Quote of the Day

I was telling Brooke about a long bike ride that Tom and I took when I was pregnant with her.
Erin: "Were we in your tummy too?"
"No sweetie, just Brooke."
Erin: "So we were in Dad's tummy?"

Hmmmm... about those birds and bees...

Lost: One brain...

"Brooke! We're late for t-ball! It's half over! It's your first practice! Grab your cleats, get in the car! Now!!"
Pick up Sam (who has no pants on...) Throw her in the car seat. Make an ice cold bottle. Rush out after Brooke. Run one stop sign and one (sort-of) yellow light. Maybe it was closer to bright orange, but who's keeping track? Fly up to the field, park illegally. See a boys team. Talk to some other kid's coach. Blame it on Brooke's coach. ("I don't know what happened sweetie. Her email didn't say it was cancelled for spring break..." ) Go home. Check email. Notice that practice is at six. Not 4:30.

Happy Spring!

They say, "A picture is worth a million words..." Well. Here are three million words for "Spring isn't too spring-like..."

REALLY clean laundry...

Have you ever gone about your ironing (the twice a year that it gets done...) and wondered at the new, fresher aroma of your starch? And then noticed that you were "starching" your ironing with Apple Fresh Lysol? Nice. At least it's 99.9% germ free...

2014 Olympics...

Tom, Grandma Beth, Grandpa Alby, Brooke and Erin all played hooky yesterday and went up to the ski hill. The girls had a great time. It is only Brooke's third time up to the hill and she did great! I plan on living off of her endorsement deals when she takes gold in the 2014 Winter Olympics...

Brooke on the chair lift

Erin and Grandpa Alby

Erin and Grandma Beth

Tom and Brooke - skiing buddies

Video of Brooke headed down.

Quote of the Day

To really get the proper feel for this quote, you need to inject it with just a hint of pure panic...

While climbing up the ladder of a giant slide at a bounce zone, Erin got behind me for a second...
Brooke: "Erin, No!! If mom falls, she will CRUSH you! To death!!!"

Hmm... please, Brooke, say that louder. There is one father over in the corner who isn't laughing at me...

Mom of the Year Award

I humbly accept this award for Mother of the Year. After all, not all mothers have woken up frustrated by the heavy laundry on their feet at night (also, not all mothers might pile their clean laundry on their bed until such a time as it is folded...), and kicked it off the bed. Only to realize that it was their daughter, Alix.

Leprachauns...

I realized today that I am at a great place. Brooke is old enough to be a lot of fun, but young enough that having a crazy mom is still cool. Today being St. Patrick's Day, I got her off the bus wearing shamrock glasses and the greatest green hair you've ever seen... She loved it. So did her friends. In another couple of years, I'm sure I'll be a great embarrassment, but until then, let me revel in my nerdyness...

Here is Sam in her "green day" bows. (and I yes, I do drug the twins to get that particular expression on their faces...)

Brooke
Sam with a new look...

Erin

Alix

Brooke totally gets her good looks from her mother...

see?

More birthday fun...

Here are some pictures of the twins and their birthday cakes. Oh, the joy of making two cakes every year... They started wanting their own cake last year... Thanks to mom for staying up with me while I finished the cakes and for rolling lots of little balls of fondant... That we didn't actually use... Erin is the one with the purple cake and Alix is the orange one.

Happy Birthday, Erin & Alix

Erin and Alix are four years old today! It is hard to believe that we have come this far. I can't imagine our family without these sweet, funny girls. We have been so blessed. Let's look back over the last four years...
Erin and Alix have...
made me laugh
made me cry
gone from "the babies" to "the sisters"
loved all things Dora and princess
become their own people
driven Brooke a little crazy
fallen in love with Sam
laughed together
slept together
played together
fought together
captured all our hearts

Twice as nice,
Twice as fun.
Two sisters came
in the time of one.
Twenty little fingers,
Twenty little toes.
Four sparkly eyes,
& a matching nose.
Two hearts for loving
Four cheeks to kiss
Not just one girl
But an extra Miss.
Twice as fun,
Twice as nice.
We'd do it all over-
for any price.

Happy Birthday to my favorite four year olds!

Quote of the Day

Boy are we in trouble... Erin's testing us already...

Erin- "Mom. My didn't buckle my seat belt on the way to Brookie's school."
me- "Oh really?"
Erin- "Yeah. And my didn't even die!"

Nice. Maybe next time I'll try and hit a tree or something. Just a small one...

Dance Like No One's Watching

Picture this. A sleek, black suburban drives past you on the street. It's shiny, black, tinted windows give you no clue to the occupants in the back. As you near the front of the SUV, you see a stylish woman. Great hair. Great clothes. Nicely made-up. Dancing like a mad woman! She pulls out the "sprinkler", the "wave" and the "bop your head around". As far as you can tell, she is alone in the car. Whatever floats her boat, right?
Let me now, take you inside the car... Ghost Busters is blasting from the stereo (stupid, I know, but it's the girl's favorite song. We listen to it twenty times a day...) Brooke, Erin and Alix are throwing themselves about their booster seats in an ecstasy of dancing bliss. It's the funnest thing we do. People look at you so funny. I just smile and wave. Smile and wave.