Summer's almost over...

We had a great summer but I'm really excited for the changing of season. It's been a scorcher! Now that school has started we are changing our schedule....never an easy task. But it's working.

Zander sharing his ice cream with Maya

The twins are now 15 months!! Wow, time flies. While some things are "easier" for me, I am coming across new challenges. For example, I've never had a problem going anywhere with all 4 kids by myself....but now it's tough. The boys are continuously fighting and the twins don't like to be confined to a stroller or a sling anymore. Our park adventures and story time at the library have come to a halt. It is impossible for me to chase after 2 toddlers, trying to keep them safe at a playground....Camille has NO FEAR! And the library, lets just say my kids aren't exactly quiet and I'm not very good at ignoring the glares I receive.

I do like going to parks with NO PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT, like Woodward Park. I can spread out a blanket, have a picnic and let the kids roam around without the worry of them climbing and falling.

Momma sharing her ice cream with Camille

If anyone has any ideas please share them with me. We're use to being a very active family, but more and more we are becoming homebodies. Is this just how it has to be with multiples at this age? I am only one person, and it's just to physically impossible to watch the 3 little ones at once. Not sure why this is so hard for me to accept....

1st Day of School!

Zander started kindergarden today! My baby is growing up....sniff, sniff...

You know Zander had to make a fashion statement for the first day of school. He has been planning it for weeks...no joke. He seriously changed his mind 4 times! This is what he fianlly decided on. And I must say, he was stylin'! He stood in front of the mirror this morning, sporting his new mohawk, and said "When I walk in that school everyone is going to say, WOW! A rockstar goes to this school! " Yeah, my boy has no confidence issues...if anything he could scale it down a bit...


When he got home from school, I asked how his day was. He loves everything about school and told me everything in great detail what went on today. (A big improvement from last year, when he was wouldn't tell me what they did in school) He did get mad at me though...here's our conversation:


Me: So what else did you do today?


Zander: Well, I farted. Twice.


Me: laugh You did?


Zander: Why are you laughing? Farts aren't funny!!


Me: Well, everybody farts Zander. It's not a big deal. Sometimes people laugh at farts. Did other kids laugh today?


Zander: Yeah.


Me: Next time that happens, join them. Laugh with them. It's not a big deal.


Zander: Okay.

Irish Mafia

I took the 3 youngest to the mall today after we dropped Zander off at school. Thought we'd play at the indoor playground before it got to busy. The first 30 minutes or so were very pleasant. Only a few other children were there.

Don't be fooled by these sweet faces, Camille & Maya

But as time passed my 3 little angels decided to start a turn into brats. I will now refer to my 3 redheads as the Irish Mafia. They were terrorizers! Gavin just crawled around growling at the other kids. His goal was to scare as many little girls as possible. And my sweet little twins? They were even worse. They would actually gang up on other kids....and hit!



Maya as this high pitched squeal that she let out anytime anyone tried to get near her, then Camille would come running to her rescue and slap the innocent bi stander. It was very embarrassing to see them act this way. I am hoping this is "just a phase" and I can nip this behavior in the bud real fast.



When I told Ely (my hubby) about this new problem he grinned, sat up all proud and said, "Well, they aren't little sissy girls. They're tough." Great. They already have their daddy whooped into thinking they can do no wrong.



I did learn a valuable lesson in all this. Never, EVER will I judge another mother for the way her children act. Jeez, my kids are hellions.

Going Skydiving

I want it on the record that my 5 year old picks out his own clothes. I do not dress him, what he wears is his choice. With that said, here is what he came up with the other day.

"Do you really need to wear that to the grocery store Zander?" I asked him.

"Yes. I'm going skydiving today. I need all this gear."

I can't wait to see him grow up. No telling what he'll be...he has such a wild imagination.

Competition

Ok, fellow Mother's, it's officially started...sibling rivalry, competition, whatever you want to call it. And let me tell you, it's not pretty.

Last week, at our TMOM's meeting (Tulsa Mother's of Multiples) we had a panel of older school age twins. We could ask them questions. The subject of competition came up. After listening to them I started to watch my girls. It's crazy. One will come up and give me a big sweet hug and kiss, then the other will "get jealous" come over and push the other out of the way to get to me. Not only are the competing for my affection, but the opposite as well.

For instance, today, Maya was standing on the fireplace....a no-no in our house....I tell her to sit down, she looks at me, sasses me in her baby talk and I physically remove her from the fireplace. So what does Camille do? Goes to the fireplace, stands up, and yells at me...as if to dare me to remove her.

It's like this all day long....and according to the older twins on the panel, not going to end anytime soon. sigh.

Road Trip

Last weekend we went to Mt Vernon, TX to visit some friends. We took the long way home through the Ouchita Mountains. It was absolutely beautiful. A four hour trip turned into an eight hour trip. Eight hours in a van with 4 small children...just for the fun of it....yeah, maybe not our smartest decision. But honestly, they did pretty good, all things considered.

We made LOTS of stops at rest areas.

I love this picture of Maya.

After the trip through the mountains we stopped in Krebs, OK to eat at the famous Pete's Place and Choc Beer Brewery. Thankfully, it was family style italian dinning (we had our own private room!) because we were quickly reminded why we don't eat out very often with all four kids.

FREE TOYS!

I am ALWAYS looking for new ways to keep my little ones entertained. Here's a fun and free way to break their boredom and let them use their imaginations.

Let them play with trash. I'm not suggesting you throw your kids in a dumpster, even though I have thought about it....I kid, I kid.

Save your used food containers for a couple of weeks...boxed cereals, yogurt and milk cartons, egg crates, etc. I tape the ends of the cardboard to make them sturdier and put them in a large box in the garage. Then when you have a day when the the kids don't want to go outside, or play with their toys and they just keep pestering each other bring them in!

Me and the boys like to play grocery store with them. It's a great opportunity to teach them age appropriate math. Gavin and I count the items he's purchasing. Zander always wants to be the cashier, so we're introducing addition and coin money to him.


If the girls are awake, they "mess everything up" according to Zander. The twins love to take everything out of the box (aka shopping cart) and put them all back in. Who would of thought playing with trash could be so much fun? Zander, my very imaginative 5 yr old, built a city of towers so the giant baby monsters could knock them down....it was so cute, they growled and everything!



Seriously, last weeks garbage has kept my kids busy for going on 3 hours today. The 3 youngest are down for a nap and Zander is making a "space station" out of them for his Star Wars action figures.

Little Monkey

The girls are EVERYWHERE...and it's getting dangerous! Camille has learned to climb on top of the coffee table. Maya is the "tubby twin" and isn't quite as athletic as Camille. She threw a fit when she couldn't master this feat. I have a feeling it's only a matter of time until our next ER visit.

Meet Obi

Meet Obi. The newest member of our family. He's an 8 week old Boston Terrier.

We've flirted with the idea of getting a dog for a long time. Gavin will stand at the back door, gazing out, and ask, "Where is my dog? I want a best friend." A little dramatic, yes, but it worked.

We wanted to wait until Christmas, but we also plan on replacing the carpet at the beginning of the year, so we decided to get him sooner and hopefully he'll be be housebroken by then.

Getting a dog is HUGE for me. I'm not really a dog person (or cat)...I know, I know, weird...and I don't like unicorns and rainbows either. I'm terrible. But this little guy is so sweet....but I think my children scare him a bit.

By the way, can you tell who named him? Gavin suggested "Darth Vader" but Zander said that was an evil name and people might think we're evil.