Gettin' crafty.......

Have I mentioned I may have a slight addiction to Pinterest? I can confidently use the word "slight" because at the moment, work is crazy busy and there's not much free time to be had which means there's not much time to feed any addiction. That's the only thing saving me, though! So when I do find myself with a few free moments.....you know.....before going to bed at 1am....or delaying getting out of bed at 6:30am......I do love to do some pinning.

I was trying to think of something cute for the girls' Valentine's Day party at pre-school and I came across a pin for festive chocolate covered pretzels and I thought that would be a great Sunday project for tomorrow's party!

So we gathered the troops..........it's not a fun project without grandma!
Got out the sprinkles.........

Waited for the chocolate to melt........

And did a whole lotta dipping and sprinkling!

I must say......I felt quite crafty today. No matter that I managed to ruin two batches of chocolate before I realized that adding too much food coloring was causing my problem! Geesh -- all I wanted was some red chocolate!! But we were pretty pleased with the end results......

and now we're all ready for tomorrow's party!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy we love bubbles!

Bubbles are, by far, one of our most favorite outdoor activities. Usually it involves me blowing them and the girls chasing them down and popping them. "Mommy....you have to make the biggest bubbles!" Have you tried blowing bubbles over and over and over??!! Makes me dizzy! So I figured it was time the girls started blowing their own bubbles. So we've been practicing....and practicing.....and practicing!

I think Livie got more in her mouth than she did in the bubbles....but that's okay! I kept trying to explain to her how to blow air out of her mouth and she kept going "Ffffffffffffffffffffff" Quite cute, and often it worked. See.........

And Miss Sofia got the hang of it pretty quickly as well.......

Love love love the cheeks puffing out!

Fun weekend but Livie hates fireworks

What a nice weekend it was! I had Friday and Monday off from work which was awesome. We didn't overschedule by any means, but we had a fun time.

Olivia has started doing this.........thing.......where she says she's scared. Sometimes it feels like she's using that as an excuse to not do something I've asked her:

"Livie - let's go upstairs and brush your teeth to get ready for bed."
"I can't. I'm scared."

But other times, it seems like she's really scared of something. In the car, for example. During the week last week, she started watching out the window as we're driving and telling us we have to slow down -- we're going to fast. All the while she's gripping the sides of her seat and looking quite scared. We really don't know what to do about it. Is it just something she needs to grow out of? We try to talk to her......ask her why she's scared......tell her that Mommy and Daddy will always keep her safe. But nothing seems to work. Eventually she settles down but it's something I hate to see.

A funny thing the girls started in the car on Friday......as we approached a stop light, I hear Sofia from the back......"Mommy! Red means STOP???!!!" "Yes, honey, red means stop." "Mommy! And green means GO??" "Yes -- that's right!" Man....my kid is brilliant! "Mommy! Orange means GO, TOO???!!!". Hmm. We've got 13 years to correct that one!

Oh. Oh. OH! AND! Friday was also the first time the girls headed to the car.......and they wanted to watch something other than Dora on the DVD player!!!! Seriously. You just cannot imagine how excited we were for that one. But I have to be honest and say we were quickly back to Dora. I get that even some Disney movies aren't appropriate for small children.....but seriously, people.....it's Tinkerbell! You know. The cute little fairy?? But there was something in that movie that scared the girls so we turned it off and back to Dora we went. Operation Watch-Everything-First-Before-The-Girls has begun.

What else. Sunday I took the big girls to a local waterpark. I have a rule about having a 1:1 ratio of adults to kids around water so I was with my mom, sister and Carter. I was interested to see how the girls would react.....and they LOVED it! It was the perfect place for kids their size.....there was a zero-entry pool and the girls could go pretty far in and still touch (with an adult and a life jacket, of course!). They wanted to jump and jump and jump and then swim a little. Olivia kept saying "Mommy....this is so cool!" There was also a splash pad which was perfect. Olivia spent her time on the perimeter and Sofia finally warmed up and walked around all the fountains. Oh. There was also a toddler-sized water slide and....are you ready for this....Olivia went down by herself! Aunt Ra-Ra was at the bottom to catch her, but still. This is the same girl who is scared riding in the car.....and she went down the slide on her own! Sofia went down, too, with me. I held her in front of me and lifted her up before we got to the water (that was 3' deep) so she didn't go under. Neither of them wanted to go again, but we still couldn't believe they went at all!

And finally. The fireworks. We debated on whether or not we would try to make the downtown fireworks display. There was a lot going against it anyway........darkness doesn't come until late.....we would probably be running on little to no nap.......and there was "school" the next morning and we all know everyone else is cheerier in the morning when they wake up on their own. Yet. It's fireworks! On the fourth of July! Fireworks!

But. On Sunday night, there were some early fireworks going off and Olivia didn't do very well with them. She cried out for me and when I went to her room, she told me she had to go to my bed. Olivia never asks to lay in our bed. So I took her to our room thinking I could show her the fireworks outside our window and if she saw the colors and lights, she would like them. Not so much. I pulled up the blinds to get a better look and she squeezes her body around me and goes "Mommy....what are you doing??! I have to hide in your bed." I put her in our bed between me and D and she pulls the blankets over her head and wouldn't take them off until she fell asleep.

Decision made. No fireworks. But there's still the actual holiday to get through. We had the girls outside with those little popper-things.....you know -- that you can throw on the ground and they pop. Yeah - the girls love those. So we're outside poppin' away when a bottle rocket or something goes off in the distance. Olivia stops and goes "What's that noise?" and before D could even think, he goes "Honey, that's just a firework." Faster than I have ever seen her move, Olivia drops the bag she was holding and takes off towards the house yelling "I gotta get outta here!!" Poor poor Olivia. She ended up in our bed last night, too. Hiding.

Where was Sofia both nights, may be asking? She was passed out cold in her bed totally oblivious to the fireworks going on around the house. She was sweet during the day, too. "It's okay, Livie. It's just fireworks. They not get you!"

So there you go! A not-overscheduled-yet-busy-holiday-weekend! Oh. And Bella? The most content baby. In.the.world. See..........

I love this last one. She's talking up a storm to those fish. This is Bella's new "thing".....she loves this fishbowl and is very good at taking the fish (and balls) out and putting them back in. She takes them out and hits them together (clack, clack, clack) and puts them back in. Repeat.

What a great combination of fun and relaxation. How blessed am I.

Splish splash!

Our downtown area has a really nice park and I'm ashamed to say we don't usually make time to visit it. But! Earlier in the week I made up my mind we were doing something fun today since it's the beginning of my long weekend off so we packed up the kiddos and headed out to the park for some fun in the splash pad! The girls were a little shy at first but a group of kids left and the area seemed to calm down so they finally ventured in to the fountains..........

Sofia (L), Olivia (R)

Sofia
Olivia

I think this picture of Sofia is hilarious.....

Olivia

It was impossible to get pictures of their faces since they spent most of their time crouched to the ground waiting for water to shoot out of the fountains. What a great place to go.....we'll definitely be heading back there! So great, as a matter of fact, that my toddlers who lately have been refusing to nap are snoozing away as I type. And I'm off to join them.............

Fashion sense.......

The big girls got a trunk of dress-up clothes for Christmas and they really weren't too interested.....until now. The trunk has a couple of fair princess costumes.....and I think it was the addition of various other "accessories" they have collected since Christmas that finally got them going. Well. I say "them"......but it's really been Sofia who has been the most interested.

Check out some of her latest creations!

I love this one.....she found a pair of D's socks and put them on.

As if she's saying it's so hard to be a princess!

A great ending to the birthday weekend

We ended our birthday weekend celebration with a birthday party at Gymboree. What a great time it was! The activities were perfect for all the kids' ages and the girls had a blast! Usually it takes the girls a few minutes to warm up --- and I have to admit I was a little nervous since they were running on no nap. Well -- they did get a little power nap in the car on the way over - ha! But once we got them out of the car and inside, they never looked back.

Olivia, usually hesitant to try new things, was going down the slide before we were even settled in. And Sofia was jumping off of anything that would stay still, it seemed! It must be the "three factor." I'll take it!!

Here are a few pictures from our fun day (Sofia's in the red bow, Olivia in the green). Oh. And stay tuned because tomorrow starts potty training boot camp. We have our laundry detergent and carpet cleaner standing by!

"I love birthday cake!"

We celebrated a birthday for the girls' oldest cousin last night.....I was worried how the girls would do since they're coming down with yet another cold.......as I type right now, the girls are supposed to be napping.....and they're trying....except for all that coughing.

**Side note.....I've realized that I can no longer say "the girls"....because that would seem to imply all three girls. (Holy cow.....we have THREE girls!!!) Well....from context and pictures I'm sure you can guess who I mean when I say "the girls"......but I'll have to figure something out. I refuse to call them "the twins"........ hmmm - calling them by their names...there's a novel idea, eh?

But I digress.

So we went to the birthday party and had a great time. There was good food......

(Have I told you how much Olivia and Sofia love bread? No? They LOVE bread. It could be a whole meal if we would let it.)

And then there was big fun......the kind of fun that Mommy's not so sure would be going on at her house - haha!! Bring on the painting!!

The girls loved it and I do believe we have some art for our walls now! And I also believe Daddy will be hitting up the local hobby store to bring this activity to our house.

Honey.....please make sure the paint is washable.

A new kind of fun

The girls have found a new use for our furniture. Gymnastics equipment and launch pad. And what does any good parent do?? Well they take pictures, of course!! Duh.

We've noticed Olivia has started taking on the role of "Little Mommy"......here she's pointing to the chair and is saying "Sit down, Pia. Sit down!" When Sofia doesn't listen, we hear "No, no Pia -- sit down!!" Ha.
We did a little re-arranging in the family room to accommodate Isabella's pack-n-play and the only place for the girls' chairs is in front of the fireplace.......which, unfortunately, creates a step up to the big chair. And the girls figured that one out in a matter of minutes.

As a rule we don't let the girls jump on the furniture. We've never made a rule about jumping off the furniture because........well........we've never had to. Until now.

Sofia is the one jumping -- Olivia, always the more cautious one, never did jump. She would stand up at the edge and sort of bounce saying "Jump!" but then would sit back down and slide off the edge and go back to the pink chair to start all over again while exclaiming "Mommy! This is fun!" Sofia, always the daredevil, didn't hesitate one bit before jumping, also exclaiming "This fun, Mommy!" Mmmmmhmmmm. I bet it is!

One thing I can say, though, is all that jumping completely wore the girls out. Part of our new bedtime routine lately has been extreme protesting.......but not on this night. After their bath, D put the girls to bed and there wasn't a single tear. Hmmmm. After taking these pictures, we did create a soft landing place with all those blankets you see in the pictures above. After all.......a broken limb would certainly bring more tears than going to bed, right??!!!