Double Birthday, vol. 3

Saturday was a big day in this house:

DOUBLE BIRTHDAY, 2014-style.

Yes, in case you didn't already know, the girls have the same birthday. Here, let me answer the questions most people ask when they learn this information: Yes, I'm totally serious. No, we didn't plan it. Yes, I'm aware that they are going to hate me when they get a little older.

I was tempted to tweet something cheeky on August 8th to the effect of "Hey, it's August 8th and I'm not in labor. Weird." but thought better of it at the last second. I mean, you just never know, right? No need to tempt fate. Now that August 9th has come and gone, I can officially say that I didn't have a third baby on August 9th. Whew. 

The birthday twins had a smashing day. Just the best.

dancing in her room full of balloons

birthday pancakes have sprinkles and come on a silver platter

Daddy designed and built them a castle playscape and they saw it with walls, swings, and a slide for this first time the morning of their birthday!

Barnes & Noble treats

 

Happy Birthday to my amazing girls! We had so much fun with you, and we hope you look back on this day and think you had a great day, too. We love you more than anything.

Vote YES on the Library Millage Renewal tomorrow, St. Clair County!

ST. CLAIR COUNTY VOTERS! TOMORROW DECIDES THE FATE OF THE LIBRARY SYSTEM!

Yes, the entire library system (11 branches that serve tens of thousands of patrons a year) will cease to exist if this millage renewal does not go through. 

Because the library provides a free service, it relies on tax money to operate. In fact, 80% of its operating costs come from what amounts to (on average) $35 per household. For $35 a year, you can check out unlimited books, CDs, and DVDs; have access to free Internet; and take your children to countless free activities. 

The most important things to know about this millage are:

• It is a RENEWAL, which means there will be no increase in your taxes.
• The renewal is 0.7 mil at the current tax rate, which means a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $35. HOWEVER, as you know, homes in St. Clair County are being assessed WAY below their market value, so if your home is worth more than $100,00, chances are you are still not going to pay more than $35 a year.
• If the library does not receive this millage, they will also not be eligible for state or federal money, which provides an additional 10-15% of their funding. 

St. Clair County Library system is very fiscally responsible compared to other library systems, so you can rest assured that the small amount you pay in taxes goes a long way in the community.

I know a lot of people who would be devastated without the library -- thousands of daily patrons who come to check out books,  job seekers who don't have access to the Internet anywhere else, students who need computers, kids of all ages who need someplace safe to go after school, young children who thrive in the programs that offer education and socialization, and the people whose jobs depend on the library staying open. People keep talking about revitalizing Port Huron and bringing new businesses to St. Clair County. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't open a business somewhere that can't even get their act together enough to provide free library services to their citizens. 

Keep St. Clair County a nice place to live, and vote YES on the millage tomorrow. If you don't know where to vote, you can check HERE. If you want me to call text, email, or facebook message you tomorrow to remind you to vote, leave your name and info and I will be more than happy to!

It Doesn't Have to Be a Snowman

I need to admit something: My kids saw Frozen for the very first time last week. I know, call the authorities, am I right? Cruel and unusual punishment, to say the least.

When it was a huge hit in theatres, I knew I didn't want to have to deal with fighting to find merchandise for Christmas, and dudes, am I ever glad we had a Christmas spent blissfully unaware of the lack of Frozen items available in stores, let me tell you. Plus, I knew that this would probably be a movie that would take over our lives, so I decided to wait until they asked to watch it, and it just happened last week. I know, I got lucky.

So, yes, I have been walking around humming all the songs, and Josie loves to act out scenes with me. Genevieve, who still pretty much refuses to speak, loves it so much that she won't tell me what she wants for lunch, but she can manage to point at the TV and squeak out an "ELSA!" In fact, the other day when Josie asked to watch it after dinner and I said she could watch ten minutes and she begged for the whole thing, Genevieve chimed in by saying the word "whole" for the first time. Seriously.

Listen, I know my kids didn't invent being obsessed with Frozen, and I know we are way behind the time, but the way Josie calmly informed me "My chosen name is Elsa," and she simply slides into the role of Elsa without any fanfare simply slays me. I just had to share my favorite Elsa-isms to date with you all.

(I realize this won't make sense to those of you who haven't seen Frozen, and it might not even be funny to those of you who have, but ... well, she's my kid, and I think she's hilarious. So there you go.)


We were eating lunch, when out of nowhere, she asked me, "Remember how after the accident I starting shutting my little sister out of my life?" then just looked away and took another bite of her sandwich.


She clasped both of Genevieve's hands in her own, sat her down, looked deep into her eyes, and calmly informed her, "You can't marry a man you just met." Genevieve nodded solemnly.


We were about to leave for playgroup, and Josie had a large outburst. We had a discussion about appropriate behavior, and that if she wanted to go to playgroup that day, she would have to work hard to listen, behave, share, and be kind, or we would have to leave early. She agreed to all these terms, then walked over to the back door, and quietly sang to herself "Be the good girl you always have to be." After a minute of staring out the door and likely steeling her nerves, she belted out "Tell the guards to open up ... THE GATES!" while flinging the sliding door open. She proceeded to stride out the door with her head held high.


In other news, I am NOT more obsessed with Frozen than my kids are, like Jeremy claims. *Ahem*

5 Things I've Learned Recently

1. If you're going to go through all the work of a spring-cleaning type cleaning spree one day on the spur of the moment (washing walls, scrubbing appliances, washing windows, etc., etc., until every inch of the house is clean as a whistle), it turns out you really won't be all that floored when you see the after product if your home isn't a pit to begin with. Our house is pretty clean, but I still thought after scrubbing every surface of the kitchen for three hours, I would be able to walk out, walk back in, and I would gasp in amazement. Not so. Also, not fair. 

2. Josephine might be a real, live dinosaur.

3. TICKS ARE OFFICIALLY THE WORST LIVING THING EVER. I've felt rage at other living things in the past, but ticks? If I could wipe every single one off the planet today, I would do it. If I had a hate scale from one to ten, my hatred of spiders is a 2, mosquitoes 4, and ticks 10,000. On a scale of 1 to 10. 

4. Genevieve has a passion for accessories. A deep, abiding love.

5. Maybe I don't actually want Genevieve to learn how to talk. The girls discovered that screeching is fun and all, but if you screech at the same time, at the same pitch, and then slowly increase the volume higher and higher and higher until you've reached a dual-screech that could shatter glass, well, that's WAY more fun. My hearing has already been compromised, and we have a lot of years left to go. Heaven help us all.

Book Review: Endangered by Jean Love Cush

Hey! I still have a blog! But lucky you: I read a book and I'm going to tell you about it. I'm trying this new thing, too. I recently heard someone say "I hate book reviews that include a synopsis. If I don't want to read the book, then I don't want to read a synopsis, and if I want to read the book, then I don't want you to spoil it for me." I thought that made a lot of sense, so I am going to try this one without any summary and see how it goes. (Comment here if you have strong feeling either way about that comment, would you? I'm interested to see what people think.)

ANYWAY, I was offered a copy of Endangered by Jean Love Cush to review, and it was a hard read, to say the least.

Don't get me wrong -- the book is well-written, the characters are well-developed, and the plot is engaging. The reason it is a hard read is that it highlights a horrible aspect of our society -- the treatment of African American men in the legal system -- and focuses on a parent's worst nightmare -- a child wrongly accused of a crime. Seriously, I read the synopsis and felt the waterworks building.

I think it's easy for white middle-class Americans to turn a blind eye to the injustices many people face in this country, and I feel horrible for all the mothers and fathers out there who have to explain to their children that people in positions of power are likely to treat them differently simply due to the color of their skin or where they live. Spending a few hours reading about it made my heart ache.

The only thing I didn't love about this book was what seemed like a gratuitous love story that seemed to simplify the mother character into a woman who needed a man to save her. Then again, the romance storyline might seem perfectly well-placed to you, what do I know. Maybe Cush included it so you had something to think about besides the injustices of the legal system and the horror of an innocent child being arrested? Now that I'm writing it out ... that's probably it. But I happen to be the type of person who rolls her eyes while reading romance novels, so you can take my opinion for what it's worth.

I was pleased to read this book, and recommend it wholeheartedly. An interesting and important read, for sure.

This book was provided to me free by TLC Book Tours, but I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.