I Just Thought You Should Know. . .

that Wyatt and Walker had an adventure today while they were under the ocean surfing. First Wyatt was grabbed up by a giant octopus who was going to squeeze him really hard. This was the gigantic king of the octopuses, but then Wyatt remembered that if he fed him people food he would become his friend. Just then Walker was about to be eaten by a shark so he whipped out a can of whale chicken and the shark gave him a ride around in the ocean so they could see the other sea creatures and defeat the evil sea monster. . .

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

I received an award! Not once, but twice! Thank you Kelly and Sharli! You are both awesome and two of the most lemonade making people I know!


The Lemonade Stand Award
Rules for this Award:
*Comment on this blog
*Cut and Paste this award logo and use it on your own blog
*Nominate a blog you feel worthy of the award
*Link to your nominee within your blog post
*Comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award
*Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation!

While there are many, many worthwhile bloggers, my award goes to Lois! Lois you are definitely worthy of a lemonade stand. You inspire me with your generosity, creativity, love of family and friends, as well as just plain kindness. Enjoy your award my friend!

Trick or Treat??!??!

If the video above does not play and you would like to see it, you may click here:

Wyatt's Halloween Video

Take Two!

That's what you get with identical twins! So here we are a month later and guess where I spent my day? You guessed it! Wyatt had his tonsils and adenoids taken out today.
So much for my plans to wait until after summer. At Walker's surgical check up last week, Dr. S looked in Wyatt's throat and made us the appointment for today. FORTUNATELY after my last experience things were much improved. Maybe they actually read my survey and took drastic improvement measures. Perhaps we just had better luck. Maybe I wasn't so nervous (nope, that isn't it!) Or, we just had a completely different team. In any case, things went much better. Wyatt was so stinking cute. His surgery was later in the day and he just kept asking, "Okay, can I have my french fry's now?" I promised he could have french fry's after the surgery if he still wanted them. The poor kid was starving! No stickers today either. . . Wyatt got dinosaurs! They even gave us some to take home to Walker.




He woke up quickly from anesthesia and freaked! The Anesthesiologist quickly gave him some pain med. . . unfortunately he then went to the nurses, still freaked and they gave him a second dose. We had to wait in recovery a while longer (which might have aided the more relaxed tone of today's events) to make sure he was okay from the double dose of pain killer, but after the intial sobbing he fell into a deep sleep and slept until we got through the pharmacy and almost done getting gas. . . he was ready for McDonald's! He didn't wolf it down and only ate a few bites, but bless his heart, he got his fry's!

We were once again warned that the worst is yet to come. . . been there done that! Bring it on!!!

My Nose is Melting

And other "W" isms keep me laughing every day.

"My Nose is Melting" is the answer Mikensee received to her inquiry as to why Walker was snorting through the dinner prayer.

"No, No, NO! I don't want to get married!" is what he was shouting as I asked him why he was dressed like pink cotton candy! This face says it all:


But what do these faces mean?





Wyatt is famous for asking "Do you want to help me eat?" This he asks when he's hungry and wants someone to make him something.

"We just kissed ourselves." Made famous by Wyatt and Walker after giving each other a love.

"Mom, come see! We found a machine!" They both exclaimed in complete amazement when our carpet cleaner was found mysteriously located in the living room.

We frequently have these comments when one or the other has exclaimed anger or displeasure with my rules: "Mom, you are my best friend." "Mom, I love you, but Wyatt don't." or "Mom, I love you, but Walker didn't." "Mom, I just love your cheeks and elbows. Don't you want some tasty neck?"

"I slept 3 times!" This they say when they come to get in bed with us and it's still dark outside. . . this because I tell them they have to sleep in their own bed for 30 minutes before they can get up - Yes, I'll use this as long as possible! It still works on Jessica!

Surviving

We are making it! Walker finally did not require Tylenol with Codeine to get out of bed. His breath (although horrid for a few days) is finally tolerable. He tried really hard and was a very brave boy, but it was a LOOOOONG week. A few things to remember if you ever have a child go through this:

1. Just keep them medicated.
2. Don't plan anything and don't try and go anywhere. Good luck on sleeping.
3. No Ketchup (2 hour melt-down)
4. No lemonade (even Crystal Light) - (You don't want to know what this was like!)
5. Beware of other selective "food" items. There is sometimes no rhyme nor reason.
6. The Doctor probably can't remember what it was like if he had his tonsils out and probably hasn't. . . don't listen to them, they have no idea.

Thanks for the well wishes. We really appreciate you!

His Tonsils and Adenoids were RiPpEd from His Head

And all they gave him was this lousy sticker:

Bravely and Innocently He Trustingly Goes; my little lamb to the slaughter:


Today was a tough day for me and in fact it's been a tough week. If you've never had the experience of having a child needing some type of surgery or advanced medical care, count yourself blessed. Our experience today was a lot like going to McDonald's. Talk about a "drive-through" surgery!

It would be nice if people who work in this type of position would treat their jobs as if they are treating people and not like a routine. Our Doctor, Admit Nurse and Anesthesiologist were all very nice, but outside of that, I felt like I was just another number in a fast food line. I realize that they do this job day in and day out, but this was my little boy and this was big for us. I'm not looking forward to doing this again when Wyatt goes in sometime in the coming months -- as soon as I feel ready to do it again.

My little Walker-man, so brave, so trusting. You can see he's nervous but being very brave. He comes out hysterical. He cried for over an hour. He was inconsolable. The discharge nurse just keeps frantically working to get us out as if her pay was going to be docked if she didn't beat the 90 second drive through timer. "You don't like the green pop-sickle? Hear have some apple juice." "I'm going to take out your IV." "I'll wrap it up so it doesn't bleed all over." "Okay, let's take that off, mom, you can change his clothes." "Do you want a Scooby-do band-aid?" "NO?" "Here, have a sticker."

When we get home and I'm tucking him in bed, he still has the sticker crumpled in his little fist. I'd forgotten all about it and yet there it was. . .a pathetic token of a trying day. . . battered and little old. Would you like a side of fry's with that?

Lassos and Whale Chicken

Yesterday it was Pirates today, we're cowboys. The boys were MIA for long enough for me to go looking. I found them in the garage with homemade lassos (string with some broken thing tied to the end -- very creative) and they were lassoing the garage door tracks. . . The pictures aren't great as the sun was blaring through the glass blocks to the side of them, but at least I have the memory. "MOM! We're real cowboys, see??!!??"


What's on the menu?

For dinner tonight we had one of my mom's old stand-by's; tuna fish on toast. I know it sounds like a meal fit for a king, but I'm sure tuna, milk, and bread must have been cheap back in the day! My kids all like it and it reminds me of my childhood, so occassionally, we indulge. So here's the conversation we had while whipping up some tasty tuna:

Walker says, "Mom, I love whale chicken."
I say, "Whale chicken?"
Walker says, "Yep, this whale chicken." (pointing to the tuna fish can.)
Wyatt enters and says, "It's not whale chicken it's dolphin chicken."

Well, that settles that. It's not whale chicken it's dolphin chicken. So from now on we'll be serving dolphin chicken on toast.

How Twin Are They?

So today was another sad day for me. My babies are really growing up! Today, not one, but both of my twins lost a tooth. Here is a little collage I made of the event:

(to see the collage larger, just click on the photo)


Wyatt didn't like this event much at all. At first he was brave and you can see he's smiling in the picture with his brother showing off their lost teeth. . . but then, reality set in and for the next 4 hours Wyatt cried. He begged me to put it back. He asked me why I took his tooth. He told me I am the bad mommy and I need a big spanking. He told me that he wanted a new mommy. He told me that he needs his tooth and that it didn't have chicken in it. He cried. He finally fell asleep in my arms. He woke up and still complained and cried and wanted me to put it back. I tried to explain that it will grow back. His brother showed him that his other lost tooth was growing back in. It didn't matter. I finally distracted him with Sponge Bob Collapse. He still got up first thing this morning and asked me when I was going to give him his tooth back and that I didn't have to pull it out just because it had chicken in it. This just proves my point that they are growing up way too fast and they just aren't ready for this!!!

On a side note, my boys are fastidious about their teeth. They floss after every meal and can't stand having "chicken" in their teeth. Chicken (or any meat we call chicken) is the only meat they eat. I discovered the loose, almost to be swallowed baby tooth while cleaning chicken out of his teeth. After extracting with a small grab of a paper towel I checked Walker's tooth only to discover that he too was about to swallow his tooth. . . So how twin are they? Look at this collage and you decide!

My Baby Lost a Tooth!

Say it isn't so!!! My baby (by 10 minutes), Walker, only 4 years old, lost his first baby tooth today and to make matters worse we can't even find it!!!

A month or so ago, the twins had their first dental appointment. . . no cavities, but they dentist was surprised that several of their baby teeth were already loose. Keep in mind they are PREEMIE twins, so effectively they would have only just been 4 in October! Needless to say, 2 days after their check up, Wyatt bounced up as Walker bounced down and bam, he almost knocked 3 of his teeth out. The top left front tooth was completely pointing to his throat. . . I took no photos of this. Our dentist checked him out a few days later and then about 2 weeks later he still had loose teeth. The dentist kindly filed down the teeth so that they didn't bump anymore and the top tooth set, but apparently the bottom one did not!

Here is my goof with his toothless grin. Initially he was lisping, but he's over it now!

'Twas The Night Before Turkey

And my turkey's are at it again! Today we were shopping for one last Christmas dress so we can get our family photos for the year (well, maybe 3 years) and in time for our Christmas cards! Mikensee is at an age where she's not a little girl, but not a junior and dresses are hard to come by! Needless to say we found ourselves in stores 2 days before Black Friday and all adorned for the holidays. The twins were mesmerized by all the darling baby apparel and were not content with the fact that these adorable Santa suits, in miniature, complete with fur collars were not sized for them! Everywhere we went and everywhere we looked there were Santa red and elf green outfits in every size, but 5T. I guess that by that size clothing manufacturers assume a maturity above this desire, but they don't know W & W. The conversation went something like this:

"Momma, I want one Merry Christmas, ho,ho, ho."

"Please Momma, please? I used manners."

"Sorry guys, those are for babies and you are big boys."

"Momma, we're not big, we're small. See?!!??"

"I'm little. Just this one, momma, it's pretty, see, Merry Christmas, momma, momma. I'm little."

"These are made for babies, guys. Sorry. . . oh! Look here! Do you like this?"

At this point I spy a clearance rack and on it are some fairly bright, Christmas looking PJ's. Wyatt and Walker are beside themselves! No 5T's, but as soon as I have one remotely close (4T) they are off to the dressing room where they strip and try on the festive apparel. Needless to say, this is what we bought! At $9 they were a quasi bargain. . . Still, I get sucked into the darndest purchases! I don't think a mommy out there could say no to these little turkeys!!!

Sometimes Life Hands You Pumpkin Seeds

So, I said to myself, what are you thinking? You went to the fair yesterday, you had card class until the wee hours of the morning, you showed houses all morning. . . why did you promise your kids you would take them to the Estrella Hills Pumpkin Festival? Because, I say, I am a glutten for punishment and I don't know when to say when! BUT. . . in this case life handed me pumpkin seeds. You see, this fair was a charity event (and although I still haven't recovered from the closing of the Duncan Family Farms Pumpkin Festival--and the doom of our family tradition--)I was happy for a poor imitation. I was even happier when I discovered that my kids all got carve a pumpkin for the price of a small donation. So, you see, pumpkins carved, happy kids, and no cleaning up pumpkin guts for me! So it's not lemonade, but I'll take the pumpkin seeds!

Can they be any cuter than this?

I guess from what I've been told, Mamma's always love their boys, but I don't know if they are this crazy in love with them. . . I just can't stand it! And yes, here are more pictures of my boys dressed in girls clothes. This time, PJ's, courtesy once again of Jessica (she's one sick puppy. LOL!!!)

A Fair Day

So maybe it was better than fair, but we were at the AZ State Fair! Our day started with lots of lines. Lines to get in (on free Homeschoolers Day), lines for free rides (the kids each earned 3 free rides for reading and writing about 3 books), lines at the petting zoo (which really had a Zebu), lines for the bathroom after waiting in the previous lines and then of course, lines for Cotton Candy! The best part of the day (aside from watching W & W eat their very first bag of cotton candy --yes they each got their own) was having 3 of the 4 of my kids picked to participate in the Mad Science Show. Of course Walker wasn't too happy about being the one who didn't get his turn, but I'm sure the ride on the very huge slide made up for it! The worst part of the day was that W & W were not tall enough to ride on almost any ride. We went on the slide and resorted going back to it for a second run only to find out that they weren't tall enough and the carny didn't care that I had proof on my camera that they had already gone before! Walker especially didn't understand and was reduced to a puddle wailing "stop saying that, mom! I am big enough! Stop saying that!!!" I was really frustrated, but sad for him too! I also have to complain (slightly) that nearly NONE of the carnies spoke English and that many of the rides were being explained in Spanish. On top of that all the signs said "DO NOT PLAY OR RIDE UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND THE RULES. IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, ASK THE ATTENDANT." Good luck with that!

This is a Tickitar

I love how children say things that you just can't help repeating (even though you know its your job to teach them the proper way to speak!) Walker and Wyatt call a guitar a tickitar. It say's "NNNN, Nanner, Nee, NNNN, Nanner, NNNN," according to Walker. I just think it is so cute! They have also always called their blankets, Monkeys and to this day we all call them that! Mikensee said B'cuter (computer), nummynums for M&M's and callepitter (caterpillar). I have some of these things written down, but I wish I'd taken the time to record every sweet detail! So for today, I'll treausre that this is a tickitar!

Our Other Favorite Set of Twins,

Sydney and Claire, turned 3 today! We had a blast at Mickey Mouse themed Bounce U party. This is part of what we gave them for their special day.


I matched the night light to fabric matching the decor in their bedroom!

K is for Kids Keeping me Krazy!

I remember what life was like without kids. . . pedicures, ladies luncheons, charity auctions, leisurely dinners out most days of the week, sleeping in on Saturday, Weekend Get-A-Ways. . . SCREECH . . . (that's the sound of all of it coming to a halt and the noise level in my house most days!!!) LOL!!! So I've been meaning to post several things for several days now, but something keeps eating all of my time! I think its called Mommy Duties. Sometimes I find myself feeling a bit dismayed by all the effort I put into my kids (and the house we built for our kids -- with all of the stuff we buy for the kids) but then I remember that without them, life wouldn't hold very much purpose for me. So here's a picture of our family on our sealing day last Wednesday just to remind you that I do really love my family and life wouldn't be in focus without them!

And here are some of the things that have been keeping me hopping:

A Leaf Bug that my kids chased around our yard for several hours.


An entire day when the twins refused to do anything but take a bath in Mommy's BIGGER bathtub. (Note the sign in the background that says "Happiness is not what happens on the outside of you, but what's inside of you." Most days I truly buy into this theory, but other days I'm not so sure!!! It took 5 towels to dry up the mess!


And yes, I was brave (and stupid) enough to take all four kids to Lowe's to pick up plants to replace the multitudes that didn't survive our dry heat. At one point I had all 4 kids pushing 4 different carts following close behind. This was in an effort to minimize the bickering over who got to push the cart. Then, all of the sudden, with no warning, I was missing 1. We all headed off, (even though I asked the other 3 to stay put) in hunt of the missing Wyatt. Lowe's is a HUGE store! (I have a similar Home Depot story!) Soon I hear squealing laughs. Walker found Wyatt and they had taken up cart races through the isles. . . I just had to snap a few pics. . . I also had to hide my laughter as I scolded Wyatt for taking off in the first place and Walker taking off to find him! I must say, though, it took a like minded twin to know just where to look!!!

Look what the TWINS dragged in

Yes, meet Copper (little orange boy) and Penny (sweet calico female).

So, I'm weak and said yes. How can you possibly say no to this?
The name thing was a big deal. . . Mikensee wanted to name the little boy Max and I just couldn't do it! A couple of our friends have sons named Max or (Maxx) and either way, it didn't work for me. I suggested Rusty and W&W loved it, but M said no. Jessica doesn't much like cats (although she is warming up to the kittens!) Mikensee thought right away that she liked Molly for the litte girl and we all thought that was cute. Anyway, M says he isn't RUST, he's orange (and you all know nothing rhymes with orange) so I suggested Ranger (Orange - O, + R) Mikensee threw a fit! (I thought I was quite clever!) The boys voted for whatever I said, so Mikensee just knew it was rigged! So, I continued. Penny is cute (copper you know) and it's too bad he isn't a girl. . . and there we were! Copper and Penny! Now, she doesn't really fit the bill, but it goes so well together! We mostly call her baby and Mikensee thinks Princess is cute, but we've already had a dog named Baby and my Mom's favorite dog was Princess (it was supposed to be Dorothy and TOTO, but that's another story!) So Copper and Penny is it! Nice of you to drop in and meet them!

They Smell Like Boys!

So many things to blog, so little time!

It just isn't right that a 4 year old little boy can be so cute in a tutu! It drives my husband crazy that his sons like to play dress-up and wear finger nail polish! I'm not a child psychologist (and I know this is my 2nd post with my boys dressed in girls clothes), but I tell him it's perfectly normal and that if the boys were older and it was my girls on the tale end, that the girls would play with Tonka Trucks and dig in the dirt all day! Now, I'm sure this, my husband wouldn't mind! I think it's horribly cute, perfectly normal and I love snapping all the pictures I can! Right now they still love me. They still want me to kiss and tickle them. They enjoy curling up in my lap and in my arms and I know that it will all change. So for now, I guess, I'll take the pink tutus and polished finger nails. The boys spend plenty of time each day in the dirt, playing boy things and keeping me on my toes. Besides. . . they still smell like boys, I promise!!!

No Poo Poo on the Froo Froo

So, who'd a thunk it? My little Walker Man could not stand that I didn't make him a notebook like his sisters' HM2 notebooks. For 2 weeks now he has not come into my scrap room without asking would I make him a notebook.

"Will you make me my notebook, please?" He'd say in his most sincere and sweet voice.

We've been very sick, as you all know. That didn't stop his pleadings. it hurt me, as I'm sure you understand, to repeteadly tell him that while I WILL make him his notebook SOMEDAY, I just couldn't do it TODAY.

So tonight, all of us feeling mostly human again, I found the energy to tackle his notebook. I finished it. I was proud. He cried and ran out of the room. He's very sensitive, this little man. So, 15 minutes of reckoning later I find out that he's upset because his doesn't have the pretty ribbons on it too. So, here is Walker and his froo froo'd up notebook! Doesn't he look happy now? I didn't think for one minute that the ribbon froo froo would be in this little dream of his! GEESH! Now I'm off to make Wyatt his, because you know Walker isn't going to rest until Wyatt has one too! This time, I won't even try to say poo poo on the froo froo! Not going there again!