I don’t know if it’s the cold weather or the potty training that’s keeping us more homebound these days. Either way, we’ve been sticking around Casa Faulk a whole lot and in Duncan… well, all the time. (Apart from that one trip last weekend to OKC where I got to visit Oklahoma’s one and only, brand new, Half Price Books. I could have spent all day in that store, but since I had two squirmy toddlers who thought it appropriate to lie down on the floor and turn themselves in circles while sprawled there, I had to be satisfied with five minutes. Sigh.)

With all of the time we’ve been spending within a two mile radius of the house, the girls and I have gotten ourselves involved in a little home improvement. Which makes a lot of sense — you spend enough time in one house, you start thinking of ways to improve it. The girls picked out some flowers at the store for our dining room table and then arranged them in the vase one afternoon, resulting in the adorable table centerpiece pictured above. All on their own! (Well, they didn’t make the pottery, which would have been VERY impressive. But still. Impressive nonetheless.)

In my quest to make more room in the playroom where there isn’t much room at all (got that?), I finally moved the bookshelves that were in there into each of the girls’ rooms, along with ALL of their books. The girls have enjoyed “reading” books together on their own for as long as I can remember, so they are now beyond thrilled to have their own in-room collections of fine literature. They’ve each pulled their little recliners up to the bookshelves and spend whole hours in there flipping through books. Ha! Makes me laugh every time Ana tells me, “Shh! We’re readin‘ these books.” And Emmy says, “I love booooooks!” Like Mommy, like daughters. (You would think this would have translated to greater interest and better behavior at the Half Price Books it took over an hour and a half to drive to, but whatever. I’m not bitter!)

Wes has gotten in on the act as well and found a framed print to hang above our couch and a recliner. Okay, so he’s done a whole lot more than his fair share, because those were fairly big tasks. I actually thought the recliner was a two-seater in the store and managed to get all four of us in it, only to find out from the saleslady that it’s a WIDE recliner, made for those who have greater than average widths. Ahh. Anyway, it was delivered yesterday, and it has since eaten our television remote. Wes, who has already purchased a replacement remote, keeps telling me that there is NO remote in the recliner, but mark my words — twenty years from now, when it’s old, worn out, and ready to be left for the garbage collection, I’m going to take it apart, only to find a very dusty and battery-dead remote inside. I’ll blog about it when I do. (Or the equivalent of blogging that we’ll all be doing in 2030.)

We’re planning the final phase of home improvement by getting quotes and picking out tile. Yes, folks, we’re saying good-bye to the carpet in our kitchen (seriously, why did the previous owner put carpet in the kitchen?) and getting tile. Though Wes and I are both itching to use our tax refund on another trip to Walt Disney World for the girls (we’re addicted to the looks on their sweet little faces when they see that giant mouse!), we’re reminding ourselves that one trip a year is more than plenty and that the time for tile has arrived. (And that we can go back to WDW next year! Addicted, y’all. Addicted.)

Speaking of Walt Disney World and the stupid things we do for our children, Ana recently informed me that, “I got a Mulan pin, Mommy!” We’ve been collecting pins for the girls from our trips, but I didn’t remember a Mulan pin until Ana said what she did. In 2007, Nana and Coach went to WDW and got Ana a Mulan pin with her birthstone, long before we even knew about pin collecting. I put it in Ana’s jewelry box and totally forgot about it until now. After Ana reminded me, I got it out and put it on her lanyard with her others… and started thinking. Was that Ana’s pin or Emma’s pin? Oh, no. The effects of 2007 Pregnant Brain are still being felt! See, I’m thinking it was a gift to Ana since I’m pretty sure Nana went to WDW before Emma was due to be born in August, which means if it was for Emma, it would have had an August birthstone and not a ruby. Right? Of course, I can’t remember for sure, and Wes was no help in recalling any of this, even though HE was not pregnant at the time and should be able to clearly recall a whole lot more than I can. So, I went online, found another Mulan pin so that each girl has one, and was told that they didn’t have one in the warehouse (ahh!) but would be happy to go into the resort shops and find one for a higher price (AHH!). I pictured little Em’s sad face and trembling lip and told them that I still wanted it. (I’m actually happy, though, because the release date for that particular pin — which is not exactly like Ana’s but close — was two days before Emma was born. Which will be neat for her, you know, assuming that she ever gets into this collecting thing. Which she probably won’t, but at least I’m doing my part to make sure that if she does, she’ll rise up and call me blessed. Right? Right.)

And with that, you’ve all written me off as completely crazy. But Ana and Emma will both have five pins on their lanyards, and it won’t matter that I can’t remember who that original pin belonged to! I know I’ll rest easier tonight. (Ha!)

We’re having a Valentine’s Day banquet at the church tonight. Wasn’t Valentine’s Day this past weekend? Yes — yes, it was. (Wes and I had a nice dinner date where we held hands at the table… he held Ana’s hand, and I held Emma’s hand. Such is life with small children, y’all.)Anyway, the banquet is indeed tonight, and I’m dreading taking Emma, who has been doing GREAT with the potty training here at home… but not so great away from home. I honestly think it’s the diaper-like quality of the PullUps that I put her in when we go out, but I’m way too nervous to put her in training pants away from the house right now. I feel like she makes so much progress here, then regresses as soon as we go out. Oh, well. Like I’ve said before, it’s just going to take some time. This time last year, we hadn’t even started potty training Ana, so Em is already way ahead of where I expected/planned for her to be. So, hooray for Emma!

And with that, I should probably start getting the tots ready for the evening. Ana will be super excited that it’s still “Balentine’s Day” and will undoubtedly be expecting some chocolate…