And what to my wondering eyes should appear....

But a pair of Twinnies in the same bed and old-school Greatest American Hero shirts? :-)

While going through all of our numerous clothes from the different sizes and seasons, I came across a pair of shirts gifted to me by my *lovely* mother. I remember wearing one or both of these shirts when I was much smaller, but was informed that I could NOT have done so based on both the size and time frame of said shirts. To be honest, it does not matter because it was just so cute to see them in these "previously loved" shirts. Besides, it made us laugh because it was a goofy show to begin with.

The first part of the holiday season went well. Daddy and Aron came down with a stomach flu during Turkey day and, just when we cleaned that up and got back to "normal," we all came down with a case of food poisoning. I led the pack in getting ill first and Aron was the last to finally clear it from the house. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to see a diaper look solid in my life, and I never thought that I would actually look forward to seeing such a sight. [sigh] Motherhood.... [lol]

So far, Aron and Alyssa have received some wonderful gifts this Holiday season. We got a perfectly sized wagon that will be very useful for those trips to the Zoo from the Bappas, a cute miniature and completely COLLAPSABLE picnic table for all kinds of arts and crafts (not to mention eating hamburgers off of), and a throwback six-coin cash register from Mommy and Daddy. Since there are two kids to get presents for, Mommy tend to economize where possible. Right now, it is very easy to do since they are the same age and toys can be "shared" (yeah, right...SHARED! [lol] ). I managed to get the $60.00 wagon for $30.00, and even got $10 back on the picnic table due to a sale before the infamous 30-days were over. I can scrimp with the best when I put my mind to it! ;-)

And finally, to round out our pictures today, we have Aron doing his best impersonation of a very famous scene in a notorious college spoof, National Lampoon's Animal House. After finishing a bath, Aron expressed an interest in being swaddled in his bath towel. I happily obliged, and it ended up looking like he was going to a Toga Party. I think I even heard a "BEER!!" out of him during this time...(that and some rambling speech about history...) :-)

Like Father.....

Lately, we have been attempting to revisit the wonderful world of Potties, with some good results. Alyssa sits for a few seconds but does not show too much interest in doing the deed. However, she does let us know when she has joyful nuggets in the diaper, which is a big step in the right direction. Aron, the other hand, has shown much interest in the process of further his reading skills and using the "other office."

We have also been doing the daybed thing for a few weeks and it is going wonderful. We only seem to have issues when it is naptime. Alyssa announces that she is tired by saying very loudly, "NAP!! NAP!!" The problem that often results is that Aron is not quite ready for naptime. Most of the time, what happens is we find the room trashed or people sleeping in strange places. The above picture is a result of one of those afternoons. :-)

A few of my favorite Things...

Alright, so I am not original about my titles for my blog entries. In fact, I borrowed this title from the Babba. But as you can guess from the title, the Halloweenies struck again in Thing form. :-) Aron, Alyssa, Neil, and Riley trolled around the fine neighborhood of Seabright, searching far and wide for scrumptous treats to devour. Everyone did wonderful, walking and holding hands while traveling up the steps to new houses and new treats. While the Twins and I have been diligently working on saying the phrase that pays, "Trick or Treat!" we worked even harder on good manners portion of saying, "Thank you!" for every little thing they got. While Alyssa and Neil were reported to be holding hands at various stops, Aron knew what to do and chose to ride in style in the wagon and attempt to devour all the candy he could grab from his pumpkin.

In addition to the wonderful Halloween events, Mommy finally broke down and decided to get Alyssa a haircut. Days and days of trying to comb through curly, snarly hair has made Lyssie mad at the comb, not to mention Mommy. Now, Alyssa FINALLY has a girl hairstyle and should be pleased that no one mistakes her for a boy. Although I will admit that it does not look like a lot of hair came off, I can say that it is a little easier to comb in the morning. :-)

BEFORE / AFTER

A Halloweenie Preview...

You have a pair of rambuncious twinnies....

You are on a budget and would really rather NOT spend $30 each for a Dora and Diego costume....

WHAT DO YOU DO??

Well, the answer is really quite simple. You do some searching on the Internet, find some red sweatsuits, white felt, a large salad bowl, and a good black marker and paper. Oh, and blue hairspray will help, too.

It has been fun for us over the past couple of weeks. Alyssa is still as baby crazy as ever, and when we go on walks, we are often sidetracked by babies and dogs. For the distance we normally walk, it would only take a good fifteen minutes, if that. However, add a few Toddlers to the mix and it takes the better side of thirty or so minutes to complete the block. It is both fun and exhausting for everyone involved. :-)

Of toddlerhood and potties...

Aron took a big step in the right direction last night. After noticing his willingness to sit on a potty-chair both with and without diapers/pants, I attemtped to have him go before bedtime. However, we only have the adult potty upstairs, which is a little daunting for a three-foot Hobbit. Regardless of this fact, Aron sat backwards and let it fly. :-) While it is a step in the right direction, we still have a long way to go. Yea, Aron!

Both Alyssa and Aron got to meet their new baby cousin a few weeks ago. They were trying their hardest to help out in every way they knew how to. They would walk up to Addison in her bouncy seat and say, "Nice. Baby..." while trying to kiss, hug, and pat her on the head and give her a pacifier. They did not understand why Addy did not want to take her paci every time they tried to give it to her, but they were trying in their own two-year-old way to help. :-) Since Alyssa has been unusually obsessed with babies, I suppose this is how Alyssa will have to get her baby fix. (Daddy and Mommy are a little scared to try the baby thing again since we got two for the price of one the first time around. [lol] )

We are keeping busy everyday of the week. We go to Storytime at the Library on Mondays, which Alyssa is the most vocal and jumpiest toddler there at times. Aron is a little overwhelmed, and not sure of what to do but he will get it eventually. We also go to the playroom at the YMCA while Mommy tries to go and sweat her butt away, and we go to the Zoo and the Mall at least once a week while the weather is good. Last week, we got mobbed by the Lorikeets when we went to feed them. I guess now that school is in session, they do not get as many people feeding them nector. :-) I aim to take them to the Cleveland Natural History Museum one day so that I can show them what a REAL dinosaur looks like. :-)

Rub-a-dub-dub!

Four toddlers in a tub!

Aron and Alyssa have had some guest the past two weeks, and since it has been so nice out, we have been swimming in the afternoon. I never thought that I could snap a picture of it, let alone actually see it happen, but we actually were able to fit all four toddlers in the Dino Pool at the same time. Of course, it did not last long since they all decided they wanted to water the flowers, the deck, the dogs... you name it, they dumped water on it. :-)

Aron's most recent trick is to "wear" Daddy's shoes. Of course, it is hilarious to see him walk, but he does his best to do it. Naturally, Alyssa tried to do the shoe thing as well, but with Mommy's shoes. :-)

We're 2!!!!

It finally has arrived...the B Family Birthday week, where all birthdays of the households inhabitants' arrive within a week of each other. A2 start off the celebrations with their 2nd Birthday on 7/26, followed by Daddy and then Mommy. At least we avoided another August birthday!

The Toddlers received many fine and fun toys from their family and relatives. Perhaps the most memorable (at least in Aron's opinion) was the toy broom and vaccum. As soon as the broom was unwrapped, he took off and started to clean, while Alyssa tore into all of the gifts and found her passion....a Triceratops named Trykie and a T. Rex named Rexie. (Yes, I know...very original...)

Now boarding...the Terrible Twos!

Another day, another trip to Florida under out belts. :-)

The Family tried a new airline, with mixed results to say the least. The flight left Columbus later than it was supposed to, which resulted in us arriving at the hotel at 2a. We did not get up that morning until 930a, and we suffered from exhausted Toddlers throughout the visit. :-( The good news is that everyone had fun regardless of the tired Toddlers.

We found out that Alyssa likes to chase lizards and walk in the rain barefoot, a fine combination of both Mommy, (who played in the rain in Parma, Ohio) and Daddy (who still chases lizards to this day!). Aron revealed his passion for housework and cleaning up messes that, in all likelihood he had caused. Everyone had fun despite the rocky start at the airport. To say that we were tired would be obvious, but we are planning another trip in January 2008. :-)

Here are some of the better pics we were able to take, and it shows the full potential of the Terrible Two’s!

Alyssa has "Crabs..."

Recently, we found a very interesting fact about Alyssa. After watching Daddy work really hard to get the precious crab meat out of the shell, all the while "patiently" saying, "Unh, unh! Mowr, mowr!" it was discovered that Alyssa REALLY likes crab. But all that work and cost is just too much for us. Instead, we use the finest imitation crab that Wal-Mart can provide. :-)

It has been a very busy extra-long weekend for the Twins to say the least. We went to Amish country and purchased large amounts of cheese. The Twins ran around Heini's (which has major amounts of cheese for purchasing and sampling said cheese samples) attempting to beg cheese samples from various people other than Mommy, Daddy, Bic, or Jeff. (What can I say, they love cheese!) To top the weekend off, Mommy and Daddy found out that their favorite diapers that keep the baby butts at bay have been discontinued in a size 6, which is what the Twins are now wearing. So instead of going to see , we traveled around the Columbus area to various Wal-Marts, picking up 23 packages of size 6 White Cloud diapers. Yeah....fun times were had by all. :-)

Outside is fun!!!

Mommy was outside today working on a new hose-winder while Daddy was helping out by watching them run around. The Toddlers were helping in a variety of ways. For example, Aron was holding the pliers that Mommy ended up not needing. Meanwhile, Alyssa was going around the backyard on her tractor. They are having a grand time running around the backyard. Sometimes they have their shoes on, but most of the time we run around in bare feet. Either way, they are enjoying themselves and making bedtime a lot easier because they are tiring themselves out! :-)

Flowers in the backyard...

"Amma" and Grandpa had an unusual experience on Saturday. They found a couple of flowers pounding at their sliding door, trying to get inside. The "flowers" were later identified as The Toddlers in disguise. They then spent a couple of hours wandering around their backyard, picking real flowers and playing with grass blades. Their favorite game was to pick the dandelions growing in the yard and giving them to Mommy.

At the end of the day, they were exhausted. Aron chose to fall asleep with his screwdriver, which proves he has to be my son. Alyssa chose to sleep with her Dolly. Both fell asleep within minutes and slept through the night.