Wordless Wednesday

Cute Hats...

My Auntie just moved up to our neck of the woods last week. She's super-loving and quite creative too. A few months ago, she sent the kids hats to celebrate the Fall season. I'm looking forward to see what she has in store for us in the holidays to come!!!

Pumpkin-head Banana!!!


Strawberry Shortcake KK!!!


OKAY, she definitely didn't make this one, but it's funny nonetheless!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Tooth Fairy

Poor Tank and Banana!!! They are 6yo and are the 3rd & 4th oldest children in their Kindergarten class. They are also one of the last children to have lost any of their baby teeth. Every morning they both swear to me that their teeth are wiggling. Our pediatrician told us when they were babies that they would probably lose their teeth later than average because their first baby teeth didn't come in until later than average at 9mo. Banana's first tooth came in July 3rd, 2004, and Tank's first tooth came in July 5th, 2004...or was it the other way around??? (I'll have to check their baby books, but the dates are right.)

For their sakes, I sure hope each loses her/his first tooth before they turn 7. A friend of mine's 7yo just lost another tooth. The Tooth Fairy found this note last night: "You are not REAL, but here is the tooth anyway."

Kindergarten...

Banana & Tank started Kindergarten this year. Our county's policy is very multiple-friendly. They will typically separate multiples unless requested by the parents to keep them together. When I registered them back in May, I requested that they be placed in the same class. I was very surprised when the official doing their paperwork balked at my request. I finally had to say, "Listen to me, I'm the mom, and here is how it's going to go." A week later I had the opportunity to speak with the principal. He was bothered I was given a hard time, and mentioned that keeping multiples in the classroom at the younger grades was more the norm at our school, as long as each child thrives and as long as they are not competing with each other.

So...Banana & Tank started Kindergarten this year placed in the same class. Here they are on the first day of school.

...waiting for the bus.

They never looked back...


Oh, how I cried that morning after they left!!! Where did my babies go?

The just LOVE Kindergarten, and they are EXCITED about school even now in November. I hear it each morning when they ask me how much longer will the bus be here at least 20 times. (They are in PM Kindergarten...the bus picks them up at 11:20a.) They are THRIVING. I see it by how much they are learning and reading. While in the same class, they are on different teams. They support each other when needed. Yes, they fight often like siblings do at home, but never at school. The feedback I've received from their teachers at their parent-teacher conference was amazing. I wasn't so sure they were talking about my children.

Yesterday, the kids brought home their very first report cards. I see it there as well; they exceed or meet every standard evaluated as of 1st quarter, Kindergarten.

I also see it upfront when I volunteer in the classroom. Today was my second time volunteering. The first time I met each student one-on-one outside the classroom testing them on patterns and coin recognition. Today, I worked inside the classroom putting workbooks together for the teachers. I got to sit there doing mundane, but important, work for the kids all while observing my children interact with their classmates. They forgot I was there after 5 minutes (...until I interrupted them to take their pictures).



Volunteering is awesome!!! I can't wait to get back there again. Much thanks to my sister for watching my little Monkey so I can get this special class time.

Spotlight on Banana

Tonight we are going to a pizza party at a local restaurant to celebrate Banana and her Super Stars soccer teammates. They had a good season, and it was great to see how much Banana improved and how much she loves playing! This is Banana's fifth season playing, and it's been her BREAKOUT season. She always has the love and support of her family & friends cheering her on, but she finally got a coach that she totally clicked with.

Congrats Super Stars!!! We're looking forward to the celebration tonight and to your final game on Saturday.

Happy Birthday to my Best Sister!!!

Happy Birthday, baby sister...now we're only 4 years apart!!! :)

I am blessed and fortunate that my sister is also one of my closest friends. She's always there for me, at the lowest of lows and all they joys as well. We are blessed that our children are close cousins and friends.

This is CoCo with my Banana, her goddaughter!

Enjoying the beach...and a sandy self-portrait...

Wow, it's hard to believe it's only been a month since I posted here...It honestly feels much longer than that. Well, we've been at the beach for 3 weeks now, and the kids are certifiably beach bums. Do you think they are excited about hitting the surf?



Banana quickly drew a picture yesterday in a race against the surf. I managed to run to our blanket, grab the camera and snap a couple of pictures before the surf won.



I asked Banana if that was a self-portrait. She said, "No, Mama! That's me!!!" I, of course, busted out laughing. Can you see her dress has polka dots?

Kids Workshops at Home Depot

We recently discovered that all of the Home Depots host Kids Workshops the first Saturday of the month. Mr. O and I took the kids there for the June workshop. The kids each received their own Home Depot smock as well as a pin depicting their workshop project. This month the project was a tool organizing kit for Dad for Father's Day. The kids get to keep the smock, and every time they go back for workshops, they add a pin to their smocks.

At first, Tank thought he should put his kit together with wood glue...that didn't work out so well. He looks cute though, huh?

Here's Banana showing off her decorated kit...

KK was happy observing and letting Daddy do all work (as you can see in the picture of Tank above)...

We were the neophytes there...It was great to be welcomed by families who have been do this with their children for a few years already. One little boy had almost 30 pins on his smock...impressive!!! Here's a closeup of the pin each of the kids received upon completion of their projects...
Upcoming projects for the kids are picnic caddies (July) and a message board (August). We'll be at the beach then, but if the weather is crappy, we are sure going to find a local Home Depot to pass some time by constructively.

P.S. I've since learned that Lowe's also hosts Build and Grow Clinics for kids every other Saturdya. You do need to reserve a spot though.

Best Family Pets...

When I was growing up, we didn't have any pets. If any one of us (siblings) asked for one, my dad would say, "Here, pet your dog/cat/hamster Ghost," and he would pretend to pat a ghost pet. You can imagine my surprise when my folks finally brought a loving brown lab into the family once most of the children (4 of 5) graduated from high school and college. When Hokie graced our presence, the baby of our family was 9yo. Hokie was Baby Brother's dog from the beginning, but very quickly, became everyone's pet.

When I was pregnant with Banana and Tank, I was on bedrest for 19w. Most of the last 5w of my pregnancy was spent at my parents' home "in case" I was to go into labor while Mr. O was at work. I know Hokie sensed how carefully everyone treaded around me. And, once he finally saw me on my feet and pacing with two mewling or howling infants, he pretty much stayed out of the way. However, if any of the babies' caretakers (trust me, there were many between me, Mr. O, Mim, Pop, CoCo and whoever was in the house) walked more than 10 feet away, he would sidle up and stand guard. Here's a picture of Hokie in his last days guarding Tank in late 2003/early 2004.


In Spring 2004, my sis and the Toad bought a home close by to ours. They had and still have a beautiful Bighon Frise named Bailey. Since I was home taking care of the twinkers, my sister dropped Bailey off each morning and either she or the Toad would pick him up at the end of the day. What a great arrangement...my family got to experience having a pet without all the expenses of "having" a pet. Here's a picture of Bailey checking out Banana...
Now, let's talk about the pets in my own household. I saw no reason for us to get any because we have pets in the family that we can adopt for a day or two, or even a week. We'll take them longer if we have to...but, shhh!

So, what's(re) the perfect pet(s) for young children? I think we found them!!! Banana & Tank are 5.5 and KK is 4. Just last month their Mim (my Mom) bought them their first fish tank. :)

All you have to feed these fish are 2 drops of dish soap in "clean" water. ;) Here's what happens if you don't refresh the water and feed the fish regularly. Instead of just floating, they sink to the bottom. That's my first clue that I need to clean out the "tank."

So, I clean out the tank. Instead of flushing the fish down the toilet, I wash them. :) I plop them back into the tank with 2 drops of Palmolive, and all is right in the world again!

Banana's First Boyfriend

Of course, Banana's first boyfriend is her daddy.

A few nights ago, Aunt C asked Banana if Daddy was still her boyfriend...

Banana: Yes, I love him.

Aunt C: Are you going to marry him?

Banana: No, Silly!!! It's ACROSS the law.

Me: LMAO

Also, at least right now, Banana's twin Tank still wants to marry me!!!

White House Egg Roll

The White House Easter Egg Roll is an annual family event to race Easter Eggs on the South Lawn while enjoying storytelling and a visit with the Easter Bunny. This holiday tradition has a long history dating back to 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling on Easter Monday. Successive Presidents have continued the tradition of inviting children to the White House Lawn for egg rolling and other activities and entertainment. This year our family was very fortunate to participate in the Egg Roll.

Our tickets had a timed entrance/exit period of 1:15p-3:15p. You had to be at the staging area an hour prior to your entrance. The plan was for me to drive the kids to Mr. O's office where we would park the car (He works 5 minutes from the White House). It was noon when we had parked the car and headed to the staging area. Mr. O asked if I had the tickets.

Me: NOPE, I thought you had them. I started laughing, because the situation was incredulous.

Mr. O: C'mon, stop joking. Do you have them or not?

M: Really, Mr. O...I really don't have them.

The kids were about to cry when they realized we couldn't get in without the tickets. I told Mr. O to take them to lunch, and I would drive 32 miles home to get the tickets.

I got back to his office at 1:20. We got to the ellipse at 1:30, and I was feeling doubtful that we would be admitted since our group staging area was empty. Fortunately, though, we caught the end of our group and just barely made it through.

The South Lawn was crazily packed with people. It was neat to be so close to the President's home though.





I especially enjoyed watching our children participate in their first Egg Roll Race. Each race had 12 participants...Not that anyone was counting, but Tank came in first, Banana finished in the middle, and KK brought up the rear. :)



Fun was had by all!!! I'd like to attend the Easter Egg Roll again with my family, but I would wait until they were a few years older. Many of the events were geared for young children. It was just too crowded, and I was afraid we'd lose one or more of the kids.

Desserts

We all love desserts...I especially love all the desserts that come around holiday times.

Just before Christmas, a good friend gave me an extra gingerbread house kit she had. I thought I'd have the opportunity to build and decorate it with my kids before Christmas. With all the craziness in the days before then, we never got around to it. I felt so bad that we didn't use it...I even told her. Her reaction: no big deal, just get some Valentine's candies and make a Valentine home. We never got to do that either. As Irish as I am, I was sure that we'd make a refuge for all the leprechauns in March. Surprise, that didn't happen!!!

The kids were off the week before Easter. On our first "official" day of vacation, we built a "bunny" house instead. We used pastel M&Ms, jelly beans and Easter cake decorations. Next Fall, I think I'm going to buy 2-3 of the gingerbread house kits. You can use them for any holiday.



On Easter Sunday, our close friends, who own and operate a bakery just South of Baltimore provided many goodies for all that came to our family feast. My sister provided the centerpiece.

Here's the centerpiece...



And, here are all the scrumptious desserts from Touche Touchet!!!













And, here are our good friends with our eldest by one minute, Banana!!!

Simple Breakfast

My kids have always been big breakfast eaters; Me, not so much! When Tank asked me to make pancakes today, I was happy to join in. I just couldn't resist a pancake with fresh raspberries and blueberries...it was so yummy!!!









P.S. Did you notice the girls are wearing their princess dresses? The first thing they do every morning is shed their PJs for their costumes.

Caricatures...

This was taken at Disney World in January. I don't think this artist quite captured them, especially the girls. They still look cute, however!



Please tell me...does my youngest remind you of anyone?

Summer Loving!!!

I'm patiently waiting for Spring to arrive. I'm tired of seeing the bare trees and brown grasses. I'm looking forward to scooting around on our Razors and teaching the kids to ride bicycles. The twins and KK got their first bikes with training wheels back in October. Unfortunately, we have not had much riding time.

On this cold blah day in February, I received some much welcomed mail, so much so that I want to wish Spring away (not really, but close). It was our lease agreement for a beach home in the Hamptons this Summer. I wish we could stay the whole Summer, but I'm thrilled that we are staying a little longer than normal.

I grew up in NYC and from the time I was 10yo, my family spent the whole Summer in the Hamptons. We even made the 1.5 hour trip every weekend throughout the school year. That was actually a drag when I was in high school. My parents still have their place there, but unfortunately our family of 5 has outgrown it. We've been fortunate, though, to find reasonable rentals within 5 miles of their home.

So, this is what I'm looking forward to!!!

So Sleepy...

Happy belated Valentine's!!! I hope everyone got struck hard by Cupid.

Never again will I brag about looking forward to sleeping in!!! I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I wrote that post on Wednesday. First, Tank got sick. He was better by Friday when KK started with the high fevers and vomiting. Then, yesterday afternoon Banana started feeling hot. Great...just great!!!

Power Rangers...

One of the highlights for Tank on our recent trip to Disneyworld was meeting the Power Rangers at Hollywood Studios.











Whenever I take his picture nowadays, he always assumes a Power Ranger stance.





His sisters are even getting in the act...