I Feel Pretty

Sophie has decided that she doesn't want to wear clothes and I'm tired of fighting her about it. She got to pick her own clothes out this morning. I gave her several options, all of which were quickly rejected. This is what she dug out of her drawer. I promise I had nothing to do with this selection.

The bottom picture is what happened when she got a hold of her Aunt Rachael's make-up (they stayed with us this weekend).

A Song for Kathryn

My friend Kathryn has been having "issues" at Starbucks...see here and here... so I am dedicating this song to her (turn up the volume). Kat, I know there is a Taylor out there for you!

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Gracie ADORES Mack!! He can make her laugh like no other. When he's sad, she's sad. When he is in trouble, she gets upset with me. She loves to hug him and is always trying to hold his hand when in their car seats in the van. He tries to act like he wants to have nothing to do with her...especially when I'm watching. However, I have seen him holding her hand when he thinks I don't know. I know you love her back Mack. You are good brother!

Easter Photos

We had a very difficult time getting good photos of the family and the cousins on Easter. No one would cooperate. But that's okay, the most important thing is...

He is risen and we are redeemed!! Thank you God!

Painting Easter Eggs

Saturday before Easter Crissy (my brother's SIL) had everyone over to decorate eggs. This wasn't your ordinary "dye the eggs" party. She had wooden eggs, styrofoam eggs, and several other types of eggs. There were paints, markers, stickers, etc. Thanks Crissy for a great party!

The little girl in the middle is not my fourth triplet even though she could pass for one. This is Aubrey, my niece, who is only 10 days younger than my three.
Grace really got into it at first and then got bored like I always do when it comes to crafts.
Sophie is very focused on her painting. I think she is so much like my sister (see below).
Mack wasn't interested at first until the Cars stickers came out.
I had to add a photo of my sister Shelly. Look at that intense concentration on her face. She is the artist in the family. I have absolutely no artistic ability.

Springtime at the Arboretum

The tulips are blooming and it's beautiful!!! Today we met some friends at the Arboretum for Mommy and Me Mondays. They had a petting zoo, face painting, music and dancing and we had a picnic on the lawn. It was a beautiful day!!! Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of Grace this trip since I was holding her while taking photos but here are a few of Mack and Sophie.
WHERE'S MACK!?!?! WHY DOES HE ALWAYS HAVE TO HIDE FROM ME?! IT'S IS FAVORITE GAME.
SOPHIE HUGGING CAROLINE HELLO. THERE IS ALWAYS A LOT OF HUGGING WHEN WE SEE CAROLINE AND ANDREW.

FLUFFY CHICKENS...OR DOGS TO CAROLINE. THEY DO KIND OF LOOK LIKE FLUFFY PUPPIES.

MACK TRIED TO FEED THE SHEEP AND GOATS AND WAS ASKED NOT TO BY THE "KEEPER OF THE PETTING ZOO". HEY, THEY LOOKED HUNGRY.

I'm Big Bird??

I have 2 posts today so make sure you see Grace below.

Mel had this Sesame Street Quiz on her blog and I just had to try it, since I had already determined (on my own) that Abe is Bert and his best friend Brian is Ernie. Here is my result.

I am Big Bird Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around. (Ha! I knew I was sane and you are all crazy!)


You are usually feeling: Happy. From riding a unicycle to writing poetry, you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy. (hmmm...never done either)


You are famous for: Being a friend to everyone. Even the grumpiest person gets along with you. (Yes!! A lot of my friends are grumpy..haha)


How you life your life: Joyfully. "Super. Duper. Flooper. (Well that may be going a little too far, but I do feel flooper quite often)

Which character are you? The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Walking to the Door

must apologize in advance...sometimes I'm S-T-U-P-I-D! (We spell this word in our house so hopefully the kids won't pick it up) I didn't know that I had to video holding my camera landscape and not portrait and I can't figure out how to turn the video (if you can), so the video below is sideways. It is way too cute to discard and I don't know how soon I'll get another like it so, either turn your head sideways or pick up your monitor and turn it...whichever suits you best.

The kids are impatiently waiting for Jackie to arrive so they are pretty revved up and Grace can't wait to get to the door to see her.

Brown Bear Brown Bear

Yesterday, while couped up in our house, Sophie had story time. She read, among other things, Brown Bear Brown Bear. Notice how she shows us the pictures. She actually speaks very clear English most of the time but we are not sure what language she reads aloud in. If you recognize it, please let me know. Maybe it's Chickasaw...she IS a little Indian girl you know (more on that later...no smart comments ;)

Mack also read this book to us and I have some of it on video. Unfortunately he was running around the room as he reads, so it's not good footage. Is it too soon to start giving him Ritalin? I'M JUST KIDDING!!! GEEZ!!!

If I had to guess what my kids would be when they grow up, I would say Sophie will be a teacher, Grace will be a writer and Mack will be a Monster truck driver.

Remember to turn off my playlist please

Rain, Rain Go Away

This week is Spring Break and there is no MDO, no Kindermusik and no Hippotherapy so I tried to plan all these fun outdoor activities with our friends. Well, so far this week we have been couped up in the house. Although it didn't rain yesterday, Grace was running a fever and it was very muggy outside. Today it has rained all day. Here were are coloring in our room. Notice in the second photo Sophie is squinting...she always does that now in anticipation of the flash. And also notice the crazy curls going on. The humidity does wonderful things to the girls' hair...out of control.

Anyway, gotta get back in there before Mack colors the entire table...oh yes, he loves to do that.

Christy Brown

Today at MDO the kids had an Easter Egg hunt. It was a beautiful day...over 80 degrees. I went to pick them up a little early so I could participate in some of the festivities. The teacher said that Mack and Sophie had absolutely no interest in hunting eggs and just wanted to play on the slide. Mack was however, VERY interested in the food table. That boy loves his food.

When I got there Grace was seated in the plastic airplane (which broke my heart) and an older woman was sitting with her. I sat on the ground next to them and we began talking. She mentioned, out of the blue, that she had just see the movie My Left Foot. It kind of threw me off guard a bit. I guess someone told her that Grace has CP and she was trying to relate. I then went into my "There is such a wide range of CP and every person affected is different" spiel. It was incredibly awkward. Gosh, some people really don't get it do they.

What's in a Name...or a Diagnosis?

A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend about her desire to forgo getting a formal diagnosis for her daughter who has different needs. She didn't want her daughter to be labeled. She didn't want children in school saying "Oh, that's the girl with CP". I have been thinking about this ever since.

Although I was anxious to put a name on her developmental delays, the doctors deferred giving Grace a diagnosis until she was almost 2 years old. I kept hearing that regardless of a diagnosis, the treatments would be the same. However, for me, logic dictated that we give the affliction a name. How would I research and attack the issues when I didn't know what they were called? Surely we would need a diagnosis for something....if only for for insurance purposes.

Well, I've really started reevaluating this thinking....do we really need a diagnosis? Do I really need to tell people that Grace has Spastic Quadraplegia Cerebral Palsy? Why do I always have this need to explain the entire situation to people? Can I just simple say..."She has some spasticity" or "She has some high tone in her muscles". Maybe I'll just say..."She's Grace...she's an incredible little girl...get to know her...you'll absolutely fall in love".

Quack Quack

As performed by Sophie. Listen closely. (You will have to turn off my playlist before you start the video...sorry)


Sophie LOVES to sing. She will sing along with anything whether she knows the words or not, sometimes making up words (just like her dad ;).

I'm Okay...Well, Close Enough

My sister called a few days ago to make sure nothing was wrong..I hadn't blogged in almost a week. Well, after the Week O' Vomit I was too exhausted to move, think, and yes, even too tired to blog. We've had about a week to recover and we are pretty much back to normal now. Mack is back to tackling his sisters, Sophie is back to being a drama queen and Grace has been talking up a storm. One of her new words is "Latte". That's my girl!

Today was beautiful, so we worked and played in the backyard. Enjoy a few photos of my cute kids...and Kat Kat too.

Card Carrying Member

Last week I received my membership card to AARP. What the ......!!?? Yes, I did turn 40 last year...but AARP?! Oh well, maybe I'll get some good discounts. I'm going to try using it the next time I go to the movies. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Just Some Randomness

My entire family has been sick this week...Abe, the triplets, everyone but me. They all had the stomach flu and it was...well, our house still smells like vomit (ewwww). There was one point where I thought, "If anyone else vomits on me today, I'M GOING TO LOSE MY MIND!!!"

Grace tends to take the "normal childhood illnesses" a little harder than her siblings. The colds last longer, she won't eat anything...it actually gets pretty scary sometimes. I watch the skinny little body just get skinnier, Elmo doesn't make her laugh anyone, we miss therapies. I worry... and worry more. Will this be a setback for her physically? When will she want to walk with her walker again? WHEN WILL SHE EAT AGAIN? When will she laugh again? I know it all sounds overly dramatic, but it all feels like a big deal when you have a child with different needs.

Anyway....Today, I came across an article that someone sent me and wanted to share it. It doesn't have anything to do with vomit but it does speak about learning tolerance and mercy. We all could probably use an extra dose of those things. Check it out here