Lyon Air Museum

JD loves all things airplanes so after picking Kimber up from the airport we decided to check out the Lyon Air Museum. Both kids had a great time but JD particularly thought he had died and gone to heaven:

Wandering around in awe of the huge planes. The way he says airplane sounds like "Ar-bee" (only a mother could interpret it I think) and he just kept walking around saying "Ar-bee! Ar-bee! Ar-bee! Ar-bee! MORE ar-bee! MORE ar-bee!"

 

 

Getting a view from underneath

 

This kid loves Jeeps. When we went out for ice cream last night he was more interested in the Jeep in the parking lot than the ice cream. He totally knew this was a Jeep and was pretty excited.

 

Watching the planes take off

 

The Air museum was a hit with Maia too. There was this little doorway where we had a front seat view to the runway.

 

Making sure Mr Stinky isn't missing the planes

 

non-containing crib

Mainly for my mom and dad - this is how he climbs out of his crib....even with socks on now. He pretty much does the splits and then hoists himself up and over. Strong kid. :-)

My Baking Buddies

JD and Maia are getting super busy so on the weekends I try and have a bunch of activities to hold their interest. One of their newer favorites is baking. We've made a few batches of waffles together and cupcakes. Today we made banana bread - JD stirred the wet ingredients and Maia the dry, then they both took a turn with the electric mixer and then helped me push the batter into the pan with their spoons. So cute. They love eating whatever they make of course.

 

 

Perhaps this is her way of keeping her hands clean? Or she is like her mama and would rather lick the frosting off and leave the cake....

 

 

Love those big eyes

 

The chocolate chip banana bread we made tonight.....took a bath while it was baking and then smeared chocolate all over our faces and bellies of course:

10 Days

I have not had internet and have had limited phone connectivity for the past 10 days. As of tonight at 9 pm we are back on the grid. Here is my recap.

Worst part of the last 10 days - moving
Best part of the last 10 days - moving

Moving is such a huge pain (moving with two toddlers amplifies the pain) and carries so many emotions but we are very happy to be settled into our  new place a half mile from my work. My commute is awesome and Debbi even brought the kids to eat lunch with me at my office today. :-) Pictures later of the new place.

The kids got more fast food during the move than the rest of their entire lives combined.

Most painful part of the last 10 days - colds, bacterial-based cough, virus-based cough, ear infections, pink eye (all of us) and one sinus infection. CAN WE PLEASE GET A BREAK?!?!? Everyone within 100 yard radius of my family please use lots of Purell. No pictures, use your imagination. If you have ever held a 2-year-old with a cold, cough, runnynose, ear infection and pink eye at the same time (read: lots of gross bodily fluids), you know why we spent a few days doing lots of laundry. Luckily we have become good friends with the pharmacist at the CVS down the road and have doctors who have prescribed a variety of drugs for our whole family. Some even by phone without having to visit again and again and again. We are on the mend.

 

 

Most fun part of the last 10 days - a 5-day visit from my dear friend Jen. I miss you! We had a great time together and the kids loved their time with Jen. I am a pretty lucky lady to have so many friends and family that love me and give me tons of support including visits. I just wish everyone could live a lot closer!

Other visiting excitement: Getting to meet 6 members of Debbi's family in the past 10 days. No wonder she is such an awesome young woman - she has an awesome family! Even her 2 1/2 year old sister, Thalia, came to visit. JD & Maia had a great time playing with their new friend and have logged some serious beach time with all their new friends lately. I am really jealous of their beautiful tans that  make me look very very white.

Saddest part of the past 10 days: I have been "Mama" since the kids started talking and Maia has decided I am now "MOM". The more I try to get her to say Mama the more she insists on MOM. We sound like teenage girls fighting: Maia: "MOM!" Me: "Mama" Maia: "MOM!" Me: 'My name is Mama. MAMA." Maia: "MOM! MOM! MOM!" Me: "Mama. Please?" Maia with big grin on face: "M-O-MMMMMM."

 

bruises - ice cream - life

Had a sweet day with the kiddos.

 

JD has a goosebump on his head from the hardwood floor and we learned that biting the inside of your mouth during a fall can cause quite an oozy-slobbery-blood-mess.

 

I think I am forming a bruise on my forehead where I had a run in with the corner of an open cabinet in the kitchen.

 

Maia has no injuries. :-)

 

I got a lot of cuddles from JD and he dozed off in my lap in the rocking chair. Then he woke up suddenly, startled me, jumped up, and yelled "EL-MO!" waking Maia who began protesting "EL-MO" right along with him.

 

So we watched an episode of Elmo's World and then went and got ice cream cones. The car ride there was pretty much 2 toddlers chanting non-stop "ICE-cream-cone! ICE cream-cone!" Then they kept taking licks of their cones and saying "ICE! mmmmmmm"

 

Being a mom is the greatest thing I've ever done. Life doesn't make sense a lot of the time but it always feels right when I'm wearing my mama-hat and spending time with my twinners.

 

My SIL posted this on Facebook and it pretty much captured today's mood:

 

Miss Maia-Mama

Miss Maia has recently taken to being quite the incredible Mama to her twin babies. She got one doll for Christmas and another for her birthday - she will put them in her stroller, point at me and say "two babies" and then point at her stroller with a big smile on her face and say "two babies!" She does not like to go anywhere without both babies and her stroller - we take them in the car and recently she has insisted on taking them on our walks, meaning this is what we look like:

She has stamina because she has to hold the stroller there and will do so for several miles with no complaining. After we get up the hill a couple of miles I let them get out and walk, she loves pushing her stroller while I push mine:

I thought I wanted a tomboy but I am pretty captivated and head over heels for my little girly-girl. What a sweetheart.

a mother's work

I had a L-O-N-G night last night with two kids uninterested sleeping and on top of a few other things going on in life this week it made for a cranky morning....loved stumbling across this today that was encouraging, written by a mama over at Deeper Story.

"I pray big things for my sons. I pray for gentle spirits and for courage. I pray they will be men of conviction and mercy, justice and forgiveness. I pray they will grow to love the things that God loves.

And sometimes we have tender discussions about faith. We talk about God giving us new, soft hearts, especially on days when our hard hearts seem to be running the show. We talk about taking care of people who need care the most.

But most of my living with my boys is not “spiritual,” it’s physical. I am wiping snot. I am wiping rear ends. I am chopping vegetables; I am singing the praises of vegetables to the child who refuses to try new things. I am holding tools in my hands. I am tending ouchies. I am packing bags and packing snacks and packing my pockets with tissues because someone always has a cold. I am tying shoes and buckling seat belts.

And it is holy work. Yes, I said holy."