Murry: Day 2

Today Murry was perched really high up watching over our family room. At first the kids saw him in the same spot. I think Murry slept in and missed flying to the North Pole, but he made it and there and back while the kids watch TV for a little bit. So far he has been right on track keeping tabs on the kids.

Quinn, Bella and Brinlee loved telling Murry who was doing what instead of Mommy! I sure enjoyed this! Until tomorrow...here is a picture of Murry today!

Maybe ther is Something Special about Christmas this Year?

There must be something special about Christmas this year! Was very happy to help my parents put up their tree spur of the moment last night on Thanksgiving. I dropped everything the past 2 days from crafting for my next show, which I need to do , but instead decorated. Today we put up all of our inside decorations and I feel the spirit of Christmas already. My favorite holiday!

While unpacking all the decorations, I was pulling out the stockings. I pulled our our dog Finna's, and felt something in the bottom. I couldn't figure it out?! So I reached in, and felt something, I pulling it out and screamed at the top of my lungs, 'OH MY GOD!' My Mother came running, the kids jumped, I woke my Dad up out of his almost nap. I screamed again, 'I FOUND IT! I FINALLY FOUND IT! I CAN'T BELEIVE IT!' For the past 3 years we have been missing the key to our Grandfathers Clock. Well yep...I just found the key in the dogs stocking!!

I never thought I could be so happy over a key! I have missed the chimes during the day and the simple clicking of the clock during the night when it was quiet. After searching for it for 3 years, almost trying to find a way to get another key, and also almost giving up on it as well. Last year we didn't put up a lot of decorations because all the kids were still very young, and those hands can be very 'touchy.' I am thinking that this is a very special sign that there is something special about this Christmas this year.

Murry Arrives!

Our new goal for our blog this Holiday Season is to track Murry each day to see where le lands. Well today, the day after Thanksgiving Murry showed up!! The kids were very excited. Brinlee and Quinn were the first to find him and say hello. Bella spent the night at Nanny's house so she got to see him when she got home.

We found his book on the end table and Murry was perched high to watch over the Cone Kids, sitting in Belle and Beast's hands! Welcome home Murry!!

Quick Update: Brinlee Starts Speech

Well after getting Brinlee evaluated, she started to receive Speech therapy. She is in the 7th percentile for her age group as far as articulation of speech. She is scheduled to receive help 2 times a week for 30min at the Elementary School.

Today was her first day, and was very excited about 'Going to School.' I was very proud of her, she was a bit shy with Mrs. Miller, but went in without crying or anything. Phew...first step accomplished. I walked back to my car, I was already parked in the car rider line at school. These crazy parents start lining up before 2pm when school lets out at 3pm!! Anyway....

I sit in my car for about 15min and I see the other speech parents get out of their cars, so I thought maybe they were done already. I see the other speech teacher walking out holding Brinlee and Brinlee is in tears!! Great!! She said that she went into the class just fine, asked to go potty and they took her and she came back to sit in her chair. She got very shy, and started to cry and saying, 'I want My Mommy!' And it kept getting louder and louder!!

Yes I have the emotional child that disrupts the rest of the students. Great! So we are going to try on Thrusday, having Quinn attend Brinlee's speech class hoping they can get her to stay in class without crying, and have a familiar face, and then be able to work on what she needs help with. I hope it works as I don't want to hold her back 1 year, I would rather get her speech under control now.

I hope Thursday will go better. It breaks my hear tto see her coming out crying when she was so confident going in. It also breaks my heart for the other students who had to hear her crying as well as for the teachers.

Can I have another Day in the Week?

It seems my days are not long enough. I really need to have another day or 2 in a week to get everything done. Sometimes I really wish I could just be a stay at home Mom and work on our home, family and crafts that I love to do so much. But with reality that just is not possible.

People always tell me, 'You are so lucky to have twins!.' Yes we are definitely blessed but however we have double of everything at one time! The homework at least is pretty much the same in their classes, but staying on top of who has what due, or what papers come home for which one can get comfusing. At least the homework is the same!!

Right now I am scanning in each of the papers that they have brought home. I have a bin I keep all of their papers in and at CHristmas time they will go through the bin with me and keep only a few that they really like. All of the papers I scan in, I am going to make into a book and they will each get to keep the book for memories and later to show their children! My Mother bought a kit that you can do this at home with. What a great memory for them to have, gotta love technology these days.

It is taking me awhile to scan each one in, as our scanner isn't lightening speed, but oh well. As soon as I"m done at least I will be caught up and hopefully be able to scan in their papers each week instead of after 3 weeks!

I am also trying to fill a few orders from friends for Cre8tive Cre8tions, as well as make a bunch of stuff for the craft shows coming up and to sell items at the studio. I want to have a variety and I think this year will be good as my Mother is making a few new things and my neighbor Sheri is also going in with us and creating some wonderful items!!

I have also been asked by 2 of my students to make their sweet 16 birthday cakes and another students grandmothers 75th birthday! Really, maybe I should just open a store to sell my items and creative party planning services?! Anyone want to front the costs for it?

Oh well, I better continue to scan in these papers, yes I have been double-tasking or maybe even triple-tasking doing about 3 things at once. It keeps things interesting and my brain working even if some times I don't even feel like ym brain works correctly. Hopefully one day I will get our debt gone, my to-do list done and be able to take a real vacation!! Until then...BACK TO WORK on my TO DO LIST!

TV Troubles

Well Wednesday night was a testing night. We have been putting the kids down for bed at 7:30pm with brushing teeth and being in bed by 8pm. We let them have their tv's on until they fall asleep, especially becuase of school. When I was little that's the only way I could fall asleep, I know some parents are against it but it works, well sometimes.

Bella begged us for her own room, so we re-arranged almost our entire house in 2 days to give her just that. However now she keeps telling us she doesn't like being alone. Wednesday night we got them down in bed, Jay went to work, normal as any other day. I was up till 11:30pm working on a gift for someone. As usual Brinlee was up (surprise surprise). I started shutting everything off to go to bed, lights, tvs in the kids rooms, etc. As soon as I turned Bella's tv off she woke up crying. I told her, no you have school the tv is staying off, you have your christmas lights on (they go around her window and pretty much light up her entire room). She was sound asleep when I turned her tv off.

Well to make this a short story, she screamed and argued with me for 1.5hrs! This ended her up having her tv removed from her room for a week. She was not happy last night going to bed with no tv. She cried for about 30-40min, and a little whinning, but low and behold slept the entire night in her room, no tv and only her christmas lights on! Humm...Daddy and Mommy were right.

She still asks for the hall light to be on, I told her no, however told her I would get her a flashlight. I hope the rest of the nights will go the same and she learns she needs her sleep. Quinn on the otherhand, slept through the night even with all of the screaming!! He needs his sleep!! He used to be just like Bella and needed the tv on, but I think school is wearing him out.

She is getting a hard lesson but I think in the long run it will be good for her. She strives to be perfect and I think has to realize when you do something wrong you have to pay the consequences. This was even hard for me saying 'No.' But we got through it.

Date is Set

Well I finally got ahold of someone in Lake County about a speech evaluation for Brinlee. She has been harder and harder to understand lately and I'd rather catch it sooner than we did with Quinn. He has been improving with Speech Therapy and hoping to get Brinlee help 1 year earlier. A few days ago she was trying to tell Jay and I something and we had no idea what she was saying for like 10min. We then asked Bella if she even knew what she wanted and she answered in a heartbeat! I don't know how she understood her!

Since they never called me back from about a month ago, they didn't ahve an evaluation date set until October 14th! So we have to wait a month and a hlaf for her to even be evaluated, then if she qualifies it probably won't be until November that she would get therapy.

I will keep you updated on what we hear from the evaluation.

Getting Organized

This is a quick post...just updating things before major craziness starts with School for the kids, dance for me and much more. It's that time of year where everything starts and summer doesn't seem like it lasted long enough to actually sit down and relax or get things we wanted to get done, get done.

I hope to get some of the kids birthday pictures posted soon, we had  a blast taking the pictures with Michelle from Hill's Milestone Photography, as usual she did an outstanding job! You can see some of the pictures in our slideshow on the header of our blog. The party was a HUGE HIT!

More to come later, time to clean up around here and take the kids swimming before the rain comes and I have to go to work!

Our San Fran and Disneyland Trip

This vacation have really flown by! Why do they have to go so fast and never have enough time? I just wanted to post a few pictures for everyone to see what we have done. Already halfway through our stay I've had to dump both SD cards, one 4GB and one 8GB! Lots of pictures and videos. So here are a few pics from San Fransisco and from Disney.

Jay being Jay!

AT&T park.

At the pier by the baseball field

We are here!

Bay Bridge

Jay and Adam walking in the street. They closed the street for the day so residence could walk, bike, run, etc.

I would never be able to do this on a regular day.

Bella's store! This gelato was awesome!!

Alcatraz

We saw the sea lions!

Before we walked up.

On our way up!

We made it down! Then had to walk more down Lombard!

Golden gate Bridge. We were too tired to walk all the way there.

On the Cable Car!

We got to meet up with Chris! So great to see him after 7yrs!!

We made it to Disneyland!

We feel like GIANTS here, everything is sooo small and compact.

Can you find the castle?

They are still doing it the old way, handstamps when you leave the park!

I need my 'TOOTISE ROLL'

Well Brinlee has been doing great with her potty training. We had 1 day where we had accidents right and left. However we are getting the hang of it and haven't had a diaper on in a week! We have little accidents but, we are learning. We decided that after she goes in the potty she gets a 'Tootsie Roll' as her reward. At first she didn't even want to sit on the potty but this seemed to do it. Well now we are second guessing ourselves...now she just wants to sit on the potty to get a Tootsie Roll!!

After time she now goes on the potty, she can climb up herself and go, and tells us wen she has to go!! We are struggling with the poopies on the potty but I know that is scary. I think in about a month we will have it down.

Yesterday we spent the day at the parks and we had NO ACCIDENTS! She told us when she had to go and we went. There was one time when we were not near a bathroom, about 5mi from one and she asked. Of curse she didn't get in trouble for that accident. She loves her Dora Pull-Ups!

The end of the DIAPER TUNNEL is near, I can't wait and probably will celebrate when we have no more diapers in the house! However I will be sad at the same time as all of my 'babies' are growing up!!