Fire Station Part Two

Our last fire station visit ended abruptly with not one, but two emergency calls that sent multiple fire engines roaring off. A friend arranged today's visit several weeks ago, and Jackson has been very eager. He asked about it all morning. This is what he chose to wear.

While his outfit was adorable, I had my doubts that he would actually wear it. Clothing like that creates attention, and that is not something my shy boy wants in public. In fact, he wouldn't even hand the firefighter the plate of cookies we baked for them until we were alone.

In an effort to avoid a repeat of last time, we requested to see the firetrucks first. One was a vintage firetruck that is only used for parades.

The trio were busy looking around, taking in their surroundings.

A particularly attractive firefighter modeled his clothing. (One of Jack's friends brought his fire fighter jacket, too!)

All but one kid cooperated for a group photo, hence the gap in the front where he should be sitting.

After touring the inside of the station and reconvening outside, Jackson decided to put on his jacket. It always takes him some time to warm up to people. As we were leaving, he wanted to know where the firemen's badges were and if they could turn on the lights on the truck.

After the tour we headed to a nearby park to play on the playground. Jack and a friend were more interested in the beach volleyball court.

The babies played. And by played, I mean rearranged pine needles and put mulch in their mouths.

Our park adventures ended when some of the moms with older children left for school pick-up. My four were all in good moods still so we headed to the library to return some very overdue books. All summer we've gone to the library in the mornings when it is overflowing with summer programs and children waiting for story time. Apparently 3:30 pm is the prime time to go to the library. We had the entire kids' area all to ourselves. Jackson put on a puppet show for his siblings. James made it his mission to pull every magnetic letter off of the board. The girls were preoccupied with grabbing books off of the shelves.

Our last week of summer has been full of adventure. Preschool starts next Tuesday, so we'll have new routines to learn. I'm not sure how much I want to go out with the babies vs. with Jackson and the babies. I'm still adjusting the trio's nap time and Maddie just started therapy twice a week. I also don't know how tired Jackson will be after preschool and how much down time he'll require. Next week will be a lot of trial and error. 

New Routines, More Adventures

Jesse unofficially started back to work this week with workshops, benefits enrollment, and moving into his new classroom. He resigned from his former position teaching Civics and AP Government at a high school over thirty minutes away. He accepted a position as an 8th grade ELA (English Language Arts) teacher at a middle school less than fifteen minutes away. He is embracing new curriculum, new content, and a new age of students. 

Jesse is not the only one who is facing changes. The triplets are now only taking one nap a day. For several months they have been napping from 10-11:30 and again from 3-4:30. A few weeks ago they reduced their naps to 45 minutes each. We made the switch to one afternoon nap a day. We're still adjusting the times, but it is somewhere between 1-2 pm until 3-4 pm. Mornings are now brutally long if we don't keep the trio entertained. 

Jackson's new routine will begin in two weeks. Our big boy will be attending preschool three days a week (Tue/Wed/Thu) from 9-1. Jack is so school-oriented; I fully expect him to thrive with the additional day of school.

All of these changes impact me. It was a lot easier when I could toss tiny, sleeping babies into a double stroller and go about our day. Fast forward a year. I now have active, busy climbers and cruisers, who will soon be even busier walkers. I need to be able to give James, Amelia, and Maddie all of my attention while Jackson is at preschool.  This means I need to provide safe, engaging places and activities for the trio to explore. Of course, I'll also have to give Jackson individual attention while the trio nap. Somewhere in between I'll need to cook, clean, monitor all four together, and find downtime.

This week we have been easing into our new routines. I had gotten a bit lazy over the past several weeks, overly relying on Jesse to take care of diaper changes and loading the kids in their carseats. My personal goal for this week was to feel confident on my own with all four kids. I felt confident before the babies were mobile, but now they are surprisingly fast and move in all different directions. I am happy to report that we have had a lot of fun attending play dates and outings over the past few days.    

DPK with Friends

We met my former teammate, Lucy, and her granddaughter at our favorite museum. James, Amelia, and Maddie are each able to escape the infant area. James proudly discovered how to pull up to the water table. Amelia cruised up and down the small stairs and ramp. Maddie made friends with everyone she saw.

Lucy has a background in early childhood education, so she naturally filled the role of grandmother and preschool teacher extraordinaire.

We went upstairs to play with the blocks. It's so fun for me to see the triplets doing the same activities that Jackson does. Obviously they aren't building lego towers on the wall yet, but they are becoming little people with individual personalities.

Fire Station Tour
We left the museum early to meet our playgroup at the local fire station. It's taken all summer, but Jackson finally gets excited to go places with his friends. Truly, we go because I'm friends with the other moms, not because he's friends with the kids. He's still incredibly timid, but he regularly asks me "Will my friends be there?" One of my friend's nine year old daughter asked if she could push the double stroller. She even said, "I'd like to be a mother's helper."

Our tour began inside with the kitchen, beds, weights, and lounge areas. The firefighters led us outside to show us their gear.

Just as the men began to put on their suits, the station received two calls. Our tour was abruptly ended as we watched both firetrucks and an ambulance drive away.

Feeding Ducks at the Lake
I used to frequent this particular park a lot, though I've only taken the kids twice in the past few months. James, Amelia, and Maddie immediately scurried around the walled pier and pulled up to stand. I love when they stand like that without me having to pose anybody!

Once Jackson ran out of bread, the girls climbed up and down the wide stairs.  James cruised around the perimeter. They boys were so precious!

We had a snack at a large picnic area.

I know the novelty of shoes will wear off eventually, but for now, I think three little sets of baby legs and shoes piled in a wagon is one of the most adorable sightings ever.

Library

The park is beside the library, so we stopped by to pick up some requested books. I let the kids explore in the children's area. 

Jackson and James took turns flipping through the pages of an awesome Batman board book.

Can you tell they were getting tired?

I'm relieved to reaffirm my enjoyment for being out and about with the kids by myself. Going out is definitely harder than it was last year, but it's also a lot more enjoyable watching each of the kids make new discoveries. I'm already working on a list of adventures to go on this fall.

Cookie Monster

My new selfie

I've developed a cookie obsession over the past two weeks.  It began with replicating my sister's cookie cake on Valentine's Day, and has spiraled out of control.  Our church has a "cookie mission" where we sign up to bake and deliver cookies for local agencies and schools. I made another cookie cake, chocolate whoopie pies, and sugar cookies for the fire department.

Jackson has become the master sous chef.  He does really well scooping out ingredients from the large canisters, though we're still working on making a level measuring cup.

Jack knows the difference between the speeds on the mixer and will ask, "Like that or faster?"

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I've learned by trial and error that the cleanest and most effective way to roll out cookie dough is to sandwich the dough between two large pieces of wax paper.  It eliminates the need for flour and doesn't create a sticky mess.

We make icing while the sugar cookies bake.  I prefer to handle frosting and let Jackson be in charge of sprinkles.



Jackson and I make a good team.  With our most recent sugar cookies, he moved the cookies from the cooling rack onto a plate and said, "Here's one heart for Mommy, one heart for Daddy, and one little heart for Jackson!" 

Then he licked the icing off all three!  This kid could get away with murder.

Fastforward a few days...

Jackson wanted to make cookies for the firefighters we saw last week.  I printed a personalized thank you card from Walgreens for $1 and gathered the ingredients for baking cookies. Our first batch of no bake cookies was a major fail.  Apparently steel-cut oats don't quite work.  The taste was great, but the texture was a bit crunchy.  Jesse and I nicknamed these the "colon cleanser cookies".  Needless to say, the first batch didn't make it to the fire department. 

Jackson's preschool is directly beside Aldi.  After dropping him off, the babies and I ran in to pick up some instant oats along with a few other items.  (Sidenote: This is the second time Aldi has been completely out of milk, which meant a trip to an additional store was required.)  Aldi had red velvet cake mix discounted to 45¢.  The babies and I had a dance party while baking red velvet whoopie pies.  I used this recipe, which resulted in a texture much more like cake than cookies.  The batter was very sticky and hard to work with.

They cooled while we picked Jackson up from school.  Jack helped me  whip up some cream cheese icing.  He handed me the cakes while I filled it with icing.

Yum!

Jackson was so proud and eager to hand deliver the cookies and card to the firefighters.  We waited 'til Jesse got home so I wouldn't have to take the babies. (Plus, Jackson was way overdue for a haircut and the fire department is on the way to Great Clips.)

Jackson rang the doorbell.  As soon as a firefighter opened the door he blurted out, "We made you cookies! I put them in kitchen."  Sure enough, his good memory directed him towards the kitchen.  The whole room was full of firemen laughing and smiling.  They were over the top thanking him and giving him high-fives.  Jackson said, "We not stay.  We go eat dinner." as if he was invited to spend the evening there.  Oh, how he makes me laugh!

I've enjoyed cookie baking but will be returning to my original love this weekend by making a Sleeping Beauty cake and a carrot cake.  Birthday parties and old friends require fun, tasty cakes.

Fun Excursions

In between all the really terrible, stressful things that happened this week, we also managed to go on several fun outings.  Here are the highlights:

Feeding the ducks...twice. 

Wagon rides: AKA "Let's play footsie until we fall asleep."

Rescheduled Valentine's party:  Jackson could not have been any happier at this Buzz Lightyear he received from one of his classmates
.

Discovery Place Kids: I finally got all three babies at the water table and Amelia had a meltdown.  Maybe she still has a little diva left in her after all.

While making a necklace in the craft area (hello, fine motor skills activities) Jackson continuously ate the Fruit Loops.  God only knows how many fingers had touched the pieces of cereal or how stale it was.  Sigh... 

Park: Thursday was absolutely gorgeous all afternoon so we spent over an hour at the park.  I met up with some of my new Charlotte Mommies friends.  It was the most relaxing park experience I've had in a while and Jackson wore himself out playing.

Impromptu visit to the local fire station: Seriously people, these were the best looking kindest  firefighters ever.  They picked Jackson up, took time to show him every detail, and explained things in kid-friendly ways.

 

I had called the department a few hours prior to make sure it was fine for us to drop by. Jackson was absolutely precious and so polite.  Of course he loved the trucks, but he was especially amused at the beds and the fact that firefighters sleep there.

I am so thankful for these fun moments.  If not for the many smiles, I could have never endured the more challenging moments of the week.