triplet-tized

He struggled to get out of the bathtub. Suds and bubbles had reached highest proportions and covered every square inch of the tub, with the exception of his head. The whites of his eyes stung and were the color of bright red roses from the glup, glup, glup of the shampoo that had been dumped on his head. His skin was rubbed raw and his toes wrinkled from being in the water too long. Dad had been "triplet-tized" by Mary, Gabby, and Mateo. But at least he was clean.

last day of pre-school

The last day of preschool was bittersweet. (As all parents experience, I imagine.) To see my child so different than just 6mo (or a year) earlier is both rewarding (WOW look how great they are doing!!!) and a tad bit sad (who took my precious 4lb babies). All in all, our "Fit by Five" preschool experience was great!

Mateo with his station teacher, Ms. Beth.

The trio with one of the 4 preschool teachers, Ms. Patty.

The trio with Mary's station teacher, Ms. Holly.

Gabby with her station teacher, Ms. Loretta. (Funny, Gabby's middle name is Loreta!)

overdue

My dear fans... you are way overdue for some blogging! We've been rather busy... so I will have to share the blame!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Abby has decided that she must walk if she wants to keep up with her brother and sisters... so she has taken off. In fact, she is attempting to run and insists upon walking up the stairs!

Gabby found herself in a fight over a (for lack of a better word) "toy" with Mary... and Gabby lost. The desired object, which had elastic in it, flung back into Gabby's eye when Mary let go - which lead to a corneal abrasion. Three doctor's visits later (I am counting Daddy's review with his surgical loops as an appt) and some antibiotic goop and she is healing nicely. A positive from all of this is that the trio are trying hard to not fight over toys.

Mateo has been fighting a sinus infection and is finally on the mend. He was well enough to push the screen out of his bedroom window... and lucky for us, his guardian angel (Grammy) was keeping him safe. Normally we don't keep any of our windows unlocked but since our A/C was out for a week (with a power outage during that time) the 90 degrees was unbearable and we were using fans/windows to circulate the air. We are still counting our blessings on that one.

Mary is the "fall guy" of the trio. She is blamed for the shenanigans mentioned above (and more) and seems to hold them well on her tough shoulders. Price to pay for being the oldest, I guess. She has also really taken to Abby. She loves to carry her around and sing/play with her. The two of them together make quite the team. My two drama queens!

the bathroom

As I was standing in the 2 stall bathroom at Burger King, holding the doors shut for the "privacy" my three so much desired, I started thinking about just HOW MUCH TIME I spend in the darn bathroom.

It isn't as though I am not in there enough, on my own accord... but add 4 kiddos to the mix (yes, although Abby isn't potty trained, she is constantly crawling into the bathroom to either "honey dip" into the toilet, or stand on the step stool to wash her hands in the sink) and I find myself spending a good portion of my day in the bathroom.

I am either wiping hineys, or washing hands, or cleaning up the "I peed my pants and sprayed the wall" (insert-thank you, Mateo), or switching toilets while I am mid stream because someone "can only go on that potty, mommy!" It is the room where we all gather to sing songs, or read books, or talk about our day... because doing these activities in the family room would require us to spread out and be comfortable... not crowded and holding our noses because of the stench.

Public restrooms seem to be the favorite and most frequent of the children since they can't go alone... "grimy, I have to touch every toilet handle" public restrooms... And then, even after I have lined the toilet seat with TP, and step outside the stall to give them the "privacy" to poop (and of course we have to poop every time we are out of the house) they jump off to lock the door (because me holding it isn't enough) and then they can't get back on the toilet seat without knocking the TP off the seat.... so it is a never-ending circle. And if I get lucky, they figure out how to unlock the stall door and let themselves out.

Sometimes we just "try" to go potty... other times we are "waiting it out to see what happens".. and sometimes it is an "emergen-C".

Back and forth... in and out.... the bathroom is OUR favorite place to be.

Happy Birthday, Grammy

Mateo was 18mo when this picture was taken. Happy 70th Birthday, Grammy... we miss you.

It's never to early...

to teach them how to help out around the house.

a lesson in giving

Last weekend, when Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Michele were in town, we went with Uncle Jeremy (and Aunt Cas, Aunt Hilary, and all of our cousins) to the Kamm's Corner Hooley. (A street party from our old neighborhood.) During the torrential downpour, the kiddo's were lucky enough to be under a craft tent and had plenty of opportunity to make some things and wait out the storm. Gabby made a foam visor and gave it to Uncle Jeremy.

This week, Gabrielle received the most awesome thank you note from Uncle Jeremy. He detailed his enthusiasm for spending time with not only Gabby, but her siblings and cousins, and expressed how much her thoughtful gift meant to him. Saying that Gabby was ecstatic to receive such a note is putting it mildly.

And I was happy because I found it to be a great opportunity to teach the kids about giving and thanking. After they saw (and heard) Uncle Jeremy's thank you note, they were each scrambling to find something of their own to give....

WooHoo! Score a point for humanity.