Simple is always fun

Simplest days can prove to be the most fun.

It seems as though Dan will actually get to keep his 2 days off tonight and tomorrow-- something new amidst all of his overtime. So, we're excited! Hopefully we can just relax with Daddy-o. 

Grampa and Nene came up yesterday to take Maddie (and of course us as well!) to Smokey Bones. She has been wanting to go there for the longest time, and had asked if Grampa could take her there back in May after her dance recital. She and Faith were so excited of course. It was a nice lunch, and then we took them over to see the house afterwards. They left earlier than I had expected, and since I had told Maddie and Faith that their Nene and Grampa would go to the playground and duck pond with them in the afternoon, they were quite bummed when they learned they couldn't stay long.

But, we went regardless and they had an awesome time. Abrie was nap-less yesterday minus her 1st nap of the day, and yet she was extremely pleasant! Little Breeze. She LOVES the umbrella stroller, so we walked around the duck pond and then they went to play at the playground. Maddie and Faith love swinging next to their Abrie, and have now learned it's even more fun to push her in the swing!

We got back to the apartment, and Dan wanted to go to Giant so he took the Breeze. He said she was awesome the entire time he was there, and that the cashiers were in love with her. He was quite proud! While they went to Giant, I took my big girls to the pool. Maddie has been wanting to try out her water wings, and I usually can't do this when Abrie is with us because she typically doesn't nap at the pool anymore (you know, since she's a 'big kid' and all with the 2 naps.. it's crazy how quickly my baby seems to be growing up). Anyway, Maddie did wonderfully with the water wings! She was hesitant because she felt as though she was going to go underwater, but wouldn't you know her Beebster stepped up and decided to be the first to try them out and prove that it would only get her closer to the water, rather than take her under the water. Once Maddie saw Faith do it, she was all about them. She spent the entire afternoon swimming back and forth, and she kept saying "wow! My muscles are growing.. this is hard work!" It was funny! It's crazy how proud I always am of these girls at the things they accomplish; I nearly felt like crying. She wasn't swimming by herself, but she was taking that next step towards swimming independently and she was doing wonderfully. 

I took all three again to the pool this afternoon. I figure I might as well take advantage of swimming since there's not much time left before the pool closes. We were the only crazies there! Considering the high for today was only 69 degrees, I suppose we were a little crazy-- but hey, these girls love their water!

****** 

I've been keeping up with my walking every night. I've been going every night-- every other night I try and go with just Abrie at a faster pace, and every other night my two other "sprinters" and Dan join me (at a slower pace!). I love, love, love the time spent with Abrie. She loves that darn umbrella stroller, and she and I get to talk; well, moreso, she gets to listen while I go on and on talking to her! But, she's a great little listener. She's always been my buddy, and it's always fun to spend time with each of my girls by themselves. There's always a point in the walk when I scoop the Breeze up out of the stroller and carry her while she clings to me like a little koala bear. It's adorable. She likes to do the 'big kid' side-arm carry because she loves to observe, but I think since she's still a little young so she clings to my shirt for an extra sense of security that I love. 

Random-ness

Lake day!

Dan is crazy and will sometimes schedule trips out to the lake on the days that he has worked the night before. We went with Grammy and PaPa this time, and the girlies had been asking and asking when they were going to go with them again. We had scheduled a time two weeks ago, and when it didn't work out at the last second, Maddie and Faith were both crying. So, they were quite excited about today.

They both helped make their own fruit pizzas yesterday on smaller 12" pizza pans. They loved it. Faith is getting more and more interested in helping bake like her big sissy. So, they had fun especially since they each got to spread their own icing and decorate with their own fruits. We added pineapple- peach jelly this time to the icing (leftover from Kitchen Kettle Village) this time, and it tasted really good. We ate almost all of Maddie's fruit pizza yesterday for dessert, and Faith was proud to take hers to the lake today.

Darn flies and bees though-- they flocked to Beebster's fruit pizza and pretty much ruined it. Nobody wanted to eat it! Grammy brought Subway, and we were all happy. She also brought them these little bathtub fish that made their day (I swear these girls get giddy over the most trivial little gifts and it's great!) and they kept pretending their fish were sleeping on the beach.

My Abrie girl is getting to be a 'big kid' (ha!) and, of course, doesn't want to sleep just anywhere anymore. She's a 4 month old-- there's too much to see and do in this world! The lake is a very stimulating environment, and she just loved it until it got to be too much. Luckily, the dressing stalls are very nice and I always go and nurse her there and she falls asleep for me. She has so much entertainment though in just watching and observing those cool big sisters of hers; it's great. I always pack her toys, but she gets the best kicks out of watching big sisters entertain themselves with swaying tree branches and on the playground, and she just loves when you walk her around on the grass. The girl stands so well! She also was intent on watching this one goose that kept coming for our food. 

All in all, it was a great day. We love the lake. It's free and it's fun. It's getting ridiculous thinking that next week is September already, and I think we're both intent on having as much fun through the last days of summer.

*******

I'm always doing things with these little ladies. I'm on the go non-stop. I'm always taking them out walking. I've decided that every other night (the nights that only Abrie gets a bath for her hair wash.. the other nights all three are in the tub) I'll go out walking after dinner. The other night all 5 of us went, and tonight I took my three girlies while Dan stayed back to pack. I was going to only take Abrie, but Maddie and Faith came and said they wanted to come as well. It cracked me up because I told them they could come, but that this would be a walk without poking around and they'd have to run to keep up, and maybe even sprint. Hahaha. Beebster flew as fast as she could to Abrie's room and got her loafers and then a pair of socks and came back to me nodding her head emphatically "Esss! Momma! I go!". And, Maddie got her lace-up sneakers "so that I can keep up with you, Momma!" Hahaha. 

I took Abrie in the umbrella stroller for the first time, and she absolutely loved it. I remember taking Faith at 4 months too in the umbrella stroller, and that she also loved it. Abrie seemed to really enjoy facing out and watching Maddie and Faith run ahead of her. Of course, the poor baby got showered with flowers that they would pick for her. 

Say it isn't so!

Took the little girlies to Abrie's 4-month appointment today, and it was as though a worry of mine was voiced for the first time by someone other than the voice in my own head. 

A sweet nurse called us back, and once we were in the room she told me "Oh my gosh, seeing you is bringing back so many memories" and she went on to tell me that she also had three little girls. She was as sweet as could be and we started talking about their age differences between Maddie and Faith, and Faith and Abrie and her girls and mine are pretty much the same in age differences (now her youngest though is 10 years old-- I CAN not imagine and refuse to imagine Abrielle at 10 years old!). She laughed at Faith and Maddie in their own little world-- sitting there with their purses spilling out My Little Ponies in every direction, and giggling hysterically at something Faith was doing. She told me her two oldest were inseparable just like my C. and my big B. And, she told me Abrie reminded her so much of her third darling girl.

She asked me, "I don't know about you, but if it hadn't been for me being 35 when I had my third girl, I would have gone ahead and had another. I always felt as though my two oldest had each other and were buddy, buddy and my third didn't have that." It literally was somebody taking the thoughts that I've had right out of my head. When we found out in January that we would be having another little girl, I was overjoyed and yet worried at the same time. I know I worry about such trivial things, but yet it's still a worry. I want my three to be each other's best friend with neither one of them ever being excluded from any secret, fun time, embarrassment, etc etc. 

I know though that it's just a fear of mine that is not even worth the worry. I could tell even from the time Abrie was in my stomach and when Maddie and Faith first came to see their baby sister that this is how things have always been meant to be. They are in love with her. They think she is adorable. They think she is hysterical. They think she is caring and sweet. They think the world of their Bay Breeze/Beeba Show. 

It's funny because when we found out we would be having another lovely little lady, I also immediately thought of my two sisters. Tia Rosa completed the three of us, just as Abrie has completed these three precious girls. 

And, I know that in time, Abrie will be right there in the thick of it laughing and giggling with her two big sisters also. The THREE best friends.

New carpet...

.... can make all the difference.

We joke that we've "Flipped" our house in one day. The new carpet that was installed today has literally given the house a whole new look. It's unreal. I wish I would have taken pictures (besides on just my cell phone) of the horrendously ugly green carpet that used to cover the entire house. Well, and the squares of carpet (if you can call it that) in the family room that somebody glued to the floor. Dan ripped each of the squares of carpet yesterday by himself and our shoes were all getting stuck to the lovely remnants of glue. 

We were glad to see all of that ugliness go. The five of us were all in heaven sniffing that new carpet scent. There's still a lot of work to be done, but we have plenty of time to do it over the next few years. We didn't want to go horribly over budget, and so we didn't carpet our bedroom which is covered in tile. That's right-- TILE. Who puts tile in a bedroom? We're going to invest in a huge area rug though for the meantime. And, we opted not to put carpet in the girlie's bedrooms and also get them rugs for their hardwood floors. 

We're trying to think of what color to paint Maddie and Faith's room (Abrie's room is actually cute once we rip down that Pooh border on the top-- for some odd reason, I absolutely can not stand Pooh!) and then what to do in the family room with their lovely outdated wallpaper that is ripping in every direction.

It's a work in progress. But, progress is being made!

Fairies, and more fairies

Big girls are fairy-crazy these days.

Actually, they are quite well-rounded in what they play with, and love pretty much everything. They are constantly playing with their ponies, pets, and Disney figurines and watching Strawberry Shortcake (checked out the soundtrack today from the library), Special Agent Oso, and of course their Disney movies. 

But, they are on a fairy kick which has trickled over in their love for the Disney Fairies line of chapter books. They love the American Girls chapter books- especially Maddie- but have read almost all of them now. So, we found the Disney Fairies chapter books the other day at the library and they are in love. These have over 100 pages, so my mouth is dry by the day's end. Maddie read through 8 chapters straight this afternoon while Faith stacked the books and Abrie napped. Maddie loved  this one in particular about 'Dulcie' a "kitchen-talent fairy" with whom she identifies! It's cute. And, Faith is in love with 'Beck' an "animal-talent fairy." In fact, the Beebster picked a Beck chapter book at Border's the other day and she just loves it. She wants a 'Beck' figure now!

Dan and I are quickly learning all the fairies and their names! We might have to go and meet the fairies when we're able to get to Disney again in the future.

*****

The C. and the big B. had a hilarious argument tonight. I love listening in on their conversations and their disagreements; they're so funny.

They begged to play for "5 more minutes, plllllllease!" after story time tonight, and so I told them they could and then had to hop into bed. They were playing with their ponies, and I could hear Faith saying "Momma, help me!" and I knew she wanted me to put the pony's hair back on (these new ponies have removable wigs which are slightly strange looking!), and Maddie often times gets upset that Faith doesn't come to her first. I could hear Maddie saying, "Faith! Let me help you. I can help you." And, Faith: "Nooooo! Momma help me!" Maddie goes: "FINE! I am never playing with you again. EVER!" and was quite emphatic about it. And, then I quickly heard Faith start crying, followed immediately by Maddie.

I went in and saw them both crouched down on the floor and crying. Faith was upset because Maddie had hurt her feelings by saying she would never play with her again, and Maddie was upset that she had hurt Faith's feelings (she is extremely apologetic and sensitive about that kind of stuff and always repents right away!). I put them both to bed, and had to try hard not to laugh because it was too cute.

Dutch Wonderland

We spent Dan's only day off- out of what is supposed to be a 4-day break- at Dutch Wonderland yesterday.

We chose a God awful day for humidity and heat. But, Dan's friend from work and his wife and their sweet little boy, Maxwell, had asked us a few weeks ago if we wanted to go with them. And, so the guys had planned it for yesterday. Dan had just gotten back at 8am after a night of work, but off we went-- with a 3-soon-to-be-4 month old baby girl who hates even the shortest of car rides these days, a sleep deprived Dan, and two extremely excited little 'big' girls!

The heat was enough to make Dan and I want to leave after only about 5 minutes. But, we did have a good time and Madison and Faith of course love any and all amusement parks. These girls live for carousel rides, jump at the chance to meet any and all characters (whether they know who they are or not!), and can't ever wait to splash in the water sections. They loved it all. Until we got to Duke's Lagoon, their hair was soaked in sweat, but none of it seemed to bother them! The nursing rooms were very nice and private, and it came in handy with my little Breezer while the big girls got a snack with Dan. Beeba even rode her first train ride while napping. The scorching sun made us both nervous for Abrie, but we kept her in the shade and she actually did really, really well.

Weather-talent fairies

Had the girls all ready this afternoon to go swimming. Dan had to stay late today at work, and so he was sleeping until dinnertime, and I was excited to get up to the pool after Abrie's nap.

It takes me forever to get ready, and I was so annoyed when we got there and unloaded from the car only to hop back in since there was a thunder cloud overhead. Very, very annoyed. Maddie made me laugh when she said "those darn weather-talent fairies! They ruined the weather!" At the very least, I drove and didn't walk so we went back to the steps outside the apartment and I let Maddie and Faith have a snack while we thought about what to do next. I figured it was a stray thunder cloud and since we were already in our swimsuits, I thought we could try the duck pond park where they like to play in the sand and then rinse off in an outside faucet.

They had a blast. It didn't storm after all (well, at least not here), and Abrie went swinging for the very first time. I was so mad I didn't have my camera because she looked so darn precious in the bucket swing. The littlest lady LOVED it. She kept smiling and talking the entire time, and spent a good 20 minutes in there. It was too cute with all three of my little girls all lined up in a row and swinging! Maddie and Faith love that Abrie is old enough now to do more things with them. I've been putting her in the tub with them on their days for a bath, and they love washing her and hearing her stories.

So, we spent a nice afternoon together after all. 

Mr. AND Mrs. Heckles

I am so ready to get the hell out of this apartment!

The crabby couple below us (that are grandparents themselves nonetheless) have turned into Mr. Heckles (from an early episode of 'Friends'- Season 1) AND Mrs. Heckles. Oh yeah, I got double the treat. 

These lovely people hit our ceiling with what sounds like a broom when my little girls (well, not Abrie considering she is immobile still) run across the floor from the living room to their bedroom. God forbid they ever have fun and jump either, because this elicits the loudest bangs from their brooms-or whatever it is that they are using to bang their ceilings. 

It cracks me up actually. I love people, but this is ridiculous. They have their own grandchildren for crying out loud, so they should understand small children and the glory that is childhood and having fun. Ironically, they don't seem to grasp this whatsoever. They have even complained about us specifically to the management for our colorful sidewalk chalk drawings. 

I have told Maddie and Faith: don't ever stop having fun. Don't stop running and jumping (unless of course it really is too over the top and our entertainment center starts to shake, which obviously it's not like I let them do whatever they please). Don't stop having fun. For crying out loud, my girls are all asleep by 7:00pm and don't go out into the living room until 7:30am the following morning. It's not like we're blasting music and throwing parties until 2am. 

Dan made me laugh today while we were getting them all ready for bed. He said on the last day(s) that we are here, we should jump as hard as we possibly can to let them know we're out of here. 

And, we won't be missing them!

New best friend

Interlibrary loan is my new best friend.

Oh man, I love it. I've been requesting books through the peace and quiet of our home computer now for about a month. I didn't realize it was that easy to request books we can't find for my avid bookworms. They are always so disappointed if they can't find a book that they desperately wanted, and so I thought I would try this. And, it's the coolest feeling to get to the library check-out and for them to scan our card and say, "oh, we've got something on hold for you." Maddie and Faith start jumping up and down with excitement to see what it is they have on that given day. I swear it's like opening Christmas gifts! 

They have also been doing a really neat reading program. They fill out their little tickets with the books that they have read. Books with more pages equal more tokens. Considering they love listening to chapter books, they've been filling out their tickets too quickly. They LOVE going to the desk (and I'm sure the librarians especially love barely seeing Beebster's little eyes over the top of the desk!) and getting their tokens in exchange for their tickets.

My girlie did WHAT?!?

Took my three lovely ladies for a walk this morning and then over to Target quick since we were in desperate need of fruit, juice, and something to make for dinner tonight.

Anyway, I decided to do the shopping differently today. I took my carrier with me and swapped Abrie from her carseat into the carrier while we stood in the parking lot. It's never an easy feat to go shopping alone with my girlies, but it seemed to make me feel less guilty at least about having Abrie just sitting in her carseat since she's now wanting to stretch more. I always have her in the carrier when we go with Dan, but I figured it would be harder if I were alone to do this while pushing the cart AND wrangling my other two lovely ladies. But, it worked out fine and they were all extremely well behaved.

It reminded me though of an incident about a week ago that I completely failed to mention for my "notes!" I had Abrie in the carrier at Target, and her big sissys were playing with the Schleich animals as they always do while I showed Abrie some cute Fisher Price instrument toys. All of a sudden Maddie came towards Abrie to show her one of her killer whales, and she asks me "Momma, what's THAT?" I didn't even know what she was talking about until I glanced down and saw some puddles of yellowish/brownish color. Oh yes-- the Breeze had pooped and it had completely come out of her diaper and down to the floor since she was in a complete vertical position due to the carrier! She even did it again as we started walking briskly toward the bathroom. 

Needless to say, I did NOT have diapers and/or wipes that afternoon. Wouldn't you know I chose that day to conveniently forget these things? Abrie and I BOTH took a bath when we got home (oh yes, it had gotten on my pants) and Dan took Maddie and Faith back to Target since we really did need whatever it was we had gone to Target for on that certain day. Haha.

These three little girls

Bad days don't exist with me. Hard days? That's a different story. Of course, there are hard days. 

But, BAD days? Never. I always try and put everything in perspective. And, how could I ever have a bad day when I look at these three beautiful faces? All I need is a neck hug, an 'I love you, Momma,' or a smile from the Breeze to make any hard day totally irrelevant.

I've got my girls. I've got my prince. I've got it all. 

An afternoon at the pool

Awesome afternoon at the pool with my three little girls.

Played with my Breezer while my big girls played in the baby pool. And, once Abrie went down for a nap, I took her carseat down to where I could see her from the shallow end of the big pool, and Maddie and Faith just love swimming in the big pool.

Dinner and baths (it was bath night for all three little ladies) was quite interesting by myself. I'm used to vacuuming while holding my little Breeze, who actually loves the white noise of the vacuum. But, doing an entire day totally by myself is quite an undertaking.

We made it though, and we had fun!

I've got some cute campers

This day didn't start all that well (one of THOSE days!), but I'm hopeful it will continue in the direction that it's been going since after Abrie's nap!

Dan's not even home, and probably won't be home until 3pm or so. He's got a lovely protest that he had to stay late for, and these girls have been asking and asking about when Daddy will be home. It's turning out to be a beautiful day, so even if he is not home by the time we'd leave for the pool, I've decided I am still going to take them and we'll just have to walk. I am sure we'll manage one way or the other.

Abrie woke up this morning with a butt blast that had leaked through to her sheet. Of course, she was all smiles though once I got her! Mornings are always quite hectic, and when I have to change her bed sheet, they become all the more hectic. I've gotten so used to doing things while holding my little Breeze, but changing sheets is one of the few instances that I HAVE to put her down for a little bit (also including cleaning tooshies, getting the big girls their breakfast, and getting meals ready that include the stove). Anyway, she screamed. She also didn't go easily down for her nap this morning, which left me late for my shower. 

Thankfully, the day has been headed in a positive note since Abrie has gotten up from her first nap. The skies are even sunny now! The big girls have been playing since this morning that all of their little figures, little Cars, little Bitsy Bears, little ponies, and little Pets have been at "camp" in their room. The parents have been kissing them goodbye, and they shuttle back and forth between their room and the living room toting their figures around in the Mapletown bus, the Little People van, and the Barbie convertible. It's awesome to watch. I get to sit in the living room and watch them play, which is quite cool. I asked them if they wanted to be "campers" on our walk this morning, and they loved the idea. Faith was Camper #1, Maddie Camper #2, Abrie Camper #3, I got to be Camper #4, and their princess dolls were campers 5,6, and 7. Haha. Abrie loves being in the carrier, and drooled and "talked" the entire length of our walk (and today we went for a long walk). Maddie and Faith- the campers- picked cherries (always getting some for their Beeba show as well!) for their camp, and had a blast.

Right now all is quiet. Abrie's down for her afternoon nap, the C. and the big B. are busy playing as usual, and I'm thinking we'll get to the pool one way or another this afternoon. So, as much as I worried about this day and Dan not being here for the entirety of it (clearly he'll be sleeping when he gets home until probably past the time all three go to bed), we've been enjoying our time together.

Intense playing

It's going on 2 weeks now of non-stop playing that these girls do! They play (literally) from the second they open their eyes in the morning, until the second their eyes finally close at night. And, that goes without saying that they take their figures to bed with them too and play in bed!

It's fun to watch!

Holy, set-up's!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE set-up's!

These girls excel at set-up's. They are masters of set-up's. They should major in set-up's! Ha. 

I was just going around with Dan trying to figure out which figures to put back in their appropriate bins, and which figures we should leave in their certain set-up because they look too cute to disassemble. We are tripping over set-up's these days though!

Thankfully Maddie and Faith have played so incredibly well this week, because it's been a sick week. Especially Thursday when I wasn't feeling well at all, and Abrie was not eating AT ALL. They literally play from the second they both awake (and whoever is up first wakes up the other asking if they want to play!) to the second they both fall asleep. They take their figures with them to bed too so they can play.

They got the set of Tinker Bell figures today from the Disney Store. They are in love with Tinker Bell and her friends now (due to the books from the library and the fact that I finally caved and got the movie), and Dan and I are slowly learning the names. The second we got home from the mall this afternoon, they both requested to change into their new nightgowns (which they had been begging for forever-- Faith picked Cinderella and Maddie picked Snow White, and they were both doing curtsies in them to the sounds of 'Thriller' in the background) and of course "PLAY!" They're too funny.