Christmas Recital

I know this video is not right side up but I can't seem to figure out how to rotate it so......you get the gist!!!

Santa at Preschool

Santa came to visit us at preschool today!!!!! Zach didn't want to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas but Zoey was excited and hopped up there and told him she wanted a T-Rex. Enjoy the pictures......

 Jeff's work had a Holiday Party this past weekend. It was very nice! I loved getting dressed up and acting like an adult!

Thanksgiving

We headed north to Wichita, Kansas for Thanksgiving. It was cold but a really nice time.

The kids loved playing the piano. Here's a video:

EEEKKKKK

It's been a long time since I've blogged about your comings and goings. Be prepaired for a Gengler blog overload(sometime in the near future)............................but for now.......

We had a playdate with our new friends! We painted pumpkins and had a blast!

We went to a pumpkin patch and Zoey wanted her face painted like a bunny! It looked so cute, but came off the second we got in the car.

Kids Preschool Pictures

Hey everyone, they kids had their first school pictures last week! They turned out great and we are having a hard time choosing which ones to buy and send out. If you like you can check them out and let us know which ones you like to help us pick one or two.
The website is
http://www.rembrandtstudio.net/tbj2010.html

you will have to have a userid and password which is:
userid: tbj2010
pass: 092210

You will have access to all the students, Zach and Zoey are down in the 200 numbers. So scroll down and check them out! I am excited to get some and send them out!

Love you and miss you all!

What we've been doing

It's been a couple of weeks! Well let's catch you up on what we've been up to!

The kids started preschool and are loving it. I think they would go everyday if they could. When we get there they have to find their name and put away their things! They enjoy looking for their name. Most of the time Zoey has found Zach's name and put her stuff their but when I say, "Does that Zoey?" She goes right to her own basket. It's really cute listening to them spell their names and each other's names. I will record it sometime and post it.
Zoey is our artist. She is creative like her momma and loves to color, paint, and make things. Everyday she comes home with at least 4 pictures she's colored. She is having some trouble with using the potty at school. At first she would hold it but then she started having accidents. We have to send her to school in a pull-up now :( This weekend Jeff, of course, got her to use the big potty at home, and she's been using it since Saturday morning, but we have yet to use a public potty. We are making lots of trips out of the house and to the public restrooms. I know she will get it soon enough. I am very proud of her for just saying "I can try". Now she is saying "I can use the big potty". She also loves singing songs. She has a few favorites that she sings.
Zach is not an artist, he is all boy! He really doesn't like to color much and never brings anything home from school.  I can't really tell you what he does at school? I know he was excited for kicking the soccer ball. I am sure he likes playing with the play-duh and outside. He is doing well with his potty! I kept them home from school today because Zach has some really nasty diarrhea, I hope it stays with only him and he gets over it before Wednesday.
We took the kids to the mall this weekend to see Barney. They line was WAY to long to stand in but the kids were happy enough just standing on the side waving to him. They had a good time!
Last weekend was Labor Day, We had a good weekend! On Sunday we had a little BBQ with our new friends the Grein's and our extended family, the Umschieds(i know I spelled it wrong...sorry). The Grein's have twins, Vaughn and Caroline, who are 3 and Laural who is 5. They kids played hard, they ran around the back yard and played with the millions of toys we have. Then they ate cupcakes!!!!!!and crashed on the couch. It was so cute!

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Mommy Monday

It's Mommy Monday again and this mommy has the house to herself for a few hours. Yep, that's right, the twins went off to preschool this morning.

The kids did great......I'll tell you more about that later.......

Mommy did great too! No crying, screaming or breakdowns! Go Mommy! Haha.....I am very excited to have the kids in preschool. I not only need the time to myself but the kids are more then ready to learn and make friends. I felt very confident, after leaving, that they will do great today. I am nervous about how they will do with going to the potty. Its my biggest fear that my kids will get kicked outta school for not using the potty. Why you ask???? Well for starters, Zach has only been potty trained for about 2 weeks where Zoey has been using the potty for over a year. Zach tends to "forget" that he needs to potty and just keeps playing. Zoey, well, she has never used any potty but a "little" potty. The school has a small "big" potty, but I assume to her it still looks like a "big" potty. I am hoping that preschool will help her get over this fear.

Zach was pretty excited to go to school today. He had his shoes on before his undies and pants. It was rather cute watching him run around the house in just his Spiderman shoes and shirt. Priceless!!! Zach put on his backpack like a pro and walked into school like it was his second home. He even sat down for a picture without me asking :) He went right in, found his box with his name and put his backpack down and went into the classroom, from there I have no idea what did because Zoey was crying and I couldn't walk him in.

Zoey was pretty excited for school this morning. She had her backpack on and she was ready to go. I even got to brush her hair!!! As we were getting out of the car she didn't want to take her backpack. I carried it inside, with her crying the whole way. Once Zach was safe in the classroom me and Zoey walked her backpack back out to the car. After we did this, she was gold! She was right at home and ready for school!!!! I had to go get her backpack and take it back in after she was in the classroom. She didn't even seem to notice i was gone and was talking with her teacher when I left for good. I think she was just mad at the backpack since on the car ride, it fell down and got stuck and she couldn't get it back up on her lap like she wanted. (just like her mommy, has a fit when she doesn't get what she wants).

I will update on how their day went later on after I pick them up at noon. This week they will only go from 9-12

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Today was Meet and Greet day at preschool! 2 other children were there and the two teachers. It allowed the kids to meet the teachers and a couple of friends. Zoey wanted me to take their picture, so I did! Tomorrow is another meet and greet day but the whole class will be there!
They start on Monday and I know they are going to love it!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mommy Monday

It's Mommy Monday here at the Gengler house. Its a new thing I'm going to start! Jeff and I are going to meet the teachers tomorrow night at the kids preschool! They start next Wednesday. I am excited for my little big kids! They have lunch boxes that their cousins Quinn and Keile gave them! I am a little nervous for them too!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It started raining as we were getting out of the car and Zoey had to have the umbrella. Zach was under it too but I didn't get the picture in time.
Tera! Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Thursday Shorts

Zach has been climbing A LOT!!!!!! Please ignore the no underwear!


We took the kids to Build a Bear. They had fun! Zoey named her horse Arial, and Zach named his cow, Basketball...

Zach's still working on using the potty. He seems to be resisting it as much as possible. He's driving his mamma nuts!!!!!

Zoey always wants to help do things. She is so independent and it often leads to disaster but I try to let her help when I can.

Jeff got sprayed by Poison Ivy! Poor guy has been itching all day and night. He is taking steroids now and it should clear up soon. Now, to find someone who wants to remove the ivy for us.????

And that's just whats on his right arm and leg. It's all over his torso and other calf too.

Movie Monday

We've got Potty Power

We have been working hard with Zach pooping in the potty and not having accidents. Today we had a HUGE breakthrough!!! Zach pooped on the potty!!!! Yay Zach!!! We will see if he keeps it up! We did bribe him with a hand held video game system called Cyber Pocket. It is made by VTech and they have the V.Smile already and love it. So instead of the Nintendo DS that he wants, we went with the more educational game system. The games are pretty good and teach them all the basics. Zoey does great with the potty, but she won't go potty in the big potty. I am hoping preschool will help her with that. Oh and speaking of preschool..........The kids will be attending Teddy Bear Junction starting Sept. 1st every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am-2pm. Check out their web site if you like www.teddybearjunction.com I feel like this preschool is going to be a good fit for the kids. Zach is so excited to go to preschool and I know they are both going to do great! During preschool I plan to find my passion (besides my children). I have a few things in mind but I'm going to try all of them before jumping in and committing to anything. I also plan to volunteer at the preschool from time to time.

Our first month in Texas

We have been in Texas for a little over a month now. I LOVE it here! Jeff LOVES it here! The kids have no complaints. They even say "This is my house home". The kids are adjusting pretty well. Their sleeping schedule has gotten better and they are getting the rest they need again. Which is a blessing, cranky three year olds are no fun!!!!
We live a the city of Plano, a northern suburb of Dallas. It's population is about 270,000 and in 2006 it was named the 11th best place to live in the US by CNN Money. WOW, we live one of the best places in the US, how could we not have made this move???

As you have all heard, there is A LOT of shopping just a mile away from our house. Half of the drive is driving thru corn fields. I feels like we live out in the country, but then, BAM, there is a busy highway and lots of people shopping, eating, and having fun with their families. It's great! One thing I miss is seeing the stars. In Maricopa we could see tons of stars. Here in the city not so much!

I have been pretty social this past week. Someone has to be in this family or we will never get out of the house :) I meet with my PAMOM(Plano Area Moms of Multiples) playgroup. There was 55 kids ages 1-4 at a gymnastics gym. The kids had a blast just running around trying out all the things in the gym! There are over 400 moms in the PAMOM. A few of them have Quads and alot of them have Triplets. Of course Twins make up the majority but I find it amazing that so many people have quads. PAMOM is one of the largest groups in the Texas Moms of Multiples organization. In PHX, there was about 20 women who were in the group I tried out. That's a big difference. Goes to show that, yes, everything is bigger in Texas! LOL.
I also met another group of moms last week. They were all very nice and welcoming. I look forward to meeting with them more and getting to know them.
We also met our neighbors in the back of us. They are also very nice!!! She is a stay at home mom of a 13 month old boy. It's great to have another mom just out my gate that I can hang out with and socialize. We plan on doing some things in the next week.
We went to a Splash Park on Tuesday! The kids loved it. It was a huge park and it was really hot. We stayed about an hour and Zach was asking to go home. Here's some pictures from that day.........

I thought it was sooo cute to see Bananas snuggling up to Zoey. Bananas really loves the kids and tries to sleep in their room but Zach won't have it.
There is lots of cute wildlife around here. The bunny in the picture likes our backyard. I've seen him back there a few times now. They aren't very scared of us either. I got about 3 feet away from this one before he hopped off. There are also lots of squirrels and on the way to the grocery store there are some cows.

Jeff's cousin, Stacey, lives about 20 mins away from us, which is soooo nice. It's great to have a family member so close. She just moved into an apartment and is flying solo for the first time so she is super excited! She had a housewarming party last night and we were able to attend. We found a babysitter for a measly $15 and hour. EEEEKKKKKK, but it was worth the money to spend time with her and meet her friends, whom are very nice and welcoming.

We are enjoying Texas more then we could have imagined. I do miss my family and friends. Knowing that everyone is 1000 miles away is a little heartbreaking, but sometimes in life you have to take a leap of faith and go for it! No matter how far away from all of you I am, I know you still there for us. Thank you all for your support and understanding! Please come visit anytime! We have lots of room and will show you a good time!!! We will, of course, visit when we can.

Love to all!

My little fishies

Pool Diva all dressed up and ready to swim!

Zach ready for a swim!

Zoey is doing very well with swimming. She kicks her legs and turns circles. These floating bathings suit things we got them help alot! She LOVES swimming.

Zach likes jumping into the pool into his ring!!!

Kitty Cat Tuesday

Banana's (our 2 yr old cat) has been running around like a crazy cat for a few days. I think she really likes the house. She is exploring everything. She even jumped off the top floor. Landed on her feet of course!! She hasn't done it again but she sits on the ledge alot.

We got a new kitchen table!

It's been raining for about 3 days, off and on. I have enjoyed it but it's really humid. We are still getting settled. We are all unpacked and things are starting to get back to "normal".

It's really nice to have everything we need withing 2 miles of our house. We have a community pool within walking distance. It is really nice! It has a kid pool that is only about a foot and a half deep so it's perfect for days when daddy can't come with us. Zoey seems to really be taking to the water!!! I am sure if I work with her more she will be swimming in no time! Zach likes swimming but the few times we tried to get him to go under he wouldn't breath out.

We have a PGA Superstore just a mile down the road. We went on Sunday to check it out and they had a little area to try out clubs. Zach was all over it! They had kid size clubs that were perfect for him. He was making putts left and right and threw a huge fit when we made him leave!

That's all for now!

P.S.........

We are on SKYPE now......so call us anytime. Our name is: teradea
Can't wait to video chat with you!

We are now Texans!

The Kitchen

The Family Room(view from above)

We are now in Texas. Plano, Texas to be exact. We drove in on Thrusday and Friday of last week. It was a pleasant trip and we made it in good time and without killing each other.

The kids really seem to be enjoying the house. They go up and down the stairs all day. They now have a HUGE playroom, which is the loft.

The kids also now have their own rooms.

I am really enjoying the new house and Texas. It is humid and my hair is a mess but I will get use to it. This house, even tho we are just renting, feels like home. We have alot to unpack, as you can see in the photos, but it's coming along good! The time difference is effecting us all some. It stays light out until 9pm here, where as in AZ it was only light out until about 7:30pm. Getting the kids to bed before 11 pm hasn't happened yet. :) Oh well......More to come soon.........

The Entry

The Dining Room

The Living Room (view from above)

2 for Tea

While Zach was napping, ...........................................................



















Zoey and I painted a tea set! It was great to spend some alone time with my princess. She won't go anywhere without Zach!


And Here she is wearing her hat! she loves this hat!

Go Zachy.....He's still doing a pretty good job with the potty!