tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112189372009-11-05T04:07:24.488-08:00Our journey through life with the twinados, adopted from China in 2006.M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.comBlogger796125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-91672309618761358132009-11-04T11:26:00.000-08:002009-11-04T14:15:44.456-08:00

We went on a really long leaf hunt yesterday and collected all different kinds of fall leaves and funky tree bits. The variety was really cool and the girls had fun running from yard to yard with their little buckets.This morning, we dumped all the leaves and stuff onto some cookie sheets, and baked them at 200 degrees for 45 minutes to make sure any resident bugs or eggs were good and dead. We

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-52946918371705222132009-11-03T15:11:00.000-08:002009-11-03T16:02:39.158-08:00

Odd fall weather we're having. The girls carved pumpkins wearing tank tops and sunscreen, and now it's so hot again that Ree said "We might as well go swimming, mama." So we did. Yesterday, and then again today. We were the only ones at the pool, but I'm thinking that's because folks were giving more credence to the calendar than the thermometer. I know I've never been swimming in November

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-14087314954849057692009-11-02T20:57:00.000-08:002009-11-02T21:12:13.207-08:00

We were standing in the checkout line at the drugstore tonight when Ree ran over to a giant candy display, scooped up armfuls of M&M packages, and screamed "Daddy, we need chockit, YOTS of chockit, cause Mama's been eating all of ours!"

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-55527961136599519692009-11-01T15:15:00.000-08:002009-11-01T20:59:38.803-08:00

"Hurry, mama, hurry and finish my hair so we can go!""We are going to fill these purses with more candy than they have in the stores!" (squeal)"Hi, my name is Reecake" (not too shabby considering that we were all still in pajamas minutes before this pic was snapped)"Just call me Rocake""Let's go, let's go!!!!"(Ok, even I have to admit I had a little trouble telling them apart in the dark last

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-68415214150838407362009-10-30T09:56:00.000-07:002009-10-30T10:45:29.404-07:00

It's Fashion Friday, time to take a look back at the fashionable (cough cough) ensembles the girls put together on their own this week. I should probably mention that they're a little wild, so you might want to brace yourself or get coffee first or something (I know I did). The outfits this week kind of made me grit my teeth, to tell the truth. But I'm proud to say that this uptight mama kept her

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-30078760762798227792009-10-29T17:22:00.000-07:002009-10-29T17:24:30.710-07:00

When we were at the store recently checking out their birthday bikes, the girls had a little trouble deciding. They zoomed all over the store, hopping on this bike and then that one, pedaling furiously up and down the aisles. (It was a little hairy, to tell the truth, I'm actually shocked that they didn't take out any innocent bystanders.) Anyhow, there were sporty orange and purple racing bikes,

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-36981861983843986962009-10-29T08:10:00.001-07:002009-10-29T10:30:56.236-07:00

The big news for today is that Catherine -- our awesome Canadian friend and the sweetest human on the planet -- is in the air right this second flying to China to meet baby girl Hannah. I'm her backup blogger, so anytime Catherine can't post she'll give a yell and I'll get the info up on her blog. So check Catherine's Chatter as the trip goes along, and be sure to leave her tons o' love. I posted

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-64231289742700054622009-10-27T16:55:00.000-07:002009-10-29T08:33:30.714-07:00

Purdy dang cute (with the possible exception of the giant red-eyed rat).I started to write what color each girl was wearing, then thought it might be fun to do a quick poll to see what you guys think. So here it is:Can you tell who's who?Ree is in the orange topRo is in the orange topNo freakin' idea pollcode.com free pollsUpdate: I'll put the answer in the comments section, so it won't spoil

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-5978973847528568442009-10-25T12:42:00.000-07:002009-10-25T13:06:56.787-07:00

I had such high hopes for it too! Pumpkin-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (sprinkled with orange sugar, in lieu of dessert), goldfish, and applesauce.Shouldn't have bothered. They picked off the raisin faces, ate one or two goldfish, swallowed the tiniest bite of sandwich possible (under duress), and then Ro ate her applesauce while Ree spilled hers down her shirt.Bah.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-90248920834644017092009-10-24T22:10:00.000-07:002009-10-25T08:45:50.705-07:00

We went to the coolest Halloween party today. It had something for everyone: a beautiful log cabin house in an incredible location, antique cars, a scarecrow-making contest, pumpkin carving, delicious tri-tip, friendly dogs, and Uncle Bobby (the girls think he should fly into town for every party, and frankly, we agree).Before you scroll down, brace yourself for entirely too many pictures. I

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-68448825801056532502009-10-23T14:16:00.000-07:002009-10-23T15:48:16.863-07:00

Heather has been chosen as the winner for the Justin Roberts cd giveaway. Read more.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-46287763864726717082009-10-23T09:41:00.000-07:002009-10-23T10:29:37.163-07:00

It's Fashion Friday, time to see what the four-year olds think is the height of fashion. We've got three outfits to show from this week, and I'm just gonna come right out with it and say that I cheated and put some of my picks in there too.This first set of outfits was completely assembled by the girls. Ree is on the left, and Ro is on the right. I thought it was interesting that they chose the

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-66874749799375125922009-10-21T13:32:00.000-07:002009-10-21T14:01:28.212-07:00

Hey TubaDad, we regret to inform you that both Ro and I had minor car accidents today.Seriously.You think I'm kidding don't you?First, I pulled out of the garage and hit my dad's car which was parked behind me. You know how our driveway slopes downhill? Well if you park a short car on the downhill side behind the van, it's virtually invisible. Who knew?Dad's car is ok, ours has some new

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-35389455619082431412009-10-19T22:14:00.000-07:002009-10-19T22:17:57.981-07:00

Ro and Ree just reviewed the children's music cd Pop Fly from singer/songwriter Justin Roberts. Check out the wild gyrations that pass for dancing in our house and enter the cd giveaway here.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-65601741225830830572009-10-18T21:15:00.000-07:002009-10-18T21:50:56.053-07:00

We made the trek back to the world o' pumpkins today, and it was actually open for business. Phew. Ro was so excited that she got to wander among the pumpkins this time instead of just hearing about it from her sister. Ro is in red, and Ree is in yellow.I thought these grey ones and white ones were ultra cool. The girls called them "ghostes punkims."It truly is a beautiful place, and worth making

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-45218440782993752572009-10-17T20:53:00.000-07:002009-10-18T09:17:33.313-07:00

Today was the day, the day of carving.Ro and Ree finally got to show off their pumpkin slashing skills. I cut off the tops and confirmed that these specimens did indeed have hollow insides, then they scooped, drew with sharpies, and sawed away with those teeny little orange-handled pumpkin utensils. (Well actually TubaDad and I sawed and the girls "helped" by grabbing our hands and jerking them

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-39497983954884950142009-10-16T08:59:00.000-07:002009-10-16T09:17:53.000-07:00

Ahhhhhhhh, TubaDad is finally back and all three girls are supremely happy about it. In honor of the occasion, Ree and Ro got to eat their traditional celebratory Daddy's Home breakfast of sugary cereal (wheeeeee!). Ro chose Froot Loops and Ree chose Apple Jacks.It's also Fashion Friday, so this photo shows them in outfits they chose themselves. Ro picked out a Hello Kitty tee that TubaDad

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-82779831418293515092009-10-15T21:53:00.000-07:002009-10-16T07:52:38.031-07:00

After yesterday's pumpkin/gourd/squash fiasco, I had the brilliant idea to play hooky today and have another run at the whole pumpkin-picking thing.So we chose a famous destination, roped my friend Maggie in to our plans, checked the patch website for operating hours, and set the GPS for the pumpkin patch of all pumpkin patches. They have not-one-but-two trains, a corn maze, a carousel, a pumpkin

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-71263202416230493502009-10-14T22:05:00.000-07:002009-10-15T16:16:38.046-07:00

The girls fell asleep about two minutes after bedtime tonight (which was about seven minutes after we had a minor earthquake, yikes!). We haven't scheduled much this week, but have had quite a bit of fun and they (and I) are tired.Yesterday was my mom's birthday and we had a little surprise dinner for her. The driving rain and insane number of freeway accidents made getting there a weensy bit too

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-64069153460782356872009-10-13T14:22:00.000-07:002009-10-13T15:16:31.480-07:00

I FINALLY figured out what the girls have been talking about for the last few weeks on our way to school. They've been chanting "No man" and saying "Good thing we only have girls in our car" each morning, and my thick head just realized that it happens when we drive past a busy corner where crosswalking is prohibited. A corner where they have posted one of these signs:Bwah ha ha!!! A "No Man"

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-39755627571038586922009-10-11T15:32:00.000-07:002009-10-11T18:51:21.665-07:00

I like their little argument about wee-vorse (reverse) and the stunning observation that they have sparkles on their hands.

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-92178591852589578862009-10-10T21:35:00.000-07:002009-10-11T13:00:46.934-07:00

No? Well it's true. I guess that should just be filed away with other random facts about me:- Detest musicals and always have- Eat chocolate at least once a day and usually twice- Have freakishly long toes, which break easily and with annoying regularityAlrighty, enough about that. I know what everyone really wants to see are pictures of Ro and Ree. Luckily I grabbed a few before we zoomed out

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-34282532485585462752009-10-09T10:25:00.000-07:002009-10-09T11:05:21.175-07:00

It's Fashion Friday, time to look back at the recent outfits the kiddos have styled by themselves. This set of Fashion Friday Fotos cracks me up... The girls seem to be in a wild phase and are assembling outfits that are so crazy and cute. Here are a few memorable ones from the past two weeks:#1: These outfits went to preschool and I think they're pretty fun. Ree went for all yellow (which is

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-29197663757258153782009-10-08T10:36:00.000-07:002009-10-08T13:36:16.583-07:00

Ahhhhh, it was a good fourth birthday. The best. Here's what I think Ro and Ree will remember:Fun dinners with family. (This one was at our fave Mexican restaurant, minutes after Aunt R, cousins S & H, and Ma and Pa landed. The girls ate their enchiladas, then daddy's, then started looking around at everyone else's plates):Their first-ever sleepovers! Each girl had a cousin in her room, and they

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11218937.post-61700547894677935022009-10-06T15:42:00.000-07:002009-10-08T20:22:24.825-07:00

We haven't stopped for a minute to breathe, let alone blog, we've been so busy with birthday fun this week. But while the girls are napping, here are a few quick pics from this morning, the day our little girls turned four:Oh yeah, they're having a good birthday. And this was only about 15 minutes of the joy they've had this past week. We've had Texas family in town, beach fun, first sleepovers,

M3http://www.blogger.com/profile/13775708069296721624m3.email@yahoo.com56