The Conaway Family

Adeline's 5 year interview

2011-03-05T17:00:00.002-06:00

So, Adeline, have you learned anything in the last year that you’d like to share with people?
Well I've learned about hibernating, and I can't remember the rest.

What will be the best thing about being 5?
I don't know.

You can't think of anything?
Well, my class will sing "Happy Birthday" to me. And they will put a candle on my cake, but just one "5 year old" candle on my cake. That is the best thing about Super Friday.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I don't know yet.

Who is your best friend?
Emily.

What is your favorite toy?
Mmmmmm, ponies.

What is your favorite thing to do?
Play hide and seek.

What is your favorite thing to eat?
Ummmm, peanut butter burritos.

What makes you happy?
I don't know, I still have to think!

Okay, I'll come back to that question. What's your favorite show?
Martha Speaks.

What is something that you're really good at?
Ummmmm.... ummmmm.... finding Charlotte in Hide & Seek.

What do you think is the most important thing you’ve learned in life so far?

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
That I can see.

You want to say anything else?
I don't think so.

Can you think of any questions I should have asked but didn’t?
Um, nope.

No because you can’t think of anything, or no because you don’t want to answer any more questions?
Cause I can't think of anything, mom.

Oh yeah, the question we skipped... What makes you happy?
I haven't thought yet, even!

Charlotte's 3 year old birthday interview, a tad late...

2010-12-11T20:41:00.004-06:00

How old are you today?
Free

What will be the best thing about being 3?
I don't know.

What was the most important thing you learned when you were two?
Giraffe.

Who is your best friend?
Ummmm, Addie.

What is your favorite toy?
Ummm, the baby.

What is your favorite thing to do?
Play.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A crown. (I think this means she wants to be a princess?)

What is your favorite thing to eat?
Carrots.

What makes you happy?
Carrots.

What's your favorite show?
Curious George.

What is something that you're really good at?
Uhhh, toys.

What toys are you good at?

Babies.

Is there anything else you want to tell me?
No, I don't want to tell you any more questions.

juguuhuyuhyitiutiiu <------ Charlotte wanted to type some also

Renaissance Wedding

2010-11-01T21:53:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago some of our friends got married at the Renaissance Festival. We had lots of fun dressing up in costumes.

One of Addie and Charlotte's favorite parts was running up and down the big hill.
And we got to ride on an elephant! I knew they were big, but they seem much more so when you are sitting on top of them! You can't really see Char in these pictures - I promise she is up there, though. They usually put the smallest person in front and the biggest in back because it makes for better pictures, but she wouldn't even consider climbing on unless she was snuggling on my lap.

2010-07-25T19:22:00.001-05:00

Charlotte

2010-06-27T18:56:00.002-05:00

Charlotte cracks me up with how she says things sometimes. Tonight we were having corn on the cob and she kept calling it "corn on the top." She has also been really into telling stories recently and she always ends them with "and dey lived aftely after-after."

Quote of the day from Addie

2010-06-17T19:41:00.000-05:00

Mom, Mom!! We figured out the problem - we were thinking!"

Interactions

2010-06-01T16:00:00.003-05:00

I could sit and listen to the girls interact with each other all day long. Right now they are sitting on the ground coloring and using stickers. Charlotte just took a sticker off Addie's paper and proceeded to tell her, "I will give it back, do you want it?" Of course, Addie responds, "Yes." To which, Charlotte says, "Say please." Addie sweetly responded with the requested please and the sticker was returned without any incident. I think it is so funny that sometimes they get along so well and even take things from each other, but other times stealing the sticker would have ended with them both screaming and Addie chasing Charlotte through the house.

In the time it has taken me to type this out, their play has evolved into using stickers as Band-Aids. Charlotte is telling Addie where all her "owies" are and Addie is covering all the wounds with stickers. She has about 5 on each limb, 1 on her cheek, 1 on her nose, and 1 big one over her right eye.

2010-05-14T19:10:00.004-05:00

Wedding

2010-04-18T17:34:00.003-05:00

Addie and Charlotte are getting married... to each other. Right now they are in the toy room singing, "We love each other! We love each other! We'll never be apart from each other. Oh, oh, oh, oh, we love each other."

Knowledge

2010-04-18T12:11:00.003-05:00

The other day as I was unbuckling Addie from her carseat, she said to me, "Mom, I know more things than you do. I know more things than Dad does also."

I thought they were teenagers before they got this attitude, I didn't realize it started so early.

Happy Birthday, Sean!

2010-03-17T18:32:00.003-05:00

Today the girls and I were baking a cake for Sean's birthday. They love to help me cook, especially when they get to crack eggs. I guess we don't do it often enough because today Addie told me: "Mom! I will hatch the eggs for you!"

When she cracked an egg all over the counter Charlotte got excited and said: "Yay, Addie! You hatched an egg!!"

A birthday interview with Addie.

2010-03-12T12:34:00.003-06:00

How old are you today?
4

What will be the best thing about being 4?
I don't know... ummm... getting presents.

What was the most important thing you learned when you were three?
How to be a good girl, and not hit anyone.

Who is your best friend?
Morgan and Rebecca.

What is your favorite toy?
The things that are in my backpack.

What is your favorite thing to do?
Ummm... play with dominos. Hey, mom, can we play with dominos right now?

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A doctor.

What is your favorite thing to eat?
Brocolli

What makes you happy?
Hugs.

What's your favorite show?
Marley and Me... and my favorite game is dominos, I like to play dominos... that's what I'm going to do right now.

What is something that you're really good at?
Ummm, playing dominos.

Are you good at anything else?

Helping my sister find her things.

Happy Birthday, Adeline!

2010-03-10T22:25:00.002-06:00

It is amazing to think that Adeline turned 4 today. On one hand, it seems like she was just a baby. On the other hand, it seems like she has been with us forever. She is turning into such a fun kid. Some of her favorite things to do right now are ride her bike, practice writing letters, play airport or tea-party, color and paint, swing on her tire swing, and go to Sunbeams on Sunday. I am astonished every day at how much she knows and at how curious she is about everything.

My planned garden

2010-02-28T13:56:00.002-06:00

One of my goals this summer is to plant a garden. I know I won't have much time to dedicate to my garden since I'll be so busy with school, so it will won't be anything fancy. I'm hoping, though, for maybe just a few tomato and zucchini plants. Hey, if even one plant survives I'll be happy. We just have so much space out here and it seems like such a waste not to have a garden.

Addie loves the idea of a garden and was helping me the other day decide where we would plant the seeds. I asked her what we should grow in the garden. Her response?

"Well, I think we should grow some of those flowers that you blow."

"You mean those yellow flowers that turn into puff-balls?" I replied.

"Yes, that's what I mean. We should grow those."

I'm pretty sure that I can grow dandelions, so I am relieved that even if the garden turns out to be a flop Addie will be happy.

A Valentine's Day Picnic

2010-02-20T13:52:00.001-06:00

Brush, brush, brush your teeth

2010-02-20T13:30:00.002-06:00

Marley and Me

2010-02-03T05:00:00.002-06:00

Grandma has been visiting for the last two days and the girls had a blast with her while I was at school. Yesterday Addie asked if they could watch her favorite show, "Marley and Me." Grandma replied that she wasn't sure if she knew where it was (we watch all of our shows and movies on the computer, and Marley is stored on the E drive). Addie knew where it was, though... "Just go to Marley dot com," she said.

A lunch conversation

2010-01-11T12:03:00.002-06:00

Charlotte: I grow up. Then I be bigger, bigger, bigger.

Addie: No! You can't get too big, then your head will go through the ceiling!

Math

2010-01-10T17:00:00.002-06:00

We recently got back from visiting grandparents in Montana and Colorado. As we were driving to the store yesterday Addie saw a McDonalds and exclaimed, "They have a million McDonalds!"

Sean: Who has a million McDonalds?

Addie: Colorado has a million McDonalds. Yeah! They have five!

8 hours in the car, 3 stitches for Charlotte, and Baby Jesus

2009-12-13T20:46:00.007-06:00

This weekend was an eventful one for the Conaway family. On Saturday, we decided to take a trip to Burnet, Texas to visit Main Street Bethlehem. Every year a church in this town puts together a re-creation of Bethlehem. I had heard great things about this event and was excited to finally get a chance to experience it.

It was a four hour drive to Burnet. Both girls were very excited to see baby Jesus, though, so we passed part of the time by talking about the story of Jesus's birth. When it got dark, Addie looked up and saw stars. "Look!" she said, "There is the star to show where baby Jesus is!"

When we arrived we had to wait in line for another hour and a half before we got in. Finally, we walked through the gates and it almost seemed like we were transported into another world. The first thing we saw were campfires and people cooking their dinner. Charlotte wanted to climb out of her stroller to get a better look. As she was climbing out, the stroller began to collapse. I opened the stroller again, not realizing that Charlotte's was holding onto it. Charlotte started screaming. One of the men cooking dinner warned me, "You have to be careful with those donkeys, they really hurt when they kick." Both Sean and I thought that her leg was what got pinched. I picked her up and began examining her legs, both of them seemed fine so I started talking to her and trying to calm her down (I didn't want to ruin the spirit of the evening for the other guests). Then I noticed that her hands were COVERED in blood. And my coat was COVERED in blood.

The next few minutes are kind of a blur. One of the actors, who was a nurse, rushed over when she saw what was going on. She whisked Charlotte and I off to the bathroom to take a better look (Bethlehem was only lit by candles and lanterns). Even in the dim light I was pretty sure it was going to need stitches - but when we got to the bathroom and I got a better look, I almost passed out. Her finger was mangled, I'm amazed that she didn't loose the tip. Thankfully, this wonderful lady kept calm, took Charlotte from me, washed her up as best she could, and wrapped up her finger. Charlotte calmed down a bit, as long as I was putting pressure on her finger she would just whimper rather than scream. The nurse told us that Charlotte's finger would need stitches and gave us directions to the emergency room, which was just a few miles down the road.

Charlotte didn't want to go to the car, though, she wanted to see Baby Jesus. So the nurse led us back through Bethlehem and we took 5 minutes to look at Baby Jesus. I wish we had been able to see the whole thing, it really was amazing. Then we got in the care and headed off to the E.R.

Charlotte did really well in the E.R. Being such a small town, we got in very quickly and the doctor saw us right away. Right before the doctor started stitching up Charlotte's finger, somebody came in complaining of chest pain, so the doctor had to leave us to attend to the new patient. Both Charlotte and Addie fell asleep waiting for the doctor to come back. An hour later the doctor returned and put three stitches in Charlotte's finger. There was quite a bit of crying, but she did really well (especially when Sean started telling her that he would get her ice cream when she was done). Once her finger was bandaged up, Charlotte gave a half-smile and said, "my finger is all betters!"

We left the hospital at 11:30 p.m., long after Bethlehem had closed, and began our long drive back to Houston. We stopped to get gas before we left town. Sean got the girls an ice cream sandwich to share. When he gave Charlotte her ice cream she said, "Daddy, you make me so happy!" It was so cute.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), we forgot to bring our camera with us, so we didn't get any pictures of Bethlehem or Charlotte's finger. But here is a picture of her finger when we changed the bandage on Sunday. It looks 100 times better than it did the night before. I'm leaving a large space before the picture, don't look if you get queasy easily...

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A message for Sean:

2009-11-21T21:49:00.001-06:00

Sean wanted me to let everyone know that I lost at a game tonight. We were playing the card game Speed and I lost 2 out of 3 rounds. There you go.

Charlotte's Second Birthday

2009-11-15T19:28:00.005-06:00

Charlotte's birthday really isn't until the 16th, but weekdays are a little crazy around here so we celebrated a few days early. We apologize for the horrible singing at the beginning, but turn up your volume at the end so you can hear Charlotte harmonizing with Addie.

The girls like to help me study.

2009-11-08T21:08:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T21:07:00.002-05:00

2009-10-25T20:45:00.001-05:00

Too Long

2009-09-04T21:11:00.006-05:00

I know, it has been way too long since I have updated the blog. The summer was very busy and I finally feel like we are getting back into the swing of things. Sean took the girls on vacation for two weeks in July. Unfortunately I had to stay home so that I could finish up as many classes as possible before dental hygiene school started. They visited Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. Here are a few pictures from their trip.

What a day

2009-06-20T20:07:00.003-05:00

What a day,
Oh what a day.
My baby brother ran away,
And now my tuba will not play.
I'm eight years old
And turning grey, Oh what a day, Oh what a day.
Broken sprinkler line and subsequent flooding of neighbor's yard...

....check

Four inch tree roots from the most malevolent oak in the world...

....check

Clay soil so hard that a gas powered auger can't dent it...

....check

Poison ivy...

....check

Another Conaway home improvement story chock-full of FAIL...

....check

So our fence did not get built this weekend.

2009-06-20T19:18:00.000-05:00

But the day didn't stop there...

For the past couple months, Addie has not been taking naps. Instead, she goes to her room and has "quiet time." She stays in her room the entire time Charlotte is taking a nap, but her room is a pretty big disaster at the end of the two hours.

After the sprinkler incident we took a break. We all took naps... except Addie. When naps were over I was shocked that Addie didn't come running out of her room (which she usually does the second she hears Charlotte). I figured she probably fell asleep on her floor. About 10 minutes later I could hear her playing, so I peeked my head in to see what was going on.

Her room reeked of baby powder.

She had found a bottle of baby lotion and slathered herself, the carpet, and her dresser in half the bottle. "Mom! I used some lotion!!"

I can see that...

Thankfully, though...

2009-06-20T18:31:00.003-05:00

We have some wonderful friends who watched the girls all morning while we fought with the auger. When we returned to pick up the kiddos they let us stay and chat with them for a couple hours. They even fed us lunch. Thank you!! It was a nice little break before we had to return to the newly created lake in our neighbor's yard.

The evening ended on a positive note as well.

2009-06-20T17:43:00.001-05:00

Sean found a frog and the girls had a great time following it around the backyard. Addie named him Boomblay. He was a good frog. I think he might have been in shock because he was rather slow and wouldn't hop unless someone touched him. The girls would pet his back and make him hop... Addie said she was teaching him how to hop.

Addie also had a few opinions about Boomblay. He lives on the freeway. As slow as he is, I'm not sure how he survives living there, but he does. There is a patch of grass on the freeway that he lives in. And he doesn't work. Frogs don't work.

2009-06-19T12:59:00.000-05:00

A fun week with Dad

2009-06-05T07:07:00.005-05:00

Sean had one week off before summer school started and the girls had a great time playing with Dad. Unfortunatly, we were all a bit sick... but not sick enough that they couldn't go outside and play a little soccer. Near the end of the week we were feeling a bit better so we decided to take a trip down to Galveston.

Charlotte didn't care too much for the water. She tolerated it for a few seconds until a small wave hit her. I think it only got her ankles wet, but it was enough for her. She spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the sand...
... but she would only touch it with one finger.
She also liked chasing the birds. But they made her upset because they were too close to the water.

Addie also liked the sand... and would also only touch it with one finger...
But she preferred the water. She had a little song that went, "Ocean, ocean. Happy, happy, happy, happy!!" and she would sing it everytime she ran into the water.
Charlotte's other favorite part of the beach was the "fish." There were several of these jellyfish washed up onto the beach. She loved finding them and saying, "ish, ish!" We didn't let her touch them.

Patience

2009-06-01T18:23:00.004-05:00

Last night as I was getting Addie ready for bed she decided that one of the books she wanted to read was the "Baby Book." The Baby Book is about 150 pages long and it doesn't really have a story, it is just a collection of pictures. We finished getting on pajamas and sat down to read.

Addie turns to me and says, "Mommy, are you going to skip some pages?"

To which I respond, "Yes, probably. It is a very long book, so we will just read some of it."

"But Mommy," she says, "you just have to be patient and read each page. Does that sound like a plan?"

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-29T14:13:00.001-05:00

We might be crazy... Take 2

2009-04-28T23:02:00.006-05:00

Or maybe that should be "I might be crazy"...

... Sean had nothing to do with this latest adventure...

We got Addie roller skates when she was two. She still loves them and always asks to go roller skating. Charlotte, being the little sister, wants to do everything that Addie does. She is also fasinated by anything that you put on your feet. So for the past 6 months she has been practically begging for us to put the skates on her. I finally gave in...

This is fun!

Whoa, this tile is a bit slippery...

Uh-oh.

Did you notice last year Addie was wearing elbow pads, knee pads, and a helmet? Poor Charlotte.

She's actually not crying because she fell, she's crying because the skates fell off!

I think we'll wait until her birthday before we offically get a pair for her.

Sleep

2009-04-28T11:41:00.002-05:00

Last night we had a huge thunderstorm. Think shake-the-walls, set-off-car-alarms, loud thunderstorm. It amazes me that both girls completely slept through the whole thing, yet if either one of them hears a peep out of their sister they are wide awake.

Sibling Rivalry

2009-04-23T15:01:00.004-05:00

Usually I get very frustrated when the girls want the EXACT same thing. They both want the blue cup, or the baby with the pink shirt, or to sit in the purple laundry basket. Most of the time it ends with both of the girls screaming and the item being sent to time-out. Today we were playing and Addie wanted a hug. As soon as I was done hugging Addie, Charlotte reached her arms out and it was obvious that she wanted a hug also. I was more than happy to give her one. Of course, since Charlotte got a hug Addie wanted another. Then Charlotte wanted another... then Addie did... then Charlotte...

I can deal with this.

In case you didn't know...

2009-04-05T23:14:00.006-05:00

I got into dental hygiene school!!

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a dentist. Most people think I'm crazy, but honestly, the thought of drilling and filling teeth makes me sooo excited. My plan original plan was to graduate college, go to dental school, get married right after dental school, work a few years to pay back loans, then have a few kids and work part time. Well, Sean (and then the girls) came along and kinda threw a wrench in my plans. That's okay, I would rather have them over all the teeth in the world. Last September I decided to chase my dream again. However, I decided it would be more responsible to be a dental hygienist rather than a dentist - it will be a much more mommy-friendly career.

Wish me luck!!

Especially for our college friends

2009-04-03T23:32:00.005-05:00

In college some of our friends read a collection of comics called "The Parking Lot Is Full." One of the classic comics (at least to us) was one called "Eat the Stick." It has since gone out of production, this was the only picture that I could find. In case you can't read the caption, it says "Games that aren't any fun." One evening, when there obviously wasn't much else to do, the guys decided to actually play this game with one of their roommates, Tim, who hadn't read the comic yet. He did actually try to take a bite, but I don't think he could actually swallow it.

Tonight, as Addie was (sort of) helping me get dinner ready, she found a small stick in the laundry room and proceeded to put it on Charlotte's plate.

She looks about as excited as Tim was.

I did take some pictures...

2009-04-02T22:42:00.004-05:00

... unfortunately, they weren't of the girls. Sean is trying to figure out his Texan facial hair. What do you think?

Okay, I did take one of the girls

2009-04-02T21:50:00.001-05:00

We were swinging them in a blanket and tossing them onto the couch. They loved it!

Today I will take some pictures

2009-03-29T23:22:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow you will see them.

Knock knock

2009-03-27T20:33:00.003-05:00

Addie loves knock knock jokes, but I don't think she quite grasps the concept yet. Here is one that she told to me while we were driving home today:

Addie: Knock, knock
Me: Who's there?
Addie: Pnifshinf
Me: Pnifshinf who?
Addie: Pnif funny!

Here's another...

Addie: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
Addie: Ding dong! *hysterical laughing*

Sisters

2009-03-24T17:18:00.002-05:00

One of Addie's favorite games is "Bedtime." She will either put us to bed or she will pretend to go to sleep herself. Sometimes this game evolves into a version of "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," sometimes it just turns into hiding under the covers. Today Charlotte started crawling all over Addie while she was "sleeping." Usually when this happens it invokes screaming and pushing, but today Addie just took Charlotte's hands and started making her swim like a turtle. Then Charlotte gave Addie a hug and Addie said, "Awwww, you're the most best friend!"

When you grow up

2009-03-19T20:57:00.002-05:00

Sean turned 28 a couple days ago. We were busy cleaning the yard on his actual birthday. Then we went out for a late dinner. So we finally had his cake tonight. Sean asked if we had enough candles and I had to answer "no." We only had the rest of the box from Addie's birthday. So we put two candles on one side of the cake and eight candles on the other side. We then decided that the age you officially grow up is 24 because that is the year you outgrow the box of candles. Happy birthday, Sean!!

Happy Birthday, Addie!

2009-03-10T22:26:00.003-05:00

Take a look at our sidebar. It is hard to believe that the little girl in the swing is now 3 years old. It is even more amazing to look back and see how much she has grown in this past year. The other day I was looking at old posts and watched this video of her birthday last year. It is hard to remember her talking like that. She can now carry on complete conversations and is MUCH easier to understand. But she still didn't like the singing this year. I'll add some pictures to this post tomorrow, they are still downloading off the card and it is time for bed.

A quiz about Sean

2009-02-28T21:09:00.007-06:00

I stumbled across this game on a random blog and thought it looked fun. I copied all their questions and answered them the way I think SEAN will answer. Then later today, Sean will put in his answers and we'll see how close they were. Here we go...

-How do you feel about Country Music?
A being S: I tolerate it. I know April generally enjoys it, so I try to make her happy when she's in the car, but I'd rather listen to something different.

S: Generally, yes, April is correct. She, however, forgets that I listen to whatever my mood moves me to. About once a month I get a hankerin' for a good two step beat and some fiddles. Not to mention, I like to listen to a lot of roots country like bluegrass and gospel.

-How many curlers do you wear in your hair at night?
A: Yeah, I don't think this question really applies to me...

S: Tsk tsk tsk. How we can be in such close proximity and still unknown to one another. Ahhh. . . 11 curlers.

-What is the last book you read or are reading?
A: This is a trick question. You see, I don't normally read a book from cover to cover. I start one book, read it about halfway through, then go down to Barnes and Noble and buy 5 more. I start one of my new books, read it about halfway and then switch to a different book. Once I'm halfway through this book I forget about the other three books that I bought and make another trip to Barnes and Noble.

S: I have been guilty about that in the past. I don't think April has paid much attention to my reading habits lately, though, as I have made a much more disciplined effort to finish all of my books. Furthermore, April recorded my routine in a slightly slant way: of the 5 books I bring home from Barnes and Noble, I finish at least one cover to cover.

-What 3 movies would you take to a Desert Island (this is of course assuming that you could watch them there)?
A: Star Wars... can I count the Trilogy as one movie? Ummmmm... I'm not sure what else, I like lots of movies.

S: Actually, I would just bring The Empire Strikes Back, The Princess Bride and The Professional.

-What 3 TV shows on disc would you take to a Desert Island?
A: The Office, LOST, and the X-Files

S: No changes there.

-Does this quiz stink?
A: No... and I don't either, I just took a shower.

S: What are you talking about. I'm a boy. I always stink.

-Name your 3 Favorite Fruits:
A: Strawberries, blueberries and grapes.

S: Apples (no Granny Smith, please), grapes (the little, super sweet round ones for sure) and properly ripe kiwi (in that order).

-What is in the Back Seat of your car right now?
A: Nothing, I drive a rockin' scooter with English papers in the trunk.

S: Oh yeah, I'm about to go beast mode with my scooter.

-When was the last time you threw up?
A: I don't remember.

S: I think sometime my first year of teaching. I think that was the only sick day I had that year.

-What is your favorite curse word?
A: Well, I generally try not to curse, especially since one of my daughters seems to remember EVERYTHING that she hears. And I'm sure the other one will start repeating things soon enough. But, I believe my favorite curse word is another name for a donkey.

S: I plead the 5th on this one.

-Name one thing you are really good at:
A: Learning languages... seriously, when I started my first year as a teacher I spoke hardly a lick of Spanish - by the end of the year I could carry on conversations with my students and their parents.

S: Ha! Napping. I'm very good at napping.

-Name one thing you are really bad at:
A: I can't seem to remember that dirty clothes go on the hamper, not on the floor.

S: Anything that involves coordination. And I only put my clothes on the floor because the multiple piles of clothes that April and the girls have created would get lonely if they were missing my contribution.

-What 3 books would you take to a desert island?
A: I think I would rather die than have to limit myself to 3 books.

S: I will not even consider such a blasphemy.

-Name your 3 favorite drinks:
A: Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper, Coke.

S: Dublin Dr. Pepper, Plane Jane Dr. Pepper and Henry Weinhard's root beer.

-Name your 3 Favorite Vegetables:
A: Broccoli, asparagus, zucchini.

S: Zucchini? Zucchini? What am I? Some kind of Commie pinko? Zucchini will be the downfall of America, just you watch. It's not a vegetable; it's a Chinese plot to take over is what it is. Let's substitute that for mushrooms.

-What is your favorite Ice Cream Flavor?
A: Mint chocolate chip, as if there was any other option.

S: *drools*

-What was the last thing you ate?
A: These amazing spinach enchiladas made by my beautiful wife.

S: Ahh, it's so cute when you're conceited.

-What is the last sporting event you watched?
A: A hockey game.

S: Nope. The teachers vs. students basketball game at school.

-Are you free on Saturday night?
A: Are you asking me out?

S: April, any time you want to ask me out, you've got my number ;).

-What is your first thought when you hear "Australia"?
A: Kangaroos...

S: Toilets spinning in the reverse direction.

-How many states have you been to?
A: Hmmmm, let me see... Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, Iowa, Missouri, Florida.

S: Add to that Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota and Hawaii.

-What is the biggest annoyance in your life right now (besides this quiz)?
A: Thinking about having to re-build our fence over spring break.

S: Well played, madam, well played.

Check back to see Sean's answers...if you want to. There's no pressure here.

Reading with Dad

2009-02-17T15:15:00.001-06:00

What could be better?

Firsts

2009-02-17T14:06:00.001-06:00

Charlotte had a bit of an unsual first recently. Her first bath by herself. Other than her sponge baths in the hospital she has always either taken a shower with me or a bath with Addie. I'm not sure if she knew what to think.

Eating Healthy

2009-02-17T13:18:00.004-06:00

I don't know why I didn't do this earlier. A couple weeks ago I taught Addie about healthy foods. I told her how healthy foods make our bodies grow big a strong. Ever since she is constantly asking me, "Is ________ healthy?" I will respond by telling her how healthy the item is... super healthy... very healthy... a little bit healthy... or not at all healthy. Today she wanted a bowl of carrots for breakfast because carrots are super healthy!

Pay it forward

2009-02-05T17:21:00.002-06:00

My friends are playing this great game and I thought it would be fun to join. Here's how it works:

"The Pay It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward". I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and posted out sometime within the next month (I changed that from "year". A year is too long. But it would make the next sentence make more sense). How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'PAY IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL PAY IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG. I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Pay It Forward recipients."

101

2009-02-03T20:21:00.011-06:00

1. I like to floss. I think my teeth look better after I floss.
2. I've always wanted to be a dentist. But I think I will be a hygienist instead so I can work part time and be home with my girls more.

3. I have a love hate relationship with cooking.
4. I like to cook elaborate meals, but I hate making a mess.
5. So instead, I like to cook one dish meals that are super fast.
6. Actually, let me change that... I don't like to cook them, that's just what I end up doing.
7. I love going to school.
8. But sometimes I feel guilty about taking time to myself.
9. I feel like I should want to stay home.
10. But I feel like I am a better mom when I am gone a few times a week.
11. I hate to fold laundry.
12. I hate putting away the folded laundry even more.
13. I love to vacuum.
14. I especially like to vacuum with bagless vacuums because I like to see all the dirt it picks up.
15. I think eyeballs look creepy.

16. I like feet.
17. I don't like the middle of Oreos.
18. My dad has two tatoos. Once, when I was little, I asked him why he got them. He told me that someone snuck into his house in the middle of the night and tatooed him. I was so scared that I was going to wake up one morning with tatoos.
19. I love to read blogs.
20. I wish I updated my blog more often so that I have it to read later.
21. But I don't because I worry about boring my readers.
22. I'm sure you're probably bored right now.
23. I don't like scary movies.
24. Sean has to set his alarm for a palindrome.
25. I have to do it now, too.
26. I don't water plants.
27. I feel bad about this.
28. I didn't like the song "Frosty the Snowman" when I was little because I felt bad that he melted.
29. I am super competitive.
30. I am even competitive with myself.
31. I want to be instantly good at whatever I try or I don't really want to do it anymore.
32. I am pariod about being on time.
33. I always like to arrive 15 minutes early.
34. Sean thinks this is weird.
35. He calls it "April Time"
36. Sometimes when I tell him the time he will ask me, "Is that real time or April Time?"
37. I like to snooze. Before I got married I would sometimes snooze for an hour. Sean broke me of that habit, now I usually only hit the button twice.
38. I am so glad that I have two girls.
39. I am even more glad that they seem to be becoming friends.
40. I always wanted a sister.
41. I would have preferred an older sister, but I would have enjoyed a younger sister as well.
42. I also wanted an older brother.
43. But I am glad I have two younger brothers and wouldn't trade them for sister or an older brother.
44. I'm cheap. I have a hard time buying any clothes for me that cost more than $10.
45. I like to plan things.
46. I love to use ellipses...
47. But it drives Sean crazy...
48. But sometimes I do it anyway...
49. Because I just can't help it...
50. For the longest time I didn't want to grow any taller because I liked that song, "Five foot two, eyes of blue, but oh what those five feet can do, has anyone seen my gal"
51. But once I hit 5'3" I wanted to be taller because I no longer fit the song.
52. Now I would like to be 5'5" or 5'7"
53. But not 5'6"
54. My favorite word is apoptosis.
55. When I was little I didn't like odd numbers.

56. I don't like swimming.
57. When I was little I loved swimming, but my mom hated it.
58. I thought she was weird.
59. My mom is my greatest role model... I want to be just like her when I grow up...
60. I hope my daughters feel that Way about me someday.
61. I never wanted to be a doctor when I was growing up... for some reason I think that is weird, eventhough I'm sure there are lots of people who never wanted to be doctors.
62. I still don't want to be a doctor...
63. But I think going to medical school would be fun.
64. If I had an unlimited bank account and didn't have to ever worry about money, I would probably spend the rest of my life in school.
65. First I would go to dental school, then cosmetology school, the medical school...
66. I might be finished after that...
67. Nevermind, I would also go to chiropractic school... I think I would go there before medical school.
68. I probably wouldn't get a deree in any of these fields - taking boards would be too stressful. I would just go to learn for fun.
69. In 10th grade I dissected a frog. I couldn't eat macaroni and cheese for years after that because I thought it looked like the fat in the frog.

70. I have kissed the Stanley Cup. I snuck into a party when the Avalanche won their second Cup.
71. I'm jealous of my brother because he has no debt. I think he is one of the most considerate people I know. It amazes me how thoughtful and caring he is about everyone and everything. I wish he was more confidant and realized how awesome he is.
72. My other brother is a little crazy...
73. I am envious at how social he is - I think that is a great asset in life and can often get your further than any degree. He is also super artistic and creative.
74. I think my dad is the nicest person I know.
75. I was a waitress for a few years and now very rarely will tip less than 20%.
76. I miss Nebraska.
77. Sometimes I call it Ber-Naska... I'm not sure why.
78. I hope that my girls will have to share a bedroom at some point in their childhood.
79. I think sharing rooms is good for kids.
80. I remember enjoying sharing a room with my brother.
81. I wonder if my mom remembers it as fondly?
82. I wonder if my brother does?

83. I think probably the best part about sharing a room is bunkbeds.
84. I don't know how any biologist could not believe in God - our bodies are so amazingly complex there is no way it could all happen due to chance.
85. I don't like this keyboard.
86. I do believe in evolution, I don't know how you couldn't. But believe God helps direct it.
87. I need a lot of sleep.
88. Nine hours a night would be perfect.
89. I think I need this much because I force myself to sleep very lightly so that I will wake up if I hear the girls.
90. It drives me crazy when people can't seem to park between the lines and take up two spaces.
91. It also drives me crazy when people don't pull over for sirens.
92. I wish I used our camcorder more often.
93. I really like the way my cursive looks (I wrote this whole list by hand first) - I wish you could see it, it is beautiful.
94. I am extremely shy.
95. I worry that my girls will be shy as well.
96. I wish I lived closer to family.
97. I am a chronic project starter. I always have grand plans for big projects, but they never seem to get finished before I start another project.

98. I know how to drive a scooter.
99. That doesn't sound as impressive as I think it is.
100. How about this? I know how to drive an automatic motorcycle. That is pretty much what it is, a motorcycle without a clutch.
101. I always wear a helmet.

I love this!

2009-01-30T21:21:00.003-06:00

This is Addie and Charlotte's favorite thing to do right now. They walk around the house holding hands. Addie will either sing and sort of skip, or she will have a mission for them... they'll go to the "store" (her room), the "library" (Charlotte's room), or the "post office" (the dining room). Charlotte just soaks it up, she loves getting any sort of attention from her sister. I love when they play together.

"Whoa! Slow down, my legs are short!"

"Oh, you fell down? Let me drag you around the room instead."

More conversations with a two year old. . .

2009-01-10T23:05:00.003-06:00

Let's file this one under "be careful what you ask for," which is a parenting file that will be forever expanding. April and I, thanks to our friends the Ortizs, managed to sneak away for a date. Upon picking up Addie and Charlotte, the following conversation ensued on the drive home:

Addie: Where are [did] Momma and Dada going [go]?
Me: Mom and Dad had fun tonight on -
Addie: No you didn't! You didn't have fun tonight.
Me: Yes we did. Mom and Dad went on a date. A date is when you go and do something fun with someone you love, like when I take you to the bookstore - that's an Addie Dada date. Dates are fun, huh?
Addie: Yeah.
Me: But, are you ever going to date a boy?
Addie (immediately): No, I'm not gonna date a boy.
(There is silence in the car for the better part of a minute. Little did I knew Addie was contemplating the conversation)
Addie: I'm gonna date TWO boys.

When the chuckling subsided, Addie proceeded to tell us what she did at the Ortizs'. When it came to dinner, she told us about eating a grilled cheese sandwhich (which she pronounces "girl" cheese sandwhich) and produced this great line with much pomp and pride:
"I ate girl [grilled] cheese sandwhiches because I'm a girl!"

P.S.

2009-01-09T23:38:00.001-06:00

Enjoy our new song. We did it because we hate these automatic music players. Grrrr...

Okay, if you missed it, it was a Rick Roll. But even that annoyed me, so I took it down.

HO HO HO!

2008-12-13T20:30:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it?

2008-12-10T21:30:00.003-06:00

It is snowing! And it is actually sticking to cars and roofs! Too bad both of the girls are asleep so they won't get to see it. These pictures make it look much more dramatic than it actually is. There isn't even a 1/8 of an inch and it isn't sticking to the grass, so it really doesn't even count as snow in most other parts of the country. But it is still exciting for Houston so I thought it deserved a post.

Forts are fun

2008-12-10T17:02:00.002-06:00

Especially when you have two cats to play with you.

Want free camping stuff?

2008-12-06T22:51:00.002-06:00

I found a great website that enrolls people in beta testing of camping equipment. I haven't received any of the stuff yet, but it looks promising. Check it out:

http://www.outpacker.com

A conversation with a 2-year old

2008-12-02T20:47:00.001-06:00

Sean: I bought Charlotte at the store for thirty dollars.

Addie: No you didn’t! Charlotte came from Mommy’s tummy!

Sean: I bought you at the store for thirty dollars!

Addie: No! You didn’t buy me at the store!!!

Sean: Where did you come from?

Addie: I came from Daddy’s tummy!

sad day

2008-12-02T16:36:00.003-06:00

We had a really tough morning, everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, sharing was hard, and both girls wanted all of my attention all of the time. To make matters worse, Addie decided that she wasn't going to fall asleep and Charlotte decided to wake up 10 minutes after I put Addie in her room for her attepted nap. So no break for me.

After "nap" time we went outside to play. All of our morning troubles seemed to be a thing of the past. Everyone was happy. And then Addie heard the ice cream truck.

Addie: "Mom, do we have enough money for ice cream?"

I usually tell her we don't have enough money when she asks, but today she was so cute and I wanted to keep the happy mood, so I started to consider it. She obviously caught me hesitation because she got a HUGE smile on her face.

Addie: "We have money inside! It's in your closet!"

Okay, I'll cave. We run inside, grab some money and race back outside to find the ice cream truck. Addie jumps on her bike and races to the end of the block as fast as her little legs could take her. But it was gone. We were too slow.

She doesn't seem too traumatized about it, we had some string cheese when we got back home. Maybe Daddy will bring some ice cream home.

Okay, I admit it. I'm a Texan.

2008-12-01T15:36:00.005-06:00

Sean would tell you that it happened a long time ago, but I would have argued that I still had some thick-Northern blood running through me. For the past two years I have laughed at these Texans who bundle up their babies the moment the temperature drops below 80. My first winter here I was scolded on several occasions for not dressing Adeline properly, at the same time, I was wearing a skirt and short sleeves. I don't think I wore a jacket that entire winter, and everyone kept saying how it was an unusually cold winter. For one week in November it did get chilly, the highs were in the upper 40s. On Friday that week we decided it was finally cold enough to turn on the heater. But when we turned it on it didn't work. We were still in our apartment and it was after the office had closed for the weekend, so the maintenance crew was gone. No problem. We tossed on an extra layer and put a space heater in Addie's room at night. When I called on Monday to let them know about the heater they seemed shocked that we were able to survive 3 days without a heater. I was informed that if this were ever to happen again that I should immediately call the emergency line. Right-o. I hardly consider 40 degrees an emergency, but okay.

Anyway, that was the old, April Conaway. Today it was 55 degrees and I wanted to take the girls to the park. I dressed them in pants and long sleeves (the thickest I could find). I put on their heavy coats. Then I started to look for hats and was shocked that we didn't have any winter hats. Okay, I guess they'll be fine, their coats have hats that they can wear on our bike ride, they'll survive without hats at the park. But I did put hats on a mental list of things to buy.

In my defense, I only wore a sweatshirt and not a coat. Do I get points for that?

2008-11-30T20:29:00.004-06:00

A few days ago we decorated our tree, here Charlotte is helping out... with carrot all over her face...

A cute thing that Charlotte has recently learned is how to shake her head no. If you offer her food that she doesn't want, she will shake her head. If you try to take something away from her, she will shake her head. If someone tries to take her away from Mamma, she'll shake her head. It is cute because she definitely knows what it means, and she is very firm with her opinion. But I know it is probably not going to be cute for very long!

The Zoo

2008-11-30T20:21:00.003-06:00

Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, our zoo has a free day. This year Sean was so nice and he took the girls out for the day and let me do some studying. Everyone had a great time. I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The girls loved the animals. And Sean enjoyed spending some time with his girls. Trying to juggle two excited girls by himself, he understandably didn't get very many pictures.

Adeline loved the flamingos, she is still talking about them 3 days later.

When she saw the bears she started saying, "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?"

2008-11-20T22:30:00.001-06:00

2008-11-19T18:25:00.001-06:00

The Velveteen Rabbit

2008-11-19T17:59:00.002-06:00

Addie has a new favorite book, The Velveteen Rabbit. She has two different versions and it is not unusual for her to request both of them as her two books before bed. This afternoon as I was reading one to her she started pointing at the different rabbits and saying, "this one is real, that one is a toy." I started to expand the concept beyond pictures and told her, "Pepper and Danu are real kitties. This kitty in your crib is a toy. Charlotte is a real baby, this is a toy baby." Then she started naming off things herself, "This is a toy bunny. This is a toy. That dog is a toy. Tigger is real. Yeah! Tigger is REAL, he really, really is real!!" For those of you who don't know, Tigger is her favorite stuffed animal, for the longest time she couldn't sleep without him. I guess she gets the message of the book.

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

2008-11-16T22:18:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it has already been a year.
I had high hopes for Charlotte digging into her cake and getting messy.
"Here is your cake, Charlotte. Would you like me to dump it in your lap?"
Mom, what do I do with this?
"Don't worry," said Addie, "I'll show you how."
Okay, maybe I'll try it.
Ahhhh, my hands are messy! I'm done with this.
Okay then, I'll eat it for you.
I just had to post this picture of the girls enjoying Charlotte's new toy. It has a handle in the back so Addie can push her all over the house.

Addie's Favorite Things

2008-11-14T12:54:00.000-06:00

Wearing hats. She got this hat when she was two months old and she thinks it is the coolest thing because it has a monkey on it.

And standing on her head. She's constantly doing this. Actually, tonight as I was singing her goodnight song she was standing on her head in her crib.

Charlotte's Favorite Things

2008-11-11T13:43:00.005-06:00

I love when they play together. Here Addie is helping Charlotte with two of her favorite things:
1. Pulling items out of a basket.
2. Climbing into a small space.

Besides making messes and climbing, Charlotte enjoys wearing shoes. Nearly every day she will find a shoe and bring it to me - then she whines until I put it on her. Here she is modeling one of her sisters shoes. She was so proud! Of course, the shoe was too big for her and it fell off somewhere around the house. Now Addie is missing one brown shoe.

Well. . .

2008-10-31T20:24:00.003-05:00

We just got back from trick-or-treating. There is a good assortment of candy on the floor, and just the proximity to that candy has made Addie pretty loopy. Right now, she's going after a purple sucker. Of course, about thirty-seven percent of that sucker is all over her face, neck and chest. April looks at Addie and laughs, "you're getting all purple."
To which Addie replies, "Well, it IS purple."

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T13:56:00.000-05:00

Then and now

2008-10-24T22:01:00.005-05:00

This basket is so much fun - at least the girls think so. A few nights ago Charlotte had a blast pushing this around and climbing in and out of it. I couldn't help but think about Addie when she was roughly the same age.

Charlotte, 11 months:

Adeline, 10 months:

Fall Fun

2008-10-24T20:10:00.006-05:00

A few days ago the playgroup from our church took a trip up north to a place called the Oil Ranch. I was a little nervous because a lot of the activities at the ranch involve farm animals. The last time Addie was around animals like this was at the rodeo and she was terrified. But, we don't get many opportunites to get out in the country, so I decided to risk it.

First up was the hayride to feed the cows. Addie wasn't too thrilled, she wanted to sit on my lap the entire time, but it did go better than I was expecting. The cows put their heads right into the wagon and would eat out of your hand... we just threw our food onto the hay and let them eat it from there. Considering the cows got within two feet of Addie, I am very proud to say there was no screaming involved.

After the cows we went to a hay-maze. Much less frightening.

Next we had a picnic lunch. Charlotte was so tired from the cow excitement that she almost fell asleep on the grass.

After lunch we rode on the train. This was Addie's favorite part of the trip.

After the train ride we headed off to the petting zoo and pony rides. This was the only interesting picture I got at the petting zoo. Charlotte was zonked out in her stroller and Addie wanted nothing to do with the animals. But they did have this chicken which I thought was really funny looking.

Out of everything that day, I was most surprised by Adeline's reaction to the ponies. She doesn't even like the 25 cent mechanical horses in supermarkets, so I was completely shocked when she rode the horse! She was a little nervous at the beginning, I had to hold her hand the first time. But after she was done she actually wanted to go again! These pictures are from round #2 when she was comfortable enough to ride without me.

Then we tried to put Charlotte on a horse. Not to ride, just to get a picture. But she wanted nothing to do with it.

Here we are at the end of the day. Charlotte is half naked because we had snow-cones and she enjoyed hers a little too much.

6th Folder Tag

2008-10-19T21:51:00.002-05:00

Okay, I am actually doing a tag! Only because it is super, super easy. If you get tagged, you have to go to your Pictures folder, open the 6th folder and post the 6th picture from that folder. Then you tag 6 people (well, it was originally supposed to be 5, but I thought 6 worked better with the 6 theme)... so I tag Scott, Susannah, Holly, Shannon, Lisa and Kelianne.

The important stuff

2008-10-16T17:55:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to teach Addie her letters recently. It didn't seem like it was really sinking in, she could pick out O and B, but that is about it. Well, today I gave her some M&Ms. She was munching away when suddenly she looked at one and said, "Look, Mom, an M! M is for Mommy!" I guess it just takes the right motivation to get her to tell us what she knows.

Naptime at Wal-Mart

2008-10-14T16:33:00.002-05:00

Charlotte got up really early today and shopping was just a little too much for her.

Cheeks!

2008-10-06T10:18:00.003-05:00

I wanted to say thank you to my friend who showed me a great secret to taking cute pictures of kids. You say teach your kids to put their cheeks together anytime you say "cheeks." They think it is funny and you get a cute shot with their heads posed almost perfectly.

We tried this with Addie and she had a great time. Take a look at our results!

It doesn't work as well with Charlotte and Addie together, but I'm sure the kinks will work themselves out in a matter of time.

Dad has a lot of work to do

2008-10-02T13:46:00.009-05:00

Yep, we survived the hurricane. We lost a good portion of our fence and we did lose electricity for a long time, but the house and everything inside (people included) faired very well. The girls actually slept through the entire storm. The wind was so loud and occasionally over the wind we could hear a large "thump" which was usually a branch being ripped off a tree. I must say, I am very impressed with trees. At the height of the storm you could even see the trunks of huge oak trees swaying. I don't even know how to describe what the branches were doing - it seriously looked like the whole tree was made of Jello! I kept waiting for our neighbor's tree to snap and takeout our garage. Thankfully it didn't.

The next morning, when we were finally able to get outside and assess the damage, we found that our front yard now looked like a jungle. The thing I was most surprized about were the pulverized leaves. I was expecting downed branches, but the porch, sidewalk and walls of our house were covered in little tiny leaf-shards. It looked like someone had stuck them in a blender and then glued them to any surface they could find.

And what work does Sean have to do?

Well, there are still branches all over the city. Everyone has cleared their lawns and put the debris into piles by the curb, now we are just patiently waiting for them to be cleared away. Occasionally Addie will notice one of these piles and say, "Oh, look at those branches! They fell out of the tree. Dada needs to put them back!"

So Sean, get to work...

The right hand lane is the line of cars waiting to get gas!

Beer and PopTarts

2008-09-12T14:52:00.002-05:00

Last night we ventured out to Wal-Mart. Not because we really needed anything, we have plenty of food and water. I just thought it would be nice to have a few new games, books, and craft items to keep us entertained while we are cooped up in the house. We also got some unhealthy snacks.

Let me tell you, Wal-Mart is a very scary place to be the day before a hurricane. There were no parking spots available and no shopping carts. When we walked in the doors we almost turned back around because the lines at the checkout were at least 15 people long. Here is a little hint for the future: if you are preparing for a natural disaster and need to go to Wal-Mart, use the register back in electronics. We were in and out in under an hour.

After Hurricane Katrina I heard a statistic that the two most purchased items in preparation for a hurricane are PopTarts and beer. Sure enough, it seemed like everyone had a case or two of some sort of alcohol item in their cart. And when we went to the PopTart aisle the only thing left was a few boxes of blueberry. It is a good thing we went when we did, we almost missed out. So we got our version... PopTarts and sparkling cider.

2008-09-11T14:59:00.003-05:00

Hurricane Ike is supposed to make landfall late tomorrow night. Thankfully we are pretty prepared. We are not in the evacuation area and after hearing horror stories about people being stuck in traffic for 14 hours trying to get to Austin (normally a 3 hour drive), we have decided to stay put. We have plenty of food and water to last about a week. The only thing we are worried about is losing electricity. Several days in Houston in an unairconditioned house could make for a very grumpy family. Later this afternoon I'm going to the store to pick up some fun games and activities to do while we are stuck inside. Hmmmm, I wonder what Sean would think about repainting the living room this weekend?

One of the things they advise you to do is fill up your gas tank. If you live in a hurricane prone area you are actually supposed to keep your tank at least half full. Even if you don't evacuate it will often take days before gas stations have any gas because the trucks can't get into town. I'm not very good at doing this. With gas prices being so high and having to deal with two kids in the car I try to put off this chore as long as possible... sometimes I wait a little too long.

Well, with the hurricane coming of course my tank is almost empty. So I ventured out this morning to fill the tank. I passed a station and the lines were HUGE. I found another station that was virtually empty, I was so excited and was feeling a big smug that I wasn't going to have to wait in line. Nope, no luck for me, they were out of gas already. So I waited in line for 30 minutes like everyone else. But now our tank is filled and we're ready.

On another note... Some of our family members have been complaining about cold weather and a few of them have even had their first snowfalls. Doesn't this look like it should be bringing some nice cold air and maybe some snow? Nope, the only thing it has for us is wind, rain, and probably more humidity.

Adeline Conaway Airport

2008-09-07T21:02:00.002-05:00

If you ask Addie what her full name is she will tell you, "Adeline Conaway Airport!" You can argue with her all you want, but she will insist that it is Adeline Conaway Airport, not just Adeline Conaway.

On another airport note - we were driving yesterday and Adeline saw an airplane overhead. She got very excited and said, "See the airplane? It's going to Colorado. It's taking people to Grandma's house."

.... Grandma, I hope you are ready for lots of guests!

Addie's Smile

2008-09-05T22:05:00.005-05:00

It has been difficult to get decent pictures of Addie recently. Anytime I take out the camera she says "Smile!!" and attempts to smile. This is what it looks like:

It is cute that she likes getting her picture taken and that she tries to smile, but it doesn't make for the greatest pictures. Here are the only two pictures from the last few weeks that aren't "smiling."

Tired Charlotte

2008-09-05T21:45:00.002-05:00

My girls aren't the greatest sleepers when they are little, so imagine my surprise when Char started nodding off at dinner tonight. I was even more shocked when she actually fell asleep! Of course it only lasted about 5 minutes until Addie bumped the high chair.

We have a tooth!

2008-09-05T21:23:00.003-05:00

It's a top tooth, and it is on the side, so no pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Since I haven't posted pictures in awhile

2008-08-30T23:03:00.000-05:00

Standing

2008-08-30T22:56:00.002-05:00

After dinner tonight the girls were playing in the living room. I looked over and Charlotte was standing in the middle of the rug! Yep, that's right. Standing, completely steady and inspecting a toy. She must have stood up from a sitting position, because there was nothing around her to pull up on. She did it a few more times throughout the night, but as soon as we started clapping for her she realized was she was doing, got too excited and couldn't stand anymore. Silly girl.

Who will you vote for?

2008-08-30T08:49:00.006-05:00

We just found out that Sean is running for president. We don't have a whole lot of time to campaign since we just found out. I think we'll start with California. News clip

Halloween

2008-08-24T21:52:00.002-05:00

Last week Addie found her pumpkin from last Halloween and carried it around for about 3 days. I started thinking about Halloween costumes for the girls. Charlotte will probably be walking by then, so I think it would be cute to coordinate them. Addie is a big Dora fan, so I am thinking about maybe having them be Dora and Boots. I thought Addie would like this idea so I ran it past her.

Me - Addie, do you remember Halloween last year? Do you remember knocking on doors and saying Trick-or-Treat?

Addie - Hmmmmm...

Me - Halloween is a special time when you dress up. You knock on people's doors and say Trick-or-Treat, and then they give you treats.

Addie - Yeah! Knock on doors and get treats!

Me - Do you want to be Dora for Halloween?

Addie - Hmmm... no, I want to be Addie.

At least her costume will be easy.

Poor neglected blog

2008-08-22T22:43:00.005-05:00

If you remember, we had a great debate a few months ago about our summer plans. Well, we finally took that trip (we flew). We spent all of July visiting family and friends. Our first stop was Colorado. We arrived just in time for the 4th of July. Addie liked the fireworks - but she enjoyed them a lot more when she was inside Grandma & Grandpa's house watching through the window. The best part was that the celebration didn't end on the 4th, the neighbors lit off fireworks every night that week. When it would get dark, Addie would run to the window to watch them. She spend the week saying, "Fireworks go BOOM!!"

We went to a place called "Tiny Town." All the buildings are miniature versions of the city. Addie loved going into the houses and peeking out.

Riding on the train. Yes, it is July. Yes, I was cold. Yes, you can laugh.

Riding again with Grandma and Grandpa.

Our next stop was Wyoming. It was so nice to be out of the city. One of our favorite experiences here was going to the park. We spent about an hour on this bridge, walking back and forth, and throwing rocks off.

Charlotte liked watching all the action snuggled up next to Mommy. Yes, I was cold here too.
Our final stop on our tour was Montana. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures, you'll just have to take our word that we were there.

We had such a great time visiting everyone and were so sad that we had to leave.

What I've been doing

2008-07-02T23:45:00.002-05:00

I've been doing a lot of sewing recently and just wanted to show some of it off.

This one is my most recent and my favorite at the moment. The waist buckles, so it is super fast to put on.

Not quite the BIGGEST loser

2008-07-02T23:42:00.002-05:00

Well, the results are in and I finished 3rd. Not bad. But I am a little depressed because I missed first place by less than 1/2 a pound. I missed 2nd place by less than .2 pounds. Bummer.

Charlotte

2008-06-26T23:05:00.002-05:00

Some cute pictures of the Char-baby because these are much better pictures to have a the top of a blog.
I just love her eyes!!

The Biggest Loser

2008-06-26T22:55:00.002-05:00

I've been debating posting this all day. On one hand, I'm really proud of what I have accomplished. On the other hand, I don't really like posting pictures of myself and I am really not fond of these first three pictures. But I have decided to be brave.

For the last 8 weeks I have been participating in an online Biggest Loser competition. I have lost over 10 pounds and over 3 inches from my stomach. Our final weigh-in was today. We won't have the final results until Monday.

Before:

After:

Two little monkeys...

2008-06-25T17:06:00.004-05:00

I put Charlotte down for a nap today. She was awake when I put her into her crib, so I was pretty sure she wasn't going to fall asleep. Five minutes later she is still quiet, yay!!! It is so nice to be wrong sometimes. Addie heads off down the hall to go play - I should know not to let her do this. I hear screaming coming from Charlotte's room.

I knew Addie had woken Charlotte, but I wasn't prepared for what I was going to find. I walk into the room and BOTH girls are in the crib! Addie is jumping up and down just as fast as she can and Charlotte is screaming because she is being bounced into the rails.

I think I'm going to go out and get one of those child-proof doorknob things because Charlotte obviously is no longer safe in her crib.

6 month stats, a month later

2008-06-24T23:29:00.004-05:00

Well, Charlotte had her 6 month checkup today. It was a month late because I wasn't on the ball about scheduling it. She is 14 pounds 8 ounces, which puts her in the 30th percentile. And she is... are you ready for this... 28 inches long, which puts her over the 99th percentile for height! The doctor said there may have been some wiggling going on, but she is still probably in the top 20%. I couldn't believe it, she just doesn't look that big to me.

In other news, a few days ago she pulled all the way to standing. We were giving Addie a bath and Charlotte crawled over to the tub, pulled herself up, and then proceeded to try to climb in the tub. I told you, she just wants to do everything her sister does.

Going on a Berry Hunt

2008-06-14T22:29:00.004-05:00

We've been really busy these last couple weeks and I've fallen behind with the pictures. Over Memorial Day Weekend we went to a berry farm. We were originally going to pick blackberries, strawberries and blueberries, but it was blazing hot so we settled with just blackberries.

Ready, set, lets go!

Look, Mom! I found one!!

And she's off!!

2008-06-14T22:11:00.003-05:00

Charlotte is officially crawling. Addie is not happy. She spends half of her day tackling Charlotte - giving her hugs and kisses. The other half of the day she spends trying to keep her books and toys away from her. Poor Charlotte just wants to do everything that her sister does, but now that she finally has mobility and can chase her sister around she just isn't fast enough.

Don't trust the gas light.

2008-06-12T17:10:00.005-05:00

I avoid going to the gas station for two reasons. #1 - It hurts when the numbers keep going up and up and they don't stop before $40 anymore. #2 - We've started using Dave Ramsey's envelope system so we use cash for gas. With two little girls, it is too much of a pain to drag them both into the gas station to pay.

The needle dropped to 'E' on Friday, but the light didn't turn on, so I decided to wait until Saturday when Sean could fill the tank. Saturday came and we began our normal errands. Sean was driving. He mentioned that we needed gas. The girls weren't very happy to be in the car, so I wanted to keep the trip as short as possible. I asked him if the gas light was on. Nope? Okay, we'll be fine. He joked that maybe the gas light had finally burnt out, but this is our little Saturn and it seriously goes forever on empty before the light turns on. So we didn't fill up.

Later Saturday I was out by myself. On my way home I noticed again that we needed gas. Still no gas light. I decided to wait until I was closer to home because gas in our neighborhood is about 10 cents cheaper per gallon than the part of town I was in. The Saturn can go atleast 30 miles after the gas light comes on, so I knew I would be able to make it home.

So I'm driving home on the freeway, marveling in the fact that the gas light STILL isn't on. Man, I love this Saturn!

Then the engine cuts off...

It is amazing how fast your speed drops when you are not giving the car gas. Of course I am in the fast lane of the freeway and nobody wants to let me over. I turn on my emergency flashers and work my way over to the shoulder. Then my phone beeps. It is almost out of batteries. Great.

As I'm sitting by the side of the road watching cars zip by the only thing I can think of is the fact that my gas tank is on the drivers side, mere inches from these speeding cars. Houston drivers aren't the best, and I've seen numerous occasions when people have been killed while changing a tire because someone hits them going 70 mph.

As I'm waiting for help to arrive (and contemplating the gruesome death that they are surely about to face) I notice a tow truck pulling up in front of me. Great, some passing tow truck noticed me and is now going to try to drum up some business for himself, he's probably going to want to charge me $200 or some other ridiculous amount. It turns out Houston has a program called "Safe Tow", they have cameras monitoring nearly every section of freeway looking for cars that have broken down (you can also call 311 or 911). If they see you they send a truck and will take you to the nearest gas station free of charge. So I was towed off the freeway and nobody got squashed.

Moral of the story: Ignore the screaming kids and let your husband fill up the tank.

Goats

2008-06-01T21:25:00.004-05:00

We went to the park this weekend. We saw a goat. It was a cute litte 7 week old baby goat. Addie was very interested in the goat, but she didn't want to get too close. We sat and watched as its owner led it around on a leash and people came up and asked questions. I was amazed at many people seemed to have never seen a goat before. Atleast 5 people came up to this man and asked, "Is that a goat? ... a real goat?" My favorite was a lady who came up to me and said, "Did you know that is a goat?! Not a goat mixed with a dog, a real goat. Strangest thing I've ever seen. And he's keeping it as a pet! Can you believe it?" I just can't believe that people are so amazed with a goat. I guess we're not in Nebraska anymore.