I'm Outta Here!

Well I did it.

I left ALL of my kids for the first time in two years. I was quite overdue for a break, let me tell you. They were left in the very capable hands of their father, though, so I knew I didn't have to worry a bit and could relax on my special trip out to the land of California! I headed out west for a SISTERSFEST for Clark's side of the family.   Seven of us traveled from all over to meet up and we were only missing one who couldn't make it.  So we had quite the group!

Although flying anywhere on Southwest these days takes triple the amount of time as other airlines, it was nice not to worry or stress about time, delays, seating, etc... I just went with the flow, read my book, and made my way toward the Pacific. I was scooped up from the airport by waiting family and we all made our way to Windsor later that day. After my trip to Idaho with Leah last summer, I learned I needed more warm clothes when traveling during the summer to climates that weren't 107 degrees with 100% humidity everyday. So I was prepared with sweatshirts and pants when I landed in San Francisco.

Because I had been traveling since 2:30am pacific time and eating granola bars and peanuts all day, it was so nice to finally reach our hotel around dinner time, get into pajamas, and eat some delicious pizza, fruit, and rolls. We explored where we were staying, located the fitness room (which was quite the hot spot the next morning), and didn't waste anytime before diving into some fun games.

The course of the weekend was full of some pool time (kind of chilly that particular afternoon which is why we're all covered up...relaxing nonetheless),

Pedicures by Amy during our Downton Abbey marathons,

Loving on Cal, the newest member of the family,

Hot tubbing,

Poolside chats and naps,

Dinner out on the town at a yummy diner,

 

and a Justin Bieber birthday party!  Lucky for me, my birthday happened to fall on our SISTERSFEST weekend.  Clark was probably glad he didn't have to make me a cake.  :)  I woke up on Sunday morning to a fullly Bieberfied hotel room!  Mom woke up in the 5am hour to make sure everything was in place and decorated.  It was awesome and I had a good laugh.  I mean, what grown woman doesn't like Justin Bieber?  We enjoyed Justin's presence that day and had a delicious crockpot birthday meal complete with my favorite, strawberry shortcake, for dessert.  We tried to eat the dessert at the exact time I was born, 7:35pm, but soon realized we had already missed the moment because of the time change.  Dang!  The shortcake was delicious anyway.

I felt totally spoiled and special and even had gifts to open!  All of which were very thoughtful and appreciated.  I felt lucky to be surrounded by such incredible woman who love me despite my current obsessions, likes, dislikes, quirks, etc...  Isn't family great that way? 

 

We spent the whole of my birthday lounging around, hanging by the pool, and talking.  Perfectly my style.  Sadly weekends like that always fly by but I knew after four days Clark was ready to have me home again!  I can't thank Clark enough for giving me a little break to renew and recharge.  He's superdad.  No doubt about it.   Of course the first thing the kids asked me when I went in to get them the next morning was, "where's Dada?"  Apparently my homecoming wasn't all that exciting.

Looks like I may have to leave more often!!   :)

You're Invited!

...to a party that will be 'BUCKETS OF FUN!'  Each attendee will receive their own bucket which will be decorated upon arrival.  At the appointed time, all attendees (I estimated 15-20 two-year-olds) will be let loose in the backyard to fill up their buckets!  There will be a dozen large standing buckets in the backyard full of goodies, balls, cars, toys, etc... ready for the taking.  Whatever fits in the personal bucket can be kept and taken home!

Once the small buckets are full, the big ones empty, and toddlers are tired, we'll call it a day and send everyone home with their fun stuff and a rice krispies in the shape of the number two.

Quick, easy, stress free.  These are our invitation pictures...

Adorable right?  Party prep was coming together nicely.

Until I actually attended several two-year-old parties during these past couple months.  Now...the parties we attended were well organized and put together, food was awesome, and had great turnouts.  But my kids were CARAZY and made it very clear to me that I'm not interested in throwing a party this year.  Up to two months ago, I was set to go since last year we only had a tiny celebration with just us.

BTW, this is ALL personal opinion and not directed at anyone who plans to or who has ever thrown a party for a two year old.  

So back to the part where my kids were CARAZY.  I mean, they were around brand new toys, all of which were way fun, so that contributed to the craziness.  They aren't great at sharing (contrary to what most people believe about multiples) and HATE taking turns.  There was so much toy stealing, toy monopolizing, screaming AND kicking fits, me sweating while I'm trying to navigate all the drama, large toys such as slides being used incorrectly by my trio thus ruining it for the other 17 toddlers, spitting cupcakes out, rubbing frosting ALL over, refusing to participate in organized activities, yelling "no! no! no! no! no!" over and over, me still sweating while holding two kids on my hips while the third takes a turn on whatever toy, etc...  You get the point.

I love my kids.  And I love parties.......for other people.  But I do not love three two-year-olds who act CARAZY during events that have been planned and prepped for, cooked for, and stressed about.  I know I would be super disappointed if I put a ton of time AND not to mention money into a party that I think is awesome while the trio just fought, cried, and whined the whole time over silly things.  Which would inevitably happen.  I'm clearly an optimist.  :)

Oh, I should also mention that our kids are normally NOT defiant, ill-mannered, rude, or physically abusive.  But every two-year-old just has a little bit of CARAZY in them, ours are no exception, and you never know how or when it's going to present itself.  Their CARAZY apparently presents at birthday parties with an intimidating number of toddlers.  Maybe it's just behavior that stems from a defense mechanism.  I don't know.  See...I've tried to justify and figure it out and say that when it's OUR party it will be different.  Then I realized there is a common thread among all this...

THEY ARE TWO...multiplied by three!

My stress tolerance isn't built up enough for hosting a party.  Maybe three years will be better.  Although I may attend some three-year-old parties next summer and have the same feelings.  So after validating my thoughts with some family members, it's been decided that there will be NO party happening.  I'm not sad about it at all either.  Which is funny because, seriously, I was dead set and about to send out invites.  That bucket picture is just too cute not to share though which is why I posted all this useless information about a party that isn't happening.  :)

The bucket pictures will now be their official two-year-old photos and we'll take some on the actual day here in a few weeks of course.  Since we're all in the spirit of buckets, I decided to share a few more bucket pictures.  Who needs a pool when they can sit in big buckets of water?

Fence-front view...

Don't judge me.  I've had to get creative in this summer heat and not surprisingly, they loved the big buckets to have their own personal pools. 

So there is my party saga.  Stay tuned for next year's party.

Maybe.

The Boy Who Cried Bug...

So there is this creepy bug that climbed onto our front window screen a while ago. I don't know what kind of bug it is but apparently it shed it's outer shell, legs and all, and flew away. The outer shell, legs and all, still remain on the outside screen. The kids are obsessed with the bug. They obviously think it's real and don't realize that it hasn't moved in over a month. We don't want to flick it off the screen because I already did that with one shell (don't know why they like to take up residence on that window) and the kids kept asking about the bug for days. Luckily another one appeared. The point is, we talk about bugs a lot now...especially Zachary. Zachary claims to have a bug somewhere on his body at least once a day. The most popular place is his diaper. "diapy, bug, diapy" is what he says so we check his diaper for him and reassure that there are indeed no bugs hanging around in there.

He also claims they are in his hair and this has rubbed off on Caleb.  As a result, they both start rubbing their hair furiously and yelling 'bug!'  Often times during dinner Zachary points and yells 'bug, bug, bug!' and there never is one. I just think he's trying to avoid eating. So the whole bug thing has been overused. I don't look anymore.

Until a few days ago.

Zachary was yelling 'bug' while we were in his room playing with the blocks. I assured him there was no bug on him and all the sudden a GIANT cockroach comes crawling across the carpet! Ew, ew, ew, ew. HATE THEM. So I freak which makes the kids freak and eventually I killed it with the block bucket.

AND THEN...

a few days later Zachary cried 'bug' and he had spotted another cockroach! This time in the living room corner behind the blanket basket. Luckily Clark was here to save the day. Do we have a cockroach problem? Maybe. :) But with Zachary at my heels always keeping his eye out, I never have to worry about one creeping up on me. Looks like we'll have to take his 'bug' spotting seriously from now on.

So besides the creepy creepy bugs, we have another serious problem on our hands...

the HEAT!  What to do with three two year olds in 100-degree weather is always the question of the day.  They aren't quite old enough for arts and crafts or to sit through a movie or to enjoy any activity for more than 30-45 minutes; however, they want to be entertained ALL.DAY.LONG.  On the day Zachary spotted the cockroach in his room, we were actually going through a box in his closet.  My sister (who has six daughters) gave me this box over Thanksgiving with some Halloween costumes she had made over the years.  So we opened it up and there were the cutest dresses in there!  They fit Leah perfectly too.

Now this was the first time she'd ever played dress up.  She took it VERY seriously.  She walked very slow and cautiously, not to ruffle her dress too much.  She didn't move her arms too much and was a very well-mannered princess. 

Then I got her the mirror.  She was in awe of herself.  It was hilarious and so adorable at the same time.  She just stood there and stared at how pretty she looked.  I was dying.  She takes her princessing very seriously.  Princess books at our library are VERY hard to get your hands on so I have a half dozen on request right now to see if she is interested in the world of princesses yet.

Of course the boys had to get in on all the fun.  Again, there were NO boy costumes so we made do with what we had.  I'll be scouring the after-Halloween sales this year for some super heros or animals for the boys.  Zachary certainly has the figure for this dress...

Unfortunately I'm not sure pink is very becoming on Caleb's fair skin. He'll probably look better in a crimson Ironman costume.  :)  He played his princess part well though.  Wore his crown with honor and spent just as much time as Leah in front of the mirror admiring himself.

The kids are rarely clothed by the time dinner rolls around because they play hard and work up a sweat, especially with the humidity here! That makes dinner messes a little less stressful I guess when I don't have to worry about clothes getting stained. Clark wanted them to eat with their summer shades on this night... 

Clark thought it was hilarious for some reason but so did the kids.  Except Zachary...he wouldn't wear them so only Leah and Caleb are pictured.

I'll end with this little gem I caught one morning.  Caleb was heading this up (first time activity ever) and wanted to hold hands with the other two and run up and down the kitchen.  So cute...and weird...but more cute than weird.  :)  These three fight like crazy but this picture is too precious. 

I guess summer isn't so bad after all. 

This Fourth of July...

was H.O.T.

It's not like it's nice in the morning than hot in the afternoon. No. It's 90 degrees by 8:30am. Alas, we decided to brave the city parade anyway. We figured we'd see some fire trucks and cars that would entertain the kids. Before the parade though, we stopped at our church for a flag raising ceremony and pancake breakfast.

So we enjoyed some conversation, got covered in syrup, changed some diapers, and loaded up the choo-choo wagon. We walked along the parade route to find a spot and felt like such a spectacle because people were already seated and they were pointing, laughing, and ahhing. Unfortunately we couldn't walk on the sidewalk out of view because people were blocking it.

The parade was uneventful to say the least. We probably won't do it again because of the heat and the fact that it was majorly boring, even for two year olds. I guess I've just been spoiled with parades where I grew up where the weather is perfect in July and there are dozens of handmade floats. There are dance teams, bands, and cheerleading squads who increase the excitement level a little bit. Parades where you get chocolate milk, dr. pepper, or awesome coupons. Anyway, I digress but basically what I'm saying is the heat wasn't worth it although we're glad we went so that now we know. :)

Our friend took this family picture. Caleb was having a meltdown so he wasn't cooperating but he's there behind Zachary. I think the heat was getting to him and he was just over it.

Leah was having a GREAT time with the tiny flags that had been handed out. She was sure showing off her American pride!

The kids were in heaven when they saw their first fire truck...

We spent the rest of the day napping, playing out in the pool, and making a small trip to Ikea. Oh and I can't forget driving all over to find a Sonic for Clark's happy-hour slushie. The original Sonic we stopped at had a broken slushie machine. Thus began our search. We prevailed though and boy was it worth it! Clark always says, "If I stayed home with the kids, I'd hit up happy hour at Sonic everyday!" :)

A couple days before the fourth we decided to try out a local pool. I've been wanting to do it but needed reinforcement just in case things went south. It's a zero-entry pool that is only about one foot deep in the center and it's in a gated area. Perfect right?

Well the kids were totally freaked about the whole situation. Zachary was VERY apprehensive and was taking the tiniest steps into the water. It seemed he was afraid it was going to drop off at any point. The uncertainty of it all took away the fun for him. He's also a pretty skinny guy and the water was chilly so he was shivering away! Poor thing. Here we are with our buckets. The kids stayed together in this spot for a while. Then Caleb decided to make a move...

 

 Caleb's great in that way. He's pretty adventurous after he warms up to something. He climbed right up the steps of the water structure and watched as all the big kids ran by. He never cried or anything and loved pouring buckets of water all over himself. Leah on the other hand...

As we already know, she's not much of a water baby. She VERY cautious and risk-averse and this particular activity was far beyond her comfort level. She got her toes wet and stayed at the very very edge of the pool while playing with her bucket. Then she found some letters and decided that was more fun anyway. She identified those letters over and over and was having a blast. Whatever girl!

Leah has been a little bugger lately. She doesn't really engage in any of our toys anymore and basically revolves her day around making the boys miserable. She obviously prefers human interaction rather than sitting isolated in a corner to play with something. Even if that interaction comes by her stealing something and getting someone to chase her. She LOVES to get a rise out of her brothers and it drives me crazy. She's so smart and sweet but seriously, she is always up in someone's business looking for a good time. We're not sure what the next step is for her. She is starting to pretend more and sometimes has a good time when I give her some measuring cups to pretend she's cooking with. Maybe an interactive doll, barbie, kitchen stuff, or a challenging learning toy. Not sure. But we are definitely on the search for something that will keep her attention and focus away from her innocent brothers.

We had a great Fourth of July week with Clark around. Never a dull moment! Maybe next year we'll let them stay up for fireworks...

probably not. :)

Pulaski Paradise...

This past week we hit the road for our first trip since Thanksgiving. As opposed to our Idaho trek though, we only had one day of traveling this time, not three. It was so nice knowing we'd be at our destination the same day that we left and all the craziness in the car would soon end. The kids actually did fairly well. We planned stops about every 2-3 hours so they could get out and burn some energy. It was strapping them back in that became a problem. I had looked on google maps for some parks we could play at during our scheduled stops but they all ended up being pretty sketchy and dirty (I couldn't really tell those things from the map) so we stopped at a store or rest stop instead. I rented eight short videos from the library and also bought some 'last thirty minutes of the trip surprises' so that we would survive the 12 hour drive to Pulaski, TN. Pulaski is about as rural as I've ever experienced. No street lights, no neighbors close by, no cell service, no internet, etc... In a way it was kind of cool because we were all disconnected but we also felt a little nervous not being able to reach anyone if we needed to.

So why Pulaski?? Well it's about halfway between Clark's sister's family and us and we found an AWESOME five bedroom rental home that had everything we needed/wanted there. Plus it was dirt cheap compared to rentals closer to Nashville. The rental description titled the property 'Pulaski Paradise'  and paradise it was.

I mean, what's paradise without seven kids under six?

The mommies on the bus go shhhh, shhhhhh, shhhh...

The babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah....

Trying to sing the verse about windows but Sam had to speak with Zachary about an owie...

and Ezra had to give Leah a big kiss...

Now they're back on track...

It was nice having lots of kids around the same age because we could all entertain them pretty easily with the same activities.  Of course we had to have the 'saggiest diaper' competition.  Zachary took home the gold.  We were so proud...

The property itself was pretty awesome.  It was on 125 acres and had a ton of stuff to do.  Here is the view from the driveway.  It had three floors but only two were liveable and one of those two was just a loft for sleeping.  The main floor had a screened in porch that wrapped around the entire house which was perfect for all the kids especially because the inside living area wasn't all that big.  The bottom porch was open and just had a bunch of chairs and games.  Like I said, we were pretty tucked away.

Clark's brother and his wife also flew into Tennessee to join the fun/chaos.  They were enjoying breakfast outside on the porch our first morning.  We would LOVE to have a porch like that...

Like I mentioned, the inside living area wasn't all the big for all of us but Adley and Clark still managed to fit all the Legos in the middle of everything.  This was just one of the many cool things Adley did with his uncles...

  There was a little lake on the property that wasn't swimmable but had a few boats to row around.  We were out for a morning walk and thought it'd be fun to put the kids in....

but then I suddenly realized that it was a bad idea.  Having all three kids in a rickety boat that may or may not tip/sink/capsize caused serious anxiety for me and I wanted to get out as soon as we got in.  Don't let our smiles fool you.  The kids thought it was cool though since we talk a lot about boats and have never been close to or in one.

I think the biggest hit of all, even more so than the boats, was the mini golf!  Everyone loved it and there were about seven holes with moveable cement blocks so you could make the hole however difficult you wanted.  When it wasn't blazing hot outside, it was fun to go hit the ball around.

Right next to mini golf were some hammocks which Ani loved.  She also loved doting on the triplets.  She took them for walks and held their hands everywhere.  Leah loved having a girl around to do something beside playing with trains and trucks.  Ani took all the kids one afternoon and informed me she'd be at the benches babysitting them.  What a good little babysitter she was!

(Even though it was super hot, Leah refused to take her hat off.  One month ago we couldn't get a hat near her head without her screaming.  Weird...)

Down on the lower deck we played some corn hole and ping pong.  Zachary was cheating and trying to convince Sam to do the same.  Sam knew better though and wasn't about to do such a thing...

Zachary was really getting into it and Caleb couldn't focus on playing because he was counting his giant checkers...

Action shot of Adley scoring on Aunt Amy!  It was like a $50 fine if we lost a ping pong ball so when it rolled off the porch poor Adley had to go on a hunt through the long grass.  He always found it though!

Uncle Bob out with the older kids.  I felt more comfortable taking a picture from this angle where there was ground beneath my feet.

This was Caleb after having a meltdown during mini golf.  He could not part with his trains but he had too many in his hands to carry while also holding a golf club.  He was getting super frustrated and freaking out.  Nothing a hug from Dad couldn't fix...

I don't know what Zachary was doing but he was going to town banging that thing on the porch.

And now to the highlight of Pulaski.  Beside the hammocks, mini golf, ping pong, corn hole, shuffle board, boats, and the wrap-around-porch, there was a GIANT hill.  We knew it existed from the pictures so we all agreed that a slip n'slide was in order.  We purchased a 10x100 box of black plastic and knew it was going to be awesome.  Of course once we laid it out on the massive hill, the men thought it needed to be longer.  So they headed out and bought 100 more feet of plastic for a slip n'slide totaling 200 feet!

After a few trial runs, we realized the black plastic was scorching hot and the ground was pretty bumpy.  Luckily Tisha had brought some blow up tubes and we went down on those.  It took some skill to steer yourself to try and stay on the plastic but after a couple times we got the hang of it.  The slip n'slide was crazy fun, fast, and definitely worked everyone over.  That night we could all hardly move and had grass rashes, bruises, and cuts.  We decided the next day we'd just use the white tarp at the bottom of the hill and take it a little easier.  The next morning, the older kids played on the slide for a few hours and even the trio went down a few times on our laps.  We just couldn't cycle through them fast enough so they cried for 99% of the time they were out there.  We put them down for a nap and enjoyed the slide without them.  For the next family reunion, we're thinking another 100 feet of plastic will make for a perfect slide.  :)

We had such a good time and were exhausted pretty much the whole time we were there.  From getting up early with the kids, playing outside in the heat, and staying up late talking, candy and sugar were essential to help keep us awake.  We had really simple meals planned and didn't spent hardly any time in the kitchen which was nice.  We had a massive amount of candy, chocolate, and cake and spent our last night there getting nice and fat.  We even had to opt out of making rice krispies and a second funfetti cake which we had planned to do.  That's how much candy there was.

Our family of five shared two rooms and a bathroom.  Zachary and Caleb roomed together the first night which ended up being a disaster.  So Caleb ended up sleeping in our closet and slept awesome.  He naps in our closet at home (because he's so loud when he wakes up and wakes the other two) so I think he just likes pitch black, enclosed spaces.  Who knows.   He somehow smuggled some trains in there with him so at 5am he was running the trains on the wall and door.  Not very quietly either.  Poor Leah slept in the bathroom but I think that was the quietest place so she ended up sleeping pretty well too.  It just meant we couldn't open the doors to the bathroom because her pack n' play was there.  :)

We didn't play any games or watch any movies which I knew we wouldn't so none of us brought any.  We really just enjoyed hanging out and spending time together.  Since all the kids were in bed by 7pm we had lots of time to relax and eat our candy.  Pulaski Paradise was totally chaotic at all times but not stressful at all.  We loved it.   Thanks to Adley's picture-taking skills, we were able to get a picture of all the sleep-deprived adults. 

It was so great to see family since we don't live near anyone and can't wait to do it again! Pulaski maybe?

Oh Yes I Did...

and oh yes I am...

Believe it folks.  Me and another Bieb lover (just for the record, it is NOT Clark) will be heading out to join the rest of the fanatical teenage girls at Justin Bieber's concert in October. Nobody will know we're not 18 right? :) When I saw his movie forever ago, I kept saying how much fun it would be to go to one of his concerts.  Well....I just couldn't say no when I found out he was coming here. His entire tour sold out in less than an hour and because all the stars of Bieber universe aligned, we were able to get tickets on the first level!  We won't be reaching out and touching his hand or anything but it's good enough for me. 

Too bad we didn't have 4K each to buy a limo ride, dinner with Biebs, and a backstage pass.  Maybe next time...

Is October here yet?

I'm Haunted...

by the smell of dirty diapers.  It's every where I go.  Every room, every store, every park, every article of clothing I think has a funky smell.  Sometimes I go searching for a hidden diaper under the sink, in the garbage, in the washing machine etc...  I never find anything and I'm usually light headed from taking repeated large deep breaths.  Clark claims everything smells normal  but I'm not sure he's the best resource since his smeller doesn't work all that great.  Our diaper pail has sat outside on our back patio for well over a  year now and has since been moved but I believe that the smell of diapers has penetrated the paint on the outside walls and maybe even the window panes.  Is it possible?  It sounds insane but I believe it.  Every time I open a window or door, I smell it.  Maybe the smell has been absorbed by the dirt and grass too.  I moved the pail around the side of the house for a couple weeks but yesterday was garbage day and I threw it away.  I'm haunted remember?   So NO MORE diaper pail or diapers in or around the house.  Maybe it's time for potty training.  :)  After I threw it away, I proceeded to take some cleaner and sponge clean the outside of our house surrounding the patio.  It was like I was releasing all the absorbed smells while scrubbing because the smell seemed amplified.  However, I think it worked.  We'll see...

Enough diaper talk though.  I need to talk about our OTHER patio.  The one that hasn't been infiltrated by funky smells.  Clark's been mulling over what he wants to do with the side yard since forever.  There was patchy grass and lots of dirt.  Nothing to get excited over and a huge mess when the kids would play over there.  So memorial day weekend he whipped a sandbox together (literally it only took him a couple hours), dug a hole, leveled out the ground, laid bricks, threw down new sod, and voila!

I wish I had done a before picture because really it was just a bunch of dirt. Now it's an awesome area for the kids and shady and cool most the day! Obviously sand can be messy but at least it's in the backyard and not in the car. Unfortunately we've had hurricane rains this week so the sand is wet and unplayable. We're excited to try it out though!  Thanks Clark!  I guess this means me and the kids will need to get Clark something EXTRA special for Father's Day this year.  :) 

This stage for the trio could be summed up in one word:  parks.  We go to the park everyday because I know they will burn 3x the energy there than I could get them to burn at home playing with me.  However, park play is quite the science for us.  We can only go to certain parks since safety is a huge issue when I'm the only one around.  No parks close to creeks or roads.  Parking has to be relatively close.  The play structure can only have a maximum of TWO scary openings they could fall out of.  No bridges on the structures unless it's totally closed on the guardrails, you get the idea.  One person vs. three toddlers with little concept to height and falling can be disastrous.  As soon as I start feeling overwhelmed in any way, I pack them up and go.  I have done ample online research (close to 40 parks) for the parks around here and found two with JUST toddler structures that fit all my criteria above.  Maybe one day I'll be able to sit on the bench and read a book while the kids play.  One day...

For now, here are a couple pictures.  We're thinking of getting Zachary into gymnastics.  He was working on his Iron Cross at the park this week...

The kids liked the little ride-on toys at this park but unfortunately we won't be going back.  Disaster potential rating was pretty high and I was nervous even with Clark there to help.

The next couple videos were just too cute not to share. Caleb starting counting to ten this week and does it perfectly without help. Of course I can never catch it on camera but I got most of it. Make sure to listen to number seven. So cute. The other video is a quiz for Leah on everyone's names. She got a 75% though because she couldn't say her own.  Cute anyway.