Welcome Jonathan

Welcome to the World, Jonathan Neil Goode. Born 10/19/09. What a handsome little guy! Brown eyes and dark hair- nothing like his sisters.

Liam is certainly happy he's got another boy to hang out with! I'm sure Owen will agree too! Our cousin list is now at 13:

Ryan

Kristi

Matthew

Kaitlyn

Bridget

Allison

Morgan

Ann

Holly

Liam

Megan

Owen

Jonathan

The last 10 kids are all under 5. Once Bridget turns 4, we'll have about one month with a 5-4-3-2-and 1 year old in the family. Christmas is going to be a riot. I think I'll buy a box of earplugs to pass around!

That's it for now.

Toddling at 9 months

Holly is a little champion! She took her first steps at the PHSCC Pig Roast on Saturday! It was incredible! She's so tiny, and yet so confident. As you can probably imagine, it didn't take long and she's now taking 3-4 steps at a time! She can clap her hands and loves to make raspberries or just outright spit at you.

Megan is our little musician. She loves to shake the toys that rattle and bang on the toy drum and piano. If you start cheering, "Yeay, Megan!" she'll look at you with a big smile and clap. She's so pretty! Megan is a fast crawler, and can pull herself up with ease.

Liam is not only a mama's boy, but a little trouble-maker. He likes to climb up on the base of the end table and pull on the lamp cord. Otherwise, he will crawl into the base of the exersaucer. Liam is still crawling like an inchworm, though I've witnessed him crawl in the traditional manner. He is also pulling himself up at will. Liam likes to play Peek-a-Boo, and will pull things over his face and wait for you to catch on to his game.

Bridget, oh Bridget! She's loving preschool and playing with her friends. I'm disappointed that it seems to be 90% socializing 10% educational. For that reason, I really miss Chesterbrook. If we could afford it, I would send her there in a heart beat. Bridget is trying to read words, and when she's in the mood, she'll show you how she reads. We're still having LOTS of tantrums with her, and she's starting to get sneaky. For instance, she asked if she could have a snack 20 minutes after we finished dinner (and she DIDN'T finish her meal.) I said "no" and she went in the kitchen pantry and took a granola bar. (I could hear what she was up to.) So she walks out of the kitchen backwards with the granola bar behind her back and starts heading toward her room.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room."

"What's behind your back?"

"Nothing."

"What's in your hands?"

"Nothing."

(Insert disbelieving, stern, mom face)

"a granola bar." B says in a small voice.

I can't wait till her threes are over with. Four has to be better!

On a lighter note, Bridget's Pre-Ballet class started this week and she loved it. They are learning one routine before Halloween and a second routine before Christmas. She's thrilled.

As for me, school is going well. I'm hanging in there, though terribly busy. I'm teaching the boy across the street, the girl three doors down, and the boy four doors down, and a girl two blocks away. What fun! It was quite odd seeing neighborhood parents in my classroom. So far, it seems like I have good classes. My honors geometry kids are smart and hard-working. My precalculus kids are typical and fun.

Shawn's keeping busy at work and at home. He's going away for another billion days, but I guess if you compare his job to the circus, he doesn't travel much.

Finally, the baby boom has begun. Congratulations to:

Matt & Kristen and baby Benjamin,

Derek, Rene, Sophia, Emily and baby Elizabeth

Sandy, Kurt, Morgan and baby Owen,

Kim, Josh, Christian and baby Charlotte,

Brenda, Paul, Madalin and baby Lauren

I believe we're now just waiting to meet one more little Goode baby.

Back to School

Well, everyone has their Back-To-School routines down now. My day starts at about 5 am, I'm out the door by no later than 6:30, and school is officially done at 2:31. Mondays & Thursdays I stay after school to do work and/or help students. Tuesdays & Fridays I pick Bridget up from preschool. And Wednesdays we have school meetings after hours. Busy, busy, busy. Add to that, I'm trying to get to the gym 3-4 times a week, grading papers, taking care of the kids and my day is never done.

Bridget is doing great now that she's in preschool! She's still throwing tantrums with babysitter Beth almost daily, but hasn't thrown but a few with Shawn or I since school started up. Bridget seems to really enjoy school, and keeps asking me when it's going to end. Not that she wants it to end, but just the opposite. She doesn't want it to end. I'm not sure she's learning anything at all, and I'm a bit disappointed about that. So far, all I've seen is one paper where she wrote her own name 3 times. (Chesterbrook Academy taught Bridget so much more.) When I ask her what she did, she says "play" and "storytime with Miss Patty". She seems to like playing with the dress up stuff, kitchen and blocks. She also likes painting. Her best friend at school is Kayla and her second best friend (that is what B called her) is Hope. The only other student she has mentioned is Connor who according to B, doesn't have any hair.

Pick-up and Drop-off time is really well coordinated. They have a pretty efficient way of getting all the students where they need to be in a very short period of time. After watching the pick-up routine for 2 weeks now, I've noticed that the last parent picks up her kid at 12 minutes past dismissal time. I've also noticed that no matter what time I leave school to pick her up, I'm always buckling B up at 3:11. Half the school dismisses from one side of the building, and the other half dismisses from the opposite side, and walkers leave from the front.

Holly, Liam and Megan are doing wonderfully. Megan has changed a TON since her 6 month dr. visit. She's now sitting up and crawling. She can clap her hands, and she loves anything musical. She'll sit on the floor and beat the toy drum. She'll lay on her back and shake the shaker things. She crawls over to the little piano and bangs on the keys. I'm thinking we have a little musician on our hands! Liam is still Mama's boy. From the minute I walk in the door until the minute he goes to bed, he's hanging on me. He'll pull himself up to standing by using my shirt, then completely smother me while trying to crawl to the top of my head. He's our laugher and Bridget is the one who keeps him laughing. Whether she's running around the living room or playing Peek-a-Boo, Liam will squeal with joy and laugh the cutest laugh. Holly has been on hiatus lately. Nothing new to report. I guess since she was crawling and standing so early, she's now letting the others catch up with her. She did finally cut her first tooth-yeay! That seemed to cut down on her fussiness.

I've been trying some table foods with them, and that's been going well. Of course it is a mess (times three) but it's fun to watch them grow and learn to feed themselves. So far they've tried mashed potatoes, pasta, crackers, and bread. Megan eats the most, Holly eats the least. Liam steals food from the other's trays. Nothing new there either!

I'm also happy to report that Shawn has been Mr. Clean lately. He's taken it upon himself to be responsible for the cleaning of the kitchen, and is faithfully doing dishes and sweeping & mopping the floors! It's been very nice!

I must get to grading my first set of quizzes for the year. Oh yah, I forgot to mention, I'm teaching both the girl three doors down and the boy who lives across the street from me. Both are very smart, pleasant students. Whew!

Two days left and welcome baby OWEN WILLIAM!

Only today and tomorrow left for summer vacation, then it's back to work I go. I'm pretty excited about that. I've been going in to school to set up the classroom, clean out cabinets, and get copies ready for the school year. Beth, the babysitter, came in for 4 days when Shawn was in Tokyo. She worked 5 full days last week too. The babies are doing well in her care. They love playing with her. Bridget seems to like her too. She's comfortable enough with Beth, that she had her first tantrum for her yesterday.

Holly seems to have caught a bit of a cold-probably croup-yesterday. She was coughing and barking, and was up quite a bit last night. She was terribly crabby and tired all day. The Tylenol seems to be working, and today she has been in better spirits. She's still barking, so I've been using the nebulizer with her. Megan had a slight fever yesterday, but seems fine today. Liam is doing well.

Last weekend we travelled out to the zoo with the kids. That was fun. The babies were well behaved. We left at nap time, got to the zoo and loaded the kids into the strollerbago and strolled to the penguin exhibit. Outside the building, there's a small splash area for the kids to play in. So Bridget ran around in the water while Shawn and I fed Holly, Liam and Megan. After 4 trips to the washroom, we strolled around to the bears and lions, before heading out.

After that, we stopped at Grandma Joan's house to get the kids ready for bed. Then we packed up, and I was dropped off at the hospital to visit my new nephew, Owen William. He's such a cutie pie, with the roundest head I've ever seen! How'd that happen to a non-c-section baby? In any case, he's quite handsome, and I'm sure Liam will appreciate having a boy cousin exactly 8 months younger than him. Congratulations, Sandy and Kurt!

That's all for now.

Baptism Photos

I posted the baptism photos on My Mobile Me Gallery. The link is on the right.

I also am allowing downloads and uploads to this gallery this time. If you want to download the photos, please do. If you want to share any of your photos, please do.

Things are busy busy around here. Only 16 days till school is back in session for me. The sitter has been working this week so that I can get the house and my classroom ready for the school year.

Ok, gotta go...

Thanks!

Just a quick Thank You to everyone who made the journey our way for Holly, Liam and Megan's baptism. We hope you had a good time.

I'll try to get photos uploaded to My Mobile Me Gallery as soon as I can. Shawn's in Tokyo for the next 7 days, so I've got my hands full right now.

Halloween Ideas?

So ever since the babies were born, my wheels have been spinning about Halloween. I'd really like to coordinate the kids for their first Halloween together. Here's what I've come up with:

Three blind mice...farmer's wife

Three bears...Goldilocks

Three little kittens...Mother Cat

Three little pigs...Big Bad Wolf

Three monkeys (See/Speak/Hear no evil)...What would B be?

sheep...Bo Peep

Dwarfs...Snow White

Munchkins...Dorothy

I'm also on a budget. I really don't want to spend much money. Most of those baby costumes I can make from solid colored sleepers or sweats. However, those have been hard to find. You'd think it'd be easy to find 6-9 month black sweats, but nope, impossible! Sleepers too...never solid. Always patterned or with something embroidered on it. B does already have Snow White and Dorothy costumes.

Currently, I'm leaning towards Dorothy and Munchkins. This may be the last Halloween that her Dorothy costume fits her. The babies can be the Lollipop Guild. I recently bought them matching striped onesies that could work for this purpose. I can certainly find an oversized lollypop or two to put in the stroller as we Trick-or-Treat. I was also thinking I could cut some yellow poster board "bricks" and attach them to the stroller too. The only things I'd need to purchase would be coordinating pants for the babies, and red sparkly shoes for B.

So any ideas? What could they whole gang be? How can I get it done? I'm creative, but I don't sew. I'm more of a glue gun & felt kinda gal! Any other themes I missed?

Post comments, please!!!!

Ch...ch...ch...ch...changes!

Bridget really wants to be a "big girl" and to her being a big girl means behaving and getting nice things. We've been working on actions/consequences with her lately. She's been getting away with too much and learning how to play the system. She knows if I'm busy feeding babies, I can't go dragging her butt back to the naughty stool a million times.

So Shawn and I have been trying to focus on following through with her. One warning, and of she doesn't behave, then she gets the consequence. Of course, B is fighting it and she really hates the naughty stool. We may have turned the corner with her...

Yesterday, Bridget had some toys and books scattered around her room. It wasn't in the worst shape it's ever been in, but it was messy. The babies were waking up from a nap, and needed to be fed. I was in B's room with Liam, and I said, "Bridget, could you please pick up your toys?" Usually this provokes the typical, "I DON'T WANNA!" accompanied by foot stomping and throwing whatever object is closest to her. Followed up by me yelling at her and putting her on the naughty stool. This time she just said, "but..."

"Bridget, you're a big girl now, and you know where all your toys go. You can put them away."

"Can you help me?"

"No, I need to feed Holly, Liam and Megan."

"But I don't want to clean up by myself."

"Well, I can't help you. Your brother and sisters are hungry. You can do it. You know where your toys belong."

"Ok."

"Come and get me when your room is all cleaned up."

I really didn't expect her to do much. Maybe she'd only put away her doll house toys, or a few little things. She gets distracted easily, and usually ends up playing with the toys she's supposed to be putting away.

Off I went to feed babies. I couldn't hear Bridget playing in her room, but I also couldn't hear her cleaning up her room. Things were really quiet. Liam and Megan were fed, and I was almost done feeding Holly, when B quietly came to the kitchen. She just stood by the high chair, watching.

"What's up, B? How's your room? Is it all clean?"

"Uh-huh." very unenthusiastically.

"It is?" not believing her "Are you telling the truth?"

"yeeeesss." still very sly.

"If I go look in your room, will it be clean?" Trying to figure out where her loophole is.

"uh-huh!" a bit more excited now.

"Ok, let's go look at your room."

"sure! come on!" and Bridget skips down the hall excitedly. "Come on, Mama! Look at my room!"

So now I'm starting to think she cleaned up something. When I got to her room I was AMAZED! All the doll house accessories were put in the correct place. All the kitchen things were put away. All the dress up clothes were put in the dress up basket under her bed. All her pillows, blankets, and dolls were back up on the bed. Her dirty pajamas were off the floor and in the laundry basket. All her books were on the book shelf. Nothing was left on the floor. I was SHOCKED. I began screaming with delight. "I'm SO proud of you Bridget, I'm very impressed with your room! You did a great job!" etc. etc. I gave her a huge hug. Bridget was beaming with pride. "See Mom! I did it. I did it all by myself! I'm a big girl! I did it."

She ran downstairs to tell Shawn. I think Shawn was pretty stunned that Bridget had cleaned her room on her own too. I had planned to take Bridget to Portillo's for dinner then Target to get some school supplies for Preschool, so I told her my plans. Then Shawn said, "If you continue to behave, after Target, we'll get some ice cream!"

As it turned out, this was the first time the babies have been to a restaurant. We brought two in the double stroller, and carried the third in. We got lots of attention from employees and customers. Most just curious. That's ok, we're getting used to it. Besides the questions, dinner was uneventful. Bridget was well behaved, Megan was asleep, and Liam & Holly just watched the people and drank their bedtime bottles.

After dinner, Shawn decided he'd just walk across the parking lot to Target with the double stroller. I was going to drive the van over with Bridget and Megan. This is where things exploded. B got all upset that Daddy was walking and we were driving. She wanted to walk with Daddy. She began kicking and screaming while I was trying to get her into her car seat. Since we're really focusing on actions/consequences, I warned her that if she didn't stop the bad behavior, we would not get ice cream. Of course she continued to scream and cry and followed that up with a punch to my arm. So that was it, I told her no ice cream. Let the melt down begin. "No Mommy! I want to behave! I want to be a big girl! I want ice cream! I want to behave! Don't take ice cream away! No Mommy, no! I'll be a big girl! I'll behave."

Fortunately, she calmed down by the time we entered Target. Shopping was fine, but when we left, she started up again. By the time we got back home, Bridget had lost bedtime stories, bedtime music, and her doll house. Ugh!

Today, Bridget knew she had to behave to earn her doll house back. She behaved beautifully! She was an angel. She thanked me for taking her to Grandma Joan's house. She told me she had lots of fun there. We had talked about how she COULD have had a nice evening after Portillo's but since she misbehaved, she didn't get to do those nice things.

So after tonight's dinner, I took her to the store and out for ice cream. We talked about how good she was today, and how I enjoyed doing fun things with her when she behaves. I think it is beginning to make sense to her.

She said, "I don't like when the babies cry. It's not fun when they're crying. It just makes me angry sometimes."

I said, "I don't like when YOU cry either. It's not fun when YOU'RE crying."

"Yah" she said. "I don't like crying. I want to be a big girl and behave and get nice things."

"Like ice cream? and shopping with Mama?"

"Yah!"

Then she said, "This ice cream is DELICIOUS! The girl made me DELICIOUS ice cream!"

(Two tables of customers turned to look at B when she said that.)

I hope this marks the beginning of the end of the "Trying Threes". Wouldn't that be nice? I need SOME reprieve before having to go through it all again...times three!

Splitting up

Almost anything we do these days requires that our family be split up. It's really frustrating. For instance, Monday, I had a doctor appointment, and Bridget had tumbling at the same time. So Shawn took B, H, and M to tumbling and L and I went to the doctor appointment. Monday afternoon Holly wouldn't take a nap, so Bridget, Holly and I made a quick run to the store. Let me tell you...life with just two kids would be a snap! I threw a diaper and small pack of wipes in my purse, and we were out the door. It was nice only lugging one car seat carrier around. Once at the store, I snapped Holly on the cart and off we went. The whole trip took less than 20 minutes. With all three it takes 20 minutes just getting everyone and everything loaded into the van!

Now Thursday, B has a party at Splash Station for the summer reading program. Sure, we could all go, but all 6 of us couldn't be in the water at one time! It looks like B and I may have to go without Shawn b/c we can't find a sitter for the triplets.

Saturday is Joliet's Kid Fest. That's something that we did with Bridget when she was the triplet's age. But I don't think H, L, M are going to go this year. Again, we'll be split up. Someone will take B while the other stays home with the triplets.

Even the simplest things: going to get ice cream cones on a hot summer night, going to the park, playing in the kiddie pool in the back yard, getting Happy Meals at McDonalds, playing outside, visits to grandma's house...these are the things that the triplets are missing out on because it's so darn difficult to do. So either we split up, and half goes and does things while the other half stays home, or no one does it.

On another note, I have a feeling that Holly is going to be the one we'll make several trips to the ER with. She's such a little dare devil. She keeps pulling up on the gate, but because it's metal and slippery, she loses her grip and falls face first into the gate. She'll pull herself up on almost anything. She especially likes to pull herself up on my legs (when I'm on the floor with her) then she tries to climb up my body until she can grab my face! It's crazy! Yesterday, Liam was laying on the floor, she pulled herself up to standing by using Liam's belly. Then she traveled over to his face and was standing up with support from Liam's head. When she did that, she started laughing, "huh-huh! huh-huh! huh-huh!" It was quite amusing.

Surprise!

The babies don't get out of the house much, and we all went out yesterday, so I guess that deserves mentioning.

Shawn & I decided to go to the mall because I needed to pick up photos at Sears. So after an hour of getting everything ready, we load up the van and head out. When we got to Sears, who's in the photo room? Uncle Dave, Aunt Tina, Kaitlyn and Ann! What a nice surprise! Needless to say, Bridget was very excited to see her cousins!

So we let them finish up their photos, and we all decided to have dinner together at Panera Bread. Ugh! Bridget is SO LOUD! We really need to work on that with her. Fortunately there were only a few others eating in, and they didn't seem to mind, but still! Bridget, Kaitlyn, and Ann had fun eating their sandwiches together, and talking about whatever 2, 3, and 4 years olds talk about. Meanwhile, Liam was tired and fussy. He's becoming quite a mama's boy. He screams like a girl when I put him down, and wants me to hold him all the time. Megan and Holly were doing well, drifting off to sleep in their stroller.

After dinner, we went to check out this new mini golf place that opened up in the mall. Glow Golf, 54 holes in one storefront. Kaitlyn was quite disappointed that they could not golf with us, but we made plans to golf together some other time. But as it turned out, we were too late to start golfing. It was too close to closing time.

The Goode's went home, and the 6 of us went to the play area. Bridget burned off some energy and I hit the clearance sale at The Children's Place. I've decided that the only new clothes I'm buying for the triplets would be special occasion outfits and matching/coordinating clothes. They have plenty of hand-me-down clothes through 18 months. I ended up finding quite a bit: matching dresses for Holly and Megan, matching tanks/shorts for Holly and Megan, an outfit for Liam that coordinates with H&M's tank/shorts, another shirt for Liam to go with the girls' dresses, and finally matching onesies for all three. The onesies should fit them soon, and all the other clothes are for next spring/summer. All that for under $40. Not too bad!

So that's our exciting life. A day out is a trip to the mall. I really can't wait for next summer when Holly, Liam and Megan will be in regular car seats, walking, we'll be able to use the quad stroller to contain them, and we'll have more options for family nights out!

What a wonderful weekend!

Well, the Anniversary Adventure is now over but I'll always carry the memories with me...

We headed out shortly after 11 am on Saturday. Karen, Ron and the kids came over to watch BHLM and take them to the Summer Birthday Party later that afternoon. Shawn and I ran into traffic in northern Indiana (no surprise there) so we took a little detour. After a bit, we stopped for lunch which was a big disappointment. We also had to stop at some crazy filthy WalMart because I had developed a huge rash on my leg. So as quickly as possible, I grabbed some Gold Bond cream and Benadryl spray and I got the heck outta that place. Oh yah, I set off the security sensors on the way in and out. When I got back to the car, I remembered that I had my Chris Isaak CD in my purse. I purchased it from his website, and the security tag probably never got deactivated. Oh well, WalMart didn't seem to care much that I set off their sensors TWICE. We then got back to driving, talked, played "would you rather" and ended up rolling into Louisville just about 6 pm local time.

We checked into the Seelbach Hilton, which is this really old hotel, but boy was it beautiful! There were tapestries hanging on the walls, and a really cool little bar (one of the 50 best bars in the world according to the London Independent.). Shawn had mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary, so we got a room upgrade to a larger room. The "larger room" wasn't very large, b/c this was an old hotel, but still the room was very nice.

We then got ready to go to the concert. Once ready, it was about 7 pm, and the concert started at 8, so we needed to get moving! There was NO way I was going to be late! So we walked to the Brown Theater, which was only a few blocks away. The weather was gorgeous! Cool with a slight breeze. Shawn picked up our tickets at Will Call, then we went off to find a quick bite to eat. We ended up at a small place called the Yafa Cafe, which looked like a dump, but the food was surprisingly good.

Next up: concert! After the mandatory purchasing of CI paraphernalia, we headed to our seats. Now, the Brown Theater is a small theater, which was fine with me. Our seats in Row S, were in the second row from the back. Nice view of the stage.

Finally...the concert began, and it was amazing. The acoustics in the theater were awesome. The people were great (no crazy singing/dancing fools, no stumbling drunks, although people in front of us kept getting up frequently to buy more beer) and I had a really good time.

Some highlights: Chris grabbed a microphone and wandered through the crowd singing "Return To Me" and "Love Me Tender". (That link is not from our concert, but he did pretty much the same routine, and was wearing the same outfit.) At one point he was standing at the end of our row, a mere two seats away from me. My hands were shaking so bad, the photos on my iPhone look like crap. Fortunately, I practically threw our digital camera at Shawn and he took a GREAT shot, right when Chris looked our way. **SIGH** Shawn was laughing his butt off at me b/c I'm sure I was behaving like a 12 year old watching the Jonas Brothers. Oh well. Chris Isaak is my Jonas Brothers. He also played a bunch of songs from his new CD, Mr. Lucky, which was to be expected.

After the concert, we walked to the CVS in Fourth Street Live because Shawn needed some Tums. It was pretty sad, you had to be 21 to get into this area at night, and we didn't even get carded. I guess we're really getting old. After that, we figured we HAD to visit one of the 50 best bars in the world...what was it called? Old Seelbach Bar. That was a really cool place. Shawn really liked the live jazz, although he couldn't stop making fun of the drummer who kinda looked like Lenny from Laverne and Shirley and played the drums like a robot on a kid's drum set.

After a few drinks, we turned in for the night.

The next day, we grabbed a bagel from the Concierge Lounge, before heading to the Louisville Slugger Museum. I couldn't remember when the Museum opened, and Shawn did NOT bring a laptop, so we were a bit disappointed that it would not be opening until noon on Sunday. So we drove along the riverfront, checked out the view, and headed towards home.

I fell asleep, and when I woke up Shawn was pulling into the Edinburgh Premium Outlet stores. Shawn and I separated, and agreed that we'd try to be done shopping in an hour. Impossible! Shawn ended up finding some DVDs, and I found some clothes for the kids, baby Crocs ($5 each!) for the triplets, and a new Coach purse for me. There were some pretty great deals at this mall.

Next up, a quick lunch at Max & Erma's. Then we were off...no stopping till we're home. Yah, right! Shawn needed caffein, and chose to stop at Starbucks for a mocha. No kidding! Every now and then he'll drink a mocha. We ran into some traffic with a posted 40 minute delay and had to detour again. Now, usually Shawn's detours end up taking us an hour longer minimum, but this time, it worked out good. We drove through Kankakee and avoided the northwestern Indiana mess, and it only added 5 minutes to our time. Added bonus: it was a pretty drive. Still lots of cornfields, but much more interesting than the boring interstate scenery.

When we got home, B was excited to see us. Holly and Liam were all smiles too, and Megan was sleeping. Anna did a wonderful job straightening up the house, and even did laundry. (New career, Anna?) I was gone 30 hours, and Megan's tooth broke through! It wasn't even near the gum line when we left! How does that happen? Shawn said it looked like Holly's hair grew a bunch too. I don't know what's up with Liam either. He's Mr. Crabbypants lately. I can't put him down without him SCREAMING like a girl. Anna said he's got green snot. He's not running a temperature. I'm guessing it's a bit of a cold combined with teething and separation anxiety, which according to the "book" is supposed to be kicking in now.

The rest of our evening consisted of playing outside with B. She decided to color her hands with pink chalk then rubbed it all over her face. It looked CRAZY! Liam played in the exersaucer outside while Holly and Megan played inside. Babies were in bed by 7 pm, B was in bed by 8:30, and here we are now.

Overall, it was a very nice, relaxing, fun day and a half for me. Great job, Shawn! Thanks for the BEST anniversary present to date. Can't wait for Hawaii in 3 more years...I'm holding you to that promise.

Thanks to the Vandewiels, Anna, Kathie and John for watching and entertaining our children in our absence. Without all of you, this weekend wouldn't have happened for me.

--Arlene

The big "Anniversary Adventure"

Update 7/18/09: Friday, Shawn spilled the beans...we're going to see Chris Isaak in concert in Louisville. I knew it! My post below had several song titles hidden in it. They are now in bold print. Can't wait! :-)

So, I know at least 2 of you are in on the great "anniversary adventure", but for the others, let me tell you about it.

I believe it was maybe a week to 10 days ago that Shawn said, "For our anniversary I could get you the new iPhone 3G-S or a really cool adventure. You choose." Well, since this was going to be an anniversary gift, I figured we should probably do something together, so I chose the adventure.

"We're going away then. Be ready to go on Saturday the 18th." That was about all he'd say, he wouldn't talk to me anymore about it.

I asked, "Who's going to watch the kids?" he said, "It's all taken care of."

I asked, "Who's going to take the kids to the Summer Birthday party?" he said, "It's all taken care of."

I asked, "Where are we going?" he said, "You'll have to wait and see."

I said, "What about the Tupperware party I'm supposed to go to on Sunday." Shawn had nothing to say about that.

"What should I wear? I have to know what to pack." he said, "Nothing too fancy."

Since the initial shock of it all, the only other thing Shawn's said is, "I'm not sure if it's going to involve an airplane yet."

So he's gotten me thinking. I wonder where Shawn would take me that HE thought I would really like? Two places came to mind quickly, but over the next two days, those places didn't seem quite right. Then I was listening to my iPod, and remembering a very specific conversation that Shawn and I had one day, and I had another idea. It had all come together and I had figured him out!

I went online to verify my suspicions, and yep, I'm 100% sure I know where we're going and what we're doing. Shawn thinks there's no way I figured it out, but he underestimates me this time, and overestimates his slyness!

Sorry, you'll have to wait until Saturday to see if I'm right. I got a plan in mind to prove to Shawn that I know where we're headed.

I'll be documenting our anniversary adventure on Facebook, so FB friends keep checking for updates.

To Kristi, Allison, Morgan and Ann...sorry I can't make it to your birthday parties. Bridget, Holly, Liam and Megan will be there. I hope you all like your gifts! Please have a very Happy Birthday, and I love you all!

For now, I'll be waiting till Saturday. It's almost 11 pm and I'm not sleepy...Saturday can't get here fast enough!

New Photos.

The new family photo.

Click the link to My Mobile Me Gallery at the right to view other photos from this photo shoot.

Free Redbox Rental Today only

Here's a new code for a free Redbox rental today, Monday, July 6, 2009 only.

4J7LF6

Offer expires at midnight. Return your DVD to any Redbox by 9 pm tomorrow.

Enjoy the show!

Holly, Liam, and Megan Update

Holly, Liam and Megan visited the pediatrician today for their 6 month well visit. All are doing fantastic.

Holly: Perfect! Still the peanut of the group. She's weighs exactly 2 lbs. less than Megan. Doc said that she has the red bumps on her lower gum line where her first teeth will be making an appearance within the next month or two.

The exciting news with Holly is that she is now getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth, just ready to go. It won't be long before she's crawling. If her favorite Kangaroo toy is across the room and she wants it, she'll find a way to get to it in no time at all. She has mastered rolling, pivoting, STRETCHING out her long arms and scooting to navigate the floor.

Liam: Doing great! Megan surpassed him once again in weight, but that was no surprise. The growth of his head is well within normal range and is following the growth curve appropriately. Liam is still not bearing his weight on his legs yet, but the doctor wasn't very concerned at this point. The doctor lifted him up, and Liam is doing a stepping motion, which is good. I guess if he didn't do that, then the doc would be more concerned. For now, we're just supposed to keep an eye on his progress. His muscle tone in his legs is not as defined? developed? as his sisters, but still falls within the normal range. You can also see his two bottom front teeth just below the gum. Shouldn't be long before those teeth pop right out!

The exciting news with Liam is that he has begun to show his first baby sign: milk. At first I thought it was a coincidence, or that he was just scratching at his shirt or bib, but now I'm pretty convinced that he is trying to communicate with us. He will sign milk when the bottle is in his mouth. He has also signed milk when I was feeding him peas and he wanted his bottle. He looked right at the bottle, and did the sign for milk. It's absolutely amazing that someone so small can already begin to communicate! I'm a BIG fan of baby sign language, and have been extremely pleased with how signing worked with Bridget, and now with the triplets. BTW, there's a video of Liam signing "milk" on my Mobile Me Gallery, the link is at the right.

Megan: Wonderful! Megan is the heaviest of the bunch, but we knew that would happen. She usually eats the most at each meal, and she wiggles around the least. When she's put on the floor, she will maybe roll to the left, back to center and roll to the right, but that's about it. She's content to just watch Holly and Liam play. When we were in the waiting room, I noticed that Megan's right foot seemed a bit odd looking. There seemed to be a bump on her arch. We showed the doctor and he said that the bump was actually a muscle, and that her muscle was really developed probably because she curls her toes tightly. Pair that with her crazy double-jointed right elbow, and the doc said she seems to be favoring her right side. Again, nothing to worry about, just something to keep an eye on over the next couple of months. We never noticed that Megan favors the right side, but then again, we weren't looking out for it either. During the rest of our stay in the office, she definitely looks to the right more than to the left, but I doubt there's a problem. She turned to the left when I called her. She watched Bridget when B was on her left side. The doc also said Megan's probably not moving around as much as the other two because her muscles aren't as developed enough to carry her weight around. (Poor Meggie...our little fatty!) Again, he said she's fine and there's nothing to be concerned about. In fact, he said they've thinned out quite nicely since their 4 month visit. Megan also has the swollen gums, and doc said she'll probably have 2-4 teeth before her 9 month visit.

Overall, I'm really trying NOT to compare the babies. It's pretty hard though. I think it's instinct: when one baby rolls you work a bit harder to get the other two to roll. Or when one baby signs, you work a bit harder to get the other two signing. On the other hand, it's fascinating to watch three babies who are growing up in the exact same environment develop at different rates. Nature vs. nurture at its finest.

It's getting rather fun around our house now. The babies are moving around and interacting with everyone. Bridget is playing with the babies. Shawn and I are in a routine and more is getting done. Life is good.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

If you would like to see the videos that I made for Shawn check out:

http://www.me.com/gallery/#100355 for Bridget's video and

http://www.me.com/gallery/#100349 for Holly, Liam and Megan's video.

Also, poor little Scout has been recalled already. Nothing major...there's stickers on his paws that they're going to replace with embroidered paws. So I guess Liam's getting a brand new Scout in August. I'm guessing Violet's release is going to be delayed as well.

Best Toy Ever

So, I'm on the LeapFrog mailing list because Bridget's Tag Reader connects to the internet to track her progress. Anyway I got an email awhile back announcing their new toys Scout and Violet. So I checked out their website, and fell for these cute little puppy toys! Check out the link and watch the video or play the music.

Then a little while later I came across a coupon for $3 off a LeapFrog toy, and you know how much I love coupons! One day I ended up in Toys R Us, and there was Scout on the shelf calling out my name. So I bought him right up!

The cool thing about Scout (Violet hasn't shipped to the stores yet) is that you can personalize it with your baby's name, favorite color, favorite animal, and favorite food. There's tons of items to choose from. I kid you not, edamame, bibimbap (what the heck is that?!), Yakisoba, and quiche are favorite food choices. As well as everybody's favorite animals: alpacas, bugs, earthworms, loons and sloths. So I chose: Liam, blue, moose and sweet potatoes as Liam's favorite things. Moose won because that's his favorite toy. Now Scout sings about all of Liam's favorites. He also spells out his name in a song. Pretty cool! You can change your selections anytime. The puppy hooks up to the computer with a USB cable.

Now, previously I've been a big fan of Baby Tad, because it will play up to 6 minutes of bedtime music. My babies have learned to fall asleep within 6 minutes (sometimes 12 minutes) of being put down thanks to Baby Tad. Scout tops Tad. You can select 5 of 30 daytime songs and 5 of 30 nighttime songs to load onto the doll. And you can change the songs anytime. At bedtime, you have the option of playing 2, 5 or 10 minutes of music. Now the triplets are drifting off to sleep with 10 minutes of peaceful LeapFrog bedtime melodies. Ahh! Sweet!

Oh yah, my Baby Tad link isn't a bad link. It looks like LeapFrog only sells the Spanish version of the toy now. I meant to link that.

Now if anyone wants to get Megan and Holly their own Violet I'm sure they'll love it! I heard she arrives on June 17th.

Strollerbago Walk to Walgreens

We had Kaitlyn and Ann spend the night last night because Tina and Dave were in Hawaii for business. Well, I guess Dave was there on business...Tina got to relax! Anyway, Sandy, Kurt and Morgan brought the girls over at about 5 pm last night and we all had dinner. Shawn and I caught a glimpse of what daily dinners were going to be like in a year or two. Boy was it LOUD! Kaitlyn, Bridget, Morgan and Ann were all talking, yelling, singing and copying each other. I'm sure they were all excited to see each other, but darn it if they can't burst your ear drum! 

After dinner they needed some outside play time. So Kurt and I supervised KBAM while Sandy and Shawn stayed in and supervised HLM. I had fun watching the girls play. They rode vehicles: bikes, trikes, caterpillars, scooters, cars and trucks. They drew with chalk. They tried to hit the wiffle ball. They played on the slide. They had running races pretending to be all sorts of different animals. Twas nice. 

This morning, Holly was up at 5 am wanting milk. She's usually the late sleeper, so I was kind of bummed. I stayed up late, and was dragging at 5 am. Good thing she's a fast eater, b/c we were both back asleep by 5:20. The 5 other kids all woke up at about 7:30. I managed to get KBA fed and dressed before Tina and Dave came to pick them up at 8:30. 

Shawn is in Washington DC today and he took the van to the airport, so I'm sorta stranded at home. I decided it looked pretty nice outside and figured I'd take the kids for a walk to Walgreens. It's not that far from our house, and the weatherman said it was supposed to rain all day, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky right now. SO...it takes me maybe 20 minutes to change diapers, and load everyone into the stroller. Still not a cloud in the sky. We get going, and all the babies seem content. Bridget is having fun finding things of every color of the rainbow. All's well. I get to the Walgreens parking lot and remembered that I didn't bring my debit card! The only way to rent a movie is with a credit/debit card, and I just grabbed a handful of cash as I left the house! No rental for me today! Bummer!

Oh well! Let's make the best of this! We'll go see what Walgreens has to offer inside the store. Uh, wait, the stroller's not making it through the door! At least I'm not holding anyone up. Ok, let's back up and try this again. It looks like I SHOULD fit through the door. Yep! Sure can, but it's a tight squeeze. Those wheels have to be perfectly aligned to fit through the door.  Once inside, everyone's checking out the  huge blue stroller gang roaming the aisles of Walgreens. Some were brave enough to make a comment too. "You sure are busy, aren't you?" "Wow, that's a lot of kids." Ok, I'm getting used to the comments now, and I'm getting used to ignoring them too!

So what did we end up getting? A 30 pack of black/blue/red pens was on clearance for $1.52 (I think).  I bought a pack of these pens when they were $3 and I thought that was a steal. Shawn thought they'd be really crappy pens, but they're not. They write really smoothly! I also picked up a 30 pack of mechanical pencils for $3. We'll see if they're as good as the pens. I got a wrist teether thingy for one of the babies. Then I needed a drink, and I got B a pack of Skittles since she had been behaving most of the morning. 

When we leave the store, I notice a huge patch of black clouds to the west of us. OH NO! Wonder if I can walk faster than the weather will travel?!?! Bridget wants to walk instead of ride, and I'm ok with that since I want to tire her out, but she does slow us down a bit. After just a short amount of time, B decides she wants in the stroller because she can't seem to walk and eat Skittles simultaneously. Yeay, that works out well, since off in the distance B and I both hear the thunder rolling. So now that everyone's in the stroller, I really start to power walk. The thunder is getting louder and louder, and I haven't even reached the entrance to our subdivision. Let me tell you, pushing that stroller with 60+ lbs. of babies in it is quite a workout!

When we get to our block, we begin to see flashes of lightning. It looks like we'll make it though before the rain comes down. I get to the garage, and now I have to unload everyone. Holly first because she's beginning to fuss. B stays in the garage watching the other two. I put Holly in her crib, and grab Liam next. He's a happy boy as usual. He LOVED the walk. Got him in fine. As I'm coming down the stairs to get Megan, I feel the first raindrop. I tell B to make her way to the house as more rain starts falling. She's a bit reluctant b/c of the rain, but I tell her, "I'm carrying Megan in, you have to go up the stairs by yourself." So she does. And Megan and I only get a bit wet on our way inside. But no more than a minute later and it really starts to downpour. Really big drops too! I thought it was hail at first, but it was just really big drops. 

Whew! We made it! Everyone's down for a nap. Holly's still fussing, I can hear her playing with her kangaroo toy. Bridget's laying in her bed watching the Jungle Book on my iPhone. I hate using the TV to babysit her, but sometimes Mama just needs a nap too! I'm glad Shawn's only gone for 2 days, because I'm exhausted already!

Free First Monday of the Month Redbox Rental!

Use the code FM63H7 to get a free Redbox rental today, June 1st. Movie is due back by 9 pm tomorrow night. You can rent and return from ANY Redbox---you don't have to return to the same Redbox that you rented from. Very convenient! The code is good only once per credit/debit card. 

As always, leave a comment if you do rent a movie. Tell us all what you rented and if it was any good.

Disney Day 6: Animal Kingdom

We decided to try to get to Animal Kingdom for opening because it's the only Disney park that closes early. B was in a cheerful mood and things went pretty smoothly. We had to wait about 15 minutes outside the park gates before opening, and that's when B spilled her drink all over my lap. Oh well, it was going to rain, so my pants were going to get washed out anyway!

The first thing we did was meet some characters. We saw Lilo and Stitch, Terk, Pocahontas, Chip & Dale and Kenai (bear from Brother Bear). Then we had breakfast at one of their restaurants. While eating breakfast, Terk (the gorilla from Tarzan) called Bridget over to play musical chairs. Bridget had a great time prancing around the chairs, though she had no idea what she was doing. She just followed everyone else's lead. 

After breakfast, we went on the safari ride. We saw a LOT of animals. Then came the rain. We hung out in gift shops when it really poured. In between downpours, we made our way to It's Tough To Be A Bug. Bridget got scared when the spiders attacked our feet. That's my favorite show, though.

Bridget decided the stroller needed to be detailed, and proceeded to wipe down every inch of the wet stroller before she sat back in it. When we finally got her back in, we strolled her over to the big sandbox where she dug for dinosaur bones. She played in the tunnels and slides for awhile too. Next we rode the dinosaur ride. 

The Nemo Musical was next. This thing was pretty neat! The actors carried around these puppets and relayed the whole Finding Nemo story in musical fashion. It was really impressive! This quickly replaced It's Tough To Be A Bug as my favorite thing to do at AK. 

After that, we headed to the hotel. B chilled out and watched the Disney Channel, I took a nap, and Shawn surfed the net. At dinnertime, we journeyed to Downtown Disney. B fell asleep clutching my arm on our 10 minute bus ride to DD. 

Shawn and I took turns carrying her as we searched for a place to have dinner. We ended up at the Rainforest Cafe. You know how loud it is there, right?! Well, B slept right through it all. It wasn't until after dinner, while cruising the shops that B woke up. We all did a little shopping, got B a hot dog for dinner, then headed back to the hotel, thus ending our Disney vacation.

Disney Day 5: Disney's Hollywood Studios

We let Bridget sleep in today, she was exhausted from yesterday! We opted to skip breakfast at the hotel (because it was after 10 am anyway) and decided we'd get lunch as soon as we got to Hollywood Studios. 

We wandered into Hollywood Studios sometime after 11 am. Rented a stroller for 2 days, took photos, and decided Bridget would most like to eat at Pizza Planet (from the Toy Story movies). As soon as she saw the restaurant, she knew it was Pizza Planet. She was SO excited! She and dad played a video game after lunch, then we headed out to conquer the park.

We ran into McQueen and Mater (from Cars) and took photos. Then we watched the Muppet 3D show. Bridget thought that was pretty funny. Next we ran into Annie and Leo, two of the Little Einsteins. (I didn't know their names until after I read B's autograph book.) Then we went to meet Buzz and Woody. That was a lot of fun. They had their own storefront, and inside the building there were plenty of photo opportunities. The best, of course, was being on Andy's bed with Woody and Buzz!

Next up, we went in this building, I think it was the Art of Disney building. That's where they hide all the characters. We met the Incredibles, Carl and his dog (from Up), Sorcerer Mickey, and Frozone from the Incredibles. That was a lot of fun and took up a good chunk of time. There was only one other character stop in the park, so we headed for it. There we met Sully from Monsters Inc. Bridget was jumping for joy when it was her turn to meet Sully because she had been reading that book quite a bit before our trip. She had also watched the movie twice before we left!

Next we rode the Great Movie Ride. Then we saw the Beauty and the Beast musical. That was nice. The whole story chopped down to about a 30 minute show. Nice costumes, decent actors, plenty of available seats. It was a nice break from all the walking. 

However, after the show, the rain came in and it was miserable! It was really pouring. Both Bridget and I had brought our windbreakers, so it wasn't too bad for us, but Shawn was pretty soaked with just his t-shirt on. We hung out for awhile at an outdoor (but covered) eatery. Bridget played with the Beauty and the Beast play set that she purchased with her own money. 

When our Fast Pass tickets became available, we went over to the Toy Story Mania ride and made our way to the front of the line. Bridget chose to ride with Mom, so I gave Bridget the 30 second tutorial on how to work her gun, and we were off. The ride was really cool. It was 3D, and you basically play a bunch of carnival games by shooting things with your gun. B didn't quite get that you had to aim your gun, but she had fun nonetheless. 

We originally wanted to see Fantasmic, but with the rain, it wasn't guaranteed to even show, so Shawn and I decided it would be best to just go back to the hotel.

After a quick tour of the gift shops, we headed out. Unfortunately, we had to wait FOREVER for our bus to show up. It was really pouring too. Shawn was a cold, wet, mess. Bridget was enjoying splashing in the puddles, and Shawn joined in. I shivered under a light post while lightning flashed off in the distance. Then I decided it probably wasn't best to stand against the light post! After maybe 20 minutes, our bus showed up and we made it safely back to the hotel. 

When we got in the room, we all took turns taking hot showers and changing into our jammies. Then it was off to dreamland once again!

Day 4: The Magic Kindom

Today we had to wake Bridget up early because we had a Breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace at 9:30 am in the Magic Kingdom. Needless to say, she was not Susie Sunshine upon waking up. In fact, she was quite sassy. 

It was funny, though, when I asked her to get dressed, she picked up the Winnie the Pooh shirt and said, "It's a Pooh shirt, cuz I'm going to Pooh!"

We were at the Magic Kingdom before they opened the gate and got to watch the characters do their song and dance about how all of our dreams were going to come true. It was nice. 

Breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends was nice. Bridget's mood changed for the better once she saw the characters. It was really cute when Bridget gave Tigger a big kiss on the nose! After breakfast we rode the Jungle Cruise and Alladin's Magic Carpet Ride. 

Next we had to make our way to Downtown Disney to meet up with my friend Tara. Tara and I met at UNC Charlotte. We were both exchange students. We became fast friends, and even worked together at Dunkin' Donuts. (Bet you didn't know that I worked there!) Tara and I were also partners in crime: I started many a donut fight after hours at the store,  she encouraged me to joy ride in a "borrowed" UNCC mail cart. It must have been a sight to see us tooling around in a golf cart down Interstate 49 at midnight. Ah...memories!

So we had lunch at the T-Rex restaurant. Kinda like The Rainforest Cafe, but with a dinosaur theme. Tara brought her two kids: Colin and Aurora. Bridget and Colin hit it off immediately. Poor Colin, though, at one point Bridget was dragging him by the arm, "Let's go see THIS dinosaur..."

But lunch was over much too soon, and I had to say goodbye to my dear friend. The three of us headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We rode the monorail, and Bridget and Shawn got to ride in the front with the pilot. Bridget earned her "co-pilot's license". Was very cute, and I think Shawn had more fun than Bridget did. 

Back at the park, we immediately went to see Storytime with Belle. Bridget was on top of the world! She LOVES stories and she LOVES Beauty and the Beast. While B and I watched the show, Shawn went off to get fast passes for Peter Pan's Flight. After Storytime, B met Belle yet again. 

Next up: It's A Small World, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean rides. Bridget was a little scared waiting in the lobby of the Haunted Mansion because it's so dark and scary, but she wasn't at all scared during the ride. She was a little scared in Pirates when the pirates begin shooting, but other than that, she'll tell you she liked the rides.

Then something amazing happened: We were sitting down having a hot dog and drink, and either Shawn or I asked Bridget what it said on our cups. She said, "Disney Parks" and that is exactly what it said. I was speechless. She never heard us use that phrase! Then we asked, "What does it say below that?" and she pointed to the words and said, "Where dreams come true." and that's exactly what it said. I was flabbergasted! I know we never said that phrase! It was then that I decided it was time to really make an effort to teach Bridget to read. (More about that in a later post.)

We then rode Peter Pan's flight and let Bridget run around Ariel's Grotto. The grotto is a small play area with water fountains. B had a blast, but was a bit put off by a bully 2 year old in diapers that was running around pushing other children over. She pushed B twice and Shawn and I finally said, "If she pushes you again, push her back!" Karma was on our side because as little bully girl was running towards B, and B was tensing up ready to push back, little bully girl tripped and fell flat on her face! Bully mom was sitting across the grotto, on her cell phone, oblivious to the havoc that bully girl was causing. 

After drying B off and changing into dry clothes, we went to Toon Town and saw Mickey Mouse again, and met the Fairies. Now, we waited about 45 minutes to meet Fawn, Tinkerbell and Iridessa. That was the longest we waited to do anything this entire trip! Of course, B loved meeting the fairies. She truly believed she was "shrunk" down to the size of a fairy. (Disney mistake: we were never "unshrunk" upon leaving the fairies building.)

Finally we rode the Buzz Lightyear ride. I rested my feet while Shawn and Bridget rode the Rockets. Bridget asked to be carried after the Rockets, so Shawn carried her. By the time we got to the gift shop, she was asleep on his shoulder! He sat on a bench while I looked at the gift shops. She slept through our only voyage on the boats that take you back to the transportation center. 

We decided that tomorrow we'll get B a stroller. She's just too pooped out from all the walking!

BAPTISM DATE IS SCHEDULED

Holly Lynn,

William John and 

Megan Delia

request the honor of your presence 

as they are baptized

at 2:00 pm

on Sunday, August 2, 2009

at St. Mary Immaculate Parish in

Plainfield, Illinois

A party will follow the ceremony. I haven't arranged all of that yet.  I will keep you posted though. Mark your calendars and hope for good weather. Anyone have a girl and a boy baptism outfit that we can borrow? I have Bridget's gorgeous gown ready for Holly to wear. Hmm...I hope it fits. It should, since they're still only wearing 0-3 month clothes. Hope they don't grow TOO fast over the next few months.

And, yes, I do plan on mailing out invitations! This is just a heads-up, save the date announcement. I'll probably have to work some of my magic to get nice invitations printed up. There's only one "stock" triplet baptism announcement on the market, and it's pretty cheesy. 

Wish me luck on the party arrangements. I have no idea what we're going to do other than I don't want it at our house and it'd be nice to have it around Plainfield/Joliet. 

Suggestions welcome...leave a comment. 

Day 3: Epcot

Bridget slept until she woke up on her own. We had breakfast at the hotel and went to Epcot. 

The first thing we did was wait in line to meet the fab 5: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. It was about a half hour wait, but they played short cartoons, so B was entertained while we waited. 

After that, we headed to The Seas. We rode the Nemo ride, looked around all the aquariums, found Nemo, then went to Turtle Talk with Crush. That was really cute. The kids sat in the front of the theater and the adults sat in the back of the theater. When the show was over, all the kids scurried around the theater and it was a bit chaotic. Bridget started to freak out because she couldn't find us. She screamed for us, and began crying. At least she stayed put. Since we arrived at WDW, I've been telling her if she gets lost, she should stay calm, try to find a police officer, employee (someone wearing purple pants!) or nice adult and tell them you're lost. She was scared and cried, but at least she didn't go running around.  Oh well, I guess we'll work on that. Shawn did teach her what hotel we were staying at and she knew we had to take the A bus to get there and she knew our room number!

After the Seas, we headed to the World Showcase for lunch with the princesses in Norway. That was pretty neat. When we arrived, Bridget took her photo with Belle. We sat down, ate lunch, and just before dessert, the princesses began making their rounds in our area. B was very patient waiting at our table for each princess. First Aurora, then Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel.I don't remember what B said to each princess except Snow White. She asked Snow White who her favorite dwarf was and she said, "Well, I just love them all so much, I don't have a favorite one!"  When Ariel left, B began screaming (and you all know how LOUD she is) because she wanted more princesses to come by. Basically, a mini tantrum. I was about to take her out of the restaurant when she calmed down. 

Bridget and I went to the restroom before leaving the restaurant. I don't know how it even happened, but she managed to pee all over the place while sitting on the potty! Pee was pooled up in her underpants! Ugh! She rarely has accidents anymore, so WHY now!?!? So I text Shawn from the restroom asking him to bring her change of clothes over. (At least I was prepared for such an occasion!) No reply. I call his cell, no reply. Now I'm steaming. I've gotta clean up the restroom, clean up Bridget, and she's naked from the waist down in this tiny restroom. Do I leave B in the restroom alone, while I run to our table and get her extra clothes? It's only about 50 feet away? I'd be gone a minute or two. Do I bring Bridget out of the restroom with her naked butt? Do I put her wet clothes back on, grab her clothes and clean and change her again?Do I ask another mom to watch B while I grab the clothes?  I called Shawn's cell again. No answer. Grumbled. Bridget's dancing around the restroom. Another mom was hanging out at the sink with her daughter. She asked if she could watch B while I got the clothes. I thanked her profusely, said I'd be back in a flash, sprinted to our table, yelled at Shawn about not having his cell handy, and got back to change B. 

Seriously! Shawn can't even eat dinner with us without playing around on his phone, and when I really need him to answer his phone...grr! 

Ok, so that's over. Now we walk through the World Showcase checking out all the countries. Each country has a kid's corner where you can color a mask and add a paper charm to it. B LOVED this! It was good too, because she only had to walk a bit before she got to rest and color. 

It took the rest of the day to make it around the World. We stopped for photos with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. We had dinner in Norway. We watched the Illuminations fireworks before leaving for the night. 

Day 2: The Magic Kingdom

I've begun uploading photos to My Mobile Me Gallery. Click the link at the right.

We let Bridget sleep until she woke up on her own today because she was so tired last night. I think she woke up at about 9 am. We all got ourselves ready, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to The Magic Kingdom. 

Once at the transportation center outside the Magic Kingdom, Bridget had the choice: boat or monorail to the park. Daddy was a bit disappointed that she chose the monorail. As we disembarked from the monorail outside the park, I asked Bridget, "Where are we, Bridget?!" she said, "But I don't know where we're at at Disney World. Let's go look at the water." Love it! We take her to the happiest place on earth, and she just wants to see the water!

Once inside the park, I think B was a bit overwhelmed by all the people rushing around and all the things to look at. We went to City Hall and got Bridget her "first trip to Disney World" button. She thought that was pretty cool. Then we walked around the corner and she got her first glimpse at Cinderella's Castle. She wasn't as excited as I thought she would be! We found a photographer that shot a few photos of Bridget and all three of us. Then a parade rolled by. Now B was getting more and more excited! The photographer snapped some pretty cute photos of her on Shawn's shoulders watching the parade. It made me so happy to see her so happy.

We made our way closer to the castle, and as luck would have it, the Castle Party show was just about to start. So we ended up watching that. Bridget loved seeing Mickey and Minnie and had her first look at Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White. She was loving it! Once the show was over, she was a bit upset. I think she wanted it to go on forever. So she whined a bit and complained about the heat and said she wanted water. So off we went to get water. As we're walking around the corner from the castle, there's Belle! She was having a meet and greet at her Storybook Garden. My oh my, Bridget was bouncing up and down! She'll tell you that Cinderella is her favorite, but I think Belle is really her favorite princess.  Meanwhile, Shawn found some water, and grabbed a spot in front of Belle to record the event. The line was short, but about half way through, Bridget saw that the little girl behind us had a Tinkerbell autograph book, and she had the blue Mickey Mouse autograph book. She threw herself quite the tantrum because she wanted THAT book and not HER book! I had Shawn take her out of line right then and there, because I wasn't going to deal with her tantrums all week over all the things she can't have. Fortunately she calmed down quickly, and she returned to line with me. 

She gave Belle a big hug and talked with her for a bit. She asked Belle what her favorite book was, and Belle told her that Sleeping Beauty was her favorite. She said the Beast's favorite book was Romeo and Juliet. Very cute!

  

After that, we rode the tea cups &  Dumbo, then we saw the 3D Movie Mickey's Philharmagic. Bridget really liked that show. Then we rode Snow White and the Winnie the Pooh rides. She was a bit afraid of Snow White, but she did just fine. 

Next we had lunch at Cosmic Rays on Val's recommendation. Lunch was good and Bridget loved the animatronic alien that played the piano as we ate. 

After lunch we headed to Tomorrowland where we saw the Monster's Inc. show. Shawn's joke was used during the show, but he forgot to send his name along with the joke, so he didn't get credit for the joke. As we came out of the show, we ran into Buzz Lightyear and Stitch, so B met them and had her photo taken with the characters. 

 

The weather was getting gloomy as we headed towards Mickey and Minnie's houses. Shawn ran to see about fast passes for Peter Pan or the Haunted Mansion while B and I looked through Minnie's house. While we were in her house, it started to POUR! Shawn came back all drenched!  We hung out for a pretty long time in the gift shop while it rained like crazy outside. As we were leaving the gift shop with our $24 worth of cheap Disney rain ponchos (our coats were back at the hotel) we ran into the McNulty's. I used to work with Angela at Mother McAuley. That was really cool!  So we all talked a bit before heading off our separate ways. 

Next we went to see Mickey Mouse and the McNulty's were headed there too, so we all talked while we waited to see Mickey. Surprisingly the line went really fast. We found out why when it was our turn to see Mickey. Cover your eyes kids....there were 4 or 5 rooms with Mickeys & Minnies and about 15 people were admitted to each room. Ah, the magic of Disney!

After meeting Mickey and Minnie, Bridget rode the Goofy rollercoaster 4 times. She loved it! That's our girl! After that, it was time to grab seats for the SpectroMagic parade (Main Street Electrical Parade). We got great seats in Frontierland. Again, B really enjoyed the parade, especially seeing the princesses again. Right after that we walked a bit, stopped for some ice cream, and found seats for the Wishes firework display. That was kind of lame. 

That's it...we headed back to the hotel, and B was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She did well on her first day. We had her up until almost midnight, she walked the entire time, no potty accidents, and she behaved herself!

Day 1: Downtown Disney

I've begun uploading photos to My Mobile Me Gallery. Click the link at the right.

I know there's a few fans out there who have been waiting patiently for my blog about our vacation. I have some time here before we leave for the airport, so hopefully I can get you caught up a bit. 

Our flight out of O'Hare was delayed about an hour. Shawn and I feared that we were going to miss our connection at Dulles. If we missed our connection, we would be hanging out at the airport for 4 hours. Ugh! Thankfully, we hopped off our first flight, and ran right to the next gate and were the absolute LAST people to board our connecting flight---only for it to be delayed about an hour at the gate! Bridget did very well on the flights with all the sitting around. She listened to music, colored and watched a short cartoon. 

We got to the hotel around 6:30 pm and headed to Downtown Disney at 7 pm. We ate dinner at the Earl of Sandwich and it was very good. Even the peanut butter and jelly sandwich was great.

Walked around and shopped. Bridget liked the Lego store. Bridget got her autograph book and some lollypops. I got a Mickey Mouse pancake ring. I also ran into a former PHS student.  We all got some popcorn and waited for our bus to take us back to the hotel.

Bridget was a bit crabby and tried the whole “I’m not tired” thing.  We had a suite, so she was in her own little room. She got out of bed a few times to tell us she wasn’t tired or her foot hurt or that she was hungry and almost threw a tantrum but I was able to get her to stop and she fell asleep within a few minutes of that episode.

Shawn and I watched the LOST finale over the Slingbox. Tina must have been watching it on our DVR at the same time, because we were both fighting for control of the dvr. (Fast forwarding, reversing) From her end, she probably thought our tv was possessed, because we would fast forward the show, and she would reverse it. Twice she reversed it to the beginning. That’s how we figured out two people were trying to control the dvr.  So we let her take control, and everything was fine. I, however, fell asleep about half way through. I have still yet to finish watching the entire episode!

Really Cheap Cereal

I'm on a roll today with all these short posts. Let me tell you about my cereal conquest!

Last week, Kmart was doubling coupons up to and including $2. They had some Kellogg's cereals on sale for 4 for $11. Well, I had $1 off coupons for all the cereals, and since they were doubled, I got 4 boxes of cereal for $3, or $0.75 per box! Crazy! So I got 4 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats and 4 boxes of Frosted Flakes.

I got the Kellogg's coupons from www.coupons.com. They're still available, and you can print out 3 or 4 coupons for each item on each computer you have in your house. I ended up with 40 cereal coupons!

Also, Jewel has Kellogg's cereal on sale for $1.79. They don't double the coupons, so I got 13 boxes of cereal for $0.79 each! I think I got 5 boxes of Corn Pops, 4 boxes of Fruit Loops and 4 boxes of Apple Jacks. I could have gotten Frosted Flakes too, but it was cheaper at Kmart, and the Kmart boxes were larger. I believe the Jewel sale goes until tomorrow, so get out there and get some cheap cereal. You should see our garage. What used to be the diaper shelf is now the cereal shelf. 

Ok, dinner time...gotta go!

Hallmark Totally Free Card

Click the link below to see how to get a TOTALLY FREE CARD from Hallmark. Really, they pay shipping and the stamp to mail it! They ran a promo for a free Mother's Day card, so I sent free cards to both of my Moms...they turned out really cute. You can even add photos. You don't have to be a computer whiz to create a nice card either. Everything is very simple to use. You also don't have to "log into" the site to get the free card. So check it out. If you make a card, let us all know what event you made the card for! I know there's lots of upcoming birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries...so get creating!

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2009/05/hallmarkcom-another-totally-free-personalized-card.html

I already know who I'm sending my free card to...but I'm not saying until after the event is over! I'll keep you all guessing who the lucky recipient will be!?!

Two days till Disney

Sorry I haven't posted very frequently lately. It's crazy around here. Trying to get things done while watching BHLM. It's exhausting. I'm finding that I'm up till midnight, 1 am or 2 am daily just trying to get laundry done, or cleaning up, etc.

Bridget, Shawn and I leave on Wednesday for Walt Disney World and we're all very excited. Well, Bridget SAYS she's excited, but she has no idea what's in store. She's excited if you tell her we're having pasta and broccoli for dinner, so I can only imagine how she's going to react once we're there. 

So I've been really busy trying to get the house cleaned up for our babysitters, making sure the triplets have everything they need for the week and trying to pack up Bridget and myself. I feel like I'm losing my mind! No break for Mother's day either. Besides being soaked, LITERALLY soaked with a huge puke by Liam, I spent most of my day doing laundry and other housework. Shawn and Colin got Kathie and I a day in Galena and an hour spa treatment, so I'm looking forward to that. See I'm losing my mind. Jumping from one topic to the next.

Ok, so anyway, I'm really looking forward to taking Bridget to Disney World. Every parent dreams of taking their children to Disney World, and my dream is a mere two days away. Can't wait to tell you all about it. Until then, I'll be cleaning up spit-up, laundry, carrot stained high chairs, and dishes!

It's Free Redbox Rental Monday

Code for today: 6A43JK

This is the last of the free weekly Redbox rentals. They will be giving away a free code each month, starting in June. It will be the first Monday of each month. Darn!

Here's a few more free codes to hold you over until the next one comes out:

REDBOX works if you're a new customer

DVDONME

BREAKROOM

DVDATWAG  not sure if it will work at all redboxes, but should work outside of Walgreens

WALGREENS again, should work at a redbox outside of Walgreens

CONTROL

and check out this site for some more that I haven't heard about http://freeredboxcodes.com/free-redbox-promo-codes/

I'm pretty sure these codes still work. If they don't post a comment to let everyone know.

It's Free Redbox Rental Monday!!

My favorite day of the week!

Hurry now to your local Redbox for a free rental, today only. Use the code BT73H9. Don't forget to post a comment and let me know what movie you rented. Enjoy the show!

And the Godparents are...

Ok, all of the godparents have finally been notified. Here's the lucky winners!

Liam's godparents are Ryan and Aunt Karen

Holly's godparents are Nolan and Aunt Joann

Megan's godparents are Aunt Tina and Aunt Sandy

When we get back from Disney my first objective is to contact the church and reserve our date. I'm thinking late July/early August. Definitely sometime before Nolan goes off to college and Sandy has her baby!

PHSCC Staff Bowling Champs

So I've been bowling on Thursday afternoons in this mini Plainfield High School Central Campus bowling tournament.  The whole thing was only 5 weeks long. You would bowl three games and the top three bowler's scores in two games were combined to get your team's total pinfall. My team, the Sum Buddies, consisted of fellow math teachers Toni Reedy (department chair), Judy Link, Mary Glinke (my maternity leave replacement), and Kari Kleckauskas. After two weeks of bowling, half of the teams were eliminated and the rest made it to a bracket situation. Somehow, this group of gals managed to fight our way through the tourney. Mind you, I was the only one with recent league experience and Judy used to bowl when she was a kid. We entered the brackets as the number 1 seed! It was crazy! Today, it came down to us and the #2 seed just like it should have played out. We knew it would be a close match because last week we only topped the #2 team by 2 pins! Anyway, tonight I rolled a 216-probably one of my best games ever, and we edged out a victory by a mere 2 pins. Had we counted the top three bowlers for all three games, we would have lost. I took Bridget along with me because Shawn was leaving for the Cubs game at 4:30 and neighbor Jeannie was going to watch the kids. So I figured it would be easier on Jeannie if Bridget wasn't around asking her to play Hide and Seek or hopscotch in the house. It was a good day to bring Bridget along because Judy also brought her 4 year old, Ryan with. Bridget and Ryan had lots of fun playing together. They colored, found hidden pictures, ate snacks and just hung out together. It was also really cute when Ryan asked Bridget to come to his birthday party in the park in June. We'll see if we can make it because that's one of the days Shawn is in Tokyo. Bridget was loving the attention from the other teachers. She knew several of them from prior outings and was giving out hugs left and right. She also asked Mary if she could come to her house and play with her. She's just dying for all that attention she was used to getting!

I'm kinda bummed now that my 5 weeks of bowling is over. It was nice looking forward to getting out of the house if even for a few hours. I also realized how much I miss bowling regularly. For whatever reason, I bowl well at our local lanes. In the five weeks, I broke 200 three times and probably averaged about 165 overall. Being around the teachers again also made me realize how much I do miss the daily grind of teaching high school math. Funny, because usually around this time of year I'm desperately looking forward to summer vacation! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess. 

4 Month Well Child Visit

Another trip to see Dr. Paul. All went well. Liam's big head isn't so big anymore. The dr. wasn't too concerned about Liam not straightening up his legs and not bearing weight. He said he'll just keep an eye on it. We got the go-ahead to start feeding them all Stage 1 foods, and he wants me to get them eating 3 solid meals a day. Megan had only gained an ounce since she was last in, so she has to go back next month for a weight check. Bridget has had croupy-cough the past two days, so she's going to go on the nebulizer for a few days, but when the doctor checked the babies, he said their lungs sounded clear. 

That's about it!

It's Free Redbox Rental Monday!

Hurry now to your local Redbox for a free rental, today only. Use the code 4CW33N. Don't forget to post a comment and let me know what movie you rented. Enjoy the show!

It's Free Redbox Rental Monday!

Hurry now to your local Redbox for a free rental, today only. Use the code m6fr97. Don't forget to post a comment and let me know what movie you rented. I think I'll get something for Bridget this time. 

Two Cute Stories

Ok, the first story requires a bit of background info...

April 4th was Ryan's confirmation party. Near the end of the party, Matt runs downstairs and announces, "Bridget and Kaitlyn are playing with Aunt Karen's lotion." So Shawn runs up there to find that Bridget had covered her face with some cream. Proactive, I believe. Shawn was ANGRY. The next thing we hear is Bridget's super loud cry. (Is there anything she does quietly?!) Dave goes upstairs and talks to Kaitlyn. 

Bridget comes downstairs and is supposed to apologize to Aunt Karen for using her lotion without asking. Of course, she doesn't want to apologize, but eventually says the words. Shawn and I try to explain to Bridget that she shouldn't put any kind of lotion on without asking us first because the lotion might be dangerous to her. She seems to get it, but is still pouting.

Fast forward to yesterday...Bridget and I were on our way to the YMCA so that I could work out. Once you stop laughing, I'll continue...

Seriously, I started going to the Y again this week and Bridget has been coming with. So I'm driving and I hear in the sweetest voice, "I'm really sorry for using Auntie Karen's cream."

"That's ok, Bridget, next time ask Mom or Dad before putting cream on."

"I'm REALLY sorry for using Auntie Karen's cream. I love you mommy."

"I love you too Bridget. Thank you for apologizing. You just made a mistake. Do you know what a mistake is?"

"Like steak?! A food?"

"No sweetheart. A mistake is when you do something wrong, like when you took Auntie Karen's lotion without asking."

"Oh!"

Then we both took turns making up examples of mistakes. But I love that she thought making a mistake was like making a steak. How cute!

The second story happened today. It's Saturday, and we're out of groceries, so Shawn and I decide to order a pizza for dinner. Shawn and I are on this new budget where we each have a certain amount of spending money per month to use for entertainment, food, personal stuff, etc. So Shawn and I were discussing who should use their spending money to pay for the pizza. Meanwhile, Bridget runs to her bedroom, and comes back with her wallet and purse. She opens her wallet and pulls out a dollar. "Here Daddy, you can use my money to buy the pizza!" What a sweet girl! 

One last note: Liam was laughing out loud today.  I was playing "Up, down, all around" with him and he was just laughing up a storm. Very cute!

Rice Cereal

I decided to try to start Holly, Liam, and Megan on rice cereal on Monday. I'm sad to report that it didn't go over as well as I would have liked. See, I'm thinking once the babies start eating cereal, they'll spit up less. Especially poor Megan, she spits up so much every day! I don't know how she has gotten to be the heaviest baby with as much as she spits up each feeding. 

So for their noon feeding Shawn got to do the honors. I video taped the beginning of the event. Holly was up first. When Shawn gave her the first spoonful of cereal, she made the yuckiest face I've ever seen her make. She did NOT like it at all. (I don't blame her, that rice cereal looks gross!) So she pretty much spit it all out. Megan was next. She still has the reflex where she tries to push everything out of her mouth. So although it seemed like she didn't mind the cereal, I don't think much of it was actually eaten in Megan's case. Finally Liam's turn. Big boy was ready to eat. I think he was a bit surprised at first, but once he got going, he seemed to like it. 

Today I decided to just feed Liam cereal at noon. He did very well. He ate a tablespoon of cereal mixed with 2 tablespoons of formula. Not bad! Actually, that was more than Bridget ate her first few days of eating, and Bridget was so ready to eat at 4 months. Bridget was opening her mouth when the spoon came towards her. Neither Holly, Liam, or Megan opened their mouths as the food came towards them. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to feed Megan again. Given the improvement that Liam showed from Day 1 to Day 2, perhaps she'll do much better the second time around.

Don't know if there's a correlation here or not, but Bridget has been pretty loaded on sugar with all the candy she got from the Easter Bunny, and she's taken 2+ hour naps Monday and Tuesday. Perhaps she's crashing after ingesting all that sugar!?!? I like that she's taking naps, but is it worth feeding her all the sugar to get the nap?

Since she took a nap today, I decided to take her to Matthew's music program. Originally I was going to go on my own because it started at 7:30 pm. Anyway, she came with, and seemed to have a good time. Matthew did very well singing all of his songs about fish. It was definitely "Oceans of Fun". The program was very cute and well rehearsed. Good job, Matt!

So Shawn bought us this new Kodak ZI6 flip video camera. It's pretty fun to use. Hopefully you'll start seeing more videos on the blog. If all goes well, I'll post a couple here in a minute or twelve.

Enjoy!

Free Redbox Rental Monday!

Yipee! It's free Redbox Rental Monday! Enter the code J89LA2 at your local Redbox and get a free rental today. Post a comment and let me know what movie you rented! You can also go to the Redbox website to check out what movies are available. I think I may rent Yes Man. 

Enjoy!

Tuesday and Wednesday

Well the past two days turned out to be better than I expected.

Tuesday Noreen came over to help out with the babies. Bridget loved playing hide and seek with her, and of course Bridget kept Noreen busy reading books while the babies napped! I was able to sneak out and return my FREE Redbox rentals and I also had library books to return. It was election Tuesday, so I stopped by my polling place and did my civic duty. (What a blah election!)

In the afternoon, our friend Kristen came over to help out. The babies were napping, so Kristen and I helped Bridget make a couple Easter crafts. Bridget then had to rest, which was good, because the babies woke up and Kristen and I were able to feed babies without Bridget asking to play with her. 

Bridget didn't end up falling asleep, but she was pretty well behaved the rest of the evening. Everyone went to bed a bit later than usual, but we got through it. Overall, it was a nice day.

Today, our friend Kim came over to help out. After the babies ate, they took their nap. So Bridget, Kim and I played a mean game of Candyland. Bridget was trying to cheat by picking up several cards, looking for the premium cards, and Kim and I tried to explain to her that it's not fun playing with cheaters. I think she's a bit too young for this lesson, but we tried!

Then, right about lunch time, we were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Auntie Tina, Kaitlyn and Ann. Oh, Bridget was in heaven with her volume turned up to eleven! It was pretty much chaos for the first half hour, then all the kids sat down to eat lunch with Tina while Kim and I tended to the babies.

After lunch, I took Kaitlyn, Bridget and Ann outside to play while Tina (hopefully) relaxed inside while Holly, Liam and Megan took a nap. It was fun playing outside with the three girls. Usually it's just Bridget and I...which is fun, but it's much more fun watching the girls interact with each other! So we rode bikes, trikes and inchworms on the driveway. Bridget and Kaitlyn ran the entire length of our block chasing after the garbage man. My, how they loved the garbage men. I think we were visited 3 times by various garbage trucks. Each time the girls would run to the end of the drive, wave at the garbage man, and watch him do his job. The guy that picks up the regular trash (not the recycle guy) stopped to talk for awhile. He told me that the girls were beautiful (not in a creepy way, in a nice way) and told me that I need to teach my neighbors how to tie up their garbage bags. I guess lots of people on our block don't tie up their garbage bags when they put it in the can. Then when he dumps the cans into his truck, the garbage flies out everywhere, making a mess. So advice from the garbage man: Be kind to your fellow neighbors, and tie up your trash! Maybe this is why there's so much trash under our deck! I know that we have the "wind tunnel" in our yard and we tend to gather everyone else's trash, but I guess that trash comes from the people who don't tie up their garbage bags!

Anyway, the girls had lots of fun playing in the yard and coloring with chalk and having running races. After awhile, they wanted a water break, so we came in to get water and never made it outside again. 

Of course the afternoon was filled with all the toddler drama: tantrums, screaming, laughing, not sharing, snatching toys, turn-taking, blah, blah, blah but it was fun. Tina decided to stay for dinner, and since Auntie Sandy, Uncle Kurt and Morgan were coming over to help too, it turned out to be a regular party! 

We ordered up some Beggars Pizza and chowed down. As the girls got more and more tired, the tears began to flow. Bridget screamed, Kaitlyn whined, Ann ate, Morgan played with toys, and the triplets slept, ate or cried. It wasn't too bad though! Tina and her crew left first. Aunt Sandy and Uncle Kurt helped me put Holly, Liam and Megan to bed, then left to put little Morgan to bed.  Soon thereafter, Bridget was asleep and I was able to finish cleaning up the house. 

Shawn's due back after midnight tonight. I'm sleeping in tomorrow...I've deserved it!