Serving up cuteness!  We started the day with my little helpers making jello (from fruit juice & gelatin) and blueberry oat muffins.  Great lessons in sharing and taking turns.  We also practiced counting, letters & letter sounds.  After the cooking we built puzzles that spelled words.  It was a learning morning.

The girls really play well and love on each other during the day.  It is great to see.

helping to hang lights

 On the way to the bus stop this morning Mira took a moment to stop and wave to Santa (sitting on our neighbor's porch with a choir surrounding him).  Her excitement and sweetness shone through.

Josh was up out of bed at 10pm tonight for some unknown reason.  I told him he needed to go to bed and that this was my time to have some private, quiet time.  He asked me, 'Then why don't you just go to sleep!'  Good question, point taken.

Evelyn was a trooper at the dr's office today.  She had to endure having her thumb checkout out after falling down two stairs and landing awkwardly on her hand/thumb.  It was swollen and hot but thankfully not broken.

Discussing the horse

Jason on the roof hanging lights

I love listening to what the kids come up with to talk to Daddy about.  Mira explains how Josh went to school but she didn't and uses all sorts of hand gestures while speaking.  Evelyn tried desperately to show Daddy her thumb but didn't understand the concept of the camera. 

Josh is super excited for the start of after school basketball but I believe it doesn't start until next week.  He is working on his American symbols for the Patriot Program and doing very well. 


Our golden nugget characteristic this week is 'Show Initiative'.  Josh was off to a good start after we discussed that it meant to do something without being asked.  This may be a good week for him!

I should make this quick.  It is the end of a long but mostly beautiful day.  The weather was almost 70 and it was refreshing to get back to our routine.  Although, Daddy leaving this morning was certainly a bummer for everyone.  We all miss him!

Mira had a fantastic day at school and came home with her school photos.  Evelyn and I ran errands and did some chores at home.  She watching Sesame Street for about 15 min while I worked and when it was time to go get Mira the response I got was, "No, I am sleeping."  Well, my dear you must be talking in your sleep then!

Mira and Evie both took naps, and I took a 30 min one myself!  When the girls woke, they watched Fineas and Ferb.  Just hearing Mira say the name of the show makes letting her watch it totally worthwhile! 

When Josh came home we went to the playground for a while.  Evelyn said, "I just need to swing," while she was in the baby swing and I asked her if she wanted to get down and play with Josh and Mira.

Mira was a member of the 'clean plate club' tonight and ate her dinner without a fuss.  Josh ate his dinner, too.  Evelyn is addicted to the goldfish I bought yesterday.

They are all in bed and sleeping soundly.  I love them!

A few days off

I am sorry for the break in posts these last few days.  We have had a wonderful run of family days and evenings starting with Thanksgiving.    Jason goes back to school tomorrow which will be a hard transition given how long he has been home.

Josh, Mira and Evelyn were SO excited to have their cousins over for Thanksgiving and then to stay the night.  It was a giggle fest at bedtime.  Evelyn slept in her bed, as usual, and Mira, Noella, Stephanie and Josh slept in Josh & Mira's room.  Mira was the first out then Stephanie and Noella.  Josh had to be moved to our room until he fell asleep and then we put him back in the other room.  On Friday the cousins stayed until after lunch and then headed home.  There were lots of sad faces when it was time to go but they all had a great time crafting, playing and running together. 

Friday afternoon we took a family nap, except Josh, and it was great to rejuvenate.  Saturday's family time consistent of raking leaves together.  Josh was a great helper, the girls were sleeping. He raked leaves, piled them into bags and occasionally jumped in the piles.  The smile on his face was the best. Today, we put up our outside Christmas lights.  Jason and I did most of the decorating even though the kids wanted to help.  It's a good thing they all have helmets because while they weren't helping they were rolling their carts down our driveway at breakneck speed and loving every moment.

The blessings these past few days have come in the common (or not so common in our household) moments when the children were all just playing nicely together at a game that we did not have to participate in.  Or, sneaking downstairs in the morning to watch cartoons and let Jason and I sleep or even plowing through a meal, eating 2-3 helpings and telling us how delicious the food was.

We finally made it to church today.  With the start of the Advent season I wanted to make a point of getting there and then returning every Sunday.  When it was time for the children to go down to Sunday School they all went willingly and without any fuss.  I don't know when the last sermon was that I sat through and could absorb without interruption.  Truly a highlight of my day.

The children are generally in good spirits when they wake up.  I love the morning snuggles when they fold into me.  I think Josh was having fun when he put up this cereal barricade to peer through at Mira.

The girls were well behaved as I drove them all over, again, running errands today.  They have an amazing ability to calm themselves when a lollipop is at stake.  I always get wonderful smiles at my Snow White and Rose Red when we are out and an inevitable, "Are they twins?"

We had tea again this afternoon when Josh came home from school.  We had to run out.  Life was truly hectic at that moment but we stopped, ate a snack and talked about the day for 15 minutes before rushing off again. It set the stage for a much more pleasant evening and Mira looked forward to it all day. 

On the way home from picking up our turkey, which the kids handled very well, Josh and Mira fell asleep in the car.  Evelyn was chattering away.  I hated to wake them but neither had dinner in their belly and normal bedtime was still an hour and a half away.

There are many things we 'got right' in our new kitchen and a place to cook with the kids' help was one of them.  We made pancakes tonight with everyone's help and then enjoyed them at our new table. Everyone ate a great dinner.  Afterwards we cleaned up and had a short dance party.  The weather was awful today and the kids needed to move! Mira's choice of music was Star Wars. Then it was up for a bit of bedroom clean up in preparation for guests on Thursday.   

Off to bed and we will do it again tomorrow!

Giving Thanks

Danielle reading to Mira

Today, Joshua had photo retakes and Mira was feasting for Thanksgiving at her school.  So, we were all busy looking our best this morning.

Before we even left for school I took a moment to catch a quick picture.  Josh was reluctant but Mira and Evelyn were happy to pose in their pretty dresses.  They really do love each other!

The Thanksgiving feast was fun and I enjoyed watching Mira sing and craft and eat.  She was great!  We had a surprise visitor when the kids babysitter, Danielle, showed up.  Once the girls saw her, she had to join in the fun.  Mira snuggled right up to Danielle and spent the rest of the party with her.

Sisters

Thanksgiving digs

The next highlight of the day came when I made tea for the kids as their afternoon snack.  We set out 'fancy' tea cups (a glass set that I have) and made tea in their own small pot.  I cut up bananas, apples and cashews to have for our food and we all sat around the table practising our manners and talking about the day.  It was really quite nice.  I would love that ritual to greet Josh every day after school but I am not ready to make promises it will happen consistently.

To end the evening, the kids helped clean up the playroom.  It was one of the tasks we decided needed to get done before Thanksgiving.  The children picked which room we would clean when.  Josh was a star and cleaning up.  I set a contest and said that whomever earned the most 'golden nuggets' while cleaning up would get a Girl Scout Cookie.  Josh loved that idea!  We had a scavenger hunt.  The first thing we hunted for was balls and we got them all tucked away then started looking for the next thing.  After everything was cleaned up they picked out several toys they were ready to pass along to other boys and girls that have less.  I was impressed with how readily Josh was able to give.  Mira was attached to everything.  I didn't even ask Evie.  Unfortunately, we only cleared enough room for our existing toys to fit in the playroom!  But, we'll do it once more before Christmas.   When even had time to play for a few minutes before heading back upstairs. They all earned cookies and Josh earned two. 

Dinner Blessings

Having Jason home is amazing.  We get through the week ok but we are a family and we are meant to all be together so having our missing piece home on the weekends just makes everything go better.  The case in point tonight was dinner.  I was working on getting dinner on the table and had made apple crisp and ice cream as dessert because it was just that kind of a day.  The kids were excited but rambunctious because they had not had enough time outside to play.  Daddy came swooping in and intervened and provided the consistency in parenting that was truly needed.  What resulted was three very well behaved children at dinner, a meal that was enjoyed by everyone and pleasant dinner conversation.  It was a blessing for sure! 

Mira thanked me for making her food and sat pleasantly for most of the time.  Josh asked to say prayers before eating and cleaned his plate and asked for more.  Evie, was up and down through dinner.  Her great behaviour came before dinner when Daddy was able to reason with her, she is probably the most reasonable person in the family at this point, and explained that unless she played quietly I wouldn't be able to make the dinner she wanted to eat.  She must have understood because she sat and played quietly from that point 'til dinner!

Earlier today I cut the kids' hair while they enjoyed X-Men the cartoon.  They all love having their hair cut so it is fun time.  After lunch I took Josh and Mira on a whirlwind of errands while Evie napped.  In the car, inspired by the farm we were driving too "Sunny Hill", we came up with names for the farm we could own.  Sunny Farm, Sunny Tree, Furry Hill and some other silly names resulted. 


At the farm, Josh and Mira clambered to the playset before spotting a little orange cat.  He was meowing for their attention.  When they got off the playset to pet the kitty two other cats joined the throng and they had fun petting and playing with all the kitties.   They didn't want to leave.  I think it had something to being around cats that were happy to be around them.

It was a beautiful fall day today and any other day like this I would have taken the kids outside to play.  Joshua was begging for it.  But, we've been making all sorts of efforts to have our kitchen remodel finished by Thanksgiving and we are so close!  Jason and I spent the day working together to tile the kitchen.  I think my favorite days of my life are those that we spending working or doing something together and today was no exception. 

The children were unexpectedly well behaved today.  They got up this morning and went downstairs to play quietly on their own.  We were able to sleep in until 7:45am!  Absolutely amazing.  Then they played nicely with each other all morning while we worked, Josh even made himself a pb&j sandwich for lunch.  Evelyn napped and we did our afternoon naptime routine.  Joshua opted to clean the living room up and then watch tv instead of laying down for a rest.  He did a fantastic job.  Mira didn't stay upstairs for her nap, she snuck down to be with Josh but they played well again.  After Evie woke up it wasn't too long before we finished things and headed to the Carpenters for pizza dinner.

After dinner at our neighbor's I brought the kids home and put them to bed.  Mira and Josh took turns brushing my hair.

It was truly refreshing today to have the children play without even asking for tv for the majority of the day.  I loved their pampering at bedtime.  It was sad to have to say no but I appreciated Josh wanting to go outside to play and that Mira wanted a snuggle buddy while watching tv.  Just about any other moment I would have said yes.  I don't usually put things off but TOMORROW we will play outside, snuggle & read; and do those things that the kids wanted to do today.

I started blogging again as a daily exercise to remember all the good and special moments that happen throughout the day.  I find sometimes that it is hard to relate just one special moment with Evie.  She is always with me and generally in good spirits.  She says the most amazing things for her little 2 year old self.  Today in the car while running errands she started a game saying, "Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe..." When she finished she would say, "Mama, It's your turn." and I would say a round.  Each time I changed the 'If he _____, let him go' and then she would copy me.  She thought my verses were SO silly :-)

She recognizes Chick-Fil-A without fail.  She saw it from the Target parking lot this morning and got very excited, "There's Chick-Fil-A!"  and "There IT is, Mama!" and "I see it, over dare!"  She wanted to go in and play on the play set but we needed to get back to Mira so she settled for a lunch of chicken nuggets and fries.  When we got home we had applesauce :-)

And if it is not too inappropriate, I have to say I just LOVE her little baby tongue.  It is little and pink and pointy and So Cute!  She had it sticking out the side of her mouth  tonight when doing something, I don't remember what.

It wasn't 'one moment' today for Josh and Mira either.  They played so well this afternoon while I was wrapping things up from work.  They were playing a pretend game building ships with the legos and using the doll house and dolls.  I don't quite remember the gist but I do remember we didn't turn the tv all day. 

Jason let me out of the house for a little 'girl's night out' to watch Breaking Dawn.  The kids took the idea we had a few days ago and did it with Jason and that was to get all ready for bed then snuggle up with Daddy and watch a movie in our bed.  I hoped they would fall asleep but that was wishful thinking.  It does sound like they had lots of good cuddle time though.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Long Hair...

The highlight of my day was definitely watching Josh, Mira and Evelyn preform the movie, "Tangled" in our living room.  Mira had a blanket draped over her head and down her back to represent her long, long hair.  Joshua was the narrator and Flynn Rider and had a cleaning stick used for a recorder as his sword.  Evelyn was Mother Gothel.  They had been playing and acting out the scenes for a while this evening when I suggested they perform for me.  They loved that idea and Josh set up the scene which included a tower for Rapunzel that doubled as the kingdom's castle. 

Josh, of course, recited exact lines from the movie.  He has an amazing memory for those kinds of things.  Evelyn terrorized the set and Mira provided songs, of her own creation.

Today, was a really great day. The girls behaved while we took the van in for a detail and they watched the movie, "Tangled" while we waited.  Mira ate a FANTASTIC dinner and told me how delicious it was.  Evelyn ran her fingers through my hair several times and remarked how much she liked my hair.  I LOVE that!  Josh had a green day at school AND received an 'Ovation' in music class for being an outstanding music citizen.  He also sang, "America" in school today for the Patriot Program tester (his buddy Kyle's mom).  I am pretty sure he did this by himself which is a remarkable feat in and of itself.  But, he is singing it at home too and does a beautiful job. 

We are reading the book, 'Tumtum and Nutmeg' and the kids are enjoying it.  Josh read another 10 min for his BookIt program so that this week he already has 55 min of reading time logged.

Mira made this for me.  She drew it on a piece of junk mail. She wrote my name in the top right corner.  My girl knows her letters!  She loves to play starfall.com and has really progressed because of that website.  Today was a raining day and when I was walking Mira into preschool, holding her sweet little hand, she said, "Isn't the rain nice?" Why, yes Mira it is.  "The rain is beautiful.  It gives us water and makes the flowers grow."  You are correct Mira.  "God made the rain." Yes, he did.  "It is so good God gave us the rain. You know, mommy, God lives in our hearts."  So bright!  Yes, Mira, God does live in our hearts. 

Josh had another green day at school.  He helped pick the movie, "Babe: A pig in the city."  It was a little dark at times but ok.  I had a good time doing homework with Josh.  He finished his work for the week tonight and then drew pictues for his teacher on the back of his schoolwork.  He even wrote sentences that if you read them phonetically the sentences make sense.  Good job parsing your words, Joshie!

Evelyn is so my little snuggle bunny.  She has been a bit under the weather, we all are.  After name, she just curled up on my lap and stayed.  I love cuddling with my baby.

November 15, 2011

Today I visited Joshie's school for Education Week.  Memaw came along, too, to observe.  His teacher is very energetic.  I was please to see him completing all the tasks she asked for and raising his hand to participate.  He sat next to his buddy, Kyle, when they read their sight words books.  He did a great job!

Mira and Evie got to spend the morning with Grandad.  They played pretend and ate jello, yum!

Mira started my day with this fabulous statement, "I just have a cold. That why my boogers aren't going in right. Girls always have colds and sometimes they don't."  Don't you just love kid logic?

When Josh got home from school he had a snack and then Alex came over and took the kids outside to play.  I worked with a friend's son on Trig homework.  Really had to dust off those brain cells!  The kids were really great tonight and when it came time for bed, they turned off the games (Josh had earned time to play Wii) and headed right upstairs to get ready.  They were all finished by the time I got up there and so we had lots of time to talk to Daddy, read "Tumtum and Nutmeg" and snuggle.  Joshua read to me 10 minutes.  He really likes the Usborne Readers where he reads the top sentence on the page and I read the bottom.

Evie on a daily basis is pleasant, eats her food and plays nicely.  She does climb a bit too much for my liking but at age two, I kind of expect it. She sang ABC's for Memaw and Grandad and continues to ask for my to sing Lullabye to her.  I love laying on her pillow at nap and night time singing to her.  She always asks, 'Mommy, sleep?' but I can't stay.  Chores and children beckon. 

I promised the kids that one night we would get ready for bed, and snuggle up on my bed to watch a movie and fall asleep.  I can't wait for that!

A little time

At the Lighthouse

Today was a beautiful day.  The weather was almost 70 and sunny.  I opened the windows and the smell and feel of the air reminded me of childhood.  I don't know why.  The kids were in pretty good moods today.  Josh and Mira got off to school and after running a few errands with Evie I decided she and I needed a little break.  We headed down to the promenade and took a short walk.  She observed the ducks and talked about not wanting to fall in the water.  We walked out onto the dock that is there and then back to the lighthouse. 

A Christmas Wish-a baseball

Josh came home on a yellow day but was honest about the reason why which I truly appreciated.  After school he rode his bike and we all played outside.  He ate a good dinner and we made Jello together.  At bedtime he read for 15 min which he pointed out was less than the 20 min he read last night.  Seems like he is hitting a groove with reading.  Tomorrow is American Education Week and I get to observe at school.  Looking forward to it!

At the Bouncy Place Saturday

Mira 'almost' didn't get a stamp at school today for cleaning up.  But she did.  We talked about the importance of doing what the teacher asks and following the rules.  It was a pretty mature converstation.  She took a nap this afternoon.  It was a good day for a nap.  After dinner and Jello making the kids were playing and I brought down my porcelain doll for them to see and hold.  They each took a turn holding her.  They read books to her and told her things.  We decided to name her Sarah Danielle Owens, after some of their favorite people. 

Tonight when it was time to call daddy each of the kids took turns singing.  Joshua sang "America", which he needs to know for school.  Mira sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and Evelyn sang "ABC's."  They did great.

All around a great day!

November 13, 2011

Tio Omar and his buddy, Josh

 The kids slept in today!  What joy!  We had pancakes this morning, always a favorite and then before lunch Tio Omar, Tia Amy, Stephanie and Noella came over for a play date. The kids played outside for hours today.  They are such great friends.

The girls pretending to be statues

Operating on the Giraffe

We put on Cars 2 for the kids to watch in the afternoon.  Josh and the adults ended up watching the majority of the movie.  The girls headed back outside to run and play and pretend some more.

Earlier in the day, Josh worked on his math game online and unlocked a new section.  He has to solve problems that may be addition or subtraction, pretty tricky!  At bed he read with Daddy for 20 min!

I stepped outside for a moment while the girls were 'operating' on Stephanie's giraffe.  Mira asked Stephanie what her giraffe's name was and Stephanie replied, 'Chocolate Chip.' Mira retorted, "He is just 'Chocolate' now, ummmm." As if the operation failed and now he were an edible giraffe? 

Evelyn had a silly game of hide and seek with Daddy and Mira this evening while Joshie and I ran errands for groceries.  Daddy and Mira hid while Evie wandered around, "Daddy...Daddy where are you? ... I wonder were he could be..."  At one point before lunch, Evelyn just curled up in my lap on the couch.  I didn't get up.  I just enjoyed her baby body all snuggled in my arms.  When it was time for me to make lunch, Evelyn snuggled into a blanket and pillow on the couch for a while.  Is she my snuggle bunny?  "No, I'm Evelyn!" she replies.

November 12, 2011

 Mira and I were up and out of the house early today to head to her friend's birthday party at the bouncy place.  We had to stop first at JoAnn's to pick up a gift.  Having the ability to just have one child to focus my attention on at a time is such a gift.  It was a joy to hold her little hand and walk into the store.  We had fun looking at all the things JoAnn's offered and picking just the right gift for Mira's friend. 

Mira had already made a card for her friend at home and even picked out a necklace she made to give to her.  Mira really does have a kind, giving spirit.

As we left JoAnn's Mira said, "Mommy, this is the best!" and I agreed whole-heartedly.

 Evie is so even tempered and laid back.  She has interesting conversations and I often wonder at the things she comes up with to say.  She rode in the stroller for our walk this afternoon, her request.  She and Joshua had a great dance session to the music from TRON 2.  They were Daddy's little helpers while I was at the birthday party with Mira.  She can sing her ABC's and does it rather well.  Mira is only just getting to be able to do this.  But, what Mira lacks in musical talent she has in droves in drawing capabilities and Jason and I admired the latest coloring she has up on our fridge.

 Josh earned himself a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut for participating in the Book It program at school.  We set aside today to take the family to Pizza Hut and just Josh got the special pizza.  We ordered a regular sized pizza for the rest of us. 

This is the view coming down the main street in our neighborhood.  The blue off in the distance is the top of the bay.  The trees are still alive with color and I've been curious as to when all of them would be loosing their leaves.  This afternoon was a nice day for a walk and after family nap I took the children out for a short walk.  Josh was itching to ride his bike so he did that after our walk and the girls dug in the dirt. I assume they were 'planting' seeds as they like to do.  I cleaned the porch and periodically had a helper to put something away or sweep.

Children hold their mother's hands for just a little while...

My special moment today was with Evelyn. We had gone into the bathroom at the community college where Mira has preschool in order to wash Evie's hands.  They were sticky from a lollipop, her favorite treat.  She stepped up on the step stool to reach the sink and I saw her and I in the reflection in the mirror.  I enclosed her little hands in mine and lathered them with soap.  In our reflection, she only came up to my waist, even standing on a stepstool.  For as big as my little Evie seems sometimes and as mature as she appears; she is still just my little 2 yr old baby girl whose hands fit completely and perfectly in my own, who needs a step stool to reach the water.

Jason spotted the bright 'star' to the right of the moon tonight.  I called Joshua back outside to see it.  And that moment of showing him Jupiter, knowing that we were looking at an entire massive planet so far away, was magical.

Mira devoured the pumpkin muffin that I made for everyone tonight.  I think it took her 4 bites.  She loves to draw and today she drew me a picture of Rapunzel.  At naptime we looked at the little polly pocket sized Disney Princesses that are online that match the ones she has.   It was fun having her point and exclaim, 'That one mommy!' She was especially excited to see the princes since right now we play that one of the more masculine looking girl dolls is actually a prince.

Mira has been my sleeping partner and my early bird getting up with me in the morning.  In fact, she stays in bed until I stir and then I hear, 'Mommy, I want to go downstaaz.  So this morning, because our character trait of the week is 'Be Thankful', I got her set up coloring pictures to finish the phrase: "I am thankful for..." Before Josh even awoke she was finished with three pages. The first two were bear and good food to eat.  Josh drew a picture of a sub and said, "I am thankful for the people on the sub who can't come home for Christmas." 


Evie slept for the first time last night without a diaper and stayed dry.  She is 2 years and 3 mos exactly, today.  She just has to do everything her big brother and sister do!


We've been sorting out clothes and today I worked on the girls clothes.  We have been so blessed with an abundance of hand me downs and gifts.  But it is to the point that even with sorting out the clothes that no longer fit and aren't in season, I couldn't shut the drawers and there was no room in the closet.  But Josh and the girls have been so great!  I am very proud of them for making decisions on clothes to keep.  We are sharing the excess with other friends and family that have little ones coming up into the sizes my kids are now.  For the girls I pared down to ten turtle necks, 10 long sleeved shirts, 10 t-shirts, 4 sleepers, 6 other pj's, 5 zip up hoodies, 10 sweaters, a BUNCH of pants, dresses, socks and undies.  Still seems like a whole lot of clothes when I write it out like that...


Joshua had a green day at school and was excited about the science lab.  He readily ate all his dinner and drew a cool picture when Staci was here babysitting tonight.  Can't wait to go out to pizza hut with him for his BookIt reward!

Mira's family portrait

November 9, 2011

Guess who was thrilled to receive a birthday gift from Grandma and Papa?  Joshie!  He LOVED getting Cars 2 and Jungle Book.  We watched Cars 2 for movie night tonight.  Joshie said he liked it better than the first one.  I often comment when the kids are good eaters.  More and more it applies to Josh, who was not a great eater when he first started eating solid foods.  But I spend a lot of time and put a lot of love into the meals that I prepare for the kids and when they eat readily and happily it is an affirmation for me that I am doing well by them.  Tonight's soup was a a hit.  Soup is something Joshua likes a lot.

Mira was having a few less than stellar moments this evening.  But she had a great rest of the day.  She was so excited to celebrate her friend, Amanda's, birthday at school with cupcakes and juice.  We did cuddle during the movie and she drew a great family picture tonight. Her hair is, of course, curly.  Evie's is straight and Josh is wearing stripes.  Mommy and Daddy are a princess and prince and they are holding hands.

Evelyn has been asserting more that she is, "Evie Joy".  I guess she wants us to settle on a name. Mira and Josh often call her "Joy Joy."  She is the toddler of many names. :-)  She was my little helper on errands today and I treated her to a cinnamon roll at Panera.  She likes to bury herself in her covers and thinks it is really funny to do so.  She really has a great sense of humor and shows it off whenever she can.

 Joshua found this book at Lowes and we took a picture to remember it for Christmas.  He loves science and has been asking for a kit to do experiments with.  Today was another green day at school.  Excellent!  He did all his homework and colored his flag tonight, ate a great dinner, sat at the table AND read for 10 min at bedtime.  He was super today!

 Evelyn had these moments today when she was a great listener.  She was the first to plop herself down when I asked all three kids to sit at the tile store.  At the post office, she sang 'Old McDonald', which was absolutely adorable.

I just love Evie's baby belly and thighs.  Even though Mira and Josh have skinnied out, Evie still has baby fat and it is great!









 This is what Mira looks like right now sleeping next to me.  She has been coming into bed more and more.  Tonight, she buttoned bear up in her pj's to keep him warm.  She ate a great dinner tonight and also had a good day, she even took a nap!  I loved watching her place her peas one at a time on her fork and then eat them.  She got lots of candy and tv time that she earned from being a helper and saying 'thank you' throughout the day.

I am sorry for the lack of photos but we had pictures taken at school and I didn't worry about taking my camera along.

Mira and Evie dressed themselves in their best Christmas dresses and headed to school today for photos.  Evie was quite the charmer and Mira was feeling shy.  I loved how the photographer posed them with arms around each other and holding hands in front.  I hope they turn out! 

Evie came out with me for a mom playdate while I had hot cocoa and a muffin with another mom.  Evie enjoyed a chocolate cupcake and was great!

At school, Mira's teacher, Miss Pam, said "I love her!" speaking of Mira.  Her teachers are just in love with her big personality, little girl voice in a peanut sized body! Just like us!

Joshua was great at the library and was so excited to pick out new books on tape, books about dragons and fantasy and a Wii game, "Lego Indiana Jones."  He sat at dinner and enjoyed his food so he earned the reward of game time after dinner which he played while I put the girls to bed.  When I came down and told him, 'Time for bed!" He came right when I called him!  It was a magically mommy moment for me.

Tonight our golden nugget characteristic was "Thankful."  We talked about what it means to be thankful, things we are thankful for and how to show we are thankful.  Joshua said he was thankful for his Wii game and Evie said food.  They said they could show they were thankful by saying "Thank You." and saying their prayers. 

Favorite Moments of the Day:

Listening to Mira sing the song from Rapunzel, "Flower gleam and glow...."

Watching Josh jump into action because he wanted to earn 3 golden nuggets and trade them for a piece of candy.  He set the table, fed the dog and filled Evie's cup with water.

Washing Evie's long blond locks and having her gaze up at me totally relaxed in the bathtub.

Enjoying the children devour their food and make fabulous comments like, "I love this dinner, mom!" AND mostly sit at the table with good manners.  Truly a special moment!  We had baked fish, steamed broccoli and homemade french fries.   They all ate a good breakfast, too - pumpkin oatmeal with buttered pecans. Yum!

A few photos from this time last year...

Our Day

I posted the photos via my phone. I hope they come through.  We were outside playing today for a bit.  They really just have to run, every day for some amount of time.  Mira made  up a game.  She pretended that she had a timer in her hand.  She punched the buttons on her timer and then we would run around a tree until her timer buzzed.  Then we went and sat in the sun. 

The kids had a fantastic time going to Memaw & Grandad's for dinner and then over to their cousin's to watch a movie.  Mira and Stephanie were curled up together on one couch.  Noella & Josh on another and Evie in a chair.  It is great that they have cousins that are their best friends, too.

Josh was a good helper today and assisted with putting switch plates back on where I painted.  He helped me move the kitchen table, which was very heavy from him.  He knows is numbers 1-10 in Spanish and can add them in Spanish and give the result in Spanish.  He loves math!

Two days without school

Today was day two of Joshua off from school.  We got up early for an adventure to Lowes before dawn to be back in time for Mr. John to lay the tile.  On the way to Lowes, Joshua being the good little environmentalist that he is said, "Wasting candy is not good for the environment."  Um...Ok?  "So we should eat it."  Ah, I see.  Joshua, you are still only going to earn one piece of candy for every three good things I catch you doing AND I bet you will be done with all your candy before it goes bad :-)

Mira had school today, which she LOVES and Mr. Mike was there from the library to read stories.  The children adore him.

Evie and Josh had a playdate in the morning while Mira was at school with our neighbors Sarah and James.  Then in the afternoon, Mira and Josh had a playdate with Annabel who came over with her mom.  They all ran and played and laughed all day.  It was a good day to be a kid today.

We had dinner at Cyndi's as usual and hung out until the kids needed to go to bed.

All three children seem to be catching on that when they are helpful and well behaved, they get what they want.  Candy is a great motivator!

 My favorite time of day is walking into my sleeping childrens' rooms and giving them kisses.  They are so peaceful and relaxed.  All that anxious, pent-up energy is gone.  Sometimes they sigh or turn their heads to me. It is just a perfect moment, every time.

The pictures I posted tonight are from Oct 6 and 8.  But I pulled them out because their were good.

This morning the children all helped in a community service project of making ornaments to send overseas and decorating goody bags.  They all participated and were well behaved.  It was a nice morning.

Joshua is learning that if he is helpful, he gets what he wants!  It is great to see him have that 'ah-ha' moment.

 Evie told me today when trying to get a piece of pumpkin pie onto her fork, 'It's tricky mom, can you help me?'

Joshua stayed at the lunch table and we had an honest to goodness discussion (about the digestive process) but it was a conversation!

Mira declared at 6:30 that she was tired and wanted to go to bed.  She willing get ready for bed and even turned her light off in her room but she did end up coming back down to play a little more before her 'real' bedtime.

There have been moments the past two days that have just made my heart feel light.  Mira, on the way to pick tile in Delaware with Jason, started singing.  It was just a Mira song but the words I could catch talked about the sunlight reflecting on the river.  That's my girl!  She asked, on that same trip, why the sun made the water on the window turn to gold.  Oh I love these moments!  She really has been a helpful well behaved little girl recently.  We've been using (as of last night at 7pm) the book "Mining for Gold in the Heart of your Child" and talking about being helpful and she has earned enough 'gold nuggets' to have 3 pieces of candy (3 nuggets each) and one tv show (5 nuggets).


Mira and Evie were both so well behaved yesterday while Jason and I were shopping for tile.  It was nice to be able to focus and they just did a great job.  Evie tonight just snuggled up on my lap when we were watching 'Gnomeo and Juliet' which is a pretty good movie.  I love that she is still my baby.

I truly enjoy spending time with Josh reading.  Over the past couple of days because of Halloween and some behavior issues we did not have time to read together.  We did it tonight though and it was really nice.  I will talk to his teacher tomorrow for parent/teacher conferences.  I look forward to hearing about his school day.  He always comes home happy and excited to have been at school.

Mira quote of the day, "Mom, a long time ago did we go on vacation with Grandma and Papa and take our toothbrushes and toothpaste?"

Second favorite moment for Mira today was in arriving at school and having all her friends calling out to her, 'Mira, come on and play with us!"  And Mira said, 'Not right now, I am busy doing sumpting.'  She was really popular!