Planning the Future

Sweet Daughter was explaining her future to me. First she's going to eat lots of food so she can be as tall as the sky. Then she's going to have her own house. It will have stairs and everything since she will have 9 kids (5 girls and 4 boys). She's going to be a Mama, someone who decorates things for other people, and she will drive everyone to the doctor. Her house is going to be pink, but the fence will be purple. Her car will start out regular, but she will decorate it pink with cotton balls. She will not have a driveway, but her garage will be yellow. Her house will be by ihop, but not near Sweet Son's house. Sweet Son will come visit her for Thanksgiving because she will make so much food. She is still debating over if her house will be made out of bricks or Lincoln logs - either way she will use hot glue to put it together.

Sweet Son will have 3 kids (2 boys and 1 girl "for a dollar"). His house will be clean if someone cleans it for him. He will work on a computer and not have to talk to people. He will go to Sweet Daughter's house to eat every time she makes food. His house will be close to the food, but he will have to drive to the ocean.

Kids Cooking

My kids love pizza and when we have the time, I let them make it. It's a simple process (especially with premade crusts) and everyone is happy.

First they spread the sauce. 

Then they put on the cheese. 

Finally they arrange their pepperonis. 

Travel and Spleen

Sweet Daughter informed me our travel plans for the next few months. In January we will go on a plane. In February we will go on a big boat. In March will will go on a rocket.

That's why we don't let the 3 year olds plan our vacations. haha




Sometimes my kids make me feel stupid. We are playing a new game they got for Christmas. Sweet Son says, "Mommy, what does a spleen do?" Uhhh... give me a minute to read the instructions. Seriously? He's 3 and I'm not quite prepared for these questions. (Wonderful Husband got the spleen and gallbladder mixed up, so I'm glad I did look up the right answer.)

Merry Christmas!

We spent Christmas day at home. It was a nice, quiet (well, as quiet as could be imagined with twin 3 year olds who have new toys), and relaxing.

We started by opening stockings. They each had a new puppet, a new boat to put together and take apart in the bathtub, and a couple of other small toys. 

Then the kids moved on to the gifts from Mom and Dad. Yes, we really did only get them two things and they were both games to share. They got so many things from the rest of the family that we didn't want to overwhelm them. Also these are both games we played as kids so we wanted them to share in the experience. First they opened Hungry, Hungry, Hippos and of course we all played multiple rounds.

The other toy was a marble run. They built some together, they built some on their own, Mommy built some for them, and on and on. This is a great toy and I loved watching them discover how the different pieces work and how to plan what they wanted to happen.

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Snow

Last year we had snow on Christmas Day. (Remember this blog is a year behind.) It was a special treat since we didn't get any snow the year before.

Throwing snowballs at Daddy. This was my favorite part!

Laundry basket sledding. 

Wonderful husband was raised in Canada, but down here we don't have much need for sleds.

 The kids still get to have the fun of sledding even if it is in a laundry basket.

Snow angels

Mush Daddy!

Christmas with Papa

Round 2 for Christmas celebrations was with Papa T and extended family.

Sweet Daughter and Great Grandma playing a game with coasters. 

(Yes, my kids are lucky enough to have two great grandma's.)

Sweet Son and Papa T in deep discussions of life.

The kids each got their own digital cameras and went around taking photos. It was essentially what everyone's knees looked like, but every once in awhile we would get a chin or neck. haha (If I ever figure out how to get the photos off their cameras I will share them on here.)

The whole group included Oma, Papa T, Great Grandma, and Uncle B. 

(I figure you know the 4 of us by now!)

Christmas with Grandma

Like many families, we celebrate Christmas in waves. 

This post is about how we celebrated with Grandma and family on that side.

We started with a Christmas program at Great Grandma's  assisted living center. In addition to Grandma and Great Grandma (pictured here), we were with my kids Uncle, Great Uncle and Aunt, and um... their Great Grandmother's Sister - their Great, Great Aunt??? At some point labels just confuse me.

Sweet Son in the arms of his Uncle B.

The kids got to meet Santa (though they both noticed this one was female).

After the program we went back to Great Grandma's room to open presents. 

The kids were spoiled, as usual, and had a great time.

Parachuting Santa

Our town has a tradition of a parachuting Santa each year before Christmas. We love going and seeing the graceful, and sometimes not so graceful, entrance.

 Who is that way up there?

First in come the elves - this video only shows one, but there were two.

Finally, the main event, here comes Santa Claus!

There are many activities up and down the town square. The three lane tubing hill is a favorite, though we chose not to stand in the long line. Tubing without needing coats really is the way to go, in my opinion.

Wordless Wednesday

It's cold outside.

Sweet Daughter: "It's cold outside. Can we go out to play?"
Sweet Son: "I've got an idea. Why don't we sit on the couch and read?"

Clearly he takes after me and she takes after Wonderful Husband.

Bass Pro Christmas

Another of our holiday traditions is a trip to Bass Pro. In case you have never been to one, it is a giant sporting/outdoor/boating store. They have a lot of activities for Christmas that are free and they give you a free photo with Santa. 

After you get your time card for the Santa photos, there is plenty to do in the store while you wait. We started with the reindeer carousel.  

Not exactly a Christmas activity, but who could resist looking into a shark's mouth? 

The giant fish tank can take up a lot of time. 

There are cute places for photo throughout the store. 

They picked out their clothes for the photos. She has a snowman and a tree while he has a t-rex carrying a tree.  

The kids each picked out a boat they wanted. (We do not own a boat, nor will we in the near future.) 

Cactus covered in Christmas lights. That seems like a good place for a photo. 

Here's the Santa photo! It has been the same Santa every year. (Last year)

Proof we were all there together.

Piano

The kids started a group music/piano class in August. Here is how far they have come in just under 4 months. Don't expect anything too impressive, they are only 3 years old.

He didn't like being on camera, but this is what we were able to get him to "perform". 

She starts on the wrong note, but does self correct. This is the "Do, Do, Do" Song.

Inside Gross Motor

We are always looking for new and unique ways to wear our kids out. They have way too much energy. Here are some of our ideas that worked for us.

Making a bridge on the arms of a rocking chair. I would have left the cushions on, but either way, the unstableness of the chair adds to the challenge. (Yes, I just created a new word.)

Anyone can do push-ups, but elevating your feet makes it much more challenging. I would have done it over carpet, but hard tile is another way to go if that's what the kids agree to do.

While this mostly just wore out Wonderful Husband, he did make it challenging for the kids to keep a hold.

It's difficult not to trip on the kids' toys normally, add two preschoolers to your legs and this is a disaster waiting to happen. I did my part - I took photos and documented the entire thing. Then I warned him. No one was hurt in process.

Wordless Wednesday

Easy Teacher Gift

I'm always looking for cute and cheap Christmas gifts for my kids' teachers. I give the teachers something small every month so I don't feel the need to do something huge for Christmas. I would rather spend a little extra in the months teachers are feeling the least appreciated than during December and May when everyone is telling them they are wonderful. (They really are wonderful, but it's best to know that more than twice a year.)

I saw this idea somewhere and loved it. I bought whisks and filled them with kisses. I attached a card that said, "We Whisk You a Merry Kissmas". The teachers all complimented them and a few even commented that they needed a new whisk. So it was even somewhat practical.

Gingerbread Train

Every year we decorate gingerbread houses. This year I found a kit that was a gingerbread train. This was perfect for us!

We had to assemble the train cars and Wonderful Husband put the base layer of icing on, but the kids decorated them without any help.

They both immediately put the peppermints as the wheels. Sweet Daughter lined up her candies in perfect lines while Sweet Son went with more of a random assortment.

Of course the best part was trying to figure out what to do with the extra icing...

Christmas Photos

There are a few places we go to take Christmas photos with great backgrounds. These were all taken at the same location - a large hotel about 30 minutes away from us.

That's a real gingerbread house. The entire thing is made of food and candy. Yes, the house has a mosaic of a gingerbread man on the side. Impressive.

This is inside. It's warm, sunny, and my kids loved the boat. I think this is the photo we ended up using for our Christmas cards.

Sweet Daughter wanted nothing to do with this photo. She didn't want her picture taken at all. 

Sweet Son was thrilled to climb on top of the giant presents and pose.

Once again, Sweet Son is smiling and Sweet Daughter is refusing. That is a giant rocking carousel horse.  Awesome.

There are my two kids. This time she's smiling and he's faking a smile, but at least they are both there. All it takes is a giant pile of shiny balls.

After typing that last sentence I'm wondering what is going to happen to my search results...

Car Wash

I've posted photos of my kids washing the car before. However, this post is just a bit different.

She's wearing shorts. In December. It's warm enough to wash the car.

It's not normally this warm in December here, so this was a nice treat.

Somehow the icicle lights just don't make a lot of sense with the rest of the photo though.

Wordless Wednesday