Baby Shower

 A couple weeks ago I had the honor of co-hosting Aunt Mae's (as my kiddos know her) baby shower!  I personally can't wait for Miss Olivia to enter the world and it was so fun to spend time with friends planning the party and celebrating Megan!  She is such an amazing friend to me and has been a huge support to my family.  And she threw me an incredible shower, so I had to live up to those standards!

Meg hostess, Lauren pregnant one

Meg pregnant one, Lauren hostess

All the guests made applique onesies.  Here's Megan with the Olivia collection- so cute!

The display table!  

Taking a break for Mary's yummy punch

Super cute favors Vaniesa made

I couldn't have done this shower alone and the other hostesses did such a great job on all the details!  From hanging pom poms to collapsing cakes, we definitely had our mishaps, but that's all part of the fun we can laugh about now.  Now Olivia needs to hurry up and get here so we can put her in all the cute outfits Meg got!

What are we going to eat?

The question that haunts my brain CONSTANTLY!!  With 3 meals and 2 snacks to prepare everyday, I spend a lot of time in my kitchen.  With meal planning, shopping, and my general love of food I also spend a lot of time thinking about meals.

I am so thankful the 5 eat what we eat and they're not picky at all.  They all have their moments of not wanting some particular food, but nothing consistent yet.  And I'm all for redistributing, sharing, and trading food that's not being eaten, because what I decide to make is what you get!

Establishing healthy habits with my kids, as well as myself, is important to me.  I try to fit in all the appropriate servings of all food groups in a day- doesn't happen everyday, but it's what I shoot for.  I do let them have a dessert if they've eaten well and seem like they could go for a little extra something.

So, I thought I'd compose a go-to list of meal and snack ideas that the kiddos have liked.  Won't be everything we've tried because I've tried so many different recipes (I LOVE trying new recipes) and honestly, just don't remember everything.  I may add to this list in the future or I may start doing recipe posts, but I don't like to make such promises!

Breakfast
Pancakes- any kind, especially blueberry or sweet potato (use puree), and oatmeal pancakes
French Toast- plain or deceptive style with a veggie puree in the batter for a healthy boost
Oatmeal- overnight crock pot style- apple cinnamon, pumpkin, carrot cake- love it all or baked oatmeal
Muffins- just use a mix, or from scratch like pbj muffins, healthy banana muffins, really any kind
Omelet Biscuit Cups
Baked Eggs- plain or lunch meat style
Scrambled eggs- plain or with cottage cheese beat in- I sneak veggies in too
Eggos- my go to quick breakfast
Toast- butter, cinnamon, or cheese- they love it all
Biscuits

Lunch
Grilled cheese- I often sneak veggies in here, especially spinach and tomatoes
Quesadillas- they love bean and cheese, but I sneak veggies in and sometimes random leftovers I need to get rid of
Noodles and Special Sauce- not so secret family recipe of noodles, butter, plain tomato sauce
Corn dog muffins
Homemade lunchables- crackers or tortilla pieces, lunch meat, and cheese chunks
Artichoke bread
Tamales
Taquitos
Pizza- frozen, homemade, rolls, whatever you got they'll eat it!
Ravioli/Tortellini
Cans of soup drained- especially chicken noodle or anything else really chunky- super easy, go to quick meal!
Burgers- with or without cheese, beef or turkey or black bean- we love burgers!
Tortilla Wraps- whatever you can think of to put in them
Mac n Cheese- a staple here, also a great way to sneak veggies
PBJ- I spread greek yogurt on for my littles to give them an extra calorie/protein boost
Chicken nuggets

If I'm not already sneaking healthy stuff in the main dish, I'll add a side of veggies and/or fruit.  Mine like: frozen peas, frozen mixed veggies, homemade regular and sweet potato fries, zucchini/squash crisps

Dinner
*all of the lunch items I've also used at dinner- they're interchangeable to me
Crock pot chicken alfredo- I usually add broccoli
Crock pot pasta e fagioli
Crock pot red beans and rice
Crock pot fajitas
Tamale Pie (layer tamales, corn, chili, cheese, and fritos in casserole and bake at 350 until bubbly)
Parmesan crusted tilapia filets from Sam's
Turkey Veggie Meatloaf
Regular meatloaf
Lasagna
Enchiladas
Crock pot ribs- or any BBQ style meat
Tacos

*I love my crock pot and use it frequently!  The Crockin Girls Cookbook is excellent and where I get many of these recipes.

Snack
*some of these snack recipes I'll also use at breakfast time 
Smoothies
Toddler Muffins- I always have a stash of these in the freezer
Banana Roll Ups
Healthy Cookies- also good for a no guilt mommy dessert :)
PBJ bars- just peanut butter, jelly, oats, and a mashed up banana
Fruit- I always do a snack of fruit- fresh unless I'm out then I'll go to canned.  Mine love all fruits!
Puffs/Cheerios/Goldfish/Cheez Its/Graham crackers- you get the idea
Cheese chunks
Yogurt
Pudding

Dessert
Graham crackers
Popsicles (break off small chunks)
Special treats are regular cookies/cake/ice cream, etc.

Beverage
Milk- breakfast and dinner
Juice- VERY diluted at lunch
Water- any other time- sometimes with a little Crystal Light flavor :)

Well, there you have it!  How I feed our family.  Even though I usually eat my own separate breakfast and lunch because I don't mind making myself something different than everyone else ;)

Catchin up in 5 points or less

Not sure why I felt the need to title this post "5 points or less" because it's going to be hard to fit it into 5 stretched out bullets!  Guess it sounds better that way :)

1. Strangers
        I don't think I will ever get used to strangers knowing who I am and all about my family.  It doesn't happen that often, but when it does it always takes me by surprise.  This has happened several times in the past few weeks- I'm making small talk with a stranger (at the pool, a mom's group, etc) and ask about their kids and when I offer up some factoid about one of my kids I get a response like "Oh I know about your family, I follow you on (fill in the blank)/I go to your church/I see you walking all the time"  I never really know what to say after that.  I think I usually say something super intelligent like "Oh, that's cool".

2. Sensory Bags
      Again, I copied my Quad Mama friend and made these neato burrito sensory bags for the kids to play with.  I had visions of 15-20 minutes of pure entertainment as they squished and smashed the bags to see the colors/ glitter/ confetti/ soap suds move around before their very eyes.  Um, not so much.  Maybe 2 minutes?  We've tried this several times now and each time has gotten better.  At first only Andrew liked the bags, now everyone but Levi likes them (of course, Levi doesn't like new things).  Levi and Ben mostly like throwing them off the table.  I even switch the bags around every 30 seconds-ish so they don't get bored with one bag.

     For those curious readers, I made the bags by filling ziploc gallon size bags with various household items.  Hand sanitizer, baby shampoo, baby oil, hair gel, and water were all used as bases.  Then I used puffy paint to color the liquid base and added fun materials like glitter, confetti, and beads.  Voila!  Mediocre sensory bags!  Buyer beware- they can leak!  Duct tape and double bagging saved me from a huge mess.

3. Leah
     Leah's had some pretty cool things happen to her lately.  We found a new ophthalmologist  who specializes in CVI!  She was much more thorough and informative than her last one.  The best part was she informed me about weekly national conference calls for parents of kids with CVI (based in NY) where parents call in to ask questions and consult with each other.  They even have expert professionals every couple of weeks to speak to us.  I've been listening in for a few weeks now and it's truly a great resource.  Leah also has received her bath chair and her stander!  Haven't needed the bath chair yet, but she's done really well in the stander and her therapist can already see a difference :)  Lastly, she is now taking her liquid antibiotics by mouth!!  This is a huge deal for her!  Her eating still varies a lot, but teeny tiny baby steps are where she's at and as always, I'll take a little progress over none at all.

4. New Skills
     With my almost 17 month olds, the new skills are constant!  I'll probably miss some on the blog as I don't remember to jot everything down.  Andrew is walking!!!!! FINALLY!!  He also said his first word- "go".  They are all much much more vocal, not many real words, but lots of pretend talking and attempts to let us know what they want, including some head shaking.  We've started 'word of the week' flash cards and their little faces light up when we review the word.  No one has said the words yet, but they do point some of them out in books.  Ben can walk backwards and the girls walk reeeeally fast.  They love riding their push cars and after my back was tired of bending over one day, I taught them how to push each other!  Success!!  Now if only they could steer around obstacles...  They are all getting better at getting into things- doors, drawers, and cabinets- any container really- are all fascinating.  They're starting to figure out climbing.  Imitating has increased dramatically and is so much fun!  We love to make faces and sounds and watch them focus on copying us.  They do imitate each other as well.  Alli has started going over to Leah's pump when she hears it beeping and pointing at it and looking at me-  it was so funny to me to realize that she picked that up from watching me.  They're starting to dance more on their own too; they LOVE music and seem to enjoy bouncing/shaking to the beat.  I've also gotten Caroline and Andrew into helping put toys back in containers :)

    Negative new skills- throwing (Ben), hair pulling (Andrew), and biting (Allison).  Can't wait to see what the others come up with!

http://youtu.be/y1vjB_i4u4A several minutes of free play time

http://youtu.be/l6rp3SdCHgY Caroline dancing

http://youtu.be/j79n_Zpa3XU Alli pushing Ben

5. Big Events
     I got brave and trimmed Alli and Caroline's bangs.  They were way too long and had been in their eyes for weeks.  Alli would not stop squirming, so hers are a tad shorter than I intended, but Caroline's came out pretty good.  I keep forgetting to take a picture though!  And, no, I didn't save any hair.  It was a mess.
     We had our last swim day of the season :(  It was extra special though because Daddy, Nona, and Grandpa were there to share it with the kiddos!  Also several of our favorite friends!  I hope they continue to enjoy the water and I'm looking forward to some splash pad fun next summer.
     Ben, Allison, and Levi all tested out of ECI physical therapy and have moved on to communication/developmental skills!  This is the typical natural progression for preemies in the program.  I'm glad they're having so much success, even if we miss our ECI PT!
     We attended a birthday party a few weekends ago for our neighbor friend turning 1.  All was well until it started getting really crowded and Dave and I had a hard time keeping track of where everyone was and which adults had which kids- so we trekked home.  Andrew did manage to crawl around and steal food off strangers plates!  How embarrassing!!
     Lastly, my wonderful friend who has been helping 3 days a week for the past year decided to return to work part time and reduce her Pack days to once a week.  She has been an enormous help to me through pregnancy and the first year.  I could never thank her enough and the kids adore her!  I've consulted with her so many times it's been strange to not get her opinion before making a decision.  She's always up for one of my crazy ideas/adventures/whatever new thing I'm trying with the kids which I've always appreciated!  And as God would have it, a few weeks before she returned to work, a new neighbor moved in who is recently retired, looking for a way to volunteer- preferably with kids, is really bored and doesn't know anyone, and her husband works and her kids are grown.  Um, walk across the street and help me please!  And she has!  And she's wonderful and just the sweetest lady ever.  I always tell people that God has blessed my family and truly provides for us, and this is just another example!

Dave with the Bigs at the party

Aunt NeeNee with the kids before she goes back to work

http://youtu.be/38ar-6rUDO0 just for laughs :)

I Don't...

I totally copied this idea from my Quad Mama friend's blog Texas Tales, but I loved her post!  I also thought that if I put the same ideas out there it might make other moms feel better.  Or it might make them judge me.  This blogging stuff is risky business!  A lot of my "I don'ts" are the same as Amber's, but it's the truth people.

I DON'T...

• practice consistent hygiene.  I don't shower everyday, in fact I aim for every other day.  If it's a good week I'll shower the days I work out.  I couldn't tell you the last time I used my hair dryer; I shower at night and sleep on wet hair and hope my Chi can save it the next day.  Bobby pins and headbands are my best friends (I have short hair, so no ponies for me).  I have forgotten to put on deodorant and not realized it until the end of the day and determined what's the point now?  Generally I'm much better about teeth brushing, but sometimes the morning brush doesn't happen until closer to lunch time or the nighttime brush doesn't happen until it's almost time for the morning brush.  Sometimes it just doesn't happen at all.  Shaving my legs?  Um, when I happen to think about it and my next thought is "I can't remember when I last shaved."  I think I average once a weekish on that.  Not too shabby!
• get dressed everyday or do makeup.  If the only time I'm leaving my house for the day is to walk the babies and run myself, I go from my pajamas to my work out clothes and back again.  I also don't bother with make up unless I'm venturing out in public.  It just all takes up time I could use for something else and changing clothes several times a day just creates more laundry- something I don't need.  I now find it hard to believe I used to shower, fix my hair, put on make up, and go through several outfit changes a day.  I'm to the point now that if I do dress in normal clothes and put on make up everyone comments on how dressed up I am and asks where I'm going.  I have embraced the frumpy mom in myself, and that's ok.  Although I am a little disappointed What Not to Wear is on its last season.
• drink coffee.  I think it's gross.  Always have.  I do drink 1 (2 on a bad day) diet soda to get a little caffeine boost.  Everyday between 3:30-4:30pm the tiredness hits me.  Someone told me that when I had kids I'd start drinking coffee.  Didn't happen.
• diet.  I just don't like that word.  I don't deprive myself of foods I want because if I did I'd think about them all the time.  I love food!  I'm a big believer in portion control, moderation, and exercise.  My baby weight has come off extremely slowly- still have a few lbs to go- but I know it's because I've chosen to not diet and I didn't start a full out exercise regime until my kids were a year old.  Also, depending on meals/tons of desserts people brought to us (all delicious, not very healthy meals) made weight loss more difficult.  But, I'm glad I've taken my time with this stuff, and I've realized no matter how skinny I get, I'll still have the sextuplet belly pooch.
• do all my housework/yardwork.  We have some great friends who have been mowing our yard for us for the past year- just because.  We do have a sprinkler system, so the watering is taken care of.  Any yard maintenance beyond mowing just doesn't get done unless my parents are in town, then it's just the bare minimum (i.e. yard looks horrible).  My neighbor does the baby laundry for me which is the best!  My grandmother and great aunt clean the floors and dust every week and Thank God for that!!  I do clean the bathrooms 2-3 times a month and clean the kitchen semi-regularly, but beyond those chores, stuff doesn't get done.  When my parents are in town we give the regulars a break and handle the chores.  It's really hard to believe I used to keep a strict cleaning schedule and not have any clutter in my house.  Oh how times have changed.  
• sleep much, and not always in my bed.  It's a good thing I can function on very little sleep.  I've always been that way.  I get a second wind after my run and eating dinner and before I know it it'll be 1am.  Between the to do lists and catching up with my husband, family, friends, and favorite tv shows, the time just flies!  Even if I am exhausted from the kids.  Before kids I typically slept 5-6 hours a night and now it's more like 3-5, so really not that different.  I often fall asleep on the couch in the middle of doing something which is why I don't always sleep in my own bed.  I will say my level of tiredness increases throughout the week and by Friday I can't wait for bedtime!
• give myself a hard time for not doing it all.  This is a big one for me.  I love my to-do lists and I really love to have everything crossed off of them.  But it's just not feasible.  I tend to make my goal list for each week and try to get the goals accomplished by the end of the week.  Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.  This category also includes working with the kids- especially Leah.  I strive to fit in therapy exercises and developmental activities when the therapists aren't here.  Some days I'm on top of things, other days not so much.  I was feeling guilty about not fitting everything in everyday until her therapists told me- multiple times- that it's ok.  I call these kinds of days my "behind on life" days.  
• take my kids to stores or restaurants.  This falls into the category of a lot of work, not much reward.  I just don't see the point at this age.  When people tell me they need the experience of going to a restaurant or store, I say "Do you remember going to those places when you were 1?" I sure don't.  Plus, getting to grocery shop or go to Target or go to a restaurant are my much needed breaks that I enjoy by myself or with Dave or a friend.  And I'm not sure how I would push around my 6 kids and a grocery cart.
• constantly keep my eyes on my kids.  The only way this would be possible is if I kept them in the baby pen all the time and that's just no fun!  And they would get tired of that REAL quick.  The house is childproofed as much as it can be for now- until they get tall enough to open drawers and use doorknobs.  So, they get to roam around and play and explore.  When I need to get lunch together or do something with Leah or put away laundry, usually some of them follow me around, and the rest I just have to keep my ears open for.
• mind using the TV when I need to.  I know it's frowned upon to let kids under 2 watch TV, but it is pure magic when Baby Einstein, Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or Blues Clues comes on.  Sometimes distracting them is the only way I can get lunch together or get ready for our walks or break the cycle of a 5 baby tantrum.  

I'm sure there are many more things I don't do, but this list is getting long already!  For those of you who tell me I'm doing a great job and that I'm super mom, I certainly appreciate the compliments, but as you can see I'm not that great and I have a fantastic support system that makes what I do easier.  Yes, there are tons of things I do everyday and my to do lists are extensive, but I'm doing the best I can and figuring out what works for my family.  

The Big Pool

Growing up I LOVED to swim!  My brother and I spent as much time at the neighborhood pool as possible.  However, now as an adult and mom I totally get why my mom rarely got in the water and never wanted to get her hair wet.  Anyways, I've always wanted to instill the love of water from an early age and get my kids swimming.  Of course I never planned on having sextuplets which poses a big challenge to going swimming- me with 6 babies at a pool = I don't think so!  My sweet friend and volunteer convinced me that we could round up enough adults (1 per kid) to take them all to the pool.  Well, she was right!  6 adults, 6 kids, no problem.

The first pool day was a lot of fun!  Leah, Caroline, and Levi all took to the water pretty quickly.  Andrew, Ben, and Allison needed another trip or two to be convinced playing in the water was fun.  Whether they enjoyed it or not, they were playing in the water the whole time.

We've been keeping up with pool day each week and somehow, even at the last minute, the right amount of adults show up ready to get in the water with one of my kids.  Pretty awesome!  This last week they were all getting more brave.  They cruised around the edges of the pool and walked through the 1ft deep water.  They were even dipping down and putting their faces in :)

I love that we were able to do this and that my friends and family are nutty enough to follow along with my plans!

Off to the pool!

Leah and Allison chillin in the shallow water

Levi getting used to the water

Caroline having a blast!

Allison

Cool Dude Andrew

Ben says Stop splashing me!

Traveling Play Dates

When you have 6 kids in one house, it's much easier for moms of 1 or 2 kids to bring theirs to you.  Our house already looks like Babies R Us/Toys R Us threw up in it anyway.  Why mess up someone else's house?

The Pack has about 4 friends right now- from 3 different families- and they've all been over to our house a few times.  One family lives down the street, so we don't ever go over there to terrorize their home.  However, the other 2 families invited us over and we visited both homes this month!  I really wasn't sure how the travel play dates would go, but I was pleasantly surprised!

The first play date was more of an undertaking than the second.  This friend lives 45 minutes away so I had to pack snacks and lunch and booster seats to feed them over there.  They had some separation anxiety as I was leaving to unload the other kids after dropping one off.  They quickly got over that and thoroughly enjoyed exploring and checking out different toys.  Their friend wasn't too sure about so many new kids playing with his toys, but he handled it the best a 22 month old only child can.  We were invited back, so I rate that a success!

The second play date was pretty close to home, so no food packing- yea!  It took a few minutes for the kids to get used to being in a new place, but again, they loved exploring and checking out the different toys.  Andrew, who is my biggest Maggie lover, was scared to death of their dog.  It was bizarre, but he eventually was able to tolerate the dog in the same room.  This family has a child close to their age and a another one a few years older.  The older one loved tickling my kids and showing them toys.  We even had a big dance party in the living room :)  This play date also went well and we were invited back again- 2 for 2!

When I was pregnant I never thought people would invite us over just due to sheer overwhelment (I just made up that word), so I'm glad my friends are brave!  And it's fun just to watch them all run around together.

One of our messy play areas towards the end of a play date!

Bad Pants Fashion Show

Every year the Texas Children's Neonatal department does a huge fundraising campaign to raise money for research and programs and what not for the NICU.  The kick off event is the Bad Pants Fashion Show!  This fashion show is a little different.  NICU staff, media personalities, and NICU graduates all dress in bad/wacky/crazy pants and parade down the makeshift runway for all to admire.  We were invited to participate this year and I thought, why not?

I was instructed to dress the whole family in funky printed pants or shorts that all coordinated together with a theme.  Easier said than done with a family of 8 and kids in all different sizes!  Oh yeah, and very little time to shop or make our own pants.  There was no way I was making pants.  Thankfully, Old Navy came to the rescue by putting all summer inventory on clearance!  I found Hawaiian print shorts for the big boys and went from there.  I was able to find beachy/Hawaiian print shorts/dresses for everyone all on sale!  The best part was when the cashier was ringing me up he missed an item; I pointed it out and he gave me 10% off for being honest!  I also had a coupon and gift card, so all in all, I got away with only spending $14 on outfits for 8 people!!  That was the most thrilling part :)

I describe the actual show day as chaotic fun.  Did we enjoy doing it?  Yes.  Would I do it again? Yes.  Was it a completely chaotic crazy day? Yes.  Did my children cooperate during the show?  Of course not!

We got to the hospital on time (yea!) and immediately did a live spot on a local news morning show.  Live TV is super scary to me, but it went better than I thought it would.  The kids were busy exploring the backstage area until it was our turn to go on.  Ben was raring to go, but he had to wait a minute for the group in front of us to get off the stage, and he did not like that one bit and would not walk after that.  Andrew crawled out of the curtain and sat and cried.  Neither Allison nor Levi would move.  Leah was perfect!  Caroline actually did slowly walk down the runway.  Eventually I had to carry both big boys (won't attempt this again) and Allison ran into the crowd to my grandma.  Levi was carried by our media personality and was the only one who waved to the crowd. You just can't expect too much out of a bunch of 1 year olds.

It was really nice seeing NICU staff and other parents we hadn't seen in a very long time!

Allison headed straight for the crowd

We're not going to walk!

Waiting for the show

My arms hurt!

Leah was so good the whole time!