12 Days

With 12 days left until Christmas, I thought it was time for a couple of Christmas projects. I told the girls that if they did their chores really well this morning, we’d have time to do some fun things in the afternoon. And lo, they cleaned up! An early Christmas miracle.

 

This is stage one of our first project. I will have to finish stage two later – when there are less kids jumping around. Can you guess what they are?

 

Then, on to cookies! We decided on Gingersnaps today.

 

Diligently rolling the dough balls in sugar.

 

But ready to pause for a photo-op.

 

Or a little goofing off.

 

There was a lot of “tasting” throughout the process.

 

The finished product! Some of them anyway. It wouldn’t be Christmas baking if we didn’t at least double the recipe, right?

It turned out to be a productive afternoon. Hope your preparations are going well, too!

St. Nicholas Day

We missed St. Nicholas Day last year because Ari was a tiny, tiny baby. But Veronica still remembered the popcorn balls of times past. So this year shoes were selected and ready.

 

Yes, they picked their own. I thought putting them by the fireplace would be fun. Until I saw how dirty it looks in the pictures.

 

Jacinta was too interested in her treats to give a smile.

 

Or maybe just too tired.

 

I wish I had a caught a picture of Veronica’s face when she spotted the treats. Her two hands flew to cover her mouth in utter surprise and delight. She doesn’t do emotion halfway.

 

Yum! Breakfast of champions! Or maybe saints.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

One

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since this little bear arrived. She has been such a blessing for our family, a true gift.

 

Happy Birthday, Ariadne!

Say Cheese!

I think we all know that the more children you are trying to photograph, the harder it is to get a picture where they are all simultaneously looking at the camera, not to mention smiling.

Which is why I’ve dubbed this photo, A Small Miracle.

Veronica, Gourmand

Paul and I went on a date last night, thanks to the generous offer from my parents to babysit. On the way to drop the girls off, we were discussing what we would do.

Veronica: Are you going to a restaurant?

Me: Yes! Where do you think we should go?

Veronica: Burger King.

Me: That’s not exactly the kind of restaurant we were planning on. We want something a little nicer.

Veronica: Burger King isn’t nice?

Me: Well, it’s not a nice restaurant for a date. We’re looking for something more fancy.

Veronica: Okay, I have an idea. Pizza Hut.

Me: …

Incidentally, we did not go to Pizza Hut, but to The Original Blue Adobe Grille instead. It’s one of our favorites! When we showed up with our leftover boxes (there are always leftovers, which makes me very happy the next day), Veronica was convinced that we had, indeed, gone to Pizza Hut and was very excited for us to share. Sorry to burst your bubble, honey.

Overheard Today

Veronica to Jacinta, who was pretending to be Mom:

“Mom, I had to go to the bathroom. I went to a store that has one, because we don’t have any at home. And look, they gave me this sticker.”

Goodness, I just love the things they say.

Costumes 2012

In one of many Mom Fails I’ve committed over the last few (insert time measurement of choice), I forgot to bring the camera along on Halloween. We were Trick-or-Treating in my parents’ neighborhood and couldn’t just run home to get it, so that meant I didn’t get any good costume pictures of the kids.

Today I “made” them put their costumes back on so we could snap a few pictures.

 

Jacinta, put your dress down!

 

Silly sister.

 

We have Jacinta as a pirate, Ariadne as a ladybug and Veronica as a Jedi.

 

The ladybug has been a baby tradition in our house. All the girls have worn it, and it continues to be adorable.

 

Jacinta was given the choice of lion (which Veronica wore when she was two) or pirate (which we found last year at Goodwill). She chose pirate.

 

Argh!

 

I made this robe for Veronica, who had her heart set on being a Jedi. I originally intended to make her a tunic and pants as well, but that plan did not come to fruition.

 

On Halloween she was a good Jedi with a blue light saber, but today she decided to flirt with the dark side.

 

Ariadne didn’t bring a treat bag along, but Veronica and Jacinta had these. I used this tutorial (with some adjustments) to make them out of an old circle tablecloth that I bought by accident a couple years ago. They would have been easy and quick to make if my sewing machine hadn’t been acting up that day. It’s really my sewing machine’s fault that I forgot the camera on Halloween – I was so flustered when I was finally finished, and it was time to run out the door.

 

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Hiatus

It has been a while since I posted, well, anything at all. And here is why!

 

Look at the picture. Then go back and count again. I’ll wait.

Yes, it’s true! Another little gremlin on the way.

Needless to say, I have been consistently zapped of energy and struggling just to get the necessities done. Now that we are heading into the second trimester, things should get better. I’ll try to update more often - there have been some fun and hilarious shenanigans around here, which would probably seem more fun and more hilarious if I wasn’t so tired.

We are looking forward to welcoming our newest little Greene around April 19th!

Prisoner

His crime is unknown, but this is his punishment.

Beach Retreat

A few weeks ago we escaped the Phoenix heat for a bit of camping on the beach with family and friends.

 

There’s nothing like a little granola and monster trucks in the morning.

 

The cousins were all excited to spend some time together.

 

Dog pile!

 

Veronica was ready to put all the toys to good use.

 

Introducing Ariadne to the ocean.

 

But the ocean is cold, so she decided she’d rather just eat Dad’s shirt instead.

 

The girls wasted no time in getting sand everywhere. In fact, if there was one word that could describe this trip, it would be…sand.

 

Looking for shells and other ocean treasures.

 

Chillin’.

 

We got to meet our newest nephew, Brian Jr. What a cutie-pie!

 

Babies everywhere!

 

I wonder what she’s thinking?

 

Paul hacked a cover for the playpen out of some shade screen that we had lying around – it worked great to keep this little girl out of the sun during nap time.

 

Trying to repair the wall that just got washed away. The risk of building with sand.

 

Structures are safer away from the tide line. He got first place in the sand sculpture contest!

 

A team of architects and their Snowy Mountain Fortress Ruins.

 

What would a trip to the beach be without tumbling in the waves?

 

If you get tired, there’s always someone nearby who’s willing to carry you.

 

And at the end of the day, you could pass out and rest up for the next day of fun.

Olympic Fever

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve had the TV on more often to watch the Olympics, and Veronica has been really into it. The following conversation may have just taken place between her and Paul during a friendly game of Olympic “ball.”

Veronica: I am the USA.

Paul: Okay, who am I?

Veronica: You can be the English one.

Paul: Ok, I am England. *Turning on British accent* Blimey, pass me the ball!

Veronica: I am not called Blimey.

Paul: No no, that’s just something that English people say.

Veronica: Actually, you are from Russia.

Paul: Ok, I am Russia. *Turning on Russian accent* Comrade, pass me the ball!

Veronica: No no, play in Arizona.

Paul: I should be from Arizona?

Veronica: No, just play in Arizona.

Paul: But that’s the way that Russian people talk. Even in Arizona.

Veronica: No, Russians don’t talk when they play ball.

Then the USA scored a goal, and shared the point with Russia. Everyone wins!

The 4th is With Her

Today my little sunshine turns four years old. While she hasn’t been a baby for quite some time, I feel like the transition from three to four somehow launches her firmly into the realm of girl. A girl with likes and preferences and opinions. A girl who knows what she wants. And what she wants is Star Wars.

 

So when I saw this pool noodle lightsaber pin from the queen of geeky girlyness (girly geekyness?), Jen of Epbot and Cake Wrecks, I knew we had to make them happen for Sunday’s party. A quick Google search turned up a variety of tutorials, and Paul locked himself in the office for a couple of hours to give each lightsaber its own unique flair.

Veronica picked a green one, of course.

 

Needless to say, they were a hit. Ba-dum ching.

 

Other fun included daring aerial acrobatics…

 

Drinking pool water out of a pair of goggles (because that’s what two-year-olds do)…

 

And trying to keep the wrong end (right end?) of the bottle in Ari’s mouth.

 

Here’s a more appropriate object for her to chew on. Opa, show her how it’s done!

 

That’s better.

 

This watermelon was originally going to be a shark, but in keeping with the Star Wars vibe a few small changes turned it into the giant asteroid worm (apparently also known as an Exogorth, thanks Google).

 

And of course, there was the infamous (to my Facebook friends) Darth Vader cake. Since Veronica specifically requested a Darth Vader cake - also thanks to Jen of Cake Wrecks and her nifty book - I gave it my best shot. I still think that Vader got the better of this epic battle, but my valiant husband did step in and keep it from becoming a total disaster. 

 

So this tired mama’s heart melted when Veronica saw the finished product and said, “It’s perfect for me, Mom.”

 

She gets a little shy when she’s the center of attention.

 

Though she was more than happy to pose for a picture with one of her new toys.

 

While Jacinta quietly helped herself to the rest of the frosting.

 

The next morning, Veronica was up early to play with her new collection. Excited, much?

 

Jacinta was ready for fun, too. Complete with heavy breathing.

 

Today – Veronica’s actual birthday - we treated her to breakfast in bed, a favorite tradition from my husband’s childhood. Which he totally made happen while I groggily tried to remember how the camera worked.

Happy Birthday, Veronica! I can’t believe it’s been four years, but we love you more today than ever!