2011...how did I do?

Eh.  Not great, not terrible.  Several of my goals for 2011 I hit and then some.  Others I didn't come anywhere close.  Flip over to the 2011 page to see how I did.

Coming up for 2012...

I have another new tab for 2012.  Not as many this year, some of the ones that I didn't make in 2011 I'm attempting again in 2012.  Some of those are in a scaled back version.  Some are repeats.  Some are refinements of the old goals.

Here's wishing you a Happy New Year...may you have joy, happiness, and motivation to do accomplish all of your 2012 goals!

Pictures I should have posted back in November

Our first (and only, I think) snow fall.  It resulted in an accumulation of around 40 flakes, but the girls had an awfully good time running around as those flakes were falling.  And of course they had to get out their new snow shovels (birthday present) and begin helping to shovel the driveway.

Turkey cookies for Thanksgiving.  So much fun to make!



After staring at a mostly-bare cupboard, we broke down and took the girls to Applebee's on their "kid's night".  Despite the free kids meals, we ended up spending about $10 more than we normally do on stupid stuff like appetizers and beer.  But C & E got their faces painted - and had a ball with it.  One butterfly, and one bee.  Cute as can be.



For their birthday they got these cute dolls from their Grandma Barb and Papa Pete.  These dolls are sort of like a more modern version of a paper doll.  They have these snap-on mix-and-match clothing options.  I heard the girls laughing hysterically in the other room (seldom a good sign) and this is what I found.  They had taken their shirts off and were pretending to dress themselves in the dolls' clothes.  Oh girls.

Evaline

I think Evaline might be a little jealous of her sister's glasses.  Well, maybe not of the glasses themselves, but of the attention that she's getting from having them.  Make no mistake, after three years of not being able to see, Cora deserves some attention.  But, maybe Evaline does, too.

And it just so happens that I've got an Evaline story up my sleeve. An Evaline story that has absolutely nothing to do with the photo above.  I just thought that was a pretty cute picture of her.  And yes, those are Thomas the Train underpants.  PS.  Why do they only make Thomas underpants for "boys"? Why can't girls like Thomas, too?  Why, according to the underpants makers, do my girls have to be satisfied with either princesses or Dora?  C & E don't even know what Princesses are...I'm not even sure that they know the word, why would they want to wear them on their tush?  Enough.  I'll save that for another time.

Back to my Eva story.

Eva is our shy girl.  When we go someplace new it usually takes her about a half hour to warm up, if there are lots of people there, it might take her longer.  She's got a bit of me in her - if she's in her comfort zone, she's great, but out of it and well, it takes some warming up.  She's pretty much always been this way.  She was the one who experience more separation anxiety as a baby.  When they were at the large daycare, she had the more difficult time getting comfortable in the large-group setting. And so on, and so forth.

This past weekend, however, she amazed us all.  It started with the visit to Santa.  She happily sat on his lap AND talked to him about what she wanted for Christmas.  Who would have thought?  She won't talk to hardly anyone, but she talked to him.  Well, I mean, maybe it shouldn't have been a big surprise, I mean, it was SANTA after all.  And for hours afterwards she talked about how nice he was.  (Cora would hardly go near him even with Ian holding her.)

Then, at the large Wiley Family Christmas on Sunday Evaline commanded every one's attention (about 40 people) when she stood on a chair and declared that she would now sing a Christmas Lullaby: "We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New one Year!"  Which she sang at the top of her lungs, and when she received ample applause, she promptly replied with an encore performance.  And a HUGE smile on her face.  She was LOVING the attention.  (Cora was happy to sit quietly with her Aunt Katie.)

Considering that her run looks more like a prance...I'd say we've got a girl headed straight for show choir on our hands.  (If she's got her mama's vocal chords, they'll just have to choreograph it so that she is conveniently positioned away from all microphones...just like they did with me in Varieties...)

Crafty(ish)

I'm not the craftiest of people. I can't always make things turn out in real life the way they look in my head.  But I love projects. (Ian would argue that I love starting projects...but am easily distracted.)  And I have a couple that I've finished lately and thought I'd share.

1.) The biggest is one that I don't have a picture of yet.  I made a matching set of cross-stitch Santa pictures - but I have yet to frame them (see...it's the finishing things I have problems with...).  And Christmas is four days away.  Sigh.  Perhaps next year...  When they are framed I'll share them, even if it's July.  They only took me about 7 years to do...(with many other projects started - and some even finished - in between :-)).

2.) This is sort of cheating, since my mom did a lot of it.  And she's the one who put on the finishing touches (i.e. velcro) so that it could actually be used (thanks, mom).  We had one of these count-down-to Christmas trees when I was little.  Actually, we used that one to create the pattern for this one.  Cora and Evaline are LOVING it this year.  Putting up an ornament is the first thing they want to do every morning.  And its also a good way to teach them to take turns.  The calendar part is 25 pockets that contains a different ornament to put on the tree - all made with felt and a variety of sequins and beads.

3.) When cold weather hit this year (although "cold" is a relative word - this year with highs still in the mid-to-upper thirties, it still pretty warm) I started wearing my winter coat and scarf.  C & E immediately want one and kept bugging us about having daddy go to the store to buy "girl scarves."  (Dad's the big shopper around here.)  I had a bunch of yarn left over from previous projects (most of them finished), so I decided it would be easier if I just made them some.  I let the girls pick what yarn I should use, and they both picked a variegated pink and purple yarn.  Turned out pretty good for a weekend project :-)

4.) And now...for my next project.  I could choose one of the unfinished ones sitting the a Rubbermaid tub in the basement.  Or...I could start searching Pinterest for something new.  Decisions, decisions.  I think I know which one I'm going to choose.

A Whole New World...

is what my darling Cora has been taking in from around 4:30 this afternoon until she went to bed at 7:30.   We found out last week something we had suspected for some time now - Cora needs glasses.  I'm sorry, let me rephrase that: Cora badly - no, desperately needs glasses.  

A little over a year ago we noticed that when she colored she put her face awfully close to the paper, and found it a little odd (Evaline did not do such things), and said to ourselves "Hmmm, maybe she'll be in need of glasses, but...who knows, maybe she's just odd...she is our child, after all."

As time went on, however, she did more and more "close up" - she read books with her face mere inches from the pages, she'd insist on standing less than a foot away from the TV screen (crying that she "can't see" if she gets any further away), it was almost impossible to read her a story, her face would be completely in the way.  And we said to ourselves "We'll have her doctor check her out at her next appointment."

Her next appointment came in mid-November, for her three-year-old checkup.  We had them do a preliminary check on her eyes: she stood on a piece of tape and was supposed to read off different pictures on the wall (similar to the alphabet check they do with adults).  They pointed to a horse and she whispered to me that it was, maybe, a duck?  When she found that she was wrong, she said she wanted Evaline and then wouldn't say any more.  At first I thought this was cute...she needed her sister for moral support.  But upon further consideration, I'm pretty sure she just wanted Evaline to tell her the answers.

So I made an appointment with the eye doctor, and we were able to get her in last week.  (Quite luckily, the opthamologist that our pediatrician recommended happened to be the eye doctor that I go to.)  Again, they put the pictures up on the wall and asked if Cora could tell us what she saw.  This time it actually was a duck.  But Cora guessed "Babies?"

When the doctor sat down to look at her eyes (they dialate the eyes then hold up lenses in front and have her look at a light, then he uses a tool to look in her eyes to see how they react inside and he can tell what her prescription should be) he started by telling us that "sometimes kids this age just like to be close to things" then he looked in her eyes and said "and sometimes they are incredibly near sighted."

For those of you who wear glasses and know your prescription (I realize I may be talking to a very limited audience here) her eyes are -7.50 and -8.75.  The doctor said he very rarely sees someone this young with eyes this bad.  Poor little thing.  I feel so bad for her - she's been managing in a world where nothing has ever looked right.  I have no idea how she knows as much as she does - how did she ever learn her letters when she can't really see them.  How does she even know what I look like?

Well, that's all a-changin' now...from the time she stepped out of the office until the time we got home she talked non-stop.  She pointed out everything that she saw - from birds in the sky to glowing Santas on the lawn.  I'm so excited for this whole new world that is being opened up for her now.  Wanna see her new look???

Birthday Girls

During breakfast this morning Evaline looked at me and very seriously asked "Mommy, can I have another birthday?" 

I think she had a pretty good day yesterday.  (To be equitable - Cora followed Eva's birthday question by asking if next year she could have a "star" cake...Evaline then wanted a caterpillar.)

As a matter of fact, I think that we all had a pretty good day yesterday.  Here's the proof:

One of my favorite parts of any party - the goodies!  Here's the cookies and cake I made for the party.

The most difficult part of the day for the girls - waiting for the party to start.  This is where they spent the last hour before people came.

A rare photo - me in front of the camera

Grandmas and girls...

I've never witnessed such pure bliss as I did during the Happy Birthday song. 

Halloween and Happy Birthday!

This past month has FLOWN by.  It seems like there has been something going on constantly, without much time to do much other than work around the house and work around the school.  I'm sure that's an incredible exaggeration, but...that's what it feels like.

On to more important thoughts...

Three years ago today I met my baby girls.  Here's a funny thing about having twins: they had different personalities/habits in utero...and many of those qualities/traits/habits whatever you want to call it, have continued today.  Cora can't sit still to save her life.  She is constantly wiggling, stretching, and pushing against anything and everything.  She wants her way when she wants it. 

But they are the very best of friends, and it is so much fun to watch this friendship grow.  Better than any TV show or movie is to just sit back and watch the girls play.  Every day they amaze me with what they know, can do, and say. 

This whole parenting thing is turning out to be pretty fun. 

Speaking of fun....this was the first year that we did anything for Halloween.  Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, and I just didn't see the point before they could actually participate - and that was this year.  They had a BLAST.  We live on a small-ish cul-de-sac, that is just the perfect size for trick-or-treating when you are (not-quite) three. Then, when we got home, I think they had just as much fun helping Ian answer the door.  A big "thanks" goes out to my sister, Katie, who took the girls with me while Ian manned the door.

Here's a few pictures of Halloween.  I'll try to get on again this weekend and post some birthday pictures.

OK, so this one isn't Halloween...but this IS how Ian dressed them to go out to eat a couple weeks ago...shoes and all :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday

I'm a little late (about two weeks!) on this one...but...

Happy Birthday to Ian!

Wordless Wednesday

Ok, ok...just a couple of words: The girls have told me that this is the Dog Park. :-)

Summer's Bounty

I've wanted to have a garden for quite awhile now, and finally got around to it this year.  Of course the year that I decide to move would be the year that I get around to wanting/having a garden. 

I settled for mostly container gardening this year.  We started with two tomato plants, two bell pepper plants, a zucchini, and a trashcan full of potatoes (a new method for growing potatoes that I found in this great book - Grow Great Grub).  The zucchini was an early casualty.  Apparently the soil that I used was not the greatest, and it showed in our yeild. Although, since we've moved and the plants are getting a bit more sunlight, they've done much better.  I'm sure that has been a big part of it.  But - it's been a nice learning experience. 

This weekend we decided to harvest our potatoes.  I had no idea how to tell when potatoes might be ready for harvest, but I had read that it should be around 90 to 100 days after planting.  It had been longer than that, so we thought we'd go ahead and give it a try.  Out of a whole 38 gallon trash can, here's what we got:

Not much.  But, it made a great meal of our version of Huevos Rancheros (made with all home-grown veggies (see below) and fresh eggs from my uncle's farm)

We encountered/resolved another tragedy this weekend.  When we moved the plants to our new house, we noticed that one of the tomato plants looked like it was perhaps being eaten by a tomato worm.  We looked and looked, but couldn't find him.  Then we moved, and got busy, and then I got sick, and we just didn't get around to conducting a hardcore search and rescue (search for the bug, rescue our plant). Our poor plant, meanwhile, was slowly being devoured by this little creature.

I finally found him.  Ick.

Ian picked him off and squashed him. (I would have done it if Ian hadn't been there.  But with Ian there, there really was no reason for me to have to do such a thing.) Guts went flying everywhere.  Double Ick.

In better gardening news: We also planted some things out at Ian's grandparents' farm.  Several varieties of peppers, a zucchini, a yellow summer squash, a cucumber, a watermelon, an eggplant and a couple of butternut squash.  We've had more success here than in our containers.  We brought this home the other day, we added it to another large bag of green anahiem peppers we had in the fridge and roasted all the peppers and froze them until I get around to making some sauce.

I think I have the spot for the in-ground garden at our house picked out.  We're planning on doing a raised-bed, since the soil out in our newer subdivision isn't very good.  Hopefully we'll have some great luck, and I can have enough to make pickles, canned tomotoes, etc. etc. 

A Trip to the Farm

My brother, Dave, and his girlfriend came to visit for Labor Day.  They didn't stay with us, but with my parents who live about 10 minutes away (now that we've moved...it used to be twice that :-)).  As part of the trip, we all went out to my uncle's farm for the morning.

I love this farm.  I have such wonderful memories of the farm, that even the smell doesn't really bother me.  (Well, it doesn't bother me at the farm...the smell that stayed on my clothes and in my hair after leaving the farm...that was a bit bothersome.)  Before this farm was my uncle's, it was my grandparents'.  As a kid, when we come to Iowa to visit, this is where we would go.  A lot has changed, but....much is still the same.  And it was great to get to take the girls out there - even if they did have some mixed feelings about the experience.

The day was an all-around good day.  We started the morning with a breakfast of doughnuts - a rare, but loved, treat.  Went to the farm, lunch at my parents, then after a much needed shower and nap, we bought new family room furniture.  But the highlight, of course, was the trip to the farm. 


My cousin (who helps my uncle farm and lives just down the road) sent her daughter over to the farm with all of her little bunnies for the girls to pet and look at.  This was as close as Evaline would get - and even this close was a little too close for her.  Cora, on the other hand, was very excited to see a bunny up-close and loved petting the soft fur.

There were a bunch of sows getting ready to give birth - they probably have had their litters by now.  But at the time, these were they littlest pigs there.  They were about 3 weeks old.  You can see Evaline clinging to her Aunt Katie.  Of course, our brave little Cora pet the pig.

Cora and her daddy.

 Cora and her mommy.

Cora and her daddy - once again.

 Looking at pigs - from a distance.

Put to work shoveling $#!^ . 

Evaline and her mommy.

 Taking a bit of a rest up on the hay bales.

This was Evaline's favorite part of the trip: the old swing hanging from the huge, ancient oak tree.  (When I was little, I, too, loved to play under this tree...on this very same swing.)



Evaline also had a great time on this part of the trip to the farm - we all loaded up onto the pig-loader and my uncle pulled us with his tractor to another part of the farm.  The second we started moving, Eva raised her arms in the air and giggled with joy.  Cora started crying and screaming "I want to go home!" at the top of her lungs.  On the way back, she walked back with her Grandpa Bill, but started bawling again when she saw all of us on it.

And some rare footage - all four of us together.  But, of course, both girls have their hands in front of their faces.

Daycare

We have a sort-of crazy daycare schedule this year.  We are incredibly lucky to have such a schedule - not because it is crazy, but because we have an awesome set of people caring for the girls while we're at work.

Last year we started the year with the girls at KinderCare (part-time - I'll get to that).  We really liked KinderCare.  The girls had a good time at KinderCare.  But...the second day there, Evaline came down some sort of stomach flu.  Then Cora got it.  Then they got colds.  Then came the barrage of ear infections.  In December they finally had ear tubes put in.  But that did not stop the ear infections. They came just as fast and furious as they did before the surgery. 

Some friends from work started taking their kids to a lady who was starting an in-home daycare in January, I think.  She was taking additional kids, and she was willing to take them on a part-time basis.  We made the switch in March, right after spring break.  Since then, the girls have had one cold.  Having healthy kids is a wonderful thing.

And they LOVE going to Kate.  We are very happy to have made this switch.

But it gets even better.  I said they go to daycare part-time.  They go only three days a week.  One day a week they get to spend with their Petersen grandparents.  One day week they get to spend with their Cooper grandparents.  I love that they get to spend time every week with their grandparents, that they are getting to build this kind of relationship with them.  They love it (the girls...I can't speak for the grandparents, but I'm hoping they feel the same way).

I'm afraid that this year all these different places on all these different days might get a bit confusing for the girls.  So I came up with this idea.  I created a chart to show where they will go everyday (I'm hoping that it may do double duty as providing a way to see where they are going AND to help teach them the days of the week).

Each picture is actually a pocket.  I cut out pictures of each girl and attached it to a large popsicle stick, so each day they can move it to the place they are going.  Like this: