I Hurt Snow White

A couple days ago the twins were supposed to be taking a nap up in their room.  I went up to check on them and put them back in their beds.  I open Claire's door and the first thing she says to me is "I hurt Snow White".  I said "You did???" and looked over at her wall to see that she indeed had removed the shoes and most of the bottom of the dress off of the Snow White decal that I painstakingly placed on her wall.  Sigh.

Since the weather has been nice, we've been outside the last few days.  The kids have really enjoyed running around in the backyard and Cate likes watching all the action from her little ride-on car.  I feel like this ride-on car is going to be the best $15 I have spent in awhile (purchased used from a Mom-2-Mom sale thank you very much!).  I can push her around the yard and still keep hands-free to help Matthew and Claire with whatever they are getting into.  I'm planning a small garden that I hope to start around mid-May so hopefully the twins will enjoy helping with that.

Elephants Never Forget. And Neither Do Two-Year-Olds!

Claire has really been talking a lot lately and is amazing me with how much she notices around her.  It's hard to pull a fast one on her.  She seems to remember everything!  A few weeks back I was looking for the backpack carrier that I wear Cate around in when we go out sometimes and I couldn't find it.  I was telling Claire what I was looking for and that I needed it before we could get in the car to leave.  She must have been listening because yesterday when we were in the car she says "Mama's backpack for Cate, we have to find it".  She probably was wondering what what so funny when I started laughing. 

Yesterday we put apples outside in the backyard for the deer.  We have about 10 deer that frequent our yard and the kids like to watch them.  So, I took Matthew and Claire outside yesterday so they could put some apples out.   Matthew decided to take a few bites out of his apple before leaving it for the deer and Claire was very serious about the task.  Claire kept saying: "I feedin the deer apples!"  It wasn't very warm out and we're hoping spring will come soon so that we can play outside more.

Cate now has 3 teeth!  I need to post her 8 month old info and photos, maybe I can get to that later this week.  She has also said "Dada" which is her first official word!

Very serious about feeding the deer!

 The deer won't mind a few bites out of the apple.

 Racing up the hill!

Baby Cate got to come outside for just a minute.

 Being silly in the car.

Grocery Sunday

Sunday was grocery day.  Jeremy was at work so the kids and I were going to navigate our local Meijer solo.  Here's an idea of how our morning went as we tried to get out the door:

7:00AM - I get up (everyone's still sleeping), quick shower and get dressed.  Get out the kids clothes & diapers.
7:25 - Wake up Cate
7:30 - Wake up twins
7:35 - Assemble everyone in the changing room downstairs and get everyone dressed
7:45 - Start breakfast for the twins, get them in the booster seats
7:50 - Make Cate's cereal and start feeding her.
8:00 - Everyone's done with breakfast, wipe hands, faces
8:05 - Turn on Mickey Mouse so I can make my grocery list and clean up the kitchen from breakfast
8:10 - Grab shoes, coats and hats so we can get ready for the store
8:15 - Coats on, Claire announces she has to go potty (we're not potty training yet, but I want to encourage her so I agree to let her try)
8:25 - Everyone has coats, hats and shoes on.  Now I can tell someone needs a diaper change.
8:26 - Find the culprit (Cate), change her and redress her
8:35 - Load everyone into the van, Matthew forgets blankie, has to run back in for it or suffer a meltdown
8:40 - I realize I'm not wearing any shoes, run back in to find my shoes and remember to lock the dog up
8:45 - Record time for getting out the door with all 3 solo!
8:50 - Part way to Meijer I realize I forgot all my coupons, oh well, the $10 isn't worth going back now.
9:00 - Arrive at Meijer, load all 3 kids in the stroller and find a cart.  (The Meijer carts only seat 2 kids max so we have to use the "push the stroller, pull a cart" method)
9:05 - Twins are asking for a cookie, I tell them they just had breakfast and we should wait awhile
9:10 - Matthew has dropped his blankie for the 8th time, since I'm tired of picking it up, I put it in the basket under the stroller and he proceeds to have a fit.
9:20 - We've made it through the produce, meat section and most of the aisle and have heard "You have your hands full" no less than 7 times.  I think to myself, if I hear that one more time I'm going to attack the next person that says it.
9:30 - Twins ask for a cookie again, I decide they've been good and oblidge.  Nilla Wafers.  They seem mostly satisfied. 
9:40 - Everyone's still keeping it together but I realize we are definitely on borrowed time.  Some unsuspecting person says "You've got your hands full"  I decide not to go ape on them because it would probably land me on the 10PM news and that would be the complete opposite of inconspicuous.
9:50 - We're approaching the check-stand, awesome, just a few more minutes and we've made it.  I'm pulling in to one of the open stands and out of nowhere some random lady jumps in front of my stroller and starts asking a MILLION questions.  In my head I'm screaming "Lady GET OUT OF THE WAY" but I just smile and nod.  In the meantime, another lady walks in front of us and starts using the check stand I was going for. UGH!!! In my head I'm saying "Lady, now look what you've done, of course you are oblivious to the delay you have just caused me and I don't care about how your brother's, sister-in-law's 3rd cousin once removed had a set of twins and you just never know how people handle it."  Instead, what comes out of my mouth is "ok, well, have a nice day" and try and steer around her.  Now we're waiting in line and the twins are getting restless. 
10:00 - Due to the delay caused by my new worst enemy, I'm now furiously scanning groceries as Matthew and Claire are starting to fight and Cate is now crying.  Who in their right mind would stop a lady with 3 kids just to talk?  I guess she didn't know any better.  Luckily I have most of the fruit and veggie codes memorized for the U-Scan so it goes a little quicker. 
10:10 - Bag all groceries and return to the car.  I load all the kids in first and quickly throw all the groceries and the stroller back in the van. 
10:30 - Back home, unload all the kids, get the twins some cheese and juice for a snack. 
10:35 - Feed Cate
10:45 - Unload all the groceries from the car and put them away (with some much appreciated help from the twins)
11:00 - Start laundry and proceed with the rest of our day. 

Here's a photo of how we "roll" in the grocery store taken from my iPhone.  I wanted to document our grocery experience now so I figured the 2 seconds it took to snap a photo was worth it.  I know it will get easier as they get older.  They really are patient in the grocery store and pretty well behaved (Thank you, Nilla Wafers)

Catching Up.

I've been super busy preparing for the upcoming sale that Huron Valley Parents of Multiples is hosting.  After the kids are in bed each night for the last couple weeks I've been sorting, organizing, tagging and labeling clothes and gear they've grown out of.  It's a big job but I'd like to sell some items so that I can purchase their clothes for the next season.  And if I make enough money, I have my eye on a new lens for my camera. 

So, blogging has taken a back seat to the sale project, as well as Operation: Get Cate to Sleep at Night.  Since Cate isn't a twin, I haven't been as diligent about sleep-training her as I was with her brother and sister and let's just say we'd fallen into some bad habits (I'll skip the details because I'd still like to be in the running for "Parent of the Year" - insert sarcasm ;) and the details would surely make that dream evaporate).  So anyway, it's been a few nights of sleep-training 101 and she seems to be on the straight-and-narrow.  I find it so hard to let my kids cry to sleep (as I'm sure every parent does), but I think it's best if Cate gets a better nights sleep.  In all honesty, the longest she's fussed herself to sleep is about 20 minutes and she woke up happy and refreshed.  Mission: Accomplished!

The twins continue to amaze me with their vocabulary and new skills.  Last night we put together a big puzzle that I bought (on clearance!) at Border's.  They really enjoyed fitting the pieces together and you could see they were really working at figuring it out.  I'm looking forward to when they're old enough to play some games like Hi Ho Cheerio, Candyland and Memory.  They really enjoy coloring and playing with playdoh, although those are NOT activities that I can leave them at the table to do alone because they eat the crayons and playdoh.  Sigh. 

Some other random musings:

Last night at dinner the twins could hear the train going by.  Matthew looks at me and his eyes light up.  He says "Mama, choo choo!"  He listens for a second, then puts his hand up behind his ear and says "Mama, choo choo!  Hear it?"  I can't wait to take him to Greenfield Village to check out the trains this summer! 

Cate is becoming more active.  She enjoys time in the walker now.  She likes to follow me around the kitchen and she also enjoys chasing the dog.  She can sit up very well on her own now.  She isn't crawling yet, but she is trying to scoot around to get toys. 

I took all 3 kids to the grocery store yesterday morning while Jeremy took a quick nap (he had a rough night at work Saturday).  They are very good in the store, especially for the ages they are!  I did have to give them a quick snack mid-way through to avoid a potential meltdown.  The real disaster happened at the check stand.  The regular lines were all really full so I went for the big U-Scan.  I had all but about 12 items scanned and the machine locked up.  Frozen.  The lady comes over, tries to fix it.  No luck.  Maybe she can suspend my order and move it to another station?  Nope.  I have to start all over.  Really?  Why me?  I have 3 kids and 150 dollars worth of groceries!  The kids, who have been very patient, are now getting restless.  Cate who has slept through the entire store is now awake.  I'm seriously on borrowed time at this point.  Yikes!  The lady attending to the station could tell I was becoming anxious.  She began helping me move each item from the checkstand I was at to another empty one where I could re-scan it and re-bag it.  Ugh!  She did help by giving the kids each about a half-dozen stickers which kept them mostly happy.  We managed to make it out of the store without anyone crying.

When we got home Claire and Matthew were helping put the groceries away.  Claire handed me each item out of one of the grocery bags until it was empty.  Then she inspected the bag to check for any remaining items.  Wadded the bag up.  Opened the pantry and threw the bag in the garbage.  She turns around with a big smile on her face and says "I did it!"  Jeremy was rolling on the floor!

One other random Claire story.  We were at my parents' house a couple weeks ago.  My Dad was sitting at the kitchen table working on his laptop.  Claire climbs up on the bench next to him.  Looks up at him.  Holds up a piece of paper towel and says "I pickin' nose".  I thought he was going to fall off the bench he was laughing so hard.  I think he said something back to her like "I'm not sure you want to share that!".   

Santa Claus Sleeps at the Fire Station

Back in December we took the kids to see Santa at the fire station where Jeremy works.  We've only been to visit Daddy at work one time since then and I may have blogged about it, but here's a refresher.  When we got there the kids ran out to the bay where the trucks are kept.  They were checking everything out for a bit and Claire says "Santa Claus is coming" because when we had been there previously Santa rode in on one of the fire trucks.  We couldn't believe she remembered!  Anyway, she kept saying it and one of Jeremy's co-workers spoke up and said "Santa Claus is sleeping".  To Claire this meant that he knew where Santa was and could take her to see him.  Needless to say, she stuck to Jeremy's buddy like glue and repeatedly asked him about Santa.  Too cute!!!  I told him that he was in trouble now, she was going to be his new best friend.  So fast-forward to yesterday (about 6 weeks since our last visit to the fire station), here is my conversation with Claire:
Claire: "Where's Daddy?"
Mama:  "He's at work"
Matthew looks up from playing with his truck and says: "Dada drives the fire truck"
Claire: "Daddy's at work?"
Mama: "Yep, he'll be back tomorrow morning for breakfast"
Claire: "Santa Clause sleeping at Daddy's work."
Mama: "Santa Clause lives at Daddy's work?"
Claire: "Yep, Santa Clause is at the fire station."

How does she remember that???  Clearly Santa had wayyyyy more of an impact on Claire than I had previously realized.

Happy 90th Birthday!

My Grampa Sokolnicki turned 90 a couple weeks ago and we all went down to Hamtramck for a Polish dinner.  I was a little worried that Jeremy and the kids wouldn't find anything on the menu to eat, but Jeremy found a Polish sausage dish that he really liked and much to my surprise, the restaurant had kids chicken fingers so everyone was happy.  My Mom made a chocolate cake for dessert and the restaurant played the Polish birthday song.  Everyone had a great time and the food was really good, too.  The twins are really into saying "Happy Birthday" to everyone right now, which fit right in.  Happy Birthday, Grampa!  Here's to many more!

I managed a few photos - including a rare group photo ;)

Mmmm....Goldfish.

Daddy and Cate (this is my favorite "Cate" outfit)

Cate

Claire showing Grampa his candles

Matthew's helping Grampa blow out the candles

Sarah and Matthew

Beth and Andrew with Baby Cate

Claire loves chocolate cake...

Matthew couldn't get enough.

Aunt Cheryl with Cate

Matthew & Daddy "Cheese!"

Group shot

Sweetness...

Last night when the twins were going to bed, I first followed Matthew into his bed and made sure he had all his cozy items.  His blankies, his stuffed monkey, and his small cozy blankies.  He also had Mickey Mouse in his bed, the same one that Claire has been toting around for about a week.  I said good night to him and went out to find Claire.  I put her in her room and checked on all her treasures (including Minnie Mouse) and as I was leaving her room Matthew started crying.  Usually they are really good about going to bed and don't cry, so I thought something might be wrong.  I opened his door back up and he was standing on the other side of it, tears running down his face and he holds up Mickey Mouse and tries to hand it to me.  He then starts laughing and says "Care" as I take Mickey Mouse, he turns around and runs to his bed and jumps in.  He knows Claire loves Mickey Mouse and wanted to make sure she had him to go to sleep with.  He is such a sweet little guy ;)

It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets A Whitewash....

Today was a snow day, well, almost a snow day.  Since a ton of snow fell overnight and continued to fall this AM I wasn't able to go to work on time, so the kids, Jeremy and I headed outside to clear the driveway (and play a little, too).  I grabbed my camera because this is one of the few times the kids have been out to play this winter because it's been so cold (and it's hard to get 2 2-year-olds dressed for the weather).  Matthew loved following Daddy and helping him shovel.  I tried to teach Claire how to catch snowflakes with her tongue. 

"Say Cheese!"

 Helping Daddy shovel

 The snow's too deep!

 Claire wasn't too happy at first, but she warmed up to the idea after a bit.

 Catching snowflakes!

I showed them how to make a snow angel, Matthew immediately tried to make one himself and it looked pretty good!  I was surprised he figured out what I was doing and tried it on his own ;)  We took a couple runs on the sled down the hill in the backyard and then Matthew hit meltdown mode due to the tumble he took head-first into the snow - see blog title ;).  Claire was a trooper and stayed outside to build a snowman with Daddy.  The snow didn't really pack well so they used a bucket instead of rolling the snowballs.  I thought that was pretty clever.

Claire was disappointed when she couldn't take the snowman inside.  We went in and had some hot chocolate with marshmellows and by then the plow guy came by and cleared our driveway the rest of the way so I was able to get out.  My work wasn't called off (even though the roads were terrible) so no snow day for me, but it was a fun morning none-the-less.  

*In case you're wondering where Cate was through all of this, she was inside taking her morning nap.  Luckily our baby monitor reaches a long way and I was able to keep it in my pocket ;)  

Sayings As Of Late...

Over the weekend we were out and about while Jeremy was at work.  I decided we should stop by and pay Daddy a visit so that the kids could check out the fire trucks.  Matthew was of course in heaven!  He was running to each truck, asking Jeremy to put him in the driver’s seat.  Jeremy turned the lights (minus the sirens) on and they really loved that.  As soon as we walked into the bay where the trucks are kept, Claire says “Santa Claus is coming!!!”  I explained to Jeremy and his crew (who were clearly confused) that she remembers when we were at the station back in December for the kids’ Christmas party and Santa rode in on one of the trucks.  One of the guys spoke up and said “Santa’s sleeping”.  Well, Claire took that to mean that he was Santa’s helper and he must know where Santa is and could possibly take her to see him, so she pretty much stuck to him like glue the rest of the time we were there.  She kept asking him “Where’s Santa?”  I think he was at a loss on what to tell her after that.  LOL.    

Matthew continues to ask “What’s that?” or “What’s this?”, but now he’s stepped it up a notch.  He now answers his own question.  He’ll hold up his toy fire truck and say “What’s this?” and before anyone else can answer him he nods his head and says “Oh, yeah” (like he forgot and suddenly remembers) “big fire truck”.  I wish I could get a video but as soon as I turn my phone on the video mode he clams up.

Matthew has also taken to entertaining Cate while I’m getting something done like making dinner or doing laundry.  It’s actually really helpful (and pretty funny, too).  He’ll go through all the parts of his face, pointing to each one “eye, nose, teeth”.  Cate thinks this is just hilarious and laughs right out loud at him.  I think she really enjoys when the twins play with her more than when Jeremy and I do. 

I had to laugh the other night when it was getting close to the twins’ bedtime and Claire was playing with the toy kitchen.  She was busy putting all the pots on the stove and stirring them.  Matthew came over and clearly wanted a turn.  He didn’t exactly ask or try to play with her, he just shoved her out of the way caveman-style and proceeded to rearrange all the pots.  Claire just looked over at me, clearly exasperated and said “Maffoo night night?  Maffoo night night now?”  She wanted him to go to bed so she could have the kitchen to her self ;)