First Day of Preschool: 3's Class

Last Thursday was Open House for Jack's preschool. Jackson ran up to his teacher from last year and would not let go. 

We reiterated that she was going to teach a new class of 2's and now that Jackson is a big boy he would be in the 3's class. There are two different classes for 3 year olds and Jackson was overwhelmed with the crowds. He barely acknowledged his new teacher, and she barely acknowledged us. It was awkward how distant she was.

I tried my best to keep Jackson in good spirits and remain enthusiastic about school. We found all but one item from the ridiculously long school supply list. I was going to let Jack pick out a new lunchbox, but Walmart did not have a single one. Jackson proudly picked out this Michelangelo sandwich container.

Maddie has therapy immediately after preschool drop-off on Tuesdays. I couldn't decide if I should let the trio sleep so they would be in better moods, or if I should wake them early so they could eat before we left. I chose to let them sleep, and ended up underestimating the amount of time required to change, dress, and load everyone in the car. I very quickly snapped two pictures of Jackson in front of our door.

Jackson was getting anxious trying to navigate the crowded hallway. It didn't take him long to get comfortable once he was inside his classroom. As soon as he noticed me leaving, he broke out into hysterics and held on to my leg. His teacher, Mrs. Tara, picked him up and comforted him. I was relieved she wasn't the ice princess I had originally thought her to be.

When I picked Jackson up from school, he was in a great mood. Here's a recap of our conversation:

Me: What did you do at school today?

Jack: I painted a tree. It has to dry at school.

Me. A tree? I'm glad you got to paint. That sounds like fun.

Jack: It was big and had clouds.

Me: Did you read any stories today?

Jack: We all sat on the rug. Ms. Kerry's not my teacher. What is my teacher's name?

Me: Ms. Tara

Jack: Ms. Tara read us a story. And we got to play outside.

Me (noticing he didn't eat his sandwich): Why did you not eat your lunch? Are you hungry now?

Jack: I did eat my strawberries. I'm not hungry.

Me: Did you have a snack today?

Jack: Yes! Guess what we ate. We had... We had...

Me: Orangutan?

Jack. No! We had graham crackers!

And on and on and on. The boy takes a bit of prompting, but he shares every detail. 

Since he was in such a good mood, I tried to conduct a quick photo shoot since I only took two pictures and thought I could get a better picture. His Batman shirt had jelly on it so he changed shirts.

I totally pushed my luck. I decided to end our photo session after the first few pictures.

Jackson is every bit the three year old! 

I have some details to tweak with our morning routine tomorrow. Hopefully I can leave Jack's classroom without any tears and he is just as happy when I pick him up.

Hot, Sick, and Bored

This is the second day in a row with scorching temperatures. Heat and I do not get along. 90° isn't exactly ideal for babies, either. The only good thing about hot weather is it takes very little time to dry clothes on the line. I managed to do four loads of laundry yesterday.

Jackson's last day of preschool was on Tuesday. (Technically, it was today but I wasn't going to sit with three babies and a toddler just so we could watch the four-year-olds graduate.) They had a water day. Jack was very serious about wearing his bathing suit and bringing a towel.

The babies have been a mess this week. Amelia randomly projectile vomited (A LOT) on Sunday. It took her three days to recover her energy. Maddie was up screaming every hour for two consecutive nights. I took her to the pediatrician to check for an ear infection. There was nothing visibly wrong. Still, physical therapy was a waste this week.

The next day, James had a 101.4 temp (with Tylenol) and cried unless he was being held. It's been quite a juggling act with the trio this week.

The only outing we've been on all week (besides the doctor) was to the library and to take Jackson for a haircut. The hairdresser was clearly not a fan of cutting children's hair. Jack did pretty well, but he always jerks and laughs when they get the clippers out to trim around his neck and ears. The hairdresser knelt down in his face and said, "You see this? It can hurt you. If you keep moving I'm going to cut you and make you bleed."  Eeek!

Our spirits lifted when we walked out and saw a firetruck parked in the parking lot. (Sidenote: Why are Great Clips always beside grocery stores?) Jackson confidently gave me a tour around the firetruck. I was amused that Jackson was the same size as the wheel.

I've made everyone go outside from 8-10 for some fresh air before morning naps. (Elizabeth, who do I sound like?) I was rocking Amelia on the deck and glanced up to see Jackson sweetly sitting like this:

Clifford, Toddler's Best Friend

The babies are challenging outdoors. James inevitably tries to eat grass or go down the stairs. When Maddie gets upset she'll bang her head down. Amelia is too curious for her own good. I love and hate this stage at the same time.

Thankfully, Jackson has been pretty easy to entertain. He spent an hour cleaning and vacuuming out the van for me.

He's also been really into play-doh this week. I only let him play while the babies are napping because it makes such a mess and Amelia and James put everything in their mouth. I'm still working on getting over my OCD tendencies about mixing colors.

In case you're wondering, Jack and I both broke out into "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"

I read The Violets of March over the past two days. I've never considered myself a reader, but now that I'm a stay at home mom I love getting lost in books. Reading and NPR are the only things keeping my brain from rotting.

I know this isn't an especially interesting update, but that's what our life has been like the past few days. 

Ten Seconds Later

Each of the following pairs of photos were taken seconds apart. Kids sure move fast!

Hors d'oeuvres are served. Come and get them.

What just happened???

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"Why, hello there!" says Amelia.

"Mom! There's a pretty girl in our box!"

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Posing for a picture at Muffins for Mom

"Jackson, wait just a second. Your friends kidnapped the babies."

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Banana-egg pancakes

James, the pancake thief

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Girl time

"I'm just going to take off your diaper and back away snickering"

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James has been working on pulling blocks out one at a time,

until now.

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Enjoying a bedtime bottle

????

Birthday Celebrations for Jack

Birthdays are more like birthweeks in our house. Here's how we spent the week celebrating Jackson's birthday:

Monday: I baked a cookie cake to take to Jackson's preschool on Tuesday. Jackson picked out the dye color for the frosting and decorated the cookie with sprinkles.

Tuesday: Per Jack's request, I provided pizza and cookie cake for lunch at school. I emailed the parents ahead of time so they knew not to pack a lunch. There are only 8 kids in his class and I know them all by name because I hear about them constantly. His peers were more excited about touching the babies than eating pizza. When it came time for the kids to sing "Happy Birthday", Jackson said, "Wait. I not have candles." I blushed a bit and informed him that there were no candles. Oops.

Wednesday: The birthday boy awoke early as usual. My goal for the day was to let him choose anything he wanted for food and entertainment, and to sing "Happy Birthday" as often as possible. His breakfast request was strawberries and "special waffles" (aka cinnamon rolls cooked in a waffle iron). We stayed home since Maddie had her PT at 11. Jackson found great entertainment from watching workers reshingle the roof on our next-door neighbors house. We spent two hours outside before he came back in and zoned out in front of the TV.

After lunch, I took Jackson to the park and Sweet Frog for a special treat. I honestly don't know what happened, but we needed an exorcist for Jackson at Sweet Frog. His meltdown included laying on the floor in front of the register kicking and screaming. I asked him if we needed to leave and he said, "No. I calm down now." Gee, thanks! Sure enough, he returned to his normal (albeit tired) self while we indulged in our frozen yogurt. We even managed to sneak in a quick trip to Target afterwards before he crashed in the car.

Thursday: Our morning was busy with the Easter egg hunt and picnic at school, followed by an afternoon at the park. While the babies napped, Jackson and I went through over a thousand pictures on my computer and talked about what a big boy he was now. I later narrowed down my favorite pictures of Jackson to 75, then uploaded them to Walgreens to print.

Friday: I picked up and sorted our pictures. I've made a large, framed collage for the previous two years. This year I decided to display the photos throughout the house. I put all the pictures related to potty-training on the bathroom door, close-ups beside the hallway mirror, messes with food were displayed in the kitchen, etc.

I stayed up until 1 a.m. baking Jackson's birthday cake.  It turned out well, but a Batman cake from WalMart would have been just as well-received and given me the opportunity to sleep.

Saturday: Party time!  Nearly twenty family members filled our home and yard. Jackson asked for pizza, so we had salad and pizza for the birthday boy. The weather was perfect which meant the kids got to take advantage of the hula hoops and balloons my mother-in-law brought over. Jackson didn't understand the concept of waiting to open all of his presents at the same time. He opened almost every present as our family members arrived. Silly boy! After everyone left and we cleaned the house, Jackson spent the evening wearing his new Batman pajamas, riding his new Batman tricycle

I'm overjoyed that Jackson was able to feel so special this week from his teachers, classmates, and family members. 

Preschool Easter Celebrations

Jackson's preschool will be closed next week for spring break, which means today was his last day for the next week and a half. The school hosted Easter celebrations that included an egg hunt and a catered picnic lunch. The festivities were planned to begin at 11:30. I arrived on time and waited on the field with all the other moms in his class.  We continued to wait in the designated egg hunt area. About ten minutes later, the director came out front and said, "We've been looking for y'all. The 2's are in the back." When we all walked around, the egg hunt was already over. Disappointed, I took a few eggs out of Jackson's basket, tossed them on the ground, and asked him to "find" them for me.  Jack was in a great mood and played along.  Jack even shared his eggs with the babies. Though, he was quick to say, "They not eat my candy!"

Jack began the school year in October as the only boy in his class.  In recent months, two more boys have joined the class.  It's amazing how much I hear at home about his friends.

The Three Amigos

After the egg hunt everyone laid out their blankets for our picnic lunch from Chick-Fil-A. The weather was a perfect 70 degrees. Jackson nibbled on his chicken nuggets but devoured his fresh fruit and candy.

Amelia is a master at army crawling backwards. She frequently ends up stuck under the couch or pack-n-play. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find her trapped under the stroller when I returned with our food. James was also on the move and was adamant about eating the grass. I lost count of how many times I had to put them back on the blanket.

After saying goodbye to his teachers, Jackson requested we go to the park. With such pleasant weather, I couldn't resist. We had the park to ourselves for a few minutes before the whole neighborhood arrived.  I love carefree afternoons where the babies and I can relax in the shade while Jackson burns off some energy.

It was a pretty great Thursday afternoon.  Only one more day to go before spring break begins!

Our Week in Collages

I try to keep blog posts topical in theme rather than random lists from our day.  By the end of this week I ended up with 100+ pictures of things I meant to share but never did because they didn't fit with the rest of my posts.  Each collage deserves its own post, but I don't have time for that.  It's been a busy week with lots of activities.  Here are some of the highlights of our adventures.

Field Trip to the Aquarium

An aquarium recently opened just a few minutes from our house.  I'd been wanting to take Jackson, but not for $21 per ticket! Jackson's preschool scheduled a field trip with discounted rates.  It ended up being $10 for the whole family, and we got to invite friends!  The aquarium was interesting and a nice change of scenery from our usual outings.  There was an impressive touch tank, variety of sea life, and intricate displays. With that said, I walked away feeling perfectly content to never go back again.  The crowds, narrow walkways, and lighting proved to be over stimulating for Jackson.  He sat in the stroller the latter half of the trip and even closed his eyes and covered his ears at the very end. The babies were bright eyed initially, but fell asleep after an hour.

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Food Exploration

• I tried three new recipes this week.  The Irish soda bread was really flavorful and moist but very crumbly and hard to slice. The Guinness stew had a thick broth and rich, hearty flavor.  I won't be repeating it often though since it takes so long to make and requires us to buy Guinness. The winning recipe of the week ended up being completely improvised. I have all my shredded chicken to use and wanted to try enchiladas for the first time.  I combined an 8 oz package of cream cheese, 3 cups of shredded chicken, and half a can of rotel mix for the filling.  I filled 10 tortillas, rolled them up, and placed them in a casserole dish.  Then I mixed the remainder of the rotel with an enchilada seasoning packet and smothered the tortillas with it.  I sprinkled cheddar cheese on top of the boys' enchiladas and baked on 350 for 20 minutes.  SO good!
• Jackson surprised me one morning this week by climbing the pantry and refrigerator and pouring his own cereal and milk for breakfast.  He didn't make the slightest mess.  However, Jesse asked me the next day what was in the milk carton.  Jackson said, "I drop my spoon in there.  It not come out." Ha!
• The babies have been devouring everything they can get their hands on.  This week they have eaten all the usual purees along with scrambled eggs, waffles, enchiladas, and strawberry yogurt.  Graham crackers still prove to be the biggest hit.
• A friend of a family member is an overproducer and donated over 300 oz of breastmilk for the triplets.  I'm happy to have been able to both donate and now receive milk.  It makes me feel connected as women/mothers in such a powerful way. 

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IKEA

Jackson and I used to go to IKEA every single Monday. We stopped going once they stopped offering free breakfast.  After the fiasco with the van on Wednesday, I was determined to go somewhere.  I found myself at IKEA, which was completely for me rather than the kids. I love walking through the showrooms and fantasizing about having a library one day, bunk beds for the boys, perfectly organized walk-in closets, and so on.  We browsed through the children's area, played in the tents, binged on 75¢ hot dogs, and purchased a play mat for Jackson's cars and trains. 

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"Castle Park"

When I was in labor with Jackson, I drove a half hour to visit my sisters.  I was having regular contractions and knew that walking was the best thing I could do, so I drove to our childhood park and walked.  I walked for miles.  Jackson was born twelve hours later.

Even though I visit my sisters weekly, I've only been back to that park once since Jackson was born.  I thought it would be fun and nostalgic to spend the afternoon there.  I brought the wagon, but the damn wheel fell off again as I was unloading it in the parking lot.  I was totally ill prepared to care for four children, but was determined to enjoy ourselves since we were already there.  I wore Maddie in the Ergo, put Amelia in a random umbrella stroller, carried James, and ran after Jackson.  My arms felt like butter.  Thankfully, my sister and niece came to the rescue to provide relief and entertainment.  Alas, we had a great afternoon after all.

Love is in the Air--A Valentine Post

I love Valentine's Day!  Thankfully, Jesse and I have a mutual understanding of how unnecessary gift exchanges are.  In our early years of dating, I felt obligated to do something special.  One Valentine's Day I made his favorite red velvet cake...in the dorm kitchen using a microwave and chopped up M&M's instead of cocoa powder!  Now Valentine's Day is just a fun excuse to bake, take cheesy pictures, and make crafts.

Last week I took the kids to WalMart so Jackson could pick out his Valentines.  His teacher sent home a list of his classmates' names so I knew cards were expected.  Jack picked Thomas the Train cards and heart bracelets.  We had to compromise on the treats because his first picks were Reese's hearts and Blow Pops.  I didn't think peanut butter or gum were the most toddler friendly or allergy friendly.  Most of the snacks were sold in packs of 32, which seemed excessive for his small class of eight.  He finally agreed to Little Debbie cakes. 

The weather forecast was calling for snow on Wednesday, which increased the likelihood of school being cancelled on Thursday.  On Monday night, Jackson stuffed his treat bags and picked out stickers while I wrote the kids' names on labels and sealed each bag.

I picked up a bag of chocolates and made a custom card for both of Jack's teachers.  Jackson excitedly handed everything to his lead teacher on Tuesday morning.  When I picked Jackson up from school, I learned that their Valentine party was rescheduled for next Tuesday.  Go figure, the one time we're prepared...

I was worried Jackson might be disappointed that he didn't get to have his party, but snow plus spending days off with his Daddy proved to be a great distraction.  Jesse gave Jackson a candy-filled Spiderman heart on Valentine's Day.  Our moody toddler was quite ungrateful, but that didn't stop him from eating the candy.

I really wanted to get some cute pictures of the trio.  Everything on Pinterest involved frilly tutus, bowties, or naked babies with lipstick kisses all over them.  None of those ideas appealed to me.  One of my triplet mom friends posted a picture of her trio on a red blanket that she had shaped into a heart.  I loved the simplicity and immediately got to work emulating her photo.  Jesse was eager to participate. ;)

This was one of the least stressful photo shoots to date.  I spent longer editing the pictures than I did taking them.  (I can get a bit carried away with Photoshop.)  Here are my favorites:

Thanks to polaroid frames, handwriting fonts, and color splash tools, I turned this picture

into this:

Our day of love ended with a homemade cookie cake.  A sweet for my sweets!

Happy Valentine's Day!