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

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

Make the Call

We have some exciting news. Guess what happened at our house this week?

Yep, that's right. Alyssa lost her first tooth! Being 5 brings lots of milestones, doesn't it?

It's been loose for a while, and I thought for sure it would fall out on Thanksgiving. But a few days later, Dave helped the process along, as you can see. She was so excited to go to school and get a sticker and write down when she lost her tooth. It's a big deal, when you are a big, bad kindergartener, you know.

Alyssa told us she wants to wait a few days before the Tooth Fairy comes, because she wants to keep her tooth. We told her the Tooth Fairy would probably leave it, if Alyssa asked for it in a note.  She's worried that the note won't be found, though! So we are still waiting for Alyssa to tell us to "make the call."

So until then, here's where her treasured tooth resides. Aunt Jill got this for Alyssa years ago, and I was frightened at the prospect of finding it. Turns out, Alyssa knew exactly where it was and pulled it out seconds after her tooth was free!

As if seeing my eldest having a toothless grin isn't enough, there are all kinds of other changes going on here! We've been moving lots of furniture around (that which we didn't break, anyway), teaching kids how to sort laundry (they appear to be colorblind so far), and getting rid of all of the booster seats (guess how many times a meal I have to say, "sit down"?), and sometimes little people use the facilities without any help at all! Most importantly, I am proud to say that today is the first day that no one had an accident! No more diapers here during the day and we are making progress at night. (In case you are wondering, we are planning an exotic family cruise with all the diaper money we will soon be saving.) Just more evidence that they are growing up fast, huh?

We hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving (we did!) and that you are enjoying the fun happenings of the holiday season.

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

Reminiscing Summer

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

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

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

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

God bless,

Amanda

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

Pick up the Poopy (Part II)

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

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

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

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

God bless,

Amanda

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

The 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

Aunt Jill & Uncle Mo Visit

Those of you who have been following me on Twitter, know that Aunt Jill and Uncle Mo came for a visit a few weeks ago. We haven't seen them since Christmas of 2007! We had a great visit, and I have been trying to figure out how I want to capture it on the blog. I thought to myself, would it be mean to post pictures of people who had just been flying for over half a day or had just run 13 miles? I hope not. I think they look great, anyway. Hopefully, everyone will be ok with the slideshow I put together, as this is pretty much the pictures I have. Most of the visit, I took some time to relax and enjoy myself instead of being the photographer.

We had a busy long weekend together, which started off with the kids making signs for greeting our guests at the airport. They really enjoyed it, and it was great to kill an hour or so, while we anxiously awaited their arrival. After our happy reunion, we had a great dinner at a family favorite Italian restaurant (thanks, Dad!). We had the sunroom on the side all to ourselves, which worked out perfectly. The kids seem to really enjoy their spaghetti (messy but kept them busy), and the adults got to catch up.

The next day was pretty relaxed. Lots of errands were run, and we stayed inside a lot as it was a drizzly day. Alyssa was excited to skip her nap and get to run errands with Aunt Jill, though. She loved her neon orange nail polish that she got as a treat for being so good during the outing, too.

That brought us to Saturday, when we all got up bright and early for the big races. Dave did the 5K and Jill and Mo completed the half marathon. Since I missed Dave finishing his last 5K by about 2 minutes, I was bound and determined not to miss this one. The kids and I were out the door by 7:30am - a new family record! The choo choo was invaluable to get the kids there and occupied while we waited to see Dave finish his race first. It was also a very odd feeling as several total strangers took pictures of the kids in the choo choo. We actually did get to see Dave as he finished, although the picture isn't so great (look for the guy in the red shirt on the right side of the street). Then met up with Dave and our friend Scott, who also finished the race. It was so nice to have help, too! We had a little bit of lag time to kill, but ended up seeing Aunt Jill finish, too. (We feel badly that we missed Uncle Mo in the crowd.) Here are my spectacular pictures of her finishing. (She is the one with the black shorts and the green shirt.)

Yep, that's what happens when you have a new camera and don't know how to take pictures with it. I think you can see about 1/5 of her body behind the guy in the brown shirt.

After some rest and relaxation, we went out to dinner that night for my Mom's birthday. I don't know how long it's been since she has gotten to celebrate with both of her kids. We had a nice time, especially with the added entertainment of the high school kids there for Prom. Alyssa picked out her favorite dress, and the boys thought one girl with most of her back exposed was "naked baby." (That's what we say when we strip the kids down for bath time.)

Sunday night, my mom hosted an awesome Open House for Jill and Mo. She went all out on the Hawaiian theme, and everyone had a great time. I thought I would take tons of pictures there, but instead I enjoyed getting caught up with old friends. After the party was over, though, we took some good family shots and some goofy ones as well. I think those pictures turned out to be the last ones of Huxley, too.

So here's the slideshow that I put together to commemorate the event. Even though the pictures are of more than just my sister, I just had to use this song. Jill sent it to me out of the blue one day, and it made me cry my eyes out. It's ironic that it is sung by Reba McEntire, too. One summer during college, my sister and I both worked at Bob Evans. Every Thursday, a group of guys would come in and say, "Hey Reba, how are you doing?" because they swore I looked just like her. I don't see it, though. One other thing before I stop babbling about the slideshow - keep your eyes open for the modern day American Gothic snapshots and enjoy the vintage ones of my and my sister at the end. Enjoy!

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/

Have Wheels - Will Travel

We would like to introduce you to two new additions to our family. (Nope - not the human kind; you need to reread the title of this blog if you are thinking that!)

The first one is called a Choo Choo Wagon. These babies are no longer in production, so you can only buy them used, and they are hard to find! I was fortunate enough to get one through a member of our triplets group. I guess you could say that it's an investment piece now. Another friend with triplets saw one of these on eBay for $700 more than we paid for ours! (Honestly, I think we'll just be happy to get what we paid back out of it. Plus I promised to keep it in our triplets group.)

Those of you faithful blog readers may remember from almost 2 years ago when we hit a fork in the road with strollers. I knew about the Choo Choo back then, but with all my back problems, it just wasn't an option. We are so excited that the Choo Choo has worked out now for us at this stage in our lives. It is the perfect solution to the problems we were having with our Triple Decker stroller, which has gotten us this far. First, it's a place for all 4 kids to ride. Alyssa was frequently feeling left out before. Secondly, if someone wants to get out, it's no big deal, and we don't have to worry about it tipping over like we did with the stroller. Thirdly, since each kid has his own car, there is no more kicking each other in the back. It also opens up all kinds of options that we didn't have before for one parent to get out of the house with all 4 kids (especially for running errands). Needless to say - we love our Choo Choo!

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The second new addition to our family is a Barbie Jeep from some very generous friends from our church. I had no idea that Alyssa even wanted one, but she told me after we got it that she had really wanted one. She was so excited to have one of her own after seeing another kid with one. I wish we had our camera when we first got it, because it was hilarious to watch Alyssa try to drive it while running into things in the backyard. (I'm sure our neighbors got sick of hearing us yell "Stop!") It also made me very, very frightened for when she turns 16!!! But after she got the kinks worked out, she has gotten pretty good at driving it. She loves to drive her siblings around, too. One afternoon during naptime for the little kids, she and I were out in the backyard. After a while she asked me to wake her siblings up because she was lonely. I think she missed having a passenger. The triplets have been relegated to passenger status only, since they don't understand the concept of a steering wheel.

 

It is so cute to watch the kids go cruising around the backyard in their new wheels. The Jeep is really fun, too, as it has a toy phone and it can even go in reverse  when they get stuck. My favorite feature is how you charge the battery. You have to pop the hood and attach two mini jumper cables that plug into the outlets.

Here's a quick video (courtesy of our new camera - yeah!) of some of the joyriding that takes place in our backyard (with a touch of jealousy thrown in at the end). Enjoy!

God bless,

Amanda

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

Before I Had Kids, I Never..... (Part III)

If you haven't read the previous parts, click here for Part I and here for Part II.

Back by popular demand, here's Part III (I can't seem to stop writing these!)

Before I had kids, I never......

• had someone ask me what I was coloring as I was writing the grocery list.
• realized how little control I really have in life.
• knew that "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the ABC's song have the same melody.
• had a crowd watch me change a diaper.
• knew how long a box of raisins could keep a little kid busy.
• thought I would answer a question with "Because I said so!" (I made it 5 years until I caved in, though.)
• knew how completely amazing it is to feel your child move inside of you.
• had any idea how tired I could get of saying: "Stay away from each other!"
  "Where are your pants?" "Say you're sorry." and "Eat your vegetables."
• knew how tired I could get of hearing: "Mine!" "I do it!" "He pushed me."
• fully appreciated how gracious God was by creating young child that needed naps.
• thought my kids could reach locked drawers from underneath and pull out the pizza cutter.
• feared how powerful my parents curse was "to someday have a child that eats just like me".
• realized that leaving a box of wipes by a toddler is just as dangerous and giving them a box of Kleenex.
• had ballerinas and princesses parading through my kitchen as I cleaned up after a meal.
• thought of getting up at 9am as sleeping in.
• was told how important it was to pull the leg ruffles out on diapers.
• thought of refilling the liquid soap as something fascinating to watch.
• kept a box of Kleenex in my car at all times.
• wiped the nose of a teddy bear.
• saw someone drive a toy stroller up the side of a wall.
• thought I would hear "You're not bleeding - you don't need a BandAid" on a daily basis in my home.
• thought reading the phrase "party pooper" would make my 5-year old laugh for 5 minutes straight.
• had someone ask me to put pepper on their strawberries.
• noticed all the light fixtures and fans and other amazing things on the ceilings of all the places I visit.
• knew how annoyed I would get by little people walking in front of me when I'm in a hurry (and resent them deciding how fast I can walk).
• appreciated how much effort goes into pigtails look like someone older than 5 made them.
• thought about how I will never get sick of watching my kids spontaneously hug and cuddle with each other.

God bless,

Amanda

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

Bye Bye Trash Man

I think every kid loves to look out the window at the trashman at some point in their lives. I remember when it was just Alyssa and I during the day. We would watch out the window together and I would tell her he was taking her stinky pants away. She would cup her hand around her mouth and yell "Thank you!" through the closed window to him.

So here's a little video from last fall of me trying to teach Lauren, Drew and Jack appreciation for this very valuable service for our family.

Lauren, Drew and Jack just love watching the trash man. I must say, that we had two of the best ones around. (I'll get to the had in a minute.) They worked so hard, and always did such a good with whatever mess we left them. And they never left cigarette butts all around the driveway like the previous guys did (not to mention how that company charged less to our new neighbors than us!).

One exciting day, the trash men came came just as Lauren, Drew, Jack and I were unloading from the van, after dropping Alyssa off at preschool. I let them stand at the edge of the garage and watch with their big blue eyes wide open. Our trashman not only did his job with a bunch of people staring at him, but he also ran the empty can up to us, which I thought was so sweet. I told him how much the kids loved watching him, and he told me how he always looked for my kids waving out the window, too. Then he had to run back to his truck, and waved to the kids every chance he got. They waved back as he went around the bend, hanging onto the back of the truck and waving his arm off at the kiddos. I think it made their week. They were so close they could touch him!

But alas, change has come. Our city recently adopted a citywide trash and recycling service. This is good, as our trash bills have gone down, and we now have recycling service included. (It is shameful to see how much we used to throw away. We fill our 65 gallon tub every week now.) I was also so glad that our current trash company won the contract for our city - as you can tell I am very pleased with their service.

But, there was a downside. With having to taking care of the whole cities' needs, 2 guys manually dumping the cans wasn't efficient enough. So we have been assigned the "sideloader" trucks now. Those are the ones that have the big arm that lifts up your toter and dumps it out over the top of the truck.

On the first day of the big change, the kids were fascinated by the big sideloaders coming through right before breakfast. First the trash guy came, then the recycling guy made his rounds. I was hoping one of our two favorite guys would be driving the new trucks, but no such luck. But, then, as the recycling guy was coming through again to take care of the other side of the street, down the road came our two favorite guys! They checked a few cans along the way, but they were already empty. Then our favorite guy came up to the door and told us it was his last week to come to our house. What kind of a trash guy goes to all that trouble?! I wondered if they made a special trip to our neighborhood just to say goodbye. We told them how much the kids really looked forward to seeing them, and he said it was a highlight of his week, too. He also told us how he had a little girl at home watching out her window, too.

So the next week, the trash men came before Lauren, Drew and Jack even got up for the day. We took Alyssa to preschool like we always do, and I brought in the trash cans afterwards. When the little kids realized I was putting away the trash cans, without them witnessing them being emptied, they got very upset. I think in their own way they were trying to tell me that I was doing it wrong - that they couldn't be empty. But ever since then, they seem to have accepted that they don't get to see the trashman anymore. It's probably just as well. The new guys could never replace our favorites.

God bless,

Amanda

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

First Snowmen

Recently, the right combination of snow on the ground, a free schedule, fairly decent health and temperatures warm enough to make snowballs all came together. So, we were able to venture out as a family and let Lauren, Drew and Jackson make their first snowman. We actually made two snowmen, one in the front yard and one in the back. Grandpa dubbed Alyssa's first snowman Herkamur a couple of years ago, so these were named Herkamur II and Herkamur V (because Alyssa is 5 - her logic; not mine).

It always makes me laugh to see the kiddos all bundled  up in their snow gear. First, there are the hats that seem to fall down over their eyes constantly. Then there are  the boots that seem to fall off all the time and make it impossible for them to walk around. Seeing them trying to walk in the snow with all of those encumbrances always makes me think of Ralphie in A Christmas Story who can't put his arms down after his mom bundles him up.

 

It always amuses me, too, when the kids go outside and seem to almost forget the snow is there sometimes. They immediately go for their favorite outdoor toys,  whether it be the swings or the cars. Then after a while they seem to realize that there is snow and they can do new things like riding in a  sled, or climbing mounds of it. That's when the real fun begins!

As it turns out, Dave did most of the work making the snowman. It's not the first time we have been really excited to show the kids something new or teach them a new activity only to find out that we are the only ones excited about it. So I guess that would explain why both our snowmen are sporting the Amish look this year. We didn't put any finishing touches or clothing on them, so they all have blank faces. But it was still fun to say hi to our snowmen every day until they melted away.

The kids seemed to have a good time, until their runny  noses and cold hands and feet get the better of them (the boots they can't help, but the gloves they can keep on!).  It's funny  how they all seem to do their own thing. For the most part, Lauren just seems to stand there as she isn't too excited to be in the snow, but she is the first one in line to ride the sled. Alyssa goes and make snow angels (she keeps her skills sharp throughout the year by making them on the kitchen floor). Jack seems to get his  own little project and loves being outside so much that he cries when we make him come inside. Drew loves any kind of ball, so that includes throwing snowballs at everyone. He can't get enough of that (neither can his Daddy).

But the best part of all is that we finally get out of the house, get some fresh air, and the kids sleep very well that night after making some fun memories out in the cold. You can't beat that for free entertainment, huh?

God bless,

Amanda

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

PS You should see the snow coming down now as I write this!