Our big happy..

First Grade!

2011-08-30T12:18:00.001-07:00

Holy cow, you little monkeys are in first grade this year! All day in school and in separate classes, too. This morning your dad and I dropped you off, and I told myself I was going to keep it together since I cracked on teacher meet and greet day. No worries, I didn't embarrass you, just left the room under the guise of looking for your wandering brothers :)

Luke, your class freaked me out! No familiar faces in your line, and most the line was GIRLS. 12 girls to 6 boys! I was worried about you making friends -you are such a doll and anytime I think of you it is with the image of your head thrown back laughing- and I was concerned you would be too shy to shine. After school you were so excited, it soothed my concerns for now. Not only did you get to sit with Jessica in lunch (even though she is in a different class), you love your teacher and you did end up recognizing one of the boys from your first class last year. I am excited to see you blossom on your own this year, buddy!

Wyatt, I LOVE your teacher. Her class is so bright and ideal, I wish your brothers had a class like that too. You have a couple friends in your class, including Franki down the street (and did I mention I LOVE your teacher?) and your teacher just seems perfectly suited for you. She sends packets home and I am all about teacher/parent communication. You sang songs in class today as well as played I Spy and Hide and Seek (really, or are you trying to make your brothers jealous?) so it sounds as if your day was a success too!

Jaxon, you got the majority of your friends in your class this year. I am sure you feel right as home amongst all your friends, but I have concerns since you got a teacher that is new to the school, and her classroom was not so cute and she had no packet, but I know I am nitpicking a bit because I worry you got another ineffective teacher. You get bored just doing homework, so I worry she won't be able to keep you inspired and on task for a 6 hour day. Only time will tell, so I will keep a closer eye on you. You are such an independent guy, not worried or hesitant about a new class or all day school. You are always ready to tackle what the bigger kids do, I really admire your strength like that. Get 'em tiger!

As for me, I sat around with your dad today. He called in just so he could be a part of this huge milestone with us. We ran a few errands and ate crab cakes. Then I read a book while he make water balloons for you guys to play with when you got home. Your dad is awesome, you know.

Tomorrow, I will wake up and make you a nice and healthy breakfast, and pack 3 yummy and healthy lunches. I feel like since I don't parent while you are at school I really need to get the meals right for you. Having you guys at school makes me realize it is time to look for direction in my life. I ALWAYS planned on being a mom. But being a mom is no longer a full time job, and I am in unfamilar territory.

Seems like a year of firsts for all of us. Can't wait to see where we end up.

Jaxon's First Staples

2011-08-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Seriously- being that this is JAXON, who is "do first, think later" to the tips of his very toes, we are all surprised he has gone this long without any medical interference. Poor love though, no matter how often he squeaked by without any damage, my heart still broke for him today when tears, screams and blood were all very present.

I had just called him up on my bed and he sat down and slammed his body backwards- as to bounce against the mattress- missing the mattress and hitting my iron foot board. He just screamed and I froze, not wanting to freak him out, waiting to see if there was any damage, and just saw lots of blood instead.

He was better by the time our Dr could see us. I was unsure if he even needed stitches, but figured rather be safe than sorry. Once the Dr spelled out staples to me, I sent the Luke and Wyatt out of the office. The last thing Jax needed was his brothers freaking him out with stories of the Dr putting staples on his head. They had already "helped" enough, telling him his head looked "exgussting" (their version of disgusting).

Thankfully, all is better now. Jax saw the picture of the back of his head and said he NEVER wants to see that again.

He is sitting on our cream couch and I am cringing very time he moves his body, afraid he will leave a nice blood mark or ten on the couch back. I better go and put a gauze on it.

3 New Things

2011-07-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy summer day, with three new things.
First, at swim lessons, Wyatt got to join his brothers in Level 3! The boys were all thrilled and swimming lessons quickly took the back seat to what Luke correctly described as "this is like a freakin party!" It was amazing how the dynamics of the boys changed once all three were put in the same class. Makes me realize separate classes for all three is the right choice for them for first grade.

Second, at the fun pool with Michael and Cathryn (Mrs Andi and the girls, too) the kids all decided they wanted to try the diving boards. Luke had done it before at the end of last sessions swim lessons, but it was new to Wyatt and Jaxon. Jax walked right up to the diving boards and decided he was going for the big one (big as a house, he says). We made him do the shorter one to be sure, but he got out determined to do the big board. I think Mike may have been a bit nervous himself, but Jax dragged him to the big diving board and jumped. He walked right to the edge, plugged his nose and covered his eyes, and JUMPED.
Then he did it again and again. Jaxon's passion and love for life constantly amazes and amuses me. The smile on his face when he comes up from the water just makes me smile from the inside out.

Last, is something not so fun, but it is growth all the same. Lucas wanted a shower tonight so we told him to go take one- and he did. This is the first time any of them have shown any interest in their own shower, or doing it all themselves. Luke is generally the first to try something, and he likes to master whatever it is that he is doing. Such a quick learner, that one.

Don worked at 12 1/2 hour day today and by the time he got home it was almost 8 pm. When he got home, the boys all danced around playing their guitars while wearing disguises ranging from a bumble bee head to batmans mask with a cowboy hat on (while wearing only underwear and a super hero cape).

Just the norm for us.

Possibly the l-o-n-g-e-s-t Joke ever

2011-06-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

Summertime is full of popsicles. Popsicle with fun jokes on the sticks. With three 6 year olds, these jokes add extra entertainment in both the telling and the punch lines.

Today this is how it went:

Wyatt: I have a joke, everyone listen to me!

What did - what does p-o-l-l-y spell?

Me: Polly

Wyatt: What did Polly the - what does p-a-r-r-o-t spell?

Me: parrot

Wyatt: What did Polly the parrot want on the forth of July?

All of us : What did Polly the parrot want?

Wyatt: A fire -what does c-a-r, I mean c-r-k-e oops. It is c-r-a-c-k-e-r, spell?

Me: cracker

Wyatt: A FIRE CRACKER! Hahaha!

Happy Birthday Boys!

2011-05-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Surrounded by the boys friends they have known since they were a tiny 10 months old, and by new friends they have made in school this year, the boys celebrated turning SIX this past weekend.

A campfire celebration is what we called this party, and it didn't start until 6pm. We promised hot dogs, cake and s'mores for food, and I think everyone ate until they couldn't fit anymore food in.

The kids all started out eating Don's grilled dogs and playing on the grass area.

Then we had a big water balloon fight. Don filled over 200 water balloons, and put them in for separate buckets for "stations". The kids all picked a station and went to it!

The energy level was crazy, so much laughing, running and excitement!

After the water balloons were finished and picked up, it was time for CAKE!

And then... S'mores!

As the sun went down, we realized we had some night time toys to pass out. Glow in the dark bracelets were passed out and fashioned into necklaces and even tried as a hula hoop at one point.

One of our guess were getting ready to leave and we remembered to pass out our parting gifts -lighted helicopters. They were so much fun to play with, it kept the party going at least another 45 minutes.

Finally the party was down to Andi and Jens girls, Michele and Gregs kiddos, and the boys. While their parents helped us tear down and pack up, the kids just played and played. I have no idea where they get this energy from -it was well past 9 and they were still going full speed. It had been probably since February since all 10 kids have been together, but they are like their own little set of Las Vegas cousins and didn't miss a beat.

On the drive home I was just filled with such a feeling of being abundantly blessed with so many great friends -old and new- and so glad our boys could be surrounded with so much friendship while celebrating their birthday.

****Things to remember****
This is the first year we had school friends. Each boy was able to invite two friends.

The only child that was not able to attend was due to religious reasons. Other than that, every single other person that we invited, came.

The boys friend from school, Maile, is a sweet and smiley, but silent girl. She talked at the party and the boys have since professed to me that the favorite part of their party was that Maile talked! :)

Jaxon has his first "girl friend". All kinder year through they have been little best buds and when she got the birthday invite, her mom reported Madison as saying, "wild horses couldn't keep her away".

Wyatt

2011-02-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

Since he was a baby, Wyatt's mind works very methodically. He has always been able to work patterns and order without any trouble. See that long line of trains in the background? Without a doubt, that is Wyatt's.

His little mind works so quickly, that we wonder if that is where his stuttering comes in play. We know some of it is genetic, but it seems as if his mind is so rushed with what is next, that he can't spit the words out fast enough.

Wyatt is a turkey though, with a hilarious sense of humor. He likes to be in the limelight, and is a tenacious little monkey when it comes to playing with us. He thinks of things (like ice in Daddy's pants when they wrestle) that makes us laugh too much to be able to punish him. I love what he adds to our family.

Sickies

2011-02-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from when they were sick in December (hence the Christmas tree) -ironically we blew the air mattress up in the living room this past weekend as well

Recently the weather has gotten colder and usually that is a trigger for Wyatt's asthma to act up. A friend of mine suggested that I cut milk from his diet and it has made a huge difference. So big, that we felt confident in our decision to keep him off Singulair. Instead of coughing within a single minute of playing in the cold (under 60 degrees for us in Vegas, ha!) weather, Wyatt can now play in the cold weather with a slight possibility of coughing once or twice after about 15 minutes.

I had inadvertently re-introduced milk one night while making an Alfredo sauce, and the poor guy had a rash all over his torso. To add insult to injury, the next day Vegas winds started up and allergens were all over the place. His body was attacked from the inside out (my fault since we decided on no more Singulair, but I wished I would have remembered to use saline for his nose!) and after trying the breathing treatments and etc at home for a few days, off to the Dr we went.

While Wyatt was at his low, but on his way to feeling better, Jaxon fell sick to some cough or cootie around school. Give it a day or two, and Wyatt is running around like a mad man (the steroids they prescribed combined with the albuterol make him act like a gerbil on crack) and Luke made his way to the sick side.

Luckily (or unluckily) this all happened over the long weekend. As of now Lucas is the only one staying home from school today, and his little face is so red from over use of tissues. Hopefully tomorrow all will be back to normal so I can let these little guys run and play. They are driving me nuts being cooped up in the house for all this time!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T16:12:00.001-08:00

Yesterday the boys got to hand out their 75 home made valentines to their class mates. I found the greatest idea here, and the boys were game with it.

Don and I have an agreement to not do presents for each other on most holidays, (not that we don't love each other, but we find it hard to enjoy the gift when we could have used the money elsewhere). Don is awesome and still got me a box of Dove chocolates, but then I felt a bit bad. I saw the perfect idea online about a half hour before I had to get the kids out of school.

I got my craft started, and then had to stop to get the boys from school. They each came home with a brown bag filled to the brim with sweet treats. Leaving them to have their "snack" of sweets, I ran upstairs to make this.

While I was upstairs, the boys did this...

No wonder they were so quiet :)

Super Jaxon

2011-01-27T22:18:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt in Jaxon's mind. It is an absolute.

He is a Super Hero.

He has super hero healing powers. He has super hearing. He calls the Justice League on whatever device he knows will get him through.

(He said he's in the Bat Cage) haha!

He wears his cape (or Bat Man Halloween costume) when ever he can. And the mask if he can find it.

Five is so cool!

Catching up

2011-01-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been months since I have taken effort with my blog. Not sure why, although the boys are "big boys" and all now, this age has been so much fun -with plenty of stories to share.

I am getting back on track, slowly but surely. I have put some new entries in starting in October (catching up on Halloween and all) and will continue until I am up to date.
xoxo
Laura

Facebook Updates

2011-01-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes things happen in the house that is not much of a blog post by itself, but makes for a good update on Facebook. Here are some recent ones...

DEC 6th
Luke is going around making up words and telling me they are spanish. Brothers in spanish = gula-jaz-ia. I am so glad he is around to teach me "spanish"...

This is what Wyatt gives me to work with for Christmas pictures... FANTASTIC!

DEC 16th
Don has the boys helping him cook chocolate covered strawberries as a "surprise" for me. Yes, I already know -can't hide it when the chocolate smells heavenly. The real surprise will be if they continue this peacefully :)

DEC 20th
We just got home and it only took 3 minutes for 1) drop and break a jar of jelly on the kitchen floor 2) quickly run kids and dog upstairs to keep them from the glass 3)the (big) dog peed in our room and 4) give the kids a shower in the dark because the lights don't want to work in the kids bathroom.

DEC 22nd
The boys are tired of the 4 days of cloudy skies. They decided we need to move to another state.

DEC 29th
Cooking dinner while grooving to some Black Eyed Peas. Wyatt saw me dancing and said, "Shake your thing, love!" and turned around to shake HIS thing.

DEC 30th
My poor little lovies are all sick in their own way. I am going to start charting out medicine just to keep track of who has what, and when. Feels like the old days...

JAN 7th
Laughed so hard tonight watching as Wyatt tried to throw a temper tantrum. He had no idea what to do, he just knew he was mad. He ended up laughing inbetween bouts of anger. Made me realize my boys have NEVER thrown a temper. They don't even know how....

JAN 16th
Had a visit from a *thankfully friendly* police officer today. Wyatt thought it was hilarious to call 911 while wrestling with Don. Well, hilarious until we told him the police were on their way.

Christmas Day 2010 II

2010-12-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was so much fun. I wonder if it could possibly get any better...

Aunt Leigha was in all her pregnant glory. We are all so excited for her little guy to join us.

The boys have reached a new stage in adorableness. When they opened gifts and saw what was inside, they actually would gasp in excitement at what they saw inside. Next they would yell out for their brothers to "come see this" while they would hold the present up high and dance around the room with it. They were 100% genuine responses, and so stinking cute.

Here is Jaxon with a new age spirograph. He has no idea what it is, but thinks it looks SO COOL! and CAN"T WAIT TO USE IT! Check out that smile!

Wyatt here has received $5 WHOLE DOLLARS!! and is doing a little money dance to get some of the excitement out.

The whole day was so much fun with the boys. Next year I will have to have the camera ready and be prepared to catch their reactions on tape. I really love the age they are right now -they are so sweet and mostly kind to each other :) Hopefully we get a few more years like this while Christmas is still magical for them.

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-26T00:43:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas, the boys wrote their letters to Santa a bit later. It really was a big cause of stress to not have the letters written since that meant less time to find the gift on the list. Luckily, everything came together a few days before Christmas and each of the boys had gotten what they asked for.

Jaxon asked for the Bat Cave, Lucas for a large Flash and Super Man, and Wyatt wanted the Thomas train Misty Island set.

The boys were thrilled to see Santa had gotten what they wanted, but when they saw what their Mom and Dad had gotten them, they were doubly thrilled! That works both ways since Don and I are excited to have something to help the boys expend their energy outside.

After a bit of play time outside, the boys came back in to relax while playing with some of their new toys. Here are Lucas and Jaxon both playing new Leapster games. We all enjoyed our down time until it would be time to go celebrate Christmas at my parents.

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

Same as years before, Christmas Eve was at my parents house. Lots of family and friends gathered, for a night of so much fun. This year we had a new addition to the cousins picture! Little Reese is so adored!

The kids get a taste of Christmas by opening gifts from each other. Not sure what happened here, but Reagan thinks something is hilarious about Luke.

Jaxon got these book from Reagan and Reese, and he was so excited! He wanted to get to reading them to me right away!

Christmas Eve equals lots of kisses -not that anyone needs an excuse to love on a baby!

Even Jaxon can not resist the charms of Reese.

What is Wyatt doing with his nose pressed against the front door window? Looking for Santa of course!

Don -uh- I mean Santa, was seen walking outside by the front of the house. Luckily he didn't mind walking by a few times, since the kiddos were not all ready to see him and some missed out.

What a magical way to end the evening!

VEGAS, baby!

2010-12-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

After living in Las Vegas for about almost 17 years, it took my cousins science project to get us to go take our picture by the famous Las Vegas sign.

We had intended to get the picture of the dog with the sign and go, but the gentleman who's job it is to help tourists by the sign (I want THAT job!) insisted on some family pictures.

While he was a tall dark man -aged definitely a senior- taking our pictures, he was not happy with the general family grouping. He began yelling things like "Smile like you mean it" and "Work it!" and we started to get into it and have a bit more fun.

I am glad he loosened us up and got such happy faces out of all 5 of us. Fun is what Vegas is all about!

Snow man cookies

2010-12-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Now with the boys in school, we had to do something fun for their first school holiday party!

I found this great idea here, made a few of our own twists to it -making it a bit more child help friendly -and viola!

Such a fun winter treat and oh so yummy!

Our own Brady Bunch

2010-12-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

This past weekend one of our friends had called to see if we wanted to join them with the Santa train ride in Boulder City.

Apparently Santa was pretty booked for the day and we ended up not being able to take the train until later that afternoon. The time change ended up working out perfectly because the Christmas parade was earlier in the day, so we met up there instead.

It wasn't until we were on the train and all the kids were seated together that we realized with the three girls from Andi and Jen's family and our three boys, we had the Brady Bunch mix. Have you ever seen such a cute group of kids? Seriously? :)

Oh look! It's Stubby!
Santa was on the train too, by the way. The kiddos all had a great time. The boys have yet to wonder much about Santa, and I am so thankful we can still keep that innocence at least one more year.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

It was finally beginning to feel like Christmas around here. Even though we hadn't put up a tree, we set up our Christmas Village for the first time since the boys have been born. The Grinch was on the television and the boys watched the whole thing through for the first time.

Also, Christmas cards were on the brain, and I knew I would not be able to get it off my mind until it was off my mental list of things to do.

We got a few shots (with Nana's help) and it was hard to choose which one we would use.

The boys didn't have that trouble though. They just wanted to play with the giant nutcrackers. At one minute the nutcrackers were an evil bad guy in their super hero minds...

And the next minute it is Spider-Luke's (see his spider man web slinging hands?) best friend.

See me here!

2010-12-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

For more information, click *here*

My 34th Birthday

2010-11-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year, we did a fondue night at home. Eating picnic style in the living room -with all the cheese dipping we could want- was a perfect way to spend my birthday.

Thanksgiving in Texas

2010-11-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

Don and I decided this year we would go visit his parent in to Texas for Thanksgiving. His brother John (and his family) were planning on it as well, so we were really looking forward to a holiday with Don's family.

Luckily, Nana lent us her van and Don was able to take some time off work, so we decided that driving (30 hours each way) would be up our alley. We enjoy the challenge of making it so far in the shortest amount of time possible, while still keeping it safe with rotating drivers when needed. Crazy times, but fun.

Once we finally got to Texas, it was so good to see Don's family again! We hadn't seen Don's mom in almost a year, and his brother John's family is from Florida and had never met the boys! Everyone had so much catching up to do over lots of cooking, eating and card playing.

The houseful of guests (and all the noise they entail) are a lot for Don's dad to take in, so during the day we would try to keep the boys out of the house. One day we went to a nearby park. The boys loved running around with Don and their Uncle John. Uncle John likes to challenge the boys and they loved to try to take him on, racing all over the equipment and jumping on him like little monkeys.

Another day the whole group of us went to the Children's Museum of Houston. All five of the kids found different things to keep them busy in Kidtropolis. Luke liked being a veterinarian, Wyatt a food server, Jaxon a cashier at the grocery store, and Gina and Barbara liked to run around to the different ATMs, seeing how many paychecks they could enter. :)

Later we found another part of the Museum where we and the 5 kids did some crafts and more hands on experiments. After the museum we went to dinner. Things had been so busy, so it was nice to sit down and get to chat with my sister in law, Liz. The boys completely adored her and the girls, and they all were loving on the boys in return. I love that we all got along so well, and that love just flowed between the families.

The whole visit was fantastic, and I don't think there is a single thing I would have changed. We even got to introduce the boys to their cousin Gage, and catch up with some of Don's cousins, Aunt and Uncles in Texas. It was a much needed catch up with so much family, and we were all thankful for all of it.

Redi Whip

2010-11-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

The difference between moms and dads... Don thinks it is fun teaching them this. I just worry that my kids will sneak in the fridge to get it themselves, and end up high on laughing gas.

The Shapiro Shindig

2010-11-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

Face painting

Horsey rides

Petting zoo

And playing with our friends too!

What a fun afternoon!

Saying Thanks

2010-11-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

This picture is just crazy to me. Without this very man, our kids would not be here.

Thank you so much, Dr Shapiro.

Our Posse

2010-11-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

When the boys were born -and after they came home from their stay at the hospital, life changed. Obviously any parent that comes home with a baby for the first time feels like they have been dropped into the "Unknown Zone". I had an overwhelming feeling each week bringing a new baby home that the hospital really should write directions.

We felt our way around, but still knew we were just surviving, not really making any headway. At the end of the evening we were high-fiving that we made it through the day, but we were pretty sure there had to be easier methods to the madness. We had advice from many, but not anyone who really understood the logistics of THREE infants at once. That is where my web sleuthing came in and we found Triplet Connection.

Through Triplet Connection, I was able to meet some other local moms of triplets. People who didn't feel the need to ask me about how we conceived our kids, or look at me like I was a freak because I had a mile long stroller. We didn't have to worry about other triplet mom friends feeling that we were trying to "out do" them because our litter of kids commanded a bit more attention than a cute bow on their single baby's head.

I came into a group of friends already formed, and more have continued to join or go as they have pleased. I am so thankful for my friends who listen to the crazy times while not judging, but laughing because they have been there in one form or another -or laughing because they know that day is coming for them as well. These moms are all great, and their kids are pretty adorable as well.

I love the posse and support that comes from these other Moms of Multiples, and the fun my children have with theirs.

Fire Drill

2010-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

Monday through Thursday the kids have homework. Since they are a wreck when they get home after school, we have been doing homework after breakfast.

We have been caught up for the entire week, except half of Thursday's home. PRACTICE A FIRE DRILL WITH YOUR FAMILY.

Oh my Lord.

This sentence made my stomach drop. It could have been because Wyatt tends to over analyze things and still has anxiety about some random things. We have to keep doors open when he is on the other side of them(not the bathroom door, thank goodness!) but the front door for sure. And he won't buckle in the car until he knows we are out there, too. So adding stress of a possible fire wasn't something I wanted to add to his list.

I think my stomach dropped mostly because our fire alarm has been going off about 7 times a week -sometimes 5 times in a single night. What a pleasent way to wake up. Not to mention that makes the emergency concept not such an emergency when it is happening so often.

I decided just to talk about the basics with them. We will save the little ladder thing (we have one that hangs out their bedroom window to the floor) for when Don gets home this afternoon.

So I talked to them about checking the door to see if it is hot. We talked about not hiding from the fire, so the fireman can easily find you. We talked about if their door is hot, we will come to them through their window. We also talked about calling 911.

Jaxon corrected me here, telling me he knows the number to the Justice League and it is 11511. He said they are very far, but they will come quick.

So I let him know that in case they are running behind, to be prepared for the fire department.

Anyhow, I can understand how this may be a good idea for many families to practice this. But for my family, it just throws too many ideas out in the open. Makes me feel like my boys are socially behind. Does anyone else worry about showing their kids an escape route from their house because they are worried about their kids attempting it on their own? Or about their kids dialling 11511 for the Justice League instead of 911 for the actual human help?

Our Everyday

2010-11-07T21:05:00.001-08:00

For the past few months, our cookie cutter squished together neighborhood has become more neighborly.

People actually have begun to hang out outside and chat with each other. The kids all hang out and play past sunset. We sit outside of our neighbors house until bedtime, roasting marshmallows over a fire pit on their drive way.

It was a long time coming -we have been here about 6 years now. We are the only house with a front patio, and I think we have been out front more than anyone else in the past few years. We wave to everyone that passes our house -and usually get a smile and wave in return -but that is as far as 90% of the neighborhood relationships went.

But now, we are finally at a point where most of the houses on our street have kids there. If one kid is out, slowly the others come out to play. Bikes are ridden up and down the street and "CAR!" is yelled every time anyone spots a car with wheels turning.

It is so weird to see the kids doing things that I have specific memories of also doing. It is weird to think they are old enough to be hanging out with the neighborhood kids. It is weird to know I am old enough to have kids doing this when it seems like I was just doing this last year.

But it is cool that one day they will look back and have memories of days like this, too.

Something I love about you

2010-11-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

I love that Jaxon LOVES to make friends. Every time he gets to be around other kids, he makes a few new friends. I know this because he yells out, "Mom, I making new friends!"

I also love that even though his 6th birthday isn't until May, he invites anyone and everyone he meets to their party. Even some 13 year old girls sitting near the boys at a festival recently.

He loves new friends. And I love him!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween Don and I wanted to try something different. In Nevada, we celebrate Nevada day (the day Nevada became a state-which happens to be Oct 31st) with a day off school. With our year pass to Lego Land, we thought that may be a great way to spend our Halloween weekend this year.

We got an amazing deal with a hotel right next to Lego Land because of a timeshare presentation, packed a bunch of food for the trip and headed to California! I didn't get many pictures, and most of the ones I did get are blurry (!) but we did have a great time.

On the way out to Carlsbad, we stopped in Irvine where a fellow triplet mom had invited us to stay with her for a night. Michelle has 5 boys! That made for one exciting visit! All eight boys got along lost in the world of matchbox cars and boy toys. Michelle's husband Matt set up a tent for our boys to sleep in, and they were just in fun heaven!

The next day was a breakfast at Rudy's Diner and off to Lego Land we went.

Dressed up their Halloween costumes, the boys loved hearing people comment on their Super Hero-ness. Some funny moments happened when the boys would see other people (especially a grown man) dressed as super heroes. Their reactions were priceless, as was one little girl dressed in a silver and pink Super Girl costume when she saw all the Super boys. They all felt a Super Hero connection -and it was priceless.

What fun would Lego Land be without riding their favorite rides? And of course, there was plenty of Trick or Treating at Lego Land. The whole weekend was a great time for us to get to spend some much needed fun time together.

Halloween is coming

2010-10-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

We had our first school Trunk or Treat! Don and I tricked out the back of Nana's van, and the boys had their first school event. It was a fun night, being able to watch the boys interacting with their new friends and see the different relationships that have grown. They spent most of the time attached at the hip with their new friend Kalani. Every time the boys saw a new friend they would yell their name and run up to hug them.

I love that they are enjoying their school experiences!

Randomness

2010-10-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

A quilt store here in town is closing. They had a $2 a yard sale last week. For fabric that is generally over $10 yard to go on sale for that low is huge. Needless to say, I packed the boys up with some snacks and video games and waited outside the door with all the other crazy quilters for the store to open.

Not only did we have to wait a half hour to get in the store, it took almost an hour to get checked out. The boys didn't seem to mind though, games in hand a new friend to boot!

So not what I thought my 30's would be like by the way!

Now that the boys are in school, they are meeting friends on their own.

The boys got invited to their first school friend birthday party. Their friend Kalani had his 6th birthday at Chuck E Cheese. The boys gave him a super hero cape and a little notebook. Kalani used the new notebook and crayons to write the boys thank you notes. How cute is this? He got their hair right and everything!

A New Busy Station

2010-10-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Recently, we pulled out some goodies for the boys that we had bought years ago. One was a packet of wipe off crayons. I like them because Jaxon still does not get reign of markers (he's really impulsive), and the crayons are a bit more child friendly anyhow.

Our other find was a couple of giant laminated sheets of notebook paper. We had bought them at the dollar store long ago, and put them away for a rainy day.

So putting our two giant sheets of paper together with wipe off crayons, and three little boys, equaled about an hour of quiet time for us! Yay!

This one has lots of random words and names including the ever popular Jessica and another one of their friends, Kalani.

The next day, Lucas was writing while I was sewing. I heard him sounding words out and then he thought of his birthday. May 22. See how he sounded it out? M TNT 2

It is so cool to see them learn these things, a little bit at a time. No paper waste, keeps them quiet, and they learn. What more can I ask for?

ROXY!!!!

2010-10-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

This cute, cuddly, little ball of non shedding fur, is starting to drive us a bit batty. She thinks she is a person. More specifically, she thinks she is a five year old human person. A fourth triplet, if you will.

This day, Roxy was caged long enough for me to drive the boys to school, and come straight home. Maybe 30 minutes at the most. All that black stuff all over the floor? that is the bottom to the cage. It used to look like a big black plastic cookie sheet. She shredded it so bad, it fit in a plastic bag. And her cage used to be next to the door on the left. She flipped it over in her crazy fit.

And this? I used to have blinds on my living room window. Used to. A moment of silence please for my pretty wooden blinds.

This was another 20-30 minute stretch of time. Roxy flipped her cage on this day as well, but did so in a way that gravity agreed with her and made her cage door pop open. Luckily the doggie door was closed (because she can escape the yard, you know), but unluckily for the blinds, they were in Roxy's way when she was trying to spot her boys. WHO WERE AT SCHOOL, ROXY!

Lastly, this is Roxy in her cage, flipped again. She is beating the crap out of our wall behind her, all that cage bumping and flipping is starting to show against the brown paint.

Don and I have since realized that her cage needs to be put upside down and secured with zip ties on one of the doors. With the bigger holes at the top, she can not fit her legs out to flip or move the cage. (Yet) We also have D-rings around the other cage door as reinforcement in case she does manage to flip it.

She is cute -luckily. And other than these damages above, we have had not a single complaint about her behavior. She tolerates the boys better than we do sometimes, and is so adorably social with others -dogs and humans included.

The boys feed her regularly without complaint, and play with her all the time. They help wear her down, and she does the same for them while giving them a fourth playmate. It is a win win for me, especially since Don generally does poop patrol. All I need to do is change her water a couple times a day.

Except on the days I had to clean up all my broken blinds. And clean up her shredded cage bottom. And then scrub the carpet where she bled a bit on it from her crazy moment. AND pick up the trash from the garbage can on the floor. And wash the windows and doors where her dirty paws and/or tongue dirty it all up...

But I still love her.

Mostly
How could I deny that cute face?

Something I love about you

2010-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

I love that Wyatt takes every opportunity around a tree to see if he can swing from any of the branches. Tarzan style, y'all.

It doesn't matter if it is a palm tree limb near the jacuzzi at Nan's and Pops house. Or a baby tree at the dog park. If he can reach a branch, he will try to see if he can swing from it.

Cracks me up every time. I love that little monkey :)

A New Beginning

2010-10-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

Today I went with my sister to her Dr appointment.

She was really nervous. I maybe was a little, but I was so loving her in this new stage of her life, my head couldn't fit anymore in it.

We got to hear her baby's heart beat. I heard the "whoosh, bu-bump, ba-bump" and saw the surprise on her face when she found out that was the baby's heart, not hers.

I am so stinking excited about this new little person joining our family. I love seeing my sister this happy. She has always been such a beautiful person inside and out, but it seems like she is finally seeing it too.

Good things are coming. I can't wait.

3 Boys = Real Life

2010-10-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is picture of my three sweet boys. They were running carefree in the water, it was so hot out that day and we were at a car show. Over 100 degrees was just too hot for the boys to enjoy the car show, so Don and I gave up the show and let the boys have some down time.

I swear in the moments before taking this picture, I was looking at them in a perfectly ideal moment. I was thinking how big they have gotten, how stinking handsome they are getting, and how perfect the light was around them. I had to take this picture to capture the moment.

This picture on the other hand...

This picture was taken just the next day at Walmart. I was looking at the clearance table in the back (all red tag items was an additional 50% off, I couldn't NOT look!) to see if we "needed" anything and I hear Jaxon yell, "this is SO AWESOME!". I turn and look for the voice and see Jax's head sticking out the side of the ball cage. His brothers were quick to join him, moving balls out of their way so they could fit their ever growing bodies in there, too.

I admit, at first I was embarrassed. I mean, come on! They put themselves in a ball cage. I have never seen a kid do that before -and we go to Walmart every week!

And then I was a bit amazed that they hadn't thought of doing that before.

But then I was surprised that I actually felt bad for having to call them out when it was so obvious they were having such a good time. I think had I not been surrounded by about 30 other people at the clearance tables (damn clearance!) they would have had a few more minutes to play.

So two perfectly opposite pictures taken in just two days. Such different circumstances and feelings around each, but each perfectly demonstrate how every day brings something interesting to the table.

These boys keep us on our toes.

Virtually Friends

2010-10-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

About 4 years ago, I found a blog kept by a mom of triplet boys. Her name is Wendi, and her blog cracked me up -seeing and reading all the escapades her little boys got into. We commented a bit on each others blogs for a while, and then slowly as technology changed, our friendship changed from the blogs, to myspace, and finally to facebook. Wendi seems very much like myself -finding humor in her day to day life with her boys- and I was excited when she told me her family was coming out to Vegas for the week.

Wendi invited us to her hotel for a swim. Meeting someone face to face for the first time is hard enough, let alone in your bathing suit, but I wasn't going to let modesty ruin the day. Floating around in the lazy river (where some kind people who were leaving gave the kiddos their rafts) and watching the boys have a blast in the wave pool was a perfect way to get to know Wendi and her family. The six boys got along even when they were concerned about getting their own turn on the rafts, and Wendi's family was just as fabulous as I thought they would be. It was a perfect afternoon with such fun people.

Thanks Wendi, for inviting us to join in on your day!

S'more fun for Everyone

2010-10-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, a new street opened near our house. Maybe I should correct that- the street had always been there, but there was a train preventing us from getting to the other side. Right on the other side was a park. A great beautiful, fun park. It was about one mile from our house, but to get to it, we had to drive around the very very very long way -about 15 minutes total. Dang big ole train track about 3 feet up -impossible even for us with four wheelers (with three car seats inside) to get over.

Luckily, the city made a way for the residents to get through and now the park is about 3 minutes from our house. This park is part of the motivation program I have the boys on. Start riding your bike with only 2 wheels (not four) and we can ride our bikes to the park. I'll let you know if it works :)

So last weekend, we invited a few of our friends to the park for s'mores in the evening. It was super hot out -especially with a fantastic fire right in front of us -but we all managed to have a lot of fun. The kids all ran around like banshees, climbed the trees like monkeys, and ate marshmallows and hot apples treats like little piggies.

It was an awesome night, just like we thought it would be. We have a feeling these guys are going to be friends for a long, long time. I can't wait to see what the future brings us.

Something I love about you

2010-10-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Lucas knows what he wants. He generally can not be distracted or dissuaded from what he has in mind -which sometimes cracks me up at the same time it exasperates me.

On this particular day, I was helping Luke style his hair. Wanting to try something new, he said he wanted a curl in the front "like Superman's hair". And for once, I didn't even try to change his mind. Between it being what Lucas wanted, and having something to do with Superman, I knew there was no budging on this idea.

So Lucas got what he asked for. And I totally love that he even requested it.

Something I love about you

2010-10-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Don always drives when we are together. It is mostly a man thing, I guess, but it works well for us.

I love that if we pass by something I think is interesting on the way to where we are going- no matter where we are headed, what traffic is like or how much we are in a rush - he will turn the car around to see what I'm talking about.

It is not a huge deal in itself, I know. But the fact that a little detail that is interesting to me is important enough for him to stop what he is doing to look at it, speaks volumes about him and what he does for me. Without even thinking about it. He just does it. And I love it.

And I love him :)

Where's my free time?

2010-09-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

So with school starting, I had plans of what I would do with my free time. The name of the game was basically productivity. A clean closet, a master bath that I would not be ashamed of for the first time in years, laundry caught up, cute stuff sewn, a clean house, daily blogging -I would finally have T-I-M-E TIME.

Then I realized school is only 2 and half hours a day. What?

Less than two hours after you count in the driving time.

So two hours. Hmm, well that is still more time than I had when I had ZERO and stuck in the car because preschool was too far to drive home from.

But you know what I find myself doing most days that the kids are in kindergarten? Catching up. Catching up on all the "stuff" that I fall behind on because of SCHOOL.

I have extra laundry now. The morning jobs I used to do don't get done in the morning because of homework time. And homework time is not my favorite time because it takes most of my strength to not bite their head off because seriously, haven't we already had this talk about writing the lowercase letter "a"? Remember, a circle? With a line next to it. Almost, yes. But let's make the circle start at the dotted line and go to the bottom line. and then make the line next to it. Great, now let's make your t's.

And that was just Wyatt, and only the letter a.

I figured they are just learning and will make mistakes and I was really cool with that. Then their teacher (who I love by the way) went and said to help correct their mistakes because "practice makes permanent". And damn, my practice makes perfect flew out the door and put the job of teaching at home right back into my lap.

So where was I? Oh, talking about my extra time now that the boys are in school. So mornings are shot because of homework time. When they go to school I get home and start to lean up the kitchen. Then get a bit hungry and make a lunch, which I can't sew with food around, so I end up "unwinding" for an hour in front of the computer which sucks the time out of my day. Maybe I will make our bed and then herd the dog up so I can trick her into her cage and pick up the boys on time.

Speaking of, I must go. My free time is over.

While I sew...

2010-09-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I was trying to finish an order of capes, and the boys were determined not to let me. Emptying out the bank (loudly and slowly) was an all day event for Wyatt. He would empty some out, go find something else to do, and then come back and empty some more. Lucas would come in and check out my work and play with whatever scraps and pins he could find. Jaxon comes in and plays with his superheros, usually putting pins through their capes or finding another adventure for his heroes to endure.

Last weekend Don found a couple new things for the boys to do while Mommy sews so Mommy doesn't turn into a crazy woman.

Enter PBS.org
(btw, picture taken by Jaxon. I would have at least had the decency to move the box of Milk Duds, hah!)

Aside from the kids asking every other minute "Is it my turn yet?" or turning off the computer all together, it is a great plan. The kids learn on a kid safe website and they love learning the games.

State Quarters
Wyatt has a strange fascination with money. I am sure it is because everything he wants (toys, ice cream, and trips to Target) costs money. And since we don't have an endless supply of money, he gets told no a lot.

Generally Wyatt takes this giant water jug and empties out the spare change little by little. All over the floor. For hours on end. He examines each quarter, nickle, dime and occasional Chuckie Cheese coin. While I was sewing, he would bring me a newly discovered state quarter. All one hundred million of them. Don had heard Wyatt and decided to show him the correlation between the state quarters and where the states are on the map. GENIOUS!

Not only did Wyatt actually CARE (I had my doubts in the beginning, he also got the other kids involved for a bit -and gave me about 30 minutes of uninterrupted sewing time.

Fleece Fun /Puppy Love

2010-09-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

While I sew, the boys suddenly find my personal space more exciting. They have a million questions, things they want to show me and arguments I need to settle. To get them to stay out of my head and out of trouble, I took a bunch of fleece and cut it into shapes. Circles, rectangle, squares, hearts, etc. As Wyatt played with the shapes I made some more obvious shapes like grass, a tree top, fish, sun, and such.

The picture above is both Jaxon and Luke's creation. Luke did the one at the top and he said it was him and his friend Jessica. But then Jaxon did the picture at the bottom (also him and Jessica). Jessica is a girl at school and she was all they talked about for the first two weeks. They still gasp when we drive by her and her babysitter on their way to school, but she has almost dropped out of most of home conversations.

So obviously they felt Jessica couldn't be in two pictures at once and Wyatt came and put all four of them in one picture.

I just asked them who was who in the picture and they are arguing over who is standing next to Jessica. I have to italicize her name, because that is exactly how they say it. Like her name is equal to their most prized possession. Not Jessica. It is Jessica.

And, just in case you are wondering, Jessica is the red one. According to Jaxon and Wyatt (who are standing next to me talking about who is who), Jaxon has the blue spiky hair (he just said, "I am next to Jessica because there is my spiky hair!") and Wyatt determined he is in green so he can be next to her, too..

And Wyatt just realized green person looks sad. And the heart is upside down. Wyatt is now sad because his dude is sad.

Aww, puppy love all drawn out in fleece shapes.

To the Dentist

2010-09-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

For YEARS Don and I have been thinking it is time to take the boys to the dentist, but a few things have been holding us back. Mostly, all the horror stories we have heard. Teeth being pulled, cavities, scam centers where they diagnose more problems than necessary are just the tip of the ice burg. Even our last dentist (who we haven't seen since before the boys were born!) always seemed to come up with more charges for us each time we went in for a visit. Luckily a person on Don's route works at a dental office and told us to come try them out, and the timing was perfect since our dental insurance is about to dramatically change and cover less.

All three boys did a pretty great job. None were fans of the x-ray in the mouth stuff, but really gave it a try. I was with Lucas while Jaxon was getting his teeth cleaned, but I could hear Jax giggling while the hygienist was cleaning his mouth -he thought the cleaning tickled.

When the Dentist came in to exam, he gave all three boys thumbs up. No cavities or any other issues -which was a huge ($$$$) relief for us. Hopefully the next visit goes so well too, since I am sure by then the boys will be a bit more responsible for their own oral health.

Little boy-isms

2010-09-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

The boys with their buddy Austin

There are so many times that the boys say things that make Don and I chuckle. Here are a few from just this weekend.

On our way to the dog swim Saturday, Lucas asked "Is there going to be people lifeguards or doggie lifeguards?

Yesterday we drove by aunt Leigha's house and saw her outside. As she ran in to get Alan out of the house, Jaxon watched her run and said, "Aunt Leigha runs just like Wonder Woman!"

Leigha is pretty newly expecting. Very exciting news for us all, and makes topic of conversation daily. One day after Lucas got the news, he walked up to Leigha, tapped her belly, and said, "Hey, I didn't know you were growing a baby in there!"

Wyatt and Don were cuddled up on the couch Sunday morning. Don was trying to keep the noise level down since everyone was not awake. Wyatt cuddled into Don and let out a duck sized fart -and without missing a beat- turned to Don and said, "You did that!"

Wyatt has a tendency for falling asleep in the car, and one evening it was too late for him to catch a cat nap. About 2 weeks ago on our way to grab dinner, we could tell he was nodding off. Trying to think of anything to say to keep him awake, we asked him about ordering monkey poo for dinner. Obviously, it worked and turned into a crazy car ride with all three saying such colorful ideas about what to order.

A few nights ago we went back to the same place to order dinner. As we pulled into the parking lot, the monkey poo conversation started again.

Of course of all the things they forget, monkey poo is not one of them.

And last, I have a picture that needs no words.

Saturday morning

2010-09-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Picture taken by Wyatt

We had quite the morning!

On Friday Don and I were talking about all the fun stuff we could do on Saturday, and our list got longer and longer. Thanks to a freak early morning wake up (pretty sure it had something to do with Roxy barking at Don at 6:30 in the am) we were able to accomplish most of what we set out to do.

First thing was a run to Gilcrease Orchard. Gilcrease Orchard is Las Vegas' only place we can get fresh produce -straight from the trees and ground. The boys loved picking their own apples off the trees and cantaloupes from the ground. Each boy got to pick their own cantaloupe, I wish we would have known before hand they cost $2 each, because they were not the greatest looking cantaloupes I had even seen.

Almost $40 in produce and fresh apple cider later we drove away from the orchard -and it was barely past 10!

On the way home, we decided to pick up Roxy and go to a "Dog Daze" swim at one of the community pools. Some of the outdoor seasonal pools are closing for the summer and allow dogs to have a couple hours at the pool before they drain the water out.

Roxy loved it! She was jumping all over the place -in the pool and out- chasing other dogs and amazingly, hanging out around dogs she had met a couple times before at the dog park and such. The boys thought it was fun until their clothes got soaked from all the wet dogs running by. Even soaked through, all of us agreed Roxy had so much fun.

On our way home from the pool, I had the craving for donuts (which is really odd). Dunking Donuts was there, so we went for something new and had some donuts for lunch.

Next was a few hours of hanging out at the house before our evening plans were to kick in.

Speaking of kicking in... On our way home the boys saw a jump house set up for some one's birthday party. They asked about their jump house and "why didn't we ever set it up anymore?" Thinking we had such a fun morning, why not add to it, I moved the island out of the kitchen and grabbed their jump house out of the garage.

About 15 or 20 minutes of jumping and we heard a crack of sorts and Wyatt came running around saying "it was really important we see this now!"

Our stove got hit by something or the other and cracked all the way around the front. Hundreds of pieces of tempered glass were on the ground, and the ones still on the door were cracking even as Don and I were surveying the damage.

My usually so happy to accept responsibility boys were clueless about what happened. All we can understand is that Jaxon's toy (Flash) hit the door and broke it. I am not sure how a little quarter pound 4 inch tall toys could do that sort of damage, but he is in time out indefinitely.

We are just accepting that this is the first of many things to break around the house.

You know, three boys and all...

Thank goodness the Lord blessed these boys with sweet faces. No telling how much trouble they would have been in if they weren't all so cute.

First day of school Part 2

2010-08-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

As soon as lunch was finished, it was time to get ready for school. Everyone went upstairs, brushed their teeth and got in their school clothes for the day. I am thinking as the week progresses, they will be picking out their own clothes again, and not needing the change of clothes before -and after- school. That should help make things a bit easier as well as help me keep laundry piles away from becoming mountains.

When everyone was dressed, hair was done and shoes were on, we headed out the door for some pictures before loading up in the car. Wyatt was fighting the sun, and I am pretty sure this is the only picture out of many that turned out of all three.

At the school we could see other parents and kids around the kindergarten area. Hopefully later this week I can send the kids to the playground area while they are waiting for their teacher. Today, the boys were just checking out the other kids backpacks. "There is another spider man!" "He has the superheros!" "Jax, look! His is like yours!"

When we got closer to the classroom, the boys switched their interest from the backpacks to the water fountain.

Soon enough, their teacher came out and collected her class. After quickly giving kisses to Don and I, the boys happily walked into their classroom.

I walked over and tried to get a picture of them in their class -luckily they were sitting where I was able to see them.

****After school****

A few things to remember...

-Lucas was sad and said he wanted to stay longer.
-Wyatt said he and Jaxon had "yucky" snacks (they had pretzel goldfish instead of regular goldfish)
-Jaxon was almost in tears before we got out of the parking lot. I think it had to do with the snack situation.
-Daddy diffused the situation by taking us out of "First day of school Icees"
-We now know NOT to buys pretzel Goldfish for snacks.

First day of School

2010-08-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

(This picture was taken when Don took the boys to Touch A Truck in March, but I thought it was perfect for today)

School starts today. The boys are in the afternoon kindergarten, so it is about 10:45am now, and we still have almost 2 hours before their school day begins.

Don took the day off and he is in the shower right now. They boys are in their green Thomas tee shirts and underwear, Lucas is playing inside of Roxy's cage while she just lays next to her cage, panting away.

Wyatt and Jaxon are chasing each other around the house with laser guns shooting, Superman capes flying behind them.

I am starting to feel a bit jittery about it being the first day, but so far all has been well. We haven't made a huge deal of it, not wanting to cause any anxiety about it. The school is familiar to them since Lucas and Wyatt went to speech there once a week for about 6 months -and I am sure that is where much of all of our comfort is coming from. They will also have each other in the class room -the same class room we went and saw last week for the teacher meet and greet.

Asking Wyatt how he feels about school today he jumped up and down saying "good, good, good, good!" What is he most excited about? "Uh, the play class". I am thinking he means the play ground.

Jaxon says he feels "good" too. I asked him what he thought he would do today in school and he answered, "I don't know". I am not sure how he contains all that excitement.

Lucas on the other hand is "only happy". They are all too busy playing they caught an alien in the dog cage (now covered with blankets and towels) to be bothered with questions.

So at this point, there is no worries about school today.

At least not until everyone is dressed and walking up to the play ground....

Quilt part 3

2010-08-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

I am slowly making progress over here. Seems like once I lost my steam, it took a week or so to pick it back up. Actually, it is more like I feel bad being locked up with the quilt. Once I get enough "family time", it is easier to decide it is okay to get some "mommy time" with this.

Here I have sewn two sets of circles together to make half a circle, then pinned 2 of the halfs together to make the full circle. On the side is the fabric I chose to use for the back.

See! Once line of stitching later and I have a whole circle!

Once I had all my circles done (18 in all!) Don and I laid 16 of them out on the bed to figure out how they should be sewn together.

I think I am about half way done...

Superhero Craze

2010-08-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Since a bit before the boys birthday, superheroes have been making a big rise in our household. Coloring books, books, a toy here or there and the boys thought it was neat. For their birthday, I made them superhero capes. Reversible superhero capes with a black side and a red side. Superman on the red side, and then Batman, Spider man and Captain America on the black sides. Jaxon wears his almost everywhere. Wyatt and Lucas sometimes wear theirs out, but not as often. If we go somewhere and tell Jaxon to leave it in the car, he gets a hurt looks on his face and asks, "How will they know I am Batman?"

Slowly our stash of superheros has gotten bigger. (Especially since a comic store near my moms house has opened up a couple weeks ago). The kids own more superheros than I even know of, and we have really relied on our NetFlix account for movies from X Men to Fantastic 4 (the boys call them the Awesome 4, no matter how often we correct them), to Justice League and Wonder Woman shows.

The boys love their Bat Man, Super Man and Iron man underoos, and since I have (reluctantly) started dressing themselves, most day you can find all three of them wearing one or two forms of superheros clothes.

Jaxon truly thinks he is a superhero. He scares the crud out of me, thinking of new ways to prove he is one. One day he had his hand in a drawer and was pushing on the drawer (with his hand still in it). When I asked him what in the world he was doing, he smiled and said, "It doesn't hurt, see?"

Sometimes I catch him jumping from the couch, a side table, or the stairs. "But Mom, did you see how my cape flys?" One day. he was touching the outside of the oven while brownies were cooking inside. "I can touch hot things and not be burned, just like Superman!"

Two or three times a week we call the Justice League before bedtime. It is all imaginary of course, but the Justice League puts the boys on call, and assure mom and dad that they will call if the boys are needed. So we tell the boys to get to sleep so they can be well rested, and off to dream land they go-Jaxon with his cape being used as a blanket (since we won't let him sleep in it) and sometimes one or both of his brothers doing the same.

I love my little superheros!

Inspiration

2010-08-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

While hiding from my quilt, I was cruising the net. Maybe it started by blog hopping and turned into eating most of my morning, but I came up with these inspiration pictures of things I liked and may want to try in the future.

You know, when my quilt gets finished.

Would you like to share a link that inspires you?

Happy 5th Birthday!

2010-08-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit late, but better late than never, right?

On the boys 5th birthday, they woke up to a room full of balloons. Since I had heard one of the boys leave the bathroom seconds before, Don and I ran to their bedroom door just in time to hear all their surprised gasps inside.

With the boys starting to get involved with superheroes, we thought some capes off Etsy would make a great birthday present. Unfortunately the women who makes/sells them never got back to me in time, so we came up with Plan B.

Plan B was to hurry and go to Joannes while the kids were in school and get the materials to make them myself. All three capes have a red side and a black side. Red is Super Man and the black sides vary with each cape -Captain America, Bat Man, and Spider Man. After 3 or 4 nights of sewing, the capes were done just in time for the boys birthday.

Since their birthday fell on a Saturday this year, they were able to have their birthday party on their actual birthday! Off to the park we went, where Daddy had lunch grilled and party ready.

I think ALL their little friends were able to make it to the party. Here are Andi and Jen's girls, some of Michele's kids and a couple of the boys.

At another table were Joselle's trio across from Cathy's boys and Trava and Lisa's children.

Wyatt and Regan playing chase
The weather was sunny, but really windy! We had a bunch of balloons, but had to keep them in the car since we could tie them down anywhere. The kids all still had plenty of fun running all over the place.

After the Happy Birthday songs were sung, Pops tried to get Luke to put his face in the cake. It is just something the two of them like to do whenever cake is in the room.

The only thing better than a birthday party is when it is time to open presents!

The last order of the night was birthday wishes. The park had been so windy during their birthday party, that we hadn't been able to have candles to blow out. Don and I sang Happy Birthday to them one last time and the boys all made their birthday wishes.

Wyatt: I wish for cheesecake!
Jaxon: I wish to go to Chuck E Cheese!
Lucas: I wish for another birthday!

Quilting part 2

2010-08-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

My quilt is coming along pretty quickly. I sewed the little pieces together, and the next step was to sew the curved strips into the inside circle. All this pinning is taking so much time that I am afraid if I stop I'll never want to pick it back up again. So I have been going and going and going. All day, all night. Until my eyes felt like they were going to jump out of my skull in protest, then I stopped. And since have picked it back up a time or two, ironed a bit and then pinned some more.

Finally I got all the inside circle pieces sewed on, and began to work on the outer circle parts. Luckily I figured out a few ways to make the process go faster this time around (including getting my mom to help me iron!) and I have about 90% of them completely done.

I just have to get motivated to pick it back up and finish that 10% of pinning/sewing and then things will finally start to come together.

Roxy follow up

2010-08-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Roxy has found her place in our family. She puts up with all the torture loving from the boys, but gives to them as well well as they give to her. They tease her all the time -Wyatt loves to run to her, and run away screaming so she will chase him -but she eats their toys, so they are even I guess.

Roxy does not shed at all. We knew it could be possible that her coat would shed, but we are so thankful it was not the case for us. Her fur is so pretty and full. We got her a haircut a month or so ago, but with the weather being as it is in Las Vegas mid summer, the poor girl finds the coolest spot in the house to be the boys bath tub.

Roxy is now about 7.5 months old. She knows the basic tricks of sit and paw, as well as it seems she likes to stay close to me when we go outside now, instead of running off to greet any human she spots. She is a great watch dog at night, barking when she hears a noise, and then going off to investigate the sound. Don taught her to climb the ladder up to our summer pool, and we all get a kick out of seeing her doing it.

She has added lots of fun to our life, and we are so glad she fits in our family so well.

Jumbled Mess

2010-08-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

The other day while sitting on the LoveSac in Annie's room while pinning my heart out on this quilt, I glanced up.

All put together, it is a jumbled mess. A longer glance made me laugh a bit because of how askewed it all was. With the boys playing in here in their new fort (why do they only play in here when I am trying to get some peace and quiet?) I have had to move the iron to right next to me. In order to do that, it needed lots of creativity to get it somewhat leveled. A broken drum, some unused baskets for the boys room now turned into a holding spot for clothes needing alterations or mending, and a discarded piece of wood almost gets the jobs done.

Lots of craziness going on in one small space, I am too well aware. But the little parts that make it up, made me smile and how put together it made a big mess. Just like my life. Probably looks crazy to the random outsider, but inside it all makes a bit more sense when you look at the little details in between.

Making a Quilt

2010-08-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

I am finally making my first adult quilt. I made a child one last year for baby Gage, and another for my niece's first birthday a couple months ago. Both seemed to take a long time, and were challenging in their own way, but I am ready to step it up and make one for me to keep!

I have had the pattern (Denyse Schmidt's Single Girl) for well over a year. Since the pattern has been out for some time, it has been really difficult to find the same fabrics that she used in the picture. After lots of searching, I found all but a handful and then finally acceptable substitutes for the missing few.

The other day I finally started my cutting. It begins with about 30 pieces, and those need about 20 of each. My mom came over for a couple hours to help me get some of the cutting out of the way, but it still took me hours and hours to finish that first step.

Can't wait to start sewing so I can see it starting to come together!

Pioneer Days

2010-08-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, it was Pioneer Day. In our area there was a Pioneer Day celebration including a small parade followed by some festivities.

This was an ice cold river to teach the children about the pioneers who had to cross ice cold rivers during their journey. Here it was so cold, our kids used it to cool their body temperatures down!

There were also fun games for the kids. Pioneer games, of course. The boys made their own yo-yos and for the first time ever, they tried a three legged race.

The temperatures were around 100 at only 10 am, luckily the fire department made a stop and cooled us down. I loved the sound of all the people screaming in joy over being sprayed with the water.

Not sure that is how the pioneers did it, but it was fun for us!

California Take 2

2010-07-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Another camping weekend has come and gone. This one was a bit different. First, we were at a primitive campground -no electric or water. Second, Nana and Pops were doing some traveling for Pops work, and they were able to meet up with us for the day.

The first night, we got to the campground just as the sun was setting. We would have made it about a half hour earlier, but we had our first ever case of car sickness. Luckily the boys were still wearing their junk clothes from clay class, and I had no issues with tossing the barfed on clothes. Don thought it was nuts, but vomit is just something that sends my gag reflex into overdrive. Thank goodness Don is stronger and didn't mind the clean up so much.

The next day, we spent most of the day playing on the beach. It was the first time we noticed all beaches are not created equal, and the boys had to be watched much more carefully around these waves. The sand was eroding, and the entry was pretty steep -meaning it could be all sand, and when a wave comes in it would suddenly be at least 3 feet deep.

Luckily Pops came to the rescue and decided it would be a great opportunity to show to boys about burying themselves in the sand. He buried only their legs first, and the boys would get braver until Luke decided he would be buried up to his neck.

Jaxon and Wyatt followed closely behind, and it opened us up for tons of silly photo ops. The boys loved being buried and would just stay cool inside the sand -at one point I remember we got one of the boys a hat and pillow for their head to rest back.

I wish I would have taken a video of when my dad buried Wyatt not to far from the water line. Wyatt stayed in the sand for about ten minutes, even when the water would come up and around -and even past him. The ocean water was freezing, and Wyatt just stayed buried in the sand all the way up to his neck, and didn't even care that he was getting wet, or fear that the water would go on top of his head.

Soon it was time to get back to the camper and out of the sun. We took a little siesta.

Nana and Pops wandered the beach finding "dinosaur eggs" while Don cooked hamburgers.

The next day we packed up the camper and drove to a hotel closer to Lego Land. It wasn't in our original plans, but we figured it would make sense to use our passes since we were only 2 hours away versus the normal 6. The boys all wanted their own map of Lego Land and would pull their maps out at various points of the day.

One of the first things of the day was to get the boys faces painted. It was a huge splurge, but we felt they really deserved it and would hopefully have good memories of it. Being a superhero is such a big part of their playing at home, and it seemed like the perfect day to have it done.

This play area is one of the boys favorite places in the whole park. It is giant playground. Some areas it is about 3 or 4 stories high and it is about 95% wood. No lines here, we just sit and occasionally see one of the boys run by as they come out of the slide -smiling and ready to find his brothers again. If you look to the right of Jaxon, you can see the other two running back to the playground with another newly made friend.

Being that we have been to Lego Land just last month or so, and knowing the next day was more of the same, made this day so relaxing. Slowly we walked the park, checking out more of the play areas and finding more walk though areas and less rides. Here they were in a game room, and happen to come across a giant Bat Man made entirely out of Legos!

All three also had their first try at climbing a rock wall. Jax was the only one that made it all three stories, but I was completely impressed that all of them at least tried! Wyatt did not turn a single ride down all day -he even went on the roller coasters!

I think we are definitely fans of Lego Land.

Summer Fun

2010-07-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Obviously we have been swimming A LOT. Seems like that is what most days are full of. Now that swimming lessons are over (do you see the picture where the swim instructor is all "What the hell have I gotten myself into?") and Luke got his stitch, swimming has been missed so much, especially since the boys have been stuck inside with the temps being over 100 degrees.

Just over a month ago, the boys needed their floaties. After their first swim lesson FLOATIES were GONE! No more floaties for us, although it makes swim time less enjoyable for me. I feel like all I do is count their heads to be sure no one is under.

They swim like little fishes now. They try new things all the time. Jax's new thing is doing somersaults under the water. Lucas likes to swim even without his goggles, and loves to jump in with Don. Wyatt seems to be the strongest swimmer out of the three, his form seems best, but he lacks the confidence and walks the wall inside the pool area.

A couple weeks ago, we bought a summer pool at Walmart and set it up in the backyard. Some little people touched the timer so we have since had to empty the pool, but the idea is awesome and was fun until the green water ruined it.

This summer the boys have begun to hang out with some new friends. We have seen lots of the Haley, Sami and Lexi at the parks, birthday parties and even at Lake Mead to mention just a few. The girls are about a year and a half younger than the boys, but they all play so well together.

So much summer fun.

1:10

2010-07-13T13:30:00.001-07:00

Today I took the boys to one of the free movies around town and play at the playground next to it. Wyatt was so happy to go to the "playground with a maze in it" that he actually jumped up and down and declared it the "best day ever!".

For over an hour, I watched the boys run around the play area and through the water center. Climb up the stairs and fly off the slide with their wet tushes- all while being jealous that they were nice and cool while I was sitting on a towel on the barely shaded bench so my rear end would not end up with burn marks the shape of the wood slats.

Jaxon disappeared for a bit, up in a tree house. I knew he was up there, but called out to him to make sure all was well. He responded, "I am here, Mom! I am making NEW FRIENDS!" He is always making new friends, even the bigger kids don't intimidate Jaxon.

After needing to leave the playground to eat our apples, I was ready to go. I could tell the boys were as well -with their little hot pink faces and tired eyes- but they asked to just be able to play on the stage before we go. So I said sure, and back to play we went.

At this point (only 6 minutes later) they are half holding on to wanting to play, and half falling over from being so hot and tired. Trying to usher them out by walking out without them, they follow me to the car, losing all energy as it is soaked up by the heat waves coming off the concrete sidewalks.

About 100 ft from the car, we are in what we call the "echo hallway". All their energy is suddenly regained while the kids belt out any song or phrase that pops into their minds. Today -being as tired as they were- the only thing they could think to say was the word ECHO!! over and over again, each time trying to say it louder than not only the last time, but their brothers too.

At home, I was sitting on the couch. Finally we are home, and the fan was spinning around over me. I had sweat covering my forehead and dripping down the side of my face. I could feel parts of my shirt sticking to me from the hot car on our drive home. 1:10, the clock says. For a few seconds I sat there while my mind actually had to figure out if that was the time or the temperature.

And it occurred to me, probably both.

Just Dance

2010-07-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

One of our new favorite things to do is play "Just Dance" on the Wii. It can play four people at a time, and the boys just go nuts over it -which is a good thing. It keeps them busy, and all three can play at the same time.

The only downside is that they like to dance to the same song ("Hot and Cold" by Kate Perry) over and over. And over and over and over and over. They'll throw in an occasional "Who let the Dogs Out?". And then add about thirty more over and overs till "Eye of the Tiger", and then you get might just start to get the idea.

Watch them dance here...

Luke's First Stitch

2010-07-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

After the parade, the plan was to go to my parents house for a swim. A text on the way to the parade changed our agenda a bit when we heard our friends were heading to Lake Mead for the afternoon. Boulder City is pretty close to Lake Mead, and the boys have never seen the Lake, so we thought it would be fun to stop by.

Being a last minute decision, we were not ready prepared for Lake conditions. Luckily my car is a mess and we were able to pull out some shorts and boxers for the boys to swim in, along with a single towel the three of them could share. Roxy was an issue (this puppy stuff is so hard, trying to figure out how to keep from locking her up all day while we are doing stuff -but that is another post) but her leash was on, so no big deal.

Lake Mead was beautiful. So beautiful that I honestly felt ashamed for never bringing the boys there before. In my mind it was really rocky, tons of river rock lining the beach so shoes would need to be worn. And if you were walking in the water and managed to get a spot that wasn't rocky, the muck would suck your foot in and you could lose your shoe.

I think the water loss at Lake Mead alleviated those problems. The beach was mostly sand, with an occasional sharp rock. It was not beach sand, but it was in no way mucky. It was pretty great, a huge and welcome surprise.

The boys saw their friends in the water and just couldn't wait to get in. Roxy got in full puppy mode and literally frolicked in the waves -jumping up and over them while the boys laughed at her. The moment was so perfect, I ran back to get my camera. I had to capture this moment. AND THEN...

As I came back from our blanket with the camera in hand, Don yelled that Luke was hurt. His little foot had been cut and it was bleeding pretty freely. Even with pressure applied, the bleeding was not slowing down. We noticed a park ranger walking up, and knowing they were going to let us know Roxy was an issue, we were just glad that maybe we could get some first aid help.

By time Luke's foot was cleaned off and bandaged, it was time for us to go. With a goodbye to our friends, we were off to Nana and Pops house.

Within five minutes of walking at Nan's house, Luke's foot started bleeding again. Off to the quick care Don, Luke and I went.

As we drove up to the office, Luke asked in this little voice if they were going to cut off his toe. Don assured him that would not be the case, and in we went. He was scared, but it was so obvious he was trying to be brave.

Lucas generally has a hard time at the Doctors office. He has always struggled with it until they got their first H1N1 shot and he realized afterwards that the shot didn't hurt that bad. When we went for the second shot, the STUPID nurse working there jammed the needle so hard in Jaxon's arm (and 4 yr old Jax was sitting so calm, he even offered to get his first) that it set all three back to being terrified of pain from Doctors. At Luke's 5 year check ups, I had to literally pull Luke out from under a chair in the office and pry the chair legs out of his hands. That traumatized ME.

Anyhow, Luke was trying to keep himself together while the Dr looked at it. He was not sobbing, but crying just enough so he would have to wipe tears from his eyes while he asked questions. He laid on the table to get strapped down all by himself (like he demanded!) while they did the stitch.

We had our camera, so Luke's mind was occupied by the images on the camera card while he got the first shot (he felt it, but we quickly distracted him). He looked through pictures, and even took a few of his own while laying there. Soon, his stitch was done (he took a picture of it,too) and then we treated Luke to an ice cream cone.

Luke is very focused. Not easily distracted ever. Today was another opportunity for us to be able to see what kind of person Lucas is becoming. From thinking his toe may have to be cut off, to hearing he needed a stitch in his toe -and not understanding either of those or what they entail. He never threw a fit, never freaked out -even though he was so obviously scared. He is FIVE and talked through his fear without losing his composure while his little tears crept out.

I am so proud of him.

Parade like No Other

2010-07-04T14:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had a busy day of firsts.

First thing in the morning, we headed out to a little town south of Las Vegas. It is actually a city, but lives like a small town. They had a parade for the Fourth of July (on the 3rd) and we thought the boys would enjoy their first 4th of July parade.

Most parades start at 10, so we assumed that would be the case here as well. Well, assuming and all caused us to be a half hour late to the parade that started at NINE. Luckily, we found a patch of curb that was not being used and planted ourselves there. About 30 minutes later, we were burning up. It was probably about 98 degrees by then, and that is when it hit me, of course the parades start earlier when it is over 100 degrees by noon!

The parade started slowing down, and we were thinking maybe it was over when a plume of water shot up from a truck far away down the street. Apparently the Boulder City parade was going to relieve the parade attendees from the nasty heat.

Float after float (out here it is more like truckload after truckload) was full of people of various organizations shooting water out of their trucks. Water guns, super soakers -even water balloons. This was an obvious tradition for Boulder City -people watching the parade started pulling out their own water gun arsenal. They were opening their coolers and loading up with freezing water. At first the boys weren't sure how to react regarding getting soaked by a complete stranger, but once they saw Don and I yelling (begging) to be hit too, the boys were all for the fun.

I have never seen a parade like that. I am not sure who enjoyed it more -the people working the floats perfecting their water gun aim on perfect strangers, or the thousands of people begging to be sprayed so the heat would be tolerable. All I know was that it was AWESOME!

Our Trip to Cali wrapped up

2010-07-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

The last day or two were just as fun as the first, just more of it!

Look at that little face. That smile makes me forget all the trouble he causes.

Lots of playing at the beach!

We had to switch camping spots because we wanted to stay an extra night. This was our last dinner at the campground, and Michael was able to join us!

How cool it was to run into the Williams family at Lego Land! Here is Mr Drew and his mom Liz with four of the six kids willing to go on the ride.

The boys loved playing in the water area at LeogLand.

You can see the big boy loved it as much as the little ones.

Here is Wyatt watching his dad, brothers and Michael on the roller coaster. Wyatt just did not want to try some of the rides and hung out with me instead.

My little farmers going through the Lego vegetable patch.

More rides and fun.

Ah. LEGOS. That is what this place is all about, right?

I love this picture! A perfect picture of little people happiness.

Cali Day 3 & 4

2010-06-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

On day 3, it was all about a day at the beach. From sun up to sun down we spent the day playing in the sand. I took advantage of the exercise up and down the 130 steps and offered to go back for snacks, lunch, and again to get the laundry done in between. Eventually I was able to go up without feeling like I was going to drop 2/3rds of the way from the top.

The whole rock side of the beach was full of these squirrels. They have the life, I tell you. All day long, they are snatching food from random camp and beach sites, then go back into the shaded areas and relax to the sounds of the surf.

It was a great lazy day of much rest and fun. Jaxon gets the chills easily and he just laid under the towels in the sun for about an hour while his brothers played.

Lucas and Don built some sand castles. Here you can see Lucas destroying them with his excavator.

We have to take at least one picture of ourselves :)

The boys would love to run up to Don and egg him on until he would chase them. They are so fortunate to have such a happy father. He makes our life so much fun.

A video of the boys and Don.

Day 4

This was also a very lazy day. Somewhat through the morning, I remembered we had a swing in the camper. Don didn't think we had one, then he thought there was no where to hang it and I was set for the challenge of figuring it out myself.

Luckily we had no neighbors and hung the swing in between our site and the one next to us. The boys were finally the right size to be able to get up on it themselves, so they swung like little monkeys.

Later in the afternoon we were able to meet up with the kids! We hadn't seen them in over a year, but love knows no time restraints.

Matthew had gotten bigger and I would have never thought possible, but even more handsome! The kids all played chase when we got there and I heard Matthew tell the boys that they freak him out, but within minutes he had gotten his bearings and held his own. He is so much fun and such a great kid!

Giving the game of chase a break, we all sat and played Uno for a bit.

Michael is same ole awesome Michael. He is so loving and kind, and the kids all look up to him since he is the oldest. My boys laugh at everything Michael says. No words can be found for me to define Michael. He is just beyond awesome.

Ms Cathryn had really grown up. She seemed more comfortable in her skin, which I remember was hard at that age. The boys couldn't get enough of her, and she has so much patience with them. It is fun having a girl around the mix of boys, she is a perfect fit!

My face hurt from smiling so much that evening. It had been so long since we had been able to see the kids, but everything fell right back into place. I love how family is easy like that.

What an awesome day!

Cali Day 2

2010-06-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Can you guess where we spent our day? :)

A day full of riding kid friendly rides

We walked through Lego Las Vegas (amongst other cities)

Lots of posing for pictures.

Don's heroic effort with the boys on this team ride where only 4 people are allowed was pretty amazing. Having one adult with 4 not really understanding children was so pathetic, that an employee hopped in the truck to help Don out.

Watching the boys be allowed to drive little cars for the first time by themselves was great! I know this looks like an action shot, but they were driving about 3 miles an hour.

We finished our first day of LegoLand off with some well deserved funky tasting ice cream.

Annie's Meatballs

2010-06-27T10:19:00.001-07:00

Cousin Annie came for a visit recently. Of course we were thrilled to have her here, but she made us super excited by teaching us how to make "sauce" like a proper Italian family. To make it a full family affair, we decided it was an ideal time to teach the boys how to make meatballs, too. Yummy Yummy!

California May 2010

2010-06-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

Part One

A few months ago, we got online and made some summer camping reservations. California was our main goal. We wanted to hit the beach as much as possible, as long as possible. Our first trip was mid May to San Elijo State Park.

After getting a super late start due to issues with the wiring harness and our jeep, we pulled in our camping spot with only a few hours to spare before it was going to get dark. We had never been to this campground before, so we were not sure what to expect of the area.

The boys playing while camp was being set up.

Immediately, we were thrilled. The view from the campsite was beyond beautiful and since it was mid week in May, there weren't many other campers so we had privacy as well.

The whole campground was up on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Every night we fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves about 150 feet below us. Since the beach was so far below, there was a stairway of 130 steps to the side of our site.

We put dinner on and decided to explore around the beach. Once we got to the bottom, this was what we saw.

We soaked up the view while Jaxon and Wyatt jumped over incoming waves. Lucas is usually slower to warm up to the water and took a bigger interest in climbing the giant rocks.

The whole beach was deserted, so the boys did some extra exploring.

After wandering along the beach, it was time to have a camping dinner of meat and potatoes over the fire.

Besides the crazy wind that kept me awake most of the night in fear of our camper being blown over, the day was a success!

Don's New Treasures

2010-06-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

The good, bad and ugly.

The GOOD

A FREE Honda Rebel. It is an oldie but a goodie. And did I mention it was FREE?

Until Don gets his motorcycle license, his rides are limited to up and down our street. The kids don't mind though, it helps to shave some time off their sprints.

The BAD and UGLY

This golf cart was a freebie as well. It is not as pretty and since we are having a hard time getting a charger for it, it needs to get out of the garage. Now listed on Craigslist, it may be coming to a neighborhood by you!

Luke's Family Portrait

2010-06-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

We are not big on crafts around here. It is weird, me being such a crafty myself, but something about handing Jaxon free reign of scissors or markers makes my eyes roll back and I start to get the shakes. I am very aware they are FIVE (!). Jaxon is just very, how do I say this in the most "Mommy loves you" way? Oh jeez. um. Experimental. Yeah, that is definitely the right word for him.

Coloring books and crayons, go at it! I have safety scissors. Even glue! They get them on loan while I am in the kitchen cooking or something, sure. No problem. So they do get a bit of an outlet, but not as much as I would like. It is a work in progress.

Back to the matter at hand!

Lucas drew his first family portrait! This first one is of me, Luke and Don. Don is the one with hair :)

Then he decided he couldn't leave anyone out, and drew one of the rest of the family. Annie was visiting at the time and he drew her in too.

What a little artist!

Garage Door Hang Up

2010-06-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

One day when Don opened the garage door, one of the boys got an idea.

Since then, they have evolved to manning the garage door opener themselves -taking turns so each of them get their fair share of fun.

Bits and Pieces

2010-04-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Little bits of what is happening in our house.

ROXY

Roxy is still here, looking as cute as ever. Things are not as dreamy as I would like them to be (cough cough) -but they are looking up. Potty training is still a struggle, but much better since we got the doggie door in. We do seem to have one pee incident a day in the house. No rhyme or reason other than just trying to tick me off. :) She is very nippy -to the point of trying to keep children away from her, but I know it is largely due to the fact of she is living with three crazy little people in our house hold. It is getting better day by day, but it has been hard.

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

Here in Las Vegas we are in the season of spring. Along with the pretty spring weather, we have been making more trips out to the parks. The boys are really into baseball lately -not sure how or why- but it is nice we can finally get out all the baseball equipment we have been staring at in our garage for years and years. Even Don and I got into the groove, tossing the ball around at the park and wowing the boys with our "super far" throwing skills.

Although we are at the playground, Wyatt takes his food into consideration first and foremost. He is NOT going to put his pizza down. It is coming with him.

Don has been busy with the boys. He takes them for rides on their bikes. Sometimes to the store for a treat, and sometimes to the railroad track (you can see the Las Vegas strip in the background).

Recently the Touch-A-Truck event was in town and Don took the boys to that one morning.
The boys are debating whether be a driver with UPS like their Uncle Jeremy...

Or just hop in the DeLorean for the afternoon and work on looking cool.

I LOVE..

When I download the camera card into my computer and see pictures the boys have taken.

PROJECTS

Both Don and I have been up to some projects. Mine are all sewing related -first a quilt for our niece's first birthday, and then some crayon and paper holders for the boys.

Don has been busy with some major projects. First he had to fix our car so it could pass smog. He let the boys help him until one of the kids dropped a bolt into the engine. Luckily Don was able to get it out without any damage done. Second, he has single handled (which is so weird because usually we are a 50/50 team) taken care of the issues we had in our downstairs bathroom. He has had to take the tile up, tear a wall down to the studs, and is now building it all back together.

Last, our always on going project seems to be our garden. We have branched out this year -tearing out a majority of the bushes in our flower bed and planting lots of veggies instead. Both cherry and regular sized tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, lettuce, onions, carrots and so much more has been planted. Now we are just watching and waiting.

US

We are looking forward to our upcoming summer plans. Don deserves his vacation time and will use some of it doing family stuff like camping in Utah, as well as San Diego and Malibu. He also is hoping to go hunting with some friends this fall.

I have been really working hard to lose weight and it finally seems like I am back on the right track. Two pant sizes down so far, and seeing results like that make it so much easier to keep the momentum. My goal is to be fit enough by the time the boys go to school to sometimes drive them to school, jog home and then jog back to pick them up before school is out. And have enough time at home to be productive in between- not just get home and then have to turn back around to get them.

DID YOU CATCH THAT?

The boys start kindergarten next year. They are registered for half day. The lady in the office was speechless when I requested they be in the same class. Their preschool teachers say the boys are great together, no distractions or disruptive behaviors -so if it is not an issue, I see no reason to split them up their first year in a new school. Keep the posse together!

UNCLE CARL, this is for YOU

The boys love these marshmallow shooters you got them (was it for Christmas?). It makes mom's lawn look all sorts of springy with the pastel mini marshmallows all over the yard. Guinness loves to eat them, so that helps with the clean up (at least in the front yard).

They are finally mastering the scooters, too.

So we have been busy, but how do we balance the kids being busy enough to stay out of trouble at the same time of getting mom and dad some rest? Is it possible?

Probably not.

But we still enjoy it all :)

Going to the Fair!

2010-04-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Every year since the boys have been born, we have gone to the Clark County Fair. The first year we got stuck in horrible traffic once we hit the freeway exit. It took us over an hour to go the 5 miles to the fair. The boys were only 11 months old and we were stuck in the car during their lunch time. As time went by we tried to keep them distracted until they were having no more of it. They started screaming and I had to run to the back of the car to get their water and formulas. I think it was the first time we had feed them while they were still strapped into their car seats. Two good things came from that day. First, now we know not to go to the fair on a Saturday afternoon. Second, feeding the kids on the way to somewhere -what a time saver! Although every year at the fair we have fun, this year it was like no other! Some of our friends came as well, and while we figured sooner or later we would run into them, we actually ended up being with people we knew for about half the day.

First we got there at lunch time -and we all met up and had lunch together under a giant cottonwood tree. There was a beautiful breeze in the air and it was just so peaceful taking everything in. A clown drove by on his giant bike and we could see kids playing at different play stations near by.

Once lunch was over, the group of us walked around for a bit and then our walk came over to the carnival area. Walking up to the ticket booth came our other friends Michele and Greg with their kids! This was the first year we have had the boys ride the rides, and that they were able to do so with so many friends really got them excited.

What seemed like 2 hours later (and it really may have been!) the sun was in full heat mode in the sky and everyone's faces were bright pink. Despite only being half way through the carnival area, we got the kids out of the ride area with promises of snow cones in the shade. Once again we each ended up meeting each other in the grass area. We found Michele, Joselle found us, and then Andi and Jen came last as they were leaving the park. The boys were having so much fun running around, wrestling, jumping, even dancing. They just couldn't stay still! After we left the grass area, we figured we were on our own for the rest of the evening. Two of our friends were calling it a day and we had so much more to see before the Mutton Busting show later in the evening.

On our way out of the second animal pavilion, there was an lady with live animals on a table. She had a monkey, a half raccoon and something or the other, and then an armadillo. The boys caught her eye and she asked them if they wanted to hold it. All three got a chance and surprisingly, none of them freaked out and dropped it!

Off for dinner we went, and then off to watch the Mutton Busting (little kids riding sheeps instead of bulls). We ran into a family friend and sat with them while we got to have our first Mutton busting experience. Jax kept the stand in stitches until the riding began. He declared, "It was the best day in his life, ever!". And then while children's names were being announced, he would get excited every time someone was from Las Vegas. One child's (about 7 yrs old) name was Ethan (same as 2 yr old boy down the street) and Jaxon couldn't believe that Ethan grew that much!

The plan was to go back to the carnival rides and let the boys go through the second half. The boys rode on almost every ride they could with their height restrictions, and even went on a ride or two I was certain they would have backed out of. The ran through fun houses 3 or 4 times in a row, and couldn't get to the next rides fast enough.

Not many of my ride pictures came out clear, but you can easily see the boys just had pure joy radiating on their faces. It was crazy to see them standing in lines by themselves, playing around and wrestling like excited little boys do. To any passerby, I am sure it looked like they were hopped up on so much sugar -but it was all just excitement.

Two full hours later, we finished the last ride and bribed the boys out of the park with cotton candy. It was almost 9:30 and we had been there since noon. Luke was not quite ready -trying to parent us by saying he was choosing two more rides instead of the one we let them have- but with cotton candy in hand and his eyes growing tired, he smartly gave in.

On the drive home, I couldn't get the goofy grin off my face. The day was perfect -just the kind of days you picture in your head when you think about some day having a family. Packed lunches, snow cones, fair corn dogs and cotton candy mixed in with farm animals and carnival rides. I really can't imagine it getting much better than this.

Buckin Broncos

2010-04-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

Recently we found a restaurant near us (Cadillac Ranch) that may become a new family favorite. Not only do kids get to ride the mechanical bull for free, kids eat free on Monday!

Surprisingly, all three boys wanted to ride the bull and they did pretty well. No one was ready to go fast on it, but I am thinking once they get more comfortable, they will be ready for next year's rodeo!

Win that belt buckle boys!

Easter 2010

2010-04-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

This year Easter snuck up on us. I hadn't had any fun things planned and suddenly it occurred to me that I better think of something -or Easter was going to be done and I would regret being lazy with it all.

Luckily there was another Easter Egg hunt at Leigha's work. They had face painting, balloon twisters, bounce houses and the most fun Easter Bunny I had ever seen.

Joselle and her crew showed up as well and the boys had such a fun time playing with their friends.

On the home front, we did the regular coloring of Easter Eggs and even took it up a notch by getting egg paint for the dyed eggs. A tiny little roller to paint over the dyed eggs brought out little egg artists to a whole new cool level.

Next we made some paper eggs for decorating the house.

Somehow we have managed to wait until this Easter to make sugar cookies in our house. It was a long drawn out process using lots of patience, but luckily it was a good recipe and the cookies were worth it.

Our last Easter project was making candy necklaces. Hundreds of tiny candies laced on a elastic string was a great project to keep them busy and motivated. They couldn't wait to eat their candy necklace.

It turned out to be a very eventful Easter after all!

Energy

2010-04-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

These pictures where taken an hour or so after the whole baby powder incident. Apparently the boys had some energy from being cooped up while I was cleaning. Too bad the powder was not lavender scented. Maybe it would have settled them down a bit :)

Wyatt's BIG Mess

2010-04-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

In a big celebration-like fashion for my 601st post, I am going to blog about a big ole mess Wyatt recently made. A mess so big, that it took me a over a week to find some humor in it.

The other morning the boys were downstairs while I finished some things upstairs. Showering, making the bed or whatever had occupied my mind while they were playing. My house is pretty small, so the layout allows me to see the boys easily from upstairs. Unfortunately, I was not peeking on them as much as I wish I would have been and took their playing nicely as a blessing.

But it was a trick. A BIG MEAN TRICK.

Just as the sweet smell of baby powder made it up to my nose, Lucas started yelling about something Wyatt was doing.

This is not good.

I ran down the stairs, taking 2 at a time to see what the damage was.

I was not happy.

There were powder footprints across the length of the room, leading over to where I could see foot prints surrounded by powder. Powder -at least a half inch thick- covered our trunk table and all the trains on it. It was in the sub woofer, on the floor, on the couch, the rug, the television. Everywhere. Immediately I figured out what -or rather- why this happened. Wyatt made snow for his trains.

Looking around the mess and getting angrier with every second ticking by -especially after realizing I couldn't have Wyatt help clean the mess he made since he was coughing from all the powder he had breathed in- I sent them all to their bedroom for their own protection.

Once the sub woofer had been completely vacuumed out and I could see past the powder on most of the surfaces that were covered, the boys were called downstairs -one by one. They were able to quietly help finish clean up. Each of the boys got busy with damp rags and dusted the powder off the walls, shelves and any other still white surface until the room sparkled.

I would think that taught them a lesson, but Jax and Luke took the (thought to be empty) same freaking bottle of powder and finished it off on a black cabinet up stairs.

AHHH!

On the bright side, at least the house should smell baby fresh for at least another couple weeks. Whenever it gets low, I can just have the kids jump on the couch and smell the powder that gets plumed into the air.

Worm stew

2010-04-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Look what Luke gifted me with. He loves his mommy! :)

Annie's Room

2010-03-30T13:55:00.001-07:00

We have lived in our home for about 6 years. For the first 3 or 4 years of it, our guest room was pretty much a wasted space. When we found out we were expecting triplets, we had big plans of it being a "staging" room. Bottles would be fed on a rocking love seat with dim lights and a cute baby changing table in the corner. But reality set in, and we ended up basically camping in our downstairs the first month or so and our kitchen island became our changing table, and bottles were fed... every where. On the couch, the floor, in bouncie chairs, 1, 2 or 3 at a time. Time and money were short, so the room just stayed with white walls and a bed for any guests that wanted to brave our home.

Eventually my cousin Annie started being our most regular guest and our family started calling the guest room "Annie's room". Which I totally love, because "guest room" sounds so blah and unusable. Not to mention we love Annie :).

A couple years ago I asked Don to paint Annie's room for my birthday present. Nothing too crazy, just the same base color as the rest of our house, but at least a start to get some personality in the room. We also got rid of our guest bed, and bought an Aero mattress for when we did get the honor of having someone come stay with us. Without the guest bed, it opened up the rest of the room for useable space.

It is now 75% playing area for the boys and 25% sewing area for me. The boys have their drum set, punching bag, basketball game along with a few of their toys and a television set. It has made for a great room to let them make a mess and still have the ability to close the door on it when the drums get too loud or if they just want to be closed away for a bit. It gives us all a bit of extra space, it is nice to close the door on the boys when they are being a bit loud -or even better- for ME to go in to sew, close the door and lock the rest of the world out.

Do you see what I see?

2010-03-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

I know this just looks like a busy picture, right? But it is a picture that so perfectly illustrates another reason I love Don.

It started as the decision was made to put the garden plants on a separate timer. The veggies need to be watered more often than the better established plants in our yard. This means we (Don) has to dig out a path and lay new PVC through the kids playground area.

Just as Don starts digging -you can see from the picture he had only dug out about 4 feet so far- both Wyatt and Jaxon are drawn like magnets to the newly turned up dirt. Joining their already overcrowded party comes Roxy, thinking this digging stuff looks like tons! of! fun! and digs all around the new dirt piles.

Before I even took this picture, Don had to stop digging at least twice to get Roxy out of the way of the shovel and had to tell the boys not to put the dirt back in the hole. BUT HE KEPT ON GOING. Unphased and crowded by little beings hell bent on making his job difficult, he just kept on going.

He didn't even complain that instead of helping him by clearing his path, I left to get the camera and then just stood there taking pictures.

He is so good to us.

To know them...

2010-03-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

To know my boys is to SEE my boys. Here are some very short videos of our day to day life. Riding bikes, playing music and giving a little booty shake. A bit of sliding down the slide while riding a truck or just random parts of the day.

Enjoy the movies!

A New Stage (PTMAU)

2010-03-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

**See that cute innocent face?**

The boys have reached a new stage in their childhood. It is the one I may refer to "Pray They Make Adulthood Unscathed".

This stage includes trying to ride on their little trucks where ever the fancy strikes them. This could be down our slanted driveway, or even better on their steepish slide. Sometimes they try other things, like climbing on the outside of their clubhouse like spider man, or deciding to go around the top of the clubhouse to pick seed pods off the tree next to it.

**See how he is ready to ride that little truck down the slide?**

When they were babies, I was ready for all this. I baby proofed every room, moved every cord, locked dangerous cabinets, and took every precaution we could think of.

** Here they are on the TOP shelf of the linen closet**

But this little boy stuff they are going through right now... seems the only way to prepare is to PRAY first that they don't get ANY wonky ideas. And I know that that prayer is futile, but what kind of mother would I be if I didn't pray for THAT? I will call it my preventative prayer. And second, I can just pray that that when they do "experiment" they can do it without any long lasting mental effects.

**This one speaks for itself**

I am both a worrier and a mother. I worry about everything from the wind ruining our garden to things like the wind blowing down our house. The mother in me knows they are boys, and this is what little boys do. More importantly, it is what makes little boys grow, feel confident and keeps their bodies busy and strong. But take that little BOY and turn him into a group of like minded BOYS and it always spells trouble around here. And I have a sinking feeling it will only get more worrisome as they get older.

I think they will make me gray by the time I hit 35.

CRASH!

2010-03-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

My computer crashed! Luckily I had a backed up hard drive and really didn't lose any of my files, and my wonderful friend restored order back in my computer. Even with all that good news, the issue is that I lost my organizing system for my pictures. It has made blogging and scrapping so frustrating for me. It would be like someone unorganizing your phonebook or photo albums. While you are thankful you still have all the numbers, names and pictures, it is years worth of accumulation all in the air. YUCK.

So that is why I have been absent. But I am back because even though it is frustrating, it should get easier with each and every time I try again, right?

Boo Boo-less!

2010-03-25T09:06:00.001-07:00

The boys are 4 years old, almost 5. In the past 4 years, Jaxon has had a boo boo on his forehead for at least 3 of those years. It has not always been the same boo boo, but it is always in the same general area and since he is a picker, the cuts have stayed on his head for more of his lifetime then they have been gone. We tried having him sleep with gloves on during the night, neosporin like crazy during the days (leaving grease spots that have ruined numerous shirts and our couch!), band aids, liquid band aids, but nothing would beat this nasty habit he had.

Except Chuck E Cheese. A couple months ago, we told him once the boo boo was gone, we would celebrate at Chuck E Cheese. But one week dragged to two, and that dragged out to a month. Finally we told him it had to be gone by that coming FRIDAY. No messing around this time. If he wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese, it was time to buckle down.

And thankfully, he did.

Way to go Jaxon, we are so happy to look at that beautiful unblemished little face you have.

Now to tackle Luke's night time thumb sucking....

ROXY

2010-03-02T22:01:00.000-08:00

Today we picked up our new girl, Roxy. She is an 8 week old labradoodle and we are completely in love with her. She's the runt of her litter, so it will be interesting to see how big she gets, or if she stays on the smaller size.

The boys are completely smitten with Roxy, and ever so gentle, too. She seems to fit right in around here, following us around in the house and checking out her new home. It is really amazing how a puppy proofing is so similar to baby proofing. Letting the boys know that Roxy can choke if she gets a toy or something in her mouth seems to be a huge motivation for them to put away their toys. It is only the first day, I am well aware, but I am hoping it is a start of a clean house as well. *I know, but a girl could hope :)

Here is a video of Roxy's first few minutes in the house.

Another video, but this is when Roxy was taking a nap and Wyatt and Luke grabbed their guitars and sang twinkle twinkle to her!

Valentines Day Crafts

2010-02-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

Somehow the Valentine crafts over ran our house this year. I am not sure if it was because Don and I went out of town and the school party snuck up on us, or if it was just trying to be budget conscious, or maybe partly because I have been in a sewing frenzy for a craft show this past weekend so I was trying to avoid an extra run to the store to buy more premade valentines. Yeah, I am pretty sure it was the last one now that I am thinking of it...

The boys school party was on Thursday and like a good prepared Mommy, I had already purchased one set of Valentines for the boys. Luke claimed them and he signed them all himself Monday afternoon.

Tuesday the boys seemed like they needed a bit of structure and something to pull them away from the dang trains, so I decided that we would make a new set of valentines for one of the other boys. Wyatt saw what the plan was online and claimed those right away. With a bunch of pink paper and three little eager boys armed with purple child scissors, we were able to cut out a million hearts in no time. Later I had to go sew and Don took up Valentine duty and made sure Wyatt signed his while they both finished assembling all the sucker flowers.

Luckily for Jaxon (amd my prepared mommy status), Wednesday morning before breakfast I happened to come across another cute Valentine idea that we had all the needed supplies for. I showed him the instructions and he was thrilled with what would become his valentines.

By this point, the boys were becoming master heart cutter-outers. Every single heart that had been cut in the past few days were all their handy work and they were so proud of themselves. Not only that, they were really getting into the whole Valentine spirit!

Again, it was time to sign the valentines and I sat with Jaxon as he wrote his name on all 20. Like his brothers, he tried to get creative a few times, trying new ways to write the letter "a", or a backward "J" (but I like it that way, mom). It seemed like an endless job, but eventually he finished and did a great job. Again, when Don came home, he helped Jaxon finish assembling the valentines for school the next day.

These are the Valentines I made this year. We intended to give some to my family as well, but forgot to bring them over and ended up sharing some with our neighbors instead. Jaxon and Wyatt had fun getting their candy out of the maze, but Lucas tore his open, not wanting to mess around.

It has been a busy week, seeming not to slow down at all, but it was a really fun productive week. I am in the midst of sewing some crayon wallets for the boys and a quilt for our niece, so it doesn't seem like much chance of crafts slowing down anytime soon.

LAM Night of Hope

2010-02-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Don and I had the honor of playing photographers at a fundraiser. It was at a beautiful church in Buffalo for the LAM foundation.

From Thursday night to Sunday afternoon we visited my family while eating all the delicious food that Buffalo has to offer. According to the scale at work, Don swears he put on 10 lbs in those four days. He was eating like a 17 year old boy in those four days, so I really think it may be possible.

While there were many highlights from our trip out there including fabulous family dinners and walking around different districts of Buffalo, not to mention a beautiful fundraiser that knocked our socks off -nothing was as sweet as the welcome home of seeing our monkeys.

Engaged Parenting

2010-02-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

Recently I read an article about engaged parenting. It really hit home for me, because although I am a stay at home mom and have my children with me all day and all night, some times I disassociate myself from the going ons around the house to feel like I can regroup and survive all the madness.

Since reading the article I have made a real effort to be more engaged and present with the boys play time. We wrestle, or as Jaxon says, "Let's freak out!" together more on the bed almost daily again, and things like dancing to the music cheek to cheek has once again become a favorite for the boys (and I). We are back to playing games in the car to keep happy chatter going instead of keeping the music on to drown out their arguing.

The level of the boys frustration and argumentativeness over trains has come down quite a bit. Partly because I am engaging them in other activities with me, and the fact that they are happier since I have been happier just from spending more time engaging with them, not just surviving with them. Like the article says, I am also working on my responses to their situations, not just reacting to the situations. I am trying to remember the cues of their behavior and trying to head off a situation before it gathers heat and anger, and usually it works.

Most of all, I am just thankful for that article. It reminded me that I had stepped a bit off the parenting path I wanted to be on and it has helped me appreciate the boys more every day. Appreciate their humor, kindness and abilities. With my level of being overwhelmed being in check, it has made a significant difference in their level of happiness.

In just the past few weeks that I have been making more of an engaged effort with the boys, I have noticed so much more about them, and just am amazed at the sweet and smart little people they are becoming. I am such a blessed Momma and am so thankful for the new eyes I have been given.

An Afternoon Sledding

2010-02-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

Last week was full of winter like weather. Not only was it in the 40s, we had lots of rain. Lucas had asked me, "Why it was raining when it is supposed to be sunny?". I forget that the boys have been luckily enough to have about 90% of their life surrounded by sunny days.

After days of cold rain, us Las Vegasans run out to the nearby mountains to take advantage of Mount Charleston. It is only about 45 minutes away and for the price of gas to drive up there, we can have all the fun we want in their winter wonderland.

We were unsure of how the day was going to play out. On the ride to the mountains, Lucas kept telling us the snow was too cold. Jaxon and Wyatt were excited at the prospect of snow, even though we could tell they really didn't remember much about the last time they got to play in it. With reassurances that we would have plenty of warm clothes so the cold wouldn't get through, Lucas was on board with the rest of us.

Sledding with these guys was so much fun! They were like big kids, going down the sled with Don or I, and loving every minute of it. Soon they would sit on the sled and try going by themselves, and laughing the whole way down. It didn't matter if they were accidentally backwards, or falling off the sled only 5 feet into the hill ride down, or riding so far out that they almost went into the embankment, the kids enjoyed every minute of it.

The little sledding hill we found had some great bumps in it. I would go down and flinch when the bumps came up, worried about my old bones and back, but the boys would whoop with excitement when they caught air. When they were done going down the hill, the kids even carried their own sleds back up to try it again.

After an hour or so of all the ups and downs of sledding, we were all ready to just play in the snow. Jaxon loved laying down and trying to make snow angels and Wyatt and Lucas preferred to eat the snow. It grossed us out, but they are kids and this is what kids do, right? They all had so much fun, especially when it came time to throw snowballs at Don!

I just can't say enough how much fun our afternoon in the mountains was. The boys just blew us away with how much FUN and not WORK they were. They laughed the whole time, were super kind to each other about sharing the sleds, and only complained of walking back up the hill on their last trip up. We were so proud of them knowint they were only four years old and handling the cold and everything the snow entails better than most adults would.

Movie Night

2010-01-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we finally rented the new Thomas movie, "Hero of the Rails". The boys have been asking about it forever and I think we forgot about getting it for a Christmas present. In celebration of having an hour or two of down time, we brought the aero bed downstairs, blew it up and let the boys lay there while watching their movie.

They loved having the bed downstairs and were quiet for almost the whole movie. Afterwards, it ended up being a tumbling area for them to do somersaults and the like on. It was a fun night for us all and maybe a start of a new tradition as well.

My Lovies

2010-01-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

Little buddies, lovies, handsome boys, my sugars -and on occasion, I call them "Bob". I find myself loving these little guys more and more every day. Four has been such a fun age for all of us. Also the most trying with all their independent ideas, thoughts and opinions. But the good far outweighs the moments of trials.

I love listening to them giggle while playing games. Or while running around the house chasing each other while pretending to be "Pinchy Toes" ( a bad train guy). Even though I have to remind them not to run in the kitchen, the sound of them laughing while they chase each other is contagious.

They love the word diaper still. That and anything to do with the word poopy. Sometimes they just laugh at words that make no sense. Their knock knock jokes are horrible, but somehow make sense to the four year old brains and they just laugh as they think of them, causing the other boys to laugh just to see their brother laughing.

Costco was their first read word. Target gets screams of excitement if it is spotted as we drive by. Del Taco is Wyatt's favorite place to eat and Einstein Bagel is Luke's. Jaxon is easy, usually liking anything on his plate. Jaxon was the first to recognize the word "the" "T-H-E! T-H-E! That's the word 'the' guys!". His enthusiasm for it has rubbed off on the other two and now they all love to spot it. I painted the alphabet around their room and random site words as well and they are beginning to ask about the words and recognize some as well.

All three end up in our room at least once a week. We bypassed the whole sleeping with the kids stage until they turned 3. I think Wyatt's ear surgery started it, but I could be wrong. It is heaven and hell at the same time. I hate the sleep it causes us to miss, but I know these days wil not last forever. And generally if we tell them they MUST stay in their room for the night, they usually do. Until 5 am when they will come in and fall back asleep until 7/8 or so. Given the choice between 5 am wake up or 8? I will gladly share my bed!

Their personalities amaze me. Lucas is so much like me and it is so hard to see my struggles through my son. He is standoffish. Not for lack of interest, but for lack of confidence. We have to constantly pull him to us, to show him affection first. Sometimes we talk to him and he will not answer, I think just to see if we are paying attention- which little buddy, we always are! His laugh brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. I think because when he is laughing it is the only time he really sets himself free. He loves for us to breathe and sniff on the back of his neck like a dog. And more than anything, he loves his Daddy. They have a special bond. He hates to get in trouble. It happens rarely(!) but when he is in the hot seat he cries (just like me!) out of guilt. He is such a great rule follower and seems so wise beyond his age. He is such a lover and protector. He feels lots of empathy and I just wish he could feel how much we love him. I love that his brothers look up to him, he is definitely leader material.

Wyatt is a lover. He is like velcro on our backs, stomachs, in our arms, or in our face. He still studders a bit and will stop and say "hmm" while thinking of what comes next. It is an endearing habit and I will miss it once speech therapy helps him. Wyatt is having a really hard time following rules lately. He listens, and then chooses to do something else. It has gotten him in lots of trouble lately, and after he is in trouble he is so contrite and tells us he is sorry and will be a better listener. He says it himself! Wyatt is an eater, always hungry, even only 5 minutes after breakfast he will ask for a snack. He talks about growing and getting bigger all the time. Lots of times he gets in a mode where he just wants to do things for a laugh and he gets very possessive things. Whether it be a toy, person, train or game, Wyatt tries to claim everything as his own. Then he smiles and (tries to) charm his way out of any trouble. I think he may have many girls in his wake as he gets older.

Little Jax is a handful. Not in a bad way, but he keeps us on our toes. We always have to makes sure he is keeping his toys out of his mouth (still! at age 4!) and he has a horrible habit of picking his head, in spite of sleeping with mittens on and neosporin on his head around the clock. He has had this boo-boo on his head more of his life than he has not had it. For the record it has been about 4 different sores, but unfortunately always in the same area, so it seems like the same one all this time! Jaxon has a belly laugh that is the same as when he was a baby. Anyone who hears it laughs along with him, his personality is so contagious. He does not like to be crossed and has a real passion for things being fair. He is smart and knows when mom and dad are trying to pass one by him AND will call us out on it. Which also causes some authority challenges, but after going to head to head a few times, I think he is finally learning who the parents are.

They are all learning so much and becoming such beautiful boys inside and out. Don and I are so proud of them and are very excited about what our future with them brings. Camping, sports, school (we are not as excited about that), shoe tying, and snow playing. Every day with them is such a blessing and I hope we all live long healthy lives so we can be here with them and experience all the joy that the next 50+ years will lend us. If I said it a million times a day, it would not even come close to being enough -I love you all so much.

What's new here...

2010-01-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

Uncle Carl is in town and as you can tell, the boys were THRILLED to see him. They no longer call him "Uncle Jeremy" anymore, which I know we all thought that day would never come. They think he is just awesome and funny. He knows knock knock jokes (and more importantly- listens to their endlessly) and tries to take on all three at a time. They love their Uncle Carl!

Little Reagan spent the night! After seeing her at Christmas we realized how much time always slips away between visits. So since we only live 15 minutes away from each other, we hope to make plans like this more often. We all loved having her here!

Wyatt has gotten into the habit of playing with my jewelry. Usually it is just my rings. He likes to find out which one is from when Don and I got "mayo-weed" and declares them all pretty. I didn't mind the ring playing as long as they all end up put away instead of in the back of his toy jeep which has happened before. But on this day, he took all of my necklaces out and put them on. I couldn't help but laugh. The laughing did not last long though once it took me over a half hour to untangle them. Jewelry is no longer considered a toy...

And last, Don got me this foot massager many years ago. The boys pull it out almost daily and sometimes use it on their feet, sometimes just turn it on and play with their match box cars on it. The other day when I decided to use it I was instantly mobbed. One way or another we all found a way to share it.

Extreme Biking (for a 4 yr old)

2010-01-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

Apparently Lucas is such a pro that after two weeks, riding around on his bike has gotten a bit too boring. He is not ready to take off the training wheels, but he found he could challenge himself by sitting backwards while riding up the street.

Lizard Hunt

2010-01-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago there was a lizard hanging out under the nativity scene. It was declared a "mys-er-ee" (mystery) and kept them occupied for a few minutes.

Wyatt

2010-01-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

I know he is such a mess in this picture, but something about it just sticks to my heart.

Giga Ball

2010-01-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Aunt Leigha gave the boys a fantastic present called a Giga Ball for Christmas. It has been too chilly for us to use until this weekend when someone forgot to tell mother nature it is January and she cranked the heat up to 60 degrees and sunny all weekend long.

After watching a couple you tube videos of other kids trying it out, the boys were really excited to try this themselves. Jaxon and Lucas (literally) jumped right in, while Wyatt kind of held back a bit -stalling once he was inside- not really wanting to roll in it. When it was his turn we let him just hang out inside of it, no rolling necessary. All three had a great time and I think Don was really fighting to urge to climb in and give it a try himself.

Here is Jax rolling for the first time

This is Lucas after we moved to a bigger hill area. Even though only one gets in the ball at a time, you can see all three of them are having a blast!

Garage gone bad

2010-01-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

A project that has been sitting on the back burner for years and we are finally ready to tackle NOW is our garage. The boys spent the night at my moms the other night while Don and I devoted a full day and a half to clearing out and organizing this mess. Our "after" picture is soon to follow.

Twenty Ten

2010-01-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

This year I have chosen a Word Of The Year. It is something I have read about the past few years on another blog I read, but finally decided to partake in it myself.

My word for the year will be NOW.

I resolve to stop putting off what needs to be done until later. I will start making better decisions NOW. Making changes that need to be made NOW.

I have to stop waiting for changes to happen and start being the pilot of my own life. It is a big step for me, usually I just sit back and feel as though life will be what it is meant to be. But there are changes that need to be made (mostly health related) so I am jumping in 2010 with the intention of making new beginnings NOW.

2009 in Review

2009-12-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

JANUARY

We started the new year organizing. Don's tool collection paid off when he built us a beautiful entertainment center.

The boys were slowly but surely getting to be best friends with the trains of Sodor Island. Thomas and his friends were the new favorite toys to take on car rides.

FEBRUARY

In February, the boys started doing boy things, making monster pictures while using monster voices.

We also had some family in town

and once again, Jax needed to sleep with gloves on to help him not touch the "boo-boo" on his forehead.

MARCH

We finally gave in and planted a garden.

Beautiful baby Elise was born

And Uncle Carl and Donny came into town and really left an impression on the boys.

APRIL

Aunt Leigha invites us to her work and it becomes the boys new "special place" to go to.

Don's work hits him with a 7 week lay off -giving him 7 weeks to hang out and teach the boys stuff that only Dad knows.

MAY

The boys turn four, meet Mickey Mouse and have their first water fight.

We also see (and meet) more family in one month than ever before. We drive to to states of California, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and New York to see as much family as we can.

JUNE

We finish our Road Trip 2009 after visiting more family in New York, Virgina, North Carolina and New Mexico, not to mention stopping to see the sites in both Washington DC and Texas.

By then, I am sure the boys have peed on the side of the road in at least 20 states (no, really) and am ready to get home.

Unfortunately after we get home, our Belle girl passes away a week later.

JULY

We spend most days at the community pool and the boys turn into half fish

And we continue to eat the vegetables of our labor.

AUGUST

Our last summer road trip is to Huntington Beach.

But luckily at home the boys have plenty of trains and tracks to keep them busy before school starts.

SEPTEMBER

Don and I celebrate a decade of love and marriage.

Then a trip of so much happiness mixed with much sadness as we we drive half way across the United States to bury two of our Grandmothers.

OCTOBER

My Dad introduced the boys to some bad (albeit funny) manners when he put their faces AND HIS own in my moms birthday cake.

The rest of the month was all about putting on a fantastic Halloween party.

NOVEMBER

Seems to be a month that I get to refocus on me. A long weekend in New York allows me to see my favorite gals and get back to my roots.

Days later, my mom and I have another open house of our sewing business.

DECEMBER

It has been so much fun creating the magic of Christmas for the boys. We have been very blessed this month with so many friends and family around us. Just an over all feeling of "life is good".

Taking a Break

2009-12-30T15:38:00.000-08:00

After a little while of racing each other and playing chase games while shouting something about a "pineapple head", the boys will put their bikes down and lay on the sidewalk. One by one they went, first was Lucas, looking so cute. I took my phone out to take a picture and immediately his serene expression was gone, and here came the, "really mom, I am more than a pretty face" look.

In just moments after that picture of Lucas, Wyatt and Jaxon joined him on the sidewalk. They were all laying there chatting like four year olds do -and then they noticed the clouds above. I wish I could remember what they thought those clouds looked like, but it was weird things, like "our house" or "lots of bikes" and more things that come straight from a four year old imagination.

I did not bring my camera, but this moment was too cute not to capture at least with the camera on my phone!