Movie Night: Toy Story 328

Oh, sorry.  It was really "Toy Story 3" but it seems like we have watched a lot of Toy Story since the beginning of family movie night.  I have to say that I actually sort of like this one, though it does have some scary moments.  The end does tend to bring tears, but it's all worth it.
Obviously movie night isn't as compelling for Clark since he was racing around with the shopping cart.  At least he was keeping himself entertained.
Tomorrow is family day for Mommy as I've been working a lot and plan to spend time with the kids.  We haven't quite decided what to do yet, but I'm sure we will be ready for clean sheets at the end of the day!

Transportation Day at Clark's School

Checking out the view from a schoolbus window.

Jr. Sheriff ready to take this one for a spin.

Yeah.  That's a cool fireman's hat.

I can jump from here.

Mayor Tim Burchett makes an appearance at the Cedar Bluff school Transportation Day.

One last "ride" though he wasn't willing to get in on a photo op with the Mayor.

Mommy and Clark had fun checking out Transportation Day at his school today.  There were a number of vehicles on display and most could be touched or boarded.  They had a fire truck, ambulance, Sheriff's helicopter, Sheriff's car and motorcycles, KAT (city) bus, school bus, tow truck, Harley and a few others that I am probably forgetting.  I think he enjoyed it though he was apprehensive about it because he was NOT going to school today and the vehicles were in the school parking lot. 
One of the officers gave him an official sheriff's badge (pin) as well as a few stickers to share with his sisters.  He was probably the most content visiting the school bus once he got situated in one of the seats.  It was a nice view of all of the transporation vehicles on display. 
Fun memories with my little man.

Readers

The girls are trying to twist their fingers into the sign for "I love you."

Kendall decides that a thumbs-up is appropriate.

Clark had to go to sleep a little earlier than the girls because he was feeling a bit, shall we say, tired.  And we expect that he will be up by 7am, so I'm about to call it a day as well.
The girls had some story time with Mommy and Daddy before they were supposed to go to sleep, though we had three more trips in there tonight.  They are on day 6 of sharing a room and are doing fairly well so far.  Hearing Kendall saying "Emmaaaaaaa.  Wake up, Emma.  Eeeeeemmmmmmaaaaaaa" is pretty comical, but I'm sure Ems has a different opinion because she is usually still sound asleep when I arrive in the morning. 
That's it for me.  Nightie-night.

Not Tornado Warning Friendly

I'm just about sick of tornado warnings right now.  We've had them consistently issued since about 4p today.  Initially, I was mildly concerned and got somewhat prepared but then we didn't have too much activity other than some heavy rain.  I decided to give the kids a bath and asked Facebook friends and my sister to call me if there was something significant headed our way.
Around 7:45, things got worse and I began to worry.  Troy was still at work and quite frankly, I haven't dealt with this sort of thing since becoming a parent of three little ones who rely on me to keep them safe.  We got settled into the safest place I could find which is our hallway/mudroom area.  I brought some markers, notebooks, cars, a play garage and some legos.  Just outside the hallway I had rechargeable lights, the radio, my laptop and anything else that seemed somewhat important (the fire safe, etc).  Yes folks, I was really convinced that we could be in for some tornado activity and I was trying to be as prepared as possible. 
I sent Troy a text mentioning that he should get home.  Now.  He called a few minutes later saying that he was headed home.  It was then that the radio reports indicated heavier rain and hail in our area.  And the hail began.  It was incredibly loud and the kids were a little weirded-out.  I was on pins and needles until I heard the garage door open announcing Daddy's arrival home.
At this point, we are still under a tornado warning, but have been incredibly fortunate (knocking on wood as I type) that we haven't had anything significant going on with the house (at least nothing that we know of).  Indoors, it is dry and comfortable and the kids are finally in bed. 
We are checking the internet and finding out that there have been terrible storms in Alabama causing fatalities, so I feel that my fears were not unfounded but I find myself relieved that we have been able to dodge any sort of major problems.  I was able to clear out a space in the garage for my van, so we know it is without harm, but we are just hoping Troy's car survives the storms without any damage.
And I have realized that our house isn't particularly "tornado-warning-friendly" in my humble opinion.  I say that because we have no spaces downstairs that are completely window-free.  Moments such as these make me wish that we purchased a home with a basement.  Darn it anyway.  And Troy just mentioned that tornado damage probably isn't a covered event under our home owner's insurance and I'm wondering why the h-e-double hockey-sticks not!  We will probably have to look it over just so that I can get a peace of mind about our coverage.
Here's to a clear day tomorrow filled with sunshine and no more severe weather reports.  And we hope that others in our area have not suffered any damage either.

Easter - Take 462

Ok, that's exaggerating just a little, but I feel like I've been dragging out the pictures from Easter celebrations forever.  But this is the last set of shots, I think.  This time, Daddy was also taking some pictures at the egg hunt on Saturday:

Mommy.  Look at all of the candy-filled eggs I found.

Girls go crazy about a sharp-dressed man...with a cool basket and a slick haircut, of course.

Um, Mommy, where's the candy????

Mommy.  Did you see that boy take that egg from me?

Uncle Tom's Porch (Auntie Karen's too)

Dinner: Round one at their own pint-sized table. 

Second round of dinner enjoyed in the rocker/bench.

Ems checking out the "baseball players."

Third round of eating their dinner.  This time the floor was a good spot.

Yummy cake!  This was her second round since Auntie Karen thought she had permission.

It's a blurry shot, but I thought it captured the excitement of running laps around the courtyard.

This looks like a "high-five" but I think she was giving him rocks.

We had a great time eating Easter dinner and playing in Auntie Karen and Uncle Tom's courtyard area (AKA Uncle Tom's porch).  The kids haven't had too many opportunities to play outside at their house and they really had fun exploring and running laps around the water fountain. 
They also seemed to enjoy eating....at their own table, on the rocker/bench and even on the ground.  The dessert, a lemony cake, was a big hit with all of us.
The kids are finally at the age where we feel comfortable to spend time with family having meals like this and it doesn't require too much extra effort to accommodate their needs/tastes (at least I don't think it does).  They are able to find things to do in new places (Poo Pa's house or Auntie Karen's house) with toys they rarely play with or just running around in a new venue.   In the past, we struggled with bringing all of the equipment that we felt kept them safe or comfortable and we had multiple naps in the schedule or they didn't eat "big-people food."  Now we just grab cups, some diapers and wipes and we can go (though I always throw in some entertainment just in case).  It's much easier for everyone involved.
Troy and I really enjoyed spending the day with the kids and with our families and we are so glad that the kids had lots of fun.

Easter Lunching with Poo Pa (and Daddy)

I wanted to get the post done early because we still have another family meal at dinner plus the usual routine of the evening and I will be giving the kids CLEAN SHEETS for SUNDAY! 

We had a wonderful lunch at Poo Pa's house with Uncle Stevie and Uncle Albert too.  The kids had fun playing with "new" (to them) toys and Emma even got in some time on the Wii with Daddy (and Mommy was taking a cat nap in Uncle Stevie's newly remodeled back room-very relaxing).

Happy Easter!

Celebrating Easter Weekend

Easter weekend becomes a longer celebration with little ones because of the opportunities to check out Easter egg hunts, visit other church functions, etc during the weeks leading up to Easter.  We've been to a number of events and it has been a fun way to celebrate, goof off and teach them a little about the real meaning of Easter.  Christmas is a little easier to share with toddlers.  Baby Jesus' birthday is a much easier concept to grasp than the fact that He died on the cross for our sins and then rose again.  They don't know "death", so teaching resurrection seems a little challenging to me at the moment.  But we do want them to know that it's not all chocolate bunnies and jelly beans either.

We visited the church where my sister and brother-in-law are members (as was Nana).  We love the minister, Ann, at Ebenezer United Methodist Church and really enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt and playtime there this afternoon.  The kids seemed really comfortable and we were able to enjoy the beautiful (though pretty warm) sunny day.  My new friend, Laura, met us there with her mom and daughter, but unfortunately little E was sleeping in the car and wasn't waking up for the festivities.  Maybe next time.

The kids still aren't particularly competitive at collecting Easter eggs, which is just fine with me.  We got just a few between the three and then moved on to the refreshments offered.  It was nice to just sit on the lawn and enjoy some time with Auntie Karen, Uncle Tom and the kids.  Daddy had one camera, Auntie Karen had another and I had mine.  I didn't take many shots, but will try to include some from everyone during the next couple of posts.

We have lots of time planned with family tomorrow - lunch with Poo Pa, Uncle Albert and Uncle Stevie  and then dinner with Auntie Karen & Uncle Tom.  We are excited about Poo Pa's infamous bunny cake also!  I decided to skip coloring Easter eggs because they just don't really know any better and, honestly, I forgot to hard boil the eggs.  Oops.  Next year, for sure!

Worth Remembering

Sometimes I worry that what is amazing, funny or crazy to me now might be forgotten.  My blogging is one way to help me remember the "stuff."  While it might not even seem worthwhile to some who read, I keep thinking that one day it might be precious information to me when my mind just can't quite remember what it was like to have three little ones running around the house all at once.

There were a few moments this week that I want to remember:

The kids went to the chiro with Nanny Barb the other day and his name is Dr. Bert. Kendall and Emma asked Dr. Bert where Ernie and Big Bird went.  I didn't even realize that they would make such an association, but it sounded pretty cute to me.

Our wonderful friends, Auntie Lynnie and Auntie Deb, watched the kids so that Mommy could go to a funeral.  The report upon arriving at home was that Emma was now stating (very matter-of-factly) "Hi. My name is Kim Louis." And another favorite was "You are just like Kim Louis." Not quite sure where these statements came from as I can't remember being anywhere with the kids when I would say such a thing, but it is funny what they pick up from conversations.

Tonight we had homemade pizza with Poo Pa.  The kids did a little showing off and then Uncle Stevie showed up just in time for baths and upstairs play before bed.  I got out the iPod to play some of the YouTube music video clips that we watch together and Kendall got her groove on to the Glee version of the Justin Bieber song, "Baby."  She knows many of the words and even some of the choreography from the Glee clip.  Emma and Clark also join in singing the words that they know.  Shameful?  Maybe.  But incredibly cute coming from three 3 year-olds.

When I got home from work, I was sort of in a scramble to get the pizza made and in the oven, but the kids weren't having it.  Kendall had a full-blown meltdown and Clark and Emma chose that time to be super-clingy.  In the end, Kendall came up and took my hand while asking me to go sit down and have some quiet time with her.  I followed her to the recliner and all three climbed into my lap and we had some quiet time (while watching the end of a movie that started before I came home).  I didn't get to the pizza right away like I had planned, but still got dinner on the table before 6p and no one suffered.  So we had some quiet time together AND dinner still happened.  Lesson learned.

All three of them are also incredibly impressed with the DVD version of the Corduroy book.  Auntie Karen gave them a set of stories on DVD and we have shown a few, but they LOVE this particular one and even came into the kitchen to get Poo Pa to come and see Corduroy (he sort of "comes to life" in the DVD).   It isn't the most "high-tech" movie and not very long, but maybe its the simplicity that they love?  Or maybe its the idea that Corduroy is "real" and maybe Lucy (stuffed dog) or Doo Doll (E's baby doll) or monkey might come to life also?????

And they still are sometimes willing to give me some "cheesy" when I ask.....

Thursday Captions

So silly I can't look at the camera!

My name is Emma and I like to smile so big my eyes are shut!

My name is Kendall and I was the good girl tonight! See don't I look well behaved?

New Adventures

We (sitter A, Nanny B and mommy) took the kids on a new adventure today. I've heard a lot about Shepherd of the Hills Mornings with Mommy program and decided to sign the kids up for a "session".  This week was themed appropriately about Easter.  They had circle time where the group leader read a story and we sang a song.  She also told us a story (using a felt board) about Jesus' resurrection.  Then we had free time for about 45 minutes where the kids could choose from different "stations" related to fine motor skills, sensory area, gross motor skills, arts and crafts (a big favorite) or an infant area with age-appropriate toys. 
I think most of our time was spent in the sensory area where they had big tubs filled with lentils and plastic eggs.  It sort of worked like a sand box, but a little neater (in my humble opinion).  We also spent a lot of time at the painting table.  The kids could paint pictures of eggs with these super awesome paint brushes.  I've decided that it will be Good Friday before Kendall's actually dries because she really loved painting and kept layering the coats of paints on her paper.  But you should have seen how content she was while she sat and painted.  They were also pretty enthused about the chance to draw on the wall (OK a large piece of paper on the wall), glue die cut pictures and use the dot paints. 
All in all, I am glad that there were three of us because I was a little under the weather and Clark wasn't particularly happy at first.  He also tended to be a little less focused than the girls, but this isn't a revelation.  He is a boy and wants to keep moving at all times.  After the playtime, they offered a snack which included something I think they called the "Empty Tomb Buns".  I don't know that the kids really got it, but it was certainly interesting (biscuits wrapped around a marshmallow and baked).
I wish that they interacted with other children a little more, but since there were three adults that they were familiar with, I sort of hindered that process because they could always turn to one of us.  And they were just so engrossed in the activities that they had very little interest in meeting new friends.  I'm hopeful that if we continue to join in the activities (it is offered twice per month on Tue, Wed and Thur) then they might start to get to know other children and begin to build some relationships.
As I mentioned, I'm a little under the weather, so I'm posting this and then calling it a day.
Day.
Good night.