Those Crazy Eddys

carnivores

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

We've been watching "Dinosaur Train" lately and categorizing animals into the carnivore/herbivore/omnivore groups. Glory and Kate wanted to be carnivores, so it was chicken drumsticks for lunch.

34 weeks

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

We are at 34 weeks today....only 4 weeks and 6 days left to go!

I had another ultrasound this week to check on my placenta, which has grown away from my cervix and to measure Elizabeth who is estimated to weigh a whopping 5 lbs 5 oz. The size of the belly continues to draw attention at work; the ICU nurses had to clue me in that it looked like Elizabeth had dropped. No wonder I have to make so many trips to the bathroom these days--but at least I can catch my breath now.

My restless legs have been accompanied by the dreaded nighttime Charlie horses. Kevin is becoming accustomed to waking to my groaning, clutching his arm and pointing at my calf. Even in his drowsy state, he can manage to flex my foot until the cramp resolves. He is such a good husband (even if he is on the skinny side).

Here we are at 34 weeks.

This was me with Kate and Glory.

And me with Noah at 36 weeks.

Here's a 4-D ultrasound picture. The girl has her mama's cheeks. (It's a profile picture with Elizabeth's face on the left-hand side for those of you who are having trouble orienting yourselves.)

happy birthday, nd!

2012-02-09T15:59:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, ND--We love you!!!

living room swim meet

2012-02-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

What else would you expect from a swim coach father :)

Here's Glory and Kate "swimming" their first ever 200 Free Relay!

Then, they realized that clothing causes drag, so they stripped down to their "speedos"

Hilarious. Later, the girls needed "flippers" so they put on their boots. Too bad by this point my camera battery was dead :( Enjoy what pictures I did get:

Glory's Gary Hall Jr. impression

Glory's "dive"

Kate's "dive"

Oh...lost the goggles. It happens...

No meet is complete without the post-race shower

snuggle bugs

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

32 weeks

2012-02-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

Here we are with only 6 weeks and 2 days to go.
My restless legs are driving me crazy so I've been comforting myself with daily Twix bars from the cafeteria.
And Lala bought me a fancy support belt to hold up this giant belly.
Sam's comment: "Ninang, why is your belly so stretched out?"

Kevin's belly is not as giant; in fact, his weight gain has been rather dismal--pansy-like even.
He has officially lost our weight-matching contest.
Just wanted to document on the blog his official "loserhood".

Now I'm off to eat a Twix.

please don't take my picture

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

I guess he meant it...

identity crisis

2012-01-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Dad: Good morning princess! How are you?
Kate: NO! I'm not a princess, I'm a dog!
Dad: But you're my princess...
Kate: NO! I'm your doggy!!!

That is one cute dog.

silly girls

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

snow day

2012-01-18T12:39:00.001-08:00

Winter finally arrived today, with a strong January snow storm. We had to walk Noah to school, and played in the 1 inch or so of snow that was on the ground at 9 AM.

Since then, it's been snowing steadily, burying the entire neighborhood in 3-5 inches of the powdery white stuff.

Here's how Kate has been spending the day:

Exploring her Leapster Tag Books with great enthusiasm.

Glory, on the otherhand, is mesmerized:

Does she want to go out and play in it? No, it's too cold, but it does look appealing...

By the way, where is she sitting? Oh, right. Typical

texts in the city: 30 weeks

2012-01-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

(Elizabeth and I were on call this weekend.)

Jen: How was the appt?
Amy: My np lectured me about wt gain (26-30#). I thought I was doing well. Possibly still marginal previa.
J:So u have gained too much? i thought u were doing well 2.
A: apparently. she & i sometimes don't see eye 2 eye. mostly b/c she thinks i'm a hypochondriac.
J: A fat hypochondriac, apparently.

Elizabeth & I have made it to 30 weeks. Her estimated weight is 3 lbs 3 oz and she looks great. My placenta is still too close to my cervix, so I have another ultrasound in a month. As far as weight gain goes, it doesn't look like another 60-pound pregnancy, but...

...Kevin doesn't stand a chance.

christmas recap: eddy christmas

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our 3rd and final Christmas was also a celebration of the New Year down in Tri-Cities. We loaded up Blackie on New Year's Eve and I got to drive (it helps with my restless legs of pregnancy).

Kevin, our usual chauffeur, felt it was necessary to continually offer me driving tips like, "I like to set my cruise control at 76mph; you can still cover a lot of ground, but you won't get a ticket" and "if we drive in this lane and then change to this lane right here, we avoid the turning traffic". (Sometimes he forgets that I do have a driver's license.) My friend, Dawit, has recently coined the phrase "Nag-ivator" and Kevin has readily embraced it...at least until he resumes his usual position as chief driver in the family.

With Kevin's helpful hints, we made it to Grammy and Grumpy's in plenty of time to celebrate, which mainly consisted of opening even more PRESENTS!!! Sometimes I think that Grammy has an inner link to our children's psyches. She picked out such beloved gifts; they were so delighted with them that she proclaimed, "I won Christmas!".

Noah, Grumpy and Glory. It's an Eddy tradition to wrap presents as creatively as you can. This one turned out to be a travel mug for Kevin. And, if you noticed Glory's holiday outfit, you should know that Christmas/New Year's is a clothes-optional holiday in our household.

Grandma Darlin' and Grandpa Bob got the girls shopping bags and gift cards to Toys R'Us. Glory insisted hers was a backpack and got a little tangled up in it.

Grammy and Glory. Grammy read "Little Black" to the girls about a million times.

Grumpy with Kate and Glory, all being just a little silly.

Auntie Lon and Noah. Aunt Lauren got Noah this "Mouth Man" dinosaur shirt that has teeth imprinted on the arms so that when he crosses his arms, it looks like a giant mouth.

We tried to find an east coast channel so that we could watch the ball drop in NYC at 9pm but were unsuccessful. Instead, we found an episode of "Phineas and Ferb", which wrapped up our wild night. And, fortunately, the children--except Elizabeth (& obviously her mother)--slept through the prolonged firecrackers that echoed throughout the Tri-Cities at midnight.

christmas recap: christmas day

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Altmiller-Kaufman clan provided the music for Christmas Day Mass. Kevin and I made up 66% of the choir and Jen made up 50% of the instrumentalists. At the last minute, 2 other church members offered their moral support and joined us with their voices and a harmonica. Between practicing music, dressing 5 children and trying to get all our Christmas goodies packed up to head to Coeur d'Alene for Filipino Jeopardy, it was a hectic day.

But we managed to capture a few photos of us in our Sunday best. My favorite is this top one. Jen and I have a habit of wearing similar outfits without planning to do so. We both had black dresses on and our most hilarious joke of the day was whether people would be able to tell us apart. (Hint: I'm the one with the gigantic pregnant belly.) And, blast from the past, it's the same dress I wore to Noah's baby shower (and spilled BBQ sauce on in my haste to load up on Li'l Smokies.)

hypertension

2012-01-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

Today I gave my grand rounds presentation on hypertension. I usually tend to zone out about 15 minutes or so into every lecture so I thought I'd do my audience a favor and give them some breaks from learning with pictures of my children. In fitting with the theme of elevated blood pressure, I tried to include pictures of their antics that might induce such a response.
I'm sure you've seen most of these before, but enjoy them again.

This was my first slide--a relatively calm one to introduce the Crazys.

Noah's favorite activity as soon as he could cruise was to systematically empty every bookshelf in our apartment.

We bought Noah a dump truck for his big brother present when the girls were born. Here are he and Kevin seeing if 6-week-old preemie Glory will fit in the back.

Kate and Glory wallowing in the mud while camping.

Duke graciously sharing his dog crate with Kate and Glory.

Noah, perfecting his dismount from our recliner. Again, I am not surprised that Kevin is involved.

The girls' first Santa experience. This was my final slide and I left it up as I answered questions regarding my presentation.

Is your blood pressure elevated yet?

christmas recap: locomotive park

2012-01-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we separated from the Kaufmans (so they could enjoy another Christmas with the Kaufman clan)and found ourselves with some down time. We decided to pile in the minivan with Lala and scope out Locomotive Park.

It never fails to amuse me when we visit places in Lewiston that Kevin and I used to haunt in our high school days. The differences between our past visits and our current visits are astounding, to put it mildly.

Back in the day, each Christmas season, Kevin and I would head to Locomotive Park. I, inevitably, would be cold because I was underdressed or didn't have a coat to match the particular outfit I was wearing. For as long as I could withstand the weather, we would leisurely saunter through the park, holding hands and being romantic. We might even get some hot chocolate and snuggle a little to warm up in the car.

Well, we got hot chocolate this time, too.

But that's where the similarities end. Everyone was bundled within an inch of their life. In fact, the kids had to strip off layers after generating a good sweat from all their maniacal dancing to the Christmas music.

And, if you could possibly interpret "run around like hooligans" to mean "leisurely sauntering", I guess that might be similar, too. Noah challenged Glory to races down the hills and Glory showed us all how to dance like the penguins at the park. Kate was especially crazy, taking off at a full sprint to the train, which worried Lala. I tried to reassure Lala:
"Mom, it's OK. Don't be so sensitive about Kate. She'll be fine---Kate, don't put that chain around your neck."

Ok, so there were a few more similarities. The lights were beautiful as always and a good time was had by all.

christmas recap: christmas eve

2012-01-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas #2 was actually a several-day event that began on the morning of Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, Kevin had had a rough night and the Co-op Kids were anxiously awaiting for him to get up before we could open presents.

Jen solved the problem. She stood at the door, flashing the lights on and off, shouting:
"WAKE UP! IT'S JESUS' BIRTHDAY! PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS!"

Soon she had a chorus of enthusiastic children mimicking her.

Needless to say, Kevin got up.

Then began present-opening time. No need to be fully dressed to open packages.

Kate and Glory were super excited about their shoes that Ninang found on her shopping trip with Aunt Deanna. Kate has dubbed her red shoes her "clogging shoes" since Noah has some red clogging shoes. Noah and Sam loved the fort-making kits from the Gemmer family. ND got some Dora underwear---the necessities of potty-training.

christmas recap: altmiller christmas

2012-01-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

Our first Christmas (of 3!) actually occured on the eve of Christmas Eve. It sometimes is challenging to coordinate getting everyone into one spot between everyone's other holiday commitments.

Mandi, Jerry, Peyton and Jolie joined the chaos at Mom's house, which included Christina and Ben popping in to decorate sugar cookies and make gingerbread houses. Grandma arrived shortly later. The festivities included eating delicious food and trying to reign in the craziness of 6 children tearing open Christmas presents.

Jolie checks out some of the play food she, Kate and Glory got from Grandma A.

Peyton watches the hub-bub from her Bumbo. Such a sweet baby, but if she gets fussy...DON'T BOUNCE HER; she doesn't like it.

Noah and Sam got guns and nobody shot their eye out. They also loved playing with their walkie-talkies; it facilitated some cousin-bonding.

Glory and Kate had a hard time settling on just one toy to play with. The flitted between the fake food, the walkie-talkies and Jolie's Polly Pocket.

kate and glory's christmas concert

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

As per tradition, the concert was its usual chaos. Unfortunately, the girls weren't standing side-by-side or quite as exuberant as last year, but we allowed Noah and the girls to romp with their preschool friends post-concert and then enjoyed some Bennidito's pizza with Marilyn and Dan. Tita also got to enjoy the chaos but then had to drive to Coeur d'Alene for work.

28 weeks

2012-01-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

Here we are a short 10 weeks and 2 days away from Elizabeth's arrival, and I'm already ready already. I think each subsequent pregnancy has an additive effect on one's stretched-out pelvic joints, ligaments, etc, and while I am proud to have gained a mere 23 pounds so far, it definitely feels more like the usual 40.

I notice that I tend to surprise people with my size--especially people who haven't seen me with prior pregnancies and don't really realize that I get scary big.

Today I was in clinic and my nurse and I were talking about my due date, the 16th. She thought it was February and her jaw dropped when I told her it was March.

And we, the classy family we are, were at McDonald's running out some energy on Christmas Eve. We were on our way to the car when another patron called out, "Ma'am, are you on your way to the hospital?"

Wondering if I were visibly injured or bleeding, I replied, "No. Why?"

He stated, "Well, I was just wondering if you were due or overdue."

Not actually due for another 3 months, thanks. But, it being Christmas and all, I suppressed the motivation to waddle over to his table and kick him in the shins.

christmas cookies

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

The Rules:
1. Try to get as much done as you can before the helpers get out of bed. If this means using store-bought dough, so be it. After all, it's not every pregnant woman who can churn out 10 dozen cookies in 3 hours (unless you're Christina Kaufman, but let's not be ridiculous.)

2. If you are under 4 and using frosting, you have to be shirtless.

3. If you are under 6 and using frosting, you are limited to a sly, one-spoonful taste of frosting to every 3 cookies successfully frosted.

4. Sometimes multiple baths are necessary; hopefully not more than 2 in one day.

5. It's good to have "kid" dough and "real" dough--give out the cookies made from the real dough to the people you like. The ones touched by children you can give to all the Scrooges on your list. (Now you're all wondering which cookies you got, aren't you?)

merry christmas!

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

Alas, no Christmas letter this year, but to those of you who routinely follow our blog know that we are grateful for our crazy, hectic life and the many blessings that come of it. May your Christmas be joyful and blessed; we are grateful to count you as friends.

-Those Crazy Eddys

(left to right): Glory (3), Kate (3), Noah (5)

stupid things people say

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

I was trying to get dressed for church, but for some reason all my maternity dresses are smaller than I remember. After squeezing my generous body into one of Deanna's cute dresses and attempting to camouflage the tightness with a cardigan, I waddled into the living room.

"Kevin, does this look like 'fat guy in a little coat'?"

"Well, now that you mention it...."

texts in the city

2011-12-20T19:04:00.000-08:00

To Amy from Kevin: Did we have 3 kings in the manger? If so, 1 is missing & 1 is decapitated.

one day, I fell down and was crying because I was laughing so hard...

2011-12-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

Kids are hilarious, as we all know. Heck, Bill Cosby had an entire TV show about the funny things kids say.

Here's a quick example from our family.

Noah, through the power of Netflix, discovered Phineas and Ferb. The basic rundown is: two brothers on summer vacation are bored, so they create ridiculous inventions/theme parks/etc in their backyard. Their boy-crazy older sister is always trying to get them into trouble, but always fails.

Oh yeah, and there's their pet, Perry the Platypus.

He's a secret agent who fights the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

When Perry defeats Dr. Doofenshmirtz, this inevitably follows:
"CURSE YOU PERRY THE PLATYPUS!"

So, to make a long story longer and to explain the odd title of this blog post:

We walk Noah to school every day. Last week, Glory took off running. Kate chased Glory after she was about 20 feet ahead of her. Kate is a faster runner than Glory, so she eventually caught up and passed her. Glory's reaction?

HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE!!! CURSE YOU PERRY THE PLATYPUS!!!!!!!! (while running and shaking fist in the air)

24 weeks

2011-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth and I have successfully made it to the 24-week-mark despite 72-plus-hour weeks in the ICU. (Thank goodness for my compression hose from brightlifedirect.com!) My hip joints are definitely starting to protest the carrying of this baby while running to codes throughout the hospital but thankfully my all-male ICU team coddles me, always finding a chair for me to sit during rounds and even providing me with chocolate-y treats on those more stressful days.

In case you didn't know, Kate is also expecting....a baby unicorn. She shushes us at times if we are too loud while her baby unicorn is sleeping. She also claims more than her fair share of candy--after all, she is growing a baby unicorn. (I have no idea where she learned that behavior.)

citizen of the month

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Noah was chosen to be Citizen of the Month for his class for November. Doesn't that sound much more prestigious than merely "Student of the Month"? What does one do to accomplish such an award?

"Be a good listener and pick up trash."

His teacher, Mrs. Kestell, was a little more verbose.

"Noah Eddy is Room 105's Citizen of the Month because he is always a kind, caring and thoughtful person. He treats everyone with respect and is a wonderful Kindergarten role model!"

We also recently had our first parent-teacher conference. It was student-led so Noah went with us and showed off all his newly acquired education. We were about to explode with pride. Not only does he often get chosen to be a leader for his class, he also has been hard at work on his lower case letters, mastering the sounds of the alphabet (he was mad that he had to miss the letter "u" day because of a dentist appointment) and counting to 100.

Apparently he already reads at a level 6, which is somewhere around beginning first-grade level. His teacher hopes that all her students will graduate kindergarten reading at a level 3.

Maybe he should take the rest of the year off and do some traveling.

Or, maybe, we'll work on mastering "The Cat in the Hat".

a boots day

2011-11-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

One harried, pregnant mother.

Three snow-crazed children.

Three, single, mismatched boots--none of which fit their owners.

Really?

"Hey, kids, instead of playing outside in the Winter Wonderland, let's all go to the overcrowded mall, schlep through the stores and see if we can find some decent boots." Yeah, I figured it wouldn't go over well.

The "let's go watch a movie at the mall, buy some boots and come back and play in the snow" was eagerly received. So we set off with Tita and went to watch "Puss in Boots" complete with our $8 bucket of popcorn and $5.25-liter of water. (Since when does water cost more than gasoline?)

The movie was fun, although a little too frightening at times for 2-year-olds, and afterwards we happily embarked on our boots-buying adventure.

Along with all of Spokane.

After 3 different shoe stores, I purchased the last sets of children's snow boots in all of the greater Spokane area. (Thankfully, I didn't have to fight off any other shoppers for said boots. I'm pregnant; you know I'd win, but the end result wouldn't
be pretty.)

And voila! Ready for snow.

The girls were all about "sand" castles.

Noah cheerfully shoveled the driveway. I do love child labor.

For some reason, no one could make a decent snow ball so they would bring me piles of snow and I would arm them with snow balls, which they chucked at each other with glee. I let them stay out until my toes turned numb and then we all headed inside for some hot cocoa and cookies.

happy 3rd birthday, kate and glory!

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Kate, you insist that your name is "Kater Tot" although you let Glory call you, "Tate, Tate" and you know that "K" is your letter. (Also that purple is your color.) You narrate each moment of every day, mostly announcing your emotions in response to the day's events. ("I am so angry; I am so happy"). When you get sad you wail for your "blanky". And you need the least amount of sleep of all your siblings and often continue chatting with me while Noah and Glory snooze away. You are in love with Barney and always pick the "I love you" song for our dinner time prayer as well as your bedtime lullaby.

Glory, you are either chatting away or you have your index finger in your mouth; there is no in-between. You make a point of telling me how many times the priest says your name during Mass and you think it's funny when we sing "Gloria in excelsis deo" as a nickname for you. Your dad and I know to get very worried if you get too quiet. It always means you are exploring something and we can find you covered head-to-toe in A & D or painting the bathroom with toothpaste or climbing up the side of the refrigerator. You love sleep like no other and have thrown impressive tantrums if we don't put you to bed soon enough, or you crawl into your crib and put yourself to bed. Lately you have been in love with your "Baby Dora" and cart her around wrapped in her pink blanket.

You both love horses with a passion. Lala gave you Belle and Snow White dolls with horses for them to ride but you have insisted that the horses are named Belle and Snow White while the dolls are merely nameless princesses. I love watching you two play together, especially as your imaginations grow and your games of pretend become more intricate. Usually you pretend you are horses or puppies or that one of you is the mommy and the other is the baby. You spend hours playing in your cribs, making forts and sitting on the rail, pretending you are riding your horses.

Your relationship with Noah is now more "love" than "hate". Since he has started kindergarten, there has been less conflict between you three, but you definitely miss him more. The three of you spend Saturday mornings in complicated "chase 'em" games. We love watching you together.

Happy 3rd birthday, lovies. We are so blessed to be your parents.
Love,
Mom and Dad

daddy's day out

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Over Halloween weekend, Kevin flew to Seattle for a few hours to surprise his friend, Brad, for his 30th birthday party.

He documented parts of the event but, alas, has left the blogging up to me. Here's what I can tell you.

He was so giddy at the thought of traveling without the responsibility of 3 children and a pregnant wife that the had 2 complimentary beers en route and found himself a little on the intoxicated side when he arrived in the Emerald City. Freemo, also sans dependents, picked him up and promptly took him to a brewery for some man time.

Then it was on to Japanese cuisine with the birthday boy and other Whitworth alumni and more alcohol. The smiles on their faces are priceless.

Too bad he arrived home that night at 1:30 and had to get up with the kids at 6am.

Corey and Deanna

Brad and Alison

Kevin and Brad

Freemo and Kevin. Seriously, the man needs to get out more often. If only he could fit it in between watching his soaps and eating bon bons.

pregnancy ponderings

2011-11-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

I never thought I'd say this about pregnancy but...it's kind of going by quickly. Nonetheless, my standard answer to anyone who asks when I am due remains, "Not soon enough".

Finally I am out of the first barfy trimester and only left with the fatigue that comes with growing yet another child while being mom to 3 others and working too many 24-hour shifts on call. Looking back, the most astonishing thing I have noticed is the desire of other mothers to bond with you over your morning sickness. While I appreciate this "sisterhood of motherhood", does it really seem like a good idea to describe (in detail) the things that made you puke, where you puked, how often you puked to a woman while she is on the way to the bathroom in an effort to find a reasonable place to puke herself?

Also, to patients--please stop smoking; unless you want vomit on your shoes. On second thought, that might be a heftier motivation to quit than anything else.

So, now that the nausea has backed off and the cravings have begun, we have officially entered Eat-fest 2011. That's how Kevin names each of my pregnancies; he has generally learned to stay out of my way and no longer tries to get me to eat vegetables for the baby's health. There is no point in arguing with a pregnant woman. (Oddly enough, I have actually been craving veggies with this one---it just goes to show you.) As you all now, my husband is a skinny man, and I have outweighed him with each pregnancy. Each time, I was always quite sorry I hadn't reigned in my eating as my entire body would protest under my 60-pound weight gain. This time, he and I made a deal. I would aim for a 40-pound weight gain and he would try to gain some weight for moral support. The overall goal: I would not outweigh him at the end of 9 months.

Our progress so far? I have gained 12 pounds; he has gained 2. It doesn't look good for either of us. :)

halloween highlights--part 2

2011-11-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

I was in clinic on Halloween Day and 2 lovely unicorns came trotting by for candy. All the staff were happy to oblige them.

We finished our residency noon conference with a "mummy" contest. I was the "Mommy Mummy" and, unfortunately, we only got one roll of toilet paper, which was not enough to cover the pregnant belly.

That evening was the official event: TRICK OR TREATING with Dan in the Kuhlman neighborhood. I bundled everyone within an inch of their life even though it was only 40 degrees out and not even windy or rainy. This pregnant mama thought the best part of it all was that the crew grew tired by 7pm and wanted to go inside and watch TV.

Which we all did after we sampled some of their booty. I showed them all what Twix candy bars look like--Mama and the baby's favorite.

halloween highlights--part 1

2011-11-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when you were little?

Was there anything better than staying up past your bedtime?!

What about receiving mounds of candy?!?

Or, dressing up in fun costumes?!?!

What if you got to do it multiple times over Halloween weekend?!?!?

Such is the fabulous life of the Eddy children. On Friday we had an Altmiller cousin Halloween party at my cousin, Valley's, beautiful, gigantic house in Coeur d'Alene. The Co-op Kids were all excited to see each other and of course, there was fighting between Noah and Sam, but not the usual kind.

It was sword fighting and they were friends the entire time.

Jen dressed up as the Swine Flu. Joe was a guy on Safari; Jen thought his original facial hair was not "safari" enough so she got him this wax mustache.

She also thought of my costume. I'm Dr. Akula and my name tag says "Donate Blood!".

The Gardners were pirates. It was a popular theme. Jake's girlfriend, Heather, was a pirate, too. They all had excellent "pirattitude". If you don't know what that is, I'm not going to tell you...watch some Backyardigans.

Noah loved his knight costume until he saw Josh in his gladiator costume and immediately asked him for his helmet.

Andie lasted for about 5 minutes as a giraffe and then was a "Naked Baby" the rest of the night.

It was just the beginning....

20 weeks

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Do you think the world can handle another Eddy girl?

Ready or not, here she comes.

Elizabeth Laura Eddy is scheduled to arrive by C-section on 3/16.

Maybe she'll be a chill baby; this is her flashing us the "peace" sign.

resourceful

2011-11-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Kate thinks step stools are for babies.

biker chicks

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

We've had a few sunny days recently that were absolutely made for bike-riding. Now that Noah is gone all day to school, wrangling 2 preschoolers on bikes is a much more manageable task for one dad.

Kate's bike is named "Chili"; Glory's is "Scarlet Girl" after the horses on "Horseland". Shouts of "Yah! Giddy up!" echo throughout the neighborhood during their jaunts.

carousel

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

While Lau and Tyler were in town, we decided to hit another favorite spot, the Looff Carousel. Kate affectionately calls it "her" carousel. We can go through an entire punch card of rides at each visit so we don't go too often.

stuff my kid says

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

We had just arrived at the Touch-a-truck event, a destination to which I had actually Googled directions, only to be redirected by my husband who always knows where he is going.

Turns out, he got a little turned around near the end.

Vindicated, I said, "See? Even though I'm pregnant--I can still get us to where we need to go."

Noah sighed, slapped his forehead and said, "Mom, you're always pregnant."

touch a truck!

2011-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

We were honored to have 2 very special events happen the first weekend of October.

1. Laura and Tyler came to visit.

2. The Junior League hosted a "Touch a Truck" event.

Now I had a pretty strong notion that Sam and Noah would jump at the chance to see firetrucks, ambulances, motorcycles, school buses, etc., and that they would probably keel over with excitement when they found out they could pretend to drive them and actually honk any horns. And, I was pretty sure that Kate and Glory (who tend to think that whatever Sam and Noah deem is cool is cool) would have a good time (plus there was a bouncy castle).

But--I completely underestimated the grown-up boys' enthusiasm for trucks. At one point, we completely lost Tyler and Kevin and found them still oogling over the police cruiser, asking the officer a zillion questions. Jen gently pointed out, "Hey, you two! You don't even have any kids with you!"

Number 4 and I were excited about the caramel corn.

laura & grant's wedding: the reception

2011-10-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a leftover post to finish up Laura and Grant's wedding extravaganza.
Their reception was at the beautiful Stone Ridge Event Center and not only was an opportunity for us party animals to show our stuff, but we also had the opportunity to meet some new Neil relatives.

Grammy with her brother Marc and his wife, Amy

Grammy with Neil cousins

The Oatman-Eddy crew

Grandpa Bob dancing with the beautiful bride.

pumpkin carving

2011-10-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry, dear readers, for our long absence. The growing of baby #4 has eliminated any of our previously free time, but now that barfing is mostly done...we are back!

Saturday we braved the crowds at Green Bluff with Dan and Tancie. It was a fun-packed afternoon that consisted of not only picking our own pumpkins, but also watching some Punkin' Chunkin' (Noah's favorite), a petting zoo (Kate's favorite), feeding some donkeys (Glory's favorite) and eating some pizza and sampling some pumpkin fudge (Mama and #4's favorite). We were all exhausted from our outing so we delayed the carving until the following day.

The kids and their pumpkins. Super excited to carve jack-o-lanterns, not as excited to scoop out the guts.

Noah still hasn't gotten over his aversion to pumpkin guts.

Glory, the mimicker, was also grossed out.

Kate actually got to work. A word to the wise--don't get pumpkins so small that your hand can't fit inside to scoop out the seeds: a) your child will eventually give up on the project and it will be left to your monstrous hands,and b)pumpkins that size are mostly flesh with not so many scoopable guts.

As I hinted above, the kids quickly tired of the project. Kevin calls this shot, "Barefoot, pregnant and pumpkin-cleaning in the kitchen."

The pumpkins finally got carved. I joked with Kevin that I was able to carve 2 to his one.

Noah's was Yoda--please tell me you see some resemblance; we kind of free-handed his face from memory.

Glory got a horse (surprise). Kate got a house.

And, we picked up a tip for making our pumpkins last longer. Spray the inside with Lysol spray to kill all the microbial flora that is trying to break down the masterpiece you just created.

laura & grant's wedding: the wedding party

2011-09-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry, dear readers, but our photographer (Kevin) was a little busy during the actual ceremony between reading and wrangling flower girls so there are virtually no ceremony photos...but just so you get an idea of who's who in this fun group.

Laura and Grant, the happy couple. They clean up pretty well, don't they? Also, I'm amazed we have a photo of the lovebirds not smooching; they're so in love.

Kate and Glory made up half of the flower girl brigade. They dumped 90% of their rose petals on the first 10% of the aisle during the procession. The rest of the time they were enamored by the pearl bracelets Laura gave them. I ended up confiscating them so they wouldn't get lost or broken...or be used as weapons.

A very handsome Unc was one of the groomsmen. He and I spent many minutes trying to talk Noah into also sporting a fauxhawk, but no go. ("Mom, I'm only into mohawks--not fauxhawks." Later when I told Kevin that Noah could have a mohawk over my dead body, he had to clarify, "So that's the hairstyle you want our son to wear to your funeral?")

Noah still looked like a rockstar sans mohawk or fauxhawk. He loved the red Converses Laura got him to wear for the wedding. (They made him run fast and jump high.) He was half of the ringbearer duo. They carried the rings tied on Matchbox Barracudas handpainted to match the car that Grant restored and used as their getaway car.

The bride with her bridesmaid "sisters". One sister-in-law-to-be, Crystal; one sister-in-law, me; one sisterly best friend, Ashley; Laura; and two sorority sisters, Sarah and Caitlin. You should definitely zoom in and see the fantastic manicures we got at our bachelorette outing. Laura is wearing her maternal grandmother's necklace and earrings; I'm wearing a set from Grandma Josh, too, that Laura and Grammy gave me for my wedding.

This one is me and my personal stylist, Tance. Whenever I need to look, um, better, I know I can sit down in front of Tance and she will work her magic to make me look not like an overworked resident mom of 3 active children. Tancie also did Grammy's fancy hairdo and wrestled Noah's shaggy mop and Kate and Glory's wild curls into submission.

Kevin also was quite the specimen that day. It doesn't take much--a shower and a shave turn that cute guy into an Adonis, but as he was the photographer I have zero pictures of him. (If anyone out there managed to document his handsomeness, please email me a picture!)

laura & grant's wedding: wild ones @ rehearsal

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned, the kids got a little crazy with all that sleep in their system.

Kevin managed to capture one moment of Glory being still; probably taking a rest from her laps around the church.

The kids found this guitar in the garage where the delicious rehearsal dinner was held and took turns rocking out to songs from "the Backyardigans". Kate is going to give all the angry girl rockers out there a run for their money.

Noah is manly enough to jam on a pink guitar.

congratulations, mr. & mrs. carpino

2011-09-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Laura and Grant got married this past weekend on 9/10/11. (Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to remember their anniversary.)

I think they were a little happy...don't you?

It was, like all weddings, a crazy, busy, fun celebration. I drove over on Thursday to partake in as many bridesmaid festivities as the baby would allow. I managed to stay up until 11pm, which let me join in the mani/pedis, tag along while Laura picked up her wedding band, enjoy a yummy Italian dinner and see the Carpinos' cute new house.

The night ended with us in Laura's living room, drinking appropriate beverages out of plastic cups (since she was patiently waiting for wedding presents) and vicariously reliving her wilder, single days through her sorority sisters' hilarious stories.

Then baby decided it was bedtime for both of us so Ashley (MOH) kindly drove me back home to Grammy and Grumpy's so we could be ready for the next day.

That day consisted mostly of laundry and ironing, trying to get my brood adequately dressed for the rehearsal and dinner later that day. I did get to hang out with the bridesmaids and bride a bit, which was just more crazy-running around trying to get last-minute things done.

Kevin and the kids arrived later that afternoon; all had napped in the car and were ready for the festivities of the evening. They were maniacs at the church and ran around like the wild things they are at the rehearsal dinner. Fortunately they had 5 or 6 other kids to blend in with so it wasn't as noticeable.

More to come; stay tuned......

my apologies, but I had to say it...

2011-09-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is a family blog, and normally, I would never, ever do this. But I was so angry when I saw this, I could not remain silent. Yes, this video is not exactly full context, but this is snapshot of a very real ideology that exists today that must be addressed. Please watch, and read. Thank you.

In 2009, my wife, Amy, was struck down by an illness that gave no warning and attacked her without mercy. One day, she was a normal, healthy, vibrant human being. The next, she was in intensive care and clinging to life. For over a week, I had only the hope and prayers that tomorrow would be better than today.

We had just had our twins 6 months before, Noah had just turned 3, Amy was in the middle of medical school, and I was working full time in the evenings.

We were what you would call "the working poor." We had college degrees, we had goals, we had a vision of our life ahead. We had been thrown some curve balls, and therefore, were very dependent on the social safety programs that this country offers, primarily, WIC for food and Medicaid for healthcare for Amy and our children.

I have no doubt in my mind that the vision of America being proposed by the people and their supporters in this video would have killed my wife. The scenario laid out by Wolf Blitzer could have been me, and it absolutely was my wife. Daily, these Republicans chip away at the safety net of our society; I have heard various members of their party label those who use it as "freeloaders, deadbeats, leeches."

I know that many of you out there will hear the word "choice" and claim that it's the key phrase in this whole discussion. It is an illusion. The fact that there are people out there who even have to pause one second to ponder a choice about health insurance shows the idiocy of our current healthcare system. It is and should be a fundamental human right that we care for each other out of love, rather than judge, and spit, and curse at those who have fallen on financial and medical hard times.

That is the foundation of the oath that Amy lives out daily in her work as a physician. And it was that love that rallied around my family through the doctors, the strangers who gave time, money, and prayers to help us when we needed it most. It is that which makes our society strong: those who are hungry and thirsty, receive justice and care in full; we do for others what you would like to be done for you. Yes, it is people, but sometimes people are not enough, and that is why we have WIC, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security...

My family is a testament to why we have the social programs. From my firsthand experience talking to other people who need these programs as we did, there are far more success stories than failures. And that is the measurement that needs to be talked about. Does everyone turn out like us? Of course not. Do people abuse it? I'm sure there are some that do.

But when you denigrate these people callously as vermin and make statements essentially calling them subhuman, which happens far too often, you need a reminder that these programs are about people: fathers, mothers, children, who are working, fighting, and praying for help and, like I was in 2009, clinging to the hope that tomorrow might just be a little better, a little easier than today.

The next time time you need a face for this, think of us.

We are Medcaid success story, we are a WIC success story, and there are millions of us out there. And I'll be damned if I don't fight for those same opportunities afforded to us that the next "Eddy family," may need.

first day of school

2011-09-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today was another big day in among those Crazy Eddys.

The first day of kindergarten.

Noah woke up at 8:05am. At 8:07, he wanted to know if it was time to walk to school yet.

Kevin gently reminded him that generally kindergarteners eat breakfast and change out of their PJs before they are expected to learn.

After he was dressed for success (in his go-to camo outfit) and Lala had arrived, the 4 of us walked to school. We weren't the only adult-heavy entourage.

Noah beamed the whole way.

We dropped him off at his desk and said our quick good-byes. Lala turned to me when we were walking out the door and said, "This is exactly how I felt when I left you and Juni in Seattle on your first day of college."

I could see what she meant, but I and my pregnant hormones managed not to cry.

Noah had a fabulous day and the adults wondered what to do without a house filled with children.

The only flub was that we didn't pack Noah a beverage in his cold lunch and he didn't know he was supposed to buy milk. Kevin said he'd talk to Noah's teacher the next day to make sure it all worked out.

"Noah, can I have a second chance? It's only my first day as a dad of a kindergartener."

"Ok, Dad, but if you fail again; I'm going to have send Mom in."

what the world needs...

2011-08-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

is ONE more Crazy Eddy!

Coming soon to a blog near you. March 24.

special agent noah

2011-08-06T07:13:00.001-07:00

TOP SECRET: Photos of FBI Special Agent Noah

Patrolling for the bad guys

Spotted one! Gun drawn...

Another criminal behind bars

"You there, FREEZE!"

"NO MORE PICTURES!"

cousin fun part 2

2011-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our walk down was hot...very hot. Unfortunately, Mr. Sun decided to hide behind some clouds the entire time we were at the pool. Did we care? NOPE!

cousin fun part 1

2011-07-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Our Kaufmans came up for the day a few weeks ago, and we had a great time! Here we are getting ready to go to the local swimming pool just a hop, skip, and a jump from our house

i spy

2011-07-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, it's me Glory. Wanna play hide and seek? I was running through the sprinkler (naked, of course...the only way to run through the sprinkler when you are two) and I decided to hide in various spots throughout the backyard. Did I tell anyone or did someone ask me to do this? Nope, I just thought it was fun. Thankfully, my mom and dad took some fun pictures. Enjoy, and good luck finding me!

twins+yogurt=disastrous fun

2011-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken during the middle of the following conversation:
Kate: You're my best friend, Glory!
Glory: HAHAHA! I LOVE YOU KATE!

a conundrum

2011-07-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Two different cups full of the same liquid. One orange, one green.

Twin two year old girls with same ill-temperament. One in pink, one in purple.

Two girls want the same cup. One gets it, one screams.

One dad with one idea.

Eureka! Now, two orange cups, full of the same liquid.

Crap! Still, two girls want THAT cup.

What if...

One girl gets THE one cup. Escort THE ONE out of the kitchen.

Fake a conversation: "Kate, Glory wants the orange cup. Can we please give it to GloryTHANK YOU!" (as in, don't pause so she can scream "NO" at the top of her lungs)

Run back to the kitchen with the forgery (which is an exact copy of the real), and deliver to the crying daughter.

Ahhh...all is well, right?

Wrong.

Now, Kate thinks you've stolen HER cup. Do I dare repeat the process?

I do. And all is...nope not happening.

Instead, the real solution:

One dad with one beer, hoping the chaos works itself out...

...and after two sips, two happy girls with two orange cups.

naked babies

2011-07-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

We were scurrying around trying to get out of the house one morning and I turn around to find this.

seven states in seven days

2011-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

As I write this we are on our way home.

In seven days we have driven through seven states. (Really, we did it in 5 days, but that title wasn’t as catchy.)

Washington
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
South Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin

We have traveled 3200 miles and stayed in 3 different hotels and one lovely home.

We have made many new friends and finally met our Aunt Barb.

We have seen countless sites across the Midwest; some of our favorites were playgrounds and rest areas.

And, mostly, we still like each other.

road trip survival tips for parents of small children

2011-07-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

1. Start with 3 children who are experienced travelers. Resumes should include: multiple road trips to Idaho Falls, Lewiston, Seattle and the Tri-Cities and air travel to such places as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix; international travel optional.

2. Sucker, I mean, persuade a Grammy to come along. In addition to her easy-going personality, she must be able to act as chief navigator and drum up excitement about the most mundane things (e.g, “I SEE COWS OUT KATE’S WINDOW! THERE ARE HORSES OUT GLORY’S WINDOW!”) and have her wits about her 24-7 in the event the parents are too sleep-deprived or insane to do so.

3. Marry a man who likes to drive…I mean, really likes to drive. Duties include: long hours of driving on minimal sleep (sometimes as little as 2 ½ hours in 24 hours), managing the Ipod and music selection, and pointing out interesting scenic findings in his “airplane captain voice”. (“Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. On your left you will see the Badlands of South Dakota. On your right—the Goodlands.”) A 200%, heck, a 300% raise will be included for: running children ragged at rest stops, acting as lifeguard at hotel pools and Minnesota beaches and maintaining a dimpled smile even in the face of tantrums.

4. Bring along a Type-A-personality mom. The kind who makes lists. Lists of clothes to pack, things to do at rest stops, things to do in the car, movies to watch, snacks to eat and places to stop. It also helps if she is agile and can maneuver around the minivan to assist multiple children at once.

5. Buy out your dollar store so that when tantrums happen from travel-tired children you can bribe good behavior out of them. (And you won’t be sad when the toy gets left behind at a rest stop.) Preferably nothing sticky or that makes noise, but these are not deal-breakers.

6. Stay in hotels with pools. (Enough said.)

7. Try to smile as much as possible and remember that you are on vacation.

picnic and petting zoo

2011-07-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

We happened to be in town for the community picnic that is held annually at the skilled nursing facility where Aunt Barb lives. Since it was 94 degrees with 90% humidity, the kind folks who were putting it on elected to have it inside with the air conditioning blasting.

We were all thankful.

Aunt Barb has approximately a zillion and two friends. Here are 4 of them. Betty and Bud, the couple who graciously housed us during our stay, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary that day. Bud joked that it was only their 16th. Seated is Virginia who lives next door to Grammy’s grandma’s house and Grammy used to play with her kids when she’d visit Winona. In the blue is Sue, another long-time friend of Aunt Barb from church. It’s clear that Aunt Barb is a well-loved woman and on our trip we got to witness what a blessing her friends are to her.

Glory, the only one of our children who is unwilling to negotiate on her sleep, decided that she had had enough activity for the day and fell asleep en route. No amount of cajoling with cookies or lemonade would wake her but several mentions of the ponies outside at the petting zoo finally perked her up.

Kate decided she would sit at the end of the table with all her new friends. Here she is, deep in conversation with Betty. Bud and Betty are one kid-friendly couple. In addition to tolerating our crazy hooligans, they commented that our kids made them want to have more kids…if only they were a little younger.

Noah made a new friend at a nearby table. She and he played Cars while everyone else ate in peace. He was seriously bummed when she had to go home. Her name was Alexis but he kept calling her “Flex”.

After the kids ate the required amounts of dinner, we went outside to see the animals at the petting zoo.

They were a little excited. The kids, I mean….the animals, not as much.

The donkey and pony were big hits. The girls showed their affection by sticking fingers up their nostrils and pointing too close to their eyes but these gentle animals did not try to nibble at them even once.

Not so for the miniature goats. These little guys thought the girls’ curls were delicious and kept trying to eat it.

This cage held a long-haired guinea pig, but he just wanted to hang out in his box so we didn’t get to see much of him.

Inside they had bunnies and birds.

Those Winona folks sure know how to have a good time. Thanks for all the fun, guys!

lost and found

2011-07-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

It began like your average on-vacation-in-Minnesota day.

We had about 5 things to accomplish before lunch.

We were on our way to Aunt Barb's church to look at a table that Grammy's grandma had wanted her to have and decide how we were going to get it home. Only one entrance was open so Kevin and Noah went around front so they could open the handicap entrance for the rest of us to enter with Aunt Barb and her wheelchair.

Grammy, Kate, Aunt Barb and I followed Kevin into the sanctuary and realized Glory was nowhere to be found.

For what seemed like an eternity, but was probably 20 minutes, we scoured the neighborhood until finally a woman flagged me down and asked if I had lost a child. There in the Women's Resource Center was Glory with her blanky. The staff had called the police before they found us and after we successfully convinced him we were not the neglectful parents we seemed we continued on our way.

For the rest of the day, most of the parents we talked with each had their own "lost child" story to tell. After Kevin and I had calmed down, Grammy gave a pointed look to Kevin and said, "Nez Perce County Fair. You were two." It seems like a rite of passage to have lost a child and suffer through the anxiety until you find her. Still, if you haven't gone through that rite yet, I hope you never do. The ladies at the Resource Center gave Glory me a quiet space where we could both cry a little after we found each other.

After that all the grown-ups were hyper-vigilant about all 3 children's location.

The children were less concerned and had a blast playing "zoo" in the church.

Aunt Barb and her friend, Sue, witnessed the chaos.

The women of the parish handmade the kneelers. This is one of the 12 Aunt Barb made.

lark toys

2011-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

A wonderland of toys to play with and buy, mini-golf and a hand-carved carousel.
Ice cream and displays of antique toys.
We were so glad Aunt Barb had it on her list of things to check out.
Although we wish the carousel would run more than twice an hour.

garvin heights

2011-07-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Aunt Barb started off our tour of Winona with the beautiful views from Garvin Heights. Not only were we able to see all of Winona and the surrounding area, I got the chance to catch a few shots of Kate and Glory.

the mighty mississippi

2011-07-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

This is Aunt Barb, the primary reason for our trek. She and I have been pen pals ever since Kevin and I got married. Prior to this we had never met, never even talked on the phone…except for once last month to make some arrangements for the trip.

She was our tour guide around Winona and the surrounding area. One of our stops was along the levy in downtown Winona to check out the Mississippi River. She swam across this river in her younger days and pointed out the remnants of the old railroad bridge she used to dive from. She was quite the daredevil and gave her mother plenty of scares; she recounted many of them for us with a gleam in her eye.

We also enjoyed “Blue Moon” ice cream. Grammy got some sticky kisses from Kate.

We all got to dip our toes in the Mighty Mississippi.

At a Wyoming rest stop, Kevin made up a game of tossing sticks into a fast-flowing creek and then running downstream to see how far the sticks would make it before getting caught up in something. The girls were adamant that they needed the same experience in the Mississippi River. It was all smiles and laughs until Glory fell face first in the water and skinned her knee. (Good thing her mom packed Dora Bandaids; too bad she didn’t pack any dry clothes.)

all through the night

2011-07-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

Our second 24 hours of travel was even more productive than our first, covering just under 1100 miles.

Not bad considering Grammy caught Noah’s stomach bug and we had to stop every several hundred miles for “barf breaks”.

Along the way we also hit a few fun stops.

We made a slight detour to Mt. Rushmore where we not only were able to see four of our Presidential founding fathers’ faces carved into the mountain, but also enjoy massive amounts of ice cream and get our first mosquito bites of the trip. We asked a competent-appearing bystander to take our group picture, which he did, but he neglected to get the 4 faces we really wanted in the picture.

Fortunately Grammy came to the rescue.

Our next stop was Wall, South Dakota, home of the famous Wall Drug—a drug store that takes up 2 blocks of downtown. It boasts over 76,000 square feet of free, family-friendly attractions. Our favorites were anything that involved horses, the Jack-a-Lope, and the giant toy store. Our least favorite was the mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex that “caution!...attempts to feed every 12 minutes” that put Glory in a dead sprint in the other direction and caused Kate to place an iron-clad grip on my right thigh.

The girls insisted that this statue was "Mommy!" and had to get a picture with my likeness.

Then it was back in the car again. The kids got glow sticks for our night time driving. It seemed like a good idea until I caught Kate and Glory chewing on them and found that soon their car seats were covered in “nontoxic” glow stick liquid. Maybe it helped them sleep a little…it was overall a quiet night other than a few whimperings from Kate. Noah didn’t budge for 6 hours straight.

We arrived in Winona, Minnesota, at 6:45 AM central time. A little smelly, a little cranky, a whole lot of tired but in good enough shape to run races through the local Perkins and eat some Rainbow Pancakes.

c'mon inn, the water's fine

2011-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

While you are perusing this post, dear readers, we are hopefully somewhere in South Dakota, perhaps even in Minnesota.

Yesterday after our quick jaunt from Spokane to Billings we arrived at one of the hotels in our new favorite chain, C'mon Inn. Not only are all 6 of us able fit in one suite, it has aquatic features coming out of its ears.

This place boasts 8 hot tubs, a regular swimming pool, a wading pool, a pond filled with large coy (that we got to feed!) and a bridge spanning a shallow creek that is fed by a waterfall.

Plus a giant bath tub with jets. (Our room looked a little like Water World by the end of the evening.)

Despite being in the car for so long, after several hours of nonstop water fun, the hoodlums were all ready for bed. Isn't that recommendation enough? If you are on a road trip, stop here...or make it a destination in itself; it's totally worth it.

are we there yet?

2011-06-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

We are one day into our Minnesota-road-trip Adventure and as I write this, Kevin and Noah are dozing in front of our hotel room's TV, Grammy is stretching her muscles after sitting all day in the car and the girls are busy exploring every nook and cranny in this rather large suite.

Our first day on the road went by blissfully quickly. None of the adults are quite sure how that happened but we are all grateful. Despite Noah asking, "Are we there yet?" in Spokane Valley and Grumpy texting us "are we there yet?" in Montana.

We covered 548 miles today. (I love the speed limit in Montana.)

We stopped twice. Once in Missoula for an hour to run off some energy at a park and once was a 5-minute rest stop.

We watched "Wall-E" and half of "Tangled".

We drew pictures, played with stickers, ate junk food and napped.

And I shamelessly bribed the kids with dollar-store prizes for getting back in their car seats quickly. (I still have 30 "prizes" left--we'll see how long this method works.)

potty humor

2011-06-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

One day, Noah came home from preschool talking about farting, pooping, peeing, etc. and laughing hysterically about it. I decided to go with it, but only under special circumstances.

Hence, the birth of literal potty humor. Jokes that are only allowed to be told while we are in the bathroom, and can be about bathroom-type stuff.

Here's a couple of our favorites:
Knock Knock. Who's there?
Wall-E. Wall-E who?
Wall-E pee or Wall-E poop!

I'm going under there.
Under where?
HAHA you said underwear!

You get the idea. So today, Noah was going to the bathroom and asked a question:
N: What's does Thursday mean?
K: Well, there is a guy named Thor, and I think it's named after him.
(long explanation about who Thor is)
N: What about Friday?
K: Hmm...I don't know.
N: I think it's Fart Day! Hahahaha!

I'm sure that, too, will become a potty humor favorite.

Do you guys have any good potty humor jokes out there? Remember, they do need to be somewhat innocent :) Feel free to share in our comments for this post. Thanks!

ben's birthday party: CAKE!!!

2011-06-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tasted anything Christina has baked?

Don't. You'll get addicted.

Like crack. Except it makes you fat.

Anyway, I digress. It was Ben's birthday and there were chocolate cupcakes to be enjoyed by all...but particularly enjoyable for those 5 and under.

The birthday boy.

This cutie also enjoyed some chocolate.

The Co-op Kids got their 50 millionth dose of sugar in 48 hours (hence, the ruckus).

It was a good day.

ben's first birthday: ruckus

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

We joined the Palouse Kaufmans (as well as both sets of Lewiston Kaufmans) and the Waldons to celebrate Ben's birthday.

He is such an easygoing kid he was not at all put off by the ruckus the rest of the hoodlums were causing.

In fact, he took it all in stride.

Sources of ruckus:

Sandbox (Andie decided she needed to taste an entire mouthful of sand)

Bubbles

The hose

Trucks

A crazed Kevin Eddy (that's how he maintains his girlish figure).

And, of course, sugar (more to come with cake pictures).

happy fathers' day

2011-06-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers' Day to all the men in our life who have loved us, guided us and taught us. We are so thankful for helping to shape us into who we have become.

To the father of my children--you blossomed into a fuller, even more vibrant person the day you become a dad. I am blessed to have you as my partner and I love watching you with Noah, Kate and Glory. You always seek out any teaching moment and find fun in the most mundane things. Your vocation is not an easy one yet you continually rise to the occasion. Countless times a day you demonstrate your love to our kids and work your hardest at shaping them into justice-seeking, peace-loving citizens of the world. Know that we appreciate all you do for our family...even when we are throwing tantrums.

texts in the city

2011-06-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

K: Glory stripped down and went pee on the potty unprompted. while that was happening Noah got a cup & poured oj while kate crawled into bed to 'nap'. what the heck

A: wow. they r ready 2 live independently

K: I'll start apt hunting for them :)

cousin pictures: part 2

2011-06-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is the one I started with but I was pretty sure I could do better. I think I was expecting them to sit quietly with their hands in their laps and look thoughtfully at the camera.

Let's JUMP!

Noah decides to be a ninja while Ninang tries to herd them together--"hug each other!"

As always, the end result was more entertaining than anything else I could have hoped for and did a way better job of capturing the essence of Co-op Kids--complete chaos.

cousin pictures: part 1

2011-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lala had matching cousin outfits so I was determined to get a picture of the crew in them.

It was a bit of a challenge. They had just been cooped up in Mass and it was St. James' birthday so they had had cupcakes for breakfast.

First they had to chase Aunt Dori.

(Andie can't run very fast so I caught one of her.)

Then they chased Uncle Phil.

After that it was a race with Uncle Fred. Uncle Jeff was smart and volunteered to be the finish line. No running for him.

fro-yo and new shoes

2011-06-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Being the typical Lewiston weekend, there was no way we could merely go to two birthday parties in one day. While Lala was at an afternoon wedding (after already going out to breakfast), the boys went fishing and the girls went shoe shopping.

We were finalizing the agenda with texting on the way down from Spokane. Kevin sent this text:

Joe & I r taking boys fishing. Girls shoe shopping w/ u and Amy. Guess it's national stereotype day.

Jen and I took the girls to the Orchards Shoe Shop in Lewiston. We always go there. The service is excellent and the shoes are adorable although sometimes the customers can get a little out of hand (okay, they're the ones we bring).

The Eddys got sandals while Andie single-handedly unshelved all the shoes. Her mama was following her around the store, grabbing her busy hands and repeating, "Stop shopping, Andie."

After that we needed a break so we got some delicious frozen yogurt. Andie and Glory fought over the samples but in the end enjoyed Georgia peach with graham crackers and animal crackers. Kate got cake batter with marshmallows and animal crackers. (Yes, all that was in addition to the tiramisu/ice cream/Boston cream pie combo earlier).

lala's birthday

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lala had a "Double Nickel" birthday on Saturday. In addition to turning 55 on June 11, she had a double birthday party.

The first one was at home with the Co-op Kids, their parents and Lola and Uncle Noy. Coffee and vanilla ice cream with Boston cream pie and tiramisu. It was an awesome sugar high for the rest of the afternoon.

Party #2: Adults arrived at Jazzy's, a local wine bar in Lewiston that has live music. Dan and Joe both danced with Mom to celebrate while the owner serenaded the birthday girl.

She loved every minute of it.

Note Sam trying to whack Uncle Kevin with an inflatable hammer.

internship graduation

2011-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Tancie took the kids to spend the night at Marilyn and Dan's. Kevin and I got all gussied up and we spent the evening drinking free alcohol, eating delicious food and getting a little rowdy with some friends.

We even went out dancing a little after that. (I know, stop the presses.)

I know you are all wondering what magnanimous occasion this was (except that maybe the title clued you in).

Last Friday, I graduated from being an intern.

People ask me with excitement, "What next?"

What's next is the same thing I've been doing for the last year for the next two years.

I liken it somewhat to graduating from kindergarten.

Except that in three weeks, I'll have new interns to boss around--I mean, teach.

chatty kate

2011-06-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

This one is from a while ago. Kate was super excited that the Kaufmans were coming to our house.

stupid things people say

2011-06-11T06:00:00.001-07:00

Jen and I were at our clogging workshop and generally everyone was excited to see me dancing with my twin sister. Some of them didn't know she was my twin--they thought I had gotten a new haircut.

One of them was a bit more confused.

"Wow! It's so neat to watch you two dance together. Is this your daughter?"

I was speechless.

Hours later, Jen busted up laughing.

"What is so funny?" I asked.

"I always thought I looked more like Mom, but apparently you do. Like my mom, I mean."

the big cedar

2011-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Elk River is home to Idaho's largest tree. On our last day of camping we set off to find it.

I was lucky enough to sit in the back seat between 2 car seats (and even luckier to be surrounded by a few flying ants).

Here's the tree. Isn't it beautiful?

That image was stolen from the internet. We never actually made it that far because we ran into this.

So we settled on getting huckleberry ice cream and checking out the local jail.

nd

2011-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

When you are 16 months old, you really only have 2 modes:

ON

(and)

OFF

teach a boy to fish...

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning, 5 am. Noah: "Mom. I think the trout are jumping!"

things to do while camping

2011-06-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

1) Wear a pink life jacket. (Apparently Sam's very manly life jacket got left behind and Andie's got packed instead. Uncle Phil even sported a life jacket with some pink on it since "all the cool kids" were doing it.)

2) Throw rocks in the pond. Try not to land on your face when obtaining said rock from ground.

3) After playing in all the mud you could ever find, get dunked in the lake for a quick clean off. Then warm up in the sun on Uncle Joe's lap.

4) Play music. Expand Uncle Jeff's repertoire to include "The Wheels on the Bus".

5) Parents of small children: pack a play yard. This can double as a jail or a classroom. Also bring a ball so that your inmate or student can take a rest.

6) Stomp ants. Eat Doritos.

7) Shoot each other with water guns.

Are you tired yet? Me, too.

mud puppies

2011-06-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend Kevin was in the Tri-Cities at a swim meet, so I did what any reasonable semi-single mom would do.

I took the kids camping.

In the days preceding the event, I would find that Kevin would spontaneously break into laughter, shaking his head and proclaiming, "You are crazy".

But be not alarmed, dear readers. I was joining up with the Kaufman clan. Aunt Dori and Uncle Fred were providing the food and food-making gear, Uncles Jeff and Phil would likely be providing hours of entertainment and Ninang and Uncle Joe let us sleep in their tent trailer.

All I had to do was bring the kids, their clothes, some pillows and life jackets.

How hard could it be?

Noah was off fishing with Uncle Joe. Sam and Andie were napping with Ninang and Aunt Dori. You think I'd be able to manage the 2 two-year olds relatively well.

I wasn't.

They did eventually get clean but not before neighbors from surrounding campgrounds documented their mud bath on their iPhones.

kites!

2011-05-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Spring has been...well, crappy. The weather has been terrible. Just when we thought we'd get a reprieve from inside stuff, it had to snow more in April and May then it did in January and February.
I guess the good thing about spring weather is that if it's not raining or snowing, chances are the wind is blowing.

Noah was great as he flew his superhero kite pretty much by himself (hence the easy pics). The girls, however, couldn't quite get it. They would get excited and let go, get bored and let go, or let go just to see what would happen. Not exactly stress-free for the dad, but super fun for everyone nonetheless.

happy birthday, sam!

2011-05-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sam-
We can't believe you are a whopping three years old today. You have turned into such a big kid lately. Watching you play with your cousins is both entertaining and heartwarming. You dote on Andie and give in to her incessant whims with a maturity beyond the short 36 months you've been on this planet.

You have amassed quite the vocabulary. I love that you now can share with us your perspective and imagination. We are continually amazed at both your sense of humor and your insight.

You have mastered the art of the perfect hug and the way you excitedly shout "Kebin!" and "Ninang!" when you see us is one of my favorite things about you.

What hasn't changed is your exuberance. I never doubt that each moment (even those you spend sleeping) you life your life to the full. We are so glad to be a part of those moments.

Love,
Ninang and Uncle Kevin

texts in the city

2011-05-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

@ park. glory just ate fertilizer. is screaming insisting it was nerds. leaving park.

may 7th

2011-05-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Kevin,

Today we've been together for almost half of our lives. Fourteen years ago we went on our first date. I tend to think of us as an "established" couple--with our relationship being grounded in the vast history we share. I love to think about the many transitions we have had in our relationship: from the flirty, first-date moments to our newlywed days to our current state of being parents on different work schedules trying to mold three young hooligans into respectable human beings.

Our typical date has gone from roses and dinner at a fancy restaurant to staying up late to watch an extra episode of "The Office" while folding laundry.

Several rotations ago on housestaff I had several patients, all married for more than 50 years, who gave me glimpses into the beauty and challenges of aging together. It was a gift for this nearly thirty-year old to observe things from a different perspective.

One was a 70-something-year old gentleman, previously quite active, whose health declined such that he now had to live in a nursing home in a different city from his wife. Throughout his hospital stay, I never once met his wife face-to-face as she only braved the drive to Spokane once a week. I could always tell that she had visited though because when I would come to examine him, his bald forehead would bear the hot-pink lipstick marks of a goodbye kiss.

Another man was a very young 90-year-old just recently retired lawyer who managed to catch the flu while vacationing in Tahiti. Each day he hassled me about how much longer I would keep him in the hospital. It turned out that he had things to do: he and his wife were traveling to Paris to visit the cafe where they had met over 60 years ago.

One patient was a lady with dementia severe enough to require her to live in a nursing home. Her husband lived in the assisted living portion of the facility and would walk over for breakfast, lunch and dinner to keep her company. He stayed with her while she was in the hospital and while she could never remember his name, she had a special smile that brightened her face whenever she looked at him.

Their stories were not always happy or easy, but each sweet in its own way, and each made me reflect on what we will be like after we've been together for 50 years...or longer. I don't know what our future holds, but I look forward to sharing it with you.

I love you.

Amy

easter weekend 2011: birthday twins

2011-05-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

It was a weekend of celebrations.

Jesus' resurrection
Laura's becoming Catholic
Easter eggs and cookies and just sugar in general

But let us not forget the other big event of the weekend: Noah and Grandma Darlin's birthday. Although generations apart, they loved every moment of being birthday co-celebrants.

easter weekend 2011: auntie lon's baptism & confirmation

2011-05-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was not just about cookies and eggs (and birthdays...more on that later); Auntie Lon was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic Church. We left the kids home with a babysitter and were able to witness the momentous occasion in peace.

Now, the Eddys all grew up Presbyterian, but Kevin and Laura have become Catholic and are married/marrying Catholics. Kevin and Grant often comment on the Presby/Catholic ratio at family gatherings.

Kevin, the zealot that he is, tried to recruit Eric after Mass.

He waved Laura's baptism candle in front of Eric, chanting, "If you join our church, we'll give you a fancy candle."

Current ratio: 7 to 3.

ah, chickens!

2011-05-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Noah has developed his own little catch phrase/swear word that he uses throughout the day:

Chickens.

Time to go to bed. Ah, chickens!

Time to stop playing and eat dinner. Chickens!

Did you wash your hands after using the bathroom? Yes, chicken!

Dad, that little chicken hit me! (To the offending sister) Chickens!

What would you like for dinner? Chickens!

What present did you get for your birthday? Transformers, chicken!

I think you get the jist of it. As you can tell, it's a fairly dynamic word. The best part is, it's fairly nonsensical, so we not exactly in a rush to break him of the habit. However, we're not exactly happy about this development. But, I guess it could be worse...a lot worse :)

Chickens!

texts in the city

2011-04-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Amy: Coming @ 10 tomorrow?

Lala: Yes

A: Awesome. It will be a surprise.

L: d6 u thhnk 4 7h6v5d bs4ng sam (She is notorious for letting grandkids play with her phone

A: Hi, Sam.

L: What does your msg mean?

A: I thought the gibberish text was from Sam. Being that it was gibberish and Sam's name was signed @ the end.

L: Was ask4ng if i should bring sam with me (She is also notorious for typos)

A: it is up 2 u. it's good 4 them 2 b together but it will make ur day infinitely harder

L: Am planning on wearing panda bear costume.

A: Well, that in itself might make ur day infinitely harder

L: I was not thinking of myself...more about the kids

A: I was thinking about u driving up, Sam in tow, dressed as a giant panda.

Fortunately, Lala made the sacrifice--the kids loved it.

easter weekend 2011: decorating eggs eddy-style

2011-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most of the Eddys aren't really fans of hard-boiled eggs so Grammy has everyone decorate egg-shaped sugar cookies.

Noah remained fairly clean and honed his own decorating skills, perfecting the "blop of frosting in the middle of the cookie" technique.

It can get a little messy.

And the frosting is really delicious. (Kate prefers it straight from the tube.)

Glory wouldn't share the pink frosting with anyone and used it to decorate everything: the cookies, the counter, her belly, and best of all, the inside of her mouth.

'stache jokes

2011-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Kevin was in the middle of shaving for Easter Vigil, but got interrupted and left his mustache intact. The inevitable mustache jokes ensued.

"Hey, man, Miami Vice was cancelled in the 80's."

"Geraldo called. He wants his mustache back."

"The '70s called. They don't want it back."

"Amy, I need your medical opinion. There seems to be a growth on your husband's face. What do you think the best treatment would be?

I think it needs amputation."

The best part was that Kevin kept his mustache for the rest of the day just to spite us, but then forgot about it when he was meeting Grant's parents for the first time. He was trying to shake their hands, act charming and cover his face all at the same time, while saying, "I don't usually look like this."

easter weekend 2011: the egg hunt

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

This Easter was spent in the Tri-Cities at Grammy and Grumpy's. Between Kevin and Eric, they took about 400 pictures on our new camera so you, dear readers, will be getting the recap in several installments.

The egg hunt was a 20-minute flurry of activity while everyone scrambled around grabbing whatever loot they could find: eggs, candy, sunglasses and stuffed animals.

Those two lovebirds in the background are getting married in September--in case you didn't know.

Several observers thought Kate looked like a crazed woman shopping on Rodeo drive with her basket and bucket filled with goodies and her lopsided sunglasses.

toddlerese

2011-04-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

"The Happiest Baby on the Block" saved our lives when we were the parents of newborn twins. We lived by the 5 "S"s and in return got a few moments of sleep.

Meanwhile we had our toddler son, who was going through his terrible twos/threes. As soon as we found out there was a "Happiest Toddler on the Block" I made Kevin drive all the way to Coeur d'Alene to snatch up a copy at a specialty baby store. That night--willing students that we were--we watched the DVD in its entirety. (Kevin didn't even make fun of me for taking notes.)

It wasn't as earth-shattering as the 5 "S"s, but we did learn about toddlerese. If you're not familiar with the concept, the idea is that you can stop a tantrum by recognizing your child's desire/frustration. You do this by voicing their feelings, sometimes over and over again, matching their tone and intensity until both of you calm down and you can talk more reasonably.

Kate is quite the little mimicker.

We were driving home from Whitworth and Glory was having a super tantrum because she had to ride home with me in the minivan instead of with Dad in the red car.

She was still sobbing when we got on to I-90.

Kate had been cooing to her, "You want your Daddy. You want your Daddy. It's okay," for approximately 25 minutes.

I thought to myself, What a patient, loving child. I can't believe she's only 2. I'm the mom and I'm getting tired of this tantrum.

Kate apparently suddenly decided enough was enough, too. She sighed and shouted, "Glory, bad girl. Be quiet!"

No effect. Glory's tantrums are obviously unstoppable.

marilyn and dan

2011-04-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

These are leftover from our post-Christmas program pizza-fest with Marilyn and Dan. I better post them now before they get lost in the archives.

Gosh, we love those two!

It's really hard to get a good picture of that crew.

happy birthday, noah!

2011-04-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Noah,

Half a decade ago you turned our world upside down. We were then just newlyweds and you made us parents. What a joy it has been to be your mom and dad.

This year you seem so grown up. You love reading and to be read to. You get a bit upset when we are up too late to fit in all of your bedtime stories, but you will make do if I tell a story about Phineas and Olivia, the brother and sister duo who routinely find spaceships while weeding in their garden. You love teaching Kate and Glory the new things you have learned and sometimes we can get a few moments of harmony while we place school together. I can't believe Dad and I looked at kindergartens last month for you to start in the fall.

You are such a loving kid. I can still count on a good snuggle and hug from you and I often find you cuddling up to your sisters trying to hug/pet/kiss them. Unfortunately, sometimes they are not in the mood and you get a fist in your face for all your good intentions. Other times, they giggle in delight and you love it.

This year you grew from being an inquisitive, yet cautious 4 year old into a daring, determined 5 year old. If there is a goal you want to achieve, you don't give up until it's done. (Unfortunately, cleaning your room is not on that list.) When you were learning to ride your bike without training wheels, you took some serious crashes and got some impressive road rash, but most of the time you'd dust yourself off, announce "I'm OK!" and get right back on. (Except for the time your nose bled for 10 minutes and I was wondering if I was going to have to take you to the ER.)

Noah-Bear, we love you so much and are so excited to see you grow and mature day by day.

Love,
Mom and Dad

to do list

2011-04-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

On Thursdays, the kids head to preschool, and I get the opportunity to catch up on housework. Whenever we get the chance, Amy and I get together and come up with a to do list. Today's list was a little long and ambitious, evidenced by the final item:

World Peace.

Kevin: What? World Peace!?! How come 'make the house a shining beacon of cleanliness' isn't on there?

Amy: I thought World Peace would be easier to attain.

snow day...in april!

2011-04-20T14:19:00.001-07:00

Oh spring, oh spring...where for art thou?

Heading outside to investigate the mayhem...

Glory's attempt at a snowball fight. She just punched Kate in the head. Thankfully, Kate thought it was hilarious and hit her back :)

Marching back and forth on the lawn.

Noah enjoyed a wonderful bike ride in the snow. See, Lala, we don't play in the street everyday! :)

Right now it's in the low 40's and thinking about raining/snowing. Ugh. WHERE THE HECK IS SPRING!?!

aunt tancie's tattoo parlor

2011-04-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

The girls are in love with Aunt Tancie's tattoos--the ones on her body and the ones she gives them. Sometimes,during the witching hour, a few tattoos can turn tears into giggles.

The latest craze is flowers on the belly, smiling spiders on the hands, elbows and feet, and their names on the inside of their wrists.

Sometimes the clients want to do their own tattoos...

...but generally their is a sense of order and everyone waits her turn.

And satisfaction is guaranteed.

man time

2011-04-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Tita was kind enough to take the girls out for a brunch date, so Noah and I got a chance for some man time.

We walked to our favorite brunch spot, Perry Street Cafe.

For some reason, Noah really wanted a picture of some pigeons.

We had some manly sized hot cocoa.

Ate some manly meat products.

Went to the manly "toy" store.

And my manly helper was so great, he got some candy.

*Not included in these pictures were our manly lego construction time, our manly toy plane flying time, our manly pbskids.org computer game time, and our manly potty jokes that were told while junior man pooped :)

our "Cope"-ing mechanism

2011-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a tough day for Team Eddy.

I had gotten home from work at 1 AM to find Kate, Glory and Kevin sharing pillow talk in our bed. After much kicking, tossing and turning, I sent Kevin out to the couch to get some shut eye.

Noah woke up 30 minutes later.

There was no room in our bed, so I sent him out to his dad.

Moments later it was time to get up and get ready for church.

Three tired, cranky kids plus two tired, cranky parents. We each threw a few tantrums before noon.

Fortunately we had a play date scheduled at the Copes' house. We considered cancelling it with everyone's poopy attitudes, but decided we would only be punishing ourselves if that did indeed happen.

It's a good thing we went.

Instant smiles with Noah's BFF Maia and her cute brother, Jonas "the Bonus". Here are some highlights of our afternoon.

*For the most part, Maia and Noah were inseparable but while there were a few moments of trouble in paradise, Noah zoned out with this clock video game.

*Kate fell in love with this teddy bear.

*Jeremy and Kevin were enthralled by Jeremy's new BBQ. It only took two grown men to cook a fabulous dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs.

*Glory kept building towers out of these giant stuffed blocks, shouting "It's time to build a word!" (Word World is a new staple at our house.)

*Elisabeth's philosophy is that since Jonas doesn't go to daycare, she wants to expose him to all the germs out there and didn't have a problem with him drinking out of the girls' cups. Mission accomplished.

Best part? All 3 fell asleep on the way home. We put them to bed in their day clothes and enjoyed a movie on the couch with some Schnapps-spiked chocolate milkshakes. Thank you, Cope family, for getting us through our tough day.

glory's bad hair day

2011-04-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

When you have curly, fine hair, it's very easy for even the most secure hair-do to get out of control...