Look Out, Reggie Jackson

Well, Amanda told you about how the girls got to take a ballet class last summer. Well, the boys got to take a sports class, too, last summer. Unfortunately, we don’t have any pictures of them in action, because the day Amanda was going to go photograph them, the class was cancelled. Amanda was a little sad that she didn’t get to see them at their first class, but when you have more than one child, you just have to miss some events, unfortunately.

This class was in the style of parent/child, so I (Dave) went with the boys and got to coach them along. They were among the youngest ones there and did pretty well, considering. The class was an “Intro to Sports” class which introduced toddlers to throwing, hitting, catching, kicking, etc… Now, to those of you who have been around our family, you know that Drew is the sports lover and Jack is the one doesn’t have the love of sports…yet. Although, as this video shows, when they were one and a half, they sure did fight to the death over a ball. [Click here if you can’t see the video below.]

Oh how we wish their fights were that tame now! Anyway, the boys were a little like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at sports class. One absolutely loved playing with all of the balls, so when he got to learn all about new things to do with balls during his class, he just loved it. The other couldn’t care less if he was throwing a ball, sitting on a ball, or calculating the circumference of a ball. A typical day at sports class last year went something like this:

Drew: “Come on! Throw me the ball, Daddy!”

Jack: “I’m bored, is it time to go yet?”

Dave: “Great kick Drew! Jack, get back here!”

Drew: “I kicked it really good, huh Daddy?”

Jack: “Can I throw the baseball at Drew’s head?”

Dave: “Way to swing that bat Drew! Where’s Jack???”

Overall, we had a good time, but it’s pretty evident as to who likes sports in the family. While Jack will often fall asleep with sunglasses on,  Drew will often be found snuggling with his little mini basketball. Since he was very young, he has always had the disposition to play sports. Before he was two, he was dribbling a ball and hitting kick balls with a bat when we pitched them to him. When taken to the toy store and given his choice last summer, he picked a ball. His choice of tattoo at a picnic was also a ball.  Balls are just his thing!   Needless to say, we see lots of sporting events with Drew in our future!

Over the winter Amanda saw that there was a baseball league that Drew could possibly play in. Even though the league was a developmental league for kids ages 4-6, Amanda emailed the league commissioner and asked for an exception. Thankfully, he agreed to let Drew play, but I (Dave) had my reservations. Being very competitive myself, I didn’t want to see my son be the worst one on the team, because he was so young and little. However, I was happy when he was placed on the New York Yankees, and he ended up with Reggie Jackson’s #44. (We gave Jack the choice to play, too, but he chose a summer class with the girls. More about that later.)

So, the first practice came and went, and after practice was over, I was about to have Drew quit. Shy by nature, he didn’t really know what to do, and he was very scared. He was the shortest kid out there, and the others seemed to know what they were doing (somewhat). On the drive home I decided that instead of quitting, our backyard was going to be our spring training center. We were going to do stretching, pushups, sit-ups, squats, sprints, batting practice, fielding practice, and drills. Well, maybe not all of that, but I was determined for him to get better. But, I wanted him to want to get better, so Amanda and I made baseball a lot of fun in the backyard with him. If he didn’t want to play, no big deal. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I was totally burned out with baseball. My coaches made it be like a dreadful job. Plus, I wanted to do other things, like play basketball with my friends and get better at tennis.  So, I quit baseball. If our kids want to play sports, that’s great, but if they don’t, that’s fine with me as well.

The way Drew’s league is set up, the team has one practice during the week and games are on Saturday morning. During the game, the coach will throw about 5 pitches to the kid, and if they don’t hit it by then, they’ll get out a tee, where the kid will hit it. So, everyone hits the ball, everyone gets on base, and there are no outs. The last batter gets to hit a grand slam no matter what. So, each 1 hour game lasts about 2-3 innings and ends up with a score being around 40-40.

 

When the other team is up to bat, all of the players are positioned around the infield. Whenever someone hits the ball, it’s usually a mad scramble to get the ball. The first game was pretty hilarious when a kid hit the ball and about 8 kids ran to the ball like bees to honey. Drew had some trouble hitting the ball the first two games, so all of his hits came off the tee. To his defense, the 2nd game was played in about 45 degree weather (the wind chill made it around freezing) and Drew was still learning how to use an aluminum bat. These bats are around 14 oz., and he was use to 5 oz. wiffle ball bats. (Plus, his mom is convinced he hadn’t completely regained his strength yet from being so ill.)

As the season progressed Drew got better and better. He learned how to swing the aluminum bat really well, and he rarely had to hit the ball off of the tee. He has quite a strong arm for a three year old, and his coaches told us that he was the most improved player on the team. At the end of the last game, Drew received a nice little trophy, and he was blessed to have 2 great coaches who really cared about the kids. So, was I glad that Drew played baseball? Looking back I think he really enjoyed it, and he still loves to play in the backyard (and practicing sliding in the kitchen), so I think it was a success. Next year, he may want to do something totally different, so we’ll see where Drew’s athletic abilities and desires take us then.

Take care,

Dave

Monkeys and Giraffes No More

Can you believe it? Another school year has come to an end. That means some end of the year celebrations!

First, came the last day of the Bible study that the trio and I attend. They get to be in the Monkeys Class and I get to hang out with an amazing group of ladies in my own class.  The kids did another performance like they did last December. They didn’t dress up this time, but the boys got some more use out of their Easter duds and Lauren got to wear the same outfit Alyssa did for her last performance as a Monkey. It all worked out so that Dave could see their live performance, too.

They started off being very thrilled to recite the Pledge of Allegiance – to the “United States of the ‘Merica” as they call it.  See if you can spot the 2nd set of triplets up front as I pan to the left. [Click here if you can’t see the video.]

They also sang “Daniel in the Lions Den” (my favorite one to practice – love the “Roar roar!” [Click here if you can’t see the video.]

And, well, there were other videos. But I can’t put them on the internet. Let’s just say they include behaviors that would embarrass them for life!

And you remember Donuts with Daddy, right? Well, around Mother’s Day, I got to have Muffins with Mom at preschool. I was presented with 3 lovely necklaces that each of my kids had made for me. They each chose the pattern on the front and put their fingerprints on the back. (Watching them try to keep the surprise from me was probably my favorite part!) Jack liked his so much that he wore it himself for a while.

And finally at preschool, the trio celebrated the end of being in the Giraffe class. They had a celebration a slide show of the year and some cake (or fruit snacks if you are Jack and happen to be allergic to eggs). Grammy was able to join us as well.  They had a great time and we were so blessed to have fantastic teachers in both of their classes that they miss already!

Whew! I can’t believe that I made it to the end of their first year of preschool. It was a lot of work for me, too! But they really learned a lot this year, and we were so glad that we did!

Coming soon are details about Alyssa’s last days of kindergarten and some of our summer plans.

God bless,

Amanda

Sick & Tired of Being Sick

When we hit January this year, I have to admit that I thought to myself “this winter isn’t so bad.” We were definitely braced for the worst, knowing that the triplets were in preschool for the first time and Alyssa was in kindergarten = a whole new school full of germs to be exposed to. We had a cold going around in December, but it really wasn’t too bad – so far.

Then about mid-January, the respiratory and stomach bugs started to hit. But, when you have little kids, having colds in the winter almost gets to be like breathing. It was a little annoying, but nothing like some of the past trials we have been through. Besides, sometimes we actually get naps out of the kids when they’re sick, even if it is in the strangest places (like Lauren sleeping on the stairs).

Then March hit. First, it started with Jack and Lauren getting pink eye. Then, a few days later, all  4 kids were on antibiotics for strep throat (we highly recommend the little grocery store clinics for such occasions on Friday nights).

Then, a week later, Drew started really getting sick (while we had all 4 kids at the dermatologist treating the Molluscum epidemic that is also sweeping our house). He got a runny nose, developed a croupy cough (which sometimes made him throw up), and got feverish by bedtime. The poor guy took 3 naps on Saturday and had a 102 fever all day. On particular nap, he just collapsed on the couch while still standing up.

Sunday morning, he woke up with a rash all over. It looked just like the one Alyssa had when she had roseola, so I figured it was that. He was feeling better by then, so then we just watched and waited for Lauren and Jack to get sick, too.

Monday morning, it was back to our normal routine and trying to pretend we weren’t tired with the switch to daylight savings time. But as we got to lunch time, Drew started to fade again and get pale. He fell asleep right away at naptime and was a limp noodle the rest of the day. He didn’t eat much and after dinnertime, and his breathing got labored. I left a message for the pediatrician, and we waited.

We were trying to at least keep Drew hydrated, and we had a good laugh after Dave accidently mixed up Drew a glass of orange Metamucil instead of orange Gatorade. The canisters do look pretty similar. Drew actually said it was “the best Gatorade ever” before we even caught the mistake, too.

The doctor called back and after hearing that Drew was taking more than a breath a second (I have learned this as a new rule of thumb), he said to have him checked out. So it was off to take Drew to the ER again. He was given 2 breathing treatments and some steroids right away, which calmed his breathing down, and he was doing a lot better. His fever had come up to around 101 again, so the nurses gave him a popsicle, which he thought was the greatest. He was also treated to a Mickey Mouse movie. Also, on the way to the bathroom, he got to meet 2 real live firemen, and they gave him his very own fireman hat. So despite being told his throat and ears were pretty red, having blisters all over from his Molluscum treatment, a rash from roseola, a 102 fever and an X-ray showing possible early stage viral pneumonia, Drew was still smiling and very excited about his very own bottle of Gatorade that he got to bring home. That kid is tough!

So, since Drew was doing a lot better, we were released to come home. I dropped him off around 10:30pm for Dave to put him to bed and then headed off to the pharmacy. Of course, there were issues with all 3 of his prescriptions, so I was there past midnight. When I got home, I found out that Lauren had thrown up soon after I left. I think Dave got the rougher end of the deal.

For the next 2 days after that, Drew seemed to improve. Then at 3:30am, Drew woke up coughing. I tried 2 of our high octane breathing treatments that the pulmonologist gave us for Jack (the 1st thing they gave him at the ER a few days earlier), and it only slowed him down a little. So finally 2 hours later at the ER, his coughing stopped. They had to give him 2 ephinidrine breathing treatments, which meant we weren’t going home that night. I was so scared on the drive there, thinking they would have to stick a tube down his throat or something. It was so good to see him stop coughing finally with the medicines they gave him.

Meanwhile, Dave was left with the realization that at 5am, he wasn’t going into work that day. I gave him some options of ways to farm out the kids and told him the first deadline was to get Alyssa on the bus. He called my mom at 5am, and as she said, “It’s never good news when the phone rings at 5am.” She was a real trooper to come over and cover the fort, while Dave rushed in to get some plans ready for a sub. When I called home with my first update on Drew, I was a little surprised to hear her answer the phone. Thanks to her help, it all worked out, and Dave was able to get home in time to get Alyssa on the bus, then took Lauren and Jack off to preschool. It was kind of fun to watch him take over my job for the day. I think he only had to hear “Mommy, doesn’t do it that way” once.

Then, Dave made it over to the hospital shortly after Drew was admitted to his room. At one point, they were considering admitting Drew to the Peds ICU, because he was so sick. He had about 5 breathing treatments in 2 hours and was on 3L of oxygen, and his levels were still only about 95%. Once he started feeling a little better, he didn’t want to have his oxygen canula in his nose, but by the end of the day, he was breathing on his own and still holding at 95%. So the doctor’s concluded that he had a really bad virus and once it turned a corner, he was doing a lot better.  A follow up X-ray also concluded that he didn’t have viral pneumonia, too. So, we went home about 30 hours after arriving. Drew was so happy to show off the balloon, book and stuffed animal he got from Grandma and Papo, though. He was so very excited about the 2 egg omelets he got to eat for breakfast.

Lauren got a really bad cold, but recovered pretty well on her own. Jack got sick with the same virus shortly afterwards. We had to call the pulmonologist and get some steroids and do some breathing treatments, but he was able to stay out of the hospital. Thank God for the preventative medicines he is on!

Then Easter weekend, Alyssa got strep throat again. Why do my kids always get sick at times like the night before Easter? Well, we went to our friendly drugstore clinic again, and she had tested positive for strep there less than 30 days before, they insisted on culturing her specimen (instead of the quick test, which give you results right away). So, that meant no antibiotics yet to kill it until the results came back several days later. Poor Alyssa handled it pretty well, despite not feeling well on Easter. So on the day after Easter, Dave was off on Spring Break and helped me to march all 4 kids into the pediatrician’s office. Only Alyssa tested positive for strep, and our doctor helped ease my fears from the clinic lady  who said she needed her tonsils out!

Things calmed down after that, and aside from bad spring allergies, we hoped the warm weather had helped us back to good health. We even got wild and crazy and started painting the boys’ room – which we had been promising to do “after Christmas” and you now know why we didn’t get to it. (More about their room later – I’m still working on the furniture.)

Last weekend, Alyssa finally got to go to a much anticipated slumber party. It was literally 2 years in the making, as she and her friend had talked about a sleepover when her friend turned 5. Well, the night before the friend’s 5th birthday, the slumber party was in full swing. I had sent Alyssa over there without much of a voice, but I really thought it was bad allergies. I felt so bad when I got the call at 9:30pm: “Your princess has a fever.” She was up to 102 and not feeling so well, as you can imagine and pretty disappointed. She had to miss another birthday party the next day, as she was still pretty puny. But, a day later, she was doing pretty well. We were lucky that none of our kids got it, and the birthday girl and her family at least escaped the fever, but did get some sniffles.

And guess what, now I have it. I have lost my voice and don’t feeling like doing much of anything but sitting. I think my kids are amused by my new “voice” but I have to say I feel pretty lousy. The funny thing is, that yesterday I was getting suspicious that something was about to happen. You want to know how? I was getting caught up on my laundry! Before each of the major things above happened, I got caught up on my laundry. I think it’s God’s way of keeping His promise to not give me more than I/We can handle. But you know what, I’m going to stop trying to catch up on the laundry for a while. I’m done!

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

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Greetings Family and Friends,       

How are you? How has your year been? Thanks to those of you who have blessed us with your own Christmas updates. We love hearing from you, and we hope to hear from the rest of you soon!

As for us, if we had to describe our year, it felt like a return to normal for us. OK-- normal for having a 6-year old and 3-year-old triplets! For example, instead of having swings, exersaucers or a changing table, our dining room now has a table and chairs in it. How normal is that? Some nights after putting the kids to bed, we just talk and watch TV. We went a long stretch without doing that! We have no booster seats at the kitchen table anymore, and our Christmas tree has no gate around it. Best of all, we were blessed to be able to finish our basement this summer, so most of the toys now reside there. So, the transition from a daycare center to home is going very well! On top of that, no one had surgery or went to the ER this year, either! That hasn't happened since 2004 for us! (Urgent care center visits for sprained knees or extracting broken Qtips from ears or don't count, do they?)

So, since we spent a lot less time at doctor offices, we were able to do some fun things this year. We attended 2 family reunions. We boldly drove the clan to Colorado (only 2500 miles in the van) to see Dave's family. We also took a trip to Canton, OH to see family on Amanda's side. After the kids proved to be so adventurous, we tried some other "firsts" with them, like a bonfire, the zoo without a stroller, a family hike, and movies. We are really enjoying this age with kids and the whole new world that has just opened up to us as a family.

As for the kids, Alyssa is now in kindergarten and absolutely loves it. We are amazed at all the things she is learning, like reading some words already and writing sentences. Alyssa and Lauren took a ballet class this summer, and enjoyed every minute of it. They were also very excited to become roommates this summer, in a pink princess garden room. Lauren, in addition to ballet, has turned out to really enjoy sleeping in on weekends (one day until noon!), puzzles, coloring and music. She walks around often singing little songs she has made up. Lauren, Drew, and Jack are now in their first year of preschool. They are learning a lot about their letters and numbers and seem to enjoy school as well. They also have done a great job with potty training (not without incidents, though), just in time for those funds to go towards the grocery bill. Drew, especially, has grown to be a voracious eater. He works up an appetite running around the house doing sports drills he invented or asking lots of questions about the world around him. Jack and Drew also took a beginners sports class this summer. While Drew couldn't get enough of learning more things to with balls, Jack seemed more interested in calculating the circumference of the balls. His curiosity continues to grow as he tell us all the things around him that are "coo-ul," and he shows a deep love for animals by pretending to be one or cuddling up with 3 stuffed ones as he goes to sleep. He also claims to have seen a crocodile when we were in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Dave continues to run some races throughout the year (including a marathon relay), although he's been sidelined with some minor injuries. He also got to return to his homeland - a Notre Dame football game this year! He and Alyssa enjoyed a trip out the FL for his cousin’s wedding, too. Amanda's health is better than ever, and she's been doing some exercise of her own and is almost back to normal (just had to use that one more time). She has also been organizing some playdates using our church’s warehouse. But the best playdate of all, was getting to see her sister and hubby (who happen to live in Hawaii) ALONE thanks to the World's Greatest Husband manning the fort. It was a great time to visit, while enjoying some much needed relaxation, peace and quiet!

Well, that should do it for our family update. We'll leave you with some favorite 2009 quotes, as we wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the blessings from God in 2010!

God bless,     

Dave, Amanda, Alyssa, Lauren, Drew & Jackson

Alyssa: "Does God have a wife?”
Drew: (while watching a robin in a tree) "He is looking for his wallet."
Jack: "This needs new batteries" (referring to a pencil that needed sharpening) 
Lauren: (suddenly in the middle of lunch) "My armpit is cold."

PS We had rounds and rounds of fun this Christmas. How about you?

The Ole Switcheroo

As people often do during this time of year, we have been asked frequently what costumes the kids will wear for trick or treating. Our answer has been Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), a flower, a dalmatian (or "Firehouse Dog" as the kids have been calling it), and a chicken. We actually got in the attic a few weeks ago (major planning ahead for me!) and got the costumes and trick or treat buckets out. The kids had fun unpacking the boxes and getting all of our fall decorations out. I got the costumes washed this week. Therefore, I thought we were all ready to go for tonight. Wrong.

I should have known Thursday morning. That was my first warning. Lauren, Drew and Jack had Storybook Day at preschool. The kids are supposed to dress up like their favorite storybook character and bring in the corresponding book to share with their class. Well, let's face it, my kids dressed up like whatever costume we had on hand, and I found a book to go along with it. So Lauren, as the flower, took "Planting a Rainbow" by Lois Ehlert. Jack was a dalmatian, and he took a touch and feel book about puppies. Drew said he wanted to be the chicken, so I packed "Chicken Little" in his backpack for him the night before. Sounds like a smooth plan, right? Wrong again!

At exactly 8:53 am Thursday (7 minutes before preschool starts), Drew threw off the chicken costume and declared he was refusing to wear it. He had wavered between the chicken and elephant costumes we had, so I offered the elephant one last time. To my surprise, he accepted. The bad news is that I couldn't think of a single book that we had containing an elephant. We got a fun book called "Elmer" by David McKee at the library a while back. But as luck would have it, the library was closed for a big software transition anyway! So I raced through the house, praying to find something with an elephant in it somewhere. Good ole Richard Scary came through for me, with an ABC book with an elephant in it. A far cry from Drew's favorite character, but I got "my" homework done, nonetheless. This would be a great place to insert pictures of what the kids looked like at preschool, huh? Well, due to my great elephant expedition, there was no time to take pictures!

So, as I mentioned, that was a great warm up for today. At approximately 4pm (2 hours before trick or treating starts), Alyssa proclaimed that she didn't want to be Belle anymore. She wanted to be a ballerina. Since the weather was going to be in the 40's tonight, I was very skeptical about this costume. But, after she agreed to 3 layers on top (and we made sure her leotard still fit on her), we were set (again!).

Lauren, upon hearing this, decided that she wanted to be a ballerina, too. After all, she does everything else her big sister does. So, we found a ballet outfit in our dress up box that would fit over her clothes, and she seemed content. While we were finding Lauren's costume, we also got Jack a fireman's hat. He had wanted to modify his costume to make it a dog from a fire station. That left Drew, who had already changed his mind on Thursday, so I thought I was done. Wrong AGAIN!

I took the girls upstairs to do their hair. Well, as careful as I was, Alyssa's ear took a hit off the curling iron (I think she flinched is all I can figure). So Lauren told me that she didn't want me to curl her hair, because she "didn't want to have to burn her ears". We did get her hair in pigtails for the first time, though! Guess who else chose pigtails earlier? Then, we scarfed down some awesome chili Dave made and came back upstairs to do the girls' makeup. Alyssa said the mascara "made her make tears", so she kept smearing it all over. I didn't think she wanted to be a racoon ballerina, so I had to keep wiping that up, which made our make up session take much longer than planned.

Meanwhile, it was about 10 minutes until 6pm, and Dave couldn't find Jack's costume or Drew's pants. I found Drew's pants, but the dalmatian was no where to be found. Dave made an executive decision that Jack would now be the chicken (the same thing he was last year), and surprisingly, Jack didn't throw a fit! Our friend Sue had shown up with her cousins by that point, but she's used to the insanity at our house by now (aren't they brave to want to go trick or treating with us?). After some digging, we finally found the missing pumpkin buckets, threw some shoes on and we were off.

Then we attempted the truly impossible: to get 6 kids to look at the camera at once!

We almost captured our 4 all looking at the camera and smiling!

Even just 3 people at a time proved too challenging.

  

I tried really hard to get some individual pictures, and here's the best the I could do. I should have captured them before we bundled up!

But the funnest part of all was to watch from behind. The waddle and the swaying tail were priceless.

Drew took a tumble and met the sidewalk with his forehead, but other than that the night went pretty smoothly. It was so fun to watch the kids react to how our neighbors celebrated the holiday. I think their favorite was the guy whose teeth lit up! The smoking graveyard was a close second.

Lots of candy. Lots of fun with friends. I think we'll do it again next year. Hopefully, this time without all the drama.

Also, thanks to Grammy for manning the fort for us while we were loading up on candy!

God bless,

Amanda

Donuts with Daddy

Last week, Dave was able to take some time off work and get to experience a little bit of our crazy weekday morning schedule. He finally got to take the crew to the bus stop and see Alyssa climb on the bus for the first time (although he had seen the video).

He also got to take Lauren, Drew, and Jack to preschool for the first time. They are going through the alphabet at school and were on the letter D. Along with the letter D, comes Donuts with Daddy. (Alyssa got to do this, too, last year.)

What's more fun than lots of sugar with your Dad to start off the day? Here's a look at them enjoying their donuts (or in Jack's case, some graham crackers with frosting).

When we get to the spring, it's time for Muffins with Mommy, yeah!

God bless,

Amanda

Reminiscing Summer

It looks like last night will be the last time, for a while, that the kids can play in the backyard without jackets. I've been doing some reminiscing lately and thinking about how fast this summer went.

Back when it was warmer, our neighbors blessed us bring over their professional cameras for a couple of days and capturing some awesome pictures of the kids enjoying themselves in the backyard. In particular, they had some good times enjoying our second Slip 'n Slide of the summer with our neighbors, Anna and Joe. (Believe it or not, it was someone over 12 who broke the first one, and they mean it when they put a weight limit on those things!) So come and reminisce with me, too, about the fun lazy days of summer.

"God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December." 
-   J. M. Barrie

Thanks, Anna and Linda, for capturing the most beautiful roses kind of roses, so that I could have them in December (or October for that matter, too).

God bless,

Amanda

PS I am still working on one more big summer flashback that I have been wanting to share with you for a while - our trip out west! Stay tuned for more! Updates on the girls' room and basement coming, too!

Pick up the Poopy (Part II)

Well, we are developing a bit of a backlog with the blogging, so even though Dave wrote Part I (which you can read by clicking here), I hope you don't mind if I finish Part II. I know I'm not as funny as he is, but he starts teaching and coaching tennis today, so I don't think he'll get to this for a while!

I have to give Dave credit. He was genius at getting the kids help him do yard work. I was inside one day (doing laundry, I think?) and I looked out the window and Dave had the kids all excited and involved in what he was doing. His new toy this spring was an aerator. Not the big hoss one that you push, but the kind that you push into the ground by hand and it pull up 2 plugs at a time. It works quite nicely when you have to watch 4 kids at the same time. Dave also was dethatching the yard and somehow Tom Sawyered the kids into thinking it was fun to pick up the piles of thatch and plugs that Daddy had made. It was so cute to see them piling the plugs into their little wagon and walking around the yard.  They seemed to think it was hilarious to pick up the plugs, as they thought they looked like poopy! But don't take my word for it. Listen to those that there there....

So you already know if you saw the Mudhens entry, that it rained soon afterward. The rest is history. Well, in case you couldn't get enough from the video on that entry, here's actually the first video we took that day.

Yep, I think God just put our family here for the entertainment of others.

God bless,

Amanda

http://four-and-no-more.blogspot.com/

The Best Daddy in the Whole World

Two weeks into our dating relationship, Dave and I found ourselves traveling to different countries.  First, we landed in Switzerland and had lunch, then we were off to Albania. God had put it on our hearts separately to go on a mission trip there over Spring Break. We started the administrative and financial balls rolling months before, then somewhere in the middle of it all, we admitted we liked each other. I should have known after that first month that dating this guy would lead to extraordinary adventures.

Finding yourself in a foreign country during a new relationship is stressful, and I don't actually recommend it. But it did allow us to observe how the other one reacted in situations that you wouldn't otherwise find yourself in, and introducing your new boyfriend to your parents long before you normally would.

One thing I will never forget about that trip to Albania was our walks from the Pollotties (apartments) where we stayed to our daily meeting place. On the way there, we would always see kids along the way. Dave would just light up when he saw them. He would do a little dance with them and learned the phrase Chi Kae Mae (which meant what's happening!?), so he could speak to them. One girl in particular formed a special relationship with him, and I think he gave her more candy than any of the other kids. We always knew where he had been as he left a trail of Milk Duds, which some of the kids had never seen before and inspected before they ate.

One of the things I was looking for in a man that I might marry, was someone who was good with kids. After watching him in Albania, Dave passed that test with flying colors. Since then, he has actually turned out to be far more wonderful father I had imagined he would be. I don't think I could have picked a better Daddy for my kids.

Those of you who know us or have been following our blog know that the last few years have been rough for us. But what I don't think most people stop to realize is that most of the burden to get through those rough times fell on Dave. Not that he wants your pity or even needs a pat on the back. But I think he deserves to get credit for all of the hard work that he has done.

When I first went on bed rest while I was pregnant with the triplets, Dave was actually visiting his parents with Alyssa and van shopping. When they got home, instead of enjoying his Spring Break, he scrambled to find help for watching Alyssa. His work had approved for him to take the last month of school off, but that still left a few weeks to fill. Friends were so gracious to help us out, and Dave packed up Alyssa and carted her around every day for those couple of weeks. Every time I went into the hospital for contractions or the delivery, he found help to watch Alyssa so that he could be with me as well.

When I was drinking over 200 ounces of water a day, Dave was the one who ran up and down the stairs to fill my jug. It was Dave who went downstairs at 10pm to fix me country fried steak and mashed potatoes when my appetite came back after I had pneumonia. And it was Dave who would get up at 3am and get all the supplies to refill my terbutaline pump or move the catheter to another place in my leg, so I wouldn't have more contractions. Taking care of the 5 of us was an exhausting, never-ending ordeal. But he gladly did it, because he loved us so much.

After we brought Lauren, Drew and Jack home, it was a blur of chaos and exhaustion. Before he went back to work, he fed more bottles and changed more diapers than I did. He was also the first to engineer our system of 1 person feeding 3 babies bottles at once. When there was work to be done, he stepped up to the plate and got it done. I can't imagine going through that time without him. There wasn't any job he wasn't willing to do.

 

Fast forward onto SuperBowl Sunday 2007. I was in the ER with chest pains, and two of my blood tests came back indicating I might have a pulmonary embolism (PE). While I had my CT scan done, Dave again rounded up help, so he could come and be with me at the hospital. That isn't easy to do on the spur of the moment when you have 7 month old triplets and a 4 year old, but what more can I say about the phenomenal support we have from family and friends. I was so glad to have him there when I found out I didn't have a PE and I could go home and watch the SuperBowl. But then the doctor told me that they'd found a tumor on my thyroid.................

I honestly think that going through my cancer treatment was the toughest burden that Dave had to bear. Telling him my awful news after the biopsy was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I couldn't even open the door to come into the house, because I knew what a horrible impact this would have on him as well. The night I spent at the hospital after my thyroid was removed turned out to be a horrible experience, but Dave was there again so I didn't have to go through it alone. On Dave's last day of school, instead of celebrating, he started a week of being a single parent to our kids. I stayed with my Dad as the radioactive iodine part of my treatment made me unsafe around the kids. (But contrary to popular belief, I did not glow in the dark!)

I wasn't much of a parent that summer. While they tried to find the right medication to make up for my lack of a thyroid, I was a zombie. I remember taking 4 hour naps to get through the  day, and then going to bed when the kids did. Dave picked up the slack and   never made me feel guilty that I couldn't do more. I was like a car without gas; no matter how hard you push the gas pedal it isn't going anywhere.

 

In God's perfect timing, I was starting to feel better by the time Dave started school in the fall. He turned down coaching that year (which I know he truly loves), so that he could help me out more. He was and always has been so good about giving me breaks from my job. I think going through all of this has made him so compassionate and empathetic about how tough being a parent full-time is.

November came, and I was rear ended in a car accident and injured my back. What were the doctor's orders? Try to get as much help as you can and rest. Dave to the rescue once again! Not only that, but he freed me up for many hours of doctor appointments, Xrays, MRIs and physical therapy sessions as well.

As if that weren't enough, in March the next year, we found out that I had to have surgery again! Not only that, but my recovery would take 6 weeks of not lifting anything over 5 pounds (I couldn't even lift a gallon of milk). So again, Dave shouldered the many responsibilities that come with running our family. I think it was especially tough for him, because he didn't get as many breaks as he was so diligent at giving me. When December rolled around, we found out I had to have yet another surgery to repair some permanent stitches that came out. Dave took it all in stride and didn't even flinch when I was operated on a few days later.

OK, enough of the heavy stuff, but you can see now why I feel justified calling Dave "The Best Daddy in the Whole World".

We are blessed beyond belief to have you in our lives. Happy Father's Day!

In honor of your special day, here's some pictures of the kids sporting your favorite team (including the first baby outfit you bought when I was pregnant with Alyssa).

 

 

 

I love you so much!

Amanda

PS I want to give a shout out to Grandpa and Papo. I haven't forgotten you, and you are fantastic fathers and grandfathers, too! Happy Father's Day!

http://four-and-no-more.blogspot.com/