we've grown by one more!

I haven't posted in this blog for a while because our family has grown by one more. I no longer have three silly ducklings, but four stubborn monkeys.

If you'd like to know how they are growing up and what kind of mischief they are continually getting into, please visit us here http://stubbornmonkeys.blogspot.com

sibling love and naughtiness

As usual, I am playing catch up with my blog. Here is some love and naughtiness from the three terrors taken 12/21/2009 back in NC. I meant to send this to Daddy since he was already in Texas at this time, but I don't think I even got around to doing that.

Thing 2 is in Red and Thing 1 is in Blue.

Happy Easter!

Last week, we were able to enjoy an egg hunt sponsored by Daddy's company. Good thing too since today, we stayed indoors...having kids under the weather and all. Curious George is recovering from double ear infection and upset stomach because of the antibiotics he is on.

Excited to begin!

Yup, that's my swollen puffy self at 27 weeks. My cheeks look like I'm chewing 3 or 4 Bazooka gum. What's amusing at this stage is that the children all bonk their head on my belly first when they run to me for a hug. :)
(Thing 1 in pink, Thing 2 in green)

Daddy and I still think these 2 aren't identical, even though DNA evidence says otherwise. :)

This little man is not so little anymore. Where does the time go?

This egg hunt is for 3 year olds, because we were too late to participate on the 2 yr old. Curious George is merely assisting Thing 1. :)

Lots of eggs!

Of course, we can't leave without inspecting the goodies in the eggs.

Passing off the egg. It's the inside that matters.

Catching breath.

Thing 1 takes after her big brother when it comes to mouth movement while concentrating.

They do enjoy anything and everything that has to do with coloring.

potty training and singing

This is Thing 1 trying to sing the other day. Lately, both she and Thing 2 can be heard singing whatever song they can remember; ABCs, Where is Thumbkin, Twinkle Twinkle.

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As far as potty training goes, everything is going well. Thing 2 has it all down pat. She has stayed dry and occasionally stay dry even through the night. She is not to excited about pooping in the toilet though, so she ends up not pooping everyday like she normally have done she's she was born (actually 3-4x a day). So when she does end up pooping, it makes the experience even scarier for her when she feels a little bit constipated.

Thing 1 is also doing well. She stays dry, with rare wet accidents. And the wet accident was at school when they went they played in the playground. She is having problem pooping in the toilet also. For 2 weeks, she does her BM on her undies. Though she knows she's about to, and asks to go potty, she doesn't do it there. Today though, was a milestone. She finally did go. Woo hoo!

the twin posse

The girls are truly enjoying preschool and we are very happy about that. Their teacher is wonderful and would always give me little updates while she and one other buckles the girls in their car seats when I pick them up. Sometimes, the updates aren't so good, but always amusing.

Thing 2 has been put in time-out because she continually put her feet on the table. She continues to stay dry wearing big girl undies!

Thing 1 gets anxious (not sure if this is in a good or bad way) when they wait in the hall for carpool pick up. One day, she was told "No" and as a response, she drooped her shoulders and said, "I'm sad!"

Both girls have started the whole class by saying, "MEMEMEMEME!" when the want to do something. Now poor Mrs. Brazeal needs to curb this behavior from the whole class instead of just 2 little girls. lol

definitely ready for school

I slept late preparing backpacks, lunches, packing extra clothes for 3 kids the other night. Yesterday was the girls' first day of preschool. We dropped Curious George off first, and on their school. There is a carpool system, so I don't need to get off the car, but being that it's their first day, I went in and dropped them off. The girls immediately took to all the toys in the room which allowed me to chat a little bit with their teacher. After 10 minutes or so, I said the mantra we've been reciting all weekend long to prepare them for this day. "Katie is going to school, Jojo is going to school. Mommy has to say bye-bye! Then Mommy comes back to get you after your nap. " The two of them nodded, until I get to the "Mommy has to say bye-bye" to which, Thing 2 made a little pout. But seeing Thing 1 be all smiles helped her erase the frown. I walked out, then disappeared.

Of course I wasn't going to leave the building just yet. :) I went to the front, chatted with the assistant director and then headed back to the classroom to peak to see how the girls were doing. They were playing happily, so then I left.

I went to Target, bought the girls clothes. As I was about to leave, it was raining cats and dogs, so I went to get iced coffee and watched the rain fall. It was quiet. aaaah. :) Got home, got the master bath in order, did some home business and waited until I had to pick them up. Then I got an email from their teacher as to how their day went. Thing 1 ate well, and slept without a problem. Thing 2 didn't eat very much and was wide awake. She then asked the teacher what why Thing 1 was asleep and so she had to explain that it was because she was tired and it was time to rest. ;)

At the carpool pick up, I found myself very excited to see them again. They were all smiles. Thing 2 was in a daze, having been woken up after only 15 minutes of nap (she apparently finally fell asleep). Thing 1 was beaming. I asked if they had fun and they both responded, "uh huh!". It was a shorter nap than usual, since they usually napped from 1-3pm, but it was enough.

Today, I had to dropped a form off at their school. I left then in car, but as we were pulling out to leave, Thing 1 said, "No home, Mommy! School!" She can't wait to go back to school.

All in all, the day went well. There was not a single tear. Thing 2 even stayed dry and went to use the toilet. I had her in pull-ups but packed only undies. But they never had to change her since she stayed dry.

It was a good day for the girls.

time to brag about my boy

When the girls and I picked up Curious George yesterday a handful of kids were drawing. Two of the kids were drawing people, one was making something resembling people, one was drawing a house. CG was drawing this. I asked him what it was and he said it's a water machine. It's a machine with a series of pipes that brings water (and later on, gas) to the house. He said this was for Daddy.

We asked him how he came up with it, and he explained that he sees it in his head and then it goes to his eyes. When the picture is in his eyes, the colors flash and that's what tells him what colors to use.

I'm not an expert, but I think most kids this age draw about what they are familiar with, not abstract stuff.

His teacher thinks nothing of the drawing, but we are very impressed by it. Both Daddy and I are proud. :)

Potty training and preschool!

Yesterday, Daddy and I have decided to enroll the girls in preschool at a local "christian" church. I put it in quotation because when I asked the director about it, she said they are "bible believing, non denominational church". Alrighty then, I thought. They teach the bible. I'm not too worried since the girls are still young and we definitely do not want to keep them there forever. Their school year ends in May. At that time, we'll have to think of where to enroll the girls for the summer and fall.

But the important thing is, both the director and assistant director were very friendly, as well as the teachers. So the girls will start on Monday and they will be in school Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 2pm.

It's going to be a mad rush to head out the door with Curious George having to be at school before 8:30. Then the pick up is going to be crazy, too. I pick CG up at 5pm.

I want the girls potty trained soon. So since the school is willing to work with the parents on this, I decided to start yesterday. At 11am, I put both the girls in big girl undies. By 1pm, Thing 1 has wet 4 pairs of pants. At the same time, Thing 2 has only wet once. So I decided I would concentrate on Thing 2 for now until she is trained, and then train Thing 1.

Thing 2 even napped in her undies, but of course she woke up soaking wet. The whole day, she told me every time she wet her pants. I was encouraged by that. Today, we've been out most of the morning so I put her in diaper. But while out, she told me, "PEE!" so I ran her to the public restroom and sat her on the toilet. By then of course, she already wet her diaper.

When we got home, I kept an eye on her and kept taking her to the toilet. The first 2 times, she told me she peed, which meant she tinkled a few drops. But then every time she went to watch TV, a few minutes later, she would hide behind a chair, so I ran her to the bathroom again. By the 3rd time, she let it all out! :) I think we're now starting to get the idea that she needs to let it all out in the toilet and pee. Yipee! I feel very optimistic.

On Monday, I plan on keeping Thing 2 in undies while she is in school and keeping Thing 1 in diapers for now. We'll see how this all goes.

our very own princesses

I bought the girls matching shirts with lace tu-tu-like frilly edges from Disney store (thanks to the Christmas cash from Grandma) because they are starting to love princess things, but they didn't fit. Silly me for thinking size 4 was going to fit my ginormous 2.5 yr old daughters. So we returned them (and good golly, it's not easy to shop at Disney with 2 little girls by yourself!!) and ended up with these 2 dresses. I made them pick, and Thing 1 picked a the Little Mermaid one, and Thing 2 picked Tinker Belle one. I almost made the same mistake and picked up size 4's, but had a moment of clarity before paying and grabbed size 5/6 instead. They are a little big, but this means they should be able to enjoy it for a year....hopefully.

Thing 1 on the left, Thing 2 on the right.

Thing 1 looks like she fills the dress quite nicely, but it's very long and she still does have room.

I think, perhaps, this will still fit for Halloween. :)

Don't ask me why I make them kiss. It's just very cute. :)

On another note, we visited a preschool for them today. It's getting harder for me to do anything when they are all home. And it's getting very hard on me on nights they (one or the other) wake me up 5x in one night and then nobody (namely, Curious George) lets me take a nap! I only have 2 months before Baby #4 makes his arrival and it's not that much time to unpack and get the house in order. I'm quite worried now.

Anyway, we thought the girls would go to the same school Curious George goes to, but that's not the best right now. It will leave us with but $60 to our name every month after all the bills are paid, and that's not including trying to make a dent on debts. So we visited a church preschool instead. It was a lot cheaper and the people were quite nice. I got a good impression, so they may end up there in a week or two for 3 days a week.

Cupcakes!

Thing 2 is not so crazy about chocolate, but the other two are. Best of all, the cake and icing are milk-free!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Using some quiet energy

Our stuff was delivered on Friday, and was unpacked (some but not all) on Saturday. Now instead of being surrounded by boxes and boxes, we surrounded by our stuff on every surface imaginable. Who knew "unpacking" service means they take stuff out of the box and put it on a flat surface.

Now we are busy unpacking in the house and packing the apartment in time for check out tomorrow morning. With the craziness, the kids have been left to their own devices and as a result have way too much energy. With Curious George, it also means difficult behavior. He has been flat out defiant lately.

Anyway, they founf their PlayDo somewhere in the mound of unboxed toys and now playing with it. We can only hope that this makes them agreeable instead of little monsters later.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The fearless one

This is a play area at the local Burger King and it's designed for older kids, 4 years old and up. As you can see, Thing 2 is not afraid of it. Just as she wasn't afraid to slide down a steep inflatable play area a few weeks ago. She was a little afraid when she got to the top, but she conquered her fear by turning around, belly on the slide, feet feet first...and she had fun!Thing 2 and Curious George had lots of fun sliding down in different positions.

Thing 1 is a bit more cautious lately. She climbed up to the see through area, and then she climbed back down. The steps are little too far apart for her.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

this and that... update

Curious George has been in school for a week (3 days a week). He said it's fun, but one day while getting ready for bed he said no one plays with him. I was a bit worried, but then he went on and said, "All they do is learn about states! and nobody plays!" Aaaah. So much clearer now. For laughs, I mentioned this to his teacher and was told that they do most of their academics in the morning (after starting the day with the pledge of allegiance) and play time after that.

I finally found a doctor here in Texas, and had my first appointment there today. I ended up with a male doctor, because the female doctor wouldn't be available until later. It worked out, since this doctor was pretty nice and talked to me and answered all my questions. I really do have better luck with male doctors. He did mention something new to me. He said that since I am a Strep A carrier (after battling strep throat 4x in 5 months, though we're all hoping it's been eradicated with the 2 strong antibiotics I was put on), I will have to be put on antibiotics while preparing for the c-section. It's not a danger to the baby, unlike Strep B, but the danger is with my incision being infected because of the bacteria. The hospital is right next to the office building, and according to my new doctor, it is a great hospital with a Level III NICU. My girls were born in the hospital with only a Level I.

We also had access to the rental house today. So after driving Curious George to school, the girls and I spent a little time there looking around. The girls liked it, though they kept asking for where the tables and chairs were. :) After we picked up Curious George to school, we spent time there again for him to see it. The house is a small house (definitely too small for all of us though, but big enough for a temporary rental). It has 4 bedrooms; one bedroom for CG, one for the girls, and then master. The 4th will be used as an office/activity/computer room for the kids. There is a small breakfast area, a small kitchen, formal dining room and livingroom with fireplace. The best part is the yard...again, it's not as big as what we used to have, but it's big enough and nice and flat and fenced in. After 4 weeks in the apartment, and no outside space, we're all thankful for the yard!

Our belongings will be delivered to the rental house either on Friday or Saturday. I am hoping for it to be on Friday so that I only have the girls with me, with CG in school. Daddy works on Saturdays. You'd think it'll be easy to just tell people where to place your boxes of junk, but being that I look like I'm 12 months pregnant, it isn't easy. Plus there are little ones afoot that I have to keep from getting trampled. Then we still have to haul our stuff from the apartment to the house. We need to vacate the apartment by Monday.

Oh, and there is a matter of damage charges to the apartment. This is a corporate housing that is fully furnished. But we are responsible for any damage we do it. Thing 1 found a metal toy of CG's and started scratching the LCD flat panel TV with it. I found her doing it too late, so there are a lot of scratches. From what we've been able to search on the internet, scratches on the screen is very expensive. It would be cheaper to buy a new one. So, we are either going to be charged through our butts for it, or we pay for the amount of buying a new one. In any case, it's not going to be cheap.

The girls are now always begging to go to school with their Kuya (or as they pronouce it - "KU-LA"). If we money fell from trees, I would have no issue putting them to school, especially to have them potty trained! Potty training isn't doing well right now. They are both ready, but just refusing to use the potty. Thing 2 especially stays dry for hours, even after a nap. But even if I catch her before she pees, and sit her down on the toilet, she still refuses to use it. ARGH!

Daddy is very busy at work, but he loves it. He leaves at 6:30 in the morning everyday, and doesn't get back home until 6:30, and he works on Saturdays (though shorter hours). I'm just hoping all this hard work pays off and he can take off here and there when necessary after baby is born. Thing 2 asks everyday, at times every few minutes, "Where'd Daddy go?". I answer, "at work." She replies, "at work?". "Yes." Then 3 minutes later, she asks again. Since CG has been in school, she even adds, "Where'd Kula go?"

first day in a new pre-k

Curious Goerge's class start at 8:30. I wanted to be there by 8am today so I had to wake everyone up at 7. While it doesn't sound like a big deal, it's a little early for them. On their own, they don't start waking up until 7:15 to 7:30. So this morning, all we had time for is change clothes and take breakfast with us. We made it out at 7:40 and the GPS said we'd get there by 8. When we got to our exit, there was a police blockage. I exited off the next exit but when we got to the same street, it was closed on the other end. Great. I had to fiddle with the GPS on the go, and didn't think I did it right. By 8:20, we were circling around the school. I knew we were close, but just don't know how to get there. I called the school, but the director was no help. She only knew the way she takes everyday. Gee, thanks. Finally, I drove around and around and got there by 8:30. Our drive should be much shorter once we move to the rental house in a week.

Both of Curious George's teachers are asian. One is half Filipino and half Chinese (though mostly Filipino) and the other is Chinese, I think. They're pretty friendly. They have a field trip to the local library today, so it would be Curious George's first field trip. After chit-chatting with the teachers, we said our goodbyes. I told the boy I'd pick him up later. He asked if I would pick him up after lunch. I said no, I would be picking him up way later, after their nap and more school stuff. To that he replied, "NAP? They take naps?" Yuppers. The girls begged to stay. They find school fun. Unfortunately, we'll have to delay a bit longer for financial reasons...unless Daddy finally wins the lottery.

I forgot write an update on Curious George's liver test. I got a call from the pediatrician on Tuesday saying that his liver functions are normal. Test showed he's had mono before and that something about the test is elevated and he wants a stool sample. I was too elated about the fact that there is nothing wrong with his liver that it took a moment to sink in that I would have to collect poop. Ick. It's not as much yucky, being that I'm still changing 2 poopie butts, but how to collect it? Thanks to a couple of mamas that gave me ideas.

Daddy and I are a little stumped that we had no idea that Curious George has had mono. I Googled mono on kids and said that it's easy to miss because of the cold symptoms, but the fatigue is usually unmistakable because it takes little kids about 2-4 weeks to get over it. There were several weeks in N.C. when it didn't seem to matter that he had a nap everyday, he was still tired all the time. It could have been then. We'll never know. At least now we know. Having had mono himself, Daddy said we'd have to look out for it because once you've had mono, you never get rid of it.

A new preschool and haircut for everyone!

The first order of business for the day was to visit a preschool. I called several places, and narrowed the place to just one. We visited a Primrose school and ultimately ended up signing Curious George up. He loved the place, and based on what the teachers told me, it is exactly where he should be on his knowledge development. They have computers in the room, they are working on writing, math and reading. Everyone of which he is already working on. It's not a cheap school, but they let Curious George in for 3 full days a week. After being in schools that didn't cater to his abilities for the past year, we are more than happy to get him back in to something that will challenge him. Besides, he's off to public school this fall and then we'll only have to think about the twins in preschool.

I told Curious George he could start on Monday, but he insisted on starting immediately. Thankfully, they allowed him to start this Friday.

The girls also loved the toddler classroom. They wanted to join right in, but unfortunately, we need to offset the cost by delaying their start by a few more months.

Then we went to get a haircut for Curious George. I found a place for kids that was close by and it turned out to be an excellent place. He was super excited and before leaving the place, he already asked when he could go back. :) The good thing is, it's only about 5 miles from our rental house! (which we will be moving into next week)

He got to pick which vehicle chair he wanted to sit on, and a choice of movie to watch. I love this haircut! He looks so handsome and ready for his new school.

Then it was Thing 2's turn. She was excited to get on the police car, but shed a few tears when the woman started cutting her hair. But after a few minutes, she was happy again.

All happy!

Thing 1 was last. She protested at first. She also chose the police car and both she and Thing 2 watched Cinderella.

They only got a 2 inch trim. I really wanted their hair shorter because it's getting harder to take care of, but I mentioned to the lady that Daddy wanted them left long. So she insisted on only taking 2 inches off. They look great and it was a pleasant first hair cut for them. The woman even gave me locks of their hair. Awwww.

Then it was time to go back to the apartment after a long morning. Dallas is intimidating with all the over pass highway interchanges. Everytime I go back to the apartment, I miss a turn! Thankfully, with a GPS, I will always find my way back. But this is why, as if the actual interchange isn't crazy enough, take a look at the GPS!

Curious George's first blood work

Late this afternoon, I rushed the kids to the hospital where LabCorp is in order to do Curious George's blood work up. I met Daddy there, since we know it was going to be difficult for Curious George. I helped Curious George, while Daddy took care of the girls.

I didn't tell Curious George what we're there for until I pulled in the hospital parking lot. "Why are we at the hospital?", Curious George asked. "Matty, we're here to make sure you're not sick. I need you to be brave." I told him. At that he started his whining, "I don't want a shot!"

I couldn't even get him in through the door when the called him in. And when we finally made it in, I sat him on my lap and the tech made me hold his arms down. With all the crying and a little trashing, I was afraid something bad was going to happen. I urged him not to thrash around or it would hurt more, which he thankfully listened to. I told him not to look at it, but with my hands occupied holding his arms, I couldn't make him not look. Then he started screaming, "When is it going to be done?"

The tech had to "fish" for the vein, which of course resulted in a quarter sized bruise. But at least he didn't have to pull the needle out and re-poke him. Finally, when it was said and done, we made him choose where we would eat for dinner and told him he could get any toy he wanted at the store.

Before we left the hospital, which happened to be a Children's Hospital, we let them play around and watch the fountains.

That's Daddy in the middle, looking like he's ready to pass out.

Thing 2 tries to climb up the elephant.

With a little help, she makes it!

Daddy rides with Thing 1. Daddy said that after he helps her up, she wants to promptly get back down saying, "Too big, Daddy."

The 3 stoogies trying to climb up the same elephant.

We won't know the result of the blood work until late this week.

we hope Curious George isn't sick

Daddy made me realize last week that the children has never gotten their H1N1 booster shot, which was supposed to be given 30 days after the first one. So today, I found a random pediatrician close to the rental house and took them.

Thing 1 is now a whoping 41 lbs and Thing 2 is 36 lbs. They are both 36 inches tall. Curious George is 52 lbs and is 43 1/2 inches tall. I knew it was smart of me to actually stop carrying anyone! I just hope Daddy realizes the same thing because it's ruining it for all of us, if you know what I mean.

Curious George didn't get shots at his 4 year check last year, so the doctor wanted him to get it today and delay the H1N1 booster until a month later (he said H1N1 isn't bad right now anyway). But after feeling around his belly, he said his liver feels lower than it should be or it is larger than it should be. So the doctor ordered blood work to check on liver functions and also to check for mono. The doctor also asked if anyone in the family has Hepatitis, which of course none of us do not. I'm a little taken aback, because he hasn't acted sick in a while, except for the occasional sniffles.

I was going to take him to do the lab work sometime tomorrow or the next day, but Daddy is worried and wants this done today. So we're going to meet at the lab today (so he could keep an eye on the girls, and I can help Curious George). Curious George has told me just the other day that "he doesn't want to have a blood pressure". He meant that he didn't want his blood taken because it looks scary. Daddy took him with him one day when he had gotten it done. While Curious George didn't act scared at the time, I guess now we know he got scared somewhat. I'm just hoping he does well. Unlike other days when I prepare him for what's to come, I think we will keep this one secret until we get there. I do hope it doesn't backfire.

mall play area fun

Yesterday Daddy was greeted by 4 people crying when he came home from work. In the last hour, the kids have decided to go crazy on me and I couldn't quiet them down, or calm them down and I have had it when Thing 2, after bouncing nonstop on the couch, bounced off and hit her head on the coffee table before falling to the floor. I made sure she was OK, sat on the chair with her and picked up a flip flop and started hitting the coffee table about 5 times like a mad woman. For an instant, the 3 hellions quieted down and stared at me. Then Thing 2 continued crying. Thing 1 started crying because I was mad, and Curious George started crying because I was crying. It was a mad house. There was nothing more I wanted to do then run out of there. That was the scene Daddy walked into.

A week of being indoors was not good for these kids, or me. It's been too cold to go out.

So today, we headed out. Thank goodness Daddy didn't have to work today. So we took the kids to the mall and let them play in the play area.

Thing 1 is enjoying the firetruck slide, but spacing out at the moment.

Thing 2 found Marvin the Martian. :)

Curious George loved this one, too.

Thing 1 found a big girl to talk to and was enamored for a moment.

Curious George found a friend (a soon to be 4 year old that's almost as tall as him). So they pretty much ran around together.

Thing 2 (foreground) steps on the flower chairs on the floor.

They loved everything. They do their own thing but they look for each other and invite each other to play the same thing every so often.

Note my attempt to keep the girls different, yet the same. :p Thing 2 has 2 french braids, and Thing 1 only has rubber bands. Well, actually I wasn't trying to make them somewhat different. I just got finger cramps after braiding Thing 2's hair.

something fun and then something scary

The kids were going stir crazy being cooped up in the apartment, so yesterday we ventured outside. I took the apartment complex map with me and bundled up the kids. We managed to take some wrong turns and found a fountain they can run around in. We were outside for an hour. We were all cold and hungry by the time we made it back in.

Here the kids relatively bundled up. It was not that cold, but being outside for an hour made us feel the chill. Thing 1 is wearing a red jacket and Thing 2 is wearing pink.

Here is the fountain we found. I just wished the apartment complex had more grass area, but I think that's too much to ask for right in Dallas where everything is built up.

Curious George is asking to go outside again today, but there is a freeze advisory until Sunday. Today the windchill is in the single digits and tomorrow it may even be colder. It's not much for an issue for me, having experienced Chicagoland weather, but we don't really have warm clothes!

Now for the scary part. Daddy cold me about 1pm yesterday to tell me that he was just in an accident. He was riding with 3 other people in someone's car (F150) when someone ran a red light and collided with them. He said he was alright just with stiff neck and back. He was in a hurry to get back to work, so we left it at that. I was shaken up and worried by the phone call, but not too bad.

At about 3pm, I decided to call Daddy back to see how he was feeling and to get more details. Then, the question popped in my head "were you wearing your seatbelt?". And he said "No." Right then and there, I was instantly angry and started sobbing. What stupidity?! He said he didn't mean to NOT wear it, but it slipped his mind. Haven't we made it a point with Curious George that we NEVER move until EVERYONE has had their seatbelt on.

Daddy was admittedly shaken up and beating himself up over it. We both know how lucky he was and we thank God for it. The car he was in was just coming from a stop (2nd vehicle from the light), so they were probably barely accelerating when they were hit by a smaller car. The smaller car slid, almost spinning, but it hit a utility poll. According to Daddy, the car was totaled, but the driver was not hurt. The F150 he was in was undrivable so they all had to hitch a ride with other people back to work. Medics came to their work to check everyone out, so the news spread about the accident and everyone checked on the all of them involved in the accident. Thank God.

While I was thanking God that Daddy was alright, I was not happy about the fact that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Words that came out of my mouth were, "had you been any faster, you would have been found several feet outside of the truck" and "you would have had broken bones from bracing yourself!"

I love this man, and the thought of loosing him is very scary. But less scary than the fact that 3 of his children would not have remembered him had something fatal happened to him, and 1 would never have known him at all. Forget the fact that I will be left alone with small children and in a state where we know no one.

Jesus, I thank you for all the blessings we've received and continue to receive. Thank you for keeping Daddy safe yesterday.

Daddy apologized and promised never to forget to use his seatbelt.

Preschool is in session

Being in tight quarters and having no easy access to outside as is typical of apartment living, I've decided to take the opportunity to reopen "Mommy's Preschool". Here are the result of 1 hour's worth of work today. I may have grown some gray hairs...but at least they learned something. :)

Curious George did several worksheets but this is something I am pretty proud of. I told him what the direction said, but the girls were too busy tearing up the apartment so I needed to turn my attention to them before I could help Curious George write the numbers. By the time I was able to help him, he has written the numbers himself. :) The only thing that is off is that he wrote the number 6 backwards.

This is Thing 2's work. I explained to her the word "short" and then she just took off. Pretty amazing. The circles are all her own.

Thing 1 was too tired to pay attention to me babble on about "short" but she did get well on the shapes. She was able to identify triangle, square and circle on her own.

It makes me feel guilty sometimes how little time I have spent on the girls helping them with things like this, when in comparison Curious George has done many things like this at this age. But it seems the girls know more than I think they do, because they are picking things up much faster than I expect.

I also started focusing on potty training again yesterday. Armed with pull-ups, a sticker chart I printed for free from the internet and a sticker book from Wal-mart, we plow on. I have several set times for them to sit on the potty and they have done well. In fact, this morning during breakfast, Thing 2 said, "poo" so I sat her down. A few minutes later, there was a nice stinky suprise. Yay! Though later in the day, I think she was feeling the pressure to poo on the potty again. She doesn't understand yet that she can just pee and get the same cheer from everyone.

Dallas highways

This is something unique and something we've never seen elsewhere. The highway interchange is so extensive that it almost scares me. Being pessimistic, I can't help but wonder what happens during a natural disaster? I hope no one ever finds out.

It is awe inspiring. I read that it's one of the biggest in the nation.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

twinkle twinkle little star

Here are the girls singing Twinkle Twinkle little star while we were on the webcam. They just love seeing themselves on the screen. :)

This is when we first got the webcam in order to video conference with Daddy when he left for Texas without us. Curious George loved experimenting with the features.