Friday, October 28, 2011

What happened to Fall?

Well, I wished for snow and apparently I have secret powers because we're getting it. Tomorrow. Its not even November and they are saying we're getting around 6". That's insane.

So I figured I better get our pumpking picking pictures up before the snow comes so I don't look crazy for posting snow pictures first!

Last weekend we went to a cute place called Karabin Farms and the girls had a blast! They had a place to pick pumpkins, and you could pick apples, they did tractor rides to and from the apple orchards, and even had a ton of animals for the girls to look at.

They had such a great time, I felt horrible making them leave! Next year we will skip Lyman Orchards all together and go right to Karabin Farms. Much more family oriented, less commercialised and overall a better experience for the kids!

Some of these pictures are from 2 weeks ago when we went to Lymans too but its all pumpkin pictures just the same!

















Thursday, October 27, 2011

Play Doh

I decided to make playdoh tonight for the girls, I wasn't sure if I was crazy or not but decided it was easy enough to find out!

I used this recipe http://www.playdoughrecipe.org/playdough-recipes/traditional-playdough-recipe/ and it came out awesome!

I rolled it out into balls for the girls to smash and gave them some toothpicks, cheerio's, magnet letters, and curly pasta. They loved sticking the toothpicks in the playdoh and then putting O's on them.Finley was making sculptures with the toothpicks and pasta and Gillian was a huge fan of taking her magnet letters and smashing them into the dough so it left a print of the letter too.

They played for over an hour, straight through our normally scheduled bath time and into our movie time. They had a blast and I had a blast watching them!

I love finding something that will keep their interest for more than 30 seconds and I'd say a hour is a huge SCORE!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Toddler Activities?

So, its getting cooler out and I've been looking for fun things for the girls to do inside.

We have tried coloring here and there but Gillian is the only one who likes it. Finley just likes to eat the crayons.

They both love painting so I started filling a silicone muffin tin with washable finger paints, giving them each a brush and letting them go crazy in the tub. They love that. They paint the walls, themselves, each other and then after they help me wash it all off. Amazingly they love that part too. Then when were all done I do baths.

So what other activities does everyone else do with your 2 year olds? I need some ideas! I hate to say " I can't wait until their a little older so they can do more" because I really don't want to wish my kids older but I'm not going to lie I'm looking forward to the days when they can help me decorate cupcakes or do real crafts with me!

So ideas please!!!!

Sleep......where are you?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose my mind.

For the past 3 months Finley has refused to fall asleep in her room. I'm still am not sure what happened to start this whole thing but I have a feeling it was because Gillian was climbing into bed with her while she was trying to fall asleep and it was ticking her off. She would start crying and throw Gillian's blanket out of her bed while pointing for her to go away but Gillian kept on persisting.

Then all hell broke lose and my normally easy to put asleep baby freaked! I mean freaked. She was so upset when we were putting her down I was scared!

So I started letting her fall asleep in the living room every night. After she passed out I would move her into her room all while praying my heart out I didn't wake up Gillian in the process.

Lately though Finley has been a button pusher and is getting up off her couch instead of sleeping and running around like a crazy girl. Then to make matters worse she gets up at 6:00 every freaking day and poor Gillian will sleep in until at least 8:00. So of course Finley is tormenting Gillian at 6 and getting her all worked up. Then I'm waking up to Gillian screaming her head off. Not how I want to start my mornings thank you very freaking much!

 Last week I had enough and took apart Finn's bed and moved it into the playroom. She obviously needs her own room. Her and Gillian are on two separate wave lengths in terms of sleeping and its killing me slowly.

So, now my playroom is gone, and Finn has her own room. The problem was getting her to sleep in it.

I was going to gradually try to move her in there. Don't ask me what my gradual plan was because honestly I have no idea but in my head I was going to be nice about it.

Then 3 nights ago after dealing with Finley staying up until 10:00-11:00 a couple nights in a row I had it. I threw up the gate (Gary still hasn't put the door back up) and chucked her in there. She cried, not hysterically but she wasn't happy, for about 30 minutes and then passed right out.

The next night she decided she wasn't going down without a good fight so she spent an hour yelling "Mama where are you" out the door towards the living room. Over and over and over again until she woke up Gillian from yelling it so loud and I was ready to strangle her!

Tonight was better. I'm not sure how long it took her to fall asleep because I actually went to my room and fell asleep for about 35 minutes but she only yelled "Mama where are you" once so that's a plus!

Gillian however got up again tonight and I'm hoping this isn't the new trend in the house for me to deal with.

On a bright note though Gary and I have slept until 8:20 every morning since separating them. I have no idea what time Finley is waking and I don't care, as long as she's playing quietly in her room and I don't have to listen to poor Gillian screaming at 6:00am every morning I'm one happy camper!

Now if I could get them to both go down without any drama or waking back up we'll be okay!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

So I'm not super mom......

I'll admit it, I am not supermom!

I may have twins, I may work, I may have a busy day,  but I just can't keep up anymore.

I've been begging Gary to let me hire someone to help around the house, even if its just twice a month. I can't keep up with the little things anymore. You know the filthy walls, fingerprinted windows, my once white kitchen cabinets......

So, my neighbor has a girl come in once a week to help her, I asked if she was looking for more work and thankfully the answer was "yes!"

So she came today and did the cabinets, the walls, windows and the bathroom. Not having to clean a bathroom was worth every penny.

I will admit though, I'm anal and like things done perfectly so it's hard for me to let someone else come in and clean my house. I did go back and redo a few windows that looked streaky, and may have redid a cabinet or two but I'm okay. I can let go. I will let go......

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Sharing!

I probably shouldn't post this because that's usually how I jinx myself but the girls are being awesome with each other lately! I mean awesome!

They went from attacking each other non stop, biting, pushing, hair pulling, and smacking to playing nicely with each other overnight. Its so strange.

They are even learning to share, that is huge. We do have a few things in the house that are "no shares", they are specifically that child's and they do not have to share it with their sister if they don't want to.

Both of them have their blanky's, Gillian has her wubbanub (or her mubby as she so affectionately calls it), Finley has her Pooh (that really isn't a pooh, its a green bear but she calls it Pooh), her puppy (a German shepherd beanie baby dog nana gave her) and most recently her sock monkey (which is a whole different post).

Both of the girls understand that they can't take these things and are pretty respectful of that. If Gillian finds Finn's monkey laying around she'll pick it up and bring it to her. And if Finley is looking for her blanket and finds Gillian's she'll give it to her. Its all very sweet to watch.

Tonight I had a glass of water and they both wanted to drink out of the cup, of course when one took a sip and I handed it to the other there was a freak out.

I explained they had to take turns and we went back and forth making a big deal about who's turn it was. After about a minute they had it and were gladly handing it back and forth to each other.

So my tip of the day is this: If your giving one child a drink, give them their sisters (or brothers) cup to give to their sibling too. If I give Finley a cracker I tell her to give one to Gillian also and when she does praise her for sharing, I've been doing it with both of the girls for months and months and I think its paying off! Now they will automatically give whatever they have 2 of to their sister. Except M&M's. I can't get either one of them to share their M&M's!

Heres to many more happy sharing days!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

2nd and 3rd place go to.....

Finley and I! We got the dreaded cold a day after Gillian and it knocked me off my feet for about 24 hours. Now the house looks like a bomb exploded and I have to deal with the aftermath.

Which is no small task when you have two kids running around destroying things faster than you can clean them up.

I'm working from home today in an attempt to completely recover and get the house back in order.

Gary is the only one left to get sick, I'm sure he's next. I'm hoping his immune system is better than mine because he has been working on the dining room and I want it finished sometime this century.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Camp closed!

Well we closed up our camper today, it was torture.

Nana stayed with the girls and babysat all day while Me, Gary and Sondra all went and closed up camp. I am glad to see it gone for the next 6 months but will miss it at the same time.

The girls had a great time there this year, they loved the lake, the bands at the beach, going out on the boat and mostly driving the golf cart around!

It was such a difference from last year where they did nothing but ride their walkers all over the deck. Next year I'm hoping we'll all be riding bikes around! How awesome would that be?!

Speaking of bikes Nana and Grandpa are getting the girls strider bikes for their birthday or Christmas this year and I'm psyched! I am really hoping they learn to ride them quickly and we'll be zooming around on them by the spring! We'll be practicing all winter in the house!

If you have no idea what a Strider bike is I suggest you google it, then youtube it and you can watch kids that are 2 riding this bike. Its amazing. Hoping for amazing bike riding next year!

In the meantime I am going to enjoy the fall and winter and am praying for a ton of snow again like last year!

Bring on the holiday's and cold weather! I'm excited for fleecy PJ's, Apple Cider, Hot Chocolate, and pies!

Friday, October 7, 2011

And the award goes too.....

Gillian!!  For being the first of the family to get sick this year!

I hate when my babies are sick, its amazing to see how much different they act with every illness though. The older they get the more clingy they get when they are sick.

Last night poor Gillian was in bed with us because she was whiny and wouldn't sleep in her bed. I had no idea what her issue was but thought maybe it was her 2 year molars coming in and gave her some ibuprofen.

She was trying to fall asleep and I was rubbing her back, I kept falling asleep while doing it and she kept waking up saying "No momma, tickle back" and so I would keep rubbing until I fell asleep again. Every hour or so she would start whining and say "Momma....tickle. Tickle Momma" and grab my hand and pull it near her back or belly.

So I spent the whole night waking up every once in a while to rub my baby girls back so she could fall asleep......

When we all got up this morning the poor punkin had a runny nose. I'm sure she'll be back in my bed tonight and I'll be tickling her all night again.

And on a side note, I think its amazing that Gary can sleep in the same bed as us and never wake up to her whining. Is it just a Mom thing?

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Bite me Ryan Seacrest

I was listening to the radio the other day and Ryan Seacrest was on.

Somehow he got to talking about J-Lo and is going on and on about how she rocks because she can handle twins, a full time job and always looks great.

News flash Ryan.....SHE'S A FREAKING MILLIONAIRE!

She probably has 10 Nannies that take care of her kids, a walking entourage of people that fix her every time a hair is out of place and someone who does her makeup all day long. Of course she looks amazing and can "handle" her kids.

 I bet she hasn't done a dish, laundry, or ever had to worry about her mansion looking like crap!

What about me? I work! I have twins! And I don't have any help!

Screw you Ryan Seacrest. Just screw you.

Clutter, Clutter, Clutter!

This madness has to end! My house is a disaster. I hate it like this!! There is just "stuff" everywhere and anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of "stuff."

I like things simple, minimal, easy.......I'm not a tchotchke person, I hate trinkets, and I don't like to collect things!

I'm like the freaking scrooge of home decorating! Don't get me wrong, I like my house decorated but not with cluttery looking things.

2 days ago I started my mission!

Operation get rid of the crap is in full effect!

I've done all the kitchen cabinets, and tomorrow I'm moving on to the top of the fridge. That's right refrigerator, I'm coming for you!

I'm chucking just about everything I come in contact with, some of it I have in a pile to put by the curb with a huge "FREE" sign on it. I'm hoping some idiot comes by and is interested in my overstock of coffee mugs and casserole dishes.

I still have to do the girls toy closet, the hall closet, my whole bedroom, the bathroom cabinets and then go through 10 totes of baby clothes to give away.

After that is all done I'll be working on my basement. It looks like a bomb exploded because we are remodeling upstairs and basically threw everything we didn't know where to put down there.

Once my house is back in one piece and I am decluttered I am vowing to never keep another thing I don't need or use again........

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I admit, I have a favorite......

No I don't have a favorite child! I do love both my kids equally however, I do have a favorite to put to bed!

Finley refuses to sleep in her room so she goes to "her couch" and lays down and Gillian goes to her room.

Every night I tell the girls to say goodnight to each other and they give each other kisses and head off to their sleeping areas.

Gillian climbs into her bed like a good girl, puckers up and gives me a kiss. I tell her I love her, she reaches for another kiss. Then we say "night night", "night, night" a few times and then I say "Love you bean bean" and she says "Muv you momma".......

I close the door and can hear her blowing kisses to me and I blow them back, every once in a while she'll throw in a "night night" and I whisper it back. Back and forth we go for a couple of minutes until I realize I can't stand at her door all night and blow kisses to her. Trust me I would love to though.

Then I come out to Miss Finley and ask her if Mommy can have a night night kiss and she whines "Noooooo"......I kiss her forehead anyway and tell her I love her.

See the difference there? I understand at this stage in their lives Gillian is the more lovey affectionate one and Finley isn't, it just stinks I can't have two lovey dovey sweet babies!

Hopefully one day Finley will come around and give me my goodnight kiss!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Pictures!
















To work or not to work......

That is the question.

Gary and I have been talking about me quitting my job and staying home with the girls. I know, they are 2, why would we make that decision now? Better late than never.

Gary has a job where he can do some OT and make up my pay, although I hate to have him work more so I can stay home. So this is my dilemma.

I miss my girls while I'm at work. I feel like I am constantly juggling my job,  the house and the girls and I hate that.

I've done all I can do to try to make it easier on myself too. I only work 4 days a week, 5 hours a day. Then I work at home at night after the girls go to bed.

My boss is pretty awesome, I'm payed well, and If I'm sick or one of the girls are sick I can work from home. Who could honestly ask for anything more from an employer?

I just can't get the idea of staying home with them out of my head. I want to go back to school too. I think a nursing career is in my future and taking classes while the girls are Pre K in a couple years sounds right up my ally.

I think I'm just scared of change, scared to make myself take that leap into something different.

Would I hate being home all day? Would I be bored? Will I get sick and tired of doing the cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids day in and day out? Will Gary resent me? Will I resent him? All these questions......

If your a stay at home mom how do you like it? I always said it was never my thing. That's the reason I went back to work after the girls were born but now I may be having a change of heart.

Oh decisions, decisions.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Math

Today I was thinking how busy life is with twins, then I started wondering how many diapers we've changed in the past 21 months.

Which led to me wondering how much of everything we've done! So I pulled out my calculator and did some math.

Changed 8040 diapers

Gave 670 Baths

Washed 3100 Bottles

Did 700 loads of "baby" laundry

Cooked 1461 meals

Changed 200 sets of sheets

Had 650 sleep interrupted nights

And picked up 1,768,548,215,000 million billion toys

That's alot of diapers! And toys!
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