Can you vacation with 4 under 3?

Jerry and I are planning a vacation to San Antonio next month and thought we'd get away and do a trial run this weekend so we packed up the family and headed to Galveston.

We woke at our normal time 6:30, Jerry went for donuts and we got the kids up at 7:00. About 2 hours later we were all dressed and loaded ready for a short va-ca at Moody Gardens. We pulled up to the Moody Gardens hotel at 10:15 ($229), checked in and changed 2 adults and 4 kids into swimsuits. Made sure we had sunscreen, towels, babyfood, potty seat, diapers and pull-up cameras, etc. We put Cody in the umbrella stroller and loaded it down with bags. In the lobby Jerry inquired as to the best way to get to the Moody Gardens lagoon. While he "chatted" with the concierge, I wrestled the kids... finally, "Everyone backs against the wall and don't move until I tell you to move!!" A few moments later (felt like an eternity) we loaded a shuttle bus to the water park.

The water park (free for hotel guests): we walked the kids to the far side of the lagoon to find empty seats, removed shoes, sprayed everyone down with sunscreen, removed t-shirts and cover-ups, put on floaties and headed to water. Upon entering the water, the lifeguard came over and told up no floaties were allowed only life jackets which could be rented at the gift shop. Not about to tell the kids to get out of the water, I told the lifeguard they would wear the floaties until my husband got back with jackets. They swam like pros with their floaties. Addison decided to remove hers and I kept her head above water while the lifeguard watched this all. When Jerry returned, we took off the floaties and put on the jackets. My perfect little swimmers instantly turned into corks yelling "help me"... they couldn't get upright so they rolled onto their backs and floated helplessly. Finally, I grabbed them all by the convenient handles on the back and drug them all to shore while casting evil glances at the lifeguard. So much for the lagoon.

We then walked them over to the water guns and fountains and let them play there for a while. The ground was not too hot for walking for anyone except Addison. Jerry had Cody and I carried Addison while telling the other two to walk, don't run, and don't dilly daddle. After about an hour at the water park, we once again loaded the bus back to the hotel.

The hotel: We once again changed 2 adults and 4 kids into dry clothes and re-fixed the girls hair. We went to the hotel restaurant for lunch ($31-kids eat free). The lunch was nice, not too hectic. We pulled out our walking rings ( 6 rings on a rope ) each person takes a ring with Dad in front and Mom in back so we could keep everyone together and on the same pace. We loaded the bus again and went to the aquarium.

The Aquarium ($32, kids under 3 free): The aquarium was a blast... the kids loved it. I really don't have any horror stories to tell. We saw seals, sharks, fish, penguins, etc. Jadon however was getting really fussy toward the end so he got carried a lot. We got some Dippin' Dots ice cream on the way out ($10)... personally, not a fan of that little treat. They are so cold it's like putting your tongue on a frozen flagpole. They freeze to the inside of your mouth. We loaded to bus back to the hotel.

The hotel Part II: We turned on the tv, put the triplets in one queen bed and us in the other. Cody was in the pack and play. Jadon crashed immediately, Cody not a fan of the routine change protested so I held him until he fell asleep about the time Jadon woke. The girls never napped. We once again fixed hair and headed to Galveston beach.

The Beach: About 5 minutes into the car ride the girls fell asleep. We let them sleep about 15 minutes but woke them given it was after 5:00 and too late to sleep. We hit the beach and it was a huge hit. We probably could have made a day of the beach. Given everyone was sandy and yucky we wanted to eat somewhere casual and outside... at 7:00, no luck.... all the restaurants were packed. We decided to wait it out at Joe's Crab Shack. We ended up having a really great dinner ($49).

The hotel Part III: The kids were being good and Jerry being a daredevil said why don't we go swimming. Not wanting to be a party pooper, I said lovingly, "Whatever you want to do dear." We changed 2 adults and 4 kids back into swimsuits and headed to the pool. The kids LOVED swimming after dark and we loved the swim up bar. This really was one of the highlights. We headed back to the room about 9:45 bathed all the kids, put them all in PJs then into their beds. The triplets weren't much trouble, but Cody knew this wasn't the routine and protested until 10:45. No one slept well.

The next morning: About 6:45 I guess, we woke to Addison yelling at Kaylee to get her feet off of her. Knowing Cody would need to eat soon we threw on clothes and baseball caps and went downstairs to eat. Not good..... Jadon did not recognize the food and refused to eat. Very unhappy he fought back tears and refused all foods, even chocolate milk one of his favorites. We scarfed down our meal ($26) and headed back upstairs to 4 tired, cranky, moody, no fun kids. What to do??? Go home??? We loaded the car with a wait and see attitude.

Killin' Time: We decided to try the rainforest pyramid and 4D show on Dinosaurs. We asked about the rainforest and we were told it was plants and birds, not too good for the kids so we decided to skip that one. But, the kids love dinosaurs and it's only a 15 minute movie. Ok, bought all the tickets ($9.95 per person, no freebee for kids) and made the long walk to the theater. Of course, I carried at least one child. We got to the movie 3 minutes before showtime PERFECT. Sat in the front row with our 4D glasses with great anticipation. The movie started, our seats rumbled (actually rumbles), lightning flashed on the screen, then wind started blowing on us, and a dinosaur roared and sneezed and we all got a spray of water on us. Very exciting... FOR ADULTS.... we had 4 screaming little ones to quickly get out of a pitch dark theater.... so much for the movie. Of course, after we were out of the movie Kaylee cried because she wanted to see it. I think if we could have gotten past the very exciting opening, the rest of the movie would have been ok, but no chance we were gonna calm them down there. At this point we just walked around and let them play on some playground equipment.

Next move?: We decided to load up and head over to the strand for lunch then head home. Before we got to the strand we had 2 sleepers and decided to head home. I dreaded the fact that I was still going to have to entertain 4 kids the rest of the day at home. Two more fell asleep as we drove then Jerry mentioned Kemah. OK... they can get a nap in the car then we can kill more time at Kemah (hence less time at home).

Kemah: We got to Kemah, put the triplets on the potty seat before setting off. They all pottied except Addison and walked down to the Cadillac Bar. Believe it or not, we had a great lunch ($53). Of course upon entering the restaurant Addison decided she had to potty.... Remember, we have dealt with getting 3 toddlers on a potty all weekend, just thought I'd mention it here. We walked around, fed the fish, and road on the train ($19)... at this point it was 3:30 and we were all tired and HOT!!! We carried all the tired, hot kids to the car... the longest walk EVER. Got everyone a drink of water and headed home.

Home: Once you get home the work isn't over. We unloaded the car, I made dinner for the kids, we entertained a while, gave everyone baths, and put them all down to sleep. ALL BUT ONE that is. My well trained baby is having to be retrained to sleep. As I mentioned in my sleep training post a while back, just one night can throw a wrench in sleep training. Cody fought sleep for an hour last night, hopefully tonight will be better. Jerry and I finally got baths and crashed.

A lot of work? YES
Worth the work? YES

Expensive? YES, but only gonna get worse after 3 years old.

Scared to death for San Antonio trip? YES

Click on pictures to enlarge:

In Rememberence of IRENA SENDLER

What an extaordinary woman:

Irena Sendler
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected. Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

Something to ponder...

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

*Adrian Rogers*

How many kings?

I've been hearing this song on the radio a lot lately and really love it.

Chorus:
"How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me..."

It makes me wonder how many believe, but still don't have time for God, time for church, time to teach their families about faith and God's greatest sacrifice? Because I am a believer, I feel a enormous sense of responsibility to educate my children with regard to faith because society today is only going to try to lead them astray. I love them too much not work tirelessly trying to lead them to God.

My Hero

For those of you who don't know, my Mom has been sick recently and spent a short time in the hospital. She is doing better, but I wanted to give a shout out to her and let her know how much I LOVE HER!!! She is my hero and one beautiful lady.

Attention grabbers

Our neighborhood newsletter, "The Northampton Neighbor," had a picture of the kids in their choo choo wagon in the 4th of July parade (middle right). What a nice surprise. We were a site to behold in our 5 car choo choo; 4 cars for the kids and a caboose for all our stuff (cameras, drinks, etc). It's a cool little wagon I gotta say.

For the birds....

Jerry and I took the kids to Texas Roadhouse restaurant this evening and out front are a ton of pigeons which will literally eat right out of your hands. They were all about getting peanuts and would land all over you. I held them in my hand, on my lap, and shoulder all the time afraid of poop. Jerry had his cell phone so we captured some photos and video. The kids LOVED IT!!!!

Addison reads me a book

Brown Bear, Brown Bear is one of the kids favorite books. Here Addison decided she wanted to read it to me. CUTEST THING EVER!!!!

My luck has run out....

I guess I should count my blessings that the triplets are almost 3 and I've never had to deal with vomiting babies, but the curse has finally struck. Cody was immunized on Tuesday and later that afternoon began running a 102.2 fever. I assumed it was due to his shots and began the Tylenol and Motrin. The next day he still had fever and began vomiting... ugh.

On Thursday Jadon joined in the mix and began throwing up... then on Friday Kaylee started up as well. We all went to the pediatrician Friday afternoon and they still have ear infections which previous antibiotics haven't gotten rid of (drug resistant apparently) so they are on a new antibiotic (Augmentin) which causes stomach upset and diarrhea.

This is the 1st time any of the kids have ever had ear infections and we just can't seem to be able to get rid of them. Not sure why after 3 years they are just now getting ear infections. Well, we gave the kids their drugs last night and they all three proceeded to throw them up. Jadon and Kaylee in their beds, and Cody all over Jerry. You would have thought Jerry had been dunked in nuclear waste.... I've been puked on several times now, but haven't made a huge issue over it. Ahhh, Men....

Well, the antibiotic is upsetting already upset stomachs and now has the kids going at the other end as well - UGH, UGH, UGH. Needless to say, our house is stinky. Called the "on call" doctor this morning and got some anti-nausea meds so hopefully they will help. How Addison has avoided the illness is beyond me. Once the other 3 are healthy again she will probably get it.

I am exhausted.... I mean really exhausted. REALLY EXHAUSTED!!!! I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Kaylee is on the potty with the runs, Jadon is throwing up, Addison is having a fit because I accidentally flushed her tee tee without thinking, and Cody is in his high chair screaming because he dropped his drink. It's like this all day long.
I couldn't survive this without the help of my DAD (thanks Dad) and husband (oh, my Mom is also sick).

Jerry has done TONS of laundry today between the soiled sheets, clothes, towels, etc. THANK YOU JERRY - I LOVE YOU!!!

Pray everyone is well soon!!!
Note the sheets on the floor to help keep the rug clean.....



Did I mention I am exhausted?

Just a quick post

Every night our bedtime routine is bath, "nite nite" books, then bed. Here is just a short clip from our nite nite book routine:


Cody has been late in meeting his milestones, but he is doing great (although is sick right now with a high fever, so pray he is well soon).

Cody's One Year Well Child

Cody went for his 1 year well child visit this morning. He is 31 1/2 inches long (89th %) and 22 lbs 1 oz (35th %) so he is once again long and lean, but this time even leaner. He may end up a basketball star rather than a football star. He is healthy and doing well, however his tear ducts are still clogged so he will have to undergo another procedure at the end of August. I'll be glad to have his little eyes fixed. Here are all the baby stats (click to enlarge).

Cody turns ONE!!!!!

Despite a very hectic week with potty training, ear infections, eye infections, bloody noses, nightmares, and too much time spent at home, I did manage to get gifts bought and wrapped, birthday decor purchased and put in place, and a cake baked and decorated. I also made Cody a birthday onesie since I had done this for the triplets (didn't want them to spooge good clothes with cake). Whew... I'm worn out!!!! But the party was a success!!! We went with a Mickey Mouse theme and I made a "Toodles" cake... gotta watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for "Toodles and the Mouseketools." We started up around 10:00 am, had Popeyes chicken for lunch, opened gifts, ate cake, then put everyone (including myself) down for naps. The triplets loved the party. We put temporary Mickey Mouse "tatoos" on everyone cheeks and the triplets opened all the presents for Cody then walked them over to show him what he got. I can't believe my little man is ONE... Although sad, we are looking forward to what the future years have in store for us. We are looking forward to vacations and getting out more now that they are getting older. Blessings to all.

Potty training update

Well, this morning Jadon decided he wanted to try the potty again and lo' and behold if he didn't do it. So, now all three are once again wearing underwear. We had two accidents, a few spills on the floor, and no less that 15 trips to successfully flush tee-tee between 8:00 this morning and nap time at 1:00 this afternoon. It felt like all Mom and I did was flush toilets all day long... it's good they are going, but boy they are keeping us busy.

Let the potty begin...

Yes, this week I started potty training. I have put it off as long as possible because I know life will get harder once they are potty trained. Sounds funny and most people are shocked to hear me say that, but right now I never have to make trips to a filthy public restroom because someone has to potty. I don't have to worry about Jadon laying on the restroom floor while I hold Kaylee over the toilet trying to keep her from touching anything. I don't have to yell at Addison to leave Cody's stroller alone and stop playing with the toilet paper.

I don't have to stop in the middle of cooking eggs, feeding Cody, or calling the bank to go assistance in pulling down and pulling up pants.... hopefully you see where I'm going with this. I can change a diaper in record time and not miss a beat, but now I have to deal with potties. But my goal has always been to have them trained by 3 so it is now time to start.

Right now, it's been 2 good days of training and the girls seem to understand what is expected of them and are doing ok. We have had a few accidents, but they understand the goal. Jadon, poor guy, just doesn't get it yet. Therefore, the plan now is to focus on the girls and once they are trained I'll start working on Jadon.

The 1st day was comical. I put them all in underwear and poured liquids into all of them. After a couple accidents the light bulb clicked on with the girls and I spent the rest of the morning pouring tee tee into the toilet and doing the tee tee dance. I'm not kidding... they would tee tee, flush it, then go back and tee tee more. I couldn't believe they could keep squeezing it out!!!! Jadon, just had accidents in his pants. By that afternoon the novelty had worn off and it was one accident after another including going the dreaded #2 in the pants. I was frustrated... the next day we got back to business and it's been going pretty well since. Everyone say a prayer this is all over with soon... it's a LOT OF WORK!!!!

P.S. The plan is to get a travel potty for the car in order to avoid public restrooms.

One of the most frequently asked questions:

We are always asked if we get any sleep in our house. That question is quickly followed up with how did you sleep train your kids.

Jerry and I have been very fortunate and only have our sanity in that our kids are all good sleepers/nappers. The kids go down around 8:30 and I wake them at 7:00 and they all nap from 1:00 to 3:00 or later daily (required nap is 1 to 3) and the triplets never protest when it's time to lay down. Whether luck or training we can never know for sure, but we get LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of questions as to how we handled sleep problems. It's probably one of the most asked questions by other parents. My question to other parents is how do you get picky eaters to EAT???

At our 1st pediatric appt after the kids left the NICU, the NICU pediatrician told us to no longer wake the babies to eat and gave us the following instructions:
1. They only get up to eat if they are crying (not whining or moaning). Never get up for whining or moaning, in fact move the baby monitor far enough away that you don't hear whining and moaning.
2. No cuddling, cooing, playing during the night... it's all business with dim lights then straight back to bed.
3. Establish a bedtime routine; Bath, bottle, bed was our routine.
4. Let them cry 5 minutes, then go calm them a minute to refocus them. Try not to pick them up. (If I had to pick them up, I held them next to the crib without eye contact or talking and laid them down after they calmed a bit at which time they went bonkers again). Then leave. Don't spend more than a minute or two if possible.
5. Let them cry 10 minutes then repeat calming, then 15 minutes, etc. (we didn't do this by the clock, but got a feel for when they needed to be calmed and when they needed to cry.) After calming them and leaving the room, the crying is worse for a few minutes, but eventually the length of crying shortens and they calm down faster as they learn it doesn't get them what they want. The calming is really just to refocus them since they sometimes get so worked up they need help shutting it down.
6. We also have a naptime routine which has changed as they got older, but we always used the same cry method.

It is painful to listen to your little one cry, but with triplets we had no choice and we were tough with Cody because we had seen it work with the triplets and he is now also a great sleeper. Cody still screams when we lay him down in bed, but stops almost immediately when the door closes. He has learned his protests are futile.

It also only takes breaking this routine once to screw things up again. One night when Kaylee was just over one, I think, her diaper leaked during the night. We got her up, took her downstairs, changed her, let her lay in our bed a few minutes until she calmed down, etc. She woke every night for about 4 days crying until I managed to get her retrained. Jadon used to nap about 45 minutes then wake crying. I'd go get him and rock him back down until I finally decided this was ridiculous and decided to make naps a two hour minimum. The 1st day when he woke 45 minutes into the nap he cried until the two hours were up. The 2nd day he cried maybe 5 minutes and hasn't cried since.

I don't think we could have done this had it not been a necessity with triplets, but we have found it worked for us. We were never sleep deprived parents and the kids have learned we set the bedtime and wake time. We may be lucky that we just have good sleepers while other parents have good eaters, but since we get asked so often I thought I'd share our strategy.

Clean Mouths and happy hearts

I brush 5 sets a teeth twice a day (mine and 4 kids, yes even Cody gets his 4 teeth brushed). So I figure I brush teeth....

10 times per day
70 times per week
300 times per 30 day month
3,650 times per year....

Not one of my favorite chores although the kids love the 'brusha brusha brusha' song I sing.

4th of July

This morning we enjoyed participating in the annual neighborhood 4th of July Parade. It was fun but HOT!!!!! We loaded up and ate lunch at Chuy's then came home to nap the babies. When they got up we went over to the grandparents house and swam for a while then came home and let the kids play in the sprinklers while we grilled burgers and dogs. When it got dark we put Cody to bed and let the triplets watch the neighbors shoot off fireworks. Jadon's new favorite word is AWESOME!!!

In the press again

We were surprised to see when received this months Triplet Connection magazine we were in it announcing the birth of Cody. (Click to Enlarge)

Welcome Home Baby Lane

Looks like baby Lane and Kerri will be going home tomorrow!!!!!! We are all thrilled here in Houston!!!! Welcome home little man!!

Aunt Tracy

I am thrilled to let you know that I am an Aunt. On June 29th, my brother David and his wife Kerri gave birth to a little boy Robert Lane. He is doing great but did have to spend a little time in the NICU as he was a born a couple weeks early. I told my brother welcome to the joys and pains of parenthood because it truly is both.

Jerry and I spent a lot of time in the NICU with our babies praying daily for them. I remember how sick our little Cody was and signing a consent form for a "double volume exchange."

It was performed during the night and I was up all night waiting for news he came through it ok. I remember them having to constantly move his IV because his veins kept collapsing... he was a bruised pin cushion.

I remember the triplets and their pick lines, they didn't have IVs because they were there so long so we approved an IV line that went to their hearts to avoid collapsed veins.

Parenthood is painful and scary, but then there is the joy. There is truly no comparison to the joy children bring and each day I love watching them grow and develop new skills. I love talking to them and am amazed at the vivid imaginations. David and Kerri have just started this adventure. The rollercoaster has just started down the tracks... I pray the highs are really high and long and the lows are brief and just make their love stronger.

Once again, my favorite quote:
"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~ Elizabeth Stone

He is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Welcome baby Lane!!!!












"Double Volume Exchange - Removal of twice the blood volume from the affected infant and replacing with fresh blood from the blood bank (exchange transfusion). Exchange transfusion has been shown to reduce brain damage in severely jaundiced babies; however, exchange transfusion is associated with serious adverse events including death."

Jon and Kate

I don't know how many of you watch Jon & Kate plus 8, a family with twins and sextuplets. I haven't watched much since our babies were born, but I was addicted when on bedrest with the triplets. Well, they are filing for divorce after 10 years. Kate stated that the divorce rate among couples with multiples is 3x higher than typical families. I don't know if that is true or not, but I know raising 4 kids under the age of 3 is all about work and sacrifice (more than anyone can imagine) and I count my blessings daily that I have a husband who is loving, supportive, and digs in on an ongoing basis with a smile on his face. We work hard but we love our work.

More videos...

The girls are styling in their shades.... too cool they gotta wear shades...




My little man is growing up... not an infant anymore.

A new favorite quote:

Saw this on a friends blog and loved it:

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says, 'Oh crap, she's up!'"

Never thought I'd be saying this....

One of the kids favorite movies is The Little Mermaid where "the bad octopus lady, Ursula" takes the little mermaids voice in exchange for giving her legs. Well, one night the kids were singing like the little mermaid and pretending to take each others voices. The next day in the car, I hear Addison having a meltdown... "Kaylee took my ????" I couldn't understand her. Finally, I was able to go back and she cried out "Kaylee took my voice" with eyes full of tears.

"Kaylee, give Addison her voice back." Later on in the stroller.... "Girls, leave each other's voices alone or you will go to time out." This is now a regular problem and I often have to tell them to stop touching each other's voices.

Sometimes I wish I could take their voices for a while and stick them in my pocket to get some peace and quiet, but thought this was too funny.

Cody's 1st Haircut

Worth watching....

Sick Baby

Aside from a few minutes comforting a child after a bad dream, I have to say I have not been up with a baby during the night in at least six months. Well, yesterday Cody started running 102 fever and woke during the night crying with 101.7. I gave him some Tylenol and held him for about 30 minutes then he started getting restless. I think when the fever broke, he got hot and couldn't get comfortable, so I took him upstairs and laid him down expecting protest, but he happily went back to sleep. I wish I could say the same about myself.... I have such a hard time getting back to sleep.

Today... for the 1st time he went down for his nap without one tear.... shocker... now I'm going to try and nap as well.

Hopefully he is on the road to recovery....

New Videos

We have a book where a bumblebee is crying and has a "Big 'Ol Tear", well the kids have become very interested in their tears. Whenever they cry they have to point out the tears on their faces.



I don't know if anyone has watched Cinderella lately, but at one point in the movie the birds and the mice decide to sew Cinderella a dress for the ball. Well, the girls have also been working to make Cinderella a dress. The kids imaginative play is getting sooo fun and amazes me daily.


The kiddos called and sang Happy Birthday to MaMaw on her birthday and then again at the Birthday Party... and helped her blow out the candles.

More Photos....

Jerry took the pics of me and Cody.... he did a GREAT job!!

An apple a day....

I have a new found respect for dietary fiber ever since Jadon suffered terrible constipation recently. He literally suffered for 24 hours and after a couple enemas, a call to the ped, and a call to a pharmasist he was finally successful, but he was in pain. It's true love literally helping your little one pass a "poopie".

Jadon is the pickiest eater in the family and tends to gravitate to dairy products... cheese, milk, and yogurt are his favorites. He refuses all fruits except bananas (which are also system cloggers). I have started sneaking oat bran and wheat germ into everything I can trying to get his little system back in proper working order.

To all the new moms out there... fiber, fiber, fiber.... because what Jadon went through was horrible....

Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars

For Mom and Dad on Cruise

Cody's 9 Month Check-up

Long and lean....

Cody weighed in at 21 lbs 4 oz (56th percentile) and is 30 inches long (90th percentile). He is borderline anemic so we will watch that the next three months, but he was very brave and didn't shed a tear during the finger prick - smiled the whole time. He is behind in meeting his developmental milestones (so was Jadon), but the poor guy gets very little floor time with three toddlers running around, so I'm going to start working with him everyday. All in all he is doing great and is getting more and more handsome each day. Below are the stats for all the kids.

Click to Enlarge

A Disney Delight

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to see Disney on Ice. We weren't sure if they were really old enough to enjoy it yet, but bought the tickets and hoped for the best. Boy were we surprised!!! What a perfect event for the family. The kids were mesmerized and loved every minute. In life you have good days and bad days, easy times and hard times, but every now and then you have a perfect moment. During Disney I had Kaylee and Jadon in my lap and Jerry had Cody and Addison. I looked at my family as they sat watching The Little Mermaid dance around the ice and I was literally moved to tears, it was a perfect moment. I never dreamt I could love my family so much, but they are my world. We left the show with all our souvenirs and left over cotton candy. Kaylee cried "more, more, more" all the way to the car she was soooo upset the show was over but they all talked about the "mean octopus lady, Ursula" (from the Little Mermaid" all through dinner. The show highlighted The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, and Peter Pan... but the Little Mermaid was clearly the favorite.

Generous?

Obamas tax records were just released and they reported adjusted gross income of $2,656,902 and also reported donating $172,050 or about 6.5 percent of their adjusted gross income.

I found this to be rather interesting list, it's Obama's charitable donations expressed as a % of his income... Interesting how he starts donating once he enters the political arena.

2006: 6.1%
2005: 4.7%
2004: 1.2%
2003: 1.4%
2002: 0.4%
2001: 0.5%
2000: 0.9%

Here is a link to his tax returns:
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/tvnews/nightly%20news/_tab%20boxes/obama_tax_return.pdf

Texas Tea

I've been sitting and reading about the April 15th Tea Parties. Thought this was good,

"Atlanta protester Dwight Alcala says his main concern is that free-for-all government spending leads to a freeloader mind-set that’s antithetical to the Constitution’s guarantees of individual rights. We’re fed up, and we think there’s a better way."

The media has tried to downplay the Tea Parties with minimal coverage and mockery. But the turnout was great: Atlanta was estimated to have 15,000 people. According to the San Francisco Chronicle a Sacramento rally drew about 5,000, and Associated Press reported that 1,000-2,000 attended a D.C. rally. According to CNN.com “tens of thousands of people spent part of April 15” at tea party demonstrations. Sounds like we had over 5,000 right here in The Woodlands.

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times

What a rough couple of weeks.....

Doctors appt for my hernia and diastasis downtown
Cody's eyes probed.... horrible
Doctors appt for my heart (annual check for bicuspid heart valve)
Emergency room with Kaylee for stitches
Kaylee can't eat solids or drink from sippy cup for a week, not going well very upset about new diet
Addison has nightmare at 12:30 and I can't get back to sleep for hours
Mom sick with shingles, can't touch Cody
Have to wear 24 hour heart monitor for irregular heartbeat
No school Monday due to Easter holiday (no breaks for me)
Kaylee home from Tues Gym and Wed School due to injury (no breaks for me)
School calls Wednesday Jadon is throwing up and running fever
Cody's eye infection returns, once again on eye drops, appears probing didn't work
Emotions are high and patience is short

We all have good days and bad days.... it's been bad for a while so it's gotta get better soon...