Spotlight

In primary at church, they usually 'spotlight' a child. The kid gets a blurp read about them- and they get to stand proud for all their friends to see. They also get a little 'prize'.... As you can see, it's a really big deal.

The past few years- the spotlight papers get sent home with the children- and we, as the parents get to help the child fill them out. "What is your favorite color?" "Do you have any pets?" " What is your favorite food?"... etc... This year the primary presidency decided that not enough spotlight papers returned back to them, so they handed all the spotlight papers to the teachers in primary, and got the kids to fill it out in church.

Maggie was spotlight today. I'm just going to be honest here...... I didn't realize it was Maggie they were describing.  I may be a little unclear of the exact words used during the reading..... as I didn't know it was one of my kids, so I wasn't really paying attention..... (During Spotlight- everyone stands up, and as the facts are read- if it's something that describes you, you keep standing... if it's not describing you, you sit down.)

They read:

"This person's favorite color is brown."....  (She has ways cheerfully declared that brown is poop, so she doesn't like it.)

then.....

This person's favorite book is (I think it was ??)Snow Beast" (... only that book doesn't exist...)

then.......

"This person wants to be a Mad Scientist in a Jail"......

"Ohh, it's Maggie!!!"

I feel bad. If I had known that Maggie wants to be a Mad Scientist in Jail, I would have encouraged her more to follow her dreams. Now I just feel like a bad parent.

Chip and I were asking her tonight over dinner about her aspirations. She decided to change what she wanted to be. Now she just simply wants to be a Mad Scientist who works from home. At least she's got the importance of telecommuting lesson down pat. Yay, us.

Marfin Lufer King

Maggie is quite obsessed with 'Marfin Lufer King' (She can't remember her "t" and "th" sounds... haha!). If you ask her who Martin Luther King was, she'll tell you. "He was a great man who changed the world."

She even colored this beautiful connect the dot picture of him.

As we all know, Maggie is obsessed with 'awesome rainbow hair'..... so I think since Martin Luther King ranks so high on her super-cool-awesome-people list.... she had to give him cool hair too. 

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Chip and I both thought that her drawing looks like what would happen if Martin Luther King and Dennis Rodman ever had a kid.

See??

Fact!

This is one of my favorite little movies to quote "FACT!" It completely cracks me up. My SIL, Leah got me hooked on these silly little 'kid history' videos. You'll have to check them out...

Anyway....

FACT- Thank you for your words of encouragement. Poopy-pants people are just that. Poopy. I shouldn't let them get me down. I was having a rough day, and their comments just made it worse. I have decided that Poopy people suck, and I'll keep blogging anyway. As of now, I'm not going to make it private, and I hope not to have to in the future.

FACT- Don't be a poopy-pants meanie head.

FACT- Am I the only one out there dealing with head lice and bed bugs at the same time?? Sheesh! It's a good thing that Chip and I were already doing our weekly/daily stuff (washing/drying everything in hot water and steaming all the furniture) when my friend, who had Alli over at her house for a sleepover, let us know that Alli had head lice...... We feel so bad that Alli had a sleepover there, and now they have to wash everything and pray they don't get lice. Grr. Stupid bugs.

FACT- we aren't dirty people. I promise!

FACT- I'm getting tired of Miles and Dexter biting each other. They are starting to draw blood. Literal blood. How do you stop this? Spanking, biting back, and flicking in the mouth aren't working. Pediatrician has nothing to offer me.


FACT- Not only were we dealing with lice and bed bugs this weekend, but Maggie left the sink running full blast and it completely flooded the downstairs- so we are dealing with that too.


FACT- I have about 100 loads (okay, not 100... but at least 20) of laundry left to do..... and our antique washer/dryer can only do about 5-6 loads per day... It's going to be a long week.

FACT- Mrs. K. had her meeting downtown with the real SUPER superintendent on Thursday. The Principal was there as well.  I wrote down a 4 page testimony to the lawyers and the superintendent about my interactions with the principal. I kept it down just the interactions I had with her- like me witnessing her bullying a student and the fact she was bullying and lying to me about the PTO funds/getting investigated.  Mrs. K wrote me an e-mail and said she had been placed on a gag order and couldn't tell me anything other than the meeting went well, I'll be getting some phone calls, and the Investigator was actually at the meeting too. I'm on pins and needles to see what happens! I'm hoping that Mrs. M will no longer be called the principal and this school can get on the right track. Fingers crossed. Mrs. K. said she'd let me know ASAP the results (when the gag is lifted).

FACT- I need a nap.


FACT- The dryer just stopped. I need to switch things over. Have a great day!

NOTE

The post  that I wrote this afternoon has apparently offended people- which was kinda the opposite of what it was supposed to do. I meant for this post to be uplifting- a "Let's all help each other, it takes a villiage to raise kids, Let's all be a little more Christ-like to each other,  etc" type of post. It frankly makes me upset that people are reading it as an "US -vs- THEM" post (parents of multiples -vs- parents w/o multiples.) It was simply an observation that moms of multiples somehow are more kind toward one another in public settings where children are involved- and it was a 'wow, how wonderful that people who are in the same shoes as I am are being kind'. If you would kindly remember, I was a mom without multiples for a good 7 1/2 years before the twins came along, so I've seen both sides. I was just sharing my observations.

If something I wrote makes you upset, I have no idea why you feel you must voice it to me- there by making me upset and feeling awful for the entire day. Suck it up. If you don't like reading my posts- then don't. Simple as that. The snide comments have made me feel like I need to make my blog a private blog- available to nobody but myself. It would simply become my personal journal- to which my kids can read it after I'm good and gone- and then I don't have to care if I offend, I'll be dead. 

I have always been a self conscious writer. I feel very vulnerable putting my thoughts and feelings out there. I know I'm not a genius. I am not eloquent in speech. I am a simple person who has had limited experiences in life. I just write about what I see and do. 

I really enjoy blogging. It's become more than a hobby to me. It's my outlet for my brain. It's a community of friends...... but lately I'm feeling a little differently.

I'm going to sit and think on it for a day or two and decide what I'm going to do about my blog. Thank you so much for your comments that have made me feel like this. 

MOMs

Chip took Miles and Dexter sledding on Saturday. They looked so adorable bundled up. :)

Ever since I had the twins I have noticed multiples everywhere I go. At the store, at the mall, at the park- wherever. I also hear that more people I know are having multiples as well. It's a multiple explosion. :)

I swear to you, if I go to the mall,  it's instantly "multiples day"- and I see about 5-10 sets of twins/triplets. I like seeing moms of multiples out and about. It's like we have a sisterhood of the over-achieving-uterus, and it seems like moms of multiples (MOMs- as many groups call themselves) are kinder toward each other than moms of singleton children. I don't know why. It's like when we see each other- there is no judging of the other's parenting style- no judging if a child is misbehaved- it's just a calm "Hey, I know what you're going through. I've here for ya if you need a hug" sort of look. It's really comforting. MOMs know that if we are looking a little disheveled, it's okay- it's part of the job. In fact, if you are a MOMs and you don't have a slimy goobery child induced stain somewhere on your body- you pretty much are pegged to win MOMs of the year.- and while we're at it- you get an automatic gold star sticker for getting out of the house today!

Moms of singletons (of which I have two of... so I'm also in that club) tend to be harsher toward each other. We judge on how well groomed we are. Does your child have a matching outfit? NO?!? What were you thinking! We judge on how well behaved the children are. Is your 4 year old throwing a tantrum over you saying "NO" for the fiftieth time- because you aren't going to buy her that lollipop- and you look around for an encouraging glance from another mom that 'yes, you are doing the right thing- even though your kid is making a scene'..... only to find glares from all the other parents, because obviously you should have trained your child better- and therefor you should not go out in public until said child is more in control of themselves. 

I don't know why moms are so critical of each other. We're all in the same boat doing the best we can with the skills that we have. We're all trying to get from point A (infancy) to point B (an emotionally stable, well rounded, good productive citizen with impeccable morals) in parenting. 

 My most favorite moment of honest to goodness love- was shown to me was when Alli was about a year old. We were in stake conference in church- and we had happened to get a 'good spot' (on the cushined benches, as apposed to the hard folding chairs). Alli- who normally was a poster child of sweetness was having a rough day- like really really bad day. She wouldn't stop crying. I was so frustrated. Chip was giving a talk, so he wasn't with me- which basically left me feeling abandoned. I felt like a bad mom, I was losing my patience. I was losing my sanity. I was at church for goodness sakes, and I couldn't even get to feel the Spirit because I was such an emotional wreck because of this little princess. Sensing me falling into the black pit of despair, a sweet elderly gentleman who was siting the pew ahead of me- I had no idea who he was... as he was in another ward- looked at me and said "I love children. Can I please play with your daughter for a minute?"  I handed her off to him thinking "Good luck with that, buster!".... only to see that this kind man had instantly calmed Alli down. She stopped crying. She stopped being fussy. She got settled in his lap- and he gently rocked her the entire time of Stake Conference.  This man didn't know me. This man could have sat there and gotten bitter about the loud noise coming from behind him. He could have gotten irritated that gold fish were flying all around his head. He could have... but he didn't. He chose instead to make an impact of gentleness and kindness. He chose to help. I have never forgotten the lesson that he taught me.

If you aren't part of the MOMs club, I'm sorry you won't get to feel that instant bond we have with one another. We have a good sisterhood of the over-achieving-uterus.  But, even if you never have the opportunity to join our fantastic club, you get to join the another mom club that is equally as fantastic- and we should be equally supportive of one another. After all- it's no fun being on the receiving end of the glares because your mismatched child is throwing a temper tantrum. 

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Que the Beatles song "All you need is love"....

(another) school update

Wednesday I turned in the money over to the Principal, Mrs. M.

It was one of the most awkward situations I've been in, in quite some time. It's never easy to see someone in person after you called them a sneaky snake (over the phone).

I walked into the school at the end of the day- and I quickly went to Mrs. K's room (Maggie's teacher) to see if she would accompany me as a witness to turning the money over to Mrs. M. I found out that Mrs. K had her court date (remember when the principal turned her in for child abuse?.... yeah, that court date.) - So Mrs. B (who's the assistant to the kindergarten rooms) came with me.

I had all three kids with me- Maggie, Alli, and Kozier (neighbor boy), and I walked into the office- along with Mrs. B. (She was acting like she was just interacting with the kids..... I didn't want her getting in trouble.) The minute I got into the office the secretary came pushing on over to me and in her um.... how do I put this nicely?.... ghetto lady voice.. really loudly and sassy pants-ish "I've been waiting for you!" (picture the neck wiggle side-to-side and hand on hip) "You have something for me!".... to which I said, "No, I actually have something for the principal.... but she needs to sign for it first." {That's right... this little smart girl had Chip draft up a paper saying that I was no longer liable for the funds and that I was turning them all over to the principal.... high five!} Anyway, The principal seemed upset that I made her sign a paper to receive her funds and said "I need to make a copy of this".... and I said "No need, I printed up two....." ba-zinga. (name that show)

In the middle of the signing of the letter- Kozier took his backpack off, left it in the office, and ran away. I spent about 5 minutes looking for him..... so much for a quick exit...... and he finally came back and said he was in the restroom. Ugg. Awkward.

I wonder what the principal will buy herself with that money. Last year she got new office furniture....and because of that the kindergarten kids couldn't go on a field trip to the zoo because those funds were used. I hope she gets herself a massaging chair or something special. :) Something to help sooth her during a hard day of work.

After I left, the secretary called Mrs. B into the office- basically rudly asking her if she was in the office as a witness to me turning the money over. Mrs. B said that she was there as a witness.  1) Why did the SECRETARY call a teacher in to question her? 2) What does it matter if I had a witness there if everything was on the "up and up"?   Odd.

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That night I got a phone call from Maggie's teacher.

She let me know what happened at her hearing...... Let's just say you are about to crap your pants.

Let me refresh your memory on what happened: A little boy with the mental abilities of a 2 1/2 year old fell off of his chair, his arm got pinched between the leg of the chair and the chair seat.... Mrs. K. helped him out of the chair, put a cold wet towel on his scratch.
When the boy got home that night he told his mom that "Mrs. K. pinched me".... The mom, (who barely speaks English) not knowing what happened went to the school the next day- and went to the principal to see if she knew what happened. ... Mrs. K. had the boy show his mom/the principal what happened- he went over to the chair, tipped it over, and said Mrs. K. helped him up. The ESL teacher was in the room to witness this- luckily. The principal whisked the mom into the office and had her fill out a police report- for child abuse against Mrs. K.

Now you're caught up.

At the hearing- the judge had Mrs. K. say what happened- and then read out loud the Principal's report.... the principal reported that Mrs. K. PUNCHED the boy, SHOVED him to the ground, and PINCHED him so hard he got a big ol' bruise.

Let's just say that now the police are investigating the principal for false reporting (or whatever the legal term is)- and a bunch of other stuff.

Mrs. K. asked me to write down a testimony of sorts so help build a case. I'm happy to do so.

With any luck this chick can be out of her Principal's Throne soon.



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P.s. Did I tell you that the Principal's husband is a police officer?  Smart move, lady.

The Investigator Part 2

I just got a call from the Investigator.....

His recommendation? We shut down the PTO.. a.s.a.p.  I am to close the PTO bank account immediately and turn all the funds over into the principal.

That'll be an awkward exchange. I'm sure this is how it will go down:

Me- Here's your money
Principal- Thanks. I win. 



At least the pto is getting shut down. Hopefully the school knows they are being watched and will stop doing their funny business.

Career Day

Today Alli brought home a note saying that her classroom will be hosting career day, and all parents wanting to tell about their occupation are invited to sign up and participate.

I've been thinking.........Maybe I should go. Why not? My career is a stay-at-home mom.

I even have my speech all ready:

If it runs, I wipe it.
If it's dirty, I clean it.
If it's empty, I fill it.
If it's hungry, I feed it.
If it's crying, I hug it.
If it's fussy, I put it to bed.
If it stinks, I change it.
If it's in a pile, I put it away.
If it's bleeding, I put a band-aid on it.
If it's wrinkled, I iron it.

I'd bring a plate of homemade cookies (that's what stay-at-home mom's do).... and pinch all their little cheekers on the way out the door.

Let's see how many eye rolls I can get from Alli! Just a few dozen of those will make it all worth it.

This will be awesome.

Abandonment

This past week I have felt like I've abandoned my blog. It's super sad. But I really haven't forgotten to post- I just haven't had the time........ or the ideas of what to post.

I had all the good intentions in the world after Christmas to get back on the horse so-to-speak with my life. I was going to start re-posting on my cooking blog, scrapbook, and finish some quilting projects. Instead it's all I can do to keep the house cleaned and have meals on the table at dinnertime.

In case you missed the newsflash (I forgot, have I mentioned this on my blog or not?... I donno... and I'm too lazy to look through all my old posts.... slacker. but I have posted on facebook.) My mom got to fulfill one of her dreams on December 26th- as she opened a quilt store in good ol' Grangeville, Idaho. (a town of 12 people and 67 horses... okay, a {bit} bigger than that... but the number of animals  outweigh the number of humans... about 4 hours north of Boise.) We are so excited for her! She has waited so long for her dream to come true, and we are just pleased as punch and proud of her!  (yes, I said "pleased as punch".) She made me super happy... as she hired me to be her media specialist. * I have a title! squeal*..... which means I am doing her facebook and blog and twitter..... and figuring out how to do a bunch of new technology stuff that pops brain cells just thinking of it.  So basically.... I've been busy. :D  (If you want to check out her blog- it's http://homegrownquilt1.blogspot.com)

We've also had some sad stuff happen in our family. I can't talk about it here on this blog yet, but I will say that Chip and I have been needing time together- just being here for each other.... and with not talking about it on the blog, and it being such a big part of my life... it's made me feel like I just really have nothing to say. Make sense?? My blog has always been my way of getting my feelings out and they are just still cooped up inside. Which means nothing funny is coming out.

I promise, I will get to re-posting on my blog more regularly. My kids haven't stopped being funny- so there's still a lot of material to work with. :)

Until then... just hang in.

Thoughts of Maggie.....

Last night I was painting fingernails and toenails with Maggie- or I really should say she was painting mine. (they look lovely, by the way. You'd be jealous.) She started painting my right hand (only my right hand) with the fingernail polish that Chip's cousin Sarah had given her for Christmas. This was our following conversation:

Maggie: I like this nail polish.
Me: Yes. It's such a pretty pink, huh?
Maggie: I like it cause Sarah gaved it to me.
Me: Sarah is pretty cool, huh?
Maggie: Yeah! She is! She even gave me lots of frosting and snuck me cookies and they tasted yummy.
Me: You lucky dog!
Maggie: Does Sarah have a sister?
Me: Yep! Her name is Anna. She's really fun! Right now she's a missionary in California.
Maggie:  (Shocked) WHAT?!? A missionary? Girls can't be missionaries!

Me: (Thinking..... oops. How did she not know? We see missionaries all the time!) Yep! She's a girl missionary! How cool is that!? You can be a girl missionary too one day.
Maggie: Not cool.
Me: Why not cool Maggie? Don't you want to be a missionary someday?
Maggie: No!!
Me: Why not?
Maggie: 'Cause I don't want to dress the same as everyone else!


What a funny conclusion to come to! What 5 year old thinks of things like that?


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Maggie, Dear- there is no need to worry about being like everyone else. With your 'mom hair' like a rainbow- you certainly won't be identical to anyone.......

And I love you all the more for it....

Resolutions

It's now the new year. 2012. Can you believe it?  I'll be spending the next 6 months trying to remember what year it is when I'm writing out checks.

Onto the resolutions.

Do you make them?

What kind of resolution maker are you? The kind that has a list of 100's of things to do and gives up after item #2 isn't completed by January 4th?  Or are you the type to make hair-brained goals that are absolutely nuts (I've read blogs that people are saying "I'll eat no sugar this entire year!" or "I'll make everything homemade- from every meal from scratch to every item I wear") and you drive everyone around you completely bonkers trying to preach your new found "awesome" life changing resolution? or are you the type that actually keeps your resolution in a sane and humane manner.?

I'm not normally much of a resolution making type of gal. Sadly, I am not that good at follow through. I just have no willpower (I mean, hello... my bum-bum can attest to the lack of willpower when faced down with a delicious warm gooey brownie....). But this year I thought I'd make some resolutions that I think I can actually achieve....(with an exorbitant amount of prayers).

1) Not kill Alli. (or at the very least keep her reasonably alive)
This summer, at 8 1/2 years old, Alli gained a new skill. It's called eye-rolling. The huffing that goes along with the eye rolling- well, lets just say I'm hoping it builds up her lung capacity for good breath support when she plays the tuba that I'm forcing her to start playing in High School- just to get back at her for having to endure this teenage-like-hell-behavior she's putting me through.

2) Have Maggie not cut anyone's hair this year.
(if you're new to the blog- or have just simply forgotten Maggie's stylist ambitions.... read this post:  http://cbkohrman.blogspot.com/2011/04/good-and-bad.html) Let's just say that thank goodness I have a strong friendship with Geneva's parents, and we've been able to continue to be besties.... but I wouldn't recommend this situation to anyone that you even kinda like.

3) Have Miles and Dexter learn their individual names before graduating High School.
I'm pretty sure that the boys think their collective name is "Miles and Dexter" or "Dexter and Miles" or even "NO! No!"... I'm not sure that they know that one boy is exclusively dubbed 'Miles' and the other is 'Dexter'. As long as we can get those college applications (crossing fingers they'll even go to college) or even mission papers in right, I'll consider myself a successful parent.

and finally my last resolution...
4) Go from looking like being ran over 100 times by a Mac truck and turned into some bloody mush of road kill paste- to looking more along the lines of being pecked to death by a chicken. It's little less gruesome and easier clean up.

So there it is.

What are your resolutions this year?

Christmas Post

Last Friday at 5am we shoved all the kids in the car and headed out to Pennsylvania to spend Christmas with Chip's parents. It was a last minute decision- but we felt like we should go..... and we were off!

Sorry this post will be loaded (and I mean like supa duper loaded... not some sort of wimpy 'loaded french fries' that only have cheese on them, kind of loaded ) with pictures.

 Christmas Eve Chip and I ran out for a minute and met someone special at lunch.....
That right, Chip and I were with Santa and Mrs. Clause on Christmas eve at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

 Nunnums took an opportunity to teach Alli how to sew. Alli was so excited! She made herself a stuffed kitty and a pair of gloves for Aunt Ruthie. I'm so glad I was able to get pictures of this.....

 Ruthie decorated the tree this year :) She did an excellent job! I love looking at all the ornaments that everyone has gotten throughout the years. Nunnums always gives the kids/grandkids ornaments every year.... most are homemade, and all are wonderful.

 Christmas Eve- The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.....

Aunt Molly was super fun to play with. She just got back from Africa. We were all super jealous that she went, but were fascinated by her stories! Man! It makes me want to go play with gorillas too. :)

The boys discovered their love of playing in the kitchen. No cabinet was safe (including the garbage cabinet), no cat food bowl went un-tipped, no spatula went un-licked....

 ...... and of course every brother got poked by a fork. (Dexter in Red, Miles in blue)

 One of the awesome things about going to PA for Christmas, was that Nunnum's mom- Gramma Louise had flown in from Arizona! The last time we saw her was when we announced we were pregnant (ya know... back.. way back...  ha-ha... when we thought there was only one baby)... so it's been a while.

We also had a surprise visitor on Christmas Eve.... Chip's cousin Sarah!  (Sitting by Gramma Louise). Maggie was enamored with her. I mean heck... Sarah brought Maggie nail polish, so obviously she knew Maggie well, and won her little heart over in a blink of an eye.

 We have a tradition on Christmas Eve. First the kids get to open one present.... which is always new PJ's....

 .... and then we try and take a decent kid photo... It's a labor of love. {I use the word 'labor'... because that's how much pain it causes.... the same amount as if you were in labor}

 (L to R: Maggie, Miles, Dexter, Alli)

..... and then we all settle down and Patsy reads the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible, and then he read The Night Before Christmas. The kids love hearing Patsy's soothing voice... heck, we all do.

 

 After we put the babies down for the night- we started making gingerbread houses!

 ...... and in the middle of it we got a knock on the door.... and we were greeted with... CAROLERS! Holy Awesome! They sang to us for about 20 minutes and we got to join in. They brought such a sweet spirit with them into our home.

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 Christmas morning the kids were super duper awesome..... they overslept!
That's right! I have the most awesome kids ever. They don't wake up early on Christmas......  although this time it seemed to be a problem: Church started at 9am... and Nunnums woke us up at 8:15...... So the girls hurried and got dressed for church, we got dressed and got the boys all ready- did our traditional 'coming down the stairs one at a time' photos.....

 ..... and a brief minute to dump out the stockings, and we ran to church.
It was a beautiful service. The songs were moving, and the speakers were lovely. Each speaker had an assignment- "How would I feel if I were ___________ when Jesus was born".... (Fill in with: Joseph, Mary, Shepherds, Wise Men, etc....) The talks were very well put together.

After Church the grown-ups got to open stockings and we all got to open presents.... 

 Patsy got some lovely blue fingernail polish from Santa...  and he's happy about it!

I must say, while we did get some of the most lovely things for Christmas.... my favorite present of all was from Maggie. She handed me a packet to open... and when I did TONS of pictures came popping out. On closer inspection (and a cheesy grinning face from Maggie).... I saw it was pictures of toys that Maggie had cut out of magazines that she wanted me to buy for her! Hil-arious!  She was very proud of herself.

My other favorite gift was a Jeni's Ice Cream cook book. Now all I need is an ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen-aid (hint hint: anyone needing to buy me a gift... or buy Chip a lovely birthday present (in a month) this would be an excellent idea... hint. ;D)

 ...... and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Zaikea came to spend Christmas with us!


Christmas got interrupted for a minute...... but  it was a sa-weet interruption:
My Uncle Staten (My mom's little brother) was in Philly for Christmas, visiting his adopted Grandma Jane! They were so wonderful to drive the hour up to Reading to come and eat Christmas dinner with us!

 Dexter and Miles weren't into taking pictures.... but everyone else was happy :)
We haven't seen Uncle Staten for almost 3 years- hopefully we won't let time lapse that far until we see him again. :)

 ..... then we came home again and let Miles and Dexter open up their presents (they were asleep while we did it the first round)..... Gramma Louise and Ruthie made these cute dino hats for the boys!

 They were so cute that the girls wanted to join in.....

 One of the awesome gifts that we got for Christmas was a huge jumbo tube of 100 glowsticks! So what did we have to do...... a glowstick party, of course!  It was a blast. :)

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 Monday brought some fingernail painting....  and now you'll see why Patsy got fingernail polish in his stocking:

 He was the recipient of the pedicure! (Do you see how he's smiling?) He said it's his favorite thing in the morning to get out of the shower and see his feet covered in 'beautiful' nail polish and know that Maggie was there.  sweet, huh? He also likes the doctors to catch a peek of his toes, so he can tell everyone about his wonderful grandchildren. :)

 The boys are now into stealing people's shoes so they can walk around in them. Miles took Alli's shoes on this occasion....  but how sweet is it that he's holding his little Ernie doll?  Don't you want to pinch his cheekers?

.... and finally I'll end this Christmas post with a Maggie/Aunt Molly shot. Adorable girls, right?

We had a really fun Christmas, and are so thankful that we could spend it with family. It was a great weekend!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas too!