surprises...

“life is full of surprises and serendipity. being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. if you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. just find your next adventure-do it well, enjoy it-and then, not now, think about what comes next.”   -condoleezza rice

life has definitely been full of surprises for us this summer...besides snake parties, the boyz come up with new surprises everyday...like when ewie showed up with his and cam's rain boots from the basement...or when he appeared "dressed" in two pajama tops, one on his arms and one on his legs...or when cameron belts out hakuna matata and the way he says "phil-los-so-fee" melts my heart...on another of ewie's adventures to the basement, he brought up the extra large world animal map...the next thing we knew both of the boyz were discovering animals on the map...then their own animals appeared...a whole new adventure...our biggest surprise of the summer has been the news we are expecting a new addition...this unanticipated (and thought to be impossible without modern medicine) turn in the road is something we feel is such a gift...and we are enjoying every moment : )

water snake parties...

not sure where the summer has gone...we have been a little busy but  i can not believe i have not been on here for over a month...when i think back about what we have been doing...the most popular activity has been water snake parties...cousin nate added to our snake collection, so they have become even more elaborate...some of you have witnessed the water snake parties, and can attest they are quite the scene...this was the beginning : )


P.S.  I will try a little harder to post!

blastoff...

a blastoff to the beginning of summer...the boyz got this last year for their birthday...we played with it a couple of times but this year they get it...it is the perfect toy...cam has control & ewie gets wet...both of them happy with the part they are playing...hopefully it helps flush out the pinkeye!!

crossover

3, 7 and 10 are there ages...they play and care for each other... not sure how long the older kids interest and the younger kids attention will last...but for the moment, we will enjoy the crossover...

whac-a-boy

just a little rainy day fun...and we love cait : )

gymnastics...

we have had such a busy and overwhelming month...but for the past few weeks...every week...we have had gymnastics (with grandma dottie)...it is not pretty all the time...cam has roared like a dinosaur scaring other children and ewan has been banned from the parachute...but it is fun and we love it...

campfire...

when it rains...it pours...and sometimes you have to just build a campfire 

and roast marshmallows : )

dinosaur...train...

 dinosaur...

train...

today was a special day...aunt heather and caitlin took the boyz to the zoo...then they opened up their birthday gift squishy sting rays, chameleon books and remote control trains (ian's prom is the same day as their party so aunt heather, apple crisp and e-an all came down to celebrate early!)...e-an and apple crisp helped andrew and grandpa pick up the boyz "swing set"...birthday gift from mom and dad (more to come)...the boyz also received their birthday gift from aunt suzy, uncle bruce, colin and little bee...how appropriate they opened new dinosaurs and "very cool" (per aunt heather and e-an) dinosaur shirts!!!  dinosaurs and trains...exactly what they wanted...ewie has never been allowed to have his own train due to cam's obsession but aunt heather purchased two!!  the boyz took the dinosaurs straight to the dinosaur area...and they will be sporting their shirts at their party next saturday!!  thank you so much for this wonderful day!!

earthworm...

after watching an episode of "wild kratts" about earthworms...we spent the day digging for earthworms...and since there were two almost three year olds tromping around the garden...we had to make a worm house to put (or protect) the worms we found...good times : )

slim inquirer, while the old fathers sleep

you are reworking their soil, you have

a grocery store there down under the earth

and it is well stocked with broken wine bottles,

old cigars, old door knobs and earth,

that great brown flour that you kiss each day.

there are dark stars in the cool evening and

you fondle them like killer birds' beaks.

but what i want to know is why when small boys

dig you up for curiosity and cut you in half

why each half lives and crawls away as if whole.

have you no beginning and end? which heart is

the real one? which eye the seer? why

is it in the infinite plan that you would

be severed and rise from the dead like a gargoyle

with two heads? 

-anne sexton

happy birthday pappaw!!

wherever you are my love will find you

wherever you are my love will find you

-nancy tillman

i wanted you more than you will ever know,

so i sent love to follow wherever you go.

it's high as you wish it. it's quick as an elf.

you'll never outgrow it...it stretches itself!

so climb any mountain...climb up to the sky! 

my love will find you. my love can fly!

make a big splash! go out on a limb!

my love will find you. my love can swim!

it never get's lost, never fades, never ends...

if you're working...or playing...or sitting with friends.

you can dance 'til you're dizzy...paint 'til you're blue...

there's no place, not one, that my love can't find you.

and if someday you're lonely, or someday you're sad,

or you strike out at baseball or think you've been bad...

just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair.

that's me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.

in the green of the grass...in the smell of the sea...

in the clouds floating by...at the top of the tree...

in the sound crickets make at the end of the day...

"you are loved. you are loved. you are loved," they all say.

my love is so high, and so wide and so deep, 

it's always right there, even when you're asleep.

so hold your head high and don't be afraid

to march to the front of your own parade.

if you're still my small babe or you're all the way grown,

my promise to you is you're never alone.

you are my angel, my darling, my star...

and my love will find you, wherever you are.

note...when i read this book, it felt like a letter from my mother...she did not need a book to make me realize this : )

$mpm...

she is 10...her laugh is still exactly the same as it was as a baby...infectious...our love for her has only grown deeper...she has entertained us...loved us...healed us...& impressed us over the past 10 years...the boyz chant her name everyday...because she showers them with her complete attention & affection...we are so excited to see what the next 10 years bring...happy birthday margaux paton miller : )

my boyz...

somedays it is hard to describe the craze of our lives...

craze=ewie & cameron...

this photo kind of captures it...

the drama of cam...

ewie stripped down to his diaper...

me, trying to put on a consistent brave face...

in a brown shirt and black pants...

co-si, co-si, co-si!!

this is what ewie chants every time we go to cosi, since his cousin caitlin took him there this winter...today we went with margaux, nate, grandma and grandpa...the boyz were pumped...we had a great day...margaux and nate were so understanding of the boyz need to run from exhibit to exhibit...we (mostly mpm and nate) watched the weather show and these are the pics...

mini diggers for hire...

gardens, flower beds, building a house, or digging a pool...they are serious diggers : )

love...

say!

i love these boyz ewie and cam!

i do!! i love them, sam-i-am!

and i would love them in a boat!

and i would love them with a goat...

and i will love them in the rain.

and in the dark. and on a train.

and in a car. and in a tree.

they are so good so good you see!

so i will love them in a box.

and i will love them with a fox.

and i will love them in a house.

and i will love them with a mouse.

and i will love them here and there.

say! i will love them anywhere!

i do so love

these boyz ewie and cam!

thank you!

thank you,

sam-i-am

-modified from the book Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Suess

oxymoron...

when i wake up, i never know what the day will bring...will they nap, will they eat, will they listen, who will they be today....these are just a few of the questions running through my mind...i have given up on napping & eating...if they do that is great...i am amazed at how many animals & personalities they can portray in an hour...they are getting so much better about listening but they continually test us over the same things everyday...with ewie, it is simple...same exact tests everyday...not fed fast enough, clothes too restrictive, getting out of the bathtub...although he is evolving and needs no help stripping down now...cameron, can be a little more involved...he consistently tests us at meal time...although, it took us a couple of days to figure out the hyperventilating, crying fit before bath time...but then we realized he did not want his lightening mcqueen tattoo to go away...now he baths most days without a fit when we promise a new tattoo...most of my day involves predicting the randomness...which leads us to some sort of organized anarchy : )

fearful symmetry...

tiger, tiger, burning bright
in the forests of the night,
what immortal hand or eye
dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

-william blake, "the tiger"

we go to the zoo a lot...the boyz love it...they both cease to amaze me...my fearless, very active ewie, ran from the polar bear and chose to spend 20 minutes on the (thankfully) metal "alligator"...i would pay money to know what he was thinking, laying here watching manatees and sting rays...my sometimes overwhelmed, hanging out cam, could not get enough of the polar bear swimming...and then right next to the manatees and sting rays swimming...i have always worried more about ewie from day one...but he just started talking clearly and fluently this week...now he is the most popular kid in his class...now i think i should have always been worried about my sensitive, active imagination, says he is the "king" child, cam...but i guess i shouldn't, since i was the sensitive, active imagination, said, i was going to be a "wealthy widow with lots of power" child : )

what a difference a year makes...

today, i spring cleaned my kitchen...i cleaned my windows and washed my drapes in the living room and dining room...this did not happen on one day last year...the boyz were outside twice today with andrew...they still want to play in the mud and eat it...but it is different...there is a plot, a plan, some sort of organized play...i was so busy cleaning i did not get pictures of today...but i remember last year clearly...

mirror images...

sometimes i feel outside looking in...seeing two sides, to two boyz...one side is who they want me to see...the other side is who they truly are...it is both frustrating and fascinating...but i have realized if i can still see both sides, i am one step ahead of the game : )

lessons learned...

we went on a road trip vacation with with boyz...i return relaxed but i feel it is because i have not been cooking and cleaning up after them for a week...i have to say, i had a lot more fun then i planned...we tagged along on a business trip with andrew and i knew i would be by myself with the boyz when he had obligations...i have amazing boyz...they are ornery but they are good, respectful and loving for two almost 3 year olds...these are the lessons i learned...
10.  cam may tell you to "take a deep breath" when you are yelling...since he has been told that a time or two...
9.  sometimes you have to alter your plan when you have two 2 year olds...
8.  a zero entry pool leading to a lazy river can be confusing to two 2 year olds with swimming vests       on...fortunately i ran into the pool with my coverall on...it all worked out : )
7.  treat bags filled with anything can save the moment and maybe even the day...
6.  the behavior of my parents on road trips/traveling makes a lot more sense...
5.  portable dvd players are the greatest invention in car travel since highways...
4.  children in diapers are so much easier to travel with : )
3.  i still love a road map...
2.  when you embrace the moment by roaring when the meteor shower happens...life seems so much less complicated...
1.  traveling with twins is like traveling with rock stars...everyone seems to notice them : )

road trip...the beginning...

there are no pictures...it was not pretty...the electric went out just at bedtime on the night before we left...andrew was at a work function and thankfully caitlin wss there to help...fortunately, i was able to put one boy down...eventually the other went down...after telling us the electric was broken...so the time we would have packed was taken up by dealing with the lack of electricity...a rough morning...no coffee, no heat, no plan...at one point, i lost it...a breakdown, the boyz rarely hear...but they scurried to the living room to hear my very loud voice...i finally came downstairs as ewie went up the stairs, i turned the corner and cameron looked right at me and said, "take a deep breath mommy"...words i have used with him too many times in his few years of life...and he used them on me...my head cleared and all was good...we eventually headed south...we did not make it very far the first night...but made great time the next day...the boyz have been amazing and we make it to orlando, safely and soundly...i have a lot more respect for my parents after this trip...

marshmallow world...

empathy...

empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another semi-sentient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion.


how do you teach your child empathy?! see, i know i have it but am not sure how i got it but i am pretty sure it was directly related to linda sue sisler zarnoch, who rest in peace, is watching over us...baby girl of too many brothers and sisters : ) and daughter of pappy dan and grandma ida...someone on that sisler farm had it...pretty sure it was ida...but then i realized it is modeling behavior...we were sad today our nephew dog duke, aka "the wolf," is now in doggy heaven, i have been sad for my friend who has been on a rough road the past few weeks...but we are happy the boyz spent friday night with great examples of empathy...