It's OK to Write

I don't even know where to start. The simple act of logging into Blogger after a century-long hiatus has already sent waves of guilt over me. Wait, guilt? YES! Guilt. It's outrageous.

Now, don't hear me wrong. I've got plenty of things to be feeling guilty about. Somebody in my brood stole a piece of candy from Seven-Eleven yesterday, my Etsy store has been "on vacation" for over a year, I haven't showered in two three days, I forgot to send my kindergartner to school with a snack, I'm currently in a state of quasai-hiding from my other two children whom I keep at home to love and nurture, and I have no plans of actually reading the bible study chapter that will be the topic of discussion at book group tonight.

But this, of all things, is what cues the guilt twinge? I mean, for the love of everything unholy.

I just wanna write. Do I have to FIGHT, for my WRITE, to PARRR...er...wait. That's not it. Focus.

The point is, I need this. I need it as an outlet. I've missed writing so. It's cathartic and therapeutic and I've got a terrible damn memory. I need to write some of this shit down. The perfectionist in me can hardly bare the shame of dealing with the fact that there's NOT a real point to it all other than that. But the human being in me is balking, "So?"

I'm NOT consistently blogging the childhoods of my bunch. So? Most of the time, it's NOT proofread before it's published. So? I don't have a defined "writing voice." So? Making it my 4th baby just CAN'T be a priority for me right now. So? It's NOT my career and NOT going to be followed by the masses or turned into a book. So? But other people are just doing it so well. SOOO?!

So, here's what. I'm putting MYSELF on notice. I'm just writing. When I can, when I need to, as I have time. And I'm just going to be OK with that. I'm also abandoning my WWMPD (What Would Ms. Penick Do) philosophy and choosing to use capital letters and ellipsis for drama if the mood so strikes me. And, you know what? If I end up in jail, it will be because my children are literal thieves and not because of my grammatical incorrectness.

P + B = 3

Parker and Brooks are 3! Their vocabularies are exploding by the day, they're potty trained (finally!), and their little personalities are becoming even more distinct and unique.

They've both stolen my heart in completely different ways. They are SUCH a joy to us (even if they do make me want to pull my hair out at times!). I cannot believe how blessed we are.

Since this was their 3rd birthday, they got to do their very first Birthday Questionnaire! It has been one of my very favorite things we've done with Laney, and I'm excited to do it with the boys, now, too. We made each of them answer the questions without the other one present to avoid copy-cat answers. Hysterically, though, many of their answers were still very similar. They've got crazy little twin ESP stuff going on, y'all!

Parker's 3rd Birthday Questionnaire!

What is your favorite color? black and green

What is your favorite toy? my trucks and Woody

What is your favorite food? I don't wanna talk about food

What is your favorite TV show? Paw Patrol

What is your favorite song? Lion King (the Circle of Life)

What is your favorite book? Go, dog, go

What is your favorite hobby? play-doh

Who is your best friend? Bowen and Daddy

What do you want to be when you grow up? fireman

What kind of car do you want to drive when you grow up? a fire truck

Brooks' 3rd Birthday Questionnaire!

What is your favorite color? blue

What is your favorite toy? my Giraffey

What is your favorite food? cheese

What is your favorite TV show? Paw Patrol

What is your favorite song? Frozen (Let it Go)

What is your favorite book? Go, dog, go

What is your favorite hobby? baseball

Who is your best friend? Daddy

What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanna work at the Cookie Shop

What kind of car do you want to drive when you grow up? a fire truck

Class Christmas Gifts

We got crafty this year and, with the help of those under-utilized Pinterest boards I've been amassing, made some little Christmas gifts for the kids to give their classmates. Actually, I made them. Ha. It always sounds like a great idea to have the kids "help," but it never works out as well as you'd hope. I let Laney "help" me make the play-doh for this gift last year and we ended up with some fingers that looked like this (she's still terrified of the stove!). I. felt. so. bad.

So, this year, I did it all during nap time and it went off without a hitch. Laney gave her friends gingerbread scented play-doh with a cookie cutter for playing. It was super cute! We also made a huge batch for us to play with over the holidays and the kids absolutely loved it.

Parker gave his friends "Reindeer Antlers" and Brooks gave his friends "Reindeer Noses." I seasoned some tiny pretzels for antlers and used whoppers and a cherry drop for the nose. They got such a kick out of them and were so excited to carry them into MDO. I hope they still like my little home-made gifts as much when I'm trying to make them for their 16-year-old friends! HA!

Laney is 4!

Ok. Pretend this post isn't 2 months late.

We celebrated Laney Lou turning FOUR YEARS OLD with a small get-together at the pedicure salon and then walked next door to get some frozen yogurt. I think all the girls had a blast! I know Laney did. It's always such a busy time of year. We call it "fall frenzy." School starts, gymnastics starts, ballet starts, we do family pictures, Laney's birthday happens, Halloween happens, and then it's on to the big holidays. I'm going to have to get better at planning her parties earlier on. I'm just glad we got this on the books this year.

Just like last year, Laney completed a birthday questionnaire. Here are her answers at 4-years-old:

1. What is your favorite color? pink & purple (that answer has been a main stay)

2. What is your favorite toy? my unicorn beanie baby

3. What is your favorite fruit? apples

4. What is your favorite TV show? Dora the Explorer

5. What is your favorite thing to eat at lunch? macaroni-n-cheese

6. What is your favorite outfit? a turtle neck (Really?? I'm sure Dad will remind you of this in years to come.)

7. What is your favorite game? ring around the rosie

8. What is your favorite snack? chips

9. What is your favorite animal? an elephant

10. What is your favorite song? "my song" (Peng! 33 by Iron & Wine...another solid answer)

11. What is your favorite book? The Little Mermaid

12. Who is your best friend? Kiley & Gage

13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit Loops

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? jump on the trampoline

15. What is your favorite drink? apple juice

16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "my duck, night night baby & all sorts of things"

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cereal

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? cake

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a police woman

Playin' Catch Up

Tap tap tap. Is this thing on? Hello? I'll just be honest with you. The perfectionist in me cringes every time I think about this ole blog and urges me to go ahead and delete the whole darn thing. The mommy in me, on the other hand, thinks, "Hey, at least you've got some stuff on there." I'm gonna go with the mommy Melanie.

So, since it's been a few centuries since I've written, here's some catch up on the rest of our summer and fall of 2013:

We wore a lotta matching outfits.

 We got to be a flower girl again and ride down the isle in a precious pink car.
That's right. A car.

 We figured out that ball caps are the coolest things ever.

We wore speedos all summer because we're too young to know we should refuse.

We laughed at our brothers. A lot.

We started our second year of preschool with Mrs. Neves as our teacher.

We dressed up as Cinderella and her mice for Halloween. Parker was Gus Gus.

 We had our first snow day and played outside for a fifth of the time it took us
to get bundled up to go outside. Totally worth it.

Ok. Now we're almost all caught up. And just in time for 2014!

I Love You

Brooks said, "I love you, Daddy" and "I love you, Mommy" for the first time at dinner tonight! Then Parker decided to join in and say it for his first time, too. And they've said it about 20 times since then.

My heart has melted into a puddle. Best night in a long time. Thank you, Jesus.

Baby Talk

The boys' vocabulary has been exploding lately. And most of the words they say are adorably incorrect. I know I'll forget these precious little twin-isms if they aren't written down somewhere. The only Laney word I remember is "troke-a-mote" (remote control) and that era wasn't even that long ago. What a bad memory I have. What was I talking about, again? Just kiiiidding. I'm here all week, folks. But really, I'm here all week.

Twin to English Dictionary

Putter = Peanut Butter

Nee Nee = Banana

Wah-wee = Water

Bar = Granola Bar

Poppy = Papa D

Lonny = Laney

Parper = Parker

Books = Brooks

Too Too Wain = Choo Choo Train

Car Car = Cracker OR Golf Cart

Ownt moke = I want milk

Ba Ba Ba = Yo Gabba Gabba

Ah-wight = Alright

Gwink = Drink

Wing = Swing

Bee Wuck = Big Truck