July 17, 2010, at 12:08 am | The girls are upstairs sleeping soundly after a fun trip to the mall. Alli, Jim, Gabe and I took a nighttime swim and now it’s already midnight. I am exhausted and ready for bed. But what am I doing instead? Listening to the sounds of an intensely competitive ping-pong game downstairs. This isn’t just your normal ping-pong game. This is a fight-to-the-death, winner-takes-all, loser-is-a-moron match. I don’t know who’s winning, since they’re both groaning and whooping down there. I just hope the girls don’t inherit their dad’s competitive streak, or else I suspect I will be witnessing many more loud and crazy ping-pong games in my basement.
July 15, 2010, at 10:16 pm | I had the day off today from toddler-duty so I could do teen-duty instead. I left the girls with my in-laws this morning and accompanied my 14-year-old niece Alli and four of our young teenage friends to the water park at Six Flags New England. And although I never had to change a diaper or put anyone down for a nap, there were a few similarities in my daily duties. I still found myself:
1) Spinning in circles trying to keep track of quickly-moving kids
2) Watching the kids poke each other in the back and head (although this was much more fun because I didn’t feel the need to intervene to preserve anybody’s eyeballs)
3) Laughing at how much fun kids have “frolicking†in bodies of water
4) Encouraging the kids to be brave and not whine when something looked too scary
5) Rewarding the kids with ice cream
6) Listening to the kids scream (although this was actually enjoyable, given that the screaming was coming from Alli who was emitting high-pitched staccato yelps as she hurtled down various waterslides)
7) Having to put up with “The Wiggles†– they’re everywhere!
All joking aside, I had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the day. These are REALLY good kids that were a lot of fun to hang out with. I can only hope my girls grow up to be as responsible and well-behaved (at least, the boys were well-behaved if you don’t hold against them a few warning whistles from over-cautious lifeguards who clearly didn’t understand the value of horseplay!).
There are more a few more pictures I wanted to post, but they’re on Alli’s camera and I bungled the download onto my laptop, so hopefully I’ll add them here in the next day or two when I next see Alli. This is the only picture of the group that I ended up with. I guess it captures their toddler-like behavior!
July 14, 2010, at 10:06 pm | You know you’re having too much fun on the potty…
…when your sister wants in on the action at the same time!
July 13, 2010, at 10:12 pm | I may not be ready to start potty training the girls…
…but Susie thinks she’s ready, judging from the fact that she’s already bringing reading material along with her to the pot. I don’t know where she gathered that stylish headwear was also important.
July 12, 2010, at 11:50 pm | 
Becky (on left): “It sure was nice of Mom and Dad to buy us a new house so we could look pretty sitting on a fireplace hearth.â€
Susie: “I know! We look perfect here!â€
July 11, 2010, at 10:54 pm | The girls weren’t letting Pappy snooze on our couch this afternoon, but they were content to climb up and keep him company while he momentarily rested his eyes (although this pose only lasted a few seconds!)
July 10, 2010, at 9:42 pm | I always forget what an impact sugar has on these kids. Give ‘em some ice cream and their eyes light up, their words speed up, and their personalities act up. I love it!
July 9, 2010, at 9:07 pm | I know I frequently speculate about the girls’ future careers, but I have to add one more to the list: pilots. These girls LOVE planes – flying on them, looking at them, pointing them out in the sky. Perhaps their affection comes from the fact that planes go very fast and have big engines (these are Jim’s kids we’re talking about, after all!), or perhaps because they associate planes with wonderful trips to see beloved friends and family. I know I do!
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July 8, 2010, at 10:53 pm | I thought it would take a few years before I started to embarrass my children.
While I was driving in the car with the girls today, I had one of their favorite CDs playing. And like usual, I was occasionally joining in on the chorus or a particularly infectious line. “…If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands…†I don’t have a good singing voice, but I thought it would take the girls a while before they came to that realization. I thought that at least THEY, of all people, could put up with my enthusiastic, if tone deaf, crooning.
This afternoon, after I had added my vocals to a bouncy rendition of “Itsy Bitsy Spider†or something of the sort, I heard a little voice pipe up from the back seat:
“No Mommy sing.â€
I wasn’t sure what she meant, so I continued singing. Then that voice came again:
“No Mommy sing.â€
Well, even though I may be tone deaf, I’m not deaf deaf, so I took the hint and kept my mouth shut. But the song was so irresistible that I couldn’t help but keep the beat with my free hand while driving.
Then the voice again:
“No Mommy clap.â€
Next thing I know, they’re going to be critiquing my dance moves!
July 7, 2010, at 11:00 pm | It’s always nice to have a little time at the end of the day to stop and smell the flowers.
Or kiss them, whatever works.
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
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