Twins & a Toddler

The Fourth @ the Lake

Spending the holiday at the lake. Boat rides to get donuts, fishing off the dock, and watching the fireworks from the boat. We might even make smores! Does it get any better than that?

* Updated to add that yes, I could've been much better.  It started raining around 3:00 pm and continued the light annoying rain for the rest of the day.  Linus had a melt down around 8:00 which resulted in me taking him back to the cottage and putting him in bed.  He fell asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.  Cuppie was not far behind him.  There were no smores because of the rain but Pete and A got to see a few fireworks. 

George and Zeus

George is a social dog.  A very social dog.  So social that when he runs off on us, we typically find him hanging out with other dogs.  He really would like another dog as a buddy but we are a one dog house.  Luckily for George, Zeus came to town two weeks ago.  Zeus found his way to our neighbor's house up front.  Just showed up at their garage door and made himself at home.  I'm sure the three hotdogs and various other left overs that our neighbor fed him has had nothing to do with his desire to stay and become their dog!  Zeus is a good dog.  Very gentle and best of all, he digs George.  Every day Zeus comes back to visit George.  It's usually when the neighbors leave that he will wander back to play with his buddy.  They wrestle, romp, play chase and generally run themselves out.  When they've worn themselves out, they take a rest and then pick back up again.  Did I mention that Zeus probably weighs about 80 pounds to George's whopping 13? 

We are so glad that Zeus found his way to our neighbors and that they decided to take him in.  George is thrilled with his new playmate and we are all quite fond of Zeus too.  And now if George runs off, we know where we'll find him. He'll be up at Zeus's house. 

Summertime Fun

Sometimes the photos tell the story.

If Your Friends Jump Off A Bridge....

The kids have been in swimming class for the past two weeks.  All three kids were in the same class and did really well.  They had class Mon-Thurs for thirty minutes.  The instructors were great and the kids did really good.  Today was the last day of class so they had a "fun day" and let the kids play on the water structure and offered them the chance to jump off the diving board.  The instructors and I assumed that Pete would be interested in trying but most likely Cuppie and Linus would pass.  I was on the fence about whether Pete would jump but thought she might if she saw her friends jumping off.  Sure enough, as soon as the option was available she was in line with her life jacket on brimming with excitement.  When it was her turn she confidently walked to the end of the diving board, looked down at the instructor (not her's by the way) pointed to the edge of the pool and walked back off the diving board.  She then proceeded to jump off the edge of the pool into the instructor's arm.  She did this twice before her  instructor jumped in the pool to take her turn "catching kids*".  At this same time, Pete's friend G took his turn on the diving board and jumped right in.  This seemed to give Pete a new wave of confidence as the next time up she walked to the end of the diving board and jumped right off the end and on top of her instructor!  She had a grin from ear to ear as she climbed out of the pool and got right back in line to go again.  I think she jumped in 3 or 4 times before class was over. 

Not to be outdone by the big kids, Cuppie noticed her friend M was up on the board thinking about jumping off.  Once Cuppie saw M do her decent, she flung off her towel and demanded a try.  So up she went on the board and she was then gently handed down to the instructor waiting in the water.  I'm not sure we can call it an official "jump" off the diving board but for a three year old, it counts as an official decent off the diving board!

For the record, Linus declined when offered the chance.

* For clarification, the instructor who was "catching kids" was really doing her best to not get clobbered each time a kid jumped on her!  She managed to keep most of them somewhat above water without harming herself...that's skill.

Bottle Caps, Bottle Caps, Bottle Caps

If you follow either A or I on Face.book, you'll already know that Linus is in full bottle cap collecting mode.  Last summer he started collecting bottle caps from beer bottles.  Neither of us can remember what prompted this hobby but it lasted through most of the summer before waning off.  We both thought it was just one of those things that kids do and then move on.  The bottle caps stayed in his box mostly ignored though out the winter and then one day during his quiet time in his room he got them out and started making a line of caps from the top of his parking garage and down the ramps.  Unfortunately, he was unable to make it to the bottom and thus..the bottle cap collecting has begun again.  

Much to our surprise, this time he is more aggressive in his collection techniques.  Most days he wakes up and ask A (aka Mama) if she wants a beer.  After she declines, he will continue asking just about every hour, sometimes more often, sometimes less.  Thankfully he is not going out to the garage and getting her a beer but he will sometimes look in the fridge and tell her which bottle cap he would like next.  Since A doesn't drink a lot, it is going to take him a while to collect the amount of bottle caps that he would like.  He has even started pointing to ads in magazines and stating that he would like that particular cap.  Friends have offered to help add to his collection and if you too would like to assists, just let me know.  In the meantime, Linus is enjoying sorting his bottle caps, making bottle cap chai tea and bottle cap bread.  Who knew you could do all these things with bottle caps!

And if you happen to visit us and walk into the boy's room.  Don't call CPS...the reason his room smells like a distillery is the bottle caps.  Really...it's the bottle caps!

Poop, Poopy Head, Poop on Your Head

Some of you are probably wondering what Linus has been up to lately.  Most of the posts have been about the girls and all their activities.  But don't worry, the boy has been fine.  But there hasn't been much to tell about him unless you want to hear the words, poop, poopy head, you have poop on your head, poop, poop, poop over and over again, day after day.  This is what the boy has been up to.  It must be the "boy" in him.  He thinks it is hysterical and says it to anyone around him in his high falsetto voice.  It's even better when he starts dancing around like a leprechaun singing about poopy heads.  You can imagine how happy we are with his new vocabulary.  We've tried to be patient and inform him that if he wants to use those words, he has to go into the bathroom.  So far it's not helping much.  I was speaking to a friend who has twin boys who are slightly older and her comment to me was did you know that poop rhymes with soup.  I guess she has it worse than us right now.

In other Linus news, we finally upgraded him to a full fledged big boy bed.  He's been sleeping on a toddler bed for a while now (well, when he stays in the bed that is, most nights he is on our floor with a sister or two).  So tonight, we were one kid down for a few hours and made the trip to Sam's to get him a mattress.  I'm hoping the lure of a full fledge big boy bed will keep him in his own bed tonight. 

I'm sure there will be more to write about Linus but for now, it's all about poop.  You poopy heads. 

Recital Recap

I'm happy to report that the recital was great.  The Mom's managed to get the fluffy outfit and hairpiece on her correctly (with some help from Ms. Melissa) and one of the other Mom's added "rosy cheeks" for the girls.  Our Cuppie was a beautiful ballerina. 

On the way to rehearsal on Saturday Cuppie was talking to A and asked her if they would be dancing on a big stage and if people would be watching them.  When A told her yes to both questions her response was "Oh My Gosh".  I think she was starting to understand what a recital was.  On the big day the girls all looked adorable and walked on the stage holding hands like a pack of fluffy dancers.  They all performed their steps, not necessarily on que but they all did them at some point.  Miss P did a great job leading them through the steps.  Our favorite part was when Cuppie decided to freestyle part of the dance and added in her own spins while they did fairy slides.  Since she was third in line, the remaining five girls followed suit.  Before we knew it, the dance was over and the pack of fluffy dancers headed off the stage. 

Afterwards we watched the remainder of the first half of the program which finished with a belly dancer.  I believe that was Cuppie's favorite part of the performance.  Yesterday I found her with a blanket trying to reproduce some of the moves she saw the belly dancer perform. 

I think our favorite part of the experience was seeing our little ballerina on the stage having a great time and then later at home, allowing Linus to try on her outfit.  He had been asking to try it on for days.  He only wore it for a few moments but it was enough for us to snap a few photos and for him to get his inner ballerina out for now.

Moths, Butterflies & Caterpillars

"Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as important to the child as it is to the caterpillar."  Richard O'Barry

This is a quote that was on the kids certificates from the nature class they take.  Pete attended the class for two years and Linus and The Cup started this past year.  The kids really get a lot out of the classes and have learned not to step on caterpillars, lady bugs and other animals important to our world.  Spiders and ants are a different story but caterpillars, butterflies and moths are beloved these days.  However, I think Mr. O'Barry left off a few words in his statement.  He forgot that in addition to making sure caterpillars are not stepped on, they should not be captured, handled excessively or put in one's pocket for safe transport or keeping.  Pete is obsessed with stalking, catching and keeping anything in the caterpillar species.  She has a butterly net and can be seen running in circles around the yard trying to capture whatever happens to be flying close by.  I've lost count of the number of moths and butterlies who have met their demise on the back porch due to excessive loving after being captured.  Caterpillars are not much safer, she snuck one in her pants pocket last week and it rode with her from park to park.  So for all the caterpillars, butterflies and moths in our neck of the woods - if you get caught, we are sorry.  If you can evade her...fly fast, fly as fast as your little wings can take you.  We know she is cute, but don't let that fool you.

The Bow Goes Where?

Dear Cuppie,

Let me apologize now for your mother and I.  We are new to this girlie stuff and you are taking us to the limit to test us.  Earlier this year we signed you up for a dance class because we thought you would enjoy it.  One day a week for 30 minutes and Miss P said "I don't do recitals for this age".  Great!  That works for us.  Each week you put on your ballet outfit, tights and off we go to dance class.  After a few classes Miss P mentioned the recital.  Recital?  What recital?  Apparently some of the other Moms in the class persuaded Miss P to include this class in the year end recital.  I'm pretty sure Miss P has been kicking her self in the ass ever since then.  You see, Miss P never dances in the recitals with the students.  NEVER.  That is until now.  Your class of cute little ballet dancers will also include your instructor bowing, fairy sliding and leading you around the stage.  I really hope you all do well or I'm afraid Miss P is going to lose it. 

At today's class I realized just how out of the water your Mom's are with this whole dance thing.  Miss P was giving us the run down on the rehearsal, where we needed to be and at what time.  That we should have you in your outfits, all prettied up for rehearsal.  Don't be late or Miss P will move on to the next group and we'll all have to wait.  As I'm writing all this information down, one of the Mom's mentions the bows and wanted to confirm which side of the head the bows go on.  Apparently there are bows Cuppie and they all have to go on the same side of your head.  We can barely keep a barrette in your head with your hair so fine, how are we going to get a bow to stick on your head.  Please know that your Moms are doing our best with this dance stuff and we'll get better at it, I promise.  But for now, we are still trying to figure out how to get the tool on your outfit to lay right.  It's not the type of tools we are used to working with and I'm sorry now if your tool isn't laying right and your bow falls out.  We did our best and we can't wait to see you and the other ballet dancers dancing with Miss P.  I wonder what she will be wearing and if she knows what side of her head to put the bow on.

Love,

Your Moms 

Not For A Unicorn or a Turtle

At Preschool this week the kids filled out an ad-lib of sorts about their Special Mother.  Of course Pete has two Moms so she got to fill out one on each of us.  They made us smile, giggle and love our little Pete even more.  From the one who made us Mom's, here are her words about her special mothers. I've bolded and underlined where she filled in the words.

For Mommy (me, T)

My mother is the most wonderful mom in the whole world!  She's as pretty as a flower.  She weighs less than a bear and she is 7 feet tall.  Her favorite food is ravioli with red sauce.  She loves to stay at home and watch us.

In the good old days when Mom was little, she used to cry a lot.   I think Mom looks funny when she is laughing.  I know she is really angry when she says she is going to whoop me.  I wish my mom would not say she is going to whoop us every day.

I wouldn't trade my mother for a unicorn. 

For Mama (A)

My mother is the most wonderful mom in the whole world!  She's as pretty as a tree.  She weighs more than a robin and she is 12 feet tall.  Her favorite food is macaroni with hot sauce.  She loves to help make dinner.

In the good old days when Mom was little, she used to eat a lot.   I think Mom looks funny when she is looks at me with funny faces.  I know she is really angry when she sends us to our rooms.  I wish my mom would stay with me every day.

I wouldn't trade my mother for a turtle. 

For those readers who don't personally know us.  I am a good 3 inches taller than A and thankfully I do weigh less than a bear.  The part that cracks me up the most is the "whooping" part.  When I tell the kids I'm going to whoop em, it means we are going to have a rousing game of chase through the house until I can catch em and pretend to whoop em.  I reminded Pete of this and asked her if I should stop whooping her.  She thought for a moment and said, we need to keep the whoopings!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.  I hope your special day is filled with hugs, kisses and well behaved children. 

* Drawing of Mommy, Mama and a unicorn by Pete