"Wait, Mom!"

Vivian has been telling me to "Wait, Mom!" a lot lately (Oh yeah, and the twins have been calling me "Mom" lately instead of "Mama" or "Mommy."). She'll ask me to do something, I'll slowly begin to do it, and then she'll yell, "Wait, Mom!" with her arms extended out to me and her hands in a "talk-to-the-hand" position. I'll then say "Okay" and wait for further instructions, to which she usually will continue to yell, "Wait, Mom!" after every single move I make (ex- moving my arm an inch). Eventually, she'll come up with the next set of directions and she'll happily order me around. But, until she figures it out, I'm stuck waiting.

"My do it myself!"

Gavin likes to do things himself. And, he likes to tell you about it. But, the boy's grammar is a little off; replacing "I" with "My" just about every time he wants to use first person. Either way, we understand him and we let him do things all by himself.

Croup

Croup has struck our house again! For now, only Viv and I have it. But I'm sure it won't be long before Gavin and Wes follow suit.

Octoberfest ~ Part Two

Grandma, GG, Wes, and I took the kiddos to their favorite park on Sunday morning. They had a ball running around and playing on all of the equipment.

My sister (Auntie Bird) and her boyfriend, Joe, arrived shortly after G & V went down for a nap. After the twins had their nap and we all ate some snacks, we got together on the front porch for a photo.

Then, GG, Auntie Bird, Joe, Wes, and I took G & V to the local pumpkin patch. Let me just say that this isn't your typical pumpkin patch. There's a corn maze, arts and crafts, pig races, a petting zoo, a carousel, and lots more. We had a great time.

 

Octoberfest ~ Part One

This year, Wes and I decided to have both sides of our family down for an October weekend of fun. It started on Friday night with the arrival of Wes' parents (Grandma and Popop) and brother (Uncle Flip). We made it out to dinner on Friday. Too bad our children wouldn't cooperate for the pictures.

My mom (GG) arrived on Saturday. I made a few Halloween goodies (that I found on Pinterest... oh how I love Pinterest) and we gobbled them all up before heading out to JMU's Arboretum for a Harvest Festival.

That afternoon, we took G & V to a Harvest Festival at JMU's Arboretum. They got to run around like maniacs, color the sidewalk with chalk, and go on a horse-drawn carriage ride.

"I eat it my mouf"

Lately, Vivi has been telling us when she eats something. She'll say, "I eat it my mouf." To which we usually respond with, "Good. Thanks for letting me know."

Yesterday morning, Wes and I were watching TV in the living room and Gavin and Vivian were in the playroom, which is not visible from the living room. They were only in there a few minutes when it became very quiet. I thought that something might be up, but I just ignored my instinct. A few more minutes of silence went by and Wes and I became curious. 

I yelled, "Are you two okay? Are you being good?"

Viv yelled back, "I eat it my mouf."

I ran in to find them sitting on the couch with Hershey Kiss wrappers all over the place, chocolate-covered faces, and huge smiles. Viv repeated, "Mom, I eat it my mouf... chocolate."

These two were bouncing off the walls for 2-3 hours, until they crashed for their mid-day nap.

Calzones

A couple of night ago, I made these calzones from a recipe on THIS WEBSITE. They were so very easy, looked rather awesome, and were absolutely delicious.

YUM!

Clementine Book Signing

Last night was my book signing at Clementine Restaurant in Harrisonburg. It was a lot of fun!

Another Fav Spot

This is one of the walls in our family/play room. It houses all of G & V's chalk, markers, crayons, and their two chalkboards. I heart this little spot.

Daddy's Helper

Mother F-er

Well, we're officially screwed. Mr. Gavin is unbelievable.

First, he realized that if he just broke the door lock thingys off, then he could open any door he wanted. Then, he figured out how to unhook most buckles that are meant to keep him safe- like in his stroller and car seat.

After that, he learned how to turn the deadbolts and open the outside doors (front and back) in our new house (the knobs don't lock from the inside).

Well, now he's figured out how to unsnap the child safety mechanisms that lock the drawers to the dresser in their playroom, which are also keeping the fridge, freezer, and sliding door to the kitchen closed.

WTF! This kid is out-of-control.

"I do it"

Last week, Wes was home with the kiddos. They were acting all kinds of crazy when Wes realized that Mr. Gavin needed a diaper change (of the stinky variety). And, it was a doozy of a diaper change. Gavin laid down on the floor and Wes took his pants off. 

Then, the doorbell rang. It was the repairman for our piece-o-shit washer machine. Wes got up (leaving Gavin on the floor), answered the door, and showed the repairman to the basement. When he came back into the living room, he was in complete shock.

Vivian was sitting down in front of Gavin (as if she was changing his diaper), Gavin's diaper was off and face-down on the rug (yuck!), Vivian had two wipes in her hands, Gavin had poop all over his legs and feet, and Vivian was saying, "I do it, Daddy" to Wes. 

From what I hear, it was disgusting. Glad I wasn't there.

Too Tired

"Bad boi! Time out, Budder!"

Little Miss Vivi has become rather bossy as of late. It seems like she's telling Gavin what to do several dozen times a day. And it's usually about something he's doing wrong. You see, Vivian knows the rules. And she usually abides by them. Gavin, on the other hand, knows the rules, but doesn't like to follow them. 

Vivian loves this about Gavin. Because this means that she gets to boss him around. And her favorite thing to say to him is, "Bad boi! Time out, Budder!" Then she proceeds to point to a corner and tell him to "Go sit! Two minutes!" It's hilarious. 

Viv also likes to copy what we say when we are reprimanding Gavin. For instance, if I tell Gavin to stay in his seat, Vivi will repeat, "Stay seat, Gamin!" She's nutzo.

Donuts & Playtime

This past Sunday morning reminded me of my childhood. You see, when I was growing up, my dad worked every Monday through Saturday. So on Sunday mornings, my sister and I would wake up really early with my dad, go to 7-11, get donuts and chocolate or strawberry milk, and then we would either go to the park or go bowling (or both). We would also sometimes bring along a friend (like Rachel, Sarah, Kacie, and/or Sheryce). These Sunday mornings were very important to me (and my sister) growing up.

Well, this past Sunday, Wes and I took the kiddos out for donuts and playtime at the park. We were the only people there for about 40 minutes (which was also common when I was a kid). Gavin and Vivian had a ball running around and climbing the play equipment.

It was a great Sunday morning that I hope we can continue to experience for many years.