Story's Kids in the Kitchen Play Date

Today was a cooking play date for Story. At most of our KIK (Kids in the Kitchen) play dates we make just one dish. But not when you go to the house of Js. Mama J always plans a whole lunch complete with desert! The kiddos made pig in a blanket or as my girls like to call it 'pig in a bed'. Rolling those weenies took lots of concentration!

They then sliced apples and made a yummy dipping sauce for the apples. Cookies and Cream pudding for dessert complete with an Oreo topper! Yum! What a cleaver idea to let the little ones each mix their own pudding in a baggie.After all of the cooking and eating Miss Lyric got a little rough with the boys. This was the second play date this week where she enjoyed playing with J and being "just one of the boys". I couldn't really tell who was initiating the rough play. I think it was her as much as him! They had a good time and luckily no one was hurt.

New Place to Play

Cadence found a new place to play tonight while I was doing the dishes. Fun, fun!

Busy Monday!

The girls and I had a very busy day today. Lyric started back to Spanish class today at 9:00. She did well. I was actually surprised how much she remembered because we didn't do much Spanish practice this Summer.

After Spanish we came home and had a snack. We had a play date at 11:00. We discussed the letter A and started a letter A lapbook. I plan to finish this one. We have tendency to start lapbooks around here and never finish them... I will keep you updated on our progress.

Cadence had a good time at the play date. She mostly crawled around, but she did take a few steps here and there. I think we can almost call her a walker.

The girls marked the letter A with dots. Lyric doesn't look like she enjoyed it, but she was having fun (I promise)!

After working on the letter A the kiddos used their fingerprints to make ants, too cute! Miss Jenn read them all a book while they snacked on animal crackers and apples. It was a very fun and productive play date!

We looked up some other ideas for our lapbook. We plan to add a mini book on our address, and we want to make an apple pie and include the recipe and maybe some sequencing cards on the order of the recipe. We also brainstormed: ambulance (maybe practice 911), airplane, astronaut, and avocado-- not sure what we could include with those... maybe just some pictures of 'A' words.

When we got home from the play date the little girls were sleeping, so Lyric and I had some lunch. She got a new Zootles magazine in the mail today, so we read all about Pandas. There were a few websites in the magazine with live web cams, so of course we had to get on the computer and watch some pandas. Lyric really liked watching them live, but she didn't really like that they didn't have sound. The Atlanta Zoo site has video, some with sound, of their pandas. We watched the birth of a panda which was awesome! This is probably too much information, but I swear I made noises very similar to that panda when I had Cadence!

On the Smithsonian National Zoological Park site we found an online panda jigsaw puzzle. Lyric attempted it by herself and got very frustrated with it, but when we did it together she really liked it. We then decided to print out a panda coloring sheet from their site and she made her own jigsaw puzzle with it.

She then decided to read some TumbleBooks on Daddy's computer while I worked (played) on mine. Story woke up and decided to watch Arthur while having her lunch. All of this happened by 3:30!

The afternoon was just spent in our normal way: laundry (yes, still Story's favorite), the girls playing and basically just hanging out.

This evening Lyric decided she wanted Daddy to take her training wheels off her bike. They tried bending them up because we heard that is a good way to teach them, but Devon couldn't really get them to bend, so they just took them off. I don't know if she is ready yet. She kept insisting for Devon to let go despite the fact that she was leaning sideways. When he wouldn't let go she would get mad at him. She did pretty good though, I think. We will just have to keep practicing. She may not have ridden by herself, but she did make Daddy realize how out of shape he has gotten these last few weeks!

Well, that was our Monday. Hopefully our Tuesday won't be quite so busy. We are planning on going to the bilingual story time at 10:30, who knows where else the day will lead us?

Party Time/ Let's Get Naked!

Before you start looking for the naked pictures I must say there was only one hiney shown at the party. A few almost naked people, but only one completely naked ;-)

We had Cadence's First Birthday this weekend at Berry Springs park in Georgetown.

We really didn't want to have a party, but Grammy insisted that it wasn't fair for Lyric and Story to have a First Birthday Party and not Cadence, so we had a party.

We decided to send the invitation out as a You Tube video.

Cadence likes dogs, so we did a puppy theme. I made the cupcakes from a recipe I found on All Recipes. The girls and I made and decorated sugar cookies for goodie bags. It was a pretty small party. Mostly family and a few friends.

The kiddos were a little scared feeding the donkeys, but the donkeys sure enjoyed the carrots.

Baby Zayden was cute as always and Story had to get some of that lovin'. She was gentle with him as usual.

The kiddos enjoyed playing on the playscape and Cadence enjoyed riding around in the wagon.Our first half naked baby at the party was Cadence. We stripped her down to her diaper, so she could have a cupcake.She liked the cupcake (mostly the icing), but she hardly used her hands. She just leaned over and tried to bite it.She didn't get nearly as messy as her sisters did at their first birthdays, it is a lot cleaner when just use your mouth!Baby Zayden was the next one to strip the clothing! And he went all out! Aunt Krisitn was changing his diaper and I couldn't pass up a hiney shot!He isn't much smaller than Cadence and he is six months younger. That boy is big!I know this is going to shock you all, but the next person to shed their clothes was my little Story Bell. She decided to wear long underwear pants and a long underwear shirt to the party. I tried to convince her not to wear it because it was going to be 90 degrees, but she insisted. She is two, I am not going to fight with her about what she is wearing, I just packed some shorts for when she got hot. Well, she did get hot and decide to shed the clothes, but she didn't want the shorts I packed.She did put on her hiking boots before joining the others at the playscape.I think Miss Cadence enjoyed her party. I'm not real sure if she knew it was "her" party, but she had fun none the less.

As for Devon and I we are happy to announce that was the last birthday party we are giving! Well, unless our children really want one. We are going to try to convince them to do something fun as a family rather than a party. We have until December to convince Story that she doesn't want another Pancake Party. Wish us luck! What would be fun for a three year old in December?

Should Have Known Better!

I watched the weather this morning and Zack Shields said it was going to be a picturesque day. So, I had the great idea of walking to the park. Cadence has her new ride and the girls could ride their bikes. What fun! We would walk to the park, play a while and walk back. We set out on our walk and on our street to the left their were mowers, so we decided to turn right. No big deal, a little longer to get to the park, but it was a picturesque day we could make it.

The first problem was I didn't take any water. What was I thinking? I was just picturing us taking a quick walk to the park, playing a few minutes and walking back. You don't do anything quick when you have three children with you! I have been a mom for almost five years I know you need water when you do outside activities. Why I chose not to take any is beyond me.

The next problem was Story can't make it to the park on her tricycle. She barely made it to the mailbox the other day what made me think she could make it to the park? I ended up carrying her tricycle part of the way while she walked. She wanted me to carry her, but I told her there was no way I could carry her and her tricycle and push Cadence. She was a trooper. We eventually made it to the park!

The girls were pretty thirsty when we got there but were able to find enough energy to play. Cadence loved crawling through the tubes.

Lyric had fun playing in the tubes with Cadence.

Cadence also enjoyed sitting at the top of the slide, but she didn't care too much for actually going down.

Story had fun just "hanging around".We didn't play long because we were all dying of thirst, so we decided to head home. We weren't even out of the parking lot when I decided it just wasn't going to work with Story on her bike. I asked it it would be okay if we left her bike in the bushes by the road and we would come back in the van and pick it up. Story agreed to that and so I put her on my shoulders and we headed home. Just a few minutes later Lyric decided she needed to leave her bike and walk. We put her bike in the bushes and continued on our journey. I really didn't know if we were going to make it! Our house is not that far from the park, but it seemed like it was miles and miles! We eventually made it home and all drank quite a bit. Lyric tried to convince me to let her stay home while I went to retrieve the bikes, but eventually she agreed to go!

Lessons learned from this little excursion: 1. Never leave home with out your water 2. When Zack Shields says it is going to be a picturesque day remember you live in Texas and it is still going to be HOT! 3. It is a lot easier to drive to the park than walk!

Happy Birthday Cadence!

Today is the big day, Baby Cadence is turning one! Can you believe it? I can't! In honor of her birthday I want to tell her birth story.

Last year on Sunday September 2 Story woke up at 5:00. I got up with her and fed her pancakes and started some laundry. I was having some pretty strong pains and knew it today would probably be Cadence's birthday. There were two things I didn't think about at the time: 1) It wasn't a Monday, so I couldn't have a baby; my babies are always born on a Monday. 2) It wasn't the middle of the night; I always labor during the night and have my babies in the wee hours of the morning.

Devon and Lyric woke up later in the morning and we all decided to go on a hike to try to get things moving with the labor. We went to a park near the house and hiked around. The pains were pretty strong and pretty consistent at this point. It was a Sunday, so Grammy and Bob were coming to visit. I had already called Grammy and told her she may want to bring her clothes and plan on staying to help with the new baby.

After our hike we made a few phone calls to let everyone know the baby was coming. Caba and KK decided to come from Midland, it was a long weekend for them, so they could be here for Cadence's birth. We called Christy, the midwife and she said she would be near her phone if we needed her.

I don't remember the exact time, but the labor pretty much stopped! Devon and I went on three different walks around the neighborhood to try to get things going, but nothing worked. It just stopped.

Grammy decided to stay the night even though we weren't having a baby. Bob went back home, but said to call him if anything happened. Caba and KK arrived from Midland, they wouldn't be visiting the new baby, but the girls were happy to see them.

That night about 10:30 or so I decided to take a bath and relax. Well, almost as soon as I got in the tub the contractions started and they were pretty strong! Devon and I had written notes on the bathroom mirror and in our bedroom for inspiration during the labor. I don't remember now exactly what the mirror said, but I think one of the words was perseverance and there were a few others. I can remember laying in that tub thinking, 'What have I done? I am about to have this baby at home, it is not going to be very pleasant and there is nothing I can do about it-- she's coming!' I wasn't scared. Story was born at home, too. I was just trying to prepare myself mentally for what was going to happen. I called Devon in the bathroom after the contractions were coming for a while and we decided to call Christy, the midwife.

I stayed in the tub while he called. She answered her phone and he could hear lots of talking and music. He asked if she was at a party. It turns out she was at a karaoke party, no she wasn't drinking. She knew she was probably going to be catching a baby tonight so she stayed away from the alcohol:-)

She said she would go ahead and head over. I stayed in the tub trying to relax. Devon sat on an ottoman next to the tub and tried to help. Christy eventually got there. I think it was around 11:30 or so. She came in and checked on me and then set up her stuff. We had contemplated waking my mom and calling Devon's parents, but decided not to. That was the best decision we have ever made! We had both of our moms at Lyric and Story's births no offence ladies, but we really enjoyed it by ourselves this time! I love them both to death, but Mimi J isn't the most patient person you have ever met and Grammy is quite the worrier!

After Christy was done setting up she came to check on me again. I told her the pains were still coming, but I was comfortable. She reminded me that comfortable is not always efficient, if I wanted the baby to come sooner I might want to get out. That is what I love about midwives. If I had said I wanted to sit in that tub all night long she would have gotten a blanket, went and got on my couch and said, "Wake me when you need me."

I decided to go ahead and get out. I sat in a chair in our bedroom, Christy sat on the floor and Devon laid across the bed and we just sat there and talked and every few minutes I would have a contraction.

Christy doesn't take patients who are due too close together because she doesn't want to have to miss a birth. She had a mom who wasn't due for two weeks who happened to call her and be in labor at the same time I was. She usually has a midwife come and help her, but she had to send that midwife to the other mama, so it was just the three of us. She asked if we wanted her to call another midwife, but we told her we were comfortable with just her if she was okay with it. If you ever have the opportunity to deliver a baby with your husband and your midwife and no one else I totally recommend it! Cadence's birth was by far my best birth of the three!

Around 1:30 I became too uncomfortable for the chair and needed to stand. I would lean on Devon and rock back and forth which really helped with the contractions. Christy would stand behind us and push on my back which was also very helpful! There were a few really funny things that happened during the birth. First, in the middle of labor I was standing in my bedroom and needed to throw up. I told Christy and she grabbed the closest thing to her which was one of those blue pads that they put on your bed in a hospital. I knew that wasn't the best thing to puke in, so I just looked at her like she was crazy and she grabbed a box that she was using for trash (that worked much better!) Another funny thing, was at one point Deovn had gone to the bathroom or something and I was having a contraction, so I hugged Christy and leaned on her. She is at least six inches shorter than I am, so I am sure I looked like this amazon woman using this poor woman for support--she held up like a trooper. Also, Christy went into the kitchen to get me some water and my mom happened to be up going to the bathroom. She saw Christy in the kitchen and was shocked. I think she even asked her what she was doing there, too funny!

Around 2:15 I moved to the bed to start pushing. Christy told me a few more pushes and my baby's head would be out, well to the shock of us all her head came out much quicker than we had anticipated. It was pretty crazy! But eventually at 2:22 she was born and by 2:55 she was latched on and nursing well.

I know homebirth sounds crazy to a lot of people, but it really is an awesome experience! Shortly after her birth my mom made me some scrambled eggs and a big glass of chocolate milk and I was able to relax at home in my bed with my new baby. That is the life!

Harmony Bear

Tonight I discovered a quiz you can take to learn what Care Bear you are most like. How fun! I am most like Harmony Bear. Harmony Bear helps others get along. This peace loving bear knows our differences are something to be celebrated, not something to keep us apart. When differences are brought together in harmony they create something beautiful. That's the meaning of her symbol a smiling flower with different colored petals.Her Caring Mission is to help others overcome differences and get along. Her smiling flower symbol shows the beauty and happiness that comes from getting along with those around us. Her Personality is open and friendly. Her Character Quirk is that she's got a beautiful singing voice that seems to magically help calm others when they're upset. Her Color is Lavender. Her Best Friend is Friend Bear. Her Relationship Challenge is with Champ Bear. He can be so competitive sometimes. Motto is Good times get better when we get along together.

Just Another Day...

We had a pretty typical day around here today. It was Tuesday, so we went to the library. We didn't make the bilingual story time, 10:30 was just too early for us this morning.

This evening Daddy cooked us burgers. Lyric ended up playing in the water and then she decided to relax a little. She started out soaking her feet in this cart, but it was leaking, so she moved on to a bucket. Diva in the making? Later in the evening, Lyric came running into the room saying Story needed help. I rushed with her to the playroom and found Story stuck in Cadence's hamper. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life! I told her I would help her, but I had to get the camera first. Lyric got really mad and told me to help her, but I couldn't resist, I had to get the camera!

I have no idea how she got in the hamper. It is really small! It is shaped like a duck and is only as tall as her belly.

Daddy came to the rescue because Mommy was too busy taking pictures.

After she was rescued, she told us she was taking a shower. Houdini in the making?

2 1/2 Year Old Big Talker

The girls were playing rough tonight while Devon and I finished supper.  Story comes walking into the kitchen, "Lyric hurt me!"

I said, "Sweetie, you guys are playing too rough."

She said, "I'm going to go tell her how I feel."

We heard her walk down the hall and say to Lyric, "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't hit me anymore."

She is so BIG! It is so easy to forget she's only 2 years old.

My Baby is Going to be One!

Miss Cadence Arabella is having a birthday on Wednesday, so that has got me thinking about the pregnancy and her birth. Why does it all go by so fast? It seems like the nine months of the pregnancy takes forever and once they are here time just flies! I thought I would share how we found out we were pregnant. So, here it goes... January of 2007 my gym was having a skinny jeans contest. You could take a pair of your "skinny" jeans and hang them on the wall as an incentive to workout and be able to fit in them. I didn't have any skinny jeans that I liked, so Ashlee, the girls and I all went shopping for new jeans. I found a pair I liked that I could almost fit into, so I bought them and was planning to hang them on the wall of the gym the next day. That night I just didn't feel "right" I told Devon that I think I might be pregnant. He said he didn't think I was, but would get a test if I wanted. Devon went out and bought a pregnancy test just in case (he knew it was going to be negative). I took the test and it was positive. Well, of course we had to do another test. We couldn't trust just one! (Always buy the double pack!) We headed back out to the store for a second test and it was also positive. We were so excited. We had talked about not having any more kiddos after Lyric and Story, but I just didn't feel like we were "done". I always wanted at least one more! It was a very exciting time, and yes I returned the "skinny" jeans!