From the mouth of babes

Abby (with flashlight in hand, shining it on my backside): "Mooommy. I see your butt. It's biiIIIIG! A big butt."

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Maddy climbs into my lap one afternoon and begins to pull on my index finger...

Me: "Mad, what are you doing?"

Maddy: "Toot mommy. Toot when I pull da finners."

I'm so happy my two year olds have learned the tricks of a preteen boy. Oh wait, I mean their dad.

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While playing under the pine tree, picking up the pine cones...

Abby: Mommy, pine cone speak spanish. He say "abrir!" (That means to open.) She then proceeds to tell the neighbor kids that "daddy poops out the pine cones."

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As we patiently await the arrival of spring, we wish you a very Happy Easter! This is from the chorus of one of my favorite songs at church, Jesus Paid It All (Praise the One):

Jesus paid it all.

All to Him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow.

Oh, praise the One who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead.

Random pictures!

Here are a few random pictures from the last few weeks. xoxo

Lunch with Haillie at Adventure Park

The girls like to hang out in their room some mornings right when they get up...with their snakes.

Visiting with Great Grandma. The amount of goodies they scored from the staff that afternoon was obscene!


Maddy digging in the HUGE sandbox- Valentine's Day at the MN Zoo

Abby

Abby, you need pants on before you can go outside. What kind of get-up is that? :)

Abby tucked in with her snake at bedtime.

Maddy with puppy AND snake. What happened to dollies and Barbie????

Hello friends and family!

Happy last day of February (yeah!) and yes, I am aware that it has been a month since I have updated the blog. No pictures today, but here is just a quick run down of what's up.

In a nutshell, there isn't much going on except, well, life. It tends to get harried at times with two little ladies beginning to exercise their independence. They are definitely starting to figure out what pushes our buttons and like to see just how far they can push those buttons. But, then the next minute they are in our lap asking for hugs and kisses and I can't resist.

They have developed a love for animals- especially snakes and pumas. They also love their princess and ballerina dresses, princess shoes, jewelry and slippers. Oh, and vanilla yogurt. If we didn't have vanilla yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit, and peanut butter in the house, they wouldn't survive!

Dave's business is keeping busy despite the dull economy. People seem to be fixing up as an alternative to selling. Right now, it seems that he should have solid work thru the spring. I can't remember if I posted this, but the Grand house sold and closed the beginning of January after only a month on the market. Whew! He is now taking a well deserved weekend away in Lake of the Woods for some ice fishing with some friends.

The hospital I work at has taken a hit with the downturn of the economy and has had one round of layoffs of some management and misc staff. They assure us that nursing will be last department to take cuts in staff numbers, but are changing our nurse to patient ratios and upping the number of hours we can be on call or canceled in a pay period. We are losing some of the "foo-foo" benefits, but that is a small price to pay to avoid anymore cuts. I am still working Tuesdays and every other weekend in the evenings. Otherwise, I am with the girls at ECFE, playdates, or cruising the zoos or Indoor Playgrounds.

That is all from the Petersons for now. I hope to get some pictures up soon!

A Lesson on the Birds and Bees

How Twins Are Made:

(Received this in an email and thought it would be fun to share!)

Oh No Mommy...

...is what I heard last night from the kitchen, only to walk in and find Abby in a puddle of, er, vomit.

Then again 5 minutes later in the living room.

And again a few minutes later in the garbage.

And again later in her bed.

And this morning in her bed. It is so lovely to wake up to your daughter calling, "Oh no Mommy, big, BIIIIIIG puke. Yucky BIIIIIG puke." With a 102.8 fever.

So, I am home from work this afternoon, scrubbing Woolite into my carpets and washing pink blankies and jammies. But, I sure do love the snuggles. :)

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Did you hear about this family? She has alot of blankies and jammies to wash now. Hope she stocked up on Woolite, too. What a blessing for them!!

Multiple births seem to be popping up all over in the media lately. It seems every other celebrity that gets pregnant gets prgnant with twins. Hmmm. It is like it is a trend. A creepy trend. Twin babies are not like handbags nor should they be used to get millions of dollars from magazines.

Gosh, I never knew that I was so trendy!!!!

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One last thing. I have a confession to make. I am hooked on this show:

The Bachelor!

I haven't been one in the past to watch this show, but for some reason, I am interested in this season. Psst...I don't watch it alone. Dave is into it too. Don't tell anyone, though.

Please tell me she wasn't stuck.

Yes, she was.

I have gotten a few curious questions about this picture- and rightfully so.

A couple weeks ago, we had Christmas at my brother's house in Alex and the girls REALLY wanted to go outside. Denise and Dave got them dressed and out they all went to check out the humongous drifts in the yard and on the deck. All of them were on the deck when Abby was holding onto said shepard hook...then licked it. I laughed (I couldn't believe she did that), knocked on the window and told her no. Then she immediately turned and did it again. And got stuck.

Because of the boogers from her nose, she ended up with a four point freeze- her nose, her top lip, her tongue and her chin. At this point, Dave and Denise were helping Maddy navigate some snow, unaware of the "situation," until the banging on the windows got their attention. Uncle Troy was already getting the warm water ready. After a cup of warm water and a gentle pull from daddy, she was free with only minor injury. Libby's teething gel eased the ouch enough for more gumdrops and sour balls.

I think Nana Vic is more scarred than Abby.

On a COLD day in Minnesota

After Abby did her best to imitate a scene from my favorite holiday movie (no one triple dog dared her, nor did we call the police or fire department)-

We had had enough of the cold and needed a little of this:

We packed up and went across town to the tropics! So tropical that my camera lens was fogging up:

Not wanting another day of being cooped up indoors at home, we took the girls to the Como Zoo and Conservatory for some heat, humidity, NO jackets, and animals!

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After checking out the plants and koi ponds inside, we put our jackets back on and ran between buildings to check out the animals. What a great time to be at the zoo...there was NO ONE there and many of the animals came right up to the glass to check us out. How weird to be nose-to-nose with a lion (through glass) or look right into the eyes of the monkeys. The staff was also very attentive to the girls- pointing out things and telling us more about them. Dave and I both agree that it was probably the most fun we have ever had at a zoo...even if it was -20 degrees!

L-R: Dave, Abby, Maddy. Oh, wait- that isn't Dave! That is a big hairy gorilla! :)

Happy Holidays from The Petersons!

Watch the Petersons shake their groove "thang." Video expires on January 15th (I think!)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I LOVE this movie!

Fah-ra-ra-ra raaa....

Hands down, the best Christmas movie ever made. I look forward to it every year. Even though it drives my mother and cousin crazy, I can laugh every year like it is the first time I have ever seen it.

My favorite parts, you ask? Well, I think my favorite is the Lamp Scene ("Fra-jee-lay") or when Mom asks Randy how the little piggies eat. "I can't put my arms down" comes in at a close second.

Indulge me...What is YOUR favorite part? Or, what is your favorite Christmas movie?

Now, be good. Or Santa will kick you down the slide.

Snow Angels

I wasn't too sure if the girls would be excited about winter and the snow this year, but I was wrong. They are totally into it, which is really kind of fun. It has been neat showing them how to build a snowman (which we did this morning) and how to make snow angels.

We have really enjoyed the few 30+ degree days that we have had in the past couple weeks and are getting prepared for the cold and snow that are headed our way this weekend.

Here are a few pictures of the girls enjoying the snow. Yes, those are the Fanny Lifter steps from "THE FIRM" workout videos next to the snowman...as you can see they are being put to wonderful use. I'm not sure why/how they got brought outside. Hmmm. Maddy is a little upset because she wanted the carrot that is being used for his nose.

As for the pending sale on the Grand Avenue house, if we don't have one offer, we have two! The first couple that offered on the house is still trying to get financing - which is pretty difficult right now. In the meantime, another group took a look at it and has stated they have an offer ready if the first does not come together. Hopefully we will know more next week.

Until then, enjoy the weekend!