The last day at the beach, we took a trip on a large catamaran. I have never been on one this large before. It was a lot of fun. The kids all enjoyed it. Of course, they thought it was really neat that we ate lunch on the boat. It was just sandwiches, but they were very excited. We were able to take out paddle boards and kayaks in the bay. That was a lot of fun. My husband took the twins out with him. As you can see, the boys went together and Morgan and I went. I didn't want to get in the water because you could see jelly fish and stingrays everywhere!!
As you can see, they had fun burying Hannah standing up in the sand. Haylee is loving it. However, I think Hannah loved the attention just as well.
Monday, June 14, 2010
We are home...
We are finally home from our vacation. I was ready to be home a few days before we arrived. It was too long for me. It was sweet to hear the girls say they were excited to be home and loved the smell of home. I believe this is a big thing in their lives. Looking at the big picture, we had a wonderful trip. We of course had some struggles along the way. One twin continues to act improper toward her sister when she doesn't get her way. It doesn't happen everyday, but when it does, it is not pretty. I can tell when it is happening because the tone of voice changes in both girls. Bless her heart, this is what she saw for about 6 years of her life. It is over simple things.
One of the families at the beach had a teenager and one twin loved it!! She thinks she is 18. It is different than Morgan trying to be 18. I can't describe it in words, it is just different and not in a positive way. I struggled at the beach because one of the other mothers thought the strong twin was just adorable and she could eat her up. Well, it was very obvious to me in her actions toward all three girls. She had her come sit in her lap and told her she needed to come stay with her for a visit. Did she say this to the other two girls? No! I thought to myself, you take her home for a week and treat her like a queen and see what happens! She will have an eventful time with no boundaries!!
She does well when we have structure. I have to reign her in a little closer then let her out some again. After an incident last night, I sent her to get a bath because I told her no and she tried to argue with me. When I sent her she cried and slammed the door. Well, this is not acceptable in our home. Also, about an hour earlier I reminded the girls that their door is not to be closed. This may be crazy, but I need to be able to hear what is going on in their room. I made her sit in the den alone for awhile. She cried very loudly to be sure I could hear her in my office. Later, I went in to talk with her. She had told me she didn't mean to slam the door right after she did it. I asked her if their door was supposed to be closed. She said no. I then asked her if she told the truth when she said she didn't mean to slam the door. She said no. I asked her if this was done out of anger and frustration, she said yes. I asked her why she did it and she said she wasn't thinking. I told her this is not acceptable behavior in our house. However, I also praised her because she has improved her behavior in the two months she has been with us. I reminded her that she would have had a much larger fit then. She agreed. She also agreed that she gets in trouble every time. I am really proud of her!
Both girls are still learning they can't just do what they want when they want to. I guess because for so many years, no person cared what they were doing, this is new to them. They both took off at the beach with my husband without telling me. They told him that I told them to go with him. I absolutely didn't! Morgan came in terrified because she was going to the beach to get something and one was going with her. She was walking with her, then she was gone. She had come back to the house to see my husband. The other twin was with her and had not told me she was going. I was in the condo looking for her when everything went crazy. Morgan came in scared because she couldn't find one and I couldn't find the other. They were headed to the bay with my husband. Luckily I walked out as they were leaving. He then told me they said I told them to go with him. Needless to say, all girls were sent in the house and we had a major discussion. Many rules were broken and so was trust. At the beginning of the week we never let them go without either me or my husband. We had started letting them go with a sibling. I guess they assumed they could do or say whatever again. Ugh!! I was so glad we only had one more day at this point.
If you made it through may rambling, thanks. These are short little snapshots into our current life. The girls and Alex are at Vacation Bible School this morning. I am nervous about them going. The twins have a early education teacher as their teacher. I am sure she will do great with them. I just told her to make sure she has boundaries for them. I will let you know how it goes...
One of the families at the beach had a teenager and one twin loved it!! She thinks she is 18. It is different than Morgan trying to be 18. I can't describe it in words, it is just different and not in a positive way. I struggled at the beach because one of the other mothers thought the strong twin was just adorable and she could eat her up. Well, it was very obvious to me in her actions toward all three girls. She had her come sit in her lap and told her she needed to come stay with her for a visit. Did she say this to the other two girls? No! I thought to myself, you take her home for a week and treat her like a queen and see what happens! She will have an eventful time with no boundaries!!
She does well when we have structure. I have to reign her in a little closer then let her out some again. After an incident last night, I sent her to get a bath because I told her no and she tried to argue with me. When I sent her she cried and slammed the door. Well, this is not acceptable in our home. Also, about an hour earlier I reminded the girls that their door is not to be closed. This may be crazy, but I need to be able to hear what is going on in their room. I made her sit in the den alone for awhile. She cried very loudly to be sure I could hear her in my office. Later, I went in to talk with her. She had told me she didn't mean to slam the door right after she did it. I asked her if their door was supposed to be closed. She said no. I then asked her if she told the truth when she said she didn't mean to slam the door. She said no. I asked her if this was done out of anger and frustration, she said yes. I asked her why she did it and she said she wasn't thinking. I told her this is not acceptable behavior in our house. However, I also praised her because she has improved her behavior in the two months she has been with us. I reminded her that she would have had a much larger fit then. She agreed. She also agreed that she gets in trouble every time. I am really proud of her!
Both girls are still learning they can't just do what they want when they want to. I guess because for so many years, no person cared what they were doing, this is new to them. They both took off at the beach with my husband without telling me. They told him that I told them to go with him. I absolutely didn't! Morgan came in terrified because she was going to the beach to get something and one was going with her. She was walking with her, then she was gone. She had come back to the house to see my husband. The other twin was with her and had not told me she was going. I was in the condo looking for her when everything went crazy. Morgan came in scared because she couldn't find one and I couldn't find the other. They were headed to the bay with my husband. Luckily I walked out as they were leaving. He then told me they said I told them to go with him. Needless to say, all girls were sent in the house and we had a major discussion. Many rules were broken and so was trust. At the beginning of the week we never let them go without either me or my husband. We had started letting them go with a sibling. I guess they assumed they could do or say whatever again. Ugh!! I was so glad we only had one more day at this point.
If you made it through may rambling, thanks. These are short little snapshots into our current life. The girls and Alex are at Vacation Bible School this morning. I am nervous about them going. The twins have a early education teacher as their teacher. I am sure she will do great with them. I just told her to make sure she has boundaries for them. I will let you know how it goes...
Monday, June 7, 2010
Beach
Hey! My husband's aunt is letting me borrow her computer so I can update. I haven't seen her in years and we are happy to be able to visit with her.
We traveled to the first location. The girls are slowly getting used to traveling. Thank goodness for Little House DVD's. They certainly helped the trip go faster. We had a wonderful first day! The girls loved the beach! They played on boogie boards, built sandcastles, jumped in the waves, as well as anything else you can think of to do at the beach. We played from early in the morning until late in the afternoon. We saw a few signs of oil, but not much on the first day. By evening we smelled oil. We started deciding what to do. We debated and debated. The other two families we usually spend time with at the beach decided to move further east. We were all able to get condo's near each other so we decided to travel again. The girls were dreading the travel but are thrilled to be at the beach again. The condo is larger and has three bathrooms!! Yeah!!
It is interesting what the girls have learned to do while we are at home. However, we change places and some training has to start again. Things like cramming all of your clothes in the nightstand drawers when you have an entire chest and two nightstands for two girls. I showed them how to sort their clothes and put them in drawers so they can find their things. They said they have never been shown how to do that before. So sad. When we made lunch the first day, they acted like they had never made a sandwich before. They had gotten so they could do it at home. One girl just sat and stared at her bread, peanut butter, jelly and knife for a long time. My husband finally asked if she thought the sandwich was going to make itself. She just looked at him and sighed. We are more than happy to help after effort has been made. We are working on teaching them not enabling them. They adjusted well. However, this morning at the new condo on girl asked me where the milk was. I asked her, "Where do we keep the milk?" She said, "Oh" and went and got it. She struggles sometimes with completing her statements. She is improving. Anyway, we are having a wonderful trip and the girls seem to be happy. We are having some struggles with Morgan and the dominant twin some because they have similar personalities. We just handle the issues as they come.
I am sorry if this post is crazy, I am borrowing a computer.
We traveled to the first location. The girls are slowly getting used to traveling. Thank goodness for Little House DVD's. They certainly helped the trip go faster. We had a wonderful first day! The girls loved the beach! They played on boogie boards, built sandcastles, jumped in the waves, as well as anything else you can think of to do at the beach. We played from early in the morning until late in the afternoon. We saw a few signs of oil, but not much on the first day. By evening we smelled oil. We started deciding what to do. We debated and debated. The other two families we usually spend time with at the beach decided to move further east. We were all able to get condo's near each other so we decided to travel again. The girls were dreading the travel but are thrilled to be at the beach again. The condo is larger and has three bathrooms!! Yeah!!
It is interesting what the girls have learned to do while we are at home. However, we change places and some training has to start again. Things like cramming all of your clothes in the nightstand drawers when you have an entire chest and two nightstands for two girls. I showed them how to sort their clothes and put them in drawers so they can find their things. They said they have never been shown how to do that before. So sad. When we made lunch the first day, they acted like they had never made a sandwich before. They had gotten so they could do it at home. One girl just sat and stared at her bread, peanut butter, jelly and knife for a long time. My husband finally asked if she thought the sandwich was going to make itself. She just looked at him and sighed. We are more than happy to help after effort has been made. We are working on teaching them not enabling them. They adjusted well. However, this morning at the new condo on girl asked me where the milk was. I asked her, "Where do we keep the milk?" She said, "Oh" and went and got it. She struggles sometimes with completing her statements. She is improving. Anyway, we are having a wonderful trip and the girls seem to be happy. We are having some struggles with Morgan and the dominant twin some because they have similar personalities. We just handle the issues as they come.
I am sorry if this post is crazy, I am borrowing a computer.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Head to the beach...if I can get us packed!!
We are leaving for the Gulf tomorrow afternoon, if I can get our family packed. We stay in a condo, so I have to take everything. Our car now only holds our family members without much packing room. We have rented a Uhaul to tow behind the car. I can't get the clothes washed to get packed. Interesting, the girls packed two days ago and have been wearing their nice clothes each day since. I wonder what is in their suitcases? I know they have panties because they said they didn't have any clean ones after swimming lessons today. Too funny!! We hope to be gone for ten days, if the oil doesn't mess up our trip. The girls have never had a trip to the beach for more than an hour or so. They also said today they have never stayed in a hotel or condo. What an adventure this will be!!! I pray all goes well.
I wish I could post pictures of their faces. They appear to be changing so much to me. After everything is final in a few months, I will post face pictures.
We are having a good summer so far. We have been busy with swimming lessons and doctor appointments. Hopefully life will slow down some after the beach.
I wish I could post pictures of their faces. They appear to be changing so much to me. After everything is final in a few months, I will post face pictures.
We are having a good summer so far. We have been busy with swimming lessons and doctor appointments. Hopefully life will slow down some after the beach.
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