Date day <3

Ryleigh and Devan went to Mimi and Grampa's to spend the night and have some apple picking fun. They love spending time with Samantha. 

While they were gone Chris and I went out to eat and did a little shopping. It was a great day. 

Shrimp baskets and Big Brown Moose drinks were on the menu. It was a fun time. We stopped by the candy shoppe, we decided the girls need to go there! Old fashioned setting with bar stools and ice cream :) we need a trip to Belfast soon! 

Now to relax and get a good nights sleep. 

2nd Grade Soccer

Second Grade for my girls, Marissa, Eliza and Kaylee that is. 

There are a couple boys in 2nd grade as well. We have a few kindergartens too. This level is k-2, Beginner, just leaning. They hustle like they are pro though :) Both teams tried very hard today. We don't keep track of the score at this level ... Well coaches that is. The kids knew the score the whole time. We ended the game 8-6 Blue team took the win this time. Go Blue. Good try orange :) I loved hearing the kids cheer each other on! I heard Marissa tell one of the other girls great job, they cheered each other on the whole time. High fives, fist pumps and hugs. I wouldn't care if we lost every game as long as we have fun and all the kids get a turn at each position and have no fear putting their best effort in the game. This is about boosting confidence and courage and we are well on our way there. 

                       Our team :)

Hustle ( they look like a swarm of bees) 

   Marissa so excited for the 3rd goal!!!

  Mid game celebration, hugs included. 

                    These girls <3 

Photo Credit to Jen :) 

On a side note I got my camera back today :)

Around here

Around here in the past 24 hours we had soccer! I'm coaching this year :) Jen and I I have no idea how to play other than you tube videos but I must say are kids are good! 

This morning I woke up early to make the girls muffins before school. Devan smelled them as soon as she was awake and ran to the table :) I love being a Momma 

Now thy are off to school, it's Friday :))))) 

Best Friends

Devan and Ryleigh share a best friend, Marissa AKA Marissy <3 they love each other so much. Tonight Marissa got off the bus with the girls before soccer. They were all so excited giggling and running around like nothing else mattered. <3 These three girls are SO adorable, I love them all!  

I remember thinking about sending the girls over to their friends houses and how terrifying the idea of letting them go was. Jen, Marissa's mom is great with the girls :) she is like a second Mom! I trust her with my kids 100% it's nice to have someone I can count on if I need help with the girls or just someone to talk to! I guess things worked out great for everyone. I love having Marissa over, we just carry on with our routines and she fits right in :) tonight I got after school snuggles from three girls instead of two! We love you Marissa!!!! 

I think we are about due for a sleep over :) 

Parenting 101

The truth is there is no manual on parenting, just good luck and a whole lot of advice and sometimes unwanted opinions. 

What works for me may not work for you. That does not make anyone a bad person. Within limits that is. I find myself being judgmental about other moms and their parenting techniques. For instance the sight of chocolate milk in a bottle makes me cringe. I can't really explain why, well I can. A bottle is for a baby who can't eat solids, it's a way to provide nutrients and fill babies tummy. After they chew in our house we ditch the bottle and move on to a cup. Maybe this is because my girls threw the bottle at 9 months and refused to drink from it! Whoo hoo. Maybe my intolerance for the bottle is my subconscious way of bragging. Ha. The bottle went so easy in our house, as others struggle with broken hearted little ones when taking the bottle away.

TV, I couldn't survive without it in the toddler years. It helped me shower. Being a stay at home mom, to twins no less is difficult at times. To shower during nap time, do dishes or laundry?  Then there is giving up morning naps... So I can't shower until the afternoon???? The shower in our apartment was upstairs. The girls were one when they gave up AM naps so there was no dragging two bouncy seats up the stairs or letting them roam around our tiny bathroom while I grabbed a quick shower. Maybe it's selfish but I wanted a shower everyday. A shower I could condition my hair and shave, brush my teeth and take in the peace and quiet. Ahhhh. I even tried placing the girls in their  cribs while I showered but I came out to them screaming to many times. This was around the time we discovered the Sesame Street sing along video from the 90's :) the girls watched and danced buckled into their high chairs everyday for 20 minutes while I showered. It was worked for me, for my family and our situation. Who is to judge another mom? Now that the girls are seven they don't watch TV on a daily basis at home. Maybe once a week but its more like a couple times a month. They are hard to pull away from a program and its a waste of their youth.  I don't judge people who let their kids watch TV and as the girls grow I am sure we will go back to adding it into their routine but right now it does not easily fit in. The girls always try to fit In outside time and reading almost every night. Proud Momma. 

Several times during my kids youth , actually more like everyday I question myself as a mom. I love my kids more then words can say. They come first over anything else in this world. I can say that I am a good mom, I love them, teach them, listen, cuddle and encourage them. 

Tonight we took on the daunting task of cleaning their room. I HATE THIS TASK. One, there is not enough room and two they are pack rats. We cleaned to my standard and then I wondered if I was too hard on them. They are only kids. I don't sugar coat their lives with making every situation easy fir them, i cant imagine tossing them out in the real world after doing this. Another pet peeve is treating your seven year olds like babies. I am not saying this isn't right it just annoys me. I looked down at a massive pile of work from school and fanned through the work and found all 100's check pluses and A's :)  We had spent the afternoon driving to a consignment shop that had 11 Junie B Jones books :) I asked them to hold them for me. We drove there right after school. I bought two over the weekend and wasn't sure how the girls would like them. They LOVED them. Ry had all besides one chapter read In her boom by the end of Monday. Hence the urgency to drive out to get them. When we got home the girls read for 40 minutes, played then had supper. After supper is when things went downhill and we cleaned the room. After we cleaned the girls were tired and bummed the afternoon was over so I offered to let them stay up and read for a half hour in their beds. They were so excited. This was at the same time I found the pile of school work. I realized my parenting has changed. What worked once may not work now. We are all different and parents take different approaches to situations. I am happy with mine. I have two striving beautiful thoughtful and so smart girls to be proud of. 

I watched a horrible video earlier this week that a landlord recorded doing an inspection on the house he rented out to a family here in Maine not far away.  It was awful, words can't describe. Not just filthy but holes through the walls, flies no running water, broke everything. No toys, stagnant water in the sinks and bathtubs. There was no food, minus the can of spaghetti in the corner of one of the children's room. It was any parents worse nightmare. DHHS and child protective services were called but for some horrific reason the kids are still there :( I hope and pray that something will happen and they will get the home they deserve.

It makes you stop and think about what you have. My kids have no idea what other children are forced to live with. I shelter them but try my hardest to make sure they truly appreciate all that they have. 

Parenting is not easy but this is what I have learned. Don't beat yourself up, love them, encourage them,  let them see you try hard in life. Be proud of your kids, don't judge others, help others and encourage your children to do the same. Guide them to be productive members of society, get on their level, be involved, see the world through their eyes, have patience, let them fall and fail. Don't shelter them too much, punish them if  needed, teach them respect, teach them responsibility, but most of all cuddle them everyday and shower them with love. That's what I do because I put my whole life into being their mom through the good times and bad <3 DLR RDR 

Our score :) 

Just the girls and I went out to breakfast the other day <3

               They love to read. 

I have been asked several times over the years by strangers and family, they must be easier now that they are older. For years I answered they were easier when they were babies, when they got the same attention and it was easy to devide. They didn't have opinions like they do now. They needed my love and snuggles. Now the need for attention is needed in some area's more then others and more with one child then the other depending on the days and the moods. I will admit I loved 2-6 a lot. We managed and had a great time doing so. Seven is one of my favorite years :) it is back to easy again. I am not sure if I just have this mom thing down or I truly have found peace with raising my kids. Knowing mistakes are OK. You pick back up and move on. Maybe the girls have adjusted well too. They understand that their sister just needs me more at the moment. Who knows the real reason but I welcome the calm :) it is easier now.

Way Back When

9-17-13

It's been a while since my last post, must be because not a lot has gone on. We are getting back into the school year routine :) Lots and lots of reading. After school typically involves the girls being outside a lot. Especially Devan. Bike riding is a big deal as well as hanging out with their pup. Soccer starts this week. I will be coaching this year. I don't know a single rule about soccer but I do know we will have fun! 

Pic update 

Ramona the Brave :) Read this in one week to the girls now we are searching for a set! Middle, Devans Selfie. Middle right: little miss Ryleigh <3 Bottom left the  three amigos. 

Some nights

As a mom or parent, some nights are better than others. You have nights you run yourself ragged and when you finally lay down you lay awake and think of numerous situations that you could have handeled differently.  Tonight as I was watching and listening to Ryleigh read a book I realized that sooner then I am willing to accept the girls are going to grow up. They will no longer have little innocent kid in them. I listened to her read in her sweet, confident and enthusiastic but still small, shaky voice, feeling both proud and sad at the same time. I look forward to every stage but I am really going to miss the little girl stage. I love the witty things they say and how in love they are with their parents. Last night Devan said "I don't  like Rys new teacher. She is weird, she has a weird look in her eyes, and she she yells she sounds like a dying chicken" seriously kid. Tonight was one of those nights that I wished were a much longer day. We spent time together at Karens in the pool, searched for bugs, rode bikes, READ A LOT and loved each other. I thanked the girls for being such good girls tonight and they thanked me for being so good too. I get snuggles galore right now. I am so proud of my girls and love them so very much. I know I am going to look back and long to relive days like today :/ 

Instadump

I post a crap ton of pictures on Instagram now and I realized today that if I never print them, which I most likely won't, those memories will be lost so here is my Instagram photo dump. 

Queens Ann's lace ... I've been getting bunches of this by fistfuls :) 

My cuties all ready for school. Week two is almost over and we still haven't gone through all of their new clothes. 

OPEN HOUSE!!!!! 

A secret fort the girls found with friends. Seeing their excitement over this was pretty awesome. 

A brand new baby for our family! Welcome Levi! My newest nephew. Brayden and I hid him in Brayden's bed and told their mom we lost him. Brayden thought this was great! 

This next picture never made it to Instagram but it should :) it's Ry and I snuggling :) this week has been challenging with school and bullies so we enjoy a lot of snuggles! 

Last Swim

The girls plunged into Karens pool one last time for this year. It was COLD... Really cold. They were wussy about the cold water this summer when it was hardly cold. Put them in school for a week and its a whole new ball game, they miss being able to get in the pool whenever they want. 

Bully

The bully strikes back. Last year there was a boy in Ryleighs class that just so  happened to ride the same bus as her.  He picked on Ry, hair pulling, pinching, name calling. Then things took a turn and be started swearing at her, he threatened to shoot her if she didn't shut her mouth.  This all took place on the bus. He was good for the most part in the class. Ryleigh came off the bus one day crying saying this child had hit her with his backpack and threatened to dig her eyes out this a wood chip from the playground. The principle watched the bus video and there was some friendly teasing and laughing that eventually turned ugly. The kids were separated from that day on ( as for the bus) the boy would ride another bus to school. There was supposed to be a  plan in place to have them in separate classes for future years. Well they are in the same class again this year AND riding the bus together. I am exhausted with the situation and we are four days into the school year. This years trouble started when Ryleigh said K was putting his hands in her face on the bus, she asked him to stop and he wouldn't. The next day on the bus K sat with Ryleigh's friend Rebekah, Ryleigh and Rebekah sit together everyday so Ryleigh sat with both of them. I am not sure specifically what happened but from what I gather there was some laughing, some teasing which led to K telling the girls he had a knife in his bag and he was going to stab them. Rebekah told him to prove it and he couldn't. Last year he threatened to shoot my daughter if she didn't shut her mouth. I am struggling with what to do because I feel that this has gone on so long that Ryleigh expects the teasing to happen   and deals with it. If he touches her, she gets upset but his threats are mentioned only if I ask her how the bus ride went. I honestly think she thinks that this is how it is going to be. What worries me is that I don't know what this kids home life is like and whether he has access to a gun or a knife. He obviously has a hard time deciphering when he has gone too far, so what is going to stop him from proving he has a knife and brining it To school or on the bus. It scares me that my daughter watches this kid laugh and joke about hurting her. she is young, innocent and oblivious to knowing these things actually happen. Her guard is down. She thinks he is all talk and even if he is... She is seven. She shouldn't have to hear such awful things. When I think about her sitting with him or even talking to him I think what are you thinking? Last year after he hit her with his backpack and called her a fucker and bitch and told her he was going to dig her eyes out,  the school said on the video they watched of the bus ride that she shook her stuffed animal at him and previously all the kids were laughing and talking with each other. Why does my daughter EVER want to associate with him and because she does from time to time does that justify bring treated this way?  Obviously not but the school used it as an excuse for him last year. I just want to not have to deal with this stress this year. Is it too much to ask for separation on both the bus and at school? So we can all can relax and not worry. Should I just give up and say it will get better. Make sure she is doing her part to completely  separate herself from this chid. Or do I risk the chance of her getting hurt or someone else getting hurt and wishing I had spoken up. At this point I feel other parents are counting on me to say something because he is threatening my child with bringing a dangerous weapon to school. Not only that,but I want my daughter to know we don't associate with people like this. They do not deserve her attention. She has to respect herself. 

Phone Dump

Whoa, I need to do this more often. 

That bottom right picture there, my brand spanking new nephew Levi Drew <3 hello instalove. Bottom middle, Devan was very fond of that toothbrush ;) 

Top right, the girls faces as we headed off to Funtown Splashtown. Bottom right Hai babies first pony <3 

Top right, gosh I love that kid! Natural beautiful locks. Top middle, mommas baker. Bottom middle and right, second day of 2nd grade! BFF Marissa with the girls <3 

Summer care

If you give Karen a bunch of kids ... She is going to put on a circus :)

During the summer while I'm slaving away at the office, freezing in the air conditioned ice box, my girls hang out with their aunt Karen. She plays WITH them, goes on walks, does science projects, arts, crafts, AND no tv :) They each get a cake on their birthday (if it happens to fall in the summer) This year there were plenty of kids to play with! I have never heard the girls complain that its time to go to Karens as a matter of fact they whine when it's time to come home. This year there were two special days that the kids anxiously awaited. 1.) A homemade circus 2.) the Olympics.

See pictures below :) all the kids were very excited to be at Karens this year. There was a lot of sadness when it all came to an end :/ back to school for the kids and back to the pool for Karen.