4.00 Hello Four!

By Cyndi
December 15, 2014

We made it!  All of us have survived these crazy four years!!
Since this year they were home for their birthday, I tried to plan fun things for them all day long.
Matt arrived home late Friday and had to work the entire weekend.

Saturday morning started at 630a with Zach singing "Happy Birthday to me" quietly in bed.  We went out to breakfast at a diner near Matt's work so he could come for a bit on a break.

We played and napped and when Matt arrived home, we went for an adventure.  I wanted the suspense so I wouldn't have a zillion questions, but we drove 30 min to a mall and went to Build-A-Bear.  We arrived outside and they refused to go in.  Saba went inside and showed them the bear options through the glass and after a few minutes, they warmed up to the idea and went in.

Tyler chose Donatello and Zach chose Rafael.  We stuffed them and then it was time for some accessories.  Nope, they didn't want the typical items, they wanted Superman and Batman clothes! They were happy and that was all that mattered!

We grabbed pizza on the way home, enjoyed cupcakes and a little singing and of course, gift opening!

Sunday was Saba's last night so we tried to get some pictures.  Top left picture below was the first twenty tries and finally after 15 minutes of trying to convince Tyler, he cooperated for the top right!

It has been rough many days where one refuses to get dressed, wash their hands, use their listening ears.  Many times it is like talking to a wall, but I try to remind myself it's moments like their birthday that all of us will remember forever.

3.51 Almost there ...

By Cyndi
December 8, 2014

My editor is on vacation (err ... I mean business travel) so I will leave you with two pictures.

First is a bowling birthday party which was very fun!!

And second, while Daddy was away, I tried to solicit help in the kitchen, but all I got was a picture!

3.50 A warm afternoon and December prep

By Cyndi
December 1, 2014

Everyone left Saturday morning, and we quickly cleaned and spent a quiet afternoon at home.  On Sunday, we had a blast of warm weather, so we took the boys to ride bikes to the local part.  It was welcomed fresh air for everyone, though I wish we had that weather when we had 6 kids corralled inside!

I'm working on meal planning for the entire month.  Yes, the entire month as my dad will be here for all of next week while Matt is in NOLA for work.  Nana will be here a week after that, followed by the Acks' from Texas for New Year's.  That's more hosting than most months, so I'm trying to find meals that feed enough and not repeating the same things.  The kids, on the other hand, are still eating close to nothing at home and now reject some foods they used to eat, such as grilled cheese.

When I asked what breakfast food they wanted for their birthday, they requested french toast. Good choice! When I asked what they wanted for dinner, they said pizza wasn't special and instead want cereal.  Mind you, on Thanksgiving with a house full of amazing foods, they had cheerios and milk. One day kids, one day you will enjoy more yummy foods!

3.49 Thanksgiving

By Cyndi
November 27, 2014

Pardon the delayed post, but its been busy with Thanksgiving.  Besides a little wet snow which prevented us from being outside at all, we survived and had a great time together.  Matt decided to brine the turkey this year (for 48 hours), which we both agreed helped it be so moist!  With all the normal sides, the adults barely ate any dessert as we ate too much other food.

We also hosted everyone on Friday night for a big sleepover.  The kids did fairly well, even though we had to break out a new toy or two meant for their birthday to keep them all entertained.  The menu was a nacho bar on our grill plates, so each couple made their own.  I was happy with how it all turned out!

Another successful Turkey day and can't wait for next year!!

3.48 Potty talk

By Cyndi
November 19, 2014


This week has been crazy, yet again for me.  All you get from me this week is ....

"Zachary, stop playing penis games!"

Ugh, where is the user guide for two boys, one of which does a little extra playing each time he goes potty!

3.47 A little daylight for some bikes!

By Cyndi
November 10, 2014

We had a fairly quiet week & weekend.  We mostly stayed around the house and began the purging and cleanup effort in preparation of visitors over Thanksgiving and two (maybe three) times in December.  We needed to go through the extra rooms and spend time organizing and cleaning up the basement. All of the extra room is great, until you realize how much crap you find in each corner.  Cleaning it all out just in time to donate before the end of 2014!


The weather was nice enough on Sunday afternoon to spend a little time after nap outside on bikes before it started to get dark around 430pm.  Gosh, leaving for work in the dark and arriving home in the dark sucks!

That's it from here.  Any additional comments would only be about the awful listening that has continued at home.  I have had to sit in their room to ensure they go to sleep for nap and bedtime is just as bad.  Ugh ...... that is all I have to say about that.

3.46 Halloween and mug shots

By Cyndi
November 3, 2014

We survived another weekend.  Halloween was so fun once they were out RUNNING from house to house!

We've learned these kids are creatures of habit and due to our crazy work schedules and how we run this shop, change doesn't happen too often.  We switched them from their "summer" shoes to their heartier "winter" shoes when the weather turned colder last week. Between dinner and putting on costumes, Tyler lost it when we requested him to put shoes on for trick or treating.... the same shoes he wore all day at school without issue and had been wearing for a few days.  Zach and Matt went out and Matt even swung back in to try to get Tyler out but he wouldn't' budge and wanted me to carry him which at 38lbs is not an option.

Finally after 20+ min of meltdown, he finally agreed to put shoes and and went running out the door crying for Matt & Zach.  I wish I had a video of a ninja turtle with superman identity crisis running and crying down the street.

In the end, they had a great time and enjoyed some candy and went to bed.

Saturday morning I felt completely defeated.  Tyler refused to get dressed and I wasn't going to budge and give in to his demands, which were all in screaming or crying tones.  He stayed upstairs for 1 hour 45 minutes before he gave in and came down, at almost 10am.  We ended up not going to a playdate with friends whom I hadn't seen in months, which besides the parenting fail, I was sad about not seeing friends.

On a positive note, mug shots have been taken so the official countdown to vacation in March can begin!!!