Leia's Tinker-Dolls

Santa hit the jackpot when he brought Leia tinkertoys this Christmas! They are used every single day! And today after trying to make a sunshine, but running out of spokes, Leia discovered that her creation looked like a guy! SO she made a whole family of Tinker Dolls for us to play with. She made two families: ours and Shenan's. You can see Leia and Shenan in the "pool" with "flippers" and Annie and Armelle in the "pool" as well with "floaties." Leia is holding Daddy and Mamma. : )

Rediscovering Dress-Up

With the snow still outside and school cancelled, the girls came up with a wonderful inside activity that we had all but forgotten about: dress-up! This has been the main activity during this second big snow this winter. And oh how we're enjoying it! Lots of dancing bunnies, lions, angels, dogs, and other fun creatures are invading the home. Annie even did some Wii yoga as a bunny today!

The Big Snow 2010 (Day 2)

Even though there was a lot of melting going on outside today, we decided (Mamma decided?) to go sledding outside anyway. Our snow track on the road was gone, so we needed to find another place. We decided to try the pasture this time. Mamma went down first just to make sure it wasn't too fast. I stopped a lot sooner than I thought (right by the barn). Thinking it was okay, we decided to toboggan together. I was the end tube just so I could hold the rope handle (thinking I could roll off and stop everyone if it got too fast). We started down. It was too fast. I rolled off, . . . and the jump rope handle BROKE! It was a parent's worst nightmare! Somehow Brian and Leia rolled off, but Annie kept going on down. She slowed up, . . . but then she hit the fence post, went under the barbed wire fence, and right to the edge of the ravine with a small stream running underneath it. Brian scaled the fence and grabbed her. I just sat in the snow holding my little Annie who was crying and saying, "Mamma! I bumped my head!" : ( When Leia asked Daddy what was wrong, he screamed, "Your sister just hit a fence post, went under the barbed wire, and almost went over a cliff!" Such are the exploits of inexperienced sledders. : ( We are really blessed that the only injury was a black eye from the fence post. I shudder to think what could have happened. : ( Poor Annie!!!

"Mamma, will you warm me up?"

I just had to record this very precious moment that Annie and I share each day. Whenever Mamma puts Annie's pajamas on (or when Mamma puts Annie's clothes on for the day), it's the winter and they are cold, of course. The result is Annie looking at me with puppy dog eyes and asking, "Mamma, will you warm me up?" What results is the longest hug of the day. I treasure those moments, . . . and I'm NEVER the one to release the hug first. ; )

The Big Snow 2010 (Day 1)

I am still floored at how very different snow can be from time to time! This snow was fluffy for the first few inches, but then was packed down under a few inches of sleet. The result was snow that was fabulously fast for sledding (but not so good for doing anything else). Today was truly a sledding day. It was my favorite sledding ever, . . . it wasn't as deep as last time (about 5 inches), and we didn't need as steep of an incline to go fast. We slid right down our snow-covered road! Once we made a snow track, it was like a roller coaster over and over again. SO FUN!!! With our brand new blow-up snow tubes and a jump rope we made "The Family Toboggan" and we slid down the road as a family over and over again! It was so much fun! Annie, who was a little skooch today, ; ) got the best of it. I don't think she ever walked up the hill once herself, . . . we were always pulling her behind, . . . with her maxing and relaxing on the tube, sucking down sleety snow to drink. ; )

Flying Bunnies

Today Annie was on a mission to be a "Flying Bunny." She played with the dress-up clothes absolutely ALL DAY. Lots of bracelets. Lots of necklaces. Lots of clip-on earrings. And a very proud Annie! Eventually, our Valentine bobble-hearts became her "ears." She was all dolled up and hopping all around! When it came time to pick Leia Rose up from school, Annie cried because she had left her "ears"at home, . . . but finally conceded, "Okay, I guess I can still be a bunny. [Sniff, Sniff]" And we ended the bunny day by my two bunnies having their first "spa treatment" for their hands with Mamma's new early Valentine gift from Brian: a paraffin wax warmer! (LOVE IT!) No more dry/cracked winter hands for us! : )

Annie's Lip

Poor Annie. What a day it was this Wednesday when she had to have the (big) bump on the inside of her bottom lip removed. About a month ago, Dr. Reid (the girls' dentist) noticed a "mucus seal" on Annie's bottom lip. It got bigger and bigger and bigger. He said to take her to an oral surgeon if it didn't go away in a month, so we did. Meanwhile, Mamma was doing some MAJOR dentist role playing with Annie, . . . even using Orajel to numb her mouth so she could tell what it would feel like. The result: a totally relaxed Annie! (And Mamma did a really good job hiding her nervousness.) Annie was simply happy that she was promised a pony afterwards. : ) The nurses and the doctor (or the "dentist" as we told Annie) were FLOORED that Annie was so calm. Everyone came to talk with her and marvel at her blue eyes and happy demeanor. Anyway, it only took a minute or so, . . . no tears, just an "Ow. OW!" when she was given a shot of Novocaine. My instructions? Take her to get ice cream immediately (in lieu of an ice pack), . . . then to get children's Motrin, . . . then to get the pony. Well, we high-tailed it to Kilwin's (the famous ice cream shop in town). Annie requested a strawberry ice cream. BUT she literally took three licks and I noticed what I thought was a hair hanging from her top lip. Nope. It was the stitches! Suddenly the flood gates opened and Annie bled all over the ice cream shop!!! Annie, who has a mild fear of blood, absolutely freaked out. I'm afraid I did too (as I kept weighing emergency room vs. back to the doctor). I RAN with Annie all the way back to the car, got back to the doctors office, and the doctor had gone to lunch!!! The nurses worked with us to stop the bleeding, . . . and then went out to buy Annie both Motrin and FOUR PONIES with their own money!!! The doctor came back and did the whole surgery AGAIN! This time Annie cried a little bit, but she was still good. : ) Now the stitches held and we could leave. . . . and later we went back to Kilwin's with Leia and Alexis to get the free cones the owner had promised us. WHEW! Poor little Annie. Posted are before and after pictures, as well as us at Kilwin's and Annie with her ponies. : )

Leia's Cheerleading

Ever since the possibility came up, Leia Rose has been begging us to allow her to cheer for the Immaculata basketball team: the Stars. This brings back SO many memories of cheering at Saint Helens School! Here is Leia in her cheer uniform. The little ones only cheer at the girls' games, so as not to make it too long and overwhelming for them. I just love the third shot of Leia when she realized (from across the court) that we were attending her first game! Annie, however, wasn't thrilled with the prospect of basketball. The whistles and buzzers were a bit too much for her. "I will just sit here and cover my ears. And, no, I do NOT want to read a book about basketball."

Playdate with Morgan

It was so very special to finally have Leia's little friend Morgan over to our home this evening for a "dinner playdate." Yep, Morgan couldn't get enough of our bunny or the Calico Critter house. : )

Overnight at Oma's

Tonight Brian and I got to go on our first date in years! We went so see Avatar so Oma and Papa agreed to babysit the girls, . . . and we gave the girls a choice as to whether they wanted to come home afterwards or stay at Oma's house. The response was overwhelming: "STAY AT OMA'S!!!"

No Hit! No Push! No People Named ANDREW!

The drawings of children are really telling, aren't they? This is a sign that Leia has been posting near all of her games lately. Now is the time to bring up Leia's big school issue this year: Andrew. Andrew came to the class as a new student this year and Leia noticed right away that there was something severely wrong. Fighting, hitting, kicking, disrespect, violence, bathroom words, . . . and severe classroom disruption. "Mamma, Andrew made this the worst day EVER!" I was in constant contact with the teacher whose responses at least originated with extreme concern. We began (and continued) with the question "What would Jesus do?", but when Andrew began leaving red welts on my child and hitting her in the head with balls, . . . Brian and I went to the principal. Long story short, there is mainstreaming going on here. Teachers are told to ignore all behavior that isn't violent. Our response was to be honest with Leia, in terms that her little-kid mind can understand: "There is something wrong in this child's brain that makes him act differently than other children. This does not mean it is okay for YOU to act this way. The teacher is watching him closely and will punish him at the proper time (which is never in front of the class). Always, always be kind, Leia! But honey, please try to stay away from him! And if he says something horrible right to your face, why don't you say, 'God bless you, Andrew.'" Ironically, Leia had already come up with a better tactic. "Oh, Mamma, I am already doing something that works. When Andrew says something horrible, I just smile." Wow. I am SO proud of her!

Lovin' the Oven

Many parties over various days celebrating various dolls' birthdays. Here is "Both Maries' Birthday" as well as "Pink Star's Birthday"! Now the girls can make a REAL cake for these parties, . . . and they even added a REAL pinata at one! : )

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

One of my favorite things to do (and I've done it with both girls many times when they were very little, . . . and always separately as a special mamma/daughter time), is to blast Cindi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" while we dance and dance around the room! It is just SO much fun! Lots of dancing, lots of smiles, lots of laughter! And today with Annie, she really wanted to try painting her nails, so we did! Here she is showing them off (along with lipgloss, too)! : ) And we added some wildness to our game: my very special game where I rest the girls on my shins and move them up and down VERY fast and wild! : ) I realized I never got a picture of that! And we've really been enjoying one of the gifts from Grandma as not just "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" but "Learning Is Fun" too! : )

Christmas Tea

"Sit by the fire. Share a cup of Christmas Tea. We'll talk about the past, and all our family. We'll gather with the children, and see how they've grown. We'll talk about our loved ones who are gone . . . " Such an unusual Christmas song, . . . but one of my very favorites! And every year we get out one of the girls' little tea sets and drink that special Christmas tea from the recipe that, a long time ago, I received from Leia's Godmommy Natalie. I have vowed to do this, . . . just myself and the girls every single Christmas, . . . no matter what. It will still be beautiful when we graduate from the child's tea set, . . . and begin using Memaw's special one. And on this day, as on many days, I cried, . . . because I am just so conscious of having a two beautiful girls at two beautiful ages, . . . being so blessed in so many ways, . . . "and time just slips away. But the holidays are special, as we gather round the tree. Let's share this time together with a cup of Christmas tea." A special sign, the rainbow of God's number (7) on the wall as we sipped? I think so! Even though I really needed to call this "After Epiphany Tea." : )

Annie: Proud of Her Big Girl Bed

Back from Christmas vacation? That meant time to transition Annie to her big girl bed. Annie took it like a pro, . . . even with the rule of if-you-get-up-when-you're-supposed-to-be-trying-to-sleep-you-go-back-in-the-crib, . . . she only ended up back in the crib one time. That's all it took. Someone wants to truly be a big girl! No more cribs for her! And what was even sweeter was how much Leia Rose wanted to be involved in Annie's joy. : ) And we just had to take a pictutre of Annie's "I'm Proud of My Big Girl Bed" face! : )

More Family by the Fire

We all had a nice visit with Aunt Patsy and Uncle Joe, . . . who showered the girls with special gifts! Just look at how adoringly Annie is looking up at Aunt Pasty! : ) More time by the fire with good family! But THEN there was my little evil Annie, . . . who pulled a whole toilet paper roll onto the floor, . . . and then laughed about it to my face. LOL.

South Carolina State Museum Dinosaurs

Nothing excites my girls like a Dinosaur exhibit! Grandma had SUCH a good idea for us all to attend! I must say that this whole exhibit was SO well done, . . . I'm telling you, the animatronics were as good as Disney World! But, ironically, the place where the girls spent the most time was the excavation table where the girls found a dinosaur skeleton! The other really cool activity the museum had for the kids was a "create your own" life-size dinosaur! Different velcro tails, heads, spikes, plates, etc. were all poised on a wall for you to create! As for the real-looking ones, though, . . . Annie was never too sure. LOL. The other activity that the girls spent a long time with was the dinosaur puppet theater. I think ALL of us put on one or two shows! : ) They also got to touch a real dinosaur horn, . . . and Leia ended the day a dino herself (of sorts) as she protected her fries from Rush's.