~ early december and birthdays ~

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***

I offer no explanation for my absence

other than I have enjoyed not being on the computer.

***

December was busy and fun.

We really wanted to make this holiday time 

beautiful and special for the girls.

Every year since we've been together, 

we have traveled to be with extended family.

(Unless you count the year I had 2 week old twins.)

Making the decision to stay home was difficult,

but we made the right choice.

We had a great month,

and our family celebration was truly magical.

We put up our tree.

This sweet picture of Daddy and the girls

was taken after the first of the decorations were up.

We also attempted a family picture.

(Sorry folks, I have Photoshop but don't feel like using it tonight!)

Blogger feels it knows better than I the proper orientation for pictures.

Ahem.

But here we have a toilet paper tube snowflake.

We discovered that many of our holiday decorations molded in the attic.

A helpful child decided that fresh arrangement needed to go into storage as well.

Another ahem.

Sweet picture of Lela and Laurel

Saint Nikolaus came to visit!

He left the girls some slippers, a holiday mug, a peppermint cane and booster seat.

Thank you St. Nikolaus - those booster seats were desperately needed!

This is a very, very special picture of me and Santa Claus.

Do you know why?

Since many decorations had to be thrown away,

we had no choice (heehee!) but to craft, craft, craft!

We made wrapping paper with potato stamps (in the background)

and here the family is preparing to make felt ornaments by wet felting in a form.

Here are our sweet ornaments!

(Thanks again Blogger!)

And in the middle of all that crafting and family fun,

a few days before the Winter Solstice,

came the 4th birthday of my twin babies!

Daddy made them each a set of walking blocks.

Aunt Bec sent them a lovely photograph (she took!)

Their GG sent a sweet version of The Night Before Christmas,

illustrated by Jan Brett.

I needle felted them a tiny doll with a "4" on the front, and a heart on the back.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Happy Birthday Laurel!

Lela's gift - a calendar for each of her sisters.

Laurel and Liv requested a catfish dinner, with pea and mashed sweet potatoes.

The catfish was locally caught, an added bonus.

Happy Birthday my sweet babies!

You are growing up so fast!

I still have pictures to share of our Winter Solstice lantern walk with our Waldorf families, and pictures from our family celebration.

~carrie~

~ life with twins ~

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I had to laugh when I saw 

these sequence of pictures 

from our third day in Virginia.

It pretty much sums up 

what life can be like 

with two 3 1/2 year olds.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here, you can see Olivia strategically placing 

the bowl of potpourri in Laurel's lap.

Laurel positions her legs just so.

~ "Hmmm, Laurel, you hold this bowl of Gran's potpourri." ~

Now, they coordinate their movements so that,

to the untrained eye (or gullible parent),

it looks like the bowl tips right over.

Don't believe me? 

Look at the excitement on their faces!

~ "How did THAT happen Olivia?" ~

Now, each twin reaps the reward

of picking through the pile for treasured bits.

~ "We are so clever! ~ 

I love these girls!  

Having twins is a lot of fun!

~carrie~

Easter Visit - Part 1

We went north to Virginia

to visit family for Easter.

The weather was perfect 

for adventuring outdoors.

~ liv, lela and gran ~

Lela had a special time

walking with Pop in the woods. 

They saw a large black snake

and a flying squirrel!

Wish I had a picture of that!

~ redbud we gave my parents in 2003 ~

There was lots of time 

to play with Kitty.

Don't these two look 

like the twins now?

~ lela and liv with kitty ~

~ easter baskets on sunday morning ~

I made another set of angry chicken bonnets.  

This time with white eyelet

and rosebud ribbon.  

~ liv ~

~ laurel ~

The girls all wore matching 

bonnets and dresses,

a gift from Gran and Pop.

~ lela, pop, laurel, gran and liv ~

Next up - Egg Hunt!

Peace,

Carrie

Real Life

Last week, after a great Monday Waldorf co-op.... Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were terrible.

I yelled and scolded and berated and barked.

I puttered around on the computer all day.

I didn't take my kids outside as much as I should.

Meals were thrown together.

The Laundry Mountain had a landslide.

By Friday, with the coaching of my husband, I pulled it back together. Not idyllic. Just together. A breath in, a breath out. Unplugged the computer and sat on the floor.

So, here you go, cruddy pictures and all - this is our Real Life. A bit self-depricating, but accurate. :)

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FRIDAY: After singing the Winds song from Song of the Seasons, we did a little bit of yoga. Goodness, that felt blissful. We all were so grounded afterwards. Then we moved on to some holiday crafting.

~ ACRYLIC felt trees ~

~ a lost greyhound wandered through our yard,

so we brought him in! ~

"Gunner" was promptly reunited with a neighbor. Note to self - don't get a greyhound for a pet unless you can manage to remove the breakfast food from the table before 11:00am. And yes, there's a beer bottle for a candlestick on our table.

~ table surfing ~

While I took a minute to relax, Lela decide to do some photography. She asked Laurel and Olivia to pose for her, so they did!

~ Tree Pose ~

Dinner that night was leftover rice with leftover beans. I thought I would be clever and pop in a tomato. I had picked up this on at the farmers market a couple weeks before, and it had gone from green to red on my windowsill. Then I cut into it.....

~ tomato sproutlings ~

SATURDAY: Desperate for coffee, I went to the grocery store at 6:00am. Goodbye willpower, hello delicious, creamy, heavenly coffee! Promptly spilled a bit on the floor while frantically opening the package. Two hours later this image still remained......

~ I call this one: footprint in coffee grounds with distracting flash ~

Time to water our tree! Of course, the kitchen sink is completely full of dishes. What to do, what to do? Oh yes - use the diaper sprayer! I wish I could say I put that empty toilet paper roll back there for humor.

~ improvisation ~

Mike and the girls boldly decided to undertake a project! Together they built a simple shelf with hooks to hold their boots, hats and coats. Here, you can see a fine example of our excellent parenting. Two of three children wielding saws.



Lastly and bestly (is that a word?) I got to go shopping for a little while. Okay, a couple hours. OKAY it was over three hours! While I was out, Mike and the girls made hammocks under the bunk beds.



He's a great man. It allowed me to get the last few supplies to make the teeny babies for Laurel and Liv's upcoming birthday. The only supply left to get is the wool stuffing, tubular stockinette, and, oh yes, the motivation to start the project.





Hope you enjoyed this little realistic peek into our lives!
Peace,
Carrie

Visit with Gran and Pop

Last weekend my parents came to visit. The girls were so excited to hear that Gran and Pop were coming!

On Saturday my dad and I went to the Farmers' Market AND the grocery store. He bought all my things and my pantry was FULL! It was so wonderful. Mike went skating while my mom stayed with the girls. He had a great time as well. Slightly sore and probably wishing for hip pads, but still had fun.


Saturday afternoon, while the men stayed home and cooked, the women went out shopping. As it should be!


The girls all got new shoes! How wonderful, and perfect timing as the weather has cooled off quickly.

Liv

Even Laurel will suffer a stranger for new kicks!

Gran tries to wrangle for a picture.

Thanks for visiting us, Gran and Pop! Thanks for the food, gifts and new shoes!

Beach Trip - Day 3 (Sunday)

Sunday was the best weather of the entire vacation. We drove down to Cape Hatteras National Seashore and drove out on the beach. The water was calm and all the girls had fun. Mike and I were glad to get a little time to swim and splash ourselves, since there were plenty of others to play with the girls.

My mom and Laurel (on the left) and my Aunt Lorraine and Lela.

Liv and Pop

Gran and Laurel


Aunt Lorraine and Lela

Again, ahem, family members if you have pictures to share - please let me know and I will put them up on here.