Friday, May 30, 2008

Lila's new game....

So DB is none to pleased at Lila's new favorite game....So before she use to try to eat the dog food but now she just plays with it.....moving it from DB's dish to the dog water bowl and back to DB's dish.....its actually pretty funny to watch DB get frustrated with Lila.....w/Lila giggling and smiling the whole time.....Too funny....

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Back in Business......

Well......My keyboard finally went ka-poot.....I never really realized how much I used my computer until I couldn't type anything but the secondary blue keys, which are mostly numbers.......FRUSTRATING......anyway I ended up ordering a new (well refurbished) keyboard from Dell. Talk about cheap and super easy to pop in and out and got here super fast....I ordered at 7pm Tuesday night and it was here by 3pm yesterday......Anyway it is good to be back in front of my computer.....and working again....I got all caught up last night and it felt good to put a a long night at work......which was ok, since Shawn had to go back to the office at 8pm last night, he had gotten his computer fixed and now the VPN is all messed up so he couldn't work from home.....it was a late night for both of us......

Lets see what is new for us.......well not much. I think the twins are giving up their nap....They probably only take an afternoon nap a few times a week.....it's all good. They still go up to their toddler beds (yes, we finally turned their cribs into beds a while ago, lets just say they love it!!) and lay down and read books.....but they get up probably 4-5 times to use the bathroom.....Sometimes they actually sleep......my only stipulation is that they are quite, as I do not want them to wake up Lila (who is the lightest sleeper in the house)......They are doing well with this new independence. Bed time is amazingly easy too.....Shawn and I were both fretting turning their cribs into beds as we thought they would be the type of kids that run around and not lay down in bed.....I suppose we should have given our girls a bit more credit. They are actually really good at going to bed, granted we can always count on both of them getting up right after being put to bed to use the bathroom (no matter if they just went or not)......But we let them do it all by themselves and they are great at putting themselves back to bed. So now we just need to budget those big girl beds.....We are so proud of the them. I can not wait to paint and decorate their room.....Oh, its going to be a bit on the fun, wild side.......I have already started picking colors.....so fun.....bold and bright!

Lila is doing well.....she takes steps all the time.....I am still of the notion that she knows how to walk but just doesn't want to.....oh well.....Kiara and Mikiah hold her hand and walk around with her all the time.....she will do it when she wants......and I am not worried....she has become our crabby baby in the mornings....she is not a morning person....

We are in for another hot week down here, Mid-90's all week.....Suppose we will be doing lots of swimming in the kiddie pool.....all the girls are battling a little cold they all started with runny noses yesterday and now they are complaining of sore throats.....Hope Dad and Ri do not have little colds too......

Right now I am just stoked about Sex in the City, Shawn and I are going tomorrow night after the kiddos go to bed (Thanks in advance for sitting Uncle Joel)......I can not wait to see this movie.....Sex in the City, one of my guilty pleasures.....I could watch the all the episodes over and over.....Just LOVE it......

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day Monday......

So we said good bye to G-Dad and Ri a couple hours of ago.....They have a lovely 12 hour drive home to New Mexico......We had a wonderful visit with them and we love having family and friends stay with us......They rolled into town on Friday afternoon bringing the girls some goodies.....Which was so sweet....they all got some very cool Earth Friendly shopping bags, filled with a new beach towel, Reading books for the twins (which they love), Glasses for Lila and Dino Cookie cutters......So I was let in that they were bringing the cookie cutters and made cookie dough earlier in the day.....Oh boy cookie making was fun.......and of course they lasted about a day......

Saturday we had a lazy morning of relaxing and then headed out to Festival of Flowers a small little garden and plant festival......it was great going with Ri as she is a Southern Plant/Flower/Tree expert.....She brought me a ton of her books to borrow about southern plants to help us figure out the rest of our landscape....So awesome.....Shawn and I think we know what we want to plant in the back yard and side yard to finish up the landscaping.....most likely won't have it all finished until next year, but so nice to have a plan.....The main piece will be a butterfly garden.....the girls will love seeing the butterflies all the time.....Ri really let us know what to plant to attract butterflies and even better that we got to see the plants in person at the Flower Festival.....the kids also enjoyed seeing all the pretty plants......We finished the night with an awesome steak dinner out......So fun.....Except the girls.....they were pretty much antsy at dinner, I think I spent more time with "False" Potty alerts then I did at the dinner table.....I think I took MJ to the bathroom 6 times and of course Kiara had to come too.......Talk about frustrating.....

Yesterday we didn't do much, a little home depot run and some grocery shopping which also included the purchase of a kiddie pool......All 3 of the girls loved it......I think the twins played in it for 3-4 hours......We ended the night with a traditional meal of Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, beans and poke cake......We also played UNO, the girls loved playing it.......they partnered up with Daddy and G-Dad.....the best was them spitting out the colors in Spanish....They really do pick it up down here......

Today we are off to relax and do a whole lot of nothing......here are some pics from the weekend....
Memorial Day 08

Thursday, May 22, 2008

My Pink Ladies......

So I have been MIA due to a lovely husband who accidentally spilled a little bit of beverage on my laptop keyboard....Lets just say I went through a whole day of frustration trying to figure out what was wrong with it, I even emailed Shawn and said my freaking keyboard is busted.....I was starting to look for a replacement, which actually they aren't that bad $30-40.....So Shawn got home from work on Tuesday and was like , "You know I did spill some beer on your keyboard last night, I am guessing that's why it is acting up?" It would have been nice had he told me Monday night when it happened.....Oh well, I took off all the keys where he spilled and got it all cleaned and dried.....So far so good all is acting normal now, so nice to actually push a key and have the correct letter show up on the screen again. I still may have to replace it we shall see how it goes....

We have not been up to much, just been getting ready for G-Dad and Ri's visit....Cleaning, Cleaning and more cleaning. I love it when we have guests or people over it really forces me to do the really deep cleaning...Not much else new here.....Lila still cruises all over everything. I know she can walk and I have caught her a few times, I really think she just loves to crawl, cruise or be carried. Oh well the twins were late walkers too.....Here are some pics from last night playing outside.......when its super hot here (we have had a hot week in the upper 90s) the only time you can play outside is pretty much after the sun goes down.....or early morning.....we do both....so great for them to burn off all their energy....

I just have to say after that last picture I ended up chasing Kiara all the way down the street and around the corner. She was on a get a way with Lila in tow and not listening when Mommy told her to stop.....Just love it when they don't listen and test their boundries...... Lets just say I did not have nice words for Kiara when I caught up with her. She now knows she is not allowed to run off. Lila on the other hand was having the time of her life.....Giggle-ing all the way down the street.....

Monday, May 19, 2008

It's Already Monday...

I sometimes wonder where the weekend goes......this past one zoomed by for us. We had a great weekend, we were just really busy.....Friday Daddy surprised us by bringing home some Papa Murphy's Pizza.....the girls do love a good 'Pizza Party'.....We were up early on Saturday we planned to get the garage all cleaned out so we could actually fit the 'burban in there on stormy days.......I am happy to report that the garage is pretty much all cleaned, I think we only have two more boxes of important docs to go through and crush a bunch of other boxes and the garage will be done...it will be a tight squeeze for the Suburban but it will be nice to park it out of the elements down here....I just love the garage clean....so nice that everything has a place now. I think Shawn is going to build some more shelving soon....which will be nice.....

Saturday afternoon we took the girls shopping and 'Yes' we let them pick out their own clothes....they were in need of some cool, light summer clothes....and boy did they get a lot, dresses, skirts, shorts, tanks, swimsuits....they had a great time.....It was nice for us too as everything was on sale!!......Shawn and I too got a few items.....I think all I own now is tank tops...layer away, I say!.......We took the kiddos out to dinner at the Alamo Cafe.....Gotta love cheap Mexican......Shawn and I got Fajitas for two and they were pretty good.....Lila loves the homemade warm flour tortillas as do the girls....It was a good time....When we got home a few of our neighbors were out in their driveway while their kids played in the yard.....Kiara was intrigued and wanted to play, so we all headed over to Corner Carlos' house for a beer while the kids all ran around and played.....the girls LOVED it. Carlos and Summer have a son that is a year older then the twins.....they enjoy playing with him and all his power toys (He has a Toy Hummer, Jeep and John Deer Tractor all powered).....The other Carlos' (remember we have two Carlos' really close to us) wife (who is very awesome) and kids were also over and another set of neighbors that were walking the neighborhood stopped by as well, they are from Canada and always a hoot (we met them when we moved in)....so it was your regular little random unplanned neighborhood social hour......Lila loved all the attention and was quite the ham.....She is so funny.....We had a really good night with the neighbors, I am sure there will be many more to come.....I just love our neighborhood.....so friendly and awesome.....

Sunday, what to say about Sunday.....I can sum Sunday up in a few words, Costco, Wal-Mart, HEB.....our two Freezers are full and our pantry is overflowing.....

Here is a pic from today....its a hot one here....suppose to be 97 degrees by days end.....anyway, this was on our walk this morning, it looks like they are having a good conversation....Poor MJ was so hot after the first 2 min on our walk.....going to take her awhile to get acclimated.

Strike a pose.... They love independence...don't worry, they stop at the corner and they stop when they see a moving car.....They actually get on me when I don't stop for a moving car.....

Thursday, May 15, 2008

She wants to be a big girl.....

Ok, so this is Lila's new thing.....This is where she is when the bathroom door upstairs gets left open....(we like to keep it closed)....brushing her teeth and looking at herself in the mirror.....What a funny girl....and quite the ham....Time to get her, her very own tooth brush instead of stealing one of the twins....

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Healthy Happy Helpers.......

Ahhh, so yesterday was a good day.....

(Yesterday Morning waking up)

MJ: Mommy, is it Tuesday?
Mommy: Yes, it is Tuesday
MJ: Is Daddy working today?
Mommy: Yes, MJ Daddy is working today, but he will be home early
MJ: Mommy, is today our Doctors Appointment? (very excited voice)
Mommy: It sure is.....
MJ: Can we go now, I really want to see Dr Parsi?
Mommy: Sorry MJ, our appointment is at 2.00pm
MJ: I want to go RIGHT NOW!

The girls are so funny, MJ was really excited that yesterday was their 3 year appointment. Of course they are now 3 1/2, but better late then never......Shawn took off from work to join us as we both really like to be involved in our children's doctors appointments. He usually asks something that I forget or vice-verse, plus the girls love it when daddy is with us.......So yes the girls have a clean bill of health, we will have to go back for a 2 shot series for Hep A, something they do down here and I am not sure if they do it in WA (I know they do Hep B shots everywhere). I just wonder if its our proximity to Mexico, not really sure....The appointment was great both girls were awesome, friendly, and confident....MJ was a little shy at first but was chatting up a storm by the end of the appointment.....it was nice not to be rushed as we had the doctor for the full hour....I really do like our new Doctor she is great, we have been so lucky to have had a wonderful doctor in Issaquah and now a wonderful doctor down here.....There was a pretty funny moment in the appointment....The Dr was handing the girls lollipops (before she had been asking colors and numbers questions) and MJ blurts out "Amarillo " (Spanish word for Yellow,which was the color of her lollipop) we all erupted in some light laughter, I guess Dora really does teach my kids some Spanish that they can remember....It was pretty cute and the Dr was impressed.......For those of you who want the run down and digits...

Kiara: 34 lbs & 38 3/4 inches tall 60% all the way around (she liked getting her blood pressure taken)

Mikiah: 32.5 lbs & 37 3/4 inches tall 50% all the way around (she liked playing in the waiting room)

So I promised the girls if they were good at the appointment that we would make a Poke Cake when we got home....Daddy picked the flavor of Jello.....Strawberry....(Mikiah and I were out voted she wanted Lime, and I wanted Lemon, but we will make those next time, as Poke Cakes are soooo good during hot weather).....MJ has gotten over her fear of the Kitchen Aid and the hand mixer as you can see from the pics below.......and the poke cake turned out awesome, the girls were good at poking the cake with wooden skewers......as usual I may add it up on the Breezy along with a few other recipes after I get my work done today....

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day Y'all!

Ahhh, what a wonderful day I have had so far......It started out with Shawn getting up all the girls.....he actually closed our bedroom door to keep the kiddos out and let me sleep.....except our girls were tooooo excited to wake me up and wish me Happy Mother's Day! They brought me cards and happy smiles....Each of them (except Lila) picked out music mother's day cards...they couldn't wait for me to open them to hear the pretty songs they played and see the pretty pictures they drew.....So precious....I feel these memories will stay with me forever....
Please ignore my bed head hair......
The twins were happy helpers as they helped dad make mom's favorite breakfast....Classic French Toast on Texas Toast w/Sausage.....served along side a wonderful pot of Pike Place Roast Coffee.....Still my favorite of the moment.......Breakfast was awesome....and so is my new cell phone that I got for mother's day.....I was due for an upgrade....

We spent the morning outside....it was gusty windy but warm, nice and sunny.....the girls and I tried to fly my new mini kite, too...but no such luck, the wind wasn't constant enough......but it was fun trying, I really felt like a kid again.....After nap time we headed out to do some last min shopping for our box send offs tomorrow....Birthday gifts, Mother's Day gifts, Just Because gifts....The girls got me one last gift for Mother's Day, pretty petunias to plant in a flower pot in front of the house.....I love it when they pick out flowers.....always so colorful. They even planted them for me.....check out their work!
Shawn and I both ended up benefitting from the shopping trip today, new running shoes....I now can not wait to get to the gym to break them in!....We both realized how old and I mean old our old shoes were, and we decided we were WAY past due for some new ones, I think my favorite running shoes were as old as the twins....Ick!...

We finished off the night with one of my favorite dinners.....Marinated Grilled Flank Steak, Grilled Asparagus and Grilled Bread w/Goat Cheese & Tomato Topping.....all of which turned out sooo good....Shawn and I were talking at dinner and it was one of those meals that reminded us both of our time we spent in Boston, MA.......Oh man it was fun reminiscing about old times on our stoop in Beantown....it feels like such different time in lives, and it was, a time for growing, maturing and figuring out who we are and who we wanted to be.....Ahhhh....

I must tell you what we had for dessert.....Homemade Chocolate Cheesecake....MJ actually picked it, I had given her 3 choices for dessert for Mother's Day, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Cake, or Poke Cake......and she picked the cheesecake......I should have known.....girl after my own heart......anyway it was good good!!! The girls ate 2 small pieces.....They love their chocolate like their mama.....What a great end to a wondeful day!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

A Day for Boxes.....

So while we anxiously awaited the box from Grandma......we had a ring of the doorbell and who was it.....Nope, not UPS, it was the Mail Man......Delivering another box....yes that is right we got 2 boxes today.....Mom's friend Carol sent us a care package today too.....So sweet of her so here are the contents of the 1st box we received today (from Carol).....

2 Coloring Books
2 Kids Books (1 about sharing & 1 about name calling)
2 Pairs of gardening gloves (1 for me & 1 for Shawn, time to get to work outside Honey!)
1 Cute Purple Pair of Socks (for Lila)
1 Yellow Metal Citrus Juicer (which is exactly what I wanted and we needed!)

We were so excited to get a box we didn't expect and we are soooo thankful for all the goodies....Now time to make a thank you card!!!

After nap the UPS man made his way to the house....Contents of box # 2 for the day.....

3 Adorable Outfits (1 for each girl, the twins put theirs on a soon as they opened them)
2 4-Packs of Underwear (for the twins, they were soooo excited, and they needed them too as a few pairs are getting tooo small)
1 WSU Cougar Pen (for Shawn of course and it even lights up....OH YEAH! GO COUGS!!)
1 Mini Kite (Yes, My Mommy bought me are super cool Kite, now if I could just find some wind)
1 Mother and Daughter Album, Now I just need to find some picks for it...(maybe some of me and my mom!)
1 Grandma/Mom Scrapbook (So is my mother telling me something, I suppose I need to scrap her a Grandma Brag Book!! I am on it mom!)

So we have had a great box-filled day.....Thanks Mom and Thanks Carol.....I suppose I better finally send out the boxes that I have ready here....They have been sitting here for a little while....That's it, I am packing them all up this weekend and sending off on Monday.....4 boxes will be heading out......we shall see who the lucky recipients are.....

Here are the girls they love their new outfits!!! The girls were really excited and being silly in these pics! (I really need to make a hair appointments for them!)




What have we been doing......

Well we have not been up to much......After the weekend, I went into a tired, funky mood for a few days....but I am all good now.....The sun is shining, its HOT but dry......(I love the dry heat)....We are headed into a Mother's Day weekend full of 90 degree temps.....time to suck it up and get use to it.....Sunblock everymorning for the kids is now part of the morning routine.....they actually like to try to put it on themselves....nice to have some help I suppose.....As for Mother's Day, I just want a day out and about with the kids down on the Riverwalk....I love it down there.....maybe we will hit a restaurant at off peak times for a meal....

Lets see in the last few days I have totally cleaned the downstairs.....and most of the upstairs....someday it would be so nice to have a house cleaner but I just can not see paying for it now with me home all day.......hmmmm......We have been walking the hood twice a day now, before lunch and after dinner with daddy....the girls love to say "Hi" to everyone, they fit right in down here.....We always stop, play and chat when the other kids are out.....Its nice that there are some many kids.....I am sure the girls will form great friendships......I just wish the hood had a play structure and a pool.........One can wish.......I think I am going to get something small for the yard.....and if we stay here for years on end, maybe we will think about a very small pool, you know like the one on Big Brother......its really all you need......

Right now we are patiently awaiting a package from Grandma.....the girls are soooo excited......Grandma sent something for all of us........its out for delivery and our UPS man usually comes around lunch....Speaking of, I better get up and make some for the kiddos...

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Wonderful Weekend at Home....

Ahhh, so this weekend has been great, as you can see below we finished our Master Bedroom....and just had a great time doing stuff around the house....We had a Kentucky Derby party with Uncle Joel complete with Dresses for the kids and Mint Juleps & Kentucky Bourbon drinks for adults (finally using up all that Bourbon we have had forever!)....I did make virgin cocktails for the twins!......They loved them......I will post the cocktails up on Breezy when I have more time....We played outside and painted with water colors....all in all a great weekend!!! Instead of typing more I think I will just leave you with a video of the girls, they LOVE and I mean LOVE the song 'Shake it' by Metro Station....and ask me to play it all the time....here is a little Saturday morning dancing lessons with the twins.....

And some pics from the weekend for all those who need to see the kiddos! (Love you mom!)......
Weekend Fun..

Ahh the room is mostly done....

So we just need to get a new, bigger bed (we have a queen) and new bedding (I already have some chocolate/white hotel style picked out).....and the room will be pretty much complete....Oh and we need some art too.....our walls are VERY PLAIN.....but its all good for now. It is so nice to have our room painted.....I mean I love our guest bedroom but it will be nice to sleep back downstairs tonight.....I just can not tell you how weird it was to sleep upstairs....Although I must say I do think Shawn and I now need a Flat Screen in our bedroom too.....Maybe its time to upgrade the living room and move the TV in there to our bedroom wall......Hmmm.....I will tell you the colors we picked are very relaxing and comforting.....and as you can see in the pics I am not about matching bedroom sets.....For some reason they just aren't for me.....I really love each piece we have in our room.....They all do need to be sanded and re stained but that is a project for another weekend......

Before: Ok, I just went through all our pics.....and we do not have any of our room from before we painted.....but just imagine it all one color, the same color that the rest of the house is....a very, very, very light flat cream......It was like they took the spray gun and painted the whole house.....except the closets they are all bright white.....Anyway....

After:






Friday, May 2, 2008

SeaWorld Fun Friday......

So Daddy took today off and we surprised the girls this morning by taking them to SeaWorld....We have officially gotten our moneys worth on the season passes....YEAH....and we still have all summer and fall season to go....I know we will go all the time when the water park part is open full time (right now its only on Sat and Sun)......I actually still need to get all the girls new swim suits.......Anyway we had a great morning in the hot muggy sun! I am getting use to the muggy weather.....today it didn't even feel like upper 80's low 90's....although it was......We all really loved the Dolphin Feeding Pool......so awesome to be so close to them...definitely a new favorite.......the coolest is that you can touch them.....Now we are all relaxing.....I am about to do some work....but here are some pics for you to enjoy!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Never one of my kids.....Until...

Now....So I have read stories and seen pics of toddlers falling asleep in their high chair....Well I guess the Mac and Cheese I was making today took too long for Miss Lila....I had given her some banana and once that was gone this is what I had sitting in her chair....

The best part is that I went and laid her on the couch, she slept for 20 min and then was up and ate a big bowl of mac n cheese....She is now sleeping again up in her crib!......So funny....

The Funnies of Motherhood.......

Kiara: I have to go potty
Mom: Then, go, go, go
(Kiara leaves room, hear door shut to bathroom)

3 min later

Kiara: MOMMY, come in here (yelling)
Mom: Ok, be there in a sec
Kiara (in a devilish voice): I have a surprise for you
Mom: Really, ok (wondering what it could be in the bathroom)
(Mom opens bathroom door)
Kiara: Look in the potty mom......See BIG, BIG Surprise
Mom: WOW, how great, that is a big poop in the potty for a little girl.
Kiara: Yeah, isn't it great!
Mom: I think its great that you poop in the potty all the time now!
Kiara: Mommy, will you wipe my butt, I don't want to get poop on my hands.

Oh, the fun times of motherhood......So here is the best part about having twins....about 2 hours later....

MJ: Mommy, I have to go potty
Mom: Ok, lets go (she still needs help pulling down her pants)
(Mom, leaves the bathroom)

5 min later

MJ: Mommy, I have a surprise for you, come in here
Mom: I'm coming...
(Mom, walks in bathroom)
MJ: MOMMY, I pooped in the potty.....that's my surprise for you!
Mommy: Why thanks MJ, so great that you are pooping on the potty all the time now!
MJ: I know, just like Kiara! I am potty trained, Mommy......

I just love that they learn from each other....So funny. I have also caught Kiara doing this to daddy too.... but it's usually followed by gagging from that bathroom when he goes in to see the "Surprise!".....Gotta love Daddy's gag reflex! (Sorry Honey, its just funny!).....Kiara now actually does this most times she poops, I just love to see her face when I go in to see my "Surprise"......So proud and confident!....With that I am happy to report I believe they are finally (what are they 3 1/2), for the most part done, with potty training. It is so nice to only have one child requiring diaper changes......