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Disney On Ice

We took Burke and Maggie to see Disney on Ice yesterday. (Logan got to stay with Aunt Cathy – Thanks Cathy!!)

We didn’t even tell them about it until the night before. (I’m already hearing “Are we going to the baseball game today?” Because they heard me talking about the Spinners game we’ll be heading to in the Spring.)

Since we knew they would have no idea how excited they should be about this, we got them all fired up about going on the train to get there. And they kind of got that they’d be seeing the Cars characters and Tinkerbell and others, but I think they equated it to seeing them on TV – not live and in person.

So off to the train we went.

Daddy and Burke on the Train

Daddy and Burke on the Train

Mommy and Maggie on the Train

Maggie and Mommy on the Train

When we got there, we got in line to see the princess dresses on display. Maggie *loves* Cinderella, so we took her picture in front of the most coveted dress.

Maggie and Cinderellas Dress

Maggie and Cinderella's Dress

And then, much to our pleasure, the real Cinderella showed up!

Cinderella Way up Ahead

Cinderella - Way up Ahead

Unfortunately, by the time we got up there, Cinderella had to go. But Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) took over in her place.

The Zoo with Belle

The Zoo with Belle

(Maggie was playing shy girl because someone else took our picture.)

We stopped to get some snacks (and a beer for Mike) and headed off to look for our seats. You should have seen the “Oh thank God there’s beer here” looks Mike got from the other dads we passed. LOL

We found our seats and I hear “Is that Maggie?” from the row behind us. Turns out that one of their class mates was there too! I hadn’t met the mom, but I recognized the little girl. Her mom said that she recognized Maggie’s yellow bow. LOL I suppose it is hard to miss. And we did get quite a few compliments on it throughout the day.

Waiting for the show to start (I kind of had my camera at a strange angle on some of these…)

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The show started!

Mini and Mickey

Minnie and Mickey

Transfixed

Transfixed

Also Transfixed

Also Transfixed

Pretzel What Pretzel

Pretzel? What Pretzel?

And then the Cars came out! Oh man – Burke’s favorite part.

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Especially when Lightnin’ McQueen came out.

McQueen!

McQueen!

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It switched to The Little Mermaid, so Maggie got excited.

The Little Mermaid!

The Little Mermaid!

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ut oh Ursula

ut oh Ursula!

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The Lion King was up next.

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And Mike was tickled to see that Rafiki even had the monkey butt going on.

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The kids were still transfixed.

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I loved how they did the wildebeests. The skaters had one on each arm and one on their head to make it look like there was a pack of them. Pretty cool

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Intermission brought playing with their new light-up toys and the Zamboni! As soon as the lights came up, Burke declared that he wanted to see it again. (Like I could rewind and push play LOL) Luckily, there was more coming.

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Act 2 brought Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy back as the hosts.

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And Burke sitting on Daddy’s lap.

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Maggie was happy that it started again.

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Tinkerbell was the final act. Burke got a little restless and had to go out and run around for a little bit. But it wasn’t long before they came back.

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Burke liked the flying queen.

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The grand finale had Tinkerbell flying and Mickey and his gang back out in formal attire.

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It was a great show! And the kids loved it. My favorite part? Watching the kids’ faces. (I’m such a mom!)

Themed Parties

We celebrated the twins’ 4th birthday over the weekend with Grandpa, Nana, Aunt Meghan, and Aunt Cathy. Backyardigans style. 🙂

Maggie Uniqua

Maggie - Uniqua

Maggie Burke Uniqua Tyrone

Maggie & Burke - Uniqua & Tyrone

Aunt Meghan Pablo

Aunt Meghan - Pablo

Aunt Cathy Uniqua

Aunt Cathy - Uniqua

Grandpa Tyrone

Grandpa - Tyrone

Nana Uniqua

Nana - Uniqua

Daddy Tyrone

Daddy - Tyrone

Tyrone

Tyrone

(If you missed the cakes my Dad has made in the past, check them out here.)

And did Burke like the cake?

I think so

I think so...

Put Me in the Zoo

Maggie’s been really into one of her books, Put Me in the Zoo.

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She usually points to the little girl and calls her Maggie. And the little boy, of course, is Burke.

Lately, she’s been asking for a yellow bow. Do you know how hard it is to find a yellow bow??

Since yesterday was her birthday, I had to at least TRY…but ended up having to improvise.

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HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, BURKE AND MAGGIE!!

I can’t believe you two are 4 years old today!

Maggie, this morning you woke up and the first thing you said to me was, “It’s morning. I’m 4!” LOL

Burke, you poor guy, woke up coughing again. But you wanted to go to school, so we sent you. You’ve been on meds for about 24 hours now though, so you should be all set.

You both have grown so much in the last year – not only size-wise, but maturity-wise as well. You can both write out letters of the alphabet and know what letter certain words start with. You’re both singing and dancing up a storm!

Maggie, you love to read – all books, any books. And we also can’t tear you away from the TV. I’m guessing – if we let you – you’d sit and watch all day.

Burke, your favorite things right now are your computer and Maggie’s camera. We have so many fantastic pictures that you’ve taken! You love the TV almost as much as Maggie, but you enjoy reaching over the gate to turn it off too 😉

I’m so proud of both of you. You both take care of your little brother – when you’re not terrorizing him 😉 You like helping him out when he’s not in your way.

We celebrate tomorrow with Grandpa, Nana, Aunt Meghan, and Aunt Cathy. But today you get to hand out goodie bags to all your friends at school.

I love you guys!
Mommy

Plans of Returning to Work – Thwarted.

I was so psyched to head back into work today – it’s been a long time since I’ve actually been AT the office. However, a certain little boy – who was kept home from school yesterday – decided that he couldn’t stop coughing this morning.

Yep. Headed to the Doctor’s office instead of the office. Poor Burke has an ear infection. And is now on meds for 10 days. 😦

I really hope he’s feeling better by tomorrow – it sucks to be sick on your birthday!!

Even MORE Snow

Okay – so this is getting crazy. Poor Mike shoveled *three* times within the last 24 hours. He estimates about 18 more inches of snow. It’s gotten so bad, that the mound of snow he’s piled up from the driveway has gotten too high, he has to walk each shovel-full around it to throw it on the other side.

Maggie decided this morning that she was going to go out and help daddy shovel – but her shovel is buried somewhere under all that new snow (oops!), so I gave her a serving spoon. She loved it. heh

Burke decided to lounge on the couch instead of going out – I have to assume that he’s not feeling well. (His nose is running non-stop, so it’s probably better that he stayed in anyway.)

I didn’t take any pictures because I’m sick of the snow, and sick of the snow pictures 😉

The Same, But Different

Right before Christmas, I bought new shoes for Burke and Maggie to wear to church. Maggie’s are cute (fake) patent leather-type ones that look cute with dresses and dressier clothes. Burke’s are dark, no character, not-quite sneaker sneakers. I’ve been letting Burke wear his new shoes to school because well, it just makes sense. I have only been letting Maggie wear her’s when she’s got dressier-type clothes on because, well – they’ll just look silly with jeans or sweats!

This morning, Maggie got really upset that Burke could wear his new shoes and she couldn’t. I promised that while she was at school, I’d go out and get her some new sneakers (because, frankly, her old ones stink.) That calmed her down enough to get everyone to school.

Logan and I hit Target and I got Maggie new sneaks. Burke was livid. He wanted new shoes too – even though the ones on his feet are pretty much brand-spankin’ new. *sigh*

So now I’m wondering – do I always have to get BOTH of them something new at the same time? Are they ever going to “get” that sometimes one of them will need something that the other one won’t? (So…what just pops into my head?? Will Burke want a bra when it’s time to get Maggie one?? LOL whoo boy.)

THAT Call From the Nurse

Today marks the first day I had to pick a kid up from school early – Burke got sick at school. Poor guy.

It wasn’t THAT early…and I got the call from the nurse as I was loading Logan into the car to head that way anyway. (I usually try to get to the school early so I have a place to park before all the parents who do the “pick-up” routine line up and get in the way of the parking spaces.)

Apparently, as I was walking into the building is when Burke decided to let loose. Mrs. Teacher brought him to the nurse because all of a sudden he laid down on the floor and curled up into a ball. Then got really pale. When she felt his forehead, he was fairly hot. Poor guy. 😦

Ironically, today was PJs and Slippers day at school, so he’s all set to be lounging on the couch.

Maggie’s in heaven because SHE’S in her PJs watching TV too, but she feels just fine.

Pre-School, Year 2 – Part 2

So the very resourceful What a Card called our pre-school and asked what the heck was going on with all the different classes and recommendations. (She’s so smart!) And thank goodness she did, because it was a snow day today, no school tomorrow, and early registration is FRIDAY.

Here’s the skinny: They recommended kids to the different rooms based on their age (“old” 4’s vs. “young” 4’s).  The class recommended for Burke and Maggie apparently has a more challenging pace, and is more focused on kids who are starting kindergarten the next year.

Okay. Pretty sure that means we’re sold. Now we just need to figure out how to afford it and get the kids there!

Pre-School, Year 2

The twins are in pre-school right now, and we’ve just received the pre-registration for next year. (Seriously? I have no idea what we’re doing next month let alone next year 😛 )

And of course, there’s a dilemma. (when is there not? 😉 )

They recommend a T,W,TH class.  Right now the kids are in school M,W,F – which works for us because Mike’s with them on Mondays and I work from home on W,F which means I can shuttle them around then. (Are you sensing the problem now? 🙂 )

How on earth do families with both parents working full-time get their kids to and from school??

They do offer a class that is age-appropriate M,W,F – but it’s fewer hours (bonus: also less $$)…I’m also guessing that most of their class this year will be going to this recommended session. What I need to find out is if this session is recommended because they’ve been at the school for a year, or for some other reason…and if there’s any reason they shouldn’t be in the other session.

I *might* be able to swing something with work to make it so that they can do the recommended session, but I’m not sure. It would also mean requesting different hours for my nanny when the fall comes around.

What would you do? Do I do everything I can to ensure that my kids get the most out of school? Do a few hours less make THAT much of a difference? Is it a huge thing to be in a classroom with kids you’re used to at this age? Is it a huge thing to be in a classroom full of kids who may not have had any pre-school experience before?

Too many decisions!