Breakfast: Pumpkin Patch Oatmeal

I made a pot of oatmeal (3 servings), and added three tablespoons of pureed pumpkin, about a tablespoon (or a little less) of smart balance margarine, some cinnamon, and a little brown sugar. In their bowls, I put sliced bananas around the edge and one "candy corn" pumpkin in the middle. (I mean, it IS Halloween - we can get away with just a touch of candy for breakfast, right?!)

Results: Jacob and Caleb ate all of theirs, and Caleb (my big breakfast eater) even had seconds. They all asked for seconds on the pumpkin too - nice try, boys, but not so much. ;-)

Lunch:

Pumpkin Pizzas

I halved 2 Oroweat Whole Grain and Flax Omega-3 English Muffins, spread a little pizza sauce over the top of each, added some cheese, covered the top with sliced up pepperonis and a little more cheese (to hold them in place), and placed a small triangle of green bell pepper to the top. I then baked at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. While they were baking, I cut a cheese slice into 12 little triangles, and 4 smiles. After 5 minutes, I turned off the oven, put the cheese "smiles" on the pizzas, and baked for about 2 more minutes. (See picture below)

We also had...

Pumpkin Mac N Cheese - Kraft has a "Halloween shapes" boxed mac and cheese. I made this as per the directions, but substituted 1/2 pureed pumpkin in place of the butter.

And...

Pumpkin Hummus!

Ingredients:

1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

PLACE chickpeas, pumpkin, lemon juice, water, garlic, salt and pepper into food processor; cover. Blend for 1 minute or until smooth. Additional water, a teaspoon at a time, can be added if a smoother consistency is desired

Results: Jacob went nuts! He ate every bite of everything, giggling the whole time, and requested more hummus. Gabe ate almost a whole pizza himself, had about a tablespoon of hummus, and had THIRDS on the pumpkin mac and cheese! Caleb... well, little Caleb saw everything and got too wound up to eat. He was belly laughing like crazy, and started acting out a little. He quickly calmed down, got sweet, and ate everything when he saw Jacob and Gabe getting dessert though...

Dessert was pumpkin muffins!

We love pumpkin muffins!! I make these all year, and always have them in our freezer.

Combine well 1 box of spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin, and 3/4 cup natural apple sauce and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes for regular sized muffins or about 20 minutes for mini muffins. Super easy. But, of course, today I added cream cheese frosting and a candy corn on top of each mini muffin! :-)

(These muffins freeze well. Just take out of the freezer and microwave for 1 minute. The boys love mornings when I am running behind, as we have a pumpkin muffins, bananas, and milk for breakfast!)

We ended up not eating the mummy cookies today, as their were already too wound up. I cannot take credit for them, as they were made by a mom of one of the twins' classmates. Aren't they cute though? (milano cookie, drizzled with white frosting, and mini M&M's for eyes)

I hope someone takes this idea for tomorrow! It was all really good, and the boys loved it!

My only concern...

Do you think it is possible to consume TOO MUCH Vitamin A in one day?! Sheesh! haha

JACOB ALAN

2007

2008

2009

CALEB LUKE

2007

2008

2009

GABRIEL "GABE" ELISHA

2008

2009

Also be sure to check out the last post for some of the outtakes and other fun shots of the first day of college football at the Seastrunk Casa!

Jacob put his boots on by himself - that was NOT our idea.

Doesn't Caleb always look like he is up to something?!

Jon had to get in on the fun too!

"Face mask, #12, Gabriel Seastrunk, 15 yard penalty..."

What a GREAT shot of all of the boys!!

Head to head with Momma...

... and Momma got SACKED!

Gabe actually does have a good arm!

We had a small "party" for him at our house with our family, my parents, and Jon's Dad and Gran.

We had a great dinner of Spaghetti Casserole (one of Gabe's favorites) and Sesame Street cake (which was a big hit by all of the boys).

He was also a pro at opening his gifts!

At this age, even a small party is enough to wear a little guy out...

... and perhaps a big guy too!

Continuing his trend of being a real trooper, Gabe is completely off of a bottle and “pas-pas” (pacifier). He loves giving HIMSELF whole milk from his sippy cup – just like his big brothers. He also will not allow us to feed him, but would rather do it himself.

His vocabulary is much more advanced than the twins were at his age, however with think a lot of that has to do with him being exposed to me working with the twins are their speech due to their mild delay (which is much improved, by the way). He is quite a social butterfly, waving and saying "bye-bye" to everyone we pass. He also shocks us by repeating a lot of words we say - ALREADY!

Gabe had his one year check up appointment on August 19th, and is wonderfully healthy! He is still on the smaller end of the growth chart, but is consistent with his previous trends (so we are not at all worried).

He was 29 1/4 inches, which puts him around the 30th percent for height; and 20 pounds, 11 ounces, which puts him around the 20th percent for weight.

He eats like crazy, especially Italian food and Hummus! When he really likes something, he will get a big grin and say "mmmmm..."

This last picture of Gabe is of him in his Daddy's first rocking chair.

Jon has said that it is like the "Perfect Storm" around our house. In addition to nothing really going right, we also have three toddlers in our house - two who are in the midst of the terrible twos, AND Jon has been working crazy long hours. That combination is not good!

So, just to name a few crazy things:

We had almost baseball sized (2 1/4 in) hail, which did a number on our roof and vehicles (mostly Jon's truck)

Our next door neighbor's house caught fire, scarily close to our house (this happened in May, and they are still out almost every day restoring the house)

Our microwave broke

Our bathroom toilet broke

Another hail storm came through, doing a little more damage

Both bathroom sinks broke (Jon and his dad had to replace two of the sinks)

I fell and badly hurt my left knee (this was in June - it is still is visibly bruised and very tender to the touch. I am *thinking about* going to the doctor for it since it WAS two months ago now!)

Our 20 year old Bradford Pear tree died, and we had to pay someone to come out and remove it and plant a new tree

I broke my right "baby" toe!

Jon's grandmother had to have a hospital stay

I was rear-ended, and therefore had to deal with insurance companies, auto repair companies, set up a rental car (by the way, it is NOT an easy task to track down a van/mini-van during the summer while lots of family are taking road trips), and see the chiropractor three times a week

We also completely potty trained two boys - including night time - during all of this.

This is not mentioning the day-to-day drama of having three BOYS (and they are ALL BOY!) under the age of three!

So, yeah, I have just mostly kept quiet. In addition, I just haven’t had much down time to blog. We are all doing much better now - thank you God. Jacob and Caleb are getting a little easier *some days*, and Gabe has made it to ONE year. The twins have started going to a preschool program Monday and Wednesday from 9:00 – 2:00. This gives me time with one baby - which I am finding is a piece of cake in comparison! Perhaps with things somewhat slowing down, I can update more often. I have said that in the past, however, so I am not making any promises!

More to come on our day to day adventures…

The backyard before I bought the house in April 2003. (It looked way better after we gave it lots of TLC.)

 

One of my favorite pics of the twins, swinging in the tree October 2007.

 

Our tree during the "big snow," March 6, 2008.

 

Little Gabriel with a big tree, April 22, 2009 (Earth Day).

 

Yesterday, showing the size, yet dead branches.

 

Last night Jon took one last picture of me loving our tree (yeah, I am in my nightgown - so! hehehe).

 

We have a 15 foot Live Oak that will take it's place - but it really won't replace it. :-( More pics to come.

water guns,

icy pops,

and daiquiris!

On May 20th, he had his 9 Month Well Child Check Up. Can you believe he has been outside of my body as long as he was inside growing?

He is doing AWESOME, but is still very little. He was 17 pounds, 12 ounces (which puts him in the 10th percentile) and 27 1/2 inches long (which puts him in the 25th percentile for length).

Gabriel is extremely active, and he actually sleeps less than the twins!! He is a sweet, sweet boy, but sure keeps us hopping!

Even with Jon here, poor Gabe got "neglected" a lot. Not really - but he's just didn't get near as much attention/cuddle time as he is accustomed and therefore has had to hang out in the swing a lot. But he made up for it by getting up about 5 or so times throughout the night during those three days! He's so rotten!

Anyway, Jon was able to stay home from work on Friday, April 17th, and we went for it. We had some good moments... and some not so good (messy) moments. (Think: the boys running to the bathroom after they have already started going on hard wood floors, and then slipping in the pee-pee! LOL!)

The morning of Day 2, Jon made the comment, "I feel like we are getting ready for Two-A-Days!" It is so true - it was not only mentally, but also physically challenging, as we would have to often pick up their almost 35 pound bodies and run them to the potty!

I had to call on (phone, message, email) a few friends for support/encouragement (thank you, ladies!). We then tweaked the program to include giving the boys suckers while they sat on the potty (to keep their little hinies planted on the potty seats). We did this because Caleb would tell us that he had to "pee-pee," go to the potty, sit down, then immediately jump up, clapping, telling us "all done-done!" (No, he had not yet gone!)

After Day 3, Jacob HAD IT down 100%! Caleb, as always, had to give me some problems. Caleb is so stubborn and strong willed, and always has been. I know that personality type has a lot of great qualities, but it sure is tough on the parents! At one point, I took Caleb off by himself and showed him a diaper, a Pull-Up, and cotton undies. I asked him to decided what he wanted, and told him that I would not be disappointed in him no matter what he chose. Thankfully, that worked and he got mad, saying "No diaper, UNDIES!" So, we continued on with undies. By Day 4, he too had it down.

The boys are actually wearing cotton undies for nap and bedtime too. So, YES, after 3 days, we got them 100% potty trained! We have used Pull-Ups on two occasions. The first week the boys had a dentist appointment, and I put them in those to prevent having to jump up from the dentist chair and run to the restroom. I didn't want to waste our dentist's valuable time for a false alarm... but in case it wasn't a false alarm, I didn't want to soak his chair! hahaha But, they did not pee-pee in the Pull-Ups even. (The other time I had to drive all three boys to Irving in the the rain in rush hour traffic. I thought it would be better to have that barrier rather than me trying to whip over to the side if the road in those conditions, risking an accident at the first shout of "pee-pee, Mommy!!")

On a funny side note, the Pull-Ups had Lightening McQueen on them, and Jacob LOVED it! He refused to take off his Pull-Up after we got home from the dentist, as he wanted to keep wearing the "Cars Undies." I called Jon at work, and he so graciously went to Wal-Mart on his way home to pick up some REAL Cars Undies. Jacob finally changed from the Pull-Up. He gets really upset when we go to the underwear drawer to find that the Cars Undies are dirty.

We very rarely have accidents now, and when we do it is almost always at night. (They each wet the bed about once a week or less at this point.) The only other problem is that they don't like to potty in public! I mean, who does though, right?! As of now, we have to take their potty seat in the van and walk outside our location to go in the parking lot. Jacob has gone in a public restroom a couple of times, but Caleb would rather hold it until he is crying before peeing in a public potty! That has caused a little challenge, but I guess it is better than them having accidents!

Anyway, so that is pretty much our potty training experience! Now we just have to work on little Gabriel... ;-)

LIFE HAS BEEN REALLY, REALLY TOUGH LATELY!!!

I knew having three kids within 18 months would not be easy, but this has been ridiculous lately. Many days I just try to stay afloat until 7:00, when Jon finally gets home and provides back up.

People often make a statement which REALLY cracks me up: "Wow - I guess having ONE BABY is easy after having TWINS, right?" (Note: if you are one who has made this comment, no worries, as I see where you were coming from when making the comment. And don't feel silly, as MANY people have made it.)

YES, YES, YES, having one baby IS indeed easier than two babies, sure. BUT, the twins haven't gone anywhere! If the twins had just packed their stuff and moved out when little Gabe came along, YES, one baby would be much easier than raising twin babies. BUT, life is MUCH, MUCH more difficult with twin toddlers AND ONE BABY!!!

The highlight of most days is lunch. ("WUNCH," as the twinados would say) It's not my fun time of day here lately, and today was definitely no exception. Just a little bit about what occurs during my lunch hour...

I sneak out of the room to get the plates ready before the boys go to the table, in attempt to prevent a melt down. Usually one sees me and requests "wunch," nicely at first. I tell them that I am going to fix "wunch," and will let them know when it is ready. Some days this works. Other days, like today, they run to the kitchen, throw themselves dramatically at the kitchen gate, and scream "Mommmm-maaaaaa, WWWWUUUNNCHHH, PWWWEEEEESE...." As if they didn't just have a huge breakfast and snack earlier in the day. So I proceed to make their plates, carry on a conversation in attempt to distract, and try my best to ignore the screams. During this process, at least one of them ends up going to time out for throwing something my way, hitting/biting their brother, or some other offense.

As I am carrying them, kicking and screaming to time out, I do try to rationalize (haha), "you, know, the more you distract Momma from making your lunch, the longer it is going to take to get to your tummy."

So, 30 minutes (on average) later, I have completed a task which should only take 10 minutes or less, and all four of our plates are ready to go. (Yes, Gabe is eating with us now - with my help.)

We then walk to the table, touching the stove, pantry, refrigerator, and every other interesting thing along the way. THEY want to be the ones to climb up and buckle their own booster seats - and SHREAK if I dare try to help, in attempt to speed up the process.

We say our prayer - "Food, faith, and forgiveness, AMEN!" (a shortened, toddler, easier to say version of the Lord's Prayer) - and get the plates. If all goes well, they say "Thank you, Momma," and eat. Yes, this does happen some days... and then there are days like today.

"Noooo....," Jacob screams, as he throws a spoonful of Mac and Cheese.
"Jacob, stop that, you love Mac and Cheese - do you need an Uh-Oh time (time out)?"
"NO! PUFFS!!!"
(He wants some of Gabe's puffs rather than his own lunch.)
"Jacob, those are for the BABY, not the big boys. But you can have a couple AFTER you finish your lunch if you'd like."
(Caleb parrots everything now and says "Aff - wunch.")

A minute or so of this passes, and Jacob is sent off to his room. I come back to Gabe getting ansy, and Caleb crying "pee-pee, pee-pee" while grabbing "himself."

"Caleb, do you REALLY have to go pee-pee? Seriously?!"

He stops, starts eating his food, so I take a bite of my food while giving Gabe a bite of his. Jacob has been quiet, so I go "save him" from time out. As I sit back down, take one bite, and then give Gabe one more bite, Caleb begins rocking in his seat, eyes wide, "pee-pee, Momma, PEE-PEE!!"

CRAP - he is SERIOUS!! So, Caleb goes "pee-pee."
"Yippee, Caleb - high-five - now let's go back to lunch."

By this time, Jacob has devoured his plate. "Moore?"
"OK, sit down, Caleb; what do you want more of, Jacob?"

OK, Jacob had more - let's try this again.

My food is cold, but I am hungry, so I get a few more bites and give poor little Gabe a few more bites

Now Jacob is grabbing himself and rocking.

Back to the potty.

Yea, Jacob! But as we come back, Caleb is asking for "moore."

Gabe is getting more and more ansy to finish HIS lunch!

OK, Caleb, more...

I get up, and Gabe finally looses it and is TICKED!! *melt down alert!*

Jacob is finished with lunch, and ready to get down.

This pace goes on, but the dramatic conclusion is that Jacob sits at the table against his will, munching on puffs (remember - I did bargain that he could have a few if he just ATE!) as we waits on us, Caleb plays with his broccoli, every so often taking a bite when he catches me looking, and end up holding Gabe as I feed him, since he is too ticked off to sit in his highchair any longer. Oh, and I do get to consume a couple of dino-shaped nuggets and a couple of spoonfuls of mac and cheese.

Several phrases that are often heard during lunch (and were probably tossed in throughout the dialogue above) include:

"Where's your spoon?" (My nice way of implying: "Oh, good gracious, USE YOUR SPOON and not your flippin' HANDS while eating yogurt!")

"Take one bite and then sit it down, please." (My nice way of implying: DO NOT stuff the whole freakin' piece of bread in your mouth - you are NOT starving to death and you're going to CHOKE doing that!)

"Do NOT throw food at Momma!!" (No being nice about this one.)

"Do NOT throw your plate on the floor!" (Again, no more Mrs. Nice Momma here.)

A phrase that is often heard a breakfast, but should also be included here is, "Put your bowl down - Do NOT put the bowl of oatmeal on your HEAD!" (Oh, and you better believe that if one boy puts the bowl of oatmeal on their head, the other will think it is hysterical and do the same.)

Getting the savage beasts, I mean, MY SWEET CHILDREN fed definitely drains my energy.

Just had to vent a little...

People always ask me how I "do it" with three kiddos under three years of age. I am not sure how to answer that rather than, "well, I just DO!"

We finally all got fed, cleaned up, pottied again, read three stories, and down for nap. Well, the BOYS all got a nap anyway. I guess I could have rather than venting, but I just had to let all of my blogger buddies in on what we have been up to.

Next time I will be back to my nice, pleasant self. I promise! :-)

I was working on a potty update blog about a month ago now, and got side tracked. I'll finish it up SOON!

The laundry is dry... so BACK TO WORK for me!