frogs peas and rain

So I know there hasn't been much activity on the blog lately, but have you seen the weather? It has been way too gorgeous outside to sit in front of the computer for more than 5 minutes! It has been a busy couple of weeks around here, planting flowers, gardening, prepping for the strawberries to be ready to pick in the next couple weeks :), and just enjoying the sunshine! The twins have discovered lots of new things too. They like taking walks around the yard while I point out the different plants. They have become ride-on-toy masters, and they have even learned how to coast. It is really funny they will get going as fast as their little legs can take them then all of a sudden the legs fly up in the air until the wheels stop moving. I really need to take a video.

On one of their many sidewalk adventures, they found a large frog in one of the neighbor's yards. They immediately jumped off their ride-ons and chased the poor frog all over the yard pointing and muttering something that I'm sure was frog in twin language. They chased that damn frog for 15 minutes until it finally found protection under a bush and the girls attention was redirected back to the ride-ons with promise of a Popsicle when they got home lol. So now every time we go outside they go to that yard and run around like they are looking for the frog. It's funny they haven't discovered the family of frogs living in our own backyard.

 For a while now, both girls have been putting vegetables like carrots and green beans in their ears and giggling at how silly the other looks when they do it, but Heidi has moved on and figured out a little trick that she found hilarious...putting things in her nose. So the other night at dinner, she was eating peas, and she would touch it to her nostril before eating it. I thought she was just smelling it, no big deal. Then she actually put it in the opening of her nostril and turned her head from side-to-side until it fell out. Both girls thought that was the best entertainment of the day so she kept doing it. Next thing I know my son is yelling MOM MOM it went up her nose! I hurried over with a tissue and inspected her little nose. No pea was to be found so I figured it just fell out. No big deal. Well to my son it was a huge deal. He was sure that the pea had traveled all the way to her brain and had come out in her mouth (just like snot mom when you suck it up real hard. I bet she ate it!) About 15 minutes later Heidi started screaming and alternating between smacking and rubbing her face. It was a little scary. I was afraid she was going to spit out pea soup or something similar. No soup, just peas. The little shit sneezed and out flew the pea straight across the room! (See mom I told you she sucked it up in her nose!) We haven't had peas since.

So today it is raining and although the cool down is nice, I do wish I was a little more weather-savvy. I decided today was a good day to get back into the running schedule and 3 miles would do. Big mistake. Should have listened to the hubby- he called this morning and informed me the sky would explode in about 20 minutes. I was sad as I had just strapped the girls into the stroller and found the motivation I needed to make it on the run...He assured me I should have time to make it a short one, just around the block, a mere 1.4 miles. In all of my stubborness, I was determined to make it 3 miles before the rain set in. The volunteer mulching of the trails at Dunbar Cave this weekend took more of a toll on my back than I realized, and running was shear torture, so I had to run in short spurts and walk in between, which added to the time it took to complete the morning trek. About 3/4 mile from the house the sky suddenly turned green and buckets poured down. If the Wizard of Oz had been in color when the storm began that's what it would have looked like. I could even imagine the guy  (running home in a panic) walking his dog near me thinking It's a twista It's a twista! Luckily, I keep the rain cover on the jogging stroller for weather phenomena such as this, and I managed to get the girls covered up just in time. The rain just got harder and harder. I ran as fast as I could the first 1/4 mile or so back to the house, and then it was too hard. My shoes were full of water, my clothes were soaked and sticking to me, my hair had half-way worked itself out of the ponytail and was matted to my face, my leftover makeup from yesterday was streaming down my face, and I am positive that everyone that drove by wondered if I were a disgruntled sideshow performer who had just escaped from the circus.

Terrible 2's and Chuck E Cheese...Shoot Me Now

I was forced to go to to Chuck E Cheese this week for a birthday party. If I were asked to describe hell, I am pretty sure it would sound like Chuck E Cheese. I loathe this place and only go if I absolutely have to. I have never voluntarily taken my children there. I'm not sure why I hate it so much. It could be because they removed the ball pits which were a childhood dreamland, and it could be all the noise and kids running amuck like they are in neverland in need of parental guidance. It's a toss up, but it never fails, every year some parent will give in to their child's request to spend their special day with Chuck E, and I get sucked in to chaos. This trip started off just like any other: Grab the kids and a gift and go. I was totally wrong in thinking I could bring the double stroller to the mouse circus in an effort to tame my twins. Once we were inside, they stayed in the stroller about 3.7 minutes before their brains could no longer handle the stimulation overload surrounding them, and they just had to get out! They tried to escape the hypnotic spell the animated Chuck E had on them, but it was no use. They were doomed to submit to the chaos and enter the neverland portal. Before things got too out of hand, I was able to bribe them back to reality with pizza (with my gluten allergy pizza is definitely a delicacy at my house and when the kids see it, you would think it was ambrosia or some other life altering substance. The girls devoured the pizza looking like mogwais that get fed after midnight. It was really a scary event, and then afterwards we entered the realm of Chuck E's play land. The girls didn't know what to do or where to look first. I was able to calm their stimulation high with a few rides on the carousel. There for a few minutes the little darling looked like angels with bright shiny smiles. Really I think I saw a faint glow of  a halo appear over their little heads...Then the carousel stopped....OMG it was then that I was certain the terrible 2's had begun. Heidi proceeded to throw herself like a limp bowling ball across the floor wailing as if she was the victim of some horrible form of child abuse. (This has happened a few times in the past couple of weeks, and I am awestruck and surprised each time.). I typically ignore the behavior and move on with whatever task I am doing, but when 200 people at Chuck E Cheese silence themselves and stare at you like you are some criminal, you have to take action. We quickly located the slide and toddler play area which magically made everything right in little Heidi's world. She went up the stairs and down the slide at least 150 times, and even managed to persuade Meja to go down the slide with her. Then there were cupcakes...The girls love cupcakes. They can't resist the sweet goodness and creamy frosting. Oh and there were sprinkles... shut the front door. There is nothing that can stand in the way of these little angels and cupcakes...except me. The girls are going through the "I want to do it myself" phase which is really fantastic most of the time (especially since I know from experience that that phase is soon followed by the I wipe my own ass phase which really gets me excited!) Although they are skilled in eating and feeding themselves, the opposite is true for keeping themselves presentable and somewhat clean while doing it. When the girls finish eating cupcakes at home, they usually resemble Augustus Gloop after falling into the chocolate river, not a pretty site! So I thought it would be in everyone's best interest if I just fed the girls myself. Meja had no problem with me feeding her. It was a cupcake, and she didn't care how it got in her belly. Heidi, of course, disagreed with me and there was a second limp bowling ball display. This time I think she managed to throw herself almost 2 feet, which could be new personal record...There was no one around but friends to witness the wailing display so I was able to ignore it this time, and when she was worn out she got up gave me a hug and it was done. I decided to take the girls for another spin on the carousel before leaving hell that night, and I am happy to say, there was no fit this time, and after 2 hours of Chuck E torture, I was able to go home and drink away the horrible images that happened at the Chuck E prison camp.