August update

At the beginning of the month, a small group of my friends (who also have multiples) got together to sell each other our kid's outgrown clothes, shoes, toys, ect...... I was able to purchase most of the kids fall/winter wardrobe there along with some "new" toys. The first picture is of C proudly showing off his "new" toys. As soon as he got the costume on, he ran around the house screaming, "I'm SPIDERMAN!" while showing us his new, big, strong muscles. He was hysterical. Now the girls put it on and say, "I'm Spidergirl".

Toward the end of this month, we went back to my hometown for a family get-together at my Gran's old house. Gran is 87 yrs. old and just as feisty as they come and she loves getting together with family. The second picture is of her with her ELEVEN great-grandchildren. The 3rd picture is of her with 8 of her ELEVEN grandchildren and the great-grandchildren. The last picture is of her with her FIVE children, now 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Of the 2 grandchildren missing, one was in Tennessee and the other was in Africa. Once the festivities were over, Z looked at me and said, "Momma, we got a lot of cousins!". Boy is she right!!

After the family get-together, we went to the beach for a very short vacation. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera down with me to the beach and pool so no pictures to share. The kids had a blast though and no one ended up in the ER this time. Z and C can swim a little with their heads under water and M loves the ocean. They all attempted to build sand castles but mostly destroyed mine. They all love to eat fish and shrimp at the "restaurant". (that is their name for any place that we go and eat and sit down...........as opposed to the drive-thru windows at fast food places)

Daddy is extremely busy with work and we are trying to make some repairs to the house. I just finished selling the rest of the kid's old clothes, toys, cribs, and junk at our annual multiples fall garage sale. This year's sale was gigantic. I have never seen so many clothes in all my life and most were priced $1.00 and $2.00. Needless to say, I finished clothing the kids for the fall/winter and picked up some "gifts from Santa".

The kids start back to MDO (mother's day out) next week and will attend 3 days a week this year. I am very excited about this b/c my 'Prissy Pieces' business is taking off and I need all the extra (kid free) time I can get to catch up on orders. I am currently working on a new prissy pieces website. It has taken forever to switch hosts sites. I hope to have it up and running in about a month. I know that sounds like forever, but I am getting someone to create me a new site and I have a lot of pictures to upload.

That's our monthly summary in a nut shell!!

Van Gogh???

The kids have been begging my to "do some fun games" so tonight after dinner, I decided to let them paint. What started out as harmless painting on a piece of construction paper (with newspaper underneath) turned into full body painting. At first I scolded them for painting on their hands, then I thought, "What the heck?" and let them go for it. As you can tell, they had a blast. They even painted each others "missed" spots.

The first picture is Z. The second picture is M and the 3rd picture is C imitating me saying, "oh my goodness!". The 4th picture is the finished product and the last picture is remnants of the fun that we had.

Could there be a Van Gogh in the group?? Only time will tell!!!

Dog Days of Summer

As most of you probably have been, we are finding ways to beat the heat this summer. The kids 2 new favorite places are the library and the pool. The first picture is of M putting her arm around C while he watched a movie about diggers that he chose from the library. She put her arm around him and said, "It's your favorite movie Clay. Good job!". Z decided that she wanted her picture taken too, so she went over for a pose as well.

At the library, I allow them to each pick out a movie and then I pick out a family movie. It is fun to see what movies they are interested in each week. It could be princess. It could be Bob the Builder and one week their favorite movie was "Puff the Magic Dragon". The next exciting (and stressful) part for me is the hunt for the perfect book. They haven't quite learned that you don't pull out every book just to look at the cover to decide if you like it or not. At our very first trip to the library, Z found a book this way entitled, "Z's Hats". She was so excited that her name was on the book and that she found it. C loves any books about cars, diggers, firetrucks, or machines. M loves books about Barbie, princesses, and anything that has a pink cover. She will say, "Oooh! It's so pwetty. I want dis one". After they have chosen their books, they get to play on the computer or with the 50+ puzzles that are out on the tables. They also have some birds, fish, and other animals around the room that they can look at. The library has definitely been our favorite indoor weekly activity.

I don't have pictures, but we went to Pump It Up one day with 2 sets of quadruplets. My kids had so much fun. For those of you reading this who don't know what Pump It Up is, it is a room full of large, inflatable slides, mazes, and bounce houses. The kids 1st went when they were really little. M and C had just learned to walk and Z was still crawling. This was there first time to go back since then and it was awesome. It gave me a workout as well. Z had trouble climbing to the top of some of the slides so I had to help her. As you can guess, I also had to go down the slide with her too. I'm sure that was a real pretty sight to see.

The kids other favorite summer activity has been swimming. They are all swimming so well with swim floaties on. The next set of pictures are of M, C, and Z getting ready for the pool. (Don't you love M's boots?) She is big into dress up now and those are her favorite accessory. The last 2 pictures are of them in the pool. Z and C are floating on their backs and M was just swimming around. They still don't like to go completely under water yet but they will jump off of the side and swim the length of the pool. Today we had to cut our swimming short b/c it was 101 degrees. The pool water felt like bath water.

Other than going to the library, Pump It Up, the pool, and the occasional playdate at someones house, we have been hanging out at home. I am trying to get ready for my big multiples garage sale at the end of this month and we are trying to sell our house to move to a better neighborhood with a good school system. I am also continuing my "Prissy Pieces" business; however, my website is currently down for those of you who check it often. I hope to have it back up and running by Sept. and I will have lots of new items on there.

The kids are all over 40 inches tall now and weigh between 34 and 37 lbs. As you can tell from the pictures above, they are very tall. The girls hair is extremely long. Since the pictures at the very top, I have cut 3 inches off of M's hair and about 2" off of Z's hair. Some of their favorite or cute sayings these days are:

C: "I need to tell you a question." "Rest with me mommy" "My po is sticky"

M: "I like your pwetty ______!" "I am wearing a handsome suit" "

Z: She is so smart. She repeats a lot of what we say. She is also testing the waters with being sassy and demanding. She also thinks it is cute to call me "Kim" every now and then.

My latest sewing projects

I am a little burned out on making hair bows right now so I thought I would do some more sewing. I monogrammed the kids some beach towels and I made a crayon holder/bag. The kids can put crayons on the outside and a coloring book on the inside of the bag. I am also making the kids some clothes for fall too!

Just thought I would share and the next post will have pictures and of course, stories of the kids.

My Birthday weekend

My 32nd birthday was on Friday and daddy and the kids baked me a poundcake! The kids insisted that I put candles on it and kept asking where the icing was. They said it was not a real cake unless it had icing on it. They were very proud of their cake and of the fact that they can now sing the whole "happy birthday" song. They sang it to me about 50 times!! That was the greatest birthday gift ever.

For my birthday, we spent the weekend with my parents. We stopped by the outlet mall on the way down so I could pick out some new clothes for my birthday. I love outlet mall shopping but not with 3 three year olds. Once at my parents, PePaw and daddy took the kids to feed all of the animals and to ride around. I got to go and shop ALONE!!!!!! And I found my new favorite store. It is called 'Dirt Cheap'. It is the best bargain store ever. All different kinds of stores send their close-outs or out of season stuff there and Dirt Cheap marks it way down. The clothes are $3, $5, or $7 and you just have to dig for what you are looking for. I got brand new bathing suits for the girls for $1.50 each. I got a new full sheet set for $12 and Melissa and Doug puzzles for $3 (They retail for $20-$25). I found seersucker pants for $3 and a 2 piece pj set for $3. I got the girls shirts made by Khols for $3. Like I said, it is a bargain hunters dream store. It isn't very clean and you have to be prepared to get down and dirty to dig for what you want.

After my shopping spree, we took the kids fishing. They had so much fun!! They caught five fish each. C caught one catfish and 4 brim and the girls both caught 5 brim each. They fished with a cane pole and crickets. PePaw baited the hook and daddy helped the kids one at a time throw the hook out. The fish were extremely hunger and started nibbling as soon as the hook went under. Daddy set the hook (with their 'help') and we made them pull the fish on the bank. I forget that kids 'sometimes' do exactly as you say and when I asked them to "hold your fish" for a picture, they really tried to hold the fish. Of course, they all got finned and wanted nothing to do with it after that. Once I realized what I was asking of them though, I rephrased my question and asked them to hold the line with the fish on it so I could take their picture. The pictures above so them all waiting patiently for PePaw and daddy to bait a hook. The following pictures are of C, M, and Z with one of their fish.

On Sat., we had dinner with one of my best friends from high school and her family. The kids love playing with her kids and after dinner they all got to swim together and then go and feed some very hungry baby catfish. They were amazed at how the catfish would jump at the top of the water to get the food.

On Sun., we took them to my parents church. I am still amazed that they sat quietly during the hour long service (there is no nursery or children's church). After church, we went to a new Chinese restaurant for lunch and then went to see my grandmother. The kids always bring a huge smile to her face. After that, the kids went with Pepaw and daddy to feed the animals again and I went shopping (at Wal-Mart) with my mom!!

It turned out to be a great birthday weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Sassy Mouths

Sassy (or ugly) mouths is what we say our kids have right now. They are starting to learn that different words and phrases bring different reactions from people; both good and bad. So they are trying out lots of words and phrases on us. Mostly bad.

Their favorite word right now (if it is a real word and I don't know how to spell it) is ah-ah (meaning no-no or no way). It drives me crazy and I think they know it. Their favorite phrase is, "I not do that" or "I NOT". Some of their cuter phrases are, "You forgot mommy" when I forget to do anything or at least when they think I have forgotten to do something. My most favorite phrase that they have all started to say is, "I love you so much mommy!!!!". It makes my heart melt every time and I forget all of the ugly words that have been said.

Along with the sassy phrases, they have also started to tell little white lies. For instance, tonight, Z went into the bathroom to put her toothbrush and water cup up (our bathroom is too tiny to brush all 3 kids in there) and when she came out, daddy asked her if she pee-peed while she was in there. She thought for a minute and said yes. Well, if she had to think about it, then she probably did not go. Daddy asked her again and said that she better tell the true and she said yes again. I told her that I would know if she was lying b/c I had just flushed the potty and if there was no toilet paper in the potty, then I knew she was lying. You could see her little brain working and she quickly ran to the bathroom. She immediately burst out in tears. I knew what had happened. She had hoped that she could run into the bathroom and put some toilet paper in the potty really quick and we would think that she had peed. But, what she didn't know was that I had moved their step stool and potty seat so it was very obvious that she hadn't pee-peed and she knew that she was caught. During our bedtime prayers, we talked a lot about sin and forgiveness and made everyone ask for forgiveness for their sassy (or ugly as they say) mouths.

I can only imagine what the next 3 years has in store for us.....................................

Poor Brother!!

As the only boy with 2 sisters, C does a lot of "girly" things. It drives daddy crazy to see him dress up but I remind him that it is helping to shape his imagination and help with his independent dressing skills. (And maybe he is getting his drag queen urges out of his system early!! ha-ha)

As you can tell from the pictures above, they had a blast dressing up today. It is hard to see in the picture, but C has on his favorite pair of dress up shoes. They are navy fleece with wooden clogs on the bottom. He LOVES the sound that they make when he runs through the kitchen. He could care less that they are girls shoes. He just knows that they are his favorite color and make a really cool sound. The girls have on tights and their favorite colors of princess shoes. It is also hard to tell but M is adjusting her princess crown.

I will have to stick up for C though and say that he loves to play with cars and trucks MUCH, much more than he does dressing up. He doesn't stay in dress-up clothes for very long and as soon as they hit the floor, he is dumping his favorite basket of cars on the floor and playing with them on his car rug (large rug with a race track and roads on it).

I can only hope that all of the 'girly' activities will help shape his character for the future. I pray that he will be caring, compassionate, and respectful to women....................especially to his mom and sisters!!!!!!

Potty Trauma!

Okay, so I am sure that most of you have seen the State Farm commercial of the curly headed father trying to get his triplets or quads to bed and they are running all over the house. One of the girls runs to the bathroom and drops his watch in the potty. The next scene is her saying "uh-oh" and the sound of the toilet flushing. Well, the kids saw that commercial yesterday morning and asked me why she said "uh-oh". I explained to them that she had flushed her daddy's watch down the potty and that was a HUGE NO-NO!!! I could see the wheels in their heads turning, so I further explained that we only flush pee-pee, poo-poo, and toilet paper in the potty and nothing else. They seemed to get it and our day went on. Well, last night at bedtime, I told the girls to go us the potty b/4 we put their jammies on. We could hear them giggling and I told them to stop playing and hurry up. They continued to giggle so I sent C in to tell them to hurry up. As soon as C walked into the bathroom, both girls began screaming and crying hysterically. I mean, it was the kind of cries that you would hear if someone got a finger cut off or something. We didn't know if one of them fell and hit their head or if C had bitten one of them. Z comes running out of the bathroom almost hyperventilating and says, "It's in the potty". By this time, Ben has run into the bathroom to see what has happened and begins to laugh uncontrollably. I ask Z what happened and she said the watch fell into the potty. (To back track a little, Mimi had given Z a sterling silver band bracelet and she was wearing it at the time). So, needless to say, they were playing in the bathroom and the "watch" fell in the potty and they started crying b/c they thought they were in serious trouble. Ben and I could not control our laughter. It took the girls about 15 minutes to calm down and stop crying. So, I guess some of my lectures really get through to them!!!!

Latest surgeries!

We took all 3 to the ENT 2 weeks ago for their yearly check-up since having tubes placed in their ears. We also knew that M had some wax blockage in her right ear that needed to be removed. Boy, was our visit a shocking one! M had a HUGE piece of wax blocking her right ear. It was a little bit smaller than a dime and very thick. After it was removed, she said, "AAHH! That's better!". We then learned that both of her tubes were completely clogged and her ears were filled with fluid. We knew that C had lost both of his tubes but were shocked to learn that he also had fluid in both ears. The best news of the day was that Z still had both tubes and no fluid, which meant no surgery. As for C and M, they had to have a 2nd set of tubes put in last week. They both did great with the surgery and had no complications. The 1st picture above is of C and M snuggling with each other on the couch after they got home from the hospital. The 2nd picture is of Z being sympathetic and a little jealous b/c they were getting more attention.

The picture above is of my latest sewing/hair bow project. I learned how to make monogrammed buttons and turn them into ponytail holders. I made these a pigtail holders for a little girls birthday.

Mother's Day and More!!

We decided to take the kids fishing at our local state park Mother's Day weekend. They were hysterical!! We used crickets for bait and Z was terrified of them and wouldn't let daddy put one on her hook. M (our animal lover) was the best fisherman of the bunch and loved the crickets. C just wanted to squish the crickets and then throw rocks in the water.

After many failed attempts at catching fish, we let the kids splash around in the water. That didn't last long b/c a young Hispanic girl rode her bike over to us and told us that there was a "LARGE animal" in the water and that they had been asked to get out of the water earlier. The picture above is of C on our way home. He is carrying his pants and wearing his 'tighty-whiteys' with pride!!

The picture below is of me and the kids Mother's Day morning b/4 we went to lunch and the picture below is of 4 generations of my hubby's family. (Notice C being sympathetic to Granny and laying down like she is!)

These are pictures of the kids at their Mother's Day Out spring program. The first picture is of them with their favorite teacher "Miss Beth". The 2nd picture is of them dressed as fireflies for the spring program. The last picture you can see Z (3rd from the right) shaking her booty to one of the songs that they were singing.

The kids graduated from their early intervention center this past Sunday. It was a bittersweet day. They have learned so much from their therapists and teachers and they will be missed dearly but it is time for them to move on and show the world what they have learned!!!!!!! The first picture is of M with her favorite helper, Mrs. Van, after the graduation ceremony. When M first put on her graduation gown at home, she said, "I'm Jesus!". The second picture is of the kids on their last day at the early intervention center having an ice cream party. Z is on the left and C and M are on the right towards the back of the picnic table.

Cutest things kids say-- Part 2

Yesterday at therapy, Z saw a little boy in the workout gym who only had on shoes, socks, and shorts. She immediately started yelling that he was naked. I quickly corrected her and told her that he had on shorts and was not naked. She thought for minute and then yelled out, "His shirt is naked!!".

Today, we were getting ready to go to mother's day out and an airplane flew overhead. M looked up and said, "It's daddy on da airpwane." Z said, "No, daddy is in Wexus silly." Daddy is gone for a week to Texas for computer training and we took him to the airport. That is why they still think he is in a plane.

Kids say the cutest things!

Now that we have 3 VERY talkative 3 1/2 yrs. old, we hear them say cute things all of the time. Some of our favorites:

From Z: "I hold you mommy" = hold me mommy

"Old McDonalds" = McDonalds
"I have chilly bumps" = chill bumps
"Uncle Bob's Sauce" = Country Bob's Sauce, her new favorite dipping sauce

From M: "I U"= I love you

"I have pever" = I have fever.
"Awry's" = Arby's
"ear tips" = Q-tips
"wailwoad twacks" = the impressions on her arm from elastic sleeves

From C: when asked any question, he responds, "Well.........????" or "Hmmm! Lets see"
"I feel yucky" = he doesn't feel well

"...but, but, but..." = usually says this when he disagrees with you
"Chick Pil A" = Chic-Fil-A

Prissy Pieces Hairbows & Accessories

I recently started a businness called "Prissy Pieces" and I make hairbows (infant, small, medium, & large), hairbow holders, ponytail holders, and headbands. The hairbows an be made with either an alligator (infant) clip or a metal barrette. The prices range from $2-$8 and all bows are treated to prevent fraying. Above are pictures of some of my hairbows and hairbow holders. The hairbow holders can be personalized or I can make it out of a single wooden letter.

I am currently working on a website: www.prissypieces.com and hope to have more pictures posted there.

This is my way of trying to contribute to the family and it is a stress reliver to me to make hairbows.

CRAZY! CRAZY!! CRAZY!!

Z & M in their "pretty dresses" and princess crowns.

Things have been wild and crazy here since I last posted. We decided to go to Orange Beach over Easter weekend. A friend of mine has a condo and we got the "friend's rate" so we couldn't turn it down. We asked MeMaw and PePaw to join us for a few days. The picture above is of them on the beach the first day we got there. That is the only time we wore a swimsuit the entire trip. It was FREEZING cold and it rained on Saturday and Sunday.

The bottom 3 pictures are of the kids on Easter morning in the condo. You can probably tell by looking at C that he doesn't feel well. He had a bad sinus infection and an asthma flare up while there. On Sunday night, (the night b/4 we came home), Z ran out of the bedroom with socks on (with no plastic grippies on the bottom) and slipped on the tile floor and hit her head. She knocked herself out and suffered a concussion. She threw up several times on Sunday night and all the way back the Children's ER on Monday. (She has had a concussion b/4 so we knew what to watch for.) After 4 hours in the ER, we learned that her shunts were fine, she did suffer a major concussion, and she was really dehydrated. After some fluids, LOTS of stickers, and a visit from Daddy, M, and C, she felt a lot better. We were finally back at home at 9:30 p.m.

Z got a new brace for her right foot and we have been on a mad hunt for 2 pair of matching lace up shoes. One in a 10 wide and one in a 9 narrow. As you can imagine, that is impossible!!!! Her brace is to help with the arch on that foot. Her right foot turns inward and she walks on the side of the foot. The brace will make a huge difference if we can ever find 2 shoes to fit!!!!

Daddy has been working on his final Master's project and has to finish it by early May. Once he does, he will be able to graduate this Spring!!! GO DADDY!!!!!!! Daddy was also involved in an auto accident today. He was driving his truck on campus and a girl was going to fast in a curve, lost control, and smashed into the drivers side. He wasn't hurt but I can't say that about his truck. We hope that the insurance will total it out b/c the repair costs would be more than what the truck is worth. When the kids saw it, they said, "Oh no! Daddy crashed! He needs sticky tape to fix it". (For those of you who have seen Dora the Explorer, you know what sticky tape is and according to Dora, it fixes everything.)

All of the kids are sick with sinus infections and C is still battling some wheezing so his doctor gave him a nebulizer, which should help get the medicine into his body better and faster. He has to wear a mask and the machine turns the medicine into smoke and blows it into his face. We told him that he was smoking and then realized that he would go and tell all of his friend and teachers that he smokes!!!!!

I will close with something very cute that Z said one night at dinner. After a very big and yummy meal, I pushed myself back from the table and said, "That was delicious. I feel fat and sassy now!" Z responded, "No mommy, you are just fat!!!".

Night time prayers

No pictures to post today. I just have a sweet story about our bedtime rituals. Every night after the kids put on their pjs, brush their teeth, and pick out their bed lovies, we sit on the floor in their room and say our prayers. We have always prayed "Now I lay me down to sleep" with them since they were born. About 8 months ago, daddy or I started saying a prayer after that to teach them how to pray for others and about our day. They learned a sweet prayer at Mother's Day Out and started singing it at bedtime too. About 2 months ago, we started asking if any of them would like to pray. Usually only one of them would volunteer and they would thank God for EVERY member of our immediate and extended family and that was it!!! About 3 weeks ago, they all started praying individually. Usually Z goes first and her prayer is pretty predictable. She thanks God for C, M, mommy and daddy. She always asks that C and M have a fun day with their speech therapist (who they see once a week) and that she has fun with her physical therapist (who she also sees once a week). She asks that everyone's yuckies go away (everyone stayed sick for about 2 months). She asks that they have a good night-night and then screams, "JESUS NAME AMEN!!". C goes next and repeats almost the exact same prayer and screams even louder, "JESUS AMEN!". M goes last and she tries to remember what they have said and usually repeats herself about 5 times and screams, "AMEN!". Well, last night, they all prayed for something completely different. It was SOOOOO awesome. M thanked God for each of her friends at therapy and for a good day at MDO. Z prayed for her teacher and for daddy to have a good day at work. C prayed for me to make lots of money selling hair bows and thanks God for all of his toys and food. It is so sweet to see them blossom and learn to love the Lord!! I look forward to night time prayers now!

Multiples at the zoo!

Since most Mother's Day Out and schools were having spring break this week, a bunch of my friends with multiples decided to meet at the zoo. I think seeing all of us walking together was more of an attraction to passerbyers than the animals. We got lots of "Your hands are full" and "God bless you".

In picture #1, (l-r) Brewer surviving quintuplets (2 boys and 2 girls), Mellon quads (1 boy & 3 girls in wagon), ZMC in the jogger stroller, and King triplets (1 boy & 2 girls). The ages range from 21 months to 3 1/2 yrs. old.

In picture #2, (l-r) C is wearing lime green shirt, Parker and Hudson D. (set of triplets), Z, Laney D., Aiden K. (set of triplets), M, and Taylor and Jenson K.

The smell of burnt plastic!

We have been waiting for C to do one of those "typical boy" stunts. Well, he did it last night while daddy was frying okra. The entire time he was cooking, we smelt burnt plastic and could not figure out where it was coming from. Once daddy removed the frying pan, we saw the source of the smell (picture 1). It was one of C's matchbox cars and it use to be silver!! Picture #3 is the car after we removed the eye. Notice the gooey wheels. Picture #4 is the final result after it cooled off. We still don't know when he put the car under the eye. I used the same spot to cook lunch and it wasn't there. Boy oh boy are we in for some fun with him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!