Nose in a Book

Today something happened.  It was a new sight.  It was a first. 

My big girl had her nose in a book all morning!  From the time she got dressed this morning, Savannah was sitting down and reading one of her Magic Tree House books.  She took the book with her this morning to read while her Daddy and I attended her parent-teacher conference.  She read while waiting for Adeline's doctor appointment.  She just kept reading. 

Before, she has read a few pages at a time to me.  Savannah as even read an entire chapter.  But never have I seen her pick up a book and read for no other reason than to just read.  Another change was that she was reading silently.  First grade teachers know how challenging it is to transition children from reading out loud during independent reading time to reading silently. 

I felt like a switch was flipped today.  Savannah matured in her reading.  She certainly looked like a big girl kicked back on the couch with her book in her hands.  This in conjunction with a glowing report from T. Connie, makes me more than proud.  Savannah continues to be the ideal student who functions above grade level with thoughtful and meticulous work habits. 

It is times like this that make me sit back and think that we are so lucky to be her parents.  It is such an easy and enjoyable job!

Potty Talk

Miss Lila seems to be my potty talk girl.  She giggles every time she hears the word poop and loves to laugh when she lets a little gas sneak out.  Recently, she came into her sister's room and pulled up her nightgown in order to show her big sister her - well, let's just call it her private area.  She quickly learned that it was a BIG NO NO!  It didn't help that Savannah was laughing her head off  but I am pretty confident I got the message across.

After feeling as though I am raising a boy with all of this potty talk and giggling, I was refreshed when Lila struck up the following conversation with me in the car today. 


L:  Mommy, I am not going to say potty talk anymore. 

Me:  Really, that makes me very happy.

L:  Yeah, I am not going to say poop and pee pee because it is potty talk Mommy.  I am not going  show anyone my __________ any more either.  It's not nice.

Me:  You're right, you don't show people your private parts.  Never ever!

L:  Mommy, I am just going to make you happy and not say potty talk.  I be a big girl now.

Me:  Good Lila Grace.  You are such a good girl.

L:  Yep I am.  (pause) Actually, potty talk is just a little funny. 

Clearly there is some inner struggle between making Mommy happy and giving into the hilarity of potty talk. 

A Little Blurb about Me

I rarely post about myself.  My world is my girls and would have nothing interesting to blog about if it weren't for them.  However, I do sneak in a few hours during the week for me.  Instead of shopping, resting, or cleaning, I workout.  I don't know if it is more for me or my girls.  I always say that working out makes me a better mommy.  It really does. 

This year, Alex and I signed up to do the Philly Marathon.  Actually, I am only doing a "halfer."  The marathon is fast approaching so I decided to give my self a trial run.  I signed up for a ten mile race that took place this weekend. 

Boy, was I nervous.  I didn't want to have anything to do with it when the day came.  Luckily, my friend Melissa talked me off the ledge just an hour before race time.  She reminded me that the only race I am running was my own.  She was right.  It didn't matter if I came in last.  One thing is for certain, I DON'T RUN FOR TIME!

As Alex and I approached the starting line, all I saw were real runners.  All skinny, long and lanky people!  It ended up being a good thing because everyone left me and I ran by myself most of the way.

I am proud to say that . . .

I ran the entire 10 miles. 

I didn't come in last. 

I averaged a sub-eleven minute mile (don't laugh, that is good for me). 


Before

The home stretch.

Backfire

My previous post about how my girls play together endlessly without fighting and bugging me backfired yesterday.  As I dosed on the couch, my girls decided to wreak havoc in their room.  Groggily, I opened my eyes a few times and noticed their clothing was different with each time.  I called up to them and reminded them that I don't want a mess and that they should leave their clothes alone.  I remember hearing a very enthusiastic, "Okay," and a "We aren't making a mess.  We just have a pile."  Well in my half asleep state, that didn't register as a red flag.  It wasn't until I walked into their room an hour later that I knew what they meant by pile.

Each dresser drawer was completely empty.

Putting the Fire Extinguisher to Bed

Alex has been driving around with a fire extinguisher on his lap. The Explorer  sprung a leak, a gas leak. While trying to find a way to avoid the purchase of a new car, Alex has had to drive to various mechanics to try and get the fuel line serviced. The consensus is that the car is too old, the part isn't manufactured anymore, and the part is unattainable. He was told to stop driving it and if he absolutely had to drive the car, make sure he had a fire extinguisher with him.  The news forced us to say goodbye to our little dumper and replace it with something new, at least new to us. It was hard to walk away from the car that brought every one of my girls home from the hospital. It was a dump of a car, but it held a warm place in our hearts.

Savannah being loaded into the Explorer

Lila Grace, strapped in the car for the first time.

Adeline settled into the Explorer for her first car ride.

One thing I learned after looking at way too many SUV's, is that the minivan has it all figured out.  Everything just works in a van.  It was meant to carry children.  What I don't understand is why the large SUV's  (which are 8 passenger) haven't figured out some of the minivan's conveniences.  Like, why don't they have cup holders that you can reach while strapped into a car seat?  Where is the mommy mirror?  Why does changing a DVD have to be a major production?  And what about the cargo space?  Seriously, shouldn't a SUV be able to carry more than a van?  SUV's are large, but they just don't have the flow of a van.  We ended up buying one of the big SUV gas guzzlers but each time I drive it, I find one more thing that it doesn't have.  Yep, I like my swagger wagon. . .

Going to the Station

As I have mentioned before, the twins just play, play, play, together.  There is rarely fighting or checking in with me.  After school, the girls come home and eat lunch quickly so that they can get their playtime started.  Once down from lunch, they disappear into their make believe world.  There are days that I can't break it up for nap time.  It is just too precious and sweet.  This play is unique and is rooted in the twins' special bond.  Having twins is really paying off now.

Lately, the girls are always pushing a stroller or shopping cart, or pulling a wagon.  They are always packing for a trip which typically involves going to the train station.  We are mildly obsessed with trains in this house.  Savannah loved them, Adeline lives for them, and Lila has decided that being for them is much more fun than being against them.  We are members of a train museum and ride the Santa train annually.  Trains are a part of our life.

The girls will play this game for hours.  They will ride to and from the station, take naps along the way, catch a boat in between, and sneak in some time for a little mommy/baby role play.  They leave me completely alone!  Shh. . . don't tell them I said so because it will jinx it.  I remember when I couldn't go to the bathroom without someone crying and forget making dinner.  It had to be done during nap time.  Just last night I told Alex that I kind of miss the little girls.  It seems that they like spending time with each other more than they like spending time with me.


Lately, I feel that we haven't had any real family unit time.  I have also heard Adeline ask me over and over again if she can ride our local rail line that she sees daily.  She is convinced it is Geo from GeoTrax.  Finally, it dawned on me.  Why don't we hop the local rail and ride it down a few stops?  And so we did it last night.  We hopped the train to Paoli where we had nice dinner with Charlotte and her family (minus her mommy).  After dinner, we experienced waiting for the train in the dark which was very exciting.  Adeline didn't want to get off once back at our local stop.  She would prefer to live her life on a train. 

Working Together

The little girls have become best of friends over the past couple of months.  It really warms my heart and makes life much nicer around the house.  Just this morning, I heard them getting down a puzzle that they have never put together before.  They were very resourceful as they pulled the bean bag up to the closet and scaled the shelves to get to it.  I assumed that they would start arguing and grabbing pieces because they have never worked on the same puzzle before without adult supervision. 

Adeline and Lila amazed me.  They took turns, worked on different parts and completed the puzzle with only encouraging words for one another.  I was pleased with their behavior and that they had the skill to complete it too.  The puzzle wasn't complete for more than two seconds because the girls immediately tore it apart.  What they did next blew me away.  They carefully put all of the pieces into the box and walked over to the closet. Then Lila said this. . ."Okay Adeline, which puzzle do you want?  It is your turn to choose."

Ahh, music to my ears and it was a mere 8:00 a.m.  I wish every morning could start like this.