the big game

Sorry to mislead you - you couldn't  possibly have thought I meant the super bowl?  I must admit I did come up with lovely color coordinated outfits for everyone (in fact we choose our teams based on the most prevalent colors in our closet - who knew we were secretly stashing Seahawk paraphernalia all this time?)  But I'm talking about something bigger in our parenting sphere:  Taking turns, sharing, winning graciously, loosing graciously, and following basic directions (because sometimes there are paths you have to follow in candy land and in life dag nabbit!)

a little love

Each January 1 the streets are full of folks with misshapen trees tied to the roof (or bumper) of their cars - out with the old and in with the new.  For me I am hard pressed to let go of the joys of the holiday season in such a speedy and efficient way.  I cling to the magic that is a dark room with twinkling lights like Jack clings to a ride at an amusement park and am content to surroud myself in that wonder for a few weeks longer than we usually consider acceptable.

shadows of the past

I let it happen again - I blinked and now three months have passed - three pretty fabulous months full of amazing moments that I am now relying on my faulty memory to recall dusty details decades from now.  Please, please, please let me remember SOME of it!

2013 is here - how - I'll never know.  Minutes pass (and I find I forget to eat breakfast), Hours pass - I should definitely make a bathroom stop. Weeks - laundry again.  Months - wow, I accomplished precious little in the last 30 days, and now a whole new year.   Before I get all weepy and sad for posterity (which is inevitable for me I'm afraid - the new year brings hope, but also it fills me with remorse for the millions of things I should have done or could have done differently) I thought I would share some of the  visual memories I hope to preserve from last year - even if I don't have a written dialogue to go with it.  When I think back on 2012 these are some of the pictures that appear as faded watercolors in my mind.

going on four

On Sunday the girls built with blocks for the first time.  Is that shocking?  I suppose I should clarify... because they've "played" with blocks since they were less than 1.  And by playing I mean that they gnawed on, dumped, crashed, stacked, and occasionally sorted.  But they never deliberately built with blocks until this past Sunday.  It was so cool to see them work together to develop a plan.  "We're being architects, mommy!"  This structure features a small forrest that leads to a road.  The road moves into steps that take you through an archway into a "patio".  The patio was surrounded by a small wall, decorated with "pretty plant towers" and enclosed with a small gate.  There was a plan from start to end and they worked together to realize their vision.  They had the patience to see it through and the dexterity to make their vision a reality.  This - to me - is all part of the pre-four package.

going on two

Oh man oh man - we are in the throws of what I've affectionately dubbed the pre-two blues... With the girls, I found the even number years to be particularly enjoyable (0 - so sweet!, 2 - how adorably curious, 4 - we're just getting there, but the independence is inspiring to watch) - it was the second 1/2 of the odd number years that have you thanking natures ability to make children cute - because if they weren't you'd have sold them to the Gypsies long ago.  The boys are following in the same footsteps as their sisters, mimicking this pattern, but as the boys are want to do, they've taken the pattern spun it around in circles, built a tower with it, smashed it to the ground and then dissolved into tears.  They are the girls on speed and there's no break peddle on this bike.

the long and short of it

For every similarity that the kiddos possess there are about fifty differences that cover everything from personality to eating style to hair.  It's the hair that really sets both twins apart - to the general public anyway.  In reality, there are very few physical traits that the pairs share - the occasional crinkling of an eye - a similar laugh - but beyond that everything from body type to eye color is unique.  I always get a chuckle when people ask me if their identical.  I always get a chuckle when they say "I bet you can tell them apart by their hair".  I smile and nod while thinking "yes.. that, and just about every other feature they possess!"  But let's stick with the hair here, shall we?

big boy bed bonanza

The time has come, their parents said, to talk of many tales, of boys and girls, and sleepy time, of beds without a rail... The memorial day weekend was hot, and we had cleaned up the remains of their crib drawers for the last time (or so we thought).  Spurred into action by Alex's twice daily death-defying leaps over the side of his crib, Tony and I thought it time to finally covert their cribs to day beds once and for all - and hopefully spare the neck of our youngest child in the process.  While the kiddos had a wee sleep over at Mimi and PopPops, Tony took apart the cribs, I cleaned the bedding, we vacuumed, dusted, and got the big boy room all ready for its big reveal on Monday evening.  This, we thought, was the last reminder of our baby boys as we tearfully closed the door on the two toddlers laying bright eyed in their new beds.  If we could only have imagined just how many times that door would be slammed over the next two weeks we would have savored that peaceful nostalgic moment a bit more.

on duty

I would like to to submit Tuesday, June 26 as my first official day of summer vacation - and as such my first official day on 100% mom duty.  Though my last day of work was Friday the 22nd, I spent Saturday and Sunday rushing around feeling like I had other school work to do.  By the end of the day on Monday I was able to mentally b-slap myself into believing that it was, in fact Summer!  It was here, and I was missing it because I felt the need to work ahead on a lesson plan or make a to do list!  And this is how Tuesday became the first day of summer vacation.  The first day that I woke up without a to do list.

The stuff they dream of...

I think that one of the absolute without a doubt most fantabulous things about kiddos is how easy they are to please.  The littlest things make them happy - extra hugs, the tickle game (which basically involves an adult never really leaving the couch - just stretching your arms out and wriggling your fingers a bit while making some sort of "I'm gonna getcha" noises), painted toe nails, a plucked flower, chocolate milk, ice-cream from a store. Today PopPop took all 6 of us to dinner at Shells before going to see Mimi's wonderful Art Show.  After our tour Daddy took the boys home for tubbies and PopPop took all his girls (mommy included - HURRAY FOR COFFEE FLAVORED ICE-CREAM) to dairy swirl for a little post show treat.  The girls were SO excited - twirling, hugging PopPop to say thanks, thanking the cashier, grinning from ear to ear while choosing their flavor and sprinkle combination... The cute HighSchooler behind the counter smiled and said "I don't think I've ever seen two kids this excited about ice-cream!"  What can I say - we don't get out much... but then this sage 17 year old added "The thing is - most people forget that ice-cream is a treat".

Flower

When Bella was a baby she called flowers Mamu... I can't really say where it came from - Tony and I used to think it was a combination of Flower and Mommy because she knew that I had painted the flowers on her bathroom wall.  We still laugh about the night when we had both girls in the tub.  They were about 1 1/2 years old.  Emma pointed to one of the flowers on the shower curtain and said "flow-wuh".  Belle smiled and clapped:  "Mamu!"

little necks

 Of all the baby parts that I love to love - I believe that my absolute favorite is little baby necks.  At times I feel I'm almost obsessed with them - pulling their collars aside to give them a nuzzle.  Their little necks are always so warm, so soft, so perfect.  Every time I see on of the babies like this I marvel at their straight, strong backs, that little curve from their neck to shoulder - the line of their arm as it presses against their side.  My fingers itch to grap a pencil and sketch them - see if I can create that curve again.  At times the desire to do so is so strong it's almost painful - and yet I've refrained from doing so, because something tells me that my re-creation attempts could never come close to the original.

Glamour

Today was the first, of what I can only assume will be many many internal conversations that I will have with myself about the girls (and boys) choice of clothing.  As previously stated I dig it when we all look co-ordinated.  I love when the kids look put together.  I will frequently grab one of the four mid sprint to comb their hair, straighten a skirt, or untuck a shirt... usually while saying something like... "hold on a second... you look like nobody loves you..."  So when Emma said she really wanted to wear this big pink flower with the black band to school today - it took all of my will power to agree.

A Spot of Tea

Their eyes were wide with anticipation as they pleaded silently... desires yet unknown to me.  I knew something was coming as I tilted their heads back in the tub and tried to rinse the soap out of the bottom of their hair.  

"Mommy, can I tell you a question?" 

"What is it, muffins?" I asked - braced for something crazy.

"May we have tea as our snack tonight?" they exploded... "That would be SO great!"

Early Riser

There must be something in the blond chromosome in this family that perpetuates a desire to rise with the sun.  Alexander has now surpassed Amabelle as the first person to rise in the DiStefano home.  He's like clock work... a little 5:45 alarm clock, so reliable that I have stopped setting my alarm.  He's better anyway, I've checked and there's no snooze button.

A little light cleaning

 I once read that your children do not need a play room.  "They already have one" this lovely article said, "it's whatever room you're in".  Now I won't claim that I don't enjoy having our basement "play room" even if it's just a place to shove those extra toys that I want to trash, but Tony says we should keep... It's a change of scenery and a change of pace.  But most days, no matter what sort of super cool activity we arrange for the kiddos to take part in so that the adults can get something done, we more often then not will find ourselves with 4 other pairs of hands and feet that just really really want to do what we're doing.

Too Ambitious

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Perhaps I was a bit overzealous this morning... I think the disposal of the high chairs yesterday made me think that perhaps I was the mother of 5 and 7 year olds, not 1 and 3 year olds... and so it was that in a serious lack of judgement I called to the kids:  Let's play out front this morning! (insert the threatening musical tone:  dum dum DUM!)

A Monumental Occasion

Originally posted on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I have been waiting for this day for the last 3 years.  3 years is a blink of an eye when you're watching your children grow, but 3 years is an ETERNITY of bruises on your hip from the two oversized high chairs that really don't fit in your small/normal sized kitchen.

About Amabelle

Originally posted on Sunday, April 1, 2012

Our Amabelle can be such an enigma - at times we can't figure her out at all.  Some times she is so in touch with her feelings that it's like looking through a window into her soul.  She is a tough little package that hides a super sensitive interior.  Just when you think everyone in the family is under control Belle will surprise you by being the one that's the most emotionally effected by what just happened.

A trip to the ER

Originally posted on Saturday, March 31, 2012

It was bound to happen sooner or later - we've ben lucky so far, really.  It just seemed an odd coincidence that this happened almost exactly a year after my trip to the ER for a kidney infection.  Both incidents happened the day after Mimi and PopPop flew to California to visit with Aunt Ben and Uncle Brooke.  This particular incident happened approximately 24 hours after Mimi gave us a hug good bye and said "now try to stay out of the ER this time".

A Little Flash Back

Originally posted on Friday, March 23, 2012

While perusing our old blog, I happened upon these postings of the four kids from this time last year.  You don't always realize how much they change until you see it smacking you in the face.  I thought perhaps the family would enjoy this little time warp as much as I did.