Waving the White Flag

Lord, have mercy. It has been a day. Started with crackers dumped on the floor, pee on the floor, kids on the floor . . . ended with lotion dumped on the floor, more pee on the floor and lots of kids on the floor. What happened in the middle is still making my head spin. Thanks to Erin for helping make it a little more bearable!

OT/PT for Austin and Caden. Mommy to Target, rudely bumped by a cart, kicked a cart, re-injured toe. Quick lunch with my very pregnant BFF (who had to push my cart through Target- as I swore up and down the aisles trying to catch my breath). Pick up the boys, drive to the orthopedist to pick up Caden's new Forrest Gump braces (no, they are not metal sorry to disappoint you Riley Patrick, they are hard plastic and blue). We spent over an hour in the "room" with no toys (except a pink beanbag doll and one hotwheel). Survived by feeding the boys Fruit Loops (sorry to the dietitian and others who claim sugary cereal is not the best- it was and is a lifesaver!), coloring receipts with a lone pen, and flying paper airplanes with those same receipts. The boys were troopers and we were able to scoot across the hall to the Orthopedic MD to get my toe re-examined after spending the better part of the afternoon contained in a small room with 2 chairs. "Probably fragmented the newly forming 'fragile' bone," "set back". Gosh darn it . . . MF!!!! I've been looking forward to getting back to my vacation days at WORK! Home is killing me! I long for my half hour lunch and "unsupervised" potty breaks by 3 feet tall individuals scouring the bathroom cabinets and drawers for nothing short of trouble.

Back home, Riley and Mitch waiting oh, so patiently for Mommy. Backyard play for an hour and half before dinner, more meltdowns, baths, home wrecking, and the general night time melee- that led to a 45 minute car drive to get 3 of the 4 children to sleep. Home in time to read books with Riley. Quick bowl of cereal (9:30 pm), a little blogging (b*tching), and 4+ loads of laundry to fold . . . and tomorrow is another day!  Cheers to my fearless helpers tomorrow (crazy people) Grammie Girl and MB! Go Team!

On a lighter note- the kids are doing exceptionally well. Riley is in summer school at Crown Valley from 8-10 am. Mommy and the trips drive him there because the bus wanted to pick him up at 6:54 to take him to school (12 minutes away mind you) and since Riley isn't even awake at this time of morning, the bus was out of the question. He asks when his "long summer holiday" will begin and I haven't had the heart to explain that it will be only half of the "normal" summer break. He is such a smart, sweet, and loving little boy. Riley has been enjoying many "playdates" with close friends, Great Uncle George, and cousins. He loves water fights and of course his beloved trains. He is an AWESOME big brother!

The triplets are hilarious. Each different in his/her own way. Austin is 28 lbs (5 more than the other 2). He loves to snuggle and eat. His favorite "toys" are Erin's IPAD and a whoopee cushion. Austin also has a pension for lotion and will gravitate to any bottle he can find and request a toe massage :)! Mitch is 23.5 lbs and loves to rule the roost in the buff. She thinks she is potty trained and can go without diapers. If I had to give a number, I'd say she makes it to the potty 25% of the time . . . the other 75% is keeping the Resolve Carpet Cleaner in business and the grass outside slightly damper than it might otherwise be. She continues to climb everything- regardless of how high or "danger" she is being. Mitch will stand just about anywhere with her toes to the very edge, arms up above her head and request to "fly". God help her if nobody is there to catch her. Her guardian angel works overtime . . . Sweet Caden, is a funny little guy (23 lbs) who constantly gets the giggles when the others misbehave, are corrected, or anybody says the word "dirty". Riley just has to look at him and Caden is bowled over with laughter. He loves to sing the ABCs and can pick up just about anywhere in the alphabet. He is also a huge fan of "itsy spidy" (the itsy bitsy spider) and twinkle, twinkle little star. Caden loves to "scribble" and constantly requests us to draw his beloved Mickey Mouse. He can now WALK!

We are beyond blessed . . . Thank you to everyone for all their love, support, and PRAYERS!

Great Uncle Georgie and Riley following a squirt gun fight in the house . . . Mommy took the rap (Daddy was not happy)!

Riley and So-So

Austy Bear

MES! Michaela Elizabeth Shay

Every day, every meal  . . . "all done .  . . fly"

Caden Christopher

And tomorrow is another day . . .

Well-Checks, SHOTS, & broken toe . . . oh, my!

So, all things considered we are doing well in the Shay household. Despite the little boys having runny noses, we were able to get our 16/18/&20 month well-checks completed all at once :). We had not had the opportunity to stay on the "recommended" well-check schedule, because, quite frankly we were anything but well- so there. Today, Austin weighed in at a whopping 28 1bs, pretty much 5 lbs heavier than Mick and Caden who weighed in at 23.5 lbs, and 23 lbs respectively. He is also 3 inches taller! They are growing leaps and bounds and much to our delight are speaking less in foreign tongues and more in English. Riley gets a kick out of asking them to repeat words and delights in the new things they figure out, particularly when it involves getting into trouble. The boys are now able to climb up on chairs and get back down, while Mitch has learned to scale the swing set, cozy coup, and playhouse roof (this with assistance). She is fearless, which scares the heck out of me and Casey. "Flying! FUN!"- direct quote!

Today we caught up on a few immunizations with a new latest and greatest technique- deception (okay- who am I kidding? Is there really any other way?). We took the babies in one at a time to get their shot. Caden was first, barely a whimper and then smiling. Austin was a bit more dramatic, but calmed easily. Mitch? Well lets just say she had an annoyed face, said "ow" and demanded a band aid. God, I love this girl!

Riley spent the afternoon with Erin, one of our favorite babysitter/helpers. She picked him up from school, took him to run errands, to lunch, and then the park. He had a blast playing with her cat (I am so off the hook of ever owning one as he quickly broke out in hives . . . :)) and later with her IPAD. He is so smart. With school nearly over, Riley is looking forward to swim lessons and long days at the beach. He turns 5 this August and wants a gold fish and trains of course! This little/big boy is such a love despite his little mood swings and difficulties with transitioning. He wanted to know "so how is your toe coming along, mom" after I broke it by accidently kicking the door jam last night. "I will massage it for you mom, would you like that?" I managed to let out a yelp, just as he reached my foot and instead he offered me a kiss to make it better.

Life here is just as crazy as ever with PT/OT still 2-3 days a week for the boys. Caden is getting taller "Forrest Gump" like plastic braces to help support him when he walks, but he is WALKING :). School is in session for another month and then we will be on to other activities. I vacation 2 days a week at CHOC at Mission, and throughly enjoy my respite and uninterrupted potty breaks. Life is beautiful . . .