Us - week 6

Must have been another doozy of a week if I can't find pictures to represent week 6 of the Littles. Ryan had a quick trip to Ohio again so it was a quiet week at home I guess?! And how bad is it that I can not remember what in the world we did? It was only two weeks ago, sheesh. 

For one, we did go to Pape's house (Ryan's grandfather) and celebrated his 94th birthday! Fun night with cousins and family. 

Sometimes, well, lets face it....here is our nap schedule....EVERY day. Jenna does not sleep, but she plays quietly in her room, so we are all winning there. Easton falls asleep first since he is waking up TOO early these days. Caden falls asleep quick but wakes up quick - about an 1.5 into nap time. So I've been having him get up and sit in his chair and read books quietly. Sometimes, by the time I've cleaned up the kitchen, swept or done my "chore" for the day, Caden is up and I just need a minute to pretend I'm by myself. It actually works wonderfully! I recommend it!

So the next time all three of them were fighting over a Thomas train, I sent them to the chairs to read...QUIETLY.  And the picture is proof...it worked! So, sometimes, when we all need to step.away.from.the.train.table....we will be sitting down to "read" and pretend we live in a house that enjoys it. :)

Oh yea, the big event of that week was: drumroll.....I drove the kids to the preschool we chose and handed the check over, eyes closed, said we were excited and walked away quickly. We (I) tormented over choosing their preschool. People - two tuitions at a time? I know we have it in our future with college, private school if we decide to go that route, extracurricular activities, but preschool took me by shock and almost knocked the breath out of me.

Long, agonizing, story short, we prayed a lot between two specifically, but came down to one I feel very good about. The main deciding factor for us was the school that included lunch. I felt better about having a trial run of three days a week lunch away from mommy before we send Caden off to kindergarten for 5 days a week. The child is skin and bones now with me in his face telling him to put a bite in his mouth, chew, swallow, take ONE sip, now do it again etc.... and he still doesn't finish a meal....with a timer beside him showing him how much longer he has. sigh.  Anyway, we got in, got the days we requested (3 days a week) and now, all house projects halt for a year at least. :)

I think I'm excited about the change in our day-to-day this fall. I've never had just one kid at home and the twins need to be pushed to interact with others around them. Jenna will thrive - she was ready for some type of schooling this year. Caden will do fine now that we decided to keep them together for preschool. And me and Easton? Well, let us know where the parties are mid-morning on weekdays! haha

Us - Week 5

Week 5 included surviving the end of Ryan's 7 day trip to France. Whew. We are praying that is the last trip to France he needs to take for that project. He flew in SuperBowl Sunday night so our plans to host a Super Bowl party were, well, jet lagged so we were not able to host or even attend any parties. I was DONE with the week by then so our dinner a.k.a super bowl treats were popcorn (slightly burnt), grapes, one cookie and a gummy vitamin. Stellar. 

My projects during this France trip included getting my consignment stuff out and sorted, a dress up chest for Jenna (still in progress) and my Grandma's old side table. This was my first attempt at chalk paint. The paint part was easy as everyone says, but the "glazing" / distressing was not as easy. I'm still not 100% sold I'll keep it this way, but for now...voila. 

I love me a good, seasonal mantle. It is my therapy. And this particular day, I had a pretty good session. 

We have recently introduced a chart that can show the kids consequences and rewards of their choices and behaviors. I got too confused with what I had told which kid with the constant "parenting." With Ryan being gone a lot, I needed the accountability too. Anyway, one reward we have introduced is the Wii. Remember that thing? I am SO GLAD we didn't ditch it when the next thing came along because, people....two four year olds playing the Wii is awesome. Caden triple bogeys every golf game. Jenna can get a strike like it is nothing in bowling and the baseball looks like a tomahawk dance. Totally awesome. 

I have declared 2015 as the year of the "great Kc slim down." I've only tried once since I was done having babies and nursing babies. I did really great last year until I got injured, got the flu, had my parental mental breakdown and my husband started traveling all of the time. :) All that led to the end of the year still feeling icky and gross about my looks, body image and confidence. I'm serious about it this year...my proof? I cut coffee. People of earth, I cut coffee. I was drinking 1-2 cups a day just to SURVIVE and I was still needing to lay down for just a few minutes each nap time. That and the fact my kidneys don't handle caffeine too well...it was just time to stop the addiction. The first week of January I cut it and thought I was on my way to Heaven. Dying. Horrible headaches, body aches, so weak I couldn't pick Easton up one afternoon....oh my. It has gradually gotten better. I give myself a cheat day on Sunday to sip on my coffee at church (or anytime Ryan goes to Jubala, I automatically get a cheat decaf Vanilla Latte). :) After I had energy to function, I started my workouts again. It is so hard to push yourself working out when your tired and hungry, but I'm sticking with it. Results will come. January was my lifestyle adjustment month. I'm eating MUCH less and MUCH healthier and cleaner. It involves me making 2, sometimes 3 different dinners (You know I have to substitute chicken for Ryan on any type of seafood my dinner has ), but enough is enough. Jenna girl snapped the chaos of my trying to better myself. Having a kid crawl under your plank is a sure way to not drop your knees....it is also a nice "excuse" to lift up a bit and not be so low :) hehe 

What to do when you can't find any pillows you like for the price you like? Make your own! Bought some cheap pillows off craigslist (after making sure they were FIRM and good quality), got some sale fabric online and went and broke in my mom's new sewing machine. Voila! 

Us - week 4

Week 4 has been a doozy. Ryan has been gone all week to France....right after he was gone half of last week to Charlotte.. so little recoup time for us. So this is short and sweet....the goal of this week was to survive and have some fun. Easton was not having fun in this first picture. We were watching Curious George, but apparently it was very scary. That is what he said when I asked him why he was hiding. 

The twins spent the night at my parents for two nights to give me a break while Ryan is in France. GLORY! And...let me preface my next statement by saying everyones perception is their reality and I get that. So let me tell you my perception of only having ONE kid...so easy! Me and E-Stud ran errands, window shopped in stores, ate popcorn lunches on the floor while watching a Thomas, you name it! I even popped in AS A WALK IN to a kids haircut place. They are totally overpriced, but I needed inspiration on how to cut this kids hair. The wavy, soccer/beach shag wasn't working on him like it does on Caden. Easton ate it UP. Sucker, animal crackers, a movie? He didn't want to leave. A completely different story from the torture chamber, screaming, red-faced Caden I tried to take when he was this age. Anyway, look at my big four year old....I mean, two year old. :) 

You know what's not cool? When your microwave dies two days before your husband leaves the country for a week. Not cool at ALL. So we scrambled and bought a microwave ridiculously quick thanks to the Lords kindness. (We found one that fit our space but the local store couldn't find the one they had in stock so they gave us the new, upgraded model for closeout price!) Anyway, a friend came to the absolute rescue and let us borrow her college counter top microwave until Ryan can get back in town and install our new one. Whew! 

The night before Ryan left, he made good on our new month-to-month plan of taking the twins out individually for mommy/daddy time. Ryan had January and needed a date with this little spunk. They went to Five Guys and shared a yummy yogurt mountain treat. I can't wait for my turn in February! I'm really looking forward to this time one-on-one with my kiddos. They need it and I do too!

Us - week 3

Almost fell off the wagon there! A few days late, but here is what our week 3 looked like! Our first picture is most everyday...Easton JAMMING his mouth full of food. 

We had some rainy days so it was time to start incorporating jump time to get the cabin fever wiggles out. Jenna loves jumping - land, trampoline, couch...you name it. 

Isn't it wonderful (and embarrassing) when you find something in a closet you bought a long time ago ? I think it got stashed away in the Birthday season / Thanksgiving clean up, but alas!...a new cute rug for the loveseat. 

Our original "Little" Christmas was postponed due to the flu outbreak in the family. Ryan's brother and family came up from SC so we were able to have our Christmas time together then. Caden and Easton loved wrestling with big cousin, Evan. 

Easton made his rounds to everyone. He quietly went upstairs and got cousin Lauryn to read him some books in bed. Adorable! 

Busted! Easton is not allowed to play with the twins' leapfrogs. He may have gotten away with a few extra things while Ryan was traveling for work. 

Ryan and I have adopted a tradition from some fellow twin parents we know. We are going to each take a month and intentionally plan a date day/night with Caden and Jenna individually. It is so good for them and wonderful for us to have time alone to see their little personalities and get them all to ourselves. Ryan took January and first up was Caden. Ryan took him to the train show which is Caden's love language right now. They had a blast and ended the outing with some KK doughnuts - that makes any outing complete! 

 Caden will ALWAYS choose a chocolate sprinkle doughnut. Always. 

Mommy had to do some damage control for this first round of "dates." Jenna was not happy she was not invited. Oh the indignity! ...as one of those Thomas trains say on the movie. So she got to finger paint by herself ... her love language. 

The twins have started sleeping together in their tiny toddler beds. It is adorable, yes. But one night while Ryan was traveling last week, I headed to Gigi and Papa T's for a little break. Out of an entire king sized mattress pad on the floor, this is how they slept all night....crunched in one top corner. 

My pantry redo is mostly done! Everything came out, I painted the front facing board with chalk paint and labeled where everything should go. Now anyone can put my groceries away! :) hint. hint. 

Us - week 2

Week 2!!! Quite a fun week minus our first picture. Easton went to get tested for allergies. As yuck as it looks, chill Easton just said "ouch!" once then just sat in my lap and looked at the pictures on my phone. Strangely we do not have sure answers. His nasal passages show strong signs of an allergy reaction, but all of the pricks on his back were negative. So, it does help to know each random runny nose he gets is probably a flare up and not a sickness, but to what?

We finally had our annual Christmas "brunch" with our special group of friends. THIRD time was the charm as we had to keep rescheduling due to sicknesses, fevers, flu, you name it. I even kept my Christmas decorations up so we could have our annual picture in front of the tree. The things you do for friends! :)

Princess attire was the big hit. These three are such special friends.

I do a hand print Christmas craft each year. I'm obsessed at seeing how much their little hands grow. And considering how tiny the twins' hands were that first Christmas, it makes it even more reminiscent to see. This year, we switched it up and did a footprint...three weeks after Christmas. oops. No one else needs to know. And how about you can't tell whose foot is who? Triplets I'm telling ya...

We busted out Caden's "big present" from Gigi and Papa T. This picture represents a four year old boys dream: jumping while watching a Thomas the Train movie. :)

We know Jenna can jump on "land". But Jenna on a trampoline? Danger. Girl is crazy while jumping.

It has been cold and wet this past week. So there has been a lot of coloring. I love it and I hate it. Soon many marker tops!!

I am beginning to see this scene a lot lately. The boys are starting to gravitate towards each other during play time. Caden got his leapfrog for Christmas and Easton just LOVES to sit next to him and watch (because he is not allowed to touch!). To me, it is a really sweet snapshot of their future growing up together as brothers.

Kids Say...

Jenna: Mom can I have some iPad?
Me: What? (I was getting ready in front of the mirror)
Jenna: Can I have some iPad right here? (points to her eyes)
Me: ohhh, do you mean eye shadow?


Jenna fell in the backyard and was having a particularly heavy "drama queen" day. After crying for some time and not moving on, she told Ryan "I think a snake bit my hand when I fell." Oh, Jenna....


Jenna: Dad, I have a secret. I can't tell you that Mommy got you a shirt for Christmas presents today.

Us

So I follow a blog of a mama of five (FIVE), including triplet boys. She recently posted an idea that is genius to me! The idea is to post a quick snapshot of your week...quick, no big write up, not that much brain power required. That is my cup of soup right now. Love it.  So here goes! Week 1 is all cell phone pics so not the best quality, but nonetheless....

The first week of 2015 was spent at the beach as we always do. I love getting away from hustle, bustle, traffic, "to-do's", all of it! And I just really love the beach. :) 

We found a few boxes of sparklers so we went out to celebrate the New Year. Mr. Safety (Caden) was sure to keep his arms perfectly perpendicular to his body, Easton wanted to hold it himself and Jenna was a dancing fairy with no reservations. :)

Aunt Rha Rha and Uncle Brad got the kids a stomp rocket for Christmas. It is super fun for children and adults! It took all the kids 2 minutes to figure out the running start / jump combo produced the biggest blast offs. As a result, there is a rocket, a broom handle and a little bouncy ball in the tree branches down at the beach house. oops. 

No beach trip is complete without a wagon ride around the block with Papa T. 

I made homemade salted caramel sauce for our neighbors for Christmas this year. SCORE! Amazing. Yum. I gave some to my mom and sister only after making them promise to bring it to the beach for our gluttonous snacking binge. I then made my friends' homemade pound cake recipe. I could lick the screen right now looking at the picture. SO GOOD. 

Papa T also always brings his PVC pipe (??) to the beach to draw objects, names, and a maze for the kids to follow. For some reason it is the best thing ever to the kids. They love it!

I love the beach and I love this boy. He said "we at the beach" 1,456 times.

And just because this picture is blog worthy any day of the week. Listen to the silence! 

My pantry is in need of help...serious help. I have so many bottles of ketchup because I can't find the one we have, think we are out and buy another one at the grocery store....over and over! So, it ALL came out. I have a plan to get it organized, but as with everything else it takes me 6 weeks to get any small task done. 

And to end the week on a bit of a sad note, my sweet Mama Peggy died after a long lung illness. She was my "adopted" grandmother who took care of me and my sister when we were little, kept my mom from dropping us off at a Fire Station for free and gave us wonderful childhood memories. More on Ms Peggy later, but tonight at the visitation it was obvious many, many people will miss her like I will. 

Trains and Tiaras

So, last year we had the twin's 3 yr birthday party and Easton's 1 yr birthday party within two weeks of each other. My baby was going to get his own special first birthday party, but I basically knew the moment I started planning that from there on out, the kids would be having a combined party. That is what happens when your birthdays are 2 weeks apart during an insanely busy time of year. :) They do everything together anyway - might as well party together, too!

That brings us to this year. When I asked the twins what they wanted at their birthday party, Caden immediately replied "trains" and Jenna immediately replied "princess." Lucky for them I follow a blog of a mom who has quadruplets (3 boys/1 girl) and she had thrown a Trains and Tiaras party. Perfect! At times like this, you have to love the internet and gleaning off others creativity. I took a few ideas here, a few ideas there, got super lucky the Dollar Store is carrying Disney princess party stuff right now and used the 497 trains we have laying around this house to throw together a party.

Ryan was gone most of the week for work and a dear friend's son (2 years old) was hospitalized with serious complications. That combination plus the fact that I am soooo miserably tired these days meant the party was down a few notches from the usual. But seeing my friends journey up close and seeing my three children run around healthy and happy and at home made that "party" enough for me. I still love throwing a serious party for my babies, it is just something I always will have in me. It is a serious reflecting time for me that they are here and call me "mom." So many prayers and tears were cried for them to be here so you better believe I make a big deal of their birthday.

Special thanks to my sister again - without her most of my life would be documented in a blurry cell phone picture. :)

choo choo! 

Hallelujah for Dollar Store princess gear 

The girls had their own princess room to dine in 

Whole Food cake didn't happen. Tragedy. Thank goodness I have an extra Thomas or twelve to throw on a cookie cake! 

Thank you Pinterest, my first successful birthday "cake" homemade. 

Princess Drama of course had to wear her new yard sale princess dress. 

I just love this picture. Deep conversation about something with those two. 

Candy-necklace making station

These two together are TROUBLE 

I printed lots of Thomas and Princess coloring sheets. Papa T (my dad) was so excited. :) 

Trying to make his move

killed it. 

Easton showing everyone his new Thomas pillow. He bear hugs that thing every night as he falls asleep. Adorable!

My two four year olds and one two year old. Yes, it will mess with your brain, read slowly.  And yes, Jenna had a wardrobe change.