Celebration

Last weekend was my niece Sydney's 9th birthday. We went to Oklahoma to celebrate with the family. Here are just some shots of the fun!

Gracie

Lizzie

The girls with Sydney

Sydney and Lizzie

Gracie and Sam

Rainy Day

This is how we spend a raining day. Watching Wonder Pets and coloring with our new magna doodles. What could be better?

Lizzie love the Wonder Pets

Gracie watching and coloring

My newest creations

These are my latest addiction. I saw these on a blog and in my bead magazine. I found some of the glass squares at Michaels and then I decided to also try out some crystals from Dollar Tree. I really like how the crystals worked out. And yes, I have them laid out on a plastic trash bag. It was the first thing I could find. Sorry the pictures aren't better. Some of the stuff is still drying and I didn't want to move them.

A case of the Mondays

Today was a rough day with the girls. Lizzie woke up cranky. She fussed about everything from getting her diaper changed to eating breakfast. After breakfast, she cranked and fussed at her sister by hitting and pushing.

Our plan today was to meet Karla of Soap Addict for lunch. We picked Chick fil a to meet. I got there first and got the girls out of the car. I was so proud of myself because I carried them both in. That's when the good times ended. I chose to not use a high chair or booster and let the girls sit in the booth. We sat where they could see the drive thru. Big mistake. The girls loved watching the cars and not eat. Then they decided they liked to stand up and bounce in the seat. At one point, Lizzie was hanging over the edge and tipped and fell into the booth behind us. She was fine, just a little stunned and so was the man sitting a booth over from us. I tried not to make eye contact with him because I was not feeling like the best mom at that moment.

We then moved our chaos to the play area. I expected a decent toddler area. Unfortunately, it didn't exist. The girls occupied themselves with a bottom step and running around. Did I mention the play area smelled moldy? Also, dance class must have just gotten out because there were a ton of girls in leotards. There were a couple of mean girls that wanted to sit in the only part that my kids could go in and didn't want any other kids in it. I finally got up and sweetly said that my girls wanted to play in there too. They sweetly said back that it was ok and let the girls in. Karla was a real trooper and hung in there with me! Thanks Karla! I hope you want to meet me again for lunch!

Then it was back home and they fell asleep in the car and refused to take a nap at home. I didn't care, I left them in their room for a couple of hours and they played. I finally get them out and cranky Lizzie is back. Wes finally gets home and takes them outside while I cook dinner. After dinner, I take a break by hiding in our bathroom. Wes knew I was desperate.

It's days like today where I tease Wes that they are trying to make me go back to work. However, even as bad as it can be I'm still happy being with them.

More flowers

I've been making more flowers lately. The girls were invited to a couple of birthday parties so I got busy. Both parties were very fun for the girls. Last weekend, we went to a swim party for Caroline and Lauren who are turning 4 and 2. This weekend was for Reese and Riley who are turning 2!

Fun Toys

This evening, we had visitors so we played in the yard with some of our toys. Our visitors were Grandma, Papa and Nana. Grandma and Papa brought a teeter-totter that was Sydney and Sammy's. The girls loved crawling on it and using it like a horse. Also, we played with our bubble machine. The girls love to play in the bubbles and turn off and on the machine. I need to learn how to make bubbles.

Lizzie and her bubble machine

Girls on the teeter-totter (Papa had to help the balance)

On the teeter-totter

Sweet picture of Lizzie

Sweet one of Gracie

I threw this one in because they were so pretty in their dresses

Crafting

Because I am now home more, I have had a little more time to craft. Before, the only chance I had was at crafting lunch at work. Now, I have less stress and can craft at home. I have had some projects that I wanted to try and never felt I was there craft-wise to do it.

One project I wanted to tackle was a rag wreath. It was so easy and fun to make. I thought I was going to use this "vintage" 70's fabric (thanks Stephanie) that was given to me. I started it and Wes said it was a little much. So, I looked through my fabric stash to find more fabric. See Stephanie, I'm actually using left overs for something. I finished it off by using some of my ribbon that was left over from hair bow making for the girls. I'm thinking I'll make another one for Christmas.

My wreath

Another project I worked on was creating some rosettes for Stephanie's daughter Alex for her 7th birthday. I made a headband and pony tail holder with rosettes. I took a girls headband and wrapped it with a burgundy satin fabric, made a rosette and then a bow with some awesome ribbon I found at Hobby Lobby. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a headband on your own head? I forgot to take a picture of the ponytail holder. I thought it was really cute.

More rosettes to come later........

Color, Color

The girls love to color. They are always pulling out their coloring book and crayons to color. They have been know to color on their toys, walls, themselves or furniture. We have to restrict them to coloring at their table.

Lizzie hard at work

Lizzie smiling for the camera

Gracie smiling for the camera

Gracie's funny face

Coloring before they start getting in to trouble for standing on their chairs. Or coloring on their face.

Week 3

This is the beginning of week 3 at home with the girls. Gracie was pretty fussy this morning. I called Wes and told him that she was trying to get me to go back to work. He laughed and said I better not!

We don't really have a big week planned. Yesterday, we went to a birthday party for Alex who turned 7. She is the daughter of one of my former co-workers. It was good to see Stephanie, I've missed her a lot. It was a pool party but Wes and I stayed inside and pretended the pool didn't exist. I decided to make Alex's present and made her a head band with flower and a pony tail holder with flower. It was good to get back to my craftiness!

This morning we went to Ikea with my friend Amy and her sweet girls Reese and Riley. Before we walked out the door, Lizzie had to say good bye to the potties, Molly (dog), Allie (cat) and Leo (cat). Then Gracie was fussy again in the car and Lizzie had to clown around to make Gracie laugh. Its amazing how they are in tune with each other.

On Wednesday Nana comes for a visit. I also have a couple of Melissa activities planned including a lunch with a couple of my former co-workers. I'm very excited!

Just documenting....

The girls are at a stage that they are doing so much stuff, I just wanted to note it so we can look back on it later.

• The girls really love playing in sand, especially Lizzie.
  
• They both love their dog Molly. When we leave the house, they have to say goodbye to Molly, Allie and Leo (cats). They both wave really big.
• The both like to say Hi and Bye to complete strangers. Sometimes they are shy and other times they are very friendly.
• They love to watch people. It's hard to eat at restaurants because they have to know what everyone is doing.
• They like to watch us cook.
• They always want to help. They get very mad if they can't help carry in groceries.
• Lizzie loves the Wonder Pets and calls they "backpack" (I think because of the cape).
• Gracie loves to dance. Anytime music comes on she dances.
• Both girls want ice in their water and like using big girl cups. We are starting to have fewer and fewer spills now.
• They like to hug each other and are very considerate of each other. When one is upset the other tries to console her.
  
• They know when they are good and bad. You can ask if they did something naughty and they are honest.
• They love to pray at night. They will put their hands together and close their eyes. One time during nap time, I was peeking in and Lizzie had a book, turned the pages, closed the book, said "The End" and then put her hands together said "Amen" and went to sleep.

I guess that's enough for now. I'm sure I will think of more and post that too.

Story Time

Today the girls and I went for an outing. I decided to take the girls to the library for story time. Story time starts at 10:30 sharp (don't be late because you don't get in). The girls and I got there too early and had to wait.

To entertain them, I tried lots of things. We first tried to red a book, but they were not interested. Then we went to the fun looking bench. That lasted until we saw the water outside. I was thinking great, we can watch the water for awhile, until I realized it was the emergency exit and the girls wanted to pull the handle. Gracie and Lizzie then decide to run up and down the aisle. I kept thinking, why am I doing this to myself.

Next, Lizzie runs into a chair and screams. I was really embarrassed. All the other mommies were giving me dirty looks. Finally, 10:30 arrives and the doors open.

The girls hand over their tickets and we go in. They pick the seats and we sit down. We first start with songs and the girls like it. Then the story teller starts reading a book. This looses my girls' interest and they start squirming. I'm thinking this is the longest story ever.

We finally end that story and sing another song. The girls are happy again. Then it's another story, again my girls lose interest. To occupy themselves, the girls start running between me and the wall. Another girl sees this and decides she's going to do it too. Her mom stares at me and gives me dirty looks. Finally after 3 long books and several songs, we move on to the craft. The craft involves a glue stick. So there are tons of kids squished around this table trying to glue down a barn and pig.

I couldn't get out of there fast enough. We will probably go back because the girls enjoyed most of it but I'm not sure about myself.

Visit to OKC

We had an extremely busy week last week. It was week one of me being home with the girls. We spent it in Oklahoma City with my family. Wes had to travel for work so I decided to spend the week with my family.

We had a good week but I was incredibly exhausted. We saw great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more cousins. The girls loved being with Sydney and Sam. They played in a spray park, they played in the water outside, they played in the sand, and we all sweated in the 100 degree heat!

Before Wes went out of town, we bought a new netbook for me. It's awesome. I downloaded Skype and Picasa and was able to post pictures and web chat with Wes. Two of the mornings, all the kids "called" Wes and they thought it was cool. Now every time I open it up, Lizzie says "Dada, Dada, Dada" thinking she'll see Wes.

I learned that even though you have more help, you are still running crazy after 2 little girls. We also had the dog with us so I was trying to keep track of her. I lost her twice. Fortunately, she is a good dog and stays close to the house.

Grandma and Papa came back with us to babysit while Wes and I went to a wedding. On the way back, Gracie told us that "Nydney at work" and "Am at Work". Those are her names for Sydney and Sam.

Well, now it's time to start week two of being at home. We have a couple of play groups this week and dinner with friends. I'm a little worried but I think I can handle it!

Here's a fun picture of Papa taking the kids for a ride on his tractor. Apparently this is an Oklahoma tradition!

Our Week and Important News

What a week we have had. Monday and Tuesday were normal work/school days for us.

Wednesday was rock n roll day at school and the girls dressed in rocker shirts. Of course I couldn't just buy a couple of t-shirts. I had to get iron ons. The iron ons didn't turn out exactly right so Wes had to cut BORN (for the BORN to Rock shirt) out of fabric and I stitched it on. I made hair clips out of tulle and by the end of the day they only came home with one. Which I figured were pretty good odds. Also, we wanted them to wear their boots but only Gracie would cooperate. That's why Lizzie is wearing the old man socks and shoes.

I know my little girls are angels but the halo effect was because it was very humid the day I took the pictures.Thursday work had a happy hour for me because two and a half weeks ago, I turned in my notice. I am now a stay at home mom! This is something that I have always wanted to do but never thought we'd be in a place to do. But, we decided to be poor and give it a shot. I'm really excited. I can't wait to do fun stuff with the girls! I have been with my company for 9 1/2 years. It was my first job out of grad school.

This is a picture of my best friend at work Stephanie. We have a lot of fun and always had "crafting lunch" where we would create whatever. We were a threesome but Karla (Soap Addict) decided to leave the corporate world in January to start her business. I'm gonna miss you Stephanie!

Friday (today) was my last day of work. Below is the lovely cake that they had for me. I really appreciated all the well wishes. Everyone at work was really sweet and told me they were jealous or that I would never regret the decision. Wes said he was worried because there would be 2 things I would miss dressing up for work and the social interaction. We'll see. Now my choices are flip flops or tennis shoes instead of heels or flats.

I'm looking forward to this next phase of my life and plan on having my girls play with all their multiple friends including Reese and Riley!

Splish, Splash

Today we took the girls to a splash pad in Frisco. It was really nice because I didn't have to put on a bathing suit! We got there mid morning when it opened and it was really nice. There was a breeze and it wasn't too hot. The girls had a blast. It only took a few minutes for Lizzie to warm up and start running around but Gracie was a little more hesitant. Finally, Wes took her through a couple of fountains and she was hooked.
The girls snagged a couple of the other kids toys and were playing in the water. The only issues we had were some dirty looks from some OU fans. Wes was wearing his OSU shirt and the girls were in orange bathing suits!

Playing with other kid's toys

Gracie playing

Playing with another kid's bucket

Gracie liked to sit on the water

Lizzie trying to catch water

Hawaiian Falls

Today, we took the girls with some friends to a water park called Hawaiian Falls. Our church was going, but we went early to beat the heat. The girls did really well. They loved the wave pool and splashing around in the water. We tried some of kiddie slides but the girls were still a little too small for them.

We were a bit worried about Lizzie because of her fear of pools, but she was fine. She could touch the ground and loved the waves crashing against her. Both girls had a great time, but were so exhausted they fell asleep in the car and then took a nice long nap at home.

It was still hot while we were there!

Cooking with the girls

Tonight, we had a first. The girls "helped" me make chocolate chip cookies. We took two step ladders and I started the cookies while Wes did the dishes. The girls stood patiently on their stools and only fussed when they couldn't see what I was doing. They loved watching me stir the ingredients and when I sifted the flour I told them in was snowing. They both said snow and then we talked about the snow storm this past winter.

When the cookies were still baking we turned on the light and looked in the window and Wes counted down with them the last 10 seconds of the first batch. They were so excited about the whole process and loved eating the cookies. We all sat around the table eating our milk and cookies talking.

It was really fun to do with them because they understood what I was doing and what the outcome would be.

On the Road

Over the July 4th holiday, we went on a road trip to Alabama to see Wes's side of the family. It is a 12 to 13 hour drive so we broke it up over 2 days each way. It was an adventure. Wes and I worried for weeks about having the girls trapped in the car. They have been know to scream the whole back from Oklahoma City to Dallas.

Anyway, we loaded up the car with snacks, toys, the dvd, and a couple of videos. It turned out way better than we expected. The girls slept, watched the movies (they watched Up several times), and played with their toys. They seemed to enjoy looking out the windows at all the passing cars.
The trip in Alabama was good too. We enjoyed seeing all the family and swimming in Tutu and Papa's pool. They also fell in love with Cousin Sean. He's 12 and they thought he was wonderful. Gracie would drag him around by the hand everywhere.

The girls also saw fireworks for the first time. We kept them up and sat in a Kroger parking lot to see them We knew it was a good spot to see them because the parking lot was full and the store was empty!

It was a great trip and it made me realize that my babies were growing up. They did so many big girl things.

Big Girl Beds

We put the girls in their big girl beds the day after their birthday party. The beds are antiques that were given to us by Wes's grandma Harris. One of them was the bed I slept on when I first went to visit his family in Alabama. That's when he announced he was getting engaged to me. The beds have always been special to me and I couldn't wait until the girls were big enough to sleep on them.

The girls were very ready for their beds. They have slept great in them for the last two weeks. The only issue we had was when Lizzie fell off the foot of the bed. She ended up with a pretty good shiner. We think she was trying to play with the radio and reached too far.

Night Night, Lizzie

Night Night, Gracie

Our beds

First time to sleep in the beds for Gracie

Lizzie's first time in the bed

In other news, we finally met with a pediatric pulmonologist. He changed Gracie from a nebulizer twice a day to a puffer once a day. Meaning for us, no more 10 minute breathing treatments twice a day, only one puff on an inhaler once a day. Yea! The doctor thinks that it's more of a virual issue so we won't really know the right course of treatment until cold and flu season starts around October.

The party!

The girls party was on Saturday. I think we ended up having around 13 kids show up plus parents. It was a big crowd to put in our house. The kids went from inside to outside and back. They all seemed to have a great time! I stressed over everything and made some stuff myself. We had our house and our yard ship shape. Wes and I made the birthday banner, the invitations, pin the nose on the monkey and the square crayons. Making the crayons was really fun. We melted then together. The best part was that we had LiaLezon take pictures to help us remember everything!

The banner. My mom, the artist drew the monkey.

Banner

Pin the nose on the monkey

Crayons

Crayons hot from the oven

Babies Second Birthday

Today is the girls second birthday! We are so excited. The girls are staying home today with Grandma and Papa and celebrated with a McDonald's breakfast.

This year has been a blur. It was a difficult one for the family but we made it through. Wes is now happy in his new job.

I thought I would just try and keep a record of what we've faced and accomplished

• Stopped nursing at 12 1/2 months
• Transitioned to milk and all table foods
• Started walking at 15 1/2 months
• Started talking
• Went back to daycare
• Transitioned out of our bed room and into theirs
• Stopped taking a pacifier
• Started running
• Mommy and Daddy are always tired
  
• Gracie's seizure and ER visit making it necessary for us to always have a thermometer and Motrin on hand
• Gracie's breathing issues and ER visits to get it under control
• Lizzie's follow ups on the tubes in her ears - no new surgeries scheduled
• The girls both being on allergy medicine (we thought we were done with medicine every day after the Previcid but I guess not)
• The girls awareness of everything - the way they love their dog Molly and try to chase the cats
• Their love of family - they love their cousins, aunts, uncle and grandparents
• They can put on their boots
• They can take off socks and shoes in 2 seconds while sitting in the car
• They know "No", "Please", "Thank You" and "Milk"
• All stuffed animals right now are "Melmo" (Elmo) or "babies"

I guess that's a long list! Soon I'll be blogging about their birthday party tomorrow!

Memorial Day

What a great weekend! Wes and I took Friday off and had a four day weekend. My family had planned a family vacation to Beavers Bend in Oklahoma. The plan was to meet my parents and my sister and her family and spend the weekend together having fun!

We started the weekend on Thursday night by going to my Grandma's house. We hadn't seen her in a long time and decided since we were close and had the time we should visit. We got to her house really late and didn't have the pack-n-play set up. Wes and I decided that we had luck once with the girls sleeping in big kid beds we would try again. That was not a smart decision. Because the girls slept some in the car and were excited to see Great-Grandma, they did not want to sleep. They both SCREAMED for a couple of hours. Good thing is that great-grandma and great-papa are hard of hearing and didn't hear any of it. Finally, around 1:30 we all got to sleep.

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast. Around lunch, my parents and niece and nephew showed up. Then later that afternoon we left for Beavers Bend. Again, the girls fell asleep in the car and screwed up the nap schedule. We met up with my sister, Laura, that evening in Beavers Bend.

Day 2 of our adventure started with horse back riding. This was the first time the girls were really up close with a horse. Every time they see a picture of a horse, they bark like a dog. Anyway, they rode double with Wes and I. They loved it. Lizzie got a little tired and fell asleep on the horse toward the end of the ride. We rode for an hour on a trail and then had cotton candy and slurpees. Right next to the horse ride was a miniature train. Of course, we had to ride that too! The kids all love it! So many smiles on all of them.

That afternoon, we decided to go swimming in the hotel pool. We all got ready and grandma went ahead with Lizzie while Wes and I were with Grace still in the room. We were getting ready to head out when Sydney (my niece) came banging on the door saying that Grandma fell in the pool with Lizzie. Wes bolted (as he always does when it comes to the girls) for the pool. I was left with Grace and Sydney. It turns out, the railing on the pool steps was loose and grandma slipped in the pool. Lizzie went under and took in some water, but no serious injuries (only trauma). Lizzie was so traumatized that the rest of the pool time, we were all trying to get Lizzie to like the water again.

Day 3 of the trip was our lake day. We rented a boat for the morning. My sister was a little freaked but ended up loving the boat. She drove the boat most of the time. We had a blast until the girls got a little bored and wanted to head back. For lunch, we found a great picnic spot and grilled hot dogs. The girls played near the table while Laura and the kids went and played in the stream. I guess my sister will never get to old to look for crawdads. That afternoon we went swimming again. Gracie takes to the water like a fish. She loved it. Wes and I will have to get her in swimming lessons. Lizzie is still a tad bit apprehensive, but is warming back up to it.

Day 4 was our travel day home. We love our vacation and it was great. No family issues and everyone was happy. I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow or you can go here to our Picasa page.

It's finally up!

After several months of thinking about it, I finally launched my Etsy site, Monkeybee Designs. I only have 5 things posted right now, but more are coming. I really love the fabric rosettes right now, so expect more of those. I have several things made, but I wanted to start slow. Please check me out!

The name Monkeybee came from the girls. Lizzie is always a little busy bee and Gracie is our little monkey. That's how it's Monkeybee. My mom hand drew the artwork for the monkey and the bee and Wes worked it up in a graphic design software! It's truly a family effort.

Big Girl Cups

The girls started using regular cups and silverware at daycare a few weeks ago and so we started using them at home. Its been an adjustment and we still have spills but its becoming less and less of a problem. The girls are really starting to master the spoon and fork.

We just recently added using big girl cups at restaurants. It just started mostly because we weren't prepared a few times because we forgot the diaper bag. The girls really like to use cups and silverware. Usually, Gracie asks for it if we forget. When we actually have to get sippy cups out, I feel weird.

Our next 2 big steps are using the potty chair and converting to big girl beds. I think we are close to both but aren't going to really tackle it until the girls turn 2. Which reminds me, we finally decided on a theme and got the invitations out. Less than 1 month and the girls will be turning 2!

Mother's Day

This year was going to be a great Mother's Day. We planned to go to Oklahoma to visit my family and spend the weekend having fun. All went well until the Monday before when Wes tells me he is flying out on Thursday and won't be back until Friday at 6:00. So, we planned to leave around 8:00.

Then Friday came, the school calls and says that Gracie is running a fever. I take her to the doctor and it's either an ear infection or virus. The pedi does say it's ok to take Grace to Oklahoma so the trip is still on. Then I get the news that Wes can catch an earlier flight. So, we can leave earlier. When he gets home, we load up the car and head out.

While in Oklahoma, Lizzie gets a fever overnight. Wes takes her to an urgent care clinic and the diagnosis is an ear infection. All day Saturday the girls take turns with fever, Motrin, lukewarm baths, and sleeping. It was not fun at all. All plans for Saturday were canceled.

Sunday they start feeling better and we do get to have a lovely lunch with all the family. The only sad part is we didn't get to see Grandma and Grandpa Potter. With the girls being sick, we didn't want to expose them to anything.

Maybe I'll get a redo Mother's day.....

Grandparents

The girls have had a busy week! First, Nana came to visit last Monday and stayed until Thursday. Then Grandma and Papa came and spent Friday through today. The girls are so spoiled now! They had a blast with their grandparents. They laughed so hard and have been in great moods! The fun thing they are doing now is holding hands every where we go. We went to see the ducks on Saturday and they couldn't walk very far without holding each others hands. It is so cute to see the sister bond they are developing!

What personalities

The girls are really starting to show their individuality. Their personalities are so different. They both truly love each other and always make sure they know where the other one is. It's so funny to watch they see each other and say "hi sister". Their faces just light up!

What have we been up to?

We have been really busy this week, but when I try to write what we've done I can't think of anything! Our big news is that the girls will be moving up to an older class on Monday. It's a big deal around our house. They have been transitioning for about a week now and it's been hard. They are very cranky because they are trying to keep up with the big kids.

Today was very fun for us. We met our twin friends at Chuck E Cheese to play. This is only the third time the girls have been to one but they are now old enough to understand. We bought them tokens to play games and ride the rides. Gracie loved the rides. She wanted to ride all of them over and over. Lizzie was not sure of the rides and hated them. She didn't really want sister to ride them either. Lizzie was happy just carrying around the cup with the tokens/tickets. She tucked it under her arm and walked all over with it. Every time she bent over, she would drop everything out and then have to pick it up. It was very comical.