Thanksgiving

One year ago, this week, I went back to work after the girls were born. Oddly, I remember that week quiet vividly.

In particular, I remember writing my dear friend– and fellow-mother-of-twins–Amanda an email message about the shock of being back at work. I searched for that email message this morning and re-read it. Here’s how it started:

November 15, 2006:

I tried to write you Monday but I started to get teary so I stopped.

Yesterday I was swamped (welcome back!)

This morning I thought of you, too. Here’s what I was thinking…

Have you ever seen that McDonald’s commercial where the lady in the minivan goes through the drive through window and orders some breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. She looks over at the passenger seat and there is her 12-year-old kid and two more in the back. The tag line is something like, “It wasn’t until Pam took her first sip of McDonald’s delicious coffee that she realized that she had three kids and was late for soccer practice.” I guess the coffee is so good that it shakes you out of the mind-numbing stupor that is your life to make you realize that your really a mother of three with motherly duties. That’s me. Except I haven’t had the coffee yet.

On Saturday night, unlike the “Saturday-nights-before-Nora-and-Tessa”, I went to to grocery store after the girls went to bed because it was going to be the only time that weekend that I could get the grocery shopping done and Chad stayed home to listen for the girls and worked on his sermon for Sunday morning. As I turned down the coffee aisle at the store, I was reminded of the terrible batch of coffee sitting in my pantry, and so I opted for something new–a Seattle’s Best something-er-another…I don’t know what it was. Over-priced, for sure, but it was coffee, it was already ground and we needed some. Badly.

So, today, this morning, I’m driving to work in the morning dark with my regular large mug of coffee. And I get to about halfway to work and it hit me.

I am so thankful for this life.

I am so thankful for Nora and Tessa and for our families who have been able to share with us the greatest joys of our lives.

I am so thankful for the laughter and the squeals and the tickle-times and the songs and the singing and the games of tag and the ring-around-the-rosy and the meals and the milk and the books and the air and the parks and the wagon-rides and the words and the hugs and the kisses and the endless endless endless love.

One year later and finally I feel like I’ve had my coffee–that I am awake to the life and the love around me. And so I give thanks.

Here’s to another year of thanks…and to good coffee.

$0.99 Worth of Fun

There are some neat toys out there.  I can see how parents get caught up in the excitement of toys for their kids.  It’s so exciting to see your own children so amazed and wrapped up in all the neat toys and games and STUFF that is available.  It’s so fun to watch the girls play and play and play.  They do some amazing stuff, too, by making up their own games, imitating us in the kitchen, and working all the flips, switches and buttons on the toys that are constantly scattered across our family room floor.

I would have to say, though, of all the toys we’ve bought for the girls, the toy that is the most fun–hands down–is the beach ball.

When the beach ball comes out…(Nora in blue, Tess in pink)

It is GAME ON, BABY!

SMACKDOWN!

We need to get some video on the intensity and hilarity of the beach ball chase.  The girls get a hold of the beach ball and they start bouncing off the walls and floor and EACH OTHER–just like balls in a pinball machine–and they laugh and laugh and laugh hysterically.  Apparently, the goal of the game is to do a total face smackdown into the ball and bounce right off the top.  There have been a few close calls, I have to admit, and the thought of padding the walls of the family room have come to mind…  But the beach ball chase is just so much fun (and such a great way to burn some energy) that we have to break it out every so often.  And it only cost $0.99.

Don’t touch my beach ball, baby…

Bright Ideas and Yogurt

On Sundays, I’m home alone with the girls from the moment they wake up until Daddy gets home from church around 1:00 or 1:30–if there’s no after-church meetings or anything.  About every other week I manage to get the girls up and ready to get to church around 10:30 for some fellowship and then to the nursery during service.  So, I feed the girls at least two meals by myself on Sundays–breakfast and lunch.  It’s no big deal.  Actually, it’s pretty easy and fun and the girls are pretty good about eating most things.  We’ve figured out what they like and don’t like and are always trying new things and just trying to take it slow.  Mealtimes are busy and it is sometimes exhausting to be fetching the milk, making the meals, warming the food, picking up everything that gets chucked to the ground, helping with spoons, making something else cause they’re still hungry and/or refused to eat what you just spent 20 minutes making, retrieving the sippy cups from the floor again, trying not to cry over spilled milk, brushing teeth after every meal, general entertainment during mealtime consisting of songs, dancing, disappearing acts, and pretending like Mommy actually gets to eat too during mealtime, etc., etc.

So, a couple of Sundays ago, we got through a good breakfast and the girls were asking for more! more! more!  So, I open the fridge and think–“Hey! How about some yummy yogurt!”  Oh…the girls were so excited.  So, I dished it up, handed them each a spoon and here’s what happened…

Tessa…

Nora…

Say Cheese, Tess!

Love you, Nora!

Tessa…

Nora…

It took me a long time to clean up.  We’re not usually this messy.  But the smiles were worth it.  We love yogurt–just not the clean-up.

Finally! A decent meal around here!

Look who is a member of the “Clean Plate Club”: Miss Norita.

We love sausage and corn chowder, peaches and carrots.  Yum.

Taken with Chad’s camera phone because we could not pass up this photo op:

God that was good!  We laughed until we cried.

No sleep for you!

Sometimes…when you only get a couple of hours of sleep…you entire world gets turned on its head.

Or, maybe we should just do some yoga and call it a Friday…

Working on less than three hours today…no apparent explanation.

Happy Halloween

Hello, everyone!  Tessa the Ladybug here…

Just gearing up for Halloween over here on Walmer Street…

Here’s Nori the Bumblebee…

 

Ahhhh!  Attack of the killer Nori-bees!

Don’t worry…I’m safe in Grammy’s arms…

We thought Trick o’ Treating was lots of fun.

We’re too tiny to get any candy, but it was fun to get out and see all the other kids and just walk around.