Tuesday Morning.

They all have their own beds, 

but they just can't seem to stay there all night.

This is what my room looked like this morning.

Right side.

Left side.

Middle.  Good morning, Sunshine!

Awwwwww.

My cell phone camera stinks.  And of course I woke him up with the stupid shutter sound that I should have deactivated.  But aw, shucks, anyway!

Picture Parade: Siesta, Take Two

This was the scene here at ten this morning.

Paper route.

Swim practice.  

Late nights, early mornings.  

It's all taking a toll in this house.

Picture Parade: Siesta

They both got up around 6:30 this morning.  

The only thing missing is the chalk outlines.

Picture Parade: Twin Beds

Picture Parade: Snoozin'

Regina, exhausted by the very act of eating dinner.

Picture Parade: Tuckered Out

This is Noelle.  No, she's not hiding.  This is how she fell asleep after a fun afternoon of pond swimming with friends.

Picture Parade: Regina's Naptime

Regina doesn't take naptime lying down.  She protests vehemently as soon as I utter the word "crib," and once banished, will stand there hollering miserably for an interminably long time.

But once she resigns herself to the idea, she quiets down, and lately I have found her peacefully snuggled up with a crocheted afghan that was one of her baby gifts.
That and a plush Marie kitten from Aristocats.

So sweet - I am happy that she's found something to give her comfort and solace during her banishment.

Picture Parade: Feeling Mighty Blessed

This was the scene I left behind as I crept out of bed this morning.  The baby has taken up permanent residence; the twins were early morning visitors.  

Although this can make for some mighty poor sleeping, this morning as I gaze upon them I am feeling very thankful.

Love/Hate Relationship.

Regina loves Mittens.  A little TOO much.  

Mittens tolerates Regina.  Especially when she's sleeping.

Rare. Beautiful. Fleeting. Priceless.

Pooped.

This week was Fire Safety Day Camp, a free service that is a Godsend to homeschoolers like me, needing to fullfill the PA state regulation that I teach my kids fire safety.    I mean, of course I teach my kids when and how to dial 911, why NOT to play with matches, and stop, drop and roll.

But Fire Safety Day Camp?   What a tailor-made opportunity to rack up a few free school hours and beef up the portfolio! 

Except, we're not morning people.  These three days of camp are going to take a serious toll on us.  This morning we were up at 7:30 (brutal), at camp by 9:00 (arduous), and had to pay attention for 3 hours (strenuous).  And we have to do it three days in a row (unthinkable)!  After camp, it was a stop to have lunch with Daddy; forays at 1, 2, 3, 4 stores; and a visit with Grandma.  

Though there was lots of complaining from various factions throughout the day, Regina was a real trooper.  Her only problem was that she never had a chance to take that solid nap she so strongly requires.

  

Finally, after 8 hours out and about, we landed safely back in our crib.    (This is why we don't participate in many homeschool field trips.  A two-hour day camp turned into a three-hour camp, which turned into an all-day affair).  We headed straight for my room, which boasts both AC and television, and rested while we cooled off.  Now we're waiting for Regina to wake up so we can hit the pool before it closes.

Hmmm. 

We may be waiting a while.

   

 

Baby's first Robeez.  We chose brown because she's on the verge of crawling, standing and walking.  Hopefully the dirt and scuffs won't show so much.

Mom, Can I Try Out Your New Chair? Sure!

Five Minutes Later...

Just can't stop taking pictures of this kid!

Tuesday At The Pool

Before lunch

After lunch

Moments to Remember

I asked Clare (7) to keep an eye on the twins for me while I went out to the garage. When I returned a few minutes later, this is what I found...

How sweet is that?



Although they've dragged their beanbag babies around sporadically for several months, and diapered them once or twice, the twins really don't play with their dolls much.
But tonight during "story time," Natalie (pink) put her baby on her lap, showed her the book, and used the baby doll's hand to point to things in the story. They also both kissed the doll's head when she "pointed" at something in the book! Then Natalie had me wrap the baby tightly in a blanket, and "fed" her an empty bottle. By then Noelle couldn't stand it, so I had to locate the matching baby doll and do the same routine. They both cuddled their swaddled dolls, and then flopped around to get comfy before falling to sleep themselves.

I wish somebody else could have witnessed it too. I will cherish this memory - I wished with all my heart I could have had a video camera handy, but once they spy the camera, it's all over but the shouting.



And finally, this was tonight's daily dose of twinsanity... I got caught up in the dining room, teaching Clare how to draw snowflakes. This is where I found Natalie when we were done. I didn't think she could get up from that little red chair onto the countertop.

No wonder she was so quiet. And her twin was quiet, too, because Natalie was throwing down goodies.

Why does this stuff only happen when Daddy is at work?

For Christmas I was going to find shirts that read "Which One Am I?" but I think I'm going to look instead for shirts that say "Silent" and "Deadly." Or maybe "Search" & "Destroy?" "Divide/Conquer?" They may not be cutesy, but the truth hurts, man. I have observed lately that Natalie seems to be the evil mastermind, while Noelle is her minion. Natalie doesn't communicate verbally as well as Noelle, but watch out! - those wheels are turning behind those droopy bangs!

Video: Magical Moments

I know this video isn't the best quality, but it was such a sweet moment that I wanted to capture it anyway. Natalie is in pink...they are 22 1/2 months old.

I tried to bring the camera around without attracting notice, but when I moved over to avoid the glare from the window, Natalie spotted me. I tried to fake her out by pretending to look away, but it was all over but the shouting from then on. You can see when she catches sight of me, and then she can't look away. Finally I give up, because I knew she'd just get goofier and goofier.



Speaking of magical moments, this was taken yesterday... See? It DOES happen occasionally! Noelle is in the foreground.

Be It Ever So Humble Part II - the downstairs

Today I got so far as to take pictures of the downstairs...

The front door from the inside...the previous owner designed that stained glass sidelight herself. Shoe storage and coats to the right, because we have a zillion pairs of shoes on the floor at any given moment.

When you enter the angled front door you can look into both the living room (left) and the kitchen(right)

This is more of the living room, showing both mirrors and the hearth.
The other end of the living room, and the staircase to the upstairs. The piano will most likely go against the stair wall.
The front half of the kitchen...the window on the right faces Independence Street, and the left window looks out upon the yard. I have never had a kitchen with windows before!!
The rest of the kitchen. I love how many cupboards there are! Just to the left of the stove is the doorway into the dining room.


Looking into the dining room from the kitchen doorway. Behind the dining room door on the right is canned good storage, and on the left is a very deep closet. The door in the background leads up a flight of stairs to the patio.
The other half of the dining room - laundry center, bathroom door, and kitchen door.
Closeup of the bathroom door - Andy calls it the "man bathroom," so I got him this sign as an anniversary present last week. It is a pretty utilitarian room . . .
...stainless steel slop sink, toilet, door to the oil tanks, storage...
...furnace, "man" shower right next to the furnace. The furnace keeps this room toasty - I hope it will continue to do so when the weather turns cold.
Clare, hard at work on one of the electric typewriters that the previous owner left behind.
Another shot of the twins falling asleep at unlikely times and places. Noelle conked out at snacktime. They never used to do this, but our wake/nap/sleep routines are all discombobulated.



Overall it's been a great two weeks. The first week, it felt like we were on vacation in a beach house - everything so spacious and clean, and we didn't know where anything was! Now it's beginning to become familiar. I still look around in disbelief, though - I can't get it through my head that this is OUR HOME now.

The rec room bedroom construction hasn't begun yet, due to Andy's work schedule and all the cleaning that needed to be done at the old house. It still isn't empty, but the garage here is full. Doesn't that mean that we don't need anything else? We will hopefully start building the walls on Sunday.

Right now Sarah and Scott are just bunking on mattresses on the floor up there, right alongside their growing frog & toad collection. Scott bought three frogs last weekend from a pet store, found one toad the same day, and Conor caught a monster toad in our backyard last night. The toads "sing" like tree frogs or some kind of bugs. It actually sounds a little eerie, and man, are they loud!

Last week, Noelle was so upset from the move that she just walked around crying for two days, but since then we're getting into a groove and they seem more comfortable. Both twins chose this week to EACH cut ALL FOUR eye teeth at once. They just walk around, crying and drooling. To top it off, they both got pink-eye as well.

Our yard slopes down from the alley out back toward Independence Street. Theresa was riding a trike down the concrete walkway from top to bottom (in bare feet, I might add). I warned her, but she insisted that she wouldn't get hurt. Sure enough, a minute later I heard her screaming. There she was, at the bottom of the path, bloody scratches on her face and neck from crashing into the bushes. "I forgot to stop!" was all she could wail. She's okay, btw. She also tried to reach something up high today by standing on a plastic tub, which cracked under her weight. I am amazed that she wasn't impaled or punctured on the sharp plastic. Thankfully all she got was a long shallow scratch on the thigh.

Last week, Brian tried a daredevil stunt that didn't work out quite as planned. The wooded lot out back is about three feet higher than the alley. A gravel driveway is in the middle, but there's a sharp slope everywhere else. He (on a dare - thanks, Sarah) tried to jump his bike from the lot down to the alley. It probably would have worked, but he panicked in mid-flight and squeezed his brakes. Instead of landing and rolling, he landed with brakes engaged, and the bike came to a screeching halt. Brian, of course, did not. He flew over the handlebars and bruised himself up pretty good.

We were in mid-swim season when we started the move, but I had to let the coaches know this week that we can't finish. Our routines are so screwed up that nobody's getting to bed at a reasonable hour, and this week swimming practice changed to 7 a.m. That's 0700 hours! Insane! I told the coach he'd see us in the winter, but I couldn't manage right now.

Sarah and Scott both work at the Gun Club and at the International Food Court at Knoebel's, but they don't often work the same shift (ahem, wasn't that the idea when they both got hired at the same places??) so we don't see too much of them. Tonight was fun, though - a friend let them borrow an X-Box and Rock Band, and they taught me how to play. I think I missed my calling. I should have been a bassist in a rock band. 99%, baby. I rock! (Love ya, S&S)

Brian & Conor met some neighborhood kids their ages, and have even been invited to swim and use the basketball court. They were both worried about leaving all their friends behind, especially Brian, who doesn't like to stick his neck out (except during stunts, apparently). He's so shy he can't even ring a strange doorbell.

Clare is something of a priss and loves makeup, as you may have guessed. She and Theresa painted their dolls' fingernails and toenails the other day, and left long nail polish marks on the kitchen floor. I was upset about it, but I found that a light application of nail polish remover wouldn't damage the floor's finish. While I was searching the floor for polish, the babies wandered in and got hold of the polish remover bottle. Noelle, a.k.a. Miss Manual Dexterity 2008, twisted off the cap and spilled the entire bottle on herself and the floor. I heard the splash and smelled the acetone - those are the moments in life when you find a brick in your pants. You'll be glad to know that nobody was harmed, neither the twins nor the floor, although after what could have happened to the floor, I may have had a few thoughts about harming the twins!

Be It Ever So Humble... our new house from the outside

The deal was completed on Monday, June 30, 2008, and we slept there the first night!

View from the front of the house. The living room is on the left, and the kitchen is on the right as you enter the front door. Brian & Conor occupy the upper room on the right, and the left is the spare bdr, which will also be our schoolroom. The dormers at the top are part of the master bedroom.

Side view of house/yard from the front. That's a cherry tree on the left, a small dogwood in the middle, and a Chinese Chestnut on the right. We have trees. Trees!!!


The upper half of the yard, taken from the lower half, with the patio to the left and the wooded lot in the rear

The Patio (plus a bunch of junk waiting to be put away) taken from the playground area
View of the wooded lot out back, taken from the patio
The rear of the house, taken from the wooded lot. The large room above the garage is where the previous owner had a preschool. We are going to build two bedrooms into the near end, and use the far end as a rec room (with a kitchenette). Sarah and Scott will occupy the bedrooms for now.

View of the yard from the rear, taken from the patio. Hi, Clare.


There are patio stones set in the middle of the yard under a dogwood tree, where we have set up patio furniture and the chiminea. We can finally "legally" burn the chiminea!!The yard is completely fenced in, which does wonders for my peace of mind, and beautifully landscaped. I feel so lucky!! However, we are quickly learning that some of us CANNOT spend time in the yard without bug spray. The proximity to the woods is beautiful and certainly quieter, but some of us get eaten alive by bugs. Noelle and Michele in particular are sporting some monster bug bites.


This is a shot of half of the living room. Those blinds open up to the front window which can be seen just behind my van in the first picture. Along the right wall just past the television are two built-in mirrors which flank a hearth and a wood-burning stove. I had to take this one because both babies passed out in front of the tv.



Here's Noelle in front of one of the mirrors, to the left of the stove

Natalie put herself for a nap yesterday.


More photos of the inside will be coming, as soon as I get some more boxes unpacked!