Cool in the Pool

We've been spending our evenings at the pool lately, and it's so nice! The girls spend some time in the kiddie pool, and we're gradually venturing into the big pool for lessons. Here they are with Dad in the kiddie pool.

Graceful, like her mother...

Rachel skinned the same knee twice in one day last week. I've done that. A few times. She seems to have inherited my knack for falling down and/or scraping things. That's not to say that Charlotte hasn't had her share of bumps and bruises, but she definitely seems to have inherited her dad's coordination (ooooh...I can do a somersault on rollerblades...oooh. Whatever.). Here's hoping she makes it through her 3rd year with front teeth intact (Mommy didn't).

Chicka Chicka Playroom

Today Grammy came over and painted us a coconut tree, a la Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The girls just love it! Thank you Grammy. We're off to go swimming!

I Love the World

Did everyone have a good weekend? We did. The girls got to see their first real movie, my folks came home from their trip, we finally got our stimulus check, and we got started on some new home projects:

Adrian took the girls to see their Grammy Terri while I worked on the paint in the living room. While I was painting, I had the When We Left Earth marathon on in the backround (so good), and this kept coming on:

Boom di yada, boom di yada...

Yes, she's known her ABCs for quite some time. No, I don't know what happened to "L."

We were taking some photos in the backyard the other day, and Charlotte insisted on singing her ABCs for the camera. I want to get every little word they utter on video, because I have to admit that I'm a sucker for their little inarticulate voices at this stage. I know I'm going to miss them when they start saying things like, "MooOOOOOoooom!"

Friday: Enjoy the fact that this guy is now off on Fridays

He took us to see Kung Fu Panda. Skidoosh.

Thursday: Go to the Zoo With Kara Mae

Wednesday: Get Some Reading in During the Nap

I look so serious because I'm trying to beat Megan. Summer means new Plum. Whee! Also, Patti has a blog now. Check it out.

**Do note that 3 year-olds will destroy any attempts at a fake Pier One flower arrangement.**

Tuesday: Have Brunch at Patti's

Yummy! Thanks Patti!

Monday: Learn to Use a Slip n' Slide

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Still addicted to Starfall...

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. We kept a low profile today. We got in a nice visit with my parents yesterday before they took off for Northern California. Today, we were content to hang out and play.

I think I may have given my parents the exact same look that Rachel is giving me--several times. In fact, it's possible that I still give people that look. Maybe.

And that's one (and a half)...

Right after my potty training post, we had a breakthrough. Both girls started telling us consistently when they needed to go. Even better--Charlotte has started taking herself to the potty. We'll hear the toilet flush and she'll come dancing out, announcing what she's done. Rachel, on the other hand, is very good at Number 1. But, as her dad puts it (in his best Dr. Evil voice), she still works for Number 2. I know that's a common hurdle, so I'm hoping that she'll overcome her fear soon and start doing both in the potty. I'm so glad that this isn't going to take all summer. We've even done shopping trips with no accidents. Yay us! It has been so nice not having to go through so many Pull-ups. Right now, it's just naps and nighttime. With prices going up on everything, it will be nice to have that expense gone.

Soooo much to do...

Now that I'm done with work for a bit, THE LIST has begun. There is much to do this summer, not the least of which is to spend lots of time with my two little bunnies. So this means many trips to the zoo, the park, Gilroy Gardens, bouncy places, and Black Rascal pool. However, I also need to spend some quality time with this house. When work gets hectic and stressful, the house is the first thing to go. I have many projects I'd like to get done, but I'm not going to sweat it if they don't. I'd also like to work in some summer reading, scrapping, a trip to Yosemite, and the occasional margarita! Summer is about FUN!

In other news, our server started to crap out on us, so Adrian just finished rebuilding it. This was just another reminder that I really need to back up my files! I almost lost a ton of early photos of the girls. So add that to the list as well. Also, I was browsing the files and found this little gem:

Here's the gang at Wayne and Sabrina's wedding. Tomorrow is their anniversary. Isn't that nice?

Here's why you should probably think twice before inviting us to your wedding.

Oh, and Megan and Seann have gotten us hooked on this:

We're both such SciFi nerds, that I'm not sure how we never really got into it before. But it's so fun to get into a show a few years on. I love being able to watch episodes here and there on DVD.

I promise pictures of the girls next time.

Ewwww! Pink Eye! {but not the really gross kind, just the kinda gross kind}

So I have pink eye, which I'm sort of surprised I've never had before. Given my profession, I was pretty sure I'd have had lice, ringworm, and pinkeye by now. I don't have the kind of pinkeye that's contagious (viral), I have the bacterial variety. I'm sure it was brought on by my poor contact lens care, which is to say that I don't really care for them so much as wear them to death. So, not wanting to follow in the fabled footsteps of Columbo and Sandy Duncan, I reported hastily to good ol' Dr. Lee and left with antibiotic drops. So it's 4 drops per day for a good week. Since I'm not an eye wuss anymore (hi Jen!), this is no biggie. However, a couple of minutes after dispensing the drops, I can taste the antibiotics in the back of my throat. Ew! I'm just thankful this will all be cleared up before I have to present staff development next week (ack!).


In other news, we're in full-on potty training mode around these parts. We're done with the whole "they'll let us know when they're ready" thing. We've gone cold turkey with Dora undies, M&M rewards, and the steam vacuum at the ready. Ugh. I can't even imagine a day when I won't have to change a Pull-Up, wipe a bottom, or cheer for a bodily function. It happens, right? Because right now it just feels like these two are going to go to their Prom in Pull-Ups.





Also, add this gal to the People Who Make Sally Laugh Out-Loud list:

And add this to the Sally Has Read This a BILLION Times list:




But it's alright. I'm a mom. ...with pink eye. EWWWW!

Can I have...

...a wall in my house like this one, please?

Fun in the rain...

The girls stayed over at Grammy and Papa's yesterday so that Adrian and I could gallivant around for our anniversary (thanks Grammy and Papa). The girls got to play in the wacky wet weather we had this weekend. Giants umbrellas are a must. Pants, as always, are optional.

This just in...

Studies show that 50% of Rawlings twins are unfamiliar with the concept of the candid photo.

More Mother's Day Pictures.

We took the girls to Gilroy Gardens yesterday. It's a wonderful little amusement park for the younger set. The atmosphere is wonderful, and they have plenty of nice rides for little ones.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Back when we had hair...

...and PaPa had way too much fun with his leaf-blower.

A Moment's Peace

...well, sort of. Adrian went outside to do some work, but what you can't see are the two hyper little girls racing each other on the grass in front of him. Back and forth, and back and forth...

Playing Dr. Tan...

...in our twirly dresses from Jen. Grammy's AbLounge apparently makes an awesome examination table.

She's hungry! And she's here to help...

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time with Pioneer Woman and her "man-pleasin'" recipes. She's fond of salted butter and salted butter and oh...more salted butter. As a result, there's a lot more Sally hanging over the waist of my pants lately. Not good! Cue: Hungy Girl! I'm a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers, and stumbled across Hungry Girl's site a couple of years ago. She has some great recipes, tips, and the scoop on the latest waistline-friendly goodies out there. Now she has a book! I just picked mine up at Target. Good stuff.

Bounce house down!

Many of you asked what happened when it was time to send the fabulous birthday bounce house home. Well...

Here's the nice man from A lot a Bounce deflating it.


Here's Charlotte asking, "Is it going to sleep?"



Here they are after realizing that, no indeed it was NOT going to sleep, but was getting rolled up, put in a trailer, and driven away. They ran in to share the news. They were so upset they came out all blurry! Yes, that's it.


They were fine about 5 minutes later.

Our little salamander...

Many of you recall the Dreaded Finger Mishap of '06, in which Rachel lost the tippy tip of her finger, along with her fingernail. Well, you'd never know to look at her. Her finger is well...a finger. It looks completely normal, fingernail and all. We used to joke that Rachel had regenerative abilities, like a salamander. Well, Adrian was reading his Scientific American tonight, and it turns out that all humans may have this ability-when it comes to our fingertips.

from the article:

One of the most encouraging signs that human limb regeneration is a feasible goal is the fact that our fingertips already have an intrinsic ability to regenerate. This observation was made first in young children more than 30 years ago, but since then similar findings have been reported in teenagers and even adults. Fostering regeneration in a fingertip amputation injury is apparently as simple as cleaning the wound and covering it with a simple dressing. If allowed to heal naturally, the fingertip restores its contour, fingerprint and sensation and undergoes a varying degree of lengthening. The success of this conservative treatment of fingertip amputation injuries has been documented in medical journals thousands of times. Interestingly, the alternative protocol for such injuries typically included operating to suture a skin flap over the amputation wound, a “treatment” that we now know will inhibit regeneration even in the salamander because it interferes with formation of the wound epidermis. The profound message in these reports is that human beings have inherent regenerative capabilities that, sadly, have been suppressed by some of our own traditional medical practices.


When we took Rachel to the ER, they cleaned and dressed the wound, prescribed antibiotics, and grimly informed us that she probably wouldn't have a fingernail and it might not look the same. During our follow-up with our pediatrician, she said the same thing. When we visited later for a regular checkup, she was stunned to see the finger and fingernail intact, gasping, "But it was GONE!" Turns out, the hospital did just the right thing to let her finger do it's thing. Score one for salamander fingers!

I tried to take a picture of the finger in question, but my camera battery died. All I have to offer is a photo of the bandaged baby. I didn't take any gory wound photos...ew!

By the way, this does not mean that I'm giving you carte blanche to go out and be careless with your digits. DO be careful!

Hopscotch and drawing with chalk...

...they make Mommy do a lot of the drawing.

Thanks Jen!

Jen made a flickr set of her pictures from the party. Good times.

Brithday highlights...

It's Saturday

Someone's going to have a bit of fun this morning.

Becca's right...

Eating dinner outside IS fun.

Getting ready

For some serious 3 year-old partying this weekend.

The world would be a much nicer place...

...if everyone had someone play guitar for them while they're in the tub.*

How does one manage to play electric guitar in a wee little guest bathroom such as ours?

Why, you put your mini-amp in the sink of course!

*I know it looks as if she's holding her ears, but she's really 'washing' her hair. Really.