Thanksgiving Desserts

Here were some of my favorite recipes I've baked over the last week. None of these desserts are specific to Thanksgiving, but they were each requested or favored by loved ones.

Salted Caramel Cake

Butter Pecan Cake

Rice Krispy Treats

Double Chocolate Pretzels

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I don't know about the Salted Caramel Cake since it was for a friend, but I can tell you that all of the other desserts were a big hit! I made multiple batches of rice krispy treats and they were the first dessert to go at every family dinner! I don't follow any recipe, but I've nearly perfected it. I use 1 stick of butter, 2 bags of mini marshmallows, and most of a large box of cereal. The key is to melt everything slowly over low heat so it doesn't dry out.

The Butter Pecan cake was so rich and delicious. I have already bookmarked it as one of my favorites. It will definitely be a special occasion cake due to the expensive ingredients and time consuming process.

I look forward to making each of these desserts again, as well as trying new recipes.

"Paci Gone"

The plan was to eliminate pacifiers cold turkey when the trio turned two this past July. In the battle between crying toddlers and weary parents, toddlers prevailed. I managed to mostly eliminate pacifiers during the day over the last month, but it's a daily fight to take the pacifiers away each morning.

Jesse and I decided that Thanksgiving break would be the final cutoff. We'd have each other to stay strong throughout the tantrums, cries, and begging for pacifiers. Also, we have so many fun distractions planned over the break that we thought would help ease the transition.

We told the triplets, "Pacis are going to go bye-bye because you're big girls and a big boy. Pacis are for babies." Amelia looked around sadly and said, "Paci gone?" Jesse discreetly collected and threw the pacifiers away.

In case you're wondering how bad it could really be, listen to this on repeat for an hour, multiple times a day.

Contrary to what we anticipated, James has slept peacefully during naps and overnight the past few days. Amelia and Maddie have had a much harder time falling asleep and staying asleep. They haven't napped and they've both been ended up in our bed at night.

James screamed inconsolably the first morning, but has been better each day. He's still gnawing on things throughout the day. He brushed his teeth for an hour today, all throughout the house, likely because the toothbrush was soothing to him. Amelia walked up to James, gave him his blanket, and sweetly reaffirmed, "Paci gone, James. Paci gone."

Fingers crossed and saying a prayer that the girls have better sleep habits and James can soothe himself.

Random Updates at Home

We've had plenty of outings over the last few days, but I thought I'd highlight some of the more mundane moments. Here's what our "down time" looks like with four kids ages 2-4.

MiMi restocked the kids' dress up collection with discounted costumes after Halloween. As soon as Jackson comes home, he begins his series of wardrobe changes into pajamas and costumes.

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Play-doh has been a big hit lately. It can buy the trio an hour of play time. I started using it during speech therapy to work on naming colors, shapes, and various adjectives. I've been sitting on the floor with them, using cookie cutters, garlic press, and whatever other kitchen gadgets we have. I don't let them use it unsupervised yet because I'm still OCD about mixing the colors.

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James has been entertaining himself by playing in the sink. His two favorite things are trains and playing in the water. One day I let him wash all his trains, which led to a very happy boy.

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Over the weekend Jesse and I attempted to organize the tubs of clothes. We gratefully accept all clothes given to us by many friends, but we are awful at sorting them. This particular pile represented a hodgepodge of 12 month--4T boy and girl clothes. We had Maddie stand in the pile for a size reference. We've almost finished sorting and switching out the closet bins for winter wardrobe.

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The trio are stubbornly independent these days and have become quite resourceful. They climb chairs and stools to get most anything they want. 

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Amelia has returned to interrupted sleep patterns. More nights than not, she's in our bed. If/when we leave her to cry, she wakes Maddie and James and we have three screaming toddlers. As soon as we bring her in our bed, she sleeps peacefully. While it's an inconvenience to wake up with a foot in my mouth or head on my shoulder, it still allows us more sleep this way.

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Not pictured is our high chair dilemma. The girls are completely over sitting in high chairs. Meals have been a headache lately, between picky eaters and not having enough places to sit. We'd like to get a bench for the kids to sit that we can just push under the table after dinner. I suppose we should be thankful the girls have cooperated this long.

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Jackson has been pretty helpful taking initiative lately. He especially enjoys meal prep and often asks what he can do. He takes his tasks very seriously and is always proud of his work. FYI, I know it looks like he's about to grate his finger off in this picture, but there's a good inch of cheese between his finger and the grater. I did a lot of modeling and guided practice first.

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Maddie is still hoarding food. For the past few Sundays, she's requested the entire serving plate of pancakes. She's so territorial of all food! Our little IUGR baby must still be making up for stolen nutrients in the womb.

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Those are the miscellaneous updates I can think of right now. We have just begun a very busy Thanksgiving week with family get-togethers scheduled on three different days. It should be a joyful week!

Amelia's Second Belly Button

I normally shower while the kids are sleeping, but I like to take my time on Wednesday mornings since Jackson doesn't have school. All four kids were playing upstairs in Jackson's room when I hopped in the shower. Everything upstairs is toddler-proof so I didn't hesitate about taking a quick shower. While shaving my legs, I heard Amelia screaming. I ran out, soaking wet, to discover this sight.

I don't know how she climbed the dresser. I assumed she was crying because she had gotten herself stuck and couldn't figure out how to get down. I took a picture, planning to send some smart ass text to Jesse about having hairy legs because of this monkey. I picked her up and she screamed even more, but I couldn't figure out why.

Zooming in from the above picture, you can tell the cause of her distress. Amelia managed to get her stomach caught in an eyeglass case.

It literally removed a chunk of skin! My poor girl!

After 45 minutes of snuggles and a dose of Tylenol, Amelia finally resumed playing with her siblings.

Three lessons I learned today:
1. Beware of eyeglass cases.
2. Toddler-proof does not apply to Amelia.
3. It's best to stick to showering while kids are sleeping.

Superior Play and Planes

Yesterday Jackson said he wanted to jump on a trampoline. We have an indoor trampoline park near our house, but it costs $36 for the kids to jump for one hour. I suddenly remembered a playground warehouse that has free open play on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Our one and only visit to Superior Play was a year and a half ago. The trio weren't even walking at that time. Today was a bit challenging with kids in different directions, but they had so much fun.

I fell in love with this swing. I don't know if it's designed for one kid to swing while lying down or for multiple children, but it was perfect for our family!

There are several trampolines available for jumping. I'm not a huge fan of trampolines for toddlers, but they all just fell down on purpose and bounced.

We would have happily continued playing, but after an hour of play, James peed through his diaper and soaked his shorts. We made a relatively quiet exit, changed diapers, then drove to the airport overlook to eat our picnic lunch. The airport is halfway between the play area and home. Jackson doesn't share my love of planes, but James does! He talked nonstop and waved at each plane landing and taking off.

Amelia was mildly interested, whereas Maddie was upset about the wind. I put her jacket on her so she could cover her ears, but the hood kept blowing off. I was thankful I brought lunch so the kids had something to do while they observed the planes. 

I love this city so much!

The fact that we didn't spend a dime made the day's events that much more impressive. I'm thankful we're surrounded by so many free resources and I have the ability to take the kids anywhere.

More Stories and New Friends

After preschool drop off I took the trio to the Harrisburg library story time. I only went in hopes that my friend would be there. She was not. The kids were content so it was still worth our time. James still sat in my lap the entire time, but he had a lot more fun today.

Amelia and Maddie were both fans of musical instruments and songs.

After story time we played in the main library, read dozens of books (though only finished a few), and colored holiday cards for senior citizens. Note to self: must work on how to hold a crayon with Amelia.

We ran around the fields at a nearby playground.

During our library and park visit, the trio walked the whole time. I'm not ready to abandon the stroller for museum trips or large parking lots, but it's so nice to give the trio more independence.

After school we met a friend at another park right near the preschool. Jackson has been going on about one particular boy at school. I emailed the boy's mom to give her my number and suggest a park play date while the weather is still nice. The boys played together in the beach volleyball area for over an hour.

The mom also has a younger son, so we were both all over the place running after our own kids. The mom was very relatable and down to earth, but I was secretly relieved we had distractions. An hour and a half is a long time to talk to a stranger.

There are moments when I look at Amelia and see myself so much. I don't know why it hit me so hard, but she was staring up at me making this typical face and I thought, "No denying you're mine".

The trio discovered a stray cat. James coaxed the cat along, sweetly saying, "Come on, meow. Come on."

Unfortunately, our exciting afternoon caused us to miss the window of opportunity for a nap. The girls screamed. Jackson was incredibly whiny. Only James actually fell asleep. At least Jackson doesn't have school tomorrow so I can make nap time a priority.

ImaginOn Story Time

As a stay at home mom and former teacher, I feel compelled to take the kids to the library. We've tried several story time events, but I'm never impressed. Today we ventured to the children's library. We were just there to read and play, but after 20 minutes of reading, a crowd of toddlers and parents was growing. We stayed for one of our best story time experiences yet. 

Unlike every other library we've visited which conducts story time in a closed room, this space was completely open. There was a great balance between stories, songs, and movement. As expected, Maddie loved story time. She danced, clapped, and followed along with every song and rhyme.

Amelia enjoyed herself, but she was more interested in her surroundings. She was quick to point out "Melmo" on the wall, the "baby night night" in a stroller, and the "bear book" on a nearby shelf. She did interact a lot during our new favorite song, Driving in My Car.

Even James, who was glued to my lap the entire time, enjoyed participating in the car song.

Another highlight of story time was catching bubbles. The library has the best bubbles that bounce and don't pop. 

After story time I let the kids explore the trolley, wagon, etc. James is always happy with anything that involves transportation!

Maddie created music with one of the apps on the touchscreen computers. Our little songbird sure loves music.

The temperature had warmed up so we played outside for just a bit. James was a bit upset in this picture because he wanted to watch the train pulling into station. We walked around to the train right after this.

I didn't have a lot of time left to go home, make lunch, and go pick up Jackson. Instead, I took the kids to Ikea (halfway between the library and preschool) for a quick lunch. There's a new area by the cafe that has games, instruments, costumes, and other fun toys. Amelia cracked herself up while trying on wigs.

For $8, the four of us shared pasta and chicken strips. We rushed through lunch in just enough time to pick up Jackson.

I love our mornings out together!