It is so hard to obey!

As you can imagine, we spend a lot of time talking to our kids about making good choices.  We talk about the fact that bad choices have consequences and how good it feels to make good choices;  how proud we are of them when they obey us and how happy it makes God when we obey Him.

The other morning, William and I were in my closet as I was picking out my suit for work ... and here is the conversation:

• William:  I try to obey but it is so hard Mommy.
• Me:  I  know William.  Mommy and Daddy have to obey God too and I know it is hard sometimes.  But you know what?
• William:  What?
• Me:  When you are having a hard time making good choices, if you just stop and talk to God and ask Him, He will help you obey.
• William (just looks at me--it is obvious he is thinking)
• Me:  The Bible tells us that all things are possible thru God
• William:  All things?
• Me:  Yes, we can do anything or be anything with God's help
• William:  (after a long pause)  Can I be a mermaid?
• Me:  No.  Mermaids are not real.  

How can a 4 year old think that quickly on his feet?  I have told this story a few times to different friends and everyone thinks it is so funny.  I, however, am amazed at his ability to test what I am telling him at such a young age.  I think we are going to be in trouble as he gets older!

William is all boy.  He is rough and rowdy and loud.  He loves to play rough and we often have to caution him not to hurt others.  He plays really well with older kids and that works nicely with his desire to play rough as the older kids can take it better than kids his own age.  He is warm and affectionate and loves to give kisses and hugs.  He is handsome (in that Abercrombie way) and has the most wonderful head of hair.  And he is smart.  Really, really smart.

Once again, God knew what he was doing!  William is that daily reminder to me that God is so good.  With all of the premie complications he had, for him to be so perfect and for all of his premie "stuff" to have healed without medication or medical intervention, he is somewhat of a little miracle!

Oh, and did I mention that he is in a phase right now where he detests having his picture taken?  So, the best picture I have of him recently is one of him and Addison.  So here you go!

Good Mommy

Addison is very into "girls night out."  The last two girls-night-outs that I went on were actually at our house with some good friends from church.  Since it was at our house, Addison got to stay with me while Al took the boys over to a friends house to hang-out.

So, my little girl has been asking for months when our next girls-night-out would be.  So we planned one for this past Friday night at my friend Alice's house.  Here was our conversation on the ride over:

A:  I might have 5 babies. Or 7 babies. Or maybe 10 babies.
Me:  I think you will make a great Mommy Addison
A:  I know
Me:  Really?  Why do you think you will make a great Mommy?
A:  Because I'm gonna give my babies whatever they want.
Me:  Is that what Daddy and I do?
A:  Kinda
Me:  Does Mommy and Daddy give you everything you want?
A:  Well, (long pause) Daddy doesn't, but Mommy does.
Me:  Silence and then laughter

Reality:  I do not always give her what she wants ... but I often do.  She does have me twisted around her little finger.  She is a sweet, lovely little girl who wants to please her Mom and Dad.  She is often bossy and says that she is in charge of "the brothers."

She thrives on one-on-one time ... especially with Mommy and loves to be with me whatever I am doing ... even if I am just taking off my make-up after a day in the office.  She is beautiful, both inside and out.  And we have spent a lot of time talking to her about how much more important it is to be beautiful on the inside than the outside. 

And she is a little shy.  So hard for me to understand as I don't think I have ever had that problem.  She takes a little while to warm up to people.  But when you have won her trust, she is warm and loving, funny and kind. 

I could not have asked God for a more perfect little girl and I think she will be a good Mommy one day!

Did he just say Peter Parker?

The kids are really into super hereos.  Jackson is a Spiderman guy ... William prefers Batman ... and Addison is SuperGirl.  For a while, we were letting them watch some episodes of Batman and Spiderman on NetFlix.  Until we decided that they really were not great content for 4 year olds ...

During the short time they were watching Spiderman and Batman, they learned their real names ... Peter Parker and Bruce Banner.  For a time, the boys would even pretend that they were Peter Parker and Bruce Banner. 

One Sunday in church, our preacher was telling a story about another member of our congregation ... Buddy Parker.  As soon as he said Buddy Parker's name, Addison's eyes got big and she leaned over and said, "Did he just say Peter Parker?" 

She must have asked me at least 10 times if Peter Parker was at church with us that day!  She was very disappointed to learn that it was Buddy Parker ... and Buddy Parker was pleased to hear he had been mistaken for Spiderman!

Birmingham Parent Magazine

Sometime last spring, I entered the kids in the Birmingham Parent Magazine cover kids contest.  I sent a picture in, filled out a form and promptly forgot about it.  In early August, we were contacted and told that we were in the top 5 finalist for the "multiples" category!  While that was exciting news ... what I wasn't too excited about was that the winners would be determined by an on-line vote.

At this point, I figured that since we were a finalist, we should at least show up to have our picture taken.  Little did I know that I would love the photographer ... Amanda Traywik.   We had done our job well ... meaning we had adequately bribed the kiddos!  They were promised two things if they behaved, obeyed us and the photographer, and looked at the camera and smiled ....

1.  their own fruit roll-up (these are 3 feet long and we usually make them share :) )
2.  a ride on the carousel at the mall

And, needless to say, it worked.  The photographer was amazed that we were in and out in under 10 minutes.  The kiddos did EVERYTHING that they were asked to do ... and they had BEAUTIFUL, natural smiles!  All-in-all, once I saw the final picture, I decided that win or not, it was all worth the picture! 

This picture is definitely in my list of top 3 favorite pics of them of all time!  And, as an added bonus, we were given a free 5X7 of the picture.  Now, we need to get in touch with Amanda and purchase some additional copies for family for Christmas.

Oh, and we were notified last week that we won our category!  So, sometime next year, we will do another photo shoot (that will again be discussed with the kids weeks ahead of time and will have special bribes rewards for good behavior).  With any luck, we will end up with another great photo of the kiddos ... and it will be on the cover of the Birmingham Parent Magazine!

Thanks to all who voted for us!

Quenta

PS ... don't you think this is an EXCELLENT picture of the kids?

Chocolate Cake

This past weekend, I had a craving for chocolate cake.  When I was a kid, I was in 4-H and one of the activities that I participated in was baking.  I used to bake --from scratch-- a lot when I was younger ... well, honestly, right up until the time we had kids ... OK, maybe not a lot but some!  Since then, the only thing I've baked came from a box (not that the amazing , triple-chunk brownies Al  makes are bad :) )

So, I decided that I would make a chocolate cake this past weekend ... from scratch.  I remembered that when I was baking as a kid, my favorite chocolate cake was a chocolate mayonaise cake.  So, with the help of google, I found a receipe and made my cake.

It was good!  Not as good as the chocolate cake at my friend Laura's wedding ... but good nonetheless.  The icing was GREAT!  I made a chocolate, butter-cream icing from scratch as well.  Next time I'll double the receipe for that!  Now, needless to say the cake was enjoyed by all ... and was a treat for the kiddos.

One night, after dinner, we gave each of the kids a small slice.  Addison and William quickly ate theirs.  Jackson, as usual, took his time.  All of a sudden, he spit out something dark and hard.  Definitely not cake.  Al and I looked at him and looked at it ... and he said, "I got Chocolate on my Bubble Gum."

He had been eating the cake without taking the gum out of his mouth!  Did I mention the kids are really into gum right now?

Quenta

The end of an era

Well, we have reached that age ... the age where you can't really sneak anything by them.  It is the end of an era ... a good era.  But, I'm sure the beginning of a new one that is just as good!

The other night we were at the kitchen table after dinner.  Jackson had been having some ear problems (swimmers ear) and we had to put drops in his ear each morning and night.  I had just finished putting the drops in his ear when Addison walked up.

Addison:  Mommy, I want to watch you put drops in Jackson's ear.
Me:  OK sweetie (and I proceeded to pretend to put the drops in his ear)
Addison:  Mommy, why did you pretend it?
Me:  Uh ...
Daddy:  laughs hysterically

So, guess I won't be pretending it anymore!

Quenta

Hide and Seek

The kids love to play hide and seek.  The boys really just like to hide but then tell you where they are.  Usually they will hide somewhere (like under their bed) and the minute you walk in the room, they jump out and say "surprise!"  Addison is actually quite good at the game.  She can stay hidden for a long time and never make a peep.  But she never wants to hide alone ... she wants to hide with Mommy.

Tonight, we had a large box in our foyer.  The kids wanted to play hide and seek ... all three stated that they wanted to hide in the shower upstairs and wanted Mommy to come find them.  On their way upstairs, they noticed the box and decided to hide in it.

Meanwhile, I'm in the living room counting to ten.  Jackson starts yelling that they are not ready.  I can hear the three of them talking and I can tell that they are in the box together.  They are just trying to figure out how to get the box closed.  Soon, Addison calls out to me.  "Mommy, can you come close the box?"

I said back to her:  "Addison, if Mommy closes the box for you, I will know where you are hiding."

Long pause ... you can tell they are processing this information.

And then Addison says to her brothers, "Guys, I think we should hide somewhere else."

And they all get out of the box and head upstairs!

Too cute!

How was your day?

Every day, when I come home from work, I always ask the kids what they did that day. I go into it knowing what they did because I've received the update from Daddy when I called home during my lunch break or to let him know I was headed home. Even though I know what they did, I always like to hear the kids' take on it.

Up until recently, when I would ask the kids about their day, I would get the response from all three of "nothing." It didn't matter what they really did that day ... went to the grocery store, the McWane center, the YMCA, swimming, the zoo, etc. It didn't even matter how exciting their day was ... because sometimes I already knew that they got to pet a shark or a chinchilla or a sting-ray or a snake. I still got the "nothing" response.

I've grown to beleive in Al's theory: that each time the kids go to sleep and wake up, they think it is a different day. They really have a hard concept with time ... they get today, yesterday, tonight, this morning and tomorrow all mixed up. The other night we were driving back from Sam's club and we told the kids that they could have some icecream that night. They all started crying and saying they wanted some today. Al and I both kept telling them that tonight was today ... but they didn't get it. Suddenly, I said that tonight meant now. They all stopped whining and crying and William said "Oh, OK!"

Our kids still take a late afternoon nap. Typically they go down around 2pm and sleep until 4 or 5pm. So, I think that when I get home and asked them what they did today ... they think only of the time since they took their naps! And that is why I get a big fat NOTHING!!!

But lately, things are changing. When I ask how their day was, I actually get information about their day. The problem now is that they talk over each other and they all want to tell me the same things ... and they get really mad at each other if someone else tells what they want to tell.

And that is exactly what happened this evening! Today, Daddy took them to the science center (McWane) and swimming at Grandm Jack's pool. When I asked them how their day was, they all started talking about their time at the pool ... William told me about another kid who had a boo-boo ... Addison told me about someone who was nice to me ... and Jackson told me about what they found in the pool.  But when they get really excited to tell me something, sometimes they have a hard time spitting it out ... Jackson couldn't quite get his words right so William jumped right in to finish his story for him.  Needless to say, Jackson was NOT very happy about that!

After Jackson calmed down and realized that William hadn't really spoiled his story, Jackson finally told me what he wanted to say.  He said, "I found a gun and a ball in the dream."  Of course, he meant to say drain!!  Everytime he said dream, Al or I corrected him to drain ... but for some reason, he just could not say drain!  So we tried to get him to say words that rhymed with drain ... train, plain, brains (which sprarked a few "brains" in our best zombie voices).  And he could say all of those words with no problem.  After at least 15 attempts to say drain ... but intead saying dream.  Al and I were laughing so hard ... and Jackson finally got it right!

I love this age.  The kids are so funny ... so sweet and loving and innocent.  No wonder the Bible tells us that unless we change and become like little children we will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 18:3).  We are supposed to be teaching our children about God ... but I think I am learning more about God from them.
So many other funny stories to share ... when I have more time!
Quenta

The Moon

The kids received a moon night-light for Christmas this past year from my parents ... Mimi and Granddaddy. They love their moon and the triplet of the day gets to turn it on each night. The moon can be set to mimic the different phases of the moon but our kids just turn it on "full" each night.

The moon has a built-in timer and usually turns itself off after 30 minutes or so. Of course, this isn't nearly long enough to allow our trio to fall asleep. Typically, we are light-out at 9pm ... and typically we hear the last of our kiddos well after 10pm. It is really cute ... most nights! They all share a room ... the boys have a queen bed and Addison has a twin bed. William is always the first to go to sleep and Addison is always the last. Most nights, you will hear Addison shouting "wake up William! Wake up!" That part isn't so cute :)

Many nights, after we turn out the light and close the door, we have to make 2-3 return trips to their room. The first trip is usually prompted by Jackson calling out from the top of the stairs. He is usually crying about some injustice that William has done to him. "William hit me" or "William kicked me" etc. etc. etc. One great thing about Jackson ... he is almost always honest! He will tell you exactly what William did to him ... and what he did to William! We have found that these late night wresting matches leave neither part unharmed ... or innocent!

The other night during one such return trip, I noticed that the moon was barely glowing. Of course, the kids were quick to point it out to me too. Here is how the conversation went:

William: The moon needs new batteries.

Me: Well, we'll let Daddy do that tomorrow.

William: It is really easy. You just pull it off the wall and put new batteries in it.

Me: I understand William, but I think we'll let Daddy do that tomorrow.

William: Are you too tired to put new batteries in the moon?

Me: (very surprised) Yes, William, Mommy's too tired!

It still amazes me how perceptive they are now. You really can't get much by them! One day we were all laying on the boy's bed and Al and I were talking about where we wanted to go that afternoon. Al spelled Sam's Club ... and William piped up "I want to go to Sam's Club." For one horrible moment, I thought that William was actually learning to spell and I am not ready for that! We convinced ourselves it was just coincidence!

They are growing up so quickly! And yes, I'm stealing a photo from my husband's blog ... but then again, I did take the picture!

Quenta

Conversations Overheard

It is funny to hear the kids in conversation ... this morning, here is what Al overheard while Jackson and Addison were playing with the trains:

Addison whining: "I want a train."

Jackson: "If you stop whining, I'll share one with you."

It's great when your kids start "training" each other!

Q