I’ll Take 3 New Bellybuttons, Please

At Lauren, Drew and Jack’s last checkup, we discussed with the pediatrician the umbilical hernia that each of them had. We had been taking a wait and see approach over the last few years, but at this point the waiting period was up. At the 4 year point, they no longer had a chance to heal up on their own. He left it up to us when we wanted to pursue the “s” word. But, since we’ve already met the out-of-pocket maximum for our medical insurance (thanks to the kind of year we were having), this year was looking like a pretty good time to us. We decided to at least meet with the surgeon and get more information before we decided, though.

When I first told the kids that I was taking them to visit a doctor who was going to look at their bellybuttons, they all giggled. They thought it was the funniest thing that I would take them to someone to look at their bellybutton! But, then they started to figure out why their navals would need to be looked at, and they started to get concerned. Despite that, the first visit with the surgeon went pretty well, aside from Drew telling him repeatedly that he didn’t want a new bellybutton. The surgeon confirmed that all 3 of our kids having umbilical hernias probably was due to them being born prematurely. However, we were still the first set of triplets he had operated on for this. (Sadly, this isn’t the first time our family has created a first for a doctor.) But he did say their hernias weren’t that big and we could wait if we so desired, but confirmed they would not improve with time. There was a small chance they could cause them pain later, but most likely they wouldn’t get worse. He also told us to consider the reaction of other kids who might make fun of them for their large outties. So we talked about the pros and cons and wondered what we would like our parents to do if we were them. We decided to get it over with rather than wait for an unlikely but potential emergency, especially since it would only get harder for them to take a weekend off as they get older and involved in more activities. What sealed it for me was the night when Drew told me that he had pain around his bellybutton. His hernia was the largest, and I sure didn’t like to see my kiddo in pain if we could get it fixed!

We scheduled the surgery ASAP, to avoid all the rescheduling and added misery that would inevitably happen once cold season was in full swing. So our weekend of fun began on Sept 3rd (guess not many people wanted to deal with surgery during Labor Day weekend). Earlier in the week, I did some preregistration over the phone. When they found out we had recently had a Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease epidemic in our house, they wanted to reschedule. After some pleading on my part that they weren’t contagious anymore and this would cause some huge problems for our family, they finally consented to go ahead. But every sniffle from then on freaked me out, and I was scared that we would have to reschedule again after I begged them to go on! We even kept the kids inside the day before their surgery, just to keep their allergies at bay.

Two days before the surgery, I took the trio on a tour of the hospital for them to see where they would be and ask any questions. I waited until just before then to break the news that the were having surgery, to hopefully avoid any unnecessary anxiety. They were a little crazy, though, running everywhere during the tour. I hoped it was just nervous energy and not how they would act for the big day. Our tour guide was so helpful and assured Drew that he had a very nice surgeon. Drew responded with, “Is he nicer than God?” Overall, the kids took the news of their impending bellybutton fixes pretty well. Once they saw the toys they would get to play with at the hospital, and I promised them no shots (they knock them out and then put in the IVs), it was no big deal. I have to say that I was glad to hear about no needles, too. I had a surgery when I was 5 and was literally traumatized by needles for the next 20 years (until I went through fertility treatments and had to get over it)! My family can heartily verify this and are probably laughing as they read this. Another thing I learned from the tour was that each kid got to take 2 things into surgery with them, like teddy bears. That helped ease some anxiety, too.

Every day after that, the kids asked me if they were supposed to eat breakfast (they were a little confused on the timing), but otherwise, they didn’t talk about the surgery too much. The morning of the surgery went pretty smoothly and Lauren, Drew and Jack did better than I expected with the whole not eating part. Alyssa was a good big sister and ate breakfast when they weren’t around. She seemed to do pretty well with everything, too, and her only concern was that their new bellybuttons would be scary looking. But she seemed happy enough to go off to school for her normal routine and have her chicken nuggets for lunch. So, we were glad that she was in good hands, and as the bus pulled away, Drew and I headed off to the hospital (he was first in line). 

After dragging a very impatient kid through registration, we were soon in our to our pre-op room. Then Drew told me very sadly that he missed his family. But soon enough, there were 5 of us in our little room and it was back to chaotic instead of quiet. The kids had to do some preliminary prep work and change into scrubs. Drew especially didn’t want to put his on (maybe because they were peach?), but we assured him he looked like he worked at the hospital and we called him Dr. Drew. While the nurse was checking his siblings’ vitals, Dr. Drew took his title very seriously and coached his siblings through how to take deep breaths to make their pulse ox readings go up to 100% (When you are four years old, 100 is the coolest number ever!)

Things were going pretty smoothly until a fight erupted while the surgeon was having us sign papers and 2 nurses were taking vital signs and updating charts. Dave had to break up the shoving match, and the surgeon just looked at me, grinned, and shook his head. Other than that, the kids did fine with all the waiting and didn’t seem too nervous. We passed the time with lots of toys, cartoons and coloring. There was also a nurse there to help ease anxiety and make us comfortable. She was so helpful, and brought all the kids their own masks to get used to what would happen in the operating room (they wheeled them in, put the mask on and knocked them out with gas). They also got to pick a flavor of chapstick to put around the mask to make it smell good. This was a huge decision for them, but I really think it made them feel more comfortable and more importantly gave them control over something. Another really thoughtful nurse got a mask and chapstick for Alyssa, too. So we are well equipped to play hospital now, especially with all the gloves, masks, gauze and surgeons hats they sent home from the tour.

When it was time for Drew to get on the bed to take his ride to surgery, he said “I’m going to be really scared.”  He snuggled his teddy bear tightly, but was soon distracted him when we told him his bed was like a race car. I walked down the hall to the operating room with him, but it was really hard to hug him goodbye. But, since he wasn’t crying or scared that helped me. The nurses said he did really well after I left, too.

After that, Jack and Lauren seemed to have fun playing with the new toys all by themselves. At one point, a nurse stopped by and told us she just loved hearing our kids in the hallway. She said they sounded like happy chipmunks with their little voices. The surgeon came out and told us that Drew did great and soon it was Jack’s turn. The nurse told me later that they didn’t think he could do any better than Drew, but he did. He cracked everyone up by the way he held his mask on during the whole trip down the hall and didn’t remove it until he was asleep from the gas, too.

After that, it was kind of a crazy circus keeping track of everyone. Lauren was about ready to go into surgery (but happily singing “Life is A Highway”, playing with toys and watching Toy Story by herself). Then they told me that Drew needed me in recovery. When I got there, he was groggy and crying and in pain. Since he can’t have morphine (due to a bad reaction to a similar medicine), they were having trouble finding something else to control his pain. I felt so badly for him because I’ve experienced the same thing, and then he freaked a little when he saw a syringe coming towards his IV (he thought I broke my promise of no shots!). He also wasn’t too happy about the splint on his arm to protect the IV and pulse oximeter, but one of the nurses eventually talked him into leaving it alone. But the 2nd dose of pain medicine did the trick and he slept some more and was fine.

Jack came out soon after that and was put in the bay straight across from Drew (it was cute to watch them later waving to each other). Most parents don’t see their kids before they wake up, but I got to since I was already there for Drew. It was tough to see him so awkwardly unconscious. Whereas Drew woke up right away, Jack slept 45 minutes and woke up a little too wide eyed from the meds, but otherwise chipper. The nurse was very amused by him using words like actually all the time and the way he scarfed down 2 popsicles right away. It was hard to sit there and watch the nurse do her job while I waited my turn, and I couldn’t wait to give him a hug. But at least Dave was in recovery with me at that point to watch our boys sleep.

Lauren came out then and was placed next to Drew, but slept for a while in a position that couldn’t have been comfortable. Drew was asking where she was later and was comforted to know she was right next to him. They told us that she did even better than boys at being in the OR and she chatted away even when they put the mask on her. She told them all about her bed at home and the playhouse in her room and the Barbie house inside. They finally had to get started so they just gassed her out as she talked. She slept peacefully for a while after surgery, too. When she woke up and too full advantage of the offer eat some pudding (breakfast of champions, huh?). It’s amazing how little you say no to your kids on the day that they have surgery.

About that time, Drew’s pain started to break through again as he moved around to get dressed. His IV had already been taken out, and they had to call the anesthesiologist back. Fortunately, the ibuprofen they gave him worked after 10 minutes (especially for the sake of the other patients right there). I was so glad that we got to have the grandparents back in recovery to help with kids at that point. (Hospital policy is to only have one adult per child in recovery, but they gave us the rock star treatment and accommodated us once again.) It was getting a little chaotic with kids getting IVs out, getting dressed, filling snack orders, visits to the Treasure Chest and Jack bopping around talking to everyone (he was discharged before Drew’s pain took off).

Once Jack took his wagon ride out of there, it was soon time for Lauren and Drew to be discharged all at once. Before we left, one nurse told us it was a very exciting day for them as well to have the triplets there. We were so grateful for all the wonderful care they gave to our entire family, and all that they did to make it as positive of an experience as possible. Drew said several times after we left how he missed all the fun that he had at the hospital (and he’s the one that was in pain)!

We got home about 45 minutes before Alyssa got off the bus. Once she got home, it was almost like things were back to normal. Lauren didn’t understand why she couldn’t ride her scooter after having a fresh incision before she even entered the house. Kids were chattering. Fights were breaking out. New works of art were being created. And the house was full of exhausted adults who didn’t realize how emotionally exhausting the day would be. But being home just made life seem normal again. We even were blessed with a good night sleep the first night, when we were sure someone would wake up needing pain medicine.

Our only challenge now is to get the kids not to touch their bellybuttons too much. They love to lift their shirts up and say, “Do you want to see my bellybutton?” That will make the kids at preschool run out of there like they are in a horror movie! The day after his surgery, Jack told me that his bellybutton was getting coo-ul. But they are doing great now. We are off all pain medicine and all the bruising is gone. We are just waiting for the incisions to heal up all the way.

It could have turned out so differently and so many other things could have gone wrong. We are so grateful to those who prayed for our family and to God for protecting our babies. Even though I was hoping during this first post about bellybuttons that the hernias would heal up without surgery, God provided every step of the way from finances to wonderful help and support. Our lives are truly full of blessings and we are so very thankful for that.

 

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

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

A Day to Remember

Yesterday was quite a day at our house. First, Alyssa started things off by being the special helper of the day at school. She was pretty pumped and couldn't wait to hop on the bus and go fulfill her duties.

Then, the other 4 of us were off to our last Bible study meeting of the year. Every year, they do a cute Christmas program with the kids on the last day. So, we practiced the songs on the drive there, and they seemed to be looking forward to the big show. The teachers dress all the kids up like angels, by giving them tinsel halos and putting on men's white dress shirts backwards. It looks so cute! They did pretty well and didn't seem to be nervous at all for their big stage debut.

They sang 4 songs. I hope you don't mind me sharing videos of all of them, but there is so much to watch in each one, I couldn't narrow it down!

First up is "Happy Christmas Time." I love watching Jack do his motions for the song in this one. The kids look confused halfway through, because the parents started clapping before the song was over. You can also hear all the cameras clicking around me.

Next up is: "Go Tell It On the Mountain". See if you can tell from this clip which of the triplets was the squirmiest in the womb. I love the look on Drew's face, too.

Then they sang "My God is So Great." I love to watch Lauren on this video. She is so emphatic with her pointing.

And they finished with the tradition of singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. My favorite part is watching them bow and clap at the end.

And as if that wasn't excitement enough for the day, Alyssa was finally ready to give her first tooth to the Tooth Fairy. So she wrote a note, got a note back, money changed hands, and everyone was happy. OK, I was pretty worn out by then, but all in a day's work, right?

God bless,

Amanda

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

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 Mudhens

A few days ago, Alyssa ran up to me and said, "Mommy, you have to come see what the babies are doing. It's terrible." I looked in the backyard, and by then, the damage had been done. So what did we do? We grabbed our camera, of course. I'll let this video show you what happened that day. It's all fun and games until someone gets mud in the eye.

 

Here's a few pictures for those of you who can't see the video.

Jack looks kind of clean in these pictures, because he was doused with water to get some mud out of his eye. So we stripped them down, and carried them in the house for a bath. After Dave got them all scrubbed down, he proudly announced, "The mudhens are clean." I wish I could say the same for the laundry from that day.

To find out why we had a wagon full of mud, you'll have to wait for "Pick up the Poopy! (Part 2)"

God bless,

Amanda

Photo Shoot

Well, it's that time of year again. Our local photo place offered their spring special of about 1000 pictures for $9.99, so off we went. You can see the pictures from last year by clicking here.

As I was reflecting on what a difference a year makes, I thought you would be amused at the differences as I noticed as I compared and contrasted.

The Appointment

Last Year: I made the appointment weeks in advance. Because I called so early, I was able to nab a first appointment of the day (9am) on a Saturday. This was desirable to minimize the waiting time, and to get the pictures taken while the kids were still fresh - early in the day.

This Year: I called on a Tuesday and said, "What do you have available in the next week?" I was hoping for the next Monday (when Dave was off for Spring Break), but they were closed that Monday. I ended up with a 10:20am Friday appointment, which I didn't think was too bad but would probably involve some waiting. That was the first day Dave was off for Spring Break, so I figured it would be good to get it taken care of early.

The Outfits

Last Year: Grandma and Papo took us shopping and bought the kids Easter clothes weeks before Easter. Alyssa got her pick from 5 different dresses and her choice of shoes, too. Lauren's dress was narrowed down from the most popular of two. We got the boys matching polo dress shirts and filled in the holes for matching khaki pants, navy vests and brown shoes. The end result was that Alyssa had a light blue on her dress, and the boys had light blue shirts. Lauren had a navy blue dress and the boys had navy vests. All were color coordinated. Dave and I weren't going to be in the pictures, so it didn't matter what we were wearing.

This Year: I had been washing the summer clothes that I had gotten from the attic for the kids for about 2 months by now. I figured I would be able to pull something together. I decided that this year it didn't matter if they matched. I was going for the lazier "treat them all like individuals" look. I looked at a couple of dresses that I might wear, but figured what was the point, since I didn't know what the kids were wearing. Dave has ties and shirts in a plethora of colors, so I thought he could whip something together in a hurry.

The Night Before

Last Year: To make sure everything fit perfectly, that week I had carefully tried on each ensemble twice (once before cutting off the tags and again after washing the clothes). That meant the night before the appointment, all that I had left to do were to polish the 2 pairs of hand me down shoes, and steam all of their clothes so they would be wrinkle-free. This took me about 2 hours. Before the kids went to bed, I made sure all of their fingernails were trimmed. I carefully packed a bag of toys and activities for the kids to keep them busy while we waited. I also packed the kids' favorite stuffed animals to use for props and hid them in the van. I also had a diaper bag all stocked and ready to go.

This Year: I went to bed early, figuring I could surely pull something together by 10am. I blamed it on not feeling good, because my doctor had been messing with my thyroid medicine dose. I had done a decent job of keeping up with the laundry for the week, so I figured it would all work out. Fingernails, haircuts, toys and props were the farthest things from my mind.

The Day of the Appointment

Last Year: We had a our perfectly mapped out schedule and knew what the other one was doing. We kept the kids in their pajamas and fed them breakfast. We styled their hair (I made sure Alyssa's had been freshly cut), wiped their faces, and then loaded them all into the van. The clothes came along on hangers, so as not to get wrinkled. With our best efforts, we didn't get there early to get the kids dressed like we had hoped before our appointment, but we did get there on time. We were able to quickly get them dressed and ready while the studio set up. We actually ended up waiting about 15 minutes until they were all ready to take pictures. After all that effort on our part, it was a little frustrating to have delays at the studio mess up my plan!

This Year: I got up a little early and tried to get myself ready, while Dave got the kids up and got them breakfast. When I started looking for outfits, Alyssa was ok with the dress she had worn to the Florida wedding. Jack was also pretty easy, as he wore the shirt and pants that Drew wore last year (Drew is a size bigger) and the tie from the Child Dedication. I wanted Lauren to wear a dress, but nothing in her closet seemed dressy enough, and I couldn't find a shirt to go with Drew's tie that fit well.  So while I was eating my breakfast, I asked Dave if he wouldn't mind if I checked if there was anything in the attic? He looked at me like I was nuts, but conceded as he knew I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't serious about it.

So there I was, and hour before the appointment, digging through boxes. For Drew, I looked through the stuff for the next size up, and I found two white shirts that looked good. For Lauren, I only found one dress that I liked. I knew there wasn't time to wash them, but I figured no one would be able to smell the moth balls in a picture anyway, right? But as I took a closer look, they were stained! I checked their closets one last time and all the boxes again and decided I would rather go with the stained things. In an act of desperation, I got out my trusty Tide 2 Go pen. They were stained really badly on the front, you know the most noticeable part, but the stains on Lauren's dress collar came out immediately. I couldn't believe it! It was like magic. Most of the stains came out of Drew's shirt, but I figured his tie would cover some of it. I have to admit, I almost resorted to one of Dave's tricks that I have teased him about. I actually looked for white out to put on Drew's shirt to cover up the stains, but I couldn't find it it! And instead of steaming their clothes this year, they all got a nice dousing of Downy Wrinkle Releaser.

Then it was on to getting me dressed and completely ready. I went to my closet and prayed that I would find something. One dress stood out that didn't look like it would clash too terribly. For shoes, it was down to the ones that made me look like an old school teacher or some sandals. I chose the sandals. Since I didn't have time to shave, I threw on some pantyhose. It had a runner it. I just hoped my long dress would cover it. I didn't to work on my hair or makeup to make it look as good as I would have liked, but time was up and people look at the kiddos mostly anyway, right? What was I thinking to include us in the pictures, though?

Next, it was onto Schlep's attire. He started showing me red, blue and green shirts. "How about a white shirt?" I asked. "It's in the washer - all wet," he answered. So we went with the green shirt, because all 3 dresses had a little green in it (ok, I admit I don't remember why we picked green). Then he started showing me ties. All of them were from his goofy tie collection, which is quite large since he is a junior high teacher. I asked him if he had any adult ties, and he found one that matched the green shirt pretty well. Then we had to decide if he was going to wear light brown or dark brown pants. Ugh. I thought his clothes would be the easiest!

Then we started trying to get the kiddos dressed. Alyssa's polyester dress was holding onto its wrinkles for some strange reason. She was running around trying to find tights. After digging through the laundry basket and putting aside 4 pairs of winter tights, we finally found some. They were a little baggy around the ankles, but they worked. Lauren and Drew's attic clothes weren't dry yet, so we threw them in the dryer. I wasn't sure what effect heat would have with the Tide 2 Go and Downey Wrinkle Releaser, but I guess we were about to find out. We had the worst time getting Jack's tie opened. It wouldn't fit over his head, and there was no way that I was going to find him new clothes to wear! We eventually got it opened, but couldn't get it adjusted tightly enough on his neck. At this point, we were saying "good enough" a lot. Drew was running around without a shirt on and Lauren kept asking "Where's my dress?" Alyssa came in with white shoes that were totally scuffed up. I told her to go find a baby wipe and try to polish them up. To my surprise it worked! We finally threw on the semi wet clothes, and kept tucking in the  boys' shirts (which we continued to do all morning), and headed downstairs.

Lauren didn't have any spring shoes out yet, so she wore black ones. (Of course, I found a pair that would be perfect later.) Drew wore some scuffed up hand me downs and Jack at least had the shoes that were new for Drew last year. Next, we started spraying down hair to get rid of of all the bed head. I just happened to find a purple barrette that I had just bought to match Lauren's dress. Alyssa needed a haircut, but her hair turned out ok. We decided to go with the curly look for Drew, since it was rainy and humid out. And Jack was in good shape as he had just had his first haircut. It was about this time that I found out Dave thought our appointment was at 10:30am, but it was actually 10 minutes earlier.

We managed to load up in the car pretty quickly. I grabbed the prepacked diaper bag and bag of toys that I had meant to sort through from the basement. I also found a bag of water painting stuff still in the bag from last time we took the kiddos somewhere. Dave's driving would have done Mario Andretti proud, and with the help of hitting all the lights, we made it on time! We laughed the whole way there about how insane our life is. Such a simple thing as taking pictures always seems to turn into a big production.

The girls still had wet hair when we arrived. I thought it would dry in time, but we actually got right in with the photographer. As we got ready to start our photo shoot, I did something I swore I would never do. I wet my finger with spit and wiped something off Drew's face. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

The kids did really well and cooperated much better this year than last. Alyssa even said at one point, "This is fun. I like getting my picture taken!" Our photographer didn't push the white background (they used it last year and it made the kids look all washed out). She didn't even insist on individual shots. She actually listened and focused on a good family shot, which is all we wanted to get for their $10 package. Well, guess what? We ended up liking a lot more of this year's pictures than last and bought more than we thought. But, we are really happy with how they turned out. I guess the moral of the story is not to sweat the small stuff and your pictures will turn out better!

Here's our favorite shot of all 4 kids:

This our favorite family shot(which you will recognize from the side of our web page):

We liked this family shot also:

This is our favorite of the girls:

We loved this one of the boys, too:

Just to give you a taste of what it took to get this shots, I thought that I would show you some of the not-so-good pictures. Keep your eyes open for Alyssa's solution to Drew being shy and not smiling at first.

Enjoy and God bless,

Amanda

 

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

Jekyll & Hyde Day

Yesterday was supposed to be a good day. Really, it was. First of all, I had my check and forms all ready to turn in so that the trio can go to preschool next year TWO days a week (thanks to a multiples discount we can get!) Also, you may have heard, Denny's was giving away free Grand Slam Breakfasts. So I had it all planned out. I was going to drop Alyssa off at preschool, and then take Lauren, Drew and Jack to meet my mom at a Denny's by her house. I thought it would be a great way to break up the winter monotony, and celebrate that Lauren and Drew don't seem to have any food allergies anymore and Jack can at least eat wheat now!

Enter snowstorm. On the way to take Alyssa to preschool (and, of course, we were running really late), we almost slid off road during what is normally a 3 minute drive. So that made Denny's a no go, and I was trying to convince myself that it was better not to eat all those calories anyway.

So then we got home, and as the kids were unloading from the van, I walked out to the mailbox to mail yet another letter about the accident I was in (back in November '07). I think a little angel whispered in my ear, "Keep your keys with you just in case." Yet, even after making this conscious decision - because I have just about seen it all from these kids and don't trust them a bit - I was still surprised at what happened next. Just as I was the farthest from the garage that I was going to get, down went the garage door. I felt like I was moving in slow motion to get back to the door, and by the time I got there, the door was all the way down. Did I mention that there was a bad snowstorm going on at this time? So I kept banging on the door saying, "Hit the button!!!" "Open the door!" I didn't even know who had locked me out (there is power in numbers!), so I couldn't even call a name. I knew I had the keys with me, so I didn't panic too much. But let's just say my Dad calls our house Ft. Knox for a reason - it is a pain to open the front door. But after a few minutes out in the snowy cold, someone had mercy on me and hit the button and opened the door. I didn't think any of my neighbors saw me, but I'm sure they were amused if they did. It seems to be yet another one of those sitcom moments that I seem to find myself in a lot lately. Sometimes I feel badly for our neighbors, because we haven't exactly done the best job of keeping up the house the last few years. But yesterday, I thought at least getting to laugh at us like that makes up for it!

So after that, we all went back in the house and went about our way. I set about cleaning up the breakfast mess, with a slight modification. The kitchen sink was clogged, so I had to rinse the breakfast dishes in the bathroom sink and I used wipes instead of the more environmentally friendly way of scrubbing down the kitchen table. But, at least I knew the plumber was coming after lunch.

Around 11am (an hour before I have to pick up Alyssa at preschool), Lauren lets me know that she has to use the facilities. She is doing so well with the potty training that I usually just let her in and then come back and check on her in a couple of minutes. Well, a couple of minutes later, she runs out to me and says, "Come see what happened." I thought that was a little odd as I had already heard the evidence being flushed away, but I knew I better check it out. She pointed to the toilet, and I thought said, "Look, it's blue." I thought that was strange, as all I saw was clear water. So I just kind of nodded my head. Then she got a little more emphatic and said, "No, it's blue." At least that's what I thought she said. I just played along and said something about the water. Then she got more frustrated and practically stuck her head in it trying to show me something. At this point, I noticed a toy on the counter that I hadn't noticed her bring in to the bathroom. I feared the worst. So I took a step back and sure enough, there was a screw from the "Build and Play" toy that she brought in there. She wasn't saying blue, she was saying screw!

Up until this point, I thought I did a pretty good job of handling all the curve balls and stress that had been thrown my way. But dealing with toilets like that completely grosses me out. I have cleaned up all kinds of messes since becoming a parent, but I don't do any kind of work with toilets (or clogs for that matter). Then I think I panicked a little bit. I was trying to think of a way to retrieve the screw using disposable tools, but I was drawing a complete blank. I think by then I also needed some adult conversation, too. Since Schlep was in class, I couldn't call him. So I decided to see if my old labmate would pick up the phone; he was always good with problem solving and engineering dilemmas. Luckily, he answered and helped me accept that I was just going to have to use a kitchen utensil that I could "take one for the team". Luckily, there was a pair of tongs in the drawer that were rusting and I had a dishwashing glove. So while I had some moral support on the phone, I plucked out the screw and threw away the sacrificial glove and tongs. Mission accomplished. (That was lucky for Schlep, as Plan B was to close off the bathroom until he got home to do the retrieving.)

I would also like to stop at this time and thank my friends on Facebook who offered me support and suggestions. I thought using a bread bag was an especially good idea. But best of all, it was good to know that someone was out there who cared. Thank you. Thank you very much!

At this point, I was thinking about how the day wasn't even halfway over and I wasn't sure if I could take whatever else it might bring. My imagination was running wild with what the plumber might find in the kitchen sink. At least I was too busy to dwell on it for very long.

I went to pick up Alyssa from preschool, and a friend offered to watch the kids in the van so I didn't have to unload them. That is such a huge hassle, especially on days with snowstorms, so I thought to myself that things were starting to look up. There was only one problem - I had let one of the other kids sit in Alyssa's carseat. She lost it! We had a lovely drive home. Sounds emerged from her "new" carseat that resembled an animal with a paw caught in a trap and provided the entertainment for the entire ride home.

Next, it was time to fix lunch and I really had it in for the environment and resorted to paper plates. It was really nice to have such a simple clean up! We finished just in time for the plumber to arrive while I was getting the kiddos ready for naptime. Well, 3 hours and $178 later, the sink was fixed. It turns out that the idiots who installed the pipes in the basement didn't brace them correctly, and they had a nice curve in them instead of being straight. So that is fixed now, too, and hopefully, our pipes won't get gunked up again. I'm not holding my breath, though.

During this time, I also called to check on the status of our the loan to refinance our house. I have heard of several stories where it has fallen through, because the appraisal came back too low. We had expected to hear something earlier, so I thought it might be bad news. At this point I figured I might as well get it all out of the way today. Well, it turns out that our appraisal came out great - even higher than expected. We should know in the next couple of days if everything went through, and then we can start getting estimates on getting our basement done. Yeah! Talk about my day taking a turn for the better.

So after that, things went pretty smoothly. We had fun playing golf on the Wii with the kiddos. It is hilarious to see how they swing. Or at least try to swing. We have to work our on putting a lot, though (especially before Uncle Mo comes for a visit). I am beginning to think the kids keep overshooting the hole on purpose, so they can get another turn, though.

The day ended well, especially when my husband gave me the night off. When I got home he had even vacuumed and mopped the floor! What a man! It just goes to show you that no matter how badly your day is going, it can always end well. And if not, you always get a fresh start to try it again tomorrow.

God bless,

Amanda

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