Halloween 2012 - put it in the books!

So I have to admit, I was a little afraid about trick-or-treating this year. A very excited 4 year old and 21 month old triplets who aren't allowed to walk on their own normally (meaning they are always in their wagon as we go from point A to point B) doesn't make for happy mom. However, once I grabbed on to the dogs on leashes theme for the triplets, I relaxed (a little). We had several test runs and all the boys did very well. There is one little catch - the triplets wanted to trick-or-treat with a lollipop in their mouth at all the events. So what did I do, I let them. Heck, Halloween is only once a year, right (er, well, maybe 4 times in our world when you add in Chase's preschool parade where we handed out, yep, you guessed it, lollipops!).

Good news, Popi decided to join the fun so in addition to my Mom, we had an extra set of hands this year and that is ALWAYS welcome with 6 kids running amuk! Before we left the house, Popi and the boys had some serious play time. Here, Popi manages to get all 4 laying side-by-side for a massive ticklefest. I wish I had sound in these pictures because it was priceless.So off we went to Matt and Jennifer's house (my brother and SIL) to search for candy with my nephew, Bise and niece, Meredith.

Waiting to be tickled (C,A,G,J - L to R)

Jack finally gave up and raised his arms too

We started with a little dinner of pizza and salad and some outside playtime before getting some pre-sugar-high pictures. Here are my boys:

Chase was Jake (from the Disney show) and promised Ms. Whitney he would take a picture with a good smile for her!)

Graham, Chas, Jack and Anthony (yes, Jack is trying to double-bucket)

And Bise and Meredith. Bise was a Ninja and Meredith was Tinkerbell - which made Chase super-excited since Jake the Neverland Pirate and Tinkerbell and friends!

Tinkerbell Meredith and Ninja Bise

All all the kids:

Cousins - Anthony literally picture crashed at the last minute! He cracks me up sometimes...

 

 

Pre-fun: Meredith, Graham, Chase, Jack, Bise, Anthony

The triplets made it about 35 minutes before they started dropping like flies and the older kids made it about 30 minutes longer.

Jack trying to eat his loot, wrapper and all!

Chase somehow managed to be first in line to get his goodies!

Don't worry, they made out like bandits in that period of time:

This was only from Chase and Meredith's buckets. The triplet buckets were put into the house pot and given out to other kids! CRAZY....

All in all, we had a great time and more memories were made. I am already starting to think about next year's costumes and may try to do some shopping (without kids) this weekend to see what kind of items are left and on sale that I can use. The triplets managed well on the leashes and didn't seem to mind them which is good because they will be used again in January when we take on Disney with all four kids!

 
We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

It’s only mid-October and the fun is just beginning…..

          

Well since Labor Day is now over 6 weeks past, I am long overdue an entry on what we have been up to lately. I mentioned in my last post that my Mom and I were headed to Boston for a girls’ weekend. We made it there, had a great time and Jason and the boys survived without any female interference (assistance in my book) while Mom and I were away. Remember that I not only went away but took our standard “in case of emergency” backup plan with me! Kuddos to Jason and the boys for having some well-deserved boy bonding time. I think that means I get to do it again in the future, right babe?

Then we had a weekend at home before Jason and I went to Chicago to watch Notre Dame take on Miami (thanks to Liz and Emily for watching the boys for that trip!). The weekend after had a visit from Nana but not before a field trip with Chase to Hillridge Farms, a pumpkin patch with lots of fun things to explore. Jason took the morning off work and we ALL went, and I mean, ALL. We brought the wagon for the triplets but realized that they just wanted to run and explore so we let them. That led me to a realization which I will share soon.

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Wes, Chase and Cam at the farm

Running the maze with Daddy (Jack and Graham). Anthony had already finished!

Chase on top of the haystack

Pumpkins! They kept wanting to pick them up and throw them like a ball. They were all yelling, "baball" which means basketball in Liner triplet language.

Sitting, not so patiently, in front of the spider haystack

 

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That week Jason and I went to dinner with my grandparents, Mom, brother and sister-in-law for an adult only dinner to celebrate my grandparents’ 65^th wedding anniversary. We had a lovely dinner and it was nice to be able to focus on them without the distraction of kids.

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Celebrating 65 years!

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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when the calendar page turned to this month, micro-soccer started for Chase. Practice/games held twice a week after nap but before dinner. The triplets came to watch the first week and I realized that this wasn’t going to work. It confirmed my realization from the field trip. It’s coming, I promise. So I now ‘bank’ time at the YMCA and instead of putting the boys in the playhouse (child care room) for 2 hours in the morning while I workout and shower, they only go for 1 hour. Then I can take them back for the second hour in the afternoon during soccer. Yet another reason I love the YMCA. The boys get more play time and I get to actually sit and watch Chase play and cheer on his team. Popi came down for the first practice/game of the season and brought gifts from he and Meme's trip to Alaska.

Ready for the cold with our toboggans from Alaska

I got a cool t-shirt and other trinkets

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Nana came and the weather was perfect for us to play outside and do some pumpkin carving. I decided that carving designs on 6 pumpkins just wasn’t going to happen so we decided on letters. (Yes, we know that Jason doesn’t start with a “D” but those are Mommy and Daddy pumpkins…..Chase was in charge remember).

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Our family of pumpkins

The boys and their pumpkins

With the pumpkins

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Throw in another stomach bug that took me out of commission for a couple of days and then decided to attack poor Jack and we are finally to the current theme, Halloween. Yes, I know the actual day is a couple weeks away but I had to start planning sooner rather than later since we have a couple weeks of events to mark the date. Here is the realization: leashes. Yes, for my kids, not just the dog. I know there are a handful of people who think they are cruel and can’t imagine any loving parent using them on their children. However, until you have your own kids keep your opinions to yourself! While the pumpkin farm was ‘contained’, Jason and I spent most of morning running in opposite directions chasing triplet toddlers. Chase luckily hung out with his friends from school and their moms and we just tried to ‘keep up with them’ with the toddlers in tow. With the leash lesson in mind, my costume planning began…or shall I say shifted.

I say shifted because I had costumes for the triplets already but I realized they would never work with the leashes and Trick-or-Treating would not work without them. A new plan was hatched. Chase got his mind set on being Jake the pirate from a Disney show (thank you Disney for the pre-made costume I can pay you to provide) so now for the triplets. I know I won’t be able to dress them alike for many years so I went with my gut. How can you get people to not make sarcastic or snide comments when you have your children on leashes? You make them Dalmatian puppies for Halloween, on a leash of course! So off I went and my wish came true. We debuted the costumes at the YMCA trunk or treat this afternoon and the puperazzi (I mean paparazzi) was in full force and people LOVED it. We spent more time stopping to let people take our picture than we did actually exploring the festival but it was well worth it. The boys did great on the leashes and I felt like they enjoyed themselves while I could let them have a little freedom.

Heading to the car for some fun

Full costumes, buckets, hats (ears) and leashes

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We still have trick or treating at Jason’s office, a Halloween parade at Chase’s preschool and then the main event but for a first outing, I am pretty excited for this holiday. We will post more pictures as events happen but this is just a preview of things to come!

Enjoy!

A little education from Chase....

While there are no pictures for this post, I couldn't let the memory escape without mention. as Chase and I were outside last night after the triplets went to sleep, I was shocked by what he knows that I am not aware of. You see, the weather was perfect for some night sky gazing. We first talked about the moon because it was almost full and absolutely beautiful against the black sky. chase says to me, you know mom, the moon and the sun circle around each other so when you can see the moon, the sun is behind it. While I know this isn't absolutely correct in terms of astrology, I was still impressed that at least had the general concept. He then surprised me even more when we started to look at different stars and he told me that when you get a group of stars into a shape they make a constellation.

WHERE DOES THIS KID GET THIS STUFF?! I don't know and quite honestly I don't care. Wherever he is learning it, I just want it to continue.

Where have you been?

The last post mentioned us going to the beach for Labor Day weekend if Jack was healthy enough, so why the long time between now and then? Sickness! Full out, go through all 4 boys but take 2 weeks to do so, sickness. I have come to the conclusion after this experience that while it makes life even more miserable at the time, I would prefer all the boys get sick at once. This form of the stomach bug took multiple forms depending on the child and lasted over 2 weeks! I spent over 48 hours trapped in the house with kids who weren't really too sick to be happy and play (which was nice) but weren't healthy enough to go out in public for fear of spreading this yuck to others. The only good news is that near the end of the self-imposed sabbatical the sun was shining and we all went outside for several hours. But, I digress.

We actually did make it to the beach for about 36 hours before Jack relapsed and we headed back home. He was symptom-free for about 18 hours so we decided to head to Oak Island. We left around lunch time on Saturday. This is important because Notre Dame kicked off the football season by playing Navy in Ireland so the kickoff was at 9:00 AM East Coast time. We all got up and got dressed for the occasion and watched with intensity as the Irish played. We hoped to catch a glimpse of Grandma since she and family and friends were there but we never saw her.

Getting ready for the Irish kickoff in Dublin!

 With a comfortable lead at half-time we loaded up and hit the road. I listened to the second half on the drive there and we made it there for some afternoon play on the beach.

He is READY for the beach!

So are we! Lots of space to run free!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We had a lovely dinner at home with family that night and then the next morning the fun began. Jack got sick on Popi (Jason's dad). I mean literally on Popi. It was my fault. I gave him his normal cup of milk and it didn't agree with his stomach and his stomach won. Of course, we debated whether to leave right then and there but he literally laughed and played so we chalked up it to poor decision making on Mommy's part and decided to stay. We were okay for the rest of the day and decided to head back to the beach for some more fun.

 

 

 

 

Anthony's idea of fun is to dump wet sand on his head. He did this several times and loved it. Hence the nickname - PigPen. Love this child!

Chase racing Popi on the beach. Chase spends 90% of his time of the beach running. No joke.

I should have known Jack still wasn't 100% when he fell asleep like this on the beach. He drew quite a crowd with this stunt, including beach patrol on a 4-wheeler!

 That night we planned on to go to a local seafood place for dinner. Well, Jack's stomach had other plans when we arrived and he christened Daddy this time around. I headed back to the house with the triplets and a messy Jason. Chase stayed with Meme, Popi, Uncle Marc, Aunt B and Milo and Jason changed clothes and went back to join them. Again, Jack was fine. Ate dinner and everything but at this point I was done! I just wanted to be home where I could deal with this in my own space. We made it through the night without incident, packed bright and early and were back at our house by 10:00 AM on Monday.
 
 But the fun was just starting as I learned. Chase started preschool on Tuesday and Jason had taken the day off so he and the little guys stayed home while Chase went to the dentist and then I took him to school. Another day without incident.

First Day of preschool 2012 - it was sunny everywhere we tried to take our picture so this is the best you get!

Wednesday morning seemed okay until I went to pick up the triplets from the nursery at the YMCA and they mentioned that Graham had a bad diaper. Oh boy, here it comes again. And boy did it...except Chase came home from school and took a nap which meant even more trouble. He gave up naps before he turned 2, so I knew he was next on the list. He ran a low-grade fever for 2 days while Graham had lower stomach problems. Jack was finally healthy, Chase and Graham were sick...so what about Anthony? Tick, tock, tick, tock. It was during this time that I decontaminated the house and went on a self-imposed quarantine of us all. Lysol was sprayed, bedding was washed and changed, toys were cleaned and hands were washed until they were raw. My house hasn't looked or smelled this clean in AGES! By the weekend I thought we were safe. But come Monday, Anthony started to battle the lower intestine bug. The good news is that he didn't have nearly the battle that the others did which was a nice change of pace for all of us, but for me in particular. While I hate that the kids were sick, the nice thing about this age is that they really don't know that they are supposed to be miserable so it was just me who truly suffered!

This is how Mom decided to entertain us when we were quarantined! When all else fails get out one plastic pool and 500 plastic balls and viola - fun times are had by all, mom included!

From there we tried to find our rhythm of school, the YMCA and the perfect weather. My birthday was the following Monday and we had an amazing day. The trips and I took Chase to school and went to the YMCA where they moved out of the nursery (infant room) and up to the next age-room (playhouse). The move went fairly well considering that my kids live for structure and routine and don't deal that well with change. We came home and I worked for a couple of hours while Whitney stayed with the boys. When I got back from work we all went outside and that is where we stayed until dark. My mom and grandparents came over for burgers and dogs on the grill and we ate on the back porch. It was an awesome day.

Since then we have all seemed to be healthy with the exception of the random head cold from the start of school, but that is normal around this house from about now until March! We are simply enjoying the great weather (love NC when the fall is like this - temps in the 80s, sun shining and no excuse to be inside!) We are still trying to reschedule Chase's 4 year old pictures (yes, I know he turned 4 in July - work with me people!) and take some updated family shots - now that in and of itself could be an entire blog post!

My mom and I head to Boston this weekend for a girl's trip while Jason stays home with the boys. I know I am excited but I am not sure I can say the same for him! Then a couple weeks later Jason, Mom and I head to Chicago to watch Notre Dame play Miami at Soldier Field. Good times ahead that is for sure! Here's to a wonderful fall for everyone.....

No pictures, just memories!

Had to get this down before I lost it in the chaos of everyday life.

1. Chase Memory

Last night, Jason held his first poker night in a long time. The deal is that he can't start before 8:30 since the triplets are in bed asleep (in theory at least) and all I have to do is deal with Chase. That is actually a rule for Girls' Night out too come to think of it! Anyway, I got sidetracked. A friend that I used to work with, Chris, came over early to have dinner and visit since I haven't gotten a chance to really spend any time visiting with him when I go back to school to see people. After dinner and some outside play time, we were back inside giving the boys their baths. Chris was hanging out in the bonus room when the boys were finishing up. Graham entered the room and gave Chris his classic "coy' smile and then literally side stepped around him in a playful mode. I looked at him and told Graham that he was being a ham bone. Chase said, no, he is being a dinosaur bone! Chris and I just looked at each other and laughed. What a card that kid is!

2. Graham Memory

So poor Jack is not feeling well. After having lower stomach issues most of yesterday, this morning the upper joined in. Needless to say, keeping three 1 1/2 year olds away from a pile of vomit is not an easy task. After steering them away from the mess and into another room while I cleaned up the remains, I hear Chase yell, "Someone stinks!" I leave one mess and come looking for the next. I look at the triplets and ask, is somebody shooey? (How we ask about dirty diapers in our house). All three boys shake their head no but then Graham proceeds to walk behind Anthony and then Jack and pull out the back of their diaper to check for himself. Cracked me up!

Anyway, I just had to get these down before I forgot. I made a promise to try and track some of these moments to remind me that there really was some fun in the house during all the stress of these years. Lately, it seems like the days have been rather routine and not super exciting which I now think is the way I would prefer it.

We are supposed to leave for the beach tomorrow but am not sure if that will happen unless Jack makes some progress during the day today. Otherwise, I may send Jason and Chase and stay home with the triplets. If we do go, I will try to take some pictures and get them posted soon.

Chase also starts back at preschool on Tuesday (Hooray! I mean, aw, summer is already over?) He will be going Monday through Thursday from 9:00 - 12:30 which is great for all of us. He is ready to be with his friends and Mommy is ready to stop being his constant playmate.

On a random note, I started a contract position working with Duke University on a Federal grant from the Department of Education. I am writing Health curriculum and lessons that align with the North Carolina State Standards but are brain-centric. Basically, it is my job to meet with neuroscientists and take their research and data and turn it into information that high school health students can understand. We are trying to show students that literally everything that happens starts with your brain but that you can also train your brain to be more efficient. It is pretty cool stuff and I am very excited about the opportunity. I have a sitter come over for a couple hours 2 days a week and I leave the house so I can work which is nice for everyone. She is here while the triplets nap and basically just has to play with Chase and deal with the occasional baby who make wake up a little early. So far it has worked out quite nice for all of us. Chase actually misses me because I leave the house a few days a week and I feel like a 'real person' because I get to use my brain and get paid for it!

I will post pictures of the first day of school and the beach (hopefully).

Chase's 4 year checkup

I have made a habit of posting the results of the doctor checkups for the triplets so I felt it was only fair to do the same for Chase. I made his appointment in the afternoon during nap time and got a sitter for the little ones so Chase and I could go by ourselves. I honestly wasn't sure if he was due for any shots so we talked about the fact that the nurse may prick his finger for a blood test and he may get some shots too. Well after getting his stats (36 pounds, 40 inches tall, passed hearing screen and vision is awesome) we went to the room to wait for the doctor. I can tell that my little boy is getting older because he wasn't really keen on having to strip down to his underwear and wait. To ease his nervousness, he sat in my lap and played games on my phone. I got to snuggle and he was distracted. As he sat there, I realized that his shins were COVERED in bruises, and I mean covered as in there was almost no space without a shade of bruise. When the doctor came in and we started talking, I made mention of the fact that I don't beat him despite what his legs may show. She reassured me by saying that when they see bruises on the shin they see that as a sign of an active child and are encouraged, not discouraged. Whew, now I could breathe a little and get on with the checkup. That is, until she started asking Chase questions. I really like the fact that she asked him the questions directly however, his answers made me question even that! She asked him what he liked to drink. Easy enough I figured. His responses, "Chocolate milk and milk". Me being nervous made sure to clarify that they are 2 different things. He then said juice and paused. I keep waiting for him to say water because he drinks tons of water in the summer but he never would. I finally had to prompt him and he finally said water. Whew, one down, how many to go? She then asked what kind of fruit he likes. Easy! He will have no problem with this since we eat TONS of fruit, especially fresh fruit in the summer. His response, "Toy Story fruit snack and Mommy fruit snacks". Note by now I am shrinking in my chair with embarrassment as I say, No buddy, like the fruit with eat with lunch and dinner. Chase - silence. What did you have before we came here? I ask. Chase - silence. Okay kid, you are officially killing me! The doctor finally gives him some examples and he answers with her choices. Ugh! She then moves to the physical exam where all looks good and declared that we are done and can go home, but not before asking about vaccines. She gave me all the options and we decide to postpone them until next summer when he turns 5 because we haven't officially decided when he will start kindergarten and I figure there is no reason to give them any sooner than we have too. Besides, no shots or blood work made me super mom, especially when he got a lollipop in the car for the short ride home. All in all, it was a good visit and he got the all clear until next year. Scratch that, until flu shot time!

Zipline Action!!!

Last month, Melissa posted about Chase's 4th birthday party which we held at a place called My Gym.  During the party they took the kids for rides on the indoor zipline.

It was fun, and the kids loved it, but it was just too short and didn't go fast enough.  But the wheels started turning.  Before we even left the party, I had Marc (my brother) googling info about ziplines.  Over the next week or two I continued to research and eventually found a good zipline kit on ziplinegear.com.  I prepped the two trees in the back yard that would be the ends of the zipline.  The two trees are 180 feet apart. 
The zipline "Viper Kit" arrived last Saturday morning (8/4).  I knew we were in for some good fun when the box said "Caution:  Contains Awesomeness".

My research showed that you should have 6-8 feet of rise per 100 feet of length, so I settled in the middle.  7 ft per 100 feet equates to about 12.5 feet of rise for the 180 foot length.  My low end would be 10 feet high, so the high end is 22.5 feet. 

After prepping the back of the tree with four 1"x4" boards (to keep the tree from dying with the wear of the cable), I looped the short cable around the tree and attached the turnbuckle. 

Then I attached the 200 foot cable to the turnbuckle and headed all the way across the yard.

From the tree supporting the high end, looking across the yard to the lower end tree (circled in red).

Once the cable was connected to the tree at the lower end, and all bolts were tightened, we gave it a few test runs.  I sat on the wooden plank seat (supported by a rope through the middle of the plank) and held on to the pulley handle bars.  Melissa pulled me as high as she could get me, about half way across the yard, and let me go.  My weight was supported just fine, so we hooked up one of the swings from the swing-set and buckled Chase in. 

We gave Chase a few test rides by pushing him as far as we could before he got too high to reach...again, about half way across the yard.  It didn't take him long to start asking to go all the way to the top.  And yes, that's my car in the backyard.  Melissa had the brilliant idea to hook the cable to the hitch of the car to tighten it up.  It worked great! 

Without a good rope, I used a 50' utility extension cord and had Chase hold on while I pulled him all the way to the top.  Yippee!! 

Anthony took a few turns without much emotion and then Graham took a few turns.  He wasn't really sure and finally on the third run, he decided he wasn't a fan quite yet.  Chase on the other hand loved to just run beside the triplets as they came down the second half of the run.  Jack never did want a turn on opening day, but did finally give it a try a few days later.  The brake line at the end keeps them from hitting the tree...brilliant!

The Sharp's came over so Brady and Blake got to ride as well.  Again Chase loved to race beside them on their way down.  Here he is at full speed running beside Blake.

 

Here's a shot from underneath Chase while he's at the top getting ready to let go of the "rope".

I've pulled Chase across the yard so many times in the past few days.  It'll be tons of fun for a long time.  On this one, I climbed the ladder all the way to the top and pulled Chase up to me.  First, I got this snapshot.  Notice the back garage on the far left side of the picture.  We are way above the gutter level of the garage.

Ready, set go...and away he went.  This video is with my cell phone, so it's not great quality, but you can see how far he goes and from a great view above him.  With your volume turned on, you can hear the whiz of the zipline as he picks up speed.  It's pretty impressive.  Needless to say, the zipline is fantastic entertainment these days at the Liner household!!