III Birthday Bash

For the past week, Hassie Clare and Quinn have been beaming with excitement while preparing for their princess birthday party. Every day and night we have talked about the party, who was attending, the food, the moon bounce, their cakes and of course the pinata (or as HC says Pimyatta). By the look on their face Saturday, I'm assuming their party was everything they hoped it would be!

Balloon delivery by Paw Paw a few hours before the party.

I'm a planner. I schedule everything and plan things down to a tee. I function best this way and most of the time my life is a "smooth" ride. I mention this because for the first time in my life, I did not allow my OCD planning skills to kick in for this event. Let me start by saying that most of the folks that attended the party, especially the kids, had no idea about my lack of planning. Except for the fact that we ran out of food and drink. Not really ran out of food, but there was not a crumb to spare. Not really ran out of drink because there was water and beer. Of course had Hassie Clare not helped herself to 17 juice boxes out on the back deck there might have been more for the other kids.

We had 58 guests at the party and a hand full of itty bitty babies. We had a moon bounce courtesy of a close family friend, we set up the little roller coaster, got all the motorized toys and tricycles out and let the kids play. Of course they could always come inside to cool down and jump on the little indoor trampoline or play in the girls playroom stocked full of fun stuff for little ones. I ordered 10 large pizzas, had little pinwheel sandwiches, an abundance of spinach dip, mango salsa and watermelon. All of it was gone within an hour. I made 4 gallons of lemonade, had a case of juice boxes and a 12 pack of Sierra Mist. All of it was gone within and hour and a half. I have NEVER ran out of food or drink in all my years as a hostess. Serves me right for not planning better! In my defense, about 15ish folks showed up without RSVP'ing BUT it is so worth it cause the party would not have been the same without them!

We did not see Quinn for the first hour because she stayed in the moon bounce. When we finally dragged her out of it her face was the color of a bright cherry tomato. Hassie Clare stayed by our outdoor cooler (we call it the baptismal) sucking down juice boxes and eating ice. When she would see one of use coming she would dart out to the moon bounce.

Already crusin with a dude in her Jeep!

About an hour and 30 mins into the party Cinderella and her fairy godmother were suppose to make a special appearance. They were 30 mins late (had I had my planning hat on, I would have followed up with them that morning to make sure they were going to be on time!). It actually worked out good because all the little girls were waiting on our front porch when Cinderella walked up our driveway. Let me back up - Quinn had a melt down about 10 mins before Cinderella got there. She got hurt (not sure if it was feelings or physical) on the moon bounce, was overheated, thirsty and tired. She was stuck on me like a baby monkey. In addition, the fairy godmother had a cape on and Quinn wanted nothing to do with Cinderella or the godmother after she saw that. She has NEVER liked anything that was in costume. I thought Cinderella would be different but I was wrong. She kept her eyes shut 98% of the time Cinderella was there. Hassie Clare, on the other hand, LOVED LOVED LOVED every min of it. The excitement on her face was priceless!

Hassie Clare when she first saw Cinderella walking up the driveway.

When you ask Quinn why she was scared of Cinderella she says she wasn't scared, she was sleepy. Funny how when Cinderella and her fairy godmother left Quinn was full of energy!

The only way to get Quinn in the pic was to hold her and turn sideways.

Cinderella helped us sing happy birthday (only once to both girls and I swore I would always sing to them individually but everything felt rushed). We will sing happy birthday to each of them this weekend when we celebrate it again! We opened a few presents and then half of the folks left. The other half hung around for another hour or so and then left. I was not ready for anyone to leave!

It seemed like I blinked and it was over .... and this was a long birthday party. I never got a chance to sit down and talk with anyone. Some of these friends I only see once or twice a year and I hate that I missed the opportunity to visit with them. Most of all, I never got to watch my girls interact with their friends. I wish I had planned things better so that I maybe I would have had a chance to "stop and smell the roses." Although I love having their birthday parties at our house, I think next year we will do a "destination" party so that I don't miss a thing!

This pic cracks me up because she was sitting on the edge of her playground and no one was near her. She was sipping a "pretend" juice out of her Walmart cart and having an intense conversation. We are not quite sure who she was talking too???????

No regrets. My girls had a blast and still talk about it with excitement and that is all that really matters to me. I think our friends and family had a good time. I'm pretty sure all the little girls will be talking about Cinderella for awhile.

After the party, my family (Mom, Fred, Amy, Brad, Karrie, Brent, David, Jennifer and kids) packed up and we headed over to the BBQ joint around the corner from our house (Natural Born Grillers). The girls danced to the music on the jukebox, we ate ribs and BBQ nachos and enjoyed each others company. Afterwards, we came back to the house and parked our hiney's on the back deck. Uncle Dave and the girls caught fireflies. Quinn thought by running fast with her hand in the air she could catch some ....... it was too cute to even describe. Jack, Joise, Amy and Brad started a water balloon fight (water balloons courtesy of Nana... or course). So many memories were made!

The night ended with each of girls curling up in my lap and falling right to sleep. They only do this on the night of their birthday parties. Thank goodness for night vision on the camera to capture the memory. It is the best present they could ever give me!

Quinnie Ray

Hassie Clare Bear

This last pic is of the girls at 3am. They were exhausted! Hassie Clare was turned around backwards in her bed and Quinn was half on / half off her bed sound asleep!

Survival & Party Preparations

I survived the volleyball tournament. I won't lie and pretend I breezed through it like an old pro. It was 90 degrees in the blaring sun and we were out in it from 8:15am until 3pm. The 30spf ultra sweat proof sunscreen had to be reapplied 3 times and I still got too much sun. By 7:00pm that night I had self medicated with 2 muscle relaxers and an anti-depressant ..... I mean anti-inflammatory. Jamie took a few pics of us playing but I deleted them all - for obvious reasons. There were a few instances when I felt like my old, volleyball playing, athletic self ... a few. But 70% of the time I was exhausted and frustrated. Mainly because I am out of shape and carrying the extra weight that is equivalent to the weight of a 6 year old. Overall, I had a good time. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the other players, the competitive spirit and I enjoyed the day with Jamie without any distractions. I'm thinking of participating in a few more local tournaments but I have made a promise to myself to lose some weight and beef up my exercise routine before I play again. Many thanks to Aunt Jenny and Jack for spending the day with our girls so that Jamie could go with me - I needed someone with me to take me to the ER if needed:)

Yesterday I took the day off from work and drove up to Conway to go with my mom to her first radiation treatment. She was recently diagnosed with a rare cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma. She had a red bump pop up on her leg several months ago. Long story short, she has 6 weeks of radiation and hopefully that will nip it in the bud!

Party preparations are under way for the girls birthday party. I can't believe they will be 3 in 8 days. We are having a Princess themed birthday party this weekend (with Spiderman undertones per HC request). We are going to have a moon bounce with a slide and Cinderella and her fairy godmother will be making an appearance with balloon bouquets, cookies for all the kids and to read a story. So far we are expecting around 50 folks. The girls are so excited. We talk about it everyday. they are very precise on what they want - Castle cake, individual princess cakes (Quinn - Belle and Hassie Clare - tinkerbell), pinata's (Quinn - princess and Hassie Clare - Spiderman), they picked out their own balloons (Quinn - singing princess baloon and Hassie Clare - Spiderman but she really liked the Princess balloon also). I can not wait to see their face the day of the party!!!

FIRST BIRTHDAY

I had to scoop the eyes out of Quinn's cake so that she would eat it..... still to this day she hates things with eyes or fake animals that move or talk. Scares her to death!

Hassie Clare with her little turned in foot. I think this was her first real taste of sugar and she LOVED it .... still loves it!!!!!

After a long day of partying and turing 1, they curled up in my lap and passed out. This was the most memorable part of the day for me. The best "thank you" they could have given me!


SECOND BIRTHDAY

Middle Age vs. Athletics

The human mind can be a tricky thing. I was blessed (combo of genetics and God in my opinion) with natural athletic ability. I have always been good at any sport I have attempted, without much effort. I was rewarded greatly throughout my teenage years and 20's for my success in sports, mainly team sports. I received lots of media attention, too many awards to count, a full volleyball scholarship to undergrad, a full softball scholarship to graduate school as a graduate assistant. Although I worked hard, trained year around and listened to countless coaches scream at me, most of it came naturally. I thought my reward in all this was a PIF (paid in full) education. As I get older, I realize the reward the participating in sports is so much greater.

My life as an athlete ended shortly after graduate school for no apparent reason. Sure I still played softball in an "old lady, beer drinking league." In my mid twenties I played a few seasons in a local men's volleyball league (I had to quit because they played too much street ball - the opposite of skilled volleyball. And they whined way too much). I still kick butt at the occasionally game of HORSE or PIG. The competitive spirit in me has not died but my enthusiasm for keeping my body in shape and competing at a higher level has vanished.

So all of this mumbo jumbo has lead me to this ..... I might dye or seriously injury myself this weekend. I agreed to play in an outdoor 4 woman volleyball tournament. I am 10 years + older then the other ladies on my team. We practiced once last week and have one more scheduled practice before the tournament. This is what the problem is .... my mind is thinking one thing and body is doing something totally different. The skill itself came back to me like riding a bike. In my mind I could still jump up over the net and smash the ball straight down. The reality of it is that I can barely jump up, hit the ball as hard as I can and then I have to pray it clears the net. Do you know what a "credit card jump" is? It is when you can barely slide a credit card under your feet when you jump. I have a credit card jump and I feel like I'm moving in quick sand.

I held my own against the young lads, even shocked myself a few times. But I can promise you one thing, they were not hurting near as bad as I was the following two days after that first practice. Despite the pain, I had a blast and I can't wait to do it again.

I realized for the first time in 10 years that I am still an athlete. The athletic girl is still in me and I will never lose her. It just so happens that the athletic girl is wearing a middle aged, heavy suit:)

The tournament is this Saturday. Pray for me!

The end of an era!

Goodbye cribs .. hello big girl beds, well toddler beds but don't tell Hassie Clare and Quinn. Why do you ask that my 30 pound, almost 3 year old little girls are still in cribs? Let me tell ya. They sleep 12 -13 hour nights and take 3 hour naps in the afternoon. Why mess with that?

We decided to make the change because we are tired of getting up at night to take Hassie Clare to the bathroom. We can't expect her to climb out of her crib, in the middle of the night, half asleep. Quinn can hold it for 15 +++ hours .... the child amazes me.

I sold them on craigslist in record time. Maybe I should have asked more for them but it covered the cost of the little white wooden toddler beds. I let the girls pick out their blanket / bedding. Quinn picked out a Tinkerbell (she was VERY VERY disappointed we did not get a Tinkerbell bed with a canopy). Hassie Clare picked out Cinderella but she really wanted Spiderman (I could not handle it in their dainty little pink and green room).

They slept great last night. Hassie Clare did not get up once to go potty. It will take awhile before she is brave enough to go potty by herself in the middle of the night but I think this is a good / safe start.

I will go ahead and admit this so that I will remember it someday. Last night I was out in the garage doing a little touch up paint work on the cribs and I had tears running down my face the entire time. I touched up the spot where their apnea monitor bags hung off the side of their crib - it rubbed away some of the white paint. I touched up the inside top bar that Quinn chewed on when she was teething. It looked like it had been infested with termites. Jamie glued one of the bars back on that Quinn kicked off with her wold legs that she likes to prop up on everything. I touched up paint where Hassie Clare had picked at chipped paint. ALL PRECIOUS MEMORIES!

As the first one pulled out of our driveway in the back of a strange white pickup truck, I could not help but pop a few more tears. It was our final goodbye to their baby years. They are big girls now and we have so many more memories to make. A crib is only a bunch of wood that they slept on for 2.11 years. Right?????? (I keep telling myself this to make it through the day:)

GOODBYE BABY NURSERY

BIG GIRL / TODDLER ROOM PICS TO FOLLOW ..... UPON COMPLETION.

Heavy Load

Have you ever just stopped and thought "wow ... everything is right with the world for me right now. I hope nothing bad happens." I think this thought ALL the time. I always feel way too lucky ... if that makes any sense.

So when things are not "all right with the world" and by world I mean my world, I carry it around on my shoulders. By the way, my world is my family and friends. Much like anyone else with a heart, it kills me to see loved ones sad .... for any reason.

My parents are both faced with health issues. In fact, as I type this, Freddie is having surgery today on his heart to find out if he has another blockage. My mom is sitting with her best friend having lunch while he lay on the operating table and she is probably acting like a rock but inside she is scared to death. On Friday, the roles will be reversed. My mom will be having a different medical procedure while Fred paces around scared to death. I wish I could be there. Neither one of them deserve this and I wish I could take their fears away.

My mother in law is taking care of her oldest sister, our beloved Aunt Barbie. She recently found out that she has very little time left on this earth. It breaks my heart to hear the pain in my mother in law's voice. I wish I could hug her. She doesn't deserve this and neither does Aunt Barbie. I wish I could take their fears away.

We pray together as a family at night before putting the girls to bed. After our normal prayers, we say special prayers for those that need it most. Hassie Clare randomly asked me the other day if Barbie was with Jesus. After the shock of hearing a 2 year old ask that question, I had a warm and confident feeling come over me as I said without a doubt "not yet, but she will be with him soon."

I delivered lunch to a friend from our twins group yesterday. Her 2.5 year old son had a freak accident and was recently moved out of ICU and into a regular hospital room. He severed his trachea after falling into a bookcase while in the church daycare. Thankfully, he will be okay. When I was walking through the children's hospital yesterday, I could not hold back the tears. This of course led to my deranged thinking "wow, I am so blessed and thankful. I have 2 healthy children. I hope nothing bad happens."

I think I need my Aura cleansed!

The Bird Lady

Tay Tay (our nanny) took the girls to the zoo today. They opened up the bird / bee exhibit. Quinn wanted no part of it but Hassie Clare has found her calling!

The title of this blog entry is somewhat of an inside joke. Hassie Clare has crazy, wild hair when it is not pulled up or combed. We sometimes call her "the bird lady" because her hair looks like a giant birds nest and her quirky personality helps add to the nickname.

Taylor takes the girls to the zoo as often as allowed. One of things I love about her adventures with the girls is that it is not all fun and games. She is constantly teaching them about whatever they are doing. Today is was about birds and bees (get your mind out of the gutter ... not the birds and the bees:)! I addition to the educational teachings, she stays on top of them when it comes to manners, being polite and social behaviour. Their "field trips" are good for everyone!

Here are some pics Taylor took with the camera on her phone:

I wish you could see her eye brows (or as they say ... bye brows) in this pic.

Quinn did not want a bird to come within 5 feet of her.

The girl with a curl ......

This is Jamie's favorite new picture of Hassie Clare. When I look at it, I crack up because all I can think about is my mom's favorite little saying (and she says it to HC A LOT!!!).

"There was a little girl,

with a little curl,

right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

she was very, very good.

But when she was bad,

she was AWFUL!"

Events from my Mother's Day

After a fun but exhausting day of attending the Miracle Baby Reunion and shopping all day with my mom and the girls on Sat, I planned on a nice relaxing Sunday (aka Mother's Day). To some this might seem like I'm complaining. I can assure you I am not. I would not have changed a thing.

1) 12:30 am - we jump out of bed to the sound of our home alarm going off. Mom decided she needed something out of her car. We get the alarm turned off and reset. The girls wake up from all the commotion.
2) 4 am - Hassie Clare wakes up screaming "I'm soaked." She had an accident in her bed but it wasn't her fault. We were not on our normal schedule that day and we let her drink as much as she wanted up until 10pm!!!! Jamie cleaned her up and changed her bedding.
3) 5:10am - Quinn wakes up wanting me. Then Hassie Clare wakes up wanting me. We rocked for about 10 minutes and they were out. When they are exhausted they never sleep well. We didn't even stop long enough for them to take a nap on Sat.
4) 9am - Jamie gets up with the girls. I get to sleep in cause it is all about me today:)
5) 9:30am - The house gets very quite. I really don't care why, I just roll over and fall into a deep sleep.
6) 10:30 - I hear my moms voice calling me but I realize I'm dreaming about something really good and I really want to find out the outcome of my dream. Plus, I was in the perfect, most comfortable spot. Do you know what I mean .... when you wake up and you don't want to move an inch because your body is in the perfect position? Ignoring her didn't work. She crawled into bed with me, started rubbing my back and kissing me. I woke up ...... with a little protest.
7) 11:30 - Jamie and the girls return from the store and Jamie makes mom and I breakfast in bed (mushroom, onion, bell pepper, cheese omelet).
8) 1:30 - Kiss my folks good bye as they leave for Arkansas and we head out to Garden Ridge to look for a couple concrete planters for the front yard. We didn't find the planters but I found some really cute summer / beach hats.
9) 4:30 - Randomly picked somewhere new and different to eat for dinner. We decided on Molly's on Overton Square since we were close.
10) 8pm - Tucked the girls into bed, grabbed a Drumstick ice cream out of the freezer and curled up in bed with Jamie to watch TV (Bride Wars and Law & Order SVU). Jamie made it about 2.3 minutes before falling asleep.

A Mother's Day letter to my little girls

Dear Hassie Clare and Quinn,
Being your mother is a dream come true for me. I think God every day that he made me your mommy. The love I have for you fills every particle of my existence.

There was a time when I wasn't sure if I would ever be a mom and get to celebrate Mother's Day. Because of you, I get to celebrate being a mother everyday. Some days are challenging but I even count those days as great because at the end of the day, I get to hold you, I get to hug and kiss you and I get to tell you how much I love you.

Hassie Clare - I love your free spirit. I love how you are like no one else I have every known. You are quirky, unique and full of personality. I love how you demand multiple hugs and kisses from me every time I'm leaving a room. I love how you tuck your head up under my chin and curl your tiny body up on my chest. I love when something catches you by surprise and you laugh out loud. You have the sweetest laugh and it makes everyone around you laugh. I love how giving you are and how well you share with others. I love how you sit in the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and read books all by yourself - it makes me smile every time. I love your peppy attitude and how you say "go for it." I love your crazy, curly wild hair. I love the way you look in my eyes when you give me kisses. I love the fact that no matter how much people will try and change you, you will always be just you. I want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Quinnie - You are the most sensitive, loving child I have every known. You are already a nurturer and caretaker. I love your sweet little high-pitched voice. I love the way you look just like your daddy one minute and me the other. I love how you get so excited about new toys, especially baby dolls. I love how gentle you are with babies, animals, toys. I love how loyal you are, even as a 2 year old. I love how you belly laugh at your sister for no reason. I love how you wrap your arm around our neck when you snuggle. I love how you grab my face when you give me kisses. I love how you lean over to rub noses with me for no reason. I love how passionate you are about food:) I love how you say "I love you disco" when I tell you I love you more. I love how innocent you are. I want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Being your mother is the thing I am most thankful for in this world. I love being your mommy. I am proud to be you mommy. I love that every morning I get that excited feeling in my stomach right when I wake up because I realize that I get to be your mom all over again that day.

Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day. It was just a "normal" day but it is a reminder of how very grateful I am to be your mother.

I love you both more then you will ever know,
Mommy

PS - I realize I'm very sappy and if you read this during your teenage years you will think your mother is a total cornball. But give it a few more years and hopefully you will start to understand a mother's love ..... that is IF you decide you want to be a mother. I'm not pushing anything ... I promise:)

Big C's 65th birthday weekend

I was so thankful that I got to spend the weekend with my mom on her birthday. Thanks for sharing her Freddie!

We started the day off (4/25) by packing up the girls and heading out to Bounce to jump around and act silly with other members of our Multiples Group. After an exhausting hour and half, we hit a few a little shops and then decided to grab some lunch. My mom will use any excuse to eat Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese food. In an attempt to make it feel like it was her special day, I gave in to the Vietnamese food. She would have preferred a Chinese buffet but I had to draw the line somewhere:)

Going to the grocery store, or any store for that matter, with my mother is an experience all in itself. I dash into a store, get what I need and get out. My mother is not capable of this no matter what her reasoning is for going into store. I needed to run into Kroger to get a few things for her birthday dinner I was cooking for everyone that night. I managed to get a full weeks of groceries (one full basket) in the time it took her to go down the toy / holiday isle!!!!!! By the time I took everything out to the car, loaded the girls in ... she was finished checking out and walked out of the store with a few bags. DRIVES ME NUTS but it is also one of the things I love about her. In those few bags were goodies she thought we would enjoy and toys for the grand babies:)

Uncle Dave, Jenny, Jack and Josie came over for dinner and cake. We missed the rest of the family but had a good time.

I wonder who switched the 65 to 56 ... hhuummmmm.

My mother is so special to me. She is so many things to me other then a mother. I look forward to talking to her every day. She makes me laugh like no one in the world can. I'm talking about those laugh out loud, full belly laughs and it is usually over the silliest of things. As a mother, I can't imagine not having her praise, love and wisdom to grab onto while I'm raising my children. I feel so lucky and thankful to have her in my life. I would be lost without her.

Stuff

I have been sick with an ear infection and sinus infection, which has all drained into my chest for the past week. It is nice to be back amongst the living. Thankfully, I have the best husband in the world that held the fort down while I was out of commission. Of course I complained to him about how he didn’t do things the “right way” (and by “right way” I mean “my way”) but I have to complain about something….right? He took it like a man and still loved and cared for me as if I wasn’t a nagging hag. Man I love that guy!!!!!

Before I got sick, we babysat Isabella, one of my best friend's little girl. She is so flippin sweet and the girls love her. Quinn asked me if her mommy got her at Target cause that is where she gets all her baby dolls!

Let me tell you about our sweet little kitty Onyx (Taylor and the girls gave her that name because she was jet black as a kitten and we already have a Ruby .... have ya caught on to the jewel theme yet:) Last Aug, we had some friends over and we were sitting out by the play yard letting the kids play and we hear this little tiny meow coming from underneath the Muddingers barn, which backs up to our play yard. A few mins later this itty bitty black kitten comes crawling out. I bet she weighed 4 or 5 ozs. We didn't think she would live and if she did, we figured the foxes would get her. We have lived here 7 years and have never seen a cat because of the foxes. Well, obviously by the pics below she survived against all odds and managed to get knocked up. I am not a cat person but I must admit, I love this cat! She is so sweet and loving. Never asks for anything. Very laid back and doesn't even mind Ruby harassing her. About a week before she pooped out 2 kittens we noticed she looked a little fat and we feared the worst. On Sunday night she was acting strange and then on Monday I didn't see her anywhere. On Tues morning I went out to Jamie / Onyx's garage and she came running down the steps. I loved on her a little bit and then she took off back up the steps. She stopped and looked at me as if she was saying "come up here and look what I did." Jamie made a bed for her upstairs next to a heater. Thankfully she had the kittens in her bed. Today they are 2 weeks old and their eyes are almost all the way open. Onyx is such a good momma, especially for being so young herself. We think she is about 8 or 9 months old.

Hassie Clare’s first black eye given to her by her sister…..accidentally….. or so the story goes. HC was running from a bumble bee and ran into the back of Quinn’s head while she was swinging on the swing. I never got a great pic of her eye. It looked worse in person.

Taylor takes the girls to the zoo every chance she gets. They all have a great time. The family membership with the nanny pass we purchased paid for itself it 3 visits. I bet we have been 6 or 7 times this year so far.

The girls and I usually wait for Jamie to get home on the front porch. He loves to take them exploring in the yard once he gets home and this gives me time to get dinner ready. Quinn loves wild flowers (aka weeds) and HC loves rocks, gumballs and sticks. They both hate anything that crawls, flys or slithers, Jamie included.

They are getting pretty good at riding their tricycles. I might want to rethink letting them ride on the porch before Hassie Clare decides to do bike tricks down the brick steps!