Oh my word!

Well that took a while!  All I wanted to do was listen to a friend's comment about the white on black text being hard to read...and add a new winter/holiday look.  Hahaha.  Why didn't I know this would not work in my favor?  I truly don't know.  I should have, but I didn't.  Now, three days, a frustrated email, and multiple phone calls later...I think we have a look that I can live with! 

I do not understand how some of you can get a template to work on your blog.  I simply cannot and have stopped trying.  It is better for me to find a vector pattern, remove the background image, and use the pattern.  Trust me, before yesterday I had NO IDEA what a vector pattern was.  I still don't really know, I just know that the free ones are what I want as my background image.  lol  Note, free.  I still can't imagine paying for anything associated with my blog, except for Ken's services of course.  He is my go to "something is wrong and you are a computer expert" brother-in-law.  His true suggestion?  Get rid of blogger and let me make her a real page.  LOL  Like I wouldn't have even more trouble with that?!?  I bet he suggested it because he can better control, fix, etc. my mistakes on a "real" page. 

Once I figured out what I needed image wise, searched for the right one for a few hours (good thing kids around here nap!)...then came the process of "how did I do this last time?"  Eventually, I figured it out.  Yeah me!  Of course, that just means I now got to mess with fonts, colors, etc.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm a perfectionist.  Needless to say, I may never think it is right.  But - for now, you are stuck with it. 

I hope you like it.  Friend of mine, I hope the reading is easier on your eyes.  If not, let me know.  That should be a simple font/color issue...as long as I don't think, hey, maybe we should change the look up for the holidays!  LOL

Anyway, this rambling blog is to let you know...we're back!  Now I'm off to figure out the whole "can you please get her to change the password, I'm afraid an untoward site will hack her soon it's so bad" issue I was told I have.  If only he knew how TRULY bad at passwords John and I are, he may have a heart attack! 

Loves!

Pardon our mess - site under construction

Please pardon the mess, what should have been a simple change to the bog to spiff it up for the holidays has turned into Steph pulling her hair out (maybe a few cuss words, can't know for certain), Ken trying to be Mr. HTML and use his development tools to edit the underlying template, me (guest blogger Kim) getting mad at Ken - taking over - failing at everything I tried and just just applying a whole new template.  I am hoping that Steph has a backup and we can start this whole adventure over again!  If not, stay tuned, more changes are coming I'm sure.

Happy Saturday!!!
Kimberly

p.s. - mom this is why I am late, see you soon for shopping!

Feet *sponsored by Nike??*

Feet. There are lots of them running around this house! They are usually all barefooted and cute. The kids know where their toes are even. Zach will even point to his head, knee, toes if he wants me to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" (yes, it really is a song, much to John's amazement). Needless to say, I love me some feet.
Addie:




Zach:




Katie:




Heck, I even live with a mini foot model! (Z-man)




Until I found out how expensive they were going to be.
$50 per child. Over and over. Until Nike no longer sponsors their feet. I know it's amazing we are sponsored by such a giant corporation, but they are the creators of the infamous swoop that my children have adopted. Hence the $50/child. over and over. potentially. Technically, it's called over pronation. I call it a swoop. According to the physical therapist we saw today, when looking at a child foot from behind (as they are standing/walking) it should be a straight line from mid-calf, down to achilles and heel. Our kids look like this:




ok, maybe not exactly like that. It's my rendition of a swoop. Me not wanting Nike to come after me and all - the kids magna doodle app came in handy. For real, this is what they look like:




That is Zach. Notice his left leg? The ankle is not aligned with his Achilles and such. I know his right isn't either, but I don't know that he was fully standing on that leg.




That is Katie. Notice her right ankle?




That is Addie. Hers is the left mostly. Note, all my rights and lefts are from your position.
Either way, what this all means is that all kiddos will be receiving shoe inserts. Kinda like ones you may choose to use (Dr. Scholls gel inserts anyone?). However theirs will have a nice high arch and heel cup (?). They will basically look like a nice, worn in Berkinstock. Sorry for all the not completely accurate information, but I'm just trying to describe to the best of my ability at the moment.
I will say I am impressed with the PT that we saw. The appointment was only for Addie, but after ordering her inserts we asked if she could look at Katie. I think it took all of 15 second after her socks were removed Peg said "yep, we should probably look at Zach then too". Again, 15 second later... even I could see Zach's. Is this the point I should tell you that it wasn't until DURING THE APPOINTMENT that John decided to share that he too had to wear inserts for over-pronation. Not as an infant, but still, thanks for sharing with me before-hand honey. Once she diagnosed all three, she looked at John and commented that at least we know it's genetic, not a preemie issue or anything (although, she did mention Addie having lower muscle tone and asked if she was the smallest - yep). Once you know what to look for you can see it clearly. So she called back to add to our order. She tried for the triplet discount...no such luck. But we do have one in size 4.5, one in 4.75 and one in 5. Pretty much that means Addie may only receive this first pair as new, since she can grow into her siblings sizes.
I can say with confidence this has no effect on my children's personality or anything of that sort. Need proof? Ok.












That was our day today. Hope yours was less expensive.
Loves!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

An apple a day

Keeps little miss busy. Surprisingly, I knew what was for dinner mid-afternoon, so once John arrived home I got to work. I reached over the gate for the potatoes (too intriguing for littles, especially Zach who likes to taste test). As I'm washing them I hear a loud THUMP! It was weird, i glanced back but didnt se anything. I figured the girls dropped something over the gate. About a minute later I hear "Addie, what are you eating? How did you get that. Steph?!".
As I round the corner this is what I see:




Well, ok, that is what I see after the flash light blinking and her preparing for the bright light.
This is what I see after turning the flash off:




Yep! That, folks, is an apple. The loud thump? I'm assuming it was an apple falling from our fruit bowl onto the floor where Addie rescued it all the while thinking 'why, yes, I am a bit hungry'. She was chomping down like a pro!




Mind you, chica is just about 16 months. I bet this felt good for her teeth though. She ate quite a bit, then daddy fed them the last of the sweet potato chips I made yesterday and they gobbled those down, as well as the last of the olives from lunch (veggie quesadilla)...and they ate a good portion of dinner, breakfast, but dinner. :)
I leave you with this:




Addie's apple will keep the dr away Tuesday, but Wed she has a PT consult to check her walking and I'm hoping for a same day dr. appt to check her weight again and check Zach's red rashyish face. Yep, rashyish. It's a word, promise.
Loves!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Oh My Cuteness!

I'm hanging out on the computer after the kids go to bed.  John says, "hey, do you want the picture card?  I've taken some pictures lately."  Sure, why not.  Oh My Cuteness!!  This blog post is simply because we take some great photos of even better subjects.  

We'll start with last Thursday evening.  We went to the community center on base for dinner.  They have a grill with pretty decent hamburgers, our closest to take out I suppose.  They even had decent kids meals prior to this last visit.  (who does a 1/2 grilled cheese anyway?!? but that is another rant).  Our going out meant the girls got to wear the Robeez boots for the first time....

Katie rocking her pink boots and pink coat

Addie rocking her pink boots and white coat (model pose at 15mos?!)

Proud papa

Zach before realizing Mom is taking pictures

Zach after realizing his fans are taking pics

The meal, eh. We had to feed the kids more when we got home, see note re: 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich above.  I still like their burgers though, for what they are.  And I like even better not having to determine what to make for dinner, make it, then maybe help clean up.

John had Friday off.  Really truly off.  This doesn't happen too often, not lately anyhow.  And even though this meant I could sleep in, I still got up about 30 minutes after everyone else. After breakfast we were playing on the floor.  Zach has taken to backing into people to sit on their laps.  I had Katie on my leg, Zach backing up into my lap, and Addie decided she wanted to join the fun too.  They have done this a couple times lately, all piled into either my or John's lap.  Too awesome!  (Excuse the morning look. I had a hair appt later that day. It's back under control now)

Pile o'littles.  Can't you just hear Addie's giggle for finding a spot, Katie's exasperation for being there first and now being squished, and Zach's contentment?  We had fun like this for a few minutes.

Take two

Later that morning we decided to put their new winter booties on them.  They LOVE them.  They are Stonz booties for anyone wondering.  A fleece liner with an over bootie.  They are hard for me to get them on, but John is a master.  Although they look big in the picture, the kids can actually walk in them just fine. 

What happens when you want a kid pic while also leaving Disney Jr. on the tv.

Today I helped out the Delta Imagination Library at a local vendor fair.  We signed up more kiddos to receive free books and had a little sticker book station they could enjoy while parents looked around.  It was a fun few hours out of the house.  Especially since I left in the middle of a lunch-is-30-minutes-late meltdown, hehe.  I felt bad, for a minute or two.  Clearly, it had no lasting effect as John grabbed the camera after their nap.  These are the results.  Kim, before you say anything I repeat, this was after nap.  :)

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL!

Our cheesehead.  Silly girl.

Just as BEAUTIFUL as her sister.

Out little man.  

Addie posing it out.

So those are the pictures that were on John's camera card.  This is all within the last 2 days.  We lead a busy, harried life there is no denying that.  However, with love, fun, silliness, and smiles like this the sleeplessness, worry, frustration, etc. is more than worth it.  I hope you enjoyed our little slice of life as much as I did tonight.  Now if only I could find those perfect holiday outfits like I was looking for...

Loves!

Dancing Queen

I remember my sister in law lamenting her pre-teen daughter "dropping it like it's hot"...little did I know Miss Katie will provide us with the same heartburn.

For your viewing pleasure...our dancing queen:

That's all tonight folks. I think it is more than enough.  :)

Loves!

When the sickness hit

As most of you know, the sickness finally hit our home.  The kiddos turned 15 months during the time of the snot invasion.  Lucky for us, that is all that is was.  Lucky also for us it was only about two nights of sleeplessness for us.  To clarify, it was two nights that we were up holding little girls who could not breathe when they were laying down, even with their crib mattresses propped.  After those two nights, there was still a LOT of waking in the middle of the night, or rather, every hour or so...but when you realize there is nothing you can do for them and that they need to go back to sleep, you just listen and watch for a few minutes until they work it out.  Sad, but really better than disrupting them with going in there as they would wake more and not go back to sleep as fast.  It might sound cruel, but I promise you it is not. 

It started with Zach, two days later Katie woke full blown and by the end of that day Addie was full blown too.  Of all our little sickies, Addie is the best trooper.  She will let you wipe her nose, suction her nose, she will just sneeze away while playing...she is just a strong little girl.  Katie and Zach, well pretty much they hate anyone even THINKING about touching their noses when they are sick.  We are talking tears at the sight of mommy walking to the kleenex box and reaching in. That was the toughest part.  Well, that and hearing Katie's sheer inability to breath.  When she would eat she would sound almost out of breath because she was so clogged up.  I can't describe how heart wrenching it is to hear and not know how to make it better.  The snot invasion lasted a week and a half.  We hope it stays away another 15 months, but somehow I don't think that will happen.

And now, what everyone is waiting for...what kids look like during a snot invasion.  Lucky for you all I didn't think to take pics of the sheer number of kleenex in the trash or anything like that.  We did have a few snot bubbles, but none captured on camera, much to the littles delight.

Katie was the worst hit.  Girl was a snot producing machine!

But she still tried to smile for the camera

What?  My nose?  Yeah, it's running...so...

This is how I kinda felt

But then I also felt like this too.  Especially when Mom was heading for those kleenex.  Worst invention ever!

Our little super trooper!

And the one who really wasn't feeling well.

 But the truth?  No snot invasion is too much for monkey climbing on the couch when daddy is outside!!

So glad we are all feeling better now.  Next mission...clean the couch.

Loves!