Safari Must Do in San Antonio

We woke Thursday morning and fed the babies breakfast in the room. We learned at Moody Gardens it's best to feed them food they recognize when they get up and let them graze in the restaurant. After they were fed and cleaned up we went to the hotel restaurant for our breakfast, delicious and fun. Then we loaded up for the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch . WOW, WOW, WOW.... a must do in San Antonio. You drive in your car along the ranch and feed these exotic and many endangered species. It was incredible and sooooo much fun. Since it was off season, we had the park virtually to ourselves... perfect!!! We couldn't believe how tame the animals were and friendly. The ostrich and zebras literally were coming into our car. One zebra did try to take a bite out of our car, but luckily didn't do any damage. When we left we drove back to the hotel and let the kids nap in the car. We finished up the day swimming at the hotel and ate room service before heading off to bed. Cody did better this night.

You have to watch the "When Ostrich Attack Video".... too funny. (Click on pictures to enlarge).

Vacation Day One - The Suite Life

We had the most WONDERFUL vacation!!! We applied lessons learned on our Moody Gardens overnight and all went much smoother. Still a lot of work, but a LOT OF FUN!!!! We did soooo much that to blog it all tonight would be too much for me, so I will break it up by day.

On Wednesday we drove to San Antonio with one stop to let everyone potty and eat. We have a travel potty in the car which is a must have for us. I do not want to take 3 little bodies to public restrooms... LOVE OUR POTTY. Our potty comes with liners, but to save money and time, I use small trash bags and put a feminine liner in the bottom to absorb. Works great!!!

We got to the Hyatt Hill Country and checked in. We learned in Oklahoma that a suite is worth the money with little ones. We can put them in their room, turn out the lights, then go to our room and watch tv. We tried sleeping everyone in one room at Moody Gardens and learned that was a mistake. The hotel was BEAUTIFUL!!! We explored the grounds, then put on swimsuits and floated on the lazy river around the hotel, then played on the hotel beach. We loaded everyone upstairs, showered, dressed, and went to dinner at Cracker Barrel. Dinner was good, but Kaylee broke a little plate and cried about it the whole evening.

We tried sleeping the triplets in a queen bed at Moody Gardens, but found they were too close for comfort, so this trip we took sleeping bags which worked much better. Cody went into a pack and play... but was not happy the 1st night... he later learned lights out means time to sleep.

Jerry and I fell into bed and thus ended our 1st day in San Antonio.



(Click on pictures to enlarge)

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MUST HAVE DVDs for Little Ones

We have a lot of the Disney and other children's movies and the kids enjoy them all, but these have been all time favorites in our home.

When the babies were 17 months old we made an 8 hour drive to Oklahoma and literally watched this movie the entire way. Baby Genius Favorite-Sing-Alongs which we purchased at Walmart.... To this day I can sing all the songs (although my mind has tried to forget). Perfect DVD for very young children.

Our favorite car videos today however are The Brother's Grimm Fairy Tales which can be purchased from QVC. There are 13 discs in one easy to transport case with 2 movies on each disc. Each movie is about 25 minutes which is perfect for car rides. LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE MOVIES!!!!! We keep them in the car and it gives the kids some variety. Movies include:

Little Red Riding Hood
The Goosemaiden
Snow White
The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids
The Bremen Town Musicians
Tom Thumb
Cinderella
Puss in Boots
Rapunzel
Rumpelstiltskin
Sleeping Beauty
The Two Princesses
The Frog King
And more
Run time is approximately 650 minutes"

Our final pick is The Read and See DVD Bible. It is a book and DVD, but we have just used the DVD. We started watching bible stories everyday before naps a long long time ago. The babies were very young and to this day it is still a favorite in our home. A short bible story is told and then it's follow-up with a song. The kids have learned many of the songs and LOVE this video!!!!

Tomorrow, we are heading to San Antonio for a 4 night vacation and we won't be leaving home without these videos.

Overwhelmed? Don't fret it has a name....

By the end of the day I am exhausted, literally exhausted by the constant discipline required to raise all these babies. I often pray, "Dear Heavenly Father, please give me the strength to cope with my blessings." From sun up to sun down, I am correcting their behavior in one way or another. "Don't climb on the sofa," "Don't pull your sisters hair," "Don't tee tee in your pants," "Don't pick your nose," "Don't bite your nails," "Be quiet during prayers," "Eat, don't feed the dogs," "Be gentle with toys," etc.... all day long. When Jerry gets home from work, sometimes I just have to mentally check out... I hear the crying and misbehaving and I let him take over. I'm just too exhausted. All in all, I think the kids are well behaved and great, but it takes a LOT OF WORK and I try to balance all the "Don'ts" with "Good jobs". I was happy to learn there is a name for what I'm dealing with, Twin Escalation Syndrome (TES). Here is a clip from an article I read... enjoy. I'm sure all mothers can relate in one way or another.

"There's a condition that afflicts multiples. It's Twin Escalation Syndrome, the tendency of multiples to intensify and expand their behaviors in reaction to each other. For example, when Twin A cries, Twin B cries louder. In turn, Twin A cries even louder. And so on, and so on... Until the parents are crying the loudest of all.
Or, consider two school-aged twins. Their main passion in life is to amuse each other. At any normal mealtime, you'll find the following scenario: one twin slurps his milk to get his brother's attention. Not to be outdone, his brother blows bubbles into his cup. Twin One ups the ante by standing up in his chair to sing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" while gargling his milk. Then when Twin Two stands in his chair to attempt an even more outrageous stunt, he falls and knocks his milk over. Twin One laughs uproariously until he snorts milk out of his nose. Mom and Dad shake their heads (and fists!) in frustration, victims yet again of TES.
Let's face it. Twin Escalation Syndrome is incurable. If you have twins, you have TES. If you have triplets, quadruplets, or higher order multiples, you have it really three, four or more times as bad. You can't get rid of it, but you can control it. Here are some measures that parents can take to reduce flare-ups and preserve family safety and sanity." See the full article for suggestions.

Mommy tips and tools

I was recently talking with a friend who complained about my blog... We talk regularly, but she never heard me talk about the 10 count method, then she read about it on the blog. She asked that I include more tips and tricks, favorite products, etc. So I've added a new blog category, "Mommy's tips and tools." I'll try to pass along my favorite products and lessons learned along the way. In return, I ask you to share your little secrets with me as well (especially when it comes to getting your kids to eat).

The Ten Count Method - Miracle Tool for this Mom

The Ten Count is a tool we use OFTEN around the Hopkins home. Why it works we don't know, but it works most of the time for us.

One night I was brushing the kids teeth and they kept grabbing the toothbrush to try and help me. I told them, "It's Mommy's turn right now, when I am done you can have a turn." When I finished brushing I gave them the toothbrush and told them I was going to count to ten and at ten they had to give the toothbrush back to me. It worked!! When I got to ten, they would each happily turn over the toothbrush. This went on every morning and evening (and continues). It was so successful we then started using it for other things....

"Ok, it's time to get out of the pool..." count to ten and everyone happily gets out.
"You aren't pottying... give Kaylee a turn she needs to go. Ok, you have ten..." At ten a happy child gets off the potty.
"Ok, you can get a drink for ten, then give Addison a turn." At ten the cup is happily handed over.
"Ok, you can touch (fill in the blank) for 10, then you have to put it back" Once again happy child complies.

I've asked Jadon to do things in the past and he says, "Mommy, count." I count and he cooperates.

It works for everything... I don't know why.... but it works and I have shocked many a Mom who has witnessed the miracle of a ten count.