The McPherson Chronicles

Kevin has school Monday and Wednesday nights which means these nights are girls nights. Some nights are rough and some nights are great. It depends on a number of factors- their moods, my mood, how hungry we all are, how tired we are all, which way the wind is blowing... Even on the hardest evenings I can count on one great time- bedtime. I don't even mean the time when I lay the girls down and come out to my quiet living room. On Mondays and Wednesdays I look forward to doing our bedtime routine all alone with the girls. As bedtime nears, we clean up the toys, put milk cups away and head to the girls' room. There is no whining or fussing and never a tantrum. They love bedtime and are always ready for it. As soon as we enter their dark room the girls go straight to the rocking chair and wait for me to sit down so they can climb into my lap. Olivia's always nuzzles up on my left shoulder and Lucy always on my right. They immediately snuggle in with their heads facing out a...

I may be crazy. I may be ambitious. This may be a complete success and it could be a complete disaster. But, I'm going for it anyway. Friday through Sunday the girls and I will be holed up in the house embarking on full-blown potty training. We're going for it complete with no more diapers and no pull ups. There will be accidents galore, lots of patience on my part and hopefully 2 mostly-potty-trained little girls come Monday morning. I know the girls are ready and I'm more than ready. This will be our first big test together. Please say extra prayers for me this weekend. I'm sure I'll need them. Here's the method I'm using. Don't worry, I'll be back next week to tell you how it went- good, bad and ugly. For now, I'm stocking up on cleaning supplies, panties and patience.

 Doesn't everyone dress up to vacuum??? The girls are very into taking care of their babies these days. Here they are cuddling and sharing their lovies with their babies. Apparently we've been neglecting Glow Worm so the girls took it into their own hands, buckled her into the high chair and cooked her dinner, complete with napkin. Adorable.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We didn't get to do much celebrating around here since 3 out of 4 of us are sick. The runny noses and fevers started Friday and continued through the weekend. I finally took Lucy to urgent care Sunday to get meds for double ear infections and a bad throat. She was pretty miserable. Olivia seemed to be coping until Sunday night when she started complaining about her ear too. She and I spent a little alone time Valentine's afternoon visiting the Dr and pharmacist. She only has 1 ear infection but it's pretty bad and she's really congested. So we scrapped all plans for enjoying the gorgeous So Cal weather this weekend and spent plenty of time cuddling, watching movies, taking naps and eating whatever whenever. Since I got a horrible sore throat and congestion starting Saturday, I wasn't much in the mood for anything either. Even though it was a pretty miserable weekend, I have really enjoyed the extra cuddles, kiss...

We're counting and saying the alphabet!! Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work, I heard the girls wake up and start chatting with each other. All of a sudden Lucy started counting. She made it all the way to 11 all by herself! She's done it at my mom's house too. She loves to count and have us count along with her. She loves to count items in books and things she sees. I'm not sure why she's stuck on 11, but I have heard her say 13 and 14 before so maybe once she gets 12 down we can make it closer to 15. Olivia can count too but she gets distracted usually somewhere after 5 and moves on to something else. She's more of an A-B-C's girl. With a few slight hiccups and a reminder here and there, she can make it pretty well through the alphabet. Olivia begs and begs to have us help her write her name whenever she is drawing or coloring. She likes to say the letters right along with me as I guide her hand. She loves for me to sing the abc's ...

We have a new evening routine. Around 5 o'clock every night for the past week or so, it's pants off dance off time. The girls will be running around playing and chasing each other and then all of a sudden they go either behind the couch or in the kitchen and get very quiet. Just about the time we realize they are out of eyesight and quiet (= trouble) Olivia & Lucy both come running back into the room happy as can be and pants-less. They seem to enjoy this new freedom to remove their pants as they see fit and continue to do it each and every night. We figure since we're at home and it's almost dinner and bath time anyway, it's no big deal. It just makes us laugh each and every time to see how excited they are to be "nakey-nakey", as Olivia likes to say. Here they are helping Daddy make pudding (no, this is not a euphemism) Naked chefs in the making?

Here’s a final note on The Beast. See the first 2 parts here and here . The Beast has somehow transformed into a part of our family. We greet it when we wake up each morning before turning our attention to more important things like Sesame Street and milk. We visit it periodically throughout the day as it sits in the corner of the living room. We stand, sit, push, pull and play with its buttons at each visit. Some of us 1 of us loves to hide next to it while conducting her “daily business”. We say goodnight to him each and every night and oftentimes at naptime too. We should have included him on our family Christmas card. Seriously. The obsession has gone so far with the girls that they now request that I vacuum periodically. They asked me to vacuum on Friday while they stood by observing from the couch. On Saturday, they asked for a snack and then instead of eating it, they dumped it on the floor and stepped all over it until it was crumbs. Then they asked me to vacuum. That’s t...