Live the Tree, Just, For All Y'all

Funny thing about the girls is that they often burst into simultaneous, in stereo, twin song or twin chant.

You never know when this is going to happen, but you can be pretty sure about two things.  It's going to be in perfect unison, and it's going to be insanely loud.

I have no idea what prompts these episodes, or how they even communicate with each other to do it.  I wonder if they have some telepathic ability that says, "In 3 seconds, sing "Silent Night" as loud as possible!  3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . GO!

Sometimes they disagree about the placement of a certain word, and spend a few seconds disagreeing about said word, but then they simultaneously jump back on track and finish their performance.

I so wish I could record these moments, but because they happen spontaneously, I cannot.

However, I wanted to entertain you with a recent twin chant.  I have no idea what set them off, but we were standing in the kitchen and they simultaneously burst into the Pledge of Allegiance.

Here's how it went:

"I pledge allegiance
to da flag

a nited states a medicine

and these important
take a stand

one minutes
on the God

invisible

("No it's in the bull!"  "No it's not.  It's invisible cuz you can't see it."  "You can't see the bull?"  "No, not a bull. Nikki.  It doesn't say bull.")

with live the tree

Just

for all y'all.

All that to say, "Live the tree, just, for all y'all."

All That to Say: "Hi, My Name is Gary."

Our girls, of late, are very much into playing games that require interactive and pretend conversation.  Most often this happens with dolls or their stuffed animals, and the game usually goes something like this:

"What's your name?"
"Shannay."
"No, what your doll's name?"
"Oh, ummmm, Ellie."

"What's your doll's name, Mama?"
"Latoya."
"Latoya?"
"Yes, Latoya."
"No, her name is Ellie."

Once names are established, then usually we go on to really important topics like what we drive, if we can chew gum yet or not, if we are married. . . you know really important topics that FOUR YEAR OLDS should be talking about!!!

Well a few days ago, Zack was over, and the girls wanted to play pretend, but they wanted to use cars.  (They love cars, and if they had a car that their dolls would fit in, then the world would be a perfect place.)  Zack is always a good sport about playing with them, so he readily accepted his role in the game of pretend.

Shannay had the new blue van (which in reality is a broken down Scooby Doo van that I got from a garage sale, but they love it!)  We told her its name was Mystery Machine, but I inadvertently kept calling it the party van (what is wrong with my mind?!).

Zack had a plastic infant's squeaker toy car that he called, "Gary."

I had a cool revved up black race car called, "Midnight."  (Trust me, these details are important.)

And Nikki had a green, John Deere Gator that we called, "Deere." 

So the conversation went like this:
Shannay to Zack:  "What's your name?"
Zack:  "Gary.  What's your name?"
Shannay to me:  "Mama, what's my name?"
Me:  "Party Van.  No, I mean Mystery Machine."
Zack:  "Nikki, what's your car's name?"
Nikki:  "Beer."

Laughter.

Zack:  "Nikki, it's Deere, not Beer."
Nikki:  "No, it's Beer.  I like Beer."  OY

Shannay (noticing Zack's car was not cool like everyone else's):  "Zack, what's wrong with you car?"

Poor Zack, first he has to be a boy fairy for Halloween, and now he's got the baby squeaker car.  He always gets the raw end of the deal.

Zack:  "Gary needs to go to the mechanic."
Shannay:  "What's a canic?"
Me:  "It's like a doctor for cars."
Shannay:  "He gonna get a shot?"
Me:  "No, cars don't get shots."
Shannay:  "Zack, why he gotta go the canic?"

Zack:  "He's got diabetes."

Total Silence.

Confused looks by all the toddlers in the room.

Eruptive laughter.

Mischievous smile by Zack. 

Game over.

 

All that to say, you've gotta admire a man who can play with toddlers and genuinely enjoy it.  You're gonna be a great dad someday, Zack Jones. :)

All That to Say: Life in the Ville

I remember when the boys were little, and I had quit my job to be a stay at home mom, that I had this insatiable need to be "productive."  I went from being a corporate executive to staying at home with toddlers.  Man, what a career shift!

Never in my wildest imagination would I have dreamed that I'd be at home again, raising toddlers.  But I'm so grateful to have this opportunity and this time to be at home with them.  I have, however, realized that my insatiable need to be "productive" is still present.  Sadly, my need to be productivie is limited to creative things and not "necessary" things like housekeeping or laundry! 

Anyway, this week, I wanted to do something fun with the girls that they could make and give to their teachers.  I searched Pinterest for hours, well, technically I got on Pinterest to find a cute project and was distracted by all the crockpot recipes I'll never cook, cupcakes recipes I shouldn't cook, cute outfits I could never wear, and workout regimens I will never attempt.  But then, SUDDENLY, I found a cute little fall trail mix recipe and decided that would be our project.

I assembled the ingredients:  (I'd like to begin with a warning that this is not a healthy snack. It's filled with things that came out of boxes and is likely to contain all sorts of deadly toxins like high fructose corn syrup and maybe even monosodium glutamate.)

1 Family Size box of Honey Nut Cheerios
2 Large bags of Mini Pretzels
1 Regular size box of Reeses Cereal
1 Large container of honey roasted peanuts
1 Large box of Cheez-Its
1 Large (party size) bag of Reeses Pieces (you could use M&M's)
1 Large box of raisins
1 Regular size bag of candy corn (mostly for color)

Then we dumped them all in a giant size boiling pot.  (Note:  You will not actually boil or cook this, it just makes A LOT and requires something very large to mix it in.)   In hindsight, I would have mixed it in a garbage bag (new, of course) because that's what I ended up doing in the end!  Again, this makes A LOT!

The girls particularly enjoyed this part as they could open the boxes and dump the ingredients in!

Then we used an ice scoop to scoop the ingredients into clear plastic party bags (available at Wal-Mart on the party aisle, 20 for $1.49) and tied them up with cute orange curling ribbon and a sweet "Happy Halloween" printable that I got here.  By the way, curling ribbon is so cheap, available at all party stores, and is great to have on hand in many colors!  I have a big box of spools of ribbon, so I'm pretty much set for most projects.

The girls discovered that if they spilled some on the floor, they could "pretend" to go throw them away and eat them on the way.  It took me a few minutes to discover their little trick!

Anyway, here is our finished project. 

You could still make these and use these printables instead. 

And of course, you could make a healthy version too.  Maybe my friend Meagan Peters will create one for you all!  If she does, I'll let you know!

All that to say, life here in the Ville, "Toddlerville" is fun some days (most days).


I love being a mom.  I am working on my need to be busy all the time, but at least other people benefit from my "productivity!"

Day 70: What Really Matters

It's quiet in this little space I have carved out to be my home office.  Quiet is a rare commodity in our home these days.

I have one little twin off at Preschool, and her sister is in her room, finally sleeping after an excruciating 5 days of mouth pain.           


Babies should not have to endure that kind of pain, especially babies who have already endured so much.  (I guess technically  she's not a baby; she's a great big 4 year old, but she's our baby.)

Funny, just writing that out.  She's our baby.  Ours.

Some days, when I'm bogged down in the tornado of chaos that threatens to overtake my mind, I am reminded of the storm we lived in for over two years, and the beauty on the other side of that storm.

The adoption process is incredibly, incredibly hard.  And while our process was probably atypical in its origins, I doubt that the overall process was that different from most.

There were days when we lived with the threat that at any day their birth mom could come and take them away from us.  There were days when we were overwhelmed with paperwork and legal ease and court proceedings gone wrong. 

There were days when we wondered if we were doing the right thing, were the right parents, were too old, too set in our ways.  Would we have enough energy, enough time, enough love?

There were many long days and nights and weeks and months of trying to solve the psychological distress of our girls.

So many unanswered questions.  Truth is, there are still so many unanswered questions.

But the one thing that mattered all along . . . the one thing that matters today . . .

We were called to be their parents.  God created us for them.  Our hearts and lives are so deeply knit together that you would never know they were not born into our family. They are indeed, ours, in every conceivable way. 

It's easy to think these things when it's quiet.  And easy to forget them when life gets crazy. 

All that to say, a little quiet is good for the soul.  It helps you remember what's important.  It helps you remember what matters.  And what doesn't.

Photograph Courtesy of Chip Gillespie Photography
www.chipgillespie.com

Day 63: A Good Thing

I have toddlers, which in and of itself is laughable, because in reality I should be rocking my grandchildren, not breaking up playroom brawls between my 4 year old twins.

But I have toddlers. 

And toddlers keep you young. 

And on your toes.

And out of bed all night.

And wishing you didn't have to pick things out of your drink before you could drink them.

And best of all, they keep you laughing.

Then again, my grown kids keep me laughing too.  Which is not at all to say that they are like toddlers in any way.  I can't remember the last time I had to yell at them to pick up their stuff or hurry up in the bathroom . . . oh wait . . .

Well never mind.

My toddlers keep me laughing, and that makes every day a good day.  No matter how crappy things are anywhere else, (yes, I said crappy, you'll be okay) a conversation with them is awesome.

I was out of town this weekend, and as I usually do when I'm out of town, I called to talk to them on the phone.  (I WISH my husband had an iPhone 4S so we could facetime, but HEY, I barely got him to get an iPhone at ALL so there's not much chance he's likely to upgrade anytime soon!)

Anyway, I called home, and I got to talk to Nikki first. Nikki is still struggling to catch up in her speech, so she's a little hard to understand over the phone (I repeat, facetiming would be so nice Mike Jones!)    And, she still has a few processing problems, so she doesn't always totally "get" what you're asking. 

I said, "Hey baby.  How are you?"  She said, "I had a fit."

"You had a fit?  What were you doing?"

She said, "I go 'waaaaaaaah, waaaaaaah' like that Mama."

Bahahahaha.  Then she said, "I don't like parrots.  They bite me."  (Always good information from that one!  I know all the animals in the animal kingdom to be afraid of!)

Her sister, the more verbal one says, "Mama, you coming home?"

"Yes baby.  Do you miss me?"

She said, "No, I don't miss you.  My beads came out.  I need you to fix my hair."

(Good thing my self-confidence is not based on her missing me or anything!)

(I would also like to point out that she probably did not miss me because upon my return I found a pizza box AND leftover spaghetti in our refrigerator!  Her two favorite meals!  Truth be told, her daddy probably gave her ice cream in my absence too!)

All that to say, their bus will arrive at any moment.  Those are the best moments of my day.  They'll run off the bus yelling, "Mama!!!!!"  I'll run toward them, arms out, waiting for a big giant hug, and if today is like any other day, they'll run past me saying, "Where's my snack?"

I have toddlers.  And that's a good thing.

Day 56: Obstacles

We skipped church today.  I can't remember the last time we did that, and to be honest, it felt weird, and sad.  We asked the girls if they wanted to go do something fun and Shannay said, "How about church?"  Oy.

But we convinced them to be adventurous, and we listened to Jesus music on the way (that's what they call it) and found ourselves at the Children's Museum.

If you have never been to the Houston Children's Museum, it is voted the #1 Children's Museum in AMERICA by Parent's Magazine.  And I promise you, it was a well deserved vote.  It was amazing.

Mike said at one point, "It's a shame that Nikki's ADHD is so bad because she really can't focus long enough to enjoy any of this!"  (Which was true.  Poor baby.  I think the Children's Museum is probably not the best option for a child with MAJOR sensory processing issues!)  Oh well.

There was this one place in the museum, though, where Nikki excelled.  It was an obstacle course that had 5 components; a wall you had to climb by using a rope, an area where you had to hop from rock to rock, climb through a cargo net tunnel, up a cargo net wall, and then slide down a pole.

At first, Nikki was not good at any of the components.  She tried to crawl on all fours up the inclined wall with the rope, she walked around the rocks instead of jumping from rock to rock, her feet fell through the cargo nets, and she was too terrified to slide down the pole.

But with a little instruction, and a LOT of encouragement, little by little, she mastered the entire course!

As I watched her, I felt her sense of accomplishment.  And though it would have been incredibly easy for her to give up after one attempt, she didn't. (Perhaps that is because she has to work for everything she accomplishes, so maybe she's just used to the hard work.)  She worked so hard, and in the end, she mastered it.

For me, I felt like I was learning a lesson about myself as I watched her.  I'm scared.  I don't know how to do so much of what I'm about to do!  ( I mean, I know how to write, but starting a business, growing a business . . . I don't know how to do that and it scares me to think about it for very long!)

All that to say, if my four year old can tackle her obstacles, I should at least try.  So I will seek instruction (and encouragement) and little by little, I hope to master this new journey.

Day 22: Simple Pleasures

When the girls got up from their naps yesterday, we went outside to play in the yard. ( It's a weird phenomena that happens around here;  people all sit in their front yards and the kids all play in the front yards -instead of the backyards - and people even have BIG SCREEN tv's in their garages and have garage parties . . . but I digress)

So, while we were outside, Nitro discovered a standing puddle of water.  She looked up at me as if to say, "Can I get in this?" so I walked over, inspected to be sure there were no ants floating in it, and then gave her the go ahead signal.  She looked at me with questioning eyes, still unsure I had actually said YES to her request to play in muddy water.

But I'm working on saying YES to things that I can say yes to, instead of having this rigid world of "NO" around them all the time.  (This has included yes to sleeping in a grass hula skirt, and yes to wearing click clacks to the grocery store.)

So she sat down in her WHITE shorts  (yes, I said WHITE . . . someone, somewhere better be applauding the strength it took me to be able to say YES to this moment!) and took off her sandals, then walked back over to the puddle and tentatively put her toes in the water. It didn't take long at all before she was jumping up and down in the water puddle, making the best mud puddle you have ever seen.

Over and over and over and over she just jumped up and down.  And each time she did it, it was as though she had never done it before.  Squeals of delight mixed in with an occasional glance of "are you sure this is okay, Mom?" filled our front yard and eventually drew her sister over to see what was going on.  I laughed out loud when her sister, Shortstack, looked up at me and pointed at her sister.  I could not tell if her accusing glance was toward her sister, as if to say, "do you see what she is doing?" or if it was at me, as if to say, "What are you doing letting her play in the mud and in white shorts no less?" 

But once I told Shortstack she could play too, she took off her shoes, ran to jump in (in her white leggings!), but then chickened out, and instead she jumped over it.  And then a new game was formed.  The "jump over the puddle" game.  And for a solid 10 minutes both girls jumped over the puddle, ran around it and jumped over it again.  Of course there were some occasional "oops, I accidentally jumped into the puddle" moments as well.  Which truly were accidents for Shortstack, but no so much for Nitro!

As I watched them play I was suddenly struck with how little it takes for them to truly treasure and embrace the simple things in life.  They have a garage and house filled with toys, but all they really needed was a warm day and a mud puddle.  They truly just embrace the moments as they come.

I need to be more like that.  Just embracing the moments as they come.  Enjoying the simple pleasures that are right here in front of me, instead of looking for ways to enjoy life more.

All that to say, "God give me eyes today to see the simple pleasures, and then help me to embrace them." 

Day 15: Wisely Informed

I am a learner by nature. When faced with an unfamiliar task, job, problem, I do everything I can to educate myself about it.  I chalk this up to my analytical brain that likes to dissect things, reach the "aha" moment, and then move forward, armed with information.

I actually find it quite exhilarating to learn new things. 
Examples?

•  When I had a child in my ministry who was deaf and had only her parents to sign for her at church, I learned sign language so I could help her and her parents.
• When I taught first grade and wanted to make up songs to sing with my kids (I read that singing helps things stick in your long term memory banks better!), I learned how to play the guitar.
• When I became a Children's Pastor, I read and learned all I could about that, until eventually people started telling me that I should be writing books about Children's Ministry!

And now I am a mom of special needs kids.  When words like post traumatic stress disorder and proprioceptive input disorder and regressive attachment disorder and vestibular dysfunction get thrown at you,  (just to name a few) you have a couple of choices, as I see it.  You can either crawl back in bed, pull the blankets over your head and moan, or you can arm yourself with information, get a plan, and move forward!

I think the best way I can really help my babies heal is to learn how to help them.  So I read.  And I read.  And I talk to specialists.  And I listen to podcasts.  And I read some more.

And I will tell you this, I am ARMED with information right now as it relates to my girls and their disorders!

But I have also learned (the hard way, sadly) that I must balance my need to seek information with my need to seek God.  For some reason, I find it so much easier to "put on my thinking cap" than I do to sit at the feet of Jesus.  I'm so much like Martha of the Bible.  Always busy doing something, even if it's something good (like arming myself with information).

Of late, I have been so absorbed in learning about how to help our daughters, that I think I have forsaken the One who has the answers.

All that to say, information is important, but wisdom is priceless.  I cannot afford to simply be informed.

Day 53: A Royal Pain

We are in the midst of potty training, oddly enough a place I never thought I'd be again in my lifetime. Oh the sense of humor the Lord has. :)

In preparation of said potty training, I took the girls shopping for potty chairs and big girl panties. They were very excited about the princesses on their panties and pretty pumped about Minnie Mouse too (though to them all mice are "micka-mouse" . . . including the mouse on the computer!)

The potty chairs that they liked, (mercifully also the cheapest ones!) are pink and purple and when in the open position, they look like a throne. Very appropriate for two little princesses!

The best feature about the chairs is that when the girls "do their business" the potty chairs make a noise. I call it a royal noise because I don't actually know what you would call it. But it's like the sound of a fairy godmother's waving wand or the sound of trumpets blowing a royal fanfare. It's very cute, and it's really nice because I don't have to stand over them WILLING THEM WITH MY LASER VISION to make something happen in that potty chair. Instead, I can go about my business, (not the same "business" as theirs in case you're getting lost) and when I hear the royal noise, I know they have done something, and I can go back into the bathroom.

It's been particularly helpful on those times when they have decided to go potty without telling me they were going. So when I suddenly hear the unexpected "royal sound," I can make a dead run for the bathroom. (I fear they might try to empty the potty on their own as well . . .ewwwww.)


Super awesome singing potty chair. Best idea ever.

. . .


On second thought, maybe not.


2:10 a.m. I hear the fairy godmother wand waving noise and it awakens me from a dead sleep. I think to myself, "Did Shortstack get out of bed, (which by the way is still a crib), and walk downstairs and use the potty in my bathroom?" In my sleepy stupor, that seemed like a possibility, so I got out of bed and walked into the bathroom and sure enough, no child.

I decided I must have been dreaming, giggled a little that I was dreaming about singing potty chairs, and I drifted back off to sleep.

3:30 a.m. I hear the royal trumpet fanfare. I bolt out of the bed, completely startled, kick the end of my bed as I round the corner, think bad words, lots and lots of bad words, and then once again see my dark empty bathroom. "I'm seriously losing it," I think to myself. "This potty training of twins is taking a toll on my mind."

4:42 a.m. The potty chair sings its third song, which is hard to describe, but it sounds like something they'd play when the queen enters the room . . . again, a "royal" noise.

At this point, I get out of bed, go into the bathroom, RIP the pieces of the potty chair apart because I don't know how else to make it stop singing, kick it for good measure just to show it who's boss, and go back to bed.

5:45 a.m. (I wish I was joking) I hear the fairy godmother wand waving noise, and I'm FREAKED OUT. I know I took that stupid thing apart and now it's SINGING AGAIN! What the . . .?

Turns out, Mike got up shortly after my 4:42 karate chopping round with the chair from hell, couldn't figure out why it was all torn to pieces, and so he put it back together! I think it waited an hour to sing again just to taunt me.

All that to say, I think my potty chair might be possessed. Or, I need a day off. Or both.

Day 46: Good Medicine

When Zack and Jacob were little, they were just never interested in Band-aids. Well, technically Zack was disinterested. Jacob was downright phobic. When he would fall down and get hurt, if he saw blood, he would cry. Not because he was bleeding. Oh No. He would start crying immediately and say, "No band-aid please. No band-aid please." To this day, he still doesn't like band-aids. I don't think he fears them (I haven't really asked in years) but I don't think he likes them.

So, having two little ones who LOVE them is a new experience. Usually, when they bring me a band-aid (where DO they keep finding these things?!), I say, "No. We aren't going to pretend like we need band-aids. Band-aids are for when you are really hurt."

But for some reason, yesterday, I gave in.

This is one of those stories that is so much funnier in person, but I'm going to attempt to tell it.

So, yesterday I gave in. I opened the band-aid and put it on Shortstack's imaginary boo-boo on her shin. She trotted off quite happy with her treasure.

But then I put Nitro's band-aid on her imaginary boo-boo on her knee, and her reaction to the band-aid made me laugh so hard, I cried and then almost peed my pants.

I took her off my lap and set her down on the floor, and the second her foot hit the ground (the one on the "injured" leg)she started limping like her leg literally was going to fall off. Her limp was so impressive that the second her foot would try to take a step, she would IMMEDIATELY pick it back up. (Think of a cat with a piece of tape on it's paw!)

She even whined and whimpered like her leg was about to fall off. I mean, she had it DOWN. She gives a whole new meaning to the words DRAMA QUEEN!

Tonight, I let Zack and Christina witness this experience. And sure enough, once again, the "injured" leg became immediately unable to sustain ANY weight. They laughed until they cried!

Oh how I wish I had a video to show you! This retelling simply does not do it justice!

All that to say, laughter is good, good medicine.