Night Riding

It has begun to get very dark, very early. Daddy embraced it and took the boys out for a jog in the stroller in the dark! They were pumped. Quint and Russell took their night lights, blankets and animals. They had a great time. When they returned they were missing one very important item. Russell's blanket. In our home this is a code red. BK quick jumped in the car to drive and look for it. Luckily he found it on the sidewalk. It was a bit dirty and wet, but Russell didn't seem to mind. He slept with it that night. We washed it the next day:)

Maybe a real smile?

I tried to catch it, but missed a little!

You can still get the idea....Rhett is smiling:)

It is awesome.

He is such a great addition, we feel so blessed.

All-American Halloween

We planned to take the boys trick or treating. Our friends graciously invited us to come trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was awesome. Unlike our neighborhood, their neighborhood is full of children, and the street came to life as the sun began to set. Many of the homes were decorated. Two Dads were actually dressed up as past coaches for the Hawks. (If I was a good Hawkeye fan I would know who they were supposed to be) In our crew we had a very scary lion, tiger, and a bat. Our friends had two very cute cupcakes, and another little lion:) The boys tired quickly, but we made it around two small blocks before calling it a night. As we drove home, BK said "that was the most wholesome Halloween I have every experienced. When he said this, I reflected. True I thought, I only saw one boy dressed as a gross scary horror character, but I saw lots of animals, and even Winnie the Poo. It was also a happy vibe. All the neighbors knew each other, chatting on the sidewalks. "Totally" I responded. Then BK said "I didn't even see one bag snatcher!"

What the heck is a bag snatcher?!? BK could not believe I had never seen a bag snatcher. BK went into his stories of bag snatchers. If you are as naive as me, bag snatchers dress in all black and steal little kids candy bags. How do they live with themselves...I wondered to myself....I can't imagine what I would do if someone snatched one of my boys bags....look out for momma bear:)

Here are our pics from wonderful Halloween (free from scary costumes and bag snatchers)

Quint the roaring lion....

Russell the happy lion

Rhett the not so happy bat:)

The whole crew (minus our little bat)

Ellie, Russell, Quint, Zack, Hannah

Hannah and Quint led the charge

Can you tell we are in Hawkeye country??

Russell usually was lagging behind:)

But he never missed out on the treats...

Russell was so proud to show off his candy!

So exciting....they needed to run!

they ran fast!

Toward the end they got tired but kept going....

A tired lion needed a lift from Daddy...

Cutest Lion, Tiger, and Bat ever!

Hope this brightens your day

A hug from Russell:)

in the potty

This post is for Daddy

Beware it is a little gross:)

Russell is far from potty trained....

that being said:

Russell went in the potty for the first time the other day

AND...

He hasn't done it since

But...

He was so proud!

Rhett is 1 month

Rhett is one month old today.

He is already playing with his big brothers....

Quint, Russell, and Rhett in their "boat"

Date Night

With three kids under 4

and a budget

Date night at our house....

looks a little like this:)

Someday we will be able to go out to sexy small table dinner and sit for hours...

not worrying about how bedtime went, or if Rett needs to nurse....

It will be great when we get there....

BUT,

for now our life is bedtime.

Full of stories, bath, animal crackers and milk.

For now, Rett needs me every 3 hours....I know someday he won't.

Someday I may be able to go to tiny table dinner with my handsome husband,

but I will probably be jazzed if my boys call me on a regular basis.

So we embrace it.

For now, a quiet house, cozy couch, a beer, and a red box is a super hot date.

Speaking of embracing it: time to feed Rett.

a moment: move the wagon

Today the boys were playing outside. Russell wanted the shovel, but it was pinned under the wagon wheel. I watched as he addressed this problem. He tried to pull it out with all his strength. Then he tried even harder. "Ahhhhhh"......he said as he pulled. I was worried he would get frustrated, and I was about to step in and help him, when he changed his plan.

I waited to see what he would do next....

He left the shovel and went over to the wagon handle. He proceeded to pull the wagon until the wheel was no longer on the shovel. This may seem simple...but I was amazed.

Its official: Russell is a genius:)

That is the opinion of a totally unbiased momma (wink, wink)

Spitter

Rhett is an amazing baby, but he is my first spitter. I love calling him spitter because it reminds me of an endearing character from the TV show Greek. Anyways. I was so proud that I had just mopped my floor, and then it happened. Rett spit up all down the back of my shirt and the very clean floor. Ahhhh. The floor never remains clean for more than a few minutes....but it was so nice while it lasted. Spit up is gross....but I can't help but love my little spitter:)

If you are wondering....

Yes, it was in my hair.

And no, I did not wash it till much later that night....

Thats life in Mommy world!

I even had my sunglasses

It was my first day flying solo with the babies.

We were not running late.

We were in the car with all our gear and I even had my sunglasses.

You see, my sunglasses always seem to be an indicator of if I have EVERYTHING.

I don't take time to grab them if I need critical things like keys or diapers.

Here is a pic of us in the car, on time, with ALL our stuff...

even my sunglasses.

Rhett is 2....WEEKS!

Rett Richardson 2 Weeks Old....

Long Legs

Hiccups

Spitter

Eater

Sleepy

Deep thinker

Tough

Hardy

Quiet

Hair

Rebecca saves the day

BK couldn't make it to drill weekend last month, so he told me he would have to go this month. When I have a brand new baby I thought! Oh no....but then I remembered Rebecca was coming in that weekend to meet Rett and help out.

This prevented a break down, I am sure we would have survived but Rebecca coming gave me a lot of peace of mind:)

Did I mention I don't love drill weekend....mainly because I don't like to share BK.

Friday she arrived and Mom flew out......I am so grateful for both their help!

Rebecca was a rock star.

She jumped into our chaos with two feet.

I would have been in trouble without her, not to mention lonely!

Here are some pics:

Mom and Rebecca trading places at the airport

Aunt Rebecca bonding with Rhett

We had to show Aunt Rebecca the football people

Go Hawkeyes:)

Aunt Rebecca is so fun, she made cookies with the boys

Russell's tongue injury

It looked much worse when it was gushing blood....but looking back maybe I over reacted a bit. The good news is I learned a lot about tongues and how they heal. I feel like being a mom of three boys requires a vast knowledge of random injuries. Maybe I need a book, when to call 911, when to call the doctor, and when to wait and see. Let me know if a book like that exists:)

A third parent

I have decided there are many times in my life where I could really use a third parent. When BK is working and I need to be two places at once....when I didn't sleep because someone was up all night and I'm dying for a nap.......when I had the flu last winter and couldn't move, etc.

Another prime example is when we are about to have a baby.

Ideally BK and I could be at the birth, but that leaves us with two boys with no where to go. We don't have family in town, state or even within our time zone. We had gracious offers from friends to watch the boys but I didn't want to drop them off in the middle of the night with our friends who all have a few kids of their own. Since we don't have a third parent hanging around.....

Grammy flew to the rescue!!

My mom's life is busy.....but she dropped everything for 10 days to come to be our third parent.

It would have been really rough without her here to step in.

THANK YOU GRAMMY!!

Here are some pics of her time here.

Arrival: Day before baby arrives!

Her first order of business: take BK out for his birthday:)

He chose Hardees...

The boys were pumped too

She watched the boys during the birth and brought them to meet their new brother

Grammy meeting Rett

She took Quint to preschool

She was a huge help at the park

Played with the boys and showed them photos on her computer

Boys are all about wrestling....Grammy got in on the action

Thanks again for all the help!

The Mail

Going to the mailbox is a man activity in our home. I could care less about checking the mail and BK is really into it. The boys have taken to the tradition and nearly every night they make the trek down the hallway of our building to get the mail. They love it, and it is something special to do with Daddy. I love it, because it is 5 minutes of total silence during a hectic dinner hour:)

Tonight the boys decided that Rett should come too. I love that they already want to include him on man adventures. Here are some pics of Daddy and his little men on their trip to the get the mail.

Dino peanut butter and jelly

My mom has an amazing gift with children. I would say all children, even teenagers, but one of her favorite stages is preschool age. She always comes up with creative ideas to entertain them. Dino peanut butter and jelly is a perfect example. Mom saw this cute cutter that makes two dinosaurs out of one peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This is something I would never think to buy but Mom did. She brought it with her when she came to help with the boys while we had Rhett.

It was a huge hit...and still is:)

Like I said, she has a gift.

So, if your children like the crust cut off and are into dinosaurs,

I would highly recommend spending two dollars on this cutter.

It is awesome.

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Shape-Sandwich-Cutter-Ideal/dp/B0041RXNX4

Grammy making dino peanut butter and jelly

Our dinosaurs often battle

Russell and Quint battle with their dinos....then eat the heads off

Dino Battle

a moment: I give it a "C"

It is officially my 8th day as a momma of three. I felt like things were going pretty well. I can handle this.....right? Granted my mom was still here being a huge helper. We got to preschool on "red day" and I had Quint dressed in Red. VICTORY! We walk into class and I notice the children are lining up in the front of the class, not on the circle like normal. All the mommas were pulling out their cameras and flip video recorders. I wave of anxiety rushed over me. It was their first time singing for us, and I don't have my camera.

I watched my awesome little man do his red song, in his red shirt. I tried to ignore all the other mommys who were talking pictures and recording the moment. Quint did a really great job. I know in my brain that it is not a huge deal, but my fear is I will be stretched too thin and Quint, Russell or Rhett will suffer because I can't handle mommy life of three under four. Another friend who has three close in age told me "you have to let some things go". I am not sure I can do that.

While I was trying to feel better about the missed Red day moment, Mom and I took Russell and Rhett to the mall. We had a plan to let Russell play in the play structure while I nursed and then go shop for some essentials. I was half nursed and Russell took a hard jump. He was hurt. Russell is normally very tough so I was not too stress till I saw the blood. His mouth was gushing blood! I handed mom the baby and ran Russell to the bathroom. He had bit a big hole in his tongue. It was gashed open. I didn't think they could do anything for tongues but we decided to go home and call the doc. The doctor could only see him during preschool pickup time, and thankfully mom dropped us off and went to get Quint. Russell was fine, but as we walked home from the doctor to meet mom, I began to think, how would I do this alone? What would I do? Post pone the doctor so I can get Quint? Ask a friend to get Quint? I can't be two places at once....

I still don't have a plan for the emergency tongue gash during preschool pick up. Guess I will cross that bridge if it happens again. We got home and everyone took naps and I was exhausted. It is only my 8th day being a mommy of three, and if I had to give myself a grade...it would be a "c". Definitely room for improvement.

Thank God, tomorrow is a new day.

Coming home

The hospital took great care of Rhett and I, but we were ready to come home and be a family. BK and the boys came to pick us up Friday night. It was awesome to see how excited the boys were to take their new little brother home. Here are some pics from the big moment:)

Quint and Russell assess the new addition.....

Our family of five

Quint shows off his big brother skills

Russell gets a chance to hold Rhett:)