Joy in the Journey

Every day I try to take time out to enjoy my day. Not easy as it is full of making meals, cleaning up meals, preparing snacks, cleaning up snacks, taking out toys, cleaning up toys... and wiping bums, washing hands, making sack lunches, driving kids places, doing laundry...

And of coarse managing the teasing and fighting. Every once in a while there will be that time when I look at one of my kids and think, wow that was sweet. Like the time Braden volunteered to get Chloe the milk she was complaining for. I remember thinking as Braden handed her the cup, "That is a sweet boy I have." Then I saw Chloe's face. It seems my sweet Braden made a concoction of barbecue sauce, lemon juice, water, and Hershey's syrup, and gave it to his little sister.

I have no doubt that there is joy in the journey to be found no matter how burried it may seem. The key is making the effort to take the time to find it.

A Scary Weekend

The ghouls and goblins came out in a real way to our home Halloween weekend. Perhaps it was a hex, a jinx, or someone needled some Huffman voodoo dolls. We thankfully came through it relatively unscathed, and I use relatively very loosely.

It will not surprise anyone that the day before Halloween Braden fell while swinging from a tree. He landed on his outstretched hand and broke his left wrist. With a splint placed by urgent care the next day, we were waiting out the weekend to see the orthoped when Hadley tripped on the stairs and broke the tip of her radius and ulna. Hers was a visit to the emergency room. Monday morning when I called to make two appointments with the orthoped, I had the nurses betting on the cause of the injuries. They were disappointed to find that the incidents were totally unrelated.

There are only a few things that can't be spoiled by a broken arm, and Halloween is one of them. But this day proved to be full of "tricks" right from the beginning. Upon returning from my morning run, I found a tow truck in front of our house prepared to repossess Ryan's car. Ryan's attempts to convince the tow truck driver that there was a mistake turned out in vain. The car was taken right out of the garage. After a week the "trick" was finally over, the car was saved from the auction block, and it was returned it to its rightful owner.

I don't know that there is a Halloween trick that can beat the wrongful repossession of your car, yet we set out Halloween night just the same with quite a cast, including a storm trooper, vampire, and two Cinderellas. The weather was a pleasant 80 or so and we were delighted to not be wearing thermal underwear under costumes or coats over the top. With four trick-or-treaters this year, we definitely took in our fill of candy. The babies were spectacular, following the lead of their older siblings, standing at the doors side-by-side dressed as two adorable Cinderellas. What candy-basket-holding adult can resist dropping an extra treat in those bags?

Halloween brings with it wonderful memories and though we faced some frightening events this Halloween, the holiday will continue to hold a special place in our hearts. Ryan and I met on a blind date Halloween night fifteen years ago. Though there was nothing really memorable about what we did that night, it is thanks to that Halloween that we have had many memorable ones since.

Potty Training Lesson #3 Down the Toilet

Today I found my bowl full of fun.

To give the girls credit, they have great aim. A disposable fruit cup is not an easy target.

The greatest part, Ryan was actually the one to find it and my parents were in town to witness it!

Potty Training

This last month has been dedicated to potty training the twins. Sigh... I suppose I could share the highlights.

In the beginning we were working on the basics of understanding and accuracy. We wondered if they were grasping the concept when Chloe dumped poop out of her underwear onto a playground slide and on another occasion came, poop-in-hand, looking for a receptacle.

Potty training lesson #1: Understanding comes step-by-step.

Accuracy has also had its moments. For example, the time Hadley peed all over my legs and skirt at church.

Potty training lesson #2: Do not kneel in front of the toilet.

The girls love to tease me as they know they will receive my full attention. They like to find any receptacle, such as a kitchen bowl, and pretend they are going in it. They will grunt and say, "psssssss" just so I'll say "No, don't go..." They think it's funny, laugh, and do it again. I am sincerely surprised that I have not found a bowl full of fun yet.

Potty training lesson #3: Keep them laughing, or you might just find a bowl full of fun.

Public bathrooms are not my favorite place, but while potty training they simply can't be avoided. Unfortunately twins add an extra challenge. While one's on the potty, the other likes to explore. I find myself saying, "Don't touch that," a lot. My favorite "don't touch that" moment was when Chloe dropped a cracker on the bathroom floor and not only did she eat it, but she knelt on the ground and licked it up with her tongue.

Potty training lesson #4: Don't take food into the bathroom.

We have graduated the girls to day beds, which is just a fancy way of saying we took the side rails off their cribs. We contemplated the pros and cons of doing this, but we were put over the edge when Hadley made a makeshift potty on her crib mattress.

Potty training lesson #5: It is better that they can get out of bed than if they can't.

I'm a little worried about the girls' teeth after all the M&Ms and suckers they have been eating, so I asked the dentist if it was wrong to put potty training ahead of the health of their teeth. I must have found the right dentist, because she said no.

Potty training lesson #6: When you're at your wits end with twins and their poop, nothing takes precedence over potty training!

Emme's Very First Campout

Friday Ryan took Emme on her very first camp out.

She was thrilled to eat foil dinners, cook smores, and sleep in a sleeping bag in an actual tent.


All I can say is thank goodness for father daughter camp outs!

What was I doing while Dad and Emme were off playing in the great outdoors? I spent the evening at the Arizona Diamond Back's baseball game with Braden and the twins. I think I was actually the one roughing it.

Happy Birthday Emme!

Emmry has been talking about her 5th birthday party since September 16th of last year. From the theme to the cake, it was set in her mind just like her wedding is. Her plans were to invite all her friends to our house for a heart birthday party, play heart games, do a heart craft, and have a "ginormous" heart cake from Costco. So as the big day drew closer, I became more and more worried. The games, crafts, and cake I could do, producing the friends was a bit trickier. Thankfully one of the girls from her primary class was available and we invited her over for a heart themed playdate. Emmry has already made contingency plans for next year;s party in case she still only has one friend. Thankfully we have plenty of chocolate cake to spare and share. Maybe we'll make some friends yet!

An Amendment

After the past two days, I feel it necessary to amend my previous post that absolved Chloe of any blame in our current "phase." I wonder, what exactly is the predetermined time limit for a phase? When do you move onto a chapter or a period of life? This phase I've decided has unequivocally crossed over the time limit whatever it is. We are definitely ready to move on. I'm not sure how much longer we can bare the artwork covering the walls, doors, rungs of the cribs, bodies, toys, carpet, blankets and sheets. Today the only solice I have is thinking ahead to the day when I'm able to say, "I hope you have a kid just like you." And today Chloe, I really mean it.