Our Little Bugs

Addie randomly decided that she wanted to be a ladybug for halloween. On our Addie/Mommy date, we swung by a consignment sale and low and behold...there was a lady bug costume in her size! She couldn't wouldn't put it down; and for $7, I wouldn't have either! So then the search started for something for the little girls to wear. they all love to dress up; so in just a few weeks, these will be well loved!

The thing is, I just wasn't crazy about the butterfly and dragonfly costumes i was finding. they were just a little too growny for our 2 year olds! so i found audrey kate's dress, which originally had butterfly wings attached, on ebay; her antennas and anne perry's dress came from one step ahead; her dragonfly wings, addies tights and wings and antennas, and anne perry's wings and antennas all came from amazon. can we say pieced together costumes? wings were altered. poofy things attached. antennas switched. feet cut out of tights.

And before I knew it, this is what we had: a dragonfly, a ladybug, and a butterfly!

they weren't overly eager to take pictures..
but with a promise that they could run through the front yards like little bugs...

they started having fun with it!

of course silly is their favorite face to make!
and some were sillier than others!

we worked on sad...

and scared...

or maybe that's surprised! :) but whatever faces they made, it was pretty hilarious and there were lots of giggles! we attempted to have a little garden time...not completely successfully though! they did get to run around like little bugs... play a little hide and seek... and look for bugs! and it was all worth it to get a few fun memories! happy fall!
see ya later y'all!

Camping with Daddy

Addie informed Paul a few weeks ago that she wanted to go camping. Being the wise daddy that he is, he decided backyard camping might be a good place to start!

So we rounded up a tent (thanks didi & tim!) and decided on a non-rainy, non-humid night. it took a few weeks to find one, but it was perfect!

Paul and Addie set up the tent while the little girls were napping.
and Finn kept us company while we pulled out the fire pit.  the little girls thought it was so much fun to run in and out and back and forth in the tent. while mommy and daddy attempted to start a fire with organic wood pieces!?!?! a little newspaper (that would be how my dad started fires and it worked for us too! thanks dad!), dry leaves and dry sticks from the yard seemed to do the trick.  and we were well on our way to hotdogs!

and what's a camp out without s'mores cooked over the fire?

we knew addie loved them...

but it was a first for the little girls!
and they were serious about their s'more eating!
i'd say they enjoyed them!
then we played until it got dark...dirty s'mores faces and all!
yummy! then paul and addie came in to help me get the little girls ready for bed and addie in her pjs. i followed them back out for a quick minute to grab some pictures! and she was one excited little camping girl! and the best part, they slept out there all night long! success!

i think this might just become a daddy daughter tradition around here!

It Gets Easier...Really?

i vividly remember people looking at me when addie was barely two and the twins were newborns and knowingly saying...

i promise it will get easier.

i have no idea what planet they were from, but they had clearly never had two two year olds at the same time! sure, i'm not waking up in the middle of the night to nurse twins. they can hold their heads up and sit up (and stand and walk and run and jump!). they can mostly communicate what they need/want...simultaneously.

but easier...?

no. it's just a different kind of challenge!

and while there's no way it's easier, it's absolutely just as crazy, fun, unpredictable, unexpected, never dull, always keep you on your toes...

...and an utter and complete blessing to be their mama.

but i'm not going to lie...it's not easy to be joyful always.

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one unusual afternoon when the little girls just wouldn't nap, i let them continue laughing and giggling and playing in their room. i figured they were in their beds jumping up and down and being silly...in their individual beds.

but i could have never imagined what i was about to walk into:

addie and i went in to find both girls behind the window shade playing..

i started to say, why does it smell like...

...diaper rash cream.

and i turned on the lights and screamed.

not a little girl squeal. an oh-my-word-what-on-the-earth-is-that-what-have-you-done-there-are-no-words scream!

they were covered in it.
and the bed had been painted in it!

and they knew they were in trouble...

but what i knew was that no punishment was needed.

because it would be spent in the bathtub for an hour trying to get it out of their hair...

it wouldn't come out. not with shampoo. not with dawn.

it took googling it. patting it with baking soda. letting it dry. rinsing it with coke. repeating. rewashing it with dawn. repeating it all. rinse. repeat. rinse. repeat.

you get my point? 

and anne perry still looked like she'd just stepped off the set of an 80's movie, shiny curls and all!

so before all of that washing took place, i told them they had to let me take pictures and they couldn't touch anything. then i drug them out to the front porch and texted a few pictures to daddy...and told him to come home asap!

easier?

no way; but it's never dull, always entertaining, mostly exhausting, never predictable, always unexpected.

and a constant, consistent blessing.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

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apparently a few of these pictures have been emailed, texted and shared with people we know and don't know...and they've served as a source of giggles, laughter, chuckles, and thank-goodness-that-didn't-happen-to-me!

now i can laugh about it. then. not so much.

happy friday, friends!

Visit to the Vet

a few weeks ago, we went on addie's first field trip of the year...to a local veterinary clinic! they learned all about what a vet does and how they take care of our animals. i'd say she was pretty enthralled.  then they took them in an ultrasound room and showed them a kidney or maybe it was a stomach? but they had no idea what was awaiting them! this sweet fawn was found on the side of the road earlier that day after his mama had been hit by a car. it was so sad to watch him bc all he wanted was his mama!

the kids were amazed!

after they calmed down a bit, the sweet baby drank from a bottle. a wildlife agency certified to care for wild animals was coming by later that morning to help rehabilitate and foster the baby dear, but the vet was so sweet to let the kids see him first! we headed out to watch the dogs play in the outdoor pool and play area, but this sweet girl held the door for everyone first!
we got a quick group picture and headed to cfa!
addie's teacher's husband owns the cfa near our house, and he treated us all to lunch! the kids had a blast, and we got to visit with other moms! excellent ending to a fun field trip!