Uncle Buck!!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Flashback Friday
It's hard to believe they used to actually stay in one spot!
And they were occupied by the simplest of toys.
Chase was always so affectionate with Summer. Headlocks, nose smashing, there all code for "I love you Sissy!"
Kung Fu Master Chase at your service!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A run down kind of a week
So it's been almost a week since I've posted and I don't think I've taken any pictures in about that long either so I can't just throw up a few pics and call it a day! Chase started us out last Wed. with a cold. He was kind enough to share it with Summer who had it Thursday who gave it to me as of Saturday who spread it to Skye by Saturday night who shared with Lexi by Sunday morning who gave it to Frankie by this morning. Brad just said, hey I'm the only one who is safe in this house!! I told him that was another benefit to his getting more hours at work. Less time in this germ infested house!! lol
It hasn't been the world's worst cold, but I am just really, really tired. I think we all are. Yesterday Chase and Summer slept until 11 am so I guess they had some sleep they needed to catch up on!
Prior to getting the cold today Frankie has had a rather unusual week. Last week, 2 days in a row he remembered pretty much next to nothing. Didn't know what was wrong with him, forgot about his accident, where we lived, all kinds of things. Since his accident he's always had long and short term memory problems but he's never completely not known what was wrong with him. He just didn't know why he felt weird, like he couldn't do anything. So that was strange. Then he was pretty much back to normal for a few days. Then yesterday he was remembering every little thing!
I was talking to Summer and Chase trying to get them to let me clean them up by saying if we got cleaned up we were going bye-bye and Frankie called to me from the other room, I can go bye-bye too if you need my help. So I was like, great! It really will be a big help because these two don't do too great going from store to store alone with me. So that was a bit different for him, now if he's up and about he'll always want to go with me, but he doesn't want to get moving normally unless he has to.
Then, we were going to the grocery store and Target so I wanted to print out some coupons on the computer before we left. He and S&C are downstairs and I tell him what I'm doing and I'll be about 10 minutes (I still tell him all these things knowing full well he may forget in 2 minutes). Well of course the printer is acting up, my ink cartridge has to be changed, then it has to be realigned then the computer locks up and needs rebootting, so after about 10 minutes he's yelling up to me, am I ready yet? I tell him no, printer problems need a few more minutes and I kind of scratch my head, interesting he would still remember what I'm doing and that I said 10 minutes. Well this went on for about a half hour. Every 2 or 3 minutes he's yelling are you ready? Hey Kris, what's taking so long! Kris, are we leaving yet? For him to be on me like white on rice like this was REALLY new! He made me a nervous wreck trying to hurry and get out the door, but that was ok! LOL.
Then Lexi and Skye had soccer practice at 6:30, the babies bedtime. So I was going to drop them off, go home and back to pick them up. So we drop them off and start driving home and Frankie's like, how long is practice, 90 minutes? Why don't we just stay and watch them? I'm like, are you sure? The babies will be cranky because it's past their bed time and we'll have to watch from inside the car because the bugs are out and the babies are in their PJs and he says that's cool, let's watch. So we went back and did just that! Normally, he doesn't do much suggesting of things to do, just goes with the flow. And he wouldn't want to sit in the car for that long or not want to be away from home if he didn't have to be, so THAT was very unusual!
Then last night after getting home, getting babies to sleep, fixing dinner, eating, cleaning up, getting the girls to bed, it was about 10:00. Brad came home from work and the 3 of us were talking and Frankie was telling him about the girls practice and that we watched and about our shopping earlier in the day. My mouth almost hit the floor!!! This is a man who usually can't remember what you talked about 10 minutes ago, can't remember what he had for breakfast today, etc. So THAT was very unusual!
Now this morning, he woke up with a cold and so is feeling run down but he was helping Chase during therapy and has yelled up to me twice now that he wants me to come down, he's bored. So I'm going to wrap this up, and hope that at least maybe these are signs that he is still getting a little bit better, even though it's been 2 years since his accident, and will continue to improve over the coming months. Nothing would make me happier!!!
It hasn't been the world's worst cold, but I am just really, really tired. I think we all are. Yesterday Chase and Summer slept until 11 am so I guess they had some sleep they needed to catch up on!
Prior to getting the cold today Frankie has had a rather unusual week. Last week, 2 days in a row he remembered pretty much next to nothing. Didn't know what was wrong with him, forgot about his accident, where we lived, all kinds of things. Since his accident he's always had long and short term memory problems but he's never completely not known what was wrong with him. He just didn't know why he felt weird, like he couldn't do anything. So that was strange. Then he was pretty much back to normal for a few days. Then yesterday he was remembering every little thing!
I was talking to Summer and Chase trying to get them to let me clean them up by saying if we got cleaned up we were going bye-bye and Frankie called to me from the other room, I can go bye-bye too if you need my help. So I was like, great! It really will be a big help because these two don't do too great going from store to store alone with me. So that was a bit different for him, now if he's up and about he'll always want to go with me, but he doesn't want to get moving normally unless he has to.
Then, we were going to the grocery store and Target so I wanted to print out some coupons on the computer before we left. He and S&C are downstairs and I tell him what I'm doing and I'll be about 10 minutes (I still tell him all these things knowing full well he may forget in 2 minutes). Well of course the printer is acting up, my ink cartridge has to be changed, then it has to be realigned then the computer locks up and needs rebootting, so after about 10 minutes he's yelling up to me, am I ready yet? I tell him no, printer problems need a few more minutes and I kind of scratch my head, interesting he would still remember what I'm doing and that I said 10 minutes. Well this went on for about a half hour. Every 2 or 3 minutes he's yelling are you ready? Hey Kris, what's taking so long! Kris, are we leaving yet? For him to be on me like white on rice like this was REALLY new! He made me a nervous wreck trying to hurry and get out the door, but that was ok! LOL.
Then Lexi and Skye had soccer practice at 6:30, the babies bedtime. So I was going to drop them off, go home and back to pick them up. So we drop them off and start driving home and Frankie's like, how long is practice, 90 minutes? Why don't we just stay and watch them? I'm like, are you sure? The babies will be cranky because it's past their bed time and we'll have to watch from inside the car because the bugs are out and the babies are in their PJs and he says that's cool, let's watch. So we went back and did just that! Normally, he doesn't do much suggesting of things to do, just goes with the flow. And he wouldn't want to sit in the car for that long or not want to be away from home if he didn't have to be, so THAT was very unusual!
Then last night after getting home, getting babies to sleep, fixing dinner, eating, cleaning up, getting the girls to bed, it was about 10:00. Brad came home from work and the 3 of us were talking and Frankie was telling him about the girls practice and that we watched and about our shopping earlier in the day. My mouth almost hit the floor!!! This is a man who usually can't remember what you talked about 10 minutes ago, can't remember what he had for breakfast today, etc. So THAT was very unusual!
Now this morning, he woke up with a cold and so is feeling run down but he was helping Chase during therapy and has yelled up to me twice now that he wants me to come down, he's bored. So I'm going to wrap this up, and hope that at least maybe these are signs that he is still getting a little bit better, even though it's been 2 years since his accident, and will continue to improve over the coming months. Nothing would make me happier!!!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Baby's Day Out!
I've been sorrily behind on downloading pictures so these are actually from last week but a local parenting magazine wanted to do an interview and article on me after the editor ran across my blog. When I agreed, she sent me coupons for some free go-cart rides at Frankie's Fun Park and free passes for all the kids at an indoor bounce house place that just opened up across the street from Frankie's. So it was a really fun day for all of us and it was really nice to be able to do it for Lexi and Skye before school started. They had a really good time and really loved playing with Summer and Chase and seeing them enjoying things for the first time too. So here is a slideshow of just a few pictures.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
An Unusual Day
Today the house was pretty empty, it was the first day of school for Lexi and Skye, Erik is still out of town and Brad worked all day. So other than Frankie, it was just me and the LOs today!
I had plans to take them out but Chase woke up with a runny nose and a slight fever so I wanted to just let him rest at home. It's been probably 9 months since they've had colds so I guess we were due. So I decided today the TV would stay off, I wasn't going to do any housework and today would just be about play!
Some things we did: Used their old bottles to feed baby dolls and stuffed animals, rocked every last one to sleep with a full rendition of rock a bye baby (Chase hung in there to the very last one, Summer wandered half-way through), worked on using spoons (they've got forks down but spoons are still eluding them), glued felt and foam circles to a big piece of poster board I hung in the kitchen (kind of like pin the tail on the donkey with no blind fold. I put a dab of glue on the back of the circle and they marched over and put it on the poster), made oatmeal cookies, brushed Buster (they really liked that!), worked with their shape sorter until they could do all the shapes through the right spaces completely on their own, scribbled on the sliding glass doors with outside markers, did a smelling/tasting game with citrus fruits, bowled with a soccer ball and 10 empty plastic bottles, tossed blocks across the room into a big pot (boy that was noisy!), finger painted with pudding, read books (again and again and again) and who knows what else!
Boy I was exhausted!! It was perfect timing when Lexi and Skye got home, I was running out of stuff to do and they were getting cranky wanting to go outside, but it was raining. Summer and Chase were so excited when the girls came through the front door they squealed and started jumping up and down on the couch! They had just started begging for the tv too. Of course, so was Frankie, but I stood my ground! That part stinks, I wish they didn't like tv so darn much!!
I had plans to take them out but Chase woke up with a runny nose and a slight fever so I wanted to just let him rest at home. It's been probably 9 months since they've had colds so I guess we were due. So I decided today the TV would stay off, I wasn't going to do any housework and today would just be about play!
Some things we did: Used their old bottles to feed baby dolls and stuffed animals, rocked every last one to sleep with a full rendition of rock a bye baby (Chase hung in there to the very last one, Summer wandered half-way through), worked on using spoons (they've got forks down but spoons are still eluding them), glued felt and foam circles to a big piece of poster board I hung in the kitchen (kind of like pin the tail on the donkey with no blind fold. I put a dab of glue on the back of the circle and they marched over and put it on the poster), made oatmeal cookies, brushed Buster (they really liked that!), worked with their shape sorter until they could do all the shapes through the right spaces completely on their own, scribbled on the sliding glass doors with outside markers, did a smelling/tasting game with citrus fruits, bowled with a soccer ball and 10 empty plastic bottles, tossed blocks across the room into a big pot (boy that was noisy!), finger painted with pudding, read books (again and again and again) and who knows what else!
Boy I was exhausted!! It was perfect timing when Lexi and Skye got home, I was running out of stuff to do and they were getting cranky wanting to go outside, but it was raining. Summer and Chase were so excited when the girls came through the front door they squealed and started jumping up and down on the couch! They had just started begging for the tv too. Of course, so was Frankie, but I stood my ground! That part stinks, I wish they didn't like tv so darn much!!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The musings of a toddler mind
Pic 1) What box? Who cares about a box? I'm watching a lawn mower!
Pic 2) Hmmm Summy sure makes that box look kind of fun!
Pic 3) Let's see if this walking stuff will get me that box!
Pic 4) Oh no, gotta' balance, gotta' balance....
Pic 5) Hey! This walking stuff DID get me that box!
Pic 6) Climb aboard!
Pic 1) Who cares about a big old box anyway. This basket of clean clothes looks WAY more fun!!
Pic 2) I wonder why Mama just moves this stuff around in her hands. It's way more fun putting it all around your neck!
Pic 3) Maybe I can put this on my head if it won't fit around my neck?
Pic 4) Not quite what I had in mind!
Pic 5) Help! I'm being eaten alive by my sister's panties!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Word to Your Mother
Thank's to my blogging buddy and commiserating MoM (Mother of Multiples) Kate who did this on her blog, I was introduced to the world of Wordle! They are cute ways to create 'word clouds'.
Something I've always done with the girls is at random times and in random places I write something like "The Top 10 Reasons I Love Skye". Sometimes I put it in their lunch box or slip it on their pillow. We have a huge white board up in the loft and that's where I wrote them last month. In return, this time they each wrote "The top 10 reasons I love Mommy". It was nice to read what they think too!
So for my word clouds, I came up with 15 descriptive words to describe each of the kids and created the below Wordles. I then printed one out to show Lexi and Skye and turned it into a game. I printed out a list of the 60 descriptive words (15 for each of them) and asked them to put the name of who they thought I was describing for each one. Whoever got the most right was going to get a prize! So Skye won the first round by a pretty large margin. I then gave them another chance and had them change their answers to the ones that were wrong. Lexi did better during that round. So they both got "stay up late" and "no chores today" passes and they were real happy about that!
Click on below images to see larger view.
Something I've always done with the girls is at random times and in random places I write something like "The Top 10 Reasons I Love Skye". Sometimes I put it in their lunch box or slip it on their pillow. We have a huge white board up in the loft and that's where I wrote them last month. In return, this time they each wrote "The top 10 reasons I love Mommy". It was nice to read what they think too!
So for my word clouds, I came up with 15 descriptive words to describe each of the kids and created the below Wordles. I then printed one out to show Lexi and Skye and turned it into a game. I printed out a list of the 60 descriptive words (15 for each of them) and asked them to put the name of who they thought I was describing for each one. Whoever got the most right was going to get a prize! So Skye won the first round by a pretty large margin. I then gave them another chance and had them change their answers to the ones that were wrong. Lexi did better during that round. So they both got "stay up late" and "no chores today" passes and they were real happy about that!
Click on below images to see larger view.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Toddler Videos
These videos are from 8/2-8/4
We have Chase eating, drinking and smiling cutely for the camera
The last second has Summer saying "bye" and waving. Chase is climbing on the couch and a half-hearted rendition of itsy-bitsy spider.
This one is long. There's flying couch monkeys, meowing cats on the farm, four wheeler wackiness and Chasey taking 1 step. Hey, you have to start somewhere!
Summer and Chase playing in the sprinkler.
We have Chase eating, drinking and smiling cutely for the camera
The last second has Summer saying "bye" and waving. Chase is climbing on the couch and a half-hearted rendition of itsy-bitsy spider.
This one is long. There's flying couch monkeys, meowing cats on the farm, four wheeler wackiness and Chasey taking 1 step. Hey, you have to start somewhere!
Summer and Chase playing in the sprinkler.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Walk this way... and talk this way
Just a quick note to say that Chase took 8 steps yesterday!!! He has been doing 1, 2 and 3 pretty regularly but that was the first time he really travelled. I had put out a big box for he and Summer to play with and Chase didn't pay it much attention as he was standing at the sliding glass doors watching Brad cut the grass. So Summer played for a bit and when she got out it tipped over which caught Chase's attention. So I went crazy encouraging him to now go get it, hooping and hollering! He took 3 steps, took a break and looked at me and then went 4 more to get to it! I'm not sure who was more excited, him or me!!!!
Not to leave Summer out, she has really taken to singing lately. When a song that she knows is playing you can here her going "ahhh ahhh ahhh" at the exact places words are in the song. She stops and starts in perfect time to the music. The first couple of times we thought we were kind of mishearing her but now she does it all the time. The theme to Sesame Street, Itsy Bitsy Spider (with full-on hand gestures!) and Bongo Bird are her favorites.
Lexi, Summer and Chase watching Elmo on Sesame Street
Not to leave Summer out, she has really taken to singing lately. When a song that she knows is playing you can here her going "ahhh ahhh ahhh" at the exact places words are in the song. She stops and starts in perfect time to the music. The first couple of times we thought we were kind of mishearing her but now she does it all the time. The theme to Sesame Street, Itsy Bitsy Spider (with full-on hand gestures!) and Bongo Bird are her favorites.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Sprinklin' fun!
We had some fun in the sprinklers this week. Lexi and Skye had some friends over and we all played in the front yard. We need a new hose though, I didn't realize we had a big gaping hole in it and the whole side yard flooded while we were playing in the front. Ooops!
Chase really loves water right now. He could have played all day in and with the sprinkler! He loved the fountain last weekend, loves baths. Summer is ok with it, but she's not fascinated like Chase is. She likes to get a quick douse and run around. She's even now lifting her foot over the side of the tub and saying "get out" after just a few minutes of her bath. Last year at this time she was the one who loved water and Chase was not at all happy with it, especially at the pool. Funny how quickly things change!
Chase really loves water right now. He could have played all day in and with the sprinkler! He loved the fountain last weekend, loves baths. Summer is ok with it, but she's not fascinated like Chase is. She likes to get a quick douse and run around. She's even now lifting her foot over the side of the tub and saying "get out" after just a few minutes of her bath. Last year at this time she was the one who loved water and Chase was not at all happy with it, especially at the pool. Funny how quickly things change!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
One scary sitcom
You know when you don't work or the kids aren't in school it really makes the weekends so unimportant. I'm trying to figure out what we did this weekend and it's a blurr. I started sneezing last night and have a soar throat this morning so who knows where I caught a cold from but I guess that's why my mind is in a funk. I can't remember the last time I brought a cold to the kids instead of the other way around, but I'm crossing my fingers it stays with me.
One thing I do remember about this weekend (and boy would Skye ever kill me if she knew I wrote this on the blog!) but Skye started wearing a bra! lol My skinny-mini Skye wearing a bra!! Oi vay!
Saturday we did some errands including buying a few new shirts for the girls for school. We went to the library and stayed for almost 2 hours, Summer and Chase tolerated it much better than last time but it took the constant movement of the stroller to keep them happy. I got 4 books on raising toddlers and twins and renewed The Appeal by Grisham. L&S each got two books from their summer reading lists, S&C got two books each and Elmopalooza on DVD. Then we went to Once Upon a Child where we bought a potty chair and an electric car (pics of that later) so we were tired by then and ready to head home. Until we drove past a Plato's Closet.
I didn't know we had one, it must be new, so Lexi and I jumped out of the car and ran in by ourselves real quick. It's consignment for teens/adults, if you don't have one near you. So I grabbed two shirts for Skye which were really cute (she's very hard to shop for being a tomboy and all) while Lexi tried some on. The t's I picked for Skye were the type you get at Abercrombie or Aeropostle, form fitting. She LOVED them but since she usually wears big, baggy tshirts she was a little surprised by the fact things weren't so perfectly flat in the tighter shirts!
Then Sunday we were all in the car on our way to Sam's Club (in other words, a diaper, wipes and gas run) and she said, "Mom do I look different to you?" I said, do you mean in general or just right at this second. She said, in general, I feel like I'm starting to look different. I had to laugh, because that very morning she came running in the house and I looked at her as she flew by and BAM! I was so surprised by how different she looked! Her face is fuller, she's looking more girlish, her hair looked nice. I said, yeah I had noticed the same thing. She asked why and I said, well you're starting puberty and the hormones and everything are making changes. She said, "Darnit! That's what Lexi said and I told her she was wrong!"
She's obviously not thrilled about the idea, but neither am I really. Two girls going through puberty at the same time, I mean we knew years ago this day would come... but add two toddlers and a disabled husband to the mix and they couldn't write a scarier sit-com if they tried!!
One thing I do remember about this weekend (and boy would Skye ever kill me if she knew I wrote this on the blog!) but Skye started wearing a bra! lol My skinny-mini Skye wearing a bra!! Oi vay!
Saturday we did some errands including buying a few new shirts for the girls for school. We went to the library and stayed for almost 2 hours, Summer and Chase tolerated it much better than last time but it took the constant movement of the stroller to keep them happy. I got 4 books on raising toddlers and twins and renewed The Appeal by Grisham. L&S each got two books from their summer reading lists, S&C got two books each and Elmopalooza on DVD. Then we went to Once Upon a Child where we bought a potty chair and an electric car (pics of that later) so we were tired by then and ready to head home. Until we drove past a Plato's Closet.
I didn't know we had one, it must be new, so Lexi and I jumped out of the car and ran in by ourselves real quick. It's consignment for teens/adults, if you don't have one near you. So I grabbed two shirts for Skye which were really cute (she's very hard to shop for being a tomboy and all) while Lexi tried some on. The t's I picked for Skye were the type you get at Abercrombie or Aeropostle, form fitting. She LOVED them but since she usually wears big, baggy tshirts she was a little surprised by the fact things weren't so perfectly flat in the tighter shirts!
Then Sunday we were all in the car on our way to Sam's Club (in other words, a diaper, wipes and gas run) and she said, "Mom do I look different to you?" I said, do you mean in general or just right at this second. She said, in general, I feel like I'm starting to look different. I had to laugh, because that very morning she came running in the house and I looked at her as she flew by and BAM! I was so surprised by how different she looked! Her face is fuller, she's looking more girlish, her hair looked nice. I said, yeah I had noticed the same thing. She asked why and I said, well you're starting puberty and the hormones and everything are making changes. She said, "Darnit! That's what Lexi said and I told her she was wrong!"
She's obviously not thrilled about the idea, but neither am I really. Two girls going through puberty at the same time, I mean we knew years ago this day would come... but add two toddlers and a disabled husband to the mix and they couldn't write a scarier sit-com if they tried!!
Friday, August 1, 2008
A surprisingly pleasant Baby's Day Out
Since it's been 212 degrees for the past month (if not raining) and gas prices have been so crazy, we've really been cooped up in the house. Now with my brother out of town, it's been even harder to get out. So today I had to go to Daniel Island to sign some papers so I decided to make a day of it with the whole family. I thought if we went towards the water we could catch a breeze... and boy we sure did! It was so beautiful!!
We went to Patriot's Point for a picnic lunch by the marina and where the USS Yorktown and all the Navy planes, helicopters, etc. are. Summer and Chase ate hash and rice and peas and ran around in the grass for a while. Skye of course loved looking at the military things and is hoping she can go back for a tour of the Yorktown soon.
We then drove downtown to Waterfront Park where they chased pigeons and played in the huge water fountain. S&C didn't love the water at first but after watching Lexi and Skye they got brave and then didn't want to get out! I even talked Frankie into getting a little wet in it too!
When it was time to leave I convinced Summer to go with me so we could look for more pigeons or 'bips' as she calls them. We walked about 6 blocks to the car and she held my hand the whole way. Awwww!! We then drove back to pick up Frankie, Lexi, Skye and Chase. S&C were both fine when it was time to go, no tantrums! And that was after having missed nap too!
We then went to Daniel Island and drove around touring for an extra 45 minutes. S&C were patient and content singing toddler songs. I'd never been to Daniel Island before and was surprised at how beautiful it was!! It reminded me so much of Palm Beach Gardens and especially the Abacoa, Jupiter area.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well Summer and Chase did today. I hope it wasn't a fluke and we're able to have another pleasant day out again soon. Too bad I left the camera at home on the charger!
We went to Patriot's Point for a picnic lunch by the marina and where the USS Yorktown and all the Navy planes, helicopters, etc. are. Summer and Chase ate hash and rice and peas and ran around in the grass for a while. Skye of course loved looking at the military things and is hoping she can go back for a tour of the Yorktown soon.
We then drove downtown to Waterfront Park where they chased pigeons and played in the huge water fountain. S&C didn't love the water at first but after watching Lexi and Skye they got brave and then didn't want to get out! I even talked Frankie into getting a little wet in it too!
When it was time to leave I convinced Summer to go with me so we could look for more pigeons or 'bips' as she calls them. We walked about 6 blocks to the car and she held my hand the whole way. Awwww!! We then drove back to pick up Frankie, Lexi, Skye and Chase. S&C were both fine when it was time to go, no tantrums! And that was after having missed nap too!
We then went to Daniel Island and drove around touring for an extra 45 minutes. S&C were patient and content singing toddler songs. I'd never been to Daniel Island before and was surprised at how beautiful it was!! It reminded me so much of Palm Beach Gardens and especially the Abacoa, Jupiter area.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well Summer and Chase did today. I hope it wasn't a fluke and we're able to have another pleasant day out again soon. Too bad I left the camera at home on the charger!
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