Kids. In. Spaaaace.

The other night while I was out, the kids insisted on wearing PJs with "no pants." (One piece pajamas). When they were babies, Judson would zip them up in these types of sleepers and then say, "Baby Astronaut, prepare for take-off!" Then he'd count down and blast them off. They'd giggle and giggle.

They found these footed sleepers - which they were thrilled that matched and said they were their astronaut suits. They were extra excited because they matched (we are very into matching the littlest details). When I went in to get them out of bed in the morning, they were covered up to their necks so they could surprise me with their suits.

While Judson and I were reminiscing the baby astronauts, we were corrected that they were now "kid astronauts."

They've also accessorized their space suits...


Today I was scheduled to work, as I often am on Saturdays. However, Judson had to go in a little to proofread some mailings. I finished as quickly as I could and Judson took them into "Daddy's Statehouse" to try to get a head start before I could pick them up. When I arrived, I walked into the foyer of the committee rooms. (Judson kept them out of the office so that his coworkers could concentrate.) To my left, was Judson alone proofreading. The other four committee rooms were dark. Then, I hear, "We're in space! We're astronauts!" Around the corner, out of the dark vastness of space came two kids zooming stuffed dogs (thanks, Lauren!) around. Veronica said excitedly, "We're astronaut dogs!" Thomas added, "Mommy this is my space puff!" (pup?)

I'd had a craft idea in my head for months. Today, being an extraordinarily high heat index, I thought would be the perfect day for an indoor craft. So, we came home and made our astronaut family. Complete with Shuttle Thomas and Shuttle Veronica, both with opening payload doors. They got a lot of mileage today!

Wordful Wednesday

Veronica:

• Thomas, look at me. I'm bigger.
• Mommy, does everybody know Jesus?
• Guess what my Mommy did with Jesus... She married Him, and I did too!

Thomas:

• durfent = different
• yoinion = onion
• Mommy, you're enchanting.
• Mommy, you're beautiful, but you have to be a bad guy.

Both:

I notice how they call the State House, "Daddy's State House."

Their new catch-phrase... "Yippee! ...I mean, Alright! ... I mean, Hooray!"

Wordful Wednesday

Veronica

• She's always telling me who I am in our relationship, as she's always playing like someone is a baby. I was Grandma. "Mommy! You're not being Grandma." I replied that I was, I was just talking to her. "No, Mommy. Grandmas talk like this..." (gestures with her hands)
• When I ask her if I can do something, she usually gives a chipper, "Sure you can!"
• Last night we went to the Steer-In. She pushed her baby in her stroller all the way to and fro. She pushed the stroller right up to our seat. Each time she had to go to the bathroom, she would ask someone to hold Amy for her. Such a good little Mommy.

Thomas

• While watching the slide show screen saver on Thad's computer, he was making comments about the pictures, "aw... that's a cute puppy. There's Paula. Oh, she's nice." He saw a picture of himself "I love being Thomas."
• The last few days he's been telling me he doesn't want me to be a girl. He wants me to be a boy. During that slide show, he leaned in closer to me and hugged me. "Do you like being a girl? I like being a boy."
• He smiled at himself in the mirror the other day. "I'm perfect."
• He's like a commercial for Mike's Car Wash. They both love, "Elmo's house" - there's always some picture of Elmo or a stuffed animal of him in the window. When we pass one now, Thomas's script goes like this... "Mommy, you're car is so dirty! What can we do? I know, we can go to Elmo's house! Elmo's will wash it nice and clean. That would be perfect."

Some serious discussions I've heard between the two of them...

• They went back and forth over whether Mommy starts with 'M' or 'M' starts with Mommy.
• During nap time at the top of their lungs...

T: I'M A BOY!

V: I'M A GIRL!

T: I'M A BOY!
V: I'M A GIRL!

T: I'M A BOY!
V: I'M A GIRL!

T: I'M A GIRL

Giggles erupt on both sides. V gives T a little lesson and they start over. It happens again. Finally at one point after T says it correctly...

V: Great job Thomas. You did it right. That was a very good job.

Heart Medicine

Judson and I aren't really into the commercialization of Valentine's Day, and would actually prefer not to go out on a day when EVERYONE is going out... just doesn't seem that intimate and special. So, we try to celebrate each other every day. And, I feel we do a spectacular job of this.

This year, was a little different. The kids are really into holidays. So, Valentine's Day being the next holiday, well, it was fun to promote it. With kids, it's easy to make a holiday more than one day too...

On Wednesday we made Valentines and surprised Daddy at the State House on Thursday with them...

Friday, Judson sent me out with some girlfriends to watch the movie Valentine's Day. I narrowly escaped in time for the movie because Veronica wanted to take my picture with Judson. She likes to pose us so that I put my head on his shoulder. Both kids use their toy cameras like I must use mine. They say, "Ready?" and snap a picture. Then, they pull the camera back and look at the back of the camera to see if they got a good picture. Veronica was not impressed with the first picture she got of us. She told Judson he didn't smile. He insisted he did, but I knew she didn't consider his closed-mouth smile what she wanted. So, Judson exaggerated an open-lipped smile for the next picture. "No, Daddy, I don't want a scary smile!"

On Saturday, I had to work so Judson had time with the kids. They did some stellar art on the chalkboard. Check out Veronica's little snowman (bottom left corner)...



...and Thomas's giraffe. See the spots? the legs? the face? I think it's fabulous!

Saturday night, we gave Daddy some much needed downtime and the three of us followed Kay to Bloomington to see her friend's senior jazz trombone recital. It was INCREDIBLE! The music was jumpin' with 2 trombones, 2 saxophones, a trumpet, drums, a bass, a guitar and piano. The kids sat really well through it and were quite interested. (Suckers helped get us through the slow songs.)

On Sunday, we went to church and brunch with our friend, Jim. The kids were extra-snuggly during Mass. Veronica had me hold her the whole service. Thomas held tightly to Judson except for the few times he snuck over to kiss my arm. The did both escape our arms one other time... when they smooched and smooched eachother!

We introduced Jim to the wonders of the Historic Steer-In, 3 blocks from our house. Jim introduced us to his new iPhone. An amazing thing - especially for a person who has never even owned a cell phone! The kids enjoyed seeing themselves on his phone, so he played photographer.

After a quick naptime, Aunt Peggy showed up with Sally. We made Valentine cookies. Veronica really enjoyed rolling out the dough.

Thomas preferred decorating...

...with sprinkles. Blue ones...

Veronica enjoyed being cuddled up to Peggy most of the evening. Thomas gave me a big hug and told me I was the "coziest Mommy ever."

On Monday the kids were still in love with the Valentine's gifts Peggy brought them. Thomas carried his Spiderman book around all day. Veronica brushed my hair. They both needed their medicine (conversation hearts).

Valentine's Day is good for what ails you... the answer is "heart medicine."

Father's Day Weekend

Judson and I are both blessed to have great role models in our parents - and we are lucky enough that the kids get to know them so well. Father's Day is another special weekend because we love our Father's so much. They are both extremely dedicated, faithful, and fun providers - who teach us how to balance it all.

I would say our Father's Day weekend officially began on Friday when Thomas decided he wanted to build the Statehouse with his blocks. That's a nice tribute to Daddy.

Saturday we went to wish Daddy Gayle a happy birthday and a happy Father's Day. We hit the Jaclyn-pot! Mary Beth and Jaclyn were there visiting too, so we got to maximize our visit. Mama remembered how much the kids liked Big Boy (not necessarily the restaurant, but the Big Boy outside the restaurant). She bought them EACH a Big Boy doll. That was a hit!

Sunday morning we woke in North Vernon to wish Pa a happy Father's day. He got busy in the kitchen with two little helpers for a waffle breakfast.

The rest of the Struck crew was there so Danny, Dawn, Thad & Paula graciously skipped Mass and watched Veronica and Thomas.

After a great visit there, we headed back to Indy for a Father's Day dinner with the very special Daddy. We love him so much... I think I'll dedicate a special blog to him.

It ain't easy being green...

Wednesday's theme was all about living green. We started with my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. We heard a talk about how to live a greener lifestyle in your home - down to making your own cleaners!

Judson and I decided to make the day about conservation...

We went to the Statehouse to have lunch with Judson. Judson conserved some of his energy by letting Thomas do his work:



We moved on to North Vernon to spend the night with Pa and Grandma. I conserved my energy by letting Veronica tote the bags:

(What you can't see in this picture is Thomas trying to open the locked back door.

They were both quite excited to get into Grandma and Pa's house...)

Pa, Gayla, and I went to hear Robert Kennedy, Jr. speak about River Keepers and Green Living at Hanover College. Inspiring! It also opened my eyes to the fact that there are bigger answers to saving our environment available... It just takes time, money and support.

We saved on gas by using a spring-powered car at the NV City Park on Thursday:

I was the only mother at this playground - a different statistic for me. There were four dads at the playground.

Representing

Judson and I made last-minute plans to do lunch with the kids at the Subway across from the State House. Because they could see the State House, they wanted to go in. It was a little before the legislators were headed back into session, so we decided to pay a visit to Uncle Dave. We also knew we may catch a glimpse of Rep. Brown, so Judson printed off his picture for the kids to get autographed. When handed these pictures, it became their mission, "I want to see Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown! Charlie Brown." (in stereo, of course)

The House floor was extra packed today. Despite this, we were able to get some pictures.

Obviously, Thomas is the Speaker of the House -

look how Reps Brown (left) and Cheatham (right) are all ears!

Thomas is taking notes from this old pro.

We are quite certain she's done this before...

See Local & State Government

A proud Father-Son moment

After climbing (most of?) the stairs in the State House - by request! - we headed off for a well earned nap to gain some energy for an exciting evening.... Dinner with Pete and Danae!

Veronica and Thomas love to see these guys - they are a lot like Grandma and Grandpa in the way the handle the kids and are always keeping them entertained (and entertained in return!). Pete has made some orthoses for me and Veronica remembers this every time I put my tennis shoes on. "What Pete do to your shoes, Mommy?" So, knowing we were going to his house, and the fact that they had just had their ears checked at the doctor, Veronica's new questions was, "Pete check your feet, Mommy?" Her declaration was, "Pete no check my feet!"

Assured that her feet were safe we headed over to discover construction across the street! Massive entertainment. I tried to point out the digger and mounds of dirt to Thomas (who usually points them out first), but he was more interested in the fact that they had a mailbox - an actual mailbox on a post. (We don't' even have a box - just a slot in our porch door.)

After the excitement of the mailbox wore off and they said there hellos to Pete and Danae, we headed across the street to explore. Thomas wanted to climb on, around, and between everything. Veronica, wasn't sure this was a good idea - all that dirt.

Mountain climber

Veronica returning to check out the scene

after retreating from the wind.

After eating A LOT (I didn't know there stomachs could be that big!) and playing on the neighbor's toys, we enjoyed some bubbles, more fun, and ice cream. (I told you they love these guys!)

Local and State Government

Local Government

We hosted two other two-year-olds again today. Governance wasn't a big deal (they got along splendidly) until an outside toy was found in another kid's bag. Then our heads-of-state went a little crazy-in-the-head. I think that it was fine and dandy sharing their toys - until they saw someone else's toy. Veronica and Thomas fought and fought over a little toy cell phone. (We have several of our own!) I finally had to put it away. Other than that, peace was easy in the land.

During a coloring session, Thomas seemed to be writing his name. He said, "Thomas, T, O, H, M..." while he was writing.

Veronica was very busy keeping inventory of all the diapers I changed and who was dirty. That evening when she had a dirty diaper, she said, "I dirty, just like Kasey!"


They are getting a little sneaky/manipulative. I guess that comes with independence. I went in during "nap time" to discover Thomas had yet again removed the bar from the blinds. If I put him too close to the window, the blind bar is gone. Too close the other direction and he removes all the clothes from his drawer. There's no middle ground. Today I could tell the bar was removed, so I went in to find Thomas with his pants off. I ignored his requests to put his pants back on and scolded him for removing the piece of the blind. When I left I heard him telling Veronica, "Let's take off our pants. Take off your pants, Sissy!" When I could yet again hear them jumping on the beds, I went in. They knew I was no nonsense as they immediately laid down. I didn't hear much from them after that. Last night was about the same. One of them ended up with a stuffed animal that squeaked. I heard them squeaking the animal. When I went in to find them standing facing each other, I asked who had the animal. They both just stood still. I told them to lay down and that I would remove the animal if I heard it again. I heard it one more time, went in the room. This time they were both laying down. I asked who had the toy and they both remained quite still - pretending to sleep (with their eyes open).

State Government

As Judson has been working pretty late nights, we won't (especially the kiddos) see much of him this week. Since today is Fat Tuesday, I made some brownies and surprised his office with them. The kids carried the brownies in. The complete surprise turn delight on Judson's face was priceless. (I think he blushed for 15 minutes straight after we arrived!)

Veronica went straight to checking out everyones' pictures and playing with a squirrel while Thomas found some balls to throw. Eventually Thomas noticed a picture hanging on the wall of Representative Charlie Brown and President Obama. He wanted to know all about the picture. Between ball throws, he then requested about four separate times that I pick him up and take him to see Charlie Brown and "Bama". He would squeal, "Charlie Brown!" each time he saw the photo.


Judson was miraculously able to take a dinner break at that time so we made the exciting adventure up and down the hills in the tunnel to the mall where we dined together. We were in view of a TV screen where Veronica saw a brunette singer on the screen. "Lauren!" she told us. (She was obviously taken with Judson's office mate, Lauren!)

When we returned from dinner we discovered the reps were at the end of a short dinner break. We snuck up to catch a glimpse of, as Thomas kept repeating all the way up, "Charlie Brown, Uncle Dave, and Bama." Well, we got to see all those people and more... except for Obama.

First we ran into our friend Trevor who is a lobbyist. He is the father of one of their friends. The twins made sure to tell him to "be careful" as he was leaving. We saw Dolly who gave them each a bag of pretzels and played music on her Boilermaker doll. At first they were interested, but then they decided he was "scary." (I'm sure my Hoosier brother and father would be proud!) Our wonderful state rep, John Day, was there to greet us and witness the interactions too.

We had the fortune of seeing Uncle Dave! (Very sweet as they were just pointing him out specifically in pictures today!) Veronica was happy to be carted around by him. They went missing for a time - not sure which bills Veronica got to vote on (or how she voted!).

Then... around the corner came... "CHARLIE BROWN!" Thomas exclaimed and shook his hand. Soon after, Veronica and Dave came around the corner. Veronica just stared down Rep. Brown. A good balance, all in all.

Homeland Security

On the way home, Veronica and Thomas munching on their pretzels... "fwom Dowwy, that was nice." They discussed the "scary boy" boilermaker for awhile. When I reminded them that the boy just played music like their frog (in first picture above) they discussed that too.

At home they easily got into their PJs after changing TWO dirty diapers. Aside: I LOVE synchronized poops! It is so much more convenient to change two dirty diapers at once than do it alternately all day long! Veronica compared the other girl's dirty diapers to her own, quite proud that she had a diaper like Kasey's.

I changed Thomas first and he hopped right up on the couch to read a book. When Veronica was finished. She joined him. Thomas read the book aloud to her. She sat quietly and listened, only to point occasionally and ask him questions. He answered them for her.

We said our prayers. They asked to kiss Jesus, Julianne and David. When they were finished, they both asked to give me a kiss to give to Daddy.