Happy New Year

I am happy to report that we are all feeling much better. Antibiotics are wonderful things. Splitcat, the twins, and I all ended up on them. One of the twins is still coughing, but otherwise well.

We had a white Christmas here in Ga. The last measurable snow on Christmas day was in the late 1800's. There was a small amt in 1993. I remember that one because it was splitcat and I's first Christmas together. I think everyone had a nice Christmas--aside from not feeling so well(it at least kept us from overeating). I finally got new dishes(the light turqoise ones-they are more a robin's egg blue). I've been looking for new dishes for two years, and splitcat didn't have any objections, so i went for these. I still need to get a few more, but I have enough to use for now. From splitcat I also got a new iron(I asked for one), a new watch, and ironically, another new watch from my mom(if you don't follow the links, the watches are from the same line from fossil-one says hope, the other peace). Those were the big things I received.

Last Tuesday we were able to go to the Ga Aquarium with our two older kids, and splitcat's Sister, her daughter and his brother's son who is in from out of town. It was SOOOOOOO crowded, but we still had a pretty good time. We got lucky and were able to watch one of the general feedings in the big tank and watch the fish go a little crazy. I could have sat for hours watching them all swim around.

Tonight I find myself having another New Year's Eve alone(well, the kids are here, but they are in bed). Splitcat got a last minute invite to the Chick-fil-a Bowl a the GA Dome with his family. His nephew is in the marching band at FSU, so they are all going to see him play his last game(he should graduate this year).

So...it's a New Year soon. Hope you all have a Happy one.

Prayer Request

For my few readers out there, I would like to make a prayer request. We are just about all sick. I have been sick since Thanksgiving with a bad cough and on Sunday it turned worse, and I went to the dr. yesterday and I have bronchitis, a sinus infection and a double ear infection. Splitcat is currently at the dr. with the twins, one has sinus issues, the other a really bad cough. And splitcat is also sick with a bad cough. We were both sick with fevers yesterday, but I was ordered to do nothing but rest(I had a 102.2 fever by the time I got home from the dr.), so poor splitcat has been having to take care of everybody. The boy has a mild cough, and the girl is well. So I would appreciate any prayers for us. I am starting to feel better already but still don't feel terribly well. Thank you.

And if I don't get a chance to post again this week, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Why I Don't Do Christmas Cards

Afer about 120 pictures, I got a few usable ones. Here are my favorite unusable pictures.

Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling - The Water

I know I am a little early, since I usually post music on Saturday. BUT I JUST FOUND OUT JOHNNY FLYNN WILL BE IN ATLANTA NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I MUST GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I need a babysitter for next thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(preferably someone free, ha ha).

Okay, sorry, I got a little excited there. I've been waiting for him to come to Atlanta for a couple of years now.

Smile!

Smile!, originally uploaded by Fiorinda.

One of my Craftster and Flickr friends started a new group on Flickr called No Frown Found Friday. This is my entry for the day. I wish I could say they are all still smiling, but M(the blonde one) has been awake since about 2:30 this morning. He woke me up every hour or so to change his movie for him. He's been whining for about 10 minutes now about really random stuff. I see a nap in the near future, for both us.

All 4 kids are fighting off something. We've had runny noses and slight fevers, so I let everyone stay home today. Splitcat has to stay late tonight for the football game, so we may go meet him later for a late lunch/early dinner. If everyone is feeling better. Although on most days I am happy to send everyone off to school, there are days that I like having everyone near me. Today was one of those days. I like to have them near so I can ambush them with hugs and kisses. Tell them how much I love them. Of course, these are things I do every day, but it's more fun when everyone is already in a good mood from staying home from school.

I decided before I even had kids, that I would not be obsessive about attendance. I had perfect attendance for about my last 6 years of school, and it really did nothing for me. I learned when I was a full time worker that it was better to stay home and recuperate when not feeling well than to go to work sick and infect everyone. So I give my kids the same grace. Hopefully by Monday we will all be ready to face the world again.

So, if it's Friday, and you are reading this, smile(they are infectious), give someone a hug(they just might need one), tell someone you love them(for extra points,tell your parents, nothing makes me happier than to hear my kids say I love you).

Happy Birthday to Splitcat

Happy Birthday to Splitcat!

We had a family party tonight. I made fried chicken and mashed potatoes. This was the first time I have tried fried chicken. It turned out quite tasty. We had cupcakes for dessert, then we took splitcat's present (a fire bowl) outside and had a fire and made s'mores and roasted marshmallows. I still smell like smoke, and it feels so right. I have really missed the outdoors in the past few years. Hopefully we will have lots of fun this fall making fires and spending time together as a family.

I am looking forward to spending many more years celebrating with splitcat.

Rainbow

rainbow, originally uploaded by Fiorinda.

It finally rained today. It's been a while. It was one of those weird days where there was blue sky, sunshine, and rain. I kept an eye out for rainbows all day. After dinner, I looked out the twins window and saw one. It lasted a really long time. I did doctor up this photo a bit because the sky was such an odd color and I was standing in the garage because it was still raining. So my colors were all screwy. The sky was not quite this blue, but more grey.

Happy 15th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Splitcat.

NEWSFLASH--Updated

Splitcat just called from school. He was just interviewed by Janine Turner on the Constituting America Tour. I can't tell you why yet. But they may post the interview online. We don't know. He didn't know they were going to be there today until school was almost out. They weren't there for him, but he was involved with why they are there. I will tell you why as soon as I can. Well this post is about as clear as mud. But all will eventually be revealed.

Update. Okay, it's been officially announced, so I can share. One of splitcat's students won in the video category of this year's contest. You can see her video on the CA website. There is a link on splitcat's blog.

Birthday Time

4/365, originally uploaded by Fiorinda.

Sunday was the twin's 4th birthday. Can you believe it has been four years already? We celebrated with McDonald's and Cake. Lots of Disney paraphernalia(Toy Story and Cars are their current favorites).

They are beautiful boys. M(the blonde one) is extremely talkative, inquisitive, and very much like his sister(moody is the nicest word that comes to mind). They play together most days. W is a loner, you are not always sure what he is talking about when he decides to actually say something. He loves Lego with a passion that equals that of his father and older brother.

I love my boys. I get as many hugs from their little arms as I can.

Twins Room Makeover

So, we have finally gotten around to redoing the twins room. They have been sleeping in the living room most of this year due to window issues(we are finally having all our windows replaced! yay!). This room used to be a rather Eeyore blue with their white cribs. Now, we have big boy beds thanks to my mom and the Salvation Army Thrift Store. I had a fabulous trip to Ikea a couple of weeks ago and found the bedding and way too much other stuff.



Below: The closet. Still working on this one. The little dresser is from Ikea. We hope to get the larger one eventually.


Below: Light fixture also from Ikea(I had way too much fun there). They love it. W spent at least fifteen minutes turning it off and on saying, "It's morning!" when he flipped it on, and "It's night'" when he flipped it off.

Below: A happy boy in his new bed. He has slept in his bed every night since we set it up! yay! I get my living room back.


I still have a ways to go decorating. I am making art to put on the walls, so expect periodic updates. I also want to buy posters from here. I want this one , this one, or this one. The first one is a must have. It is exactly what I've been looking for in a larger poster for their room. Plus, W has a new obsession with all things space.

Play Time

My grandmother took the kids and I out to lunch at McDonald's today and then to the secret park. I forget how it came by the title of "the secret park," but I think it had something to do with the fact that every time we go, there is no one else there. So here are some pics from our adventure.

Stairs

Stairs, originally uploaded by splitcat.

I was going to try to get a photo of her today, but her cousin is over to play, so i am stealing this one from splitcat. He is good a capturing her. She is much too like her mother in some ways, but still her very own person. She is so lovely, so demanding, so sweet, and so obnoxious. yes, she is definitely a girl.

Innocence

W3, originally uploaded by Fiorinda.

He carried two cups with ice around with him as I went on a morning photo shoot. I don't know why, but I wish I knew.

Happiness is....

Happiness is...., originally uploaded by Fiorinda.

At long last...it's mine. I've been waiting for this purse to go on sale since the first time I saw it. I found it, of all places, at Crabtree and Evelyn.

This is the pattern called "Sittin' in a Tree," by Vera Bradley. The style is called "Alice."

Happy Belated Birthday to me! Yep, I am now 35. Had a quiet birthday volunteering at the Salvation Army. Lest you think I am nicer than I am, I have to let you know that my mom is the assistant to the director in her county, so I have been vounteering at her store every once in a while. Which is fun. I have a thrift store addiction, and they have better prices than goodwill.

Anyway. I'll try to post a little more often since I've figured out how to post through Flickr.

My Mom is Special.....

Today was the 1st annual Mother's Tea at the MMO where I work. As usual, there was the questionnaire to make us giggle at how little(or how well) our children know us. After comparing the answers the twins gave for me with those given for their father, I think they are a tad obsessed with food.

According to Boy M:




I have Black eyes and White hair. I am 9 yrs old. I look the prettiest when I am wearing a dress. My favorite thing to do is eat chicken and fries. He likes it when I cook fries. I like for him to help me clean up. My favorite color is black. And I am special because I like orange juice.



According to Boy W:


I have blue eyes and black hair. I am 1 yr old. I look prettiest when I am big enough(which is, I am sad to say, all the time. At least someone appreciates the weight I've gained). My favorite thing to do is eat chicken. He likes it when I cook chicken. I like for him to help me take a bath(please note, bathing this child is about as fun as bathing a cat. I do not let him anywhere near when I want to bathe. He may be referring to the last two times he flooded my kitchen with the sprayer on the kitchen sink). My favorite color is purple. And I am special because I eat carrots.



As you can see from the above picture. It was really really humid today. And the air wasn't working in my classroom. It was really yucky. I had forgotten how much I despise humidity. It gets me all out of sortish.

Since I was feeling out of sortish I stopped and got McD's for me and the twins. I left them alone to check my email and such and to switch over the laundry. I thought I heard some water running, so I ran upstairs and found M in the kitchen sink. This is the 3rd or 4th time they have sprayed water everywhere, so I gave them the what for, and M very graciously admitted it was all his fault, that his brother didn't need to be punished because he was innocent. So while M was supposed to be in time out, I took the towels I had used to mop up the water down to wash. He was already crying, so I didn't think much of it when his hysteria level when up a bit. Then I heard him say he was bleeding. Yes, I ignored him. He has a set list of phrases he knows will make me come running. So when I exited the laundry room I was a little shocked to see that he was indeed completely covered in blood. He looked like he had been shot in the head.When I finally got him all cleaned up, the actual cut was less than half an inch or so long, but it was pretty wide. After getting the opinion of my neighbor at the bus stop, I dropped the other kids off with her, and took M to the immediate care center. He got 2 stitches. Of all the injuries my kids have had, I think these are the first stitches. They are dissolvable so I don't have to take him back. I was very proud of how brave he was. He didn't cry or make a fuss. He got really quiet when they wrapped him up in this papoose thing to keep him still, but he did not freak out or anything. He's a good kid at heart.

Oh yes. How did he get this cut in the 60 seconds I was downstairs? His sweet brother whacked him(completely unprovoked) in the head with part of a nerf gun(one of the hard plastic ones that shoots foam pellets). He was completely unremorseful. When questioned his response was that no, that was P's. So he was blaming his absent brother because it was his toy. He was bad all day at school. I was told that he not only inflicted several types of bodily harm to his brother, but that he also walked up to him and licked him in the face.

We spent part of Sunday at Red Top Mountain. They had a small living history exhibit going on.

Life continues here at the Chintizibobs. The girl celebrated her 7th birthday last weekend with all the hoopla that accompanies such events. I bought her a new outfit that looks very cute on her and makes her look like a sweet little girl intead of a teenage wannabe. It's hard to find clothes for little girls these days unless you want them to look like Hannah Montana.

I am doing something I would have never guessed I would ever do in a million years. All for the love of my little Daisies(have I mentioned that I am the leader of a Girl Scout Daisy troop?).
I built a vermicomposter. And what is that you ask? Basically, you keep a bunch of worms in a bucket and feed them your compost, then after a while you collect their poop to use as fertilizer. OCD and red worms are so not a pleasant combination. Thankfully splitcat has no squeamishness with worms. I did manage to feed them last night. But I will confess to several shudders of horror at the grossness of a clump of worms.

The twins continue to wear me out. They are currently enjoying our Friday Munchkins(donut holes) and Scooby-Doo.

That is all.

"Under the table and dreaming"

Hot off the presses:



He was trying to poop(he must be a little stopped up, he does this thing where he bends over as far as possible to help things along--he's done this since he was a baby).

Gullible is under "J" in the dictionary

We've gotten some good laughs from the kids lately. Oldest boy P is the main provider. He goes beyond gullible. We've been telling him deliberate untruths for years trying to get him to question what people say to him, but it is apparently not working. Here are a few examples.

A few weeks ago, just as I was getting everyone settled in after school, I hear a blood-curdling scream, then heart breaking sobbing. Thinking he had fallen down the stairs or lost a limb or something, I ran to see what was the matter. I wish I knew exactly what he said, but he was crying so hard all I could make out was that he somehow managed to get pee on his arm, so now he was going to die. It was hard not to laugh. He really thought he was going to die. I explained that if he was lost in the desert with no water that he could actually drink it, so he would not die because it touched his arm. He was very quickly reassured. So my hope is that his aim will now improve and he will quit dousing the bathroom floor.

Sunday, we had a good time messing with him. After lunch, he said, "I have a question." My reply was "I only answer questions between 2 and 5pm." I was in another room at the time, so when I walked back in the kitchen, splitcat informed me that P had gotten out of his seat to check the clock in the kitchen and since it was only 1:45 he went and sat back in his seat to wait.

The best though, was when he asked about St. Valentine for Valentine's day. It was around 5:15pm when he asked. So splitcat told him that St. Valentine would be at our house at 5:30pm. P wondered how he would get in. So we told him that he came in through the toilet. We encouraged everyone to use the bathroom before 5:30 rolled around, because that would just be awkward. Then I told them that they would each be given a toilet scrubber, and they had to go scrub all the toilets really quick, because he came out of whichever toilet was the cleanest and if he was pleased with how clean it was, you got an extra surprise. P and E both fell for it. We had a good chuckle over it.

Now for some sweet twins stories.

This weekend all three boys were roughhousing and W got over excited and bit P. He was sent to his room to contemplate his behavior, and for him, was surprisingly docile about it. He usually lasts about 5 seconds in time out. When at last he emerged he went straight to P and said, "I'm sorry" and gave him a hug. No one had told him to apologize, and getting a coherent sentence out of him is usuallly an exercise in frustration. So it was very sweet to see that he does understand what apologizing is about. Even P was surprised and was very sweet about it.

Today as we were getting out of the car after school, I took a load of stuff into the house then went out to get the twins. They like to talk to the neighbors dog while they wait for me to unbuckle them, so I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, but right as I went to get M out of his seat he was going, "Go away, go away, get out of here." Then he noticed me and smiled and said, "I wasn't talking to you Momma, I was talking to the puppy." His language skills have seriously blossomed lately. As we were walking in the house he remarked on how "breezy" it was outside.
On Saturday, when we ventured out into the snow I asked him if he liked the snow. His response was, "Oh yes, it's very beautiful."

Speaking of snow. I think this is one of the best snows we have had in a long time. Here are some pics.

I just spent way too long tagging photos in the Photoshop Elements organizer, and came across these two photos I had meant to blog.

First-from September, this is the sort of mischief my boys like to make. My entire bathroom(which is pretty small) was covered in water.




Why sleep in your bed when there is a perfectly good hallway to sleep in? These days they are sleeping in the living room. Their room gets really cold at night and Baby M gets scared if the door is closed. We've had to start locking our door at night because Baby W sneaks into our bed in the middle of the night, on my side, and gradually takes over. It makes for a very uncomfortable night of sleep. M has been waking up every night between 2 and 4 for the past few weeks. I'm not getting enough sleep. I've never figured out why he won't go back to sleep when he wakes up. W just settles right back down and to sleep when he wakes up.

Well, we made it through Christmas and New Year, and suddenly it's February. You have probably been asking yourself, where is that girl? Why isn't she blogging? I miss her so very very much.

One of my biggest obstacles of late are the little dudes. They have learned to open the gate at the top of the stairs and follow me where they are not allowed. They keep sneaking down and destroying their older brother's Lego projects, which gets me in trouble. So they are currently in time out in their room. Hopefully they aren't destroying too much. They have become extremely destructive lately. All of my walls have now been written on.

Another thing distracting me is the Playstation 3 we purchased just before Christmas. I bought Splitcat Fallout 3, and we are both pretty addicted. I keep telling myself I am going to quit, but it hasn't happened yet. It didn't help that we now have a much nicer television to play on, and its all in my bedroom. If I sit too close I get motion sickness. It's beautiful.

Netflix. Why did we wait so long? Now we just need to hook up the wireless modem so we can stream straight through our PS3 into our room. I should be receiving the original Muppet Movie today.

Crafting. Instead of posting more pics here, please feel free to visit my Flickr page(bookmarked on the right). I have been participating in swaps on Craftster. It was fun, but I am taking a break.

Working. I have gone from 3-4 babies to 6-8 babies seemingly overnight. Several of the new babies have never been left before, so they cry alot. Yesterday my shoe was christened with baby puke. Thankfully, I wasn't wearing my Converse.

I have a new habit of photographing my shoes. I'm not sure why. But it's fun.



I also finally learned how to download actions in Photoshop Elements, so that is fun. Here is the first one I did.


I've been exploring photography at bit more lately. I am enjoying it. (again, feel free to peruse my Flickr page, I update it a little more than I do here)

Lastly, I was inspired by one of my swaps to do retelling of a classic fairy tale. Perhaps I will share more on that later. Splitcat and I had fun working out the plot one night over milkshakes at Steak-n-Shake.

I guess that is all for now. Peace.

I almost forgot, the boy turned NINE!! How in the world did he get so old? There was much cake and Lego. His nice uncle gave him his old PS2 since ours was dead and splitcat and I took over the PS3. So now he can play all his old games again. That made him quite happy. He's a lovely boy. He has a delightfully odd sense of humor, he's really cute, and everything I always hoped for in a son. Although I still miss the days when he was a baby, I really enjoy getting to know him as his own person. He is still young enough to think it's okay to tell your mom that you love her. I secretly hope he never thinks otherwise.

I'd better go let the hoodlums out. Seriously, they are making me crazy. Just another year and a half until they start school. Of course, then I have to keep up with 4 sets of homework and four kids whining about not wanting to go to school. I guess every age has its challenges. But I am not sure they can get worse than the age of 3. I'll post something happy about them soon. They are really cute and now that they talk, they are pretty funny. Their latest favorite movie to watch is the new version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Baby M dances along with the Oompa Loompas.