More Christmas stuff

Hannah and Nora LOVIN' their noodles. Thank you Steph and all the girls!

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Here we are Christmas morning. I didn't take too many pictures of opening gifts because I was using the video camera but here are a few shots...me above and below with my NEW EASEL--isn't it beautiful. Kevin is motivating me into an whole new area of art for me and I am excited to get started. He also gave me money for art supplies and wrote me a song--and played/sang it to me on his guitar--that was the best gift of all! I got Kevin a telescope and will get some pictures soon of him using it.



Kevin's cheesy grin (below). He knows I hate that face but it does still make me laugh.
Hannah getting ready to open gifts, but showing off her new purple slippers that she got in her stocking the night before.

Nora doing the same and wearing her pink slippers.
Emma showing off some clothes, which she loves, from her Auntie Sharon.
Well, two out of three are happy below--there seems to be always one with 'the attitude'.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Here are the girls SO EXCITED to open their Christmas eve gift, which is their stocking. I told them they had to wait till it was dark so they watched the sunset through the windows and doors--letting me know every minute that it was getting closer and closer to being time. It was unfortunate that we let them eat some candy/chocolate that was in their stocking because the early bedtime that we were hoping for, didn't happen. They were just so excited about Christmas that they were up giggling and telling each other stories till 11. It was cute listening to them but boy were they tired the next day.

Food obsessions

So, I have food obsessions. I have been like this for many years--I get attached to a certain type of food and eat it like crazy until one day--I stop and move on to the next. My most recent ones have been watermelon, tomatoes and basil, and currently it has been lemon pepper----yes, I put it on just about everything--I eat just to be able to have lemon pepper. (I drive my husband crazy). Well, I still have an amazing love for fresh, garden tomatoes--soaked in olive oil with basil and salt. Kevin's dad surprised me with an early Christmas present---a box full of garden fresh, organic tomatoes---they were beautiful, check out picture above. Who knew that I could get fresh garden tomatoes in the middle of December (by the way, they were from NC). It was a wonderful gift, but sad to say--I ate them all---the one above was my last tomato and Kevin made me an omelet with it (see below) boy was it good. Currently my new obsession is turnips---Mmmmmm, I LOVE THEM and they taste great with lemon pepper!

Sugar, Sisters, new clothes....

So my mom had all her grand kids sleep over the other night and this is what they were doing when I went to pick them up--eating, well making, cookies...They must have been actually making the cookies at one point, because there were cookies to show for it but when I got there all I saw was eating--mouth fulls of powdered sugar, YUM!! So great being a kid, huh?
My 2 beautiful little sisters (above). I miss you already shells! I will be missing you very soon Bree. Love you guys.
All the cousins (girl cousins anyway), Ya-Ya bought them all new pj's to wear that night at her house and they loved that. Girls + new clothes= big happy grins

Girls singing

Short video of the girls singing and being goofy--not the best picture--I took it on my camera.

Twins, Toast, and lots of SLEEP!

So, they picked out the same PJ's and their hair was the same when they woke up, pretty scary. I actually couldn't tell who was who unless they were talking. Here they are singing--"Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Dayyyyyyyy.", while eating toast. Goof balls. I need to get some video footage on here so you can hear their chipmunk voices.
I have had SO much sleep. I can't tell you how many years it has been since I have felt this good in the morning. My mom, Ya-Ya, had all her grand kids over her house last night for a sleepover and to be with Auntie Bree while she is home. Kevin and I slept alone in the house for the FIRST time. It was kinda sad. Well, first we went out to eat at our favorite place--Tavern by the River's Edge, in Exeter--a great place to eat for those who are in the area. Very classy, romantic and has wonderful food. Then we rented two movies, because it was only 7:30 and we had high hopes that we would be up late. Well, I fell asleep during the first movie and didn't wake up till midnight. I went back to bed and slept in till 7:30 but I didn't get out of bed till 8....OH, it was wonderful. I slept through the night!!!!! Wow, I got up with all this energy and started cleaning. That is what I am doing currently. I need to go get the girls soon, so I had better finish.

Auntie Bree

Auntie Bree is home. My little sister (12) is home for Christmas and I love having her here. My girls love having her here too and when she is here they crowd her and all want a part of her, as you can see below. Nora is being grumpy, there always seems to be one.

Sisters home

So, my little sister and her husband Ross were here for a whole day and two half days but I got to see her for a whole day. It was so nice to spend some time with her and I miss her already. My other little sis, breanna, is home as well but she will be here till after Christmas--I didn't get to spend any real time with her yet, but I will. We decided to all get together at my brother Chris's house to spend time with shell and Ross and it was fun--the kids were crazy and it was a late night---by the time we were driving home and the girls finally fell asleep it was past midnight---we were still up for church but boy were they tired.
Here is Uncle Ross entertaining the kids and having fun himself.
H&N taking a break

Nora trying on doll clothes
My brother Chris playing the guitar...
Ashley and Michelle

Hannah loves to have her picture taken now and she says, "Cheese", for every shot.

What a good sport, huh?

Just wait till they have him wearing pink jewelry and hair bows, that will be the day.

Fish tank blues

Okay, this particular morning we were rushing to get out of the house. It was about 8:30, I had the girls all ready and dressed, coats were on--I sat them down in front of the TV with a cartoon so that they wouldn't' get into anything and I ran upstairs quickly to get myself ready. This is what I found when I came back down. H&N had the entire hood off and it was full of instruments and misc toys--when I say full, I mean full. If you got a view from the top you would be amazed. There was also a baby doll and a few other large items that I needed to remove right away for those poor fish. How can they do that so fast? Of course I was frustrated because they were soaking wet and we were ready to leave but then again that night I reminded myself that I PRAYED FOR THIS. When they were little babies in the NICU I just wanted them to be normal and to get into things and to cry and fight, I didn't want them to end up with all the possible problems that 29 weekers' have and boy did God answer my prayer, so thank you God for two curious little girls that are SO healthy!

More than 5 hours? Ahhh NO...

So, I had some pictures and I am currently still trying to get them on here and I may by the time I am finished typing but for some reason it isn't working again. So, yes it is past midnight again...some day I will get myself to bed by 10, I am determined to see it happen. Today was such a blur, I wouldn't even know where to start. I had some great time with God early this morning. I have been reading through the book of Nehemiah and I absolutely love the prayer in chapter 9--what a great reminder of how awesome, compassionate and forgiving our God is. I think I will read through that a few more times this week to really get a good look at God's wonderful grace.

Another tough morning with the girls. There was a lot of whining, and fighting. I was at b-study last night and apparently the girls gave dad a hard time and dumped a huge load of books out of their bookshelf so we started the morning with having them clean up that mess, it took quite a while. They did eventually accomplish the task, and finished their chores--(made their beds, got dressed, brushed their teeth, fed the fish, washed their faces, --of course with my help--oh for the day they do all that ALONE-- I did their hair and we even painted nails today), breakfast was late and soon after we finished Hannah had an emotional breakdown again, over something SO SMALL, but yesterday I mimicked her fussing, while she was doing it, and it worked wonders, so I thought I would try it again. I sat on the floor like her and pretended to cry just like her, the crying soon turned to rolling around and being in a tantrum like state, which I did as well---Who knew she would carry on for 45 min! I wasn't going to stop though---I wanted to stick it out and show her just how foolish she looks, but boy was I tired---how do kids do that for SO long?! Finally she stopped and it made a huge difference. We talked about how she felt with how I was acting--and how she was acting---how that made her sisters feel and how that made God feel---what God says about having self control, etc....then I made her sit in the corner for the entire time that she had that meltdown--so 45 min. For the rest of the day she controlled herself. So, not sure if that was a correct way of parenting that type of situation but I am just trying to survive here and the whining is driving me CRAZY!!!

So, after that whole episode we did our lesson for the day. We are reading Lentil, which takes place in Ohio---we are learning new vocab words, in the story he uses pennies to buy something so I took that opportunity to do some math and to learn about money and change so we practiced some counting and played a small version of store, since I was short for time. There is also a lot of music in Lentil so we have been playing with different instruments all week but today we thought we would play them in the bathtub (what Lentil does in the story to improve the tone) the girls loved that.

After that we had lunch and then Nora had an episode, Huuuugggghhhhh. Thankfully it didn't last long because she saw what happened to Hannah. and also because I didn't have much of a voice left to continue for that long.

Ahhh, got the girls in for their nap, finished the laundry, vacuumed, wrote some e-mails, had some more devotional time in the girls doorway--to make sure they were laying down, then I ran 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill, did 200 crunches, 50 push ups, started my dinner prep, emptied the dishwasher, put away the laundry, made some phone calls, took a shower, got the girls cleaned up from their nap, gave them their snacks and their drinks, we cleaned the playroom---it was a disaster, ran upstairs to finish dinner---we had dinner guests coming over at 5, prepped my room for a portacrib for our guests, cleaned up the living room---of course in the middle of all that I am putting dress up clothes on the girls, listening to stories about polar bears, cleaning up a poop in the pants accident that went everywhere, helping Emma find a home for a dead bug, making Nora clean up the crayon that she just drew all over the tile in the basement, stopping Nora from emptying out the dental floss, keeping little hands out of the fish tanks....Ahhh, dinner is ready---they eat, I eat, and run out the door to do some Christmas shopping---I get home by 9:40 and hear that Hannah had an accident (poop again) in her pants and she is asleep with it---so off to change her only to have Emma up screaming for a half hour from growing pains in her legs. Finally I get her awake enough to talk with me about it without crying...she agrees to take some meds and lets me rub her legs till she falls back asleep. I pick out the girls clothes for the next day, pack the diaper bag---we have TLC in the morning, pack Kevin's lunch for tomorrow because he has to be up by 4:15 (which usually means that I will be up as well but will hopefully be able to fall back asleep), I clean up from dinner completely, and I make it back downstairs and it is midnight--well, now it is 12:30 after writing. SO WHO CAN SAY THAT BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM IS NOT A JOB!!! I am not even tired at this point and will have to read to help myself fall asleep---well, I love to read, so that doesn't sound that bad. GOODNIGHT! (pics still not working so I will try again tomorrow)

Hmmm, was that there before?

So, Christmas ornaments are going for a swim. Well, they have been doing better---this is our small tank, the bigger tank is about ready for another picture--we have some interesting items in there currently. Thought I would get a picture of this one though. They have been doing a bit better with getting into things. Although a few nights ago , during bedtime, I went in to do final good nights to the girls and H&N were ripping books---A HUGE NO---in our house. There was a pile of paper and a handful that they were chewing on-Yuck. After dealing with that Nora tells me she put paper up her nose, sure enough when I checked , I could see it--WAY UP THERE. At first I told her---goodnight and that was the end of it but then it was really bothering her so Kevin and I spent an entire hour trying to get the paper out---every time we asked her to blow she would suck in instead, it was a long process---Why would she stick paper up her nose?! I just don't get it sometimes. No books in their beds for a very long time---and this is a punishment that will work because they really look forward to their bedtime routine for the books.

MOODS

I am amazed to see this. My girls have been so MOODY lately. Constant arguing..."I am a butterfly....NO, I am a butterfly" "I am hungry....NO, I am hungry." "Don't look at me...I'm not looking at you....Yes you are looking at me." "It is my mommy....NO, my mommy....NO my mommy." Ahhhhhhh! Wow, maybe that is why my head hurts (see my post below to understand). They have just been at each other lately---pulling hair, screaming...it has not been the best few days. That is why I am SHOCKED to see them loving each other. It didn't last very long....Hannah wanted more love and Nora was finished and that led to crying, but the moment was nice. I understand it is hard to always get along with those you are living with---I think we all need some time alone, I know I do.

ROAR!!!

Okay, I am a bit frustrated. I am desperately trying to get over 5 hours of sleep a night and I just can't do it. Okay, I haven't been desperately trying, but tonight I am. I have been feeling sick now for about a month, maybe more, and I just can't get back to my normal self. My cold is better but I am having these horrible headaches, neck aches, dizzy spells--I feel like I am tripping over everything and I have horrible brain fog but also I have been SOOO tired. Yesterday I realized how tired I was when it was about 6:30 and the girls were downstairs in the playroom with dad, and I was looking for something in the living room when I felt a bit dizzy---I put my head down on the floor and fell asleep--like that--the girls, of course, woke me up, but then my wonderful husband let me lay down for a nap around 7:30, while he put the kids to bed and I was out cold till waking up at 10:30---then again I was up for hours. So, maybe that is why I am getting these headaches and feeling this way---I am a HUGE night owl so I am easily up past midnight--drawing, reading, BLOGGING, etc...but the girls still get up a bunch at night and then I am up early with them or Kevin in the morning, SO---5 hours is usually what I get. Well, anyway....I am frustrated because I went to b-study tonight---had to do a food shop after--made it home by 10---got the food put away, got some presents wrapped, sat down to blog really quick so I can get into bed---BUT my pictures are not going through, sometimes the website does this to me---so, I sat here and wasted a good---20 min trying over and over again and now I am wasting sleep time writing this post, hmmmm.....
Well, I will try sometime tomorrow. Sorry for the boring details.

Chocolate and China

Yes, their faces are full of chocolate and they are pointing (well sort of) at China. We did China last week and had a blast. Nora calls chopsticks--fish sticks and the Yangtze river she calls--Rareee riva---but it's all good, we had fun.

I got a nice visit from Ashley and the kids....this is Indiana and below he is eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, hee hee.

This is Ariel, also eating PB&J

SNOW

FINALLY SOME SNOW! It was very nice to finally see some snow. Ahhhh, the air feels so fresh and clean when it is this cold and it was very cold today. It was in the 20's but with the wind it felt like 5. Great day to stay in and look at the cold and not actually be out in it.

The playroom

This was the playroom after the party.

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Still have a lot of work....baseboard, storage, padding for the slide, rug, etc....but at least we can get all the toys down there now....Ahhhh, so much room upstairs now.