Monday, December 21, 2009

Toy check

We had to get a 2nd Bilibo... we got the lime green one last month and they love it!! They really don't have a way to share it when they want to sit in it and play with it.. so it was time to get a 2nd one.



CHRISTMAS........

So far.....Graham and Parker are getting for Christmas.......



The Parents Busy Zoo Activity CenterMelissa & Doug






100 Piece Wood Blocks Set











Playskool Wheel Pals 15 Cars











Playskool Dusty the Talking Vacuum Cleaner with Bonus Mini-Vac












Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Bounce & Spin Pony











Fisher-Price Go Baby Go! Bounce & Spin Zebra












Beck International Children's Wooden Toy Bin Organizer with Assorted Sized Pastel Bins

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Birds?


I was thinking about what theme I would go with for the twins 2nd birthday. I tried to think of cartoon characters they really like but they do not really like cartoons. They like birds. Not big bird. Just birds. Especially blue birds or parrots. They have several of the fisher price crib soothers.. Peaceful Planet, Rainforest, and the Birds one. They so adore the birds. Anytime they see birds outside they call out to show me the birds flying in the sky. They both absolutely adore birds!!! That is going to be tough to find bids themed partyware for their birthday. I have 5 months to obtain bird partyware. Wish me luck!



In other news, we have now tried out Bilibo and Bilibo mini. They really enjoy the Bilibo mini's in the bathtub. I keep them in the bathroom with their other bath time toys. They seem to really like the Bilibo too. I will order another one soon, they have been trying to take it from each other all day.




We also got two Glitter Bumpy Gertie Balls. Pretty cool, they had a lot of fun with them today! I am sure they will love playing with them at the park!!



I have been curious about the Boon Fluid sippy cup. It has terrible reviews but Graham and parker are doing really well with them!! They even kept them from spitting their juice today!! They are in this juice spitting phase, so messy! I keep trying to get them to stop but they thin it is waaayyyy tooo funny to stop!
They are a pretty cool cup and seem so easy for them to hold too! I got them the blue & green cups. They also have pink & white as well as orange & white.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

What is heck the point of a playdate? seriously?


What is the point of a playdate?


I wonder lately why I even bother to take my twins to playdates. It seems like once the babies turn into toddlers and are steadily walking..the moms no longer have interest in chit chatting and getting to know one another at playdates.

The group I organize consists of moms of newborns to age 3. The moms of the babies who are under a year old all sit around on blankets at the playdates and chit chat. They get time to get to know each other. However it is not this way for any of the moms of 12 months olds - 3 yr olds. We go to a gated park that has a toddler playground and a big kids playground. The toddler playground is great but has no actual play equipment other than 2 baby swings and 3 stone like animals the little ones cna crawl on. That really does stink but it is tolerable if you bring a ball or something else small for your child to be entertained with. I take my twins there a few times a week in the afternoons and they have a blast! The big kids playground is for ages 6 and up. It has regular swings and a lot of big crazy climby things for the older children to have fun on. However for some reason the moms of 12 months - 3 yr olds in my playground all seem to have a strong belief that their child has this burning desire to leave the toddler playground and be on the big kids playground. There is absolutely no way to actually sit down, relax, and get to know the other moms if you take your child on that playground. At that point you become just some other mom and their kid running around the park. ISN'T THE POINT OF A PLAYGROUP TO ALL STAY TOGETHER AND MINGLE???? Are you not supposed to make an effort to get to know the other moms and let the kids all interact?? If I wanted to just take my children to the park and be antisocial I could do that by NOT JOINING a playgroup.
Last time I was at a playdate with my group I ended up being the odd mom out and it turned out so badly. I was there with all the very nice moms of babies and we chit chatted for a bit. However all of the moms of toddlers age 12-24 months showed up late. Then when they got there they all decided to go over to the big kids playground one by one in a matter of seconds it seemed. So then my twins got restless since all of the kids their age took off. One of my twins started trying to heist snacks and toys from all of the little babies. I felt ackward at that point. It really ticked me off that the toddler moms had zero interest in hanging out with the rest of us. What the heck is up with that crap? One of the toddler moms sat down with the rest of us moms when she arrived but when the others arrived they all just decided they wanted to go to the other playground. They said their 12-17 months olds really wanted to go play on the other playground. The thing is none of those 12-17 month olds showed any sort of sign that they were not happy playing on the toddler playground. None of them seemed restless or whiney. None of them were screaming or banging on the gate to get OUT and get to the OTHER playground.

So what the heck was that all about, were they being antisocial? Are they antisocial.. or are they just really big introverts? How on earth could all of the toddler moms all be introverts and all of the moms of babies be social?

It really baffles me. Why would you join a playgroup if you have zero intentions of trying to get to know the other moms and you only want to go chase your kid around on a big kids playground. Why come to a playdate so you can just take off and pretty much be alone with your kid at the park for the most part?? SERIOUSLY?

Maybe I really went about this all wrong when I set up the playgroup. I maybe should have had guidelines that if you are super antisocial, don't join.

I could take my twins on the big kids playground with other other toddler moms but then where would that get me??

1. I would have to spend the ENTIRE time chasing chasing chasing chasing my twins and getting them out of trouble since there is only BIG kids intended play equipment on the big kids playground.

2. I would have little to no real time to mingle with the other moms.

3. My twins would have little to no time to really interact with the other children their age.

4. IO would be stressed and exhausted during and after the playdate.

With all of that, why on earth would I waste my time going to a playdate or organizing one for that matter if I were not going to have any chance at all to get to know the other moms?

I am so aggravated and fed up with being a playdate organizer now at this point. I feel like nothing is being accomplished.

I wanted to make friends, give the twins an opportunity to interact with other children their age. Plus get out of the house once a week at least with other moms. I really wanted to do this in a stress free way. This is impossible to do if you are chasing your kids at the big kids park the whole time.

The park we go to gives us a golden opportunity to sit down, relax, chit chat, and let the kids run around freely and play with toys together or just run around together and explore.

Granted there is little to no shade and we live in Florida but if we all brought an umbrella and propped it into the chainlink fence.. voila SHADE!

Maybe I expect more out of a playdate than most moms, who knows. I really want to actually talk to the other moms and get to know them and their children. I can not do this if we are all busy walking around chasing kids.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Saturday, November 7, 2009

shut up old navy!!!



First!! A cute pic of Graham and Parker at the park on the swing..around 7pm. The camera made the sky look awesome!

Now on to the complaining!!

WOW I just went on the most annoying shopping trip ever to Old Navy!!

First off..the racks are way too close together in the baby and toddler sections but really widely spaced everywhere else in the store.

strike one.


Then I found this long sleeved onesie I just LOVED but they only had one. So I asked a sales girl if they had backstock and she was confused.

I had my twins with me in the stroller, right there in plain view.. dressed in the same outfits. She did not understand why I wanted 2 of the same outfit.
I had to say it twice. argh.

strike two.

Then I was at the checkout buying 2 of the same pair of pajamas for them. The sales girl says.. umm do you realize you have 2 of these, do you want me to put one back.

I gave her an evil glare and then she noticed there was two babies in my double side by side stroller. Both wearing the same outfit. ding ding ding.

strike three.

YOU'RE OUT OLD NAVY ON COLONIAL DRIVE IN ORLANDO.

GEESH!

Monday, September 28, 2009

playtime!!

3 photos playing at home... and 2 from a park playdate!