A Happy Fourth of July for Everyone

Okay, after my last post I almost immediately started feeling better. So with that being said here are some pictures of us enjoying the day. Everyone had a great day!

Olivia had spent the night at Nana and Papa's so Adam and I got to take the kids out for a walk, and they each got to sit in the wagon without having to take turns. 

She is so funny! Always ready to have a good time!

With dad pulling, Hannah felt the need to hang on to the bolt so Jonathan and Hayden wouldn't come unhitched. He can be a pretty crazy driver.
 

After the babies went to bed Olivia got to light some sparklers for the first time ever! She really liked them, and I think next year we will have to get another couple packages. Six were definitely not enough!

She is getting so big! I can't believe she is going to be three in less then a month! Whaahhhh!

Our neighbors up the street were lighting off their own fireworks so we got our own little show right there in our driveway.

Hope all of you had a happy and safe Fourth of July!

I Know I Shouldn't Complain....

But I'm going to anyways. For those of you that know me, you know that I try to stay pretty upbeat about things. When I'm having a bad day, I can usually turn it around. But this week has been killing me! It's not that we have been crazy busy, but just that my kids have been driving me crazy! I think part of it is because I haven't been able to get to sleep, or stay asleep very well for the last couple of weeks. I'm seriously thinking about trying some over-the-counter sleep aids, or something, because it is getting that bad! For me it goes like this: Sleep = Energy. There is not enough caffeine in this world right now that could do for me what one good night of sleep could. For those of you that have, had, or deal with small children, imagine your over tired child when you try to put them down for a nap or at night time. Now imagine how crabby and cranky they are during the day when they don't get enough sleep. That is ME! I am a grown adult who is over tired, crabby, cranky, and has to take take of one two year old that won't eat, and three one year olds that think throwing food and sippy cups from their trays is absolutely hilarious! AAHHHH!

Then today in the shower (at 4:30pm, not by choice) I was dreaming of vacations and quietness. When it dawned on me...I have not been alone in my house for over a year. It has probably been about 15 months to be exact. Think about that. Think about the last time you were alone in your very own house? No kids, no husband, OK your husband can stay, but you're ALONE. When was the last time? Please let me know. I want to know if I am just being stupid about this, or if this is something normal for people with kids. I know, I know, our situation is different. Trust me, I get that. But really a whole YEAR! My OWN house! I don't know why I am complaining about it though. I don't even know what I would do if I had the whole house to myself. I would probably end up cleaning, and right now I'm not a big fan of that! I am so sick of picking up I could puke! But if you let it go, even for a day, it's just not worth it.

Let's see what else can I complain about while I'm at it? Hmm...OH! Why do I feel like a freakin' chef all the sudden?! These kids eat so much it is unreal. I feel like I'm cooking up five course meals three times a day! Well, except for Olivia, all she will eat is cereal, cottage cheese, string cheese, celery, chippy's, cookies, and ice cream. And that is exactly why I am cooking them up all these crazy meals that I, myself, would probably never eat, because I am trying to keep their taste buds open to other things other then what Olivia eats. And you know, I don't know if I would mind so much if I knew how much was going to go into their mouths, and not the floor. I've been noticing too that Jonathan is getting more and more picky these days. He is already so much like Olivia I wonder if I will be dealing with meal time drama with him in the near future. Seriously, this girl would rather go take a nap then try a bite of mac-n-cheese (which she use to love)! It is maddening! I've tried begging, bribing, and yelling, and all it ends up doing is leaving one of us in tears. Usually her, but sometimes me.

Okay, since writing all this out I'm thinking of a new plan. First, find some sleeping pills until I can get in a weekend trip to Chicago for shopping and some serious spa time. Second, have Nicole worry about the meals and mess when she is working. And Third, pawn ALL the kids off on friends and relatives for a night! Hey, a girl can dream can't she! :) Wow, just dreaming about it is making me feel better already!

Seriously though, think about when the last time you had your house all to yourself and for how long, and let me know by posting a comment down below. I'd love to see the results!

Here is a picture of the kids in their new boosters. I got new ones because our old ones wouldn't slide under the table. And I hoping that someday we can get rid of the trays!

Look at Hayden's belly. Covered in food, so gross!

Olivia actually eating something for once.

Oh, Big Boy, it's going to be okay!

My favorite meal of the day, supper. The girls keep pulling off their bibs so we go shirtless, and then it's straight to the tub afterwards for bath time. It's my favorite because it's the last time I have to make and clean up a meal, clean up the kids, and their trays, and the seats, and the floors for the day! :)

Mice or Moles? What are these things?!!

Last week I was mowing the lawn and ran across a loose pile of dead grass. I finally got brave enough and gently kicked it up to see what was under it was what looked like a bunch of baby mice. I couldn't kill them because they looked to much like an ultrasound I'd seen before of three human babies about 10 weeks old. That being said, I did leave them uncovered and hoped for nature to take its place, or for mama mouse to come back and move them somewhere else (preferably not back in the lawn). I did check back in on them later in the day and they were gone.

Now, fast forward to today. I'm out doing my pre-lawn-mowing check to make sure that the gutter things are up, the gates are open, and that there are no toys hiding in the lawn. That's when I find another clump of dead grass. So I uncover it and low and behold there are some slightly bigger babies. This time I gently pick them up (with a rake, not my hands!) and put them in a bucket with their clump of grass they had been living under.

So now after looking at them (from a safe distance) I am wondering if they are moles. I googled both baby mice and baby moles and they look a lot alike.

What do you think? Mice or Moles?

Father's Day

I know, it's a little late but here are some pictures from Father's Day this year. What did we do you ask? Well, Adam got to sleep in until about 8:30, and then I think that is when Liv burst through the bedroom door and yelled, "Happy Father's Day Daddy!" It was really cute because it wasn't coached OR rehearsed! Then, I went to get us breakfast from American Skillet, and then that afternoon we had the suite at the Kernels baseball game. So, all in all, I think Adam had a pretty good day! I know the kids had fun!

Daddy and Jonathan

Olivia wearing her best cheese, and her Elmo Baseball Hall of Fame shirt.

Hayden relaxing on the couch.

Hannah getting crazy on the couch.

Papa John, Hayden and Hannah. Hold on tight Papa! These girls like to wiggle!

 

Papa John, Adam, Hayden, and Olivia at the game.

Now the sappy part. Adam really is a great husband and a great dad. We are all so blessed to be able to call him ours!

Splash Pad - Take One

Okay, I must be losing it! Last Friday, after morning thunderstorms and afternoon naps, I decided to round up the troops and take the kids to the Splash Pad. Alright, I'm not completely crazy, because I knew I had a good ratio going; 3:4. That seems to be the perfect ratio when going places that requires kid supervision at all times. At least that is the perfect number for me at the age they are in now. You know, the age where they can walk, bend over, and put whatever looks not edible into their little mouths. The age where they think it is fun to run away from mommy when she asks you to come here. The age that when you tell them no, they smile, shake their cute little heads, and continue to do what you just asked them not to. Ah, yes, this is the age when backup is needed, and possibly a strong drink!

So our trip lasted a whole hour, but it went very well. I had my niece, Rachel, and our nanny there to keep the kids out of trouble and under close supervision. Here are some pictures of our hour of fun in the sun.

Papa happened to see us drive by while he was at the bank, so he followed us down to the park to see what we were up to.

 

Olivia seems to be the one that needs the most supervision, at least in my eyes. She doesn't do anything naughty, but she is runs around like a wild woman! She is over here one minute and then the next second she is playing somewhere else, so I always try to keep a close eye on her. She is always so friendly, I just get paranoid sometimes that someone is going to try to lure her away with chocolate!

Jonathan thinks the Splash Pad is pretty cool.

 

Hannah, taking a break from the water. She really surprised me the most. I figured she wouldn't like it, but she had the most fun out of all of them.

Big boy having a good time!

Not seen is Hayden. She did not care for the cold water splashing her, and therefore clung to Nicole, our nanny, the whole time.

New Wheels!

Okay, so it's not new, but it's new to us! For those of you that don't know what this is, it is the Step 2 Choo Choo Wagon, and for what ever reason they no longer make them. But a very wonderful women who has identical girls and a boy (just like us) told my sister that she was going to get rid of hers, and I couldn't resist! I honestly had put the dream of owning one of these behind me (if you look on eBay these things are going for some serious coin). But because this women is so amazing, and just wanted it to go to a good home like hers, we got it for a steal. She could have tripled her money if she would have tried to sell it on eBay! Now, Adam was not as excited as I was about this. I think he grumbled something like this, "Great, one more kid thing taking up space." But I think he is already over it. I mean come on, how could you not, they look so stinkin' cute in this thing!

Left to Right: Hannah, Olivia, Hayden, and Jonathan

(Is it just me, or is Olivia's hair always crazy?!)

Hayden absolutely loved it! She had such a good time. Every time I looked back she was smiling just like this!

Hannah liked it, but she is cutting some teeth right now, so I think she will enjoy it a lot more once she is done with that.

Olivia finally letting Jonathan have a ride in it, but only so that she could pretend to pull it.
(1st Rule: Only mommy's and daddy's can pull the wagons!)
(2nd Rule: Sun hats and sun screen on at all times.)
Jonathan does have sunscreen on but he was riding in the covered stroller before. I never thought Liv would actually give up her seat for Big Boy to get a turn!

Now we need to find one more wagon to hook on to it so that EVERYONE can ride ALL at the same time.

Linda, if you read this: Thank You, Thank You , Thank You, Thank You! We all absolutely love this, and are having a great time with the wagon!

Thanks Blank Park Zoo and The University of Iowa Children's Hospital

We were invited to the Blank Park Zoo two Saturdays ago by the University of Iowa Children's Hospital due to the babies stay in the NICU last year. While they were a little too little to get it all Olivia sure did have a good time!

Liv getting her first glimpse at the lions! She was very excited!

Standing on the stroller to see!

Here comes the giraffe.

She even got to meet Cinderella, Tinker Bell, and Snow White!

Cheese dad!

Waiting in line to get our food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and a drink.

The babies killed 4 hot dogs and a bun. Olivia, well, she ate a bag of chips and and had a bottle of water. I wish i could get this to eat something! Anything, even a Hot Dog!

Liv playing with her free souvenir.

The next day at our hotel after breakfast. Olivia having a great time just running around inside.

Hannah

Hayden

Hayden and Hannah watching big sister run wild.

Jonathan getting tired just watching her.

Watch out! Here she comes!

Okay now I should tell you that as glamorous and wonderful this trip sounds and looks, it started off a little rocky and ended a little rocky, but we all survived and Adam and I are still talking. :)

Blankies, Fingers, and a Thumb

The other night it was about 6:20 pm and I had already finished bathtubs. The babies were starting to get a little cranky and since they generally don't go to bed until after 7:00 I couldn't put them down yet, so I brought their blankets out to them. (Something I never do.) They calmed down almost immediately and then after about 5 to 10 minutes they were back up and running again. I love blankies!

 

Left to Right: Hayden, Jonathan, and Hannah

Hannah coming to get me!

Jonathan trying to steal Hayden's blankie.

 

Hayden giving up and taking Jonathan's blanket. You can't tell but when she finds the silky on her blanket she starts to suck her index finger upside down.

When Jonathan finds his silky he sucks his thumb.

And when Hannah finds her silky she sucks her ring, middle, AND index finger.

Hayden

Fun fact.

They usually wait to suck their finger(s) or thumb until they find the silky part of the blankie.