The Good, The Bad, The New, and the Dead

We’ve had a great fall this year and had a lot of fun with the kids. They have a way of letting you know which events they really like, too, by asking to repeat them over and over again. We have a few such activities that have started to become annual events for us – giving ample opportunity for more adventures to find us.

The GOOD

One of the kids’ favorite events that we have gone to several times is at the hospital where we just got 3 new bellybuttons. Every spring and fall, they have a big FREE carnival, complete with bounce houses, all kinds of wild and domestic animals and free lunch. In the fall they give out free pumpkins, too (unfortunately 2 of the 4 have now disappeared). At the face painting booth, the kids were excited to make their choices. Alyssa requested an iguana and Lauren a flower. The boys got a little more unique with Jack requesting Elmo on his hand (so that he can see it) and Drew asked for a house (complete with a sidewalk, tree, sun and clouds). It was almost worth the hour wait to see that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another highly requested tradition we started last year is a fall hike at a local park. It’s so exciting to go empty-handed now and leave the strollers behind! We went on a beautiful warm day with the leaves showing off their gorgeous colors. Back in the days when I was pregnant with Alyssa, the first shirt I bought her said “Hiker in Training.” Now I feel like we’ve lived up to it a little bit with our new tradition. We had a great time walking around, taking it all in, and nature put on quite a show for us (or we must have just been there at mealtime). We got to see a hawk make several unsuccessful bids to make a squirrel his next meal. We also got very close to another squirrel that was working very very hard to crack open a walnut for its chow.

Also, way back before we started having kids, we started visiting a local pumpkin patch every year (I went there as a young kid, too). Through the years, my Mom, sister and Dad have been able to come with us. This year my Dad joined us. We were able to enjoy our normal routine of taking a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, checking out the log cabin built in the 1850’s, petting the farm animals (and feeding a goat), and sitting in the “Cinderella carriage.” The kids seemed to have the most fun with the straw maze and bales of straw all stacked up for the kids to climb on. The triplets (minus poor allergic Jack) were able to try their first elephant ear this year. The first time we got one for Alyssa there a while back, she said, “Who would want to eat the ear of an elephant?” It was a big hit, though, and the kids had a great time.

THE NEW

This year we also got invited to a fall party at the place of one of my old high school friends. It was fun to see people I haven’t talked to in 20 year (where does the time go!?) and watch our kids play together. We also got to go on a hayride there and eat some good chow. But I think the highlight for us was seeing our first ever pumpkin cannon. Here’s a video for you to the “Punkin Chunkin” in action for yourself.

THE BAD AND THE DEAD

Some of you may remember this post about the annual field trip the preschool takes to the apple orchard. I don’t know what it is about that place, but I’m beginning to think all the preschool field trips there are cursed (good thing this year was the last one!). We were running a couple minutes late to leave the house and ut oh, the van door didn’t open. The battery was dead. In the garage. Someone had left the lights on. Poor Dave got a panicked call in the middle of a class he was teaching, asking him how to get the van into neutral. Long story short, my awesome neighbors rescued me. We never did get the van in neutral (and I even had to borrow one of my kids’ flashlights, because the batteries in mine were all dead, too!). We had to take a shelf off the wall just to pop the hood. The other side of the garage was full of all kinds of stuff we had to move out of the way to get my neighbor's truck in the garage. Our batteries were on opposite sides, so we strung 2 sets up jumper cables together. But we did get to our field trip – just in time for the trio’s class to get off the hay wagon and end the field trip. <sigh> So, I let the kids play on the playground for a bit to make up for it. Despite being told not to, they ended up stealing some apples off a nearby tree and 2 of them chomped away. When I told them we had to apologize to the cashier and pay for them, I immediately got tears from the nonconvicted thieves. Secretly, I was glad to see their repentant hearts, but I felt for them, as I remember well that pit in your stomach when you have to make amends. One kid told me he was afraid that the police would be called and haul them away. But, eventually, we made things right again and I bought some goodies for the neighbors that rescued me earlier. Always an adventure when we are around!

I have a ton of pictures from all of these events that I was going to put in a slideshow, but, let’s face it, I’m not going to get to it. I still have stuff from this summer I want to blog about like visits from family, the boys’ new room, the basement finally got finished (a YEAR ago), swim lessons, the big birthday party… Someday……

Hope you are enjoying what’s left of the fall and getting done the most important things – spending time with family.

God bless,

Amanda

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

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

Happy Birthday, America!

Did you get to see great things this 4th of July?

We had a great time! We started with a cookout at my Dad’s, complete with popsicles and dressing up.

Then we watched fireworks with some friends from church. This was the triplets’ first time to see fireworks.

Lauren kept pointing out every single one that was purple (my favorite color). Drew said things like “This is the best thing I ever saw!” and “It’s magical.” Alyssa, the veteran, even exclaimed “This is better than I thought it would be.” Later, she grabbed Drew and hugged him and said, “This is the best night ever!” Meanwhile, Jack calmly sat in his chair, watching his siblings jump around all excited. When I asked him if he liked the fireworks, he calmly nodded yes and took it all in.

The next day, we continued our tradition of going to a local parade with some more great friends from church. There were lots of loud noises….

lots of candy…

and lots of love  - for our family, friends and fantastic nation.

We also stood and applauded for all the veterans in the parade – as appreciation for them making it possible for us to enjoy all this.

(We also had lots of laughs together; Dave especially enjoyed heckling his former students that were in the parade.)

How did we end our holiday weekend? Back at our church, actually, where more friends from church showed up unexpectedly. We stretched out and watched the local show there, since the night before was such a big hit.

Unfortunately, that’s where the fairytale ends, as we got the kids to bed 2 hours late again. We are paying now for all the lost sleep, but it was worth it. After all, how often do you get to see sights like these?

Hope you had a great 4th of July. We sure did and the kids are already asking when they get to go to the parade again and see fireworks.

God bless the greatest country on earth!

God bless,

Amanda

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

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you had a great holiday. We did here. It gets more fun every year as the kids get into the holidays and enjoy our traditions more and more.

This year we started out the season with decorating the house. The kids loved getting out their baskets that Grammy got for them and have been playing with them ever since (it’s going to be tough to put them away). Grandma and Papo came for a visit, and continued their tradition of dying eggs and buying new outfits for Easter day.

Last weekend, we went to an Easter egg hunt at a local park. It was crazy! There were at least 500 people there. They split up the kids by age and put half on each side. They threw a bunch of eggs all over an open field and set the kids all off to meet in the middle. It was a 2 minute hunt, but afterwards the kids got to have their pictures taken with the Easter bunny. Alyssa also ended up having her picture in the newspaper, too! Here’s a quick glimpse of the madness. (I found out today our camera has a wind filter, so next time it will be better, I promise!)

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

To get ready for the big day this weekend, the kids picked daffodils and placed them in a vase for a centerpiece. I had planned to make cupcakes with the kids on Saturday. But alas, there had to be a complication, right? Alyssa was sick and had to be checked out. She has strep throat again.

Sunday morning, Dave made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, we read about the true meaning of Easter, and then the kids found their Easter baskets, which were hidden in the basement. They were also excited to wear their new outfits for church. That made it picture taking time and we let Alyssa dress up, too, so she wouldn’t feel left out. Once everyone else left for church, she helped me make the cupcakes and frosting. She was quite the little helper in the kitchen. The math she is learning in kindergarten came in handy, too!

When the rest of our crew returned home from church, something was amiss. It turns out Lauren thought it would be a good idea to write all over her hands and through the hole over the knee in her new tights. She got a new flower pen in her Easter basket, so why not, right? And guess where some of the ink ended up? Yep, on her brand new dress. Lucky for me, my mom is the Stainmaster of laundry. I put in an SOS call, Mom did some research, and blotting with rubbing alcohol did the trick and saved the day. She was quite remorseful when she was caught, though.

This was one of many glitches and distractions that happened throughout out the day that lead to some last minute changes to simplify the menu. It also cut into the cute bunny cupcake project (adapted from this idea from All You Magazine) I thought I was going to do with the kids. I ended up doing most of it, due to time constraints, but each kid seemed happy with decorating the face of their own bunny (and later eating it after dinner).

In the afternoon, the kids also got to play some baseball, and we had a much longer Easter egg hunt in our backyard. See if you can figure out from the video why the girls ended up with twice as many eggs as the boys).

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

Then we enjoyed a simple, yet traditional ham dinner. I think that everyone came had a really good time and we did, too! We were blessed to share the day with my parents and some friends from church.

But more than having a good time, I want to celebrate what this holiday means. We truly believe that if Jesus hadn’t defeated death, to pay for our mistakes, there is no way we could go to Heaven. Isn’t that amazing? Please know, that it is my prayer for each and every one of you to see Easter as the celebration of our ticket to eternal life in Heaven. I feel with all my heart, there is no greater decision for you to make than what you believe about Jesus. If you want to talk to me or ask questions, please know that I am here for you. I want you all to be with me in Heaven someday, and I’ll do whatever I can to bring you with me!

I’ll close with another little slideshow of our Easter festivities highlights. I hope you enjoy it. I am so grateful that we are so truly blessed.

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

God bless,

Amanda

Go West, Young Man (Part II)

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

Favorite Quotes

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

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

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

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

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

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

Things We Learned

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

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

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

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

God bless,

Amanda

Go West, Young Man (Part I)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God bless,

Amanda

Girls’ Room, Part II

So much to blog about. So little time! With a new year comes new resolution to get caught up on some blogging. Hopefully my intentions will come to fruition. It’s actually a good thing that I am so behind, because I have been enjoying life so much that I haven’t had time!

I decided to start with the girls’ room, because we are just about ready to start on the boys’ room! So it’s definitely time! To read Part I about the girls’ room, click here.

We did finally get the girls moved into their new room, back in July. They absolutely love it! Sometimes they don’t even let their brothers in. Believe it not, we still have some things to finish up, like flower boxes on their playhouse, and my Dad has offered to build them a little shelf for their books. But here it is during move in time.

We weren’t able to get the beds to fit the way that we originally planned. (I know you are shocked to hear that our plans didn’t turn out again!) Those of you who are really observant may notice that we have a different ladder, too. My Dad kindly made a new one for us as the original one went into the doorway. My Mom got the princess canopy and flower lamp for the girls. I think they just make the room! And the dresser used to be Dave’s when he was a kid. It fits perfectly, don’t you think! Papo and Grandma are so proud to see their granddaughters getting good use out of it!

Lauren couldn’t have been happier about finally being in a big girl bed like her sister. She originally refused to have a bed rail put on her bed. That very night I tried to put it up, she fell out of bed and ending up sleeping in the playhouse. But now she has outgrown it and sleeps like a big girl without it (or any diapers, too!) I also love that I can come in and kiss her cheek at night, too.

Alyssa is thrilled with her bed and all the high storage she has for her treasures. At first, the ladder was too steep for her siblings to climb up, but all good things must come to an end. There have been a couple incidents where little brothers have sneaked up there while she was at kindergarten. Anger ensued. But she has found ways to make lemons out of lemonade and now puts stickers over the marks the vandals have put on the ceiling above her bed.

There are other times, though, when the girls are feeling really generous. They let the boys come in, crank up the Doodlebops, and share their bed for a little party! I love watching them all have a good time and enjoying their new space.

It was a lot of hard work, but so worth it now!

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?

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