old info.

I was cleaning out the inbox of my e-mail today and found this and thought it might be worth saving in our journal. It is what I sent to Martha and Jessica when I was leaving the girls with them for Hawaii.

Hi Martha and Jess,

Let me first just say thank you so much for watching the girls so we can go to Hawaii. They are pretty easy most of the time and I really don't care if you do what we do or not but here is a typical day for us:

I would recommend putting something over the window just because they have been getting up so early (even with it). They usually wake up around 6-7 am. Saige is perky and Madi is tired. It will take her a while to snap out of it. Saige is so much like Brett and Madi is so much like me it is scary! I feed them around 8 and they usually have either oatmeal, cereal, scrambled eggs, or pancakes. They would eat cold cereal for every meal if I would let them. They aren't too picky. Madi loves yogurt with breakfast and Saige will usually eat it too.

We usually eat lunch around 12:30. Madi loves peanut butter and jelly and Saige loves turkey and cheese. But I don't usually make them different meals. I just tell the one that doesn't get her way that we will have hers tomorrow and they are usually okay with that. They like mac n cheese, soup, leftovers, anything really. The only thing that they are picky about is Saige doesn't usually like green things (but she loves avocados and will eat broccoli if I make her???) Madi doesn't eat quesadillas very good but if you put the same things in it and roll it like a burrito she will eat it. Overall Saige eats more but is a mess-really messy eater, Madi is really slow.

Dinner varies depending on when Brett gets home but I usually feed them before 6 because they get too whiny and hungry later than that. But that will be 7 your time so they should be fine no matter what time you eat.

I bathe them every other day or when they are dirty. I try to have them in bed by 8 pm. I have them brush their teeth twice a day and one time they get to do it and one time I get to.

They get grumpy and whiny if we let them stay up late. I don't care if you keep them up, they just might be happier overall if they get their rest.

When you go swimming, the chlorine really bothers Madi's eyes. Just rinse them when you are done. They will swell up and get red and she will probably be really tired. They will be fine and look normal after she sleeps. She is sometimes really grumpy and very stuborn (as Martha knows from staying with us during the move). Just leave her alone and she will work through it. Don't give in to her. She will eventually forget all about it. The harder you try to make her not pout, the longer it will go on. I hope that she isn't like that for you but it probably will happen at least once. Cake the sunscreen on them when you go out.

Honestly, I don't care if they eat pizza and juice and stay up until midnight the whole time! They are so excited to come. Don't do anything special for them-just do what you normally do.

Natalie