Recently

Recently we learned that:

• I ordered the girls' dress shorts by the baker's dozen online.
• An emergency kit in my car involves pony tail holders, but no band aids.
• I either spend a lot of time in the shower, or my children only have "problems" when I'm in the shower.
• I am formulating an evil plan to not pack any dresses when we go on vacation.

Awesome.

And today Becca got sent to the office for disrupting Music class.  

By showing everyone her heinie.

Not like "full-on moon" (like Greg asked when we got home).  They were supposed to be sitting cross legged, and she was not, and kept laying back and lifting up her legs.

She did have on dress shorts, though she did make it to the van without them this morning.  Luckily Greg checked and went back in for some.

Her punishment?  No dresses for the rest of the week.

This from the girl who keeps asking why I don't have "ganam sigh" (Gangnam Style) on my phone.

Hot Air Balloons

Flashback to Memorial Day weekend...  There's a big hot air balloon festival in the town next to us.  It goes on all weekend, and, weather permitting, they launch balloons in the morning and evening all weekend long.  And the weather this year was just gorgeous.

Our first spotting was on Saturday morning, driving down the highway on our way to the zoo.  (Rest assured, I was in the passenger seat when I took this.)

When we got back from the zoo later on Saturday, I wasn't feeling well, so Greg took the girls to dinner and then they found a parking lot to sit in to watch for balloons.  I think they're tailgating.  

On Sunday evening, we were a little more prepared.  We packed a picnic, and sat outside in a grassy area along the main road.  We had lots of company, but still plenty of room to spread out.  There were some people on one side of us who were already there when we got there.  Of course, when we got out of the car, we realized they had a dog... and the girls are mostly terrified of dogs.  He was on a leash, though, so we were doing fine.  And then?  People showed up later on the other side of us.

With a cat.

A freaking cat.

Who takes their cat on a picnic?

Seriously, who *does* that?

And the cat's not on a leash, so our most exciting moment of the evening was when a dog got loose (not the one next to us), and comes tearing down the grass in hot pursuit of the cat, and the owner's running after it, screaming.

Anyhow, we had to wait a while to actually see some balloons, but once they started lifting off, the girls quickly lost count of all of them.

And, of course, I didn't think of the bigger lens until after we got there.  Ah, well, next year.

When we first got there, they were watching two boys throwing a football.  All of a sudden, Emma says "Let's be observers.  Shhh, observers are quiet."

I think I'm going to have to quote her in the future.

Evidence of the need for dress shorts

We are entering the phase of the year where we feel obligated to take advantage of every day that is less than 90 degrees and/or 90% humidity.  This past weekend was warm, but gorgeous.  We went out for dinner on Friday, and then went to the park.

We've been going to this particular park for years.  They've got a nice, fenced in playground for the under 5 set, and then a bigger playground for older kids.  The girls have started making the move to the big playground in the last few months.  It's crazy for me to be there.

Crazy hair.  She never spares a drop of drama.

Someone was having a birthday party, and these two couldn't keep their eyes away.  They kept asking why we couldn't go to the birthday party.  I told them we didn't know the people.  Becca said "Well, we can tell them our names."  Luckily, we had a birthday party to go to on Saturday ... for, you know, someone we actually know.

They insist on running, even when we tell them not to.  Julie was the unlucky one this time - I watched her trip on her own foot and do an almost-face plant on the sidewalk.  Luckily all she had was a scraped knee.  Unluckily all we had was a Chipotle napkin in the car.  We used to have a first aid kit in the car, but apparently we took it out at some point.

And that's when we knew it was "last call" time on our wild and crazy Friday night at the playground.

I almost made her feel like a boy.

When I was pregnant, I worried a lot about logistics - finding carseats that would fit in the car, getting three infants in to daycare, how many swings we needed.  Something that I never considered the logistics of, though?  Dress shorts.

My kids are obsessed with dresses.  I would estimate that they are currently wearing something other than a dress maybe once a week.  They are also getting tall, particularly Rebecca.  (She's actually the tallest one in her class right now.)  And those 4T dresses are like long shirts on her.  They insist on wearing the dresses to school, where I know they're climbing on the playground, sitting cross legged in a circle, and probably just lifting their dresses altogether at some point.

They still make "bike shorts" for girls to wear under dresses, but these cartwheel shorts from The Children's Place are just about perfect.

Apparently we were in a cartwheel shorts crisis last week, because I had to wash them all twice to make it through the week.  So, in the little free time that I actually get, I went to the mall armed with my 20% off coupon to get some more cartwheel shorts.

And then have ONE in the right size on the racks.  And they're black.  We do have a couple pairs of black already, but I was really looking for the white or light pink.  A lady goes to the back to see if they have anymore.

She came back with one pair in white.

And I about laughed in her face.

One pair.  That's not even worth standing in line for.  Can you imagine the fights that would start?

I think I've given up on the mall.  The internet is the only place for bulk shopping.

So, 13 pairs of shorts later, we're still running out routinely.

The other day, Becca pulled out a dress and we didn't have any dress shorts.  (There were some in the washing machine, but realistically the chance of them making it to the dryer by morning was 50/50.)  I told her to pick out something else.  She refused, but said she'd wear regular shorts underneath.  Fine.

This would be a fine place to add that Becca has been caught (multiple times) lying about whether she is wearing shorts.  We have to check now.

So I'm in the shower, and she comes in and says, "Mommy, these shorts make me feel like a boy."

Sigh.

I sent there to the dryer to get some real dress shorts out, and everything was right with the world again.

How this gem came to live at our house.

I know you're jealous.  I know you want your own baby My Little Pony.  Complete with hearts in her eyes.

In case it wasn't obvious, the little car, little orange fish, and the purple My Little Pony are her toys.  No wait - scratch that.  I think the boss said the little blue car is her sister.

So, Julie managed to make it 5 straight nights without wetting the bed.  She still has accidents.  But she made it the obligatory 5 nights.  Which meant she got to go to the toy store for her "big girl present."

At first she wanted a Barbie.  I was slowly coming to terms with that (well, it was a Barbie Ballerina) as we cruised the aisles.  Her original request was for a castle (!), but conveniently we couldn't find that aisle.

So this is what she picked.  And I guess it's better than a Barbie.  And her sisters have been all over her like flies on you-know-what.

Becca is not wearing diapers or pull ups at night, but she only makes it through the night maybe 5% of the time.  She pees, wakes up at 5am, changes her pajamas, and then gets in our bed.  I feel bad, because she so desperately wants to make it through the night - it has been her idea, not ours, to stop the diapers.  (Throwing away a diaper is so much easier than changing the sheets every day.  Or cleaning pee out of the carpet, because half the time she sleeps on the floor.  Awesome.)

We all went out to lunch together on Sunday afternoon before I took Julie to Toys R Us.  As soon as we left the parking lot from lunch, it started to rain.  By the time we got to the toy store, it was torrential, with no end in site.  We had an umbrella, but it was almost pointless.

We both got soaked.  But we were at the toy store.  So she didn't care.

She played with the trains for a while (while we waited for the rain to slow down a little), and then we went for doughnuts.

Oh, and a Julie gem from the day:  We were checking out at Toys R Us, and the lady asked her how old she was.  She said "Four," so the lady asked when she was going to turn five.  And Julie said, "On my next birthday."

Smart girl.

Wet Weekend

We had another wet weekend this past weekend.  (It rained the previous weekend, too, but I'm pretty sure we got more this weekend.  I think we got something like 4 inches of rain this weekend.)  We only had some drizzle on Saturday up until about 2:30.  That's when the rain really started.

We started Saturday morning with dance pictures.  They've got a recital in about a little more than a week now.  It was the first time I've had to get them in costumes, and then do their hair.  We tried little buns, but they just don't have quite enough hair for it yet.  So there were lots.  And lots.  of bobby pins. Luckily, they were so excited, they didn't mind.

This is the only even partly decent picture I got (and it's still crooked and blurry), but oh my - so cute.  I caught glimpses of pictures being taken and I can't wait to see how ridiculously adorable they are.

After that, we went to Lowe's to pick up some more plants for the back yard.  The beds in the back yard have been pretty well neglected, and we've got a lot of holes to fill in.  Plus, I found this gardenia tree at Costco the week before, and it got me motivated to get it together.  That being said, the plants are still sitting in the front yard.  Maybe I'll have time this weekend.

We went to lunch, and, after checking the radar, decided to try to go downtown to the rubber duck derby that we went to last year.  I'll be honest - it was cold and windy.  I'm glad that we didn't get there much earlier (except that we missed free hula hoops).  And I'm glad we found a really nice lady who let the girls stand in front of her on the bridge.

This happens a lot lately when we take pictures - posing, making faces...

We finally convinced Emma that the giant inflatable duck wasn't going to bite, though by the look on her face, I'm not sure she believed us.  Oh, and more posing + faces.

Julie and Emma got a duck tattoo on their hands.

Watching the ducks.

They all got duck stickers, too, but Becca couldn't decide where to put hers, so she gave it to me.  While she wasn't paying attention, I put it on her shoulder.  Love that you can see the bun in her hair still here, too.

The rain literally started with the duck race.  It was light enough still that it wasn't awful, but with the radar, we knew it was just the beginning.  So, we didn't stick around for long.  And as soon as we got in the car, Becca asked why we didn't do a lot of things ("tings") there.  

And Sunday was pretty much this:

and this.

Pingu

I'm honestly not sure where Pingu comes from, and perhaps we are the only ones watching it.  My dad got the girls hooked on it, watching it on his Kindle Fire.  It's also available through Netflix, and we've also now got a DVD.  The girls think it's absolutely hysterical.

I think that Pingu has a sister, and my dad has convinced the girls that her name is Pinga.  

So, at the grocery store, they have a bunch of helium mylar balloons up at the check outs.  One is a penguin, and the girls are convinced it's Pinga.  So, every time we go into the grocery store, they start saying really loudly "Look, it's Pinga."

And even more loudly?

"Pinga poppered (their word for farted) in the tub!"

Yeah, apparently there's an episode where Pinga farts in the tub.  And apparently it's hysterical.

Emma's Day

Rebecca also got a day with Grandma and Papa, but somehow Papa forgot his camera, so no photos.   But Becca got the first day, and did go bowling, too.

Emma got Friday, and the wet, gray sky was finally clearing.  They did go bowling, because once Rebecca went bowling, everyone wanted to go.  Rebecca went first and got bumpers.  They didn't mention ramps until Emma went on Friday.  The girls were comparing their scores, and each of them kept saying, "I'm a superstar!"

Later, they went kite flying.

Momento

Playing catch up since I have to actually export these from my phone, and I forget to do it.  Reading through these, I had forgotten about so many of them, and they STILL make me laugh.

Sunday 30 September 2012
========================

12:35 PM
Me:  how's your turkey, ham, and cheese?
J:  No, mom.  Turkey and cheese and ham.

12:57 PM
E:  The momma giraffe has a baby giraffe that's going to come out of her pouch.  That's what you said yesterday.  (There's a pregnant giraffe at the zoo.)

1:35 PM
E:  After looking at the giraffes:  "I think it's the daddy that has the baby coming out of its pouch."

2:19 PM
R:  Can I gallop?
Me: This isn't a good place to gallop.
R:  But that's what Beccas do best!  (Tigger reference)


Saturday 29 September 2012
==========================

10:09 AM
Talking about mommy going to Amsterdam:
Greg:  Amsterdam is in Europe.
J:  Europe is at school.

12:21 PM
Me:  I think there are some tigers that have black and white stripes.
J:  No, mom.  White and black stripes.


Thursday 27 September 2012
==========================

6:28 PM
Me:  I like what Pink Nose is wearing.
J:  No, mom.  I like it.


Wednesday 26 September 2012
===========================

7:12 PM
Wearing the stethoscope in their ears:  J, R:  "talk what you did on vacation."


Monday 24 September 2012
========================

6:36 PM
E:  We tell children to find their own work.   (A Montessori reference.)

6:38 PM
R:  I'll be the baby teacher ... waaaaah.


Sunday 23 September 2012
========================

10:59 AM
J:  Mommy, those cars are going to the apple pick.  (Apple pick = apple orchard)


Monday 17 September 2012
========================

8:16 PM  Facebook
I asked Emma what her favorite part of vacation was. "Riding bikes." Um, we didn't do that. She later came back with "Being in the parking garage." At least we did do that. Do I know how to show these kids a good time or what?


Sunday 16 September 2012
========================

10:33 AM
R:  When I get polka dots on me, I have to wash them off with rainbows.

1:08 PM Facebook
One hour into a five hour car trip and the DVD player broke. Emma and Rebecca shrieked "I want Mickey" for about ten minutes. Until we passed Dunkin Donuts and their shrieks turned to "I want a donut!". Somehow, Julie managed to fall asleep with all the screaming. I've appeased Rebecca with a water bottle and and apple ("I don't want a little apple!"), but Emma has currently moved on to "I don't want my door closed!". Wish us luck on surviving this one.


Saturday 15 September 2012
==========================

6:49 PM
E:  Mus mustache  (= milk mustache)


Sunday 9 September 2012
=======================

8:16 PM
E:  Cows give out milk from their heinies.

8:22 PM
E:  When I grow up I want to be a cow.  I'm going to squirt milk right into your glass.


Wednesday 5 September 2012
==========================

11:49 AM Facebook
The girls' first dance class was yesterday afternoon at school, and they had a blast. They came home telling me all the things they need... "a black short sleeve shirt that comes all the way down" (that would be a leotard) and "dance shoes." I called this morning to confirm, and sure enough, we need 3 black leotards, 3 pairs of pink tights, 3 pink skirts, 3 pairs of pink ballet shoes, and 3 pairs of black tap shoes. I sure hope they don't get sick of this after a month...


Monday 3 September 2012
=======================

3:19 PM
E:  Do you know where mommy got this?  (glow bracelets they found that were packed for the beach). Belgium!

3:20 PM
R:  I got these (blocks) in baby Belgium.

3:21 PM
E:  Belgium is where I live.  You want to know what continent my bear lives?  It's a far away land called North America.


Sunday 2 September 2012
=======================

10:53 AM
R:  This is going to be cool.  This is going to be the best festival I ever had.  (the Apple Festival)

2:20 PM
E:  I think your airplane has red cold-itis.  (courtesy of Doc McStuffins)

7:46 PM
R:  Spiderman!  (catcher in red equipment at the baseball game)


Saturday 1 September 2012
=========================

7:14 PM
E:  Mommy, you're my best friend.

8:10 PM
J:  Mommy, you wear me out.


Friday 31 August 2012
=====================

8:32 AM
R:  To her teachers:  Do you like my mom's new shoes?


Wednesday 29 August 2012
========================

6:42 PM
R:  That train has messy cars.  (graffiti)


Tuesday 28 August 2012
======================

3:49 PM
R:  Mommy, you know what?  I love you.

3:59 PM
R:  At starbucks for a snack:  mom, our bags have girls on them.

8:37 PM Facebook
I went shoe shopping over the weekend, and got a couple of new pairs for work. I took one of them out of the box this morning, and Becca said, "Mommy, do you have any more sizes in that box?" Seriously, shoes are better than toys in this house.


Monday 27 August 2012
=====================

7:58 AM
R:  On the way to work:  Mom, is Bib going to be at work?  Do you sit next to daddy at work?  Why not?


Saturday 25 August 2012
=======================

6:31 PM
R:  Those are mermaids.  (Apparently it's been a while since we had edamame.)


Thursday 23 August 2012
=======================

5:11 PM Facebook
J: S said some not nice words to me today. And then I said some not nice words to him. Me: What did you say? Julie: I told him, "Don't! You can't come to my tea party!" I'm not sure what poor S did to deserve such harsh words from my little lady.

Thanksgiving '12

So, the only photos I have from Thanksgiving this year are from going our for donuts in the morning.

I saw this picture of Julie and it immediately made me think of the pictures of her from back in the NICU - - same wrinkly forehead.

Looks like fun, right?  But of course there was drama.  Mommy only let them get one bottle of chocolate milk to share (because I'm tired of throwing out milk), and Emma got pissed when someone finished it.  Greg had to take her out to the car because she was so upset.  In fact, she was so upset she didn't finish her donut.

The rest of Thanksgiving was pretty quiet.  The girls actually watched a good chunk of the Macy's parade.  They're not used to watching tv with commercials, so they kept asking "Is this the parade?"

I did actually make a turkey and a few side dishes, but nothing major.  Which is good, because of course the girls didn't eat it.  Becca kept asking me all week "Are we going to have turkey with eyes?"  She was really concerned that our turkey was going to have eyes, and she kept saying she didn't want to eat it.

We stayed here for Thanksgiving this year, and in the end, I think it was kind of lonely.  We did a bunch of fun stuff over the weekend, but we really missed our families.

Blueberry Chips

Julie, very intently studying her "rainbow" chip cookies from her Halloween treat bag.

"This one is blueberry.  And this one is strawberry.  And this one is lemon."

"Sick"

Julie had to stay home "sick" on Greg's birthday, since she puked at school the day before.  She was fine, no fever, eating just fine.  But the rule is 24 hrs puke free...

I desperately needed to get some laptops checked out, so we went to the Apple store to beg for an earlier appointment.  We still had some time to kill, so we went to Barnes and Noble.  It's not the newer Barnes and Noble that we normally go to, so she calls this one "the library."  She was also *shocked* that there was another "mac and cheese house" (Panera) that she had never been to.

We might have a little obsession with rainbows in this family.

We did make it back to the Apple store, where I set Julie up at the kid's table with an episode of Mickey Mouse Club House via the Watch Disney Junior ap on the iPad.  She LOVED it.  And, in less time than it took for her to watch an episode, I had two laptops fixed.  One was clearly user error...  I couldn't get my new laptop to wake up from being asleep.  Well, apparently the "sleep" routine uses magnets.  And, apparently, I had the new laptop sitting on top of the old one.  Yeah, so when the Genius guy tried it, I felt like an idiot.  The old laptop, though, was truly sick.  That was the one beeping "SOS" at me a few weeks before.  Needed new RAM, which Greg took care of for me.

I mentioned the calendar in the last post?  Well, for like a week, Julie would run to the calendar and, pointing to Monday the 22nd, she'd say "This is the day that I throwed up on."

Moo

The first weekend that Greg's parents were here, we went to a cow farm for their annual "customer appreciation day."  We started out with some popcorn and cow watching (and one fabulous headband).

With a nice chocolate milk chaser.

We painted some pumpkins.

And some arms.  (And a dress that I still haven't been able to get the paint out of.)

Played a little bean bag toss, by our own rules.

Celebrated our victories.

Milked a cow.  Of course, they had it filled with water, so now Emma calls it "watering the cow."

We played with daddy.

And we got some fresh ice cream.

I actually took the girls to this by myself last year, and they were afraid of the cows.  They were much more interested this year.