Memorial Day Weekend Part 1- The Scary Tree

For Memorial Day we loaded up the girls and headed out to Huntsville, AL to see Wes's side of the family. It was a long 13 hour car ride with 2 clothing changes. We finally got in around midnight. We almost thought our trip was going to be cancelled. Gracie had this strange rash pop up. We took her to the doctor and found out it was hives. So, she was "polka dotted" most of the trip. The girls kept asking when we were getting to Nana's house. I forgot the camera for the first couple of days but finally remembered later.

On Monday, we went to a place called Early Works. Its a kids museum. Everyone was telling us how the girls would love it and that it had a talking tree.

Turns out for almost 3 year olds it can be the most terrifying thing you ever saw. It started talking and they ran for the front door. They wanted no part of that tree.

Not only was there a talking tree, but also a talking clock. Again terrified. That's all they talked about afterward,they told every one there was a "scary tree and clock".

We finally talked them in to coming back in the building and there was a little village room with a garden, a water table, a grocery store and post office. This is Lizzie picking carrots.

Gracie loved the cash register and wanted to play store clerk.

Don't they look sweet riding in the wagon. The reigns were not attached to a horse and they were quite disappointed. They both kept saying "giddy up horsey".

They are not as sweet as they appear. Gracie told her cousin Sean to get in. When he went to sit in the wagon, she told him to lay down and wouldn't let him get up. Here he is being a sweet and doing what he was told by an almost 3 year old. Interesting fact, the girls and Sean are exactly 9 years and 364 days apart. They were born on June 11 and his birthday is June 12.

Half Way Done

This past weekend marks the half way point of my classes for my in-depth yoga training. There are 13 weekend sessions and we are in about weekend 7. I have been practicing yoga for about 10 years, I started by taking a class at a local college. Then that teacher moved on and so did I. I then floated around from class to class looking for the "right" one. Finally, I found a teacher, Shanon, that I connected with and enjoyed the class.

My practice went along fine, I had a bit of an ego (I know I know, no ego in yoga). I had a 2 day a week practice for many years and then I became pregnant. I did prenatal yoga for a while until I was put on restriction for complications because of the twins. I was so sad. I loved prenatal and it taught me to throw my ego out the window because we a huge belly you aren't able to do everything.

Two and a half years later, I finally start a regular yoga practice without feeling mommy guilt. Yoga has actually helped me as a mom. It's given me balance, helped me find the "me" that was lost in mommyhood and helped me have a different perspective.

I'm looking forward to the remainder of my weekends of yoga and what I will learn about yoga and what I will learn about me.

Sayings

The girls are almost 3 (one month away!) and have more things that they are saying and doing. I just wanted to get some of them down. Of course, I think they are the smartest, cutest things ever. You may or may not agree. :)

• I ask Lizzie to put on her shoes and she says, "No mama, just foots" meaning barefoot.
• Gracie talks on her "phone" (which could be a doll, a block, or any other random toy). She presses on it and then says "Helwo, Grama". When I ask her who she is talking to she holds up one finger and says "just one minute mama".
• When we are in the car, Lizzie says "turn on the noogget" meaning music. At first Wes and I thought she wanted candy.
• When I leave for yoga, Lizzie says "yogit mama?"
• In the mornings, I like to tease the girls and crawl in one of the beds and say night night. They always say "no mama time to wake up"
• I asked them yesterday if Olivia the Pig was a pig and they told me no.
• Gracie had her baby doll in the car and told me it was crying. I told her to burp it, so she turned to the baby and said "burp baby". I then demonstrated how to burp a baby.
• Gracie now says in the car - "are we there yet" and then once we get "there", she says "we're here, we're here".
• They both ask every morning, "what we doin' today, mama?".

Mother's Day 2011

My Mother's Day was great! We went to Oklahoma and saw lots of family and my grandma was visiting too. We ate so much great food. My mom cooked some and we went out to dinner with my cousins. We followed up dinner out with a trip to the ER because my grandma fell but x-rays showed nothing was broken and she was just sore.

Some more fun things that happened:

With daddy's help, Lizzie and Gracie made "cards" for the moms. This is the first year they have really understood what they were doing

Another first, I cut Lizzie's bangs. She usually gets them cut when we all get our hair cut. She did really well and sat still for me. After she was done, she said it was Gracie's turn. She went and got her and showed her how to sit in the chair. I only snipped a little off Gracie.

Lizzie playing with Papa's magnifying glass, one of his many toys that are usually off limits. She is sitting on Wes's lap.

Reading with Great-Grandma Susie as we call her (my grandma). The girls have 3 sets of great-grandparents. So lucky!

Hanging out watching "big kid" cartoons (Sydney and Sam were in control of the TV).

We had so much fun. They only thing I'm sad about is I didn't get pictures of everyone. We are exhausted and happy.

Check out my shop

So, I have had an Etsy shop, Monkeybee Designs, for a while but for whatever reason I haven't marketed it well (or at all). Any way, I decided today is the day! I'm am going to start pushing my shop. Some of the items in the shop are necklaces, pins are hair clips so click on over.

Glass Tile Necklaces

Beaded Necklaces

Flower Pins

Push Me Please

The other day we met Amy, Reese and Riley at the park. The girls are now big enough for the big girl swings. They were so funny because they wanted to push each other.

They are getting so big. They say the funniest things and know so much.

Easter 2011

For Easter, we went to Oklahoma to visit my family. We had a great time.

Looking for eggs (it rained so it was an indoor hunt)

Gracie on Easter morning hugging her huge duck that Grandma got them

Lizzie and her duck

My pretty girls in their dresses

Our family (you can't see it, but the girls and I have taken off our shoes) They wore their rain boots to church and everyone made comments. So funny.

All Aboard!

Today is Good Friday and Wes had the day off. We decided to have a family day and experience something new with the girls. Last December, DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) opened a rail station close to our house. Wes and I had been talking for awhile about taking the train somewhere and we decided today was the day! Last night before bed, Wes told the girls we would be riding a train today and they were excited. This morning when they got up, they said they were riding the train today.

We didn't really have an end destination in mind, we were just going to get on the train and see what the girls would do. We got to the train station and bought our tickets. We then went up to the platform (3 stories high) and waited for the train. The girls could hardly contain their excitement. While we were up there, we saw a freight train and Gracie waved at it. She is so funny.

Anyway, the train finally came. We climbed aboard and the girls LOVED every minute of it. They looked out the window and talked about everything we saw. They bounced up and down in their chairs.

Gracie on the train looking out the window

Both girls looking out the window, it was hard getting them together they kept bouncing around

Lizzie looking out the window, I love her hair

We stopped in the West End and walked around. When I first moved here that was the place to be and now a lot of it is closed. This is also where we ate lunch. People always talk about where we live being a "bubble". When we were downtown, I realize what they mean with lots of different types of people. In fact when we got off the train, the police where intently "questioning" a man. We decided to not go that way.

Getting ready to get back on the train, don't you love the girls poses. They crack me up!

After lunch, we got back on the train and headed home. The girls still LOVED it. A man got on and sat near us. He was listening to music and had his eyes closed. The girls were convinced he was asleep and they needed to whisper, which worked out well for us. He finally "woke up" and they informed us of that too.

After we got off the train and headed to the car, they wanted to sit on the bench (did I mention it was a really windy day?)

It was a really fun day and the girls had a blast. They loved it and talked about it all the way home. It is so fun to experience new things with them and see the pure joy and excitement that they have.

Dancing Waters

Today, Amy and I took the girls to eat lunch and play in a fountain. We first ate lunch at a restaurant near by (it took forever to order and eat) and then we let the girls play. I brought swim suits and Amy brought extra dresses (we think differently which we always laugh at). Anyway, last year when we took all the girls to something like this; Lizzie was all over it, Gracie took some coaxing but then got in to it and Reese and Riley weren't too sure what to think.

Fast Forward several months and Reese, Lizzie and Gracie were all in the water and soaking wet within 10 minutes. Riley still took some coaxing but did get a little wet. Anyway, ALL the girls had a blast and there was a lot of laughing and squealing! We are definitely going to have to go again.

Here are some pictures (I only had my iPhone as a camera).

Lizzie, Gracie and Reese

Gracie and Reese

Lizzie and Gracie

March for Babies

Yesterday, we participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies. This was the first time for us to participate. With out many expectations, we woke up early on Saturday with the girls and head over to Amy's house to caravan to the walk. We are then on our way.

When we finally get to White Rock Lake, we start walking to the starting point for the walk. Again Wes and I didn't really know what to expect, we thought there would be 100s of people not 1000s of people including lots of strollers. So many people in fact, that it took us 15 minutes to actually start walking and we were in the middle of the pack.

With four sets of twins, we get moving. The girls did really well and stayed in their stroller. Wes pushed the entire time. We both had a great time talking to all the people on our team, including Liz and Chris.

Of course I had my camera the whole time, but I only got one shot and it wasn't a great one. Doing this walk was a great experience for us and a little emotional. Because of the research and programs of this organization, our girls are the healthy happy little girls they are today. We are very grateful for medical science and prayer.

They Look Sweet Don't They

See how sweetly these two girls can smile and look cute?

Lizzie saying "cheese"

Gracie looking cute

Well, they can look cute when they want to and then turn around and be little terrors. I took these pictures after we finished having lunch with my friend Shanon, where they acted like two little monkeys. They climbed all over her, jumped in the booth and tried to put something in a lady's hair sitting behind us. Finally, lunch ended when Gracie started screeching about something I took from her.

The next day, we met up with our friend Anna, Isaac and EJ for story time and playing. We got through story time with out trouble but when we went outside they were naughty. Lizzie would blatantly do something that I told her not to do. She was in time out a lot. Gracie was a little better and didn't go in time out as much.

Some other things they are doing:

• Gracie is fighting me about the car seat, I can't tell if its because she thinks she is in the wrong seat or not
• Lizzie likes to run in the other direction, usually when we are near really busy streets.
• Gracie is still fighting me about the potty. We are trying to bribe her with cute panties. I have to beg her to go when she wants to do something "more fun".
• Both like to hit. Lizzie hits Gracie when she is frustrated and vice versa. Gracie has a temper and tries to hit anything in her path.

We are trying to work on correcting all these bad behaviors. Its a little overwhelming when you have two at the same stage working against me. What keeps me sane and more calm is that they do have very cute moments. They are talking so much to each other. Some times I can't even tell what they are talking about (I think they are plotting against me sometimes) but they talk, laugh and play. Today in the car, they were talking and Lizzie was belly laughing so hard. It cracked me up!

Giving In

Since I started staying home with the girls they were pretty good sleepers. They napped when they were suppose to and went to sleep at night easily. When we switched to big girl beds, it was still the same until recently. Around a month ago, they started playing during nap time and getting out of bed. I would have to go in constantly to tell them to sleep. I knew there was an option of separating them, but I didn't want to do it. I liked the idea of them always being together.

In the last week, I have started separating them during nap time. We did it this weekend and it worked pretty well. I gave in and its actually been nice. They both took really long naps and were so happy when they woke up.

Bluebonnets

Today, I took the girls to get pictures in the bluebonnets. My friend Allison had a great idea for our twin group. To have the kids come out and she would take pictures. I thought to myself, this will be great, my girls love to model for Allison and take pictures.

I should have know that today was not going to go ok. Lizzie woke up cranky and didn't want to do anything I asked her. I finally got them dressed and in the car. We stopped for donuts (I was thinking the sugar would work in my favor) and headed to our field of bluebonnets.

In my crazy dream world, I envisioned beautiful girls smiling sweetly for Allison. In reality, we get to the field to find out it was soaking wet, not from rain but from sprinklers. Allison got some really good shots of all the kids until their feet got wet. Lizzie and Anna (one of Allison's triplets) were not happy about the wet feet and were crying. Gracie wanted to be attached to Allison's hip while she was taking pictures of other kids (thus making taking pictures difficult). Again, my girls LOVE Allison. I think they would live with her if they could.

Anyway, we finally bribed Lizzie and Gracie with Fritos (chili cheese no less, their daddy would be proud) to take ONE shot together. It worked! I just hope Allison got a good one to use.

This is how most of the shots went when I tried to get them together.

The Fritos worked! This is with Gracie stuffing them in her mouth.

In my disappointment, I stopped at a field closer to home after I got the girls McDonald's water and apples

Open Gym Play Date

Today, we went to open gym time at The Palaestra Gym with our friends Reese, Riley and Amy. We had a blast! It was suppose to be a play date for our Moms of Multiple, group, MPOM, but we were the only ones that could make it. All the girls had a blast. Amy and I even jumped on the trampolines to later find out adults weren't allowed on them, Oops. The only camera we had was my cell phone, so excuse the slightly cruddy shots. Also, the girls were never in one spot long enough to get a group shot!

Gracie being a monkey

Lizzie being a monkey

Moving shot of Lizzie and Riley on the balance beam

The only group shot I got, these girls move fast!

After we played, we went to Rosa's for lunch. Amy's sister Leah and nephew Casen joined us and even Wes showed up! We had a big long messy table. Fortunately, Lizzie and Reese pulled out a ton of napkins. All the kids were wiping the table before we even ate. Lizzie is an expert napkin puller outter. Today was a really fun day for us!

Pictures Please!

My sweet friend and fellow mom of multiples (sweet triplets) took our pictures a couple of weeks ago at the Dallas Arboretum. She did an awesome job like she always does! In 30 minutes, she got a ton of good shots! It probably helped that the girls LOVE to have their pictures taken and pose for Allison (they also love her).

Her are some pictures she took.

The family

My sweeties posing

Dancing away

Sweet Lizzie

Sweet Gracie

Aggression

My little Lizzie and Gracie have been sweet little girls. They have their episodes but tend to still be good. When we go to play areas or parks, they would play sweetly. But recently, they have become "those kids". You know the ones, the hitters, kicker or pushers.

Today for example, Gracie had something that Lizzie wanted. They started fighting over it and then Gracie opened her mouth like she was going to bite. I caught her and we talked about no biting. Later, I took them to the play area at the mall. In about 5 minutes, Gracie had made a younger girl cry twice, Lizzie made the same girl cry and then Lizzie pushed down a kid that was barely walking. The dad was right there, fortunately, he was understanding. Each girl had several time outs.

I guess it just a phase (hopefully) and we will learn to be nice.

Cheese!

We were in the car and Gracie had her play camera. She kept saying
"cheese!". Lizzie informed her, "eat cheese Gracie not say it".

The Wait is OVER!

Well, the results came back from my dad's tests. The good news is that he will be ok! All he needs are some antibiotics. As you may remember from this post, my dad was undergoing testing to see what was in his lungs. The two extremes were nothing to cancer and anything in between. The entire family was in a state of stress and wait. No one wanted to plan anything because we didn't know what was going to happen.

We found out today that he just has a little fungus in his lungs (probably left over from his pneumonia). He probably breathed something in, the allergens have been high, and it went into his lungs and started to grow. He just takes some antibiotics and he will be fine!

We found all this out on his birthday! It was a great birthday present to him!

Ahoy Matey

My nephew is really into pirates. He was a pirate for about 3 Halloweens straight. His favorite movie is Peter Pan. So, it was not surprise when he talked all the cousins into playing pirate with him. All 5 of the kids put on "pirate hats" and sailed in their "ships" around my parents house. It was really cute. All the adults were cracking up! What imaginations!

All 5 of the cousins

My sweet Gracie

My sweet Lizzie

Waiting.....

Waiting is one of the things that I am not good at doing. I'm not patient and I don't like the unknown, but the last 3 weeks has been full of waiting. My dad is waiting on the results of some medical tests. With each new test, comes a period of waiting. It's hard. I just have to keep praying and waiting. Hopefully soon, we will have answers and know what course of action we need to take.

Sometimes, God puts people in your life to make the waiting easier. In my case, its been getting back to yoga and connecting to an inner peace and its been some pretty awesome friends and my church that remind me what praying and God are really about.

We still have another week of waiting, but I know that my faith will help me through.

A Potter and Her Clay

I got the craft bug again. I started playing with my clay and came up with these necklaces.

The first day I played with hearts.


The next day, I free handed it. I saw a necklace similar to these but put my own spin on it. I really liked how these turned out. I think they look really sweet. Wes was impressed when I showed him.



It really helps when my kids decide to actually sleep. That means I can get some crafting done.