The Start of Pre-Kindergarten

The boys started Pre-K a little over a week ago now. This is their very first time in any sort of school & aside from my sister watching them for us 2 or 3 times, it's the first they've really been away from us.

The first day was very emotional & maybe a bit traumatic for Donna. The boys were excited to get dressed & ready to go to school. They eagerly posed for pictures, cutting up for group photos & looking solemn for individual pics. Drop off started out pretty good, I forgot the boys school supplies in the car so ran back out to get them while Donna settled everyone in. When I returned Caden was sitting on the circle time rug, Kellan was standing on it being asked to sit & Garren was crying. I handed over the supplies & we attempted to make a swift exit. We got halfway to the front door when Garren came running out of the classroom screaming "DON'T LEAVE ME!!!" Donna grabbed him up & he clung to her so tightly it took both the teacher & teacher's assistant to peel him off. I cried when the teacher gave me a hug & Donna cried for probably a half hour after we left. The big mush!

Kellan, Garren & Caden

Kellan

Garren

Caden

Donna & I ran a couple errands & had breakfast while the boys were in school. We were back at the school by 11:45am anxious to hear how their first day was. Kellan cried when we walked back into the classroom, he had apparently been a little emotional through the morning. Garren & Caden were happy & super excited to see us & tell us about their day. Mrs Inez told us it took Garren about 5 minutes to calm down & then he was excited to join in the fun. Kellan apparently cried for the first half hour & had weepy moments throughout, he's such a sweet & sensitive guy it really didn't surprise me to hear.

Mrs Inez with Garren, Caden & Kellan

We had tears from all 3 of the boys at drop off on the second day, even some resistance going into the school but we got a great report at pick up saying the day was 100% better for Kellan & it took about 5 minutes for everyone to settle down & stop crying.

Friday, their third day was much of the same, crying at drop off, excitement at pick up & a good report. The boys were excited that it was the weekend & they didn't have to go to school saturday & sunday. I had high hopes for monday when Donna went back to work & I would have to wrangle 3 crying & resistant boys into the school by myself.

Monday morning arrived & I had tears & pleas to stay home from the time I got their clothes out for them to get dressed, They all cried all the way to school. Thankfully no one resisted or refused to go into the school but Caden did run from the classroom when we arrived at it, lol... Kellan was crying when I got Caden back to the classroom, Mrs Inez hugged both of them away from me & I made a run for it. I bawled like a baby when I got to the car. Absolutely nothing feels right about walking away from your crying children! At pick up Mrs Inez showed me that Kellan hardly made a mark on his coloring project that day which was odd because he has always been the one of the 3 that loves to color & draw the most. I did mention that he's been alternating hands more frequently lately & had been coloring less at home. She also mentioned that Garren went to the bathroom no less than 6 times that morning. She said both could just be nerves & not to worry for the first month, just give then time to get use to their new routine.

Tuesday was the same as far as drop off went, although I kept a firm grip on Caden to avoid another running incident. The boys were excited to see me when I picked them up & I got another report of Kellan not participating in his classwork.

Wednesday was repeat of tuesday, all 3 in tears at drop off, Kellan still not coloring or writing & Garren making frequent visits to the bathroom. I'll admit I really started stressing over Kellan not doing his classwork. All 3 are difficult when it comes to homework, they all want me to help them but not just sit & advise. They want me to hold their hand & help them write, which I'm sure is not what their teacher has in mind. They are being forced to do for themselves in school now, cleaning up after themselves, pulling their own pants back up, writing & doing work themselves & so on. I didn't realize just how much I was still doing for them.

We still had tears thursday but got an awesome report on everyone and Kellan decided to join in on the writing fun & actually wrote his name. Hooray!!! This was a huge burden lifted for me, I was seriously letting my head get carried away with worry. We celebrated after school with ice cream :)

I've noticed some interesting changes with the boys since they've started school. I don't find myself having to repeat things quite so much, they are following instructions much better. They actually sit at the table & eat their entire meal or snack with running back & forth and their attention spans are much better. They've picked up a few new phrases from school too. Kellan now says "that's so RUDE!" Caden has picked up "that's not fair" & Garren now says "you hurt my feelings." I'm still waiting for 'you're not my friend anymore' lol...

All of the things I worried the boys would struggle with in school have not been issues at all. They've had nothing but good reports as far as their behavior goes so far.They still have some trouble with being dropped off & Kellan has had another emotional day but they assure me the boys will adjust & will eventually quit crying every morning.

Project 52; Week 32

Giant flower pot turned Kellan's hot tub. 

This is a good example of how much rain we've been getting the past couple weeks.

I found these giant pots on clearance, a deal too good to pass up but it;s been raining so much I haven't had a chance to plant anything in them. However, they have filled with water & make great hot tubs for the boys in between thunderstorms.

Project 52; Week 31

We have school boys!!!

SBL #3, 8, 14 & 15 ~ A Day at the Beach!

Well I fell behind a little on our Summer Bucket List & had to combine some items to get them all in before the boys started school this past Wednesday but I was determined to make the most of our last few full days of Summer.

Monday morning we packed a cooler & a beach bag & headed out to a local state park I've been looking forward to visiting. There is a fort at the park but also 2 beaches, one on the atlantic & one on the river. I'm not much of a river girl so we headed to the ocean side of the park. We took a walk & checked out the fishing pier before grabbing our bags & heading down to the sand. I have to say, I was quite impressed with the park & the beach. It's the cleanest beach we've been to here & very accessible. There were nice long boardwalks leading from the parking lot to just past the sand dunes. There were picnic tables & bar-b-cue pits along side the boardwalk. And a big perk for me was the shower & restrooms ON the boardwalk. Nothing like being able to rinse off & not have to walk through sand again, lol...

As soon as we hit the sand we saw a marked sea turtle nest. (I am just slightly obsessed with sea turtles) & then it was just pristine sand beautiful ocean water. The boys picked a spot to spread out for a picnic but then decided they wanted to hunt for sharks teeth first. 

It was a gorgeous day & since the beach was on the tip of the island there was a great breeze. As I watched the boys play I counted marked sea turtle nests just in the visible area. There were 11 that I could see, none seemed to have hatched yet, when they do I would like to take the boys to a nest excavation. Since sea turtles are endangered, the nests are monitored & 72 hours after the eggs have hatched the nests are excavated to count & track its contents, number of eggs, any deceased hatchlings & any that may be alive but didn't make it out of the nest. Those are always released into the sea. But I digress... 

The boys worked up quite the appetite playing in the waves & they scarfed down the entire contents of our cooler, pb&j, grapes, string cheese, cookies & apples! We played some more before deciding to go check out the rest of the park. There were 2 very nice campgrounds, the fort of course, hiking trails, picnic areas a playground, bike trails & even a roller blade trail. I see many more adventures at this state park!

We're checking Discover new beaches (we went to a new one when our triplet bffs were here too) Go on a picnic, Hunt for sharks teeth & Visit a new state park off our summer bucket list.

Project 52; Week 30

Caden, Kellan, Garren; hungry birds at the zoo (sitting in a nest)

Pre-K, Here We Come!!!

Look out world... Ok maybe just look out Pre-Kindergarten, here come our boys!!!

We have talked up school for a while now. I took the boys with me when I toured schools & they've watched lots of Caillou & Daniel Tiger episodes about starting & going to school. Kellan is ready to go & be dropped off, Caden says he's ready, Garren wants to go but wants us to stay while he's there, lol... It will be interesting to see how the first day goes.

While in Charleston we took the boys to pick out new tennis shoes. Garren as always was very eager to pick out shoes, the boy loves him some shoes & picked a pair to make quite the statement! Caden went back & forth between a couple pair & ended up getting the ones that fit the best. Kellan was actually uninterested in shoes that day, he did choose a pair but when they didn't fit & they didn't have a bigger size, he was done. He has yet to pick a pair but we have a few days left before school starts.

Initially the boys didn't want new backpacks, they were happy with the little monkey backpacks they had. They were quick to pick lunchboxes & accessories but it wasn't until one day while we were in target when they saw a kid walk by wearing a new backpack, with a matching lunchbox in hand that they decided they wanted new backpacks too, lol... So we picked out new backpacks.

Kellan & Garren chose Spider-man & Caden chose the Avengers

Minion lunch boxes all around

Is it me or are our kids the only ones that don't have matching lunch boxes & backpacks?

Caden decided a few weeks ago that he would get his hair cut at a barber again. He looked like he would burst into tears at any moment but he did really well & came out with the cutest haircut. He was able to convince Kellan to give it a try this time & Garren was on board too right up until we got there. Garren took a little convincing from everyone, Donna & I, his brothers & 2 stylists before he finally climbed into a chair. In the end they all did great & got super cute haircuts.

Kellan

Caden

Garren

The end result, Kellan, Garren & Caden

We had the boys open house last night & met their teacher & assistant teacher. How chaotic though! It was so busy, crowded & loud. The teacher assistant approached me with papers & a folder & gave me some instruction but it was hard to get to the teacher & it was even more difficult to get through the classroom due to all the kids plus the parents. The boys played with some of their classmates & seemed to like their classroom. They kept leaving the room though saying it was too loud but when we decided it was time to go they really didn't want to leave.

Supplies x3, it seemed like so much stuff when I was shopping but doesn't look like so much divided into 3.

In each bag:

• A Poly-folder
• Sanitizing wipes
• Box of tissues
• Baby wipes
• Pencil box
• Pencils
• 2 boxes of Crayons
• 2 boxes of Markers
• 4 glue sticks
• Plain white t-shirt
• $7

I think we are ready, am I forgetting or missing anything? Any tips for drop off on the first day?

I'm super excited but really nervous. I'm looking forward to having 3 quiet hours each morning but hope I did a good enough job with the boys that they won't be complete handfuls. I know they are polite, courteous & smart but they are also wild, loud & rambunctious. This will be their first experience in a structured class.

Wednesday is the first day of school for us, keep us in your thoughts & pray I don't bawl like a baby, lol...

Triplet Besties

Last week my friend Jen, her triplets & their big sister came to spend a few days with us. I was beyond excited to see Jen & her kiddos. The boys were absolutely thrilled to have a house full of friends for a few days!!!

The day they arrived the kids played, swam, & played some more. It was like they play together everyday, although we hadn't seen each other in a year. Everyone got along really well, some too well, lol...

Garren, Makayla, Marley, Caden, Marissa, Jack & Kellan

Caden, Marissa, & Jack

Popsicles in the pool, the boys all had to taste Makayla's

Garren & Marley

Dinner

I thought getting 3 kids to the table for dinner was a challenge, lol

and this is what I meant by some got along too well... Garren & Makayla

Caden & Jack

Garren & Makayla again

Marissa, Kellan & Garren

Marley, Kellan, Jack, Caden, & umm... Garren & Makayla

The next day we headed to the beach. Everyone had so much fun playing in the waves & the sand.

Makayla, Caden & Marissa

Kellan, Marissa, Jack & Garren

Car swapping, Makayla, Marley, Caden & Garren

The following day we took it easy around the house in the morning & then headed to the boys favorite restaurant so they could show their friends the Pirate Ship. After we ate & everyone played a while we took a little walk through the historic downtown area & to the marina.

Checking out the pirate

Makayla & Garren AGAIN!

Checking out the boats

Trying to get a better look at the capsized shrimp boat

Donna thought she could escape the chaos, LOL!!!

The whole gang, Marissa, Makayla, Jack, Garren, Marley, Kellan, Jen, Caden & even Haddie

Saying goodbye was hard for all of us, we enjoyed the company & catching up. Also seeing all our munchkins together. I know I've mentioned it before but Jen & I met online when we were both pregnant with our trios. We had our babies just 18 days apart. We spent many a sleepless night chatting on fb while feeding one baby after the other. We kept each other sane, knowing that we weren't alone in having triplet infants.

Kellan & Makayla giving hugs & kisses

and of course these two, Makayla & Garren.

Our visit was so fun & seeing the boys' personalities come out with others is always a treat. Garren & Makayla's infatuation with each other was a little shocking, lol... but Kellan surprised me too when he announced to Marley "I have a kiss for you!" Marley resisted but Kellan finally caught her with her guard down in the pool & planted one on her, lol... Caden talked more to his friends this week than I think I have ever seen him talk before.

I can't wait until we can all get together again!!!