I Heart Faces - Whimsical

Ok,  I was heartbroken that I didn't have an image this week to participate, but then even more bummed when I learned that Barb Uil from JinkyArt was the judge.  BUT then it happened....  the girls came down with tu-tus on their heads pretending to be lions and I asked if I could take their picture.  To my surprise, I got a YES....

I had ONE SHOT... literally...  I had the girls sit in their room and after one snap of the camera... the tu-tus were off and they were out the door.

I'm Sorry Camera

If you haven't noticed, my participation rate in photo challenges has pretty much dropped to almost zero.  I still try to hold true to I Heart Faces but as of this morning I still don't have an entry for this week.

I dream of participating in Ashley's scavenger hunt and have taken a picture or two in the past with intent to participate, but soon become overwhelmed with crying kids.

I used to participate pretty regularly in the Shutter Love Tuesday challenges.... way back when....

Now, I'm pretty much hit or miss... if I have a few minutes I might try and link up one of my post with a challenge if my photo seems to fit the bill, but planning ahead for a shot has become a thing of the past.  Time is not my friend and taking care of this home is often all consuming....

Now, I have to apologize to my camera... yes...  You have been used sooo little the last few weeks that I have allowed your battery to die... and the back-up battery....

I PROMISE to charge both batteries today and attempt to move photo taking up on the ladder of priorities...

    Sorry laundry
    Sorry dirty dishes
    Sorry dust and grime
    Sorry un-made beds
    Sorry kids.... oops, scratch that... they will always top the list of priorities!!!

(Oh, I did manage to create a new blog header and hope it works ok... it was a learning experience.)

A Little About Saturday

Oh... a busy weekend...

Apparently, June/July is time for birthdays...  We had a birthday yesterday, we have another next Sunday, and then another the following Saturday.  Throw Cody's birthday on top of that and wow... lots of birthdays.

My parents are out of town this weekend to celebrate my nephew Lane's birthday.  Happy Birthday you cute little man!!!

Yesterday morning we had to wake early to attend a "Pajama Party" themed birthday.  It was a super cute idea with donuts, pancakes, and breakfast burritos.  We had Melon Dew the clown who created balloon animals and painted faces.  The kids had a great time, but I think the highlight for all the little bodies was the birthday boys play room.  Woo Hoo... toys we have never seen before!!!

After that we headed over to the storage room and pulled out all of outdoor furniture and spent the remainder of the day in the pool.  When it's just us swimming we let the kids swim in their underwear to keep it simple (hence Cody is just wearing a swim diaper).... BUT.... I think he is potty trained....

Triplet Jogging Stroller & Quad Stroller for Sale - All Items have been sold

It makes me soooo sad, but the time has come to sell our remaining strollers.  They have been sitting in storage for a while now.  (UPDATE - ALL ITEMS HAVE BEEN SOLD)

We started with the Peg Perego triplet stroller with snap in carseats.  Ahhh, yes here I am preggo and not looking so hot. The hair???

And the triplets in their carseats....


We added the Baby Jogger Q-Series (Now for Sale) to our collection. I couldn't find any pictures of the babies in this stroller... before I became the crazy photo lady.


The jogger is a great stroller, but for the triplets 1st birthday they got a Choo Choo Wagon which became our main form of transportation throughout the neighborhood. The train was later expanded when we welcomed Cody. They are about to outgrow their wagon, but my heart will literally break when the time comes to sell it. It has taken us to many Halloween events, 4th of July parades and other activities.

Cody actually has a real train seat (identical to Kaylee's orange seat), but when he was this little we just laid him in the pull along trailer.


When Cody was born, our Peg Perego triplet just didn't have enough seats so it was sold along with the car seats to an awesome couple. It was replaced with our Foundations Quad stroller (Now for Sale) which we used quite a bit, but now sits in storage.


I will be placing our Triplet Jogger and Quad Stroller up for sale soon (probably on Ebay), but I know I get a lot of hits from Multiples and More. If anyone is interested in our strollers, just let me know.

The Pool Project is Nearing The End.... THANK GOODNESS

I stopped taking photos of our pool project because I just got tired of the whole project all together. These kinds of projects totally test your sense of humor, but despite ALL THE ISSUES and headaches... we are nearing the end... We still have a list of final items, clean up, and landscaping... but we are almost done!!!!

The kids were able to take their 1st swim on Saturday... a good time was had by all!!

I Heart Faces - Let's Hear It For The Boys

My husband and our little man, Cody... Check out I Heart Faces this week and their tribute to Father's Day...

I Made Top 10 - Photo Competition

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!! I was excited beyond words to learn that my 'Bright & Vivid' photo of Addison took 7th place out of 514 entries at I Heart Faces this week.  I told Susan,  I was literally dancing around the house like a crazy woman this morning with the kids thinking I'd lost it.  I'm a mom who takes care of 4 little munchkins all day...  this was an awesome change of pace.

College with a Sippy Cup

Ok, this may be kind of embarrassing because I don't know how many 4 year olds still use a sippy cup... but mine do....  well, until recently.

Our routine is I make 4 sippy cups of Carnation Instant Breakfast every morning with the kids oatmeal.  The kids need calories!  Jadon and Kaylee get whole milk (they need more calories) and Addison and Cody get skim milk.

Once the milk is gone, I clean one cup and fill it with ice water which they share all day.  Drinks are not allowed upstairs, but you will find them in any number of places downstairs.  So, we like lids and spill proof.

Well, recently we started introducing cups at lunch and dinner.  At lunch I let them drink a fruit/veggie blended juice and at dinner they get a cup of milk.  The rest of the time it's water from a sippy cup... but we have actually graduated to cups in our home.  Even Cody who is almost 3 is using a cup.  The change hasn't been implemented without spills and messes, but they have been minimal and they all seem to be doing well.

If it were up to me, I think I'd send them off to College with sippy cups...  Hey, I'd make sure it had their college emblem on it....

Fix It Friday #100

Edit:

Original:


1. Took photo to ACR where I reduced exposure to correct blown out areas, increased brightness, and corrected white balance.
2. In Photoshop, I increased contrast using levels.
3. Increased green and yellow saturation and masked off skin
4. Added a Kaleidoscope glow
5. A little vignette and sharpen

Done!!

No Time for Words, Just a Shy Smile

How Do You Protect Them?

Monday morning my parents were out of town, so my neighbor and I decided to get our kids together and let them bounce at once of those blow up bounce places.  We had been there a while and I saw Addison walking hand in hand with another little girl... Ok, Miss Social has made a friend I thought to myself.

Not long after that Jadon exited a bouncer and ran over excited, "I made a new friend.  Her name is Ally."  I saw two little girls and said, "Hello Ally."  She didn't really give me much notice and then the two girls ran off.  Jadon didn't follow so I thought that was the end.

Right before we were getting ready to leave I saw Jadon sitting across the room on the edge of a bouncer crying.  I knew he wasn't hurt or he would be seeking me out.  I was confused because... he always seeks me out when crying.  I picked him up and asked what was wrong...

"Nobody likes me."  sobbing tears..
"Baby, why do you say that""
"The girl in the green shirt (Ally's friend) said her name isn't Ally and told me to go away.  Nobody likes me."

It's hard to convey in text how upset he was and how my heart was breaking for him.  I struggled for what to say.  He is the most amazingly sweet and loving little boy on the planet and he was crushed.  Do I bad mouth the girl to make him feel better?  Do I tell him that's life and not everyone will like him?  Do I just tell him how special he is?  How do I fix this??????

My Mom always said, "It's so hard for a mother to tell her child how wonderful he/she is when the rest of the world is telling them something different."

Someone was telling Jadon he wasn't ok... how do I convince him that isn't true???

In the end, I held him and told him about all the people who do like him... his brother and sisters, the neighbors who came to play with us, all his friends from school, his old neighbors, etc.

Kids can be so mean and cruel.  How do you convince kids they just have to survive childhood and things will get easier?  How do you convince them they are wonderful when the world is telling them otherwise?

This isn't the 1st time someone has been mean.  Kaylee ran into some mean girls at a party one time and Addison has been turned away when trying to make friends before and every time it just breaks my heart.

How do you protect them???  How do you build their self-esteem??  How do you convince them the world is wrong because THEY ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING KIDS and they are loved beyond words or comprehension.

I Heart Faces - Bright and Vivid

I just LOVE this weeks theme !!!  Be sure and check out all the other A-MAZing entries!!!!  I Love Love Love I Heart Faces!!

Chewelry, Who Knew?

From a very young age, Kaylee has been biting her nails (fingers and toes) and we have tried our hardest to dissuade her from the activity.  Over the past year her nail biting has progressed to chewing her nails and the surrounding skin which leaves her fingers and toes raw and sore.  I've worried about infection and how this might progress as she gets older.  Once reprimanded for a chewing event, she can go weeks/months without another incident but then she finally gives in to the urge and once again I find the havoc she's played on her fingers and toes.

On Monday, I mentioned her habit to Jadon's eating therapist, Ms. Caroline and after some discussion it sounds like Kaylee's habit is driven by a need to chew rather than a coping mechanism for stress.  In addition to her fingers and toes, she chews fabric, string, hair and any number of other things.  We left Caroline's office with a rubber chew tube and we were directed to the internet to order "Chewelry."  Yes, jewelry made for kids who have a need to chew.  We have a couple chew tubes, bracelets and necklaces headed our way.  I hope this redirects her chewing and takes care of the problem until she gets older.

Oh, so deep....

I received a comment on my last post regarding the Catholic faith and artificial reproduction.

My husband and I worked closely with the Church and my family (my father teaches baptism classes and RCIA) in our endeavor to have children and we are at peace with our decision given the help of the priests and deacons.  For any Catholics who are struggling with having children and seeking assistance.  I encourage you to talk to the Church and pray for guidance.  There is so much depth to the Church and it's teachings and I learn more daily.

We just continue to thank God for our many blessings and where we may fail, we ask His forgiveness... where we succeed we sing His praise.

And for all our readers, may you always have sincere motives and good report of others.

I'm off to bed.... Goodnight...

A Picture Prompts A Post

Lets talk Cody....

I always wanted 4 babies and getting married at 35 and no sign of babies by 36... I just didn't think it would ever happen.  Six months after my 36th birthday (April 5th to be exact) having gone through fertility (IUI to be exact) we learned we were pregnant and not long after that (exact date documented somewhere, but not in the mood to go look it up) we found out it was triplets.

The triplets were born 4 days before my 37th birthday.  I later wrote an article and we were feature on the cover of Triplet Connection magazine (here).  I started the article with "I always wanted four babies" and ended the article leaving the 4th child decision in the hands of the Lord.  I knew I'd never get loving husband back into a fertility center.  A couple weeks after the triplets 1st birthday, the Lord decided and I found out I was pregnant again... naturally.

Nine months later, we welcomed Cody... our tiny tornado and ALL BOY!!

Cody has never picked up a doll and cares nothing about princesses.   When working a puzzle with Toy Story and Princess pieces, he tossed the princess pieces aside and would only play with the Toy Story pieces.  He is in love with Buzz Lightyear (even has Buzz PJs) and loves to say, "To Infinity and Beyond."

He is strong willed beyond words and fights me over everything... he doesn't want to get in the car, he doesn't want to get in his seat, he doesn't want to brush his teeth, he doesn't want to comb his hair, he doesn't want....  and most currently, he doesn't want to go potty (but he's doing much better).  I think his first words were "No, I done wanno"  When upset or mad he bangs his head on the floor to try and tries elicit sympathy (it worked once or twice so he's sticking with it).

He is rough and tumble... he doesn't comprehend gentle and is aggressive most of the time.  He loves to play rough and tackle....  HE IS ALL BOY!!!!

But, he is MY Rough & Tumble BOY and despite our struggles with little man Cody...  he is funny.  He loves his siblings and copy cats them even when he doesn't comprehend what he's doing.  The inflection in his voice is ADORABLE beyond words.  After dinner the other night I got an unsolicited, "Good dinna Mommy."  He gives the BEST bear hugs ever and his thighs are the sweetest dough boy thighs I've ever seen.

Our plate was FULL with the triplets, but I never stopped wanting dessert....  We now have a full plate and a full dessert cup and I'm enjoying it all (most of the time...)

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!!!!  The FOOTBALL shirt which he loves and he knows it says 'football' and the girls headband which is sooooo NOT him....

And I had to get a close up of those freckles!!!!

Little Swimmers

It's almost 7:00am and I'm about to head upstairs and get the kids up and moving.  This morning is our weekly swim lesson which the kids LOVE.  I have seen A LOT of improvement with Addison and Jadon.  Addison is pretty much "pool safe" and has good control when swimming.  She will float, spin, and play before heading to a wall or step for a rest.

Jadon sticks close to the side or step, but now prefers to swim without floaties which is HUGE for this timid little man.  I certainly would not classify him as a dare devil.

Kaylee will get there, but isn't there yet.  She just doesn't have the confidence yet and panics when she jumps in, so when she is suppose to turn around and grab the wall... she tries swimming to the closest person instead.

Then there is Cody.  He LOVEs trying to swim, but he is still such a baby.  He will be in floaties for a while yet I am sure... but I believe he will shock us at how quickly he can swim independently.  He loves talking about how he put his nose underwater and his eyes underwater at swim class.

Ok, off to wake the rowdy crew...  goodbye quiet...

Monsters Among Us?

Last night, Jerry discovered the girls has moved into the same bed after we had put them to sleep.  They were scolded and put back into their individual beds, but Addison started sobbing... "Please Daddy, Please Daddy... Please let me sleep in Kaylee's bed."  Her pleas were so heartfelt and heartbreaking that Jerry succumbed to the begging.

When I woke the girls up this morning, Addison was on the way out the door, but Kaylee stopped her.
Kaylee:  "Addison, come here.  I want to show you something."
Addison: "What"?
Kaylee:  "See it's Big Dog (her stuffed dog)... it wasn't a monster."
Addison: "Oh, I thought it was a monster.  Mom, that's why I got in Kaylee's bed last night.  I thought her Big Dog was a monster."

So sweet...  I could tell she REALLY didn't want to get in her own bed.

I Heart Distance

The Ferry Ride

Bed Buddies

The girls (I can't remember how many months back now) started wanting to sleep in the same beds at night.  We are soooo structured in our home we were a bit reluctant, but at the same time it was so sweet and cute.  We decided to allow them to bunk together on weekends only which has worked out great!!  They get some fun time and I only have to make one bed on the weekends (ha, bonus).  Oh, I've done a bit of redecorating in the girls room and will need to post pics soon.

Well, last night Jadon asked if he could sleep in Cody's bed since it was the weekend.  My heart jumped in my chest... Jadon wants to do something with his little brother!!!!!  Hurray!!!!  Cody is still so young that the triplets don't pay him much attention and Cody enjoys antagonizing which isn't helping their bonding... So, Jadon got in Cody's bed and it was lights out.  We checked on them later and Jadon said, "I'm trying to sleep, but Cody keeps talking to me."  He wanted to go back to his own bed... I was soooo bummed....  BUT, when we checked on them one last time before going to bed, Jadon was once again in bed with Cody and they were both sleeping!!!!!  I hope this is an early sign of a growing friendship.