Mall & Muffins!

We girls spent some quality time together this morning. We had a little time to kill before the mall opened so we stopped by Panera. I absolutely love their pumpkin muffin. She insisted on trying chocolate chip . She said she liked it, but I don't think she will be trading in donuts anytime soon. I had a few returns and I was hoping she would pick out a nice dress for Christmas. For the most part, she loves and appreciates anything I buy her. But when it comes to dresses, she has a mind of her own. I really wanted the traditional holiday dress, but she just wasn't going for it. The last thing I needed was to spend a lot of money on something she refuses to wear so that she can have a melt down each Sunday. It's really just not worth the battle. So, we settled on more of a casual black and while checked jumper from Gymboree. I guess we will add some Christmas tights or a red turtle neck.

Halloween Fun!

What a week! Sunday night we attended the annual Good Guy Carnival at our church. The kids get more into the games each year. Tuesday evening, we attended a trunk-r-treat at their school, and Thursday Delaney wore her costume to dance. We capped off the Halloween activities this evening with visits to family, and trick-r-treating. The kids ran into their teacher, whose Grandparents live across from my mom. You would have thought they saw a rock star. They were shouting, "Mrs. Whitehill, Mrs. Whitehill!"

The kids also experienced their first garage "haunted house." They were all excited and pumped to go in. Baylor had been talking about "bampires" all evening. I have no idea where he even heard of vampires, but he was especially excited to be scared. I carried Jax, while Rick carried Baylor and Delaney held our hands. About half way through, Delaney was ready to turn around. We had to push her through as the boys were hanging on for dear life. Hopefully, they won't have any nightmares. We tried to explain that it was all fake. They seemed to understand. I think Baylor actually enjoyed it the most.

All and all we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening. And, we were truly blessed to have a week of family fun.

Can't believe my little Elmo's are big Super Hero's!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Halloween!

Life at 5

Everyone always says that each age brings something new and exciting. Going to school every day of the week has been a big change, but one they love. On school days, their day begins with a 6:15-6:20ish wake-up call. The first week of school everyone bounced eagerly out of bed, and dressed themselves with little help. That ended quickly, but for the most part our mornings are as smooth as they can be for rushing three sleepy five year olds out the door. Each morning as I wake up Jax he says, "oh, man....I didn't get to sleep long." He has a tendency to fall back asleep, so I usually carry him to my room where the other two soon follow. Rick or I dress Jax, while Baylor lays on the floor with his blanket over his head. I dress Baylor and then depending on the morning, Delaney may or may not dress herself, Then, I fix everyones hair, they put their clogs on and we are out the door, hopefully by 6:30. I drop them off at Nana's where they eat and then she takes them to school. They attend school for half of the day, which I think is perfect for them. Going to school every day helps them stay on routine. The early morning and stimulation of school leaves them tired. On most days they take a short nap, yet they are ready for bed a little after 8 each evening.

We had our first parent/teacher conference last week. Their teacher reported that they are doing better than she expected. She said they play together at times, but for the most part have their own friends and interest. They received good remarks on their first check list/report card. In Pre-K, part of their curriculum is studying a letter each week, learning the sounds it makes and how to write it. They have recognized their letters and sounds since they were 3 and a half. Much of what they study is more of reinforcement for them, but I can tell that they are progressing. They are constantly saying a word and then telling me what letter it begins with. Baylor's handwriting/fine motor skills has come along way since the beginning of school. He's writing his name neatly and has gained a lot confidence in that area. Our only areas that they were labeled as "in-progress" were using glue neatly for Baylor and both of the boys tend to do things on occasion from right to left instead of left to right. It was also mentioned that Jax tends to rush through his work, which wasn't surprising. Overall, they are ahead of most of their classmates and she said she might try to pull out some of the more advanced students and begin to teach them blending sounds.

Mrs. Whitehill says she can't wait to see Delaney each day because she always has something interesting to say. Who knows what she tells the teacher each day, but Mrs. Whitehill said she gets a kick out of it. She said she is much more mature than the other girls. (This kind of scares me but in reality they are the older kis in their class). Apparently, Jax is very popular with ladies. Several little girls are constantly fighting over him. And, Baylor just sort of plays with the boys and is into doing his own thing.

My Little Girl...

Delaney's new favorite show is "Jon & Kate, plus Eight." I've been taping episodes and she watches at least one each night before bedtime.

Her favorite toy is the FP3 player she received from her Papa and Granny last Christmas. She loves listening to music and always has her headphones on in the car. This has made our car rides more enjoyable these days, as she tends to stir up trouble sitting in the middle. The only complaint now from the boys is her singing.

My boys...

Jax continues to have a great imagination, but his thoughts and stories are now centered constantly around spiderman. He received a spiderman book for his birthday, which he always wants to read. Baylor has always become infatuated with things very easily, but this is a first for Jax. He wants a spiderman room. He draws pictures of spiderman and is constantly making up stories about spiderman. He's been taping all of the pictures he draws of spiderman on his bed. I guess this is the poor mans version of a spiderman room.

Jax's favorite toy is the Star Wars light sabre he received for his birthday. However, his spiderman costume from last Halloween is right up there, as he still dress up as spiderman almost everyday. His new favorite show is the "Incredible Hulk" cartoon.

Baylor seems to be loving life these days. When learning something new, he has always been one to become extremely frustrated and give up. But these days he seems to be sticking with things. He recently learned how to snap his pants which was a huge deal to him. He doesn't like to have help. He wants to be independent. He's also become quite the video game player as he's developed patience for sticking with something until her learns it. Some of his favorite toys at the moment are his speed racer toy, batman mask, and swinging outside. He is using really big words and phrases these days but they are not always in context. He also still mispronounces a few words such as Hoscume/costume and baschetti/speghetti.

Greatest Show on Earth

Being a triplet or multiple actually paid today, literally. When I was pregnant many people told me that multiples could get all sorts of free stuff. I did a little research and actually that wasn't really the case. We did receive a couple of cans of formula, a package of diapers for each baby, and lots of coupons which I was very grateful for. But, one of the interesting discoveries was from Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus. After receipt of each of their birth certificates, they sent me one free circus ticket for each of them, good for their life time. I was beginning to think we would have to travel to see the circus as Ringling Bros. hadn't been to Tulsa in the past five years. However, in the end I think it all worked out because five was the perfect age. At times, Delaney and Jax were laughing, but for the most part Baylor watched intently. Compassionate Baylor told me several times that "they" better be careful. Jax, while impressed with the acrobats told me that Spiderman was even better. Baylor told his Nana, "It really was the greatest show on "Earf". You should have been there.

What I didn't pay in ticket prices, I made up for in concessions. We tried to keep it to a minimum and definately said "no" to the $20 flash lights, but we coudn't deny them cotton candy. One bag of cotton candy was $12. The marketing frenzy of programs, toys, cups, snow cones, etc was insane.

A Wonderful Fall Day

Today we visited the Pumpkin Patch in Bixby. Last year we went to a small pumpkin patch in Owasso, but it just wasn't the same. The kids really enjoy climbing all over the mounds of pumpkins. I wish I could have got some better pictures, but it seems impossible to get a picture where all three are looking at the camera. It also seems that they have forgotten how to smile, so I often get the fake cheesy smile. All in all, in was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside. Baylor insisted on riding a pony. I actually got some genuine smiles while they were riding. For the first time I also let the kids paint their pumpkins which they thought was pretty awesome. They started out with great pumpkin faces but then they just kept painting. They just didn't want to stop. So, we have some really big mouthed pumpkins! We also carved out a large pumpkin to plant flowers in. I must say I felt a little like Kate from "Jon & Kate, plus Eight" with all of the mess. But in the end, everyone washed up just fine.

Mommy of the Day

Well, I am not "mommy of the year" but maybe of the day. Today was my first day of Fall Break but the kids had school. So, I actually was able to drop off and pick up my kids from school. That in itself was enough to give me the prize. When I picked the kids up, they ran and gave me the biggest hugs and kisses, unlike the other kids who were unfazed that their parents were picking them up. On our way home, Baylor asked if we could go out to eat since it was their special day. I said no but told them I had fun things planned for our afternoon.

I spent my few hours of freedom in the morning going to the store and picking up some fun things to keep us busy on this somewhat dreary day. Typically, I am a work first, play later kind of person. Most fall breaks I dedicate at least the first few days to cleaning out closets or taking care of things I have neglected. Today, I decided we would have a full day of fun. We went home and baked cookies. This may have been the first time my kids have actually baked chocolate chip cookies. (I know that's really pathetic). Usually, I buy the cookie dough already made. Just so I don't sound completely horrible, they have baked brownies and cookies so they have experienced the joy of baking. However today, I let them use the mixer and even let Jax crack the egg. Baylor was a little upset that the recipe didn't call for two eggs.

Our second big event of the day was after nap. The kids spend a great deal of time these days coloring and drawing. They have always loved to paint, but I have always felt that was a fun project for school. But today, I actually bought some paint and let them work on becoming little Picasso's. In the end, Jax preferred mixing his paint brush in the water to make a "potion" but the other two were very proud of their finished product.

Afterwards, they just had to go outside and play. Although it is probably the coldest day we have had so far; it wasn't necessarily as cold as they thought. When they came back in, they insisted on having hot chocolate. I really think they enjoy the idea of hot chocolate more than the hot chocolate itself.

Tomorrow morning I am sure that I will succumb to cleaning out at least one closet. After all, it's time to move out the kids summer clothes. Tomorrow afternoon, Jax has a check-up with the allergy doctor and we have our first parent/teacher conference. It will be a another full day just not as fun-filled.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com