Christmas Typhoon

Warning!  Video may contain some form of birth control.  Sorry it's a little dark.  

I think today may have had the lucky distinction of being Anaya's worst day ever.  Little girl screamed and cried all day long!  Ohmygosh.  I thought I was going to sell her.  Seriously.  Not seriously...but, you know...She got this little baby doll that dances from Santa and got a stroller to push it around in from Aunt P.  Not even Rosie was safe when she got near it to sniff at it - Anaya swung at her and yelled, "NO!"  Nobody better lay a finger on that doll.  Adam was like the Tasmanian devil, tearing thru the gifts and worrying about who they were from later.  We had a little heart-to-heart about that while the babies napped...Audie was the most laid-back, I guess.  He actually left four presents unopened.  He just threw in the towel.  Anaya and Adam had no problem at all helping out with that situation.  In the end, I think everyone was satisfied with their loot.  Alan and I, on the other hand...Well, we began the day exhausted and the day itself did not fall into the "relaxed" or "restful" categories, so we are pretty much zombies.  Glad that's over.  Hope next year is a little bit better...

Anaya with HER baby and stroller

Audie yelling, "EPE!" which means "open!"

 Seriously...what Adam asked Santa for..."my own glue"

 

 Yelling, of course.  Probably already yelling "MORE!" before she even finishes opening that one.

 Audie always has a "busted" look.  He was super-excited about Mater :)

 This one ended up being the favorite by the end of the day, I think...

 The aftermath.

Join The Crub

Yesterday, I went for a run around the neighborhood.  Just a quick one, sandwiched between baking, picking up Adam, doing some Christmas shopping and more baking.  But it ended up being the BEST run in a while.  Why?  Because about 200 meters from the end, I saw this at Adam's school:

True story.

The Tree Looks...Wait...What's That?

This year, given the fact that the twins are just about two, we figured the tree better be "mischievous-fingers-friendly," because we have an excess of mischievous fingers around here.  Case-in-point (these all occurred post-decorating):

So I separated all the sentimental and breakable ornaments from the unbreakable or mass-produced meaningless ones and let the kids go to town on the tree, decorating it as far as they could reach.  Then, I added the breakable ones to the top.  The tree ended up looking like this:

All things considered, it turned out really nice.  

But the night after we decorated it, I told Alan that I thought it looked like it was leaning.  As we were walking over, I spotted something that didn't quite look right.  Can you see it?

Here's a closer look:

As I was taking my normal decor down and storing it in the Christmas totes, replacing it with Christmas stuff, I noticed that Audie was rummaging through the totes.  I was making sure he wasn't breaking anything, but I was letting him explore.  He must have pulled this starfish out of the tote and shoved it into the tree (which is what he did with most of the ornaments he "hung").  We decided to leave it because...well, why not?  It's the perfect addition to our 2011 Christmas tree.

Happy Holidays!

Do The Robot

Conversation tonight at dinner:

Adam: "Lucy and Ana* are small.  But Anais says she's bigger than me!  But she's small!  Why does she say that?"  (*names of girls in his class changed for privacy)

Me (I'm a stellar parent, so I totally recognize the teaching moment here regarding age/size and am going to take full advantage of it): "Well, people come it all shapes and sizes..."

Adam (interrupting me): "Like robots!  Robots have square heads and square bodies!"

Me: "Right.  Just like robots."

Teaching moment postponed until Mrs. Osborne makes him a wee bit smarter.

Here is Adam, performing "The Robot":

 

The "MO!", The "Yeah!", And The Brain

One child is "the brain."  Can you guess which one?

We had our first parent-teacher conference for Adam two weeks ago.  She basically told us he's a second grader...except that he acts like a kindergartner.  Seriously, the kid is smart.  She said he is often tasked with passing back folders because he's the only one who can read everyone's name!  He recently wrote out his "wish list" to Santa, which included "Adam's own printer" and "my own dog" (neither of which he'll get, obviously).  It also included, on the back, a letter to Santa explaining that he didn't need to bring Anaya any toys because she's bein' bad.  

One child is the "MO!" child.

Although it's gotten a little better in the past two days, it is still true:  Anaya answers "MO!" to pretty much anything you ask her - unless you're asking if she wants a snack.  She's talking a lot, but not as much as Audie.  It's not that she can't, but rather she won't.   As she did with crawling and walking, it must be on her terms, on her schedule.  One day I know she'll just decide to say, "So, Mom, today I was thinking we could go play at the park and then go to the BX to get some ice cream.  Then, maybe I can call Grandma Sissy on the phone."  You think I'm kidding.  Just wait.  Speaking of talking on the phone - she loves it!  Here's her talking to Grandma Sissy and Aunt Ra Ra:

Here she is after we took the phone away:

One child is the "Yeah!" child:

In contrast to Anaya's answer, Audie will answer just about any question with an excited, "YEAH!"  We ask, "Audie, is that bug fast?" "YEAH!"  "Audie, is that bug slow?"  "YEAH!"  "Do you want to catch it?"  "YEAH!"  "Can you put away the colors?"  "YEAH!"  So cute.  He is talking a lot lately, like our little echo.  We're probably at the "watch what you say" point now.  Clear words are bubble, cookie, Adam, Audie, 'Naya, sit, bath, eat, Nemo, light...there's a new one every day.

It's obvious that we've entered the "terrible twos" zone and I dread every moment, especially now knowing that the threes are even worse.  There is no end in sight.  Twins is a lot of work - from day 1 on.  So far, I don't feel like it's gotten much easier.  In fact, a lot of days, I feel like it is tougher now than it's ever been.  They find strength in numbers, trying things that Adam never dared to try.  A lot of days, it's unnerving and it takes all I have to stay calm, sane and smiling.  Don't mistake my frustration for ungratefulness, though.  There are those shining moments, when I am reminded of how lucky we are...they usually occur at naptime.

Fabulous

I like the word "fabulous."  Don't you?  I think it is fabulous.  I also like it when I feel fabulous.  A couple of weeks ago, our squadron spouses participated in an annual event here - the Spouses Dining In.  For you non-military type, a "Dining In" is usually reserved only for the active-duty member - no dates allowed - and it tends to get a little crazy.  This is our version - no dates allowed and lots of girlified-ness.  We have to decorate a table, wear a costume and do a skit, all relating to the mission of our squadron.  I think it's a GREAT event.  It really gets the spouses excited and helps encourage them to take pride in their spouse's job.  These Kadena spouses bring it BIG and it makes me proud to be a part of such a FABULOUS community of women.  Speaking of fabulous women, here are a few of my favorite shots:

Our table.  Isn't it fabulously pretty?  The "82" refers to our squadron - 82d Reconnaissance Squadron

 Michelle and me: Me-ow

 The whole group, in complete "Pink Panther" costume:

 The group, minus one.  The Ice Princess is one of our spouses who participated with the squadron she works in.

 Some of my AWACS peeps in their Viking gear!

Finally, my favorite.  Tara and I look fabulous.  Nothing says it like a boa and a frilly drink.  And cat eyes.

Watch Your Step

'Cause IN my house, you might step on one of these guys:

Livin' the dream, people.  Livin' the dream.

Treats? What Treats?

If you don't think that's the cutest pirate ever, then you're a liar.

Tonight was trick-or-treating!  What an adventure.  Alan just happens to be off the island, so that made for tons of fun.  Not as much fun as throwing Adam's birthday party without him, but close.  Seriously, though, I hate that he had to miss it because the kids were cute...at the beginning of the night.

I tried to get a picture of all three of them together.  I almost did.  Not really.  I got this:

That's 2/3.  For whatever reason, that was Adam's standard "pirate pose." 

Then I got this:

Technically that's 2/3.  She had a club to go with her costume, but that was a really poor decision on my part.  Once she figured out that it squeaked when she hit something with it, Audie didn't have a prayer.  Neither did Rosie.  Anaya was trying to block Audie out of the shot by getting really close to the camera.  Audie didn't really care about the camera.  He cared about what the HELL was on his head??? 

I got this one:

Close, but...Adam was way too concerned that a trick-or-treater might miss our house, so he was on constant "look-out," shouting at them if necessary, directing them to our door.  He couldn't be bothered to look at the camera for any seconds.

Eventually, we did make it out to do some trick-or-treating.  The babies went to exactly three houses before they (and I) had enough.

#1

Audie took the goods and ran.  Then, he realized that Anaya was calling "stranger danger!" and he did her a favor.  He gave her his candy and went back for another one.  Then did it again.  He didn't care who was handing out the candy.  He just knew he was getting it.  He'll be the one I have to warn about the creepy van that pulls up at the park, offering candy. 

#2

Anaya didn't even bother walking up.  Too stressful.  Just bring her the candy, already.

No picture of #3.  Waaaay too much going on there.  Then, they started expecting me to carry them, like I was dressed as a pack mule or something, so we went home instead.  Don't worry - Adam got to continue on with his buddy, Robert, so he scored plenty of loot.  He definitely had a happy Halloween.

The twins got busy getting into their candy:

The end of the night was not such a happy Halloween for Anaya and Audie.  Here's what happens when you take a bag of candy away from two babies:

BEDTIME!!  Happy Halloween!!



Adam Turns FIVE!

So, like over two months ago, Adam turned FIVE YEARS OLD!  I know, right?  I can't believe it either, but I have the birth certificate to prove it.  Where does the time go?  Since we were still in Texas at the time, we borrowed an unconditional friend's house ('cause that's the only kind of friend who would lend you their house to have a five-year-old's birthday party).  HUGE kudos and thank you to Mike.  I hope the air conditioner got fixed :-/

I would say the party was a "success."  Not an elegant success, but at the end of the day, pizza was had (we won't mention the anchovy debacle), presents were opened, candles were blown out and cake consumed, and the pinata was busted.  And the two children who busted their faces didn't require stitches.  That's a success, right?  I think so.  Adam got to play with a bunch of kids - even a couple that he knew from Okinawa, who had just moved to San Antonio!  I am so thankful to all of my friends for bringing their kids and for sticking with me as I fumbled through the party.  Without Alan there (he had already flown back to Okinawa), I was in way over my head.  Plus, Anaya somewhat resembled an extra limb I had that day...a non-functioning one...so I did most of it one-armed.  Here are some shots from the day:

The guests arrive!

The Cake!  Spiderman was his favorite (the day we picked out the cake, at least...)

Grandma's got her hands full!

Adam's favorite part:

Me with Anaya (and her bloody cheek!)

Pinata time!  Line 'em up!

I like this shot because you see Mike holding the laptop - Alan was watching Adam's party from Okinawa, on Skype!

 Busted!  RUN!

This CRACKS ME UP!  Sammy with her "disguise," watching Adam blow out the candles.  Hilarious!

The Birthday Boy...beat.

I say it every year, but it really does seem like yesterday that we were flying down the interstate in the middle of the night, scared to death and praying to God that we were cut out for this.  Five years later, I would say we're doing a pretty good job.  I mean, he gets in trouble at school for talking too much (which he obviously gets from his Papaw), but it's only because he's shouting out the answers without raising his hand (OK, sometimes it's not that, but whatev).  He's smart.  As a whip.  That teacher sent home about 250 sight words that we're supposed to take the whole year to "learn" and he read them all to me in about 5 minutes.  He can add, subtract, draw, do push-ups, ride a bike, tell a joke...he's really pretty amazing.  But he just can't hush.  What are you gonna do?