First Dentist Appointments!

On Monday Sam and Anna had their first dentist appointments.  Our dentist recommends waiting until age 3 until bringing in kids, so that's what I did.  Although I did not need another thing on my to-do list in the midst of packing our house, solo-parenting two small children 5 days a week and working full time, I wanted to get it taken care of before switching insurance in a few months, since I know that it is fully covered under our current insurance.

 

Sam and Anna did GREAT.   We watched a little app called Ed's Dentist about a bunny that goes to the dentist for the first time (it was free when I found it) to prep for their first visit, along with reading several books and talking about it.  The app also has an interactive section where you can do all the things a dentist does:  move the chair up and down, turn on the light, take an x-ray, polish the teeth, wash the teeth, use the thirsty straw, use the explorer to check the teeth, and even paint on fluoride.  I highly recommend it.  Sam and Anna were very excited to go to the dentist mostly due to the fun things they got to do on the app.

 

While at the dentist, Sam and Anna sat incredibly still, cooperated every step of the way, and patiently waited while it was the other one's turn.  My silly Sam turned down the raspberry flavored polish in favor of mint, and did the same for toothpaste.  Anna chose raspberry polish and cherry fluoride.  Both loved the thirsty straw and giggled that it tickled them.  X-rays were not part of their check up.

 

When the dentist came in he noted that both have a slight overbite.  We had noticed Anna's, but not Sam's.  Nothing to do about it now, just something that will be watched.  Sam also has plenty of space in his mouth for teeth, just like his mama (I get to keep all of my wisdom teeth).  Other than that, he just remarked that both had very healthy teeth!

 

At the end of the visit, Sam and Anna were able to chose a new toothbrush- with dolphins for Sam, butterflies for Anna, and a toy.  They were extremely excited to tote home their bags full of goodies- new toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, and a truck (Sam) and a bouncy ball (Anna)!  Both told Daddy it was the best part of their day!

 

 

(Silly girl kept holding her arms up.  She'd put them down when we told her to, but then they'd just keep popping up like in the picture above.)

 (I tried to keep my picture taking to a minimum to avoid being that crazy mom taking photos left and right, so these are the only ones I took during our visit.)

Easter Rewind

Easter this year was extremely low key for us.  Because we were returning from our trip to Hawaii the day before, Sam and Anna did not do a community egg hunt this year.  I'm not sure how many were held in our area and not cancelled anyway, since we still had significant snow covering the ground.  Trudging through snow in snow pants and boots for Easter eggs really doesn't sound all that fun to me anyway.

We typically stick close to home for Easter instead of traveling to relatives and this year was no different.  Getting everyone out the door for Easter service at our church was challenging enough.  I was significantly jetlagged after traveling for more than 24 hours the day before and adjusting to the 5 hour time change.  (It certainly felt like 5 am to my body when we were trying to get out the door on time!)  Our little ones were adjusting back to being home and under our care again, so their behavior wasn't stellar throughout the entire day.  Anna refused to wear her Easter dress. I did manage to get her into an acceptable replacement and bribe accordingly for a few posed photos!

Our second annual bunny pancakes were one of the few festive attempts we made.

And Sam and Anna thoroughly enjoyed their Easter baskets, of course. (That were put together at midnight the night before.)

Since our fridge was bare from being gone for a week, we had ended up having pasta for dinner.  We DID dye Easter eggs- but that actually happened on Tuesday... two days after Easter.  This is real life, people.  Sam and Anna seemed to have fun regardless and years from now, you'd never tell from the photos that our egg dying was belated anyway.  At least that's what I'm telling myself. Ha!

 

All that minimalistic Easter celebrating doesn't bother me much, because what stuck most with our kids this year wasn't the Easter Bunny, or their baskets, or the colorful eggs- it's the "Christ is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!" they learned to say and sign during the children's sermon that day.  Days later, I haven't heard a mention of bunnies or baskets.  But my adorable children are still saying and signing that phrase.  File that one under memorable moments.

It's Been a LONG Time

Woah Nelly- In the 4 years I've been typing out words on this blog, I have never been absent from blogging for that long before.  It was not my intention, and certainly not my plan, nor do I want to intentionally quit blogging.  Life has just been a whirlwind like never before these days.

Around Sam and Anna's 3rd birthday we got an offer on our house.  It had been on the market for just under 3 months and in that time we had over 20 showings.  I guess the 21st time's the charm, in this case.  I now truly get the phrase: cleaning with toddlers (preschoolers) is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos.  Utterly futile, but yet I managed to do it mostly on my own 21 times.  My husband is still working a state away and "living" with my MIL Monday-Friday.  I am on my fourth month of single parenting twin three year olds 5 days a week while full time teaching kindergarten.  But we are no longer trying to sell our house! 

Our closing is near the end of April, so instead of frantically cleaning, I am now trying to frantically pack in every spare moment I have.  Which is none.  So it is more common than not that I force myself to just pack one box before midnight on a work night before I get up at 5 am and start all over again: getting the two three year olds and myself out the door before 7 am, teaching all day, and then coming home to do the typical stuff on my own.

For awhile there, it was kind of up in the air about what I would do and where the little ones and I would live after our house wasn't ours anymore at the end of April.  The decision was made for us to temporarily live with a friend until the end of the school year (for about a month and a half) to finish out the year.  This way, I can keep my paychecks and insurance all the way through the end of August even with only working up until June 6th.  However, it also meant that since we would be staying in a different town, we also needed a short term new daycare for the month and a half.  I think we finally have a solution that will work.  A parent of one of my students (who I trust completely) offered to watch them for me.  I hope it works out well and the transitions to a new place and new sitter go better than I think for Sam and Anna.

On top of getting an accepted offer and closing on our current house in less than a month; packing, still single parenting M-F, and trying to figure out what to do after our house sold, we went on a trip to Kauai, Hawaii for a week.  This trip was planned last fall before the interview and new job offer; before deciding to uproot our family and move out of state.  This trip was our 10th anniversary present to each other, and incredibly needed after the crazy year we've had so far even if the timing was poor.  Before last week, we had only left Sam and Anna for one night at the same time, and I had only been gone for two nights (with Daddy home at the time.)  We were gone thousands of miles away for 6 days.  Although I missed them immensely, I tolerated the distance a lot better than I thought I would.  It was a perfect way to recharge my batteries for the marathon I'll be going through in the weeks ahead.

(In Kaua'i, Hawaii last week)

Just because we felt like there wasn't enough going on, the morning before our flight to Hawaii (a 12 hour trip), we looked at a house that I had been eyeing, in the area we would like to move to since we were both in the state together.  There had been others that I wanted to look at in the past month or so, but got accepted offers before I could road trip all the way over to see them.  We didn't want this one to slip through our fingers too.  We promptly fell in love with it and its potential and made an offer on the spot.  (It has a pond in the backyard with a dock! I drool over the kitchen!) The next day's traveling consisted of calling our Realtor during every layover trying to work out the details so we could have an accepted offer before our week of vacation truly began.  It was a very stressful 24 hours and totally not the way to begin a vacation, but by the time we woke up the morning after we arrived in Hawaii, we had an accepted offer on our new house!  It is a short sale, so it might take longer than a traditional sale to close (the seller's bank needs to approve the sale first) but that's okay for now because the kids and I wouldn't move into it until June 7th at the earliest anyway.  We have some time.

(The house we have an accepted offer on)

So that's the craziness that has prevented me from blogging lately.  In short: we have almost sold our house, we are packing most of our stuff into storage and moving in less than a month (to a temporary location first), we are in the process of buying a new house, we went to Hawaii for a week, and I am still single parenting my twin 3 year olds Monday-Friday while teaching kindergarten.  On top of all that, 2 years old was a breeze compared to this 3 year old stuff.  I am trying to be very understanding; after all they are going through the same chaotic transitions along with us - but at the same time, I wonder where my sweet, helpful, cooperative, good listeners went some days.  Overall, I cannot wait until summer days are here again and we can settle into a predictable, slower routine once more.  I think we are all looking forward to that.

Birthday Party

Once again we took the party to our relatives this year, and road tripped 4 hours to hold Sam and Anna's 3rd birthday party near everyone that was invited.  While it has worked out well in the past two years, I am looking forward to having birthday party # 4 in our own (new) home next year! AND the end of this 4 hours-one-way stuff by myself with two 3 year olds and a lab!

 

Invites I created in 15 minutes (minus personal info at the bottom).

                           

Our safari themed cakes for our animal lovers, thanks to Daddy's mad amateur cake skills.

Table decorations with Reese's Pieces.  Each table had 3 different animals in the center.

We had lots of safari animal balloons since I skipped treat bags with only two other kids in attendance.  Sam and Anna's cousins each bought home a bunch of balloons.

The birthday banner I made.  It is hard to see, but the the background paper is a light zebra print.

Daddy's lion and bird fruit trays.

Anna with Aunt Mary (one of her Godmothers).

Sam and Anna with their Great-Grandma Marie

The balloons provided lots of entertainment.

Sam and his cake.

Anna and her cake.

Blowing out the candles.  It was Anna's turn to have the birthday song sung to her first this year!

Opening presents.

(Post party, Sam and Anna have switched the stuffed animals they each initially attracted to.  Anna's is now the zebra print one, and Sam sleeps with the leopard print one every night.)

The biggest party present hit were the 2-1 tricycles, though.

Although it was her first time attempting to pedal something, Anna picked it up extremely fast.

Sam didn't want to spend any time learning how to pedal- he was much more content walking around with  his tricycle.

We had a great day with no mishaps.  I think we will always hold the birthday party on a different day than their actual birthday.  Since they already have to share the spotlight, it is one little way we can extend the celebration and make both their party and birthday special, without the expense of the other.

Questions At 3 Years Old

I asked Sam and Anna these 21 questions at 2 and a half years old.  My plan is to ask the same questions every birthday from now on and see how the answers change.  Answers in black were what was said at 2 1/2, answers in blue are what Sam and Anna told me when I asked them the same questions on their 3rd birthday.

1. What is your name? Sam [last name] Sam Jacob (last name), Big Girl Anna [last name] Annabel (last name).
2. How old are you? Sam- two, three, Anna- I two, three.
3. What is your favorite color? Sam- red, orange Anna-red (keep in mind I did not ask both of them at the same time), purple
4. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Sam- bacon, oranges, Anna-fruit, dinosaurs (we sometimes use a dinosaur cookie cutter when we have french toast)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Sam- bacon, grilled cheese, Anna- mac and cheese, mac and cheese
6. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? Sam- bacon (notice a trend?), noodles, Anna- no response, spaghetti
7. What is your favorite snack to eat? Sam- apricot (fruit strips from Target), gummy bears, Anna- apricot (same thing), grapes
8. What is your favorite fruit? Sam- watermelon, oranges, Anna- apricot, peaches
9. What is your favorite vegetable? Sam- corn, carrots, Anna- french toast (?), corn
10. What is your favorite thing to drink? Sam- water, milk and water, Anna- water, milk
11. What is your favorite animal? Sam- elephant, lion, Anna- lion, polar bear just like you (mama)
12. What is your favorite toy to play with? Sam- elephant, lion stuffed animal, Anna- mama (she likes to pretend everything is a mama, including pinecones, pieces of food, etc.), trains
13. What is your favorite book to read? Sam- duck book (Little Quack), lots of animal books, Anna- Monkeys Jumping Bed, Curious George (and Friends)
14. Where do you like to go? Sam- Grandma's, library, Anna- Grandma's, Grandma and Grandpa's
15. What is your favorite song? Sam- Grandma (? Maybe he meant singer?), animal song (I made up an animal alphabet song), Anna- Jesus Loves Me, alphabet
16. Who is your best friend? Sam- Anna, Anna, Anna- Sam (everyone awww all together now), Sam
17. What is your favorite thing to watch on tv? Sam- watch Thomas on tv, Animals Help Rocket (Little Einsteins episode), Anna- Thomas, Bambi
18. What do you want to be when you grow up? Sam- in the dirt, Daddy, Anna- no response, Grandma
19. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Sam- play basketball (we don't have a basketball or a hoop), build a snowman, Anna- play in the sandbox, go to the playground
20. What is your favorite thing to wear? Sam- diaper (on the second day of potty training, hahaha!), animal shirt, Anna- shirt, dancing shoes (dressy shoes she calls her "dancing shoes")
21. Who is your favorite person? Sam- me, you (pointing to Mama), Anna- ... (then Sam interrupts: "Sam is!"), Mommy... and Daddy!

Happy Birthday!

While we are still in the whirlwind that is our life these days, we tried really hard to take time to really celebrate Sam and Anna's birthdays for what they were and put aside all the other stuff for a little bit.

Our party was the weekend before Sam and Anna's actual birthday. I am glad it worked out that way so we could spend their actual birthday just as the four of us and focus on them rather than party prep or execution.  Party recap coming soon!

The night before their 3rd birthday, we blew up several balloons to have waiting for Sam and Anna when they woke up.  Together we assembled the big presents- balance bikes for the big three year olds.

Thankfully, no vomit or fevers this year for the birthday kids like last year, but poor Anna was sick with a pretty bad cold.  I feel badly for her- out of 3 total birthdays so far, she's been sick for 2 of them.  I'm hoping that we can have a good stretch of healthy birthdays from now on!

We had special pancakes with whipped cream, complete with birthday hats and helium filled balloons for breakfast.

Then it was time to open presents! Some Thomas stuff, puzzles, books, helmets, and of course the balance bikes.  The bikes are something they will grow into, which is just fine because it isn't nice enough to use them outside yet anyway.  I am excited to see Sam and Anna cruise around this summer, and yet I find it so hard to believe that my babies are big enough to have bikes!

I had asked Sam and Anna the day before what special place they wanted to go for their birthday.  The general consensus was that they wanted to go to the history museum to see the lion and dinosaur, so that's what we did.  I was actually pretty excited about that, because they had gone once before with daycare, and I had never been there.  It turned out to be the perfect day to go to the local college's museum of natural history, because they were having  a special event that day that we discovered when we arrived: their 4th annual Collection Crawl, in which the research collections of the natural resources college were on display and presented by faculty and college students- and it was all free!  Not only did we get to check out the cool collections of animals (including a dinosaur that roared when a button was pushed) in the museum of natural history, but we got to explore all sorts of animal stuff up close and even living animals as well.

We checked out the archaeology and paleontology collection first after walking through the museum of natural history.

Next stop was the herpetology exhibition.  This was Sam and Anna's favorite because several students were training an alligator by feeding him marshmallows.  Something they are still talking about.  It was probably my favorite area too because we were able to touch snakes, turtles, bearded dragons and skinks, as well as see toads and salamanders very up close.  There was one student that did an excellent job explaining the animals at exactly the right level for Sam and Anna which was fantastic. I was impressed.

We also checked out the Mammalogy department- looking at dolphin and wolf skulls as well was an extensive collection of mounted animals.

Sam and Anna looked under microscopes at insects in the entomology department.

We saw a huge amount of bird species in the ornithology department.

The Ichthyology department was really neat too.  They had a live shark in a small sized aquarium right next to a lionfish, at Sam and Anna's eye level.  There was hardly anyone else there, so the four of us were able to get right up next to everything.  (We did skip the parasitology area though- I didn't feel a burning need to check out the parasites.)

They even had stickers for kids and face painting too.  So much fun for my animal lovers that it was a perfect way to spend their birthday.

 

 We had cake yet again that evening to cap off a great day!