Kiddos got to see the new house today!

We told the triplets they were going to get a little surprise after school today, then refused to say more...so mean LOL. Lucky for them they got to take their minds off the mystery surprise by making Grandma some Birthday cards. They had a blast making them for her, but were sad they didn't get to "see her happy face" or "watch her be surprised" when she received the cards. Grandma, I hope you are ready to tell them the enthralling story of you opening your cards over and over on Friday :)

Everyone picked their "flower" color. Of course Xander picked green, Hayden picked pink and Lily picked purple...the only one who surprises me with color choice these days is Jericho.

Xander wrote an 'X' for his name ... he is still not into letters and writting like his sisters are.

The girls wrote their whole names!

Then Bug wanted to add some hearts, and Haddie colored them in.

They turned out really cute...Happy Birthday to you Grandma!

We put dinner in the crock pot before we headed out to pick up the kids and get them their "surprise."
BBQ ranch meatloaf!

3 lbs ground beef

1 lb sausage

1/2 cup bread crumbs

3 eggs

1 packet dry ranch mix

1/4 cup BBQ sauce ... plus more after it is cooked

1/2 medium onion chopped finely

1 tbs garlic

 

-In a large bowl, mix beef, sausage, bread crumbs, eggs, ranch packet, 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce, onion, salt and garlic together by hand in large bowl.

-Add to slow cooker and form into a loaf shape. *we criss cross a couple rolled up strips of tin foil at the bottom of the crock pot then put the meat on top...works as a way to get the cooked loaf out.

-Add desired amount of BBQ sauce on top of loaf to glaze and cook on LOW for 6 hours. *This was too long for ours, I would check it at the 4 hour mark. I don't know if we have super amazing crock pots but we always have stuff done at least an hour under the time given.

-Once cooked and ready to serve, top with more BBQ sauce if needed.

 

After we picked the trio up from school they were very excited for their surprise. They must have also been pretty tired, they passed out on the drive to the new house.

 

The house is not finished yet, but it is far enough along to let the kids check out the inside for the first time...they were SO excited!

Almost all of the new wood floors are down, painting is just about done too. The granite should be going in late next week, after that Jason will start sanding and putting a "Swedish finish" on the floors...hopefully without screwing it up, he is a little scared LOL.

It may not look like much but I am VERY excited for that little pantry!

Looking at their new back yard...they did notice that it is much smaller, but told us it will still be fun. Awww :)
Of course you would climb up the ladder Jericho.

Bonus room tile done, new wall up, primed...just needs to be painted! Looking good, and Jericho was having a blast running back and forth LOL.

The girls room, Haddie loved it. Lily remembered she wanted some purple...ugh.

The boys room was a huge hit with the target audience! Xander made it sound like he wants to move out of the girls room and into a room with Jericho. We shall see if that actually happens or not.

Checking out the view.

Then they wanted to see Mom and Dads room. Yikes, can you say we bought too much wood?!?! With only 3/4 of the master bedroom to do...I think we are going to have a lot left over, Hmmm.

The hall bath has the tile down...I love it, we are using the same stuff in the master bathroom too.

Next we headed outside to check out the back yard.

I am not sure why they never got rid of the chain link and put up a wood fence. The neighbors didn't either. The houses do back up to a park, and the gate in the chain link opens so you can walk right into it, which I guess is cool. We will for sure be putting those slats in at least. And the gate is pad locked.

Hope you made a wish for a quick finish to the remodel and an easy move! We can't wait!

Project start to finish

Walk through.

Day 1 remodel.

Shopping trip.
2 week mark
Painting
Kids get to see house finally
More painting
Adding another project
Fiasco
Sanding start
Bathrooms just about done
Granite installed
1st coat of stain in kitchen
Kitchen cabinet bases done!
Week 7
Hardwood floor sanding round 1
Floor sanding not going so great
Floor finishing started
Floors, floors, floors
8 1/2 weeks in
Trim and doors started
Closets done
Kitchen put back together
Odds and ends
Adding the purple
Kitchen DONE before and afters

Brothers.

Oh my boys...the brotherly fighting is starting, I just hope the brotherly love stays strong through it. This little scene actually started out a pretty serious brawl...Jericho was full on swinging that guitar at his big brother. My calling attention to them and taking pictures somehow turned it into a game and they ended up laughing. Little man has no problem holding his own, he is actually the owner of quite the temper. I know how my brothers brawled, and even how me and my sister fought....I am not looking forward to that stage. Why can't we all just get along, I mean "Maybe we could build a fire, sing a couple of songs, huh? Why don't we try that?" Come on who knows it??? There has to be other movie quoting fans out there :)

Jason made me laugh today. Lily had been "wrapping gifts" to give to me all night. She takes her own toys or books, wraps them in a princess pillow case puts a bow on...all this done with great care and skill, she wraps better than I do LOL. After hours of this I passed the buck to Jason. I told Lily "Daddy wants to wrap a present for you", while avoiding eye contact with the person I just threw under the bus Hehehe. Lily happily hands Jason her supplies and then tells him Sleeping Beauty is her favorite, meaning that is the princess that should be on top. We all go back to what we were doing, next thing I hear is "Pssst" from Jason. I look over and he asks me in a whisper "Which one is Sleeping Beauty?" Really you don't know who is who between Belle and Aurora...you have 2 daughters who are princess crazy and you don't know who is who. I think someone needs to spend a little time watching some Disney :)

Mmm dinner tonight...not crock pot for a change :) and it gets 5 stars from me. It gets a star for being yummy, one for being cheap, another for being easy, and one for being super quick. The most important star...the kids actually ate it!
White Chicken Enchiladas
















10 soft taco shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (We used a precooked rotiserie chicken)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream (can use fat free or Greek yogurt too)
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don’t want curdled sour cream.
5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

I've got a "Why?" child.

These two pics were from last night. We, as in the adults, were watching the Oscars....first time I actually watched them all the way through in I don't know how many years. Lily brought out some well dressed models and put on a fashion show for us...totally unprompted, pretty funny. Oh and since I am talking about the Oscars, I thought Seth did a pretty good job...I also think he did exactly what he was hired to do. I mean we all know his shows, what kind of host did you think he would be if anything but off color and not politically correct? It wasn't a surprise to me at all, and shouldn't have been one to anyone else either.

I also have to add a Billy Crystal quote from last year...that sadly holds true again this year.  

"So tonight, enjoy yourselves because nothing can take the sting out of the world's economic problems like watching millionaires present each other with golden statues."

Today all 4 kiddos climbed up on the counter, by themselves...even Jericho, excitedly awaiting their shoes. The trio had all last week off from school, they were eager to get back! They are going to miss going this next school year :(

Children "age out" of Head Start at 5, and we have decided to hold the trinkies out of Kindergarten this year. I think Xan could really use one more year to mature, I know many a teacher who usually suggests boys with summer Bdays wait if there is the slightest concern. My super high energy, impulsive, limited attention span and emotional boy could sure be just the boy they are talking about. The girls are much more ready than he is, but I don't want the possibility of them doing well while he struggles and may have to repeat to come up. I do NOT want triplets in different grades. Not only that but had the trio not been born premature they would have missed our states cut off anyway, so we see no reason to push them into school when the only reason they are even eligible is because they were born before they were supposed to. We have looked and looked for half day part time preschools and have found NOTHING for less than $400 PER CHILD a month. For 3 days a week and just 3 or so hours per day that is totally NUTS. I honestly don't know how families afford that...and I know that at $400 per kid per month is a lot cheaper that many.

So it looks like I will be doing the "home school" thing this next year. I am sure I can do it, while home schooling is not my thing....if there was a year that just about any parent could cut it as a teacher I think a 3rd year of pre-school is the one LOL.

The girls teacher was super impressed today when she confirmed with me that Hayden and Lily are doing math. Over the last couple of weeks they have taken an interest in doing some beginner addition. They can do any numbers that add up to about 10...7+3, 4+4, 8+1 etc. they count on their little fingers, it is so cute!

This is how Jericho sprawled out after we got back from dropping the bigs off at school. I thought he was passed out, he was in that position forever, so I finally got up to snap a pic of his cute silliness. To my surprise he was awake...guess he was just comfy Hahaha,

Then he switched it up LOL.

I have finally run into a "why?" child...1 in 4 is not too bad. Jericho asks "why?" about anything and everything, the trio never really did this...unless I have blocked it out Hehehe. He has the cutest little voice when he asks, then he repeats back what you say...and then of course, asks "why?" again :)

Title possibilities are endless...ugh.

Lets see...

'If your kids are quiet, don't enjoy talking with your husband, go check on them.' Or how about...

'Doodle Bears are not a good idea after all.' Or...'Thank goodness for "washable" markers.'

This is the state we found the kids and their room in this afternoon. Xander had snuck into our "storage" room, found an unopened case of markers that came with their Doodle Bears....that we didn't give them for a reason. He then shared his spoils with everyone and they got busy doodling all over everything. Arghhhh. You can tell who had the most fun, Xander and Lily were covered...head to toe, and I recognized Lily's penmanship on the words "MOM" and "Lily" that were written a number of places. They got a good talking to, and Xander had the nerve to get mad at us for reprimanding him Ha. The little turd said "That's it Mom and Dad are not moving to the new house with us." LOL.

Thank goodness for Clorox wipes. It came off really well from the walls and floor. The bunk bed not so much, but we can always stain or paint the wood if it really bothers anyone. I doubt this is the last time someone will deface their bed though so I am not rushing out to fix it.

Nice job on 'MOM' though LOL.

Yeah, I think these two did the most damage.

Awww partners in crime.

Like I said, head to toe. They were thorough LOL.

Right into the bath they go. At first the ink wasn't to easy to get off...but after a good long soak and a little scrubbing most of it finally came off.

Good times :)