Return of the Wagon

You might recall several months ago the story where I became stranded with all four kids in the neighborhood when the wagon wheel fell off. I had to crawl on my hands and knees up and down streets while carefully balancing a wagon full of children. 

I wanted to revisit the wagon now that it's summer and we will go on many family walks. Jesse ordered a hubcap and the wagon is as good as new (or better). Except, we still don't have seat belts installed. James did not pass our test run in the driveway. He refused to sit down!

I pulled the girls and Jack while Jesse pushed James in the umbrella stroller. Initially, Jesse led, but I was uncomfortable not being able to see the girls. Jesse and I switched positions so I didn't have to keep turning around every 30 seconds.

Jackson took turns walking, pulling the wagon, and riding.

This is a bit mean, but I can't help posting this ridiculous photo of Amelia. She's always so photogenic. All three were asleep in their cribs shortly after we came home.

Next thing on our to do list: install seat belts. Go for more walks.

Vernal Equinox

Thankfully the weather cooperated and we were able to spend the first day of spring outside.  After days of cold rain and a series of misfortunate events, I was relieved that the sun was shining and nothing went wrong today.  Here's how we spent our day in the sun:

I read outside while the babies fed themselves,

and Jackson enjoyed his popsicle.

Tummy time was spent in the garage.

Maddie was my cuddle buddy while I read some more.

The trio cruised around the park in their wagon,

which proved to be too much fun for James.



Mr. Daredevil went down the slides head first while I chatted with Mommy friends.




He exhausted himself to the point where streaking became necessary.
HA!  Jackson had a snack and water at the park. 
For whatever reason, he took his shirt off as soon as he got in the van.

Happy Spring!

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.

Yeah...THAT really happened.

Over this past week there have been several incidents where I've done a double take or thought to myself, "Is this really happening?"  Some were good moments; others were bad.  Either way, there's never a dull moment with these kids.

The week began with a few days of sunny, 60° weather, which meant we had to spend as much time outside as possible.  We went to the park and attempted a walk around the neighborhood.  Neither outing went according to plan. 

On Monday I planned a picnic lunch at the park where we could also feed the birds.  Winter is clearly the best time to go as there were hundreds of ducks, swans, geese, and other birds swarming us.

We fed the birds, but our outdoor lunch was postponed as soon as Jackson declared, "I need to poop!"  Ah, the joys of potty training.  Jackson hasn't had any accidents in over a week, but when he feels the urge to go, we've got just a few minutes to find a potty.  Luckily, I had thought ahead and brought the little potty with us since I knew there weren't easily accessible restrooms at this particular park.  We spent over ten minutes sitting in the van while Jackson used the bathroom.  By the time he was finished I had buckled all the babies in their car seats so we just ended up eating in the smelly van.

Tuesday was another day of warmer weather.  Jackson wanted to go for a walk after we picked him up from preschool.  I loaded up in the wagon and strolled away, just like I've done dozens of times before.  Two blocks from our house, I heard a funny sound and saw Amelia suddenly flop down in the wagon.  Somehow the wheel completely fell off.  I knew how to fix it, but it required me to turn the wagon over on its side.  I couldn't very well lay the babies on the sidewalk, so I trudged forward.  Only, the rod came out and the other wheel was no longer in the correct spot.  I tried to lift the wagon like a wheelbarrow to push it back home, but the babies kept sliding with the slightest angle.  The only way to safely get home was to either crawl on my knees while holding the corner of the wagon upright or to hold up the corner with my back bent completely and shuffle.  I alternated between the two.  I don't know how many times I stopped or how long it took, but we got home eventually.  All five of us were crying by the time we entered the garage.

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On a lighter note (pun intended), I've been making conscious efforts to eat better.  For dinner last night we had brown rice pasta with a homemade lentil tomato sauce and a spinach cucumber salad.  Even while cooking it, I questioned if I really wanted to eat it.  Turns out, it was fairly tasty.

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Since the babies have been wearing footy pajamas, I hadn't really noticed how severe Maddie's eczema had gotten until bath night.  We've been slathering her up in steroid cream and lotion.  My poor girl!

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Another double take was seeing both of my sweet girls rocking it during tummy time.  Of course, Amelia has been doing this for many weeks.  Maddie, on the other hand, has struggled to lift her head. 

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The final "What am I doing?" moment was when I decided to carry the 84 pound box up the stairs and assemble our new exercise spin bike.  There were some foul words said and I may or may not have taken my skirt off in the process, but we have a newly assembled bicycle upstairs thanks to Jackson and myself. Jackson was quite the cheerleader, shouting, "You've got it, Mommy.  Good job!"  He also got his toolbox and helped me.



Marvelous Monday

Reasons why we had a marvelous Monday:

1. Jackson was begging to go to the library as soon as he woke up.  We went to an earlier storytime than usual that was exceptionally crowded, which meant I couldn't take the stroller into the room.  Maddie was in the Ergo and I had to carry Amelia and James in their carseats without hitting toddlers.  While everyone else just stared, another woman got up and asked if I needed help.  It turns out she had 3-year old triplets.  We talked afterwards and compared pregnancies and such.  I've never met another mom with young triplets, so it was great to know of one so nearby.

2. Jesse texted to tell me he's decided to take next Tuesday off.  He wants to go to Jackson's Thanksgiving feast at school and he has a dentist appointment that afternoon.  This means he works one day next week, then we get six consecutive days to spend with family!

3. Little Caesar's had their monthly VIP special.  I bought a pizza for $3.99 and took it to the park for lunch.

4. The babies are pros at bottle propping!

5. Tummy time was spent outside enjoying 70 degree weather and clear, blue skies.

6. We finally remembered to take the football to the park so Jackson and I could play. 

Of course, he also had fun at the playground.

7. We officially broke out the exersaucer for our big boy today.

8. Jackson has suddenly become Mr. Helpful.  He entertains the babies, puts his toys back without being asked, puts his dishes in the dishwasher, gives the babies pacifiers, etc.  Not to say that he didn't go to time out and still have to be redirected, but he's been amazing the past few days!

9. Jesse came back from the grocery store yesterday with Magic Shell.  While Jackson, James, and Amelia napped, Maddie and I cuddled.  I ate ice cream with Magic Shell and watched Masters of Sex from the DVR.  Relaxed to the max!

10. National Boards finally sent out an e-mail saying scores will be released this Saturday.  I've been waiting 6 months to find out if I passed or not.  I'm excited and nervous.  It doesn't matter one way or another right now since I'm not currently teaching.  And I can't have too high of expectations since it's really rigorous and most people don't pass the first time.  Either way, I'm anxious to finally get the results. 

11.  I pumped enough extra milk for the first time in almost a month to be able to freeze. 

12. Jesse and I got free tickets to the Shriner's Circus for Saturday.  I arranged childcare for the triplets with my sister so we get to do something special with just Jackson.  We looked at pictures after dinner tonight of circs elephants, tigers jumping through hoops of fire, and clowns.

All of this in one day = pretty awesome!