Spo.kane Ind.ians Father of the Year

When you're four years old, being the "best daddy in the whole wide world" consists of lots of hugs and kisses, plenty of rough housing, and of course, playing some baseball outside. Our first set of twins, Thomas & Joshua, describe daddy using those qualities. Joshua adds, "Daddy will hold the puke bucket for me when mommy won't, that's why I love him the best!" Our second set of twins, Katie and Molly, are more simple in favorite things to do with daddy at the young age of 13 months. Daddy is their favorite because he reads books over and over, he plays and tickles, and plus, daddy is just plain cool. Having four kids under the age of five, two sets of twins no less, could have been overwhelming for any dad. But this daddy, has always taken it in stride. He is the king of the world to our four kids and I couldn't be more proud of him. We have the best daddy!

The Days of Summer

Finally. These are the days of summer. We are exploring different parks, BBQ-ing with friends and family, and spending all day outside playing in the sun. I love these days! Here are some photos from our summer thus far:

The boys are well-versed in why we wear hats in the sun (in case you don't know, Joshua has a LARGE hairy mole on his head that is at a higher risk for skin cancer). Joshua, however, forgot to change seasons, and is still wearing his winter hats. Still super cute!

Katie is very impressed with herself and loves the splash pads!

Today was one of those typical busy summer days. We had breakfast with grandpa Bob, had a gloriously quiet nap time and then spent the better part of the afternoon at a local park. The kids had an absolute blast. It was so hot! The park has a big sand pit with water in it. The pit is huge! As you can see, all kids were filthy!

Following an afternoon rest time, we ran to my parents and had a BBQ and some great family time. Grandma found a guitar for the boys and they were more than thrilled. The boys (and girls) played in the hot tub and just couldn't get enough!

Happy Father's Day 2010

What a crazy crazy weekend! Today was a fantastic way to end the weekend too! It started off with Dan letting me sleep in until 8:15...WOW! Yup, on Father's Day that wonderful hubby of mine let me sleep in. How sweet. Then he added to it and took my car to get a desperately needed oil change. While gone, Thomas and I worked on Father's Day cards (yes, you could say I'm a little behind). It was raining cats and dogs so we were unsure as to whether the Spok.ane Ind.ians game would be cancelled...and it was. It ended up being a bonus because we were able to attend a Father's Day celebration with Grandpa Lyle (his last due to stage 4 cancer that has spread to his liver and bones). We were thankful to share in the celebration and see him and get more hugs.

**Side note- Did you know that Grandpa Lyle is the person that really taught me to hug? True story! My family is not a touchy feely huggy family. I did not grow up giving hugs upon entering and leaving a family event. The first time I met Grandpa Lyle was at my SIL's high school graduation party. Dan and I had been dating about 2 months. I was in a situation where Dan was hanging with some cousins and I was standing alone just watching and not really sure where I belonged. He came up to me and gave me the biggest longest hug I've ever had. How did he know I needed that hug? I was still not a huggy person but it was the most perfect best hug I've ever had. He didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug. That was my introduction to Grandpa Lyle. Since then, I've always made sure to get my hugs when around him. I seek them out, and he knows it. Even tonight I told him, "I haven't gotten my hug today." He replied, "Then you must need an extra long one," and he proceeded to squeeze me tighter and we just stood and hugged. This is usual for us. And I'm thankful. I'm thankful for his hugs. I'll miss his hugs. But I'll pass them on. To my children and my grandchildren.

Anyway, to finish the blog entry- We ended the day with Dan's family and had just a marvelous time. To my husband I say, Happy Father's Day! Our family is blessed with a daddy that is involved, caring, patient, and committed. He is the best daddy ever. He makes each and every one of us feel special and loved every single day, and for that I say , thank you!

May the Force Be With You

You guess it, tonight was our Star Wars Symphony Experience. Wow, what a great night. Mom watched the girls, so it was just the big kids and the parents. Woo hoo! We planned ahead and brought some great snacks. The event itself was spectacular. We walked in and immediately started posing with characters.

Storm Troopers, Darth Vadar, and more. We were super lucky to get in with Darth Vadar. I used my 'mommy powers' and got to the front of the big crowd waiting for a picture. We were the last picture with Darth Vadar before the show started. Phew! The boys were a tad nervous to stand next to the 'bad guys' but did alright!

The music was amazing. The boys sat for the entire 2 hours (with a 15 minute intermission). What a great night out!

One of the Worst Days EVER!

Wow. I am so happy this day is over. It might be a bad idea to blog about these kinds of days, but I'm hoping someday I'll look back and laugh.

It started with my wake up call coming from the girls at 4 AM. After two hours of trying to get them back to sleep, I gave up. Katie decided to further my distress by immediately seeking out a piece of gum and chewing it. Upon this discovery, I grabbed for it and she put it in her hair for safety.Unfortunately for all of us, this was bad. Of all kids, she's the one I DON'T want with gum. I sat and picked the gum out of her hair piece by piece. So frustrating. Joshua decided to add to it further by throwing the biggest fit of his lifetime. First because I would not give him cake for breakfast and then more because I didn't have any oatmeal in the house. He was put in the girls' room and then moved himself into the bathroom as he started retching. During this escapade, Molly opened up every single craft drawer, forcing it to the little cabinet to fall over on her and spilling the contents. ARG!!!!

The day continued with hysteria and frustration. We went to a concert at River.front Park only to find it cancelled, but walked through mounds of goose poop. We came home to a rest time that did not happen, nor did naps for the girls. Some outside time which included Joshua getting a gate slammed into his face causing a big bruise and scrape and requiring ice, and Amber watching 7 kids in the backyard and settling mass squabbles.

I'm going to consider this day over. O-V-E-R. Done. Let's start again tomorrow.

**On a funny note, this is what I posted on face.book:

Amber Domrese is wondering what I considered a "bad day" before I had kids. Did I not get TWELVE hours of sleep? Did my cereal not taste right? I only say that as Katie put gum in her hair this morning (GUM! Where did she find GUM?!), Molly tipped the craft drawers over on to herself spilling all paints, pencils, etc all over, Joshua threw the biggest fit I've ever seen because 1) I wouldn't let him eat cake for breakfast, and 2) We don't have oatmeal. Seriously. I've been up since 4 AM!

And got this hilarious response:

Matt Kohlhauff: I hope your status tomorrow doesn't go like this: "I can't believe I thought yesterday was a bad day!" "Katie lit the kitchen on fire, (FIRE! Where did she learn how to do that?!), Molly knocked a tree on to the house - ruined - Joshua threw a fit because he couldn't eat Katie for breakfast and Thomas invented cold fusion in the living room... THE LIVING ROOM!"

Thanks for putting it into perspective Matt! :)

Photo Catch Up!

Molly finally has enough hair for a barrette! They don't stay in long, but we're working on it! Plus, she's just so darn cute!

Molly loves the sprinkler. This girl will put her face in and just get soaked. It's so much fun to watch!

Thomas is loving basketball. The neighbor kid, Nick, taught Thomas how to dribble and he's really good at it! Now he's been working on shooting. And he doesn't have half-bad form!

The girls are more and more independent at the park. As long as the structure is safe and not too far off the ground, they can go around and around and go down the slides. It's still a little overwhelming and exhausting trying to maintain safety with just me and all four kids, but it's getting better and better every day!

Breaking the Rules

This week has been all about Joshua breaking the rules.

It started off on Tuesday morning. Joshua wandered down the stairs, came right beside my head, and started retching and gagging. I immediately yelled at Dan that he was going to puke (as I was nursing a baby) and Dan jumped up, "STOP!" (like that was going to work) and rushed Joshua to the bathroom. We have a serious no puking rule in this house. Neither Dan nor myself can handle it...at all...so we appreciate it never coming here. We make minor exceptions, and figured this once we'd let it pass. Unfortunately it continued. Every 12-ish hours Joshua would have a barfing session with daddy. Only once did Dan make me try to deal with it and he quickly relieved me when I started gagging too. I soooooo can't handle puke.

Today (Friday) we finally hit the 24-hour puke free mark. Hooray! Joshua again, decided to attempt to break the rules. Each child is allowed one set of stitches, Joshua has already had his. He decided to see if he could break two rules in one week. While playing "turtle" (using a pillowcase as a shell), my not so coordinated child fell face first into the dresser. I'll admit, I said a naughty word (more like yelled it) when I saw the blood start seeping out. I rushed him to the kitchen (smearing blood all over our floors) and got a paper towel to apply pressure. I immediately called grandma Patti (THANK YOU GRANDMA) and asked her to haul butt over here....which she did. If it did not stop bleeding, there was no way I could continue to apply pressure and load all children into the car without causing myself great distress. A call was also made to daddy who made the mad dash home as well.

Another call to uncle Adam to confirm he was at work at the Emergency Room (PHEW). Joshua and mommy made the trip alone to the ER and got assessed. Uncle Adam was ready to do stitches (knowing Joshua's tendencies to fall), the Dr decided we'd stick with glue. I was really alright with either option. I worry the glue will not be strong enough for Joshua's lack of coordination, so we'll see! A big thanks to Uncle Adam for the help as well. THANK YOU UNCLE ADAM! It calms my heart to have my big brother watching over my son. I couldn't ask for more.

Ok, I could ask for more. No more breaking rules, right kids?!

A New Love

The girls have a new love...of horses. Today we visited a petting farm with a local mommy and me group. I expected the boys to totally dig it and the girls to kind of enjoy it. I was wrong! The boys DID totally dig it, but the girls loved it too! We fed goats, llamas, chickens, and more!

Molly got a pony ride first and you could just see the joy in her face. Katie went willingly to the horse handler (amazing!!!!!) and took a ride as well. I kind of stepped back and took pictures and I was pleasantly surprised when the babes were fine with it. Joshua and Thomas both rode as well and loved every moment.

All in all, a great day at the farm! We even (get this!) stopped at McDonalds on the way home and the five of us ate and played. It's the first time I've attempted a McD's play area on my own and it was a huge hit! HOORAY!

Don't Give Your Kid Candy and Then Put Him on the Sizzler...Just A Warning

Yesterday was one of those days. A day you put a tally on the "loss" side and move on hoping you get a "win" tomorrow. The girls decided yesterday that naps are for sissies. After 90 minutes of crying, I decided to skip morning nap (so we didn't totally screw up the daily schedule) and head to Costco. Unfortunately for me, in the rush to get out the door, I forgot my purse. Had to load up all the kids back in the car and run back home to grab it. UGH! Worried about meltdowns due to lack of sleep, I called mom and she came up and met me. The kids did amazingly during Costco and we enjoyed many many great samples! After a nice hotdog lunch, we headed home for nap attempt number two. 90 minutes of crying later, naptime was again called quits. So frustrating! I finally decided to chalk it up to a loss and throw in the towel. Despite the rain, outside we went. The best choice I ever made. I should know better by now. Kids don't care if it's raining. We played for nearly 2 hours in the rain. I made millions of trips with hot water and filled up the pool creating a kid hot tub.

I decided that since the girls had had such a rough day and the boys had been doing so well, that I'd take them for a real treat. We went to an IMAX movie while daddy stayed home with the girls. Joshua, for the first time, did great! We've been working on how to protect his ears as he HATES loud noises. I brought him ear plugs this time and halfway through he took them out and proclaimed it wasn't too loud anymore. Woo hoo! We each got our treats for the movie, Thomas had Sweet Tarts, Joshua a licorice rope and I had M&M's. After the movie, we saw the rides were open and since there were no babies with us, we took advantage of all three of us being able to go on rides for once! So much fun! We did bumper cars! SO MUCH FUN! Then we went on the Sizzler. It was fantastic until the last 10 seconds.

Then Thomas started turning green. Oops, I had forgotten about all that candy I'd allowed them to eat. So rare and such a great treat (and trust me, I didn't let them finish all the candy). I immediately got him out and ran him to the garbage can. He spent about 30 minutes grabbing his belly and complaining. We drove home (he fell asleep in the car), got home and ate crackers, and he decided he was once again fine. PHEW!

Memo: Do not feed your kids candy and then put them on the Sizzler. This is a BAD combination!

I'd Love To...

Dan- "Thomas, do you want to come watch baseball and snuggle with me?"
Thomas- "I'd love to dad, but I'm going to watch tv in here."
Dan and Amber crack up as he walks away.

Another favorite right now---

Joshua enters the room, "Mommy, I hate to tell you this but..." and generally it's followed by something very miniscule. Like "Mommy I hate to tell you this, but I dropped my crayon." :)

Growing Up

Remember this?

It turned into this:

The New Park

We finally made it to Dis.covery Park in the Valley. The boys have dubbed this "The New Park." It was an absolute hit with the entire family. The boys ran from area to area playing with all the different toys. The girls, started to wander and then centered on the water area. Boy are splash pads going to be fun this summer!

The Day IT Happened

Ever have one of those days? A day you can say IT happened. Well I can. IT happened here today. The day started off innocently enough. We lounged and cleaned, we went to lunch with grandma and grandpa. We had a nice and peaceful rest time. We even had a mega-choking incident (including a small Molly turning purple and a freaking out mommy pounding the poor baby on her back), a little playing in the mud to remedy the crying from the choking situation...and then IT happened...

Dinner was completed, the boys and mommy had cookies to make. So the girls were given fairly empty cartons of milk with a straw (something they are fairly use to). What they did, of course, was pour the milk upside down and then splash it everywhere. This resulted in mommy again freaking out and quickly trying to clean up the mess. Bathtime was declared.

Molly's diaper off and sent in the direction of the bathtub. Katie's diaper off and sent in the direction of the bathtub. Molly pees on the floor. CRAP! A quick towel thrown on the floor. Bath water running. Molly pees on the floor AGAIN! CRAP! Another towel thrown on the floor. Life is good, babies and toys in tub, boys playing nicely in the playroom....aaahhhhh....the joy of bathtime. Then IT happened. Katie grunted.

You can very well figure out what happened next. I lift her up to see a pile of poop under her and floating in the water. The girls are begrudgingly pulled from the tub. An emergency is declared. The bathroom is put in lockdown. All people are rushed down the stairs.

I nicely placed a phone call to Dan warning him not to come home and to turn around, turn around NOW! He, unfortunately for him, misses the message and appears at the door. He gets bath duty downstairs while I get bathtub duty upstairs.

This is the day IT happened. And it will continue to be etched in my mind as the day IT happened.