My Gym

We have re-enrolled Brooke in My Gym tumbling class. She LOVES it! The big girls did not have school last week due to the snow, so they were able to go and watch her class. Both of them took the same tumbling class when they were babies from the same awesome teacher. She was excited to see them and couldn't believe how big they have gotten!

Blizzard of Oz

Yesterday we had what is being referred to as "The Blizzard of Oz". According to the news, the area we live in had just short of 13 inches of snow and the snow drifts were at least 3 feet tall. It is very beautiful, but I must admit that it is a bit annoying that the kids keep missing school!
The windchill is supposed to be -21 degrees tonight. It is just freezing... way too cold to play outside which is also annoying. I let the big girls get all bundled up and go out for 10 minutes. I don't think that they even lasted that long. Ainsley came in and said, "ok, now I get my hot cocoa. That is the only reason I went outside." Silly girl... I would have given you hot cocoa without spending 30 minutes getting you dressed to stand on the front steps!
Here are some pictures:

Rock Chalk Jayhawk....avi

Mom's Day at School

I got to spend part of the school day with Brynn last week. They have Mom's Day once a year where we get to go and participate in their daily schedule. Brynn was really shy while I was there. I know that she has warmed up a lot this year while at school and participates in their activites much more than last year. However, I think that it made her somewhat uncomfortable to have all of the moms changing her routine. She still participated, but she hardly spoke the entire time. She really enjoys her routine and likes things predictable...
Here are a few pictures from the day:

Art Projects

When the weather is yucky, we look for fun things to do indoors. Our recent project was to paint birdhouses that they picked out at the store. It was a bit messy, but it was a lot of fun. They decided they did not want birds to actually live in (and poop) on their creations, so they are currently being displayed on the mantle.
Here is the difference between my anal Type A first born and my creative middle child:

The final products:

Plaza

We had dinner on the Plaza this weekend for Jesse's sister's son's birthday. It was the last night of the Plaza lights, so it was fun to walk around a little bit and see them. I love watching the girls look at them. My camera batteries ran out, so I didn't get very many pictures. I was really bummed... Oh, and some weird guy go into the family picture and wouldn't leave. I'm pretty sure that Jesse whispered some sort of threat to him which made the picture turn out kind of strange because everyone was a bit weirded out.

American Girls

The girls have discovered American Girl dolls. We have never discussed them or taken them to the store. I recycle the magazine when it shows up in the mailbox. However, Ainsley has gotten too old for that. Her classmates are talking... and she is listening. Quite a few of them were given American Girl dolls for Christmas. She is now obsessed with the idea of them. I took them to the store for the first time last week. She walked through with wide eyes and enjoyed every step. She was not obnoxious or demanding. She took it all in and asked a lot of questions.
The girls have A LOT of dolls already. A LOT. But, as Ainsley points out daily, they are not American Girl dolls. Ainsley has her heart set on Julie, the "hippie one" as her daddy says. Brynn loves Molly with the birthday set. And Brooke was a big fan of the babies... well, the double stroller and potty seat mostly!
Their daddy has made it very clear that he will not be spending that much money on a doll (which would have to be 3!) He was a lot more willing to discuss it before we had 3 girls!
So, we have discussed it and come up with a plan. They can earn money to buy the doll... they earn dimes for positive behavior. Once they earn 30 dimes, they are eligible to pick out a prize. The prizes are around $5-7 usually. So, if they decide to save up their money then they can buy the doll. They also have the opportunity to earn $1 for doing extra things like picking up their rooms.
And now we have reached an all time low on bribery...
The girls won't sleep in their own beds. They start in there, but they wander into our room sometime between 1am and 4am. Ainsley is really good at just crawling to the foot of the bed so we don't even know she is there until I straighten my legs and kick her in the face!
So, we have a new game! They can earn $1 if they stay in their beds the ENTIRE night! So far they have each earned $1.
I know this is a terrible parenting tool. Nobody needs to tell me! But here is the deal- we want the kids out of our bed and they want an American Girl doll.
I have done the math and it will take them approximately 22 months to earn their money for the dolls, so they may be better off just putting them on their birthday lists! However, that won't really teach them anything will it???
And for the time being, they are "practicing" showing us that they are responsible and ready for a special doll. They have the My Generation knock-off dolls that now get a lot of special attention.

Dinosaurs!!!

Ainsley has really been into learning about dinosaurs lately. She watches shows about them and reads books so she can learn their names and what they liked to eat. Personally, I am not a fan of them. I don't really understand where they came from and how they fit into creation... They are big and weird and spooky.
But, Union Station had an exhibit about them and so we decided to give it a try. We got to the doorway and both Ainsley and Brynn started freaking out. They were crying and trying to hide in the corner. Jesse and I pointed out that we had not driven that far and spent that much money to leave and so they needed to stop crying and go in or they would be waiting for us all alone (obviously we would not have left them all alone sitting outside at Union Station. I'm not really sure what we would have done if they had chosen that option!) Luckily they decided to give it a try. We invited our wonderful neighbors to join us. It helped having very brave and much older (6 years old!) boys walking through with the girls. Brynn and Brooke did great. Ainsley was very scared of the dino sounds that blasted from the speakers. She has always been sensitive to sounds and this was just too much for her!