How Frosty the Snowman Joined Our Family

I was looking forward to Monday morning(Feb 8th). Really. I was. My mom had kindly watched the boys for us the previous night, allowing us to actually watch the Super Bowl at some friends’ house. And even though we had the girls out too late, and the team were were rooting for lost, I was still looking forward to that next morning.

All I had to do was get Alyssa on the bus and I had only 1 kid for an hour an a half. Do you have any idea how easy that feels to me!? Alyssa was in a pretty good mood, too. She had just lost her 2nd tooth the Friday before, so she was looking forward to telling her class about it and getting this sticker.  We had one minor mishap of Alyssa spilling grape juice all over her clothes and having to change. But, the 3 of still made it out to the bus stop in time. I hadn’t been to “The Stop” in a while, and I tried not to cheer out loud after the bus pulled away.

About 10 minutes later our neighbor came over. His mom had been taken to the ER, and he was checking to see if I would be home when his kids got off the bus, if needed. I told him I was 100% sure I would be there. I felt so badly for him with his mom being ill, and I was so happy to repay one of the many favors they have done for us. Take, for example, the 3 times in 12 hours he had used his snow blower to clean off our sidewalks and driveway for us a couple of days before. We couldn’t ask for more caring neighbors!

Soon after that, Lauren and I were off to run some errands. You know, those dinky little ones that annoy you, but just aren’t worth dragging 4 kids around to finish. It felt so good to get them off the to do list! Lauren and I were also having a pretty good time hanging out, just the two of us.

Next, we drove to my mom’s to pick up the boys. When we got there, they were having fun playing Playdoh and watching cartoons. They seemed a little cranky, but I know that was from all the excitement and fun that they were having.

We made it home, just in time for everyone to take a bathroom break before we left again. Someone, who will remain nameless, wet all over their coat. Luckily, I had found an extra in a box from the attic recently (we love hand me downs!), so it didn’t slow us down too much. Then we were off to pick up Alyssa and a friend from kindergarten.

At lunchtime, I faced a house full of cranky, fighting kids, but the glow of actually attending a Super Bowl Party carried me through. Alyssa spilled milk all over herself and had to change clothes again. But, somehow, we were running ahead of schedule, and I was looking forward to putting these tired kids in their rooms early for naps.

The kids went upstairs as I was cleaning up the kitchen. I heard Drew’s mad cry, but I thought maybe his sisters had taken a toy from him, as they had been arguing just before that. Then it registered, “He’s not letting up.” I was done cleaning up by that point and made my way upstairs to check on things. When I reached the top of the stairs, Drew said, “My hand is caught in the door!” as he stood by his sisters’ bedroom door. I said, “What do you mean your hand is stuck in the door?” Sure enough, it looked like his hand had been on the back of the door (by the hinges)when his sisters shut it. Not only that, but the door was locked! Massive mommy guilt swept over me as I and yelled and banged on the door to be opened immediately. When the girls opened the door and realized what was going on, they joined me in feeling like the worst relatives that Drew could ever have.

I’ll spare you the details of what it looked like, but let’s just say that Drew’s fingers looked badly enough that I announced to our whole crew that we were going to the hospital. (Yep, same one that Jack went to.) The girls got ready as fast as they could, amongst Drew screaming, Jack resisting getting ready, and me making phone calls. In the craziness, I couldn’t find my neighbors’ cell phone numbers, but I at least found their home number and let them know I may not be home after all. I also called our dear friend Lucy, who has heard about other events in our lives and has said, “Why didn’t you call me?” So on that Monday I did. Thankfully, we caught her just before she was leaving to run some errands. She dropped everything for us and beat us to the hospital.

Honestly, ever since the triplets came home from the hospital, this was a moment that I was dreading might happen someday. My overactive imagination would do drills in my head of how I would handle getting all 4 kids to the ER by myself. It’s quite a vulnerable feeling at times to be in charge of 4 young children all by yourself. I am just so thankful that they were as old as they are when it finally happened!

I’m sure that my mom would have dropped everything to come and help me, too. However, she had told me that she had a conference call for work that afternoon, so I didn’t want to interrupt that. I needed her for another role that day, anyway. On the drive to the hospital (really, I don’t talk and drive very often, I promise!), I told my mom what was going on and asked her to track down my neighbors. I felt so badly that I couldn’t be there for them, so I wanted to give them as much notice as possible. At this point, we were 2 hours away from the bus dropping of the kids. Experience had taught me to expect at least 2 hours for any ER visit. Mom came through for me and tracked them down, reminding me of the old days when you went through and operator to get calls made.

Drew was screaming and crying the whole drive. About halfway there, he told me, “Mommy, my fingers hurt really really badly.” This is my kid who once fell and hit his head on the concrete driveway and didn’t even cry. So, I was expecting the worst and picturing surgery, visits to specialists, physical therapy, and kissing Drew’s first baseball season goodbye.

Lucy met us in the parking and helped usher the kids in while I carried the still crying Drew in as quickly as I could. The ER was great about taking us back right away. While they were taking take his vitals, I distracted Drew enough that he calmed down and stopped crying. The nurse made me feel better by telling me that my chance of this not happening with 4 kids was almost zero.

Drew took everything pretty well. He especially perked up when on of the nurses popped in an Elmo DVD. He was a little shy when people asked him what happened, but he actually answered questions (which surprised me). I was a little embarrassed of his overgrown fingernails now filled with Playdoh from Grammy’s. (Things like this never happen after you have freshly bathed and clipped nails on your children, do they?) I also wondered if everyone walking in the door was someone from CPS wanting to ask some questions. (Just in case, at least the girls were in the waiting room to verify my story.)

One of the nurses stopped by when she saw Drew’s name on the board and remembered him. She was his nurse 3 years ago when he had RSV badly. I’ll never forget her putting an IV in his head (yep, I get to have all the fun). Her daughter had been a student of Dave’s, so she recognized our last name right away. It was so nice of her to stop by and say hi and offer to help. Nothing like being to the ER so many times that they recognize you there.

Then the doctor came in and asked what happened. When I explained his sisters slammed the door on his hand trying to keep him out of their room, the doctor dryly said, “Well, did it work?” He immediately ordered some X-rays, and soon we were off. Drew chose to ride there in his bed, which he seemed to enjoy (almost as much as his warm blanket). He liked staying in bed for his X-rays, too. The tech was so great and gentle with him.  She gave him a prize for doing such a good job. He picked out a stuffed snake because “it was so big”. On the ride back to his room I asked Drew what he wanted to name his snake. He replied “Frosty the Snowman.”

Before we even got back the room, the doctor said he didn’t see anything broken, but he had to double check with the specialist. I couldn’t believe it! I thought for sure we had broken bones, especially after his fingers had been trapped for several minutes. So, it was the best scenario we could have asked for. He had lots of swelling and bruising and some little cuts, but the doctor assured me he could play baseball next month. They gave him some ibuprofen and bandaged him up, but even then they said it wasn’t necessary unless Drew asked for them. As the nurse was checking us out, she assured me this probably wouldn’t be my last visit there, either.

Drew immediately wanted his bandage off. Despite my protests, he won that battle.  Here’s a picture of his poor little hand as he started taking the bandage off. At least he was feeling well enough without it!

As predicted, he soon forgot about his injury and was picking things up. He never complained again of the pain, so he didn’t even get any more medicine. He’s also a forgiving little guy. He doesn’t seem to have retaliated, aside from not wanting to sit by one of his sisters at dinner because she “hurt his hand.”

So all ended well, and we even got home before the bus did. (Our neighbor ended up coming home before us anyway, though.) The kids have enjoyed having Frosty join our family. He has been used as a jump rope among other things. As this video from later that day shows, here is another use for Frosty:

 

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

That explains why I have to sew up 3 holes in the thing already. As you can see, it didn’t take long for things to get back to normal around here. Hopefully, it will stay that way for a while!

God bless,

Amanda

Go West, Young Man (Part II)

If you haven’t read about our first trip taking the kids out west, catch up by reading here.

In Part I, I tried to capture some of the highlights. In Part II, I’d like to give you some snippets of the trip, so you can really appreciate a taste of what it was like.

Just watching all the cousins play together was so special. Here’s a video of them playing “Ring Around the Rosy” with Elsa, who is a neighbor.

 

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

Another fun everyday moment was wrestling with Daddy/Uncle Dave. Here’s a look at the kids in action.

 

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

And as promised, here’s a compilation of some favorite quotes we wrote down on the way home.

Favorite Quotes

• Alyssa 10 miles into the trip: "I'm boring."
• Jack after the 1st stop: "Are we in Colorado?"
• Alyssa: "Mommy, if I stand under the hair dryer [hand drier in the bathroom] will I shrink?"
• Lauren to Drew: "Say, "May I please have my train?" (after he dropped it the 100th time).
• Alyssa: "Today we are going to stay at the hotel at the side of the rectangle." (after her first lesson on maps).
• Alyssa: "I don't get it. We went to Florida and it was far away and we took an airplane and it didn't take too long. But Colorado is far away, and we had to stay in a hotel to get here. [Pause] Oh, I get it, an airplane is faster."
• Alyssa: "Drew bite-ed me."
• Laurie to the kids after we arrived: "Was that the longest car ride that you have ever been on?"
• Lauren while petting the cat, "My Daddy has whiskers."
• Alyssa: "Tomorrow we are going to hike in the mountains and maybe see some elf [elk]."
• Mike: “Alyssa, would you like to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels?”
• Drew: "Don't wash my new haircut or you'll make it dead."
• Lauren: "We're going to Bulldozer [Boulder]."
• Will to Alyssa: "When you leave, I'll be dreaming about you."
• When we told our kids that we were going to play on a bounce house they corrected us and said, "No, we are going to Bounce Town."
• Jack at Rocky Mountain National Park: "I saw a shark, elephant, alligator, snake, lion, bird and a rabbit."
• We all went out for ice cream. A kid on the bench across from us looked at us and said, "6 kids!!" [He probably thought they were siblings.]
• Jack on Pearl Street: "We're on Earl Street."
• As we left Colorado the kids said: "Bye bye mountains."

Another fun quote was when Alyssa and Will were dancing. She told him, “Put your arm in the hole.” He obliged for a little bit, but as you can see, he didn’t want to dance too long. I was so excited I had my camera ready for this!

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

I think one of my favorite moments of the week was when we were taking a shuttle in Rocky Mountain National Park. The kids started singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” thereby providing free entertainment to the whole bus (which I hope they found cute and not annoying!).

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

When you take our crazy family on a trip like that, you can’t come home without learning a thing or two. So here are some things that we learned that week (mostly about the road trip):

Things We Learned

• You can survive a trip with 4 kids and 2500 miles in the van during one week.
• Wrapping new toys up as presents to open along the way helps (I recommend 1 per 200 miles).
• It's very stressful when your DVD player breaks and you still are 2 more states away from home.
• Giving each kid their own blanket in the car was a big hit, especially for those who like to play hide and seek. (Except for those times when they fought with their blankets.)
• They actually make sinks with soap dispensers and driers all in one now! They don't necessarily work, but they make them.
• The world's largest bottle of ketchup in a town called Collinsville.
• Lauren and Jack like to sing along to Kidz Bop CDs and Lauren will tell you which songs are her favorites at the ripe old age of 3.
• Not all rest stops have vending machines.
• Don't stop in a town called Pocahontas for your daughter (who loves anything having to do with Disney princesses), because there is no food there!
• When the kids won't sleep in the car, turn on sports radio or talk shows. Works like a charm.
• When you travel that far with kids in carseats, the parents get to play fetch like dogs for every toy that gets dropped.
• Having each kid pack their own backpack of toys works really well. It's one piece of luggage they can carry, too.
• When your redheaded son goes down a concrete driveway in a toy coupe, you have to tell him not to use his toes as brakes.
• A 5 year old can figure out how to adjust all the fans and corresponding controls in the van.
• When your kids are squirmy and you try to distract them by saying: "Look, cows! Can you count them?" they won't go for it.
• Eastern Kansas is lush and green. Western Kansas is full of prairie grasslands and windmills.
• When you use the random function for the first time on a CD that the kids have listened to for 1000 times, it will completely throw them off. They will feel compelled to continually ask you when their favorite song will come on.
• Mike and Laurie are very brave for hosting that many people for that long! They were such gracious hosts!
• Long road trips make Drew scream at random intervals in the back of the van.
• Low humidity takes away Drew’s super bouncy curls and makes you evaluate when it’s time for a haircut.
• Our kids love to point out every bus they see, even after 2400 miles on the road!
• Alyssa is convinced that The Arch in St. Louis is "The Ark".
• Missouri has mile markers every 2/10 of a mile. This drives some automobile operators completely nuts.
• When you lose your atlas with 2 states left to go, that is very stressful. So is stopping at a very scary place because you don't know where you are going but have to use the restroom badly.
• Lauren can make a princess wand out of Legos.
• Having a Grammy pack a bag of toys and activities for the kids to do in the car is a lifesaver at the end of a long trip.

Speaking of the end of the trip, here’s what things looked like in our van at the end of the trip.

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

Really makes you wish you were there, huh? Still worth it! We had a great time. Thanks, Mike, Laurie, Will, Paige, and Papo & Grandma for a great week! We love you!

God bless,

Amanda

Go West, Young Man (Part I)

When I originally pictured how I would blog about our trip to Colorado last summer, I envisioned capturing the play by play action and  every detail in a multi-part post (especially for the kids’ sake). Well, 7 months after we have arrived home, I have finally conceded that’s not going to happen! It's been an overwhelming task to do justice to such an eventful week, and I just don’t have the time to write about it the way I would like to. So I’ll just have to settle for the highlights.

A little background, first. We headed out west to visit Dave's brother, Mike, his wife Laurie, and their kids Will and Paige. (They are otherwise known as Uncle Mike, Aunt Laurie, Cousin Will and Cousin Paige.) Grandma and Papo drove out there as well, and we met them about 5 hours into our trip. They were great to caravan with and helped us out in so many ways. We also stayed together in a hotel one night each way to break up the drive (and the kids loved the pool).

The kids were so excited and couldn’t wait to see all their family. In fact, when we dropped the van off for a tune up before our trip, Jack cried on the way home, because he thought that we were leaving then and there.

Round trip, we drove over 2500 miles in one week. To be honest, the kids did much better than we expected. Sure, they had their squirmy moments and near fights with kids at  a McDonald’s Playland, but really they did well considering all that we threw at them.

When we arrived, it was so great for all of us to be together and the drive out was immediately worth it. We hate that we live so far away and don’t get to spend more time together. I think the best part for me was getting to do those little every day things together. The kids were so cute eating together (the youngest 4 at a picnic table and Alyssa and Will in the big kid stools at the bar). It was fun to watch the girls play dress up and the boys wrestle. Alyssa and Will danced and held hands. Paige gave Papo a Curious George band aid for his boo boo. We got to see where Will goes to school and his favorite restaurant. And I got to hold my adorable niece, which she may be too big for the next time I see her!

Of course, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park, and it was so fun to see the wide eyes on our kids as they saw mountains for the first time (too bad they fell asleep for the most beautiful part). We saw elk, prairie dogs and played in the snow in June. We enjoyed Pearl Street and the toy store in Boulder. The guys golfed and the wives & kids went to Bounce Town. We got to see Laurie’s parents and introduce our 3 little guys to them. We played outside a lot and rode bikes, met the neighbors and even went to a cookout with them. To top it all off, we had perfect, gorgeous weather.

When it was time to go, the kids gave each other the most adorable hugs. We missed them so much, we seriously talked about driving out again at Christmas Break (didn’t work out, though). We really had a great time, and I made a slideshow a while back that I would like to share with you. Enjoy.

(Click here if you can’t see the video.)

Stay tuned for Part II, including our favorite quotes, what we learned, and some movie clips!

God bless,

Amanda