Tales of Easter 2010

Easter is my mom's favorite holiday. In our family, you can't think of Easter without thinking of my mom. She even has an Easter village set up in her house for cripes sake!
So this year, we let her be the Easter bunny. Because ... realistically .. she kind of IS the Easter Bunny!
Just like when I was a kid, we dyed easter eggs on saturday evening and made Easter cookies. Sunday morning we got up and headed over to Nana's and Papa's with empty easter baskets, a smoked boston butt and a "made from scratch" carrot cake (and no I didn't make it). We spent the afternoon eating, hunting easter eggs and playing in the park. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day.

Peter Cotton Hassie Clare ... man I love that pretty bunny!

At the farm (mentioned in previous post) - still waiting on the "real" picture in the mail. This was just Jamie taking pics of them from behind the photographer.

Before their Easter celebration at school.

With their teacher Mrs. Pam coloring eggs (with markers .. not dye! Can you imagine dying eggs with 8 three year olds?)

Dying eggs with Nana and Aunt Amy.

Quinnie Ray putting stickers on her eggs ... of course they were color cordinated and lined up perfectly.

Hassie Clare could not stop eating the eggs long enough to decorate them!

Peeking at their Easter Baskets at Nana's house. We told the girls that the Easter Bunny could not come to our house because of the home remodeling project - which wasn't a lie. Our house was in shambles at the time!  

Hunting eggs in Nana and Papa's backyard (cousin Josie supervising)

Hassie Clare AKA "Hassie The Egg Hoarder"

Quinn and her new Easter baby going for the golden money egg ... That's my girl!

Hassie Clare and cousin Jack at the top of a rock climbing wall at the park. As they say in these parts, "Those two got picked off the same butt!"

Thanks mom for another great Easter!

Maema's Closet

The title reflects what I think my mother in law should name her kid's boutique ... if she ever opened one. The woman has impeccable taste in high end children's clothes. Not only that, she is a bargin hunter and buys the items at good prices. All I'm saying is that Ebay is her best friend!


She devotes hours of her time and lots of mula to keep her granddaughter's in the cutest clothes. I think it has become a hobby to her. An expensive hobby ... but one that I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate.

Twice a year she makes the 5-hour trip to our house to bring 2 seasons (spring/summer or fall/winter) of clothing, shoes and bows. Her Durango is LOADED down to the max. LOADED. She lets me go through everything and pick out my favorite outfits. I'll put it this way, my daughters could wear a different outfit every day until the end of summer and never wear the same thing twice. And that is just the outfits I pick out of the many tubs and boxes of clothes she buys. She usually leaves with about half of what she came with. Some think it is ridiculous (her boyfriend for instance) but I think it is generous and super cute because of how much she enjoys doing this for us.

Our 5 days with Maema was a blast! We went to a local farm for a friend’s birthday party, ate some good grub and enjoyed every minute with her. She spoils all of us! Thank you Maema for all that you do for us but mainly … for just being you!

These little girls love their Maema so much. You can see it in their eyes!

Maema had to bribe Quinn with candy to get her to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap!

Our friend Garrett's birthday party was great! Chik-Fila nuggets, snacks and the best birthday cake. His very talented mom did a great job on everything!

 

Hello Collarbone

So I'm 82 days (a week shy of 3 months) into my new eating habits .... not that I'm counting. This mornings weigh-in confirmed that I have lost 40 pounds. I understand that 40 pounds is A LOT and that it is a big deal but I have a lot more to go. I'm kind of in a slump right now so I didn't get that excited about the big 4 O. But I won't lie, seeing parts of my skeletal structure again has been rewarding ... it's been awhile since I've seen them.
The past 2 weeks have been rough on my diet - my birthday, Maema in town, Easter, home renovations (no access to my kitchen for 5 days). So I thought if I blogged about some of my goals it would help me be accountable.


I started exercising again about 6 weeks ago. Man o' man ... I can't get enough. I was an athlete up until about 12 years ago. My entire life until then was consumed by sports. I had a great high school and college career. I even had a full ride for undergrad and graduate school. Playing sports paid 100% for my education. With that came a lot of hard work. For 10ish years I had coaches determining my every move. They planned my daily events, my classes, my sleep schedule, my vacations, my meals, my EVERYTHING. Not just in season but year around (minus the summer of 93 when our entire coaching staff quit and they didn't rehire anyone for 3 months.... that was a good summer:).

After Grad school I moved back to my hometown and I dropped sports and anything related to my athletic past like a hot potatoes. It was liberating. It felt good. I felt free.

Fast forward 12 years, a husband, twins, health issues, fertility treatments, desk job, bad shoulders and knees from all the years of sports ....... and I was in a place I never thought I would let myself be. I was in horrible shape and 80 pounds overweight (really about 115 but I haven't weighed that since junior high school). I'm 6'1 for pete's sake.

It was the one thing in my life I didn't try to control. So what did I do ... I took control. Amazingly enough, it has been a fairly easy 2.5 months. The first 2 weeks were HORRIBLE. I was starving. I had headaches. All I could think about was food. And then around day 10 it all went away. About 7 or 8 weeks into it I had lost 25 pounds and felt like I needed to start exercising. I joined a gym and started taking every class I could until I found something I really liked. Being a team sport person, I thrive in a group setting. Turns out I’m addicted to Spinning and a class called Pump (one hour of weights with a high heart rate). I also enjoy step aerobics and body combat classes. Classes work for me. I push myself harder for whatever reason.

I've been working out now for about 6 weeks. I make every effort to get to the gym 6 days a week. Trust me it is not always easy but I look forward to it every day. I forget about everything about 20 mins into the workout. No stress, no kids, no family, no work, no phone, no computer, no animals, NOTHING but me. The hard part is being away from my family so I try to work around their schedule. For instance, I go early sat mornings before they wake up. I'm home from a 2-hour workout by the time they finish breakfast.

So here are list of my goals from when I started this journey:

· stick to a diet plan 100% for 30 days straight - CHECK

· give up caffeine - CHECK

· lose the weight of one of the girls (32 pounds) by my 36th birthday - CHECK

· start exercising - CHECK

· Exercise for 1 hour at least 4 times a week - CHECK

· run 1 mile without stopping (I HATE RUNNING) - CHECK

· run 2 miles without stopping ( I HATE RUNNING) - CHECK

· Lose 40 pounds within 3 months - CHECK

· Lose 50 pounds within 4.5 months

· Lose 80 pounds by September 1, 2010

· Continue working out a minimum of 3 days a week

So there you have it. I'm ashamed that I became "that person" I always said I'd never be but I'm proud that I've made a change. I’m pissed that I can lose 40 pounds and still wear the same size clothes. Granted, I was popping out of them all over the place (picture a can of biscuits after you pop it open) and I couldn't breathe before and now they are super baggy. I'm even madder that gravity is not my friend.  

But the bottom line is that I feel in control and that makes me happy. I have 2 little girls that will grow up in a society that has unrealistic ideas of what a woman’s body should look like. The least I can do is teach them to eat healthy, exercise and feel good about themselves, regardless of what size they wear or what they look like. This was my motivation when I started this journey.

I've said it before and I'll say it again .... I WILL NOT FAIL AT THIS.

3 year old class Spring Program

The girls had their first "program" at school (it is just a Mother's Day Out twice a week for 6 hours but we like to call it school.) Maema made a special trip all the way from Missouri. They sang the cutest songs. I will admit that I cried like a baby when they first walked out … and continued crying well into the program. It took my breath away. They looked so grown up. My tears were due to various emotions. Mostly just tears of pride. Few were tears of sadness because they went from babies, to walking out on the alter (the program was in the church) in a line with their class, following directions from a teacher and singing songs that I did not teach them. How did this happen? Where did the time go? Why am I already having trouble remembering details of them as a baby? It makes my heart feel heavy and sad that my time with my children as babies is numbered.


But at the same time I’m very thankful that they are growing up and developing into their own person. They are healthy and happy. And I guess as I Mother that is all I can ask for … right? But ohhh …. What I would give to have one more day with them with they were a little baby!

Anyway, the shocking part of the program was Hassie Clare. She was acting SO shy and never once looked up at the crowd. She normally loves to be the center of attention. She kept her head down the ENTIRE program. Those long curls were draped in front of her face. One of the teachers thought she had turned around backwards! She did all the hand movements but we could not see her face to see if see was singing.

Quinn (normally she does not like to be the center of attention) stood up there and sang every song, waved to us several times in the crowd and seemed to really enjoy herself.

You can see HC doing the hand gestures ... but not her face. She said she was "tired."

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance (sniff ...sniff)

With Maema in the lobby after the program (I think she shed a few tears during the program also:)

Our attempt at a" long overdue" family photo.

Spring Challange of 2010

Dear Quinn Rayann,

Lately I’ve needed a challenge of some sort. At first I thought the challenge I desired was with my career. You quickly showed me that I should not take on any other challenges at this time and for that … I thank you.

You are my challenge and I want to make sure that don’t make too many mistakes along the way. Avoiding mistakes with you require a great deal of patients, deep breathing and control. Did I mention patients?

The thing is, I understand you. I get it. However, your sense of reasoning is way off due to only being 3.5 years old. You have all these rules about your hair, your clothes, sleeves on your pajamas, your bath towel, your blanket that covers you up at night … EVERYTHING!

For instance, this morning while I was getting you dressed for Mother’s Day Out you immediately looked over at the clothes I had picked out for you to wear and said in your whiniest voice, “Those shoes hurt my feet.” It is always something. The shoes are comfy tennis shoes (the Converse Chuck Taylor’s that Maema just bought you) that fit you perfectly. Somehow, you manage to walk around the house for hours in 2-inch high heel, plastic, princess shoes without one complaint. So for about half an hour Hassie Clare and I had to listen to you whine, cry and hop around the house like you were in major pain. Then I had to hold you down while I put Band-Aids on the back of your feet because you insisted that the tennis shoes were giving you blisters.

Then there is your hair. The only way I can prevent a major meltdown is by pulling a tiny ponytail of only the top part of your hair over to the side with a bow (see every picture for the past 6 months). The ponytail can’t stick out – it must lay flat. The ponytail must be loose and the bow perfect or your head might spin off. You keep telling me that when you are 4 years old you will let me fix your hair a different way. We shall see!

The funny thing is that you have these meltdowns almost every morning that I get you dressed and ready for school. Then we get to school and you are a perfect angel. You never get in trouble at school. In fact, no one would ever believe that you are anything but a laid back, easygoing kid.

You are independent and strong but at the same time you have the most sensitive and innocent soul I’ve ever known. This makes it difficult to parent you. I find myself handling you with delicate, white gloves. You break so easy and so often. I don’t want to break you. I want to teach you other ways of handling your dilemmas (this is my official challenge statement)!

Part of the difficulty for me is that your cry breaks my heart. When you look at me with those beautiful, big blue eyes with gigantic alligator tears running down your face …. all I want to do is scoop you up, tell you everything will be alright and give you anything you want.

I’m writing you this letter because someday if you have a little girl and you are concerned that she is possessed because … oh I don’t know … her sock line isn’t perfectly straight with her toes or God forbid there are fuzz balls on her socks ….. and she screams and spits for 2 hours while saying every bad word she knows (booty, poo poo, stinky, poophead). If you call me to tell me all this and all I do is laugh … you can’t get mad at me. Because I will be picturing your precious little toddler face and reminiscing about the challenge I took in 2010.

I love you disco,
Mommy

Half monkey, half little girl

Seriously, Hassie Clare can climb anything and contort her body into any shape. It is a talent, however I would rather her not practice her talent for safety reasons. We went to another play date at The Little Gym. We love that place and it is right down the street from our house. I think we are going to join after this semester of ballet and tap is over.

My mom and Amy met us up there to watch the girls run around and act crazy. Quinn is a safety girl and it is so sweet to watch Hassie Clare help her with things and hold her hand when she is scared.  I say this all the time but watching them interact and the twin bond they share is one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed.

Hassie Clare's upper body strength is unbelievable.

HC and Nana (her monkey like skills make Nanan nervous).  

Check out the pic on my blog in the top right hand corner. Same place, same hanging bar only 2 years later. HC has a frown because we were getting ready to leave.  She is in her element at this place.  

Ballet on the big stage

The dance school that Hassie Clare and Quinn attend is always doing fun little things to keep the kids interested and active. At the end of each semester they have a recital on a big stage at our local theater. About half way through the semester the teacher holds class at the theater to get the kids and parents familier with the set, backstage, etc. The girls were completly star struck because they knew that Dorothy (from The Wizard of Oz) was once on that stage. They even got to see the makeup room where Dorothy got dressed. It was like watching Elvis fans visit Graceland. When we walked into the dressing room they were motionless and speechless. They studied every inch of the room and then talked about it for days ... all because Dorothy was once in that room.

Here are some pics from the ballet and tap class on the big stage:

3 year old class (most of the girls have already turned 4)

I love this picture. They look so grown up changing out of their tap shoes and putting on their own ballet shoes!

Aunt Amy, Nana and PawPaw came to watch them on the big stage.

After class with their teacher Ms. Jill.

Fibs & Birthday

Hassie Clare: "Mom, how old are you?
Me: "21"
Hassie Clare: "Are you tellin a fib?"
Me: "Yes I am. I'm 25."
Hassie Clare: "Are you tellin a fib?"
Me: "Yes I am. I'm 32."
Hassie Clare: "Are you still tellin a fib cause tellin fibs aren't very nice?"
Me: "Yes I am honey. I'm sorry and you're right. I'm 36 today and I will not tell a fib about my age again."
Hassie Clare. "Okay sweetie. You work on that for me."

So there it is. I'm no longer lying about my age. I've always lied about my age, even when I was a teenager. It's always been a running joke with me and all my gal pals. Especially the younger ones. I've been friends with some of them for over 10 years and they don't know my real age.

The joke is over. I'm 36 years old today and proud of it ... not really.... but I'm getting there. I've lied so much about it over the years that it takes a little getting use too:) I started out lying about being older but somewhere around 25 I started lying about being younger. Come to think of it, my mom always lied about her age.  And I think she told me that no one ever knew her mom's real age. Maybe it's genetic and I can't help myself. Whatever the cause, I promise Hassie Clare, I will work on not lying about my age.

PS - Thank you for a great birthday. I loved my homemade cards. My fitness watch is awesome (I have to limit myself using it because my OCD kicks in. I love watching how many calories I burn just by folding clothes). My mother in law got me a "bad to the bone" hair dryer and my always favorite gift - a subscription to People magazine. I also love the movie and candle you guys picked out for me. Breakfast in bed was great! And dinner with friends topped off my birthday celebration. I'm a lucky girl and I thank God for that everyday. It feels spectacular to be exactly where I want to be in life as I turn a year older!

Enjoying our peaceful life while it lasts!

Not much has been going on in the Thurman household besides the usual stuff. Life is somewhat boring yet enjoyable. We even had the weekend off with no scheduled activities! Haven't had one of those in months.

Last weekend I enjoyed a visit from Aunt Karrie. She bravely went to play bunko with me on Friday night. Not surprisingly, she fit right in and had a great time. I love my bunko girls. When we get together, it is all about having fun and being girls. There are rarely petty quarrels or disputes - which is extremely rare when you get 12 crazy girls together. Everyone has each others back .... for the most part. You can "let your hair down" and not worry about being judged (it seems to be a monthly thing for me lately:).  The older we all get, the more we appreciate the time we have with our girlfriends ... at least that is how I feel. I have lots of pics from this night but none I can share on my blog:)!

The next day Aunt Karrie and I took the girls to the gym for some indoor swimming. I have no doubt that they will be swimming sometime this summer. They are like little fish! The coolest part of this outing for the girls was the group shower in the girls locker room afterwards.

Taylor took the girls on a few outings. Here are some pics (with the phone) from the past week:

 At the zoo (shockingly the zoo didn't keep them:)

 The Children's Museum - the bug exhibit (notice Quinn's eyes and the grip she has on HC's hand ... she is always on the look out for anything strange and creepy.)

 Tay Tay and the girls enjoying Spring Break.

I let the girls make their own pizza. Crust, sauce, cheese and turkey dots (the girls always ask for "dots" on their pizza.) They love cooking!

Funnies

1. This is a conversation between Jamie and Hassie Clare. Hassie Clare said "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy." Finally Jamie replies "What it is it Hassie Clare?" Hassie Clare said "I love you sweetie pie." Jamie replied with "I love you too." Four seconds later. Hassie Clare says "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy." Finally Jamie says "Yes Hassie Clare?" She replies with "You don't say much ...... but I like you."                                 (Later I figured out that she got that line from the movie UP .... she is already a movie geek at 3)!
2. Quinn called Hassie Clare a Lobster Booty and then started laughing hysterically. Hassie Care started crying saying "I don't have pinchers on my arms. I have little girl fingers." This went one for 15 mins. They can add anything to the word booty and think it is funny! I discussed with them recently that a little soap in their mouth might help them remember not to call people names or say ugly words. Of course Hassie Clare wants to taste the soap to see if she likes it cause if it is not that bad it might be worth calling her sister a booty poopoo head.
3. The other day a Jehovah Witness came to the door. It was when we were all sick. The girls and I were curled up on the couch in our PJ's. I cracked the door and told them that we were sick and that we could not talk. If course they still tried to talk and asked me my name. I said "Heather." Hassie Clare was standing right beside me and she immediately chimed in with "Mommy your telling a fib. You're telling a fib and that is not nice. You name not Heather. That's a fib mommy." The whole time the JW men are just standing there staring at HC with a smile. Then they replied "Jesus forgives." I shut the door and locked it quickly.
4. Their cousin Josie lost a tooth. Last night at the dinner table I was explaining the process of how baby teeth fall out but grown up teeth take their place. Then I started describing how the tooth fairy works. Right off the bat I noticed Quinnie's eyes getting large. Within 30 seconds I could tell she was about to explode. By explode I mean have a mental breakdown. Quinnie does not like people dressed up as characters or stuffed animals that dance and sing. She is leery of EVERYTHING at all times. Both girls are petrified of their teeth falling out if they don't brush them. She immediately stopped eating her corn on a cob (her fav) and went and got her BB (blankie). After I calmed her down and told her it was all make believe and we wouldn't allow any of it to take place, even her baby teeth falling out, she started to calm down. She sat back up at the dinner table but wouldn't eat her corn cause she was afraid her teeth might fall out if she bit into anything. She will worry about this for months.  

To me there is no better humor then listening to a child.  I love the innocent way their minds work and the way they interpret life events. Jamie and I find ourselves laughing all the time at our kids.  I guess it is one of the many rewards for being a parent.

Chief Negotiator - HCT

I picked the girls up today from their 3 year old Mother's Day Out class. Their teacher uses a red, yellow and green apple that is displayed on the wall to discipline the children. They each have a worm cut out on a clothes pin with heir name on it. If they are good, their worm stays on the red apple. If they get in trouble, their worm gets moved to the yellow apple. If their behavior gets worse or they don't follow the rules again then they get moved to the green apple. It is a HUGE deal to a 3 year old. If their worm is not on the red apple at the end of the day then they don't get to pick from the teacher's treat jar (full of candy of course).
So, today Hassie Clare would/could not stop talking during nap time. After 10 warnings and repeatedly not listening to her teacher, her worm got moved to the yellow apple. No treat!

Here is the conversation between Hassie Clare and Quinn in the car on the way home:
Hassie Clare said "Quinnie Ray, can you share your Skittles with me?"
Quinn replied, "No Hassie Clare. You have a cold and I don't want your bugs."
Hassie Clare said "I not sick anymore and you are pose to share with your friends and sister."
I was curious as to how they would work this out so I just stayed quiet.
After a few negotiations, Quinn said "Here Hassie Clare, I'll give you just one red skittle cause I think you will like to taste it."
Hassie Clare replied, "How about 3 red Skittles? Member .... nice little girls share."
Quinn responded with "Has, next time you don't listen to the teacher I'll give you 3 Skittles."
Hassie Clare excitedly said, "Okay. That sounds like a good idea. Give me one more now and next time you give me 3 when I get in trouble. Hey Mommy, when do we go to school again?"

Without thinking, Quinn handed her another skittle. 

Tell me this ... there are 10 kids in the class. Seven of them are boys .... SEVEN BOYS! Yet the tiny little girl with the head full of long curly hair is usually the only one that gets in trouble. How is this possible? I'm really shocked she didn't attempt to negotiate her way back up to the red apple. I often refer to her as our family's chief negotiator.  When she negotiates things with me (which is 5+ times a day), I usually let her think she wins. Or maybe she really does win and tricking me was all part of her plan?????? Hopefully, someday these skills of hers will come in handy!

Daddy vs. 3 year old twins

Our sweet little Quinnie Ray.
I'm convinced her genetic makeup is 35% me and 65% her father. Before having children I assumed that having a child with similar personality traits as yourself would make parenting easier. My pre-parenting assumptions were way off. Quinn and Jamie are like oil and water. They are either lovey dovey and best friends OR butting heads over anything and everything. What it boils down to is that they are too much alike. Neither one of them will give in ... EVER! Neither one of them likes to be told what to do .... they only like to do things on their own terms. It is very frustrating for him because he feels like if he gives in to her on any level then that would mean he is not being a good father.  Sometimes it is hard to watch and other times I just sit back and giggle cause it is like watching 2 bulls lock horns.
When neither of them is being challenged, they are as close as close can be. They are both intelligent, serious, caring and have a heart the size of Texas.  She will be a better person because of her father and he will be a better person because of her. They just haven't realized it yet!

Everyone thinks she looks like me but when I look at her I only see Jamie.

Our tender hearted and funny Hassie Clare.

I would guess that her genetic makeup in 75% me and 25% her father. Physically she has her father's hair and complexion but she is a spitting imagine of her cousin Jack and her Aunt Karrie (my sister). Her personality is unique. Very unique.  My pre-parenting assumptions were way off on this also. Her and Jamie get along great. They rarely butt heads. He can hurt her feelings very easily but that is about all the drama there is between them ... outside of the normal 3 year old things. They are nothing alike yet they have so much in common.  She is curious about everything. How things work, what makes them work, why they work. It is fun to watch their relationship blossom.     

What matters the most at the end of the day is that these two little girls have a father that loves them. He just doesn't tell them he loves them he shows them. Every day. His girls call him their "Prince." They tell everyone that they want to marry him someday. I have a feeling they will always feel this way about their Daddy .. minus the teenage years:)

Swapping bugs

I wish the title of this post meant we have been outside on a nature walk, soaking up the beautiful sun, catching bugs and sharing them with each other.

But noooooooo.................... the girls have been sick for the past week. Hassie Clare and Quinn each had a different virus. So guess what happened this week? The are sick still / again with a new virus - they swapped bugs! 

 They have been locked in this house for 6 days (minus one quick trip to get ice cream and to Nana's house on Sat. night). They are at each others throat and ready to kill. Every little thing one of them does is setting the other one off and I can't say I blame them. So today I took them to ballet class and the grocery store. I felt slightly guilty because they are still sick (no fever in 12-24 hours). That mommy guilt was short lived because they are once again BFF'S and there is peace in our home .... for the time being!!!