What is going on around here???

Something is up with Nathanial, Ethan, and Noah. I don’t know what, but they are plotting something. All of the sudden, NONE of them want to take a nap anymore and they are getting up sooo early all. This makes for VERY unhappy babies and a VERY unhappy mommy. They have been doing it for over a week now. Ugh! They are all rocking on all fours and scooting around, so I am thinking that maybe they are getting super close to crawling and that might be it.

Ohhh, I am soooo not ready for this!!

Wonderful Social Security

OK, before I get too far, I just want to say this is not political.

On Nathanial’s birth certificate and social security card, someone spelled his name wrong, more than likely the hospital staff. So I ordered a new birth certificate with it spelled correctly and called the federal social security office. First, they told me I had to legally change his name. WHAT?!?!? I think not, it’s ONE letter people! Then, after talking to a few different people, they said once I had the corrected birth certificate, they could call it a clerical error and would fix it without us having to legally change his name if I did it before he was 12 months old and ALL I would need was the corrected birth certificate. The birth certificate came last week, so today I loaded everyone up and headed to the wonderful local social security office. First of all, why do they put the social security office in the MOST unsafe neighborhood??? OK, so I got over that (really I had no choice) and we headed in. We are greeted at the door by a uniformed security guard (gun and all) and asked for ID. I realize after 9/11 they have to do this and I am actually happy that they do do it, it’s just a little scary and I hadn’t prepared Aidan for it so it freaked him out, then he was fascinated by it. There were only two people ahead of us, so I’m thinking Yay!!! I’ll get out of here quick. RIGHT! This is the government we’re talking about, but I conveniently forgot that for a second. I wait and wait and wait for about 15 minutes. Now what I want is fairly straight forward. Change the e to an a. HA! I get up to the glass patrician with the little hole in it to talk to the wonderful lady behind it. I said here is the form and the documents to change the clerical error on his social security card. She looks at me and DEAD SERIOUS asks to see Nathanial’s PHOTO ID!!! I almost laughed, until I realized she was serious. I looked at her and said “um, he’s not even 7 months old…see??” She said she needed a form of identification. I said you have it…his birth certificate! She needed more proof than that, on top of my driver’s license and my social security card. So she wanted to see his Title 19 card. Um, WHAT???!?? We are not ON Title 19! So then she asked to see his insurance card. I said Sure. I whip it out and she said “It says ‘Steve’ on here.” REALLY??!?? I had NO idea! I explained it is a family plan and we are covered under Steve’s name. So then she proceeds to ask for his immunization records. Ah, yes, well, I would carry that everywhere with me of course, if I had one! Whatever! So then she says she cannot process the request because I do not have “proper” identification on A SEVEN MONTH OLD!!!! (OK, so she said Nathanial.) She needed me to go to the doctor, have him write a letter with Nathanial’s name (spelled correctly of course), birthdate, patient number, on his letterhead. It’s a good thing we go to a small practice and I know everyone there, because this is sooo stupid I honestly didn’t think anyone would believe me! Then I asked if he could fax it. Oh, no, cannot do that…it has to be the original letter and I need to drive it back down there (mind you, they’re an hour away, in a nasty neighborhood). I said you have GOT to be kidding! I have five kids, three of whom are seven months old, one who is four and having a BLAST in your waiting room, and an autistic 12 year old…did you not SEE how much fun we had today waiting??? At this point, Aidan was UNDER the stroller making loud car noises and everything else. And, yet, I am supposed to gather them ALL up and take them back?!?!? After I pointed this out to her (politely, I honestly was very polite through all this), she said that she could “authenticate” the birth certificate and form right there and then I could mail the letter back certified mail in their envelope. Fine, whatever, do it. So that took her another 30 minutes to just do that! I got back in the car to call Steve (told him he wouldn’t believe what we had been through) when I looked at the clock and saw that we had been in there an HOUR and a HALF!!! No wonder Aidan was no longer sitting still and Noah was having a tizzy! I called the doctor’s office and I do, indeed, now have the letter in my possession and it is getting mailed today.

Preschool!!!

Aidan started preschool yesterday and it went great! He wasn't so sure Sunday night that he really wanted to start school and was pretty nervous. Monday morning he got up and didn't say a whole lot about it, but then started asking when he was going around 10. I told him after dinner and he then couldn't wait to eat.

At 12:10, we packed everyone up and headed for school. He went in like such a big boy, hung up his bookbag, and got out his "homework". He noticed two little girls sharing their homework and he jumped right in and showed them. Then he went in and found his name, got a sticker for his name, and found his seat. They have free play at the beginning and he picked out a book to read and sat down with it. I then left. When I picked him up, he was so happy and had so much fine, but also really worn out. He slept for about an hour when we got home. He loves it and I am so thankful that it went well!

We introduced sippy cups to the babies and they had so much fun with that. They have been trying to figure it all out and discover what it might possibly hold. Nathanial and Ethan have figured out where to put it and how it works, but can't quite get too much out yet. Noah is having a little bit more difficult time with it.

As always, there are photos on the dropshots page. From now on, I will be using this for our updates because I fear they are going to delete the babies' webpage when they turn one. I have added links to both the babies'website and the dropshots page on the bottom right of this webpage.

Trying This Out

So I decided to move my journal from the babies' website to a blog because they will soon be deleting the babies' page, I fear. So from now on, you can check here. Please bear with me as I try to figure this out!

First Day of School

Austin made it great through his first day and appears to really like it! We had our orientation on Monday night and he really had his schedule down pat and he seemed to be doing pretty well. There was a lot of information and it was a little overwhelming for him. Fascinatingly, the principal actually told the kids he expected they do extremely well on their ITBS because of No Child Left Behind or the school would get in trouble and it was up to them to make sure it didn’t. Hmmmm….last I checked that was the teacher's job. Talk about pressure right out of the gate! Last year his teacher said she would give a list of names of kids who would help Austin get through his day and the middle school said they would find at least one child to help him get from one class to the next, but they couldn't guarantee it would be the same kid. It became VERY obvious Monday night who she had chosen. There were two boys whose schedules (other than enriched study hall) were EXACTLY the same. And they were boys I figured would help him out anyway. That was reassuring! The hardest part is they don't allow sucks or gay to be said at all, zero tolerance, and his favorite word lately is sucks. I've tried and tried to get him to knock it off...hopefully now he really will. As I told him, it is a LONG 17 miles to Freddy to be walking when he gets a detention at 7 am. They also give detention for homework not getting done. I was a little upset about that. One of his “accommodations” is for his teachers to write the assignment down for him in his book and sign off if it is done or not because he can't follow through or copy things from board to paper well. Yet, yesterday his assignment book came home with only his writing in it and noone checked it off to say it was done. The problem with him not having anything formal is that they don’t HAVE to follow the accommodations…it is all just “recommended.” Thankfully, he brought it all home for me to check. This is exactly why I asked for him to be in an enriched study hall and she didn't do it. I can only hope it’s because it was the first day and they’ll get it down soon. The lovely enrichment teacher told them that they were in there because their grades had dropped or test scores had dropped and there was no screwing around. While this might be true of some kids, it certainly isn't for all (ie, Austin). I was a little upset she said that to all of them. She could have just said it was a study hall. He was upset because he thought she meant he was stupid. He was so excited when he came home because he had his schedule down and the building down and he was able to help other kids find their rooms. He loved the lunch (better than Sumner!) and the fact that they had a salad bar that he could get as much as he wanted from. You actually have control over what your child eats and we had to specify how many times he could get more. I checked "as many as he wants!" They are bussed to the elementary because their school doesn't have a lunch room and he handled that well, also. They also have one period a day mid-morning referred to as "advisory." It's pretty much homeroom and they are given that period to take a break and chat or read or whatever, and get a snack. He can purchase healthy snacks and juice from his teacher or bring his own. All his classes are a total of 20 minutes because they cram 11 into a day...I don't know how teachers get anything done in that short of an amount of time! He found his friend at the bus stop in the morning and rode with him every time on the bus, which was good. He said he made the lunch and afternoon busses in plenty of time, also. I re-wrote his schedule for him with exactly when to go to his locker and what to take with him at that time and what to do with homework and highlighted those parts, also. Unfortunately, they cannot take their bookbags with them at all to any classes, not even the last one and he has to get from one end of the building to the other to his locker, quick get everything he needs in his bag, and out to the bus at another end in under 5 minutes or he misses the bus. I am sure in the beginning they are given a little more time...I just hope he continues to make it on time! Last year, he had to have 16 book reports done by the end of the year, 4 each quarter. Anything above that was extra credit, which was great for him because he loves to read. This year, a grade older, they only have to do ONE! Anything over and above that is not extra credit, but they earn "rewards" for them! WHAT??!?? Rewards for reading....that is about the dumbest thing I ever heard of. Why not continue to just expect it or at the minimum, make their "reward" a better grade? I am still not sure if it is because they broke out according to reading ability in grade school and they do not at the middle school level or what. There are some big difference because we switched districts...it is still just whole-grade sharing, we have yet to merge, so each district sets their own standards. His teachers all seem great and I think he is really going to enjoy them. He has already decided Mr. N is his favorite teacher...big shock. Mr. N teaches science.Aidan is getting VERY excited to start preschool. We have orientation for that next week. He cannot wait. This is a hard year for me with Austin starting middle school and Aidan starting preschool. I felt like a dork when I dropped Austin off at the bus, restrained myself from getting out, and started crying watching him walk to the bus!I kinda wish that I could have done this a little more gradually, but Aidan needs something of his own and needs interaction with peers. He’s not so good with the whole sharing thing!Noah now has two teeth! Steve taught Nathanial and Ethan how to hold their own bottles a few weeks ago and they are really starting to get it down. Nathanial rarely drops his bottle now and can even hold it up in the air to get everything out. Ethan is learning to put it up in the air, also, and can take it out of his mouth and get it back in again, as long as he doesn’t drop it (which he tends to do quite a bit!). On Monday night, they were all hungry at the same time, which they always are, so Steve put Noah on the floor and tried him. The little stinker held on to his bottle for Daddy! He wouldn’t for me! Last night, he did it again and Noah did it for him again…with me in the room! So, this morning, I lined them all up, handed them their bottles, and sat by them. They all fed themselves!!! Yeah!!! This makes it a little easier at feeding time! Noah and Ethan still drop theirs quite a bit, but that’s fine with me. They are also LOVING eating “real” food. I just run from one to the next in a line and keep it coming. Noah and Ethan are not real good about waiting their turn, but they have no choice. As always, I added more pictures to the dropshots page of Austin’s first day and babies holding bottles, etc.

State Fair, Here We Come!

Boy, oh boy have we been busy this summer! It seems like Austin just got out and suddenly summer is over! Austin starts middle school next week and we have his orientation Monday night. How did THAT happen?!?A lot has happened lately and I will try to remember it all!Austin had fair last week and did awesome! He received blue ribbons for his photo series with all his brothers together on the inside and each alone on the outside and blue for his Consumer Savvy where he compared three kinds of cake and then wrote up what he learned. One of his pictures is going on to State Fair! He also got Best of Show on that picture!!! That is such an honor and he is only a second year junior! We are so very proud of all his hard work…it really paid off for him!He also did very well with his rabbits. He received blues for two of his rabbits and they received first and second place in their class (junior doe fancy breed). His other senior doe also received first place and a blue. His buck received a blue, then went on to get Grand Champion fancy breeds!!! That is awesome. The thing we are most proud of is that he received Grand Champion Junior Showmanship!!! He did an excellent job with his rabbit and was awesome! Last year he was reserve Junior Showman, this year he got it! So awesome! What a lot of people don’t see and don’t understand is that he doesn’t just do it and show up at fair. All the prior work for him is a lot more difficult and takes a lot more time and effort for him. For example, the cakes took over five hours to do because of difficulties with the measurements and his motor skills and meltdowns in between because “this is impossible!” The rabbits he works with for hours every day to get them ready. He took well over 200 pictures to get SIX that he could actually show. It took him another five hours to mat them just so and get them ready. Then it comes time for fair day and he hops in the car, ready to go…no projects, no goal sheets, no exhibit labels, nothing. Doesn’t even faze him that he has forgotten it all, until Steve or I remind him to go get it. When we get there, he is overwhelmed by all the people and very nervous, but he works through it all with breathing, etc. This is just a *sampling* of what goes on for him to get ready for fair and he does his projects himself, with very minimal help from Steve and I and that is why we are even more proud of him. At least he knows he can accomplish things if he wants to! We are going to State Fair Sunday and I will update then to let you all know how he showed at the state level. That is not conference judging, it is the picture all alone with his goal sheet…he cannot explain it or anything, so it is a little more difficult, but it doesn’t even matter what he gets…he did incredible to get there!Aidan is getting ready for preschool and oh so excited! We have an open house August 21 and then we find out when he starts. He will go three days a week in the afternoons. I know he needs to be away from me a little more, so we are starting him now. He is very needy still and always wants to be with me…to the point that lately he sobs when I leave. Not good.Now for the babies. Boy has a lot happened!! Noah is sitting…sitting!! He doesn’t do it for very long, but it is a bona fide sit! Ethan is slump-sitting and Nathanial is happy as a lark on the floor! Ethan is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, ready to crawl! He will, in fact, move a few inches even! Ethan and Nathanial got their two bottom teeth in and did so with relative ease. Noah, not so much. He FINALLY broke through his bottom tooth and is working on another, but man has he been a BEAR throughout this process! Nothing easy with that little man! Ethan has been having a little separation anxiety when I lay him down for naps and bedtime. He cries, then I go back in for about 3 minutes, then he is fine when I leave. The other two haven’t started that yet, but they are all a little leery when I leave the room or get out of sight of them. They are all such loves. I love going through every stage with them and they are so much fun. I had read in several different books when I was pregnant that the first year with triplets is a blur and you don’t really get to know your babies because it is all work, work, work. I was a little disheartened, but figured there had to be SOME positives to the first year. I have found that to be false for us. I know each baby very well, as well as I did with the older two. They all have their own little preferences and slight differences (major in Noah) in personalities and I really don’t feel like it has ALL been work. They are on an awesome schedule and are very good babies, so maybe that helps! They had their six month appointment today. I cannot believe they are six months old already! Nathanial was 16 lb, 5 oz and 27”, head was 16.5”; Ethan 16 lb, 7 oz, 26.5”, 16.5” head; Noah 17 lb 1 oz, 26.5”, 17” head. They are all getting to be the same size, and most exciting, they didn’t need to be on the preemie chart anymore!!! They each got three shots and that wasn’t fun at all. Ethan didn’t say a lot about it. Noah SCREAMED….he hated it and he made sure you knew it! Nathanial did not like it either, did great for the first one, but then screamed through the second two, then was OK. They all came home and are sound asleep now. Hopefully they will sleep off the worst of it! I’ll update again after Sunday on State Fair results! If you want to see pictures, they are at www.dropshots.com/5boysmom . There are also some of Austin at www.bremercountyfair.com and then you click on “buy pictures.” (You don’t have to buy, you can just look.)