Our Kids

Well I had a BRILLIANT idea, and that does not happen very often. Anyhoo, I figured out I could put the aerobed up against the L shaped sofa with the ottoman on the other side and create a kind of romper room. Needless to say it was a smashing success with jumping, bumping and laughing filling the house all afternoon. We only had one fall and that was Piper as she tried something her sister was doing and fell to the ground with a thump. She is just a smidge shorter (2 inches) and has a little more trouble getting her feet grounded without letting go and dropping.

The only downside is now I don’t want to put the aerobed away, EVER. And it is a bit of an eyesore next to all the other crapola that is strewn about. I am really taking this live for the day thing to heart and rarely take the time to put anything away, I prefer to play with the girls, change the girls, fix the girls food, fall into a coma while the girls jump and play around me:) Housework smousework! I wonder what Jason is cooking for dinner…….

The girls had a busy weekend… Saturday was some quality time with Grammy and Grampy (while mom and dad saw a movie), and Sunday we spent a few hours having lunch with Uncle JJ and running around his condo. Piper continued her tendency to cuddle up to any family member by giving Uncle JJ a big bear hug at the restaurant. Lela had her own fun with Uncle JJ when she started chewing on a blue crayon forcing him to reach across the table to pull it out. Over. And over. And over…

Echoing Mystique, the playtime at the park was a lot of fun. It was great seeing the girls running around, climbing up things, and especially sliding down the slides. Lela really picked up on keeping herself upright in the tunnel-slide (by reaching her hands out to the sides), and Piper just loved going down on her tummy. She also mastered the art of getting off the slide all on her own.

So everything is going well… the girls are still our alarm clock, but we can’t complain given the fact they go to bed so easily at night. The house is really coming together thanks mainly to Mystique… all the rooms have pretty much lost their “box-furniture” and we’re even thinking about luxury items such as blinds and curtains (to replace our temporary paper blinds). Exciting times around the Haslup house.

Well today the girls used their spoons pretty effectively to pick up applesauce at breakfast. I made some raisin and banana fritters and gave them some asauce for dipping (they love to dip). They were doing really well so I gave them each a spoon and after a few failed attempts they managed to get spoonfuls into their mouths. They are doing great with sippy cups, cups with straws and forks (they like to stab things).

After breakfast we went to the park near our house. There is a big one by the school that is totally covered with sunshades so we went there. They had a big slide that the girls loved going down. Lela went with wreckless abandon on her stomach, on her back, on her bum using no hand brakes and with the biggest smile you can imagine. Piper was a little more cautious until the umpteenth time but had so much fun going down backwards on her stomach and then forwards on her stomach with hand brakes. After a while Lela could go down and steady herself the whole way and not topple over. I think Piper knew she would topple and that is why she chose the stomach route.

It was so much fun. Daddy and I are tired from climbing and hoisting the little buggers up the stairs and down again. We rode on the swings with a girlie on each of our laps and then it was apple time. They chomped on their apples as we walked home. Now the angles are sleeping and later today we are going to go to and lunch with Uncle JJ.

Today was a good day. The girls actually ate steamed broccoli plain without me having to chop it up and put it in anything. Now they have always liked the taste of broccoli but they have not liked the texture of just putting a whole piece in their mouths. They also are starting to pick up lettuce, mesclun mix and baby spinach and chew on them, then spit them out. That is progress though, previously they only drank them in their green machine smoothies. So I was a little excited:)

Tonight I had Miso noodles from Pei Wei with smoked tofu and they absolutely love that stuff. So I mix them a little with some extra peas and broccoli and they go to town. Piper actually ate off my chopsticks, it was so cute.

We did some finger painting today. The last time we painted Piper did not like it at all and Lela did, this time Lela really did not like it and Piper did. I will post some pics of the girlies and their painting tonight so tune in to our flickr site to check it out.

I wish that neither of you face true adversity in your life but I know that you will. I wanted to remember this story so that I can help you change the water instead of be changed by it:)

Love, mom

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its
liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Well we went back to two naps today. Yesterday was absolutely terrible and since we did not get a visit from the “Parent Fairy” (who I think does not exist) to tell us why the girls were so upset all day we did not figure it out. They were overtired! The excitement of the weekend, Daddy took Friday off, we went to Grammy and Grampy’s on Saturday and then had a crappy Sunday at our house (lucky us).

Today we went to the park as usual early in the morning. We played on the swings, walked around, met a little girl named Alissa whose Grampy was from Brazil and did our usual thing. On the walk home we always get an apple, so off we went and chomp chomp went the apples, then silence and they were asleep. I figured they would wake up when I got home but a full hour or so later they finally woke up a little sweaty in their jogger. So I figured they would not sleep the rest of the day but around 1:00 precious Lela was ready for sleeping. You can tell because she puts her head on you and moves her little butt up and down (okay so it sounds funny but it is really sweet). So I put her in her crib and then Piper came and asked to be put in her crib. Lela slept from 1-3 and Piper from 2-3. Then I figured out what the “Parent Fairy” would have told me, they were overtired you moron. HA!

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring but one thing for sure is that dang “Parent Fairy” won’t show up. LOL!