We are Dunne

MIA!

2010-02-11T22:53:00.000-08:00

Holy cow! It's February 2010 and the last entry is from July 2009. Needless to say a lot has gone on since my last post.....

Ryan is now 7. He is in first grade and doing well. He is still into Star Wars and Transformers. In addition, he got a Nintendo DSi for his birthday and has gotten quite skilled at it. He is an awesome big brother! He and Molly have a blast being absolutely silly, driving mom and dad crazy, silly. He is involved in Tiger Scouts and had his first camping trip in the fall. He has his big teeth fully in on top and bottom and looks so grown up. (Altho, I haven't gotten any good pics of him lately as he HATES when I pull out my camera.) He is definitely a case of "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". He is very observant and a bit of a perfectionist with a little bit of a temper thrown in.

Molly is 5. She is THE BOSS! Or at least she likes to think so! She loves to tell everyone what to do and if they don't comply, she bursts into big crocodile tears. Quite the drama queen. She is still VERY girly and loves her princesses, Barbies, baby dolls. I decided to separate Molly and Kate in school this year. It has gone very well. She is in pre-K and has several "girl" friends. Not at all into boys, which is fine by me. She had her tonsils and adenoids out in January and did quite well. We spent an overnight at the hospital after wards which she was not at all fond of. She was given this in the recovery room and it hasn't left her side since. Molly is very bright. She knows all of her letters and numbers and is even spelling some words. She loves to color and do crafts. She is my snuggler and is oh so sensitive.

Kate is also 5. She is my tough cookie and as Kevin refers to her, "our most animated child"! The stuff she comes up with on a daily basis has us in stitches. I seriously do not know where she gets it. She is full of sass and vinegar and will surely let you know if you've made her mad! She recently kissed a boy in her class and the next day was trying to kiss another one. Kate has always been a bit of a tomboy. She is not at all into girl stuff and for quite some time, insisted she was a boy. Now, she relents that she is in fact a girl but just doesn't like "girl stuff". Where she got the kissing thing from, I have no idea! I got her a very cute Carter's shirt for Christmas that has a weiner dog on it as she is a dog lover. I thought she would love it. Nope! It has "ups" as she calls it, which translates to puffs on the sleeves. In fact, Kate jumps out of bed every morning and puts on her standard uniform of jeans and one of maybe three shirts that meet her specifications. If I even think about suggesting something else, like a dress or leggings, Kate erupts and quickly lets me know that that is NOT going to happen. Kate has recently learned to spell and write her name. She is very smart, however, could care less about such things as writing and knowing her letters.

Just a quick update on the kids. I always feel so overwhelmed when I haven't blogged in a while. I feel like I have to recount all that has happened but alas, who has time for that. I am going to try and get back here more frequently!

25 1/2

2009-07-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

So I was chatting with Ryan tonight at bedtime and we were talking about our plans for the upcoming week. I reminded him he is doing another Vacation Bible School aka VBS or as Kevin calls it, "All the stay at home moms dump their kids for the week and eat bonbons together". So Ryan says he doesn't want to do another dumb bible school because all they do is tell stories about Jesus. I told him stories about Jesus are good, and he learns about Jesus in school and VBS is fun! Because really, he doesn't have a choice, I am having my week of bonbons, darn it!

So then he says well, I can talk to Jesus himself when I get old and go to heaven. Ya know, when I'm 25 1/2.

Cuz that's old.

Almost but not quite....

2009-06-28T00:21:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, Molly got her ears pierced. She was over the moon excited and was so brave. We went on a Thursday night and despite the fact that there was only one employee and she would have her ears done one at a time, Molly was determined. She didn't cry, didn't even flinch. And she has been thrilled ever since.

At the time, Kate had NO interest in getting hers done. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothing.

Until today. She came into my room this morning and announced she wanted her ears pierced. Say what?! I didn't say too much but asked her again later and she stood by her answer. So we did a quick run to Costco tonight and afterwards we stopped at the mall. Kate had already decided which earrings she wanted and insisted she was ready. Well, apparently the earrings she picked are gold plated and have a greater risk of infection and can turn your ears green. Ewww. So we were trying to pick another pair when Kate put the kabosh on the plan. Nope, not ready. So we left. No biggie.

Except Molly had the hugest hissy fit ever because she wanted the lollipop that the piercer lady gives you at the end.

My girls are so different and for that I am blessed.

Cape May 2009

2009-06-26T19:38:00.001-07:00

Our trip to Cape May this year was a lot of fun as always. We were there from 6/13-20. Aunt Kiki stayed the whole week and we had some other visitors in and out. We had two great beach days, did the Wildwood Boardwalk, spent way too much money on goofy prizes at the arcade, ate dinner at Groff's where Kate enjoyed a peanut free meal, had a few colder beach days, got tons of mosquito bites, saw Cape May the kitty and much more.

Of course I brought my camera ....

The kids already can't wait for Cape May 2010!

Oh boy!

2009-06-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

Just a sneak peek at my future with twin girls. Tonight at the dinner table...

Kate: " I want a boyfriend."

Me: "Um really, why?"

Kate: "Because I like boys now. I think I'll ask _____ to be my boyfriend and I'll kiss him too" (name omitted to protect the innocent, hee hee)

Molly: "No! _____ is my boyfriend! You can't have him Kate!"

Kate: "Well I'm just gonna kiss _____ at the pool!"

Kevin: "Oh dear!"

Kindergarten Graduate!

2009-06-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Yep, my baby boy is officially a Kindergarten Graduate. Graduation day was Tuesday, June 2. It was such a sweet ceremony. The kids sang lots of songs and even recited a poem or two. Ryan kept talking about how his role was to hug the priest. I had no idea what he meant until it happened. The kids presented a plant to Father Charlie and Ryan was one of the "huggers". It was so cute.
I have to say a few tears were shed. Daddy had the day off and Gam came too. The girls were even well behaved. After the ceremony, there was a short reception in the hall and we got some pictures with his teachers.
We had McDonald's for lunch as where else would a kindergarten graduate want to eat??? That night we did the carnival. All in all a great family day.

Here's my boy...

Rock on sisters!

2009-05-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in the other room when I got called to the family room to "Check this out!" It was Molly and Kate putting on a "Rock Band" show. It was so darn cute I had to grab some quick snaps....

Life lessons can be tough

2009-04-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

So last week we got a letter home from Ryan's teacher saying he was misbehaving at recess. Apparently he got pulled into a pushing/hitting game with some other boys and despite being told to stop and even being put in a time out, he continued to play the game. He got talked to by his teacher and told she was sending a note home. I picked him up and he welled up with tears and told me he had had a bad day and that there was a note for me in his backpack. He was SO upset. The note said he would lose two outside recesses and that his teacher hoped next time he would make better decisions about his behavior. We had a big talk about how to handle this next time and that if we make a bad choice, there are consequences for our actions. This was tough. Tough on Ry and tough on momma. I wanted so bad to just give him a big hug and make it all go away. My baby boy is growing up! How do you teach them not to cave to peer pressure? Right now it's innocent enough games but someday it could be smoking or drinking or drugs. I can't even think about any of my kids getting caught up in these things but know they are all lurking out there. I can only hope I do a good job of instilling good values and give them the tools to be strong and confident, able to say no when they know something is wrong. Yeah this parenting gig is harder than I thought. My mom always said, "Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems." I think I want to go back to when they were all babies.

March madness

2009-03-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a while so I figured I should post something here. Life has been good. Busy but good. Dare I say it, but I think we've turned a corner with the girls. The past couple of days they have been playing so nicely together, listening and just all around behaving. *knock on wood* Yesterday we took a spur of the moment trip to the outlets in Lancaster, PA to get some spring clothes. Ryan and Daddy went to see cousins Kerri and Erin play basketball so it was just the girls! Gam and Aunt Kiki came along for the ride. We didn't get up there until 5:30ish. The girls both napped in the car and were very pleasant and well behaved. We hit Hartstrings and got some utterly adorable outfits for Easter. They are coordinated but not matchy matchy. Then we went to Carter's and got some sundresses, capris and the girls picked out new pjs. Molly chose a nightgown while Kate got a 2 piece shirt and pants set. We also hit Striderite and got some new shoes. After all of the shopping we were all famished so we went to Cracker Barrell for dinner. They are peanut free (except for dessert but who needs dessert after all the good eats). The girls again were so good! We didn't get home until 11:30 PM and they were oh so tired and went to sleep without a peep. All around a good day.
At Cracker Barrell I saw these little eggs that you stick in water and they hatch a dinosaur. I got one for each of the kids and they have had a blast watching them all day. They hatched tonight and the kids are such proud parents. If you keep the dinos in water they grow bigger. The kids are very anxious to see how big they are in the morning. Let's hope they aren't too big!

More photography

2009-02-17T12:56:00.001-08:00

TV much?

2009-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

For quite some time Kevin has been dreaming about this. Truly, he kept hinting around about how much he wanted it. So I splurged, ha ha, and got it for him for Valentine's Day. His eyes lit up when he opened it and he actually cracked a smile. So Sunday night was the big event, the debut. He cooked 'em up and they were good. It worked! So we're eating dinner and Ryan comes out with, "Billy Mays says, not even burnt on cheese will stick!" Like father, like son.

Photography

2009-01-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

So my dream is to some day do this for real. Right now, I'm learning and practicing and learning some more.

My good friend was so kind to let me use her newborn as my guinea pig the other day. Isn't he the cutest?

I thought I had more time ....

2009-01-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Until I heard this, "Mom, how do you get girls to hang out with you?" coming from my six year old son. Whaaaaatttt????? Cue the record screeching and the world coming to a stop. Yep, my baby wants to know about hanging out with girls. Let's just hope it's a passing thing and not something I really need to worry about. Although, I do remember my first kiss was in the sandbox at school when I was a kindergartner.

So we've gotten back into the swing of things this week. The first week back to school after the holidays was a rough one. No one wanted to get out of bed and out the door. While Ryan was on time every day thanks to Daddy, the girls were not. Somehow no matter how early we started, we were late every day last week. This week is going much more smoothly thank goodness.

Here's a few pictures from after Christmas....

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

We had a very merry one indeed! Busy as to be expected but very happy and peaceful. The holiday week started with a quick trip to NYC for mommy, by HERSELF! Yep, it was a mini vaca. Much needed tho short and sweet. I drove up Monday night after Kev got home from work. I met up with Aunt Hil and Lou at their fav spot, The Redhead. Hil just made some gorgeouse velvet curtains and chair covers for them. We had a few cocktails and then had one of the most delicious meals ever. We had Wild Mushroom Flatbread to share, I had a Sweet Potatoe Salad and Grits with Sausage and Shrimp. I also enjoyed several glasses of red wine. In fact, several too many. I was very happy and relaxed and ended up being a bit hung over the next day. I had grand plans to tool around the city with my camera and check out the holiday sites. Instead, I slept very late, took a leisurely shower, got some coffee and some eats and hung out in Hil's apartment. It was a nice day of quiet and it might have even been better than walking around the city freezing my arse off. I met up with Hil and Lou around 7pm and we headed to DE. We made a stop at our fav diner, Mastori's in Bordentown. Yum. We arrived home around 1AM as there was traffic. Good times. On Christmas Eve, Hil, Lou and the kids made some sugar cookies for Santa and decorated them. We all got dressed for church and made it there with not a minute to spare. The service was beautiful and the best part, the kids were so well behaved. Then back to Gam and Pop Pop's for dinner. Basil chicken, noodles and salad. Easy but delish dinner. The kids got one present to open, new pajamas. We had them home and in bed by 9ish. They were WAY excited and took a bit to fall asleep. Aunt Kiki came over and joined forces with Hil and Lou to do all my wrapping. More wine and lots of good laughs.
Christmas morning began around 3:30AM when the kids started waking asking if Santa had been here and was it time for presents. They were told to go back to sleep many times. Around 5:30 I stumbled downstairs to get their stockings and told them to be quiet at least if they weren't going to sleep. We managed to hold them off until 7:30. I did get video of their reactions as they came downstairs. They each got a new bike. The girls got helmets as well. Ryan got a Hess truck and a blue lightsaber. Kate got a Barbie guitar and Molly got a Barbie laptop. We waited for Gam and PopPop to come over and Hil and Lou to wake up before we opened the rest of the loot. It was a great morning. We did miss Aunt Mimi bunches as she was snowed in back in Seattle. We then had a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and blueberry crumble. The kids took a ride on the new bikes and then a nap was had by all. Our gang did it all again that night with Kev's family at Aunt Kathy's house. We were given a year pass to the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. We are anxious to visit! All in all a great day. Kev worked today and the kids and I layed low. Aunt Gail made it into town and stopped by and we have some plans to hang out the rest of the weekend. Hil and Lou headed back to NYC by bus. It was great having them here with us. Oh and Ryan lost a top tooth tonight! Lots of pictures to come. I am ordering the things I need to ramp up my computer so I should have no trouble editing and uploading pics.

Dear Santa

2008-12-19T06:15:00.001-08:00

If you click on the picture, it gets bigger and you can read/see it better. The girls dictated their letters to me, I did not make these up!

Barf!

2008-12-13T22:15:00.000-08:00

And lots of it. That's been the story this week. Kate started it by barfing in Ryan's bed. While all three were snuggled up. Yes, the girls do have their own, new, big girl beds but they still prefer to bug Ryan. Literally! Kate shared the barfs with Ryan. He puked in school on Wed. As well as Kevin who came home early that day. And Molly brought up the end. Know how I discovered she had gotten it? I went in to check on her around 1:30 AM and stepped in it. EWWW! She was sound asleep with barf all over. All this fun while having the WORST sinus infection of my life. So that's what we've been up to this week. Oh, I did get a mild version of it myself. At least that better have been it 'cuz I ain't got no more sick days left!!!!!

Christmas Card Trials 2008

2008-12-13T22:06:00.001-08:00

Being the kids of an aspiring photographer sucks! As evidenced by these shots....

Does she know me or what?

2008-12-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

The other day Kevin took Kate out to run some errands and they made a stop at the dollar store. Kate picked out a Nemo kite for herself, a Princess kite for Molly, a Transformer kite for Ryan and this for me.......

Does she know me or what? Kevin and I were laughing so hard we were crying. Yep, she's got my number!

Scatterbrain!

2008-11-22T20:36:00.001-08:00

Yep, that's me. A complete and utter scatterbrain mess. I've been this way for six years now, so I've gotten quite good at it. I have too much going on and my brain works way faster than my body. I always intend to do this or that. I make "To do" lists, I set reminders on email, but alas, I am hopelessly scatterbrained. Ya think I'd be used to it by now. *sigh* It's Saturday night and I have so many things I need to be doing but somehow they aren't getting done. I'd much rather be scatterbrained and worry about getting it all done later.

Today we had an awesome family day. Truly, it was one of the best. Last night we got a call from Kev's sister offering us tickets to Playhouse Disney Live. Not just any ole tickets either. The Mayor of Philadelphia's box tickets. Yes please! It is definitely not in the budget to do such things these days so we jumped at the chance. Everyone woke up happy, we got ready with little to no fussing and off we went. Even when we ran into traffic, everyone stayed happy and calm. We were a little late but not too much. The kids were glued to the show, sang along, clapped, and were so well behaved. After the show, we went to Toys R Us to spend some birthday money that had been burning a hole in their pockets since they got it in the mail on Friday. The continued to be happy and well behaved despite being in a crowded toy store. They all picked out a smallish toy and even readily agreed to pick out a toy for a child in need this season. I was SO proud of them as they walked over to the Marines and handed them their gifts for Toys for Tots. So not only did they get a toy they also got a great life lesson.

Now, back to that "To do" list.

Toothless once again

2008-11-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

Molly had to have two teeth pulled yesterday. My poor baby. When she was about 1 1/2 she fell on a teeter totter and knocked two of her teeth back up into her gums. We thought they were totally knocked out at first, but after an x-ray, we saw they were still there. They came back down on their own and had been fine. Until last week. I took the girls for a routine cleaning and it was a different dentist so I filled her in on Molly's history. She said the teeth looked fine and to watch for a bubble on her gum. No one had ever mentioned to watch for this before. So Ryan had his check up on Monday and had a cavity. So I took him back on Wednesday. Don't ya know, Wed night I was helping Mol brush her teeth and there was a bubble on her gum. So I took her in the next day and sure enough, she had an abscess and the dentist said she needed the one tooth pulled. She put Mols on an antibiotic and we were to return in a few days. So yesterday was the big day. Molly was actually pretty excited to be losing a tooth like big brother Ryan. Plus she knew the tooth fairy would visit. Once there they decided due to the location of the abscess to pull both teeth. Molly was a TROOPER and did awesome. She had a bit of a rough time once the novacaine wore off. She wouldn't take any medicine (Tylenol or Motrin) or drink/eat. She got a bit dehydrated and was barfing some too. But once we got some fluids in her, she perked up and was asking for her shopping trip to Happy Harry's (drug store) to get her prize. Oh and the tooth fairy left her 20 smackeroos as she didn't have any smaller bills so she should be able to pick out something nice.

Never a dull moment....

American Heart Association Go Red Luncheon and Fashion Show

2008-11-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

The girls are partipating in this next Friday. Yesterday we went to a bridal shop for their flower girl dress fittings. Needless to say, Kate was well, Kate. "I don't like pink! I HATE pink! I'm not wearing that pink dress." I think the lady at the shop was quite taken aback at Little Miss Sass. She did end up cooperating and is wearing a very cute white velvet top and green raw silk dress. Very Christmasy and very cute. Molly is wearing a bluish/grey dress now known as the "Ariel" dress. Very cute as well. So last night after Trick or Treating, we were recounting our day to Gam and Pop Pop. We were talking about "the pink dress". Kate held up her hand and said, "No more discussion about the pink dress!" Omg, that girl.

The kids had a blast Trick or Treating. They got lots of candy which was left on the front porch. True to his word, The Great Pumpkin made his visit and left Ryan some Transformer sheets, Molly an Ariel comforter and pink sheets and Kate a Nemo comforter with green sheets. They all also got a $15 gift certificate to KB Toys for a mini shopping spree. Needless to say, the candy is long forgotten about.

We are about to transition the girls from toddler beds to big girl beds. Every night, Ryan has two little visitors who pretty much hog his bed. The other morning I went into Ryan's room and he was squished at the bottom of the bed with his head on Molly's bottom while Molly and Kate were quite comfy on his pillow. Poor big brother!

A couple pics from Halloween....

Food Allergies

2008-10-27T18:51:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon this very well written blog post about peanut allergies. This mom really hit the mark. Be a good blog reader 'o mine and read it!

In case you didn't know, last Halloween was how we discovered Kate's peanut allergy. We plan to allow her to trick or treat on Friday but all of the loot will be placed outside for "The Great Pumpkin" who will leave a non-edible treat in exchange for the candy. Who needs all that sugar anyway?! I'm sure Kevin's co-workers will appreciate it. :)

Halloween Preview 2008

2008-10-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

We went to Uncle Mike's Halloween party last night. The kids had a blast and looked utterly adorable in their costumes. What say you????

Life has been kicking my butt

2008-10-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Seriously. I have been so worn out. Between school and birthdays and sickness and parties, I've been utterly and completely exhausted. Last weekend, Aunt Hil made the trek down for the birthday extravaganza. We made cupcakes and more cupcakes, stuffed goody bags, drank wine and overall had a great time. Molly was sick and spent a night in the ER for wheezing. Saturday was our good buddy Jason's birthday party (he shares the honor of October 13th as his birthday) and then Sunday was the combined party for my three. We had 21 kids at Boomers. It was a ton of fun and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
And I'll apologize in advance but no pictures for now. I have a ton but haven't uploaded them all. Soon, I promise. For now, I am taking my sorry butt to bed.

Happy 6th Birthday Ryan! "The bestest boy in the whole wide world!"

2008-10-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

Ryan turned six on October 13th. Six! He is so grown up and doing so well in school. He really truly is the bestest boy in the whole wide world. This phrase came about when he was a baby. I used to say it to him all the time. When he was about 2 1/2 I started to say it one time, "Ryan, you're the bestest boy" and he finished, "in the whole wide world." Never can I remember a time when my heart was happier except for perhaps the day he was born.

Happy Birthday Bud!

Happy 4th Birthday Molly and Kate!

2008-09-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

September 30th marks the girls' 4th birthday. I know ALL parents say this, but seriously, where has the time gone? They are such big girls now and I no longer have any babies. It is all too bittersweet. I love seeing them grow and watching them learn but I also yearn for those days of when they were just wee ones in my lap. They amaze me everyday and definitely keep me on my toes. They absolutely slay me in one moment and drive me insane the next. My two precious little girls! I still find it hard to believe that I was blessed with twins. As much work as it has been and it has definitely been hard work, it has been a lot of fun. I love watching them play together now and have the bond of sisters. I know how very special that is and I am truly enjoying seeing it in my daughters.

Happy Birthday Girlies!

Another vacuum story and 'The First Day of School!'

2008-09-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the girls were eating dry cereal in a cup before school. Kate often takes her dry cereal and pours it into one of her "play" bowls and pretends to be a dog. Yes, she is weird. Yesterday she was eating cereal off the floor and I told her, "Kate stop eating like a dog." To which she replied, "Mom, I'm not a dog, I'm a vacuum!" I seriously almost peed my pants.

The first day of school went well all around. Kevin and I dropped Ryan off at 7ish AM. His school has a very stringent system in place, pull up, open the door, kid jumps out, pull away. And don't dare hold up the line or you'll get beeped at by the other parents. So we pulled up, opened the door, the school counselor was there and helped Ryan get out. He turned and said uncertainly, "Bye mom." The counselor walked him over to an 8th grader to walk him to his class as we pulled away so as not to hold up the line. It was over in all of 10 seconds. Talk about tough!!!! The tears were streaming down my cheeks. I made Kev pull over so I could get out and try to see Ry but he was already gone. My baby is a kindergartner! At pick up, I waited with all the other parents and Ry was one of the first kids out. He ran to me with a big grin and I knew all was well. He likes it! Yay Ryan!

The girls started preschool in the 3's class. They did very well at drop off. They were a bit clingy but no tears! When we picked them up they were all smiles.

Kevin and I enjoyed a quiet breakfast date. A rare treat indeed. Momma is so relieved that the first day went well.

Here are a couple of pictures...

Teaser

2008-09-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from Cape May.....

Home Sweet Home!

2008-09-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

We are back from a week in Cape May. The weather was great and we got in lots of beach time. The kids are utterly exhausted as am I. I have lots o' pictures to upload and stories to tell, but I am too darn tired tonight!

Be back soon. :)

Another contest

2008-08-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ever the optimist, I love to enter contests. Maybe I might win, ya never know. So a blog I frequent, is having this contest.... And I get an extra entry for mentioning it on my blog. I would love to win the Heart and Soul necklace, beautiful!

Molly and Kate -isms

2008-08-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

So in case you haven't noticed from the tone of my posts lately, my kids are driving me NUTS. Today I decided I need to try and focus on more of their cuteness and less of their annoyingness. Altho, annoyingness does tend to be in great supply. I'm just sayin'. Anyway, I took them for a walk down Main Street in Newark the other day. We passed by a bank and Molly said, "Look Mommy! It's the money store!"

And just today Kate and I were talking about her friends K&K. Kate said they're my girl friends. I said, "oh you're girlfriends." Kate said, "No mommy, my girl friends." As in they are girls and they are her friends, not her girlfriends. How does she know to even differentiate this?

One more quick story. I took all 3 to the chiropractor with me this morn as I have for the past several weeks. I guess they are getting more and more comfortable there because they were WILD. WILD. So wild, Jodi the office manager spoke to them and told them to settle down. And settle down they did. Always nice when someone else whips your kids into shape. Then Jodi gave me an herbal "xanax". AHHHHH. Maybe that's why today I'm focusing on the cuteness. Might have to get me some more of that.

Family Outing

2008-08-11T18:46:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we decided to take a family outing. We probably don't do them as often as we should so we gritted our teeth and did it. We went to Longwood Gardens as the weather was beautiful. It was a nice sunny day, breezy, not too hot nor humid. I hadn't been there in several years and it had been even longer for Kevin. Unfortunately, we waited to go in the afternoon and the kids were done before we even got there. We shoulda brought some cheese to go along with all the whine we had. Seriously. I took my camera and did manage to get a few shots and it even looks like we had some fun while there. Someday I'll look back at the pictures and think it was fun. hee hee

Random thoughts from Ryan

2008-08-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

So yesterday the kids were driving me nuts as usual, and I as usual was yelling about something. Ryan looked up and says in one of his sweetest voices, "Maybe you shouldn't of had kids, Mom." Um yeah.

Summer Fun Photo Contest

2008-08-05T21:37:00.001-07:00

So there's this photo contest over here that I thought I'd enter.....

I really love this picture. I mean I know she's my kid and all and I love all pictures of my kids but this one really strikes me. Not sure why, but it does. Anyway, we'll see what happens.

Pin the tale on the what?!

2008-08-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today was Pop Pop's __th birthday. (I'll keep your secret old man.) We celebrated by having Gam and Pop Pop over for dinner. We chowed on some pizza and a delicious chocolate cake that Gam made. The kids just love birthday celebrations. While we were eating cake, Ryan said, "Let's play some games!" Because don't you always play games at a birthday party? My dad piped in, "Like what? Pin the tale on the donkey?" *Note to readers, my kids have no idea what Pin the Tale on the Donkey is.* My dad said something about needing a donkey and Kate quipped, "We could put it on Mommy's butt." Lots and lots of laughter ensued and there were many renditions of "on _____'s butt." Fill in Mommy's butt, Gam's butt, Pop Pop's butt, Daddy's butt and on and on.

Here's some pics.....

Happy Birthday Pop Pop!

Reading

2008-08-03T22:02:00.001-07:00

So I was stumbling around the blogging world and found this post and wanted to share my list. I love to read and hope to instill the love of reading in my kids as well.

According to The Big Read, the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books on this list. How many have you read?

Look at the list.

Bold those you have read.

Italicize those you intend to read.

Underline the books you LOVE.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6. The Bible

7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8. 1984 - George Orwell

9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare

15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20. Middlemarch - George Eliot

21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchel

22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34. Emma - Jane Austen

35. Persuasion - Jane Austen

36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41. Animal Farm - George Orwell

42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50. Atonement - Ian McEwan

51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52. Dune - Frank Herbert

53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding

69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72. Dracula - Bram Stoker

73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75. Ulysses - James Joyce

76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78. Germinal - Emile Zola

79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80. Possession - AS Byatt

81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92.The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94. Watership Down - Richard Adams

95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

So there you have it. What's your list look like?

Kevin's Christmas present from 2006

2008-08-02T21:20:00.001-07:00

So I totally forgot that I had done these for Kevin as a Christmas present until the other day. The girls were asking to see baby pictures and it dawned on me I had made these up and never got the videos but I can share them here. Now I need to get working to make more to bring us up to the present.

Personally, I can not watch these without tears streaming down my cheeks. Ya might want to grab a tissue. Or it might just be because they're my kids. I'm just saying....

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Growing up

2008-07-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

So a recent conversation with Molly goes something like this....

Molly: "I like being a big girl."

Me: "Oh yeah, why's that?"

Molly: "Because I get to do lots of big girl stuff like arts and crafts and being a baby is just AWFUL!"

Me: Trying my hardest not to laugh, "Uh okay."

Molly: "I'm growing but I'm not a grown up like you. Someday I'll be a grown up."

Me: "Yep, you will."

And another one while I was getting dressed this morning....

Molly: "Mommy, why do you have hair on your heiney?" (Altho she does know the correct terminology, she refers to vaginas as heineys.)

Me: "Because I'm a mommy and mommy's have hair on their vaginas."

Molly: Thinks for a minute and says, "Does _______'s mommy have hair on her heiney?" (Name omitted to spare the innocent.)

Me: "So, are you ready for breakfast?"

I swear, I AM in trouble because she's only 3 1/2. Lord help me when we hit the teenaged years.

Bleh!

2008-07-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling kinda bleh the past few days. Might have something to do with the 95+ temps we've been having. It's been too hot for the pool even. So the kids and I have been inside too much and we all know what happens with a mom and three crazy kids stuck in the house. Insanity! I took them out back for a bit this afternoon and the mosquitoes were biting and it was hot and humid. We quickly came back inside. Tomorrow we are heading to MoonBounce, our favorite indoor, cool, burn off lots of energy, spot.
So I survived the Mothers of Multiples picnic on Sunday, in the blazing heat no less. Multiple multiples running around. All were pretty good except my two. Flooding the powder room and peeing on the deck were their big performances. You know its bad when another mother of twins says, "My, you've got your hands full." *sigh*
VBS was great last week. In fact, I think I've found another one for the first week in August. Something has to get me through until September!

I've found my roots

2008-07-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

I recently came upon a blog called We are THAT family and it really struck a chord with me. Cuz see, we are THAT family too. The one that everyone whispers about when they see us coming and talks about when we leave. (Come on, I know you do!) We are crazy, wild, loud, chaotic, funny, energetic, and always have an adventure (or ER story) to share. I KNEW there had to be other families out there like us and well, now I've found one. :)

Sick!

2008-07-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Yep, I've been MIA the past few days as the girls ended up with some weird summer virus. Kate started on Sunday with a fever. Layed on the couch all day and wasn't eating. Sunday night by 10 PM Molly was burning up too. Thank goodness Kevin was off on Monday as Molly began the barf fest Monday morning. She barfed many times over the next 24 hours. Monday night/Tues morning I was up from 1-5AM with poor barfing Mols. PopPop brought some Coke over on Tues at lunchtime. I gave some to Mols and her stomach settled and she seemed to perk up. By Tuesday evening, the girls were back to their normal hi-jinks. So today I needed to get them out of the house!!!! We had been in all weekend and had a major case of cabin fever. It was a rainy day so no pool. Boo!

We ventured out to the Delaware Museum of Natural History. The kids had fun. They especially liked the cave with bats in it. Tho, I had to reassure them a few times that they weren't real. All was pretty good until Kev called looking for us and the kids were trying to climb on one of the exhibits. One of the curators came over and told them not to climb. It was then that I decided we needed to make our exit. Still being early enough in the day, still rainy and my kids still having TOO much energy, I decided to take them to McDonald's for lunch. We went to the one with the super big play place. We had lunch and the kids ran and ran. We bumped into a friend from FSMOM and her twin boys. Ryan had a blast playing with "C" and "C". It was nice to chat while the kiddos played.
Naps ended out our day and I was able to get some stuff accomplished around the house. I even cooked dinner tonight. For those who don't know, I can sure keep a clean house and I can cook, I just don't do it much. Love to eat, hate to cook, that's me. With three picky kids who almost never eat what I make, we do pretty simple dinners around here. Ryan didn't eat dinner tonight and even passed on dessert. He was feeling a bit warm and asked to go to bed. I think we're on to round 3 of the virus.

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July parade:

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

Gam and Pop Pop took Ryan for an overnight last night, so the girls are and I are hanging out today. Kevin is at work. We will all meet up for the parade this afternoon. Hopefully the weather cooperates. It's looking a bit dark and the forecast is calling for rain. It always rains for the 4th parade. I am packing my camera so hopefully I'll have some pics to share later.

Happy 4th to all!

My kids ARE the funniest

2008-07-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned the other day my kids discussing my coffee habit. Today they were playing drive thru. We have a half brick wall on one side of our deck. Kate was behind the wall while Molly and Ryan were "driving their cars" aka tricycles. Ryan pulled up and said "I'll take mine with 4 splenda." Kate handed him a cup and off he went. Molly was next and got "lots of coffee"! It was so darn cute and so funny. I was literally cracking up.

Then tonight after dinner they got some Gummi Savers for dessert. They like to wear them as rings, stretch them out and generally play with them. Ryan took one, stretched it out and put it over his top lip saying, "Look at me, I'm Pop Pop!" In case you don't know...Pop Pop sports a 'stash. Again, major giggles.

And one more giggle....

The Popsicle Gang

In case you are wondering, that's a TBall tee on Ryan's arm. He thinks he's Optimus Prime these days.

Where Kate thinks ham belongs

2008-06-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

or other crazy places a three year old would put stuff.

So I'm at the pool this afternoon and get a call from Kevin (who stayed behind to cut the grass and get dinner ready). He says "Ask Molly what she did with the ham." Apparently the kids were helping put groceries away earlier in the day. So I ask Molly if she put the ham away. "No, Kate did." "Okay. Kate, where did you put the ham away?" Kate giggles and says, "With the cereal bars." Yep, the ham was not in the frig but in the cabinet with the cereal bars. Good thing Kev was looking for pasta for dinner or there it would have sat until tomorrow. And yes, poor Molly is the first one that comes to mind when things are missing as she is the master sneaker. She is ALWAYS into something!

Gam came along with us to the pool today. The kids had a ball showing off their skills and were very tired as a result. I think Kate was asleep before her head even hit the pillow. During the "Little Boy" tonight, Ryan got a grin on his face and started to get up. I asked, "Ryan, was Tootie Man going to pay me another visit?" He just laughed and laughed.

Mr. Tootie Man

2008-06-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

So Ryan and I have this very sweet bed time routine of talking about "The little boy named Ryan." It starts out, "Once upon a time there was a little boy named Ryan. He had two sisters named..." This is where Ryan pipes in, "Molly and Kate". "So the little boy had a good day...." This is something we've been doing for years and we snuggle and cuddle and it is so sweet. Except for tonight. My son got up, stuck his butt in my face and farted, declaring himself "Mr. Tootie Man". Nice, huh!

Swim lessons were called due to thunder today. We got all dressed and ready, went to the pool only to have the lifeguards say, "No lessons, thunder." Good grief, do they not realize all the work that goes into getting three kids ready for swim lessons?!

So we went to the post office instead by way of Dunkin Donuts. I LOVE coffee and my kids def know it. We go to the DD drive thru and I order my large coffee with cream and four splenda. My kids always say, "Mooom, why do you always get the same thing? " My response, "'Cuz I love it!" It's so funny because then this leads to a ten minute discussion about how when they are grown ups they are going to drink coffee and do whatever they want because they are grown ups. Can you tell we've been discussing why kids have to listen to their parents, follow rules, do chores, etc. etc.

Alrighty, I promised myself I would get to bed early so, Bon Nuit!

Nap day

2008-06-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

We started out the day at the pool and ended it with some much needed naps. I think the kids were overly tired from all of our pool time lately. With very little cajoling, they all took a two hour nap. It was fab as I did too. Then I went out to dinner tonight with my mom and my aunt, so Kevin was left to deal with the kids who'd napped today and didn't want to go to bed. :)

Day #2 of swim lessons went well with one small exception. Kate decided she didn't like the girl instructor, she only wanted boys. So she cried the entire lesson. What is with this child and the boy obsession? I thought boy craziness didn't start until they were teenagers. I think I am very afraid of life with teenaged girls.

Dogs versus Princesses

2008-06-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure if I've mentioned but Kate is slightly obsessed with dogs and Molly is slightly obsessed with princesses. So much so that at times they fight over who is better, dogs or princesses. "DOGS!" "PRINCESSES!" "DOGS!" "PRINCESSES!" "Okay girls, no fighting, they're both good." To which Kate replies, "I'm not a girl, I'm a boy!" "GIRL!" "BOY!" "GIRL!" "BOY!" "GIRL!"

Whatever.

So both girls are potty trained!!!! After 5.5 years of diapers, we are done! Wooo freakin' hoo! We do use nighttime diapers but during the day, big girl panties all the way.

We spent the day at the pool today. Kevin and my dad power washed the house and the deck. So the kids and I beat it to the pool. My kids have literally turned into fish! They absolutely love the water. Molly is full out putting her head under and trying to swim underwater. Ryan mastered floating on his back and Kate was even getting her face wet. These are the same kids that last week had out and out fits if they got water in their eyes at bath time. We had dinner at the pool, showered them up, came home and they went straight to bed. Very tired fishies=Happy Mama!

Father's Day 2008

2008-06-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

These were Kevin's gifts...

(In more ways than one. I framed these pictures and they sit on our entertainment center.)

We had a BBQ and our families over. Hilary was here for a visit as well. It was lots of fun.

Summer time is here

2008-06-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

We are having a great summer. School is over as is TBall. Now we are all about the pool. The kids love it and so do I! Next week they take swim lessons. Can't wait to see what they learn. I'll have to take my camera to get some pool shots. In the meantime here are some pictures from the end of school and TBall.....

Our favorite playground

How Molly and Kate like to spend TBall

They wanted to play too. Maybe next year!

A hit!

Ready to play

Kate being silly

Monkeying around

Ryan and his teacher

Ryan and his buddies

Tickles from Daddy

Pensive Molly

More playground fun

Welcome to my new blog!

2008-06-13T21:17:00.001-07:00

With the new look, I decided my blog needed a new name.