going to sit next to Santa and she could sit on my lap. She didn't realize though that I was sitting her on Santa's lap and I quickly got out of the way. Here is our picture.

The funny thing is how scared Will looks! He was so quiet that I thought he was fine. I focused on Reese making sure she wasn't going to try to slide off Santa's lap. Poor Will - hopefully he won't be haunted from the experience!

Random Thoughts Tuesday

2008-12-09T14:19:00.004-05:00

**Olivia was evaluated in gymnastics to see if she could join the Hot Shots class and she made it!! I was so excited for her. We do need to practice a lot at home, but she should really enjoy this harder class. (It is an invitation only class.) The girls get matching leotards to wear and they do mini competitions.

**Reese is getting better at talking. She said the other day (very dramatic and with hand motions to boot), "I play church, throw ball!"

**Will LOVES our train under the Christmas tree. He could sit for hours watching it go around and around. We just added another circle track and a new engine that has the conductors talking to each other - pretty cool.

**Olivia sang for the first time in church this past Sunday. The Cherub Choir sang 2 songs. It was so cute. They even wear mini robes! Here she is before her performance.

**Olivia and I went to see The Nutcracker this past weekend. We had such a good time. We went for the first time last year and both times she loved the entire show. She really liked that there was a story to follow along with and the fact that the girls wore pretty costumes and danced really neat!

**We took our Christmas card picture. We decided to duplicate last years photo by having the kids wear Santa hats. This year, we put them in their jammies and had them sit in front of the tree.

**Going to visit Santa in a couple of days. I am thinking that this year's Santa picture will be full of tears. Reese will probably freak out and scream - we'll see. I am sure I'll be posting the picture for all to view!

Enough rambling for now -

Happy Tuesday!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

2008-11-30T13:45:00.005-05:00

Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and looked out my window - it was snowing! I knew that there was a chance of snow, but I guess I was in winter denial. I am a summer girl. I love the beach, sitting in the sun, wearing flip flops, anything and everything that has to do with the warm weather. I am not a winter girl. I try to act excited for the kids but uggh, the snow, ice, cold, etc., STINKS!

The kids on the other hand love the snow. (Well, all except for Reese - she's my girl!!) We got them all bundled up and went outside to play. Greg took them on a sled ride and built two snowmen. Will loved eating the snow. Here are a few pics from this morning.

This is a bonus picture - you can see our Christmas tree in the background!

Reese didn't like the sled!

Yes, I know our snowman looks more like a bear!

Quick - Grab the Fairy Dust!

2008-11-25T15:02:00.004-05:00

Our trip to Disney World was a blast! A little chilly for Florida in my opinion, but we had our pants, long sleeves, and jackets. Olivia loved riding Space Mountain and Everest. We rode those rides several times - luckily it wasn't very crowded. Her favorite ride, Tower of Terror, we rode 4 times! She didn't much care for Mission: Space. I think she was a little confused as to if it was real or not. (We had just watched the space shuttle launch a week or so ago.)

Let me say though, this trip was a little different than previous trips. When we were on the Magical Express on our way to our Disney home, the movie started playing. We had seen the movie several times since we take the Magical Express almost every time we go to Disney. I didn't think Olivia was paying much attention to it until she said the dreaded words.

"Mommy, is that a real person in there?" (Referring to Mickey Mouse)

I about died right there in my chair. Of course I said, in a very dramatic way, "No that isn't a real person, that is Mickey Mouse!!" Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of her questions. The entire trip, she asked numerous "is that real or pretend" questions. Luckily most of those questions were directed to different parts of the rides, like fake rain or ghosts.

Her grown up behavior didn't end there. Her beloved princess Minnie Mouse that she got 2 or so years ago and has been on every trip we have made in those 2 plus years was left in the hotel room. Minnie has rode all of the rides with Olivia, watched all the shows, and ate all meals with us. This time though, after the first day, Olivia wanted to keep her in the hotel room!

Then, at the Bibbidi Bobbiti Boutique, of the 3 hair do's to choose from, she picked the one that looked the least like a princess. Don't get me wrong - she did look cute, but it wasn't like a princess. Speaking of princesses, she only wore her Jasmine costume the first 2 days. After that, she didn't care much to wear it. She just wanted her "regular" clothes. This coming from a girl who begged and pleaded with us on all previous trips to wear her costume for the entire time we were there, including to bed!

I was in complete shock. I was wishing Tinker Bell would have flown down and sprinkled fairy dust all over Olivia to stop her from growing up! I do think, for the most part, she still believes in it all. But I could tell this time that she is beginning to maybe see Disney through big girl eyes! That's not bad, just a little bit different.

It's the first day, she still has Minnie and costume!!

Ta da! Disney Diva at your service.

Who doesn't love a Mickey Mouse dessert?

Jasmine, meet Jasmine!

Decorating gingerbread cookies at our hotel.

Breakfast was out of this world! We bought several different pastries from a pastry shop in France (in Epcot) and shared them. Oh so yummy!

Disney, here we come!

2008-11-20T13:30:00.003-05:00

T minus 17 hours and counting. Yes, we have the first flight out tomorrow morning to see the big guy. You guessed it right - Mickey Mouse. Olivia is super excited to go as she is wearing her Tinker Bell costume right now, putting on Mickey Mouse and friends stickers all over my shirt, and coloring in a Mickey Mouse coloring book. Here she is this morning with her "1st trip" button, sticker, and light up Tinker Bell clips, ready to go.

She has reached another height milestone for this trip. We will be able to ride Space Mountain, Everest, and Mission Space! What trip isn't complete without a visit to the Bibbity Bobbidy Boutique and breakfast with the princesses? I am even more excited with her choice of costumes to wear. I have been waiting for my favorite one, and finally, she has agreed to wear it. She will be Jasmine!

Mickey Mouse ears - check

Pin necklaces - check

Minnie Mouse stuffed animal - check

Jasmine costume - check

autograph books - check

1 super excited mommy, uhh, I mean 4 year old - check!

Disney, here we come!

Who's a drama queen?

2008-11-18T14:09:00.003-05:00

Lately Olivia has been acting like a real drama queen. There is so much drama in everything she does. Most of the time I just laugh at it. I even found this cute shirt that says "Such a Drama Queen" and of course I bought it for her.

Today she decided to wear it - she does look adorable! So I was in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast and I glanced into the living room and saw that Olivia was playing with Reese. All of a sudden I hear Olivia say very loudly, "Reese, you are such a drama queen". I almost rolled on the floor laughing. I said to her, "Who's the drama queen?" Apparently it is Reese!

Uggghhh

2008-11-15T13:39:00.005-05:00

All I have to say today is that it is FREEZING outside, it has rained probably for the last week straight, and now Reese and Will both have colds!

Afternoon Fun

2008-11-14T09:51:00.006-05:00

Our house is FULL of dress up clothes. Olivia loves to dress up almost everyday. It is really cute now because she is getting Reese and Will excited about dressing up. Earlier this week she decided that she would pick out their clothes and help to dress them!

Wait a minute, where's Will??

(Can you tell we have an over abundance of stuffed animals and dolls!)

We decided it would be fun if we all sat down to color some Tigger and Pooh pages. I'm sad to say, this is the real first time we have done this. Reese and Will are just getting out of the "putting everything in their mouth" stage and would eat the crayons. I found it real interesting watching them and seeing how they "colored". Here they are all sitting at the playroom table.

Reese was real particular with her crayons. She would line them up and use the first one, then put it at the end of the row. She continued using them in order until she was finished coloring.

Will on the other hand, had no method of coloring. He just grabbed whichever one was closest and threw it down when he was finished.

Gotta Love Toddlerhood

2008-11-09T15:48:00.006-05:00

I bet you didn't know that toddlers can absolutely LOVE something one day, and HATE it the next!!! Well, here is my case in point. I gave the kids some kind of Spaghetti O's and Reese almost ate the entire can. She even started crying when it was gone saying, "peas mommy, peas more, peas, peas, peas." Look at her sad, sad face. (I'm surprised she didn't lick the bowl!)

Since she loved this so much, I decided to give it to her and Will for lunch again the next day. I leave the kitchen for just a few minutes and when I returned, I found this mess.

Yeah, they weren't loving it so much here. I even think they enjoyed flinging it off their spoons at each other. This will teach me to leave the kitchen when they are eating lunch!

Romp in the Leaves

2008-11-06T14:12:00.003-05:00

It has been absolutely gorgeous here the past week. The temps have been in the mid 70's which is perfect outdoor play weather. The best part is that the leaves are falling from the trees, so we were able to rake them up and jump in them. (Although all I could find was a garden rake, and that is really hard to use for leaves!) We have pretty small generic neighborhood trees so the leaf pile was pretty small - Olivia didn't care though. Here she is having the best time.

Right?

2008-11-04T20:32:00.004-05:00

Reese has another new saying.

For the life of me though, I don't know where she got it from.

This time, it wasn't from me. (Even though it took me awhile to figure out that "watch out" and "stop it" was from me. I would just laugh when she said those at the exact time they should be said!)

Her new saying is "right??" (or as she says, 'ight) at the end of almost every sentence - correct voice inflection included! For example, "Eecee feet cold, 'ight???" or looking at me, "Will Will, shoes off, 'ight??" She also says very frequently after telling me something, " 'ight mommy, 'ight??"

I can't wait to see what she starts saying next. ;)

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T16:07:00.005-04:00

We hope everyone had a great time trick-or-treating last night!! Here are a few pics from our evening. Olivia had tons of fun at her school's Halloween Parade.

OK, I know Olivia won't be happy that I am adding this picture - but I couldn't resist!! For the life of me I can't remember why she was so upset! :)

Reese and Will LOVED the candy. I tried to hold them off as long as possible, but the suckers won in the end.

Well, maybe the chocolate won in the end. Will was bound and determined to get to the candy, even if it meant eating through the paper!

Random Pictures

2008-10-29T12:59:00.006-04:00

I have been a neglectful blogger. I admit, it has been a week since my last post. The terrible 2's are zapping all of my energy and getting on the computer has not been my first priority. This is why today's post will be a hodge podge of things that have been happening at my house.

Number 1 and to me the most exciting...

We have gotten rid of our high chairs!! We are all now sitting together at the table for meals. It really has opened up the kitchen, not to mention one less "baby" item in the house. **smile**

Number 2... Olivia loves dressing up Reese in her old princess costumes! Reese seems to really like it too.

Number 3... Pumpkin carving time!! Who else out there LOVES to bake the pumpkin seeds after carving your pumpkin??? I do think the seeds are the best part - great snack. I was very apprehensive about the mess, but it turned out not to be so bad. The kids did love playing in the squishy guts of the pumpkins!

My pumpkin is on the left and Greg's pumpkin is on the right.

Number 4... Lunchtime!! My friend Renee and I took all of the kids (her 3 and my 3) to lunch and I had to snap a picture of all the kids. 5 total high chairs!! It's craziness!!

Number 5... Cute pics of Reese and Olivia. Even when Reese is upset, she still is cute! Olivia just loves to pose for the camera.

Number 6... OK, lunchtime again!! This time the kids all had their costumes on. We went to lunch right after music class where they wore their Halloween costumes. Notice the HUGE iced teas in the picture. This restaurant has the best sweet tea in the state! Giant glasses plus free refills - now that will put anyone in a good mood. :)

Number 7... Reese, at 2, is picking out her own clothes. Today - it was big head Dora. No matter what I did to sway her pick, she always went back to big head Dora. The girl sure does have a mind of her own.

My Sweet Little Boy

2008-10-22T19:15:00.006-04:00

My sweet little boy, who is so calm and layed back, has turned a corner this week. (Look, isn't he so calm and layed back!!!)

Isn't he sweet - just sucking his thumb!

Oh, this corner he has turned is not a very good corner! All of a sudden, the boy in him has decided to come out. Personally I think he had the best teacher with Reese - I know she taught him everything. He's been slowly watching, taking notes and has finally gotten up the courage to act.

"Hmmm, now is the time to show them what I've got!"

My sweet little boy has been in time out more times this week than I care to count. He has been climbing on furniture, getting in the trash, standing on the dining room table swinging the chandelier, hitting his sisters, ignoring me when I tell him no, and laughing when he gets into trouble! (And that's just scratching the surface.) The only saving grace for me is that he stays in time out when I put him there. I really think he likes it. So, when does the terrible 2's end???

Family Fun Day

2008-10-20T21:59:00.008-04:00

Olivia's preschool had their annual Family Fun Day this past weekend. They do such a great job organizing a fun couple of hours for the families of the school to hang out and have fun. This year we weren't able to stay very long due to Reese and Will's nap schedule (and boy did their crankiness show in full force!) but we did get through every station.

When we arrived, there was a fall scene set up with a photographer so we could get our pictures taken. I tried to have just the three kids in the picture, but no such luck - I ended up in the picture with them. After the picture was taken, we were off to the woods behind her school to see the "outdoor education" spots. They had a spider web made out of ropes that the kids had to climb through. Reese and Will really loved trying it even though it proved to be a little difficult.

Next, we hiked on the path to get to the campfire, rope swings, tree swings, and game area. The kids were able to roast marshmallows and play for a little while.

After that we walked back up to the school where the kids were able to pick out a small pumpkin and decorate it. The last craft was making a bird feeder to hang in our tree.

Reese was getting so tired that she was able to get Grandpa to carry her!!

Halloween Party

2008-10-17T09:47:00.006-04:00

Last night we went to the Twin's Club Halloween Party. This was a good trial to see how the kids would do in their costumes before Halloween. Olivia is a witch, Reese is a butterfly, and Will is an astronaut. They looked absolutely adorable. I was a little nervous taking them because Reese is in the middle of her "terrible two" stage. At the drop of a hat she will melt down and have a really hard time pulling herself back together. Surprisingly though, she did pretty well. As soon as we arrived, Olivia found some girls her age and started doing crafts. Reese found crayons and colored for at least a half an hour. Will on the other hand - he found the snack table. The boy is the pickiest eater and doesn't eat anything, but when he saw all of the cookies he must have thought he was in heaven! I could not get him away from the cookie table. I think it was because he hardly ever gets sweets and once he tasted a cookie, he was hooked. I have to give him credit for being resourceful - when he couldn't reach a cookie, he took a paper plate and tried using it as a tool to scoop the cookies closer to him! Here are a couple of pictures from the party.

Here is where it started, one harmless cookie!

You can see the look of desperation as he tries to figure out how to get more cookies!

"Maybe nobody saw me sneak this cookie - I better eat it fast!"

Helmet? Check!

2008-10-16T13:56:00.004-04:00

I can say that I feel good knowing that when Olivia is riding a bike or a scooter, she knows that she is to wear a helmet. Since we have been playing outside a lot, Reese has finally caught on to the concept of wearing a helmet too. We have an extra one that fits her pretty well and she wears it when we are outside playing. The other day when we went outside, Reese put on her helmet so she could ride in the cozy coupe! I felt a little bit better knowing that when she is going 1/2 mph, she'll be safe!!

Fairies can golf too!

2008-10-14T14:28:00.006-04:00

I bet you didn't know that fairies could golf. Well, I looked out the window and this is what I saw...

So yes, Fairies can golf! *smile*

Crazy October Weather

2008-10-12T23:02:00.003-04:00

I can not believe that it is the middle of October and we were outside playing in the water. Our weather has been crazy. The normal highs are in the middle 60's for this time of year. The past 4 days or so have been in the middle 80's!! Today it was so warm that we broke out our ginormous water slide. Olivia had so much fun playing with some of her friends in the neighborhood and Reese and Will had a blast when they got up from their nap!! It is sad to know that reality will be sinking in around Thursday when the temps drop back down to the 60's!!

It's field trip time

2008-10-12T22:37:00.009-04:00

This past Friday, Olivia's preschool, I mean Pre-K class, (as she always corrects me) went on a field trip to a country market. I was so excited that I was able to go with her on this trip. I have been on lots of field trips before with my own classes when I was teaching, but this was the very first time going as a parent!! She was such a big kid the whole morning. I thought she would want to hang out with me and be my partner but I took a back seat to all of her friends. It was a little sad for me, but at the same time, I loved watching her interact with all of her friends.

There were 4 stations that we visited. First, we went on a tractor ride around the farm and stopped at a bee hive where bees were making honey. Here is Olivia on the tractor. She does love the tractor rides!

Then, the kids went through a corn maze. Luckily the maze was marked with white paint to help everyone get through without getting lost!! Here is Olivia and her buddy going through the maze.

Next, we visited a "play" area. At this station the kids were able to "pretend" milk a cow, lasso a cow, play in the big piles of hay, and play in a pit of corn kernels!

Finally, the last stop was to see all of their animals! There were bunny rabbits, donkeys, sheep, pigs, chickens, and ponies. Before the kids left, they were able to pick out a pie pumpkin to take home. Check out Olivia's catch of a pumpkin! She loved the fact that her pumpkin had green all over it!

One of the best parts for her was being able to ride a big kid bus! Here she is waving bye as the bus leaves to take the kids back to school.

'in o up Mommy

2008-10-08T09:14:00.002-04:00

Reese and Will's new word of the week is window - or as they say, "in o". They love pointing to the window in the car and the house and saying "in o up" or "in o down" (in Reese's case, she just yells "in o"). The other day, I put the canopy up in the stroller so the sun wouldn't be in Reese's eyes. There happens to be 2 plastic sides that she can look out and she now calls this her "in o". Every time we are in the stroller I hear "in o, in o" until I put the canopy up.

Yesterday, Will took the meaning of window one step further. They were playing outside and it happened to be sprinkling. I first went to Reese and put up her hood. Then Will came to me and said "in o, in o" until I put up his hood. This morning too, he was trying to grab at his hood saying "in o, in o". I just had to laugh as I was trying to explain to him that it is a hood and not a window!