Eat, Drink, and be Merry.

This is a new bib that we are test driving. It is made by Baby Bjorn and I ordered them from Target. I am so tired of picking up food off the floor after the babies eat. Also they keep taking their bibs off, creating an even bigger mess because then they get their clothes dirty. I have mountains of laundry as it is. (If you happened to notice that my children mostly wear pajamas, this is why. They are nice and warm in the winter, so we just change their diapers, and they wear the same clothes day and night, between baths).

So far, they love the bibs. As you can see, they think that the proper use of this garment, is a feed bag. They walk around eating cheerios out of them. The bibs are made of a softer plastic and have a molded lip at the bottom for catching crumbs. Once they are done eating you can just rinse them and hang them to dry (the bibs, not the kids). The neck has a connector that makes it pretty hard for any baby to remove them. We'll see how long that lasts. So far, so good. They also come in lots of bright colors.We have 3 little winos in the making. One night the babies were disguising their sippy cups by putting them in boots and then drinking out of them.

Here Ashlyn is practicing her yoga moves. Lately, I have been making an attempt to get back to my former, and better habits. Namely meaning exercise. Try enjoying the serenity of yoga in a calm, relaxing atmosphere. If you can do all of that and not bust out in laughter while watching her do this, you're better than me. This isn't even the best part. Whenever I am in any position that requires me to get down on the floor, she is either crawling under me or trying to lay on me. At least she keeps me motivated. At least 3 times a day she asks me if we are going to do our "estersizes".

Shoulda seen the one that got away.

Daddy and Ashlyn went ice fishing this afternoon. This was her first time. Over all she liked the fishing but informed me that she doesn't like the ice part. Lance said he left her for a second, by the truck and told her to stay there, when he turned around she was laying on the ground. After that she insisted on being carried whenever they were walking on the ice.

Let there be laughter.

I planned to write this post, describing in detail, my crazy morning. The title was to be, "Diary of a Mad Momma". I turned on my camera to document exactly why my head feels like it could explode any second. Instead I found these photos. My mom must have taken them yesterday while I was out enjoying a few hours away(grocery shopping, and completing my skills testing at the hospital). So instead of hearing me rant and rave about the joys of parenting toddlers, thanks to my mom, you get to see these guys.

I do have to tell you one cute thing they were doing this morning. Gaby started it and taught them all. She, for the past couple weeks has been bringing me bits of junk off the floor, and when she hands it to me, I say thank you. Unlike Brooke who thinks our floor is an all-you-can-eat buffet. This morning, Gaby started trying to pick dust off of our radiators (they aren't hot enough to burn them) and bring it to me. Just what are you trying to tell me, Gaby?
Happy Wednesday!! It is Wednesday, right?

We needed a makeover.

I decided to give our blog a face lift. It's a new year and we have a new house, so why not a new blog. Plus I always felt bad that I titled our blog Triple Blessings and left out Ashlyn. She is a huge part of our family and I wanted to include her in the title. So I changed it to Triple Blessings + One. I hope no one thought we were having another baby.

Ashlyn has loved playing dress up lately. She loves Princesses and anything girly. Whenever she is starting to drive me crazy I say "if you don't stop it, I'll sell you to the gypsies". She always used to say, "no, I don't want to go with the gypsies" until the other day I said "why not, you would like it, they wear dresses, and beads around their neck, and dance". Now she says "mommy can I go with the gypsies, pweeese".
Here is Brooke modeling one of my sweat shirts. It seems we all are in need of a makeover.

Gaby is "striking a pose", practicing for her future days with Vogue. She was clomping around the house, wearing one of Ashlyn's pretty sandals. One of the kids' favorite toys is definitely shoes. Snow boots, their own shoes, Ashlyn's shoes, rain boots, mommy's shoes, and even daddy's boots usually end up strewn about the house. Ryan says, "I gotta find a way out of here, away from all these crazy girls". Yes, he is standing on his booster seat looking out the window. He and Brooke have both been caught climbing the chairs again.

Eating and Sleeping.

We are attempting to add a little culture to the babies lives. One way to begin this, is to introduce containers from which we eat, aka bowls. Up until this point, I have been leery of putting anything else on their trays that could eventually end up in my face. But, since they won't be allowed to eat off of the table when they go to preschool ( which is light years away but who knows how long it will take to teach these kids table manners) the time has begun. This is the second time I've attempted tableware. It seemed to go the same way each time. Gaby immediately picked up her bowl and dumped it's contents onto her tray. "What is this pink thing anyway?" Which is why you don't see it in the picture, because it is immediately taken away if it doesn't stay on the tray. Ryan did well and because, it seems, he is having a growth spurt ( I can tell this because he has been eating everything in front of him, asking (whining) for more, and eating everything on his sister's trays whenever he gets the chance) he also felt the need to lick the platter clean. Sorry, Bud, that you are captured per photo eating out of a pink bowl, but mommy hasn't had time to buy you a boyish one yet. I'm sure it will taste the same.Brooke picked daintily out of her bowl, taking her time and weeding out all the chunky pieces. Just like she always does. It explains why she weighs 2 lbs less than the other 2. What I don't understand, is how she can manage to extract the slightest amount of texture out of every bite, yet is the only one of the 3 that will eat anything and everything off of the floor. I have rescued bugs, wood chips, bits of lint, and (thank God) a screw, out of her mouth, and who knows what has actually been ingested. Hopefully it had lots of protein.The kids decided today that nap time would be in their new "bunk beds". They have been very into climbing lately. Anyone really good at baby proofing? I seem to be lacking in that area.

"It's official, we ARE taking over the blog".

From the desk of Gaby, Ryan, and Brooke:

Mommy isn't doing a good enough job showing us off. I mean, what DOES she do all day? We eat once and a while, and poop about 8 times a day, but we do nap for 1-2 hours twice a day. We plan to add more pictures to express our creativity. Mommy thinks this old computer (which crashed after 7 years of faithful service) doesn't work, and we are just playing. Little does she know that we have watched enough "Baby Einstein" to learn how to rework a hard drive.Ashlyn's playing peek-a-boo to distract Mommy. She thinks we actually like those childish games. Hmm, looks like Ashlyn found the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. She is a sucker for chocolate, just like mommy.

Gaby, having a bad hair day. How can you not love this look?Snuggling with Grandpa on his 60th Birthday. Ask him what his kids gave him for a gift. He loves to brag about it. "Camo and pink boots........they match, right? Don't tell Daddy.""Here is my first big boy hair cut. Mommy about cried when she saw the curls falling to the floor.""Ok, your going to do what with those sharp, pointy things?"
"I'm a big boy now".Brooke using Daddy's tube socks for a scarf. Doesn't she look glamorous?

A tisket, a tasket, 3 babies in a basket.

Walking in a winter wonderland. Gotta love 33 degrees in January.

Here's our family on Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma Schwenn's.
Here's the Schwenn clan. We are getting too big for the old house. Guess we'll have to add on.