Thursday Thirteen

I have been terrible about updating on this blog! One of the things I love about having a blog like this one is that friends and family members of the children in care can keep up with what's going on at Miss Maggie's house on a regular basis. I apologize that the blog has been less than regular! In my defense, we have been SUPER busy here! I'll explain how in just a minute...

First, I want to introduce you to the Thursday Thirteen. In the blogging world, bloggers will often use daily memes to get inspired to write and update. One of my favorite meme's is the Thursday Thirteen, because it forces the writer to pause and come up with thirteen things that he wants his audience to know. Not just anything, either, because the thirteen is limiting - one is forced to pick the information that he most wants to share! It wouldn't be truthful to say that I'll aspire to create a Thursday Thirteen for you every week - but it certainly is a handy way to get caught up and back on track!

And now, an update. In no particular order:
Thirteen Reasons (or Excuses) that we have been too busy to update the blog!

1. We're mobile. Noah is mobile! And he's sooo fun to play with. The girls like to "chase" him and I love to encourage him to keep moving because it's so fun to be a part of. He is still doing the backwards scoot - but a forward crawl is not far off! (Promise: Video coming soon!)
   
2. We're pottying! Savannah is learning to use the potty. With so much support and encouragement from home, we are using books (Potty Time with Elmo, and Zoo Poo), songs, dolls, and M&Ms to help Savannah become independant in the realm of elimination. This is so super exciting. I always feel so honored to be a part of such a huge life milestone... and I've known Savannah since just before she turned one year old!
3. We're playing outside. We all have spring fever. Whenever the outside temp is above 40 degrees, we try to make it outside for playtime. I never remember to take my camera - and wouldn't really use the time taking pictures anyway... I love to run around and be silly just as much as the kids do!
4. We're eating! The babies are great eaters... Noah and Rebecca love to eat - and boy, is that time consuming! N shares a breakfast and a lunch with us, while R is enjoying breakfast right now and will be having lunch very soon. I've always thought it to be good practice for children (well, okay, adults too) to enjoy food every two hours. This way, we don't eat too much in one sitting and we never get hungry. So, we have two meals and two snacks every day. Thank goodness for nap time!
5. We're learning. Julia is learning new things everyday and running with it. (I might be a little biased because I happen to be her mommy, but c'mon - this kid is smart!) She's picking up on writing letters and numbers and loves loves loves making "birthday cards" for people (even when it's not close to their birthdays!). Savannah is learning a lot by joining in on Julia's child-initiated activities... so there's always paper, crayons, markers, scissors, and glue at work.
   
6. We're being safety-conscious! We had a fire drill yesterday, and the girls talked all day long about fire safety (which, though exhausting, is a GREAT thing!). So, a fire drill that could have only taken us 5 minutes lasted a couple of hours, by the time I was able to successfully transition to something else. That was yesterday. The first thing we did today? Practiced dialing 911 on toy phones, and talked in depth about what is an emergency and what is not.
7. We read. A. Lot. Of. Books. Everysingleday! I have a B.A. in English, so I've always loved books. Lucky for me, Savannah and Julia loves books, too. It's amazing how many HOURS we spend reading books every day. Sometimes, I attempt to just sit and read and read and read and read until both of them gets tired of it and asks me to stop... It has never happened. I'm always the first to resign!
8. We groove. As you've seen in clips and stories past, we also love music! Even Noah can do a little jig when the tunes get cranked. I've recently witnessed him shaking his booty and bopping his head around. I love it. Whenever someone asks me what kind of music I listen to... I almost always embarrassingly reply, "kids music!" This is great exercise and a wonderful release of creative energy for all of us.
   
9. We are pretending. The imagination that Savannah and Julia have is amazing. I've been everything from a ferocious lion (attacking the kids with a loud RAWR and a pretend jump to run after them) to a sickly mother (needing tender medical care by Nurse Julia and Dr. Savannah). It's during these pretending skits that I so wish I was filming ... I'd love to share it with you. For now, you'll just have to take my word for it!
10. We're crafting. The girls create something at least once a day. Whether it's simple coloring or an elaborate craft, they enjoy table time. On Monday, we made Snakes for the letter S. Yesterday, we made Snails. When nap time is over today, we're going to make Snowflakes. Fun fun!
11. We're cleaning. Thankfully, the girls enjoy washing toys with me. They also enjoy wiping tables (Just water and a rag, I go back over it later with sanitizer, hehe) and chairs. They also LOVE vacuum time - which, incidentally, creates a much cleaner rug in our playroom than it would ever be if the girls were not around all the time. (I'm not gung-ho about vacuuming but they inspire me, haha!)
12. We're bonding. I'm a sentimental person and quality time is my primary "love language." So, whenever an opportunity arises that I get some one-on-one time with a child, I jump on it. They're only going to be this little once. The days are precious, the time is short.
13. We're maturing. Okay, maybe this one is just for me. I'm maturing as a caregiver, as a mommy, as a Christian, as a person. I love that the children teach me more than I would ever learn from books or seminars. I'm learning a lot about my need to appreciate my ME time. I'm forcing breaks on myself... when all the kids are sleeping at the very same time (not as rare as you may think! I have them trained! hah), I'm learning that it's okay to take 15 minutes to myself. Without cleaning. Journaling. Preparing. Planning. etc... I'm remembering to pray and enjoy the moments!
    

So there you have it, thirteen very GOOD excuses for my lack of updates lately! :)

Babies!

I had to share this picture collage of Noah and Rebecca. I know it will warm up your day like it has mine! They are SO. STINKING. CUTE.!!!

President's Day!

Yesterday, Savannah's older sister had the day off - so she came over here to play with us! Here are some pictures that we wanted to share with you to help us tell you about our day...

Here we are painting. This was part of our "President's Birthday" celebrations. We painted after we sang Happy Birthday to President's Washington and Lincoln.



Part of our afternoon routine is dancing in the living room. We always crank the music and dance while we wait for parents to pick up. Almost always, this includes Julia's camera toy - a little camera and microphone that hooks up to the TV so that the girls can see themselves dancing. It's a lot of fun to be a part of!

Julia is learning from her cousins, Majesta and Braxton, who are in Karate. They teach her new moves that she likes to incorporate into her dance routines. Here, she demonstrates the Jumping Jack. :)


Here, the girls are doing the Hokey Pokey. Samantha is running around silly and you gotta watch the clip so you can see Savannah's booty shake! ...Absolutely adorable!


Looking back at the pictures from yesterday, I'm sad that I didn't catch more moments with Noah and Rebecca. I'll be sure to record more of them in the coming days. They are growing so fast and the two of them are becoming great friends... always keeping an eye on what the other is doing.

We are so blessed to have such great friends share our house everyday!!

Love is in the air

Happy Valentine's Day!
Julia woke up to find a helium filled white mylar valentine's balloon in her room with a new sticker book. She was so excited that she didn't know how to react to it... she played it cool telling her daddy and I, "yeah, there's a balloon in my room." But, as soon as we told her it's for her because of Valentine's Day and that she can take it around the house to play with it, she was very excited. Unfortunately, the string came off the balloon pretty early on, and the heart shape decorated our vaulted ceilings for the first part of the morning.

Love is everywhere here today! I hope to take many pictures and post them here... but for now, my stories will have to do.

We spent a lot of our day outside in the warmth (before it gets cold again this afternoon!). I'm pretty sure that all five of us have Spring Fever and cannot wait until we get more outside time. Julia and Savannah played with everything imaginable outside.. running from the swing set to the basketball court, and back again. Noah and Rebecca watched me blow big bubbles and I have to admit that doing bubbles was as much for ME as it was for them!

The kids were all gifted with a hand knotted blanket from me, and they seem to love them! I'm so thrilled with the way they turned out. And, though it was a cheap gift, it's the thought that counts and I hope the blankets are something they can cherish for a long time. (Pictures sure to come!!)

Oh, and I almost forgot - we also enjoyed heart shaped PB&J sandwiches for lunch! It was really cute to watch the girls react to the shaped sandwiches. (Tip: If you want to make one, just get a large cookie cutter!)

It has been such a great, laid back day around here. Love is in the air! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Ball Paintings

On Friday, the girls and I were ready to craft! We looked through some of my idea magazines and books and decided that it would be fun to paint with balls! So, the girls picked the colors out (Julia wanted pink and Savannah picked yellow). We put the paint on the balls and a little extra on the paper plate, and then I invited the girls to start painting...


Neither one of the girls wanted to touch the painted balls and get paint on their hands, even though I assured them that it would be okay. The floor was covered with a plastic tarp and I had paint smocks available if they wanted them. But instead, they opted for rubber gloves. Hah! Funny how the messiest of projects are intimidating, but the projects that I think will be less messy turn out to be very hard to clean up!


Savannah enjoyed wearing the glove more than she enjoyed actually painting!

But, she did give the painting a try. She "oooh'd" and "ahhh'd" when she made her first trail of paint down the tray. But, on the second go-round, her ball flew off the tray and onto the floor. She then decided that she was done and didn't want to paint any more. I think she was really worried about getting the paint off the floor! (Really, it was just on the tarp, and I tried to talk her into continuing, but she said "no, you paint it") heheh - I did enjoy finishing the painting while she looked on...

Julia, however, would not put stop with the project. I think she'd STILL be ball painting if it were up to her. She had paint completely covering her paper, but she did not want to stop. She enjoyed every moment of the project - ESPECIALLY the moments when the balls flew off and landed on the table or floor. Funny how different the girls can be!

I throughly enjoyed this project, as I enjoy all the projects we do. I wish I had the time to document all of our projects we do. You are missing out on so much around here... Noah is coloring with crayons, and I believe that he will be crawling soon. The girls are developing more in-depth pretend play. Julia is spelling things, and Rebecca is getting stronger in her back and neck and will be sitting up soon.

The time is going by way too fast, and I just can't catch it all on camera! I so wish I could!

By the way, we are still looking for two playmates! If you know any kiddos ages 2 1/2 to 4 years old that need tender loving care, I'd love a referral. I'm not going to advertise the spots, I'd love to fill them just by word of mouth. Thanks for checking in!

More Pictures

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. We've been keeping busy here, as usual! The weather is so crazy, we really enjoyed the nice, warm days and are very much ready for spring to come! I can't count how many times Julia has asked me if it's warm enough to paint the sidewalk yet (with her sidewalk paint that she got for Christmas!). Soon enough we'll be slathering the sunscreen and complaining of the heat!

Well, here are some recent pictures to tug at your hearts! Thanks for stopping by.


Twister is a great way to teach colors and shapes, as well as improving memory and learning body parts. For Julia, it even introduced right and left. :)
Noah is the happiest, most easy going kid I've ever known. And I've known a lot of kids!
Rebecca is almost five months old already!