Happy Turkey Day & Gig’ Em!

Our ‘Lil Indian Tribe: Ethan, Andrew, Savannah, and Benjamin

 

 

 

Hope you have a great day! (Andrew, Ben, Ethan, & Sav)

 

 

 

and we’re serious about beating those t-sips… Gig Em, Aggies!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for…

I LOVE seeing new art projects that the kids have done at school (and I absolutely LOVE their teacher- she rocks).

 

Saw this on their door last week…

 

 

Let’s take a closer look, shall we?…

 

Ethan and Andrew’s “thankful feathers” depict perfectly where their heads are at right about now…

 

Can you imagine how many times a day I hear about Christmas presents/Santa/etc. Its exhausting because every time they start up with what THEY are going to get---I quickly interject with the TRUE meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus; doing things for others; spending time with those we love, etc. They WILL get it eventually, right?

 

Umm…when you ask Sav this question, she likes to look around the room and start naming items within her line-o-vision. (i.e. a clock, a lamp, a book, “my strong muscles”- yes, I have heard this one on several occasions…)

 

Neat, Sav. Okay, we’ll settle for “food”.

 

 

 

And sweet Benny- the kindest, sweetest, most gentle little boy you will ever meet.

 

My heart just turned to mush. Sweet Benny-boo. God love you and your loving heart.

 

I get a huge kick out of hearing what kids are thankful for---do you guys have some funny ones?

 

Who Knew A Mustache Could Be So Fun?

If you are having a bad day- I suggest that you view this particular blog post over and over again until you have laughed off all of your worries.

As my 3 amigos came home from their Halloween festivities and began to undress, I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

 

 

Three little 4 year old dudes, running around in their “skivvies” with intensely awkward and completely unnatural looking mustaches painted on their porcelain, baby doll faces.

 

Of course, Dad had to join in on the fun as well. Creeeeepy ‘ole Dad.

 

“Hello.

My name is Inigo Montoya.

You killed my father.

Prepare to die.”

(The Princess Bride, anyone?)

 

 

All sorts of wrong, but I just can’t help but laugh…

 

 

 

I’m totally diggin’ Benny’s full, thick stache and those beautiful brown eyes.

 

 

 

My little spanish princess and her best silly pose. Is she sassy or what?! LOVE it!

 

 

 

Yep Drew… he’s your Dad. No one in the world like him. You’re welcome, buddy.

 

 

 

And my favorite!

Ethan, the wild-eyed and crazy truck driver with a random French mime popping in the photo.

 

 

Happy Friday Fun Day, blogger peeps!

 

4 Yr Old Height & Weight STATS (Oh- & Shots!)

Okay, yes…I understand that my children turned four on August 1st, 2011 and it is now NOVEMBER 2011 and they JUST NOW had their 4 year check ups. Better late than never, right?!!

 

I strategically planned this wellness exam (and ungodly amount of shots) on a school day. 2 kiddos would go on a “date” with Mom to the pediatrician’s office in the morning while the other 2 were at school…and then we’d flip flop in the afternoon. It worked out perfectly- thanks to Aunt Ashley for picking up Sav & Ben after school!

 

Savannah and Ben- the morning crew, awaiting their turn (and actually excited to be at the doctor’s office. They ALL were… crazies!)

 

 

Upon the advice of my BFF, Mari, I decided to talk to the kids the day before about what to expect. Our pedi and nurses had warned us last year about how rough the 4 year old shots were (and NOT to bring all 4 at once like I usually do)---maybe that is why I put the appointments off for so long. My anxieties were solidified when my BFF, Jac, told me about her *glorious* day at the pedi with four, 4 year olds getting shots as well! EEEEK!

 

We practiced giving injections on Savi’s baby dolls and I even let them pretend to give me shots in my leg with a pen. I promised them a treat as soon as the shots were over, etc.

 

 

I was proud of how brave they were…but when it came down to the actual injections, I have NEVER, I repeat- NEVERRRRR heard my kids scream like that before.

 

IT. WAS. SO. INTENSE.

 

My heart broke for them- but as soon as the last needle was pulled from their legs- the tears stopped and the smiles reappeared. God bless the resilience of little ones, amen?

 

 

Time for the hooligans to enjoy their afternoon at the pedi’s office- Ethan and Andrew.

 

 

Yep- while Dr. Archer was asking Mom questions, Cheech and Chong were giggling and digging in to each others’ nostrils. Not to mention, I caught them licking each other as well. I mean… SERIOUSLY?!!! In a germ infested pediatrician’s office?!!! I mean, REALLY DUDES? I’m pretty sure my heart stopped. GOONS!

 

 

Andrew was the bravest…bless his little heart. It killed me to see him scream in pain. He rarely cries (unlike Ben and Sav). Ebud too- the sounds that came out of their lungs just made me want to die. But it was all over within seconds.

Drew looks completely traumatized! LOL.

(He wasn’t traumatized… trust me, he perked right up as he picked out his tasty treat at the ‘ole neighborhood Starbucks)

 

So are you ready for the height and weight stats?…

 

All 4 kids weigh the exact same at 35 lbs! The nurse couldn’t believe it. Isn’t that crazy?! 

And they are almost all the same exact height! Let me tell ya- they definitely stick out in a crowd as 4 year old quadruplets! LOL. 4 little clones of each other.

 

The heights:

Ethan (still the tallest)- 42”

Drew- 41 3/4”

Ben- 41 1/2”

Sav- 40 1/2”

 

 

 

And I’ll leave you with this picture of the 20 Band-Aids that I peeled off of the kids that night. Can you even imagine?

 

I wasn’t really planning on it- but this Mama was absolutely exhausted… wiped out physically and emotionally more than anything. PHEWWW. Glad that is OVERRRR and praising God for healthy little 4 year old preemies who have beaten all the odds.

 

MIRACLES.

 

Lots to be thankful for.

Focusing on Others This Holiday Season

As a parent to young children, I am constantly trying to find ways to teach about service to others, empathy, giving, etc. This is a HUGE deal to me- one of the most important life lessons that I want my kids to live out on a daily basis and I totally stress about it.

 

It is so easy for children to get caught up in the whole idea of “Santa” and wanting lots of toys for Christmas… I remember the holidays last year, watching each child as he/she opened present after present~ the attitude, the grandiose expectations... it was fun and all---but I’m not gonna lie, it kinda made my stomach turn a little.

 

I thought to myself, “next year will be different”. Less emphasis on presents. We are going to focus more on doing activities as a family and more importantly, giving to others.

 

The Magi Project.

Every year, people from across the US join together to prepare shoeboxes for children who live in poverty stricken countries--- children who may have never received a present in their entire lives. With love and compassion, these boxes are filled with toys, candy, toiletries, clothing, etc.

 

Ben, Drew, Ethan, and Sav were super excited about building boxes for other 4 year olds like themselves! Each kiddo was in charge of one box and had a blast picking out the items for his/her child.

 

 

As Savannah picked out hair accessories and various goodies, she would exclaim: “Oh, my girl is going to LOOOOVE these!” (Talk about making this Mama’s heart melt)

 

I tried to let them be in charge of every aspect of this project and only stepped in when I needed to… you know- like to pay for everything. Lol.

 

 

Now, don’t think for one second that this little trip to the store was all calm and sweet with perfectly behaved angels. At times, they were like 4 mini-tornadoes destroying every in their path. I was trying to take items out of the cart as fast as they were throwing them in! On several occasions, I had to “huddle-up” and calmly explain what we were doing again. LOL.

 

Early Sunday morning, the kids ran downstairs in excitement to fill their boxes for their boys and girl. I was honestly, quite surprised at how much they understand at this age--- the importance of what they are doing and how they are helping others.

 

The boxes were filled with: stuffed animals, cars, crayons, coloring books, toothbrushes/toothpaste, shampoo, soap, washcloths, combs/brushes, socks and undies.

 

Drew

 

 

Sav

 

 

 

Ethan and Ben

 

 

 

Proudly walking them up to church on Sunday morning.

 

 

During the service, our big kids walked their boxes up to the front. Over 500 boxes were collected!

 

Ethan and Andrew.

 

 

So great. I was so proud of my little peeps.

 

We are also going to cut back on presents this year and try to focus more on fun family activities instead: the Polar Express Train ride, Grand Prairie Lights, Holiday in the Park at Six Flags, etc. Not just “things”, but family experiences, ya know?

I can’t wait.

 

Lots to be thankful for this holiday season.

On Halloween Night…

To say that Mom and Dad were pretty much pooped out from all of the weekend’s activities- would be an understatement. By the time the actual day of Halloween rolled around, we decided to stay in, as a family, and have a fun filled night of spooky movies and tasty treats.

 

 

Oh- and face painting. The kids were SO EXCITED as we danced around to Halloween tunes! (A, S, E, B)

 

 

“Are you a good witch? Or a bad witch?”…(her answer changed throughout the night)

 

 

Ben wanted a spiderweb

 

 

Drew wanted a bat (hey, I gave it my best shot…)

 

 

Ethan wanted a spider, like the one on his jammies

 

 

Frank- watching out over the candy (or what’s left of it).

 

 

These turned out pretty cute and actually tasted good (which is always a plus). Mummy Dogs. (recipe on Pinterest)

 

 

Sav made us some baby Mummys.

 

 

Fried worms…

 

 

 

Watching Halloween movies while we eat on our adorable plates from Auntie Sandra.

 

 

Boooooooooooooo!

 

 

Getting a little scary for Benny Boo, so he cuddled up with Dad. (melt me)

 

 

Desert was ghost cookies…

 

 

and Goblin Goo! (lime sorbet)

 

Halloween was an absolute BLAST this year!!! Now we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Life has become SO FUN- now that the kids are actually “getting” holidays, ya know?

 

LOVE IT.

 

It is so neat to experience the magic & wonder through the eyes of our children…something adults tend to lose somewhere along the way.