Merry Christmas! 2012

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year from our home to yours!  Life is keeping us busy, and I am still not blogging regularly.  However I wanted to hop on here and post our Christmas 2012 card to say hello to everyone out there!

"The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26 (NASB)

Happy 6TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

I have been out of the blogging world for some time, and know I will be back soon. I hope! I have a lot to say. I logged on to post something VERY special....

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY TO MY BOYS!!!

Happy Birthday, Quinton,

Happy Birthday, Dalton,

Happy Birthday, Easton!!!

Mommy & Daddy love you sooo much and we are so proud of you three!!!

Quinton picked out "Pirate" Mickey ears because it was like Captain Jack Sparrow.

Dalton picked out red Mickey ears because it's his favorite color.

Easton picked out R2D2 Ears, because he loves Star Wars!

Merry Christmas! 2011

Merry Christmas! From our house to yours. We pray that your homes are filled with love and laughter and celebrating Jesus' birthday.

I know I have been lacking in the blogging department. I have lots of blogs "written" in my head that just have not made it to my blog. We have had lots of life changes around here with school starting and I have been reinventing my roll as a mom and finding out ways to be "proactive" rather than the last 5 1/2 years of being "reactive". I hope to blog more in 2012!

First Day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe this day has come. I think I had more butterflies than they did!

I can't believe they will be meeting a whole new batch of friends.

I am thankful for my little men, I love them so much!

They have grown up so much since they will little bitty preemies.

I think their Daddy is even more proud than I am!

I will miss their silly little antics during the day :)

My Easton cracks me up with his sound effects for when he walks, runs, skips, jumps. I wonder if he'll be able to do that in school too?

Quinton will be so happy in class as long as he has someone to talk to.

Dalton is excited for any gym and recess classes so he can run super fast.

Dalton is also looking forward to all the counting!

Picking out their own backpacks was a major excitement around the house.

The fact that I let two of them pick the same color was a milestone itself!

Excitement to wear their backpacks is at an all time high.

Especially the extra strap on their chests.

I'm sure the newness will wear off, but it's fun seeing them so excited!

Dalton has his own desk with his own name. He remembers that he sits next to a little boy named Noah.

Quinton happily found out his pre-school friend Mary will be next to him. Both are quite social, so I'm sure Mrs. Linda will find that out fast :)

Easton said he can't remember who sits next to him, but he'll ask their name tomorrow.

There wasn't any hesitation to meet and give five to their new teacher Mrs. Linda and student teacher Miss Casie!

I have officially entered a new phase in my life; Mom of school aged children.

I think I'm as excited and nervous as the boys!

There are some more pictures on Facebook if you want to take a look.

Happy Love Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our home to yours!

Last month I had an email from Shutterfly for some 10 free cards. I'm all for that! I created one FOR each of my boys to stick in their snack bags at school :) The rest I did FROM the boys to hand out to some of their friends.

I really like how they turned out! They are flat with a linen type finish. I'll tell ya, I'd NEVER order them at the price tag of $2.99 each, though - I'm too cheap!

Boy it's hard to find Valentine's cards that isn't all pink.... don't they know that boys celebrate Valentine's day too?? Next year they need to bring on the robots, dinosaurs, trucks, Star Wars....

Enjoy, and have a great day!

The Squeaky Wheel

I try not to be negative on my blog, but then I also strive to be real. If years down the road my kids happen to be reading my blog {will there even be blogs then?}, I don't want them to feel bad about what I write.

As I mulled this over in my head I realized that if/when my kids would read what I am about to write, I don't think this would matter to them.

Yesterday was one of those days. It started off fine. The boys had a dentist appointment and I thought to schedule it a little later in the morning so we didn't have to rush out of the house.

{side note - setting up appointments first thing in the morning are great! ONLY for things the kids are not upset about. Try not doing this for shots, dentist, etc.}

I have not taken the boys to the dentist since Summer of 2009 in Arkansas. It was a shared decision that we hold off until they were older because they were pretty traumatized at 3 years of age.

As soon as I mentioned the dentist, Quinton started his whining. Due to his newfound hate for anything strong tasting, minty, or strong smelling - he already started to whine about how bad it was going to taste.

You can't reason with a 4 year old. I still have not learned this, probably because I am stubborn. I can talk things through with him until I am blue in the face but if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't want to do it.

{side note - I do not let this dictate our world and what we do. Just some things end up to be more difficult.}

We got to the dentist while Quinton started in again about the taste. We walked in, signed in, saw the fish tank, read books... then we were called to back.

We stepped in and first thing she said was "Quinton, can I do your picture first?" He dropped to his knees, started saying how bad the taste would be, then stopped. He stood up "just a picture?" he asked.

Yes, it was going to be one of those visits.

Quinton is my dramatic child. He loves hard. He dislikes hard {we don't use the "h_t_" word in our house}. He can out stubborn most anyone. I feel like my head hits a brick wall many days while trying to point his stubbornness in the correct direction.

I love my Quinton. I actually LOVE that he is not easily changed, that he doesn't care with others think about him when he feels a certain way.

Those two last paragraphs contradict each other, I know.

I know we have a lot of training ahead of us, but I am looking forward to see what God's has planned for Quinton. His determination pointed in the correct direction will be unstoppable!

Back to the dentist....

The other two went side by side first. They did AWESOME. Didn't cry, complain, or bite. Put the headphones on and watched the tv above their stations. Cleanings, check up, x-rays, fluoride, etc.

Quinton went last. Whined the entire time through his brother's check ups. Started screaming when she stuck her gloved finger in his mouth because "it tastes bad". Fast forward through 20 minutes of trying to talk him through a 2 minute cleaning process. Tears, spitting, water that "didn't taste right", no x-rays. The entire time trying to check out he was crying and trying to wipe the fluoride out of his mouth with his shirt.

I was frustrated, embarrassed, upset. It's not like I cater to his whims, or don't let him do things he doesn't want to do. {I can't imagine if he was an only child! He has had to learn a lot being a brother.} He was given a few words from me in the bathroom and in the car afterwards.

It took me until after lunch and our drive home to realize something.

Then I felt even more frustrated with the situation and my parenting.

I turned to Easton & Dalton. I told them how proud I was of them. They did fantastic. They never complained. I am proud of their goodie bags. They did awesome with their x-rays. I tell them how thankful I am for their attitudes.

The Squeaky Wheel. Ugh.

*palm to head*

"Cup" Cake Copycat

My friend Lori did a post the other day to make "Cup" Cake desserts. She is so crafty :) I am a copycat.

She put a disclaimer, and I should have not read past it... so I will put the disclaimer on mine too....

Warning: This chocolate cake is way too easy to make and you most likely have all the ingredients available! You may want to stop reading now.
(You can find the recipe here)

Chocolate "CUP" Cake

A large microwavable mug

4 Tablespoons flour

9 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix

1 pinch of salt

1 egg

3 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons oil

Cooking Spray

Coat your cup with cooking spray. Mix flour, hot chocolate mix and salt in cup. Add egg and mix. Add oil and water and mix (make sure to get all the flour on the bottom of your cup mixed in.) Place in microwave oven for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Quinton measuring out and making his

Dalton watching his in the microwave

Easton saying "look, it's rising!"

This caught the attention of the whole family!

Easton finished his!

Dalton loves his

Quinton is so proud!

It makes a lot, but they never finished them. They tasted ok, but it was more about the fun of the process :)

Do your triplets act all the same???

I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of this question that I get ALL the time.... I just wanted to take a second to show an example this morning.

Now that we have moved, the boys have their own closets. They are enjoying picking out their own clothes (within the limits I give them). Please excuse the quality of the photos, they are from my phone.

Dalton loves good guys and bad guys. He always wants to play them, and be them. Right now his favorite show is Star Wars. He picked out this nifty shirt that I picked up at Old Navy this spring for $1.58 each. The boys each have one.

Easton loves routine and the color blue. It's hard to tell which he loves more. He likes to be comfortable, and for him this means routine and a shirt he still can wear after a long time. They boys have these striped shirts in three different colors. They started wearing them last summer and still fit them this year. There is nothing wrong with the shirts, I am just TIRED of seeing them. I think other moms understand. So when Easton went into his closet to pick out a shirt and came out with his old faithful routine BLUE shirt, I inwardly groaned....

Quinton is unlike Dan and I. He wants to dress up. ALL the time. The reason why he won't smile in the picture below is because I would not let him wear a long sleeve dress shirt with a tie and sweater vest. He had to succumb to a button up collared shirt. He loves to be dressy!

What do I say when I get the question "Do your triplets all act the same?" I fight my natural inclination to start a lecture, recognizing that even though I have heard this question 1,091 times, this is the first time they are asking it.

"They are just like any brothers. They act like their own person. They just happened to be born on the same day at the same time."

Spend a little time with them. You'll see how different they truly are. I love them!

Quinton loves his nap...

i

This is where I found Quinton just a little while ago. It's not nap time yet, he just loves his naps!

30 Questions Quinton Style...

Quinton’s personality was apparent before he was even born. Looking back now, I can totally see it. At the time, I did not recognize it. In the womb he was the one that refused to raise his heart rate for my “20 min non-stress test”, no matter what they did to rile him up. Those tests usually turned into 2-3 hours, on my back, in labor and delivery. He was born our smallest preemie at 3 pounds 8 ounces. His NICU nurse, Gloria, told us he was an opinionated child, and he squawked at them when he didn’t like what they were doing. She said for preemies, this was not as common because they tend to be very compliant since they are technically not supposed to be out of the womb yet.

Quinton is very outgoing. Since he was a little baby he is a people watcher and connects with people’s eyes. He loves to be the center of attention, and has a very loud voice. With that voice he belts out songs all day long. To aid with that, he has a microphone he picked out with his $3 birthday gift card from Toys R Us. Thanks Geoffrey! He loves to make up songs, stories, play dress up and pretend he is a dog. He is passionate about how he feels; good and bad. He keeps his Daddy and I on our toes. We pray that we can help guide his passions toward making the right choices and following the Lord. Many days we shake our heads at him because he is unlike both Dan and I, and we don’t know where he gets it. We think it’s a combination of his outgoing Grandpa and his actress aunt. He is a crazy kid!

Here is my 30 Questions Quinton Style.... which actually turned into 31 because he would not answer the first one completely. Very Quinton!

What is your name? Quinton

What is your big name? Quinton Joseph Slater

What name does Daddy call you? Squirt

What name does Mommy call you? Quinton

What is your favorite color? Yellow (current color he was wearing, not too sure about this anwer)

What is your favorite TV show? Word World (this surprised me because he asks to watch Dora every day)

What is your favorite movie? Tarzan

What is your favorite snack? Goldfish

What is your favorite drink? Milk

What is your favorite food? Bacon

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with my brothers

What is your favorite to do with Mommy? Play games

What is your favorite to do with Daddy? Play wrestle on the bed

What is your favorite what do you think about Jesus? I love him and he makes my heart happy

What do you like about your church class? Miss Nancy (his teacher)

What is Daddy’s favorite thing? Playing wrestle with me

What is Mommy’s favorite thing? Playing Candy Land with me

Are you excited for something? My Birthday!

What do you like to do with Easton? Picking flowers

What do you like to do with Dalton? Hit stuff

What is your favorite toy? Dress up (they have police, fireman, army guy, pirate)

What is your favorite game? Which hand is nice (a game he plays with Daddy)

What is your favorite shoes? My sandals

What is your favorite clothes to wear? My Robot shirt

What is your favorite PJs? My dinosaur ones

What is your favorite place to go visit? I want to visit Grammy & Papa's house

When you grow up, what do you want to be? I want to stay Quinton

When you grow up, what kind of car do you want to drive? A red truck like Grandpa's

How old do you have to be to drive a car? 4

How old is an adult? 5

Anything else I should know about you? What did you say, Mommy?