Turkey For Sale

It started on the 22nd with Alyssa..........the 24 hour stomach flu, (aka: vomit bug) had hit with a vengeance. The 23rd we had a reprieve just in time to clean house, prepare appetizers, wrap gifts and to finish last minute decorating. Not enough prayers were said (I blame DH) , so consequently Sophia gets hit on the 24th. Poor thing, the difference between the 2 sick girls is that Alyssa listened to her body and refused food and was a champion of hitting the sink with her spewing. Sophia wanted to eat (who could blame her really?) and wasn't so adept at hitting proper dispensers with her "stuff", and alot of stuff did she have!!!! HO HO HO Merry Christmas. Wait!!! Not done yet I get hit on the 25th and so does DADDY!!!! Wooo hooooo. Thus the selling of the BIRD...................................I believe one must eat said bird in a certain amount of time.
Boxing Day everyone seemed well enough to make the trek to Nonna's house. Let me tell ya, I made up for missing my meals all in that one meal at Nonna's. Absolutely delicious! Nonna could open up a restaurant, and she doesn't use ANY recipes...she is phenomenal.
Managed to get a few Boxing Day pictures of the girls just before we headed to Nonna's.

Just what are they doing in this picture below? The girls are self-soothing....If you look carefully you will see that Alyssa (on left) is actually sucking her thumb and fingering her shirt sleeve and Sophia on left sucks on her sleeve. I have NO idea why they would feel the need to self soothe at that moment since they had just gotten up from their nap.

"Come here and give me a big one!"

Just riding the wave to a healthy home..............................

Hope your holidays were healthier!

What We Do

THIS is what we do when we KNOW that taking 2 toddlers to see the great HO HO HO is just going to turn into a debacle. No one enjoys screaming, or rather more like hysterical and highly resistant toddlers in a crowded and HOT mall. The girls just don't buy into the whole Santa brings you presents myth. So, being a practical and weary mom of twins I have chosen for the last 3 years to spare everyone and have done the holiday photo shoot at home at my own leisure. I have to wait for the moon and stars to be aligned in order to get full cooperation for the dressing, hair, and ultimate photo. This year December 19th seemed to be the perfect day.............The first photo is of the meticulously arranged photo shoot area (our family room). And the second picture is of Alyssa and Sophia's unabated reaction to their first 5 second sitting........This third picture you can actually see the physical pain they are enduring as the photo shoot drags on to 6 seconds......This 4th photo reveals the beginning of the conspiring going on between the 2, which possibly goes something like this....
Alyssa: "I think we can work this Sophia."
Sophia: "Yeah, I'm with you Alyssa, what are you thinking?"
Alyssa: "I'm thinking we can milk them for at least a SUCKER."
Sophia: "I'm outta here, I'm getting tired of this seat, and what was Mommy thinking anyway when she put us in white tights on a white bench?"This next photo reveals THEIR chosen location for the photo shoot, and just to convince Mommy that it was better than the perfectly arranged Christmas scene, they sneak in a kiss. Oh what happy, happy girls with their suckers...........back on track where Mommy would prefer them to sit. "Oh what fun it is to give Mommy a hard time......" (sung to the tune of Jingle Bells).
Sophia looking for an escape. A new bribe featured below, a present to open in exchange for their cooperation as Mommy hastily arranges a new Christmas scene. Look how angelic they look as they wait patiently to open their gift. They even took their suckers out of their mouths.
Alyssa: (above) "Can I open it now?"

Diving in, opening their twin Chinese dolls from Magnolia and Friends.


AHHHHHH, and this is why we do what we do. Hopefully, at least one of the photos is worthy to be framed and distributed as their official 2007 Christmas memory........

The dolls are super soft and cuddly, the girls love them!!! They are numbered 124 which reflects our family day (December 4th). At first the girls would tell me that the gift was for Baby Jesus, who was all but forgotten during the above episode.

Happy Days

Happy 2 Year "Family Day" Anniversary!!!
Yes my friends, time doth certainly fly bye. Looking back and reflecting is just as exciting as looking forward at the infinite possibilities to be.
Have a great day everyone, and stay tuned for some family friendly photos soon.

Updates

It's good to be back and posting. I do love reading your blogs and following your journeys but lately, since I have been back to work, I don't have the time or energy to leave a comment. So please forgive me................................................

This is for the animal rights activists type of people ,(ahem, Secret), the fish in the previous post was real, but don't fret, the only thing that was destroyed was the basketball by some kind hearted man. The fish merely suffered an aching jaw. (Mine hurts just looking at the poor guy). I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Before I impart some words of ridiculousness I have to say I raise a glass to all full-time working moms.





Classroom Updates:



1. "Miss 4 Year old Screamer" who misguidedly thought mommy-was-the-boss has now seen the light and realizes that I am the Queen and all subjects must obey me including her Mommy. (thank you Nancy for the tip).

2. I don't know what- you -would- call -this but all I know is that it threw me for a loop when Johnny asked me if SHE, (he is pointing to a bookcase) was in his group. I know Johnny thinks I possess super powers but unfortunately I couldn't see through the bookcase. So I ask Johnny again, "Who?" So Johnny repositions himself and points again and says "her". I still can't see who her is, so Johnny says a little frustrated now, "the BLACK girl". Oops, what did he just say? I think fast and say to Johnny that her name is JANE and yes she is allowed to play with you 'cause last time I checked segregation was illegal. What's a teacher/queen to do? We are now working on learning everyone's name....never , ever, take anything for granted and always expect the unexpected.

Things some parents need to know:

1. Bring Johnny to school, drop Johnny off, give Johnny a quick kiss, some reassurances and LEAVE immediately. Lingering around, wishy-washy behaviour DOES NOT HELP your child adjust....news flash: IT MAKES IT 10 TIMES WORSE.

2. Don't bring your child late ON PURPOSE to avoid other parents seeing your child scream and fuss.......they know you are not a MONSTER . But expecting me to leave a class of 19, 3 - 4 and 5 year olds to extract JOHNNY from you is NOT feasible or FAIR to everyone else.

3. Snackables or Lunchmates or whatever the h*ll you want to call them are garbage, and should not be sent to school for lunch. Please seek a nutritionist if you are clueless. Your child needs good, sound nutritional food, not garbage to fill them up and sustain them throughout the day.

4. Rules are imposed for a reason and they are for everyone (need I be more clear, Mommy + Daddy?)......FOLLOW THEM.

5. Please don't send JANE in that button down long sleeved cuffed blouse, 'cause she can't undo the buttons and I have to do it everytime she washes her hands cause the cuffs get drenched, and in our classroom handwashing occurs a minimum of 3 -5 times a day. What? Doesn't she wash her hands at home? Can't you see this would be difficult for her?

6. Fashion has no place in the classroom. Good solid running shoes are the BEST footwear to send your young one to school in. This one hurts me too ya know.

7. Please make those good old fashioned running shoes the kind with VELCRO, NOT laces. No explanation needed. Any good chiropractors out there?

8. Don't be late, ever, picking up your child from school. They pine for you, especially at the end of the day so don't make them agonize any more than necessary.

9. Doesn't hurt to teach them how to do up their coats and put them on. Remember your child's teacher is putting on an entire class of coats so if your child can do it independently then guess what? They get more RECESS time outside and they LOVE their recess and I would love you for it too!!!!

10. Here is a trick to help your child put on their coat properly. Put their coat on the ground directly in front of them with the collar towards them. Now all they have to do is bend over and insert their arms in the armholes and lift their coat up over their heads. Works like a charm and kids love to feel a sense of accomplishment.

Bet you didn't know:

That announcing to a class of youngins that we are going to the Library brings instant cheers and unexpected kisses and hugs for the teacher and exclamations of "I LOVE YOU TEACHER".



That sometimes some students enjoy spitting on the classroom carpet. Lovely isn't it?




Scribbling is a pre-printing skill, so encourage your toddler to use a pencil, crayon, marker to scribble. Showing them how to make circles, squiggly lines, zig zags is a good thing. Oh yes, a good rule to have in your house would be that we only colour, print etc. on PAPER products.



*All names have been changed to protect the innocent.






Daycare Update:



S + A have begudgingly resigned themselves to the fact that they have to go to "school". No more panic stricken tears or clutching at our clothes. Just a few sniffles and they walk off like the troopers they are to their teachers. Then mommy quickly exits, whistling Dixie all the way. Whooo hoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hallowe'en 2007

Hallowe'en was great this year except that Daddy was in Vegas on a business trip. I took alot of video of the girls trick-or-treating for Daddy to see the event that he missed and snapped only a few photos. The girls were ladybugs , I know a very original costume for asian -girls- adopted -by- North- American -families! (heavy sarcasm here). But I couldn't resist because the costumes were so darn cute and warm!!!!!

This last picture is my absolute fav, fav, fav....it is Sophia running to greet her Nonno. It just melts my heart. I may just have to do something with it for a Christmas gift for Nonno. Any ideas?