beyond the imaginary line

The other day brought warm breezes and a bright sunshine. Thankfully, because just prior it had rained a handful of days in a row. So naturally, we played in it. And these three girls found something to feast their eyes on quite quickly.

I had popped my head out from the garage--where I was folding clothes--and noticed they had crossed "the imaginary line" that's drawn a little over half way down our driveway. This is were I found them sitting. Right at the edge of the road. That's when I knew something was worth seeing.


What? You wonder? A silver dollar? A fallen lifesaver?

Nope.

They found some slimy yet delightful slugs?



Slugs that eventually made it into a tupperware with water and a leaf for all to see. Even the daycare lady at the grocery store. She did a marvelous job acting surprised.

where I talk about the twins. and stuff.

Hazel. Sweet, smiley sister who's snacking on a sandwich while sitting in the sun.



Norah. Serious, sunkissed sister who's slurping a sticky 'sicle.




Mommy and the little girls. Setting out to splash in our suits on the sandbar

Some things are simply scrumptious.

(Some other things are: Simply's Raspberry Lemonade, college football season tickets, Asian Zing boneless wings, MM's ears, our vacuum's dirt sensor light, and the transition from flipflops and skirts to fuzzy boots and puffy vests.)

So? You want to share some of your scrumptious stuff?

copycats

While I:

...wait for this book--recommended by this friend--to become available for me at our local library

...take in deep breaths of the breeze streaming in my bedroom window

...think of my 4under3 who are currently working on their 2nd hour of naps

...hum the bluesy jazz songs that are dancing in my head

...anticipate tomorrow's fun, family activity that Mr. Marvelous plugged us into



I'll leave you with two of my favorite little copycats.

Grease Monkeys

What to do, when your mom informs you that while you were away, running errands, and while your 2 year old twins were supposedly napping soundly, they were really emptying a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub and a tube of Butt Paste into their tiny, little, 2 year old hands and smearing the mixture into their hair.


And what to do, when you attempt to wash their hair not once, not twice, but three times in hopes of cleansing each strand of greasy goo, but you fail miserably?


And what to do, when the next morning you need to run errands with your grease monkey girls in tow, but when they awake their hair looks like a bad attempt to replicate John Travolta's 'do in Grease?


What you do is ride the wave out and roll with it.

...After placing as many pigtails in their hair as deems possible.

And then you pretend that you meant it to look like that.

Then during naps you try it on your own hair. Just to see if it turns out as cute.*

*No you don't.

two

Two little girls,

dressed in two little, number 2 shirts,

who love to push two baby strollers around on the pavement of our driveway.

Two little honeys,

with two noses too cute not to nibble on,

have brought their two parents' hearts to overflowing.

Two little girls who are now two.

Norah and Hazel's Polka Dot Bash

Today we celebrated these two little girls' 2nd Birthday. Polka Dot Style. (Remember them last year? And here, here, here, here, and here.) :

(Hazel: L Norah: R)

Family and friends joined us--in their suits--in our front yard for lots of water fun. They plowed down slip-n-slides, dove down blow up, yellow, water slides, and splashed in their pool of choice.

After we all took a break to eat dinner together, we enjoyed this cake that great grandma made and decorated, per my specifications:

Yes. It tasted as good as it looks. And, yes, we have lots of leftover M&M's sitting in our cupboard. And, yes, their posh bibs are from these guys.

Then we all witnessed what organized chaos looks like while the twins opened their presents:

And, thanks to the blue skies, balloons, and buddies, our bash was a big hit.

sharing cars, boyfriends and shoes

It's amazing, really.

The rate at which these two grow is astounding:



They sure didn't stay 6 days old for long. (Despite my thoughts of the situation at the time--being pretty certain we'd have twin newborns, a 1 year old, and a 2 year old forever!)

It's like I woke up this morning to find that our ultrasound babies (A and B) had turned into full speed running, kiddie pool splashing, chapstick loving, toothbrush hoarding, baby doll swaddling, sandal adoring, mama and dada snuggling "big" little girls.

How can that be?

It's all happened so quickly, that these two little punkin' doodles go from their first birthday:

...to their second. And, even though I'm known to declare each new stage they enter my "favorite," I wouldn't mind if they slowed it all down a bit.

Because before you know it, they'll have moved on from sharing their crib, clothes and popsicles, to sharing cars and boyfriends shoes.

Happy 2nd Birthday--tomorrow--Norah (L) and Hazel!

Hazel's point of view at the zoo

Go ahead. Tell 'em Hazel.

Hazel: Ohhh, we had a mighty fine time at the zoo the other day. Get a load of this. My mama didn't get any pictures of the animals that day, but she did get to witness a rather comical form of brotherly endearment:

...That kinda cracked everyone up.

And even though we didn't spot the tiger, which is my brother Luke's very favorite animal, we did see the giraffe and ostrich. Julia about dropped over with excitement at the site of those.

And my sister and I liked the playful sea otters the most. We watched them through the glass as they wrestled in the water together. They were at a perfect height for where we were sitting in our double stroller. (The stroller that we got to get out of a few times this trip. That was a treat.) Since I have a thing for water, I could have watched them all afternoon. That is, until I needed to eat. I like to eat, and drink from my sippy. Especially on daddy's lap. See, that's me on the right:

And that's my sister, Norah. She got really upset when Mama left her side just to take this picture:

She is the biggest Mama's girl. Honestly! My parents say none of us other children have played favorites, except Norah. But my Mama doesn't really mind it, unless she's trying to stir boiling macaroni noodles or clean up shattered RedHot spills.

Speaking of my Mama. Here she is. This is the only picture of her from our trip. Julia took it while Mama was trying to keep me from pushing the stroller into the fountain. She doesn't want you to click in on the picture. And when Mama says something, you obey.

These two make me laugh. And I laugh hard. I mean, just look at them. My brother Luke almost put his head in that there fountain behind them. My parents noticed just in time. He changed his mind really quickly.

And there you have it. A snippet of our day away. Now if you'll excuse me...

A bit of Easter Wear

Some days, I'm a bit uncertain who these two really are:

You would have thought it was the Easter bunny who popped out the back door--behind Mr. Marvelous and I, at my parents house on Sunday--as we tried to snap a normal Easter picture of the children. When in fact, it was Grandpa who got a whole lot of hoots and howls from Norah (L) and Hazel. (Julia and Luke were left uninterested.)

But it's no surprise that these little faces can produce such bizarre expressions.

These two girls are known to deviate from the norm.

Well, there was no deviation when it came to eating jelly beans from plastic eggs. They followed suit well while dribbling juice down the front of their dresses.

Shared Spaces with Barnum and Bailey

(The following is an entry that has been preposted. While Mr. Marvelous and I are vacationing in Costa Rica, I'll be backposting here at 4under3. See you in a couple of days.)

May 26, 08

These two little acrobats began sharing spaces before they were even born. Thus far, that's one of the many things they do best. Ok, except when Hazel has something in her hand that Norah finds interesting. (Scope out. Swoop in. Grab. Take. Slobber all over. Leave sister crying.) And that's sometimes the way it goes.

Norah finds everything Hazel has or does--interesting. We have a feeling Ms. Norie will be the careful, watchful one, which is how a big sister is supposed to be, right?

But sharing swing space..that's right up there with sharing sleeping space for these girls. A fantastic idea in their book. Imagine those pudgy little legs kicking in and out simultaneously with those little arms as they glide back and forth through the air. They could start up their own act in the Ringling Bros Circus. That is, if they act quick. Or get a bigger full bucket seat to perform in. Space seems to be limited and it looks as though there's very little vroom to grow.

(Norah)

Wagon Chatter II

(The following is an entry that has been preposted. While Mr. Marvelous and I vacation in Costa Rica, I'll be backposting here at 4under3. See you in a couple of days.)

July 23rd, 08
Norah: I gotta pickle sippy, I gotta sippy, I gotta sippy hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hazel: Saaaay, big sista, I'm feeling a bit parched. Whatdaya say we ration the water you have left in that there sippy of yours?

Norah: Aww, really? Let me think about this a minute. I could have sworn you weren't thirsty, being that you've flung your sippy on the ground 43 times now.

Norah: ...but I guess. What's mine is yours, DNA, crib, clothing, and all....and hurry before our busy big brother bikes over here thinkin' we really have something.

Hazel: Thanks for being so patient. But are you sure there's anything in here..cuz my whistle isn't even wet?

Norah: Good gracious, mini-me, I'm feeling a little flushed. It's hard work being the big sister, but a job that I must.

--For more Wagon Chatter, see here.--

Not Me! Monday before we leave for the slopes

Top of the Not Me! mid afternoon to you!

Would someone please tell me why it's so rejuvinating to post things that didn't happen to my family and I--but really did happen to us--for the world to see? And why is it even more rejuvinating to read about everyone else's Not Me! scenarios over at My Charming Kids?

I haven't put my finger on it, but it's positively great fun.

Like the kind of fun I have with these two little girls:

(Hazel)

(Norah)

I know a while back, I proclaimed that a 15 month old was at the cutest, sweetest, most fun age ever--and before that I thought 12 month olds were--but holy 19-month-old-bundles-of-bliss! I have not been totally smitten as a kitten with our twins, Norah & Hazel. And I do not immediately turn into "goofball mama" when they're in the room--rolling around on the floor with them while sneaking hundreds of kisses.


And this morning, after dropping Julia off at preschool, I announced that we'd be going home to play instead of infecting other children with what we have while out and about. And by "play," I most certainly did not mean haul my sewing machine up to the loft, then take pretend sips of the children's imaginary drinks made for me, while sewing this fufu coffee sleeve:

I did not plop my machine right down on the floor--completely skipping the whole table idea--and proceed to sew a hot pink lined, faux fur beauty for my girly girl girlfriend right there in the middle of our children's play area. I'll say it again, "Coffee sleeves...so not cool!" And I wouldn't allow our domestic diva, Norah, to sit on the floor between me and the machine to watch a needle bob up and down either. Nope.

And I did not see this again, after pulling our bedroom curtains the other morning: Because, you know, we live right in town, a hill away from stores like TJMaxx and ANYTIME fitness. And that would be ridiculous to see flocks of these things wandering around our place day after day. And I promise, thoughts of rifles and purchasing an extra freezer never crossed through my mind. Not once.

Now you see it. Now you don't.

If it's out of sight, it's out of mind. Right?

Take food for example. For Norah & Hazel--but mostly Norah--if they've been enjoying an afternoon snack in their highchairs for a half hour already, and they look as though they're about to burst, we quickly stow away all animal crackers, clementines, raisens, and grapefruit segments so that food slowly shifts out of mind. And it works.

Or, take chapstick. Again, if Norah & Hazel have spotted a couple tubes of this lovely lip hydrant, you allow them both to practice putting it on by themselves, give them a few minutes to relish the time of holding it in their own little hands, then you quickly pry it from their tiny fingers, stick it in your back pocket without them noticing, and try to entice them with a Eric Carle book hoping they completely forget about it since it's out of sight. ask nicely, "Please give mommy the chapstick," in which they both obey, place it in your hand, and you put it back in the drawer, hoping that by keeping it out of sight, it will stay out of their two little minds.


Or, how about all this stuff that's under the desk in my craft room:

Looking at it tends to stir up an undistinguishable restlessness that usually leads me to scrubbing the toilet, munching on a bag of Reese's Pieces, or vacuuming pretty little lines into my carpet.

Little did I know, all I had to do was this:

..and put all that stuff out of sight. And pleasantly out of mind.

I'm not saying that it helped--in the least bit--with the Reese's problem.