Playdate at Chick-fil-A

Today the twins and I went to Chick-fil-A with our friends, Shannon and Kim and their kids to play and have lunch. We had so much fun, even though my kids just stood there the whole time watching the other kids play. Shannon's little boy Roman is the same age as the twins, but he was climbing all over the place and having a blast! He climbed all the way through the jungle gym and went down the slide several times. And here are my kids, just standing there watching. Kim's youngest little boy Tanner is one, and he was also playing and enjoying himself. The twins? Still standing there. Yes, it was a little embarrassing. But, after a while they started to venture out a little, which you will see in the video below. They are trying to climb up the slide backwards. I was just proud of them for trying!

Did you notice how Tanner had to move somewhere else to play because my kids wouldn't go anywhere? Yeah, sorry about that Tanner!

Well, here are some pictures from our fun play date!

Kensington & Roman looking up at the bigger kids.

Camden pretty much hung out here the whole time.

And Kensi pretty much did too.

Here they follow Roman, because he is cool!

Camden watches as Roman shows him how to really play. And see Kensi climbing over there? Well, that's as far as she went. Actually, she didn't even make it to the first step. Oh well.

This is Parker. It was his birthday and he had to show us his 'guns.' He told us that now that he is five, he is faster and stronger and bigger. And he is! Happy Birthday Parker!

Also, that is Shannon behind him. I have to give her some props here. She showed up for this playdate with three kids. Iris, who is not quite 3, Roman, a year and a half, and get this: a 3 week old!!! Hello somebody!! And her hair is fixed and she has on make-up! So can someone please remind me that I can never complain!? I mean, not that I do. Ever. Like ever. Really.

Independent Filmmaking

We have a new game we play with our kids. We ask them, "Where's your tummy? Where's your nose?" and so on. This little video clip is of just that. I am asking Kensi and then Camden where certain things are. Now, don't be upset at the rawness of this video footage. My lighting director was out today so we had to make do with just make-up and wardrobe. There are a few shadows in the video but I am doing the best I can with what I have to work with. If my actors could actually follow the script it would help matters immensely. (Plus, it didn't help that 'Key Grip' and 'Dolly Grip' were out on vacation.) So don't pull out your Valentino gown and Oscar De la Renta pumps in preparation of the Oscars. We've got a ways to go yet!

I hope you enjoyed the show. The actors are certainly pleased and seem to want to watch the videos of themselves all the time. *actors....*

Composition 101

Well, being that I was a music major in college, I have a few tidbits of wisdom to share with my little ones. A love and passion for music is supreme; this is something my father taught me and his mother before him. There are many kinds of music to be enjoyed, but for this post I am referring mainly to the classical genre. I grew up in a house where the sounds of Mozart and Chopin were played daily from our small little upright piano, which I now own. I have a small piece of family history right in my living room; I love that piano! Anyway, my father prefers the sounds of Bach, the "Father of Music" but I prefer the emotions only achieved from a piece by Beethoven. It is this love and appreciation of music that I wish to pass on to my young ones. I try to play the piano for them as much as I can. When I was pregnant I tried to play pretty regularly, that is, in between trips to the restroom to puke...but alas, that is for another post. The twins are now a year and a half old; and they love to play the piano. Below is a short video clip of one of their duets for piano with soprano solo. It is definitely for those with a taste for the "modern" classical movement. (Be sure to mute the music on the right side of the screen) Enjoy:

A video and pictures

Well, hooray for blogger! Blogger is the platform I use which makes this whole life-changing blog possible. Anyway, as of today I can now post videos on my blog in addition to pictures. I will be testing this out and I am so excited! I have so many videos, some of the hubby chasing the kids, the twins eating their first lemon and so on. Now to begin. This first video is one taken this morning of Camden. He is wearing his new Elmo pajamas and doing a new dance:

So that is pretty cute, huh? Especially when he looks at the camera and smiles? Is your heart melting right now or what? Well, a couple weeks ago we had a visit from some friends, Amy and Harbor. They came by one afternoon to chat and let the kids play together. Amy has four kids; three were in school, but she brought her newborn, Mason. Harbor has a little boy who is almost 3 and his name is Carter. Here are some really fun pictures!

Here Kensi & Carter play together; (That is the top of Camden's head lower left.)

Mason takes a nap; Camden is trying to figure out what is going on!

Kensi thinks this baby is sooo sweet!

"Hey Kensi, can you believe we were this size once?"

Amy and her newest baby, Mason

Close-up of sweet baby Mason!

Kensington & Camden in their new Elmo Pj's

Yeah, that's Darcy back there stretched out on the floor.

She hasn't moved an inch for this whole series of pictures. She's watching Elmo!

Don't open that drawer! No Camden!

Movie Review!.....Becoming Jane

I went to see the latest Jane Austen movie in theaters, Becoming Jane this past weekend. I feel I am pretty attune to the Jane Austen fever that has taken hold in the last few years, as I myself, have gotten the fever. (And the only cure is more cowbell?) Anyway, I do own three different versions of Pride & Prejudice (which doesn't really say much as there are about 25 versions. Did you know that?) Several different Emmas, Persuasion, Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park. I own a series of the BBC versions done in the early 70's. The 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice is by far my favorite; and Colin Firth will always be the true Mr. Darcy to me. I have been to Bath, England, and visited the Jane Austen Center. I saw where she lived! My cats, are named Lizzy and Darcy; I have been learning the score from Sense & Sensibility for the piano. Are you now convinced that I like Jane Austen? Well, to say I was excited for the release of Becoming Jane doesn't convey the 'violence of my affections.' So, we went opening night for our city. We waited in the movie theater for over an hour to catch the late show and it was worth every minute! The movie takes what little knowledge we have of Jane Austen, and for lack of a better word 'embellishes' her life story. If you like Pride & Prejudice, you will LOVE this movie. They are very similar in characters, story, and plot. Anne Hathaway plays Austen and she is fabulous. James McAvoy plays Tom Lefroy, which is Jane's love interest. He is simply amazing in this role. I was very pleasantly surprised to see his performance. And the chemistry between the two! The movie seemed very accurate historically, and was moving, funny, and witty. The end of the movie is extremely touching, and I was unashamedly in tears and even the hubby confessed to a lump in his throat. The bottom line is this: Anyone with any amount of romanticism in their soul will enjoy this movie, but Austen fans will LOVE IT!!! I sure do! So you must go see it now! Make haste, make haste!

Here are a few pics from the movie I found on Google:

Pictures from the weekend

Well, this post will be predominately about our children. We had quite a fun and eventful weekend. We took the kids to PF Changs for my parents anniversary on Friday night. The night started out great despite the fact that the kids only got one nap and they ALWAYS take two each day. But, that wasn't really so bad. What was bad just happened to be the fresh veggies my mother had fed my children the day before. Full of fiber veggies. Oh yeah, it's just what you're thinking. From the straining and the red face, it was pretty evident our daughter has just had her daily constitution while we were eating our chicken fried rice and veggie wraps. It's gross, I know, but so it was. Discreetly, the husband and I plan to get her from her highchair; I will excuse myself to the restroom, change her diaper, and return to enjoy my chocolate cake with no one the wiser. The Great wall of Chocolate, to be exact. The only reason I will eat at this restaurant is for this luscious, seven layer chocolate on chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and fresh berries. But first I must change a diaper. Well, as the husband tries to get Kensi from the highchair a look of disgust, horror and panic cross his face over the course of about 1.3 seconds. "Uh, honey," he says. "Help me! There's stuff all over the highchair!" And there was. I will not go into details. Suffice it to say, it was pretty embarrassing. But it just gets better. My brother was also present at this dinner, with his friend Leigh Ann, who is meeting the parents for the first time. So, as I help the hubby get our child from her highchair, my mother sensing something amiss, runs over to help. Leigh Ann, God bless her, also comes over to assist in any way she can and they both realize what has happened. Through a forced smile I laugh, "Welcome to my world!!" Leigh Ann and my mother clean up the mess while I take Kensi to the restroom. It's just too embarrassing! But what a great help they were in getting everything taken care of. Well, after things were handled, we were able to relax for a moment and try to enjoy our cake. And as embarrassing and disgusting as this whole scene was, I still feel that something good did come from all of this: Bonding. The comraderie that is formed from cleaning up baby poo just can't be duplicated. So now for some pictures!! (not of the poo, of us! Come on now. I won't go that far!)

Here the hubby poses with his arm looking quite awkward.

My handsome big brother David and beautiful Leigh Ann pose for a shot.

Here is the happy couple. Celebrating 33 years of wedded bliss. (get it? 3 and 3?)

She is quite happy eating her banana and wearing her monkey dress.

The hubby is trying to tell our daughter, who just discovered her finger fits perfectly inside her left nostril, that it is not appropriate table behavior! He is however, demonstrating facially what is appropriate table behavior!

Here is our son, Camden, (and Kensi's twin brother.) He was perfect the whole night except for closing his eyes during this picture!

Our little princess!

What a big boy he is!

She is such a sleepy little girl!

This is what the kids do all day: Make a mess and lay around the house. Hey, that sounds like exactly what I do too; hmmm.....
We are going to Grammy and PawPaw's house. Get your purse!
No, not that way Kensi. Let's go to the door!
She stops for a quick picture...
And then she is ready to go again.
"Why does the paparazzi keep following me? Like how many pictures do they need? It's just a purse! Like, okay already! Where's my limo?"

Sharks, revisited

You may remember the shark story I shared with you a month or so ago. The one about the hubby in the water as a huge dark shadow swims towards him? Yep. Well, I have it on good authority that it really was, indeed a shark. A good family friend who is from that area of Florida, told my mother recently that Seaside is most particularly known for having lots of sharks in the area. She said everyone who lives down there knows about them. The locals don't talk about it because it would really affect tourism. Anyone seen Jaws? That's what I'm talking about. Our friend also said, it would be virtually impossible for a seal to be that far in the gulf. They just never go that way, because the water is way to warm. They stay in the Pacific because it's cold. Okay, so at this point the Hubby is asking why the local police told everyone it was a seal. Good question with an even better answer: because the police don't want people to know there are sharks and to get scared. People will start to panic. Ever seen Jaws 2, 3 or 4? Uh-huh. So, the only rational conclusion to be drawn from this new information is that it was, in fact a shark. Wow! Now, the husband still will not accept it to be a shark. I, however, need no further proof. It was definitely a shark.
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This week...

So, the hubby has decided it is finally time to sell the house and move to greener pastures. Yes, we are going to buy a farm and raise chickens and churn our own butter. Then, I will drive to Saks for some Laura Mercier hand lotion and Salvatore Ferragamo pumps. Okay, well obviously I'm kidding. But, we are going to put the house on the market. Our real-estate agent is coming by the house tonight to discuss our options and look over the place. Its pretty exciting to think about moving; but its a big deal, too. Now that we have kids we have a whole lot more stuff to move. Want to see some pics? Check it:

Camden Drinks from his newest cup with a curvy straw. They love straws!

Here the little boy squats to see what's going on the other room.

Kensi drank a lot of juice this morning.

Look at those cute little lips puckered up on the straw! You little cutie pie!

Last week Kensi had her hands full; She says, "follow me! I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey!"

Here I am with my children. I just love them SOOOO much!

Aunt Jaymee holds Kensi as she tries to decide if she wants her milk or her fingers...

And here, Jaymee kids around with her little brother. These two are hilarious.

School has started for Trent & Haley

Well, its a day of many emotions. It is the first day of school for my niece and nephew, Haley & Trent. A happy day for them, as they are another year older in school. A sad day for us as we have to say goodbye. Goodbye? Are they moving somewhere? Are you not going to see them for a long time? No, No, of course not. But this has been such a wonderful summer with Trent & Haley-boo. They have spent countless hours here at the house with me and the twins and they are such sweet, precious people. Now that school has started and summer is at its close, they will not be here when the twins wake up; No more forts made from chairs and blankets and pillows; no more trips to Taco Bell and Wal-mart. And its just sad, people. We have truly enjoyed the company of such funny, energetic, and loving young people. Trent is now in the sixth grade. I told him this was a pivotal year for him. Its as if he's standing at the door to his future. He said, "what does pivotal mean?" Haley is now in the fourth grade. This is her first year to ride the school bus without her big brother. My how they grow up. The other day we all had ice cream at Dairy Queen together and Haley said, "I just think whoever invented ice cream is awesome!" then she proceeded to tell me that if she was really skinny she would eat a whole bucket of french fries. These are the things we will miss! I am so thankful for our summer and our special time together. Now for some pictures!



Trent & Haley push Kensi & Camden around the house in their strollers a lot. The kids just love it!
Well, its probably pretty safe to say everyone is watching Sesame Street! uummm, What's the name of that song again?
A sweet pic of the boys from our trip to the beach this summer.
And here are Trent & Haley dressed in their summer fashions. Thank you for sharing your summer with us!