These are a few of their favorites things...

A little review of Christmas... and here are some of their favorite things from Christmas time at Mormor & Papa's house... December 2011

1.) While I (mom) was a little skeptical of all the beads (over 150) the girls absolutely LOVED making their own jewelry. It did take Mom and Mormor a while to figure out how to tie the necklaces - however now they provide hours of entertainment. While I type this the girls are each wearing 3 pieces and are spinning around... and around.. and around!

2.) Auntie Mimi came up with a fabulous surprise - Paper Dolls! These doll houses and dolls provide HOURS of quite play immediately. And its really fun to listen in on the conversations the girls have with/among their dolls!

3.) There was only ONE thing on the girls Christmas List this year... PILLOW PETS! They were so excited to see them on Christmas morning and have continued to love on their animals pillows every day and each night when they go to bed!

4.) CAMERAS - the girls are in love with their cameras (vtech) and spend many many hours playing the games, putting hats and such on people in the pictures! We've taken the cameras to the zoo and the girls each took some pictures... we LOVE this new level of play! Here's hoping they'll learn to cooperate when I'm trying to take their pictures!

Some of the other favorites were Spin&Glow Gears, Strawberry Shortcake & Blueberry Muffin dolls (thanks Aunt Colleen) that come with these magic frozen sticks that turn their hair colors and the girls just LOVE it, a Veggie Tales cd player with 2 microphones has added some sensational singing to our lives, and many other fun things!

Ice Skating

(catching up on xmas posts of december 2011)

There was no snow out east - so we went with the next best WINTER activity - ICE SKATING!

The girlies were a little hesitant at first but did great! Papa and Daddy were pros and helped the girls around the ice while Mom & Mormor took pictures and enjoyed watching the action.

Linnea & Papa, top picture,

Signe & Daddy, bottom picture...

iPading it...

One of the things L & S love about being at Mormor & Papa's house is playing with the iPads! And it's a great way for them to cuddle up to their grandparents and slow the evening down before bed... so here they are!

Linnea & Papa, top

Signe & Mormor, bottom

Hot Tub Swimming...

To say this was a bizarre Christmas vacation in New England doesn't cover it... but this picture does! This was December 22 at 54degrees in a hot tub turned down to 98degrees... It was so warm out and the hot tub was a bit like a warm bath tub. We loved it, the girls had a blast 'swimming' nearly every day of Christmas vacation but we did miss not having any snow!

isn't Signe pretty? love her silly face in this picture!

Getting down to business...

Hard at work? Or hardly working?

My awesome nephew and brother-in-law!

Peeking in...

Here's a glimpse of Christmas morning!

More to come... just need time to catch up on vacation!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

from our family to yours!

Here's the picture from our Christmas card!

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

LOVE from L & S

Happy Birthday Micah!

We love our nephew/cousin Micah! And were thrilled to spend his birthday with him! Here's the cake the girls, Daddy and I decorated to celebrate his day!

All the birthday boy pictures are on his Mommy's camera...

Holiday day trip to NYC...

This was the girls and hubby's first trip into NYC! And it was specially for the Christmas displays, windows and Santaland at Macy's!

L & S were thrilled to see Santa ice skating in Rockefellar Center, walk to see the windows (aka riding on Papa & Daddy's shoulders the majority of the time, what good men they are!)... and enjoyed seeing SANTA at Santaland! Santaland was really fun with a train 'ride' & ringing the bell to enter, all the animated displays and music, and the anticipation of meeting Santa for the first time. Needless to say that was the highlighted event, however Signe after peering around the corner ended up being too scared to talk or sit with Santa. Linnea went right in and told him what she wanted! Truly hilarious - L was silly and animated about telling him about wanting a Pillow Pet Zebra while S couldn't even look at him and mumbled at my neck about wanting a Pillow Pet Pony... these silly stuffed animals have been the one thing the girls have talked about for MONTHS!

Micah wasn't keen on the idea of sitting with Santa, so my sister got in there and sat with him, M on her lap! He was adorable, calling Santa 'Ho Ho' and waving 'byebye'.

A slice of NYC pizza filled our stomachs! And L & S had a quick trip into the NYC Build-A-Bear to grab "I LOVE NYC" pjs for their bunnies (probably their most exciting moment)~ Hope to do this trip again ... in maybe 4 years when the girls have more stamina!

Mommy moment: We are not 'into' Santa, we don't talk about him at home or do elf on the shelf, we talk about Jesus birthday and that being the reason for the season. However, this year in preschool the girls learned many songs about Santa and such, leading up to excitement & anticipation about him. So since we were venturing into NYC we did meet Santa. Otherwise we would not have done it. To each his own decision on how to handle Santa and the Christmas holiday, but we really want to instill in our girls the real reason for the season in our house!

Skip through the slideshow to the middle/end to see the pictures with Santa!

Over the river and through the woods...

To MORMOR AND PAPA's house we go!

We got up and left at 330am ... arriving to my parents house around 7pm! It was a good trip as far as the girls did traveling. They didn't sleep well after we got in the car and drove in the early am, but they did sleep off and on until 7am. Around 1pm they both napped for 2 hours. Movies, arts/crafts, eating in the car, singing, reading books, eating in the car... you get the idea!

It's wonderful to be here to celebrate the season with my parents. L & S were SO happy to arrive give hugs to both Mormor & Papa... and last but not least, Bella the dog!

This is how our evenings are shaping up...

Christmas Part 1

We celebrated Christmas a little early with Grandma and Grandpa Warren! The girls, after being sick for a week, could not WAIT for them to arrive. They helped wrap presents for their grandparents and were ready!

SIDE NOTE: Two mornings in a row while sick, L & S woke up saying "Mommy there are no presents under the tree, it's Christmas and there are no presents"... to which I explained it was not Christmas yet and they had many many days until its actually Christmas. We counted the days left on our Christmas tree calendar and have not had any more mornings like that.

After a delicious lunch out we settled back at our place for an early Christmas. Thankfully Grandpa took control and handed out the presents ... L & S were a little anxious and excited! They TORE threw the wrapping on their first one and were thrilled to get the Easy Bake Oven! ((we know that the age recommended is 8+ - however our girls LOVE to bake and cook with me and we figure with supervision this is right up their alley!)) Equally excited about their new slippers, supplies for the EBOven and new PLAYDOH and accessories!

Grandparents and parents also enjoyed their gifts -but let's be honest we're here about the girls! Though I know my baking will go easier from here on out with the awesome gift from my inlaws of a LARGE cutting board that will work perfect for rolling out my cinnamon rolls, breads and more!

Grandma & Grandpa were around to see the first use of the Easy Bake Oven - and the girls sat and watched the little oven work its magic for pretty much the whole 20minutes warming up, 10 minutes baking, 5 minutes cool time, 2 minutes to decorate and 1 minutes to eat up & enjoy! Seriously all that time and hardly a minute to eat! :)

(Signe left,

Linnea right)

L & S were in little girl heaven baking and decorating, eating and talking! Little bite size cupcakes were cute and pink.

(Signe left,

Linnea right)

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Warren!

First SNOW!

SNOW!

L & S could NOT have been more excited for the first snow of the winter. 7:30am discovery. 7:31am request to go outside and play. So when we left the house at 9:30 the girls had 5 minutes to enjoy the snow. Since they are getting over being really sick that was all the time I could allow. And they enjoyed it to the fullest as I was knocking snow off the car and warming it up.

L immediately threw snow at S. And while I was buckling L into the car... S promptly laid in the snow and did a snow angel on the sidewalk. Don't you love that their hair is the same color of their jackets?

Purple Mittens are on Signe, and Pink are on Linnea.

It was a moment of pure heaven for these 2 and they were extremely sadden when it melted away in the sun later on.

HAPPY SNOW! We're hoping for more - but not until after we've made the hike out to the east coast. My parents are hoping to take the girlies skiing for their first time! I know that 3 yrs is when I learned to ski but really it seems early.

L & S just can't be turning 4 in 2 months - it seems impossible!

Silly Faces

HAPPY DECEMBER - can you believe it is December? I can't.

We started off the month with sick kids - a virus causing high temps and bronchitis. Scary when your little girl wakes up screaming 'mommy help me' and her temp is so high her body is red. Yup, super fun week of sickness around here.

Here is bath-time silly faces!

Generally I don't post bath pictures but these are just their adorable faces.

Linnea playing 'Santa' complete with a 'ho ho ho'

And Signe just being cute and sticking out her tongue!

Come sit in the fort with me!

L & S are so blessed to have a daddy that doesn't hold back with the fort/tent building. Today was a great day for it, serious winds and not all that warm kept us inside! But not to despair ... Daddy built them a serious fort with all the blankets and moved all the couches (which Mommy got to put them all on my own - we need to work on that).

The girls had flashlights, stuffed animals, blankies (all of them), books and more! It was every child's dream world. And it entertained them for over an hour. Coming and going, talking and singing, pretending to play house and having parties...

It was a heavenly hour of listening to laughter, giggles, silly chatter and happy kids!

Do so LOVE my happy kids and the Daddy that inspires them to have fun!

What's for Dinner?

What's for dinner?

This is what the girls were up too while I was trying to decide on dinner yesterday!

Standing on their stools, decked out in aprons and finger to the chin

(the thinking cap of a toddler)...

all the while saying:

"Hum... let me think mommy!"

"I GOT IT! Let's make... hotdogs"

... or sandwiches, or cereal, or pancakes, or spaghetti, or green beans, or bananas... this went on for quite a while. Then a brilliant idea came to me - set them up making pudding and actually make dinner!

So the girls mixed up pudding and had a blast doing it!

But aren't they adorable? Who wouldn't want these 2 as their sou-chef?

35 days

35 days CHOCOLATE FREE!

Someone should give me an award for this achievement. Monumental if you ask me, the person who used to eat more chocolate servings in a day than fruit/veggie servings. I have overcome, or are starting to overcome my chocolate addiction. Yea, let's admit it - it's just the beginning. Early stages.

But today I do NOT crave chocolate! Which is huge. Serious.

Not only did I give up chocolate - which is all I set out to do- I've also begun eating healthier. Strive for Five (heard this from a speaker at MOPS), eating 3 veggie and 2 fruit servings a day. I'm doing portion control; a.k.a not eating more than a serving of any food, over eating my carbs no more. It's a little crazy. I don't snack anymore unless it fulfills my veggie/fruit servings. Or the occasional serving of popcorn OR a glass a wine after the kiddos are in bed!

So I am aiming to be a better food role model to my children. And am starting to feel like a much healthier version of me. It's really good. Plus the loss of over 1 pants size is pretty sweet too... though I didn't plan on it.

It's truly amazing how much better I feel!

It was tough to skip halloween candy (the first holiday I didn't eat snacks, chocolate or candy), but I've allowed myself 1 treat a week. I made it to Thanksgiving with hardly any qualms - and survived the meal! Enjoyed a delicious serving of carrot cake and 2 cookies the next day! And we're back to eating well after that splurge of a meal. Even then I managed to eat pretty well - emphasis on the veggies, lighter on the carbs.

No regrets over what I have eaten in the last 35 days!

So here's to making it until Christmas. I'll re-evalute the no chocolate thing at Christmas... and decide if I'm ready for the responsibilities of not over eating chocolate again. But no rush - I'm enjoying eating healthier, more responsibly.

Good luck to all of you this holiday season of over eating. I'll not be over indulging and plan to not need a New Year's Resolution of losing weight or getting in shape!

HAPPY MONDAY!

Pjs & Tutus are just the way to kick off the week!

Christmas Card OUT-TAKES

Every year we attempt a Christmas card. We enjoy sending and receiving cards, to/from our family and friends! It is a great way to pray for each person we receive cards from and a way to enjoy catching a glimpse at their growth from one year to the next. The twins had a blast today looking at the cards we have from last year's Christmas cards. So I thought I'd share two of the Christmas card out-takes from this years attempts...

One day I randomly had the girls in really good spirits and unprompted good pictures followed!

And then yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving we tried family pictures...

So enjoy, have a laugh and look forward to the one we'll send your way!

Please message me, email or facebook with your address if you'd like a card and aren't sure we have your correct/updated address!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is what it looks like when you have 6 adults and 6 kids for Thanksgiving!

It's a wonderful crazy time - we had a blast. Ate TONS of food and enjoyed our time as family. The cousins all had fun and played well together. The day started with swimming at a hotel pool where family stayed over! While they swam I cooked! Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, corn&broccoli casserole, fruit salad, (forgot to put out the cranberry sauce,oops!) ... there was a holiday drink of champagne & apple cider with cranberries... wine, wine and more whine! I mean wine. :)

The kids had play time at the park with the Daddy, Uncle Andy and Grandpa... while us moms relaxed at home with the baby sleeping. Pure bliss!

After the kids all returned it was snack time (Veggie tray & cheese/meat/cracker tray)... while watching Beauty & the Beast! The grandkids and grandparents enjoyed the movie - while us 'adults' sat around the table together!

We finished up the evening with a delicious carrot cake made by Grandma Warren and sugar cookies the girls decorated the day before.

We already miss having our cousins over and look forward to more time with our family!

A million pictures...

If only the cameras the girls used today were REAL we'd have a million pictures of what 'Beauty Shop' looks like when 2 very sweet girls are giving Mommy a makeover. And seriously - they use the word makeover. Do I look tired? To them I just look like the perfect-willing patron.

So I sat on a chair, received a wonderfully relaxing hair do (surprisingly L&S were so gentle while brushing I didn't loose many hairs), a gentle facial including fake make-up, a headband and lots of jewelry later (anything and everything that fit)... it was show time!

L & S 'took' pictures while telling me to stand up and dance for the show.

Not to worry, we took turns and they each got a chance to be pampered. L & S were much more into performing/posing for their pictures than I was - but I did my best!

I love these girls - they are hilarious and they have HUGE imaginations that just keep the laughs rolling. Can't wait 'til they have real cameras and we see the world through their view!

Today we made PLAYDOUGH from scratch

for a fun stuck-inside-too-cold-to-play-outside kind of activity...

Both girls had a blast adding and mixing ingredients... then we split the dough in half, put it in baggies and mashed/mixed the food coloring into the dough (*without staining our pretty little hands) ...

Linnea chose BLUE food dye...

By the way have you ever thought about trying to explain things like 'dye' or 'consistency' to a 3.5 yr old? Not so easy.

Signe chose GREEN food dye...

And then it was off to the races to roll and smush(sp?) the dough... create, cut, shape, and cut out animals. It was glorious 30min activity. Rinse and repeat twice throughout the day.

It is fun creating with these two!

Fashion by L & S

Do you wear your jewelry like this? As modeled by Signe, the layering approach...

Or do you prefer the adorn others with your jewelry approach as shown by Linnea? She preferred to decorate her stuffed friends with jewels and set them spinning!

**You'll note that these sweeties just refused to look at the camera - so why bother fighting and not just enjoy the moment of quiet entertainment.

Doubly Blessed

There are some very sweet, tender moments between twins... and today everything cooperated and I was able to catch these girls in a precious moment!

Makes my heart squeeze - I just love them so much!

Pesky Toddlers

Mommy Moments: brought to you, by ME!

Last evening our girls were with their sitter, they consider it a special treat! They LOVE being with her - she is a sweet 16.5 yr old girl that is wonderful with our kids. We're blessed to have one that lives just down the street and enjoy her whole family!

When I arrived home my sitter said "they were great no problems, went to bed and were asleep by 8pm, oh yea, and when I was cleaning up dinner Signe drew on the flat screen TV screen with a crayon!" She went on to apologize and I was calm, knowing hubby would be WAY more upset. And just said thanks and don't worry I'll figure it out.

Like a good mom, I went to GOOGLE. The late night solution when you can't call around to all your girlfriends that are also moms of toddlers... and found that many other pesky toddlers have done the same thing. Much to my delight a little light MAGIC ERASER action gets rid of the crayon without damaging the screen at all. When I told Dan (before cleaning it off, which now I know clean it off first so he doesn't freak out) - he freaked!

MOMMY TO THE RESCUE - thanks to google!

Anyone have any other sweet rescue tips to clean up the things PESKY TODDLERS do?

WE LOVE TO JUMP!

JUMPZONE is the place for kids & dads... Our girls had a special day with their cousins - play at the park, pizza at home and then JUMPZONE! We love that the girls have a total blast playing with their cousins and are so excited for what Thanksgiving will be like with all the cousins together again!

Isn't this picture hilarious? Love all the grinning faces - the girls and their cousin that is the same age by one day!

Look the static hair - LOVE IT! L in pink, S in purple!

Happy Halloween: The finale

This is how it looks when you trick or treat with 2- 3.5yr olds, 3- 2 year olds, 1- 1 yr old, and 2 infants! It is a blast and it is busy! We spent our Halloween out with friends, having a pizza party post 'trick-or-treating' and enjoying the evening!

Here's my doggie & giraffe - we're working on smiling for pictures but it just didn't happen on Halloween when their attention is divided!

Look at this busy bee and flower princess!

Isn't this pretty pink princess just adorable?

Happy Halloween!

Pre-Halloween

We had fun painting pumpkins with friends the night before Halloween! Our friends H & D are super party hosts with yummy pumpkin pie, spinach dip and the MOST amazing fall drink recipe (champagne, apple cider, frozen cranberries & something else I can't remember... H - help me out!). H has a great new blog on fashion tips and trends (find it here)

The girls had fun jumping and bouncing on H&D's daybed - amazing hosts to allow my double trouble to jump around! L & S love to play with D - and he is fun and silly with them and they enjoy it!

Signe painted the rainbow on her pumpkin, Linnea did a little of everything (snake, worm, cat, rainbow, ...), I did a cat and a haunted cemetery, H did a pumpkin and spider!