Mother's Day - [A post that was never posted]

Written on Mother's Day weekend 2013, but accidentally saved as a draft post and never published on the blog

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 Husband isn't feeling well, so the girls and I went out shopping this morning, met grandma for lunch, and more shopping this afternoon.

At one point, Megan started to cry that she really wanted to go to Dillon's -- because she wanted to buy me flowers for Mother's day there -- but it was a surprise. Could they do it themselves and would I not look?

It was quite entertaining to people watching us as I let them pick out a bouquet of flowers while "not looking" (even though i had to help them get it out of the holder -- "Dont look, mommy!").

And then had to help them put it back and get a different one "Close your eyes, mommy!"

They finally they settled on some light pink roses (which happen to be my favorite, but they didn't know that -- just that pink was my favorite color).

More grins and giggles by the people in line with me and the cashier as they would squeal, "DONT LOOK, MOMMY!" while we paid for them.
 

The sheer joy on their faces when we were at home and they finally "let me see them" was priceless.
Love them!

Thanksgiving Heart-Warmer

The girls are 5 now.  They're in preschool and I am continuously amazed at the things they come up with these days!

Sometimes they bring the most creative things home from school.

And sometimes, they bring home things like this.

I apologize in advance for the pictures that will make it difficult to read.
This was one of those preschool projects where they make a Turkey out of a handprint.
Then they had a paper and they asked the kids to draw a picture of something they were thankful for, and one of the teachers would write it what they said to complete the phrase, "I am thankful for __________."

Now I realize that at 5 years old there may be coaching or prompting, but I'm choosing to ignore that possibility and just enjoy the sentiment.

Megan made this:

 Megan's handprint-Turkey, "GIVE THANKS"

 Megan's picture of her and Kayla "I AM THANKFUL FOR ____KAYLA______"

Doesn't that just melt your heart?
Well, maybe it's a mommy thing.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail....

I told the girls I was going to make a salad to go with dinner and that they could help.
We planned to go to the store to pick up the ingredients that afternoon.

I was planning to make mom's Calico Salad -- a green bean/corn/pea salad.

Kayla: What kind of salad are we going to make?
Me:  A Calico Salad.
Kayla:  Can we put fruit in it?
Me: You want to make fruit salad?
Megan:  Yes!
Me: Okay, we'll make that, too.

We sometimes make our own combination of fruits to make our own kind of fruit cocktail.


So we went to the store, picked up what we needed for both salads.
We made the both and put them in the fridge until dinner.

The girls said they wanted to surprise Grandma with the fruit salad.

Grandma came over for dinner, and the Megan was excited to tell her about it.

Megan:  and we made cottontail salad!

Name That Tiger

Mike Vogts posted on FaceBook:

 

I sometimes play "The Adjective Game" with the girls.

Kayla: Daddy you're funny.
Me: You're super funny.
Kayla: No you're super funny.
Me: You're exceptionally funny.
Kayla: No you're exceptionally funny.
Me: You're surprisingly funny.
Kayla: No you're surprisingly funny.
Me: (searching for another word)...You're staggeringly funny.
Kayla: No you're staggering funny.
Me: Staggeringly.
Kayla: Staggeringly would be a good name for a tiger.
Me:....Yeah, I think it would be.

Affirmative!

Loki, the dog, was nosing at/licking something under my chair.
Me: Is there something under my chair?
Megan: no
Me: What's Loki licking?
Megan: I don't know what it's called.
Me: Can you get it?
Kayla: I can!

(Kayla picks up a paper.)

Kayla: It's a piece of paper!
Me: Loki was licking a piece of paper?
Megan: Affirmative!

Mornings

Our work schedules necessitate getting the girls up around 6-6:20am, which is about an hour earlier than their natural wake-up time. And it shows to, as getting them going is always somewhat of a chore. We learned early on that simply turning on the lights and telling them to "get up" wasn't sufficient, so most mornings the "Scoop" is performed, which is essentially just picking up each girl and holding them for a bit while they stumble into consciousness. It works to varying degrees, but there is usually drama of some kind, particularly from Megan, who in the evenings fights sleep like a Viking warrior. There are always grumbles, and sometimes even tears, during the process, but of course once they're away for a bit and get a little breakfast they perk right up and are ready to roll.

So this is part of the background you need to properly appreciate the scene this morning. The other part is this: Kayla and Megan have been pretty sick the past few days, with the flu/norovirus (according to the doctor). Started in Thursday evening, and lasted until Sunday night; even water was coming back up for the duration. Jenn had them to the doctor Saturday, got some anti-nausea pills along with the diagnosis, but it was a solid three days of nothing staying down for very long. The girls were just wrecked; they'd get up out of bed and want to "wake up", go into the living room and watch cartoons for about a half hour, drink a few sips of water, throw it back up, then ask to go back to bed and sleep for another couple hours.

Finally yesterday the fog lifted and we were somewhat back to normal. Ate a lot of crackers and toast all day without issue, played somewhat normally, and while they were still somewhat lethargic it was otherwise a normal day. Bedtime came late last night, around 8:30, because sometimes schedules get disrupted and Mommy and Daddy don't pay attention to the clock. Megan was out like a light, but from what I hear Kayla outlasted Daddy.

This morning I instinctually faded closer to 6:30 for the girls wake-up time, as I suspected this morning was going to be a rare chore. They were better yesterday, but not all the way, and probably did not get as much sleep as they should have due to the late-ish night. They've been off-schedule since Friday, weren't back to full strength, would be hungry....my guard was up. Sure enough, simply exposing Megan's face to light was enough to elicit guttural groans, and the flat-out crying commenced as soon as I picked her up. Usually as long as they can sit on your lap and snuggle in a bit they're OK in the mornings, but this morning Megan was just flat crying, not even wanting to lay her head down on me. Even her body language was protesting: "I do not want to be upright for any reason whatsoever, and you're histories greatest monster for making me do so". This went on for a couple minutes, until finally she settled down and stopped crying, but clearly wasn't in any mood to go get dressed, or do anything but try to fall back asleep on me. Kayla was likewise still motionless in bed.

Then the strangest thing happened. I, almost rhetorically, asked them if they wanted pancakes for breakfast. Megan sat up and looked at me, saying "Mommy said we could have toast for breakfast." Sure, of course, you can have toast, and I'll even cut the crust off, even though I did this a dozen times yesterday and swore I would never make toast again. 

And that was it, the switch was flipped. Megan started telling me something about her dolly and immediately went to get dressed. Kayla got up on her own and started doing the same. They were chattering in that way they only do when they're happy: a non-stop barrage of facts, stories, and remembered occurrences as they seek your affirmation on what they think and experience. Actually making the toast (and waffles, as it turns out) was literally the hardest part of my morning after that. 

You just never know.

Kayla's Story

Ever wonder what it sounds like when both girls get to talking at the same time? Happens all the time around here...and if you don't stop it, they jabber over each other.

This has no real video to speak of -- it's just for the sound.
The girls were in the tub.

Kayla asked me to tell her a story at bed time.  With a little bit of prompting, she told me the story of Goldilocks and the three bears.  While being poked and interrupted by Megan.

More gymnastics pictures

The pictures Jenn took at the girls gymnastics class were somewhat blurry, as they were taken from behind the glass of the gymnastics area. Luckily as someone with advanced computer knowledge, I was able to enhance and sharpen these images, to give you a better idea of  how the girls did in their class.

I won't lie, they seem to have a talent for it.

First Organized Class - Gymnastics!

The girls attended their first organized class this weekend -- they started gymnastics!  It's a recreational class at the YMCA for 4 year olds.

When I first told them about it a couple of weeks ago, Megan didn't want to go, and Kayla was excited.  But the day of the class -- Megan completely melted down. She did NOT want to go at all! And Kayla followed suit. The half hour before class was crying by one or both, about one thing or another.  They were feeding off each other, and nothing was right with the world.  It got to the point that I don't think Megan even knew why she was crying.  (Spoiler alert -- she laughed when I showed her this video later and agreed that it wasn't worth it)

Megan, before class

When we got there, we found out they were supposed to wear shorts or leotards - not the pants that we'd been told.  Regardless, they did fine.

At first, they sat on the mats with the other kids -- but didn't do the motions they were doing during the warm-up.  They'd stand and sit when they were supposed to, but that was about it.  It was interesting that they chose to sit across the circle from each other at first.  Later on, they started sitting next to each other, though.

When they started doing specific activities one at a time, the girls started getting into it.  You could tell by their body language that they were getting comfortable and warming up to the situation.  By the end of the class, they were right at home and having fun.

The first activity was to crawl through a tunnel made by a mat, then do a forward roll down an incline.  Megan went through the tunnel right away, but Kayla took some coaxing.

(Please forgive the photo quality -- they were taken through a window, quite a distance away, on an iPod Touch.  Great camera for an iPod, which I love -- but obviously it's main purpose is not for zoomed-in photos)

Coaxing Kayla through the tunnel

 Megan at the end of her somersault 

  Kayla, mid-somersault

They walked the balance beam forward.  Kayla did fine - had her little arms out for balance, and only stumbled a little bit.  She loved it!  Megan, on the other hand, kept her arms down at her sides, and walked quickly across the entire length of the beam without falling off once.

Megan's balance beam style

They both needed help going backwards.

 

Kayla, backwards on the beam

Megan, backwards on the beam

 Megan on the bars

  Kayla on the bars

They thought Megan had a bloody nose part way through class, so they brought her out to us.  She announced that she missed me, and snuggled.  When I realized it wasn't really a bloody nose, I tried to get her to go back into class.  She wouldn't, and just snuggled with me.  After a couple of minutes, one of the teachers saw she was fine, and came to get her.  Megan went with her, saying "I don't want to go" the whole way-- but walking along willingly, holding her hand.  When they got back out to the equipment, though, she went running for her turn.

The favorite for them both I believe was the trampoline.  They have several trampolines lined up along the back wall.  They have them jump the length of the wall, with a foam-block pit at the end.

After class, they were very excited.  Megan, who had melted down and did not want to go, was so wound up and bouncing around afterwards, I couldn't get her to give a good video recap.  They both got froggy stamps on their hands and little plastic bracelets after class.  

Needless to say, they can't wait until next week's class!

Then and Now

Kayla with her Dancing Doll in January 2011 at 2 1/2 years old.

Kayla with her Dancing Doll in January 2013 at 4 1/2 years old.

 Megan with her drum in January 2011 at 2 1/2 years old.

Megan with her drum in January 2013 at 4 1/2 years old.

Cooking with Mommy -- 2011

Another flashback!  Back to 2011 again, January -- when the girls were 2 1/2 years old.

This evening, (at 4 years old) Kayla helped me in the kitchen.  I was making some Chex Mix.  She hasn't mastered measuring yet, but she uses measuring spoons to scoop up seasonings, measuring cups to scoop up cereal, she pours things out of measuring cups into bowls, and she stirs.  And when she's done stirring, I stir it properly.  She's learning.  So is Megan, but Megan wasn't interested in cooking with me today -- a rare situation where i have only one to "help" me.

They used to stand on a two-step adult step stool I have in the kitchen so that I can reach the top cabinets.  But now they get their little 12-inch step stools from the bathroom and use those, because they're taller than they were at 2 1/2 years old!

This is a picture of making muffins with mommy. (Back then, they called them "muppins".

Kayla, 2 1/2 years old

(I made the muffins in my Babycakes muffin maker appliance, so the flat top stove was used as a counter.)
I usually take the muffins out of the appliance using a toothpick.  The girls think this is great fun, so I put them on a plate, give them "a stick", and let them move them to another plate. It makes them happy and doesn't risk them getting burned.

I didn't take pictures of this evening, but it was fun!

Your Momma Dresses You Funny...

These pictures are from May of 2011, back when the girls were about 2 1/2 years old.
They liked to pick their clothes -- and we let them, unless we were going somewhere other than to Miss Kelli's daycare.  This was when they would wear dresses over pajamas, or over play clothes, or instead of play clothes -- you never knew what combination they'd pick.  Like a gingham dress over some brightly colored stripped pants.

Kayla

Pajamas rarely matched.

Kayla and Megan

We became accustomed to seeing odd looking attire around the house.
But what was surprising was the time we came home from a date night.  Grandma Ruth Bingham watched the girls for us.  They were asleep in bed when we got home, but Grandma apparently had been corrupted by the girls' unusual fashion sense.

Grandma Ruth Bingham

After talking to her for a few moments, I finally had to ask her what she had done to her hair.  She quickly remembered that she still had stickers all over her head.  The girls had decorated her with stickers when they were awake -- and many remained atop her head.

Be careful around our house -- you never know what fashion trends you may unknowingly pick up!

Lost Pictures of the Third Birthday (Oct 2011)

In cleaning up, I found some "lost pictures"!
Apparently Mike and I were using different filing systems for storing files on the picture drive!

We posted previously about their third birthday, but didn't have the pictures of their birthday cakes!
Their third birthday, in 2011, was a Dora and Diego birthday.

 

Before they woke up, we had some decorations out, and little presents to start their day.

At the party, they each got their own cake -- Kayla had a Dora cake and Megan had a Diego cake. (Thanks, Walmart!)

 Kayla's Dora themed cake

 Kayla's Dora themed cake

 

Megan and Kayla

After all, a string of catch-up posts wouldn't be complete without pictures of birthday cakes from over a year ago, would it?
Now I'm off to see what other lost treasure pictures I can find!

FaceBook Posts 2012 - Part 3

I post a lot of  snippets on FaceBook -- the Social Networking site.
I wanted to preserve those snippets here, so they'd be included in the book form of our blog that we're making for the girls.

Below are posts from 2012 (part 3):

September 1, 2012 6:33pm
While driving home today with the girls, Kayla announced another "When I was a baby.." 'memory'
While driving, remember..
Kayla: Mommy! When I was a baby -- I opened my door and fell out!
Me: No, Kayla, that didn't happen. You're always buckled into your seat. There's no way you could fall out!
Kayla: I said when I was a BABY!

Apparently she thinks we didn't buckle her car seat when she was a baby!

September 7, 2012 8:20pm
Megan came home from Grandma Ruth Evans Bingham's house.
Megan: Grandma made a mistake!
Me: She did?
Megan: yeah! She made a mistake!
Me: What mistake did grandma make?
Megan: She made TEA instead of WATER!

September 8, 2012 8:47pm
I was on the phone with my mom this evening and the girls wanted to go over to her house to play. She was finishing up dishes in the kitchen. I said they could go--and they went. The yards are fenced together. I expected to hear them at her door in a few moments.
When she didn't greet them, I asked her if they showed up...she said no, she hadn't realized they'd left.
I looked outside -- mom's gate was open and the girls and the dogs had gone to the front of mom's house instead of the back door. oops!
Mike went and got the dogs herded back home from a field behind the neighbor's house the street from mom's house.

September 8, 2012 8:49pm   
Megan: I'm gonna go get a pillow to sit on in case my body gets cold.

September 12, 2012 8:29pm
Megan: I love Valentine's!
Kayla: Yeah! We had Valentine's last night! A long long time last night!
Me: We did?
Kayla: Yeah! With valentine duckies!
Me: Ohh! You mean a long long time ago we had Valentine's?
Kayla: yeah!

They don't quite grasp how to describe time yet.

September 12, 2012 8:34pm
Kayla: Look, Megan! Make a wish! There's a star up there!
Megan: I wish I had my very on stickers!
Kayla: Look, mommy!
Megan: and my very own city!
Me: City? I thought you wanted stickers?
Megan: I want both!
Me: Kayla, what did you wish for?
Kayla: A toy dinosaur!
Megan: and I want my very own house!
Kayla: and I wish for my own computer to play with!
Megan; Mommy? where's the grass? It's here! Under the dark!
Megan: I wish my own everything!
Kayla: And a toy dolly! and toy dinosaur! and a toy house for my dollies
Me: Okay -- inside, girls!
Kayla: But I want to wish!

Kayla: I didn't tell you that I will wish for lights!

September 13, 2012 6:42am
Kayla was in the glider with her teddy bear.
Me: Oh, you've got teddy! He's so soft!
Kayla: I want a blanket.
Me: Okay, go get one.

Kayla: I got bunny, too
Me: Oh, he's so soft, too! Oh -- is he a boy or a girl?
Kayla: It's a blanket.

September 13, 2012 6:54am
Megan: Mommy, I looooove plums!
Me: Wow! I didn't know you'd had plums before.
Megan: Me either!

September 15, 2012 10:26am   
Megan: Daddy, I want something way up high but I can't reach it. I'm too little!

September 22, 2012 5:16pm
Another for the list of things i never thought I'd say :
"Hey, don't eat your sister!"

October 1, 2012 10:07pm
Megan: Mommy, is it wake up time yet?
Me: no, honey, you need to go to sleep.
Megan: Mommy, when it's wake up time, I want to have cereal.
Kayla: and i want pancakes after my cereal!

Thanks for the breakfast orders, girls. now please, sleep??

October 5, 2012 11:23pm
‎11:20 pm. Guess who's sleeping? Not me! : ) Guess who's frosting birthday cakes for little girls instead of sleeping?
I wanted them to be a surprise..but little Megan came out of her room a couple hours ago and caught me mixing up one of the cakes. Of course she ran back to her room and told Kayla what I was doing, "Mommy's making a strawberry cake, Megan!!"
Busted!

October 7, 2012 1:09pm
Kayla: Grandma [Ruth Evans Bingham] has hard peaches.
Me: What's a hard peach?
Kayla: I don't know, it's just hard.

I assume she means fresh peaches as opposed to canned?

October 7, 2012 6:18pm
over-stimulated and over-sugared weekend for the girls. They've had a lot of fun, but they're rowdy and hyped up now!

October 8, 2012 6:59am
The girls got some slippers for their birthday from Aunt Linda Vogts Duncan's family.
They're obsessed.

Kayla just asked me if she could wear her slippers to Miss Kelli's today!

October 11, 2012 8:52pm
Megan: I really love my unicorn light. It's beautiful!
(Thanks, Granny Cathy Vogts!)

October 13, 2012 7:36pm
Me: OK, wash the soap off the tub please
Kayla: I'm tired! I'm tired of doing the things you want me to do!

October 22, 2012 6:56am
Kayla: Sometimes I call Granny "Grandma".
Me: But she's Granny! What does she say?
Kayla: 'What, pumpkin?' But I'm not a pumpkin. But my head is shaped like a pumpkin, but I have eyes and a nose and a mouth. I saw a square pumpkin guy on TV!

i wonder what she thinks when I call her "pumpkin pie"?

October 27, 2012 8:52am
The girls are cutting with scissors. Kayla is using her left hand to cut and doing quite well. Ambidextrous-girl! I just hope whichever hand she ends up with, she WRITES more neatly than her mother!

October 28, 2012 8:27am
Kayla and Megan are cutting paper again.
Kayla: This one is for my other sister. Her name is....Beaver!
Me: So you have another sister, besides Megan?
Kayla: yes
Me: So we have Megan, and Kayla...and Beaver?
Kayla: yeah

October 28, 2012 8:33am
Kayla: I'm making lots of crowns for baby Joy.
Me: Is Joy your baby or your sister?
Kayla: Baby Joy is my brother!

October 28, 2012 8:36am
Megan: And this baby is named Red Hot Marshmallow, because she eats a lot of red hot marshmallows.

???? what's a red hot marshmallow ????

October 29, 2012 6:59am
Apparently Kayla has forgotten about "Baby Beaver".
However, "Baby Joy", her 'baby brother" is still very much being cared for. He's being tucked into bed now as we're getting ready to leave and he will nap while we're gone.

She seems to have decided a specific baby doll is "Joy" now, too.

October 29, 2012 8:07pm
You'll be happy to know -- "baby Beaver" is once again being cared for.
Megan has now proclaimed her dolly is named "Beaver".
Kayla's is still "Joy", the boy baby.


November 1, 2012 7:00am   
Kayla: On my next Halloween, i'm gonna be a WITCH!!

November 1, 2012 7:01am
As Mike was leaving for work, little voices screeched: DADDY WAIT!!
He came back to hear: I want to give you a hug!
So sweet!

November 2, 2012 8:35pm
Me: Kayla, you need to scoot back.
Kayla: I know, zombie!
Me: Did you just call me zombie?
Kayla: yes

If it was Megan, I would have thought I had misheard "zombie" instead of "mommy", but Kayla speaks pretty clearly .. and confirmed it.

November 4, 2012 5:26pm
I am thankful that Megan is old enough now to hit the bowl when she throws up! (And I'm thankful she's done throwing up now)

November 4, 2012 6:56pm
Megan and Kayla are building with blocks together.
Megan: This is going to be the greatest tower in all the land!!

November 4, 2012 7:46pm
Kayla: IM SO LOUD!!

yes, when she screams, she is!

November 4, 2012 8:36pm
Kayla on the bath pretended to sleep then popped up her head
Kayla to a bottle of soap in the tin: did you wake me up? No? Ok have a nice day.
Kayla to a toy: did you wake me up?...

November 4, 2012 1:13pm
Gave the girls "octopus hotdogs" for lunch.
Megan; Daddy never makes our hotdogs into a octopus! Really, he doesn't!

November 4, 2012 1:23pm
Megan: Mommy, Kelli has smaller chairs that fit our bottoms. We slide down in these chairs, see?
Kayla: You need to get us some smaller chairs, mommy.
Me: Kelli's table is lower, too. If we had smaller chairs, you couldn't reach the table.
Kayla: But we can get a smaller table!
Megan: yeah, two!
Kayla: Two little tables with two little chairs and two big chairs!

November 4, 2012 7:36pm
Kayla: Daddy, is 'go to bed' a bad word?
Daddy: No
Kayla: Is 'Close the door and go to bed' a bad word?

November 5, 2012 6:24pm
Grandma Ruth gave us some mini pumpkin muffins.
Kayla: Mommy, that was really good!
Megan; Yeah! Can I have another?

: )

November 5, 2012 6:34pm
Megan is running around in a dress, with a crown and a fairy wand, sing-songing: I'm a fairy princess! I'm a fairy princess!
over and over and over and over and over and over and over.......

November 6, 2012 6:58am   
Kayla: Mommy? When I went to Granny's (Cathy Vogts), you were there. And grandma (Ruth Evans Bingham), and Aunt Grandma (I think she means Aunt Linda Vogts Duncan)

November 6, 2012 6:37pm
I'm thankful today that I was able to vote. Even if my candidates don't win, I"m thankful that I live in a country that allows me to vote.

November 6, 2012 6:38pm
Kayla: When I grow up, I want to be a astronaut!
Me: Wow! Megan, what do you want to be?
Megan: I want to be a doctor!

November 8, 2012    
So the girls think it's neat to sleep with a living room throw or a blanket from our bed.
Every night becomes a weird dance where we try to negotiate our blankets back from our girls without drama.
Tonight I solved it all -- opened the linen closet and let them each pick a blanket.
Queen sized blankets on toddler beds...oh yeah!

November 10, 2012 8:24am
Kayla and Megan are SO excited that you're coming over!
Kayla: I'm going to go look out my bedroom window and see if Taylor is here!

November 11, 2012 8:49am
Kayla's first words today, with tear-filled eyes: Mommy, I miss Taylor

November 12, 2012 12:21am
Me: Girls, be quiet, daddy's sleeping
Kayla: MOMMY, I WANT TO WEAR MY SLIPPERS SO MY FEET WILL BE COZY WARM.
Me: Shhhh if you wake up daddy, mommy will be mad!
Megan: I'M IN BED LIKE A GOOD GIRL
Me: Shhhhh
Daddy:
Girls:
Me: Do you think you just woke daddy?
Kayla:
Megan: No, I think he just coughed.

November 17, 2012 9:54am
Megan just brought me a Barbie doll in a dress, and Ken doll, naked.
Megan: Look, mommy!
Me: Oh wow, what a pretty dress! Oh! He doesn't have any clothes on!
Megan: That's because they like it that way.

November 17, 2012 9:59am
The girls "helped" me in the kitchen this morning.
Their idea of "help" and my idea of "help" are vastly different!
But it's always fun and they get SO excited...it makes cleaning up afterwards not so bad. (They try to help with that, too -- but I end up having to clean up the clean-up LOL) Love these girls!

November 17, 2012 12:21pm
The girls are making "pizzas" with play dough on the kitchen floor.
Appetizing....to a 4 year old perhaps! but they're having fun!

November 17, 2012    
Megan: Mine's going to be a tower pizza!

November 18, 2012 3:42pm
Kayla: Look, Megan! it's princess Tiana!
Megan: Ohh! I like her so best!
Kayla: And here's Tangled!
Megan; I like her best, too!
Kayla: And Ariel!
Megan: I like her best, too!
Kayla: And Princess Aurora!
Megan: Oh, I like her best too!

November 21, 2012 7:16am
Do not leave change laying around in our house -- the girls WILL find it and they WILL put it in a bank!
Kayla: I'm so excited! We get to put pennies in the jar!

November 21, 2012 6:17pm
When I was in school, we'd joke about laying on text books and learning by osmosis.
It's been many years since I was in school.
Has anyone figured out how to make that work yet?

November 21, 2012 6:23pm
Kayla and Megan: When I was young...
Kayla: ... I ate shoes
Megan: .... and I ate a dog
Megan: When I was just a little kid...
Kayla: When I was young I ate a onion and a picture and a wall....
Megan: I ate a barbie and a necklace
Kayla: and who will be our audience today
Kayla: When I was young...I broke the mold...i wrote the words nobody heard... Here i am! doing like a spark...light up the dark again....
They're trying to sing a song from the movie Barbie and the Pop Star, only they got the words all weird!

November 22, 2012 10:15am   
Last night when we were tucking the girls in bed,
Kayla: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!
Me: Yes it is! Do you know what happens on Thanksgiving?
Kayla! Christmas decorations! We get to put up Christmas decorations!

November 23, 20122:58pm
We have an Elf-on-a-Shelf named "Chilly".
Megan had a Peter Pan book, looked at Chilly, and renamed him.
Megan: He's Peter Pan!
Me: But his name is 'Chilly'!
Megan: No, Peter Pan!
Me: I'm going to call you 'Mary'!
Megan: I'm not Mary, I'm Megan!
Daddy: You're not Mary?
Megan: No, Megan!
Daddy: No Bob?
Megan: No, I'm Mary! I mean, I'm Megan!

November 24, 2012    
Fastest rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was performed in my living room just now. I didn't know her little words would go so quick!

November 28, 2012 7:54pm
Kayla: I'm just a tiny bit younger.
Me: who's younger?
Kayla: me!
Me: who's taller?
Kayla: me!
Me: who's shorter?
Megan: me!
Me: who's older?
Megan: you!
Gee thanks lol


December 7, 2012 7:29pm
do NOT wear a solid red shirt to Toys R Us You will be asked where everything is, over and over. I helped people pick dolls, Nerf toys, find hungry hungry hippo, find doll strollers, find Disney Princesses......wonder if I'll get a paycheck? LOL

December 7, 2012 4:24pm
Kayla and Megan pushed a toy shopping cart into the bathroom.
Megan: And this is the bathroom
Me: What are you doing?
Kayla: We're pretending this is a bathroom.

December 8, 2012 5:35pm
Mike and Megan went to Exploration Place and all Megan wanted to do was play with the room full of toys
Megan: We drived a plane! (daddy and Megan did a flight simulator)
Megan: But we crashed into the ground. I was driving. I forgot to go up!

December 8, 2012 5:36pm
Megan: Mommy? Can we go to Granny's some day? (Cathy Vogts)
Me: Yes, we can!
Kayla: And ride a horse!
Megan: It's too dark to ride a horse now.

December 9, 2012 12:25pm
Megan: I want some toast with butter, but don't cook it.
Me: So you want some bread with butter?
Megan: Yeah

December 9, 2012    
Kayla and Megan went downstairs to play. Hello Kitty was on the TV upstairs.
Kayla came back upstairs for a minute.
Kayla: I want to turn this off.
Me: You do?
Kayla: Yeah, you can watch iCarly, I'm done watching Hello Kitty.
Me: Okay, thanks

December 14, 2012 6:20pm
Megan: When I'm 5, I'll be as big as Chilly!
[Chilly is our Elf on a Shelf -- 12 inches tall maybe?]
Megan:
Megan: I guess Chilly isn't very big, is he.

December 15, 2012 9:22pm

Kayla: These big shoes are SKILLS.
Me: Skills? Do you mean heels?
Kayla: Yeah, heels!
Megan: We call tall shoes HEELS and really tall shoes SKILLS, right?

December 16, 2012 7:39pm
Megan: The Mailman brings pizza and boxes!
Megan: But the pizza man is the one that brings the pizza.
Megan:
Megan: And the box man is the one that brings the boxes.

Profound?

December 17, 2012 11:35pm   
The girls love the Barbie movie Princess and the Popstar.
i was out shopping most of the evening and didn't get to see them except for a few minutes this evening -- but Mike had taken a video of the girls while I was gone.
They were singing and dancing to one of the songs in the video.
LOVE those girls!!!

December 18, 2012 11:36pm
I tucked the girls in bed. I was wearing jeans.
While standing between the two beds, I leaned over and kissed Kayla goodnight.
Megan: Mommy! Your pants are on wrong!
Me: They are? What do you mean?
Megan: Your pockets are in the back!
Me: Well, I have pockets in the back and pockets in the front.
At this point I felt a little hand in my back pocket.
Kayla: My hand is in your pocket.
Megan: Can I put my hand in your pocket, too?

Sometimes I think they just conspire to come up with new stall tactics.

December 20, 2012 10:23pm
Kayla has a loose front tooth.

December 25, 2012 5:27pm
any place open today that might have Nyquil?


December 30, 2012  8:14am
I've had the realization that it's a bad idea to give lots of crafty things for Christmas....because they want to do them all, right away. And they have memories like elephants.
Last evening I told the girls we'd see about doing this butterfly craft tomorrow.
First words Megan said this morning, "Mommy, can we do that butterfly game this morning?"
Could we at least get out of bed first? : )

December 30, 2012 12:30pm
Kayla and Megan do not care for peppermint.
This comes in handy at a candy display.
Kayla: Mommy, is this peppermint?
Me: I don't know, it looks like it might be.
Kayla: I don't like peppermint, I don't want that.
Megan: Me either!"

December 30, 2012 6:27pm
I took my girls with me to Michaels craft store this morning.
They spent a long time looking at all the animal figurines in the different bins.

As we approached the bins of floss, they saw all the colors and got excited, "Look, mommy!" and rushed ahead of me to get to them. For a moment, I was excited -- thinking there was hope that they would adopt my cross-stitching interest.
That moment was short-lived, as Kayla said sadly, "Aww, man...I thought this was more animals."

December 31, 2012 1:20am
Today was a first for me.
Maybe not the first, but if so, it's been quite a while and I've forgotten.
I bought my girls Happy Meals at McDonald's.
(I'm not perfect...it's not the first time I've given them fast food, and not their first Happy Meals)
The girls informed me that toys come with those meals. (I knew that.)
What I didn't know, was that you had to order a girl's or a boy's happy meal.

I also didn't know that the apple slices come without the apple skin on them. (I always thought eating them with the skins was more nutritious...)
Or as Kayla put it:
Kayla: Mommy, these apples don't have a crust!

McDonald's, the home of crustless apples!

December 31, 2012  8:22pm
The girls are wound up. They just came up to me, both wearing head bands (which they call "rubber hand bands"), with Megan on her knees beside Kayla.
Kayla: Mommy, This is my horsey. Her name is Ribba.
Megan: Neigh!!
Me: What's her name?
Kayla: Rosie.
Me: What's her name again?
Kayla: Ricka!
Me: You keep changing her name! What is it again?
Kayla: Rosie!
Me: What is it again?
Kayla: It's Rosie!
Megan: Neigh!



December 31, 2012  8:34pm
It was really nice of the insurance company to mail Megan and Kayla each a postcard reminding them of the benefits of a flu shot.
It would be even nicer if they would pull their mailing lists with consideration of birth dates and primary insured, and not waste their mailings to 4 year olds.

The girls were very confused when I gave them to them.

December 31, 2012  8:36pm
It was funny -- they asked who it was from. I didn't want to explain what an insurance company is to them -- so I said "From your doctor". LOL It had some pretty flowers on it. Oddly -- they're on Mike's insurance -- and no one reminded him to get his flu shot. The girls had theirs. I don't know if Mike did or not!

FaceBook Posts 2012 - Part 2

I post a lot of  snippets on FaceBook -- the Social Networking site.
I wanted to preserve those snippets here, so they'd be included in the book form of our blog that we're making for the girls.

Below are posts from 2012 (part 2):


May 1, 2012 10:23pm
I'm probably the last to figure this out...but in Scramble With Friends -- you can slide your finger across the phone app to pick the letters -- dont have to tap them all. It's quicker to slide through 4 letters than it is to tap 4 letters.

May 7, 2012 6:04pm
It's that time again -- my Tupperware friend is turning in another order! If you want any Tupperware, drop me a note!

May 7, 2012 8:37pm
So....the girls asked me to "sing that song you sang the other night, mommy"...I couldn't remember what I'd sung, but knew I'd taught them a new song.
Kayla couldn't remember -- but Megan finally said, "That Jesus Bible song, mommy"
The B-I-B-L-E song.
So -- now they're singing it in their room -- at the top of their lungs.
Maybe not the best bedtime song, eh? oops!

May 13, 2012 12:23am
The last couple of days, the girls have been WILD children! I don't know what happened, but I even tried to trade them with a guy at Dillon's for his well-behaving little boy one night.
I don't want to jinx it -- but we went to the airport to pick up my aunt tonight, and they weren't the wild children they'd been the last couple of days. Hopefully it was a just a couple-day-phase that we're through with! (Hey, I can dream, right??)

May 13, 2012    
It's so nice having Aunt Marilyn here! It's always fun to hear the sister-stories. Poor Aunt Marilyn, though -- I stuck her in the very back row of the van (car seats in the middle row) -- then took her to Sam's Club and blocked her in with a huge box. She was a great sport, though!

We had a mother's day lunch at my house this afternoon and welcomed her into the chaos that is a family dinner here. LOL She survived : )

May 14, 2012 6:12pm   
We turned on a cartoon.
Megan: That's my favorite one!
Me: It is?
Megan; Yes! I watch it all the time!
Me: What one is it?
Megan: I don't know!

May 14, 2012 7:17pm
We *LOVE* Miss Kelli Martin and her family! Miss Kelli takes care of the girls during the day. Over the almost 3 years we've been with her, she hasn't had very many openings when people have asked. She's going to have a couple openings and now's the chance if you need daycare!!

May 18, 2012 6:19pm
Megan was wiggling in her chair. The cartoon character on tv had just asked the wolf to "wag your tail"...to help them do something.
Me: Were you trying to wag your tail, Megan?"
Megan: yes. But I don't have a tail.

Whew!

May 19, 2012 6:13pm
My mom Ruth Evans Bingham and my aunt Marilyn helped find some wall decor for my home. I had one picture on the wall when the girls got home. They were eating dinner, when they noticed it. They approved!

May 19, 2012 6:28pm
I was able to get a bin rack for kid toys at Dillons Marketplace this evening, on clearance. The girls are having a BLAST putting it together with daddy! "It's going to be so cool!" "here's a screw!" "Another pole, coming right up!" LOL to cute.

May 20, 2012 10:18pm
Thankful that my sinuses have calmed down. Now I'm hoping that it's a trend and not just a 1 day reprieve. They still have a way to go to get back to "normal", but it's incouraging!!

May 20, 2012 10:40pm
So the girls picked flowers [weeds] out back this afternoon. Kayla announced, "I will take the flower to Miss Kelli Martin tomorrow.""

May 21, 2012 7:05am
When I worked at BeautyFirst -- I became a 'product junkie' -- and started aquiring my closet(s) full of beauty products.
If I'd done that with all my jobs -- I'd have a garage full of airplanes, and I'd be making Ethanol in my basement.

May 24, 2012 10:29pm
Kayla: MOMMY! Glow worm doesn't work!
Me: Squeeze lower on his tummy

Kayla: MOMMY! Glow worm doesn't work!
Really, Miss Kayla? You're 3 1/2. You've had that since you were too young for it. And suddenly you forget how it works? STALL STALL STALL

May 26, 2012 12:31pm
In the hotel, Nick on TV -- Kung Fu Panda.
Megan: I don't want to watch this. I'd rather watch the news.

May 26, 2012 12:39pm
The girls had a BLAST at Jiggle Jam this morning! Wore them out, though....so we're hanging out in the hotel and daddy's getting lunch from a restaurant for us. Hopefully they'll nap, as we have more excitement planned.

May 26, 2012 12:41pm
‎Ruth Evans Bingham How's my housesitter? Did she make it to your house for breakfast okay? So nice I don't have to worry about our house! : )

May 26, 2012 11:46pm
So at Jiggle Jam, they had a a bunch of inflatable bouncy things. The girls LOVED them.
There was one long one that was a train with a kind of obstacle course inside.
It had plastic windows every so often so you could look in to see the kids going through.

Kayla went through it twice -- Megan went in.....and didn't come out!
She finally tried to come out the front again, and they sent her to the other end. She was having too much fun going back and forth and got confused, I guess!

May 27, 2012 7:53pm
Back home, safe and sound. The girls are disappointed, though. "I wanna go to the hotel and sleep in the big bed again!"

May 29, 2012 9:05am
Megan: We're playing "Sweeties and Grannies".

that's what happens when you call your kids "sweetie" a lot...it becomes a noun.
"You be the sweetie now, I'll be the mommy".

May 29, 2012 9:07am
Kayla: We're going on a trip. We're going to the Beach. And then we're going to Kansas City. That's where my babies live, in their cradles.

May 29, 2012 9:21pm
Kayla: Hey! don't measure the horsie's body! She doesn't like that!
Megan: ok
Kayla: You can measure her legs, she likes that!
Megan: ok

May 29, 2012 1:21am
Still on vacation -- one more day! Enjoying it!
At 1:20am -- formatting a booklet version of our blog to save for the girls one day.
I should be in bed : )

May 30, 2012 5:18pm
That awkward moment went someone calls you (Karen J Cravens) and says, "Oh, you weren't who I was expecting to answer." LOL thanks, sis :P

May 30, 2012 6:16pm
Kayla says, "I want another debiled egg" : ) : )

May 30, 2012 6:27pm
Kayla picked up a small shelf from the table that we haven't yet hung on the wall. She held it up to the wall like we did last evening when we were trying to figure out how to position it.
Then she said, "Mommy? Can you hang this right here? I want to put my sippy on it."
Well -- we've been trying to figure out what we should put on it, as well.... Ruth Evans Bingham -- whatcha think? LOL

June 4, 2012 8:26pm
‎Ruth Evans Bingham (mom) and I were sitting on the porch. One of the girls picked a "flower" and brought them to me. When I went to kill a big mosquito, I handed them to mom to hold for a second.
A minute later, she was still holding them. I (mistakenly) said that the girls had given them to her.
She said, [and I quote!] "It's not my weed, I'm holding your weed for you!"

June 6, 2012 7:19pm
The girls put toys in a basket -- and then brought them to daddy -- and told him they were selling toys.
Daddy: how much for the ladybug?
Kayla: 2 costs.
Daddy: 1 -- 2
Megan; For this you have to have 100 costs!!
Daddy: 100?
Megan: Will you buy this from me?
no clue what she was selling...

June 10, 2012 10:30pm
squeeeeeezed the SUV into Ruth Evans Bingham's garage (no room in ours) to avoid approaching hail. Husband is already asleep.
I wonder what he (Mike Vogts) will think when the car is missing in the morning...

June 12, 2012 6:45pm
Kayla: I'm gonna staying here by mommy
Me: What are you doing?
Kayla: Waiting for daddy. We're going to jump on him on the floor. It's a special treat on the floor!
Poor daddy!

June 12, 2012 6:49pm
Megan: Baboom! baboom! baboom!
Daddy: What does baboom mean?
Megan: ummmmmmmm it means you shoot fire at someone.
Hmmmmmm not sure where that came from......

June 12, 2012 6:53pm
Megan: Put us down, daddy!

Megan; Do it again, daddy!

June 15, 2012 6:26pm
Kayla: My forehead hurts.

Kayla: Megan, kiss my forehead because it hurts!

Kayla: Stop, Megan! You're dripping!

June 16, 2012 8:17pm
On TV, Diego is saving the mermaids.

Megan: Mommy, I'm going to be a mermaid when I grow up!
Megan: And i'm going to have a strong tail to push with!

June 17, 2012 8:59am
So....the girls and I made a cake (box mix). They had fun!
Megan grasped the concept of helping mommy "pull apart" the eggs.
Kayla did not. She is an egg CRUSHER!

June 27, 2012 7:06am
Me: Time to go to Miss Kelli's! Get your shoes on, please.
Megan: We can't, we're having a tea party
Kayla: Mommy, the stuffing is out of the chair. come see!

June 28, 2012    
I asked Kayla to pick up the legos.
Kayla held a Lego car and looked at at fondly.
Kayla: I will always remember this car that daddy built.

June 29, 2012 8:00pm
After putting them in bed..
Megan: Mommy? Can you buckle my mermaid dress?
She had put on her dress up mermaid outfit. I tucker her in bed.
Megan: Mermaids can sleep on rocks, but not in beds.
Me: yes, they can
Megan: I'm not a real mermaid.

June 30, 2012 5:32pm
Megan put her corn in her ketchup on her plate.
Megan: Mommy, can I have some more corn?
Me: No, because you're playing with it and not eating it.
Megan: It tastes like apple pie, mommy!



July 5, 2012 8:44pm
and....we have a new stall!
Megan came out of her bedroom.
Megan: Mommy, I want a hug and a kiss.
Then Kayla came out.
Kayla: "Daddy, I want to give you a high-5."

Because everyone needs a high-5 before bed.

July 6, 2012 5:56pm
The other day, I told Megan she couldn't have any more roll at dinner because she hadn't eaten her green beans.
Kayla: I ate my green beans, can I have some more roll?
I gave her some roll. She promptly tore it in half.
Kayla: Here, Megan

Looking out for her sister! sneaky girls.

July 6, 2012 8:55pm
Interesting discover in the storage area of the basement -- a ceiling fan I bought about 10-12 years ago (pre-husband). I intended to have it installed in the bedroom of my old house, but never did.

No surprise to anyone who knows me --- it's PINK.

July 6, 2012 9:13pm
Megan, who got out of bed to go potty...
Megan: Mommy, we have big squares. Kelli Martin has little squares.
Me: Oh, okay.... (I think she meant tiles on the floor?)
Megan: But hers is deep, too.
Me: What does that mean?
Megan: It's when it's running fast, and you sink down into the mud!
Me: oh, like a river is deep?
Megan: yeah -- but there's no mud in here! I will just pretend to sink into the mud in my bedroom.

July 7, 2012 8:23pm
And -- another basement storage discovery --- an old PINK aquarium. My mother wil deny this, but I remember it clearly. I bought this little desk-top aquarium and some stuff to go in it. I set it up in my bedroom, but didn't have any fish yet. My mother came in and saw it and said no way no how was I having a fish tank in my room. LOL
I packed it up. When I moved out, I had cats (just like we did at home) and didn't want to risk it, so I didn't use it. I moved it to my apartment -- to my house -- to our house...and it's been stored. That was 20-some years ago, and it never did have any fish in it!
But it's pink : )

July 7, 2012 8:26pm
Is it wrong to tell my 3 3/4 year old to "suck it up, buttercup"?
I'm SO tired of this whiney fake-crying over every. little. thing,

Don't tell me it's only gonna get worse --- I want to live in denial tonight. : )

July 8, 2012 9:03am
Megan's latest thing --- saying "Huh?" to everything.

July 9, 2012 8:52pm
Kayla and Megan came out of the room, after being tucked in bed quite a while ago.
Kayla: Mommy, Megan wants something.
Me: Megan? What do you want?
Megan: I don't know!

July 13, 2012 10:14pm
Cleaning out the baby stuff this weekend. Glad to get the storage space back -- but sad to realize we no longer have babies and no longer need a pack n play or stroller or high chair, etc. End of an era, right? My babies are growing up!

July 13, 2012 11:11pm
VIDEOTOPIA
www.videotopia.com
When my husband and I were on our honeymoon in San Antonio, we were driving down a highway -- and saw a banner on a building advertising Videotopia. It looked like it said something about video games -- and curiosity got the better of us. We investigated -- and it was a really cool collection of historical video games.
Upon our return, I emailed Exploration Place here in town and said they should bring it to Wichita. I got a form letter response.

Well -- 9 years later, it's coming to Exploration place, this fall.
http://www.videotopia.com/

July 15, 2012 11:24am
Megan: Now it's a cheese peanut butter and jelly sandwich!
she said after adding cheese to the sandwich I made her ....and proceeded to eat it that way.

July 15, 2012 4:26pm
Megan drew a picture of a spider.
Megan: Look, mommy! It's you when you were a spider!

July 15, 2012 6:17pm
Grandma came over for dinner. After we were done, Kayla asked Grandma, "What did you bring us for dessert?"

July 15, 2012 6:20pm
am + not = Amn't
as in:
Grandma: You're whiney
Kayla: No I amn't!

July 16, 2012 6:47am
Me: Megan, do your shorts fit or are they too big?
Megan: They fit, but they just keep falling down a little.
When she lifted her shirt, they were several inches too big around -- and on backwards, to boot.

July 16, 2012 6:51am
Yesterday we were blowing bubbles. Kayla blew one that stuck to her wand, that had several bubbles attached together.
Kayla: Mommy, look! A Mickey Mouse, bubble!
Disney would be proud...and then of course go after her for trademark infringement.

July 17, 2012 8:51pm
Watching Dilbert cartoon on tv (Crackle TV) and listening to the girls babble to keep themselves awake.

July 20, 2012 8:09pm
Thanks, James Hoyer, for helping get the girls swing set in place! They love it : )

July 22, 2012 8:53am
Kayla: Mommy! I can swallow this strawberry without even chewing it!
Me: We need to chew so we don't choke.
Kayla: I didn't chew it, and I didn't choke!

July 22, 2012 11:59am   
Soooo disappointed....i started taking down the baby border paper in the girls' room. It started coming off so well...but half way through the first wall it started peeling the paint underneath along with it. We're going to have to do some painting in there before I can put up the new border paper after all : (

July 25, 2012 6:48pm
Kayla: Wait up, loser!
Me: We dont call each other losers.
Kayla: Okay.
...


August 3, 2012 9:45pm
This evening's basement discovery:
In a box that was packed from our old house (and therefore, before we had the girls)...
A pink roll-pillow, embroidered with a princess crown and the word PRINCESS on it.
yeah, it was mine. It's now the girls' pillow. Last I peeked, Kayla was sleeping on it.

August 6, 2012 8:05pm
‎2 little girls + 1 garden bathtub = 1 loud, splashing bath!

August 15, 2012 7:02am
Kayla came in while I was getting ready for work.
She had just changed her dress.
She came out of her room to me and said:
Kayla: Mommy, I cant find a shirt for you.

Apparently, Kayla thinks I wear a size 4T.
I love that girl : )

August 16, 2012 9:23pm
I can hear one of the girls singing in their room.
"Jesus loves me this I know...."
I bet it's Kayla, but I can't tell for sure.

August 18, 2012 6:24pm
So I thought I could get rid of everything that was in the nursery theme. Only problem -- Kayla is SO attached to the "froggie blanket" -- and that's the comforter that goes with the bedding set.
I got princess and tinkerbell toddler-bed sets -- but she insists on sleeping with the "froggie blanket" quilt. Silly girl doesn't realize her attachment is messing with mommy's desire to clean out their room of "stuff"! : )

August 18, 2012 8:27pm
Stall tactic.
Kayla: Mommy, I want a hug and a kiss.
(hug and kiss delivered my me)
Kayla: No, mommy -- I want to kiss you.....on the eyeball!!
Me: No, not on the eyeball.
Kayla: On the nose?
Me: Okay, on the nose

Kayla:

August 21, 2012 6:56am
Megan: Loki [the dog] ate my crackers!
Kayla: Bad boy!
Megan: Do you want to go to jail?

August 22, 2012 7:21pm
Megan: I wish I was baby again.
Daddy: Why?
Megan: Because I want a baby toy.

August 29, 2012 6:33pm
Kayla looked at me and grinned.
Kayla: Mommy! I can see the TV in your face!
Me: what?
Kayla: I mean your eyes! I see the TV in your eyes, mommy!

August 31, 2012 7:46pm
Megan: Mommy, My pillow isn't soft enough. I can't sleep.
Me: I think it's fine.
Megan: Mommy, my bed isn't soft enough!