Meet the teachers....

Woo Hoo... we made it through the summer and today we started the new "school" year, so on Tuesday and Thursday mornings I am once again solo and am free to shop or do chores w/o 4 little bodies.  Last night Jerry and I attended parent orientation and today the kids spent 30 minutes meeting their new teachers and exploring their new classrooms.  The triplets have graduated from the EC wing (early childhood) to the "big kid" wing.... which makes me soooo sad... before I know it they will be graduating from High School.  So for now, I have to enjoy moments like these...

Life is "BUTT" a dream.....

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For Love of Dad and Doggie... Photojournalism

I took this shot night before last as Cody cuddled his favorite doggie and snuggled up into his Daddy's lap.  Enough said....

Head over to I Heart Faces and check out all the amazing talent!!!

A brush with fame....

Whew....  I have spend the last week editing photos for celebrated New York City photographer Heather Swanson. She has photographed celebrities galore!!!  Click HERE to read her impressive bio.  She has an upcoming gallery showing at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art and I'm soooo honored that I got to be part of it!!!  Heather, thanks for the work.... this was soooo much fun!!!!

Due to copyrights, you don't get to see Heather's work here.... but lucky you,  I have more pictures of my kids!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!!  Enjoy!!!  More to come soon.....

One Beast, Two Princesses

My Dad and I took the boys for haircuts yesterday (they do start "school" next week).  We go to a local barber shop and they use compressed air blowers to blow hair off necks and collars.  Well, the blower is a bit noisy and Jadon has never been a big fan of noise.  He used to HATE haircuts, but now he tolerates them and covers his ears when the blowers come on.  We always tell him he is a hairy beast and Mr. Cecile (our barber) has to turn him into a handsome prince.  He really like the analogy.  After his haircut yesterday...

My Mom: "Jadon, you look like a handsome prince."
Jadon:  "Yes, I do....  And I have two princesses.  Their names are Kaylee and Addison and I love them."

How sweet was that???  He is such a good boy!!

Oh, did I mention we are passing ear infections around???

Hhhhhmmmmm.... How many dwarfs can fit in one shoe????

A Change of Scenery

Jerry and I were getting a little stir crazy and decided to take the kids on a "mini" vacation, so Jerry took off Friday and when we woke the kids we told them we were going to a nearby lake for the night and they would get to sleep in a hotel.  SOOOO excited we packed (huge effort) and headed off.

We checked in at the resort and rented a pontoon boat for 3 hours.  This was the kids 1st time on a boat and they were pretty excited, however Jadon was a bit emotional because he was really wanting to do the waterpark... more on that in a minute.  We cruised the lake and then docked the boat and had lunch at a restaurant on the lake (Addison had sunscreen in her eye, hence the squint in the photo).  We had about another hour left on the rental so we checked out the fancy houses while a couple of boys napped.

When we got back to the hotel, we headed to the waterpark... SOOO COOOOOLLLL. The kids had a blast. After a while Jadon insisted on going down the BIG slide (not pictured, but it was big)... amazingly, he did it and was fine until he hit the water and it went up his nose. So much for that. After about two hours everyone was crying and we thought we'd lost our minds trying to do anything with them all, so we headed to the room for a "rest." We put on some TV and took a much needed time out. After that we drove to a neat Mexican restaurant and had a lovely dinner.

Back at the hotel we swam until 8:00, then went down to the beach for s'mores. Cody thought heating the marshmallows was great, but melted down we went to make the s'mores.... no concept of what we were doing.. He soon mellowed out when he tasted the chocolate. One more run down the lazy river and we were off to baths and bed.

The next morning we woke and had breakfast, swam a bit more, then headed home worn out.

Beach Fun??? I Heart Faces!!!

BEACH FUN??????

We are actually going to the beach in two weeks, so this challenge came a little early, but I thought this shot of Cody not liking the sand so much fit the bill.  Everyone's definition of beach fun is different.  Being at the beach with my family, in tears or not, is a BLAST in my book!!!!  Please go over to I Heart Faces and check out the other AMAZING shots!!!

OMG!!!! The Creme D' La Creme.... I Heart Faces!!!!

OMG....  I was beyond excited to see my photo of Addison in her sunglasses took 4th place in the I Heart Faces photo challenge this week.  In my mind, this photo contest is the Creme D' La Creme of photo competitions and was my ultimate goal (one I thought I'd never attain).  But it's soooo much fun and there is soooo much talent I just have to participate week after week!!!  I think I counted over 560 entries this week and I'm still on cloud 9 and very honored to put a winning button on my blog (check it out down at the bottom)!!! 

Thanks to guest judge Alicia Caine and everyone over at I Heart Faces!!!  Can't wait for the next challenge!!

Chit Chat

Earlier this week Addison was chowing down on broccoli... go figure Addison, Kaylee, and Cody love it...  I said, "WOW, Addison is really going to town on that broccoli."
Last night, Addison was eating pasta and Kaylee said, "Addison is going to the town."  What memories!!!  Although, she was off just a bit.

The other day in the car Jadon wanted some of my soda.  I told him  no and he got very upset.  I responded with a "MOMMY SAID NO"....  He followed up with.... "NO, GIRLS SAY 'YES' AND BOYS SAY 'NO...  your suppose to say YES."  Not sure where he got this idea, but somehow it struck me funny.  Having two sisters, we have to teach Jadon often about what is for little girls and what is for little boys...  bows, glitter shoes, tu-tus... all for little girls.  Jadon wants only things blue.  You may recall at Easter he only collected blue eggs....

Here are a couple shots of Addison I took recently...

Why God Made Little Boys

God made little boys it seems,

to answer every parent's dreams.

For expectations are begun

when He sends down a little son.

A son to teach the golden rule,

to watch as he goes off to school.

To marvel at his happy face,

every time he wins a race.

Playing tricks and funny pranks,

learning to say "please" and "thanks."

Yes, God brings parents endless pleasure,

when He sends a little boy to treasure.

... Author Unknown

A Little Going On

Today was the kids last day at The Little Gym and now we are counting down to the start of "school."  I have to say the summer has passed quickly and we've had a great time.  I've been working hard the last few weeks trying to make our house a home.  Painting, rugs, pictures and draperies have been added and it's looking cozy.  I'll have more time to work on the house when I have  2 mornings a week free again while the kids are in school.

Just some funny stuff...  In the mornings when feeding the kids I tell them they have to eat breakfast.  It's fuel for their bodies like we put gas in our cars.  At dinner the other night I asked Kaylee if she wanted anything else to eat.  She responded, "No thank you, I have gas."
Little by little the triplets are letting Cody join in their games and I'm sooo happy to see him growing and taking his place among them.  Last night, he was the roaring monster and chased them squealing through the house.  He was sooo happy to be part of the play and would give me a HUGE smile when he ran by me.

OH, thought this was kinda cool.  My Mom told me she talked to by brother and he had taken a photo of Lane (my nephew) I took to have it printed and framed somewhere.  He was told they cannot print copyrighted photos without the photographers consent thinking they were professional.... HA!!!!  He told them his sister took the photos....  WOW!!!  Thought that was pretty cool!!!!

Gotta Wear Shades

This weeks theme at I Heart Faces is "Gotta Wear Shades."  I had completely planned on staging a shot with Jadon in some cool shades and making it B&W and kinda gritty, but the other day Addison walked in rockin' her winter gloves, a headband, hair full of barrettes, and sunglasses.  I just had to get a shot and decided to make this my entry....  What a DIVA!!!  Here is another shot of her I love.

2nd Choice Shot

I heart faces only lets you enter 1 photo, but I wanted to share my 2nd choice....

Why God Made Little Girls

God made the world with its towering trees,

majestic mountains and restless seas,

then paused and said, "It needs one more thing."

Someone to laugh and dance and sing,

to walk in the woods and gather flowers,

to commune with nature in quiet hours.

So God made little girls

with laughing eyes and bouncing curls,

with joyful hearts, and beautiful smiles,

enchanting ways and feminine wiles.

And when He'd completed the task He'd begun,

he was pleased and proud of the job He'd done.

For the world when seen through a little girl's eyes

greatly resembles paradise.

...Author Unknown

Door knobs to Dreamy....

As you know, we moved to a new home back in January.  It is a new build and therefore it's a "clean slate."  My 1st goal was to get the kids rooms decorated and finished.  Well, 6+ months later it is still a work in progress.

I have a set of plates with kittens on them I want to put along a shelf over the window along with some Madam Alexander dolls I had as a girl. And I want to recover the pillows on the beds to match the bedshirts.  But you can see a lot has been done... pink paint & wainscoting etc.

In the alcove, I want to put in a window seat with a seat cushion matching the beds. The room isn't complete, but it's getting close....

A LOT more work is required in the boys room.... First is to get them new furniture. Cody is ready to get out of his crib, so I want to get them some dark furniture. I want to put their new twin beds along 2 walls and put a shelf unit in the space where the headboards meet. Their theme is transportation... planes, trains, autos, motorcyles... etc.  I'll post pictures when it's complete, cause I want to share this with the kids when they get older...

Books, books, books, books, books......

While we read to the kids a lot, we have started to actively teach Jadon to read.  He knows his alphabet and all the sounds each letter makes and he is very interested in learning.  I bought some Dick & Jane books the other day and he is picking it up quickly.

Addison on the other hand would much rather play with her Disney characters.... (although she is in the above picture)

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My Kids Favorite Things

For those of you who know me, you know my husband use to throw some pretty awesome Halloween parties (pre triplets of course).  One year he dressed as a pimp and wore a huge zebra style hat.  Well, that hat has become a favorite item to play dress up with in our home.  If you follow our blog, you know I've posted photos of the kids in this hat the last year.  Here are some of those old photos and a new photo of Addison sporting the rockin' hat.  This weeks theme at Shutter Love Tuesday,  is favorite things....  think I'm gonna have to link up with Addison in THE hat!!