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.

The Advent Season

There is much excitement in the Chintzibob household. It is that marvelous time of year when thoughts of sugarplums dance in all of our heads. A few years ago Splitcat and I decided to start a tradition for our family in this season to make it a memorable one for all, as well as to teach the children why we celebrate Christmas. I did not really know what Advent was all about, but I was willing to give it a go. It has become a favorite tradition of all. For the first year, P. was the recipient of the Lego Advent Calendar. This is the first year that has not been part of our evening.

We try to keep it very simple, most nights the kids get a small piece of candy or toy. I knew it was an important part of my children's lives when P. told me he was making an advent list. He wanted some new Heroscape figures. That is exactly what he has been getting. The girl is a little more difficult to buy for. She loses small things or they end up in the babies mouths. She got a golden dollar last night and a Indiana Jones Lego mini-fig tonight(the one that is a girl). The twins just get a piece of candy. It has been really nice to spend a few minutes all together every night thinking of the birth of our Savior. P. seems to understand a lot more this year, even in the excitement of getting a present every night.



On Sunday night we had a tree decorating party and a pre-Advent reading to prepare us for the first night. I was touched by the reading and prayer that splitcat gave. Then I found out he wrote it, so I received permission to post it here. I hope you like it.



Bible Reading: John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginnning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.


Most Gracious Father and Bringer of Peace, we ask for humble spirits as we prepare for this season of remembrance of your gift to us, Your only Son.
We pray that we will not be distracted by earthly gifts, but will continually give "glory to God in the highest" for the Saviour who was born for us on Christmas Day.

We ask that this Christmas tree will be a reminder of your unbounding love for us and that
-the green of the limbs will be a reminder of the evergreen life that you bring into our watered hearts.
-the beautiful ornaments will remind us of the daily wonders and blessings that you grant us everyday.
-the angel at the top of the tree will serve to remind us that you forever watch over us.
-the wood of the trunk will remind us of the wood of the manger in which the baby Jesus lay and the wood of the cross on which He hung for us.
--the lights will remind us that in Christ is life and that life is the light of man, your light shines in the darkness, and that it was the Word of God that spoke the light itself into the world: "Let there be light." (Oldest child lit the Christmas tree at these words).

Sorry for the long delay in posting. We ended up going through three or four rounds of Lice. It wasn't pretty. Then life just happened. So here I am again.

I just discovered something sort of fun. Last week when I was looking at my flickr stats, I found that someone had used one of my embroidery pics as a sample on their website. Since the pic linked directly to my flickr account, I did not mind. I thought it kind of cool. That was one of my favorite designs from my summer tea towel swap.

Tonight I was looking at the blog for the Embroidery pool I belong to and found myself quoted Here. I thought that was kind of fun.

My embroidery skills have vastly improved. Did I ever show you my new shoe? I've only finished one so far.


In other news. Splitcat and I took a very needed weekend away to Highlands, NC.
We saw lots of waterfalls. It was really beautiful.



I am busy getting rid of stuff. I have 4 bags waiting to go to the thrift store. I have already dropped off two garbage bags full and a box. I gave away 2 full bags to different people. And that is just in a few days worth of cleaning out. I have 3 big totes to go to my parents for storage. And I have swapped out summer clothes for fall/winter. And caught up on the laundry. Now the trick will be to stay caught up.

Apologies

I apologize for not finishing up my twins birthday post. I got sick. P and E got Lice. The twins never stop moving. So there are some excuses if you feel like you need them.

Mostly, I realized there are almost no year two photos on our flickr accounts and didn't want to bother with uploading them.

So let's forge ahead to year 3. Very recently, in fact.

Twins Turn Three

Well, here we are, three years later. I cannot believe it. Where have the past three years gone? I don't really remember much. So here is a photo retrospective of the twins first 3 yrs. done in three parts. Here is year One.

32 Weeks---Can you believe I went 5 weeks past this. Man, I was huge!


Mom and Baby A


Boys in hospital


Crying


So small


A bit bigger


First Christmas


First Christmas


6 months


The Beach--right around their first birthday


First Birthday



So there is year one in a nutshell. Tomorrow, Year 2.

The Pox-redux

The eldest child has the chicken poxes. poor kid is missing the first week of school.

For the two people who read my blog who aren't my friends on Facebook, I'm bored, not sleepy, and can't think of anything better to do, so I am posting some of the pics I took to show everyone my hair. So, yeah. Here.







I asked him to cut the back a little too short so it would take longer to grow in. It will be exactly how I like it in about a week.

So. Anyway. How's it going out there? I wish I had something more entertaining to blog about than my hair. I could start one of those blogs where you put a picture of your daily outfits. Because I dress so well.

I could blog about potty training, but then I'd have to think about potty training. Which I am not a big fan of.

The twins will be 3 soon. That will be a good thing to post about in a couple of weeks when it is actually their birthday.

I could blog about how I am now obsessively hoarding coupons and scouring sales ads for deals since I now have to actually follow a budget. Doing good so far. Saving money. Lost a few pounds from not eating out every day. So that's good. I got free toothpaste the other day. It was on sale for $1 and I had a $.50 coupon that was doubled. Free is always good.

That pretty much uses up all my ideas. so. bye.

Singing Saturday

I know. I remembered two weeks in a row. How amazing is that. This week's video doesn't have pictures, just the lyrics. This is Daniel Bashta, who happens to be the worship leader at my church. I love this song. This is what our worship service is like. I love it.

ALICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAACK

Here's the trailer for the New Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton

Thanks Hanna for the link.

I have to say I don't care if he mucked about with the story. It's Tim Burton. And Johnny Depp(though I don't really expect anything new from him). And Helena Bonham Carter. And spats. Alice is wearing spats. I have been planning on making some, now I must before everyone else. Totally geeking out.

Singing Saturday

It's been a while since I did a singing Saturday. Here, for your enjoyment is Regina Spektor. The first song is from an older album The second is from her new album(which is lovely)