Who are you and what have you done with my babies?!?!

Well ... Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!! We had a great day with lots of food and good friends.....(and wine)!! I have to give a big shout out to Willie Birds Turkey .....oh man it was hands down the best smoked turkey on the entire planet and it will be our bird of choice for every future holiday meal that we host!!! It rocked the house .... for those of you who don't live near us you can now find Willie Birds in the Williams Sonoma catalog or online. You will pay a pretty penny for that turkey and the WS name but I assure you ...you WILL love you some WB turkey!!! FYI ... we don't pay near that being locals and all!!! OH Willie where have you been all my life. Jon sort of almost let us drink some of his prized collection of wine but just couldn't bring himself to do it in the end. He did open some good wine but not THE good wine!!! Everyone brought wine too and we had some great things to try!!! I do realize that it sounds like we were swimming in wine but there were 10 adults here ... you need alot for that many wine lovers!!! I made an awesome-ish butternut squash gratin (along with some other sides, but they don't have funny stories)...I worked so hard to decide what to use the squash in ...most butternut recipes are soups and I don't have enough soup serving dishes .... so I ended up combining 2 recipes and blah blah blah.....then just when we were all done eating I realized that I never took it out of the oven for everyone....and by then we were all too stuffed to eat it ....so needless to say I am all butternut squashed out!!! So how was your day???
I have had a bit of a stressful 2 days though ... because of course Edie and Ella (mostly Edie) have decided to tic another milestone off the list......I usually like to spend time researching things before I have to buy them. I like to read reviews, shop around (online of course) for the best price, etc....but little Ms. EC had other plans for me ....she decided yesterday would be a great time to climb out of her crib. So I had to spend most of today deciding what to do...but something had to be done because she came to my room this morning with a bloody lip. I, of course, lost the conversion kit for her crib ...so I needed to either find a rail or get a toddler bed or just get them both twin beds.....you see my dilemma. The rails are 75 dollars and just any old bed rail won't work on a crib ...I don't want to get them twin beds all hastily because I want to get them good quality stuff and for that I need research!!! So I headed out and decided to whip into Walmart ... they had a 55 dollar toddler bed. PERFECT!!! They only had one but that was OK....I thought I would just keep Ella in her crib for a while anyway. But just before bed tonight she seemed so pitiful in her caged in crib while Edie ran free so I took off the front of her crib too. She does not have any rails but I made her a pallet on the floor just in case she rolls out. So here they are in their new big girl sleeping devices.........






Auntie Margaret made Ella and Edie the most adorable Alabama outfits ... they are fantastic!!! She is so talented .. you can't even tell that they are hand made really.....If we lived closer I would so hit her up to teach me how to sew......




Ella Grace ......loves to carry purses!!!!

I have been hanging lots of pictures lately and making some crafty things for Christmas, etc......and I think that someone has been watching me.....

Leaps and Bounds!!!

First of all I must say that I cannot believe that all you over achievers have no shame!!! You really make the rest of us look bad...even if we are, say juggling jobs and TWO mobile climbing monkeys, houses, etc.... I must know how and more specifially why??? The Christmas decorations is to what I am referring. IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING!!! Ok, so all kidding aside...pass your creative ideas my way .. you obviously have the time on your hands now that your shopping and decorating are complete!!!
We have been busy around here...mostly having fun but some "real" stuff is happening too. Like Thanksgiving for instance....we are having some people over for some yummy food!!! Then I am planning a GIGANTIC party for the unit that I work at the hospital. We have to have our own parties....the hospital is cool like that!!! I had the party twice before but haven't done it in 2 years because.....well, take a guess why!!! I am ready to get the show on the road again...the last times that I had it we had about 60 people!!! It will be fun and I will have pictures to prove it!!!
We just ordered new wood blinds for our house ....*gasp**sigh*. Gasp because we have had ZERO window treatments in our entire downstairs for months now. So not only am I the white trash mommy of the year but now I am also the white trash homeowner/wife of the year too. And sigh because...those things are sooooooo pricey!!!
Donations gratefully/ungracefully accepted!!!
Now on to the cuteness!!! Ella and Edie are two tons of fun!!! They are a challenge to keep up with but it's fun. They have figured out how to open/close the baby gate so we took it down...it's working out well but it's bittersweet. It seems that every few days they graduate...it's going too fast!!!
We have started a new bedtime routine ... routines are sacred!!! Is it that way with singleton moms or is it a twin thing? They finally enjoy bathtime....Ella actually loves it. She used to cry like you were scalding her and pouring soap in her eyes now she does NOT want to get out of the tub... we've added bubbles and bath markers so that makes it even harder to pry them out. Once we are out of the tub they stand on stools at the double sink and brush their teeth.....CAAUUTE!!!! Naked little teeth brushers.....sweetness!!! Then they bundle up under the covers to watch a little Olivia......Edie especially loves to snuggle under blankets now.



They are both fairly addicted to writing/drawing/scribbling....they will write on any piece of paper they can find with any writing utensil in reach. Sharpies are way up high ... remember Edie can climb... and she's crafty about it!!! Here is the little Picasso in action...



They often branch out to other artist tablets......skin works!!!

They will write/draw/scribble standing, sitting or lying....

They will doctor up already printed pictures.....


They will draw pants on one another...

My friend Mrs. Solomon and I took Edie and Ella to a sweet little play place about 1/2 hour south of us ... she bought them the most adorable tutu's....you will see pics some time soon!!! They love to play .. it's a nice life!!!

Sweet Potato Pies.....

This post has nothing to do with sweet potatoes ...
Edie has taken her teeth brushing a step further! She likes to stand at the sink, on the back of her "very safe" climbing thing. Most of us would use it as a chair....not monkey girl Edie Claire though!!!


Who doesn't love to kick back on the couch with a big fat corn dog???

Guess who.....

Doing guess what....(yes she did push both stools into position) (did I mention she is not even 2 yet, which I am glad about because it's going fast enough, but heaven help us!!!)

Sunglass babes...


Edie having a little morning iced coffee....(not really!)

One of our coworkers (mostly Jon's coworker) gave us this great kitchen that her son was bored with. Thanks Darcy!!! It came with tiny pots, pans, utensils, fake food...even tiny boxes of cake mix, cheerios, canned green beans and tuna...so fun!!! I put all the little things away for now but not after playing with it all myself while they napped. They find all kinds of fun...they put their lunch in the cabinets and the oven only to retrieve it later to actually eat. It's so stinkin cute!!!

I found Ella reading this magazine the other day ... her nanny would be so proud!!! Notice the title ... Psychology Today!!! I think that is Jon's way of trying to understand the craziness that is his house full of girls!!!

Halloween ... a week late but who's counting!!!

It is amazing to me how many people felt comfortable telling me what a terrible mother I am because I did not dress E Squared up for halloween. Never mind the 300 sleepless nights, the (at least) thrice daily poop swiping, the constant worry over the climbing, not eating and giant teeth poking through tiny gums.....GEEZ!!! But just to clarify my decision...they are 19 months old!!! Have you ever tried to keep something that wasn't duct taped on a 19 month old??? If not....then stop judging!!! They did wear adorable halloween apparel ...complete with the BOO and candy corn shirt! You know the ones I am speaking of....the ones they have worn all fall.... WHATEVS people!!! Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile!!! Edie and Ella did help me pass out candy and had a great time.....
Ella spent most of the time filling and dumping one of the candy containers....

She also pointed out the fact that we actually have fish in our aquarium ... "tish, tish, tish".....

Edie, I think, really enjoyed having a constant stream of trick or treaters... she was watching Yo Gabba Gabba and everytime the doorbell rang (which was friggin constantly) she walked to the front door with me and after I gave the candy out she would wave and close the door.... and walk back to watch her show.....

and when she wasn't watching Gabba she was stealing candy...

Ella Grace ..... sassy, bossy, prissy, whiney.......and ?!?!?!?!?!?! I found her like this the other day ... on her new laptop!!! I promise you neither Jon nor I EVER sit like this when we are on the internet.....



Edie took great measures to get her candy ... she tried to climb on the pool table for it...

Ella loves to be bossy ... here she is pointing her finger saying "don't don't"....

Edie still trying to climb for candy.....she does NOT stop climbing!!!

Ella likes to ride on daddy's golf travel bag...

Edie chowing on an egg roll...

They have both started taking their plates and eating in the living room.....here they are eating in their chairs....how darn sweet are they???