Saturday

I haven't written in a few days, so I figured I may go ahead and post an update.

Emerald and Gabriel are being really really sweet, which is a nice change since they have been so very, very exhausting the last few days. Since it snowed (briefly) yesterday and it has been chilly the last few days, I haven't wanted to take the kids outside. They both have runny noses, and Emerald's has recently changed colors making me worry she has a sinus infection--bleh. But it is hard keeping those kids entertained inside all day long!

Yesterday, we watched a show about birds--they taught Emerald about how birds pick up things with their beaks and feet to make nests, and they fly around and eat seed....anyways, after that was over, she and I made a "nest" on the couch of blankets and sheets and couch cushions. When Gabriel crawled into the nest, Emerald "flew" around tweeting and and bringing things to her "baby bird" brother, like snacks, toys, books...he loved it, and it was super sweet.

We usually do story time and snack time simultaneously, out in the backyard, but because of the cold, we built a small fort behind the couch and ate animal crackers and read "You Are Special"  by Max Lucado. Andrew came over for a bit to see us, which was nice--he brought us a chocolate pie.

At lunch, Gabriel had an ECI Speech therapy session, so they played blocks and we talked about things that would be motivating enough for him to actually want to communicate, how he did in school on Monday, etc. They actually went right to sleep at naptime, which was nice because Mama needed a nap too.

After nap, we kind of flitted around all afternoon--we watched some veggie tales, played in their room--Emerald pretended to be a cowgirl, which was really cute. When Michael got home, we had a nice evening at home, just us :)

Today started off on a bad note because...my friend Robyn tries and saves the dogs that are going to be euthanized from the pound. She does a really good job--she finds most of them homes--but she posts on facebook, which means I see lots of pleas to help these dogs, to find them homes, to take them in. I share a lot of her posts. Normally, I want the dogs and bother Michael about them a bit, but not sincerely--I know we have a bit of a full house.

Well today, Robyn posted a small blue Dachshund named Wilbur:

Wilbur is a 3 month old puppy that has a crooked spine--a congenital defect--so if they don't find him a home in three days, he will be put to sleep. And he's only just a baby :-(

I started crying because the story made me so sad, and he's such a sweet little puppy...Emerald came up to me and said, "Don't cry, Mama. Why you crying?"

I told her that I was sad because of a puppy, and asked if she would like Santa to bring her a puppy for Christmas.

She replied, "A puppy? No...I want snow for Christmas." She is so funny and sweet, it cheered me up a bit. 

Gabriel was playing in his room and I went to go check on him...but he wasn't there. I start looking through the rooms, increasingly panicking and calling his name, when I hear a muffled giggle. The toot had hidden under the blankets on my bed and was hiding from me!! 

I have some very sweet babies. 

<3 ~Andie~

Last Day of Daycare

Today was the kid's last day of daycare at Bright Horizons for the semester, which meant 1) pajama day; 2) pictures with Santa day; and 3) Christmas party!

Gabriel got Chic-Fil-A nuggets, fruit, veggies, and juice. He accidentally closed his hand in the door of his classroom, so they called me and I got an "Accident Report" but it didn't even bruise. Totally a non-issue.
Last year, Emerald was in the Monkey class like Gabriel is this year; she had the same teachers--their gift was a really pretty ceramic decorative thing with Emerald's name and hand prints. So I was kind of hoping that I would get one from Gabriel this year so that I would have the matching pair. No such luck, but I did get pretty ornaments that smell sweet for our Christmas tree =) He wore the pajama's Holly got him for Christmas last year that has robot stuff all over it.

Emerald wore pretty blue pajamas and matching headband, and her class had a pizza party. She made us a glass green and red ornament that I really love--it's beautiful. Her day was rather uneventful--they didn't really tell us anything!

Now, I actually had a very weird day for me!

This morning, even though I had less to do than normal, I was really frazzled. I felt like I was running horribly behind when I was doing just fine. On the walk to daycare, Rhonda passed us and gave us a ride, and then I walked back home.

When I got there, the big wooden door was just standing open.

I freaked out, and called Michael at work. He told me to walk through every room of the house and stay on the phone with him. LUCKILY, it was just me being a gigantic airhead and leaving the door open for the first time ever, but I was worried that someone was in the house.

I do the dishes, straighten the living room, and settle down in my recliner with some heavy blankets to read. I hadn't gotten very far when the door is thrown open and I hear Michael bellow, "ANDIE?!?!". He turns the corner and sees me just sitting here reading, and I his face is rage itself.

Now it makes me laugh, but I saw him and thought he was just really really ticked off that I had left the door open on accident and that I was calling him so much at work and he was getting in trouble. Apparently, he had called me to check-in after the scare earlier, and I hadn't answered....so he called back 14 more times.

I swear, I NEVER heard it ring once, and I didn't even have any missed calls listed. But he walks in scared out of his mind, and I am sitting there calmly reading my book with my phone right next to me like it always is...I can only assume that he thought I was ignoring him! Well, he tore into me--chewed me out, probably because he was upset and scared, and I was scared....Anyways, big ordeal, I will never leave the door open again!

When the kids got home, Beth came over and brought them their Christmas present of the entire Narnia series , which was really cool, and me a sewing kit =)

I took them outside and we played on the swing set while Michael made our pizza party dinner! Hurrah! Now we are sitting down to watch Teen Titans with our pizza--good end to a weird day!

Afternoon Outside

Since my post this morning (kinda), we did a lot.

When the kids got up from their nap, they were awfully fussy, so I decided they probably needed some fresh air and exercise.

At first, we lay down a blanket on the ground and had clementines cuties and gatorade for snack, while I read my favorite book of the kid's "Wednesday Is Spaghetti Day" to the kids. They really liked their snack and story time being combined, and it was such a lovely day.

Well, when I was growing up, my grandfather Papa would give us four hard manual labor (specifically moving rocks from one place to another) so we would tire ourselves out and sleep through the night when we spent the night at his house. So I decide that we should probably clean up the backyard--maybe if we gather them, we can jump in leaf piles!

Emerald I set to sweeping, which she had a lot of fun with. Gabriel mostly just ran around, but I did get him picking up some trash and put it in the trashcan.

After we did a while of cleaning, we played on the swing set and slides =) I really need to buy some WD40 for that squeaky swingset!!

Emerald was in a really good mood, but she is so very pale!! Her hair is getting so so long, and she seems to be thinning out, just getting taller and taller. 

Gabriel was in a really great mood because he needed the fresh air. That boy never seems quite as happy as he is when he is outside. Don't you just love how brown his beautiful eyes are?? Of course, that is probably narcissism talking--they inherited my eye color, lol. Although Gabriel's is a bit darker than mine. 

We came inside and cleaned up our bedrooms and took a bath, and now they are helping me make tacos for supper--yum!! 

=) ~Andie~

Decorating For Christmas

So, technically this was last week or so BUT I just got the pictures on my computer, so I thought I would share!

Emerald, Gabriel, and I baked Christmas sugar cookies and decorated the tree together while Mike was at work. We would have waited for him, but we wanted to surprise him with holiday cheer! 

We used pictures of the children to decorate the table. =)

And finally, here is the Christmas tree all up and decorated! Doesn't it make my maroon carpet just a little more festive??? The tree is lovely with the lights on =) 

It's Been a Long Time

To be honest, I haven't even THOUGHT about this blog in a long time. I have gotten more technologically advanced, which means that I can keep people updated on the kids from a mixture of texts and picture messages easier than I can keep up with a blog. But now that Ken is travelling for work more and not getting to see the children as often, I figured it was time to start the blog back up again so that everyone can be kept up-to-date on the little details of our lives!

Today is Tuesday, which means 1 thing: Speech therapy.

Last March (maybe?), Emerald was still having a lot of trouble with her communication. She knew signs, but for the most part, only Rhonda and I could really understand her conversation most of the time. Even Michael and her teachers at school were clueless as to what she was saying. So, we contacted Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) to come evaluate her.

ECI has turned out to be a Godsend. Emerald's speech has improved DRASTICALLY since she started in speech therapy, and we have started getting her anxiety (due to auditory stress--loud or excessive noises tend to stress her out) under control.

Since she has turned 3, she has been going to Speech at Bowie elementary once a week with Ms. Amy. Emerald adores Ms. Amy, and her communication is improving even more rapidly. The best part of the speech, though, is that it gives me and Gabriel about an hour once a week, every week to go to Bowie park and play.

I love Bowie park. Most people prefer Maxie, but Maxie (is that how it is spelled??) is always swarming with people, no matter the season. At Bowie, every day it is just me and Gabriel. During the summer when I take both the kids, there may be one other family there occasionally, but it is still usually just us three.

Gabriel, needless to say, adores this time. He is practically fearless as he jumps off the playground equipment into my arms, swings on the big swings all by himself, or barrels down the slide face first. He runs and jumps and laughs and plays, and it makes him so very very happy.

Today was especially nice because despite being December, it was a lovely day. Not too hot, not too cold. Just lovely.

Emerald was so excited to see Ms. Amy that she ran up and gave her a great big hug, then started tugging on her hand so they could go get started :)

On the way home, we had a snack of sour cream and chive crackers and lemonade. Tuesday always wears the kids out, and since Mike works late, we have a late lunch, which means late nap, but all in all, it is one of the kid's favorite days.

At lunch, Emerald stole an Andy's Hot Fry from Michael's plate, but after two bites she decided that she did NOT like Andy's Hot Fries, lol.

I will update more later, hopefully!!

Love love ~Andie~