Cute Nativity Set for Kids

I know Christmas is only two days away, but a friend of mine found this darling nativity:

http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2009/12/diy-printable-nativity-for-kids.html

You can print out all the pieces, color and cut them out, then use toilet paper/paper towel rolls to make them all stand. It's cute, and kids can play with it without worry. :)

P.S. My girls absolutely LOVE it!

New 'do

After I braided Cora's hair, she pulled the braids in front of her eyes and asked if she could have it like that. I suggested above her eyes so she could still see, she was fine with that. Ruby wanted hers the same way, of course.

"Take my picture like this, Mommy"

Ruby Watching

Hidden amongst the needles of the Christmas branch you may find, if you are lucky, the elusive creature commonly known as the Ruby, officially the Rubonicus blondus. Often clothed in colors to blend into her surroundings, she can be difficult to spot. It takes practice and patience. The effort is well worth the results when you are able to spot the Ruby. Here is one of the rare snapshots of the Ruby, so you will know what to watch for:

My children know the rules

When you are in the car you have to be in a carseat. So when you are pretending you are in a car you need a pretend carseat:Very safe.

Cooking Adventures, Part 2

Apparently, the girls were so confident after making tortillas with me, that they decided to try it without me. They got out their bowls, measured some flour (I have no idea how much), then added some water (once again, I don't know the amount). At this point I found them:
They seem to have forgotten entirely about the salt, but Ruby knew she needed oil. I, being the mean mother that I am, did not allow her to add any.

I also wasn't quite sure what to do with their creation. There was no way for me to salvage it since I didn't know how much flour and water they had put in. So I let them stir for a while. We added food coloring (they seemed to think that was as important as all the other ingredients). Then it came to me: paper mache. What they made was paper mache paste, so we might as well use it that way.
I blew up two balloons and we covered them in some lovely newspaper strips dipped in the girls' paste. It was a very messy project and didn't make the girls very happy. Mostly because at the end of it they had no tortillas to eat.

Cooking Adventures, Part 1

The girls wanted to make tortillas. They regularly try to help me cook, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to let them do the cooking once. They got out bowls and spoons, I showed them what to put in and gave them the correct measuring utensil. They did all the measuring, mixing, and rolling. Well, I helped a little on the rolling or the tortillas would have been a bit thick. Then I cooked them. I don't trust my three-year-olds enough to let them near the hot stove just yet. :)

The results were two very proud little girls and a pile of oddly shaped, small tortillas that tasted great.
The different colors were a brilliant idea on my part. This way, the girls knew exactly which tortillas they made and didn't fight over who got to eat what.

"Mommy, I made Cora three bunny ears!"

Cora's hat

When Cora wears this hat it makes me think of Roy. Does anyone else get that impression? Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?

Cold season is upon us

Ruby is prepared.

Halloween pictures

The girls were so excited for Halloween. Okay, really they were just excited to wear their costumes and go to a party. Sadly, they didn't get to. But they did get to wear their costumes to visit Daddy at work.

Can you tell what they were:























The reason for not being able to go to the party: Cora woke up at 5:30 am, puking. She was puking all day. She was so sad that she didn't get to go to the party. Ruby, who was not sick, was also not that concerned about missing the party.

Happy Birthday, Girlies!

I'm only a month slow getting this up, but here are the pictures from the girls' third birthday:

Opening presents from Grandma

Ruby had a trick candle (not really, she just couldn't get one to go out).

Tea party, anyone?

The girls wearing all their wearable presents (dresses from Grandma, hair bows from a friend, and slippers from Lil):

Proof of Global Warming*

This was the first week in November:
The girls wanted to play in the leaves, so they had to rake them up first. (Don't worry, I helped.)

Our loaner cat joined in the fun:
The rule is: when you're done playing you have to clean up:
Not that all the fun was over: (I love how this shows the difference between my girls. Ruby backing away from the cat while Cora reaches for him.)
This was the only picture I got where I could see both girls' eyes. It would help if Ruby didn't pull her hat down quite so low. But it does keep the sun out of her eyes.
The girls had so much fun they kept asking to rake leaves again, so we did. The second time wasn't quite so warm so we didn't play quite so long.

*Please note that I do not actually believe in Global Warming. Last winter was bitterly cold very early. This winter has been excessively mild. Take the average and I'm guessing it would be about "normal".

Try two:

Her bunny ears stood up this time!

Our snow

All of it. That is, all we've gotten so far this year, although it has cooled off this week and been threatening to snow. (Picture was taken in October.) I woke up to very joyous cries of, "Mommy, there's snow on my house! Need to play in it. Need to build a snowman." So after breakfast we got ready. Yes, my children were dressed in all their snow gear for a skiff of snow. They insisted on it. They were so excited to play in snow and a complete snow outfit was necessary. We went outside for, thankfully, a very short amount of time. Once in the snow the girls discovered it wasn't nearly so fun as expected and there definitely wasn't enough to build a snowman (Ruby tried). Once the snow soaked through their gloves they were ready to be done.

Funny story: in September I was sorting through the girls' clothes to get out all their winter stuff. I had them trying on lots of things to see what fit now. Amongst the usual long sleeved shirts and long pants I had several different sizes of coats and snowpants for them to try. (I buy at yard sales, so I get what I can when I see it.) Ruby tried on some snowpants and a coat, then wanted boots, a hat, and some gloves. We tried on the whole outfit. Then she said, "Go play in snow." Oops. Sorry, dear, there's no snow yet. She was mad. It was like I had tricked her, albeit unintentionally. I finally got her to accept the idea that the leaves had to fall before the snow would come. After this she would randomly tell people, "The leaves come down then the snow comes down."

Reading is important...

to everyone in this house:

Ruby the mountaineer

She would have gone all the way up if I hadn't stopped her.

Walking

I have the girls well trained to hold onto the stroller when they are walking beside it, so when I told them they didn't need to, I guess they still felt like they needed to hold onto something:Even better, is when they push the stroller for me:

Triking

We're still working on the concept. Ruby is doing fairly well at pedaling. Cora's feet are usually on the ground, scooting her along. We still haven't figured out steering at all.

We miss our friends. :(

My children know what cell phones are for

Taking pictures

"Smile!"

(They also like to show you the pictures they've taken.)

Texting:

And talking, of course:

They also know where to keep their phones when not in use:

If you don't have a pocket, just borrow your sister's:

P.S. Genny, please note that Ruby's hair is not fixed, probably not even combed. You may not be able to tell, but Cora's hair is missing the elastics at the end of her braids, so it's on it's way out, too. Just so you know my children don't always have well-groomed hair. :)

No catchy title,

I just love this picture.