Splitting Up

My husband called me 2 weeks ago and said the pre-school asked our thoughts on putting the twins in separate classrooms.   They have enough kids to meet the student/teacher ratio for 2 classes with the same curriculum. 

I wasn't quite sure what to say.  I'm not opposed to it but at the same time, it makes me sad.   I want them to be treated as individuals and not a "unit" but having them together also gives me a feeling of peace.  They have each other if one gets sad or needs a hug.

A friend of ours has 9-year old twin boys and she told us she had to split them up when they reached kindergarten because one of the boys was too dependent on the other.   It was also causing issues with making friends and having mutual friends (he's MY friend... no, he's MY friend).  

I could see how that would be a problem with twins of the same sex but with B/G twins, I always planned for things to play out naturally.  They would automatically have different interests and would naturally split themselves as they get older. 

So, we talked about it and decided we'd give it a try.  If either of the twins showed any signs of stress or started acting out, we could put them back together.   The split does have some advantages.  One of the classrooms has a guy teacher.  He's a young guy and he's great with the kids. I think it's important for boys to have positive role models and mentors outside of their father.  The principal said Chris responds to him well and actually listens better in his class than with a female teacher. 

And, with potty training, a guy teacher with Kendall made me a little hesitant.  There is a girl assistant teacher and I'm sure she handles the girls in this area but still.....

I asked the principal if the twins were inseparable or always together when in class and she said they weren't really.  I know they are both very protective of each other.  If Kendall gets upset or cries, Chris comes to her rescue.  If Chris gets in trouble, Kendall gets upset too. 

The two classrooms do interact with one another so the kids still see each other a few times per day - mainly during playground time and at the end of the day.   And, having them in different classrooms will actually make it easier if I need to pick one of them up early.  It used to be a 2-for-1 deal.  

So, we'll see how things go.  This is the 2nd week of separation and so far, so good.   I thought it might also make the twins play better at home since they won't be together 24/7.  So far, I haven't really noticed a difference - Chris still picks on her like a typical big brother.  LOL!

More Party Prep

I just finished making this barn backdrop that I saw on Pinterest.  It just needs a few more finishing touches.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out. 

Party Favors

Birthday Party #3 "Barnyard Bash" is in full planning mode!

I started working on the party favors last weekend.  To go along with the farm theme, I'm giving each child a galvanized bucket that will include a seed packet, a ziploc baggy with potting soil, a paper carrot with treats inside and a few small goodies like stickers and tattoos.  The name tag is actually chalkboard so the child can write the name of the seeds they planted.  Pretty cool, huh?

TIDWTFT

I can't believe my babies will be three years old in 3 weeks.  What an unbelieveable ride it has been!

There are a few things that have happened recently that I need to record so bear with me.

Christopher

• He is still completely enamoured with anything fireman or firetruck.  He has started telling me that he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. 
• He is the best protector of his little (by one whole minute) sister.  We were walking up the sidewalk to our front door and Kendall saw a dead cricket.   She got a little scared and didn't want to walk past it.  Christopher took her hand, said, "It's OK Dendall" and guided her around the cricket.  I seriously had tears in my eyes.
• He is still all boy.  If he can climb it and jump off, he will.  His newest trick?  Climbling on to the arm of the recliner and jumping to the floor (sometimes with a 160 degree spin). 
• He has taken a fancy to getting himself dressed.  That's really great except he insists on doing it at bedtime.  We tuck the kids in and within 10 minutes, Chris is rummaging through his dresser trying to find the perfect outfit.  Some nights I just let it slide and other nights, I go back in and correct him. 

Kendall

• She has started showing interest in princesses.  She dresses up and says, "I'm pretty". 
• She has started mothering Christopher (in a good way).  They finished eating dinner and were playing with their chalkboard.  I heard Kendall say, "Oh, Chris.  You have pizza on your nose.  I'll get a wipe".  She proceeded to wipe his face for him like a good Mommy.
• She finally caught on to potty training!  She has been going pee pee in the potty for about 2 weeks now and staying dry during the day (minus a few accidents).  I never thought we would get here!
• When we read books together, she has started saying the letters so we spell the word.  When we're finished, she puts her index finger on the word and as she says it, she swipes her finger from left to right like she's reading. 

Love, love, love these kids!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Birthday Planning!

I'm so torn.  I can't believe the summer is over but I'm also ready for fall.  I absolutely love living in a part of the country where we actually experience changes in the seasons.  In another month, the night air will start to get a little crisp and long sleeve shirts will start to replace worn out summer t-shirts.

The twins' 3rd birthday is exactly one month away and I wouldn't be me if I wasn't in full planning mode.  The kids have several "interests" but none of them were quite boy/girl theme appropriate.  Chris is still completely infatuated with anything fireman or fire truck and Kendall is now into princesses.  The one common theme between them still seems to be farm related.  Chris started liking horsies about a year ago and Kendall has a thing for cows.  Works for me.

I'll tell you one thing.  I don't know how I ever lived without Pinterest.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I have found the cutest ideas on there.  Once I decided on a farm theme, I knew I didn't want it to be cartoony.  Vintage is what I'm thinking.  I started searching for invitations first and apparently vintage and 3 year olds don't quite go together.  I finally found one design that I fell in love with on Etsy but I refused to pay $20 for a template and then another $20 to have the invitations printed.

So, I made my own.   Personal information has been blacked out.  What do you think?

I just placed the order to have them printed (for $15, I might add) so I'm really hoping they turn out OK. 

I also bought the materials to make this barn backdrop for the main table.   It looks simple enough so I hope I can re-create it.

For the main food, I plan to get pulled chicken from our local barbeque place and a few sides like cole slaw and mac 'n cheese.  I found some awesome ideas on Pinterest for other snack items like:

Haybales (Rice Krispy treats)
Chicken Feed (Chex Mix)
Pigs in a blanket
Pigs Mud (chocolate pudding)
Vegetable garden (cut veggie tray)

And, that's all I'm going to give away for right now.  You'll have to stay tuned for more!   :)

Summary of a Road Trip

In one of my last posts, I talked about the end of summer road trip to my mom's house.

Once again, my kids completely surprised me.  They were AWESOME!  

I picked up the kids from pre-school after lunch (but before naptime) and we drove to my sister's house to meet her and my niece & nephew.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn the mini van we rented was completely tricked out.  It was nice!  I was expecting something low-end but we got a Chrysler Town & Country with dual DVD system, leather seats, automatic doors and hatch, Sirius radio. 

Yes, I know.  Do you remember this post?

Uh huh.  The mini van crush is back. 

We got on the road a little later than we wanted (by noon) and made our way south to pick up Highway 95.  We purposely picked up the kids before naptime hoping they would all sleep in the car and allow us to make some good headway.  As soon as we got on the ramp to the highway, traffic was stopped.  And, it stayed stop and go for the next 20 miles.  Thank God I packed every Barney and kids video we owned because we needed them!   The 4 kids did nap for about 45 minutes but that was it.

I quickly learned that my niece and nephew are much more high maintenance than my kids.  My sister drove the first leg of the trip so I was the gopher for anything the kids wanted (snacks, drinks, toys).  And, of course, her kids were sitting in the very back.  So, every time they needed something, it was like a big game of Twister trying to climb back to give it to them.

We stopped for an early dinner around 4:00 pm and took about an hour break.  We still had another 2 hours in front of us.  This time, I jumped in the driver's seat and we kicked ass.  We finally got to my mom's at 7:00 pm.  

The kids all slept great and woke up pretty consistently around 6:30-6:45 am every morning.  When we woke up Saturday, it was overcast and they were calling for showers so we decided to drive an hour to Roanoke Island and go to the aquarium.  It's small but they have fish, snakes, alligators and a huge shark tank.

Surprisingly, we were all ready and out the door by 9:00 am and we arrived at the aquarium at 10:00 am.  We weren't sure if it would be crowded because of the weather so we were pleasantly surprised to see just a handful of cars in the parking lot.  We almost had the whole place to ourselves so that made it easier to keep track of the kids. 

The Three Muskateers

We decided to stay there for lunch and had a picnic lunch down by the sound.  It gave the kids a chance to run around before we got back in the car to head home.  After naps, we spent some time in my mom's pool.

I was so happy to see my kids active and unafraid of the water again. They loved it as much as they did at the beach house last month.  Chris was running and jumping off the edge by himself and submerging completely underwater.  I'm still not sure that he completely understands how to hold his breath and I know he took in some water a few times.  Again, Kendall would jump in but I had to hold her hands. 

Sunday, we got up early and packed up for the beach.  We got down there by 9:00 am and spent about 2 hours.  Chris was thrilled to be back in the waves and he played with Pop Pop for a long time.  It was good to see my stepfather interacting with him.  I think he really had a good time playing with Chris at the beach.  They were laughing and sharing that experience together. 

BFFs Forever

Playing with Pop Pop

Kendall still wouldn't put her feet in the water but she had a blast as long as I held her

After lunch, it started to rain so we were stuck inside for the rest of the day.  We tried our hardest to keep the kids entertained with baking cookies, coloring, movies and anything else we could find.  The adults kept themselves entertained with delicious Mudslides whipped up by my stepfather.


We packed up and headed home on Monday morning.  I volunteered to do the driving this time and the trip was much better traffic-wise.  We only stopped once for lunch and made good time. 
I'm a little embarrassed that I was so leary about the trip.  And, I didn't give my mom or stepfather enough credit.  It really was an enjoyable trip. 

A good end of summer ending.

Wordless Wednesday - A Boy Can Wear Pink

I think he pulls it off nicely.