It's like trying to fight the tide... you just can't win.

Not sure if you all remember our dear friend Maggie, she worked with the girls when we were in the Early Intervention program & our regular interventionist was on mat leave. I'm not sure what I did to her but she apparently has had it in for me ever since. I think her plan began when I posted this after Christmas:

I would like to personally thank any and all who considered Polly Pocket sets
this year for my girls and decided against it. They can't possibly look after
them or keep track of them at this age and it would be absolutely hellish every
time Polly lost her beebee sized shoe! So the moral of the story here is: REAL
friends (or insert "aunt", "grandmother" etc here) don't buy Polly Pockets for
other people's children!

She came yesterday, toting a garbage bag FULL of Polly Pocket Paraphernalia. We now own 47 pairs of pea sized shoes, 12 Polly's, a Polly hotel complete with hot tub & swimming pool & front desk! , a Polly sized laptop, various softdrinks, outfits, pets and stuff you just wouldn't believe.
The girls are in absolute heaven. I am totally outnumbered in my anti-Polly stance. They woke up this morning and instead of "Mumma, I'm hungry, will you get my breakfast?" it was "Mumma, can we play Polly Pocket?????" I told them they had to do all 4 jobs first (eat, brush teeth, get dressed, make beds) and they were so keen, they didn't even wait for me after they ate, clothes were on, beds done & they even brushed their teeth themselves they were so anxious to get at it!!

One girl's trash is 3 other girls' treasure!!!! Maggie greatly enjoyed her visit & the girls are loving Polly Pocket world! Thank you Maggie! They are taking good care of the stuff & I've threatened to vaccuum up every little piece they leave behind and they're taking it very seriously. I also told them that if they can't play nicely with them, they're outta here (the toys that is, apparently you're not allowed to just throw your kids out....). Today I heard the beginnings of a squabble and somebody quickly said "oh, that's ok, I'll use this instead or we won't get to keep them!!!"

Junior Geeks

We took the kids on an outing on Tuesday & went to check out the Science Museum in town. I'd never gone before, I figured all the exhibits and info would be too complicated and over their heads & thought it would be better for them when they got older.
I thought this thing was pretty cool! I am standing directly across from him on another platform identical to the one G-man is on and I could hear everything he said when he spoke into the dish. Just don't ask me how/why it works!

This sand spirograph would have been interesting but it was a bit windy so the patterns didn't really take shape as the sand blew away as soon as the funnel started swinging. The kids enjoyed it anyway though.


There was a lot of stuff there that they enjoyed and they all had a great time checking things out and getting some hands on fun. I don't think they really learned much "theory" or understood much of the "science" part but they certainly enjoyed the fun stuff.

The tug of war really intrigued them. The ropes go through a box & the one on the girls' side doubles back on a pulley thing somehow making their side easier for them to pull & G-man's side is just a single rope and he couldn't budge anybody! However, even one little girl could hold her own against anybody in this game!
There was a great playground outside the museum with a couple of working water pumps to try.



Earlier in the day we took all the kids for a bike ride. Sweetie had gone with Murray on Sunday morning while the rest of us were at church (don't even ask, argh!) for TWO hours. She covered 5 km even if it was a slow pace. I couldn't believe she biked that far or that long. They went down to the farm and back & then out to the main road and back. Murray was pretty amazed with it & by the end she was able to brake and everything. However having 6 kids of varying speeds and skill levels was a disaster. G-man was always ahead and having to wait for the slowpokes, Sweetie wanted to take off with him but wouldn't necessarily stay on the side of the road, Lovey & Honey kept falling off their bikes. Once Honey got on a bit of a hill and got going too fast & I couldn't catch up to her soon enough (just caught the tail end of her hair) before she tipped over.... Bike rides will have to be one on one for awhile until we have equal abilities. At one point Sweetie wasn't listening and G-man had to grab her because she was in teh middle of the road again and not listening to any of the "STOP! WAIT! GET ON THE SIDE!" commands. He just stood there holding her handle bar & she immediately pitched a huge fit, screaming her head off. Tory called to him "It's ok, just ignore her!" and he said "Don't worry Mom, I AM!"

These two gave up on their bikes and walked along with us instead. Sooooo cute!!


That evening the inspector paid a visit and found there was still more sanding to do and we worked at that for about an hour and a half. Apparently our contractor was a little generous with his application of crackfill. We finally finished that & then Tory & I put on a coat of primer. It's starting to look more & more finished! The inspector came back this morning and approved the priming & gave the go ahead to continue! Thanks Dad, you're the BEST!


The kids ar enjoying the trailer and one day had a "girl party" out there. No boys allowed!

The end is near!

Normally this is not a good announcement but when you're talking about our new entryway, it sure is!!!! Joel came while we were on vacation and then again this past weekend and we only need to prime, paint & add trim & some closet doors and Voila! We'll have our project complete.

Anybody know much about drywall?!?!?!?! I'm sanding and sanding and have no idea if I'm done yet....

Purrrrrrrrrrrfect Friends

Mum & Dad got a couple new kittens before we left on vacation and the girls were in love with them! Sweetie has Gidget & I'm not sure who Honey's got here. There are only 2 so they had to swap them around a bit. Strangley, Mum didn't go for my suggestion of 3 kittens... maybe suriving baby triplets once is enough for her too!


Lovey, holding Luci. She's a rather mischievous bordering on evil sort of kitten so I suggested they call her Lucifer but since it's a girl, they went with "Luci".

I'm not sure the kittens returned the same amount of affection though! They kept trying to escape these darling little clutches. Lovey was disappointed that the kittens didn't want to stay with her but Honey informed her that "they're still learning about us"

The Last of the Vacation Photos

Highlights of the vacation included: Spending time with my nephew! I was 2 for 2 in the "getting baby to nap" game! Aunt Kelly's still got it!!!

Seeing my daughters enjoy themselves tremendously, day after day!

Watching other people make them happy (Aunt Cynia picked up these simple pinwheels that had them in awe)

Nanny gave them sparklers & they were a big hit!
We got to go out to a nice restaurant for a family dinner on Rick's birthday & as we left, the restaurant manager put his hand on my arm to stop me and leaned in and told me very seriously, "YOU have GOOD kids!" I was soooooo proud of our girls!!!
Only Honey would pose for the family picture. I think I have almost the same picture from last year actually!

Rick checking out some beachfront condos that he'll never buy....

going for simple walks & seeing what we could find.

Seeing the girls' delight in the beautiful sunsets, they insisted on gathering everyone together most nights to watch the sun go down.

This was our best cottage trip with the kids so far. Last year was only half the time & they were twice as miserable. The weather was cold & windy so beach time was very limited and we made trips in to town to keep them entertained. We didn't have to do that at all this year but a couple days ago when we were saying prayers, Lovey said she was tired of the cottage & she started asking to go home & the others started mentioning it too. Maybe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing? Murray & I definitely enjoyed our time, we shamelessly abused the grandparental access and went out to dinner tonight at a steak place I've been anxious to go to for a few years and we had a massive dinner & enjoyed our date! We spent a good portion of it planning what other outings we should have now that we've got a couple of babysitters we can call on at home. We also got to go for walks on our own & I went biking with Murray on his runs a couple times and there was always someone willing to play with the kids when we wanted to sit & read or otherwise be an absentee parent! The girls LOVED having Daddy around all the time & are going to be sad on Monday morning when he goes back to his office!

Aha! I figured out the problem. Pictures galore tonight!!

Aunt Mandy's styling studio was a popular spot. They LOVED their straight hair but not enough to resist an after supper swim.

Honey's getting braver & braver!!
Sweetie's paddling around on her own some now but not when Nanny's available!

Rocket Man strikes again!

I wonder if multiple moms ever get tired of the matching thing????

The mighty feather!
Mr Bojangles!
Mr Cool

My shooting partner of choice : )))

New sport?
Our daily excursion to the beach, Christmas dress fits right in.
after supper walks, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!