Friday, July 30, 2010

He Said It, Not Me

As sweet as my baby girl can be, she also has an ornery streak about a mile wide, & usually thinks she's hilarious while misbehaving. Here's a glimpse into what we deal with each day. Notice her father's assessment at the end.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Popsicle, Anyone?

While grocery shopping the other day, I found some Mighty Minis popsicles & thought I'd try them for the kids. They're great! These little treats are perfectly toddler-sized, which means easier for the kids to hold, less mess for Mommy & no sugar overload. The kids tried them out Saturday night after dinner, & they were definitely a hit!

Good thing we took their clothes off! Can you tell Mal liked it just a bit?
Jake was a slower popsicle eater, but was kind enough to share what was left with his sister.
Making her work for it!
Yea for summer fun!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Reptile Recreation

While playing with the kids in the back yard Saturday night, J caught a little green lizard. I always laugh at him when he tries to catch them because they're so fast, so he probably hung onto this one just to prove me wrong. We put it in a high-tech cage while we ate dinner & then let Jake & Mal play with it afterward.

They warmed up to Mr. Lizard by petting his tail...

marveled at his obvious awesomeness...

& then allowed their new friend to crawl all over them.
(on her tummy)

That cup Mal is holding is our high-tech cage: a cup with saran wrap over it & breathing holes punched in it. I only like lizards from a distance, so this is probably the closest my children will come to ever having one as a pet!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Frankie & Geronimo

The Chamblee family gained two new members on July 3rd. Their names are Frankie & Geronimo, & together they cost a grand total of $9.88 at Sam's Club. A better purchase we could not have made.

J bought this cute elephant (Frankie) & monkey (Geronimo) for the kids as a treat for being good shoppers that Saturday morning, as they kindly ran my errands for me. Since then, they've tagged along as the kids played with refrigerator magnets...
chilled in the living room...

soaked up some Sunday morning cartoons...

prepared for outings...


& all kinds of other activities. They sleep with Jake & Mal every night & are often required to be given a place at the breakfast table. Their unique names, randomly given by Daddy, may sound a bit ridiculous, but they are much loved by two little kids.

Friday, July 23, 2010

A Shirtless Sailor Kind of Day


Cute Little Piggies

On Saturday, J took the kids to a party some friends of ours were having at a splash park while I hosted Miranda's shower. Mal got to sport her very first pig tails. Mommy clearly didn't do a very good job with parting her hair, but the curls & squirmy little girl make it tricky!

The look on her face says, "Yeah, I know I'm cute!"

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Masters of Destruction


What's wrong with this picture? That would be the fact that the toys are outside of the gate. Those little stinkers threw every single toy out of the basket & over the gate. I managed to hide my giggles long enough to put them in time out & then make them clean it up.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Uncharted Territory

We're gearing up for the next big transition in our house, so I'm once again soliciting advice. It's time to...potty train the twins! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! I know that countless mothers have done this before, but it's one growing-up phase that I'm SO not looking forward to. It's not that I just don't want them to grow up (which I sometimes don't), but it's the task itself that is daunting me.
What method should we use? When exactly should we begin? What kind of reward system would work best? Should we use pull-ups or big kid underwear? These are the questions with which I need your help!
I had decided a while back that it would be easiest to just buy potty seats to go on our regular toilets instead of little potties. One less transition, right? Then it hit me: we don't have a bathroom with two toilets! I really can't tell one kid they have to hold it until the other is done when we're trying to encourage them to go in the potty, now can I? So we purchased four, yes four, of these little gems. Two upstairs & two downstairs. Right now, they're a novelty item. We've talked about what they're for & what's going to happen, but we haven't actually done anything yet.
I'm waiting with baited breath for your commentary. Please don't let me down!

Monday, July 19, 2010

High Seas Adventure

As I mentioned earlier, the kids & I spent our mornings last week at Vacation Bible School. Last year, I taught a 4-yr-old class, but this year I didn't think I'd be up to the task of leading children up & down stairs & sitting on the floor with my giant boots. So my sweet friend Rebecca found a job for me that allowed for lots of sitting. VBS is open to kids age four & up, unless they're teachers kids, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to find a way to help. I knew Jake & Mal would have a blast, & I was right!

This year's theme centered around exploring the high seas in search of God's treasure. Each day revealed to the kids another important aspect of the Word of God.

Me & Rebecca at the registration table
The information booth was my official post for most of the week, where I sold t-shirts & Cd's.Prestoncrest's decorations for VBS are always above & beyond what anyone expects. We have some very talented worker bees!

The snack room was decorated as the ship's galley.

We even got to enter each morning on a boardwalk!
I had someone take my camera in to Jake & Mal's class to snap some pictures, because I was afraid me going in would disrupt them. They were so proud each day to wear their t-shirts, despite the fact that they were huge.


Mal was so eager to pose here that she didn't see Tanner going in for her cracker!


I also got to hang out some with the curriculum girls, Kristin & Heather.



Apparently, I shouldn't have worried about the kids getting upset if they saw me. I took this picture of them walking into the closing assembly with their class, & they barely seemed to acknowledge their mother's presence!
Their sweet teachers made these collages of the week for us. I thought some of the pictures were pretty hilarious!
Yea God!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Showering Baby Johnston

Yesterday morning, I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for my dear friend, Miranda. She is having her second boy, so I decided we'd have a little sports theme for our celebration.

A few of the decorations


This awesome golf ball cake was made by the very talented Haylee. If you need a cake for anything, she's your girl!
Hostess pic: Mere, Haylee, me, Miranda, Hattie, Courtney, Paige & Jenn
The cute Mommy & me
Some friends & family who came to celebrate little boy Johnston

And all his loot!
Miranda, thank you so much for letting me help to welcome your sweet boy. I can't wait to meet him...and find out his name!