http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Zuxvc62kM

I don't know how to set this up right, but this should be a video of Madeline singing her version of "ABC's". Gotta love it!!

We tried to get Ben to sing too. Instead we were able to get a knock knock joke! Who taught him that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYKR2LvVjc

Happy Birthday Ben and Madeline!!

The kids' 3rd birthday was a success! We had a great time! After everyone left I realized that we are so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family to help us celebrate Ben and Madeline's birthday. Madeline has been talking about her birthday for months. Every time I asked her what she wanted she always said," a pink birthday cake", and Ben was to have blue. So, with Aunt Jen's help, we made a pink and blue cake! Thanks Aunt Jen! The middle picture is from their preschool. Jamie and I took cupcakes to their class last week. Madeline carried the candles around for 2 days, she even forgot about her Dora backpack in order to carry the candles. Ben got some much needed boy toys, like noisy cars. He has been pushing them around the house, making noise and spitting in the process. Grandma and Grandpa got them Razor scooters. Ben can really ride them which seems amazing to me! Thanks to everyone who helped make their birthday so special!

We took the kids to have Easter pictures made today. We also had one made with their cousins, Hunter, Sydney, and Harrison. It was a lot of work and I hope it was worth it. I took these pics right before we left. We leave for Pemborke in the morning so I have been doing laundry and cleaning the past couple of days, in hopes of coming home to a clean house. Happy Easter!!

I looked in the backyard today to find Ben with his pants around his ankles, peeing. Wahoo!! Great news for me. My trips in the house this summer to let them pee will be reduced by 50% now that he will stand!!

I bought my kids these dorky Dora and Diego hats from Wal-Mart. I couldn't resist because they were so excited when they saw them in the store. It just happened that Madeline had on her Dora shirt that Aunt Jen got her. She was also wearing her Dora backpack and eating Dora yogurt. I just washed the backpack because was starting to smell since she takes it everywhere and sleeps with it. Its full of stuff she finds around the house. I have to check every few days for anything that might embarass me. They really aren't sleeping any longer since the time change. One morning Ben slept til 8am, but that's the most they have slept in for me. At least the weather is great!!

Just a quick note, Jamie has been out of town since Sunday morning and will be back tomorrow!! I have been staying up til I can't keep my eyes open, rather than lay there and fret over every little noise in the house. The kids have been pretty good, but they are aggravating each other a lot lately. Ben really knows how to push Madeline's buttons. I am on call two nights a week, so I had a sitter Monday night and Miranda came over tonight. Thanks Randa! The kids love seeing her and Gregg, AKA "Geg". I am so ready for warm weather! Besides just being able to get out of the house, I am so glad I won't have to hunt socks that match for the kids. Today I splurged and bought them both Crocs...so I won't have to look for socks! HA!

I can't wait for the time change. My kids have been getting up at 6:30am. I am not a morning person so I hope the time change will help. When they were in cribs I put toys in their bed and ignored them as long as they weren't screaming. They would wake up and play for an hour or so before I would get them up. I always felt they were happier when they were able to wake up and chill in their bed for awhile. Now that they are in "big beds" and potty trained, I have to get up and help them get on the potty. Ben comes in every morning holding himself saying, "I go potty Mommy". This morning I told them to go back to their room to play. A few minutes later I heard them downstairs. When I got there, Ben had about 5 cups of ice in the back of his dumptruck. They don't understand the concept of ice melting yet. So they carry it around and get mad when its just water left.
About 6 months ago,Jamie took Ben to the ballpark and watched kids playing T-ball, and Madeline and I went shopping. When we passed the ballparks today Ben said, "Daddy take me to play ball". Madeline piped up and said, "Mommy take me shopping". Good times to come!!!

I know I have been a bad blogger lately. We have been so busy it seems. But the kids are downstairs watching Curious George so I had a minute. My children have changed so much in the past few months. They are no longer in cribs, their vocabulary scares me, and most importantly, they are potty trained! So, I feel I have two preschoolers, not toddlers, definately not babies. I went through a couple of weeks of thinking maybe I want one more...but then I came to my senses!! I think we are so blessed to have two beautiful children that we can really devote lots of time to, besides we don't want to be out numbered. Anyway, I love this picture! Its Madeline and Ben with my cousin Kim's two boys, Will and John Mitchell. I think Madeline and John Mitchell have lots of Baggarly traits and favor each other a lot. So I am still here. I don't know if anyone reads this thing but I look at everyone else's all the time. BBB

Merry Christmas!

This is our Christmas card this year. They were sent out a little late but at least they were sent. Maura made them for me and I think they turned out great! Thanks Maura! We had a nice Christmas but we all are exhausted from lack of sleep and running around. The kids have runny noses, again. Ben is asleep on the couch now,which never happens so I know he doesn't feel good. I guess we will go to the Dr to make sure his ears are OK and he doesn't have strep. See you next year!bbb

Finally a picture with both of them smiling. My friend Bryan took this one and several others last week. Thanks Bryan! I am getting over some sort of stomach bug-not a fun week. Jamie had to come home twice on Monday so I could rest. I worked Thanksgiving and Jamie took the kids to his brother's house in Warner Robins. One of my patients was a 19 year old with a brain tumor, so I am not complaining. We are working on warming up to Santa so hopefully I can get a decent picture soon!

Halloween was great! My parents, The Wrights(Jen, Jason, Alexa, and Carleigh), Wes and Meg with Harrison(pictured above as a Chicken) all came over for chili and trick or treating! The weather was perfect and the kids really got the hang of holding their bag out for candy. (Something for nothing is easy to grasp.) I have been using the candy as a prize if they potty. Some days they go on the potty so well. Other days it seems like they don't go at all. They love to wash their hands and play in the water. Not my favorite thing. Getting out the door is harder than ever. Either I can't find a shoe or someone magically has to potty. Gotta go! bbb

Both the the kids fell asleep in the car. I climbed out of the car as quiet as possible so they could sleep. They haven't been napping at all, since Madeline learned how to climb out of her bed. They go to sleep around 7:30 and sleep about 12 hours, but that isn't enough for me! They can say anything now and other people besides me can understand them. I got on to Madeline the other night and she said, "I want my Daddy"! I can't believe she had started playing us already. They are having school pictures made on Wednesday. I have been so excited for someone else to have to deal with the idea of taking their pictures. I thought they might turn out good without me there. Of couse, Madeline slipped today and has a welp on her temple, plus a scratch on her cheek. Oh well, maybe they will have cute pictures next year. We had a nice surpise this weekend. Jamie's mom came up and spent the night with us. Jamie and I got to go the our street party without the kids. It was so nice to talk to all my neighbors and concentrate on what they were saying instead of what the kids were doing. Ben was calling Jean "Grandmom", it was so cute! They didn't even care when we left! What a great feeling!!

This is a picture of us at the farm with the MOMS Club. I thought I didn't need a stroller because the kids could walk but I ended up having to carry both of them to the car. We had a good time though!
When I was little, Jen and I would pretend we were married to twins who were pilots. I guess we wanted to be married to brothers so we would be related. We would also pretend we lived next door to each other, with a pool that connected the houses. You know, so we could swim to each other's house, anytime. Somehow we have stayed best friends since we were three. Now fate has made our dreams come true!!! Jen and Jason have put a contract on a house in our neighborhood!! There isn't a pool to connect us but we can use the golf cart path and we won't have to get wet! bbb

Just wanted to say that my kids love "school". This week they walked right in and didn't look back. I admit I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing by leaving my precious children in the hands of strangers. But now I feel confident in our decision. I am sure they are going to pick up some bad habits and colds. So far they seem to have only picked up good things. Madeline is all about counting everything now. She says, "I count Mommy". I have noticed that they seem to play together better, too. They hardly ever went in the playroom by themselves, but now I will look up to find them in there, playing together with their toys. Ben has started calling Madeline, Maddie. Aunt Jen is the only other person who calls her that, but she answers to it. Well, he calls himself Maddie too sometimes, but its progress from Co-pa! bb

These pics are from the kids first day at Mom's Morning Out. ( The middle one was just dress up for Ben.) I had the hardest time getting the picture of both of them because they refused to stand by each other. Tomorrow will be day three of, "school". I was so worried for nothing. Of couse they pitch a fit when I leave them, but it doesn't last long. They are so proud of their,"purses", AKA lunch box.

Ben and Madeline can carry on conversations with us now and it is amazing every time. The kids started out calling Jamie's dad, Co-pa, instead of Grandpa. I hear him saying Co-pa all the time so I was begining to think it must be an imaginary friend. We recently realized that was what he was calling Madeline. When I tell him, "Ben, her name is Madeline", he quickly corrects me by saying,"No Maddie, yuck". So I ask him," Well, what's her name then", and he says, "Co-pa".Both of them love Dora, Deigo, and Lilo and Stitch. Madeline asks to watch these shows by name all the time. For some reason, Stitch, always sounds like she is saying a word that rhymes with witch, if you know what I mean!bbb

For those of you who don't believe in Murphy's law here's a little test. Put your kids down for a nap. Start a load of laundry, make a few phone calls, unload and load the dishwasher, and straighten up your messy house. Finally sit on the couch or if you really want to test it...crawl in your bed for what you hope would be 10 minutes of peace. Presto! In less than 60 seconds you will hear one or both of your kids screaming in their room that they are,"all done" with their nap.

I know I have been a slack blooger lately. Even Jen has blogged more than me! We have been so busy. Moving, well that speaks for itself. We bought a golf cart which has given us lots of fun stuff to do. We can go the pool,park, grocery store, or out to dinner and the kids love it. I also joined the MOMS Club. We have lots of new friends right here in Fayetteville and there are always activities on the calender like playgroups, lunches, and mom's night out. I am working part time for a home health agency. I see patients two days a week and whenever else we can fit it in. The kids start Moms Morning Out in a couple of weeks too. As you can see we are in potty training mode. There were several times I didn't even knowMadeline was using the potty because she would dump it before I even saw if she really went. This picture is the first time I knew for sure she was using the potty. What a great feeling to know they won't be in diapers at their prom! The second picture really captures their personalities. Madeline, hamming it up, looking for mischief, and Ben watching her so he can follow her lead! bbb

I wanted say how nice Peachtree City really is so, if you will think this is bragging please quit reading. Man, it is so nice here! I didn't think I would see such a difference but, we are so pleased with our decision to move here. Jamie not having to commute is the biggest change. He is home by 5:15 and he can come home for lunch. We are also enjoying the PTC lifestyle. No, we don't have a golf cart, yet. But we ride our bikes on the cart paths and to the park. Soon we plan to ride them to dinner. There is so much to do that is geared toward families. Everything is kept clean and nice, restuarants and parks especially. And I am not scared to go to Wal-mart anymore, because the one here is awesome! I have joined the Mom's club so we have lots of friends and playdates. All the moms are like me in that they wanted to stay home with their children even if that meant they were poor! The kids will start Mother's Morning Out in August. Its 3 days a week from 9-1. I hope to work at a home health agency during those hours. I am excited for the kids to be in a classroom setting. I think the socialization will be good for them, and me :) bbb

I love this picture. Its so hard to get a good one of both of them. The kids are supposed to be taking a nap right now but I still hear them whining and talking to each other. Thank goodness tonight is Poker night for the girls!!!

Jamie and I had a wonderful time in Hawaii. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family that will step forward to keep the kids just so we could go on vacation! Can you believe Melba and Barney came up from Florida just to help Miranda keep the kids? I know the kids enjoyed all the extra attention too! Thanks everybody! love,bbb

What a difference a year makes! This picture is from the kids' first birthday when they were still little babies! Ben wouldn't even feed himself, but why should he when there is always a woman around to do it for him? They will be two on Saturday and things have really changed. Now they can walk, talk, feed themselves table food, hug and kiss, and, of course, throw temper tantrums. But I've changed too, I think I have learned to go with flow a little better. Our schedule is flexible and we can adjust to whatever is going on around us now. I know some think I was too ridgid with their schedule and still am. But for the record, we were in pure survival mode. Sleep and as little crying as possible were our goals. If things weren't on schedule the only ones who had to pay were Jamie and me. And, I must say I think we've done pretty good so far! The kids sleep good (knock on wood) and are happy, well adjusted toddlers. Most importantly I am still sane!bbb