Move along people!

After church tonight Victoria and I decided that we would treat ourselves to Taco Bell drive thru. James has been swallowed by a big blue black hole called a semi these past few days getting it ready to hit the road next week. He went to an earlier service and headed back to the truck to do more work which left us solo after we left church. We got in line at the Bell and proceeded to inch our way up to the window to get our food. It was taking quite a while and Victoria was getting antsy. We had finally made our way up to the position of next in line to get our food and the car in front of us must have had a big order because they were taking a substantial amount of time. Victoria inched her way between the two front seats and let out a sigh saying "Can't these people just go to McDonald's???"

Christmas morning!

The babies and I giving Christmas hugs in their new outfits from Santa.


We had to beg Anthony to try to open his gifts. He only was interested in this one once he saw that there was a car inside. He was more interested in knowing where the pancakes were.



Addison didn't have much excitement for her Christmas presents that Santa left her other than carrying them around the house for a while. She was very excited and squealing while doing that though.


Baby Alive. This was the big gift other than her digital camera this year for Victoria. Baby Alive talks, has creepy eyes that blink, and pees and poops after you feed her runny baby food that has to be mixed up and a bottle of water. Baby alive not only pees and poops out of it's bottom it also pees and poops out it's hip joints, arm pits and any other seam in the doll. Sooo much fun!!!!

Indy and then the in-laws

James woke up very early this morning to make it to Indy to take care of more paperwork for the semi and I spent the morning looking for documents online to fax to him when he got there (later finding out that he didn't need them, so typical of goverment offices) Once he hit the door we were in bath mode and the kids all took a bath together for the first time. Victoria was in hog heaven. We kept the babies bathtub in the tub and just let the water overflow in it. Victoria got to help them wash their hair and really felt like she was doing something special, not knowing that we were throwing all of them in there to save some time, and hot water.

We took off and got to Mom and Dad's around 5ish and started stuffing our faces. We watched an awesome DVD, CD, CDR (that is for you Tyler) that he had put together for the family of pictures of the past year. Wow we have changed, the babies are growing like weeds and I need to get my butt to the gym tomorrow! LOL! We stayed for about 3 or so hours and my hubby started to fall over on me from getting up so early and Victoria caught wind of someone saying that tonight Santa comes and she was coat on, and in the car, in 2 seconds.

When we got home I got everyone in bed and started the assembly of the Santa presentation. I hadn't had a chance to get all of Victoria's toys out from Mamaw and Papaw's party or the kitchen set she got with Gramma Harb's "credit card" so I grabbed my screwdriver and James grabbed a bag of goldfish and watched me knuckles bleeding while I put together Victoria's kitchen. He and I joked around for about an hour about me getting banged up and him being an owner/operator now and not having to do any assembly in the house, while laughing hysterically. We had a ball! I tip toed into Victoria's room and placed her presents under the tree that Santa had put up in her room and displayed her other gifts around the tree with a note from Santa explaining the meaning of Christmas and that he had assembled all of the toys because he saw that mom and dad had been really busy the past few days. I fell into bed and James and I were asleep in about 10 minutes.

Split Christmas

Today is the Craig family Christmas. Brooklyn came over Sunday to stay with us and left 10 minutes later when we found lice eggs in her hair. Her sister brought it home the night before. I had enough with dealing with the little critters so I had her leave her stuff in the car and I took her straight into the bathroom to do my own investigation. I felt horrible for her she had been so excited about coming over and she had to leave as soon as she got here. So for the Craig Christmas we had a split celebration those that were egg free this week and those that were not egg free this week. Victoria, the babies and I took off and headed over early before Brooklyn's mom dropped her off and we had our Christmas with Mamaw and Papaw while Daddy was off picking up our new semi and taking care of paperwork. Once we were done we took off to head to the house and get ready for church and Daddy (who has no hair) spend the evening with Brooklyn and Makenzie and his parents. We stressed about it all night and morning and James came up with the split Christmas idea and I believe it worked really well. I am sure that the two oldest girls enjoyed having daddy to themselves.

Victoria and I took the babies and headed to church to drink hot chocolate and listen to Christmas songs and a good teaching about the Christmas story. She really enjoyed the service and kept wiping away tears off of my cheeks while they played O Holy Night. It was nice for her and I to have some time to ourselves too. All in all it was a nice family Christmas for everyone around.

Christmas Monday!!!

After a great weekend at church where Victoria got to join us in "our church" where it snowed on stage it was time for Leslie Monday. I had been working on our homemade Christmas gift for her. Leslie and I have a ton of inside jokes too many to name actually I have been keeping a running log of all of our Mondayisms so that I could make her a scrapbook with all of our inside jokes. I named it "The big book of things that only make sense to us!" It turned out great and she loved it. She got Victoria an adorable dress that she wore to Christmas Eve-eve service, and the babies some precious pjs. For me she got me a coffee cup and some homemade Fair Trade chocolate and a pic of us in the Krispy Kreme drive thru. She also brought a homemade quilt from an old client of mine. She made the quilts for the babies when they were born and they were beautiful, but she really outdid herself with this one. It is toddler size and made with a house pattern on it. It is so bright and happy and Victoria loves it. She informed me that the peacock blanket that I made for her, she doesn't want to use anymore. lol! We had a great time and while my loving husband watched Shepard and the twins we headed off to Walmart with Victoria to do some shopping, and analyzing of Christmas light with Leslie, the Simon Cowell of Christmas lights.

Aunt Punkin invited us over to make Christmas cookies this morning. We had a blast full of sticky fingers from icing, and funny songs about sweet potatoes on the back porch after the racoons got into her trash the night before.

Victoria and I beside Punkin's Christmas tree. Victoria is wearing her Santa apron and hat that Gramma Harb got for her.

To my Christmas Angel....

I recieved your gift in the mail today only signed "Merry Christmas from a Christmas Angel". I don't know if you read my blog or how you knew of our need but I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am welling up with tears as I type and have been since I opened up the card. I don't know who you are but my father said you shouldn't reveal the identity of a Christmas Angel just let it be and enjoy it. If you do indeed read my blog I want to again say thank you and let you know that I stand in awe of the spirit of giving this Christmas. You have earned your crown in heaven!

The view from the front seat

Today Victoria recieved a Walmart gift card from the prison ministries from Tina. Victoria thought she had hit the jackpot. She calls gift cards, credit cards. We headed off to the store to pick up some stuff and spend her credit card. She thought is was really cool that her and mommy went by ourselves without the babies while dad was watching them. She gets to ride in the front seat on very short trips when we do that. She sat in the passenger seat like it was a throne. I put on her seat heater and she talked about the fireplace under her butt.

We met Leslie when she got off of work to go and look at Christmas lights. We went to Lake Forest. That was definately the place to go and see lights, but we also learned that just because you have money doesn't mean you have taste when it comes to putting up Christmas lights. There were some beautifully decorated homes and some that looked like drunk monkeys put the lights up by candlelight (that one is for you honey). We got lost and had to hook up Leslie's GPS to find our way out. After a trip to Wendy's for some fries and a drink we headed home beat from all of the running around fell into bed.

Arby's BBQ Chicken pizza and an old friend.

Tonight I had my friend Jill Pennington over. Although not related to the Pennington side of my family she is family just the same. I have been in a creative mood in the kitchen and have been making up new recipes. Earlier this week I invented chicken and rice puff in the crock pot. It is very easy all you have to do is add way too much rice to the recipe. Tonight I decided to try BBQ chicken pizza. I made a batch of oven fried chicken and cut it up and mixed in 6 packs of Arby sauce that I had and some extra BBQ sauce. I put it on top of a pizza crust and added Parmesan cheese and some mixed shredded cheese. It turned out pretty good, at least mom and Jill said it did. We enjoyed conversation and food while watching the babies play in the antlers that Jill brought for us to look at Christmas light in. Victoria was unable to make it to the festivities because Mamaw and Papaw wanted her to spend the night.

While Victoria was gone I played Santa and wrapped presents and made out the note back to Victoria thanking her for the wrapping paper that she picked out for her gift. I found her table top Christmas tree in the shed and set it up in her room on her end table, from Santa. Santa told her that while rummaging around in our shed he found and it knew that she was upset that we didn't have room for a tree this year due to the corral in the living room for the babies. She really got a kick out of it. I love playing Santa.

On top of all of the happening in the house across the country my cousin Jill had her little girl. Theresa Kathleen was born! Congrats Jill and Kevin!

Happy 12th Birthday John and Athan!

Today is Johnathan's 12th birthday. I got an email from his mom Anne letting me know that he had a sleepover with some friends and is getting a phone for his birthday. He was chosen student of the month, out of 265 kids in his grade, at his school and continues to be an honor student. I still haven't heard from him directly but I love getting to hear how he is spending his special day. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will write me tonight. We will see.

11 years ago today I decided to celebrate his first birthday by getting a cake of my own. I went to the JayC grocery store in Sellersburg and headed to the bakery. I picked out a small cake and asked if they could put Happy 1st Johnathan. The little grandma must have had a hard time hearing me and asked me to repeat myself, after telling her "Johnathan, you know, like John and Nathan" to help her with the spelling she nodded to let me know she understood. I wandered around the store to pick up a few more things and headed back to the bakery to pick up my cake. I set it in my cart and headed to the front to make my purchase. I glanced down as I was walking away from the bakery to notice what the kind little grandma had written on my cake. "Happy 1st John & Athan". I almost wet my pants from laughing. It really took the edge off of the sadness that I was unable to celebrate with him myself. I should have taken this as a sign from God that I was going to have twins down the road. I never did eat the cake because it continues to make me laugh. It still sets in my parents freezer.

Angels

I have never missed an opportunity to complain about the kids driving me nuts so I have to take the opportunity to praise them on how well they did today.

The babies 15 month doc appointment was today. I was unsure how it would go considering that I went to check on the babies last night after giving them a bath and found Anthony laying in a mess asleep on his bed. Seemed dinner didn't agree with him or his "bug" hasn't completely left his little body. Needless to say Anthony arrived extra clean with 2 baths for the night. They have grown 2 inches in 3 months and now are weighting 20.1 for Anthony and 20.11 for Addison. While waiting in the room they just walked around and played with the table and sissy. Victoria was abducted by aliens and was so well behaved I couldn't stop smiling (which is hard to do when you are waiting on the doc to enter the room). She was so cute with them keeping them entertained while we waited.

After one shot and a prescription for some magic butt creme (lol) We headed off to get our prescription filled and get Anthony a bottle of Claritin to see if that will help with the chronic congestion that he has. Poor little guy snorts when he is eating and snores like his father, well almost. Grandma Harb met us at Target and we headed to Horseshoe, formerly Ceasers, to eat. Grandma gets to eat free and gets to bring a guest so we were happy to oblige. The food was great, service was even better and Anthony left with a new girlfriend. He was really laying on the charm blowing kisses to our server. Addison covered herself in mashed potatoes and we headed out to let Victoria play on the moving sidewalk, always a favorite for children.

We spent a couple hours in Walmart shopping and even still after leaving the house before 9 and getting a shot the babies and Victoria were still on their best behavior pushing 6, and that is with no nap. I couldn't' have asked for better children. So well behaved and polite I wanted the day to never end.

When we got home Addison and Anthony started their obsession with Little People. Mom started her obsession with them after a visit at Mary Beth's mom's house. Davis Mary Beth's adorable son has all kinds of them and I just fell in love. Addison has been toting around a block Grandma found at a yard of a little girl with piggy tails and we figured with the Christmas present from my Granny that Little People was the way to go with our first purchase. Addison got a car with a mommy and little baby in the back seat that plays music and honks and Anthony got a cop car that has a working siren. When he figured out how to turn the siren on by pushing the lights on top of the car he continued to push it and give me a look like "Did you see that? I, Boogie Bear, made that happen!" He felt so powerful.

Oh I wouldn't trade today for the world. I get frustrated a lot about very minor things and forget to just appreciate my kids and today God reminded me that they are a joy, a joy indeed!

Cobwebs in December

If you have been following my blog you will know that Monday is Leslie day. In the past few weeks we have been laughing hysterically at the VH1 series Scream Queens. What can we say, it doesn't take much to entertain us. Leslie decided to make it extra special and brought us some Halloween spiderwebs and some plastic Halloween goblets complete with fake blood painted on the sides. Victoria thought we had lost our minds until we told her to go and get in her dress up clothes, put on a costume and hang out with us. She chose her red devil dress that Grandma Harb found for two dollars at Meijer, a witch hat and her black and neon yellow stripped tights. We enjoyed a great bowl of chili and some peanut butter cookies while watching this week's The Office (for the 4th time for me, one of the best ones ever) and some Samantha Who and we had Victoria to bed after watching her Shrek the Halls. We turned out the lights and lit candles to enjoy the finale of Scream Queens. I am well aware that we made a big production out of a insignificant show but that is just what we do on our Mondays. We refuse to be grown ups and always have a ball! We wouldn't have it any other way.

All is well!

This morning my prayers were answered. James woke up without any symptoms. I knew it would be a 24 hour thing like it was for the rest of us, and I am glad it was. He had fun teasing me about my forgetfulness and I had fun teasing him about the fact that he can't take bath without falling asleep in it. After a morning of playing, teasing each other, water fights, pillow fights and wrestling (all before noon) I had to say a sad good bye to my husband so that he could go to work and start his week. I miss him already. Drive carefully honey, love you!

Patients

I could of spelled the title either way. Our home is full of sick people. It started with Addison a couple of days ago, then we all stared dropping like dominoes. Victoria was the next to fall starting at 2 in the morning continued all through the rest of the day. Anthony started a couple of hours after I started running to the bathroom. It was not a pretty picture. Thank God James was on his way home, the poor guy! He walked into a war zone full of trash cans and clear paths to the restroom. Mom and Dad called and hear the news and did a grocery run for us via phone in Walmart. They met James at his work to transfer the groceries so that he could bring them home and Mom and Dad wouldn't be exposed to the plague.

Today we (me and the kids) are feeling a hundred percent better and Daddy is wadded up in the bed like a burrito now, with a fever and experiencing all of the symptoms that we all had. I feel so bad for him so I am letting him rest as much as he can before he has to go to work tomorrow. I don't know what I would of done without him yesterday. I was helpless, as I usually am when I am not feeling good. It was horrible to not have strength to do anything little ones all needing me more so than normal. Thank God it seems to be a 24 hour bug. If anyone else is dealing with this my heart goes out to you, I feel your pain.

If I could only do what James tells me

Last night I was looking for some comfort in a book..the book of James. Holidays are a time of gathering of friends and family. A Lot of family are excited about this and a lot of families have people that get thrown into an anxiety attack thinking about it......that would be me this year. I know it is senseless to stress about something weeks away, but I am having hard time dealing with unsettled issues. There has been drama in our family in dealing with our oldest Makenzie. It has really been bothering me and I have been spending a lot of time praying about it and trying to find a way to get through to her. In trying to "get through to her" God has gotten some things through to me, funny how that works.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I have to admit I am not experiencing pure joy in this. It is uncomfortable, it is messy, it hurts to know that you are getting rejected. I am going to find joy in the fact that God is working in this situation and I am learning through this.

James 19: My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about he righteous life that God desires.

CON-VIC-TED!!! Shew, I wanted to just throw my hands up and admit defeat, then I found Psalms 18:16-19, I found joy.

Oooooh I'm driving my life away!

Well what is new in the Craig home? James has picked out a truck (when I say truck I mean semi) for purchase. He has been talking about it for some time now and with the help of my incredible parents I believe it is going to happen. He has been working for Summitt for a while now and is on a dedicated run that is running him into an early grave and not making enough money to give us hope of getting out of debt or ever living somewhere other than our trailer. My dad and him have been talking about getting him a truck and how much more money he would be making if he were running the same amount of miles in his own truck, it seems senseless to not go for it. We have both been praying about it and God seems to be saying yes. The offer that we gave Freightliner for the semi seemed to go quite smoothly. This is going to be quite a transition for us. It is a new way of doing the same thing. Kind of like when I went from working for a salon to renting a booth from a salon. Essentially doing the same kind of work but having to take care of the paperwork, and maintenance of the business. I am hoping that in this economy that this will help us keep our head above water and get out of this sardine can into a home with a little more breathing room. As James says we see a light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't a train. We will see how this goes.

We have been elfed!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Mommy's little elves

Yesterday Mamaw met us at the mall for our picture with Santa. Afterwards we headed to my favorite place Santa Depot to let the kids run around the Christmas trees.


Where are the presents??


Oh I am going to fall!



Oh these lights are sooo beautiful!


Ready for Christmas time.

Our new favorite song to ride in the car to.

Betcha didn't know.......

They say that you learn something new every day. Well, yesterday I learned a few things I would like to share with you.

-Glade flame less candles can work as a flashlight when you are crouched under the desk trying to work on the modem. (guard your eyes for the wisp of fragrance that comes out though, it tends to burn)

-The New Albany YMCA has these handy pump dispensers inside the toilet stalls in the bathroom, after 3 trips to the bathroom I learned that it is not hand sanitizer (or as Victoria calls it "Hanatizer")it dispenses, it is toilet seat cleaner. Quit your giggling. Yes I walked out of there each time rubbing it in my hands thinking "This is great I don't have to wait in line to wash my hands" not having a clue I was rubbing toilet seat cleaner on my hands

-Toilet seat cleaner smells really good and isn't too drying on your skin.

Bluetoothing Jesus.....Good stuff

Tonight was Design 101, the bible study that I have been going to to monthly for the Women's ministry. Tonight we learned more about the holy spirit, what it is, what it does, and what it is capable of.

I have been known to have my hands full every minute. Whether it be a baby that needs changing, food that needs to be cooked, clothes that need to be washed, it always seems to be something. Tonight we talked about Bluetoothing Jesus. Being in constant communication with him, Like David. He may not have STARTED everything with conversation with God he always went to him, to learn, grow and understand more about how he should be and how things should be done. We are told to be in constant communication with God, and when the Holy Spirit doesn't give you rest listen to what God is trying to teach you and say to you. The Holy Spirit in us as believers is the same Holy Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead! Isn't that AMAZING! I had never heard it said like that. That same holy spirit is inside of me, living,
breathing, and wanting to guide me.

It is no mistake how things are worded in the Bible. Living water is spoken about in the Bible quite often. Tonight we talked about how living water fills us. How does water react? How can it be described? We went through illustration after illustration of water and how it is pure, it is clear, it is moving, it is simple, it is what makes up so much of our body, when it fills something it doesn't require something to change it just fills it in the shape that it is in, it fills a hole completely, it fills from the bottom up, and all of those things describe the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is all of those things, and it wants us to let it be all of those things too.

Visioneering is the name of the book that we are studying this month. It is by Andy Stanley. It has been a great read. It has spoken to me on so many levels. Here are some quotes from the lessons in the book. .....

"God may very well use the "time of waiting" to REPAIR something in you in order to PREPARE you for what He has in store" This helped me to understand even more that the answer to some prayers may not be "NO" just "Wait I am working on lining things out for that to happen even better than you imagine" We need to keep praying and planning. We can not be idle. James always says "Yes God can move a mountain but someone may need to pick up a shovel."

I am hoping that some of this makes sense to you reader. I am really excited about it and wanted to get some of the thoughts swarming around in my head grounded and my mind and comprehension is working faster than my fingers are. I hope that at least one things speaks to you in this moment in your life, that you are letting the Holy Spirit lead you and also giving yourself time to rest and allow God to heal you and put you back together as you give of yourself.

Cramps, crying, and cat pee OH MY!

Last night was rough. The first part of my title is self explanatory, so we will just leave it at that. At 12:30 last night Addison started crying HARD. This isn't unusual because when she rolls over and loses her paci she freaks out. I got up twice to help her find her paci again and then headed back to bed. The third time I did this she still had her paci in her mouth, but was still crying. I put my hand on her back and she stopped. I think she was just having one of those night where she just needed mommy. This continued for about forty five minutes when I decided to take a blanket and pillow into the nursery and just lay with her for a while. I ended up laying on the floor with my hand through the rails on her bed rubbing her feet to let her know that I was there. This worked for a while, then the crying started again. She wasn't hot, she wasn't dirty, I just don't know what was wrong with her. I ended up giving her a dose of Motrin in case it was teeth or something and took her into the living room to hold her and get her calm. She sat in there with me for a while but wouldn't fall back asleep. After about 20 minutes of no crying I decided to try her bed again. I tip toed down the hallway to lay her down and she did without a fight. I very quietly took my place next to her bed where my pillows and blanket were laying and sat on my urine soaked blanket....THANKS LUCY!! Seems as though her night wasn't going to well either. I finally got Addison down around 4 this morning and fell into my own bed after putting my blankets from the nursery in the wash. Looks like I will be going to bed early tonight, and Lucy will be sleeping in the bathroom. :)

Mommy's traffic cone

Blogger would only let me post one video at a time so here is the other video from last night. Later when we got tired of the lunch box we placed her laundry hamper on Addison's head. She looked like a traffic cone walking through the house. I believe I have found a way to let her loose in the house and not worry about her getting into things especially the litter box. I am joking people!

Normal life

I got out the video camera today while mom was over to get some footage of our festivies. This is completely normal in our house, Victoria in a Halloween costume that Grandma found on clearance at Meijers, complete with yellow and black striped tights, Anthony chasing the Tigger toy Aunt Punkin got for him, and Addison walking around with a lunch box on her head. You can't forget her constant singing either.

Let's see....

Well life as always has been adventure as always. My head is doing better and I am slowly but surely gaining the capacity to let things go.

Here are some of the highlights and favorite quotes of the past week:

-Friday we headed to "The Pine's (the park that we live in) pitch-in dinner" James had gone to work and I walked the kids over to the storm shelter for the festivities. We were the youngest there by about 50 years and the evening ended tragically with Victoria being frightened to death by the entertainment (An 86 year old Elvis impersonator that only knew about 10 words to every song he sang) to the point of hiding under the table while I got more mac and cheese for the babies.

-James and I started our first Bible elective this weekend. It is geared toward marriage enrichment and looks like it is going to be great! I am VERY proud of him for participating. I know getting up early is not his favorite thing to do on his only day off but he is an incredible husband for doing so. My favorite quote of the class titled "Dealing with Differences" is that "My wife and I live in a two-story home, her story and mine" This was not a quote from James but from the man teaching the study. Even though I understand the meaning of the statement it made me feel like we have a bigger home.

-Victoria added to my love for the Kirk Franklin's song "Stomp" There is a line in the song "My brother can't you see I've got the VICTORY.....stomp" Well our little Victoria was singing the song at the top of her lungs on the way home from church this morning and sang the line like this....."My brother can't you see I've got someplace to be.....stomp" I cracked up so hard I almost peed my pants. That girl cracks me up.


So Victoria this is for you......

Autumn at the zoo

Seeing as though today might be the last day that we have to be out without coats on, we met Grandma at the zoo. Please forgive the proud mom and her camera.


Hooray the zoo!!


I am having to narrow down about 50 photos on here. I just couldn't pass up this one. The light in their eyes was incredible!


Walking with Grandma.




Sissy sharing her glitter hat that Grandma got for her at the flea market, it was a hit!

I know Halloween is over but....

I ran across this video, which is another favorite of mine, while looking for the video of the cat hitting the wall. It still cracks me up.

Internal clock and psycho cat.

This recent time change has been a bear. I normally adjust pretty well but for some reason my internal clock is all out of wack. I do enjoy waking up an hour earlier but at night I am ready to crash a 6. Especially yesterday after the adventurous day we had I wanted to fall over before Dancing with the stars.

Once I fell asleep last night I had a hard time staying asleep. My loving furry child Lucy decided to take some speed last night. She tore across the bed last night I know about 10 times, just to run into the bathroom and pull open the bottom drawer of the vanity and take off again towards to front of the house. This isn't an actual video of Lucy but this gives you an idea of what I am working with here.

Escape

With the election finally over and the new leader named, I decided it was time to take my mind off of disappointment and fear and get out of the house. I am not the most politically educated person (more so now being married to James, who can tell you what shoe size and kind of cereal each of the canidates have for breakfast) but I do know that the "Change" that America voted for is scarey, and unnerving. I continue to pray for our country.

Victoria and I took the babies and headed out of the house early today to cash in some tickets to the Forest Discovery Center up in Starlight. Mamaw gave them to us last Christmas and I have held onto them forever. We love gift certificates for things to do.

It was really neat, I have to say. They had a room that was an indoor forest complete with stuffed animals and eduacational material on how to identify trees based on the leaves and how imprortant reforestation is. We enjoyed the movie theatre inside and watched the movie about the acorn that turns into a tree. The babies were even mesmerized. We took the babies out of the stroller and let them play in the wooden blocks and the only time that they cried was when we put them back in. You should of seen Addison walking one way with a block in her hand and Anthony with 2 blocks in each hand going the other. They liked knocking over the castle that Victoria and I was making.


here is the man made tree that you can walk through in the activity area. Everyone got to sign their name on the tree to state that they would take care of the trees. Victoria signed her new favorite thing to draw.. a heart.


At the end of the tour we walked this overhead catwalk overlooking Koetter Woodworking Factory. They had stations that you stopped at explaining each phase of how a tree becomes a piece of crown molding or base board or a door. I was unaware that in Starlight, In they made the wood work for the oval office in the White House, bet "Baramahama" didn't know that.


You can see in this pic the path suspended from the ceiling. Victoria was NOT a fan of how high the path was above the factory. Her knuckles were white gripping onto the stroller. There were some tears shed but she made it. I just had to keep her distracted.


When we left the Discovery Center, we headed to Huber's. We enjoyed a cookie by the pond and shared a lemonade. It was one of the most enjoyable days that I can remember. It was nice to get out of the house and have a date just me and my kids. We needed that.

No tricks or treats but we did get a dresser

Just to let you all know Addison didn't wake up with a diaper full of bubbles this morning.

Tonight Victoria spent the night at Mamaw and Papaw's so that she could go around the neighborhood and Trick or Treat. I opted to stay at home and hang out with the babies. I told Mamaw and Papaw when the babies are old enough to eat candy and get themselves in and out of their car seats and walk to to door then I will venture out to take them too. Victoria sounds like she made out like a bandit in candy. Can't wait to see what ones she is willing to share.

My sister and brother-in-law wanted to give the babies a dresser for their birthday. Darwin, my brother-in-law makes them at his work. We haven't' had the chance to go and get it ourselves seeing as though every free moment that James has been home he has been working on the underpinning on the house (which looks great BTW). So tonight they were planning on bringing it by and delivering it themselves. So helpful of them. When they walked in the door Anthony and Addison both hit to roof. They screamed and cried so hard. I am not really sure what the problem was. They have loved on them before but for some reason tonight they just weren't having it. It took them about 20 minutes for either of them to let them touch them, it wasn't pretty.

The dresser is beautiful. It is HUGE and I am so happy that I can store stuff away now and get the nursery even more organized. I love rearranging furniture and getting things as organized as possible. I have everything put away and still have two whole drawers empty in the new dresser and two empty in the small one that I decided to keep in the room. Ah life is good! For a change I feel like we have a small area that isn't crammed with stuff, wait maybe I can store some pots, pans and can goods in that bottom drawer...

Tiny Bubbles

Green beans....NO! Bubbles.......YES!

How do I know??? They're family!

First of all, forgive me I have not had my coffee yet this morning. For some reason I couldn't sleep to save my life last night. I am trying to find a vein so that I can get the coffee IV flowing. lol.

My dad had arranged to have our Gilstrap cousins to come over and fix our gutters. The water runs behind them instead of in them and it is cutting a ditch into our yard. Dad told me that they would be coming but I had kind of forgotten about it.

Every family had that side that you don't tell many people that you are related to them. That side that has arrest records, drive Harleys, and drinks a lot of beer. Well that is the Gilstrap side of the Pennington clan. I have to admit they are funny as heck and are always willing to help out family.

This morning I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I peered out of my bedroom window to see my 3-4th cousin standing outside in the driveway. He is one of the clean cut ones and apparently owns his own business. I opened the door and Victoria was glued to my side staring at the strange man. I explained to her that they were going to fix our gutters. We walked into the nursery to get the babies diapers changed and Victoria was watching them get the stuff out of the house. I am not sure if the guy helping him is a cousin (he looks like he is) or not but he had long grey hair pulled back into a braid and a long beard that looked almost like ZZ top. He had a red bandanna wrapped around his head and wrap around sunglasses on. Victoria stood there for a while just watching and I could see her mind working. She finally turned to me and said "Mommy are you sure these men are nice?" I turned to her and said "Sure they are. They are family."

Ridding the flab was a flop

Did you know that the childcare room at the YMCA is closed from 1-4 Monday through Friday? I didn't. Mom met me at the house and we took off in the direction of the Y. I had a few errands to run before we went but was making good time. Mom was fading rapidly because she just finished cleaning a house and didn't have much steam left, so we moved quickly.

Once we got there I decided to just take the kids and nothing else that way we could check them into the playroom and decided whether we wanted to work out of swim. Mom decided to let Addison walk on the concrete sidewalk, to show off her skills, and she had her first of many tumbles. So Addison entered the doors crying with a red bump growing on her head. Mom felt horrible and was almost in tears herself. It was shortly thereafter that we noticed the the playroom was closed and we did all of this and only burned the calories that it took to carry the babies in the door. I guess I could include the packing the diaper bag and gym bag too, that burned up about a cracker's worth of calories right?

"I don't know"

That has been the catch phrase of the house these days. I swear Victoria turned 5 and all of a sudden "I don't know." is the answer to everything. It has been driving me nuts. Every time she gets caught doing something she knows she isn't suppose to be doing her response to "Why did you do that?" is "I don't know". It is getting very frustrating.

On a different "I don't know" note, James went to the doctor yesterday to see about the reading of the ultrasound on his leg. The doctor said he didn't see anything abnormal and was curious as to why they even sent James to him. He said that he thought that the "inconclusive" diagnosis was probably the cause. We still don't know what caused the extra swelling and block of blood flow. I am going to take the no news is good news approach.

Hey, I can reach that!

This past week I decided to switch the twins beds in their room. Addison for the past year has been able to look down the hallway and see into the living room from her bed. Anthony, on the other hand, has only had the view of the corner. It has developed his sense of hearing very well. He can't see the door but knows exactly what the creek in the floor sounds like when someone is coming to the nursery room door. He can be playing away and hear someone step on the squeaky spot and know that someone is coming to see him, and his eyes will be glued to the doorway.

The babies have enjoyed the new "view" from their beds, Anthony more so than Addison. Earlier in the day I had the screen door shut on their room (quit laughing) and they were playing on the floor. I had put everything that they could reach, but wasn't suppose to have, up on the dresser next to Addison's bed. They played together really well, the biting has subsided a little between the two of them.

This morning I woke up to Anthony playing in his crib over the monitor. I peeked in the nursery to find Anthony playing with his toys and Addison curled up in her bed clutching a wad of Kleenex like it was a stack of fifties. They were all over her bed, some wadded up and some laying out like blankets. I then noticed their box of Kleenex that I put on the dresser, foolishly close to Addison's bed, on the floor with Kleenexes hanging out of it. Addison just laid there sleeping away with her blankie in one hand and her wad of Kleenex in the other.

Speed bumps

Still lots of bumps in the road here but we are still at least on the road. James had some trouble with swelling in his leg a week or so ago and had to have some test run. They did an ultrasound and some blood work. He was sent home with some antibiotics and water pills. He has been really sore due to the antibiotics but the redness has gone away considerably. He finally got a call from the doctor the other day about his test results. Seems they found something wrong with the lymph node in his groin ( you can imagine where my mind is going when a lymph node is mentioned). They are sending him to a surgeon. Prayers are needed.

One of my best friends Melissa went to the hospital Tuesday. She was on her way to work and started to have numbness in her hand, knee and face, all on the right side. She went to the hospital and they did all kinds of tests including a spinal tap, MRI, and I believe a CAT scan. They did find an area of her brain on the left side that they are unsure what it is. They are trying to rule out a stroke, or MS from what I am gathering. She was released today. I haven't heard any word yet on whether they found what the cause was or not all I know is she is going home today. Prayers are needed.

Addison is now running a fever of 101.6. She is getting fussy and very clingy. I believe that she is getting what Anthony had. I called the doc to see if we could get another dose of the antibiotic that they gave Anthony so that we don't have another trip to the emergency room this weekend. Prayers are needed.

My neck is out. I have been sitting on a bag of frozen peas this evening. It started off being just a little stiff but as the day progresses it is getting stiffer and stiffer. Prayers are needed.

I did manage to get some baking done on this rainy day. I love baking when it rains. I tried an apple tart that looks like it came from the bakery of Whole Foods, if I do say so myself. It is just georgeous. I haven't tried it yet. I am afraid that if I like it I won't stop eating it till the pan is empty, and I want James to try it too. I wanted to get some more baking done. I have a wonderful recipe for a pumpkin roll that I wanted to take to a friend that had a birthday this past Monday. She seems to be craving pumpkin in her pregnant state. (You know who you are ;)! One is on the way and you won't have to tip toe around Kroger. LOL.

Drama

The video of the drama that I was in at church was posted this week. Hopefully you can see it well enough to be able to understand what we were trying to convey. It was also a great sermon that weekend. Check it out.



The Family You've Gotta Have from Northside Christian on Vimeo.ck

Anthony seems to be doing better today. When I woke him up his nose was looking much better. His temp has went WAY down. Poor little thing I could hear him snoring in the monitor all last night. The pediatrician called yesterday with the test results and said that all of the test were fine. No RSV, and no pneumonia. I don't know who to believe. The ER doc said he saw some fluid in his lungs. All I know is some medicine and lots of hugs and kissses will fix it.

Now just time to get the house done. My house used to stay much cleaner when I was working, and my car was trashed with drive-thru bags and all kinds of junk. Now my house looks like it takes the beating since we are home all of the time. My car looks great though, just the occasional runaway pacifier found under the seat. Funny how it shows where you spend your time.

Victoria is getting ready to go to Mamaw and Papaw's house for the night and mom is coming over for me to color her hair and give her a cut. She is going to watch the babies so that I can go to my bible study tonight. I don't know what I would do without my mom, she is such a help in my daily life.

The first of many trips to the hospital for Anthony

Yesterday Anthony started running a fever. It hit 102.6 yesterday. James and I have been keeping an eye on him today. At 7:30pm his temp was 103.6 so off to the hospital he went. Floyd Memorial was great. They got us in really quick and started running tests. After two tries to get a blood sample and a set of x-rays in the plastic tube (which reminded me of Augustus Gloop in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) the doc told us that he looks like he has a touch of pneumonia.

He is doing well now. I have to say he has been a trooper. He hasn't been fussy and only cried when they were poking on him. He was a real mommy's boy tonight. After a shot of antibiotics and a prescription to take home my little guy is in bed knocked out. Looks like we are heading to our pediatrician tomorrow.

Runny nose and dirty clothes

Our little Anthony is sick. He started running a fever yesterday afternoon and his little nose is so runny. James and I have been giving him medicine and playing with him. You would never know that he wasn't feeling bad to watch him. He is just as content as can be. At least he isn't uncomfortable. Addison is starting to get it too. Looks like it's going to be a Lysol week in our house.

James is off to change trucks at work. A buddy of his is leaving and is giving him his truck because it has some stuff on it to make James life on the road a little more comfortable. He took Victoria with him to get us out of each other's hair for a bit. So here I am cleaning and trying to make my house look like a tornado didn't hit it. Wish I could just hire someone and just take a nap! I know I will feel better when it is done.

Plans for the day, Wake up, Survive, Go back to bed.

I have to admit, I had a ball at Travis and Marlina's wedding last night. Everything went off without a hitch and we danced the whole reception, it was great. The food was amazing, and the staff at 300 Spring was top notch! I highly recommend them to anyone getting married or need to rent a space for any function. I have never seen anything go so smoothly.

But, now reality has settled back in. All of the dust has settled from the wedding bliss and I have to be honest I feel like I have been emotionally ran over. Victoria has been off the charts with her behavior. James and I have exhausted what we feel are all methods of discipline, nothing seems to be working!!! I am at my wits end. I have contemplated just running outside with my hands in the air screaming, scaring everything in my path and running straight ahead through buildings and whatever else my be in my path, just leaving "mom freaking out" holes in everything I have left behind. I called my mom from the wedding to check on the kids, she was feeling my pain too with her along with my sister. She said that she wanted to call and have us come and get her a few hours earlier in the day she just couldn't handle her. I just don't know what to do with her, I feel like I have tried everything and I have ran out of answers.

This past month has just been really rough. I feel like Satan has focused on me more than others here in the past 5-6 weeks. I have ,for some reason, listened and believed every word he has said. He has been very successful at stealing my joy, confidence, self-worth, devaluing me as a human being, and testing the loyalty of people close to me. From finding out that one of my step daughters, old enough to know better, knowingly, was the one that brought lice into our home, and was told to "Grow up and get over ourselves" ,by her mother when I confronted her and her daughter about it, to people that I love lying to me by omission. I just feel very broken these days and exhausted from life.

I don't mean to complain or say that my problems are the end of the world. I am well aware that things that I deal with on a day to day basis are a drop in the bucket compared to others. I am not wanting anyone to feel sorry for me, or to feel like they need to help fix anything. I just need some extra prayers and an umbrella from this storm.

Playing catch up!

This morning I got to spend a little time just playing with the babies. Victoria spent the night at Mamaw and Papaw's house and the house was a little quieter, even though I miss her.

While playing in the nursery floor with the babies Anthony decided that he really wanted his cracker container really bad. I decided to take advantage and try to get him to take few steps like sissy using the container to tempt him. It worked! He took 3 steps, little ones, but none the less steps! Hooray.........Oh crap that means I am going to have 3 walkers in the house now! I am going to lose that weight that I have been wanting.

Anthony's temper is evolving. When he wants something and he can't get it he has started the "just fall backwards and cry" method to the dilemma. So you need to picture him standing, squatting down a little with his head thrown backwards giving the "oh my gosh I am just going to die if I don't get this" cry. It was quite hilarious! That's my boy! Addison did start clapping after he fell down. She was very proud of him.

Well now Anthony has caught up to Sissy. He can wave, blow kisses, clap his hands, dance like a wild man, "put on the lotion" (rub his hands together) and take a few steps. Lucy is no longer safe!

I don't care if you can see or not take them off!

That was the cry of Addison tonight. Tonight I had some friends come over to get a haircut. We have now deemed my house "Trailer Trims". When they walked in the door Addison started to throw a fit. I couldn't get her calmed down even holding her. When I put her down she just crawled up my legs and buried her head in my legs screaming. Felecia, my friend, asked if it was the glasses were the cause. It hit me that she acted the same way when my friends Dave and Jill came over to bring me my birthday cake, see Dave it wasn't just you. They took their glasses off and the crying stopped. They spent the rest of the night "listening" to the TV and feeling their way around. God love them!

Halloween surprise!

Tonight after checking out Harvest Homecoming Mom and I decided it was a perfect night for the Louisville zoo's Halloween party. We dressed up Victoria in her cat outfit that she finally settled on and packed up the babies costumes too.

tfit

Victoria was getting checked out by Addison she didn't understand what the makeup and ears were for.



Addison was very excited to get into her pumpkin costume. It was very strange putting this on her knowing that this was my first Halloween costume that mom make me 31 years ago. Who would've known that when mom was making it that it would be worn by my daughter too so many years later.




Anthony in his famous Lion costume. He wasn't too impressed as you can tell in the upcoming pictures. We didn't realize that he was burning up in it the whole night.



My little ones getting ready to take off and get some candy.



Victoria on her lizard friend that she has to pose on everytime we go to the zoo.



I had to crop this one for you to see the look on Anthony's face when he saw the lion on the Wizard of Oz set.



"What yellow brick road?"



Peek-a-boo!




This was Mommy and Grandma's thought exactly on the way home.

Santa eats at Tucker's???

Today I had to go and get my permanent crowns put on at the dentist. Mom after winning a jackpot on the boat treated us to lunch at Tucker's. I haven't eaten there before but it was REALLY good!

While walking up to the door to enter the restaurant I noticed that "Santa" was standing next to the door. We have a resident Santa that lives in New Albany. He is such a sweet man and it always in character. He had on suspenders and a Christmas red hat. Victoria cautiously approached him, and gave him a hug. He handed her a picture of him under the Christmas tree and a Christmas bell attached to a red ribbon. Victoria loved it!

After we entered Tucker's Victoria noticed that Santa was coming into eat too. He waved at her from the back of the restaurant. Needless to say Victoria ate her Chicken fingers while peering over her shoulder at Santa eating his sandwich. It was so cute.

Oh the adorableness that you can find at a yard sale! Mom found this lion costume for Boogie for 3 bucks and we are in love! Addison is going to wear my old costume from my second Halloween! It is a pumpkin. It is a very surreal experience to see her in something that was made for me when I was a baby. Can't wait for the zoo!

Ready for the latest issue?

Head lice, yep I said it head lice. Victoria apparently caught it at church this weekend. In my 11 years of being in the hair industry I have never had to deal with it before. I was upset to say the least when James and I were approached in church with the news. Another friend of mine had her son come home with it last week. I have been busy doing laundry and spraying everything the I can get my hands on.

Right now Victoria is outside playing while I do some down and dirty cleaning in my house making sure that no sign of it is in the house. I am getting ready to do a home remedy that I found online. I am going to coat her hair in olive oil and leave it in for a few hours with a cap on. I read that they hate heat and it is best to stay in a warm environment, plus the olive oil will suffocate anything left from the treatment. I am going to send her back outside to play with her shower cap on. I know you are laughing while itching your head thinking about it. Fortunately myself and the babies have no signs of it and I plan to keep it that way. So beware the germaphobe is dealing with head lice! Get out your purell and your spray bottles of alcohol. Can you picture our little trailer park Victoria outside with her shower cap playing restaurant and me in the house with my gas mask on cleaning diligently? It is quite a site. Any advice to make sure that this doesn't return is GREATLY appreciated! My laundry just buzzed at me got to get onto the next load.

Ten "little whiles"

Victoria and I headed out with the babies tonight to run some errands. We met Daddy at work to bring him some lunch and grab some hugs and kisses, then off to Hobby Lobby to grab some supplies for a project for the upcoming wedding.

Victoria and the babies recieved a gift from a friend Ami Latta this past week. She got them gift cards to Babies R Us and Victoria's is to Target, like I need an excuse to go to Target! I told her that if she was good today that we would go shopping and she could use her "credit card" as she called it.

All evening long she kept asking "Are going to Target yet? Are we about to go to Target? Are we going to Target in a little while? Is Target next?" I kept repeating to her "In a little while!" I needed to get some stuff done tonight and Target has a way of freezing time for me and I can be in there for hours and not realize it.

We finally made our way to Target, her eyes were as big around as dinner plates with the knowledge that SHE had money to spend. She first picked up a new puzzle. She is a wiz at solving puzzles it amazes me. Then off to the clothes she picked out a Halloween T-shirt with a princess skull on it and a pair of slipper socks that look like cats, complete with a tail on the back, they are so cute. She proudly paid for her merchandise with her credit card and we were off to the house.

By the time we made it home it was a quarter till ten and I was fading quickly. I sat outside on the swing and she entertained me with songs from High School Musical and a show and tell of her prizes for the day. I told her that she was good so we would work her puzzle before she went to bed. She immediately grabbed the puzzle out of the bag and "read" the box to me....."Do this puzzle piece with Victoria before she goes to bed, it will probably take 10 little whiles" What a creative staller she is making sure that it would take a long time to solve and therefore prolonging bed time. It worked, she made it to bed in her new slipper socks at 10:30. Thank you Ami!

I am 32? When did that happen?

Well Happy Birthday to me! I am 32 years old today. I am not really sure how that happened. Celebration started earlier last week with my friends Jill and David surprising me with a birthday cake, so sweet of them. Apparently they got it at Kroger and happened to see me in the store shopping. They tried to dodge me so that they weren't caught in the act. I find that so funny. I would love to see some video of them tip toeing around the store making sure I didn't see them.

This morning Mom came to start off the Birthday festivities. She took me to lunch at Golden Corral because we thought that the babies would do well there. It is so kid friendly.



James met us there and surprised me with one of my favorites...I love willow tree figurines! They are just my favorite! He found a keepsake box of the two together figurines. It has two babies on the top and he explained to me that when I give the babies their first haircut I could keep the hair in there. How sweet is that? He also bought me a cross necklace. I was so impressed that he remembered! I told him that I wanted a new one when I got back home from my Faces of Christ retreat. It is beautiful. He did good, I need to give the guy more credit for his thoughtfulness. I love you honey!



After dinner we went to Pro Liquitech in Louisville. My mom's friend owns it and cleans the factory on a weekly basis. They do flavorings for drinks. They make everything from Jones Soda to Flavored milk for cats. You wouldn't think that there was a call for that kind of a thing but I guess there is. It is really cool in there to see all of the beakers full of bright colored flavorings. We took Victoria in there one day to see it and she started calling David Dafoe (moms friend and business owner) David Wonka. She agreed with us that it looked like Willy Wonka's factory. David grabbed Anthony and took him on a tour of the place. Anthony wouldn't go to anyone else. He loved Dave, and Dave was loving the fact that he only wanted to hang out with him.



After Pro liquitech we headed off to 21C to see the new exhibits, then off to the mall to find an outfit for my night out on the town coming up. A friend of mine is playing in Louisville next weekend. I am really excited about it and was on the hunt for some new clothes. I seem to be outgrowing all of mine that I have now. I had success! I found a pair of jeans and a cute purple top. I also found one of my favorite movies Singing in the Rain. I have been on the hunt for it for quite a while. Of all of the places that I have looked I found it at the music store at the mall. I was really excited that I found it on sale too!


Well the birthday celebrating is over and I am wiped out. I am off to bed with another year under my belt, a few more aches and pains in my body and a new age to embrace. Here is to another year farther into this place they call "IN" my thirties.

"Missed it by that much"

Victoria this morning was "helping" me entertain the babies while I finished making breakfast for them. She started singing a song that she learned in class at church to the melody of Mary had a Little Lamb reciting John 3:16 and saying John 3:16 at the end. She proceeded to sing the song "God loved the world so much, world so much, world so much, God loved the world so much he gave his only son. 'JAWS' 3:16"

Clean house means a day of being the coolest mom

In our house we have a bit of an obsession with Reality TV. I know it isn't the most wholesome thing to watch but I get a kick out of it anyway. Victoria has become especially fond of America's next top model. She models in the house quite often. She does her little turn on the catwalk as the song says. Last night I let her stay up a little late after her program at church to watch ANTM and the photo shoot was about smiling with your eyes. They put the models in the pool with only their eyes peeking out of the water. It must have impressed her because today when I told her I had all of my work done and I had time to play she said let's play "Nes TopModel" (one word)I agreed and surprised her by bringing her our digital camera to take "real" pictures. She posed me "in the water" using a blanket. She directed me and took my shots. Later in the day she asked if I would do another "shoot". I told her I was at another shoot as I was fixing lunch for us. She walked away and said in a defeated tone "I guess I'll see you at the finale." I guess I should take it down a notch on the Reality TV. I have gotta go Survivor is coming on!

Addison's first step!

Here it is Addison's second and third step. She seemed like she was on the verge of doing it so I ran and grabbed the camera. I guess I am going to have to start using this toddler word now. I have a walker on my hands now. I guess it was the chicken nuggets for the first time tonight for dinner that did it.

Starting to feel human

Well the chipmunk cheeks have gone down quite a bit and I am off of the meds. Getting a tooth cut out is not a fun thing to do. I am glad I am just past it now. My wonderful mom came and stayed and helped me with the babies so that I could take my pain pills and not worry about slipping into a coma and not hearing them cry. Don't know what I would do without mom! I am now up and working on the house. The house looked much cleaner when I was doped up on pain killers. Victoria is going to be dropped off by Mamaw and Papaw any minute now so I better get back to it.

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago today Southern Indiana had some horrible flooding. Roads were closed, basements were flooded and we were getting married, why not? It was all worth it to have this beautiful sunset in the background of our pictures. Photoshop isn't needed when it comes to the hand of God working.

James, I am forever your partner in life. I have found in you love, support, friendship, devotion, and someone that thank God for daily. I don't know where I would be without you. I love you!

Been wanting to post these for days now!

For some reason I have had trouble posting pics for a while. Never had touble with it at all actually it was one of the easiest things that I figured out how to do. But just as so many things in life when I figure it out everything changes. Here are some of the pics that Rich and Anne sent of Richard (Johnathan). I was glad that they send some pictures of of him with them and also his brother Samuel. I have to admit I am just as excited at the opportunity to meet Samuel. He looks like he is hilarious.

Hooray 5!

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Victoria was excited to find her balloon filled room and presents waiting outside the streamer lined door.



Victoria got a letter from her Mommy Tina too. She opened it first

Grandma Harb came to give Victoria her gift and to take us to the zoo. When My mom is gone and Victoria has children or grandchildren of her own I hope that she remembers all of her trips to the zoo with Grandma Harb.



The babies are still small enough to get a two for one on the swings at the zoo.



Mom caught a cute picture of us on the train after we went through the bridge that she was standing on.



We ended the day with Krispy Kreme! Victoria loved watching the doughnuts being made.

The babies had a first today. Mom and I crammed the high chairs in the kitchen and they ate with a plate by themselves. Victoria wanted fish sticks for her birthday dinner so I thought it would be a good time to try this out, plus mom was here to help with any scrubbing of the ceiling.



Anthony did great! He actually cleaned his plate and didn't try to pick it up until he was done. I was very surprised and impressed!



Addison on the other hand doesn't like getting "squishy" things on her hand. She had a "Oh my gosh this is so disgusting!" look on her face through most of the experience.