After a couple of bad nights & naps, we decided to break down the cribs. Short of ankle bracelets we were out of options. Of course, the kids had to help. And of course, Tiernan wanted to share in the big night. He didn't stay in long, but the twins are still in! At least as of right now. The big tell will be tomorrow for naps. Pray for us!
The morning of the 22nd, Chris found Lincoln in Sloan's crib. He also found that she pulled her shirt over her head to play with her belly. The last picture is Lincoln sleeping under his crib. This was the night of the 22nd. We put the mattresses back into cribs when nap time was a haze. They didn't sleep. They're not sleeping! They're just playing all the time! So we tried to go back to the original. Yeah, working really well for us huh?
As you've heard, Lincoln's been boosting himself out of his crib for a little while now. Well, earlier this week I found him literally hanging from the crib post because his shirt got caught. Obviously, we were worried that he would really hurt himself so we moved his mattress to the floor. He slept great there at night. The next day, during nap time wasn't so great. He was up the whole time playing. And then we found Sloan out of her crib! We don't know if Lincoln helped her out or if she figured it out herself. Either way... this was the sleeping arrangement last night. Fortunately, they were so exhausted they slept through the night. Until Sloan crawled onto Lincoln's mattress & kicked him to the floor. So now what?!?
Or Sunday depending on how you look at it... Do you know where your children are? We didn't. Chris went to check on the kids before we went to bed & this is what we found. Instead of fighting it, we gave him an extra blankie & let him sleep there last night. We switched cribs & moved them around so they don't touch each other for nap today to see if that would keep Lincoln in. It worked for nap time today so we're praying that it will work tonight. 
That's right, Nana treated us to a sundae bar Saturday night. We have never done a build-your-own-sundae bar! I know, such deprived children. Tiernan built his with everything, I mean every option available, on it. And then some. I think the only thing he didn't eat was his cherry. Which cracked me up. He wouldn't try it. He built Sloan & Lincoln's sundaes. They've had ice cream before but not like this. He was almost as generous with theirs' as his. And the cherry was the 1st thing they both ate! They were drinking the melted ice cream/chocolate/whip cream soup straight from the bowls like drinking milk after cereal. We certainly had lots of laughs with these 3 & their sundaes. Little do they know, we waited until they went to bed to break out the Ben & Jerry's. You didn't think that we gave all the Magic Shell to the kids, did you?
Most of you already know what I'm talking about when I mention the 6th circle of... Yes, Chuck E. Cheese's. Nana came into town & treated the kids to pizza & games last Friday afternoon. In all reality, it wasn't THAT bad. I imagine going in the evenings or on the weekends would definitely put it on Dante's list. However, for Sloan & Lincoln's 1st time, it was actually kinda fun (those words might come back to haunt me - kinda like "I'll never drive a minivan..." & here we are). 
Murphy? Who's Murphy? Ah... Murphy's Law. According to Wikipedia, Murphy's Law is the western adage that if anything can go wrong, it will. So why has Murphy moved into our house? Who knows. All I know is he needs to move out! About the end of July, we were very excited to be 1 payment away from no car payments. So after the realization that we would be debt-free (except for the house), the following has happened between July & now:
Tuesday the 2nd was Tiernan's 1st day in Pre-K. He's going to the same school as last spring, so the transition was relatively painless. He's excited that his buddy Ben is in his class with Mrs. Kathy. He's also excited that he's eating lunch at school. And you guessed it, 1st lunch at school was 2 hot dogs, spicy cheese & tomatoes with a juice pouch. 
These are my favorite pictures from the long weekend. Tiernan had a blast (pun intended) with "the cousins" - Brenden, Chrissy & Olivia (8-yr-old triplets). I know what you're thinking... between our twins & their triplets, very few drink the water at the family reunions :) At any rate, Sloan loved the water. She spent almost all of her time in it. Lincoln wasn't so fond of it. We tried to get him out a couple of times but he was more content on the sidelines. Sunday was Chris's birthday so he was greeted with chocolate chocolate chip pancakes in bed. After dinner, he was greeted with a cherry pie! Both times complete with candle & singing. Thanks Mike & Judy! You can see Sloan & Lincoln were enjoying the pie! The last picture is of all 6 kids together. 
On Saturday, we participated in several beach events with "the cousins'" at their country house. The day started with my agreement to do a "fun walk" of about 3 miles at 8am. (What was I thinking?) Little did I know, or plan for, that we were walking over the hills & through the woods (as seen here). Even in my old age, I managed to come in 3rd overall & 1st female so that blue ribbon made it worth it. Tiernan & Brenden did the "sand creation" event & built the Bat Cave complete with spray painted sand & all. They came in 2nd! Tiernan also swam in a race so received an honorable mention for that. We were so proud of him for participating in the swimming. Even Sloan & Lincoln got in on the action & made their 1st "sand creation". Sloan packed the plastic fish full of sand & Lincoln flipped it over. They even got ribbons for their participation. It was a blast to watch "the cousins" all working & playing together. 
Because we like drinking water through a fire hose.... We planned a trip to St. Louis a while back not knowing that we would be going through a very busy time. However crazy the last few weeks may have been, by the grace of God, it has all worked out. And here we are, in the new Mini - no, not Cooper. Mini Van. Yes, the inevitable has happened in Bassyland! But how great was it to load everyone & still have room! So here you see our 1st trip. It would have been nice to not have food in my new car... yeah, that lasted all of 2 days! It's either feed them in the car or stop for 45 minutes. And then we had the sweet sound of sleep. None of the "She's touching my seat" "He's hitting me". Amazing!
