Juggling it all...

Answer me this... why is it that you can be so concerned about something with your child - to the point that it keeps you up at night - so you finally make an appointment to address the situation only to be practically laughed at and told that your child is perfect, smart and totally cool??!! Since I have twins - and probably more so because they are boy/girl twins - it is easy to "compare" and see the milestones that one accomplishes before the other. Sam was pure and simple a child prodigy when I birthed her - but we may be biased ;-) Brooke exudes those same traits - speaking, fine motor skills, social behaviors - just like her big sister. Our B-boy is such a drummer to his own beat that for the longest time I was convinced he would be enrolled in one of those "gifted and special" programs. So, to rest my mind at ease I scheduled the evaluation appointment with the education specialist and today was the day. But plain and simple he is a ROCKSTAR kid who is i...

So I need to write some things down to document the crazy things my kids say... The other day it was me and the twiners driving around town taking care of somethings while Sam was in school. I know (at least I hope) that one day the two of them will be able to ride in the car, sitting next to each other without trying to kill the other. But, until that day comes this drive was just like all the rest. Brooke started crying for some reason or the other and I look in the rear-view mirror and ask her what's wrong. She replies with the biggest crocodile tears and says that Brody scratched her. Not believing he could even reach her, I glanced at Brody and with his head buried in his hands looking as guilty as ever I ask him why did he scratch her. He replies... 'but mom, my muscles are just so big'! Yes they are son, and I love you!!! I was lucky on this same drive to get another funny little nugget from them. I had to run into the camera store to return a rented lens and...

This is it... Sam's very first soccer game! Her team was able to get 2 practices in before this game and I don't think Sam really had any concept of what games were really going to be like. I honestly think she thought that games were like practices, but only on Saturday's and with a bunch of other girls. The field. The running. The sweat. She was beat after this game! But in true Samantha fashion, she ROCKED! Especially since this was only her first game in her life and she was the least experienced on her team; all the other girls have played for 1 or 2 years already and not to mention that she is also the youngest, but far and the smallest player on her team. One might think that with all this against her she might buckle and throw her hands in the air in frustration... but not my girl! Thankfully she got her 'can-do' attitude from her Dad. I don't think Scott stopped grinning from ear to ear the entire game; he was soooo proud of her. She did such...

Since the big guy had the day off we took a quick trip to Tempe yesterday and ended up at the Beach Park. We were hoping to let the kids play in the water park area but sadly it was closed for maintenance. So of course we had some fun on our own, oh and it naturally became an excuse for a little photo op, too! One of the many, many things I'm grateful for is the fact that when I ask the twins to 'turn on the charm' - meaning to hug, kiss, hold hands, etc. - for the camera, they are more than willing to comply. Hence these next few photos... Brody being such a ham and a stud... I just can't get enough of this kid! This was our cheap entertainment since we could not play in the water... we chased birds. Only this little guy didn't fly away, he actually started to walk up to the twiners. I love the last picture where Brooke is trying to wave the bird over to her... And this is me, relinquishing the photo duties to my other half. It's sad that my kids' only...

So, are you sick of these yet? Because I'm not. Sorry. This latest re-do I found inspiration from a shirt I saw at Target. Now, of course I don't run a sweat shop factory in Southern China so my stitching skills leave much to be desired, however I think it turned out OK. Started with a shirt on clearance from Target ($4) and some fabric I already had laying around. Cut out some diamonds, sew, sew, sew, bada-bing, bada-boom... walll-laaaa

Do I really need to say anything...

...these mice will play... at Goodwill that is! Just one of the simple luxuries that exist while Sam is away at school is the little bit of freedom I have with the twins. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely limited to the places I will visit when it is just the twins and me, but Goodwill seems to be a place that I feel won't judge me for my unruly 3 year olds, or my disheveled wardrobe, or my lack of patience with other shoppers. No real treasures today, but I did get a few things... cute dress for Sam, an adorable puffy pink vest for Brooke (yes, I know it is 105 degrees here, but it won't be for long) and a few other pieces for an upcoming photo shoot I'm trying to style. Other than a little public restroom visit for Brooke, we had a fun time... here's the proof...

Yes, we are the Champions! Scott and I have been playing in co-ed volleyball games for our church for the last 6 weeks and last night was the final tournament games. Usually our team looses within the first/second round for no other reason than lack of players, but for some reason the stars aligned for us this year and we had a good solid team from the start. Since these tournament games are for one night only - double elimination - they can drag on for a very LONG time. In years past when our team would loose right away in the early part of the tournament we would be done early and usually home and in bed by 8... (not really for this night owl). I had no REAL idea how long these games kept going for, but HOLY COW... we got home at 12:15AM ... Yes, that's AM... as in the next day... as in our kids were dog tired... as in we kept Sam home from school as a reward for being such an awesome kid and a super-star big sister for helping with the twiners so we could play... and yes, a...