So You Think You Can Dance?

Because it's Friday...
...and I need something to make me smile since I just cleaned up a broken bowl...
...only to come back from putting the vacuum away as the Yankee Candle was being dropped off the island...
I thought I'd post a little video of "trouble", himself.
Look closely, because it's short.
Cole's new favorite show is "Imagination Movers" and I think you can see why!

A "Flood" Update

Are you wondering how things are going now that the monkeys are all loose?  I suppose a sarcastic answer would be, "Have you not noticed my bloggy absence?"  But since I'm not sarcastic...oh...wait...

Honestly, it's getting better.  Slowly.  Slower than I'd hoped.  But they have re-discovered their toys.

I, too, have discovered them...

Tupperware in the bread drawer.

Matchbox cars in the Tupperware drawer.

Magnets in the pen drawer.

Pens..well...not in the pen drawer.

Sugar (from the sugar bowl) as sand art on the kitchen floor. (Don't look for a picture...I was way too angry!)

And then there are shoes.  Shoes that are supposed to be in shoe bins.  Nice shoe bins that my hubby made.  One for everyone. 

But Eli seems to like shoes.  A lot!  He loves going into the mudroom, finding a pair of shoes (yes, matching), putting them on, touring the house, and then returning for another pair. 

The problem is, that the shoes don't always end up back in the mudroom.  So...you're really rolling the dice on whether or not you'll find the pair you're looking for...as well as both shoes.  I've started allowing extra time if I'm heading out..."shoe finding time".

The Flood Gates Have Opened!

The weekend that we lost contact to the outside world, we were slightly bored.  We decided lightning wasn't exciting enough.  We decided it was time to expand the triplet's horizons.  Over the last few weeks, they have been getting pretty frustrated with being in "the gated community".  Understandably, a 15x17 foot room has got to feel small for 3 (almost) 2-year olds.
Being the naive, already-been-through-this-twice, parents that we are, we slapped a few safety latches on some cabinets, gated off the office and the stairs, and let the babies loose.

5 exhausting hours later, we realized there was NO WAY we could leave things that way.  Sunday afternoon, during naptime, we quickly pulled back their boundaries and limited them to the family room, kitchen, dining room and the mudroom.  All areas that I could see (more or less) as long as I was down here with them.  We also added a few more latches but discovered that our drawers are not "latchable".  Oh boy.

Still...Monday wasn't exactly a cake-walk.  By 7:00p, I was fried...and that was with help from 10-1!  I wanted to curl up in bed and never come out.  Monday night, Shane put latches on MORE cabinets and took nobs off some of the drawers, hoping that deter the 3 Stooges (great idea on paper, but Ava's got the fine motor skills of a 3 year old, so it didn't slow her down for long!)

Tuesday brought and oven fire.  Not to worry, it wasn't serious...just stinky!  The babies found the plastic utensils and threw a bunch into the oven.  I saw them do it, so before I started dinner, I scooped them all out (or so I thought).  Apparently, a SOMETHING slipped through the slats on the bottom of the oven into where the flame is.  I couldn't see it.  Zoe and I doused the flames with a pitcher of water and came up with a Plan B for dinner.  When Shane came home, he took the bottom plate off and pulled out a clump of burnt plastic.

Wednesday...guess what I found in the oven?  MORE plastic utensils!  I quickly called my mother-in-law to see if she could come rescue me long enough that I could run to Babies R Us and get an oven lock!  Something I'd never used with Zoe or Ty.  But now, with 30 fingers tugging and pulling on everything, the safety aisle at BRU is so much more educational than last time around!  Now if there's only something I can find that'll work on the dishwasher.

Everyday, the babies are calming down a little more.  Everyday is getting a little more bearable.  Emphasis on the word LITTLE!

Think of it as Camping

For those of you that have been following the plight of Cole's Climbing, you should know that it reached a new milestone yesterday.  (***I started this post before the lightning strike and subsequent internet outtage.  For referrence, the "milestone" was reached 7/16***)

At approximately 6:45am, I was awoken by a soft, gentle, 5-year old voice whispering my name, "Mom.  Mom.  Cole's in my room!"  Ugh.  And so the day began.  Not only was Cole climbing out of his crib when he didn't want to go DOWN to sleep.  He is now climbing out (rather quitely, I might add) when he's ready to face the day.

Thankfully, Cole was content to watch Playhouse Disney for awhile while I brewed some MUCH NEEDED coffee and got the babies' breakfast going.  I'm proud to say that I've been working rather hard at some of the developmental milestones the Cole, Eli and Ava need to be working on.  One of them being independant eating...you know...with actual UTENSILS.  I'm not a big fan of messes...so this has been a challenge for me.  So, along with their cups of milk, I gave them oatmeal for breakfast, along with some (dry) Kix, a banana, some raisins and a yogurt.  Not just ONE bowl, but TWO...a new challenge.  Can you imagine the mess?  I've discovered that I stress less if I don't watch...just just let them eat...listen and watch through a small mirror...therefore avoiding the mess until they're done.

ALL THAT TO SAY...I must not have been watching the mirror too closely, because I turned around from the sink and practically tripped over Cole.  Yup.  He'd climbed out of his highchair.  Great.

Later that day, while I was out running errands and Cara was home with the kiddos, I got a text: What should I do if I can't keep Cole in his crib for naptime? 

That did it!  I changed my errands route to include Babies R Us!  Unfortunately, BRU "doesn't carry crib tents in-store anymore."  Really?  Because a crib tent doesn't strike me as a "planned" purchase!  Not to worry, the otherside of Route 17 has Buy Buy Baby and they had about 60...and in 2 different models, no less!

What I love about this tent (don't mind the pink crib sheet, it was the only one clean when I put the tent on!) is that the "tent" goes all the way down the inside of the crib and under the mattress.  An added bonus: Cole won't be getting his chubby appendages stuck in any spindles.  PLUS, no toys falling behind the crib or getting thrown overboard!

Cole loved investigating this new "toy" on his crib.

The first night, there was plenty of tears once the zipper was zipped.  Each night/naptime has gotten easier.  He doesn't seem to mind it anymore.  As a matter of fact, Eli and Ava seem a bit jealous now.

Just when I was getting on a roll...

I realize it's been a little bit of feast or famine around this blog lately.

In June, it was a crazy travel schedule (which I've yet to finishing blogging).

But I was just getting back to a more regular blogging schedule when lightning struck.  Literally!

Friday night, I was scrapbooking when my phone rang.  I knew right away something was up: Shane NEVER calls...he texts questions or sends pictures...but that's it.  He knows better than to interupt my precious Creative Memories time.  The weather outside was another clue that this call couldn't have good news.  I could hear the house alarm in the background before I even said 'hello'.  Apparently, something outside was hit by lightning.  Shane said it was, "the loudest thing (he'd) ever heard!"  Immediately, the lights flashed, and the house alarm started blaring.  Only, the code wasn't shutting the alarm off.  Add to that the stress of Zoe waking up...panicked (the Gardner's fire is still pretty fresh in her memory).  As a sidenote: No other children woke up!

Eventually, the alarm shut off, but continued to flash and beep (very annoying).  Our phones were out...as was the internet and the tv.  After over an hour on the phone with Verizon and the alarm company, we ended up doing a lot of unplugging and plugging back in.  Nothing worked with the FiOS.  The beeping finally stopped after taking the battery out of the alarm but it wasn't until SUNDAY at 6:30pm that we were back in contact with the outside world.  Okay, so that's slightly over-dramatic being that Shane and I both had working cell phones!

My point is this...my laptop is still a little "iffy".  My internet connection goes in and out, depending on it's mood!  So be patient, there's lots of news around here to post...(and no...the "news" is not that we're having more kids!)

Baby Lizard

I don't know who taught this girl to eat!



Listen closely and you can hear Ava speak "chinese".

He HAD to Have a Headache!

Cole's a climber.

No question about it.

He climbs on ANYTHING.

Always has.  Yesterday, I even saw him turn over one of his 2-inch tall stacking cups to stand on it.  Apparently, every little bit helps.

He's successfully climbed out of his crib on NUMEROUS occasions.  As a matter of fact, today after naptime, I went up to get a fussing Ava and guess who greeted me in the hallway!?

The problem with this "past time" of Cole's is that gravity is NOT his friend.  Afterall, the bigger they are...the harder they fall!

See that mark?  That one there...

It was made by a GSM...Good Size Melon!

 

Cole's GSM, to be exact!  He was balancing on top of the house and fell over.  I'm guessing it left him with QUITE a headache.

My Local Library

Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea that the kids and I should walk to the library. In my head, it was "just down Main Street". The sun was shining. The kids were happy. Why not?

Well...because it's not as close as I thought, for one! According to Mapquest, it's 1.18m. Each way.

Two, it's uphill on the way back. And 70+ pounds of "kid" in a wagon seems more like 100 pounds on the slightest of inclines.

And three...have you EVER gone on a walk with Ty? He's definitely slow...but not really all that steady! I should have known it wasn't going to be his shining moment when we were not even to the end of our street and he mentioned that his "legs were tired". Oh boy.

But we made it!  And the triplets actually enjoyed their first time at the Ramsey Public Library.  I'm not so sure that the Librarians ("Media Center Specialists"?) were glad we stopped by.  Sure, they were all, "oh....how cute are they...." when we were there, but that's before they discovered the pile of un-made puzzles that we left for them.  Sorry Alexa, Cara, and Mrs. Poalillo.  I thought of you at your respective libraries and I really WANTED to put the puzzles back together but it was the babies' naptime and they were screaming that they didn't want to leave the lovely library.  I thought it was more important that I expedite our departure than put 1001 wooden pieces in the appropriate cutouts.

When we got home, I was exhausted and wanted to take a nap like the babies Zoe and Ty disappeared upstairs for over an hour.  Not wanting to jinx the silence, I let them be.  Finally, Ty came down to inform me that they were making their OWN "Local Library".  "Wanna know what my job is, Mom?  I stand by the door and when you come in, I say, 'Welcome to the Local Library.  How can I help you?' And when you leave, I say,'Thank you for coming to your local library.  Come again soon.'  Nifty, huh?"  Did my 5-year old just say nifty?

Please note the spelling on the sign, "Locol Library".  Where did they hear it called that?  And why don't they just say library?   They were very thorough. 

Multiple "sections"...

And even a "checkout desk"...

At one point, they'd posted HOURS: 8 - 8.

If they'll play like this everytime I take them on a 2+ mile walk, I'll do it everyday!

Camp Granddad

...as I was saying...

One of the highlights of our time in CT were all the activities that Granddad had planned for the big kids each afternoon.

On Monday, we (Zoe, Ty, Granddad & I) went on a bike ride. There are absolutely NO pictures of the outing...because I was sure I was going to fall off the bike, so I didn't bring my camera, in fear it'd meet and untimely death! I'll spare you the gorie details: let's just say that even though the outting went a little longer than anticipated, Zoe and I had a blast!  I think I might actually invest in a bike.  It's a great workout.  My bum was SO sore the next day, though.

Tuesday, we hit the links. Minature ones. Zoe thought she was Tiger Woods and REALLY wanted to drive one. Ty was pretty impressive on the front 9...even getting a hole-in-one on the first hole. The back 9...well...not so much!

After our time on the course, we all (8) of us went to Uncle Tim's (my older brother) house for a BBQ and some time in the pool. By the time we got there, a storm was blowing in, so the only swimmers were Zoe, Ty and Granddad. Again, there were ugly details, so I'll just say the babies didn't stay through dessert...or dinner, for that matter!

Wednesday was a bit more low key. Zoe and Ty were definitely slowing down, so we hung out after lunch and when the babies were awake, we drove to Cabela's. EVERYONE had a great time.  The store is HUGE and has so much to look at and do (besides shopping).

Like an aquarium tunnel...

And Museum of Natural History-like animals to look at and read about...

Tents to try out...

And best of all...guns to shoot!

I should back up...before we left for Cabela's, Granddad got out his bike and took the triplets for a ride.  They LOVED it!

Unfortunately, we had to head home on Thursday!  Boo...Hisss!  We really had a great time, but were afraid that we'd get stuck in July 4th traffic if we hung out until Friday.  We'll DEFINITELY be back next year...better get ready, Grammy and Granddad!

Quick Turnaround

We got home from our PA excursion Saturday night. Shane and I put the kids to bed and unpacked the car. Grammy and Granddad continued on home. The next morning, Shane took the big kids to church and I worked on unpacking, plugging through the laundry, and then re-packing. That's right...RE-packing!

Sunday evening, the kids and I headed up to CT for Summer Bible Club (SBC) at my parent's church. Shane needed to stay home for work, unfortunately. So, this would be my first solo trip with all five kids anywhere further than 1/2 hour away (let alone overnight). Granted, we were staying with my parents, so I wasn't COMPLETELY solo.

What I didn't realize when we decided to do this, was that we would need to be at SBC at 8:45a. Ummmmm? Okay. I mean, I got Zoe to school by 8:30 this year. But (and this is a really big "but") 9 times out of 10, the babies were in their PJs and I was not exactly "public ready". So how was I going to get 5 kids AND myself ready, fed, out the door and to SBC by 8:45a? Well. I'm proud to say, we did! It wasn't always pretty. We weren't always right on time. But we did it!

Club was great. I can't say enough how much we loved it and how much work VCBC (my parents' church) put into it. I'd love to get an official number of how many kids were there. It seemed like a lot. Like...a lot!''

(This is only the "big kids"...so about 1/2 the group...plus there was an evening session!)

Zoe made a great friend: Mollie.

Ty did great, too. For a really shy 5 y.o. kid...it only took him until Day 2 (with a bribe from mom) to stay in his group without Grammy!

One of the highlights of the trip, though, was Granddad's post-club activity plans (during triplet naptime) each afternoon. So stay tuned for the next post all about "Camp Granddad"...