Straws and Slippers

Oh - how we LOVE straws and slippers. We took the girls out to eat last night and they had their first smoothies. They were a BIG HIT! In fact, I think very little of the rest of the meal was eaten. It was a bit confusing for them that they didn't need to tip the cup up...still working on that. Fortunately, the thick consistency of the smoothie helped keep the liquid in the bottom so they weren't just sucking air!

The girls also have their own slippers - elephants and duckies - which Addie the shoe fanatic loves - Jasmine of course could care less!

Only 6 more days until Grandma & Grandpa Green arrive from Zimbabwe! Yeah!

Alex's parents decided that they wanted the girls to call them "Grumpy" & "Gogo". We've been practicing with pictures of them - pointing and saying "Grumpy" & "Gogo". The girls versions were "Bumpy, Bobo, Mumpy, Momo, Dumpy, Dodo..." I think they have just now got the "G" sound. On Friday, I was hurrying them along saying, "Come on - let's go" over and over again as I tried to get them in the car. Then as we backed out of the driveway, they started chanting, "Go, Go, Go!!!" So, I think they may actually be able to say "Grumpy & Gogo" just in time!

SSSSSSSSShoes!

SSSSSShooeees is the first word spoken by Addie every morning. She immediately finds the closest pair and insists that you put them on her. Yesterday I took the girls for a walk in the stroller around the neighborhood and Addie INSISTED on holding a pair of shoes the entire time. Perhaps she is like her grandpa Baker who puts his shoes on once his feet hit the floor in the morning!


Oh....she looks so innocent! Jasmine (or "Mina" as we call her) can be as sweet as ever or as naughty as ever! I've started using 1-2-3 Magic with them and when I get to three they go in their cribs for a bit. Addie usually stops at 1 where Jasmine takes me to three nearly every time! The girls have figured out how to pull each others' hair....man it happens so early!!!


Last night we sat outside and had pizza with my parents and my Uncle Norm & Aunt Sandy. Norm, my dad, and Alex are all playing in a golf tournament today. It was nice to see them and hang out for a bit. Sandy figured out that it wasn't since the 4th of July of 2007 that we'd seen each other.

Life at the rental keeps improving daily! There has been lots of painting going on the last few days. We painted over one of the green walls...just couldn't take an entirely green house! We also painted the last wallpapered room - I was very glad to see the pink & brown rose wallpaper go away. Alex and my Dad ripped out the rotting sub-floor in the master bathroom and discovered they have to entirely replace the flooring around the toilet before it can be tiled. I'm just excited to have one less carpeted bathroom. Once the master bath is finished, they'll begin on the main bathroom which also has the lovely mildewy cat pee carpet!

Happy Saturday - I'm off to eat pancakes, go to a Habitat open house (Alex's co. donated some things), walk in an Alzheimer's walk, watch the munchkins while Alex golf, and then drive out to Mt. Vernon to have dinner with friends!

Toddlers

The girls seem more and more like toddlers and less like babies everyday. This past week Jasmine has been walking around the house muttering to herself, "No, no, no." Then this weekend, she apparently felt like she was practiced up and began demonstrating her new command of the word, "No!" It is funny and occasionally helpful...I know these days are limited and I won't think it is cute for long - but for now it is just fascinating to watch her figure out the meaning of the word and how/when to use it!

We've been working on transition to one nap from two...with variable success. Jasmine is ready, Addie is not! So today Jasmine took one 2.5 hr. nap and Addie took two 45 minute naps! While Addie was taking nap #2, Jasmine and I went shopping for fall clothes at a local children's resale shop. It was SO pleasant to have just one child and I think she was equally as happy to have the one on one time!

We're pretty sure we've suspended all "house-hunting" activities until spring. Alex's parents arrive in less than two weeks and once they leave the holiday season hits...and nothing sounds less appealing than try to move amidst all of that!

Addie has developed a new obsession. I need to get a picture to really capture it. She LOVES shoes. I got out a bunch of fall clothes/shoes and Addie has insisted on having a pair of shoes on and then carrying around several pairs everywhere she goes. Sometimes she has so many shoes in her arms, that she can't walk - play with toys - hold her sippy cup, etc.! Like I said...you need to see it in a picture!


Alex watched the girls and a friend's little boy two weeks ago so I could go to a conference to get CEU's (continuing education units) for my license as a social worker. He said it was a "Easy, fun day"...I know...sickening! Not that I wanted him to feel tortured...okay maybe just a little...


Amidst the shoes, Addie also discovered her sunglasses from this summer. She refused to wear them then, but now won't remove them when we are playing inside...!


Jasmine and her long locks!

And We're Back!

Phew...it has been a crazy couple of weeks and I have MISSED having internet at home! I've missed reading all of your blogs. It was great to be able to get some updates on all of you now that I can check your sites again! (Sarah - love all the new picts & commentary on Sawyer!!)

Okay, so here's our updates!

1.) We have NEVER used so many warranties in such a short period of time. Not our luckiest month! 

Things that broke this month - 

• Roof warranty (started leaking 7 days before closing - was a nightmare - didn't realize it was under warranty until 3 days from closing)

• Electric dog fence warranty (dogs were on the loose while I tried to watch toddlers and pack our house - also insane)

• Washer warranty (Decided to ditch the 1970's washer we had and bought a newer used Kenmore. It was good that I did this, because when we moved out the old washer we discovered it had been leaking just enough to feed a big patch of mold underneath it! However, the new washer didn't spin hard enough to remove the water...but I was desperate for clean laundry....so I ignored the soggy soaked nature of the blankets and threw them in the dryer...leading to broken item #4

• Broken Dryer (Because I put several soaked blankets in the dryer, turned it on, and walked away...I apparently burned out something because it was too heavy to tumble...yeah not so smart. So my dad & Alex had to fix that one!)

AND when you're living under a high level of stress...you don't always do your clearest thinking so here are some other ...um...mistakes we made recently -

• Locked ourselves out of the house 3 times - 2 times with children sleeping inside...bummer

• Back into a pole and dented the side of the car & on a separate occasion backed into another car who was kind enough to not care because their car was already in bad shape!

• Had to get a tetanus shot because I was working on reducing the CHAOS in the garage while wearing flip flops and stepped on several nails protruding from a broken piece of furniture!

But, now life feels like it is calming down a bit...maybe it is the fact that the whole house closets included are painted green (was suppose to be tan, but there was a mix-up). I've read that they paint prisons green because it is a naturally soothing color and they believe it reduces violence...

The girls are doing great with the move. They LOVE having a flat driveway rather than our 45 degree angle driveway. They run up and down it with their various push toys and cars. The backyard is finally fenced, which has made life so much nicer with the dogs. Tinsley has dedicated herself to removing all crickets from the property.

We've now begun to eagerly anticipate the arrival of Alex's parents on October 5th - only 19 days away! We're excited for them to meet the girls and to just soak them in. We haven't seen Alex's mom since 5 weeks after the girls were born, and it has been 2 years since we've seen Alex's dad.

Ah, duty calls - the girls are awake. I promise to post some pictures of them soon!

To Do List

We are moving on Saturday....ahahahah!!! Since we close on our house on Friday, the 12th...we'll need to be moved before that so we've decided to move this coming weekend. There is SO MUCH going on all at once - it is hard to keep up and keep it all straight!

I keep remember yet another thing that needs to be done before this weekend (i.e. switch all utilities, cable, phone, etc. to the rental house), buy an oven for the rental house, pick up more boxes, reserve a U-Haul, pack boxes, schedule babysitting, get friend's to help Saturday morning, have food for friends who are helping Saturday morning...and I could go on and on!)

Plus, the rental house we are moving into will hopefully be ready just in time....! It has sat vacant for a year and was not left in the best condition. The painter hopes to finish on Thursday, the carpet cleaners come on Friday, and then we descend on Saturday!

I've attempted to buy about 10 different ovens off of craigslist - only to lose out because I couldn't get there quick enough. Today I went to a used appliance store, described what I wanted, and the guy said "Oh yeah, I had exactly that 30 minutes ago - I bought it from someone - and then 15 minutes later a lady came in and bought it from me." Seriously...my luck in the used appliance department is pretty poor!!! : ) Anyone got a "No-Cook - Straight from the Fridge" cookbook I can borrow! If all else fails, we can always get one new.

Did I mention the two delightful 17 month old little girls who still like to be fed, clothed, and given attention! They actually have been the best part of this madness. Nothing relaxes me more than stopping to play with them, cuddle them, tickle and laugh with them!

Okay - so I've giving up on U-Haul (have been on hold for the past 15 minutes)...realize after I scheduled our U-Haul reservation that I put the wrong date - grrr! Tomorrow is a new day! Goodnight.