Tough Times

Yesterday we drove MJ to work, so that after I dropped the kids off at school, I could take his car to get new tires put on (he's been driving around on a donut for the last two weeks). The morning went very smoothly. The appointment was on time; I was able to run errands on foot while the tires were being installed; I even had enough time afterwards to get the inspection done on his car before picking Sweet Pea and Little Man up from preschool. I was pretty proud of myself.

Then I got to the front of the carpool line, and realized I was still in MJ's car. Which has no carseats. I was no longer patting myself on the back for having my act together.

Fortunately, a good friend was able to stay and watch the twins play on the preschool playground while I drove home and switched cars. Then it was home and down for (late) naps.

After dinner, we got in the car to go pick up MJ from work. We drove through a massive storm to get there. You know, the kind where your windshield wipers are going as fast as they can, and you still can't see anything? Thunder was booming, lightning was crackling, the kids were freaking out, and I was crawling along the highway towards MJ's office at 10  miles an hour.

Eventually we all got home, none the worse for the wear, and walked in the door ... to see that Rory had absolutely destroyed the laundry room. I'd forgotten that as she's gotten older, she's become more and more upset during storms, especially when we're not home. Confined to the laundry room, she ravaged everything she could get her paws on. She'd dragged the giant bin of OxiClean out of the closet and shredded it, spreading white powder inches deep across the floor. She (somehow?) snapped in half our wooden rail of hooks for the kids' coats and bags, ripping the straps off CC's new backpack in the process. (That rail was installed in the studs of the wall, so don't ask me how she did that!) And then, just for fun, she peed all over the place, and apparently spent the rest of the time tracking pee-soaked OxiClean all over every inch of the floor, the kids' bags, and her own bed.

I momentarily thought about taking a picture of the chaos, but was too discouraged. Seeing streaks of blood on the floor, I felt awful for the panic Rory must have felt. But to be honest, I mostly felt sorry for myself, cleaning such a complete disaster.

Anyway, thank goodness for teamwork. MJ wrangled the kids upstairs and into bed while I tackled the disaster downstairs. It's mostly done now. I was able to stitch up CC's backpack to a reasonably functional facsimile of what it used to be. A new rail of hooks has been ordered. And a Thunder Shirt for Rory will arrive tomorrow-- thank goodness for Amazon Prime.

Picture Day

Preschool picture day dawned rainy and miserable, but Little Man and Sweet Pea donned their outfits optimistically. And, as luck would have it, the rain stopped just long enough for the photographer to get their pictures, according to the teachers. I'll see in a few weeks whether there are any keepers.

Unfortunately, I forgot to request that the twins take some pictures together, so I snapped this one after school.

Gymnastics

Sweet Pea and Little Man have started gymnastics classes, at the same gym where they enjoyed camp so much this past summer. They're doing well, and I'm impressed at what they can do even just after a few sessions.

Sweet Pea loves her new gymnastics leotard (even though it's a bit big on her -- it's impossible to find 2T or 3T leotards). And Little Man seems to not mind that he just wears regular clothes to class.

No, Sweet Pea has not grown 5 inches in the last month; she's airborne in this picture!

Photo Friday

A rare picture of the elusive two-headed adorabeetle.

Labor Day Festival

On Labor Day, we went to a surprisingly large festival in a nearby suburb. There was a car and motorcycle show, bounce houses, rides, tons of food, vendor with freebies, pony rides, a petting zoo, arts and crafts ... I was amazed! 

The kids saw and sat in a car from 1923. (CC loved it because it looked a little bit like a Cinderella coach.)

Little Man jumped at the opportunity to ride a pony again, and got a kick out of the pony's name: Hank. Little Man was full of smiles while riding ... except when I took a picture.

CC surprised us all by actually getting on a pony this time! In the past she's always talked a big game, but has chickened out at the last minute. But she told me afterwards, "Now I know I like riding ponies, so I'll want to ride them all the time!"

Sweet Pea preferred horses of the carousel variety.

After sharing some chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, it was time to head home. We missed the parade, but we'll hit it for sure next year. I think this will become a Labor Day tradition with the Morrisons!

Weekend Outing

Last weekend my parents stopped by for a night, on their way back from a vacation. We planned to go apple picking with them -- the perfect fall activity. I had visions of homemade applesauce simmering in the crock pot, apple crisp for dessert, apple cobbler for breakfast.

Well, it was not in the cards. Thanks to a late frost back in April, the apple crop in these parts was meager this year, and the last apple orchard closed its doors to the public the day we planned to go. This was especially disappointing, considering last year we were rained out (three weekends in a row) and didn't get to go, either. Maybe next year.

Anyway, in lieu of apple picking, we opted to visit an animal rescue/sanctuary nearby that's exclusively for birds of prey. It just opened a new kids' play area, so it seemed a perfect solution.

The birds were interesting to see, although hard to photograph. But we enjoyed meandering through the preserve, seeing all kinds of owls, vultures, eagles, falcons, hawks, etc. And the kids, naturally, had fun playing in the bird-themed hands-on play area.

Photo Friday

An impromtu snapshot that ended up being a keeper!

Family Portrait

Sweet Pea drew this family portrait her first day of preschool. Her teachers were amazed, and frankly, I was too. She has never drawn people like this before! Usually her people are tiny, with facial features so small that you can't make them out, and with limbs coming straight out of their heads. What a leap to this picture!

I especially love that all our arms are around each other. How on earth did she know how to draw arms disappearing behind people?!

(The little purple guy on the left is Rory, naturally.)

Nap Antics

Sweet Pea was up to no good during naptime one day last week.

Not only did she make a mess of her toys and get into the wipes, but she also found this old outfit in the closet. My brothers wore it when they were tiny, and my mom had given it to me when Little Man was born. I'd forgotten all about it! It looks a bit small of Sweet Pea, true -- it's a size 18 months!

First Tooth

Finally, after ten interminable days, this tooth decided to come out! MJ and I had no idea it would take this long, but we're glad it's finally out. CC was getting to be a bit ridiculous about what foods she could eat, and how to brush her teeth, and even how I should rock her at night with a loose tooth.

Everyone was in bed yesterday evening, and all of a sudden we heard CC knocking at her door. I went up to investigate, and there she was, standing proudly with tooth in hand.

She was nervous about the tooth fairy getting too close while she slept, so she hung her tooth fairy pillow on her doorknob instead of putting it under her pillow. And not on the inside doorknob, either -- on the outside. I'm sure the tooth fairy was more than happy to complete this transaction in the hallway.

This morning, CC was thrilled to see that there were two gold dollar coins waiting for her in lieu of the tooth. We took her to Dollar Tree, where she picked out a rainbow-colored tiara and a little play cosmetics kit.

Tonight, after we put everyone to bed, we relaxed on the couch, relieved the tooth saga was over. Then we heard CC yelling in her room. MJ went up to investigate. After a few minutes, he came back downstairs. 

"What did she want?" I asked him.

"She has another loose tooth."

Photo Friday

This is apparently what passes for fun lately at the Morrison house.

Twins' 4-Year Checkup

Woo hoo -- another great checkup for two healthy kids! Unfortunately our appointment was at 8 am, which is not ideal on a school morning. But by laying out all the kids' clothes and packing lunches the night before, and with MJ's help with breakfast in the morning, we were backing down the driveway at 7:42 am.

Little Man weighs 35 pounds (40th percentile) and is 40.5 inches tall (53rd percentile). So he continues his trend of average size. 

Sweet Pea stood on the scale for the first time in her life! I was pleasantly surprised. Every time we've gone to a doctor in the past, she's balked at standing on the scale, and I've had to hold her in my arms then subtract my weight. But this time she stepped right up. She weighs 30 pounds 9 oz (13th percentile) and is 39 inches tall (a whopping 32nd percentile!). As the doctor said, this is as big as she's ever been. Apparently Sweet Pea's playing catchup now. I can't believe we're in double-digits for both height and weight, and approaching average ranges in height!

I was also relieved that both kids passed their vision screening with no issues.

Then it was time for vaccines: two each. And to the nurse's surprise, neither one of them cried! Little Man went first, and yelled, "Hey! Ow! Hey! That hurts!" but was mollified by a sticker as soon as it was over. Sweet Pea didn't react at all, just sat like a statue until she got her sticker. 

The hardest part of the appointment was keeping CC quiet whenever the doctor asked Sweet Pea or Little Man a question. CC does not like sitting on the sidelines!

First Day of Preschool

Sweet Pea and Little Man had their first day of preschool today, and they were really excited. All three kids were dressed, fed and in the car with packed lunches and bags by 7:40 am (a new record) because the twins had their annual checkup at 8. We were on time, the appointment went well, and we dropped CC off at school before heading to the preschool.

Today was the first day I dropped CC off at the front of the elementary school and let her walk in by herself. She's been begging to walk in alone since preschool, so she was beaming as she waved goodbye to us and trotted into the building.

At the preschool, Sweet Pea and Little Man calmly hung up their bags, hugged me goodbye, and walked into the classroom. I watched them for a few minutes through the one-way glass, and they stood on the side for a while, taking it all in. Then Sweet Pea reached back for Little Man's hand, and they walked to the puzzle table and began playing.

And I went to Costco. And then to the grocery store. And then I came home to an empty house -- for the first time in 5.5 years -- and put all the groceries away. And ate lunch in silence. It was a little strange. But I was excited to pick them up and hear all about their day.

Sweet Pea says her favorite parts of the day were going to the playground and playing with little horse figurines. She made "lots" of new friends but couldn't remember their names. Little Man loved the play kitchen, and ate everything in his lunch.

Success! And I can't believe that I'll be home alone four mornings a week. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it's a strange feeling right now!

Zoo Visit

On Monday, before CC's first day of school, we decided to go to the zoo for our last outing of summer. We had a great time seeing all the animals, riding the train, sharing ice cream, and enjoying the relatively cool weather. What a great way to end our summer!

Not surprisingly, Little Man was the only one interested in feeding the giraffes. But the girls really impressed me with their willingness to pet a large bull snake. Sweet Pea, especially, seemed to be fascinated.

Photo Friday

Love: your twin brother unbuckling your car seat straps until your fingers are strong enough to do it yourself.