Happy 6th Birthday Critters!

I'm slowly getting our computer back up to speed, so please be patient with me as it is hard to update a blog from work when your cubicle is in the middle of the office. Darn nosy co-workers!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our now 6-year-old girls! You girls ROCK!!!!

Back to Basics!

We have had lots of computer drama lately. I won't bore you with the details, but we are finally getting the sucker back on track (either that or I'm slinging it out our second story window). So - until I have a chance to redesign a header and play with the layout, you will all have to suffer with this VERY basic blog design. I

think you'll live.

Tales from the absent blogger and a Happy Birthday shout out to my cousin!

Ok - yes - I've been out of commission on the blog front, but am getting back into the swing of things. Our computer is starting to work like it should, so I hope to have more frequent updates starting soon (notice how vague I am with that word "soon").

We just installed our new All-in-one, handy-dandy printer/scanner/faxer/chopper/grinder/blender and I just HAD to see what would happen if I scanned something.

Hmmmm...I think it is my cousin's birthday today...yep - I KNOW it is.

So - Billy (sorry, I still can't get used to calling you Bill) - this is dedicated to you.

How precious were we?!?!?

Here she is!

How sweet is this little baby!?!?

Anna with her new cousin.

Ashlyn with cousin Rika.

Baby Rika is Here!!!!!

Chris and I are now officially an uncle and an aunt! Woohoo!!!!!

Travis and Yayoi had Rika Nicole this morning and we are SO excited. She weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and is 20 inches long.

Poor Yayoi has been in labor for about 24 hours - she ROCKS!

Travis is just plain giddy about the whole thing.

They will be FANTASTIC parents and we couldn't be any happier to welcome little Rika into our crazy family.

The girls are THRILLED to have a baby cousin, but they are already refusing to change diapers - little wimps!

Now if I can just think of some things to teach little Rika to drive her parents crazy - hee hee.

I'll have pictures and more posts soon. Yes - I've been VERY bad at posting, but I have lots of great excuses for that which I will share later.

Breakfast with Santa

Ashlyn - how do you like your Christmas outfit this year?

Anna - how about you?

The Parents of Twins & Triplets Organization's (POTATO) Breakfast with Santa was a HUGE hit. This is probably my favorite POTATO event of the year. This year we had it catered and charged a small fee for members to attend. Woohoo! Everyone loved that they didn't have to cook and bring a dish and we didn't have to worry about running out of a certain food (happens EVERY year we've done a potluck and usually ends up with a big ole smackdown between mothers). Big shout out to Baptist Hospital for giving us the auditorium for free and to Sodexho (catering) for giving us a great breakfast.

Kudos to Santa and Rudolph too! Rudolph was a little surprise one of our awesome members helped provide. The kids flipped when he came in. Our girls definitely loved him.

That Elf-in Time of Year Again

Thanks Courtney - for reminding me of Jib Jab. This just makes me giggle.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Because the video just didn't do the outfits justice

Dance! Dance! Dance!

The girls were invited to a birthday party this past weekend. It was held at a local dance academy - great idea for a party. Ashlyn was pretty excited about the whole thing and was thrilled when I took them to buy leotards at Hell-Mart earlier in the week.

Anna? Not so thrilled.

She thought that "Dance Party" apparently meant "I'm-going-to-have-to-wear-some-sort-of-frilly-dress/skirty-thing-and-that-will-scar-me-for-life Party".

Once I convinced her she could wear the leotard with pants, she was fairly good to go.

We showed up for the party along with about 12 other little girls all dressed in a variety of dance gear. The dance academy then gave them the option of putting on extra costumes. The other 12 little girls chose sparkly jazz outfits, fairy wings, tiaras and precious tutus.

Our girls?

Ashlyn chose some sort of woodland creature costume. The fact that she wore it backward made her look like some sort of demented chipmunk.

Anna chose camouflage pants and an animal print cowboy hat.

Such dainty girls.

Apparently Anna was the hunter and Ashlyn was the deer. The hunter was trying to "get" the deer and then eat it (their story - not mine).

A cute little teenage girl taught the little girls a dance routine without any parents in the room and then they put on a show for all the parents. It was adorable and comical. They did the same routine a few times and I caught one of the performances on film. Check it out!

The little 2-year-old in front cracks me up. She was absolutely adorable.

All the girls had a great time and our girls definitely want to go to the next dance party they are invited to.

How to Cook a Turkey

by Anna Riggs (part of a class project that was made into a book and sent home with each child)

"You get your 30 pound turkey at the grocery store - Target. It costs 20 cents. Take it home and put it in the oven. Before you put it in the oven, you punch it hard 5 times. Then you push it together hard. Put 2 boxes of salt on it, then 2 bags of brown sugar. Then put 1 box of pepper on it, then 2 boxes of flour, and 2 boxes of sunflower seeds. Put 3 different colored gumballs on it. Then put 4 oranges in a box and 1 bag of raisins. Then put 1 slice of white bread on there. Then put 6 gumdrops. Then put slices of meat - chicken - on there. Put 1 squirt of chocolate icing in a bag then put 7 cherries in the box. Then put slices of 7 apples in a bag. Then put meat - steak - in a box. The put 6 grapes in a box. Then I'm going to buy another turkey that costs 10 dollars. Put all this stuff on that turkey. Put the turkey in stove. Cook it 6 hours at 60 degrees."

Anna's was the longest submission by far.

Ah yes...the next Julia Child.

Our dainty flowers on Halloween

Ah, yes - our dainty, flower-like daughters who love all things "girly" (NOT) chose to be ninjas this year. Mm, hmm...ninjas - one a "cobra ninja" and one a "dragon ninja". Pictures (and video) are definitely worth a thousand words in this case, so here is a pic and a video of the girls in their costumes. Be sure to listen for the Thriller soundtrack in the background.

The pic below is from the morning after Trick-or-Treating. They actually started sorting the candy the night before and then finished up the next morning. This is definitely their Daddy coming out in them, but I do love me some nice organizational skills - ha!

Ashlyn with her FAVORITE candy - Tootsie Rolls. We got a bazillion of 'em.

Anna with her FAVORITE candies - Starburst, M & M's, & a Hershey Bar.

Why I want to stab the C*V*S* Minute Clinic guy in the eye with a SPORK!!!

Let me preface this blog entry by telling you that normally I'm a big fan of the C*V*S* Minute Clinic. The Physicians Assistants (PA's) servicing these offices have always been kind and helpful to me and my kids when we've had to visit them instead of our regular pediatrician.

Until now!

It is flu shot season. Oh goodie! It is a necessary evil, but we get a shot each year - all four of us. I know a few people have had some issues with the flu shot and choose not to get them, but the flu shot has been our friend for the last five years and we see no reason to end that friendship anytime soon.

The girls have never been big fans of shots. Shoot - who is!?! And I definitely don't expect my two 5-year-olds to stand up and do a big cheer over the fact that someone will be jabbing a needle in their leg. 5-year-olds don't want shots - period! This is not some new revelation. But it was new to the moron servicing the Minute clinic on Tuesday.

I was prepared! The girls would get home from school, I would promise them a snack of ultimate greatness (any snack in the store girls) and we would get our shots and skip merrily out of the store. Tra-la-la-la-la.

Oh - what a hopeless optimist, I am.

If you've ever been to a C*V*S Minute Clinic you know you have to complete a computerized registration process outside the doors of the office. The door to the office was closed, so I knew someone else was in there. As I was completing the registration process, the girls had an "ah-ha" moment and realized they were there to get shots. Lovely.

I explained that I would get mine first so they could see it wasn't a big deal and then they would go. Anna was pretty complacent about the whole thing (I think she was already thinking how she could con me into the family fun size bag of M&M's). Ashlyn was not so thrilled. She wasn't having a fit, but was definitely crying. Again - she's 5.

The door to the office opened and another mother and her small child walked out. The 6-foot, 200 pound, 40-something, Einstein-Professor-without-the-mustache-looking PA walked out and quietly told me that I needed to come on in (I wasn't done with my registration yet). I figured he was being smart and going to get Ashlyn's shot over with first, but boy was I wrong.

Here's the actual conversation:

PA Moron (my affectionate name for him now): Ma'am, I won't be able to give her the shot today?

Me: What?

PA Moron: Yeah, I can't deal with her like this. (He uses vague hand motions to indicate Ashlyn. Ashlyn is still crying, but not flailing around or screaming her head off.)

Me: What do you mean you can't deal with her like this?

PA Moron: I'm just not willing to give her a shot with her in this condition.

Me: (Ready to pounce.) What do you mean "in this condition"? She's five. Five-year-olds aren't thrilled with getting shots. This can't be a surprise for you?!? (said with us much sarcasm as possible)

PA Moron: Ma'am I just can't do it. (Ashlyn is now even more upset and Anna is now thinking she should be upset because Ashlyn is - lovely.)

Me: You have got to be kidding me!?! (yep - I've definitely raised my voice at this point) I called 20 minutes ago and was told you give shots to anyone over 18 months old. Are you telling me you don't give shots to ANYONE shedding even a tear, or are you just not qualified?

PA Moron: um...um...um...

Me: So you are telling me you are not man enough to give a 5-year-old a shot? Fine! Do you think you are man enough to give me mine? (Now, thinking back on this I realize this wasn't the smartest thing to say considering this the man that will be jabbing a needle in my arm.)

PA Moron: Uh - yeah. You'll need to complete the rest of your registration.

Me: Fine (I read over the form which mentions something about taking medication for allergies. I tell him I had my allergy shots the previous day and that I confirmed with my allergy doctor that it was totally fine to get my flu shot.)

PA Moron: Yeah...then I won't be able to do your shot either.

Me: You are kidding, right?!? (voice is definitely raised here) I asked my allergy doctor about it and they said the flu shot can be given without a problem.

PA Moron: uhhhhh...no. I won't be able to do it.

Me: Well - you are completely useless.

I then storm out of the office with my two traumatized children. I see another mom with her child outside the office. I say, "Did you hear any of that?". She says, "yes" and then just shakes her head in compassion for me.
__________________________________

Follow up: I set up an appointment with our pediatrician's office yesterday to get the girls their flu shots. I wasn't about to tempt fate again and try C*V*S or Wal*greens. Ashlyn was literally flailing about and screaming her head off this time, and the 20-something, maybe 120-pound, dainty nurse and I took control of the situation and gave that shot to her.

Take that you weak, PA Moron!

I like big BUTTS and I cannot lie...

Situation: I was trying to clean out the van of the immense amounts of trash, old lollipops, hair bows, spider rings & Chuck E. Cheese tokens before letting the girls in to go somewhere (I don't even remember where now). We have the side doors that automatically close when you push a button on the door or on the key chain. I accidentally pushed the button with my elbow during the "cleaning" process, and was half in, half out of the van.

Van: BEEP! (door starts sliding closed)

Me: Oops!

Ashlyn & Anna: Uh, oh Mommy!

The sliding door hits me on the hip, stops the closing process and opens back up (safety feature on our van).

Anna: Thank goodness you've got a big butt Mommy. That door could have hurt you, but your big butt stopped it.

Me: Yep - I'm quite thankful for my big butt, honey.

Note to self...

Shelley – you are not in the comfort of your own home all the time anymore. You need to wait until you are in a door-closed-behind-you bathroom stall BEFORE unbuttoning your pants. Most people don’t want to see your unbuttoned pants and flashes of underwear as they exit the office building's public women's restroom.

You did what?!?!?

Scene: Last night after a full day of pumpkin farms and outside play. The girls are getting ready for bed. Anna is in the bonus room with Daddy playing her 1,001st game of Go Fish. Ashlyn is in the bathroom with me brushing her teeth. Anna and Daddy can see and hear us from the bonus room.

Me: Ok Ashlyn - please brush your teeth so we can get you in the shower.

Ashlyn: (brushing very slowly)

Me: C'mon Ashlyn - we only have a few minutes til bedtime and you need to get clean.

Ashlyn: (still brushing very slowly) Mommy, I have something to tell you. (That phrase is never good and I can tell by the way she has her head bowed that this is definitely not something good that is about to come out of her mouth.)

Me: What honey? (I say through gritted teeth.)

Ashlyn: Mommy, we washed the pumpkins.

Me: I know, I gave you the special towels to use. (They brought their small pumpkins upstairs to their bathroom to wash them and I gave them a couple old dishtowels to use to dry them.)

Ashlyn: Yeah, we used our toothbrushes.

Me: WHAT!!!!!!

Ashlyn: We used our toothbrushes to clean the pumpkins.

At this point, I walk (more like march) into the bonus room and ask Chris if he just heard that. He is trying to control his laughter and Anna says, "Ashlyn said to do it". Way to pass off that blame girlie-girl.

I then tried to explain to both girls why we don't need to wash anything but our teeth with our toothbrushes. That alone was a comical experience, but Chris and I were still giggling about them telling us the rest of the night.

Now I'm off to buy new toothbrushes!

Pumpkin Farm Time

One of our favorite yearly POTATO events is the Pumpkin Farm outing. We always have a great time and today was no different. The weather was perfect - maybe even a little too hot. We had great food and were able to visit with other POTATO families.

I've added pics to the flickr side bar (on the right side of the blog). Feel free to click anywhere on that "badge" and you can see all the pictures from today's adventure.

This picture was taken in the actual pumpkin field. The girls chose great pumpkins and they are now positioned right in front of the ones Chris & I chose as well as the two we grew in our own backyard.

Greetings from non-internet land

You would think I have given up caffeine again. My addiction to the internet and email has become amazingly clear for me the past few days as the girls and I are in Mississippi visiting my grandmother. Mimi (as we affectionately call her) doesn't have the internet...or a computer...or a garage door opener. I thought I might have to admit myself to technology rehab (as I was craving it bad!), but I found the remote control to the TV and that has calmed me down somewhat.

You see, I brought my laptop with me as I have been able to "borrow" the internet from Mimi's neighbors on previous visits. We have been here almost three days and this is the first time I've been able to get on the internet. Don't these neighbors know I have emails to answer and blogs to update!?! Geez people - increase your wireless strengths!

I first logged on to check on the status of Makenzie, check my email and play a few word games (priorities people!). Now I'm here updating the blog as I promised myself I would do better at that (and the grandparents are starting to send vicious hate mail).

First - do you remember the pumpkin plant we had in our back yard? Well - it wielded two nice pumpkins. Here's a pic of the girls with our "crop". And - as a side note - do you know how nasty it is to clean up the debris left from a LARGE pumpkin plant? NASTY!!!! The inside of the pumpkin vine looks just like the inside of a pumpkin - orange and stringy and gooey. Double ICK! We are quite proud of ourselves for this unintentional agricultural experiment and will definitely attempt to do it again.

Second - we thought we were being wonderful parents and decided to take the girls to a Halloween movie night (Shrek & It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown) on Saturday at a nearby park/subdivision. We had the blankets, chairs and drinks packed. We showed up right on time - one day late. Yep - the movie night was Friday - as it was CLEARLY posted on the ad we had cut out and brought with us as well as the LARGE signage entering the subdivision. We already felt stupid enough, but the best was when one of the girls said, as they made it abundantly clear how unhappy they were about the situation, "What kind of parents are you?!?!"

That's all for now as I'm not sure how much longer my pirated internet will stay up and running. I'll (hopefully) post more later.

Thank Goodness!!!!

Our computer is up and running again.

Quick details.

Over a week ago the home computer died. Tried using can of "air" to clean all the insides and make it feel nice and fresh again to start working. Didn't work. Tried hurling can of air at computer to make it work. Didn't work. Took it in to new Tech guy at work and promised cans of Red Bull and an assortment of pocket protectors. Hallelujah! It works.

I tease, but a big thanks to Josh for fixing my "baby". Now - I only have about a month's worth of posts to catch up on. I had better get to work.

I Can't Even Begin...

...to adequately put into words what is happening to the family of a close friend of mine. I think I'll start from the beginning and work from there.

If you have ever received parenting advice from me, I assure you that 95% of that advice was passed on to me from Kathleen Matthews. Kathleen and her husband Wilson are the parents of twin 8 year old girls - Madison & Makenzie - and a 5-year-old son - Justin. Of course, I met Kathleen through POTATO and we've been great friends ever since. She is truly my "twin guru" and our personalities are extremely similar (think Type A meets Super anal, but WAY prettier & funnier).

To cut to the chase...almost two weeks ago Makenzie was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I won't go into all the details other than to say this was extremely unexpected and out of the blue. Makenzie went from being diagnosed with the tumor, to an 11 hour brain surgery, to being diagnosed with brain cancer within a 96-hour period. It truly boggles the mind - especially when you think that Makenzie is only 8 years old and weighs about 55 pounds.

I have been amazed at the outpouring of love and prayers from the people in the Matthews' lives and from people they don't even know. Makenzie has a website through CarePages - an online "blog" of sorts for people with life-changing health events, and they are receiving hundreds of messages from people all over praying and thinking of Makenzie and the family during this difficult time. I encourage you to check the CarePages site out, log in and sign up for the updates Kathleen and Wilson are making regarding Makenzie's progress. It is amazing to read their words of hope, fear, faith, encouragement, discouragement and love during this tumultuous time in their lives.

Please take a moment (or 20, or 100) to pray for or send good thoughts to the Matthews family. I will post some updates, but the best way to keep posted on Makenzie's progress is through the CarePages site. Plus, Kathleen and Wilson ready every comment posted on the site, so feel free to leave an encouraging message.

*The picture is of the Matthews family the night before Makenzie's surgery. Makenzie loved that she could wear those fancy pajamas.

Dear HellMart Cashier....

I know, I know....I haven't blogged for a while. And I absolutely have stuff to blog about.

When I logged in this morning to post a picture that I thought I had downloaded (dang it - I didn't), I found the post below saved as a draft from July. Since I have nothing to post today, I thought I would just finally publish this one. Enjoy.
_________________________________________________

Dear HellMart Cashier;

When I walk into Hell-Mart (my affectionate name for Wal*Mart for those new to this blog), I truly expect VERY little. I believe this store is a drain on our society, but DANG IT, those low prices sometimes drag the Cheap A** in me into your dark crevices. This is especially true when you are selling my sweet nectar of life - Diet Coke - for $2 less than any other store. Today was one of those days.

When I entered your "20 items and under SPEEDY CHECKOUT" line today (no kidding - the sign says "speedy checkout), I thought for sure it wouldn't take that long to get out the door. Boy was I wrong.

I'm not sure who within HellMart defined your checkout skills as "speedy", but I'm thinking he might be a turtle or snail lover, possibly a turtle or snail himself. Or he might possibly be dead. I literally watched my life pass before my eyes as I watched you scan one item after another with record-breaking slowness. I think I could actually see the hairs growing on my legs as you proceeded with the two people in front of me (no other line was open, because Heaven forbid HellMart be customer service savvy).

And when I finally got up to the checkout for my turn and the little credit card payment box thingy asked, "Was your cashier friendly today?", I practically laughed out loud as I searched for the "Are you freakin' kidding me?!?" button to select as you didn't even crack a smile or even make eye contact with me. I realize you are probably not thrilled to work for such a cruddy company, but there are other places that will pay you the same to do work that might be more appropriate for you. For example:

1. Golf Courses - you would be perfect at watching the grass grow so the greens managers can be aware of any problems on the course.

2. High School Detention Officer - nothing like watching the seconds click by along with the students, and it is very possible that you have super powers to make those seconds click by even slower (that's how it felt while in your lane).

3. Frown Judge - I know that isn't an actual job, but you would truly be excellent at it. I don't think I've ever seen anyone keep a frown on their face as long as you did. Did you know it takes more muscle work to frown than to smile?

Am I being a bit harsh? Probably, but I have yet to have a good experience in HellMart and I just need to quit hoping for things to change.

Sincerely,

Irritated, but optimistic mom