Twin Time: Hike to Red Knoll

For Twin Time today, we went on a short hike to see the colors and collect leaves. It was the perfect distance for the twins. Not too hard. Even the baby walked most of the way. She got really frustrated when I carried her every once in a while.

The girls were delighted to find a pirates flag at the top of our climb. I don't think it's usually there. I'm assuming someone placed it in honor of Halloween. What fun!
The fall colors were so beautiful! I wish I'd had more room on my camera to snap some pictures of the foliage. Not only are the colors fantastic, but the weather is great, and the light is so beautiful in the fall. What a lovely day for a hike!

The girls invited Aunt Shawna to come on our hike with us. I'm so glad she came. I thought I could do it by myself, but after having been there, I don't think that would have been so pleasant. As an added bonus she brought some delicious cookies. We munched them at the top. Camden now thinks cookies are part of the hiking tradition. On the way down she said, "Next time we go hiking, when we get to the top, we'll have a cookie, and then walk back down." Sounds like it's set in stone.

Twin Time: Rainbow Fish

The twins capers have slowed down a bit (knock on wood), so I haven't had as much to write about. I also haven't been taking the time to develop lovely stories of their adventures. We have been having a daily "Twin Time" activity, some of which have been documented on my regular blog. I thought posting it here might be better use of cyberspace.

This past week Twin Time has been kind of hit and miss. Cleaning, scouts, and doctor visits have monopolized the hours of the day. We did manage to squeeze a few things in. On Wednesday we read "Rainbow Fish" and then made some fish of our own.

Our craft projects really reveal big differences in the twins' personalities. Cadence does three quick strokes with the paint brush and moves on. I had to encourage her to keep painting, just to keep her occupied while Camden finished.
Camden is very meticulous. She painstakingly dabs every inch of the circle with one color or another before moving on to the next. The canvas must be covered completely or it is not done.
I had to beg for a picture of them with their fish. This project took a little longer than some. They were ready to go play.
What cute fish!

Snippets of Fun

A mom can't always plan her potty breaks for nap time. Sometimes you just need a minute. When this happens I put Wrigley in her crib with some toys so I know she's safe. This has been a great strategy in the past. What I didn't account for was the possibility of the twins climbing into the crib.

I had to take such a break this morning. When I emerged from the bathroom a short time later I found the twins in Wrigley's crib. Cadence with a pair of scissors in her hand, cutting. She'd snipped pieces of her hair, Cami's hair, and worst of all, the baby's hair. There was a fine layer of silken locks all over the crib sheets! Most of it was dispersed like a fine mist throughout the crib (I had to change the lint roller 3 times while cleaning it up), but I did manage to find two clumps of dark red hair. One on the bed, another I found behind the crib when I changed the sheets later in the day. Cadi now has tresses framing her face 4-6 inches shorter than the rest of her hair. Camden the same. It was just long enough for braids and pigtails! Poor Wrigley wasn't lucky enough to have the just back, or sides of her hair trimmed. Cadence lopped off a section right at the crown of her head. She now has a bald spot like a middle aged man. She had more hair there the day she was born than she does now! I suppose we, like the 40 something year-old man, will be practicing the comb-over for the next year or so.

Making Up for Lost Time

My children haven't been angelic by any means, but they have been less destructive than usual for the last month. That and I've been running out my frustrations instead of blogging. Today they seemed to feel the need to make up for lost time.

The twins like to play in the coat closet from time to time, something I've never worried about before. Since the closet is just inside the kitchen, I keep all the lunchbox stuff on the shelf above the hanging rack. I don't know why I thought it was safe. Perhaps it's because they've never bothered it before. I should have known it was only a matter of time before they ventured upwards. They raided the goldfish, the raisins, the juice boxes... and for some reason there was an ink pad on that shelf, which they of course found, and now there are blue fingerprints all over the back of the closet. Most of the coats are black, so it's hard to tell if they've been blotted as well (I'd take a picture, but the batteries in my camera are dead). All this happened while I was working at the computer (trying, in vain, to create some kind of schedule to organize my life), and after I'd spent a half hour having "story time" with them. You'd think that mommy time would inspire good behavior.

After lunch (that they didn't eat due to snack engorged tummies), they went outside to play. I heard much whining and screaming about wanting to swim, which privilege I denied because it wasn't warm enough. It was unseasonably pleasant this afternoon. Which would make mountain water feel absolutely freezing on their skin. During an attempt to track down my first grader's teacher's email address the baby came sloshing in the back door. They'd sprayed her with the hose. When I went out to quell the rebellion I discovered that they'd been picking the tomatoes out of the garden. Tiny, baby, green tomatoes that have not yet begun to reach maturity! They pick my three that had started to turn. Camden squashed the one tomato that was almost ready, thereby denying me the first fruits of the tomato season. I live for fresh garden tomatoes! I gathered them all up and placed them in the fruit basket on the counter in hopes that they might be saved.

Not having any luck with getting an email to the teacher, I got the girls dressed in dry clothes and decided they needed an outlet for their energy. We went on a walk/bike ride. Once through the neighborhood was sufficient to tire them out. I let them watch cartoons while I worked on my scheduling before we picked the big girls up from school. We made it to the school, and survived a stop at the grocery store without incident. With the exception of finding the girls in the bathroom dunking their new-shoe-clad-feet into the toilet, I was able to make dinner without any turmoil.
After dinner I bathed the baby and took her downstairs for Chloe to watch while I bathed the twins. While climbing the stairs I heard a loud, "clunk!" I opened the nursery door to find the twins back in business. Camden had stood on the arm of the rocking chair, to get over to the dresser. She stood on the dresser to get to the shelving hanging on the wall. There she found a box that had two permanent markers in it (I'd left them there after boxing up some clothes a couple weeks ago) and she proceeded to color. She must have hung on the shelf to some extent, because the top of it is now streaked with purple, and when I entered the room it was on the floor, and the nails have gouged their way down the wall.

She defaced the picture of The Savior hanging in Wrigley's room (I seriously doubt he's ever had a purple mustache), colored on the walls, marked up the shelf, blotched the rocking chair, and marked up her face. Cadence got in on the action a little bit too. She has some permanent purple markings herself.

I was not happy. I'd somehow managed to keep my cool all day long. I sent them out of the room to avoid jumping all over them. But as we know, I don't learn from the past. Sending them anywhere is not a good thing. They went into the guest room where Camden sat on the bed and peed. Of course the bed has a memory foam topper on it, so it's not a simple "spray and wipe" kind of clean up. I lost it. I spanked that little bum! Mean, I know, but I'm giving myself brownie points for not raising my voice.

They are now bathed and in bed. Now if I can just get Madilyn to stay that way before I go all "Mommy Dearest" on her framework... Ugh. As soon as Stuart gets home I need a good run!

Showing Your Colors

I spent yesterday trying desperately to catch up on the laundry (I did not succeed) before I had to head off for the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. In the middle of all the washing and folding, Madilyn asked me if she could paint. I stupidly said, "yes" (any smart mom would be able to see what's coming). I continued on my laundry mission without another thought about paint. Soon before I was to leave for Scouts, Madilyn comes into where I was folding shirt after shirt, after shirt... and tells me that the twins made a mess with the paint. I told her she needed to clean it up since she got the paint out and was responsible for it. A few minutes later a very red child appeared in my doorway with a globular, painted masterpiece clutched in one hand. She had paint in her hair, on her clothes, and in her hands. I sent her downstairs before said mass ended up on the carpet or the walls, but not before I snapped a few pictures of her with what came through the door next;

I think this is the closest thing I have ever seen to a Smurf. Camden had paint from the tips of her fingers to the tops of her arms. The back of her head was blue. I was not happy! The baby was waking up. I needed to feed her and dash off to set up for scouts!
I threw the twins into the shower. They did not like it, but I wasn't about to have them playing around in the bathtub, splashing blue (I guess it would be purple since blue and red make... ta-da! purple) water everywhere.

After I got everyone showered, dressed in their PJ's, and combed their hair, I went downstairs to survey the damage. It was worse than I expected. There was water and paint from the fridge, all the way around the island, under the table, and over to the carpet's edge in the family room. Globs of paint graced the table, counters, and doors. UGH! I'm was suppose to be leaving right then! How come these things never happen when I'm away? I think paint is officially banned from our house. I don't want to see them covered in paint again until they're in college. By then the only color I better see is blue. I think Grandpa Henry would have a heart attack if one of his own flesh and blood went over to the dark (dark red that is) side!

Make-over

What does Cadi do with her spare time? What any girl does, she gives herself a make-over.

As an added bonus she gave my bathroom a splash of color, and edited my make-up bag.

She was very upset. So was I. Good thing daddy was home to clean up the girl. I'm sure the bathroom appreciated the scrub down. It was much needed.

Just Shut the Water Off Already!!!

I don't get what their obsession is with the water. More particularly, what Cadi's obsession is with the water. What's a mother to do? There are things I have to do during the day. I can't just sit around, staring at my children all day long to make sure they don't do something awful can I? I can't leave everything for when they're in bed. I'm not keeping up with the day to day as it is. I have to work on my chores during the day. I don't see a way around it.

This afternoon I took a mountain of laundry upstairs to fold. The older girls were working on a craft. The little girls were having some cartoon time. The baby was taking a nap. What's to worry about? Especially since the little girls followed me upstairs and made themselves comfortable in my room where I could see them. They left a few times to check on Chloe and Madilyn's crafting progress (thank you Grandma Henry for the CTR ring painting kit. They had fun!), but for the most part were intrigued enough by the cute puppies on "Groomer Has It" to hang out with me.

I was very surprised (who am I kidding? Does anything really surprise me anymore?) to find blue paint on the back of Cadi's legs on her last return trip. Ugh. Those big girls didn't put the paint away when they finished. While scrubbing the paint off I noticed her soaking wet shirt. Oh. No. I went downstairs for an inspection and confirmed my suspicions. She'd been playing at the kitchen sink. Again. Using the sprayer. Again. With the big girls in the same room, doing nothing about it. Good grief! My dishwasher is STILL broken from the last encounter.

So once again I wiped the cupboards down, soaked up the water from the counters and the floor. I pulled the stuff out of the cupboards and dried the shelves, leaving the items normally hidden from view out to dry. I poured the water out of the toaster, squeegeed the water off the window sill, and patted down the bubbling paint. All this while trying to find a phone number so Chloe could call her school friend. This is where we discovered a new feature to the water works game, the phone wasn't working. After I pull it off the wall, dry it off, and check all the connections it occurs to me to check the plugs. Sure enough she'd sprayed enough water to trip the outlets. Thankfully it was an easy fix this time.

What's a mother to do? I don't know, but I'm sure getting tired of this game.