This morning our church had a big worship arts presentation, if you will. Instead of having a sermon, the choir, ensembles, soloists and a drama team presented the message. In lieu of a Christmas program this year, we did this non-seasonal presentation in mid-November. It’s nice to change things up now and then and it takes a little of the Christmas stress off of people. As you might imagine, a morning of this nature is a busy one for the Minister of Worship, and for his wife, who is a member of the choir AND the newly formed drama team. In order to pull this off, we had rehearsal before Sunday School and it was a very early morning for all of us.

I woke the children, got them dressed and gave them toast for breakfast and cups with milk and put them in the car. They are actually much better at mornings than I sometimes am and they greeted this new and different approach to life fairly well. They had eaten some of their breakfast in the car on the way over, but it’s a short drive and they still had food to eat. The 1st through 3rd grade Sunday School room has a TV in it, so I sat them at the table with their breakfast and turned on a 321 Penguins episode. I checked in on them and they were doing fine. I came back in the middle of rehearsal to find that they had finished their breakfast and the movie and so quietly got curious about what was available to the older children. For as many times as I have told them that it is never okay to draw on the walls or the furniture or themselves but only on paper, I came back to discover they had done just that.

I was so mortified I could barely react. I just took them by the hand and brought them to the Worship Center and sat them down just in time to hear Aaron say we were going to rehearse my big skit. Aaron looked at them and saw the marker on their faces and said, “Oh, they found a marker!” I said, “No, they found ALL the markers.” I was shocked and disappointed in them and in myself for leaving them in there. I pulled it together and did our skit. Aaron checked out our children’s attempt at being Michelangelo. He told the choir, “They found the most permanent markers they could find and wrote all over the wall!” and the choir thought it was hilarious. They did a good job of trying to assuage my guilt. Our friend Delissa took care of the children, cleaning the marker off their faces and escorted them to their room, after letting them apologize to the teachers in the room they had redecorated, allowing us to continue to rehearse.

The really ironic part is that the Sunday School lesson the 1st through 3rd graders had this morning was about the time in the Book of Daniel when the finger of God wrote on the wall. One of the students said, “Oh, that’s why the room is decorated that way.” Well… Our phenomenal pastor’s wife, who is one of their Sunday School teachers took it all in stride, even thanking our children for their creative illustration of the lesson. Needless to say there will be some cleaning or even painting in our future.

We wanted to show you how our kids will be dressing tonight for Halloween. Aunt Nen had found a cowgirl costume for Esther a while back and bought it, even though it was too big. It was just the right size for this Halloween, though. And we decided if Esther was going to be a cowgirl, perhaps she could be Jessie, the Yodeling Cowgirl from Toy Story 2 and Ethan could then be Buzz Lightyear. We found one for him and he's thrilled. He's finally getting the saying down right. For a while he just said emphatically, "Beyond!" The "to infinity and" part is starting to come through.

But, when he's dressed as Buzz, he does NOT want to be called Ethan and corrects me when I call Esther by her name rather than "Jessie." Which is cute until I'm in a hurry or one of them is misbehaving and then it's "Don't argue with me." or "Whatever your name is."

Buzz Lightyear	Jessie the Cowgirl
Happy Toys

During nap time yesterday, in between moving laundry and unloading and loading the dishwasher, I engaged in the great toy round up. I collected all the toys that had been carried to the far reaches of the house and returned them to their brethren in the play room. I put all the toys in their containers and found the playroom floor again (they had been left alone to play a few too many times and chaos was reigning). I packed up a Sterilite of toys to be taken out of circulation. Now, before you start bringing up Toy Story to me and telling me they will get lonely in there, I will remind you of the short that goes with that: Tin Toy and all the toys hiding in fear of the baby under the couch. Sometimes they just need a break. And more practically, the toys are so much more exciting and new when they haven’t seen them in a while.

I put up all the blocks. We have a bag full of megablocks (lego type for little ones) and a bag of more traditional wooden blocks, only made out of foam. They hadn’t actually been building anything with them, just dumping them out and spreading them all over the floor. What amazed me about that was how hard it was to get the blocks back in the bag they came in. It’s not like we had acquired more long the way, and yet… In compensation, I got out the puzzles. Trading one set of toys that require keeping all the little pieces together for another. I also retired some toys that were broken.

And just when I felt good about the toy situation and felt I had regained control of my house from the invading army, Grandma came in the door with more! Oy!

My children have said the darnedest things. This past week there have been some cute stories:

Yesterday when Aaron was home for lunch, Esther put on his shoes and worked very hard to come to the living room where the rest of us were. Later, Ethan found the abandoned shoes and decided to put them on. Now wearing his Dada’s shoes, Ethan announced to me that he was going to church. I asked what he was going to do at church. He said, “Help sick people.” I can’t tell if he wants to grow up and be a doctor, or if he wants to be involved in “spirit healing.”

Yesterday I was making lunch in the kitchen when Esther comes up to me and tells me she’s scared of cars. I was confused and was about to start into a spiel about staying on sidewalks and holding hands while crossing streets and in parking lots when Ethan comes around the corner with a Matchbox car in each hand. Suddenly this seeming non sequitur makes sense. Ethan is pointing the nose of each car menacingly and making a hissing noise. I said off-handedly, “Well, princess, I guess you’d better run.” She dutifully took off running while Ethan’s cars hissed around the house. Any time she would stop running, or he would catch up for whatever reason, Ethan would say to her, “Princess, you’d better run.” When relating this story to Dada later, Ethan corrected me and said that the cars didn’t hiss, they shushed. Quite why cars shush, I’m sure I don’t know, but there it is.

This morning I took the kids out and about to get some things done. The first thing we did was go to McDonalds to play. The kids were still playing, but I knew the Cool Cuts was now open, so after they had both gone down the slide I asked if they wanted to go get Ethan’s haircut, play with the trains and watch a movie. You would think that they would say no, and want to stay and play. It is a tribute to the Cool Cuts that they were eager to go. As I was putting on his shoes, Ethan assured me, “I don’t get scared of my haircut.” And sure enough, he was very brave and didn’t even cringe from the clippers. The not-quite-two-year-old next to him wasn’t quite as brave.

As we were driving in the car and Ethan told me there was a fire in Bolt. If you have seen the film you know that the climax of the movie revolves around a fire on the set. Ethan has been fascinated with firemen and fire trucks for a while now. We were talking about what the firemen do. I said they use their trucks to spray water on the fire and they use the ladders on their trucks to get to people who are up high and can’t get past the fire. I also said they take people to the hospital if they are hurt. During the course of his hair cut, Ethan pulls out the fire truck he brought from the train table (don’t ask me) and the lady cutting his hair mentions it. He tells her that firemen help people who are s___ She looked at me and I asked him, “People who are sick?” and got a non-committal answer. Then I asked, “People who are stuck?” He said, “yes!” And you wonder if they even listen...

Baby “Summerlyn”
Our good friends recently had their first child, a sweet girl they named Summerlyn. Our friends are Tio and Tia to the kids and this is the first baby born in close proximity to the twins since they have been aware of life around them in any significant way. We’ve talked about the baby in Tia’s tummy and that Ethan and Esther used to be in Mama’s tummy. We prayed for Summerlyn while she was in the NICU and even visited the hospital while Tia was in labor (though we didn’t know that at the time, or I would not have brought children to a Labor and Delivery Room). We have visited Summerlyn at her house and she has come here to visit us. She is big time in their world.

Grandma has purchased two different baby dolls for Esther. One is just a doll and the other makes noises and came with a passy and a bottle and a key ring toy. Yesterday we were playing in the play room with the first doll, which they have had for a long time (and has never been named), and Esther declared her “Baby Summerlyn.” Ethan tried to argue at first as this was NOT actually the real Baby Summerlyn, but eventually got into the spirit of pretend. Esther laid her down and declared that the baby was sleeping (or sweeping as it sounds from her). When she declared this, Ethan announced that if she was sleeping then he and Esther were going down the hall to “talk” and blew kisses and said goodnight and urged Esther to join him. Esther was too busy mothering “Summerlyn” to leave with him, but I was amazed and amused. We put them down and leave so they can get to sleep on their own and therefore be more able to get back to sleep on their own when they wake in the night. Ethan was doing what we do. He’s quite the little mimic.

I told Esther where to find the bottle and she went and got it and I showed her how to hold the bottle and the baby to feed her. She thought this was a great thing and made little sucking noises for the baby. She used a baby wash cloth as a burp rag and held that baby to her shoulder like her life depended on it. “Summerlyn” came to the lunch table and sat in Esther’s lap while she ate (at least until Mama declared her too much of a distraction from eating). Esther in full mothering mode is a beautiful thing to behold.

The Princess Bride
The other day we were at the Botanic Gardens taking pictures of the family. This was a request by Grandma. She wanted a family portrait. The Fort Worth Botanic Gardens are a beautiful spot and we were by no means the only people there taking pictures that day. There was good light for pictures and it wasn’t TOO hot (but VERY humid). There was a bride there taking her bridal pictures (just her and the photographer). Esther looked at this woman in her beautiful white dress and declared her a Princess. Aunt Nen didn’t argue the point as in some ways brides are princesses (and the dress was certainly princess-worthy). She had to have heard, but did not say anything. I wonder what the bride thought…

Prayer
It is our routine to pray before nap time and bed time, but we don’t tend to pray before we eat. I have reports that they do pray before snack time at church. It’s so fun to hear stories of what they did at church… While I was preparing lunch yesterday, Grandma called to tell us that the surgery for her friend fighting cancer did not go so well and to keep praying. When I had everyone’s food at the table, I told the kids we were going to pray for Grandma’s friend and we did right then and there. Ethan repeated after me (without my prompting) and Esther gave a hearty Amen (complete with sign). This morning at breakfast Ethan told Dada that we prayed for Grandma’s friend and that he wanted to thank God for his food. We put our hands together and invited Ethan to pray. He tried, but then asked Dada, “You say it.” Ethan repeated after Dada and we thanked God for our food and our family. Aaron looked at me and said, “no matter how they act up today, remember this!”

There are times they try my patience, but they do wonderful, precious things too.

The other day we came home and found the neighbor practicing putting in his front yard. The kids were fascinated and then thrilled when he offered them each a practice golf ball (the orange plastic numbers with holes more like a wiffle ball). They were elated. Ethan tried to help himself to the neighbor’s club, but he wisely told him no. That night I went to Walmart and what did I find but a kids set of golf stuff…on SALE. We got it out the other evening and Dada had great fun photographing the event. We had two clubs, but only one tee, which seemed absolutely necessary. There are many principles of the game they still lack, but they sure had fun.

I wanted to share some of the pictures we have taken this month.





One nap time, Dada decided they were too precious and took some pictures.









As I was watching my children cavort in big kid underpants for the very first time, I thought it ought to be documented. I also got some discreet pictures of potty time itself. Ethan perched on the big potty and Esther on the little potty is a frequent thing…and sometimes Mama sitting on the edge of the bathtub while one or both of these occurs for an amazingly long time. :)






The other day we went to Rosa’s Café to celebrate the birthday of one of the church staff members. The new “customer service” lady met Ethan and Esther and decided they needed a special thank you for coming. She brought a small thing of bubbles and a police badge for Ethan and a tiara and earrings for Esther. That afternoon Ethan didn’t want to nap and just after I told him he’d be in serious trouble if he woke his sister, he woke his sister. Ethan was duly scolded and put back in his room. I gave Esther a little time to see if she’d go back to sleep, but alas no. She and I hung out and I got to have a fun photo shoot of my little princess.

An apology and some explanation is needed. Mama and Dada have a new hobby/obsession. We've joined facebook. Please believe me when I tell you that we didn't mean to. It wasn't until the 1000th invitation from friends that we finally succumbed. If you wish to know in general what we're up to, not with particular baby updates or anything, feel free to look either of us up on facebook. (Everybody's doing it) Here's a little update on the "winding down" of summer.

Potty training is in high gear and it's neck and neck. At times, Ethan seems to be able to predict when he will need to use the potty, and at other times, he shows absolutely no interest in sitting on the potty. However, he will only go potty on the big potty. He's not at all interested in the little toddler potty.

Esther is her own individual. She enjoys just sitting on her potty and producing very little. Her only motivation, at this point, is the Mike & Ikes that we give them every time we have a successful potty time.

At mealtime, both twins are sitting on normal chairs, with children's place mats, eating with grownup utensils, but using plastic cups with lids and straws. At the end of most meals we will take their lids off and they will drink the end of their juice/milk out of a cup like normal. It's about a 75% chance of spilling, but it's worth it.

Mama is getting more and more hours of "at-home" work. Dada enjoyed his Singing Men of Texas retreat/rehearsal. We had a lovely house-warming party put on by our church. And next month we will celebrate our 3-year anniversary at South Hills Baptist Church. Dada is looking forward to spending a little more time outside as summer winds down and fall approaches. I also can't wait to finally organize my garage, as it is currently a complete disaster.

Hope to update again soon...

It has been a shamefully long time since I have posted pictures of these adorable children. I had some cute ones, so I thought I would share.

The other day, Ethan very much wanted to go with Dada to work. This is unusual and I assured Ethan that Dada wouldn't be playing guitar and singing and those kinds of fun things, but that he would be sitting in his office and being boring. I assured him that I would get out his toy guitar so he could play with it and he was content. You see, there are the toys they can get to all the time and the toys that come out of the closet to freshen things up and make sure the toys don't take over the house. Out of the closet came the tub of musical instruments. Ethan was playing so intently and seriously I just had to get the camera out. And while I was at it, I thought I would get some pictures of Esther with her hair up. I hope you enjoy:

My Guitar Hero

I’m not quite sure how it was that Dada sold it, but when we set out furniture shopping this last weekend, Ethan was pumped. “Ooooh! Furniture!” After looking a few places we finally entered a Room Store, oddly, one of the few (it seems) we haven’t been in. Ethan greeted the furniture. “Hi, furniture!” Just inside the door was exactly one of the pieces we were looking for: a corner curio cabinet and it was beautiful. They weren’t particular about breaking up sets and were perfectly happy to sell us a dining room table without the accompanying chairs and they had several nice round ones that would suit our “breakfast room” perfectly. Great, we’ve found the place. I left Dada with the salesman (the wonderful type who was around to answer questions, but not in the way) to contemplate the merits of two tables and took the kids to the Kids Zone to give them some kid time.

We were barely in the area when Esther fell in love. She found this bed and with an excited gasp climbed on board. Now, mind you, in the store they had lacy canopy type stuff over all four overhead posts and completely over the top bright pink princess bed coverings complete with fuzzy pillow with purple crown. Esther hugged the pillow to her and declared she was going to sleep. She was in one of her “This is mine, I have no intention of ever leaving” moods.



Now, the bed Mama loved the most was this Dollhouse bed. I saw it and said this is the bed I wish I could have had when I was little. The version in the store was painted pink with green trim, but this didn’t bother Ethan in the least. Even though they had plexiglass preventing children from climbing into the top bed (that darn insurance), when I showed him he could climb into the shelf and peek out the foot holes, he was thrilled. Esther even deigned to step down from her princess carriage bed to come climb in and peek out the “windows.” (If you click on the picture, you can see the website of the company who makes them and more pictures of different angles, so you can see what I'm talking about)



I told them we needed to go show Dada. Esther took the crown pillow with her. We brought Dada back and showed him our finds (and the bunk beds with the dresser that is a stair case that Ethan loved to climb and the bed shaped like a boat). Dada looked at his daughter laying again on this outrageously pink bed and just shook his head.

After all four of us sat around both tables and we decided on one, the kids and I went back to the Kids Zone while Dada dealt with paperwork. We literally had to drag Esther away from the beautiful princess bed when it was time to go. We didn’t fully explain at the time that one of those tables was going home with us, apparently. When Esther came to breakfast the next morning to a round table, she threw a fit. Departures from the norm don’t always sit well with her. After some time in her room she was ready to eat, even though it was a circle.

This morning at breakfast Ethan declared he was an alligator. He’s a very imaginative boy and this did not surprise me in the least. Esther then declared she was a princess alligator. The word princess is applied to just about anything that involves Esther, except when she is “Queen Esther” (to which, of course, Ethan declares himself King Ethan).

But what really took the cake for me was when we put them to bed and Esther cried and said “Princess Monster.” I’ve now heard it all. A princess monster. She woke at 10:30 crying hysterically and the only thing I could get out of her was “princess monster.” All the “special lights” (what we call their night light), defensive stuffed animals and choruses of “God is bigger than the boogey man” wouldn’t touch it. Hugs from Mama and more importantly hugs from Dada and she finally went back to sleep.

According to Junior Asparagus, the Slime Monster squirts slime out of his ears. What, I ask you, does a Princess Monster do?

We had breakfast together Monday morning as usual. Dada gave an extra round or two of good bye kisses and he left for work, having explained that he was going to Oklahoma. This is a very fun word to hear a toddler try to pronounce. Monday went fairly well and fairly uneventfully. A good day of Mama and babies.

Tuesday morning dawned. Mama got a shower before the crying started (caused by Esther waking Ethan earlier than he wanted). We ate breakfast and then drove to the park. The one we were headed for had large sprinklers running, so we went to the elementary school down the road – during summer they aren’t using it. First thing in the morning is the best time to go to the park to beat the heat. We had a grand time playing. We came back in time for Mama to get them settled in front of Bolt and get to her computer for the first of many conference calls for work. They were glued to the TV (though, thankfully, not literally) and I was able to do my business without hindrance.

Grandma came over and we got ourselves together to go to lunch. We had just played at McDonalds the day before, so we decided to go to the Mall as a place with food and a place to play. We ate, we played. Good times. I gave them a five minute warning and when the time was up, they came without complaint…or at least without a fight. As they had made deposits, we stopped by the restroom on our way out for fresh diapers. As we were leaving I got their cups out. Esther had finished her juice, but Ethan hadn’t. I refilled it from the drinking fountain and …well, all hell broke loose. She didn’t want water, she wanted juice. Tantrum of the ages. At home, I put her in room and tell her when she sorts it out, let me know. I tell her often that screaming is not the way to get what she wants, it only gets her in trouble. As often as this has been proved to her, she keeps trying. So, here we are in the middle of the Mall food court with Esther screaming her head off. We were trying to leave anyway, I just scooped her up and started carrying her out. She screamed and crying and fought against me and got so upset she threw up all over both of us. Grandma helped me clean us both up some and we headed back out the door with more kicking and screaming. All because it was water and not juice. Sometimes I just don’t know what to do with her.

Luckily tonight is my monthly night of Bunco. Grandma and Aunt Nen are here to Twinkie-sit. Esther woke from her nap her happy charming self. I think part of her meltdown was because we had been to the park AND the mall and it was very close to nap time and she was just tired. It was hard on Mama. And other than the big trauma, it was a great day.

I’m beginning to think we’re a shade too busy. First there was the church music conference in Waco, then Mama’s training trip to CA and now the church staff retreat (the first of its kind). If the kids and I had not been able to join Dada for most of the Waco trip, I might be going crazy.

So, let me tell you a bit about the Waco trip. On Tuesday we drove Dada down to Waco, got checked in to the hotel, ate lunch and dropped him off to start his conference. The kids and I went across the street from Baylor (where the conference was) to the Mayborn Children’s Museum. I had seen this when we went the last time, but figured 6-month-old children wouldn’t really appreciate a children’s museum quite yet. I thought two and a half year olds would. I was right. They had a blast. There were still parts of it that was a bit over their heads, but that’s to be expected. The part they enjoyed the most was Mrs. Moen’s neighborhood. They had a play house with kitchen, garden, front porch, etc and a street with those Little Tykes self-propelled car things that they love so much. There was a post office and gas station and grocery store and recycling center and whatever. They loved this place. We had a grand time and believe you me, if we lived closer than an hour and a half away, we’d have a membership. Good times.

I stopped by the hotel room just to change diapers. Esther saw the bed and decided she wasn’t leaving. Ethan did not agree with this plan at all, but is enough of a snuggle bunny that I laid with him and he was out in minutes. I sat in the room doing my cross stitch and watching my angels sleep. They are, of course, more angelic when sleeping. It was very peaceful and restful without making me bored out of my mind. We ate a very disappointing dinner at Arby’s and made our way back home (with the life-saving personal DVD player showing them Cars and making them fine with the fact that they were sitting and couldn’t get up).

The next morning we had our doctor’s appointment as previously documented. Then we rejoined Dada. This was now Wednesday. That evening, after Dada was done for the day, we went to eat and then went swimming in the hotel pool. It was at this juncture that the kids first discovered jumping into the pool. Esther was the first to blaze that trail and I assumed that Ethan, who is a bit more timid in the water than Esther, would not want to. He surprised me by seeing her feat and jumping right up to do the same. Good times.

Our hotel room had two queen sized beds. After watching some TV, we settled into bed, one parent and one child in each bed. We discovered that this is not the easiest way to sleep. For one thing, the children like to sleep diagonally. For another, Esther sometimes wakes in the night crying for no good reason. At home, she cries for a minute or two and then goes back to sleep. Sometimes “help” from an adult only makes it worse. She did this and I held her and we eventually got back to sleep. Also Dada and I slept more lightly than normal afraid we would squash them. And at seven the morning, I was awakened to my daughter’s face in mine. I cuddled with her for a minute, figured out that it was a valid time to wake up and told her to go say hi to Dada. He got to wake with Esther’s smiling face too.

Dada went off to his conference, we dawdled over breakfast and watched TV until Grandma joined us. She had just come home from a trip to Boston and she drove down to spend some time with us. When she got there, we went to the Waco Zoo. This was fun, if very hot and humid. The patrons worked hard to be as annoying to me personally as possible. I have many friends and relatives who scrapbook and I have nothing against it. Not my personal hobbie, but I have seen some master pieces and more power to you. But I think we’re taking things too far when I hear a mother say to her children, “If you don’t pose right, you won’t make the scrapbook.” This posing taking place at the bottom of the slide, preventing anyone else from using it. But weather and putzes aside, we had a good time. We went and picked up Dada and went to lunch at Health Camp, a Waco institution. Health Camp is the exact opposite of what the name implies. It looks like a dive, but they serve phenomenal burgers and some of the best shakes in the world. Then we transferred the car seats to Grandma’s car and sent them back to Fort Worth while Dada and I got to enjoy the remainder of the conference together. We very much enjoyed our 24 hours without our children. It was a Thursday Date Night on speed. 

Those were the highlights of our trip to Waco. I’m sorry I’m not quite as witty in my writing as Dada was. I’ll see what I can do for future tellings.

Two things need to be mentioned. One that I left out from a couple days ago, and one that happened just moments after I posted the last entry. Both involve Ethan's bodily functions...

1) Ethan went poo-poo in the potty on Wednesday of this week, while Dada was at work. This was a first for him! Grandma celebrated this with them, and Ethan has been talking about it with great frequency and enthusiasm.

2) Just as I finished up the last blog, Grandma finished up the bath. As is my custom, Dada lathered them in lotion and began putting diapers on. As Ethan was about to get his diaper on, I looked down and he was peeing ON ME! My scream of shock and body jolt to get out of the stream scared Ethan into ceasing his stream. Thinking quickly, I immediately asked him if he wanted to go pee-pee in the potty. He said yes. As we were jogging down the hall, I asked him if he wanted to stand up at his potty. He said yes to this as well. It took him a few seconds to brave up, but he started again, this time with a much more appropriate target! It makes a Dada proud. My son has now peed in the potty standing up! YES!!!!!!!

And it came to pass that Mama didst embark upon a great flying machine (mind you, an hour delayed) and didst soar over the Southwestern United States. Upon this chariot in the sky she knew the daily chaos that awaited her upon her return. She knew that the freedom she enjoyed in the Holy City of Saint Francis would be replaced by the responsibility of being Mama in Kenagyland. What she did not know was that the 57 degree weather that she left would be replaced by 90 degrees & a heat index of 99! God bless Texas and the Fort called Worth. More importantly, God bless air conditioning...

I have to admit it. Grandma's just plain brilliant. We let the kids nap until 6:00 last night because we were lazy & didn't want to deal with them. As Grandma says, it takes SO MUCH patience. Per her advice, we got in the car and drove to the East Gourmet Buffet. We proceeded to have the BEST meal out I have ever had with the kids. They ate... and ate... and ate. They didn't throw more than one or two tantrums, and we were able to just sit there for almost 75 minutes! It was AWESOME, and incredibly yummy! We brought the kids home, ran around the house a bit to tire them out, and put them down just a few minutes before 9:00. After a single episode of Stargate: SG1, I went to my bedroom and fell asleep!

This morning Dada just couldn't get out of bed. He heard the wretches, uh, I mean children, a little before 7:00. He turned over and went back to sleep. Somewhere around 7:15 Grandma got up and fed the kids Waffles and Oranges for breakfast. Then there was the cars movie. Dada finally got up at 8:00 (sheepish grin) and showered. Grandma and Dada had a nice breakfast of blueberry muffins.

At this point it was thunderstorming, so I couldn't do yardwork. Darn. So, I vacuumed the house instead. It takes almost 90 minutes to do this, with all the moving of furniture and picking up of toys. Sheesh! Then Dada made chicken sour cream enchiladas for lunch. Yum. The kids even ate some of their enchilada, but mostly just enjoyed grapes.

As Dada writes this blog, Grandma is giving the twinkies a bath. In a little less than an hour, Dada will begin his journey up to DFW airport. Upon reuniting with Mama, they will go out for a quick bite and head home to see the precious twinkies!

...the reunification of the nuclear Kenagy family would soon be complete. Mama will soon resume her rightful place as primary caregiver to Esther and Ethan. The Kenagy Foursome will attend church together on Sunday morning. But, alas, not all shall return to normal so soon. Monday morning, Dada will be heading up to the Arbuckle Wilderness of Oklahoma for a 50-hour church staff retreat. Who knows what adventures may befall Mama and the twins next week. One thing is for sure, you'll hear about it here!

...Just 24 hours until an airplane lands. Just 24 hours until the term, "Mamaless" becomes obsolete. Just 24 hours until Wife and Mama returns triumphantly, and jetlaggedly, to Kenagyland. There will be great rejoicing; yea, even mirth. Forsaken for a noble and financially beneficial purpose is still forsaken.

Dada has had a good day. After driving warp speed to and from Grapevine to see Kirk, Spock, and... Spock save the day from homicidal, shaved, tattooed, and eeeeevil Romulans, I arrived at home rested and renewed.

Even better, the twins let me sleep in until 8:15 this morning. Though it may have just been deep sleep on my part. This morning we watched Kung Fu Panda and had toast for breakfast. Grandma returned from taking a friend to the airport in time to take the twins into their room and play while I cleaned up the kitchen and rested.

At around 10:30 we got our swimsuits on and went to the pool. Both of the twins have become proficient at jumping into the pool (really jumping into our arms as we stand in the pool). Once or twice, Ethan did more of a jump up than a jump out, and hit his bottom on the side of the pool. However, he is very good at putting his face under water. He will just hang on to the side of the pool, count to six (usually missing four) and hold his breath underwater for a split second. He does this over and over. For her part, Esther is getting the movement of the doggie-paddle down pat. She doesn't actually go anywhere, but she can stay afloat (in her floaty swimsuit) with very little help from an adult. Esther also likes to just lay flat on her back, with her ears and hair in the water. She needs assistance with this, but she absolutely LOVES doing this.

After the swim, we had a lunch of more Texas Funeral Food Leftovers, with blueberries (which Ethan ate, but Esther didn't). Grandma left after lunch to go visit Tio & Tia's newborn Summerlyn in the hospital. Meanwhile, Dada took the twins down a couple streets on their hot-wheels-type-tricycles in order to return some Star Trek books to Tim & Ginger. Mind you they haven't figured out pedaling yet, so they just push themselves forward by kicking against the ground. On the way back, Dada carried Esther's bike the whole way, and Ethan's bike halfway.

As is our tradition, we sang songs and prayed before naptime. They went down for a nap quite easily. Dada got to talk to Mama on the phone and blog. My plan for the rest of their naptime is to hang a few pictures on the walls, go through potential choir anthems to purchase, and maybe take a quick nap.

...Absence makes the heart grow fonder (and yes, it even makes the fart grow honder). One unforeseen yet inescapable result of this week is that two precious two-and-a-half-year-olds and one exhausted thirty-one-year-old all have much "fonder" hearts than we did when we woke up Monday morning. Additionally, we have a new hope. A hope that in 24 hours, we will be reunited with Mama!

Thunderclaps and lightening strikes filled the skies above North Texas. Sheets of rain torpedoed the double-pane windows just inches from his head. As he woke, all was still inside the Kenagy home whilst a torrent of high and low pressure systems did battle all around. Stumbling about, Dada shut down computers and automatic sprinklers, his only accompaniment: the snoring of three loved ones. He knew, without a doubt, that just across the flat Panhandle of Texas, over the steep Rocky Mountains, and through the dry desserts of Nevada, another loved one filled the ninth floor room of a four-star hotel in The City By The Bay, with the dulcet sounds of her gentle snoring as well...

Sadly, Dada doesn't have much to say about the last 24 hours. When I awoke the second time this morning, I showered and dressed as usual. E & E were chattering in their bedroom, expecting to see Grandma any moment. When I peaked down the hall, they immediately recognized me and shouted "Dada!" - something that Mama has trained them well to do.

After diaper changings and breakfast hot-pocket makings (a smoothie for me) we sat down for breakfast, and Grandma joined us shortly thereafter. Esther did fine, but Ethan's hot pocket must have done or said something to offend him. I dismissed him from the table so he could continue screaming in his bedroom, which he did for a few minutes.

I have been at work almost entirely since this morning. I am told that Grandma, Aunt Nen, and the twins visited the United Nations of Breakfast Food (okay so maybe IHOP works better than UNBF) and spend much of the day at Grandma's house. I am also told that E & E didn't get a nap at all due to Grandma's Epicurean Timing for the day. This is no skin off Dada's nose, because he is having a night out, tonight!!!

...driving up to the City of Grapevine (it's really called that), Dada shrugged off the traffic, turned up the voices of the "politically motivated" on his favorite AM station. He had a mission... To go, boldly and without splitting infinitives, to the last movie theater in Tarrant County showing the Star Trek movie. He would thank them by giving them his patronage, purchasing his OWN extra-large bucket of extra-buttery popcorn and a large Sprite. Ah, the good life...

...staring into a magical light box, Mama Kenagy sighs with moderate pleasure as she begins to grasp the organization of ones and zeros. Leaving boss-man and co-worker-chick in the dust, she becomes more and more fluent in this new technique of web-masonry. One-Thousand-Eight-Hundred miles away, a different magical light box (and a group of artistically inclined creatures named after a theoretical physicist) is the salvation of Dada and Grandma, as it captures their attention and brings a semblance of order to a chaotic world...

The nap yesterday went well. Grandma took a brief twinkie-hiatus, attending a dinner party with friends. Dada woke the twins up at a little after 5:00 pm. Dinner consisted of Texas Funeral Food Leftovers (to be sure, a food group all it's own). Ethan mostly ate corn, and Esther's favorite was warmed over mac & cheese. After Dada did the dishes (yes, I actually did them) we played catch with Ethan's Cars ball and Esther's Little Einsteins Ball. After this descended into a game I have christened "Dada-Dogpile" I announced that it was time for a bubble bath in the BIG TUB! Rampant twin nudity, splashing, and screaming ensued. They went down for bed quite well.

This morning, the twins woke up quite out of sorts. And after a few minutes of screaming at their eggos, Dada reached my limit of patience. Abandoning Grandma, Dada went to the aforementioned Merry Land of Artery Cloggings for breakfast and subsequently had a good morning at work.

Lunchtime was Spaghetti and grapes. This meal was successful, because they really enjoyed the food (and because they didn't scream at it). Dada went back to work this afternoon, and the twinkies fought their afternoon nap, finally falling asleep at 3:30. They came to church this evening, still somewhat disheveled, happy meals in hand. They had a fun time in the kiddie-pool with Miss Delissa & Miss Kay (thought I think only the twins were in the pool).

Dada came home after leading the music/devotional/prayer meeting, choir practice, and worship band practice. Other than hugs, kisses, and a quick repair to the bedroom gate, the kids didn't need any attention. Dada has enjoyed calmly sitting at the computer to write this blog.

...back in the grand city of Saint Francisco, Mama stares transfixed at the stretch of Highway 101 suspended across the strait leading from the Bay to the Pacific. A look of wonder crosses her face expressing an inner monologue: "Why do they call it golden if it is red?" "When are these people going to stop taking pictures so we can go to dinner?" "I wonder how the twinkies are doing?" -- The babies are sleeping peacefully, Mama. I hope you can do the same tonight.

And it came to pass that early in the 21st Century of our Lord, Mama Kenagy didst go forth unto the Beautiful Bay of Saint Francisco for training in the science of web-masonry...

So, just on the heels of Dada's church music conference in Waco, Texas, Mama is staying at a Marriott Hotel in San Francisco, where the daytime high is the equivalent of our overnight low, here in North Texas. There's just one thing to say about that: she DESERVES it!

Grandma was gracious enough to volunteer to stay in our guest room this week. She, and the kids, took Mama to the airport Monday afternoon while Dada went to a doctor appointment. Since they didn't go down until 3:45, we didn't wake them until 6:00. After a meal of off-brand mac & cheese, vienna sausages (Grandma & Dada had pizza slices) Ethan immediately asked for the Cars Movie. Esther's echo to this request was enough to convince Dada that this would be the activity for the evening. Dada worked on the funeral he performed this morning while Grandma and the twins once again joined in the adventures of Lightening McQueen and the cars of Radiator Springs.

At bedtime, once again bribery prevailed. I told Ethan that he could hold on to his "Little Lightening McQueen" (matchbox car) and Esther that she could keep her "phone-toy" as long as they didn't leave their beds, play with blinds, pull wipes out of the container, or diapers out of the drawer. They were asleep in minutes!

As a result, they were awake bright and early this morning. They had a breakfast of Hot Pockets and Milk, while Dada had cereal topped with yummy peaches that Grandma brought! They were just starting "Finding Nemo" when I left. According to Grandma, they scarfed down their PB & J's for lunch, and were running around like wild monkeys at the McDonald's Playplace. She said that she thought that E & E would have a good nap today. We'll see!

...and so the Twins of Kenagyland did frolic about the forest of technicolor slides, stairs, and tubes in the Merry Land of Artery Cloggings. To all, it seemed a good start to a week without Mama. Indeed, she is greatly missed. Who knows what tales of mirth or woe shall follow...

Esther has a bump on her cheek not far from her left eye. This came on somewhat gradually and at first just looked like a large pimple. As it got bigger and showed no signs of going away we started to wonder. When it started bleeding and she told us that it hurt, we decided it was time to seek medical attention.

I called my pediatrician’s office and left a message for the nurse telling her what was going on. As she had had this for a while, I did not consider it urgent, but the nurse decided we needed to bring her in and as our doctor was out that day, she made us an appointment to see another doctor in the group. Dutifully we trotted in to see Dr. Rhodes.

He assured us it wasn’t cancer. He thought it was either a wart or a pyogenic granuloma, which is a collection of blood vessels, which would explain the bleeding. Either way, we needed to see the pediatric dermatologist. There is one pediatric dermatologist in all of Tarrant County (and he’s on the opposite side from us). This being the case, it’s hard to get in to see him. Since he had seen us before for the bumps he could do nothing to fix, we only had to wait one month instead of two. As it was, the appointment fell right in the middle of Dada’s church music conference in Waco which we were going to join him for. We took Dada down and then came back up to go to the doctor and then went back down. Luckily Waco is only about an hour and a half away.

Dr. Gahli’s office is very much aware that they treat children and are prepared for it. They have like five different video games to play in the waiting room and children’s books and a big fish tank and a cartoon playing. The staff was also very aware of how to handle children and I was very impressed. And Ethan and Esther were fantastic. Ethan has been very jealous that Esther got to go to the doctor and he didn’t. He’s been telling me he’s sick and needs to go see the doctor or that his fire ant bites are doctor-worthy. He sat there in the room reading a magazine while they examined Esther and was wonderful.

Dr. Gahli, the nurse and another woman who was never introduced to me, but seemed to be another doctor debated between themselves what the bump on Esther’s face was. They determined it was NOT a wart, but was either a pyogenic granuloma OR a spitz nivus. The spitz nivus is a kind of mole. The two standard treatments for the PG are scrapping off the top and cutting it out completely (excision). The spitz can either be left alone or excised. If just the top is scraped off of a spitz, it would come back. If left alone it would eventually look like a normal mole. He said they are very often misdiagnosed for each other, and the only way to know for certain is the pathology report after you’ve cut it out.

My report of the way it has behaved highly confused them. The spitz don’t tend to bleed, but the PGs tend to bleed and bleed and not stop for like half an hour. Esther’s has bled, and when you look up to find half your daughter’s face covered in blood, it’s highly alarming, but it hasn’t been all that hard to make it stop. The doctor used a magnifying glass and pushed and prodded and squished her poor face. She was a complete champ and didn’t complain once. And of course, it didn’t bleed for him. Two days before it looked red and angry and bled, but when we went to see him, it looked very benign – like the car that won’t make that noise for the mechanic.

So, the fairly unhelpful bottom line that I got from driving to the opposite end of town was to wait for two months to see if it would go away. If it didn’t and if it continued to bleed and cause her pain, I was to go to yet another doctor. He gave me the card for a plastic surgeon. Apparently it was too close to her eye for him to do it himself. Basically I feel handed off from one doctor to the next. I think it's a conspiracy to make sure as many doctors as possible get a copay from me. :)