week ending mar 22, 2009:

Week ending March 22, 2009: St. Patrick’s Day (SPD) was this week and the kids were looking forward to it. As I was putting the kids to bed on the night before the holiday I asked the kids why they were excited about SPD. Alex said “Because I might get a big toy”. I explained that there were no presents on SPD. “Candy?”. Nope. “Don’t we at least get a card?” Well, Aunt Patty already sent us a card in the mail, you’ve seen it. I suggested we could make some green food, hoping that by having the conversation now, they’d be happy with green pancakes in the morning. When morning came Alex was the first one to get up and I asked him whether he wanted green pancakes or to go to Dunkin Doughnuts and see if they had any green doughnuts, thinking this was a way to make the day special. He was still really disappointed and now angry and pouting. Sigh.

I did see Alex cheerful to the point of exuberance this week when he was playing Wii tennis with his dad. Usually Casey will keep the game close, letting Alex win some points, but then Casey will win the game in the end. This time Alex was playing especially well and getting some really got shots in so Casey did some extra cheering for Alex and then decided to let Alex win (without telling him, of course). Casey feigned being crushed by the defeat and Alex jumped around the house yelling about how great he’d played. When Alex saw me he said “Mom I played really AWESOME and I WON and I almost made Daddy CRY!!!!”

Another cheerful time this week was our trip to Cunningham Falls State Park for the Maple Festival. I remember going to see the park rangers talk about tapping trees when I was kid and we lived in State College, PA, so I was very excited to take the kids. CFSP had children’s crafts, a video about making maple syrup/sugar, hourly talks, a guy who showed the kids how to make taps out of sycamore branches, samples of maple syrup, a pancake meal, and the kids could stick their fingers under the tap to taste the sap as it came out of the tree. We also did the ½ mile “easy” hike to the falls. It was a great day spent in the sunshine with family and friends. Here are our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/constance.phelps/MapleFestival2009#

week ending mar 15, 2008:

Week ending March 15, 2009: Chloe’s cough is almost completely gone, but now Alex is starting with it, of course.
This week I was watching Alex goofing off, singing a made up song and dancing, generally acting like an adorable little 5 year old when I had one of those fast-forward moments during which I remind myself that this little person will one day be a grown up and do grown up things. As this is occurring to me I said to Casey “can you believe that one day Alex will bring home his wife to introduce to us?!” Alex replied before Casey had a chance, “Mom, you’ve already met her, she’s Angie!” I thought that was the cutest!
Also this week Chloe asked if she could have cinnamon raisin bagels instead of a birthday cake at her birthday party. I asked why and she said because she almost never gets cinnamon raisin bagels. Of course on the next trip to the grocery store we picked up a whole bag of cinnamon raisin bagels for her. The kids often ask for toys and junk food and I tell them that I will buy them toys on their birthday (or Christmas) and that we already have enough junk food (I’m not paying twice as much for mac-n-cheese because it has a cartoon character on the box), so she must have reasoned that if she asked for bagels I wouldn’t get them for her unless it was a special occasion since bagels aren’t something we normally buy. It is hard for the kids to understand what’s junk and what is perfectly healthy food that we don’t normally stock.The kids were playing out back one day this week and I poked my head out the door every few minutes to check on them. At one point Chloe was trying to get Alex to play “duck, duck, goose” which is problematic enough when there are only 2 children, but she was also insisting that instead of saying “duck, duck…” they should say “tyrannosaurus, tyrannosaurus…” I am often amazed by their imagination and cooperativeness with each other.

Interview March 13, 2009:

Some friends have interviewed their kids using the format below and got some pretty funny answers. I made sure to interview the kids separately so they would give different answers:
1. What is something mom always says to you? Alex – “I love you”. Chloe – “Drink your drink”
2. What makes mom happy? Alex – I love you. Chloe – not hurting people
3. What makes mom sad? Alex – I don’t like you. Chloe – When you go away without me
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Alex – She tickles me. Chloe – makes a funny face or tells a joke.
5. What was your mom like as a child? Alex – me. Chloe - Me
6. How old is your mom? Alex – 36. Chloe - 36
7. How tall is your mom? Alex – I don’t know. Chloe – I don’t know
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Alex – I don’t know... play with me. Chloe – spend time with me
9. What does your mom do when you're not here? Alex – she works. Chloe – does chores
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Alex – I don’t know. Chloe – I don’t know.
11. What is your mom really good at? Alex – Doing stuff. Chloe – caring for us
12. What is your mom not very good at? Alex – Are you not very good at making dinner? Chloe – she’s not very good at... hmm... it’s hard, I don’t think I can do that one. Are you not very good at taking care of a dog?
13. What does your mom do for a job? Alex – Washes our clothes. Chloe – do chores. And you don’t even have a job.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Alex – taco. Chloe – a margarita and shrimp
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Alex – I don’t know... washes dishes. Chloe – when she tries new things
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Alex – Sponge Bob. Chloe – Sandy from Sponge Bob
17. What do you and your mom do together? Alex – Play Wii. Chloe – lets see... go to a restaurant when Dads away
18. How are you and your mom the same? Alex – because we like to do the same stuff. Chloe – We both got long hair, we both got green eyes
19. How are you and your mom different? Alex – because we like to do some different stuff. Chloe – well... I’m 5 and she’s 36
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Alex – by giving me hugs and kisses. Chloe – well... she takes me to fun parts and gives me hugs
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Alex – Do you like that he goes to work? Chloe – he kept the cats off the furniture when Wanda and Otto were there
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Alex – Florida. Chloe – go visit with your family

first lost tooth, march 11, 2009:

Chloe lost her first baby tooth this evening! She's very excited and is hoping the tooth fairy brings something really cool. The tooth has been loose for several days so we've had plenty of time to set expectations so she realizes that she isn't getting a $20 toy every time she looses one of her 20 teeth. It bled a little when the tooth came out (I actually watched her pull the tooth out and it was kinda gross), but she was very brave. She's excited to share this picture with you all.

Chloe was so excited, in fact, that at least every 5 minutes she'd say "Mommy, I lost a tooth!" and I'd say "That exciting, isn't it?!" She's been talking about losing a tooth for a year and a half, so I guess that added to her excitement. I also think that being a twin and having to share everything, even her birthday with her brother, made her appreciate all the more this moment in the spot light. We talked some more about what she was hoping for from the Tooth Fairy and she said "a little plastic panda". I wasn't sure the Tooth Fairy was going to be able to come through on that one, but she did. Chloe was equally excited in the morning when she found her tooth gone and the panda there in its place. Every 5 minutes that morning she'd say "Mommy, panda!" and hold up the panda for me to see (she reverts to baby-talk sometimes). Then I'd say "its a very nice panda, I'm glad you got what you wanted".

week ending mar 8, 2009:

Week ending March 8, 2009: This week we went swimming at the North Arundel Aquatic Center which has a “beach entrance” (sloped entrance, no ladder required), a kiddie water slide, and warm water. Chloe was excited to try putting her face in the water to show me that she was ready for swim lessons. While we were at the pool she put her face in the water one time and then changed her mind about being ready for swim lessons. Neither twin likes water dripping on their faces, but there is a constant “rain” water onto the steps leading up to the slide, and another rain of water on the slide itself. In the past the kids have skipped water slides altogether rather than get sprinkled, but this time they got brave after a while and really enjoyed the slide.

On Friday of this week Chloe woke up crying because it was hard to breathe. Between the mucous and swelling in her throat she was raspy and gagging on her coughs. The asthma inhaler helped a little, then we sat in the bathroom with shower turned on to get some steam to soothe the membranes in her throat, and then we put our coats on and sat outside in the cool air to reduce the swelling. By the time we got to the doctor that morning she sounded much better. The doctor prescribed an inhaled steroid to help her body heal the swelling. She’s doing much better now.

Pictures from North Arundel Aquatic Center with Cousin Natalie: http://picasaweb.google.com/constance.phelps/NAAquaCenterMar2009#

week ending march 1, 2009:

Week ending March 1, 2009: This week was Alex’s last violin class. The shop we went through sells lessons one month at a time and Alex was so interested in his violin that I thought we’d give it a shot for a month. The teacher was great and Alex learned something new in each class, but was never interested in practicing and it got gradually harder and harder to get him to play the violin outside of class. He was warned that if he didn’t practice I wasn’t paying for any more lessons, and then he still sobbed at the end of his last lesson. I told him that if he practices 8 times in a month, I’ll sign him up for more lessons and he hasn’t taken the violin out once. Oh well.
Now it is Chloe’s turn to pick the next class and she is thinking about swimming lessons at the indoor pool. 3 of the 5 girls going to the Outer Banks with us this year know how to swim, so I’m encouraging Chloe in this direction. Although I’m a little hesitant because I paid for swim lessons last year and neither of the twins would put their face in the water and the teacher said he really couldn’t teach them anything more unless they were willing to put their faces in the water, and I wouldn’t let him push them to do it before they were ready, so this year I’m thinking I’ll take them to the pool a few times before and make sure they are ready before we pay for lessons.
Alex had the opportunity to buy a toy recently with money that his MomMom gave to him. These days Legos are mostly sold in sets which have a picture on the front of the toy that one can build with the Legos included in the box and a set of step-by-step pictorial instructions. Alex chose a small Star Wars flying vehicle and started building it by his self. Each step in the instructions shows the 3-6 pieces of Legos that one must find by sorting through the whole contents of the box, and then shows a picture of how the product looks with the 3-6 pieces attached. The box said the toy was for kids aged 6-12 and Alex put it together with almost no help while I made dinner. I was pretty impressed.Snow storm March 2, 2009: In the morning as we watched it snow, Casey was teasing the kids telling them that although he didn’t go to work, they still had to go school. Chloe paused with a thoughtful frown and then said, “We can’t possibly go to school.” She’s so precocious. We all had a blast in the snow as you’ll see in our pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/constance.phelps/Mar2009sled#

and by viewing our video above by clicking on the triangle below the picture.